- No replacement for displacement.
You know what your 4-cylinder and my Mountain Dew
have in common?
They're both two liters.
You read the title
you know exactly what we're talking about.
We're talking about four bangers.
These are the soft spot for me, but they don't for everyone.
4-cylinders are nothing new from being
in the iconic Ford Model T to the famous Ford G63.
Bars.
These engines have a ton to offer.
Fuel efficiency, tune ability, coming boosted
from the factory.
Everybody has to love these little guys, right?
Wrong!
Reliability issues, low horsepower numbers
muscle cars being stuffed with these from the factory.
But you still see these things flying around
making sneezing noises and putting V8's to Gapplebee's.
So why do 4-cylinder cars get so much hate?
- Dude, I don't have any money.
I can't afford this.
I haven't even got my tax return yet.
- You could if you looked closer.
- For real, bro, you can build your car now
and pay later.
0% financing.
Use your tax return.
- The ads over man.
We're done.
I don't know.
- Anyway, four bangers have been around
for a minute.
From the Phoenix car in 1897
to the Ford Model T, it's really what got things going
in the automotive industry.
Throughout the years
it would only get more popular
as we're struck with the oil crisis.
This is when things would start to get weird,
and auto manufacturers were desperate.
Fuel Academy was key
and it was all anybody cared about at the time.
That's exactly what the 4-cylinders were designed for.
They were small, easy to produce
and fuel efficient baby.
With gas prices on the rise, Ford and other
manufacturers would freak
out and realize their big meaty gas guzzling V8's
weren't going to cut it in this new world.
The Mustang II was born featuring a 2.3 liter
4-cylinder engine from the Pinto.
So not only was the muscle of the industry getting nerved
like an OT Cod class, new cars were being pumped
out featuring the Quatro cylinders.
The Chevy Vega, the '70 horsepower Plymouth Cricket,
and the Dodge Colt.
If none of those cars sound familiar it's
because they were pretty (beep) ugly.
Although all these cars weren't too popular
4-cylinders never really phased out
but I think this is where the mentality
of 4-cylinders sucking really began.
This is where the hate comes in.
People watches their awesome loud roaring V8's turn
into gas savers.
They saw cars being imported by Chrysler that were
literally just slapping a different badge
and name on Mitsubishi's.
I think this association between being underpowered
and imports taking over the U.S. is what left a lot
of big muscle car people angry and disgruntled.
Fast forward to today, and we see similar things happening.
EcoBoost Mustangs, Cameros coming with boosted four bangers.
It's well, it's weird.
All right.
I honestly do appreciate all cars
but there something that just feels so wrong
about shoving a 4-cylinder where V8 belongs.
Hell, I'm not even a fan of 6-cylinder versions
of muscle cars.
It's like a party hat on old school RuneScape.
It looks cool.
It brings back nostalgia when you see one
but then you realize it's worthless.
Okay. That was a bit harsh, but you get what I'm saying.
A lot of the hate basically comes
from most 4-cylinder cars coming
under 300 horsepower from the factory when there's plenty
of options for 6-cylinders
and 8-cylinders that can make over 300 all day long.
Not only that, but there are some naturally
aspirated four bangers that do not need an exhaust.
Or if you do want noise, at least leave the muffler
or the resonator on, you know, don't get me wrong.
Some sound fantastic.
But some, they're terrible.
Just being honest.
I'm going to put the hate scale
on this one at well, an appropriate four.
I don't see a ton of hate coming
for these because it's hard to argue against iconic engines
like the Honda F20C out of the S2K's.
The Nissan SR20DET that are swapped
into everything, and the 4G63, and just so many more.
The truth is nowadays you don't need to have
the biggest engine
on the block to have a good time with your car
or make decent power.
With turbos, superchargers, and tuning
it's amazing what you're able to pull
out of these.
They're extremely well-rounded.
They have the tuning potential to make good power, yet
are still small enough to be good on gas.
They're easier to produce.
They're lighter.
They can be put in front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive,
and all-wheel drive configurations.
They're just convenient overall.
But what do you think?
Do you like 4-cylinders or do you got to have
that big powerhouse V8 brother?
Comment below.
I'm going to read every single one.
And whether you have 150 ponies or a 1500 horsepower,
check out fitmentindustries.com for all your wheel,
tire, and suspension needs.
I have owned quite a few 4- cylinders and
I've loved them all.
I think my favorite 4-cylinder car I drove
that surprised me the most was my buddy's S2000.
Car just handled so well, it felt right,
and that one's even naturally aspirated.
On the other side of the coin,
I did have a ton of fun driving the ZL1 Camaro
that we had in the house.
They're all good, but rotaries.
Rotaries.
That's another episode.
We'll talk about that later.
Bye.