Okay guys n gals,what IYHO is the best 6 cylinder in or out of production?(straight, opposed or V)-Kevin
I6: BMW M3
H6: Porsche 911
V6: Acura NSX
What about Slant-6.
Depends on what you mean by BEST. Best-Performance…Best-Longevity???
The Nissan 3.5 and new 4.0 V6 are among the best performing and long lasting ever produced. The Chryco Slant-6 of the 60’s and 70’s was one of the most durable engines ever made.
The straight 6 (slant or upright) has the best inherent mechanical balance.
280z strait six
In its time period, the Nash Ambassador had a very good inline 6 cylinder engine. This engine was overhead valve and had seven main bearings. I think that this engine went into production before World War II and continued through the 1956 model. American Motors, which was a merger between Nash and Hudson developed an inline six cylinder engine in 1964 that had seven main bearings and ultimately came in a 232 cubic inch version, a 199 cubic inch version and a 258 cubic inch version. I know that the 199 cubic inch version was an “oversquare” engine–the bore was bigger in diameter than the stroke. I had this 199 cubic inch engine in a 1965 Rambler Classic 550. It seemed to me that this engine ran smoother and was quieter than the six cylinder engines of the competing cars of the day.
A motor earns my respect based on its performance, durability, and flexibility. The number of cylinders is not the determining factor. You have to respect the Offenhouser engines on Indy race cars. It took years before V8’s could beat the Offy which was a 4 cylinder.
There are lots of 6’s that earn respect. The straight 6 used for years in Jeep Cherokee’s is a good engine. Many 6’s have less displacement and therefore less power the V8’s but this is by design. Put a 6 in a light enough car and it performs great.
I prefer straight 6’s. If the V6 gets a good balance shaft system to smooth it out it works just fine.
I’ve got a 4 cyl Honda motor in a Civic that is smooth, quiet, zippy, and never misses a beat. Its a good as any 6 or 8 in that application.
Far too many to narrow it down to one engine in my opinion.
This Rambler motor lived until recently as the 4.0L Jeep engine…Before that, it powered all kinds of Jeeps and government vehicles as a 232-252 cu.in. powerplant.
Fords 144,170,200, 250 straight six was indestructible but it had a head that really limited performance. With a highly modified head, they were used in race cars…
Best 6s in current production:
BMW I6 (although I worry about long term issues with the twin turbo)
Toyota’s 3.5l V6 (powerful, smooth, and surprisingly good fuel economy)
Well, since you didn’t say that it HAD to be a gas engine, I’ll vote for any Cummins diesel I-6.
I think that the last of the International Harvestor pick-up trucks may have also used this AMC engine. I replaced the 1965 Rambler with a 1971 Ford Maverick with the 250 straight 6. I never felt that this engine was as good for passenger car service as the AMC engine.
True enough,but does anybody like the Ford 240-300 engine?Kevin
My vote is for the Ford 300 CID inline six. that engine had a lot of torque at the low end.
Tester
Allison V1710 engines. They powered the DC6 and look how long THEY have been flying!
Box stock domestic V-6 I go with the GM 3.8 I know not perfect. Domestic straight 6 gotta be the Chrysler slant-6 the only reason I say so is that I had two absolutelty trouble free.
I have worked a lot with the FORD 240 in industrial applications (aircraft ground support equipment) and had no complaints. Didn’t like the Chev 292 in the same equipment,they ran hot and it was good I wasn’t paying for the gas. Some liked that 300 FORD better than the 283 Chev.
I had the Ford 300 I-6 in an old van I had. It was indestructible, had great low-end torque, but didn’t breathe nearly well enough to make as much horsepower as it should have.
Most any straight 6 is very smooth and durable. The one I had in my Ford van was tough, long-lasting, and had decent low end torque. Not much after 3000 RPM though. I like the 3.5L V6 in my Chrysler–it’s gone nearly a quarter-million miles and is still smooth and quiet, and respectably torquey, but there are much better performing V6 engines these days. The Nissan 3.5 comes to mind. GM’s 3.8 is pretty good.
My friend had a slant-6 in a Volare. The car was as unwonderful as you might expect, but the engine was incredibly durable. It had almost 200,000 miles on it and would probably still be going if he hadn’t run it out of oil. Twice. The second time it was less forgiving and developed rod knock. He proceeded to drive it with rod knock so bad you couldn’t hear yourself think over the clatter of it for almost two weeks until it finally threw a rod. At the time he delivered pizza, so it wasn’t like he drove it to the corner carry out and back–he probably put 1,000 or more miles on it in that condition until it blew up. After that, it would still start and run, albeit as a slant-5 that would barely move the car. I think he took his plates off and the battery out and abandoned it somewhere in the end.
I had a 240 in a 66 Galaxy. It ran 212k miles with little trouble until a 66 Chevy pulled out right in front of it. It did have a problem in that the studs for the rockers weren’t exactly square with the valve and the push-rod, so the rocker would cut into the stud a little. It made a soft ticking noise but didn’t do any harm.
The best single engine was the old Mercedes inline OHC 6 from the 40’s and 50’s. It was also copied by Toyota under a license agreement and used in several of their models like the Cresseda and early Land Cruisers.
An inline six is the only engine besides a V12 that is inherently smooth. Almost all of the power in a cylinder is developed in a 120? arc beginning at 30? ATDC. An inline six gives you six, 120? arcs in a row. A V6 or flat six has two offsets in this pattern. Any other number has either overlaps of power pulses or gaps.
IMOO
Ford straight 6 300cid
GM 3.8 v6
Mopar slant 6