The BEST and WORST 4-Cylinder Engines EVER

Some engines are good and some engines are bad. So, today we're going to take a walk through history and look at the best and worst four-cylinder engines of all time.

This list includes a little bit of everything, so you'll definitely want to stick around until the end.

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[Dustrunnersauto]

What would you add or take away from this list? 👀

[ryanlabombard]

Was surprised at the omission of the Ford Cosworth 2.0. The first engine to break the 100 hp/liter barrier that went on to power the Sierra RS Cosworth to an incredible 84% winnning percentage in racing. Utterly tunable it was making 550 hp+ in the dominant RS500 for racing and was also used in the legendary Escort RS Cosworth.

[bbenjaminfan]

I had a 2005 Saturn Ion 1 with a 2.2 Ecotec engine. Had to retire it due to the rear subframe mount rusting out on me. It had 289k miles, and still started up and ran strong

[robpottie]

Ecotec is a very broad term that applies to a lot of engines. Not all of them are direct injected, not all of them use timing chains, and not all of them are aluminum blocks.

[andrewhansen]

Alfa Romeo Twin Cam, straight 4 cyl, 4 stroke, petrol engine. GT Am. Aluminum alloy engine block with cast iron "wet" cylinder liners, aluminium alloy head with hemispherical combustion chambers, cross flow design with 2 Weber carbs on one side, exhaust on the other. Fully counterweighted crankshaft,
forged steel crankshaft with 5 main bearings
DOHC (direct valve actuation with bucket tappets) driven by a double row timing chain
80 degrees angle between inlet and exhaust valves axis
Aspiration, 2 x Weber 45DCOE carburetors
flat, finned oil sump, oil capacity 10 quarts.
Final drive, 41/6, 43/7
Starting period 1969, as 1750 GT Am, and the same model changed name as 2000 GT Am in 1972
1985cc
240 HP
5 speed manual gearbox
1st 2, 33
2nd 1, 58
3rd 1, 21
4th 1
5th 0, 88

[numak]

VW EA888 is definitely worth mentioning in this list. Very powerful and pretty reliable engine.

[xaviergroenewaldt]

I would add the C20XE. It held the record for the highest torque per liter until the 458 came out (petrol engine). So it held the record from 1990s (about 20 years, give or take). It features in various motor sports racing, especially in the UK. It has its issues though, the main being oil leaks. The most powerful naturally aspirated version was in the Opel Kadett Superboss, which featured 276 cams, 4 into 1 exhaust, and K&N filter as stock.

[lukedubnicka]

The only ecotec engine that's really been bad is that 2.4L version found in the Equinox, with its oil consumption and timing chain issues. My 2.0t LHU is a gem, and lastly, the Cobalt SS ended up making 260 hp when featured with the 2.0t LNF. Sure, the LNF *can* have timing chain issues too, but it's not common at all

[einar]

you forgot to mention that the b230 is quite modular with lots of different parts avilable aftermarket and oem, you can get a forged 2.5L boat crank, a 16valve head. From the aftermarket you can stroke the engine up to 3.1L. the b230 aslo came in 2.0L engines with turbos making up to 200hp

[thatcarguyUZ]

Overall, I think that you've got a good list here. But one suggestion that I have to make is to replace the GM 2.5 L Iron Duke (which was kind of gutless but was very durable and reliable) with the incredibly terrible 2.3L Quad 4, and its variants, the Quad OHC and the 2.4 liter twin cam which was a revised version of the engine that they renamed because of the horrible reputation the Quad 4 had developed by that time. The quad was a head gasket eater. It was a miserable engine to work on as well. When I was in the GM dealership system at the time and it was still common to get a 30000 mile service, we used to joke that in addition to plugs air filters fuel filters in PCV valves, you also needed to change the head gasket on the Quad 4. The sad thing is, for that time period, when that engine was running right, it actually was a great running engine. But unfortunately, it just constantly shredded head gaskets. The timing chain setup, along with the tensioners in the front timing cover, were a real bastard to deal with.

[jefflaird]

Saab b234 and b204. Can make 400 easy on stock internals. A lot of parts interchangeable too. You can tune your cars with t5 suite. Same software Saab used.

[adamv]

Surprised the VAG 1.8t didn't make the cut. Super reliable and extremely tunable.

[highbrass]

I am a proud daily driver of a 1994 Pontiac Sunbird with the 2.0L engine and a 1997 Pontiac Sunfire with the 2.2 LN2 ( pre ecotec ) both cars are coupes and have been driven very hard. But also maximally maintained. Even after driving them hard forever they continue to run like clocks and operate as they were designed from the factory.

[manosparavida]

The Alfa Romeo 105 series engines were light-years ahead of their time, the 1750cc particularly. A 118 bhp in 1954 was only altered in 1994 to use fuel injection. Possibly the same bore and stroke is still used in the modern day 240+ hp 4c.

[titty_sprinkles]

I think the VW 1.9tdi deserves a spot on the list. Maybe make an entire video on them??

[TheBlackPaulMuadDib]

Honda K20, k24, H20, f20x, toyota r22, Chrysler 2.2, Mitsubishi 4g63, Nissan j series, anything Toyota for the most part except the trash 2zr-fxe. The best of them all was the Theta. Where else can you get an engine to eat it's self within 50 miles, and Hyundai will give life time replacements!

[chriskappert]

Alfa Romeo Nord DOHC 1.3 / 1.6 / 1.8 / 2.0 liter .
Made from early 50s to late 80s and won hundreds of races .

[codygermscheid]

The Ecotecs have quite a bit of aftermarket support and are actually very stout engines aside from the timing chain issues. I’ve owned 3 of them ranging from brand new to 300k miles

[TIMMEH]

Alfa Romeo traditional twin cam 8 valve straight 4 engine from aaaages ago. What is surprising about it was they were often so tight by the time they had properly run in and released their full potential other contemporary engines were ready for a full rebuild. 70 bhp per litre was pretty good too for the day when most struggled to get 50. Good for in excess of 250k miles too if you looked after them and treated them with respect when cold.

[tomaspinto]

On the Bmw s14 engine there is also a S14B20 that came in the e30 320is wich was only sold in Portugal and Italy, this was a destroked version of the engine to reduce the displacement due to tax related to the engine displacement, it made around 190 hp and is a really rare car/engine, they are a e30 coupe with a diferent front bumper and a low profile wing, a splendid car.