3 cylinder engines dont last...

covered. · 25-11-2011 04:49PM #1

Who said 3 cylinder engines dont last... I was reading this on a car discussion forum elsewhere...

Im seeing some cars that would disagree...

135k miles.. 1.1litre colt http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2679074

130k miles 1.2litre polo http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2732844 (this is 3 cylinder according to parkers)

SouperComputer · 25-11-2011 04:55PM

I dont think I'd call 135K much to shout about but anyway....
IMO longevity has little to do with # of cylinders and everything to do with how well the engine was engineered, built and maintained.

Nissan doctor · 25-11-2011 05:28PM

I put over 100k(miles) on a 3 cylinder corsa without any mechanical issues whatsoever.

I agree with the above though, because they are generally fitted in small 'runarounds', its lack of proper maintenance that uaually cause the major issues with the like of the corsa engines suffering HG failure due to coolant leaks going unsolved and the corsa and VAG 3 cylinder engines suffer chain/tensioner issues which is always down to low oil/infrequent changes/incorrect grade.

The wife is currently running a Toyota IQ with a 3 cylinder petrol and at just over a year old its on 46k(kms) and just after its 3rd service!:eek:

Nonoperational · 25-11-2011 06:53PM

We have a 2005 VAG 3 cylinder at home. Besides main dealer services it needed nothing. Had 2 people learn to drive on it and gets generally treated like ****e. Going strong at decent miles.

They're not particularly good or bad really.

colm_mcm · 25-11-2011 06:56PM

covered. wrote: »

Who said 3 cylinder engines dont last...

You did, just there..

kawasaki1100 · 25-11-2011 07:17PM

Whoever said 3 cylinder engines dont last is talking through their ass, 3 cylinder engines have been fitted to bikes for years with no problems.

maidhc · 25-11-2011 08:26PM

I know of an 87 Starlet 1.0 with close on 300k miles.

zilog_jones · 25-11-2011 08:52PM

Starlets were all 4 cylinder engines.

Victor Meldrew · 25-11-2011 08:59PM

kawasaki1100 wrote: »

Whoever said 3 cylinder engines dont last is talking through their ass, 3 cylinder engines have been fitted to bikes for years with no problems.

not many bikes are expected to run up 200K in their lives and be driven for 5 hrs straight at motorway speeds.

We always treated bike mileage on small bikes as "dog years" compared to a car's mileage

pajo1981 · 25-11-2011 09:21PM

Victor Meldrew wrote: »

not many bikes are expected to run up 200K in their lives and be driven for 5 hrs straight at motorway speeds.

We always treated bike mileage on small bikes as "dog years" compared to a car's mileage

Also a bike weighs nothing compared to a car.

maidhc · 25-11-2011 09:54PM

zilog_jones wrote: »

Starlets were all 4 cylinder engines.

I assumed the 12v engines were 3 cyl, I may be wrong.

Nissan doctor · 25-11-2011 10:35PM

maidhc wrote: »

I assumed the 12v engines were 3 cyl, I may be wrong.

Nope, 4 cylinder.

hop2it · 25-11-2011 10:42PM

I have a 2 cylinder car with 105k miles on it

Marcusm · 25-11-2011 11:12PM

Nissan doctor wrote: »

I put over 100k(miles) on a 3 cylinder corsa without any mechanical issues whatsoever.

I agree with the above though, because they are generally fitted in small 'runarounds', its lack of proper maintenance that uaually cause the major issues with the like of the corsa engines suffering HG failure due to coolant leaks going unsolved and the corsa and VAG 3 cylinder engines suffer chain/tensioner issues which is always down to low oil/infrequent changes/incorrect grade.

The wife is currently running a Toyota IQ with a 3 cylinder petrol and at just over a year old its on 46k(kms) and just after its 3rd service!:eek:

That's a lot of time spent in a car that small.

Owen · 25-11-2011 11:16PM

Im in a 3 cylinder for the last year. Whatever about longevity, the noise out of it is hilarious. It has a great little rumble and a snarl at high revs.

maidhc · 26-11-2011 01:14AM

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Nope, 4 cylinder.

Fair enough. My '68 Ford 4000 tractor is a 3 cyl. anyway. Still on the first day engine, admittedly it is a 3.5L diesel!

challengemaster · 26-11-2011 01:56AM

Owen wrote: »

Im in a 3 cylinder for the last year. Whatever about longevity, the noise out of it is hilarious. It has a great little rumble and a snarl at high revs.

I'm not sure you're using the right words there.... :P

Senna · 26-11-2011 02:47AM

Plenty of the old Diahatsu Charade's 3cyl diesels put up 200k no problem. Only got mine to 140k and broke down because of my stupidity, accidentally knocking off a wire to the fan and disconnecting the temp gauge the day before a 300 mile trip, ended in tears:(

Terrontress · 26-11-2011 06:57AM

VAG made 3 cyl 1.4 versions of their 1.9 4cyl TDi engine. I had one in an Audi A2. It was a great engine. Sounded fantastic, loads of mid_range grunt and miserly on the petrol. It's not unusual for those cars to do over the 200k mark.

Owen · 26-11-2011 10:53AM

challengemaster wrote: »

I'm not sure you're using the right words there.... :P

Trust me I am. A few boardsies have been in my car at this stage and they say the same. It's great fun. In terms of sound, handling and all round fun, it's the closest thing I've driven to a motorbike on 4 wheels.

Downside of the engine is that while it's powerful for it's capacity, they're not known for longevity. They're supposed to go pop around 80k, so I'm preparing myself for a rebuild. Having said that 120bhp+ out of 698ccs ain't bad :pac:

Woofstuff · 26-11-2011 10:59AM

Nissan doctor wrote: »

I put over 100k(miles) on a 3 cylinder corsa without any mechanical issues whatsoever.

Nissan doctor... i have a question...

Some background...I have a 3 cylinder colt... it goes grand untill about 110kmph and then it wishes it had more CCs after that..

When you start the engine from cold the revs are about 1400-1500rpm for a few minutes until the engine warms up.... especially in the colder weather...

Is this something to worry about or has the engine been tuned to do this for economy or something??

scotty_irish · 26-11-2011 11:05AM

Owen wrote: »

Trust me I am. A few boardsies have been in my car at this stage and they say the same. It's great fun. In terms of sound, handling and all round fun, it's the closest thing I've driven to a motorbike on 4 wheels.

Downside of the engine is that while it's powerful for it's capacity, they're not known for longevity. They're supposed to go pop around 80k, so I'm preparing myself for a rebuild. Having said that 120bhp+ out of 698ccs ain't bad :pac:

smart roadster? drove me one of them over the summer from glasgow to london on a sunny day. that was fun!

Owen · 26-11-2011 11:27AM

Smart Fortwo Brabus, but the normal one's only 74 Bhp - same as the roadster - so you can imagine the fun with 120! There's a Janspeed Stealth Manifold and Exhaust on it, Evil twin ram air mods, Evil twin remap, there's different cams in there, uprated clutch and TIK pipes.

I was looking at engine transplants, a 2 litre MR2 engine'll almost fit in the engine bay, most of the bike engine transplants don't, you have them either taking up the boot, or replacing the passenger seat. So for the moment until someone comes up with something better, I think I'll stick with the factory lump.

Nissan doctor · 26-11-2011 01:04PM

Marcusm wrote: »

That's a lot of time spent in a car that small.

The IQ? I'll guess you've never been in one..they have as much space in the front as a Golf.

Marcusm · 26-11-2011 06:59PM

Nissan doctor wrote: »

The IQ? I'll guess you've never been in one..they have as much space in the front as a Golf.

You're right but I do spend have of my driving time on a (modern) mini which has a much more comfortable driving position than a Golf! I'm 6'5" and about 25 stone so I always look good in small cars!

It's more about having a little extra space for all the things I'd want with me if I was driving that much. An IQ is a possible replacement for my Mini physically but I don't think it'd compare pokewise with a Cooper S Mini.

barura · 26-11-2011 07:02PM

Then get a Polo Gti.

heate · 26-11-2011 07:09PM

6'5 and 25 stone and you find a mini comfortable? Holy crap Im about 6'1 and 18 and find small cars unworkable!

Owen · 26-11-2011 07:48PM

heate wrote: »

6'5 and 25 stone and you find a mini comfortable? Holy crap Im about 6'1 and 18 and find small cars unworkable!

Oddly, MINIs are fine for tall people. They made a publicity stunt of sponsoring a German Basketball Player who was nearly 7 foot, and even he liked the space inside. It was designed for tall Germans, chubby Americans and average europeans. MINIs aren't so small inside, they've got more driver space than a 3 Series.

Frankie Lee · 26-11-2011 07:59PM

I don't like three cylinder engines at all. The only ones I would have time for would be the old Charades and Suzuki Swifts.

johndaman66 · 26-11-2011 08:13PM

Woofstuff wrote: »

When you start the engine from cold the revs are about 1400-1500rpm for a few minutes until the engine warms up.... especially in the colder weather...

Is this something to worry about or has the engine been tuned to do this for economy or something??

Automatic choke?

As cold fuel vaporises more slowly a richer mixture is required until it heats up..then it can be leaned off all magically done by automatic choke!

challengemaster · 26-11-2011 08:16PM

Owen wrote: »

Trust me I am. A few boardsies have been in my car at this stage and they say the same. It's great fun. In terms of sound, handling and all round fun, it's the closest thing I've driven to a motorbike on 4 wheels.

Downside of the engine is that while it's powerful for it's capacity, they're not known for longevity. They're supposed to go pop around 80k, so I'm preparing myself for a rebuild. Having said that 120bhp+ out of 698ccs ain't bad :pac:

In that case, you can bring me for a spin at some stage

johndaman66 wrote: »

Automatic choke?

As cold fuel vaporises more slowly a richer mixture is required until it heats up..then it can be leaned off all magically done by automatic choke!

I'd love to know how you ended up posting that in this thread

johndaman66 · 26-11-2011 08:34PM

challengemaster wrote: »

I'd love to know how you ended up posting that in this thread

I've being busted:). A wee bit of googling to get the wording someway right but had the nuts and bolts of it in my head;)

The Real B-man · 27-11-2011 07:13PM

Have a 3pot Ibiza great little Car only thing is the noise has a little whine driving along and sounds like a Diesel when idling haven't had much trouble with it Tensioners went had to get a new chain thats a common fault but if at all possibe get 4cyl :P

-Corkie- · 27-11-2011 07:16PM

I sold a 99 1.0l Polo a few weeks ago with nearly 200k miles and it was running like a dream...

Nissan doctor · 27-11-2011 07:19PM

Woofstuff wrote: »

Nissan doctor... i have a question...

Some background...I have a 3 cylinder colt... it goes grand untill about 110kmph and then it wishes it had more CCs after that..

When you start the engine from cold the revs are about 1400-1500rpm for a few minutes until the engine warms up.... especially in the colder weather...

Is this something to worry about or has the engine been tuned to do this for economy or something??

Its hard to say if there is something wrong as such but 1500rpm is very high for a modern car to idle when cold.
Also, while most of the cars we are discussing are the furthest things from fast, they should be capable of 120kmh with ease. It can depend of the engine power and gearing though.

Nissan doctor · 27-11-2011 07:21PM

-Corkie- wrote: »

I sold a 99 1.0l Polo a few weeks ago with nearly 200k miles and it was running like a dream...

They have the old VAG 4 cylinder engines though....they'll outlast cockroaches:D

3 cylinder engines dont last...

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