Yahoo Autos Has No Idea How Engines Work

"marshknute" (marshknute)
07/18/2015 at 17:52 • Filed to: None

“At 8.4 liters, the V10 engine has about twice as many cylinders as it needs to create all 645 HP.”

What the actual fuck is that supposed to mean? Well, lets break it down:

“At 8.4 liters...” This introductory clause implies a subsequent discussion about torque. After all, there’s no replacement for displacement. But instead, the idiots at Yahoo start talking as if the engine’s displacement has some sort of direct relationship to the number of cylinders it has.

If they knew anything about cars, they would know it is possible to get 645 HP from a small displacement engine, but you sacrifice torque. You either need to increase the displacement, or introduce forced induction. Moving on:

“...the V10 engine has about twice as many cylinders as it needs to create all 645 HP.” Now here’s a sentence that proves the author has no idea what he’s talking about. The most powerful 5-cylinder engine in a modern car is the 360 HP engine from the Audi TT-RS. And 360 hp is 285 HP less than the Viper ACR makes.

But the sentence said “... about twice as many cylinders...” , so lets give him the benefit of the doubt and try comparing 6-cylinder engines. The Porsche 911 Turbo S is the most powerful 6-cylinder available in a showroom today, but it only makes 560 HP, a full 85 less than the Viper ACR. Even the now discontinued GT2 RS only made 620 HP despite being boosted to infinity and beyond.

In other words, you need 8 cylinders to make the same amount of power as the Viper’s V10 makes. And I challenge anyone to name a single naturally aspirated V8 engine that makes 645 hp. In fact, the next naturally aspirated engine that makes more than 645 hp is a Ferrari V12. You need to buy a fucking $300,000 Ferrari FF before you get an engine with similar HP as the Viper ACR, and it is still down 97 lb ft of torque on the Viper.

In fact, there are only 4 cars that make 645hp+ horsepower with an engine displacement less than 6.2 liters (488 GTB, 675LT, P1, and 918 Spyder). In reality, the Viper’s 8.4L V10 is hardly overkill considering there isn’t a single other naturally aspirated engine, at any price, that can beat it on both HP and torque. Even if we include forced induction engines, there are only 7 that trump both the Viper’s hp/torque numbers: Hellcat twins, Z06, P1, 918 Spyder, LaFerrari, Veyron,

So Yahoo Autos, stop with your bullshit and leave the automotive journalism to people who actually know about cars. Might I suggest Patrick George.

Just make sure there are plenty of run-off zones at each corner.

Oh, and here’s the original !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

DISCUSSION (32)

For Sweden > marshknute
07/18/2015 at 17:57

I want a 645 horsepower I5

ReaperChief > marshknute
07/18/2015 at 17:57

Lamborghini V10.. or Lamborghini V12.. just a few N/A engines that are more powerful..

JKER > marshknute
07/18/2015 at 17:58

I’m shocked.

marshknute > ReaperChief
07/18/2015 at 18:00

None of the Lamborghini V10’s make 645 hp.

And while the Aventador’s 6.5L V12 makes 691 hp, it makes only 508 lb ft of torque (92 less than the ACR makes).

I specifically called torque into the equation because people are too quick to ignore it.

marshknute > For Sweden
07/18/2015 at 18:01

2017 Audi TT-RS. 2.3L I5 with 645 hp. Probably.

CRider > marshknute
07/18/2015 at 18:07

http://www.chevrolet.com/performance/cr…

There’s a naturally aspirated 720 hp V8.

Alfalfa Romeo > marshknute
07/18/2015 at 18:08

It would be great if I could get 645 hp out of my 850.

Connqr > marshknute
07/18/2015 at 18:10

So, we are suggesting criminals now?

marshknute > CRider
07/18/2015 at 18:13

True. I suspected someone might bring that up. But until Chevy sells it in a street legal car, it’s not exactly relevant.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > marshknute
07/18/2015 at 18:16

Seems like he ought to know better!

“Beginning his racing career at age 8, Alex has competed in the Indianapolis 500 four times—finishing 4th in 2010—and tested for the McLaren Formula One team after winning the prestigious “2003 Young Driver of the Year” award. Known among race fans as “Pink Lloyd” (due to the unfortunate color of his race car from 2009), Alex offers an expert take on car reviews.”

AthomSfere > marshknute
07/18/2015 at 18:17

Torque alone doesn’t actually mean much though. It feels better but it doesn’t actually make things significantly better.

Also, maybe they were just looking at Honda, who has consistently made 100hp/Liter for two decades when it wanted to ;)

CRider > marshknute
07/18/2015 at 18:17

I bring it up because horsepower has no relation to cylinder count. It’s all displacement, it doesn’t matter if it’s natural or forced induction.

marshknute > Alfalfa Romeo
07/18/2015 at 18:21

This 850, maybe...with $80k worth of mods. Except its inline-5 has an extra 7 cylinders to help it get there!

Kinja'd!!!

MultiplaOrgasms > marshknute
07/18/2015 at 18:21

Pretty sure you misunderstood something mate. He never compared the Viper V10 to any existing production engine. What he did say was that you don’t need ten cylinders to make 645hp from 8.4L of displacement , and in theory he is correct. I’d be fairly confident that some one could make an 8.4L big-block I5 that produces 645hp without turbocharging.

So please, before you start whining about how the Viper makes oh so much more torque and is oh so much cheaper than comparable cars with naturally aspirated engines, try to actually understand what people say first. K? Good.

dogisbadob > marshknute
07/18/2015 at 18:24

It’s Yahoo News. What do you expect? And if you can believe that an editor actually left Jalopnik to go to Yahoo! :(

A 645-hp I5 would be awesome as fuck though. An 8.4L V10 should be making 845 hp. Yeah I know hp/L isn’t everything, but it’d still be nice to see an American car company make 100 hp/L NA, even if it’s an Italian-American company.

marshknute > MultiplaOrgasms
07/18/2015 at 18:27

Well his introductory clause was completely out of place, but otherwise would have been a great introduction to high displacement torque.

But the claim that 10 cylinders is twice as much as is necessary to make 645 hp is BS. On today’s market, you need a forced induction V8, which is closer to 10 cylinders than 5 cylinders.

marshknute > dogisbadob
07/18/2015 at 18:31

It's funny I agreed with your last paragraph before I wrote that rant. But halfway through, after researching hp/torque figures, I came to realize that nobody else makes a higher performing NA engine. Even the insane 730hp Aston One-77 makes less torque than the Viper.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > For Sweden
07/18/2015 at 18:35

Here is a “reliable” 610. I’m sure a few more could be squeezed out.

Opposite Locksmith > dogisbadob
07/18/2015 at 19:48

Doesn't the flat plane crank mustang at least get close to 100 hp/liter?

ReaperChief > marshknute
07/18/2015 at 19:51

Meh.. 610 horses.. big deal.. The Lambo still is faster and more maneouvrable with an engine that is 3 liters smaller.. You also have to consider that torque is largely influenced by horsepower and viceversa.. I have nothing against the Viper V10 (one of my favorite power units) but it is nowhere near as efficient as a Lambo engine.. Oh, you forgot about the Ferrari F12 which has a monster for an engine (still N/A).

DoYouEvenShift > ReaperChief
07/18/2015 at 20:02

Efficiency goes out the window in these argument. Nobody wins.Yea its smaller, but theres more cams and valves and chains(on the motor and the driver) blah blah blah

DoYouEvenShift > dogisbadob
07/18/2015 at 20:06

Uh. The tired old hp/liter argument. Jeez. How about tq/liter. Hp/valve. Hp/chain link. Hp/ bolt. Hp/right angle on the block. Who cares.

ReaperChief > DoYouEvenShift
07/18/2015 at 20:18

Everything can go out the window instantly if we don’t bring any arguments.. Mine was in the sense that an engine is more efficient if it has a smaller displacement.. Therefore there’s less weight..

dogisbadob > DoYouEvenShift
07/18/2015 at 20:31

The S4 has a low hp/chain link ratio :p

Kinja'd!!!