greatest engine/engines ever built.

johndaman66

I'm peeved of with this thread. It has almost become a hitler like dictatorship at this stage with one shouting down the opinions and points of view of others in order to justify their own choices...choices which can't necessairly be justified based on their own criteria in the first instance. Also, and as another poster pointed out what if your choice is not on the list, like how were nominations made in the first place....A number of contenders were pointed out in the thread which are not appearing on the list.

For example are there any engine on the list which brought cheap, relaible and affordable motoring to the masses. If any and at a serious push the VAG 1.9/ 2.0 tdi you might argue (although having said that I feel its an argument you might loose probably and feel there are other engines a lot more worthy of that title).

maidhc

I know plenty about cars, but absolutely nothing about the engines on your list except for the VAG 1.9. I have never owned a VAG car, but I echo comments about how far ahead it was of the competition in the Audi 80:

• BMW had the indirect injection 325tds (and developed the miserable 318tds to compete). This was far more expensive to buy tax and run without a massive gain in power
  
• Ford had the 1.8td, which gave far poorer MPG and was no where near as drivable. I know because i still have one.
  
• Opel had a 1.7 Isuzu unit, which I know little about but was generally unloved
  
• PSA had decent engines but were still indirect injection and thirstier.
  
• Mercedes had no turbocharged diesel engines in RHD until the w210
  
• Toyota and Nissan still had 2.0 NA racing elephants powering their cars.....

So please judge the VAG in light of the facts.

I think the Rover V8 is the definitive engine though.

gally

Helmut Fath from Ursenbach in Germany designed a four cylinder DOHC engine with which he won the 500cc World sidecar Championship in 1969.He had previously raced solo motorcycles and lost a leg in an accident and turned to sidecars.He first won the sidecar championship in 1960.
A wonderful engineer who was also a master at tuning two srtoke engines,for me his achievements stirred my love of motorcycles and racing in the 1960s.

gyppo

I can't believe that the mercedes diesel engine that powered W123 taxi's to intergalactic milages is not on the list. Surely this engine is an icon in terms of longevity?

dr.fuzzenstein

Ford V8 and also the humble Ford diesel Duratorq, both been going for-bloody-ever.

mercedeslimos

meathstevie wrote: »

Used in planes ( Spitfire, Lancaster bomber etc etc ) boats and tanks and probably the odd concept car. A 20th century legend beyond a shadow of doubt.

Best automotive engines; not the exotic out of reach for mere mortals stuff; but real day to day engines; has to be the VW 1.9 TDI followed by the old VW 1.6 Diesel, a few million motorists worldwide can't be wrong. Reliable, easy on fuel and at least 250k miles in them when serviced properly.

i have a passat with the 1.9tdi, 220k and still going, and fast, reliable, very economical and cheap to fix. and have a jetta with he old 1.6d too. 198k and runs as well as the day she drove out of the showroom 25 years ago.

mercedeslimos

wildefalcon wrote: »

Shoulda read the whole thread. D'oh!

Awesome engine - the engine that saved the world from Hitler.

thank you! shows what people can do if they put their minds to it!

if i had a choice of petrol over diesel i'd have petrol for my fun cars and diesel for my workhorses! and thats what i do. i have a mark 2 golf gti with a 1997cc gti engineering engine in it making 168bhp. a 1994 golf 1.4 that's been tweaked to make 76bhp but stripped and caged etc. a diesel rover 220 with hybrid turbo, injectors, intercooler and veg oil making approx 125-130 and 60mpg! mk2 jetta '86 1.6d and my workhorse passat wagon, 220k 1998 wagon, still on orig turbo, clutch, DMF, the lot.

so naysayers the VAG engine is popular also because its tunable! there's people constantly making high power yokes. crowd in holland do a 305bhp conversion on a 130pd tdi.....:D

ianobrien

The greatest engine for me goes to the Ford Kent engine. It was introduced in the Anglia in 1959 and was one of the first "oversquare" engines mass produced. The reason for the oversquare was to allow the engine to rev for the new fangled UK motorways.

As a result of the basic design, soon it was pushing 115 hp/litter from the 8 valve head thanks to Cosworth.

Cosworth turned a larger capacity Kent into the BDA and eventually over 800hp was massaged from the block.

In terms of road cars, the Kent (and others evolved from the basic design) powered the Anglia, Cortina, Escort, Fiesta and Ka in Europe. It's still being used in South Africa and South America.

Also, Ford has just started manufacturing Kent Crossflow blocks (last built in the early '80's) so the popularity of the engine is not in doubt.

Others in with Honourable Mentions are the SBF, Chevy 5.7, VAG 1.9 diesel, Honda B16, etc

The Supercar engines really never push technology. They throw capacity and turbos at the problem. Bugatti should be getting 1500hp plus from the 16 cylinder engine!

coolbeans

A frankly ridiculous thread fail. The reason that the 1.9TDI has done so well is because it's the only one that most posters will have any experience of given it's ubiquity across the VAG group. You'll probably retort that that is a reason for it's greatness but popularity and greatness are far from the same thing. Westlife and X-Factor are popular but they're also ****e. I'm not saying the TDI is ****e but it's far from great. I wouldn't be bothered with high powered BMW diesels either; they're probably the most fragile in the industry after 90k miles.
I'd think some of the Honda VTECs and perhaps the PSA XUD engines are worthy of greatness but it really is a very subjective assessment unless solid criteria are laid out. They haven't been.

alias no.9

Why do people think 200k or even 300k is a remarkable achievement? It should be bread and butter for any engine where the oil and coolant are looked after, and there's a little bit of mechanical sympathy. Most cars that are scrapped are perfectly serviceable, they just need some pricier servicing, parts and/or labour. With the way second hand values are, a car could be an economic write off for the want of a timing belt, so some people drive them till they eventually go, then scrap them.

Eric Cartman

the 3.1 isuzu out of the old old trooper , they still use them to power boats and all in thailand ridiculously bulletproof

bmw535d

Eric Cartman wrote: »

the 3.1 isuzu out of the old old trooper , they still use them to power boats and all in thailand ridiculously bulletproof

the 3.0 trooper engine did a lot of harm the the troopers bullet proof image.