Scary W8 Photos

"Will with a W8 races an E30" (hi-im-will)
10/31/2014 at 11:24 • Filed to: W8, Halloween

It was spewing oil out the spark plug o-rings.

Cylinder head glacier!?!?!?

Ice had been forming in the PCV system. Crankcase decided to ventilate itself through the spark plug o-rings and valve cover gaskets.

DISCUSSION (32)

For Sweden > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 11:25

Are you trying to kill Jagvar?

Vicente Esteve > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 11:26

What car does this engine power?

Will with a W8 races an E30 > Vicente Esteve
10/31/2014 at 11:27

Passat Wagon.

Vicente Esteve > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 11:30

Oh, tell me about it! Is the engine this problematic, or was it the first time you had to do such extreme maintenance? Manual or Auto? Pictures?

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 11:32

Kinja'd!!!

This makes as much sense to me as watching my firewall traffic.

Will with a W8 races an E30 > For Sweden
10/31/2014 at 11:32

Just a spook.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 11:36

I've just always had this instinct that that engine should just...not exist. Why be so complicated with a W formation.

Will with a W8 races an E30 > Vicente Esteve
10/31/2014 at 11:37

The engine itself is not really problematic, its the rest of the car. The PCV issue is common to all B5 Passats, as are the vacuum leaks and never ending random electrical gremelins (luckily none in the engine yet, just stupid things like seat heaters and steering wheel controls).

Engine makes 270 HP, 270 ft-lbs. Torsen based, rear biased AWD. The thing is a drift monster in the snow, and one of the most inconspicuous cars on the road.

My car is an automatic. I'm always on the lookout for a manual, but only 103 ever came to America, and of the 4 I've looked at all have had significant issues.

The car:

Kinja'd!!!

Cé hé sin > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
10/31/2014 at 11:39

Spark plugs screw into the four holes, the shafts running left to right are the camshafts that open and close the valves, the various springs hold the said valves closed.

The whole adds up to lots of money when it goes wrong.

Will with a W8 races an E30 > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
10/31/2014 at 11:39

Because it allows you to make a V8 in a super compact package. I bought it because it was a powerful rear-biased AWD wagon and inconspicuous, but mostly becuase the engine was weird as fuck.

Cé hé sin > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 11:40

W8 scariness is rivalled only by W12 scariness, which is about 50% worse.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > Cé hé sin
10/31/2014 at 11:41

Wow, that actually explained it rather well. I need more real life friends who are Jalops. Who am I kidding, I need friends at all. Haha, military stole my youth....and innocence....and soul...and other stuff I forgot about.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 11:47

yea I get the rear biased AWD power wagon.

I just don't get the need for a W8, I mean how much depth did it really save? Maybe someone has some dimensions to enlighten me

Will with a W8 races an E30 > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
10/31/2014 at 11:49

No dimensions off the top of my head, but when you open the hood and look at it in person, it makes you say "holy shit!" Every time I open the hood it surprises me how compact it is.

Vicente Esteve > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 11:54

This is full of awesome. It really is on my bucket list of cars to own.

Will with a W8 races an E30 > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 11:55

Found some comparison numbers. W8 is much wider and shorter than a traditional V8:

W8 (fully dressed) SBC (excluding intake/carb)

width: 700mm 510mm

length: 500mm 747mm

height: 600mm 560mm

Kinja'd!!!

Ntovorni > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
10/31/2014 at 12:09

Kind the same deal with the VR6 as well, but to a lesser extent. They could then fit a 6cyl in the front of a golf chassis. (much to my enjoyment)

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 12:10

I just found in comparison to the new Ford 5.0 V8 Coyote motor it saves 4 inches.

Seems like a lot of complication for 4 inches. But I mean if it does or doesn't fit 4 inches can make a difference.

Saracen > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 12:30

Except it has a flat plane crank combined with heavy internals, a long stroke and a small bore. Iit's a flat plane crank engine that requires counter weights. all for the sake of cramming in 8 cylinders. 270hp/270lb-ft is really not that great for a 4 liter engine, and the torque curve isn't that impressive either.

They would have been better off dropping in the 3.2 liter VR6.

Also, that's the same Torsen AWD that my '05 A4 Avant had. It's not rear biased. it's 50/50. The rear bias Torsen was not introduced until the B7 RS4.

Saracen > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
10/31/2014 at 12:31

It's not rear biased. it's 50/50. The rear bias Torsen was not introduced until the B7 RS4.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Saracen
10/31/2014 at 12:40

Yeah they really arn't my thing, was going off of his info...

Will with a W8 races an E30 > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
10/31/2014 at 12:41

In this car an extra 4 inches would put the front of the valve cover through the grille.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 12:43

yea, I just don't know that the power is worth it. I mean I'm at 221hp and 205 torque out of a standard ford V6 3.0L

Seems like a turbo6 would have been easier.

I mean I'm all for weird and different - I AM the resident Mercury guy. But at least the engines are normal lol

Will with a W8 races an E30 > Saracen
10/31/2014 at 12:50

Never said it was a great or practical engine. Just mechanically interesting, and the most power I could find with AWD, leather and heated seats in a station wagon, in decent shape, for $5000.

By modern standards it is not at all impressive, nor is it very practical. But if we were practical we'd all be driving Camrys.

T5Killer > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 12:58

If I did my conversion to mm right its only slightly shorter than a Windsor SBF 302?

Length 698mm

Height 527mm

Width 476mm

Will with a W8 races an E30 > T5Killer
10/31/2014 at 13:04

You got your dimensions rearranged. It's about the same as a windsor turned sideways. Windsor and SBC are very similar dimensionally.

TotallyThatStupid > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 13:10

I remember this from my VW Service Advisor days, though not so much on the W8. The condensation in the B5 and B5.5 Passat V6 breather system would freeze - especially if the car saw very short trips in very cold weather - and blow the cam adjuster seals right out.

We'd get customers with engines puking oil come in, we'd fix it to the tune of $1200, and a week or two later they'd be back, accusing us of not actually doing the work. Then VW released an updated breather assembly, and we'd sell them THAT for an additional... I think it was in the $500-600 range.

God I hated that job.

T5Killer > Will with a W8 races an E30
10/31/2014 at 13:12

Sorry about that I think I need my AM coffee before I post LOL

Will with a W8 races an E30 > TotallyThatStupid
10/31/2014 at 13:12

That's exactly it. My trip is only about 2 miles in winter. I just pull the PCV hoses off the front of the valve cover and duct tape them shut. Back to old school valve cover breathers - problems solved.

Cé hé sin > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
10/31/2014 at 15:03

It was intended to be part of a whole family - VR4, V5, VR6, W8, W10, W12, W16

In the event not all these were actually made but the idea was that in the case of the larger units the multiple narrow V design would have significant packaging advantages and that the same basic design could then be recycled to smaller sizes.

If that's not complicated enough, VW built prototype 18 cylinder engines for Bugatti which were genuine W formation - three banks of six cylinders. They could never resolve the issue of having one inter-bank space containing both inlet and exhaust manifolds resulting in a fuel/heat interface which is often thought to be a bad idea.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Cé hé sin
10/31/2014 at 15:11

I would think that's certainly a bad idea.

I dunno, just seems over complicated for not much gain. I understand making an engine bay smaller/front end shorter, just seems over complicated.

Though it is German, so that's par for the course right?

Cé hé sin > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
10/31/2014 at 15:29

I recall that Ferdinand Piech was behind it, which wouldn't surprise me.