What's your favourite engine.... configuration?

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I love the sound of a number of V8's, particularly the Ford Windsor and Modular engines. Not a fan of the blatty (low power density) SBC's, but a built one making lots of snot sounds decent enough. A BBC sounds great, just like a BBF
smile.gif


I think the BMW V8 sounds pretty cool too! So does the V10.
 
I like I6s and V8s. I6 engines are good for producing torque and tend to have great longevity, be it a Ford, GM, Toyota, BMW, etc. I love the sound and instant power a V8 can deliver. I have more fun driving a V8 2WD pickup than anything else.
 
I'm with you. While I can appreciate the economy, I sort of dislike 4 cylinders and don't understand why someone would like an engine that is inherently unbalanced and has a relatively less smooth power deliver. An engine has to have at least 6 cylinders before I like it. V8 at the top with V12, V6, L6 and maybe the opposed or boxer 6 are the ones I like. I don't like an engine that vibrates or an exhaust sound that is odd and noisy. I like a smooth reving, power delivering engine.
 
I love the sound of a SBC and all the classic American V8s which most of them sound somewhat similar I think. I like the smoother sound of a Windsor or GM LS just as much or more though.
 
I really like inline engines. drove inline sixes most of my life but now have a 4 banger and love it--especially the fuel mileage.
 
A few Honda picks for me:

Honda's F22C1 is awesome and was way ahead of its time. My S2000 is intoxicating to drive thanks to it.

The K24Z3 I4 in my TSX is potent, smooth, and efficient.

The J30 V6 in my former Accord V6 6MT was as smooth as silk and pulled like a beast.
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I like the way tastes vary. Several people have mentioned loving inline-4's, which are absolutely neither good nor bad for me. I don't like the vibration without balance shafts, but they are very practical.




Big time! It's amazing to see the preferential variance.

Some people like the super common stuff (V8, I4) and some people like the odd stuff, the diesel stuff, the 2-stroke, the supercar stuff, the experimental... pretty much covered everything

I'm gonna find a few minutes and give the various links a listen
 
Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Triples.



Funny how the 2stroke triples sound more like an I6 (barring the scavenging exhaust note). Very cool on a bike

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: bama7x57
The V-16 cadillac of the 30's were pretty cool.
I've only seen one.


You know Caddy built TWO completely different V16s back then, right? One was a narrow-V pushrod design (45-degree?):

1931-cadillac-v-16-eng2.jpg


The other was a wide-V (135 degree) flathead. The flathead was the later and more powerful of the two, ironically. Link to image here, can't embed:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=759128&d=1253085814

Note that unlike Ford flatheads, the exhaust ports are on top of the engine and thus very near the exhaust valve, avoiding the Ford problem of a long exhaust passage through the block that rejects a ton of heat (unnecessarily) to the coolant.



Ah V16- bet it pulls like a 'locomotive' :P
Cool thing about 12cylinders and above is that the starter motors don't "jitter" from compression resistance, bc there's that much cylinders! Smoooth



Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
http://atomictoasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/deltic_animation.gif

An actual Deltic diesel cutaway:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Napier_Deltic_Engine.jpg

And ohmigod, the SOUND of a Deltic:

http://www.myspace.com/video/sparkypete/napier-deltic/46840284

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtv0s1JQ0D4&feature=endscreen&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBkQQftn-AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzmz3ZqQIS8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_Kh0o3sPoY


Would you believe I've never heard of the Deltic engine until I read this? never seen an opposed cylinder engine in action ...Strange and thus AWESOME.

Originally Posted By: bar1
I like the third harmonics dominated sound that is common with I5 and V10 engines


nail'd it! That is precisely why they're so "endearing" to me. It almost seems more natural too, 5 fingers, 5 toes, 5 cylinders :p

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
I love the sound of a number of V8's, particularly the Ford Windsor and Modular engines. Not a fan of the blatty (low power density) SBC's, but a built one making lots of snot sounds decent enough. A BBC sounds great, just like a BBF
smile.gif


I think the BMW V8 sounds pretty cool too! So does the V10.


+1. As for V8's, the SBChevy's (brace yourselves) are overrated!!
Don't have a lot of experience with the Fords, the Windsor is a nice one. The modular is quite smooth, you can barely hear then running from the back of a cruiser
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I'm kinda partial to the BOPs just because they're sort of forgotten, and they have nice long strokes, longer than comparable SBChevys with their huge bores, particularly a Pontiac 421 SuperDuty. Longer strokes and 2 valve designs go well together IMO. Torque beast!

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum

Some people love flat-crank v8s and V10s... neither of which sound at all pleasing to my ear. The mismatched overtone form combining the two firing intervals on a V10 particularly sounds wrong to me.

And whoever it was who loved Detroit Diesel 2-strokes.... those used to be fingernails on the chalkboard and vinegar on a paper cut to me when they were really common. The sound would give me a headache in 2 minutes flat (probably from the months spent on older research ships where there were several running constantly 24/7). But now that they're getting to be somewhat rare, its kinda nostalgic when I hear that blood curdling scream they make. And its a bonus if they do the old "Detroit surge" at idle. ;-)


Yup, know where you're coming from. Some people like the lumpy chut chut, which may be appropriate sometimes, and some of us like even firing orders.

Have we failed to mention any engine so far?
lol.gif
 
After attending the NASCAR race at Talladega yesterday there's nothing that sounds like a V8. Especially 43 of them barreling off into turn 1. Incredible!!!
 
I love threads like this. I like a variety of engine configurations. Although I don't have much varied experience I suppose the configs I like best are those I have owned or used. In most cases I think this is because I've gravitated towards vehicles with engines that were interesting to me, not the other way around.

- I like longitudinal setups over transverse ones because they have better symmetry and (in most cases anyway) spread the powertrain mass better throughout the vehicle.
- I like inline engines for their simpler layout.
- I like I6s for their balance and relative uniqueness (these days).
- I like I5s for their relative uniqueness. The 2.4L in my wife's old Volvo 850 had a decent sound too.
- I like boxer engines for their relative uniqueness, compact (low CoG) design, and well balanced nature. And efficiency be [censored], I like the sound of one with unequal length exhaust headers!
- I like the sound of V8s in general, although the only one I've had (the 454 in our Suburban) doesn't sound that great IMO.
- I like the sound of a turbo spooling as well, although sometimes it's a shame that it dampens the exhaust noise.

Nothing against V6s, though they're not my favorite so far, and same goes for VR and W engines, with which I have no experience.

I think in theory I tend to be in favor of larger, less stressed engines over smaller/more stressed (and turbo) although I have always owned/daily driven the latter for one reason or another and liked them anyway. I do like running up to redline so maybe it turns out I actually prefer engines that provide more of an excuse for that.
 
Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
The W12 engines in the A8s and Phaetons are pretty cool, as are the W16s in the Bugatti.


They couldn't give these away when new (Who would you get to even service, much less work on one and where: is having your Pheaton/Bugatti $hipped to ? an option?) and had much less than average resale values.

Unless one now accepts the premise that a 60% resale value after three years is "impressive"... SEE the following quote for a 2012 Civic Si:

Motor Trend, June, 2013, pg. 130, regarding the anticipated 3-Year Residual Value as per the Automotive Lease Guide Data

"This (the interior was like new after 12 months and 23K miles), combined with an impressive residual value of over 60%, should make the 2012 model an attractive used car..."

Utter idiocy, but what can one expect of the used car market today?

Cheers!

p.s. I always considered the FLAT6 as a great configuration, as in Tucker, Porsche, Subaru, Honda. So are the Allison V12, the Merlin and the Packard V-1650-7.

Good Luck getting someone to service them, though!
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
I really like this thread, because I LOVE all the strange ways that engines have been built over the years. From the moderately odd like the VW VR-x designs, to pretty radical like the geared twin-crank Napier Sabre, to the flat out insane designs like the opposed-piston, two-stroke, 3-cranshaft Napier Deltic (possibly the coolest reciprocating engine ever built by anyone anywhere)...

Animated conceptual slice through a Deltic:

http://atomictoasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/deltic_animation.gif

An actual Deltic diesel cutaway:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Napier_Deltic_Engine.jpg

And ohmigod, the SOUND of a Deltic:

http://www.myspace.com/video/sparkypete/napier-deltic/46840284

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtv0s1JQ0D4&feature=endscreen&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBkQQftn-AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzmz3ZqQIS8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_Kh0o3sPoY



I find both the sabre and the deltic fascinating. I have a cut-away line drawing of the sabre on the wall in my office. As if it were not complex enough, it has sleeve valves too.
 
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Designed the 4-stroke "Otto-cycle" gasoline engine?

V-Twin and V8 for me. Torque monsters in their respective applications and love the sound of both. A V8 motorcycle would be impressive too, if one was made.

Not really a fan of the high-rev screamers.
 
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