Best, or just sweetest 4 cylinder engines?
Discussion
In terms of 'normal' power outputs and nothing special, i would rank the following 4 cyl engines very highly.
Ford 1.25 used in the Fiestas, etc. The 96-02 Fiesta with this engine went very well. It was a lovely, sweet, revvy and smooth engine. Slightly preferred it to the 1.4 which felt very similar but not quite as smooth IMO.
Later Fiestas with the same engines were that bit heavier / mapped for economy, they lacked the zing, still nice engines to use though.
1.7 unit in the Puma - superb. Lovely engine. Can feel the VCT working. Very clever. Economical, too. Not fast...but enough to have fun. A beautiful kinda...rorty timbre on the induction at high revs, very addictive. Not the most peaky engine....but i found it highly pleasurable.
1.4 Fiat engine in the Panda 100 (and others, of course but the Panda is my experience). Rorty, strong, good character. Good fun engine.
1.1 and 1.2 FIRE engines in the older Puntos/Pandas etc. Lovely and smooth, almost irrespective of revs. Very sweet indeed. A pleasure to work hard (even though the 1.1 doesn't really do much)
1.6 in the Focus MK1. Lovely, smooth, lovely. Drove the MK1 Focus in all guises - and the 1.6 was the best IMO. All of the others had a bit of a harshness to them.
I also owned a MK2 Focus with the same engine...but it just wasn't the same. Pleasant enough but just not like it was in the first iteration.
1.8 TS Alfa engine (had a 156 Sportwagon). Lovely lovely engine. Much preferred it to the 2.2 6 cyl that i had in a 320 at the same time.
Ford 1.25 used in the Fiestas, etc. The 96-02 Fiesta with this engine went very well. It was a lovely, sweet, revvy and smooth engine. Slightly preferred it to the 1.4 which felt very similar but not quite as smooth IMO.
Later Fiestas with the same engines were that bit heavier / mapped for economy, they lacked the zing, still nice engines to use though.
1.7 unit in the Puma - superb. Lovely engine. Can feel the VCT working. Very clever. Economical, too. Not fast...but enough to have fun. A beautiful kinda...rorty timbre on the induction at high revs, very addictive. Not the most peaky engine....but i found it highly pleasurable.
1.4 Fiat engine in the Panda 100 (and others, of course but the Panda is my experience). Rorty, strong, good character. Good fun engine.
1.1 and 1.2 FIRE engines in the older Puntos/Pandas etc. Lovely and smooth, almost irrespective of revs. Very sweet indeed. A pleasure to work hard (even though the 1.1 doesn't really do much)
1.6 in the Focus MK1. Lovely, smooth, lovely. Drove the MK1 Focus in all guises - and the 1.6 was the best IMO. All of the others had a bit of a harshness to them.
I also owned a MK2 Focus with the same engine...but it just wasn't the same. Pleasant enough but just not like it was in the first iteration.
1.8 TS Alfa engine (had a 156 Sportwagon). Lovely lovely engine. Much preferred it to the 2.2 6 cyl that i had in a 320 at the same time.
Edited by M1C on Friday 12th August 09:56
Hungrymc said:
Mr Squarekins said:
Biggy Stardust said:
Mr Squarekins said:
My s1000rr has quite a nice 4 pot.
My Blackbird is smoother.Time, technology and variable cam tech gives my bmw 200 bhp though.
I submit the ZZR1000 engine. Lovely, rich fuelling meant no scratchiness, and the power delivery was like being launched off a catapult.
Fastest production bike in the world for NINE YEARS! That's how good that engine was. Shame about the brakes and handling.
I wouldn't class this as the best, but I'm really enjoying driving the car.
Renault Clio RS200.
The car has a sports cat and a upgraded exhaust manifold, I love the noise this car makes when the air temp is cool and at high revs. It's so crisp and not raspy on overrun, I really like it.
I'm very tempted with a S/C conversion, but dropping 5k on mods has never appealed to me. I can just hear my mum saying "well that is a waste of money, you should have bought a faster car in the first place".
Renault Clio RS200.
The car has a sports cat and a upgraded exhaust manifold, I love the noise this car makes when the air temp is cool and at high revs. It's so crisp and not raspy on overrun, I really like it.
I'm very tempted with a S/C conversion, but dropping 5k on mods has never appealed to me. I can just hear my mum saying "well that is a waste of money, you should have bought a faster car in the first place".
Two stand out in my motoring life:
The sweet Alfa Romeo TS 16v from the 155 / 156 era
The Porsche 944 2.5 & 3.0 engines
The thing they both have in common is the use of a very effective balance shaft system, and a willingness to rev.
My other favorite is the ancient 1,147cc Triumph engine from the 60s Heralds and Spitfires. There's nothing sweet about it, but it was fitted in the first car I owned after passing my test. A few choice mods made it very enjoyable to drive
The sweet Alfa Romeo TS 16v from the 155 / 156 era
The Porsche 944 2.5 & 3.0 engines
The thing they both have in common is the use of a very effective balance shaft system, and a willingness to rev.
My other favorite is the ancient 1,147cc Triumph engine from the 60s Heralds and Spitfires. There's nothing sweet about it, but it was fitted in the first car I owned after passing my test. A few choice mods made it very enjoyable to drive
Here's a 4 cylinder engine that had me scratching my head for a while...
http://www.lolaheritage.co.uk/2018/type_numbers/t1...
http://www.lolaheritage.co.uk/2018/type_numbers/t1...
Electrics not for me said:
Can't recall mentioning the engine electrics. But i will say that turbocharged 4 cylinder cars like Type R and A45 AMG and even Lancer Evos have that same boring drone that doesn't come near an inline 6, V8 or V12 for sound. There's a Golf R near us which annoys the village but it's not just how loud, it's how it sounds loud. Really boring and monotonous. If i go out in the S2000, now that is a 4 pot i'd say comes closest to sounding nice. Especially above 8,000 rpm.
BTW of course an A45 AMG is an amazing car performance-wise. 2 litres and supercar 0-60 from just 10 years ago, some now even.
I would quite like to own a Golf R 7.5, I think they look great, especially in the blue/purply color. But, I just can't get over how terrible they sound with any type of performance exhaust. I don't think I could own one for this very reason, such a shame, as they're a real performance bargain and so easily tuned to big power. BTW of course an A45 AMG is an amazing car performance-wise. 2 litres and supercar 0-60 from just 10 years ago, some now even.
The Alfasud 1200Ti was a fantastic little engine that rasped and revved and, because the car got lighter every time it rained, pretty quick, at the time.
They got a bit lumpier as they increased in capacity.
The flat four in my 1977 Gold Wing was totally sublime though, it was smoother than a silk kimono and howled like a turbine at full chat.
They got a bit lumpier as they increased in capacity.
The flat four in my 1977 Gold Wing was totally sublime though, it was smoother than a silk kimono and howled like a turbine at full chat.
Edited by LuS1fer on Friday 12th August 14:51
McGee_22 said:
Here's a 4 cylinder engine that had me scratching my head for a while...
http://www.lolaheritage.co.uk/2018/type_numbers/t1...
Never seen that before! Awesome thanks for sharing - coincidence as I came in here to champion the M10/12 and FVA/BDA series engines http://www.lolaheritage.co.uk/2018/type_numbers/t1...
kambites said:
Cold said:
The Rover K series 1.8 VVC is a whizzy little motor.
As long as it's in something light. It feels utterly gutless if you put it in anything heavier than about a tonne. The regular 1.8 K-Series was also very nice in the Freelander. Arguably nicer than the Td4 diesel and didn't remotely feel gutless.
300bhp/ton said:
I'd disagree a bit here. The VVC works very well in the MGF and Rover 200. Ok, they are only just over tonne, but heavier than something like a Caterham or Elise.
The regular 1.8 K-Series was also very nice in the Freelander. Arguably nicer than the Td4 diesel and didn't remotely feel gutless.
Another agreed on this. Unless they are also aggreeing cars with lower power than VVCs like mx5s 1.8/1.6 were even more gutless, this isn't something we tend to hear is it.The regular 1.8 K-Series was also very nice in the Freelander. Arguably nicer than the Td4 diesel and didn't remotely feel gutless.
Its not earth shattering. However it has a much more tuneful sound with a good sports exhaust than many modern engines.
Something that definitely can't be said for the EA888s mentioned earlier, I know I have one.
They have engineered them to be quick and very economical but for some reason this comes at the price of actually sounding remotely interesting.
Chunkychucky said:
McGee_22 said:
Here's a 4 cylinder engine that had me scratching my head for a while...
http://www.lolaheritage.co.uk/2018/type_numbers/t1...
Never seen that before! Awesome thanks for sharing - coincidence as I came in here to champion the M10/12 and FVA/BDA series engines http://www.lolaheritage.co.uk/2018/type_numbers/t1...
The M10 block is better known as the M12 though as the 1.5litre 1500bhp heart of the BMW Brabham F1 car - possibly the most powerful four cylinder engine per cc ever?
Magnum 475 said:
Two stand out in my motoring life:
The sweet Alfa Romeo TS 16v from the 155 / 156 era
The Porsche 944 2.5 & 3.0 engines
The thing they both have in common is the use of a very effective balance shaft system, and a willingness to rev.
My other favorite is the ancient 1,147cc Triumph engine from the 60s Heralds and Spitfires. There's nothing sweet about it, but it was fitted in the first car I owned after passing my test. A few choice mods made it very enjoyable to drive
Adding the balancer shaft provides the smoothness but I'd rather have the extra cylinders. I thought that the 2.5 litre engine in the 944 turbo was smooth and very effective at making power but sounded dull.The sweet Alfa Romeo TS 16v from the 155 / 156 era
The Porsche 944 2.5 & 3.0 engines
The thing they both have in common is the use of a very effective balance shaft system, and a willingness to rev.
My other favorite is the ancient 1,147cc Triumph engine from the 60s Heralds and Spitfires. There's nothing sweet about it, but it was fitted in the first car I owned after passing my test. A few choice mods made it very enjoyable to drive
I've got a few nominations from personal experience. The 2.0 16v F4RT engine from my clio 172. It's noisy and uneconomical, but just a joy to rev. A K20 is probably better, but I like it all the same.
The 2.0 flat 4 from a uk spec impreza Sti. Great power delivery and amazing noise. The JDM twinscroll may be more sophisticated, but the noise from the uk models is my favorite 4 cylinder sound.
And finally the "slightly breathed upon" 1127 cc engine from my uncle's GSXR1100L. I had a ride of that after passing my bike test 25+ years ago and it was an experience I'll never forget. Unbelievable acceleration.
The 2.0 flat 4 from a uk spec impreza Sti. Great power delivery and amazing noise. The JDM twinscroll may be more sophisticated, but the noise from the uk models is my favorite 4 cylinder sound.
And finally the "slightly breathed upon" 1127 cc engine from my uncle's GSXR1100L. I had a ride of that after passing my bike test 25+ years ago and it was an experience I'll never forget. Unbelievable acceleration.
blade7 said:
This had twin 45 Weber DCOE's without air filters, and an open exhaust.. Probably only had 140 bhp on a good day, but you could hear it coming from around 1/2 a mile away. And it sounded the absolute Boxxocks. Sweet no, memorable yes.
- budget E30 M3 back in the mid 80s. Had to make do with the standard shell but I had a similar engine - mine was a 2.1 on twin 44IDFs with filters and an EARS system that sounded great
Fast enough to make a 2.8 Capri look slow round Combe and loads of smiles per miles
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