For a company that started out using magnesium for engines and then changed to cast iron with for water cooled cars. But then continued to use iron for years... AFAIK, VW is STILL using cast iron for blocks... What is up with that...? (Just a rhetorical question really...)
Scott
They're also still using the 2.0 8v as far as i know.
In reply to Swank Force One:
Yup, my friend's sister has an 8v equipped jetta. I've heard stock corollas that sounded like they had more guts.
Based off the ABA motor which debuted in 1994. Touting direct injected turbinesand hybrid technology while quietly selling a motor that was originally developed as OBDI
Iron blocks are better, easier and cheaper than aluminum one, generally.
captdownshift wrote: Based off the ABA motor which debuted in 1994. Touting direct injected turbinesand hybrid technology while quietly selling a motor that was originally developed as OBDI
It's not based off of the ABA engine. ABA engines were jackshafted, external water pump engines. The 2.0 8v has been 06A based since 1998 or so. The last ABAs were put in A3-chassis cars, at least in North America.
Cast iron is cheap, VW is cheap. Also, the ACVW engines are more closer related to lawnmowers than what we know as car engines, and lots of power equipment back then was made with high magnesium alloy parts. My dad has a 40s Mall Model 10 2 man chainsaw that's pretty much all magnesium based metal aside from the bar, chain, magneto parts, clutch parts, gears in the reduction box, crank, and conrod. The bore is chrome lined mag, as is the piston IIRC (if not its chromed aluminum). That's not out of the ordinary for a big saw of the time.
what is so wrong with an iron block? Yes, it is heavy, but it is also strong, does not need special machining techniques, and is more bullet proof against overheating and lack of oil.. perfect for a car that is made for the unwashed masses
In reply to Swank Force One:
I don't think the 2.0L 8v is still in current use in NA. AFAIK it ended with the Mk IV cars, sold in Canada as the City Golf and City Jetta up until 2008.
In reply to NGTD:
The 8-valve 2-liter is the base engine in the new Jetta again.
In reply to Knurled:
Oops, I didn't realize that they brought it back. Some sort of "value" edition? What is the upgrade the 2.5?
I just think VW's playing to a well-understood audience. The American car-buying public wants attractive, European-looking sheet metal, and electronic cabin gizmos, but they don't care about much else.
VW is sitting in the proverbial catbird seat here. They've got the quasi-sophisticated look down pat, along with what seems to be a limitless supply of wheezing, stagflation-era Iron Duke-wannabe engines to stuff inside. Add in a supply of beam axles manufactured in Slovakia and some advertisements with British-sounding narration, and you've got a winner.
b13990 wrote: VW is sitting in the proverbial catbird seat here. They've got the quasi-sophisticated look down pat, along with what seems to be a limitless supply of wheezing, stagflation-era Iron Duke-wannabe engines to stuff inside.
b13990, I lived with an Iron Duke. I knew Iron Dukes, Iron Dukes were a friend of mine. VW 8-valves are no Iron Duke.
(They are way, way better than that POS, which only seemed to live forever because they were so crappy that you couldn't tell when they were dead)
mad_machine wrote: what is so wrong with an iron block? Yes, it is heavy, but it is also strong, does not need special machining techniques, and is more bullet proof against overheating and lack of oil.. perfect for a car that is made for the unwashed masses
+1. For every modern engine that now has an iron block.
Modern iron alloys and design tools have made some very light and strong iron blocks. For a much lower cost than aluminum.
Many here like the 1.0l Ecoboost I3- does nobody know that it's an iron block?
There are some reasons why iron is better, and others why aluminum is better.
Is the GTI engine iron? I don't even know- my '15 GTI is fantastic so far. Wife likes how nice it is, I like how fast it is. Win win. Just a little small for our family (4) camping trips.
I'm pretty sure that the only common aluminum block (watercooled) engines VWAG let into North America were the AVK V6 (the 3-liter with four cam pullies) and the various V8s. Also the W8, W12, and V10s, if you ever happen to see any in the wild.
I'm ignoring the Vanagon engine because it's really best to pretend it never existed.
edit: It appears that there IS a new four that has chains and an aluminum block. I was thinking of the "old" 2.0 TFSi engine which was iron block and timing belt.
Pro's to 'iron' block - lower cost casting vs. aluminum w/iron liner, better NVH performance vs. aluminum, more casting sources in North America, ability to contain higher cylinder combustion pressures (depending on iron alloy actually used) vs. aluminum. Con's or 'iron' block - takes more time to machine than aluminum (higher cost in that regard), heavier (although that is changing with new iron alloys such as CGI) than aluminum/iron liner block, difference in thermal expansion vs. aluminum alloy head that would most likely be used. All that said, Ford is making an interesting push to CGI blocks for not only the 1.0L Ecoboost, but also the new 2.7L Ecoboost. The 2.7 is REALLY interesting, using CGI (iron alloy) only for the minimal cross section of the block that contains the pistons and crank (including the main bearing caps, which are part of the block iron casting. Google it ... very unique design !!
All this said, my 2011 GTI has a wonderfully smooth engine in it - which I at least partially contribute to the NVH dampening properties of the 'iron' block! The Mk VII GTI block is similar to my Mk VI's, but thinner in cross section to lighter. I suspect - but don't know - they made an alloy change to allow thinner walls in certain strategic places.
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