What are your favourite engines?

[Barry]

What are your favourite engines and why?

Mine are, in no particular order,

Ford Kent - Simple pushrod design, easy to work on, first engine I learned about tuning on

Ford Pinto - Heavy but uncomplicated, the basis for the famous Cosworth YB Turbo

Cosworth YB Turbo - Can produce 500 BHP on standard internals, show me another 2.0 engine that can do that without exploding

Suzuki GSX 1300 R - Lightweight, revs to 11K, can rev to 14K with some programming, the basis for all the best bike engined cars

Subaru EJ - Boxer design gives great stability with low centre of gravity, can produce silly horsepower and makes that noise only Subarus make

Peugeot XUD - Probably the most reliable diesel ever built, lots of torque, so good that PSA used it for almost 20 years in different forms

 

[treks]

For me it must be the LS series made by GM. Bullet proof, bomb proof, and best of all, proof against engine tuners of all inclinations and proclivities.

[Gaurav]

With my limited exposure to engines unlike you techy boyz, I like Lexus GS430 engine (3UZ-FE) a lot. The only reason to like, it's super duper quietest V8 I have ever seen at all revs and yet deliver tons of power to move and thrill. I had it for almost two years and still regret selling it.

[treks]

I must agree with Gaurav that the Lexus 3UZ-FE engine is great, but the problem with Lexus engines is that they need to be mated to their original transmissions to work properly. It is possible to use other transmisions and ECU's with Lexus engines, but I have never seen this work as well as the original engine/transmission combination.

With Lexus, the engine, transmission, and ECU work together in the sense that the transmission controls the engine, but this is such a great combination that it does not make sense to want to use another transmission anyway. 

[amitaj]

My personal favorite is Nissan Patrol Y61 engine, that sends mind blowing torque on first gear to literally spin the wheels on slightest touch. I miss my Nissan Patrol man.