Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't know if I'd call it a safety advantage more of a control advantage (coming from someone who is an extremely aggressive driver). You you have the ability to; get up to speed quicker, to be able to keep up with or get through traffic more at your own control. Instead of waiting for holes in traffic to open up for you, you can speed up to take advantage of gaps. When passing driving on longer stretch roads (outside of the city) and need to pass into an oncoming lane, you can always sit back and wait, or with the extra power be able to pass the vehicles your stuck behind (at least doing it quicker which is definitely safer). It also depends on how you drive. If you find yourself flooring it even every once in a while in your 4 cylinder, its probably time to step up some. Depending on how you drive, you will save gas driving moderately on a v6 then driving really aggressive in a 4 cyl that's underpowered.
I know in my pickup (2002 Silverado), the v8 has 50 more hp and 50 more ft lbs of tq, but is rated to get 1mpg city & highway better than the v6.
I admit it. I drive regular cars like Nissan Rogues, Altimas. Never had a powerful car even a V6. Now if I get a V6 Honda Accord how does it feel vs a 4 cylinder 180hp ? Is the difference significant ? Is it more exhilarating and worth the extra cost ? I seek your opinions and I know there are not right answers.
look at the power curves at rpm. Both Torque and HP. Average power trumps a peaky but higher number.
Try to find a dyno sheet for the engines.
Then curb weight, transmission type, final gearing come into the equation. 4cyl in a light car vs. 6cyl in a heavier. Manual vs. Auto.etc.et.c
My Hyundai Sonata with 2.4 I4 does just fine. I can easily hit highway speeds on the on ramp. At 80 mph it's extremely quiet. And it gets over 32 mpg on the highway. Mid 30's if I keep it at 60 or lower.
Thats fine, most 4 cylinder cars can easily push over 100mph. I have owned a couple 4 bangers that were given to me. They are great on gas but I still much prefer the power from a v6 or bigger. To me the slight mileage loss / gal is well worth it when I need to jam the gas to keep an accident from happening or when I just feel like messing around. The only non super charged 4 cylinder I have driven with lots of power was a motorcycle, which to me is where the 4 cylinder shines.
HP is only something that is fun to brag about, TORQUE is the important difference between a 4 and a 6.
Don
This is kind of what I have to say about this.
First, what you care about is the weight-to-horsepower ratio. 180 hp in a 2,000 pound car is much better than 215 hp in a 4,000 pound car.
Second, nobody drives their car at 7,000 RPM where you get that peak horsepower. You mostly drive your car at 1500 to 4000 RPM. What you care about is what the torque looks like at the RPM where you normally drive the car. Some engines have a fairly flat torque curve where the car happily zips around in the lower RPMs. Other cars are dogs at low RPMs and only spring to life when you get them up near the red line.
I admit it. I drive regular cars like Nissan Rogues, Altimas. Never had a powerful car even a V6. Now if I get a V6 Honda Accord how does it feel vs a 4 cylinder 180hp ? Is the difference significant ? Is it more exhilarating and worth the extra cost ? I seek your opinions and I know there are not right answers.
The weight gain & car class comparison may distort the difference. You can analyze a ratio of pound per horsepower of a car. If a vehicle has 40 or whatever HP more can be negated by the few hundred pounds of weight
If saving gas & quicker acceleration is the goal...get a smaller car. Its also a lot more fun to drive then a 4 cyl Accord
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,329 posts, read 54,389,283 times
Reputation: 40736
Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonMike7
How much more powerful a car feels depends less on it's peak HP numbers, and more on it's torque curve. I've always found cars with nice, flat, high torque curves to be much more enjoyable. Usually by default, engines with more cylinders product more torque, and can feel quite snappy. Not always the case, especially with forced induction, but basically what I'm saying is try and look more closely at torque curves.
Exactly, it's the area under the curve that matters, not how high the curve peaks.
Do you often have passengers or stuff in you car? I find people and stuff weight has a much more significant effect on MPG and performance with a 4 than with a 6 and with the big V8s- really no impact at all.
If it is mostly just you, the performance difference is pretty small.
Stock air intake systems have gotten better. Throwing a cold air intake on a typical 4 cylinder these days you're lucky to get 5-7hp. And you get warranty hassle and have to worry about deep puddles in exchange. Not worth it at all imo.
And usually that gain is just on the top end and you actually lose some power at the bottom(which is what you'd use more often in city driving).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
