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I’d like to know if the best engines to work on as a tech are also the best to drive?
I have limited experience working on engines but my favourite was an Opel/GM corsa 1.6 turbo full engine rebuid. It was compact, well laid out, sensible and easy to source parts for. However, it was a rough engine even when running well, loads of torque and turbo lag, so unpredictable power delivery. Worst engine I’ve worked on has to be an Audi A4, just so cramped and overly complex.
Best engine i’ve driven is the K20A Honda Type-R 2 litre DOHC i-VTEC. Bit of a mouthful to say but what a great engine. Revs to 8200rpm and can be unlimited to 9000rpm no bother at all. Loads of power high up the rev range so cornering is fast as there is less torque at lower revs then the bhp pulls you out of the bend. I’ve surprised many bigger and so called faster cars in my Type-R at track days. The official 0-62mph time I acheived from my quarter mile was 6.3 seconds. in a car than weighs 1300kg that is impressive. Eric introduced me to VTEC so I blame him for acting like a big kid and dropping gears to hear that “swarm of angry wasps” sound.
So is it a turbo, supercharger, petrol, diesel, hybrid, V6, V8, V10, V12, motorbike? To work on or drive or both? I think the answers will be very different depending on whoch country you are from…could be interesting, especially if Eric lets us know his favourite toys 🙂
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I’m going to be honest, the ‘joy’ of working on engines kind of goes away after you work as a professional technician. As a result I really don’t have a desire to do anything beyond maintenance and repair these days. I might get into a ‘project car’ at some point but to be honest I’d rather fatten out my retirement fund. Cars that are ‘toys’ get to be expensive real quick and you never get done spending money on them. What I like these days is to make my videos and the joy that I get in helping someone overcome a repair obstacle. As for working on engines, I just don’t do that for fun anymore. It’s for that reason that I don’t have a direct answer to your question because to me, they’ve become all the same pretty much.
That’s totally understandable Eric although I do detect a respect for Honda engines from you, even if subtle at times. Teaching is so rewarding in any form and I think the way you have combined your camera skills, directing and profession is really clever. There are a lot of automotive channels online now but there are only 2 that really bring me back time and time again. You and Scotty Kilmer have structure to your shows, every episode. Despite you having worked on cars professionally you still portray that excitement and keeness at times that most novices or hobby mechanics get. The other thing that gets me is that you both don’t take things too seriously when it comes to criticism, you say it how it is. It’d be nice for a car to make you feel good one day in your retirement given all the machines you will have sorted out by then.
none of the engines today are ANY GOOD BUT the best for me is the jeep 4.0 inline six then going back some years chevy 283/327 then chrysler 361/383/440 Ford 288 and 351 The worst out there right now is the V6 3.0 in the ford edge For me a over head cam with a timing belt has NEVER been any good yet today almost all cars have a timing belt This is why todays cars are JUNK They do not want then to last to long
I don’t think you can class all modern engines as Junk Stingray. Sure a lot of them are quite fragile and don’t last but there are still certain quality makes out there regardless of if they are belt or chain driven. The VW 3.2 V6 4 motion in the Golf R32 is an amazing powerplant and drivetrain, The Honda VTEC range have an astounding record for reliability, just watch that oil level. Most of the problems I have seen have been on modern turbo driven cars both petrol and diesel models. Small engines with fairly high boost pressures, poor quality pistons, not warmed up properly or cooled down by owner. Ford have their 1 litre 3cylinder turbo fiesta on sale here in uk now….over 100HP and good MPG but how long is that little lump gonna last under those stresses? The only turbos I have seen last a long time and retain their reliability are Subarus. The new subarus are watered down versions and all to comply with emmisions…that growling engine in the STI will be a classic one day.
I think gone are the days of the NA immediate throttle response it’s turbo lag all the way now..I will be taking good care of my Honda CTR and with the known reliability of the VTEC engine it Ill have a smile on my face for quite a while.
:cheer:My favorite engine to work on was a 1940s era Chrysler industrial flat head straight six. In 1982 I was working at an aircraft hangar in Chino CA as a parts/gopher/janitor/helper. There was an old aircraft tug that had a seized engine the boss had procured a second engine of unknown condition but better than the seized one. I spent two weeks tearing into these two engines hand lapping valves and honing cylinders. I had great help whenever I had a question. I was surrounded by gearhead aircraft mechanics that were rebuilding/servicing P51 Mustangs for the Reno air races. I guess with that learning environment, any engine would have become my favorite. I installed that engine back into the tug and gave it some fresh leaded regular and it ran perfectly. That is an engine giving back some lovin!
I moved on to the HVAC trades but that ‘schooling’ I received from that old industrial workhorse has lasted me a lifetime.
There are so many ways to take that questuin, fro best I might say the 2.3 fors that was in the 70’s bobcat right up to the early 2000’s tempo and topaz, great engine for long life and punishment. My favorite to work on is a small block chevy, so easy and clear cut, used from 1954 to current day.
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