What do people consider a 'big' petrol engine?
Discussion
I've always noticed for non-car folk anything bigger than a 1.6 petrol to be considered a 'big' engine, with the inevitable questions of fuel and comments like 'oo it must be fast'.
Recently I've noticed similar comments from car people for anything (even a decent sized family car) over a 2.0 (petrol)...seems a bit odd. A 1.6 4cyl and a 2.0 4cyl will have imperceptible differences if any in economy (driven at the same speeds) and neither will set the world on fire....as much fun as an old school 2.0 hot hatch is.
Some people seem to go into shock when they find out my car is a 5.4.
Correcting for the fact that turbo's often considered as capacity x 1.4 (2.0T for example is similar to a 2.8)
My question is this... What do you consider a 'big' engine? The kind of size that makes you automatically feel 'well that must make light work of it'/'that's a bit decadent' (depending on attitude) NOT saying anything less is a bad car, or slow, at all.
Obviously it depends on the type of car, so here's my opinion.
Small (light) hatch; 206, 145, old golfs etc. - 2.0
Family Sized Modern Hatch; focus, modern golf, a3 etc...- 2.5
Exec Saloon; 3 series, a4, passat, signum etc. - 3.0
Large Saloon; A6, Merc E, BMW 5 etc. - 3.5
Large Luxury; A8, S Class, 7 series etc. - 4.0
2 seater sports car - 3.0
Big GT - 5.0
Recently I've noticed similar comments from car people for anything (even a decent sized family car) over a 2.0 (petrol)...seems a bit odd. A 1.6 4cyl and a 2.0 4cyl will have imperceptible differences if any in economy (driven at the same speeds) and neither will set the world on fire....as much fun as an old school 2.0 hot hatch is.
Some people seem to go into shock when they find out my car is a 5.4.
Correcting for the fact that turbo's often considered as capacity x 1.4 (2.0T for example is similar to a 2.8)
My question is this... What do you consider a 'big' engine? The kind of size that makes you automatically feel 'well that must make light work of it'/'that's a bit decadent' (depending on attitude) NOT saying anything less is a bad car, or slow, at all.
Obviously it depends on the type of car, so here's my opinion.
Small (light) hatch; 206, 145, old golfs etc. - 2.0
Family Sized Modern Hatch; focus, modern golf, a3 etc...- 2.5
Exec Saloon; 3 series, a4, passat, signum etc. - 3.0
Large Saloon; A6, Merc E, BMW 5 etc. - 3.5
Large Luxury; A8, S Class, 7 series etc. - 4.0
2 seater sports car - 3.0
Big GT - 5.0
It depends really. Currently 1.6 would count as a 'big' engine for a lot of average sized cars due to the trend for downsizing and adding on turbos. A modern 1.6T would typically be somewhere in the region of 175PS, whereas 10-15 years ago you'd expect that figure from maybe a 2.2 or 2.5 and your 1.6 would only be giving 100PS. By the same stretch a 1.0 may have been considered 'small' back then, but its now acceptable with engines like the Ford Ecoboost meaning it gives out 100 - 125PS when you'd only have got half that power without the turbo.
For me anyway I'd say 'big petrol' means 6-cylinders or more
For me anyway I'd say 'big petrol' means 6-cylinders or more
va1o said:
It depends really. Currently 1.6 would count as a 'big' engine for a lot of average sized cars due to the trend for downsizing and adding on turbos. A modern 1.6T would typically be somewhere in the region of 175PS, whereas 10-15 years ago you'd expect that figure from maybe a 2.2 or 2.5 and your 1.6 would only be giving 100PS. By the same stretch a 1.0 may have been considered 'small' back then, but its now acceptable with engines like the Ford Ecoboost meaning it gives out 100 - 125PS when you'd only have got half that power without the turbo.
For me anyway I'd say 'big petrol' means 6-cylinders or more
Which is why turbo engines are generally considered 1.4x capacity (in simplistic terms, for motorsport), a 1.6T would equate to around 2.25 if you where to go up against naturally aspirated cars (in many championships)For me anyway I'd say 'big petrol' means 6-cylinders or more
crosseyedlion said:
Which is why turbo engines are generally considered 1.4x capacity (in simplistic terms, for motorsport), a 1.6T would equate to around 2.25 if you where to go up against naturally aspirated cars (in many championships)
True.Its interesting to look at BMWs badging with respect to this, as they've attempted to keep the same names but changed the capacity e.g. the 528i up until recently was a 6-cylinder 3.0 N/A but its now a 4-cylinder 2.0T with thereabouts the same power.
You also have to take into account different mappings though, as the same 2.0T engine is also offered in 520i form but significantly detuned.
swerni said:
V88Dicky said:
Less than 383 ci (6.3l) = small block. Anything bigger is a 'large engine'.
How does that work?I've got a 427ci with a small block
I would consider anything over 3.0 to be pretty big but the americans may laugh at that!
As a teenager in the 70s, 2.0 was about average and anything 2.5 litres or over was big except in bigger cars such as the XJ6 where the 2.8 was made to look small by the 5.3 V12.
I would never have predicted I would one day run 5.7 litre engines as daily drivers nor that I would consider my 4.6 Mustang relatively small.
It's all relative I suppose.
I would never have predicted I would one day run 5.7 litre engines as daily drivers nor that I would consider my 4.6 Mustang relatively small.
It's all relative I suppose.
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