As long as I can remember I've always loved big multi-cylinder internal combustion engines.
As a kid I cut my teeth on the massive aeroengines in World War two piston aircraft, and OK, I'll admit it, the 100+ litre diesel prime movers used on the railway system.
Either way I grew up to appreciate the quality of engineering that went into these big engines, as well as to love the impressive soundtracks that went with the Rolls Royce Merlin, Pratt and Witney Double Wasp or "the thirty-six cylinder symphony" of my twin Napier Deltic namesake at full chat.
When I got my licence in 1991, because of this interest in "big engines" I vowed to drive as many of the mainstream cars fitted with six and five cylinder engines as possible.
I started with SD1 Rovers with their V8s, Triumph 2000s and the various 1980s v6 Granadas - both the later hatchback in Granada Scorpio form (much safer to drive) and earlier (fun but very scary in the wet) saloon and estates.
I never got to drive the italian supercars, but I was glad to drive the last of the true Alfa v6's and on the German side, the last of the air-cooled 911s.
The snarl of a BMW stright six, the warble of a Volvo or Audi 5-pot and the fizzing zing of an ST24 Mondeo was the soundtrack of the 1990s for me.
I even got to like the six and five pot performance diesels coming on stream, which sometimes managed to sound almost - but never quite convincingly- as good as as their petrol equivalents.
The highlight of all this was when Jaguar let me loose in a supercharged S Type R for half an hour. I absolutely flayed all 400 ponys off that thing, and the noise it made was something else.
The banshee wail from the Eaton supercharger and outraged bellow from its V8 took several hours to get out my ears afterwards.
How did the old poet put it?
"The music in my heart I bore, long after I heard it no more"
Where is all this heading? Take a look at what 5 and six cylinder cars under £40K you can buy now.
Volvo 5 pot diesels
Six cylinder BMW, AUDI and Merc - but only the top end of the range
Jag 6 pots and the odd Lexus and that must be about it.
The Focus RS has had its 5 pot discontinued, there are no longer A3/Vw Golf V6s,
the Alfa 147 v6 is long gone.
We do we have instead?
The four pot diesel....
Yes I know it has its place, but the knackered Transit van soundtrack -
and performance to match if you have a lower powered lump under the hood- has
drained the fun, soul, passion and enjoyment out of the motoring experience for me.
Four pot diesels have never made, do not make and never will make
a pleasant sound (OK the automotive Subaru Boxer, and the English Electric 4RSKT
used in some trains are the two exceptions)
It gets worse as the next load of EU Emissions Targets around 2015 could possibly sound
the death knell for even four pot engines!
There will always be a small market for supercars -where the EU penalty charges
can be absorbed in the high screen prices, but even here we are seeing
turbocharged v6 and V8 engines replacing V12s.
What are everyone's views on this?
And what I am to replace my six-cylinder BMW 325D with in 2015?
So far Mr Silly's clown car looks the most sensible option...
Thanks.
Kind regards
Alycidon
14 February 2009
Some folk swear by three-cylinder engines, and BMW will have one for you soon. Personally I've never really liked five-cylinder engines.
15 June 2012
As long as I can remember I've always loved big multi-cylinder internal combustion engines.
As a kid I cut my teeth on the massive aeroengines in World War two piston aircraft, and OK, I'll admit it, the 100+ litre diesel prime movers used on the railway system.
Either way I grew up to appreciate the quality of engineering that went into these big engines, as well as to love the impressive soundtracks that went with the Rolls Royce Merlin, Pratt and Witney Double Wasp or "the thirty-six cylinder symphony" of my twin Napier Deltic namesake at full chat.
When I got my licence in 1991, because of this interest in "big engines" I vowed to drive as many of the mainstream cars fitted with six and five cylinder engines as possible.
I started with SD1 Rovers with their V8s, Triumph 2000s and the various 1980s v6 Granadas - both the later hatchback in Granada Scorpio form (much safer to drive) and earlier (fun but very scary in the wet) saloon and estates.
I never got to drive the italian supercars, but I was glad to drive the last of the true Alfa v6's and on the German side, the last of the air-cooled 911s.
The snarl of a BMW stright six, the warble of a Volvo or Audi 5-pot and the fizzing zing of an ST24 Mondeo was the soundtrack of the 1990s for me.
I even got to like the six and five pot performance diesels coming on stream, which sometimes managed to sound almost - but never quite convincingly- as good as as their petrol equivalents.
The highlight of all this was when Jaguar let me loose in a supercharged S Type R for half an hour. I absolutely flayed all 400 ponys off that thing, and the noise it made was something else.
The banshee wail from the Eaton supercharger and outraged bellow from its V8 took several hours to get out my ears afterwards.
How did the old poet put it?
"The music in my heart I bore, long after I heard it no more"
Where is all this heading? Take a look at what 5 and six cylinder cars under £40K you can buy now.
Volvo 5 pot diesels
Six cylinder BMW, AUDI and Merc - but only the top end of the range
Jag 6 pots and the odd Lexus and that must be about it.
The Focus RS has had its 5 pot discontinued, there are no longer A3/Vw Golf V6s,
the Alfa 147 v6 is long gone.
We do we have instead?
The four pot diesel....
Yes I know it has its place, but the knackered Transit van soundtrack -
and performance to match if you have a lower powered lump under the hood- has
drained the fun, soul, passion and enjoyment out of the motoring experience for me.
Four pot diesels have never made, do not make and never will make
a pleasant sound (OK the automotive Subaru Boxer, and the English Electric 4RSKT
used in some trains are the two exceptions)
It gets worse as the next load of EU Emissions Targets around 2015 could possibly sound
the death knell for even four pot engines!
There will always be a small market for supercars -where the EU penalty charges
can be absorbed in the high screen prices, but even here we are seeing
turbocharged v6 and V8 engines replacing V12s.
What are everyone's views on this?
And what I am to replace my six-cylinder BMW 325D with in 2015?
So far Mr Silly's clown car looks the most sensible option...
Thanks.
Kind regards
Alycidon
I completely agree with this post - EU CO2 emissions regulations mean that mainstream cars come with nothing more than a turbocharged four pot these days.
The Focus ST, like you said, has gone from a 2.5 five pot to a 2.0 four pot. The Golf R32's 3.2 V6 has been swapped for a 2.0 four pot in the new Golf R. The new M5 is a V8 unlike the last one which was a V10. The new M3 will have a straight six instead of a V8. The TT and A3 are no longer available with a V6 engine. The BMW '25d', '25i' and '28i' engines are all now four pots. The hot Giulietta is a four pot unlike the 147 GTA, which had a V6. The Mondeo is no longer available with a V6. The Passat is no longer available with a V6 (let alone a W8). The Eos is no longer available with a V6. I could go on. The Insignia gets my vote for having the option of a V6 engine in VXR and non-VXR guise.
I used to own a Mondeo ST24 (which you mentioned), and the noise was epic. It sounded even better than the ST220 that came along later. My current car has a V6 engine, but I doubt I'll be able to say that in the not-too-distant future. It's a diesel, but it revs nicely and is smooth, powerful and quiet like a petrol. It also has more torque than a Gallardo, 458 Italia, DBS and MP4-12C!
8 November 2008
Best first post ever? I remember drooling over Hot Car in the early 70s. There was a Rolls Royce look-alike with a 27 litre Spitfire engine in one issue. Would have liked to hear that.
"There's a fine line between wrong and visionary. Unfortunately, you have to be a visionary to see it." - Dr Sheldon Cooper
8 January 2008
I drove a Volvo V40 last weekend with the 2.0 5 cylinder D3 engine. At low revs it sounded like any 4 cylinder diesel engine, albeit a particularly refined one, but at higher revs it sounded like a proper 5 pot engine. Maybe not up to their T5 petrol engines but it still sounded pretty good, especially for a diesel.
3 November 2010
Take a look at what 5 and six cylinder cars under £40K you can buy now.
How about £33k for a brand new, 412 BHP 5l V8? Atlantic Sports cars have a Mustang GT in for a smidge under £33k. (although I'm not sure whether that includes VAT, import and taxes...)
LHD no good? There's plenty of other V6 engine cars for under £40k, the 2.8 Insignia (which is also 4x4) springs to mind, but no, I wouldn't have one either.
I'm actually with you on this though, the push to turbocharged engines has simultaneously downsized from 6 to to 4-pots and taken a lot of the aural pleasure out of cars. BMW now sees fit to install 'sound generators' to instill some of the roar back in to a soundtrack, but as any audiophile will tell you, you can't mess with the signal too much before it loses its soul.
However, this is a necessary evil, as we march toward a marketplace where the driving pleasure is sacrificed at the altar of CO2 emissions and 'real-world' mpg.
(Apologies if this is a tad melancholy, I've been simultaneously listening to Lana Del Ray and drinking red wine. And my goldfish died.)
17 July 2009
My goldfish died.
Gulp.
19 December 2008
I share the frustration at the market for nice engines disapearing from reasonable priced cars. It makes it harder that i am no fun of auto boxes, and quite often if a 6 pot is available, you have to have an auto with it.
It also tells you how most people dont care. If they did the market would supply. But they know most reasonably priced cars are bought by people who are only interested in how much tax they pay.
People refer to the performance of modern turbo diesels as if this is some kind of substitute for a proper engine. I wont argue against the performance of many new diesels, but they still dont sound good. And i wouldnt want to own one out of warrenty either. The low CO2 figures and that power has come at the price of some very expensive engineering that isnt that reliable either.
One thing the EU will succeed with is getting me to keep my cars longer however. As the market isnt interested in making anything to interest me now i shall simply keep what i already have until they do.
6 November 2007
the push to turbocharged engines has simultaneously downsized from 6 to to 4-pots and taken a lot of the aural pleasure out of cars. BMW now sees fit to install 'sound generators' to instill some of the roar back in to a soundtrack, but as any audiophile will tell you, you can't mess with the signal too much before it loses its soul.
Sound generators on BMWs pre-date the move to four-pot turbocharged engines. Previously only fitted to Z4s with the N52/M54/N54 six cylinder engine as far back as 2003 (3.0 (NA), latterly sDrive30 and 35), and was done for the purpose of putting more engine/exhaust noise into the car without upsetting the neighbourhood; it was nothing to do with downsizing. Fiddling with that sound generator is a popular mod since it is essentially a branch pipe varioiusly filled with foam bungs. The bungs can be cut or removed to allow more noise through the bulkhead into the cockpit. Another popular mod is to add the generator to the 2.5 six. It does make a difference. The Audi TT uses a similar method I believe.
As I understand it the electronic version is used only on x28i cars, as much to distinguish them from other "lower" four-pots than to pretend they sound like something bigger (though the point of distinguishing...).
Sorry about the fish.
If I knew what I was getting into, I wouldn't have done it...and I would have been wrong.
27 July 2010
Sounds are potentially very exciting and can contribute a lot to your feelings about a car. I don't have much experience with trains but I am partial to aeroplanes and I particularly like a low pass. Here's my favorite; I know it's a jet, but the shock is tremendous:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YPetQ-BAEc
If the link doesn't work, go to youtube and search "harrier low pass Afghanistan"
3 November 2010
Sound generators on BMWs pre-date the move to four-pot turbocharged engines. Previously only fitted to Z4s with the N52/M54/N54 six cylinder engine as far back as 2003 (3.0 (NA), latterly sDrive30 and 35), and was done for the purpose of putting more engine/exhaust noise into the car without upsetting the neighbourhood; it was nothing to do with downsizing. Fiddling with that sound generator is a popular mod since it is essentially a branch pipe varioiusly filled with foam bungs. The bungs can be cut or removed to allow more noise through the bulkhead into the cockpit. Another popular mod is to add the generator to the 2.5 six. It does make a difference. The Audi TT uses a similar method I believe.
As I understand it the electronic version is used only on x28i cars, as much to distinguish them from other "lower" four-pots than to pretend they sound like something bigger (though the point of distinguishing...).
I didn't know that, thanks Colonel. I believe it's also used on the new M5, too.