What is the shortest inline 6 motor?

erohslc wrote: The small Triumph 6 (Vitesse, GT6, TR6) are fairly short, inexpensive, widely available from 1.6L-2.5L, RWD.

And weigh as much as the rest of the car. (former GT6 owner)

This is a first for me. Here it goes.

That Daewoo engine (anything) is actually pretty neat.

Wow, that was hard to say. I think I need to sit down.

The best candidate I know is the Volvo S80 2.9 engine. Because they used it in a transverse application, they made it about as short as you can. Here is one in an in line transplant.

In reply to rcutclif:

Honda CBX? Manual trans, RWD.

EDIT: E36 M3. I shoulda read the rest of the thread first. Its tough not being the only smartass in the group.

Streetwiseguy wrote: In reply to rcutclif: Honda CBX? Manual trans, RWD. EDIT: E36 M3. I shoulda read the rest of the thread first. Its tough not being the only smartass in the group.

This was my first thought too

wspohn wrote: The best candidate I know is the Volvo S80 2.9 engine. Because they used it in a transverse application, they made it about as short as you can. Here is one in an in line transplant.

I have two turbo versions of these in my basement. 32" long. Not short, at all.

In reply to wspohn:

...which brings up the possible option of the Volvo five cylinder. It's like a really short straight six with a turbo!

Honda RC 166. 250cc inline 6. 17,000rpm 4 stroke. 62 hp. 14 inches long.

You can take a cbx 6 and mate two of them at the crank creating a 2.0l v12. It's sinister, and I want it to fit my w58.... Some kind bastard demon Honda-Yota love child.

In reply to Trackmouse:

For that kind of scratch, you can probably buy a real race car Engine. Custom cranks and cases are super pricey.

As an only semi-relevant aside, the only transverse-mounted i6s i can think of that would be cheapt to get as a donor are the volvo s80 and suzuki verona.

VW diesel inline 6, as used in certain Volvos.

VW has the shortest bore center that I am aware of, 88mm, and the only inline six cylinder engine they made was a diesel.

For reference, the five they made is the same length as a Ford 2.3 Lima engine.

The Verona is the Magnus which uses the XK6 engine I linked to. The XK6 is shorter than the Volvo motor. I don't know the bellhousing pattern on the block so not sure which transmissions are an easy swap.

FWIW, the 2-liter Toyota 1G-GE and the turbo sibling the 1G-GTE are supposed to be 690mm from the back of the block to the front of the crank where the pulley mounts. 75mm bore!

I always dreamed about building a little screamer of a 1G-G, mostly because Toyota enthusiasts elsewhere poo-poo them as "not worth it when you could swap in a 3S-GTE or a 2JZ-GTE." I always wanted to see what could be done with some ol' fashioned tuning if an engine swap wasn't the first answer to any slight criticism.

75mm bore but what bore center? That is the bit that mostly defines engine length. Although 690mm is pretty durn short. I believe I measured a VW four at ~600mm.

Almost the same length as a 13B, by the way. But lighter.

Whoa! What the fudge?!?!? Those daewoo xk motors were designed by Porsche!!!

Knurled, don't know about the bore center. I don't own one and Google doesn't turn up very much. I know they aren't commonly overbored, and I know that they will fit in place of the 1.6 liter four in the Toyota AE86 engine bay without much drama.

Trackmouse wrote: Whoa! What the fudge?!?!? Those daewoo xk motors were designed by Porsche!!!

Porsche is an engineering firm. They happen to also sell cars.

Found this on a Nissan board for dimensions of a RB25det. I did not take these... Just copying them...

Width: (from back of intake manifold to wastegate/turbo sheild) 25 inches

Length: (from back of head to pullies) 30"

Height: (from bottom of oil pan to top of intake pipe going over valve cover this one im not 100% on because i had my mother help me with making sure it was level with the intake pipe) 24"

Oil pan height: 4.5"

Turboeric wrote:

erohslc wrote: The small Triumph 6 (Vitesse, GT6, TR6) are fairly short, inexpensive, widely available from 1.6L-2.5L, RWD.

And weigh as much as the rest of the car. (former GT6 owner)

They were designed when gas was cheap and aluminum was expensive.
BTW, weighed a VR6 lately? ;)

erohslc wrote: BTW, weighed a VR6 lately? ;)

I've always wondered what they weigh, do you know? Engine plus transaxle.

<img src="" /> Not light. OTOH, 300 snarly HP makes up for a lot of the porkyness. And I just went out to the driveway and measured. 21" from accessory pulleys to bellhousing/ transmission. From intake to exhaust though it surprisingly wide (deep in transverse application) at 22".

This is on th 3.6 VR6 in the Passat.

Gasoline wrote:

Trackmouse wrote: In reply to Gasoline: That is neat. While I loved the vr6 in our old Jetta, I'm quite jaded by any vw. Ever.

I'm jaded too. Get one out of an Audi. Its like having to consider a wife's pretty sister.

Audi V6's are NOT VR6's. Completely different animal.

I was working on a I5 in a 2003 Volvo xc70 that is a 2.5l turbo. Any potential for one of these?

Knurled wrote: VW diesel inline 6, as used in certain Volvos. VW has the shortest bore center that I am aware of, 88mm, and the only inline six cylinder engine they made was a diesel. For reference, the five they made is the same length as a Ford 2.3 Lima engine.

We use both 5 and 6 cylinder diesel versions set up on their ends as generators at work. Vertically mounted engines are weird, but these do their jobs well as long as we make sure to change the timing belts on time. They are a nightmare to work on though. We have both turbo, and non-turbo engines. Actually a few even have intercoolers.