What is the "best" 4 cylinder engine ever made?
Discussion
For me the top 5 places would all be occupied by Honda engines. K20A, F20C, B18C, B16B, B16A.
Tunability, well the K series are getting over 400whp naturally aspirated in the US, I've seen s2000's hitting in the 650whp boosted with a totally stock unopened engine.....the one I'm thinking of had 124k miles on it at the time aswell IIRC. Standard Honda exhausts can take away from the noise but with the right exhaust I don't think anything sounds better than a VTEC at 9000 rpm. Also very reliable, easy to work on, and due to the low cam being in operation most of the time better on fuel than anything of the same age and size.
It's a shame they span the wrong way until the K20, otherwise I think they would be the default engines in most kit cars, although they are getting more popular now.
YB cosworths, Vauxhall red tops, SR20's etc aren't even in the same league of engineering brilliance.
Tunability, well the K series are getting over 400whp naturally aspirated in the US, I've seen s2000's hitting in the 650whp boosted with a totally stock unopened engine.....the one I'm thinking of had 124k miles on it at the time aswell IIRC. Standard Honda exhausts can take away from the noise but with the right exhaust I don't think anything sounds better than a VTEC at 9000 rpm. Also very reliable, easy to work on, and due to the low cam being in operation most of the time better on fuel than anything of the same age and size.
It's a shame they span the wrong way until the K20, otherwise I think they would be the default engines in most kit cars, although they are getting more popular now.
YB cosworths, Vauxhall red tops, SR20's etc aren't even in the same league of engineering brilliance.
Boosted LS1 said:
lucido grigio said:
untakenname said:
Saab B2XXX model range as they were so over enginneered.
Except the chocolate timing chains.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKE3aLLD3HM
https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hsx/2009/10/Run-...
Edited by Boosted LS1 on Monday 27th March 19:18
The b204/234's are awesome engines, highly tunable and can take a shed load of abuse
PorkFan said:
Not a bad engine....not as good as the Swift Gti 1.3 engine of the same time that had 8 more valves and 1000 more rpm though
I had a 1.3 Swift GTI back in the late 90's, great engine!Regarding best,
Honda B18 and B16
Honda K20's
Cosworth BDA, and
the mighty Rover K-Series VHPD
kambites said:
The "best" (as in most interesting) 4-cylinder car engine I've experienced was probably the one in the Honda S600.
Roller bearing crank if memory serves the same as the S800, for the mid 60's it was a screamer.Coventry Climax 875 Imp also 1200cc variant in the Lotus Elite
NSU air cooled 1000 to 1200 cc overhead cam, very much underrated each cylinder had a separate cam cover.
Rover K series in high end Caterhams R400 - R500 on Jenvey TB's with 8-9000 rev limit.....just awesome
ian2144 said:
kambites said:
The "best" (as in most interesting) 4-cylinder car engine I've experienced was probably the one in the Honda S600.
Roller bearing crank if memory serves the same as the S800, for the mid 60's it was a screamer.ian2144 said:
Rover K series in high end Caterhams R400 - R500 on Jenvey TB's with 8-9000 rev limit.....just awesome
The VHPD is a bit of a pig at low revs with 190bhp in the Exige, I dread to think what the R500 unit with 250ish bhp is like. 
Edited by kambites on Monday 27th March 20:28
kambites said:
ian2144 said:
kambites said:
The "best" (as in most interesting) 4-cylinder car engine I've experienced was probably the one in the Honda S600.
Roller bearing crank if memory serves the same as the S800, for the mid 60's it was a screamer.ian2144 said:
Rover K series in high end Caterhams R400 - R500 on Jenvey TB's with 8-9000 rev limit.....just awesome
The VHPD is a bit of a pig at low revs with 190bhp in the Exige, I dread to think what the R500 unit with 250ish bhp is like. Edited by kambites on Monday 27th March 20:28
Edited by ian2144 on Monday 27th March 20:51
blade7 said:
Re the 968 engine, 240 bhp from a 3.0 16v is hardly impressive.
It is from the 80's, Porsche could have got more from it but they wanted it to be tractable, reliable and easy to live with.With NA engines, I learnt early on that more power, from a given capacity generally means it is going to be more of a pain in the arse, I had a 90 bhp MK1 Capri and was offered a 120 bhp Kent engine for a good price, the owner had built it but was going 2.1 litre Pinto, it was an an Escort and sure, it was more powerful but what a godawful thing to drive, no low down power, wouldnt idle and was hopeless on fuel, ok, fuel injection and vvt type tech addressed that to a certain extent but it still holds true that the more power from a given capacity, the more hard work it will be.
Porsche identified that a 2 litre engine wouldnt cut it, they had done 2.5 and 2.7 so they did the sensible thing, rather than messing further with lumpy cams etc, they added 300cc, previously it only had 208 bhp from 3 litres in the S2, they added variable valve timing and got another 30 ish bhp.
Not many NA engines get over 100 bhp per litre in a road car, no point, and those at that point tend to be peakier, suitable perhaps in smaller, lighter cars but in anything of a decent size, not really, you need torque, which was the point of the 3 litre Porsche 944 engine, it was an expensive car, really it needed more cylinders but they had the 911 and 928.
It is all about intended use, people remark on 5 litre US V8's that only make 260 bhp or something, I always ask if it does its job, 260 bhp with 300 bhp at fairly low RPM, a lot of owners dont actually know what the power output is, they know whether it does what they want it to do, a Honda S2000 produces almost as much power as that Yank V8, but it would be a horrific combination in a 2 tonne car.
I quite like the K Series, when they work, the 1.8 VVC was a lovely engine.
Saab B engines were great, ok a Honda Type R makes more power but that turbo in the mid range makes for a much more pleasant, and quieter drive, I would take a Turbo engine most of the time, they are just better for most driving scenarios, NA for sports cars and maybe the odd old school hot hatch, then there were all those workmanlike Japanese NA 4 cylinders, 1.8 and 2 litres that just keep on going and going.
I suppose the question is a bit misleading, best for what ? historic rallying, or going to the shops.
VladD said:
I had a VW Sanatana many years ago. 2 litre, 5 cylinder non-turbo IIRC. Must have been an early 80s car as I bought it at auction for £200 in the early 90s.
The OP was talking about engines with five valves per cylinder rather than ones with 5 cylinders but only two or four valves per cylinder.My favourite 4 cylinder lump is the Fiat Twin Cam especially the one fitted to the Strada Abarth 130TC. Very strong engine.
long stroke engine which likes to be revved and it only seems to run out of puff from 6200rpm. I guess that's down to the torque thanks to the long stroke, twin carbs (When set up correctly), slightly high lift cams and big valves as standard.
long stroke engine which likes to be revved and it only seems to run out of puff from 6200rpm. I guess that's down to the torque thanks to the long stroke, twin carbs (When set up correctly), slightly high lift cams and big valves as standard.
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