what are the major differences between the porsche's boxer engine and the subaru's? i know the intake sits different and the exhaust is shorter, but what are the things that make it so different? (hehe, i`ve been dreaming of owning a 997 turbo recently and wondered what really sets them apart, cuz after all, they both use the boxer layout.. but then again, lots of companies use inline-4, inline-6, v6 layout but they are different in some ways). just read a thread on subaru's engine not making enough power or something, and porsche's engine does, so i was just wondering. i guess the variable turbine geometry makes a big difference on the 911 turbo..
The layout is fairly similar but the head design etc....are way diffrent. The ports are equal lengths ...its basically designed like an engine should be.
many of them use individual cylinders, kinda like a V-Twin. It pretty cool. timing chain instead of belt, a lot of little things... Very, very good engines
if you turn the Porsche over backwards....prepare to pay for a new engine. SUBARU=still good after backwardsness.
I've heard from many many people that if the Porsche engines (newer ones, dunno about the older ones) are physically rotated the OPPOSITE direction of its intended operational rotation it will grenade itself....specifically how, is unknown to me. I would imagine this happens when you swap ends on a track/street and dont get the clutch in fast enough. However, I have heard from the technician side that even rotating it backwards by hand will do bad things.
I was crawling the internet and I found some article comparing a Porsche Carrera 4 to a 2002 WRX. Here a little history of why Subaru picked the boxer engine. Guess what? Its Porsche! http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/coupes/0103_carrera_4_impreza_wrx/compared.html Quote: There are numerous explanations for all these similarities, but none as substantial as the one offered by Mike Shields of noted Subaru tuner SPD Tuning Service. He says: "It is not an accident that only two car companies in the world have maintained long-standing engineering companies separate from their production and marketing organization. One is Porsche/Audi, and the other is Subaru. [There's also Lotus--Ed.] During the 1960s, the Japanese government made plans with the major keiretsu to understand the world's manufacturing leaders. At that time, Nissan engineers studied Germany, while Toyota sent engineers to England and Italy. Both generally dismissed American design aesthetics but paid very careful attention to American engines. If you put a 1968 Datsun 510 on a hoist, it looks exactly like a BMW 2002 but is about 300 pounds lighter. If you take apart its engine, it looks just like a period Mercedes-Benz powerplant, except for the kidney-shaped 327 fuelly Chevrolet combustion chamber and the optional close-ratio five-speed with Porsche synchros in it. This was around the time that Subaru was founded. These Nissan and Toyota engineers trained the Subaru engineers. This was also the time of Porsche's ascendancy to greatness, and, while the great Ferrari-Mercedes-Maserati, Mercedes-Jaguar, Lotus-Ferrari, and Ford-Ferrari battles captured the imagination of this first generation of Japanese engineers, it was the sheer technical mastery and dominance of Porsche that impressed the core Subaru engineering staff. They understood Porsche's message quite clearly. An Otto-cycle engine is a convenient hot-gas generator for a turbine-powered car. Invent the computer-controlled engine-management system, and the rest is history. The Subaru WRX engine is best thought of as two-thirds of a Porsche 956/962 engine."
I like that. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Especially the part about it being a hot gas generator for a turbo powered car... that was almost poetic.... Lol.... it was beautiful.
Research the lawsuit/conflict between VW/Porsche and SUBARU on the EA63/71/81 engines. The OHV EA series SUBARU engines are nearly identical from an engineering stand point when compared to the VW/Porsche engines from the 60's and early 70's. The only major difference between the two is water cooling vs the VW/Porsche's air cooling.
"Subaru WRX engine is best thought of as two-thirds of a Porsche 956/962 engine" two thirds of what? that article was hard to understand...
A subaru engine is 2/3 of a Porsche 956/962 engine Its very similar design, but the Porsche has 6 cylinders and the Subie has 4.
Probably because Porsche has the luxury of being able to have a more expensive engine that has more performance at the expense of reliability/fuel efficiency because that is what people expect/will pay for. Subaru just can't match that. Plus Porsche has variable vane turbos
Because they dont need to....they are not in that market. Remember the B11S? http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z6939/default.aspx 400hp Twin Turbo H6. Porsche sells a shit ton of cars, in that particular market. SUBARU does not. Why? Different market. SUBARU has not make an effort for that market...yet.
Yeah, I believe that subaru definitely does not compete in the same market as Porsche. A legacy outback is significantly different from a 189,000 TechArt 911 Turbo. They share an H6 layout, however. Can I ask why WJM always types SUBARU in all caps?
man, i always suspected that subaru layout is a copy of porsche's engines, but i didnt know that they were that close... thanks for the valuable info guys!