6 vs 4 Options

[914fan]

How do a 200hp 6 and a 200hp 4 drive compared to eachother. I know there are several ways to get 200hp out or either. I am interested in a daily driver 200hp 6 or 4. Does anybody have any dyno charts of these? Is the 6 more peaky? is the 4 more torquE? Type IV and Porsche 6 please.


I am not trying to start a flame war. I am just looking for information cause I found an empty spot in my brain, and I need to fill it before something else goes in there.

[grantsfo]

Lets be real T4 fans. A 200 HP T4 is a handfull and very expensive. It does cost a mint to build a reliable 200 HP T4. Youre looking at Nickies, trick heads, cams, fuel injection, special machine work, tons of dyno work, etc. Then you have all sorts of costs associated with clutch, fuel delivery, oil cooler, etc that you would have with a six conversion. Once you get that 200 HP T4 all sorted youre looking at a hefty bill and then youre not assured of an engine that will be reliable long term. You run lean by mistake and that crackling T4 beast is toast. We have also heard more than our share of home built T4 horror stories. I think its time for some to stop drinking the Georgia Kool Aid.

It is easy to find a 3.0 six for $3K to $5K. Those motors will make 200 HP all day long and purr like a kitten on the street for years.

If you want a 200 HP 4 do a Subi conversion. After seeing a turbo Subi conversion this past weekend they are truly impressive! ...and you have Japanese reliability! Nothing cooler than a 914 with a blow off valve poping away as you smoke the tires with 250 HP.

I'd say T4 is a viable motor up to about 175 HP for a dedicated autocross car. If you are a risk taker you could do a kit and come close to that 175 HP number. You'll hear lots of talk about that mythical reliable monster 200 hp T4, but you wont see many - I beliieve they are like Bigfoot ...Some Hillbillie putting on some big feet and claiming to see a big fury monster. Reliable 200 HP T4's belong in the Bigfoot museum space.

Let me qualify this post by saying if I had unlimited funds I would have a wicked lightweight Raby T4 powered AX car and a 3.6 liter six track car. Both are good and serve different purposes. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)