Comparison of the best ~2 liter N/A engines ever produced
 

I know we've had fragmented discussions and comparisons between the listed engines below, but wanted to get people's opinions on the best four-cylinder N/A engines ever manufactured. Most everyone would agree the S2000 engines would easily win this comparison, but because I haven't gotten an opportunity to drive all the cars below I wanted see what people thought. I listed the engines below more-or-less based on HP, but each obviously have their own unique characteristics (torque curve, redline, center-of-gravity, sound, etc.)

1.) Honda F20C/F22C1 - 2.0/2.2L 240hp S2000 - 120hp/liter
2.) Honda K20A - 2.0L ~220hp Civiic Type-R, RSX Type-S - 110hp/liter
3.) Honda B18C - 1.8L 195hp Integra Type-R - 108hp/liter
4.) Nissan SR20VE 204hp Nissan Primera 20V - ~100hp/liter
5.) Renault (?) F4RA832 2.0L ~202hp Renault Clio Sport - ~100hp/liter
6.) Toyota 3SGE 2.0L ~200+hp Celica (ST202), MR2 (SW20), Altezza, Caldina GT - ~100hp/liter
7.) Subaru/Toyota FA20/4U-GSE - 2.0L 200hp GT86/BRZ/FRS - ~100hp/liter
8.) Toyota 2ZZ-GE - 1.8L ~180hp Celica GT-S/Lotus Elise - ~100hp/liter
9.) BMW S14B20 - 2L ~189hp E30 320is (Portugal & Italy only) - ~95hp/liter
10.) Honda H22 - 2.2L ~200hp Prelude Si - ~91hp/liter
11.) Mazda MZR 14 - 1.8L ~167hp MX-5 - ~93hp/liter
?.) Small Block Chevy ??

(Also let me know if I missed any engines that should be on this list)

K20

The BEAMS black-top or red-top 3SGE

Small Block Chevy....b/c Merica!

^ I agree with @fatoni

K20 should definitely be on that list.

13B N/A out of the RX-8 is pretty nice as well. Only 1.3 liters making around 230bhp. That's somewhere around 170hp/liter. It isn't the craziest or most torquey engine in the world, but GAWD it's smooth. Can't beat the enjoyment of that high redline too.

Loved the RX8 R3. The Recaros in that thing KICKED ASS!

http://cdn.speedhunters.com/wp-conte...X8_R3_copy.jpg
http://cdn.speedhunters.com/wp-conte...seats_copy.jpg


EDIT: Woops, re read the op and overlooked that the subject was specifically about 4 cylinders. My bad

The Rx-8 1.3L was a rotary. A 1.3L rotary engine's displacement is equivalent to a 2.6L piston engine. 2.6L piston engine making 230hp is hardly impressive.

I reckon the best Toyota N/A engine is the Jap Spec tuned 2ZZ-GE, it made 147kw (200hp) from 1.8L. A tuned 2.0L stroker 2zz-ge can push out in excess of 250hp at crank. Ask boosted 2.0

If the 2zz-ge was 2.0L, it would have been the best 4cyl N/A engine in the world.

The F4RA832 in the Renault Clio Sport seems promising. Makes 202hp out of 2.0L with more torque than the FA20.

list updated with additional engines...

No H22 love ?

Damn, what happened to Honda? They manufactured some really awesome engines.

Why no 4AGE?

i feel like its in a smaller class. at the 1.6 level theres a whole different kind of expectations. plus the ones we got in america were not that great, well at their time it seems they were but soon were shadowed by a lot of cool engines. then again, this thread seems to have pretty loose standards so why not?

K20 and F20 all the way, I see those motors run strong year after year with people throwing boost at them, running them hard, etc...Honda knows how to make motors...now they just like making appliances (honda is now toyota from 6 years ago) :(

the only 3SGE that made over 200hp was the BEAMS blacktop in the Altezza. the ones in the celica, MR2, Caldina etc was 160~ish.

It is sad indeed. Do you know why Honda doesnt make any good engines anymore? ... EMISSION STANDARDS! More than a decade ago, emission standards were much less strict and Honda basically produced the F20 and K20 which was at the brink of the emission standards. As stricter emission standards went into force coupled with the lesser demand of the s2000, the golden era of Honda came to an end. The fa20 has a new technology that allows high output per liter whilst still being within the stricter emission standards. Honda doesnt want to invest in this technology to produce the next gen s2000 and/or integra. It is very sad :(

Best for what?

According to Wikipedia [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_S_engine"]Toyota S engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] the blacktop peaked @ 210hp and the the redtop version also made about 200hp but were sold only in Japanese versions of the cars.

What about Subaru EJ20T

Comparison of the best ~2 liter N/A engines every produced

totally went by me sorry

More specifically, it is a comparison of N/A engines that have 4 cylinders. Doesnt have to about 2L range. It can range from 1.3L to 3.0L lol :D

Ferrari Type 056. Definitely.

2.4L, N/A V8, ~800HP @ 18krpm

;)

(That's to answer the question of the best ~2L engine, obviously, not the best 4cyl)

sr20de/sr20ve engines should be included as part of the list. great engines. the sr20ve made about 190hp and 144tq.

There is a 2.5l bmw 4cyl made in the late 80's/early 90's that made 235hp and like 178ftlb. i forget the engine code though.

Its the S14 found in the E30 M3. Standard displacement was 2.3L but the Evolution model i think was stroked out to 2.5L.

http://www.racingpowerplant.com/Wp5.jpg

Mercedes had the M102 16v motor with the head designed by Cosworth out around the same time, but the BMW is regarded as the better engine. Again, it started as a 2.3L in the 190E 16v and was increased to 2.5L in the Evolution I and Evolution II.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/bd86ca51f...8ebio1_500.jpg

Hey!!!!
Where's the Honda 1.5 liter or 1.8 liter on the Gold Wing/

It's a boxter engine and has been around since 1975.

300,000 miles per engine reliability.

It is a 6 cylinder (H6)

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

In that case 4A-GE belongs to the list. As Toyota's first production engine to incorporate a twin cam system, it holds its own.

What about the Nissan SR20? That's a 2 liter naturally aspirated engine and is a pretty good engine over all.

I just saw your post and I agree they should have included the SR20DE as well.

Thanks for all the inputs... for the sake of keeping things tight... lets keep to 4-cylinders engines from 1.8L to 2.2L.

I'll add the engines identified more recently and then we'll do a part II of this by incorporating some photos and driver inputs (with Pros/Cons) into the OP.

The SR20DE is not an impressive N/A motor. It made 140hp. Now the SR20VE, that's another story, 20v 200hp.

How's the 4AG special? It was nothing special. Only 125hp. the 20V was decent; 165hp.

Toyota had Twin Cam engines WAAAY before the 4AGE. The 3M (in the 2000GT), was the first, in 1966.

The first mass produced Toyota Twin cams were the 2T-G and theThe 18-RG, starting in the early 70s.

Those engines are worth mentioning, and were powerful for their time, but not compared to modern engines.

145HP in 1972 with a 7,000 rpm redline yes please. (18R-G) In 2013, umm, that's okay.

Well, if someone's gonna nominate a SR20DE or the 4AG-E as one of the best 1.6~2.2L N/A engines ever produced, then I'm gonna nominate the 18-RG. At least it was impressive for it's time.

That reminds me, though, to nominate the Nissan U20 Engine. 1967, SOHC, 2000cc. 150hp.

4AG-E 20V (165hp,1995) > U20 (150hp, 1967)>18R-G (145hp, 1972)>SR20DE (140hp, 1991)>4AG-E (125hp, 1989)

Bonus: Pics of my 18R-G in my 75 Hilux.

http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/...x/6bcb5e94.jpg

Bonus +1: Pics of my U20 which will eventually go into my 67.5 Datsun Sports

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/k...r/IMG_9885.jpg

SR16VE N1 197hp
SR20VE 20v 204hp

But the VE was never available on the US market.

Isn't it kind of weird how the OP neglected to put any Nissan motors at all in the list.

Neither were Clio sports and Altezzas

Wrong, the Altezza is the Lexus IS300.

Was it called the Altezza in the US? No.

The OP never suggested these motors had to be available stock in the US.