Quote:
Originally Posted by T240
Then I would venture that your mum's car is knackered!
As much as I love my 240, the fives are smoother any day (though the sixes are even more so), and the normally aspirated 2.5 20Vs' in particular have a wicked exhaust note, personally, I think better than the turbos - very reminiscent of a Cosworth BDA,
As for not having advantages, you're wrong there too: they save weight and size over a six, and give you more bang for your buck over an equivalent four.
The engines may have some inherent weaknesses, or bits of design that could have been done better; but there are very few engines that don't, and few that can take power increases the way the fives can - remember most of the guts of the 2.3 turbo are the same as the n/a 2.5 20v; and that very understressed motor gives 170bhp. In turbo form with basically just smaller diameter, lower compression pistons can go to 350 bhp with generally the same internals - and reliably, not noticeably compromising service life.
And if that's not a good motor overall, then bite me!
'Nuff said
Cheers,
T
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The car is everything else than knackered. With only 60k miles (past 100.000 km a few weeks ago) and top compression rates, it just seems to "rattle". To compare a redblock though (the roughest of rough 4 bangers) with modern 4 cylinder is - as the German would say (translated) - like comparing apples with pears.
About the mentioned advantages, no is saying anything against them, but to say it has the smoothness of a I6 (which no volvo I5 can have, as the crank has an uneven balance) and the economy of an I4 (like Audi claimed in their old 80ies/90ies/100ies/etc.) is just no right... Most modern 4 cylinders run so smooth, that you can't feel it (example my engine). Where as a brand new T5 will still have a little "rumble" when running.
I'm not saying it is a bad engine. If it was a bad construction, it would be long gone from Volvo's list of engines. And as it is now in it's 20th year (first 5 cylinders in mass-produced Volvos were made 1991) it can't be bad. But as downsizing is hitting all models from all makers, they (like the I6 engines!) are going to die out.
Look at Mercedes. The current S-Class is available for the first time ever, with a 4 cylinder diesel (2.1l with 204 hp). BMW will be following soon. The compact class (Golf, Focus, Astra) will soon be standard with 3 cylinder engines (VW is planning on bringing in the 1.2l 3 cylinder TSI as the base engine, Audi is already not far from doing so). Of course a certain "tradition" will be going a miss. The same happend 1998 as the last 940 Turbo left the bands in Gent/Gothenburg with a Redblock engine or the last 960 in 1991/1992 with the PRV V6. Ends of an era... But not of a marque.
