V6 vs. Flat 4 Boxer
 

I know many of you have experience the power of a V6.

Today on my way to classes on the highway (Meadowbrook Parkway) i was in the extreme left lane doing about 65mph in my 2000 Nissan Maxima and realized that i was coming up on my exit fast with a few cars in the other 2 lanes parallel to me. Panicked.... i punched the accelerator, the V6 respond with tremendous power, enabling me to cut over both lanes and make my exit.

Then i question my self- will my new car be this fun? its not a V6? what will it be capable of?

only way to find is to ask! :iono:

Do you miss the Power of a V6?
Is the Boxer Engine Comparable with a V6?
How Responsive is the engine when trying to pass or cut in and out of traffic?

Whats your take on the Boxer Engine? (Positive or Negative)

You're kidding me right...?

Not sure what your asking here, the 86 was designed for driving enjoyment and world class handling, not horse power and torque. Not all v6 are created equal and produce widely different power figures. What I believe you are referencing is the feel of torque, and if you want that, you should trade youre maxima for a turbo 4cyl, just about any of them will be capable of producing more torque than the maxima.

The 86 is a precision car, it does not compensate for driver error, on the road or on the track. This is the kind of car thats created to be the surgeons scalpal of the mass-consumer car world, not a drag car.

The engine in the FR-S makes almost exactly the same amount of power as your Maxima.

It's also 400lbs lighter.

You will be able to go quite a bit faster in it.

But if you had the option of the V6 on the FRS?
Btw i plan on keeping my engine stock- No steroids for my car!

I would never ever give this car a V6. The flat four gives it great balance and center of gravity.

If you want a V6 car that is somewhat similar to the FR-S, get a Hyundai Genesis 3.8.

@#$% Hyundai- I just hate it. That car ain't worth the $$$ you pay for it.
But goodlooks on the suggestion. dont know if its an insult or not!

No insults here.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

Personally, I hate V6 engines, they are a dying design, they dont produce enough power to compensate for the additional weight, a turbo-4cyl is much more powerful, lighter weight, better balanced, and for non-race oriented perspectives, better mileage.

If your talking, even thinking about a v6 in the frs, stop that thought and end it right there because your missing the entire purpose and design focus of the car.

Dud3, ur ganna h4t3 da B0x3r it d0 not haf a v6 in it lik da max has s0 it sux vry sl0 u kn0? i wuld pik 25 v6s in ma frs iffa had da option den it be m4d f4st n i wuldnt h4f 2 lern 2 driv3 n culd sw3rv r43l f4st 4 ma ex1t l1k a R-tard

What about a flat 6?

Give this man a cookie! :clap: Well said.

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/.../216/7nTnr.png

Flat 16!!! Lol

Sent from my Nexus 7

I am a bit biased. I swapped my MR2 with a V6. It is lighter, faster, and would out maneuver my FRS.

I got my FRS for better fuel economy without sacrificing fun and good looks. It's widely accepted that the FRS is not a fast car.

V6's are smoother, tend to have a more usable power band, and sound better than any 4 cylinder turbo. And they are almost necessary for bigger cars. They are not a dying design. Now V8's on the other hand... those are becoming increasingly hard to justify.

Without the additional low end torque you will need to shift down farther to get the Umph.

If I am cruising on the highway at 65 you WILL need to drop to 3rd to get any decent pull.

If you are bad at shifting often and quickly you will feel slower. The power band is around 5k to 7.5k. You don't downshift low enough you get into lugville. This motor likes to be reved.

Not gonna lie, FRS feels slow compared to my 91 GTR... The lack of torque in the middle of the powerband is very dissapointing. I always feel silly reving out first gear and feeling like im not going anywhere when im trying to start at a decent pace.

Although, the fr-s is a lot more fun to drive, and around town the power is enough. Never had problems merging or negotiating traffic with it.

Don't buy a FR-S. You want a Genesis coupe. Your idea would not only cause the design of the FR-S to be changed but would destroy the handling characteristics that have made it as desirable as it is.

Maybe pay better attention to your driving so you don't catch yourself in that kind of situation to make a dangerous maneuver? Just saying.

Good point... if you want a 6 cylinder RWD coupe platform, there are already several options such as the Genesis coupe, the 370Z, the Mustang, the Camaro, or some BMW's. But the Flat 4 is what makes this car unique and what gives it good balance. I too originally thought it would be better off with a flat 6 or V6, but after driving it, I don't think it needs that much more power. It really does feel more powerful than the numbers imply and the only thing I noticed was the mid-range dip. But the reality is that in most situations around town, you will have more fun working a smaller engine than putting around a bigger engine.

engine is weak and untapped

tap that ass

turbo, supercharge or squeeze that extra 12-25 hp out of a NA set up, its not hard with a tune and some properly designed parts

Idk... BMW M12 1.5L i4 turbo sure make hellova sound... also TRD 4AG revving all they up to 9k... Sure sounds like pure porn to me ;)

I admit there are exceptions. But it's much easier for a V6 to sound good and also, I think you can always tell the difference between a 4 cylinder engine and a 6+ cylinder engine. BTW, I was just listening to the new Porsche 911 sport exhaust note. :drool:

Are you talking bout 918 Spyder?

No, just the new 911 Carrera with the sport exhaust button. Race car sounds when you want them, modest sounds when you don't. :thumbsup:

But I haven't properly heard the 918 Spyder yet. Is it impressive or does it just sound like batteries? :bellyroll:

Like I said flat 6

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong, flat 6's are still my ideal engine. I just think it could negatively effect the handling and power balance of the car to add that extra weight and power. I'd be really curious to drive one back to back with this car though. But I'm starting to think that I need to just get rich and buy a Porsche 911 Carrera 4 or 4S... lol

As said above, a six would add weight to the front and likely eff up the balance. The boxer 4 works OK, you just need to let her rev. With that said, If I had to have a 6, I would prefer an all aluminum DOHC inline 6 with a crossflow cyl. head.

Rotary. If youve ever mastered and wrangled in an 80's mkII or mkIII rx7, the FRS will fit like an old shoe.

A V6 would be so wrong for the FRS. The flat 4 is what makes the center so low. Like others have said, maybe a flat 6, but you would need a bigger car which would not be the same.

I prefer the turbo 4's vs 6s in almost all cars. Audi has even eliminated the V6 since they were selling so poorly and all the A4's come with the turbo 4.

To say a V6 is best sounding is funny because you could then just compare that to a V8 which is louder and deeper.

Would I be happy if the car had more power? Yes. Does it need more power to be fun? No.

http://captionsearch.com/pix/be0ua5ovm8.jpg
and stay out! :paddle:

Turbo.

That's pretty much what solved my problem ;)

ahh I see we are back on to discussing if this car is fast or not...blah. Of course you will be able to accelerate at highway speeds. The real difference here is that you maxima won't need to rev as high as the fr-s to get that punch. There is certainly enough power, but you will have to downshift to get it.

That said, even if there was a v6 offered with this car, I would not have ticked that box. It is not worth the extra weight, reduction in fuel economy, and its overall size.

It's not more power you need, but more awareness in your driving. Driving is like a zen experience, alertness and mindfulness will reward you far more than distraction, with the occasional frenzied effort to correct a mistake. The FR-S demands and rewards vigilance, even temper and finesse.

I read an article once by a journalist who accompanied a famous racing driver on an ordinary drive around Los Angeles. The writer was astonished at how good the driver was in traffic. He was constantly alert of his surroundings, highly focused, anticipated problems, and yet stayed well ahead of the average traffic speed. All while driving with consummate smoothness and calm. He was driving a Ford Taurus.

I replaced my G35 with my BRZ. Doesn't overtake on the freeway as easily but still does the job competently (much better than my 2880lb 150hp SX4) and I enjoy it much much MUCH more overall. G35 felt like a boat; BRZ feels like a racecar.

Shouldn't this thread be in the "vs." forum?

I can't say much on my experience with the FR-S since all I've done so far is a very short test drive, but I can say that it felt fine on power then, and given what I'm used to with my 626, it'll be more than powerful enough for me. According to edmunds my car has 130HP and 130 ft-lbs of torque and weighs about 2900lbs (though a friend of mine pointed out the sticker on the door jam said 3900). With a similar weight and 20 less ft-lbs of torque the 626 feels more than capable of managing traffic.

Actually, I've commented on how much I like my car's torque even though it seems low after reading stuff on here. For someone like me, the FR-S definitely doesn't need a v6. A flat-4 is definitely what most people need, and can be happy with. Actually, a v6 probably wouldn't even appeal to me.

I'm a V6 lover but a this car is better design for a Flat 4. But a bigger Flat 4(2.5L) would be the perfect medium between a 2.0L 4 and a 3.0L 6 cylinder engine. I love the Goldilocks engine choice between these two.

This part right here has fail written all over it!!! V6's produce plenty power/torque for the weight of the typical vehicle it resides in. This sentence you posted is better suited to a 4 cylinder engined vehicle. A Nissan 370Z weighs 3,250 lbs and come with 332 hp. That is 9.9 lbs per horsepower and almost double the torque of a BRZ/FRS in a vehicle that doesn't weigh twice as much. 100hp/L is nothing when it comes to acceleration. Its all about POWER TO WEIGHT RATIO!.