How old is the boxer engine?

General talk about the Subaru Baja.

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bnther36
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How old is the boxer engine?

Post by bnther36 »

Can anyone tell me how old the boxer engine is? I know that Subaru used to make a 1.8 liter and I believe that it was fuel injected; did Suabru ever make one smaller than that? :?:
Hawk296
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Post by Hawk296 »

Well the boxer engine itself is very old. Used heavily by VW and Porsche. Used by alfa and Ferrari, chevrolet etc etc etc. Not to mention almost every light aircraft engine. But if you want to be Subaru specific, its been around for awhile also.

The current 4 cyl engines are all EJ series engines. These were made in 1.6, 1.8, 2.0, 2.2 and 2.5 liter varients

The current 6 cyl engines are EZ series and came in 3.0 and now 3.6 liters

The EG engines were the 3.3 liter boxer 6 cyl found in the SVX.

The ER27 was the 2.7 H6 found on the xt-6 (essentially the EA82 with 2 more cylinders)

The EA series is what we had before the EJ series. They came in both push rod and SOHC verisons. They have fuel injection and carbureted models. These ranges from 1.0 liter to a 1.8 Also some were turbocharged.

And I can't remember the rest....
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bnther36
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Post by bnther36 »

I didn't realize that the boxer engine was that old. I know I feel a lot more torque with it than I have with my other vehicles. I guess when something works, you use it.

My thanks to Hawk296 for the info.
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Post by bulwnkl »

You know, the funny thing is that most Subaru afficionados say they love the Subaru engine's torque but the simple design fact of the boxer engine as Subaru employs it is that it is an inherently low-torque design.

The Subaru engine is extremely oversquare (bore diameter larger than stroke length) for packaging reasons, and highly oversquare engines are, all else equal, WAY less 'torquey.'

I still like them, though. :)
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bnther36
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Post by bnther36 »

I never would have guessed that the boxer engine actually had a lower torque curve. I've driven manuals pretty much all my life, and my first impression with the Baja (5-speed) was that it had lots of guts from a dead stop. I had a jeep with the straight 6 and it had a lot of torque as well, but the I would have sworn that the Baja was more gutsy.

Interesting....
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Post by bulwnkl »

Don't misunderstand me: the cam is the main determinant of low end vs. high end output. What I'm saying is that all else equal the hugely oversquare engines like Subaru's implementation are lower torque engine designs.
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Post by Hawk296 »

I think the illusion of them being so torquey is the fact that the motor is a real thumper as it is a 2.5 liter 4 cyl while people are probably comparing it to 1.8 liter hondas. Also the SOHC 2.5s do have good low end and great midrange torque. If you drive an older DOHC 2.5 there is a noticable difference in power bands.
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Ayrton Senna
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Post by Ayrton Senna »

What I love so much about the flat engine is the fact that they are so well balanced.
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stefan
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Post by stefan »

Also don't discount the LOW LOW LOW center of gravity (the WHOLE reason for the Boxer) a lower center of gravity will give the impression of tons of Torque (I used to ride snowmobiles and you always felt like the dang things were gonna TOSS you off the back- the engines that stay closer to the ground feel like they can slip right out from under you) I know it sounds strange- but that is where a lot of the feel comes from.
I always wanted a BRAT, I had a Baja (sold) Now I have an Outback
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Flowmastered87GL
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Post by Flowmastered87GL »

I think my issue of drive magazine says the boxer (for subaru) is 40 years old. AWD is 35. The smallest flat 4 i have personally seen in a subaru is a 1400 i think... EA63 perhaps??
2005 Baja Sport, 51k ("NU BRAT")
2004 Freightliner Columbia Day Cab 504k
sableIII
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Post by sableIII »

if you mean the boxer type engine, that title gose to the german dude. karl benz in 1896 patented the horizontally opposed piston engine.

side note; as i understand it hitler named it the boxermotor, yes the german dude of WWII fame.
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