High Output 4cyl Engines

[buster]

If I can sell my car privately at a decent price, I'm considering buying an Acura RSX-S. I drove one today and they are solid little cars. My only hesitation is how durable these high output 4cyl cars are. Does anyone have experience with them and do they still move once you start reaching 80,000 + miles? BTW, it gets 31 mpg on the highway.

My commute to work now is 70 miles round trip. I though this would be an ideal car for me. I prefer 6cyl/8cyl cars, but gas mileage, price were concerns. The car has low torque but you can rev. the **** out of it.

 

[sbc350gearhead]

I did some work at a local acura dealer a couple of years ago. They were replacing about one engine a week in the RSX. I was quite shocked at the high rate of engine replacement on cars that didn't even have 20k on them, until I asked one of the mechanics about the car, and he said that they are pretty reliable, as long as the driver is mature. He said that 80% of the RSX's that they sold were given to minors by their parents as a sweet sixteen, or high school graduation gift. The kids run the crap out of the cars, and he said that the engine doesn't last long when constantly run at 8500 rpm. He said that is the reason so many engines were replaced under warranty.

 

[tec97]

It's a Honda engine, so of course it should last well over 100K miles w/ normal maintenance. My Prelude (different engine, but still a pretty high-strung Honda) was just as fast w/ 90K miles as it was w/ 30K miles.

Be careful w/ the Type S when you are flogging it tho, as I've heard it's easy to accidentally down-shift when you are trying to up-shift. If you go from 3rd to 2nd instead of 4th at 8 grand, you'll be hauling your engine home in a wheelbarrow. This happens ALOT when people race these cars (and this applies even to 'experienced' track guys), as the cable shifter is on the imprecise side, so powershifting these cars is a HUGE no-no.

OH and FYI, if you do the above, most dealers will laugh you out off the lot if you ask for a new engine under warranty now. They pretty much won't replace one that's been overreved.

[ April 21, 2004, 09:02 PM: Message edited by: tec97 ]

 

[tec97]

quote:

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Originally posted by sbc350gearhead:
The kids run the crap out of the cars, and he said that the engine doesn't last long when constantly run at 8500 rpm. He said that is the reason so many engines were replaced under warranty.

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The engine does OK at 8500 - it's the trip north of 9000 that kills it... See my previous post.

 

[buster]

Thanks for help guys.

Well, if I do get one, I should probably go with Redline/M1R/S2k. I wouldn't be redlining it that often. I imagine these higher end oils can really help a car like this.

[ April 21, 2004, 09:05 PM: Message edited by: buster ]

 

[tec97]

quote:

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Originally posted by buster:
Thanks for help guys.

Well, if I do get one, I should probably go with Redline/M1R/S2k. I wouldn't be redlining it that often. I imagine these higher end oils can really help a car like this.

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So you think. Having a high revver becomes quite addictive.. If you get one, have fun, just DON'T POWERSHIFT!

 

[Al]

I think that as sbc350gearhead indicated these engines are run a lot by kids who rev the snot out of them I post on the Sentra board and the Spec-V has a pretty potent engine 180-190 HP as I recall and they are constantly being trashed.

My son recently bought the RSX 4 cyl. I believe this is the second year for this engine so I'm not sure there is a track record yet.

I have the SR20DE 145 HP in my Sentra which is a light car (it is however an auto) It hauls AZZ for an auto and gets 35 mpg on the highway. By today's standards its not considered high output. Durability is its claim to fame though.

I would be waiting at this point to see what is going to happen with gas prices. But honestly I would not buy a vehicle right now that got less than 40 mpg. But thats only me.

 

[andyfish]

My best friend from college owns the predecessor and an incredibly fun car to drive the Acura Integra GS-R sedan. It now is approaching 190k miles, gets the occasionally flogging to 7k++ rpm but mostly driven civily as a commuter car since we graduated college 10 years ago. It has been problem free with regards to the engine. She uses dino every 4k-5k miles.

 

[Chris142]

I know a cute

19 yr old waitress that bought one for herself.

The thing is pretty quick....Absolutly smoked my 4.0 Jeep one night

Hers has been pretty good, no problems yet and she is pushing 40,000 miles.

She did rear end a stopped pickup going 15 mph, it really tore the car up! $9.000.00 in damage!

Most of the repair $ was to the dash since the airbags went off and destroyed the dash and steering wheel.

The funny part was that the bags went off after the fact. She was outside the car doing the police report when they went off!

Weird! Especially since they aren't supposed to go off under a certain speed are they?

 

[Last_Z]

quote:

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Originally posted by tec97:


Be careful w/ the Type S when you are flogging it tho, as I've heard it's easy to accidentally down-shift when you are trying to up-shift. If you go from 3rd to 2nd instead of 4th at 8 grand, you'll be hauling your engine home in a wheelbarrow. This happens ALOT when people race these cars (and this applies even to 'experienced' track guys), as the cable shifter is on the imprecise side, so powershifting these cars is a HUGE no-no.

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There was a video on this site of such mistake. The guy threw a rod that came out the side of the block......pretty messy and costly.

 

[jasonMSP]

Buster, there are several high output 4 cylinder cars out right now. Don’t forget that the Subaru WRX and the Dodge Neon SRT-4 are both around the same price as the RSX Type-S. Both of these cars also get close to 30 mpg.

 

[Palut]

quote:

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Originally posted by jasonMSP:
Buster, there are several high output 4 cylinder cars out right now. Don’t forget that the Subaru WRX and the Dodge Neon SRT-4 are both around the same price as the RSX Type-S. Both of these cars also get close to 30 mpg.

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The Subaru WRX Sti looks like a really sweet car! If you have the means, I'd highly recommend picking one up!

 

[Technarch]

I have a Zetec 2.0L and it doesn't even have a redline on the engine..

Modded Zetecs have gone up to 10,000 rpm, but those are rare race-only engines.

For stockers, the limiter is at 6,000 but the engine doesn't even begin to approach a red till about 7,000 which it is incapable of doing in stock form.

I routinely run it hard every day and the engine will not break a sweat.

But there's something else that does break a sweat.

Your transaxle.

So, choose wisely when you need your rpms!

 

[Matt_S]

FWIW, my V6 (GM 3800) will do 30 mpg easily on the highway with all the low-end torque you'll ever need (200+ ft. lbs from 1000 rpm all the way to redline). I'd say that's much more useful for normal driving since you can enjoy the torque without beating the snot out of the car. Just my opinion.

 

[HOndaGuy]

Acura RSX or Subaru wrx(not the sti). Both are very reliable as long as you take good care of them.

 

[tec97]

quote:

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Originally posted by HOndaGuy:
Acura RSX or Subaru wrx(not the sti). Both are very reliable as long as you take good care of them.

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The WRX tranny will not tolerate much abuse tho. It's definitely not the tranny the 6-spd in the Sti is...

 

[Stooge]

I would have to interject that Honda makes some darn good MOTORCYCLE motors that are engineered/manufactured to "rev the snot" out of (call ringing its neck!). I would have to conclude that the "replaced" motors in the Acuras must be the ones not cared for in terms of good maintenance (regular oil changes). Reving an engine to its designed "Rev Limit" is totally acceptable, albeit less economical in terms of gas and wear.

 

[mikep]

You mentioned fuel economy and mpg on the RSX......one thing to consider is what type of fuel it requires. If I'm not mistaken the RSX (certainly the "s" model) requires premium fuel.
$2.00/gall vs. $1.60/gall in my neck of the woods. One big reason I took a pass on the SVT Focus.

Check out the Mazda 6i. It isn't quite as "high output" (160 hp, 2.3 ltr 16v, dohc, vvt) but then again it isn't as pricey as either the Suburu or Acura. It runs on 87 octane and is an absolute blast to drive while being a super comfy 4 door sports sedan.

 

[tec97]

quote:

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Originally posted by mikep:
You mentioned fuel economy and mpg on the RSX......one thing to consider is what type of fuel it requires. If I'm not mistaken the RSX (certainly the "s" model) requires premium fuel.
$2.00/gall vs. $1.60/gall in my neck of the woods. One big reason I took a pass on the SVT Focus.

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What's the rationalization for that difference? Typically, premium is .20 more a gallon than regular... From what I've seen, the 6 is a very nice car, even in 4 cylinder trim.

 

[Chris B.]

Buster, why not get an LS1 and have a car the will out perform them all? Pluse you can also jump on the "what is the best oil for an LS1" bandwagon!

J/K!