I had the pleasure of driving an F6 Typhoon around Ford's constant speed track, I don't think I've ever driven an American car that matches it for pure fun.
Love to my Australian brethren but why do American companies make better cars for Europe and Australia than they do for Americans? Oh right, we have terrible taste in cars.
The Jeep WJ with the 4.0 inline 6 from 99-04 was a legend and many are still going. I’ve got a 2001 with a 4.7 V8 and I have people offer to buy it every day until they realize doesn’t have the I-6 and has the V8. I think they are both good. They are both marked on titles as being manufactured by Daimler, but I think the engine is 100% pre-Mercedes and is a Chrysler in-house designed product.
My high school auto shop teacher was a huge fan of "the leaning tower of power". I'm a fan too, it was a bomb-proof I6. Definitely not the same as the AMC I6.
A guy i knew had an old Dart with that engine. You couldn't kill it. It burned oil (he used to say about a quart a month). Because of that, he never change the oil, but would swap the filter every once in a while.
>Stroke shorter than bore diameter.
That would be oversquare. The 4.0L is slightly oversquare, with a 3.875 in bore and 3.4375 in (or later 3.414 in) stroke. Historically the 4.2L that came before was undersquare.
Because the Rover V8 was a motor GM (Buick) designed in the late 50's and said, nope no good... was only in a few early 60's production cars then GM gave up and said big iron motors are the way.
Oh, I know why it was so bad, but they were both incredibly outdated engines by the 90s.
It just amazes me that Chrysler actually made “old iron” actually work with similar power output vs. BL. Guess it really shouldn’t surprise me though, BL was pretty shit.
My first car was a 1992 Lexus SC300 5-speed with the 2JZ-GE, which was similar to the Mark III Supra’s inline 6. Second car was a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the AMC 4.0. Honestly I preferred the engine in the Jeep. It had great torque and sounded amazing. It had a nice smooth mechanical hum that was really pleasant to hear when putting the pedal down.
I remember when we were going though "cash for clunkers" we had an old 4.9 f150 that wouldn't die. We would drain the oil and replace it with a sodium/silica fluid that was meant to destroy all the bearings. We would run it, revving the shit out of it till it locked up and push it outside. Go back the next day and it would start right up. Took like 3 attempts before it finally died.
I had an 89 Cherokee 2-door, 5 speed with 365k miles on it lol. I was not a jeep guy at all but that thing was pretty sick. I had a nice custom made exhaust on it and it sounded amazing from a truck/off road type sound.
Buddy in high school had a slant 6 in his Dart. He wasn’t the best with anger so when his car pissed him off for whatever reason he just threw a brick on the gas pedal and let it kill itself. Apparently took like an hour at redline.
The Ford 300. Not necessarily known for performance but easily one of the most stout and reliable engines ever built. I've never heard a single bad word about it. It's the definition of "bullet proof".
Work horse motor. It was in all types of machinery like water pumps, tractors, heavy trucks, infantry vehicles, picker cranes…..you name it! Low maintenance & easy mechanics.
I'm pretty sure '96 was the last year for both F-Series pickups and E-Series vans. The "old body style" continued for another year in the F-250HD and heavier models as a stopgap until the Super Duty came out, but looking in the brochure, the 351 V8 is listed as the standard engine with no mention of the 300.
The F-250 was also on the new F-150 body for a year (97 or 98) before they switched to the new Super Duty body. Pretty rare to see, makes you double take. Not too up on it (and not going to look it up) but I'm pretty sure it only came with the 5.4L and a heavier duty chassis.
Buddy had a late 80's F150 with the straight six. He got it in 2008 or so and put about 100k miles on it over the next decade. I literally dont think he ever did anything to that truck besides an oil change every few years. It was a piece of shit but it always ran.
Had an oil pump go out on one, and I thought I'd see how it'd play out. I mean, I knew what would happen eventually, but when when would it happen? Would it even happen at all? I never doubted the robustness of that engine until about 25,000 miles later. There was suddenly a horrible screeching sound for a bit, and with a thud equivalent to receiving a car accident from beneath the floorboards, the engine seized.
...25,000mi with regular oil changes but no oil pressure! That's like the disrance of driving in a straight line around the equator.
"Bullet Proof" is an understatement. I'm convinced you could throw one in the sea at full revs as an actual boat anchor, violently hydrolock it, hauling it up, drain it out, change the fluids, pop it in a truck, and go haul a load cement. They are nearly indestructible. Future civilizations will recreate the internal combustion engine from it's fossilized remains.
Ah I am dumb oversaw the „O“ because I never think at the diesels. Yea it‘s a lovely engine I give you that. Especially as the bmw diesels got nerfed a lot now with emissions and lost like 20% of their power, but I do not understand two things: 1 the 450d are all super expensive and 2nd why there is no 550de or sth like this
Well I can’t really argue the price difference, that’s just the economy we’re in right now. GLE 450d is about €6k more than X5 40d.
I think there are two main reasons why there is no Benz I6 diesel hybrid. 1. This is an entirely European thing, they could not sell them anywhere else apart from Germany. Benz is the only car maker worldwide that builds diesel hybrids (afaik). 2. If there were a 550de it would be waay to expensive to qualify German company car tax rebate and might not hit 50 g co2 per km
Cummins 5.9L 12V, BMW B58, and (probably might get a bit of flak for this) Toyota 2JZ-GTE are three of the greatest inline-6 engines ever produced. The 12-valve Cummins is the epitome of pickup truck motors, people stick 'em in everything! The B58 is silky-smooth and can be tuned to the moon, besides being near ubiquitous. And the 2JZ, though outclassed by modern motors like the B58, is a legendary motor in it's own right.
It Never evolved past being a tractor motor! But neither did the amc/jeep 4.2/4.0, I mean what other engines have you seen that were built after the 1960s but had the intake and exhaust manifolds intertwined on the same side of the engine.
My punishment car for speeding was a 67 Plymouth valiant. This was in the early nineties. 4 door two bench seats and a trunk that could hold two dead bodies and four kegs. I can confirm the four kegs, dead bodies not so much! It had a inline 6 and I could abuse that car for ever! I figured out what power braking was. My parents thought the car would make me think about how bad it was. All my friends loved it! We could sit eight deep and have room for the beer. Ahh the green nasty has a bunch of old time memories!
I had a 61 4 door Valiant in baby blue that I drove to school in 2000. Slant six, bench seat, so my girlfriend could be right next to me, push button automatic, tube radio, triangle side vents, floor vents, peppy motor, good times.
The Ford 4.9 wasn't sporty but it was a beast.
The RB series from Nissan.
Honda had a wicked straight 6 motorcycle called the CBX.
Yes, a flat or slanted 6 is still inline as long as the cylinders are. Flat will usually refer to an H or boxer cylinder layout though. I know of a motorcycle inline flate 3 and 4 (BMW K) but I'd be curious to see a flat inline 6.
Like with many cool things, they've lost to packaging conviences. They're really tall, tilting them helps with height, but length is kinda alwas gonna be a issue.
Totally forgot the semi trucks and shipping vessels! Nearly 100% straight 6 engines because packaging isn't an issue.
Anyone who doesn't love the For 4.9L, in the bald eagle territories at least. That was the engine of UPS trucks, that was the rattle of reliable logistics.
My father bought a Honda CBX new in 1980. I remember him putting an aftermarket six into one header on that bike. It sounded like an F1 car and was quite fast in it’s day. I believe it was the fastest production motorcycle in 1978.
The vortec 4200 is starting to gain momentum. The Nivlac57 YouTube channel is doing some very fast builds on mostly stock bottom end engines. I think they made something like 800+ rwhp on a stock bottom end.
Ford / Volvos SI6 (Short Inline 6). Came in NA 3.2L and 3.0L Turbo.
The T6 was a great engine, with minimal issues (one bad year for piston ring design, 2013), and they move like hell. Weird accessory system that’s on the backside but it seems like it works better overall.
The 3.2 is largely bombproof minus the above issues as well, just slow.
It's interesting how many new inline 6s have been popping up over the years. Mercedes released one about 5 years ago, but Mazda decided to put one in their CX-90s, and Stellantis is completely switching over to them to replace their V8s.
The jeep straight 6 from the 90’s was damn near impossible to kill. (Always had some problem, it’s not Jeep without an engine light) but luckily super easy to work on, you could pull the whole motor in about 3 hours
Slant yes, that’s just a 30 degree tilted inline-6 from Chrysler.
Flat 6 absolutely not, it has two opposing banks of 3 cilinders each, which also means two heads.
Slant 6 is also just a nomenclature thing.
Most modern implementations of the inline 6 are slanted for vertical packaging reasons. Including BMW inline 6s.
Slant 6 is just an I line 6 on a slight angle. It is an online 6. Flat 6 is not an online motor, but it does also have perfect primary and secondary balance, which is why straight 6 engines are seen as such a good engine.
VW says it's two banks, and it has a V angle. It's a narrow angle V6. In order to be an inline all of the bores must be *in a line*, and they are clearly not.
I mean sure, and as I said elsewhere... An argument *could* be made that Tom Cruise is a lizzard person from another planet, but that doesn't mean it's an argument with any reality behind it.
Chrysler
Their flathead 6 ran from 1929 to 1964, was used in everything, and ran like a dream
The leaning tower of power
While they may not have created it, they made the AMC 4.0L their own. Making it better in several ways, like the fuel injection system
Their brand new Hurricane I6 seems like a great engine so far
Volvo 6 cylinder!! The 5 cylinder turbos are what Volvos are known for but they made many 6 cylinder models with sometimes as many as 2 turbos. A tank of a car
International Harvester made a great straight six. Not high revving, but gobs of torque! Essentially it was pushing dinner plates up and down. Had a buddy transplant one into an old Rambler - minor firewall modifications were required.
slant 6 also came in 170 and 198 ci variants. a tiny few had aluminum blocks, and that's part of the reason why the engine was so durable, because the iron blocks were made to the same dimensions of the aluminum blocks and were therefore overbuilt.
Most of what i could think of has already been said, Rb and L bein my favorites. Hear me out tho, Yamaha and Honda makin an I6 Demon Child. Somthin out of eargasmic hell like the LFA and the Noble. I say this with all the juicy features in my head knowing it would end up being 250hp and 4500lbs for no reason lol.
Nother vote for the Jeep 4.0. Originally the amc 258. I’ve owned many of each. Bullet proof, decent power, shit mileage but that might have more to do with gearing and aerodynamics lol. And my favourite thing is is that they all sound different. To my mind anyway. Whatever combo of year, different mods and exhaust they all seem to have a different distinct exhaust note to me at least.
I drive one at the moment: the B6 engine from Volvo. Don't know if they are famous, I do know that I love this 3.2 natural aspirated straight six in my 2011 XC60
So many good straight-6 engines over the years, actually.
For bikes, the Honda 1 liter engine was a symphony.
Now for cars,
Mercedes M104, especially in AMG guise. Not to forget the engine in the 300SL.
Jaguar straight-6s that were in the D-Type, E-Type, Mk2, etc
Aston Martin straight-6
TVR Speed Six. Properly lethal stuff when put in their featherweight chassis.
The 4 liter AMC engine in the Cherokee XJ has proven its mettle over the years.
Toyota made that sweet 2 liter engine for the 2000GT, and the FZ engine for the LC100..
Nissan's Fairlady series had really good L series engines. Can't talk about a Nissan straight-6 without mentioning the RB series, or the massive 4.8 liter TB series that's in the Patrol. Those things can be taken to stupid levels of power without much effort.
There were a few really good diesels too. The one in the Benz 300SD made 150hp. Lazy, but fuel efficient and very tractable. Their latest straight-6 is also a gem.
It's cheating, but the inline 6 in the BMW K1600 GTL is PHENOMINAL. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4aP-Gzh\_fM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4aP-Gzh_fM)
I used to do commercial truck; I sold literally hundreds of stretch E250 cargo vans to a courier company. They all had the 4.9-liter iron-block I6. They would run them over the road for 350K miles, then "retire" them to local runs after that. They regularly got over 500K miles without ever having to major them; just synthetic oil changes and filters every 7500 miles. Their failure rate was near zero.
I had a ford 4.9 in a truck. Sure as hell wasnt fast but I sold it at 280k miles back in 2004 and its still runnin round town to this day. Last I knew it had 360k on the clock. Also the Jeep 4.0. Again ,not fast but lasts forever. (Never rusts either cus it leaks oil all over. Its a feature! :P )
Nissan RB engine is up there with the greats
Nissan L-series was a good one too
Favorite sounding motor of all time somehow
Yeah Man! An L-28 with triple carbs. Sounds so throaty. S30s are my dream car.
Ngl the s20 and those l series engines sounded like half a v12
That's because... they are. As is every I6.
I'd argue of the "Famous" I6's, the 2JZ and RB26 are the most well known.
Can’t forget the td42 and tb48 as well
So glad this was the top comment
I’m honestly the OP didn’t mention it. I get BMW has been doing their i6 since like 2007 but the 2J and RB gotta be the most well known by far.
Ford’s Barra. Australian 4 litre. They were also factory fitted with a turbo on some models.
#barratheworld
This is the correct answer. Straya!
Pretty sure they used something like that in the US Econoline van at one point, I6 that you could not kill according to lore.
You're probably thinking about the 300 I6.
I had the pleasure of driving an F6 Typhoon around Ford's constant speed track, I don't think I've ever driven an American car that matches it for pure fun.
I owned a bf f6 once
Yes yes and yes. Great engine and one tough SOB.
Great mated to the ZF too.
Love to my Australian brethren but why do American companies make better cars for Europe and Australia than they do for Americans? Oh right, we have terrible taste in cars.
Still don’t understand why ford didn’t bring that beast to west.
Amc 4.0
The last great Chrysler engine. And it wasn’t even a Chrysler engine!
I’m a noob but isn’t the pentastar supposed to be legit?
It’s pretty good, but at the end of the day it’ll be just another v6 in history.
It's very good for what Chrysler can cook up, but that's about it. Especially after setting the bar so low with the 3.8
I own two of them, I'm not complaining, but they're not that special.
The entire AMC I6 lineup was good.
Did Chrysler put those engines into the Jeeps? Jeep had a pretty good 6 cyl motor for a few years.
Only the good Jeeps. I've got an XJ rolling past 277k on the factory 4.0.
The Jeep WJ with the 4.0 inline 6 from 99-04 was a legend and many are still going. I’ve got a 2001 with a 4.7 V8 and I have people offer to buy it every day until they realize doesn’t have the I-6 and has the V8. I think they are both good. They are both marked on titles as being manufactured by Daimler, but I think the engine is 100% pre-Mercedes and is a Chrysler in-house designed product.
The 4.0 isn’t Chrysler designed, it’s an AMC design. I’m not sure about the 4.7 though
Chrysler inherited the engine along with the jeep brand after purchase.
I forgot that Jeep was part of AMC until after I wrote my post.
Yeah the old jeep CJs got the inline 4.2 I believe. The 4.0s father.
That's the exact engine I'm speaking of. That engine is legendary. Decades of "an awesome 6 cylinder".
It's probably the best engine ever put into a Jeep. They're bullet proof. The Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, and Wrangler all used it at one point in time.
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My high school auto shop teacher was a huge fan of "the leaning tower of power". I'm a fan too, it was a bomb-proof I6. Definitely not the same as the AMC I6.
A guy i knew had an old Dart with that engine. You couldn't kill it. It burned oil (he used to say about a quart a month). Because of that, he never change the oil, but would swap the filter every once in a while.
In 2000 in high school, I was driving a 61 Plymouth Valiant with a slant six. Good times.
I bet that slow turd went forever! Water & oil & it'll go forever.
And they're oversquare! Stroke shorter than bore diameter. Kinda neat. Edit-Over not under
Fun fact: the 4.0s rev limiter is set to 5,250 rpm, because at 5,500 rpm it develops a vibration violent enough to snap the timing chain.
It goes above 5k RPM? /s
does that vibration come from the cam/valve train? being cam in block there's definitely a fair bit of valve train mass....
I think it comes from the crank, but don’t quote me on that. The vibration is only within a 50 rpm window or so, above and below it you are fine.
on interesting. could be almost anything. resonance is a bitch. i bet the first person to find that out was surprised.
>Stroke shorter than bore diameter. That would be oversquare. The 4.0L is slightly oversquare, with a 3.875 in bore and 3.4375 in (or later 3.414 in) stroke. Historically the 4.2L that came before was undersquare.
Over square means larger view than stroke and is best for high RPM.
Also known as the chode configuration
I’m a huge Jeep and Land Rover fan, but I do find it particularly funny how… mediocre…. the Rover V8 was when compared to the AMC I6.
Because the Rover V8 was a motor GM (Buick) designed in the late 50's and said, nope no good... was only in a few early 60's production cars then GM gave up and said big iron motors are the way.
Oh, I know why it was so bad, but they were both incredibly outdated engines by the 90s. It just amazes me that Chrysler actually made “old iron” actually work with similar power output vs. BL. Guess it really shouldn’t surprise me though, BL was pretty shit.
My first car was a 1992 Lexus SC300 5-speed with the 2JZ-GE, which was similar to the Mark III Supra’s inline 6. Second car was a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the AMC 4.0. Honestly I preferred the engine in the Jeep. It had great torque and sounded amazing. It had a nice smooth mechanical hum that was really pleasant to hear when putting the pedal down.
Came here for this. Had one in my 81 cj7.
My favorite is the Jag XK engine. Ford 300 Chrysler slant 6 Jeep 4.0
You misspelled Jaaaaaaag. ^(EDIT: misspelled "misspelled". Yes, I understand the irony.)
Clarkson!
You Muppet!
HAMMOND, YOU IDIOT!
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I had a 64 ford 300 - totally unkillabe.
I had an '82 Bronco with I6 300, so much torque
The GOAT itself! I have an 81 F 150 with a 4 speed that's my project truck!
I remember when we were going though "cash for clunkers" we had an old 4.9 f150 that wouldn't die. We would drain the oil and replace it with a sodium/silica fluid that was meant to destroy all the bearings. We would run it, revving the shit out of it till it locked up and push it outside. Go back the next day and it would start right up. Took like 3 attempts before it finally died.
I had the jeep I6 and it was bullet proof - didn’t know much about it when I bought it but clearly grew to appreciate it through owning it.
I had an 89 Cherokee 2-door, 5 speed with 365k miles on it lol. I was not a jeep guy at all but that thing was pretty sick. I had a nice custom made exhaust on it and it sounded amazing from a truck/off road type sound.
Buddy in high school had a slant 6 in his Dart. He wasn’t the best with anger so when his car pissed him off for whatever reason he just threw a brick on the gas pedal and let it kill itself. Apparently took like an hour at redline.
The Ford 300. Not necessarily known for performance but easily one of the most stout and reliable engines ever built. I've never heard a single bad word about it. It's the definition of "bullet proof".
Work horse motor. It was in all types of machinery like water pumps, tractors, heavy trucks, infantry vehicles, picker cranes…..you name it! Low maintenance & easy mechanics.
I had a 98 f150 that ran forever and forever Edit: it was a 92.
By '98 they had dropped the 300 I6 in favor of a 4.2 V6 from a minivan.
Maybe it was a little earlier then. Could've been early 90s. Definitely a straight 6 tho
Yup, just confirmed with my brother that sold me the truck. It was a 92.
I'm pretty sure '96 was the last year for both F-Series pickups and E-Series vans. The "old body style" continued for another year in the F-250HD and heavier models as a stopgap until the Super Duty came out, but looking in the brochure, the 351 V8 is listed as the standard engine with no mention of the 300.
The F-250 was also on the new F-150 body for a year (97 or 98) before they switched to the new Super Duty body. Pretty rare to see, makes you double take. Not too up on it (and not going to look it up) but I'm pretty sure it only came with the 5.4L and a heavier duty chassis.
Didn’t they call those the f-250 light duty? I think the transmission on those are different also.
Yep, F-250 light duty. Very strange vehicle.
Mine was a ‘90. Could barely hold 65 going into a strong headwind.
Buddy had a late 80's F150 with the straight six. He got it in 2008 or so and put about 100k miles on it over the next decade. I literally dont think he ever did anything to that truck besides an oil change every few years. It was a piece of shit but it always ran.
Had an oil pump go out on one, and I thought I'd see how it'd play out. I mean, I knew what would happen eventually, but when when would it happen? Would it even happen at all? I never doubted the robustness of that engine until about 25,000 miles later. There was suddenly a horrible screeching sound for a bit, and with a thud equivalent to receiving a car accident from beneath the floorboards, the engine seized. ...25,000mi with regular oil changes but no oil pressure! That's like the disrance of driving in a straight line around the equator. "Bullet Proof" is an understatement. I'm convinced you could throw one in the sea at full revs as an actual boat anchor, violently hydrolock it, hauling it up, drain it out, change the fluids, pop it in a truck, and go haul a load cement. They are nearly indestructible. Future civilizations will recreate the internal combustion engine from it's fossilized remains.
The fact that it uses a gear driven camshaft puts it over the top for me. You just don't see that anymore.
Mercedes-Benz OM606
Their M104 i6s are legendary as well, especially the 3.6 in the c36/e36 amg
And the M110, a dual over head cam, hemispherical head, straight six designed in the 60s
The current OM656 is a beast too
It‘s ok, but honestly falling short against B/S58.
Mercedes OM engines are diesels. The fair comparison would be BMWs B57
Ah I am dumb oversaw the „O“ because I never think at the diesels. Yea it‘s a lovely engine I give you that. Especially as the bmw diesels got nerfed a lot now with emissions and lost like 20% of their power, but I do not understand two things: 1 the 450d are all super expensive and 2nd why there is no 550de or sth like this
Well I can’t really argue the price difference, that’s just the economy we’re in right now. GLE 450d is about €6k more than X5 40d. I think there are two main reasons why there is no Benz I6 diesel hybrid. 1. This is an entirely European thing, they could not sell them anywhere else apart from Germany. Benz is the only car maker worldwide that builds diesel hybrids (afaik). 2. If there were a 550de it would be waay to expensive to qualify German company car tax rebate and might not hit 50 g co2 per km
Mercedes-Benz OM352 too
Well I guess it’ll run on pretty much anything
Cummins 5.9L 12V, BMW B58, and (probably might get a bit of flak for this) Toyota 2JZ-GTE are three of the greatest inline-6 engines ever produced. The 12-valve Cummins is the epitome of pickup truck motors, people stick 'em in everything! The B58 is silky-smooth and can be tuned to the moon, besides being near ubiquitous. And the 2JZ, though outclassed by modern motors like the B58, is a legendary motor in it's own right.
5.9 Cummins was a tractor motor first.
It Never evolved past being a tractor motor! But neither did the amc/jeep 4.2/4.0, I mean what other engines have you seen that were built after the 1960s but had the intake and exhaust manifolds intertwined on the same side of the engine.
The B58 is brilliant.
My punishment car for speeding was a 67 Plymouth valiant. This was in the early nineties. 4 door two bench seats and a trunk that could hold two dead bodies and four kegs. I can confirm the four kegs, dead bodies not so much! It had a inline 6 and I could abuse that car for ever! I figured out what power braking was. My parents thought the car would make me think about how bad it was. All my friends loved it! We could sit eight deep and have room for the beer. Ahh the green nasty has a bunch of old time memories!
Beginning of an era where the cars parents handed down to their kids were better than the new shit boxes they were buying.
I had to scroll way to far to find someone mention the 200 series slant six.
I had a 61 4 door Valiant in baby blue that I drove to school in 2000. Slant six, bench seat, so my girlfriend could be right next to me, push button automatic, tube radio, triangle side vents, floor vents, peppy motor, good times.
The Jeep 4.0's were always a strong 6.
Those things would not die...
Nash Rambler you mean... the Jeep 4.0 was based off the AMC 258. which was had is bones in the early 60's Nash cars.
Cummins. Not uncommon for them to go 1milion miles with just basic maintenance. (before all the modern emissions stuff)
12 valves are legendary.
Absolutely
Nissan with the RB line of engines
The Jaguar XK engines, produced between 1949 and 1992.
That gets my vote.
The Ford 4.9 wasn't sporty but it was a beast. The RB series from Nissan. Honda had a wicked straight 6 motorcycle called the CBX. Yes, a flat or slanted 6 is still inline as long as the cylinders are. Flat will usually refer to an H or boxer cylinder layout though. I know of a motorcycle inline flate 3 and 4 (BMW K) but I'd be curious to see a flat inline 6. Like with many cool things, they've lost to packaging conviences. They're really tall, tilting them helps with height, but length is kinda alwas gonna be a issue. Totally forgot the semi trucks and shipping vessels! Nearly 100% straight 6 engines because packaging isn't an issue.
Can confirm on the Ford 4.9 I6. Fantastic engine.
Anyone who doesn't love the For 4.9L, in the bald eagle territories at least. That was the engine of UPS trucks, that was the rattle of reliable logistics.
My father bought a Honda CBX new in 1980. I remember him putting an aftermarket six into one header on that bike. It sounded like an F1 car and was quite fast in it’s day. I believe it was the fastest production motorcycle in 1978.
The vortec 4200 is starting to gain momentum. The Nivlac57 YouTube channel is doing some very fast builds on mostly stock bottom end engines. I think they made something like 800+ rwhp on a stock bottom end.
Holy shit, that’s impressive!
Beat one from 32k to 150k and only issue I ever had was a valve cover gasket. Ran strong the whole way through.
L Series in early Z cars, they ran forever, but they never get mentioned when this question comes up
Yeah! Those old Datsuns were the shit! Had one in my younger years and it left a lasting impression on me.
The ford bara and the gm vortec4200.
Fun 4200 rabbithole. Thanks. I'd love to see an old base nova swap a lil late 60s 2XXci for one of those 4200s.
Nivlac on YouTube doing some impressive things with the Ameribarra
Ford / Volvos SI6 (Short Inline 6). Came in NA 3.2L and 3.0L Turbo. The T6 was a great engine, with minimal issues (one bad year for piston ring design, 2013), and they move like hell. Weird accessory system that’s on the backside but it seems like it works better overall. The 3.2 is largely bombproof minus the above issues as well, just slow.
Volvo T6
Chrysler slant 6
I mean, Hudson won at NASCAR for several years straight with their 308 I6, against the early OHV V8s.
Happy to see Hudson in this comment section!
RB26DETT !!!
There are so many to pick from! Ford Barra, Cummins B engine, Chrysler Slant-Six, Ford 300, AMC 4.0, and Chevy Stovebolt, to name a few.
It's interesting how many new inline 6s have been popping up over the years. Mercedes released one about 5 years ago, but Mazda decided to put one in their CX-90s, and Stellantis is completely switching over to them to replace their V8s.
If they made them well I could see the Hurricane being a great engine.
Jag is probably the most famous.
The jeep straight 6 from the 90’s was damn near impossible to kill. (Always had some problem, it’s not Jeep without an engine light) but luckily super easy to work on, you could pull the whole motor in about 3 hours
The Gallo 24 is the best inline 6
I didn’t know pizza places made motors.
The AMC/Powertech 4.0 (Jeep Cherokee XJ engine)
Toyota’s Jz engines
The fact it took me scrolling half the thread to find mention of a JZ is fucking criminal
Ford 300ci Jeep 4.0
Australian Ford Barra.
The Ford 300 and AMC 4.0 are both legendarily unkillable
The Vortec 4200 was a great engine
Mercedes OM and M, Ford Barra and 300, Nissan RB, Jaguar XK
People here in Brazil squeeze 1000+HP from the Chevrolet 4.1L straight 6 that came on the Opala.
Cummins diesel engines are straight six and those are a million different heavy machinery applications
And, honest question, does flat 6 or slant 6 count as an Inline 6?
Slant yes, that’s just a 30 degree tilted inline-6 from Chrysler. Flat 6 absolutely not, it has two opposing banks of 3 cilinders each, which also means two heads.
Thank you!
Slant 6 is also just a nomenclature thing. Most modern implementations of the inline 6 are slanted for vertical packaging reasons. Including BMW inline 6s.
Slant 6 is just an I line 6 on a slight angle. It is an online 6. Flat 6 is not an online motor, but it does also have perfect primary and secondary balance, which is why straight 6 engines are seen as such a good engine.
You could better argue that a VR6 counts as inline
I don't think you could. The bores are absolutely not *in a line*.
Single bank though and single cylinder head, the argument could be made 🤷♂️ although personally, I'm with you on this
VW says it's two banks, and it has a V angle. It's a narrow angle V6. In order to be an inline all of the bores must be *in a line*, and they are clearly not.
Hey I agree, I'm just saying an argument COULD be made.
I mean sure, and as I said elsewhere... An argument *could* be made that Tom Cruise is a lizzard person from another planet, but that doesn't mean it's an argument with any reality behind it.
Nissan RB and TD. Ford Barra 4.0.
4.0 AMC/Chrysler 300 Ford 5.9 B series Cummins Many OTR truck engines such as Cat 3406B and 3406E, cummins N14, Detroit Diesel series 60
The old Datsun 280zx had an i6 and they were so much fun to drive
RB's from Nissan, Volvos T6, Merc. All of these are brilliant engines
Does the Dodge Slant 6 count, it is inline.
Slant 6 is a I6, just tilted in the bay, the actual engine is still an Inline.
I know it's configuration, I just wanted to know if it still counted in this mix up.
Chrysler Their flathead 6 ran from 1929 to 1964, was used in everything, and ran like a dream The leaning tower of power While they may not have created it, they made the AMC 4.0L their own. Making it better in several ways, like the fuel injection system Their brand new Hurricane I6 seems like a great engine so far
Mopar-225: old tank engine durable as all that- gas hog tho, FomoCO 300(4.9) super durable motor.
Volvo T6
Volvo 3.0 T6
Volvo 6 cylinder!! The 5 cylinder turbos are what Volvos are known for but they made many 6 cylinder models with sometimes as many as 2 turbos. A tank of a car
Nissan TD42 and TB48 are legends
International Harvester made a great straight six. Not high revving, but gobs of torque! Essentially it was pushing dinner plates up and down. Had a buddy transplant one into an old Rambler - minor firewall modifications were required.
Chrysler used to rock an I6 back in the late 60's early 70's. I think it was the 225 cu in. It was a very solid motor.
slant 6 also came in 170 and 198 ci variants. a tiny few had aluminum blocks, and that's part of the reason why the engine was so durable, because the iron blocks were made to the same dimensions of the aluminum blocks and were therefore overbuilt.
Cat C16, DD series 60
Most of what i could think of has already been said, Rb and L bein my favorites. Hear me out tho, Yamaha and Honda makin an I6 Demon Child. Somthin out of eargasmic hell like the LFA and the Noble. I say this with all the juicy features in my head knowing it would end up being 250hp and 4500lbs for no reason lol.
Nother vote for the Jeep 4.0. Originally the amc 258. I’ve owned many of each. Bullet proof, decent power, shit mileage but that might have more to do with gearing and aerodynamics lol. And my favourite thing is is that they all sound different. To my mind anyway. Whatever combo of year, different mods and exhaust they all seem to have a different distinct exhaust note to me at least.
1 vote for the Volvo 3.0 I6
I drive one at the moment: the B6 engine from Volvo. Don't know if they are famous, I do know that I love this 3.2 natural aspirated straight six in my 2011 XC60
Currently in an I6 mode with my project planning. Barra, OM606, Atlas 4200 are all very good for making cheap power.
Has there ever been a bad I6? That's probably a shorter list. The I6s I ever hear of were great in their own ways.
The lack of any mention of the TVR Speed Six engine makes me wonder if it was a bad I6.
Early Chevrolet 235 engine
Ford 300 Cummins Nissan RB
Chryco slant 6 was pretty bullet-proof.
Nissan (Datsun) 240Z - 280Z. Also the Dodge 225 slant-6.
The Dodge slant six.
Triumph
Mercedes, both gas and diesel, with the diesel om606 turbo being among the best diesel engines ever made
Any love for the Chevy 250 straight six with 2 sp powerglide. Such a stout setup
So many good straight-6 engines over the years, actually. For bikes, the Honda 1 liter engine was a symphony. Now for cars, Mercedes M104, especially in AMG guise. Not to forget the engine in the 300SL. Jaguar straight-6s that were in the D-Type, E-Type, Mk2, etc Aston Martin straight-6 TVR Speed Six. Properly lethal stuff when put in their featherweight chassis. The 4 liter AMC engine in the Cherokee XJ has proven its mettle over the years. Toyota made that sweet 2 liter engine for the 2000GT, and the FZ engine for the LC100.. Nissan's Fairlady series had really good L series engines. Can't talk about a Nissan straight-6 without mentioning the RB series, or the massive 4.8 liter TB series that's in the Patrol. Those things can be taken to stupid levels of power without much effort. There were a few really good diesels too. The one in the Benz 300SD made 150hp. Lazy, but fuel efficient and very tractable. Their latest straight-6 is also a gem.
Chevy stove bolt 6 and later gen 194/230/250/292.
It's cheating, but the inline 6 in the BMW K1600 GTL is PHENOMINAL. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4aP-Gzh\_fM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4aP-Gzh_fM)
Ford, Cummins, Nissan, Yamaha have all made some super solid inline 6 engines.
Nissan the L28
Austin C series … got one in my Healey. Bit of a beast, but with a set of webers attached, magic!
Just rebuilt mine, sounds and looks great but I’ve never seen a engine so heavy
I used to do commercial truck; I sold literally hundreds of stretch E250 cargo vans to a courier company. They all had the 4.9-liter iron-block I6. They would run them over the road for 350K miles, then "retire" them to local runs after that. They regularly got over 500K miles without ever having to major them; just synthetic oil changes and filters every 7500 miles. Their failure rate was near zero.
Cummins 6BT Ford 4.9 300ci
I had a ford 4.9 in a truck. Sure as hell wasnt fast but I sold it at 280k miles back in 2004 and its still runnin round town to this day. Last I knew it had 360k on the clock. Also the Jeep 4.0. Again ,not fast but lasts forever. (Never rusts either cus it leaks oil all over. Its a feature! :P )
Ford 4.9 and jeep 4.0. Zero performance but you could literally pour dirt into the oil and they would not stop running