The new list of best engines has just been announced by Wards. I have cut some of the article out because we mainly only care about the VQ Engine. Where content has been removed from the article (or summarized) I've inserted ~~~~~~~~~~~

Also check out Post # 11 for a later article from Wards specifically about the VQ engine.

Ward’s Names 10 Best Engines for 2006
By Ward’s Staff
WardsAuto.com, Dec 9 2005

Packaging, technology, power and fuel economy highlighted as Ward’s editors select the best powertrains of the new model year.

SOUTHFIELD, MI – The winners of Ward’s 10 Best Engines awards for 2006 demonstrate U.S. auto consumers still can have it all: Many of the winning engines highlight sophisticated new technology that generates exhilarating performance – but also improves fuel economy.

The 2006 list marks the 12th year for the Ward’s 10 Best Engines program, the auto industry’s highly anticipated annual barometer of powertrain prowess.

This year’s winners, as well as the vehicles tested, include:
- Audi AG: 2L FSI turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Audi A3)
- Audi AG: 4.2L DOHC V-8 (Audi S4)
- BMW AG: 3L DOHC I-6 (330i)
- DaimlerChrysler AG:5.7L Hemi Magnum OHV V-8 (Dodge Charger R/T)
- Ford Motor Co.: 4.6L SOHC V-8 (Mustang GT)
- General Motors Corp.: 2L supercharged DOHC I-4 (Chevrolet Cobalt SS)
- General Motors Corp.: 2.8L turbocharged DOHC V-6 (Saab 9-3 Aero)
- Mazda Motor Corp.: 2.3L DISI turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Mazdaspeed 6)
- Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.: 3.5L DOHC V-6 (Infiniti G35 6MT)
- Toyota Motor Corp.: 3.5L DOHC V-6 (Lexus IS 350)

Two important engineering developments are front and center for several engines on this year’s list: direct-injection gasoline (DIG) technology and forced induction. These systems allow engineers to develop engines that generate startling power yet return acceptable fuel economy.

DIG technology is emerging as one of the powertrain sector’s most promising new developments. Injecting fuel directly into each of the engine’s cylinders produces outstanding performance and emissions improvements for new-generation diesels. Engineers now are using the technology for gasoline engines to generate improved low- and mid-range torque and in many cases to conserve fuel.

DIG systems are featured on three of this year’s 10 Best Engines winners.

{The three winning engines with DIG technology:
- Audi’s 2L FSI DOHC I-4.
- Mazda's 2.3L DISI DOHC I-4
- Toyota's 3.5L DOHC V-6} "Generating a new benchmark of 306 hp from its normally aspirated 3.5L, the new Lexus V-6 adds a novel approach of combining DIG with a conventional port fuel-injection system to deliver its high horsepower combined with an impressive EPA fuel economy rating of 21 mpg(11 L/100 km) in the city and 28 mpg (8 L/100 km) on the highway."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“DIG technology is the most important development the powertrain sector has seen in this decade,” says Bill Visnic, Ward’s senior technical editor.

“Particularly combined with turbocharging, direct injection for gasoline engines is permitting engineers to design smaller, more power-dense engines that provide the ever-higher performance levels that customers have come to expect,” Visnic says.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The only engine to win a 10 Best Engines award every year since the program’s inception, Nissan engineers improve the sterling “VQ” V-6 with new levels of power and torque for 2006.

Its 298 hp (as used in the Infiniti G35 with manual transmission) rivals or beats many V-8s, while delivering the levels of refinement that have been a hallmark of the “VQ” modular engine series since its inception more than a decade ago.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
During a 2-month test period, six Ward’s editors evaluated engines from 31 different cars, trucks and SUVs. Scoring encompassed the crucial engine characteristics of power; torque; noise, vibration and harshness (NVH); technical relevance and basic comparative numbers. All engines nominated and tested were in vehicles with a base suggested retail price under $52,500.

Details of the 10 Best Engines will be featured in Ward’s AutoWorld magazine, Ward’s Engine & Vehicle Technology Update and on www.WardsAuto.com in January 2006.

 

We could have save them time and money. We know what we got!

 

I swear we just won the 11th

time, I tell you..... well obviously the VQ is timeless

 

Nissan engineers need to do something to keep this engine a winner. That was the reason I quoted the info on DIG technology. They will need something like that -- or build an engine that produces over 300 HP to keep the 3.5 VQ in this list into the future.

 

Yes, and squeeze out another 2-3 MPG too.

 

yeah that's what i think too it even says that in www.nissanusa.com

 

I took the 12 years from the article:

"The 2006 list marks the 12th year for the Ward’s 10 Best Engines program..."
And then it says:
"The only engine to win a 10 Best Engines award every year since the program’s inception, Nissan engineers improve the sterling VQ V-6 with new levels of power and torque for 2006."

So I simply assumed that this was the 12th win for the VQ engine. Need some one to explain to me why this logic is wrong.

 

I like the zooming sound it makes when you rev it to 5,000rpms, not that i do that regularly, but its pretty cool to hear.

 

Nice but how come they didn't use the Maxima? Damn they had to use a G35.

 

They have used DIG on the VQ25DD & VQ30DD in Japan for the last 4 or 5 years. I wonder how much a VQ35DD would make since the VQ30DD makes 260hp & 239 lb-ft torque...

 

Here is the text of a Wards Article on this engine.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. 3.5L DOHC V-6
By Bill Visnic -- WardsAuto.com, Jan 4 2006
Nissan's V-6 wins an unprecendented 12th Ward's 10 Best Engines award.

An engineer for one of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s rivals recently groused, "You know, you really ought to call it 'Ward's 9 Best Engines,' because Nissan automatically gets a win every year." The comment was offered good-naturedly but with a twinge of frustration.

With a record 12th consecutive win for its landmark 3.5L VQ DOHC V-6, Nissan is making a case for the engineer's suggestion.

It has been a 10 Best Engines winner every year for some variant of Nissan's fabulous VQ engine family since the competition began in 1995.

As far as competitors are concerned, it really has become something like "Nissan's VQ and the year's nine other best engines."

In a dozen years since the launch of the original 3L VQ DOHC V-6, Nissan has wrought numerous improvements and changes.

There has been the addition of electronic throttle control, variable valve timing and two major new variants: the 3.5L that for some years has been the smallest-displacement VQ V-6 for the U.S. market and a more recently added 4L unit employed in the company's light trucks and SUVs.

The matrix of VQ displacement and power and torque ratings is manifold.

Regardless of variant and model, the baseline VQ design remains the foundation for the VQ modular family's iconic status: microfinishing of critical internal surfaces, keen attention to balance and a priority for reduced weight for reciprocating masses.

For its 2006 10 Best Engines win, Ward's tested the 3.5L VQ in the Infiniti G35 sedan with a 6-speed manual transmission.

At 298 hp, the VQ, going into 13 years in the market, still plays in the upper strata of premium V-6s, generating a thunderous 85 hp per liter.

The figure, remarkably, is just a few horses short of the class-leading, direct-injection 3.5L DOHC V-6 from Toyota Motor Corp. (also a 10 Best winner for 2006), which launched this year.

Moreover, the VQ performs as if it were a brand-new engine. Ward's judges remain intoxicated by the 3.5L V-6's riotous midrange urge, which is palpably abetted by a manual transmission.

The power cascade is not confined to a narrow midrange window, either: One often runs out of road space (or nerve) before the VQ runs out of breath.

"Spectacular in-gear acceleration," says one 10 Best judge. "And this engine has brilliant throttle response in any speed range. Authoritative power and torque," says another.

It may be the grizzled vet of overhead-cam V-6s, but Nissan's 3.5L VQ V-6 still has got game - and plenty of it.

Judges' Comments:

- McClellan: This is still a nice package and a terrific engine.
- Winter: It still is soooo good.
- Visnic: So broad, so even, the torque flows like an opened spigot. Midrange almost any V-8 would envy. Throttle response still should be studied by everyone.

- Engine type: 3.5L DOHC 60° V-6
- Displacement (cc): 3,456
- Block/head material: aluminum/aluminum
- Bore x stroke: 95.5 x 81.4
- Horsepower (SAE net): 298 @ 6,400 rpm
- Torque: 260 lb.-ft. (353 Nm) @ 4,800 rpm
- Specific output: 85 hp/L
- Compression ratio: 10.3:1
- Fuel economy for tested vehicle (EPA city/highway mpg): 19/26
- Application tested: Infiniti G35 6MT

 

Atleast they are setting a benchmark that would become hard to overcome. We all know that these are some sick engines and look at the price that you pay for it compared to the other cars listed. I have always said dollar for dollar you get a lot more than most people know. This car and it's engines appeals to the masses. I see a very large range of people driving these cars. I get compliments all the time for the young and more sophisticated alike. Some even know about the engine lol.

 

I think you meant to write Slick and not Sick.

 

I actually meant sick as in wicked or nasty. I guess they are slick also because if you don't know about them they are slick lol.

 

gee glad that i will be owning a maxima soon the engine seems remarkable

 

There were so many improper threads posted in the 6-Gen that this got bumped to the third page very quickly. Because many checking the 6-Gen don't go past the first or second page, I've posted this to move this thread up past the improper "Moved" threads.