Can anyone tell me why there is no company making pushrod 4's or V6's? I ask for these reasons:
1. GM's LS/Vortec series of V8's are competitive with OHC and DOHC V8's of competitors.
2. Pushrod engines make more torque lower in the rpm range where MOST American drivers drive their vehicles.
3. Pushrod engines are more compact which leads to lower hood lines and most likely better aerodynamics.
4. Pushrod engines are simpler in design and don't have rubber timing belts or looong timing chains.
5. There is a privately made LS 4 cylinder racing engine that is basically half an LS V8 that is dominating right now.
6. Ford replaced the OHC V10 with a new pushrod engine.
Supposedly DOHC and OHC engines are more efficient or economical but by how much? The old GM pushrod motors were generally crap due to GM's cost cutting and shoddy engineering(like Dexcool eating pushrod V6 intake manifold sealant and causing coolant to get into crankcase) but the 3800 series of engines are famous for lasting 200-400K miles without issues. Heck, the old 2800/3100/3500 V6's were known to have racked up 300K plus mileage if the owner was lucky and stayed on top of maintenance.
It just seems to me that pushrod engines have more upsides than downsides compared to OHC engines. Any engineers or anyone with "the knowledge" that could shed some light on this mystery?
1. GM's LS/Vortec series of V8's are competitive with OHC and DOHC V8's of competitors.
2. Pushrod engines make more torque lower in the rpm range where MOST American drivers drive their vehicles.
3. Pushrod engines are more compact which leads to lower hood lines and most likely better aerodynamics.
4. Pushrod engines are simpler in design and don't have rubber timing belts or looong timing chains.
5. There is a privately made LS 4 cylinder racing engine that is basically half an LS V8 that is dominating right now.
6. Ford replaced the OHC V10 with a new pushrod engine.
Supposedly DOHC and OHC engines are more efficient or economical but by how much? The old GM pushrod motors were generally crap due to GM's cost cutting and shoddy engineering(like Dexcool eating pushrod V6 intake manifold sealant and causing coolant to get into crankcase) but the 3800 series of engines are famous for lasting 200-400K miles without issues. Heck, the old 2800/3100/3500 V6's were known to have racked up 300K plus mileage if the owner was lucky and stayed on top of maintenance.
It just seems to me that pushrod engines have more upsides than downsides compared to OHC engines. Any engineers or anyone with "the knowledge" that could shed some light on this mystery?