Please select below what you find most important for your overall engine requirements. From most important (1) to least (3).

Definitions:

Dura-Durability. A durable motor is not only reliable, but also can handle repeated abuse. It would be able to start in any weather. It would also be equipped with a forged crank, 4 bolt caps, etc. Think marine engine.

Ecno-Economy. If you like to see how far you can drive on a single tank of gas, this would be your primary concern. Think overdrive, EFI, vac advance, etc.

Perf-Performance. If you think horsepower is king and has ultimate supreme authority over the other options, this would be your first choice.


Thanks for your participation :cheers:

 

Economy was not even a thought when I bought my vette. That's what I have my motorcycle for! :thumbs:

 

I think that if you want to have a high performance engine, you first need a durable one to take all of the punishment and abuse of high horsepower and revs. And what's fuel economy with a corvette? :lol:

 

I want a high performance motor in this car but am not into ultra performance. Durability is key. I have troulble keeping the car washed and repairing all the little stuff. I have worked on engines before and am not afraid of that but a blown engine would put me over the top for time and money.

 

I don't know anyone with a Vette that cares much about economy. That is what our "other" cars are for. As for durability, yes, who wants to be constantly rebuilding engines? But hey....performance... if we didn't want that, we'd all drive 120hp 4 cyl economy cars and we wouldn't have threads on headers vs manifolds, holley vs quadrajet, aftermarket heads, cams etc..... :cheers:

 

The reason I bought the crate motor instead of having one built is that I don't have to worry about one area over another.

It's a mass produced motor yes, and some thing that is a bad thing. My belief is that they are all built equally and won't have a goof or oops like having a main cap loose or not getting the valves shimmed right.
The motor has decent performance (350 HP and 400 Trq), it's not earth shattering but it runs with a stock smooth idle and won't overheat in the AZ temps either. Gas mileage is decent as well. I think all 3 are equal in the ZZ4 engine.

 

There is an old saying in computer netwroks that also applies to engines.

1- Cheap
2- Reliable
3- Fast

You can have any 2, but NEVER all 3.

 

I placed my vote, but i think your definitions are too narrow.

I agree with the 1st 2 sentences, however i do not believe that in any respect is a forged crank, 4 bolt mains or some equanimity with marine motors is in any way required for the durability required. I would be willing to bet that there are many more 200,000 mile 2 bolt cast crank motors than 4 bolt forged crank motors. Obviously you have to balance this against performance, but since that is a seperate line item I think we can hold it apart from this definition.

Economy and Corvettes until recently were mutually exclusive. However I do not see a direct parallel with overdrive, EFI or vacuum advance with Economy. Certainly they can assist, or are even needed to achieve maximum efficiency (which is necessary for maximum economy) they are also required for maximum performance. Certainly EFI make higher levels of performance achievable due to its ability to better meter fuel. Overdrive, will reduce engine RPM's which contribute to fuel economy for sure, but also contribute heavily to durability and reliability. Vacuum advance is not anti-performance - especially on the street - sure if you own a dragstrip only vehicle then you just lock the advance at full advance and run a box to retard you so you can start the car.


Well if i owned a NASCAR vehicle or a dragster that I tore down the motor between races then certainly this becomes a viable choice. But for any kind of street car - this simply cannot be a reasonable choice.

Anyway - interesting poll....
:thumbs:

 

didn't buy a Rat for fuel economy :lol:

:cheers:
Pat Kunz

 

Power is number one.. I don't care for fuel economy...

 

Definitely HP! :yesnod: If I want fuel economy, I'll drive my V-10 Excursion. :lolg:

 

I don't agree that durability means forged crank and 4 bolt mains, not even in combination with performance. A 2 bolt w/ cast crank can be built to be reliable and put out good power. As long as you use studs to make sure the main caps stay on you won't have a problem w/ cranks breaking (provided the tolerances are all correct). Cast cranks are a bit more tolerant to bending becuase of poorer cap retention, forged cranks tend to break easier when this happens.

Fuel Economy, I don't care for that at all.

 

I personally think you can have a good combo of all.

If its 4 bolt and forged with EFI and overdrive you could sit in 350hp and be reliable as anything, have good fuel economy, and be powerful. Now granted 350hp to some isn't enough but for me thats plenty. :cheers:

 

:withstupid: Performance is very important durability is 2nd for sure

 

Performance then reliability! (This is coming from a rotary engine lover and every knows how reliable they are :rolleyes: :jester )

 

Let's see here I rate it as:

1. Performance
2. Performance
3. Performance

Oh and did I mention performance :) . Gas mileage and reliability weren't a concern when I built the motor. Although the motor is pretty reliable.


[Modified by bence13_33, 1:40 PM 6/26/2003]

 

:iagree:

 

Interesting results so far. I thought performance would be ahead of durability.
I added economy just to mix up the selection a little. I also wanted to see how it ended up - 2nd or 3rd. It's always cool to find on a road trip that you're pulling down 17 mpg, kind of icing on the cake after all the work involved putting a motor together..

As far as my description of durability, I used steel crank & 4-bolt as examples. Is a steel crank more durable than a cast? - Yes. Are 4-bolts more durable than 2? - Yes. I didn't say one was better or more cost effective than the other.

fauxrs-
I always thought O.D. & vac advance were to increase economy/mileage? I could be wrong.





[Modified by 71coupe, 2:52 PM 6/26/2003]

 

If I mistunderstood your definitions them my apologies. The way it reads to me was to qualify for durability it would have to have the 4 bolt main and the forged crank. Indeed I would agree given everything else being equal the 4-bolt forged crank motor would be more durable. However I would not agree that a 500 hp 4bolt forged crank/piston motor is by definition more durable than a 200 hp 2 bolt cast crank/piston motor. Durability has to be taken in context with the motor your discussing.

OD and Vacc advance certainly contribute to fuel economy, however the point I was trying to make is a street vehicle with vacuum advance will be more tractable than the same vehicle with a locked in at max advance or even a mech advance, only which will run less efficiantly at part thottle until maximum advance is achieved. If this efficiency nets better fuel economy that is all very fine and well, but it also part of achieving better performance on the street in all the power bands you might experience.

OD as well will contribute to fuel economy, but it will also increase durability by reducing engine temps and RPM's over prolonged periods.

I purchased an OD tranny not so much for increased fuel economy , but for the ability to drive it on the freeway with my 3.70:1 rear gears without spending all my time at 4000 rpm and 200+ degrees. Now at the same speed I'm just a hair under 3000 rpm and 185 degrees. This will increase my cars durability as well as give me a perceived increase in performance.

Anyway, I guess I mistakenly took your examples as criteria...thats all.
:seeya


[Modified by fauxrs, 4:49 PM 6/27/2003]