Realistically, how often is a petrol I4 engine rebuilt in consumer cars? I've seen 1980's Volvo redblock engines with 300k miles on them run as smooth as butter. Short of neglecting timing belt changes, running without oil, or incompetent modifications, nothing much kills a petrol engine before the rest of the car is scrap.
The sub 200hp 80s turd can leak out all it's coolant and overheat. Chances are it will be just fine after the leak is fixed and the system is refilled. The same can't be said for most more modern things. When one part of the system craps out there's likely to be more carnage elsewhere, it's just part of the nature of a more refined system.
Take some random engine, now engineer a oiling system that depends on having three different jets at each cylinder to ensure reasonable longevity. Now make the operation of those jets highly dependent on a maximum oil viscosity (small jet, low volume, thick oil would just dribble) and spec'ing the rest of the system for thicker oil (using bigger jets and so on) would be a needless waste of fuel (pumping around lots of thick oil takes more energy than the same amount of thin oil). Now tack on a heat exchanger so you can use the coolant system to bring the oil up to temp ASAP. Wash rinse repeat until the entire system is designed to have every part working together. Now you've got really long chain where any screw up by any supplier results in the whole system breaking down and a bunch of crap engines (or whatever major system you're designing) that wind up getting replaced under warranty at 75k (costing money, damaging reputation, etc., etc.).
The Nissan engine in the article is very much subject to this. Unless they want to leave a lot of performance on the table they've basically got two rotating assemblies they have to get right. That should be easy but for awhile every Hyundai dealership had pallets stacked up with v6 short blocks indicating that it's not that easy.
> The sub 200hp 80s turd can leak out all it's coolant and overheat. Chances are it will be just fine after the leak is fixed and the system is refilled.
Oh, most definitely this. My first car, '86 Volvo 240 with the B230E engine, had a coolant leak about two years before we scrapped it (in 2012). When the engine started overheating, you'd turn the coupe heater to max (and open windows all the way), since that tapped into the lowest part of the cooling system, so you got the temp down and could keep going for ~10 miles before refilling with water. Then as winter approached I bought a bottle of radiator fixer (about $20) which fixed the leak, did a full coolant change to get proper antifreeze, no problems afterwards.
Depends on the brand. Nissan engine quality has gone down in the last 15 years. Their flagship engine the VQ3XDETT has been good but the rest of the lineup has suffered. Its not yet as cas as a chrysler9 engine, but its not what it was during the 80s and 90s.
I seriously doubt their actual levels of quality have gone downhill. Automotive quality has been on an enormous upswing - the WORST cars of today are better than the BEST cars of 25 years ago.
No worries - where there is management, especially middle management, there's always trouble.
And at PSA concern, there is a lllooottt of management! NISSAN is nowhere near the ingenuity and quality they were back in the '80's and the '90's, after all, most of the engineering comes from Renault now, and not Japan. And the Japanese get all the low end engineering designs from Renault, while Renault, Peugeot, and Citroen get all the good engineering in the European models. Ah the "benefits" of being part of the PSA concern!
I remember studying a NISSAN Cherry back in 1988 and my jaw was on the ground with how much cutting edge technology that little car was loaded with (and it was just a city car!), and I look at all the garbage cars NISSAN has been pumping out today... it's an atrocity. Even if I compare the 280 ZX turbo and today's offerings... the 280 ZX is impressive, while today's assortment is something I would be ashamed to be seen in.
Oh, Renault cheap car engineering. I'm still wondering who in their right mind designed the oil filter on the K4J engine that's installed upside down, such that (short of flipping the entire car 90° on its front end) there is no way to change oil without spilling half a pint all over the engine block and the floor below.
This is just nonsense. Compare, for a start, what would happen to your 280ZX in, say, a 40mph crash. Now see how the modern 370z would fare.
Things that would have been considered exotic in the late 80s - like turbochargers or 6 speed gearboxes are now commonplace. Features that are now standard weren't even options.
Crash ratings, equipment, and drivetrain configuration do not have to do with quality. WHen they joined Renault they inherited their mediocre management and engineering.
You know how much I care about crash ratings?!? I couldn't care less! I'm comparing performance and design first and foremost.
Compare the iconic NISSAN Skyline GT with a Qashqai NISMO edition, the epitome of garbage NISSAN is pumping out today, and things come into perspective pretty clearly.
One look at 1990's NISSAN Primera and one can see what it meant to be at the cutting edge of aesthetics. One look at any of the NISSAN's today, and one can see what it means to design cars by committee.
Try to find a good looking NISSAN with a diesel engine and a manual transmission today. I dare you!
The VQ3XDETTs are used in the GT-R, no? That's a sweet engine for sure, I'm not surprised that a lot more engineering has gone into it compared to something like the MR16DE.
Yes, it is the one from the GT-R. Nissan used to over-engineer their smaller engines. The SR20 engine family was built to handle boost across all models. It made them very durable.
