V6, V8 Engines Lose Ground in 2009
#31
Lexus Test Driver
iTrader: (1)
Note: Regarding mountain driving especially when at higher altitudes like the mountains of the Sierras or Rockies for example, that's where turbocharged and supercharged engines have a real significant advantage (much less power loss at high altitudes than normally aspirated engines).
#32
Lexus Fanatic
My preference is also normally aspirated F/I engines with D/I. I agree with you on above points, with one minor exception. My preference is for 6 cylinder and 8 cylinder engine configurations (even if they are small displacement with adequate power) for the superior smoothness, NVH, premium sound quality under load and at high rpm.
#33
Pole Position
You are correct, the Merc feels substantially quicker than the LS430, even though it's not. The determining factor, I believe, is in the throttle control programming, with the Mercedes being much more responsive.
#34
Lexus Fanatic
My preference is also normally aspirated F/I engines with D/I. I agree with you on above points, with one minor exception. My preference is for 6 cylinder and 8 cylinder engine configurations (even if they are small displacement with adequate power) for the superior smoothness, NVH, premium sound quality under load and at high rpm.
Last edited by mmarshall; 03-19-10 at 07:20 PM.
#35
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
what's wrong with freedom of choice? why should everyone be punished for wanting to drive something other than a 4 cyl or even a turbo 3.0 'literish' engine?
Last edited by bitkahuna; 03-19-10 at 08:01 PM.
#36
Guest
Posts: n/a
Have you driven both S550 and LS460? I know they have the same maximum HP output, and even have the same 0-60 times, at least on paper, but S550 feels a lot more powerful. The LS is almost sluggish off the line in comparison, and, in my opinion, it is in DIRE need of a larger base engine with more low end grunt.
BMW now offers the 740 with the tt I-6 as a new base engine. Will a LS 350 or 450h come?
Also the 6 cylinder IS 250 only gets 1 MPG less than the I-4 in the TSX and A4 (they all make around 200hp). I much prefer the extra cylinders.
#37
Lexus Fanatic
I don't believe in 4 cylinders just b/c and the assumption they are more efficient. The RX 450h gets 30 mpg, better than most I-4s.
Also the 6 cylinder IS 250 only gets 1 MPG less than the I-4 in the TSX and A4 (they all make around 200hp). I much prefer the extra cylinders.
#38
So the Sonata has 198 HP and gets 35 MPG Hwy. My opinion is that is an uneccessary amount of HP for a base model transportation vehicle. Thus I think that Toyota, Honda, whomever would do well with a direct injected engine of smaller displacement. Presumably it would be more efficient.
Note: Regarding mountain driving especially when at higher altitudes like the mountains of the Sierras or Rockies for example, that's where turbocharged and supercharged engines have a real significant advantage (much less power loss at high altitudes than normally aspirated engines).
My preference is also normally aspirated F/I engines with D/I. I agree with you on above points, with one minor exception. My preference is for 6 cylinder and 8 cylinder engine configurations (even if they are small displacement with adequate power) for the superior smoothness, NVH, premium sound quality under load and at high rpm.
Anyway, yes this is what I am saying. People will always want 6 and 8 cylinder engines and that they don't need to be as large anymore to put down alot of power.
I don't believe in 4 cylinders just b/c and the assumption they are more efficient. The RX 450h gets 30 mpg, better than most I-4s.
Also the 6 cylinder IS 250 only gets 1 MPG less than the I-4 in the TSX and A4 (they all make around 200hp). I much prefer the extra cylinders.
Also the 6 cylinder IS 250 only gets 1 MPG less than the I-4 in the TSX and A4 (they all make around 200hp). I much prefer the extra cylinders.
1. I can't believe that you wrote this. Of course the RX450h gets better mileage, it's a hybrid. It has a huge advantage. Nevertheless, Camry, Fusion, Legacy all get better hwy mileage than the 450h. I think that a 2.5L I4 RX hybrid would do better than 3.5L hybrid.
2. The TSX has an ailing 4 cylinder engine in which Vtech craps it up. The A4 is rated for 22/30 (AWD) compared to the 20/26 of the IS (AWD) or 21/29 (RWD). The A4 also has a buttload more torque and is significantly quicker.
Last edited by SLegacy99; 03-20-10 at 07:13 AM.
#39
Lexus Fanatic
#41
Lexus Fanatic
Good points, because getting hung up on lower "cylinder counts" as the means to gain fuel efficiency isn't the magic configuration. Of course most 4 cylinders get better gas mileage mainly due to smaller displacement combined with advanced technologies. But smoother running V6's and straight sixes of the same displacement with same advanced technologies do just as well.
#42
Lexus Fanatic
So the Sonata has 198 HP and gets 35 MPG Hwy. My opinion is that is an uneccessary amount of HP for a base model transportation vehicle. Thus I think that Toyota, Honda, whomever would do well with a direct injected engine of smaller displacement. Presumably it would be more efficient.
#43
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by IS-SV
Note: Regarding mountain driving especially when at higher altitudes like the mountains of the Sierras or Rockies for example, that's where turbocharged and supercharged engines have a real significant advantage (much less power loss at high altitudes than normally aspirated engines).
Electric motors, though, are air-cooled. While the average air temperature drop (called the lapse rate) usually cools with altitude at 3-5 degrees per thousand feet, so does air density/pressure (usually around 3% for each thousand feet). Less-dense air at high altitudes, of course, provides less cooling for electric motors......just as, for an internal-combustion engine without a turbocharger/supercharger, it provides less oxygen for combustion inside the cylinders.
In the old days, gas-powered aircraft radial engines stayed cool at high altitudes, not only from the low air temps, but because of the propeller blast as well....and they also had cowl flaps which regulated air-flow over the engine. In a gas-powered car, of course, that function is done with the radiator, with some air-flow over the engine....but most pure-electric cars, (to my knowledge) don't have fans.
Last edited by mmarshall; 03-20-10 at 10:50 AM.
#44
2010 Camry
6MT: 22/33
6AT: 22/32
2011 Sonata
6MT: 24/35
6AT: 22/35
Sure, engine speed has to do with it. But so does engine size. And I am not talking about plopping a 1.5L into a midsize. That would more than likely be detrimental to fuel economy.
And this is a topic that hasn't been given as much attention as I had thought, given overheating issues have been a concern for the future of high powered electric vehicles. Do they have to be air cooled?
#45
Lexus Fanatic
And this is a topic that hasn't been given as much attention as I had thought, given overheating issues have been a concern for the future of high powered electric vehicles. Do they have to be air cooled?