Boxer engines thirstier?

I can't see why that might be, and in fact it is contrary to my experience.

My '95 Legacy wagon uses only about 10% more fuel than my previous car, a '91 Toyota Corona, despite being:

- bigger

- much heavier

- AWD

- 2.5L vs 2.0L

- automatic vs 5 speed

- boxer engine vs inline

My other vehicle is a motorcycle. I used to have a BMW K100RT, which had an inline 4 cylinder fuel injected 1000cc engine. I now have a BMW R1100RT, which has a boxer 2 cylinder fuel injected 1100cc engine. On the open road I used to get about 45 mpg (UK) on the K100, while I now get around 60 mpg from the R1100.

-- Bruce

I've heard somewhere that it is so because boxers produce a bit more torque at low rpm's than other gasoline engines, and since people drive mostly at low rpms, it makes for the slight difference (???).

s.z.

I had a 4 cyl 99 Camry and got about 22.5 MPG. My OBW H6 gets 20.1. The bigger problem is that the gas tank is too small.

Most modern inline engines in the 2.5 litre range need and use balance shafts to quell vibrations. Because of it's inherent design, the boxer engine is very smooth and doesn't need these shaft(s) which use a certain amount of power. I think this fact would help in the efficiency department

Certainly a 6 cyl will use more fuel than a 4 cyl. My 02 VDC Sedan gets around 23-25 mpg city. I think a 15.9 gal fuel tank is more than adequate for a sedan!

Your also comparing front wheel drive and smaller to awd and bigger. That could account for the difference a bit. The boxer design is very smooth compared to a standard v design. You don't get the side to side rock of the V design. Also the boxer design allows for a more aerodynamic hood slant then a V.

I believe the straight 4/6/8 design has less vibrati> I had a 4 cyl 99 Camry and got about 22.5 MPG. My OBW H6 gets 20.1. The

Any 6 cylinder is inherently smoother than any 4/8 cyl design. The boxer 6 takes it to an even smoother level. John

Hi,

6 cyl is smoother than 8? That is news to me. T>>I believe the straight 4/6/8 design has less vibration but I think it has

Can you get "side to side rock" with a transverse-mounted V-6?

I believe you missed his point entirely, but I'd say you repeated it!

Inline sixes are inherently balanced and do not require balance shafts. My 2.5l 6 in my BMW is as smooth as any boxer 6!

The Camry had a 17.5 gal tank. There was never any urgency to get to the gas station. Once a week whether it needed it or not. WIth the OBW, I *have* to get to the station at least once per week.

Yes, he did. Thanks. Getting only 2 MPG less with the 6 is nothing to complain about. Now, if only I could use regular instead of premium...

OOPS....I meant to say "Most modern inline 4 cylinder engines in the

2.5 litre range"

Gee...since I thunk it in my head, y'all surely musta known whut I meant to say.....

I did indeed miss Alan's first point. However, don't you find 15.9 gal tank large enough? I don't always use premium gas though. I can only find 93 around here. They recommend 91 for the H6. I get premium 2/3 of the time and regular the other 1/3. John

Tony, Check this out. When the cylinder firing and angles and everything else is taken into account, the 6 cylinder is the smoother design from

: What about vertical / transverse forces? like 3-cylinder engines, the vertical and transverse forces generated by individual cylinders, no matter first order or second order, are completely balanced by one another. The resultant vibration is nearly zero, thus inline-6 is virtually a perfect configuration. Inline-6 is not the only configuration can deliver near perfect refinement, but it is the most compact one among them. All boxer engines are perfectly balanced, but they are two wide and require duplicate of blocks, heads and valve gears. V12 engines also achieve perfect balance, but obviously out of the reach of most mass production cars. Automotive engineers knew that long ago, that's why you can see most of the best classic engines were inline-6, such as Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, Bentley Speed Six, Mercedes SSK, many Bugattis, Jaguar XK-series and BMW's various models.

The 2003 Camry has an 18.5 gal fuel capacity. Once, I went a month between refueling. Now, my 2004 Forester XT is gobbling fuel at an average of 19.5 mi/gal, with a 15.9 gal tank . . . you talking about requent gas station trips.