What would you say is the best engine ever that was in a production car/ truck as far as reliablity and performance?

i personally like ferraris 3.6L v-8. it produces 425hp from a n/a 3.6L (challenge stradale). and then the sound of that engine, it is so beautiful.

First my V8 is the bored out 396 the put in the Yenkos', the 427. Or for modern the LS1

But in my opinion the best is the Turbo 3800 Buick engine from 86-87. Sounds beautiful and runs like a raped ape.

i think the Nissan Skyline GTR engine the RB26DETT which makes 280bhp
(it makes more hp but the japanese government limits posting all cars horsepower to 280hp)
(which is measured to be around 340whp..look it up seriously)
it can handle up to 500hp with its internals and relibility intact.. and remember its a small 2.6 liter inline 6 guys..
also remember that in japan they limit posting more than 280hp for any car.. and for the supra we know its 320HP twin turbo because thats what it was in the US.. and for the skyline.. since its faster than the supra in a 1/4 im pretty sure its 340whp
its the supras 13.93
vs the skylines 12.90
and im not really sure.. but everyoen tells me that the all wheel drive system of the skyline transfers most of the power to the rear wheels when its actually in motion.. so then its like a rwd car sometimes rite?

how does 280bhp transfer to 340 wheel hp? :screwy: u never get more whp then bhp out of a car

how does 280bhp transfer to 340 wheel hp? :screwy: u never get more whp then bhp out of a car

hey do u know that in japan they limit posting the cars horsepower to 280bhp? now that you know that.. also know that the supra makes 320bhp but in japan they can only say 280hp.. now the skyline has a faster 1/4 mile so don't you think it would have more than 280hp which the japanese government limits them saying? since the skyline is faster than the supra.. dont you think its more than 320hp? so there u go.. i think if the skyline came out in another country it would be more than 340bhp because its not in japan anymore

i think ur the only guy in this whole website that doesn't know the japanese limit posting more than 280bhp

i didnt know that. but anyways, okay, the skyline is faster than the supra. that in all means doesnt mean that the skyline has more hp than the supra. there is many, many other factors into how fast a car goes. how the gears are geared, how light the car is, how wide the power band is, where do you get that maximum torque and horsepower at. the supra doesnt take off till bout 2nd or 3rd gear i have heard. so its top end is faster. im not disagreeing with the skyline having more hp than the supra, im just disagreeing with your reasoning on how you go to that result.

First my V8 is the bored out 396 the put in the Yenkos', the 427. Or for modern the LS1

But in my opinion the best is the Turbo 3800 Buick engine from 86-87. Sounds beautiful and runs like a raped ape.
mmmmm Grand National and Turbo 3800.../homer drool.

Ya I think the buick 3.8 definetly deserve mention as well as the toyota straight 6 (2.8,3.0).

dude i fukin knew about it already but wut im saying is that wheel hp is always less than bhp... so how do u get 320whp with a car with only 280bhp? if anything it has 320bhp and 280whp

a 1/4 time doesnt have everything to do with hp... ever seen one of those mini bikes that u look like a retard on cause there so frikin small?? you can soup those up to go 0 - 60 in 4 seconds... with something like 12hp...

well i call u bs now

http://www.jbskyline.net/R34/GTR/Specs/
http://www.skylinegtr.com/SPECS.html
http://www.engine-power.com/nissan/skyline_gtr_r34.html

http://toyota.jbroadtests.com/Supra/1995/index3.php
http://www.engine-power.com/toyota/supra_mk4tt.html
http://www.jspec-imports.com/Review-Supra.html

2 of them are the same pages... and the lowest 1/4 mile i have seen for the skyline is 13.5.... the supras was 13.1... were u look at that r-1 or something or did u just make those numbers up?? cause the r-1 will cost u a couple $10,000's more...

well i call u bs now

http://www.jbskyline.net/R34/GTR/Specs/
http://www.skylinegtr.com/SPECS.html
http://www.engine-power.com/nissan/skyline_gtr_r34.html

http://toyota.jbroadtests.com/Supra/1995/index3.php
http://www.engine-power.com/toyota/supra_mk4tt.html
http://www.jspec-imports.com/Review-Supra.html

2 of them are the same pages... and the lowest 1/4 mile i have seen for the skyline is 13.5.... the supras was 13.1... were u look at that r-1 or something or did u just make those numbers up?? cause the r-1 will cost u a couple $10,000's more...

i duno how they drove it but the skylines i know about get about 12.8 or 12.9 anyways ur a friggin idiot.. it even tells u the REAL horsepower of the skyline on the last skyline link u have.. and on one of the supra pages it says 13.5 for the 1/4 mile.. HOW IS THAT? MAYBE ITS THE DRIVER

and whats with you trying to prove me wrong? does it make u feel like a big man or what lay off already i have my own info.. i never knew anyone so friggin persistent on proving someone wrong ONLINE dam what a loser.. and if u have no life then reply to this

man nvm.. the skyline oen must be #2 i think the engine in the mclaren F1 is one of the best

1. maybe if u went into the website u could read the times
2. same websites, same drivers, skylines all have slower times
3. it only took me 2 minutes to find that information, if u were to just open up ur eyes a little bit you would see the truth... yes the skyline is fast, but it is also a 4 seater car, and its engine weighs a lot, plus the awd system weighs a lot but people think the skyline is all mighty superior... well its not
4. the last website says 280hp... i dont kno where in the hell ur gettin ur "the skyline must have 340whp"

i only replied cause i hate dicks like u who think that they kno everything about cars when they are very limited to their knowledge... why dont u go to another forum where there are a bunch of newbs and tell them pos info so u can make urself feel smart :flipa:

Yeah the 3.8 turbo is always slept on as well as the cars they put them in. Wickedly fast, reliable if you keep up on maintnence, and when modded... Hold the f*** on....

You both need to shut up. You're arguing about the performance of a car!! And a car neither of you probably will EVER own. Grow up, it's people like you two who act like little kids that make these harmless threads get closed.

1. maybe if u went into the website u could read the times
2. same websites, same drivers, skylines all have slower times
3. it only took me 2 minutes to find that information, if u were to just open up ur eyes a little bit you would see the truth... yes the skyline is fast, but it is also a 4 seater car, and its engine weighs a lot, plus the awd system weighs a lot but people think the skyline is all mighty superior... well its not
4. the last website says 280hp... i dont kno where in the hell ur gettin ur "the skyline must have 340whp"

i only replied cause i hate dicks like u who think that they kno everything about cars when they are very limited to their knowledge... why dont u go to another forum where there are a bunch of newbs and tell them pos info so u can make urself feel smart :flipa:

280 at 6800 (official) 327 at 6800 (real)
i meant the first link what does it say?? 327 is the REAL HORSEPOWER now think about how that works it syas 280 the "official" but then the japanese onyl let them put 280hp max the REAL HP is 327 do u get it yet? DO U GET IT? i said about 340 hp ok maybe its less then 320whp is still pretty close

and to the guy thats bagging on us both.. i duno why u aim so low.. im aiming high.. and it doesn't need to be now.. i can get the r34 in a few years when the price goes down and the new skyline comes out.. by that time it'l cost so lil to import an old skyline and make it ready for the us emissions.. even if i can't get it now i'll get it eventually..
the way u think you'll never get what u want..

i have to go with z28josh on you guys needing to calm down. you two disagree on something, or maybe its a misunderstanding. but there is no need to get up into each others face. af is a place to learn about cars, not make fun of somebody cuz have the wrong idea.

yes i know that there is a gov on it but do u know how much 340whp is? trust me it is not close to having 340whp

yes i know that there is a gov on it but do u know how much 340whp is? trust me it is not close to having 340whp

ok ok lets say around 290whp.. o yea i duno about the best engines.. i gotta ask u guys.. u know how there is always this ONE ENGINE that is used for a wide line of cars... examples would be..
the I4 cylinder engine that mitsubishi uses very often.. and i think they still used it
then the new v6 engine that all the v6 nissans use
the I4 that toyota used for all the older generation cars.. ae86/celica gt/mr2

well im jus sayin it isn't the power or technology of the engine.. it can also be the heritage.. like what the engine did for the company.. etc

Some of the best engines for power and performance are in motorcycles. Since the late 60's early '70's all 4 major Japanese bike makers were making overhead cam engines that put the iron lumps in cars completely to shame, until the last 10 years or so, in terms of output for displacement, weight, cost, technology, etc.

i would agree with you magicrat, but i think that it really isnt the engine that makes motorcycles oh so fast, i think it is the weight. all it is is an engine and two wheels.

but overall now days, cars are faster in the drag... im talking about the fastest of the fast 1/4 mile in 6's kind of drag racing, mainly because since motorcycles have 2 wheels they dont have as much traction off the line

The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 with the LS6 engine along with a Lingenfelter Performance Upgrade and you got 1,000 Horses to play with.

Enought to crush you back in your seat and push your eyes deep into your sockets.

well im jus sayin it isn't the power or technology of the engine.. it can also be the heritage.. like what the engine did for the company.. etc

That's deep.

i am partial to the 3.0 L Toyota V6 and the 4.7 L V8 for technology. Four valve per cylinder, variable valve timing and the 4.7 can hang with the American's 5.X L engines. In terms of heritage i would have to say one of the crappy little 4 bangers that came ashore after the muscle cars died out. They changed the cars everyone drives.

BMW E46
BMW V12 (McLaren F1)
And whatever there calling the V8 in the Ford GT

THe best engine I ever had was the 1.6L Ford Kent 4 banger that came in a 1980 German built Ford Fiesta. A liitle OHV design, with solid lifters, the thing had a 6 grand redline. With a fat Weber duece on it, a four tube extractor header, and Pacesetter low restriction exhaust, this little car would scoot to 60 in the 7 - 8 second range, and, hit 120 with no sweat. I ran the car to well over 100K and performance didn't drop one bit. Sold it because the Getrag 4 speed in it finally gave up the ghost.

My next favorite - The Jag 2.5L V6 - pulls like a gas turbine all the way to redline. Above 3 grand, the VVT spikes the torque curve and it scoots.

Third in line - The Oldsmobile Rocket 403 CID V-8 - smooth, torquey, and bulletproof.

Regards:
Oldengineer

Third in line - The Oldsmobile Rocket 403 CID V-8 - smooth, torquey, and bulletproof.

Regards:
Oldengineer


Your joking right? The olds 403 was a very good performing engine but as for being bullet proof, it was not. It suffered for extremely thin cylinder walls and widowed mains in the block. Olds did make some really great engines but the 403 was an example of a 70's area compermised smog engine

Nothing a good set of sleeves from your machine shop couldn't handle(regarding the thin cylinder walls)

Also you can have the machine shop convert the block to a 4bolt(not cheap)

you can make any engine bullet proof with the right amount of money. It really wasn't the engines that suffered the most, it was mostly the feeble attempts at emissions..(the shitty carbs, and the bringing about of at the time a worthless converter) Carbs just can't meet emissions and the pieces of shit they made *cough* quadrajet quadracrap *cough* weren't worth a damn.

what about the 4G63? i've heard it can handle around 400 hp on stock internals, and it's only a 2 liter 4 banger...

Your joking right? The olds 403 was a very good performing engine but as for being bullet proof, it was not. It suffered for extremely thin cylinder walls and widowed mains in the block. Olds did make some really great engines but the 403 was an example of a 70's area compermised smog engine

I special ordered this engine in a 1977 Olds 9 passenger wagon, along with F-41 suspension, Posi, heavy duty rims and tires, turbo 350. Soon as it went out of warranty, the entire exhaust system was replaced with low restriction stuff and the converter was removed. Never had any problem with it, and, it was a real sleeper. The engine ran much smoother at high speeds that the previous Olds 400 and 350 that I'd owned in a 442 and Cutlass. As a plus it was almost as quick as the 69 Olds 442 I had with the 325HP 400.

By the way, my 4th favorite engine was a Buick 3.8 in a 1975 Olds Starfire. This little car ran great, even hampered by the lousy Rochester deuce that was on it. Over 80, accerleration fell off a good bit. The car was still running OK at over 200,000 when it was hit and totalled.

Regards:
Oldengineer

Oh Dear Gawd! I am AMAZED that I have to even mention the 426 Hemi!!

over 500HP from the factory, capable of over 800HP on engine alone, and kept streetable!! You're squwabbling over 300HP 6'rs and all the while the Mighty Elephant still reigns supreme as THE greatest engine of automotive history!!???

For shame.

2jz(supra)
rb26(skyline)
and what he said^^ because i see these cars with so much hp and what they can handle with stock internals

Nothing a good set of sleeves from your machine shop couldn't handle(regarding the thin cylinder walls)

Also you can have the machine shop convert the block to a 4bolt(not cheap)

you can make any engine bullet proof with the right amount of money. It really wasn't the engines that suffered the most, it was mostly the feeble attempts at emissions..(the shitty carbs, and the bringing about of at the time a worthless converter) Carbs just can't meet emissions and the pieces of shit they made *cough* quadrajet quadracrap *cough* weren't worth a damn.


z28josh how do you intend to fix the widowed mains? Also I will point out that sleeves are not really a fix for thin cylinder walls.

This one is a hard one. Overall reliability, performance and ability to get hit with a bomb and still work...

That's a toughy. When it comes to the durability of the motor, you can take most engines nowadays and shove it, aluminum has crap for durability compared to cast iron. If you build an older engine with newer tech, it'll take a much bigger beating than any new motor.

So lets go with older engines on that score. Reliability, well in the 70'2 and early-mid eighties, forget about American cars in this department.

I'd go with a GM performance big block, (like the LS6 from the 70 Chevelle). They came with a rated 450 HP, all forged internals and TRW pistons, the block and heads were still cast iron rectangular port heads, so no aluminum bullshit. They could last for a long time with that much power, over 150,000 no problem. So I'd go with them.

:worshippy Toyota 7A-FE!!! :worshippy
hey...for a new engine, it never dies

heh...foreign power for under $100000: 2JZ-GTE (Toyota), R13 (Mazda)
R13 obviously isn't the most reliable motor out there but hey...it can still kick some ass

as far as the American power goes, just look to the pre-catalytic converter days.

Nissan's VG and VQ engine series...most cars that have these engines last over 100,000 miles...My maxima has a VG and it has over 106,000 miles on it and it still runs strong!

The vg and the ve engines are far from what I would call good engines. The ve has cronic vct (variable cam timing) problems and are very expencive to repair to I might add. Both the ve and the vg also has cronic fuel injecter problems.

100000 miles is nothing for a foreign car. 5 or 6 of my close friends have Toyotas with over 200000 miles and they're still fine. my 93 Corolla has 100000 and i'm expecting it to last at least 7 or 8 more years (assuming there's no wrecks or anything). i'm basicly saying 100000 for an engine is pretty shitty

as far as the American power goes, just look to the pre-catalytic converter days.

lol...fool

GM:
LS6
LS1
LT1
Turbo/Supercharged 3.8 litre

Ford:
4.6 litre, recent GT model mustangs
Supercharged 5.4 litre, New Ford GT
New mustang engine with 300 HP(about time)

Dodge:
V10 Viper Engine
5.7 hemi/non hemi
3.0
2.5

Just to name a few from each manufacturer. LOL...Look pre cat days :rolleyes: ...lol

did anyone mention the good ol' chevy 350??? one of the most reliable,cheapest, and easiest to mod engines made.

amen to that

did anyone mention the good ol' chevy 350??? one of the most reliable,cheapest, and easiest to mod engines made.

You know, I probably should have said that one. My friend Kevin had a 75 3/4 ton chevy that had been brutalized all its life and had 290,000 (I'm not kidding, yes it did and yes it was original) when he got it. Leave it to him to kill a motor, but it lasted until 315,000 when two cam lobes ground off. But get this, even though two exhaust lobes were ground down, that truck still managed to haul a trailer with TWO honda cvcc's on it, almost 40 miles. Now THAT was a tough engine. You have a point chevydrummer76, all hail the chevy 350, it gives the most power and reliability for the dollar spent.

Rb26dett ^_^

O would say either the 5.7L V10 from the Porsche Carrera GT or the 6.0L V12 of the Aston Martin(both the DB9 and the Vanquish)

i didnt know that. but anyways, okay, the skyline is faster than the supra. that in all means doesnt mean that the skyline has more hp than the supra. there is many, many other factors into how fast a car goes. how the gears are geared, how light the car is, how wide the power band is, where do you get that maximum torque and horsepower at. the supra doesnt take off till bout 2nd or 3rd gear i have heard. so its top end is faster. im not disagreeing with the skyline having more hp than the supra, im just disagreeing with your reasoning on how you go to that result.

Woooah that's thinkin logically. Careful Freak. You're one of the few logical people here man.

Hard to pick just one, I like the 350 Chevy, 302 Ford and absolutely love the 426 Hemi. The Toyota and Nissan 6s mentioned above are great as well. Obviously we need more Europeans here, nobody has mentioned the Y block Cosworth 2.0 four. I've seen it make 600-800 reliable street HP before from 4 cylinders. Ricers get all excited about the VTEC but I'd take a Cosworth 4 anyday.

Ford 427!!! either the side oiler high riser ( in the GT40's that won Le Mans for 4 consecutive years and put the cars over 220) or the Ford 427 SOHC. The SOHC was also referred to as the "CAMMER" and produced around I believe either 650 or 700hp. A very unique engine and very rare. But both were high HP engines, and as far as reliability goes I know for a fact that the side oiler was very reliable, but I don't know much about the SOHC.

Well it had to be reliable, it was meant to be in the endurance races.

Rb26dett!!!!!

Rb26dett!!!!!


Which is? (Isn't that the controversial abortion pill?)

partial to the 400 horse M5 motor myself.

Nissan's VQ series. 'Nuff said.

Nissan's VQ series. 'Nuff said.


Ah come on I'm pretty sure more can be said.

Ah come on I'm pretty sure more can be said.
VQ ownz joo!! :icon16:

VQ ownz joo!! :icon16:

Oh OK here we go with the ons thing again! Looks like xXXRYCE ROCKETXXx and Kikapoo (or what ever the heel his name is) have a new friend. Oh yeah and since I'm not that familiar with Japanese engine number codes I take it that's the engine from the Skyline? or 240SX?

Oh OK here we go with the ons thing again! Looks like xXXRYCE ROCKETXXx and Kikapoo (or what ever the heel his name is) have a new friend. Oh yeah and since I'm not that familiar with Japanese engine number codes I take it that's the engine from the Skyline? or 240SX?
No.....I'm about as far from a rice-boy as you can be. :lol2:

The VQ series is the engine in the Maxima, 350Z, Altima 3.5SE, G35 coupe and sedan, pathfinder, I35, Q45, and murano.

The most versatile, reliable, and surprisingly performing V-6 ever mass-produced.

No.....I'm about as far from a rice-boy as you can be. :lol2:

The VQ series is the engine in the Maxima, 350Z, Altima 3.5SE, G35 coupe and sedan, pathfinder, I35, Q45, and murano.

The most versatile, reliable, and surprisingly performing V-6 ever mass-produced.

Buick 3.8

I'd take one over a VQ any day, I've never heard of reliability issues and they can provide power when you want it. Much more common too.

Buick 3.8

I'd take one over a VQ any day, I've never heard of reliability issues and they can provide power when you want it. Much more common too.
My brother had an Oldsmobile with the 3.8. It was a good motor, but defnitely not the performer compared to the VQ or as reliable as the VQ.

My brother had an Oldsmobile with the 3.8. It was a good motor, but defnitely not the performer compared to the VQ or as reliable as the VQ.

Parts availability? Price? Easy to work on? Compatibility? That stuff matters too you know, not just, 'it makes a lot of power for its size!'

Of course, the parts availability and price depend on where you live, in Japan a 3.8 would cost more of course...

ya I have to agree the buick v6 is one of the finest engines made today. It can make huge amounts of power and is dead reliable and physically quiet small

3800 series one engine is hands down the best engine ever made. Reliable,had decent torque, and even got pretty good economy. The series 2 engines leak at lower mileages, but they are still definately great engines, also have more recalls than anything else. The series 3's haven't been out long enough to tell.

I wouldn't say hands down. The VQ will have something to say about that before it is done.

:smile:

Can we include the engine sound in this thread? If yes, the Enzo Ferrari, the Porsche Carrera GT, the Aston Vanquish, and the Aston DB9 would be my picks and I would say that the Carrera GT is my favorite one in the crowd...Yes! That engine sounds great, hence it is very efficient performance-wise...

Eh, the problem with engine "sound" is that it really isnt 'engine sound', its exhaust sound, which can be widely varied depending on any one part of the exhaust. A Chevrolet caprice 350 engine sounds like nothing, but the same 350 engine with an exhaust off a camaro/firebird? now thats another story.

Gm 350 V8

Ford 427!!! either the side oiler high riser ( in the GT40's that won Le Mans for 4 consecutive years and put the cars over 220) or the Ford 427 SOHC. The SOHC was also referred to as the "CAMMER" and produced around I believe either 650 or 700hp. A very unique engine and very rare. But both were high HP engines, and as far as reliability goes I know for a fact that the side oiler was very reliable, but I don't know much about the SOHC.

Thank you for mentioning the 427. I was reading through and each page I passed I thought "how can it not be mentioned yet...".
Anyways, seeing as the 427 has been mentioned, two of my favorite engines of all time have not.
#1: 427 SOHC
#2: Mustang Cobra 4.6L Modular
http://mysticcobra.net/96info.shtml
Just read that.
#3: Ford 351c "Cleveland" series motors. The 351c 4v heads graced the top of the fierce Boss 302, and the motor can be found in both the Boss 351s, Mach 1s, and any Mustang from '70-'74, as well as torinos, rancheros, etc. It was a motor that was killed by smog regulations, probably because Ford already had the windsor series to detune, there was no point in detuning the performance designed cleveland. For such a short run of engines(first production year 1970, last production year 1974), the 351c based motor has one the most competitions of ANY Ford motor, as claimed by Ford. It is the winningest Ford motor of all time! And to a Ford fan(me), that means somethin. I got one in my Mustang, so I'm biased, but I think its a great motor. Most of its 'weaknesses' are just myths(ie oiling system, extremely weak, etc). The 4bbls are a bit too big for low end torque, but thats what we have the 2bbls for!