chronopassion

Based on all the discussion we have had about modifications of the 2.3 litre, I am curious about the new 1.8 litre.

In Europe and according to MBSPY, there are three versions of the same 1.8 litre engines with marked differences in hp. Am I wrong in assuming that the 1.8 sold in the US at 189 hp is just about as much hp as one can get out of that engine? If not, are there any estimates about how much more could it throw out?

The other question is since the other two versions put out much less hp, is the US version (189 hp) much more likely to fail quicker than the other two or the 2.3 litre for that matter?

Just curious what some of the experts think about these questions.

Best regards,

CP

Spyke

I wouldn't call myself an expert or anything, but... 190hp out of a 1.8L engine equates to 105hp/liter. That's decent, but not earth shattering these days. My guess is you'd have a hard time "failing" any of these engines without abusing them.

As for how long they will last: the vast majority of drivers aren't pushing their engine's anywhere near their limits 99.9% of the driving cycle. So it doesn't really matter if the engine puts out 190hp max or 120 hp max or whatever. At a 3000rpm cruise, the stresses the engine sees aren't related to what it's max power is.

In fact you COULD look at it this way: the lower power engine will be pushed harder to get similar performance in everyday driving, maybe geared differently to get better performance and therefore be spinning faster at the same cruise speeds, etc. So... it seems you could argue the higher power engine may be less stressed under normal use and will last longer? Just something to think about.

Point of reference regarding engine output: Production engines, with warranty, that put out 175hp/l are commonplace these days. Honda (and others) sell thousands of them each year.