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With the coming CAFE standards, more and more manufacturers are turning away from V8 engines to turbo V6's. I can see doing this with some lesser vehicles but what about high-performance cars? I, for one, will NEVER buy a Corvette with a 6 cylinder!
Do you think in the coming years that V8's will disappear all-together from American society? I still think there's no replacement for displacement. I've heard/seen some of the turbo V6's and there just isn't a good rumble that a V8 can produce.
V8s are not going anywhere. A V8 is about the only practical way to have an engine much larger than 4.0 L in displacement. It is relatively compact and smooth-running. V10s and V12s can handle the displacement easily, but are longer engines and more difficult to package. A straight six can handle big displacements too, but is also a long engine. V6s are compact but have significant vibration issues with displacements much above about 4.5 L.
So why do we need engines >4.5 L? There is simply no replacement for displacement. Forced induction carries quite a bit in tradeoffs compared to a naturally-aspirated engine- cost, longevity, more stringent maintenance requirements, being much pickier about fuel quality, NO better fuel economy under heavy load, and a little turbo lag. You deal with all of those negatives in return for a slightly better idle and part-throttle fuel economy, slightly better low-end torque, and a slightly smaller engine. Let's look at the "V8 replacement" 3.5 L Ford EcoBoost, versus the 5.0 V8. The 3.5 L is a $1000+ option over the 5.0 and requires 91 octane premium to make its full power in warm weather or under heavy loads. The 5.0 running on 91 octane actually makes 10 more HP than the 3.5 L and makes 30 ft-lb less torque- and the 5.0 in the F-150 is widely thought to be *under*-rated for power to make the 3.5 EcoBoost look more competitive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PDD
I also like the sound of a V-8 but I have been watching some drag racing lately and the twin turbo small blocks are running so fast that the 500+ cube NA cars just can't keep up.( I'm talking street legal not Pro Stock)
I can see one of these days the Corvette running a twin turbo v-6 and blowing away the v-8's
We all know that today's small cube V-8's blow away the 400+ cube V-8'S from the sixties so it is evolution that dictates that eventually the 6's will blow away the 8's
The turbo V6s will blow away the naturally-aspirated V8s...until somebody figures out that you can bolt turbos to V8s too
Quote:
Originally Posted by POS VETT
Those who praise turbocharged 4-cyl over a V8 engine of, roughly, equal power and torque obviously don't appreciate the characteristics of a V8.
Is V8 going to die ? Unlikely. The use for such a large engine will be diminished (if not already), but there will be people like me who love a big, lazy V8 regardless of fuel mileage. I want to be able to cruise 65 mph at fourteen hundred rpm, not at four thousand.
Ditto on that one. I have yet to see a four-cylinder car engine that doesn't sound horribly buzzy. Sixes are better but nothing a mere mortal can afford can match a V8's soundtrack. Porsche's flat-six or any V12 can make a nice snarl, but mere mortals can't afford those. However, you can find V8s in new vehicles selling for not much above $20k. Modern transmissions with six speeds and a VERY tall top gear can let a four-cylinder be a little less frantic on the highway, but it still runs a lot more RPM than a V6 or especially a V8.
V8s are indeed going to become extremely rare in this country, although Obama caved to the Detroit 3 by exempting their pickups from meeting the forthcoming moronic and indefensibly asinine CAFE standards.
Given the miniscule percentage of V-6 engines in family sedans which have been sold through the first part of this year, the humble 4-cylinder engine will continue to dominate passenger cars sales in this country.
Only 9% of the Camrys sold in this country have V-6 engines, and 18% of the Accords are similarly equipped according to the Charlotte Observer.
Toss in the 93% of Altimas sold in the USA which have 4-cylinder engines, as well as the fact that over 70% of Fusion sedans sold in this country, according to an August 2010 story in the NYT, also bear 4-cylinder engines, and the niche for the V-8 is bound to shrink.
And we can all thank the Micromanager-In-Chief and his rampaging regulators at the EPA for that.
Electric cars are going to be an afterthought in this country for years until they get substantially cheaper with dramatically shortened charging times, as Deloitte pointed out in published reports last week.
Sorry to hear about your slow 64.
Fast or quicker?
My 68 charger R/T with a 440 gets lower 20's for mpg if I keep My foot out of the secondaries.
That 2 door car is much bigger/ heaver than most 4door cars of today.
Any not many "new" cars will beat the old iron off of the line.
If your "new" car didn't have all the EPA crap on it, it would go faster and get better millage.
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Originally Posted by PDD
My 64 Ford 427 got around 8-10 mpg
My 2012 5.0 Mustang gets 25MPG and is a lot faster than my 64.
Maybe govt. EPA rules are a good thing.
I agree the nitwit-in-charge has a thing for them while he torpedoes the diesel engine.
The diesel is cleaner than the gasser, it is easier and cheaper to fix than a electric or hybrid.
Heck it's hard enough to find a good mechanic as it is let alone one that is versed in electronics, electricity and a IC engines gas or diesel let alone all the other components.
If these feel good about your self cars.
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Originally Posted by Marv101
And we can all thank the Micromanager-In-Chief and his rampaging regulators at the EPA for that.
Electric cars are going to be an afterthought in this country for years until they get substantially cheaper with dramatically shortened charging times, as Deloitte pointed out in published reports last week.
Why do politics have to be included in the Auto forum?
Because there hasn't been a car built in the last 50 years or more where design was not mandated by the political process.
Even going back to the Model A Ford days where one State enacted a law requiring an independent secondary brake system... soon, all cars had separate parking/emergency brakes in addition to the service brakes.
California Politics has done more to shape the design of automobiles than any other political body in the world...
Because there hasn't been a car built in the last 50 years or more where design was not mandated by the political process.
Even going back to the Model A Ford days where one State enacted a law requiring an independent secondary brake system... soon, all cars had separate parking/emergency brakes in addition to the service brakes.
California Politics has done more to shape the design of automobiles than any other political body in the world...
I hate friggin politics but it seems to be most everbody's favorite sport.
I hate friggin politics but it seems to be most everbody's favorite sport.
I've been very apolitical... never been a member of any political party...
That said, I have protested twice on the steps of the State Capital in opposition to Smog Check II and I did speak at committee hearings urging legislatures to keep the rolling exemption of 25 years in place.
The first time they amended the law and made the rolling exemption 30 years and then they came back and froze it...
Just how many 1976 cars are being used as daily drivers anyway? The committee's own numbers found a dramatic drop in vehicle usage for vehicles 15 years and older.
I had been paying license and reg and insurance for a number of old cars... one hasn't left the garage since 2001... when the fees went up... I went non-op on everything except my daily driver and truck.
The State now receives much less from me and I trailer my collector cars instead of driving.
I know this is Automotive and a pretty relaxed forum, but any more of the political hyperbole and thread will be closed.
Got a problem with the CAFE legislation? Open a thread in Politics and other controversies.
One of the reasons for the downfall of the V8 is due to increased CAFE standards, don't you think it's a relevant topic of discussion in a forum about automobiles? It's really no more political than discussing government regulation of bumper heights or crash test ratings.
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