The smoothest most quiet engines

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All of the V12 engines will be the best because of the way they are balanced so equally they are extremely smooth. It's a natural bonus of having the opposing 6 cylinders on one crank.
 
If you can get the VVT system and injectors to be quiet then you can have a dead as a mouse quiet engine.

I find modern truck V8's to be smooth and even quiet with the stock exhaust.
 
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The BMW 3.0 I6 is certainly the smoothest engine that I've driven. I haven't found anything else smoother/quieter yet even in other I6's. It doesn't hurt that it also has great get up and go
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The inline Cast Iron 6's of the early 1950's were super smooth. Plus, iron is quieter than aluminum.

It wasn't just the luxury brands either ... I had a buddy who found and drove a 30K-mile '51 Chevy with a straight6. You could barely see it move under throttle in park, and it was solid at idle. Very quiet as well.

You could probably use any 1930's up straight6 or even straight8 motor as an example, although I don't have any experience with them. Maybe someone with Museum experience could address that.
 
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Originally Posted By: raytseng
Originally Posted By: 3800Series
A Prius, pretty quiet especially when its on the battery. Dead silent, doesn't feel right.


Technically a "motor" though and not an "engine", unless you're a redneck mechanic who likes to use motor when you mean engine?


LOL That brings back memories. In shop class you'd get an F if you referred to an engine as a motor. Motors run on electricity, engines run on gasoline or some other fuel.
 
Ah, the motor / engine word debate rears it's head. Since I wasn't certain, I checked it out.

Excerpts from thefreedictionary.com:

motor
n
1. (Automotive Engineering)
a. the engine, esp an internal-combustion engine, of a vehicle
b. (as modifier): a motor scooter.
2. (Electrical Engineering) Also called: electric motor a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy by means of the forces exerted on a current-carrying coil placed in a magnetic field
3. (Mechanical Engineering) any device that converts another form of energy into mechanical energy to produce motion

engine
n
1. (Mechanical Engineering) any machine designed to convert energy, esp heat energy, into mechanical work: a steam engine; a petrol engine.
2. (Railways)
a. a railway locomotive
b. (as modifier): the engine cab.

And then it occured to me, doesn't this very forum discuss "motor oil"?

I don't have too much experience with smooth running motors. The closest to a smooth and quiet engine I've had was the old Chrysler slant six motor. It was a fine engine.
 
Only one engine has stuck in my mind for years since i heard it. an old Jaguar V12.
I have owned BMW and MB V12 engines but they were nowhere near as silent as this one, even the starter had a unusual silent turbine like sound to it when cranking. It was eerily silent, almost indescribable.
 
Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
Ah, the motor / engine word debate rears it's head. Since I wasn't certain, I checked it out.

Excerpts from thefreedictionary.com:

motor
n
1. (Automotive Engineering)
a. the engine, esp an internal-combustion engine, of a vehicle
b. (as modifier): a motor scooter.
2. (Electrical Engineering) Also called: electric motor a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy by means of the forces exerted on a current-carrying coil placed in a magnetic field
3. (Mechanical Engineering) any device that converts another form of energy into mechanical energy to produce motion

engine
n
1. (Mechanical Engineering) any machine designed to convert energy, esp heat energy, into mechanical work: a steam engine; a petrol engine.
2. (Railways)
a. a railway locomotive
b. (as modifier): the engine cab.

And then it occured to me, doesn't this very forum discuss "motor oil"?

I don't have too much experience with smooth running motors. The closest to a smooth and quiet engine I've had was the old Chrysler slant six motor. It was a fine engine.



+1 interchangeable terms. A watch movement is sometimes also referred to as the engine.
In German the engine is always referred to as the motor.
 
Originally Posted By: raytseng
Originally Posted By: 3800Series
A Prius, pretty quiet especially when its on the battery. Dead silent, doesn't feel right.


Technically a "motor" though and not an "engine", unless you're a redneck mechanic who likes to use motor when you mean engine?


I never quite understood the difference between the 2. It sounds better to me to say it has the 6.0 engine (not motor) though, but we have terms such as motor oil, motor mount etc.
 
Slightly off-topic...but since it's already been discussed here...

The term "engine" was in use long before internal combustion. Catapults and other such war machines were often called "siege engines". "Engine" usually describes a mechanical device that converts one type of energy into another.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_engine

I don't think history is on the side of anyone who argues that there's no interchangeability between "engine" and "motor" when speaking of the automotive or related industries. Henry Ford didn't have any electric-powered Model Ts, but he appropriately named his company the Ford Motor Company. Cadillac is (or at least was) officially the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors. 4-wheeled horseless carriages were originally often referred to as motorcars, despite not being powered by electricity (and they were driven on motorways...and still are depending on your local dialect). Today, we all drive motorized vehicles, and most of them are fueled by gasoline.

We also have:

Toyota Motor Corporation
Honda Motor Company, Ltd.
Bavarian Motor Works (BMW)
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Tata Motors (owns Jag, among others)
Maxwell Motor Company (forerunner of Chrysler)

We talk about motor oil, but never dump any into an electric motor. You don't buy an outboard engine for your boat -- you buy an outboard motor...and fill it with gas!

I don't think anyone used/uses these terms out of ignorance, or did/does so to "dumb it down" for the masses. In fact, I believe we, today, make much more out of this than there really is.
 
Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
The Chrysler Turbine Car wins hands down. Watch it run with a glass of water on the engine>>

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/b2A5ijU3Ivs?t=16m30s[/video]


A Curtiss-Wright RC2-60 that we used for customer demonstrations at John Deere Rotary Engine Div in the late 80's. It was mounted on a cart with a small fuel tank and throttle control. We would start the engine and balance a nickle on edge with it running. Customers were always amazed.
 
Originally Posted By: Jordan_FX4
The BMW 3.0 I6 is certainly the smoothest engine that I've driven. I haven't found anything else smoother/quieter yet even in other I6's. It doesn't hurt that it also has great get up and go
grin.gif



This.
 
The 1st generation Lexus Coupe (1992 SC 300) had an inline 6 that was incredibly smooth IMO all the way up to 7000 RPM redline. Had a fuel cutoff that kicked in after that. Very impressive for back in the day. A well broken in small block Chevy can also be nice.
 
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