mazda skyactiv vs hyundai theta engine

**Kestana** · August 20th, 2015 11:34 PM

Originally Posted by GTi

The Koreans have been improving the capabilities of their gas engines greatly in the last few years, wherein their diesels haven't seen much improvement since the introduction of the two R e-VGT engines five years ago.

And then again, despite the leaps and bounds they've taken in their gas engines, none of the good ones ever make it here. Just good old CVVT and MPI.

I like Korean engines. They've got plenty of power. Their diesel engines in particular are very, very good. I don't think the Japanese have any diesel offerings locally that's good enough to even compete with the ageing CRDi VGT combo of the Koreans. The new diesel engines of the new Hilux and Fortuner might change that. But honestly, at the moment they don't have a diesel as powerful and at the same time as refined as what you'd find on a Korean diesel. Anyone who says otherwise is delusional and hasn't experienced an A-B comparison themselves.

But their gasoline engines are very thirsty. I'll vouch for that. My 1.6 Kia Soul gas can consume nearly as much gas as our 2.4 Camry if you put the pedal down. Probably why they suffered a class action suit in the US regarding overstated fuel economy ratings. On the upside, my Soul can do 0-100 kph in under 10 secs on Petron XCS or better -- and it's a 6 speed AT with manual mode. Couldn't do that on my old RAV4 which had a bigger engine and manual transmission.

Their diesel engines are excellent. Their gas engines are good, refined and good power, but have shitty fuel consumption. I've also got a Sorento 2.2 CRDi and I get drunk on torque, so I can be sure that my next Korean purchase would be another diesel.

**whiteb16a** · August 21st, 2015 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by Kestana

I like Korean engines. They've got plenty of power. Their diesel engines in particular are very, very good. I don't think the Japanese have any diesel offerings locally that's good enough to even compete with the ageing CRDi VGT combo of the Koreans. The new diesel engines of the new Hilux and Fortuner might change that. But honestly, at the moment they don't have a diesel as powerful and at the same time as refined as what you'd find on a Korean diesel. Anyone who says otherwise is delusional and hasn't experienced an A-B comparison themselves.

But their gasoline engines are very thirsty. I'll vouch for that. My 1.6 Kia Soul gas can consume nearly as much gas as our 2.4 Camry if you put the pedal down. Probably why they suffered a class action suit in the US regarding overstated fuel economy ratings. On the upside, my Soul can do 0-100 kph in under 10 secs on Petron XCS or better -- and it's a 6 speed AT with manual mode. Couldn't do that on my old RAV4 which had a bigger engine and manual transmission.

Their diesel engines are excellent. Their gas engines are good, refined and good power, but have shitty fuel consumption. I've also got a Sorento 2.2 CRDi and I get drunk on torque, so I can be sure that my next Korean purchase would be another diesel.

Why the Japanese would not want to get into the horsepower game with the Koreans is quite a mystery to me. Perhaps, they are just being conservative or just playing it safe when it comes to boosting their CRDi engines. But we cannot presume that are not capable of doing it. There's one thing that is also important than HP/Torque, ie, engine longetivity and reliability. I've yet to see a Korean CRDi engine surpass the 200KKms barrier without busting its turbo. I've heard from a friend before who he had his 07 Sta Fe turbo gone "kaput" at 80KKms bought brand new.

Now, I'm not saying that Korean CRDi engines are unreliable, they are very peppy indeed. But that characteristic is inherent with all diesel engines, the massive torque in the midrange, that's why they are mostly the choice for hauling heavy stuff. Hyundai/Kia has done great leaps in building their cars, indeed, but for me I'd still go for Japanese brands.
That's just me though.

**bloowolf** · August 21st, 2015 06:42 PM

FYI, Hyundai does not make it's own turbo. If the turbo goes kaput, blame Garrete for it.

**whiteb16a** · August 21st, 2015 11:20 PM

Originally Posted by bloowolf

Actually, the Korean CRDI engines are not designed & manufactured in Korea. They are sourced from a third party, Yugoslavia if I remember correctly. Their Electronics is Bosch. Do you think there is something wrong in the way they do things? I don't. It's just the way everything is made nowadays. That's globalization for you. Japan, on the other hand, would not trust their tech in the hands of a third party, that's why they are one of the leaders in industry.

Are you certain Korean engines are outsourced? I haven't seen any data in the internet which pertains to Hyundai engines being built by a Yugoslavian engine maker. What I know is they build their own engine based on some technology they learned when they partnered with Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi used to sell them the motors, just as it sold to Proton in Malaysia.

**whiteb16a** · August 21st, 2015 11:31 PM

sorry double post

**whiteb16a** · August 21st, 2015 11:32 PM

Originally Posted by bloowolf

FYI, Hyundai does not make it's own turbo. If the turbo goes kaput, blame Garrete for it.

FYI the turbocharger gets its lubrication from the engine and many turbocharger failures are attributed to poor lubrication that cause their bearings (babbitt) to seize and the thermal stress brought about by poor water cooling. Now these things are done by the engine's ancillaries, ie, oil pump and water pump. Just because the turbocharger was made by Garrett does not mean that we can put all the blame to it when it fails. You should also consider the "lifeblood" that gets it running for a long period of time.

**bloowolf** · August 22nd, 2015 12:00 AM

Originally Posted by whiteb16a

FYI the turbocharger gets its lubrication from the engine and many turbocharger failures are attributed to poor lubrication that causes their bearings (babbitt) to seize and thermal stress brought about by poor water cooling. Now these things are done by the engine's ancillaries, ie, oil pump and water pump.

Then is there a fault in the engine design of Hyundai? If that is so, then there should be more than 1 Hyundai turbo that should have gone kaput by now. Turbo failures are more of the users fault than the engine. Drivers who keep the engine running while idling, causing the turbo to overheat, using the wrong oil, inadequate warm ups, overextending oil changes etc. Garrett has a trouble shooting guide. Have a look at it.

**bloowolf** · August 22nd, 2015 12:05 AM

There are many CRDI variants, but the U2 engine is made in Slovakia, not Yugoslavia. My mistake.

**Jun aka Pekto** · August 22nd, 2015 12:20 AM

Originally Posted by bloowolf

Turbo failures are more of the users fault than the engine. Drivers who keep the engine running while idling, causing the turbo to overheat, using the wrong oil, inadequate warm ups, overextending oil changes etc. Garrett has a trouble shooting guide. Have a look at it.

Uh.... How does a turbo overheat while idling? Boost is at 0 while idling. I had a turbocharged 1991 Plymouth Laser RS Turbo (Mitsu Eclipse sister with 4G63-T 4-banger). it's mandatory to let the car idle for a minute or more before shutting down the engine.

**bloowolf** · August 22nd, 2015 12:33 AM

For one, the manufacturer's manual states to avoid idling for more than 5 minutes, which, I think is impossible in the Philippines. There are also the drivers who keep their engines running for 30 minutes at least, just to keep the cabin cool for the boss & for themselves. Exhaust gases still pass through the turbo though the spindle isn't spinning, probably cooking the residual oil. Anyways, the manual says that a 20 sec warm up & a minute cool down is sufficient for a Hyundai, maybe different for a Mitsu.