Six Cylinder To Be History

[9098]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/325670/subaru-set-to-follow-downsizing-trend-japanese-brand-could-phase-out-six-cylinder-expand-diesel-engine-range/

 

Looks like the 3.6 will be history. A turbo 2.0 in the Outback should be interesting.

[Rooster2]

It is an industry trend over the past few years, as gas prices kept rising, and the fed government clamoring for cars getting better gas millage. Who would ever have guessed that gas pump prices would be as low as they are right now. Still, I don't think cheap gas prices will last for very long. Also, it is less expensive for a manufacturer to build a car's suspension for four cylinders only, and not have a different suspension components for six cylinder cars. Hyundai went this route in 2011 with a revised Sonata model.

 

Personally, I am not sold on turbo chargers. Sure, the extra power is nice to have when needed, but It is an expensive item to replace, or have rebuilt on a car.when it breaks. I question how many miles a turbo engine will run, before major work needs to be done. It is not an expense I would want to face.

[9098]

Economy of scale should help with turbo cost & maintenance. I will not consider a hybrid. Diesel is the way to go.

[mikec03]

 

who would ever have guessed that gas pump prices would be as low as they are right now

Actually, anyone could have guessed that.  When commodities are high, everyone thinks they will never go down.  When commodities are low, everyone thinks that they will never go up.  It's better to look at the last 10 years and assume that history will repeat.

 

 

I am not sold on turbo chargers. Sure, the extra power is nice to have when needed, but It is an expensive item to replace, or

have rebuilt on a car.when it breaks. I question how many miles a turbo engine will run, before major work needs to be done

Plus 1 to that.

 

 

Diesel is the way to go

Right now, diesel is selling for $1.00 more then low octane gas where I live in Wisconsin.  Moreover, I believe that the cooking oil used in Asia for very poor people is similar to diesel so this is going to put real pressure on the diesel price going forward.  So I wouldn't assume that diesel will be cheaper then gas in the future.

.

[Rooster2]

right now, diesel is selling for $1.00 more then low octane gas where I
live in Wisconsin.  Moreover, I believe that the cooking oil used in
Asia for very poor people is similar to diesel so this is going to put
real pressure on the diesel price going forward.  So I wouldn't assume
that diesel will be cheaper then gas in the future.

 

It makes no sense that diesel fuel is so much more expensive then gasoline. Having worked for an oil company, I know that diesel fuel is much less expensive to produce. Far less "cracking" of crude oil is needed to produce diesel fuel. Selling price should be at least 50 cents less per gallon compared to gasoline price at the pump.

[Mikevan10]

Quote: "Personally, I am not sold on turbo chargers. Sure, the extra power is nice to have when needed, but It is an expensive item to replace, or have rebuilt on a car. When it breaks. I question how many miles a turbo engine will run, before major work needs to be done. It is not an expense I would want to face."

 

Very timely comment! I was just discussing the ongoing turbocharger replacement on my son's 2008 Legacy GT with a co-worker and I expressed that very opinion. As far as passenger cars go, I am still leery of turbocharging. My colleague is an Audi man and he disagreed with me, and I may just be out of step with the times in this regard. But right now being faced with trying to decide whether to attempt a complete engine rebuild or to look for a suitable replacement engine all due to a failed turbocharger (at like 110,000 miles) only reinforces my opinion...

Edited January 5, 2015 by Mikevan10

[Caboobaroo]

There is a reason why I do not own a turbo Subaru. Being a professional Subaru mechanic and our shops "turbo expert", I'd rather have my 3.0 over a 2.5 turbo any day.

 

Though I have been seeing a lot more of the newer EZ30s with AVCS having head gasket and cracked head issues. Currently tearing down one from a 2006 TriBeCa that has a cylinder 3 and 4 misfire and coolant that has gone missing. I dropped the exhaust off of it this morning and found coolant coming from #3 cylinder in the exhaust port.

[idosubaru]

it's very simple numbers:
 

turbo has seals and bearings that can fail which a non-turbo doesn't have. 

turbo has coolant lines with gaskets and/or hoses that can leak and a non turbo doesn't have

turbo has oil supply lines that can leak

there are solenoids, waste gates, controllers for turbo's that can fail

 

add to that higher pressures, faaar more heat management and turbo's also become much less forgiving than non turbo engines, inherently.

 

a turbo is identical to a non turbo engine except it has an entire system of additional components to it.

to suggest additional components don't add more risk, maintenance, or possible failure modes shows how little someone knows technically/systems/mechanically speaking.

Edited January 7, 2015 by grossgary

[9098]

Who suggested that?