What is more reliable for the long term 2.0L vs 1.5L Turbo

Which do you think is more reliable with regular oil changes?


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BriteBlue

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I read that Toyota doesn't use Turbos because of reliability. If you don't have one it can't go bad. People buy a Toyota because they're known for reliability. You can argue that point, but before buying the Civic my wife was the original owner of a 1989 Camry for 29 years & it was our daily driver.
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charleswrivers

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So my recommendation is: Buy whichever one you prefer when you test drive both. 600km on a L15B7 will provide some fuel cost savings over the K20C2 based on their different ratings and data tracking from fuelly and some options you may desire that aren't powertrain related at all might be available on trims where only a L15B7 is the option. The small differences in fuel costs will add up over that amount of mileage to likely negate any added cost if a repair was necessary. Fuel dilution caused by DI and low resistance rings is a real thing... but can't think of an engine failure from it that's occurred over the last 5 years the cars have been out I've read about on here. Correct me if I'm wrong anyone. Unlike looking at old K20A3s what are old and high mileage... we don't have good long-term data on the current Ls. Most of those could soldier on long after the cars around them were falling apart and aside from burning a little oil and maybe their compression being a little low, they ran fine.

Modded cars are out the window because modding always reduces reliability, even if it's statistically minimal, and the modding potential of a K20C2 is very low in the hp/liter realm while staying NA. Compared to the more powerful NA K-series variants Honda has released in the past that had around 100 hp/liter... it is the mild/economy-centric variant.

Folks with K20C2 cars will tend to vote towards their camp... saying port injection and a lack of a turbocharger will make it more reliable. That's fine. I'd say if there's any difference... it's the low torque/power per liter compared to the L15B7 that'd make the difference more than any one part over the course of a couple decades and 250+k miles. Turbochargers... while very reliable are an "extra" part when compared to a NA car... and if they can fail (and anything can... whether it actually will or not), then you can always vote them down. I've owned several turbocharged cars... and they idea that they fail often is not really realistic. Most turbocharged cars are going to go to the scrap heap with their original turbochargers still installed.

Despite my actual recommendation being: Buy what you want... my vote, based on a lack of turbocharger for a potential replacement ($400 for a used one and an afternoon to self install vs a couple grand parts/labor for a new one done at a shop) and low output for it's engine displacement would be for a K20C2. The fact the 1.5T shares little internally with with humble beginnings in the Fit do not alleviate the fact even in it's most modest stock form, it well exceeds 100 hp/liter. I'm sure 10 years for now we'll have many 200k+ miles examples of Civics with both powertrains rolling around... and unless folks want to do compression checks or teardowns and check bearing clearances... they'll just be content to keep going. The vast majority of us will have traded out a time or two and they'll be inexpensive 1st cars for young folks... the junkyards will be full of them and parts for the L15B7... which is used on both the CRV and Accord will be cheap. Even if the engine is long out-of-production... it'll be able to be kept on the road on the cheap for a long time. K20C2s don't share many major parts that I'm aware of between the A/Z variants and limits not only it's [inexpensive] modding potential... but I'd say it's inexpensive used parts-pool. I don't know what the sales ratio is between it and it's L15B7 brother... but it's the only vehicle left in Honda's lineup still using that engine. It is... to my knowledge... the very last of the NA, port injected engines that Honda uses. It's either the L15B7, K20C1, K20C4 or the J35-can't-remember-the-code... but they've all gotten DI in the last few years.

I do think the K20C2 variants had nicer options in Canada, so you may have better options available than what we get in the states. Whichever one you decide to choose, good luck! :thumbsup:
 

civicmanic

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I bet you people on honda-tech crapped all over the k series at the turn of the century when it succeeded the beloved b series too!
 
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Sgrd0q

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It is funny - almost 20 years ago I bought one of the first Acura RSX Type-S on the market. I tend to keep my cars a long time and back then the 2 liter RSX Type-S was a controversial choice. The screaming 2 liter engine would statistically be inferior to a larger six cylinder one. Over the years I’ve had an in-line six BMW M3 (traded it in as I got tired of the service expense), I’ve also had a V6 Maxima (that was totaled after hitting a deer). So guess what, almost 20 years later I still have the RSX Type-S. The car has 230k miles on the clock. Engine is as strong as ever. I red line it and generally drive it as hard as I can every time. (My wife is a lot easier on the car.). The car was used in stop and go traffic most of its life. Now it is a second car in the family (not used for commuting as I work from home) and it is rarely driven. Great car though.

The moral of the story? You just never know. You may get tired of your car. Or tired of fixing it. Or have an accident. Chances are the engine longevity will be the least important factor. And typically the car will start falling apart way before any modern engine would.

To answer your question - sure the two liter will have the potential to go farther then the 1.5T, just like a 6 cylinder engine will outlast them both and just like an eight cylinder one will outlast the others. Should you care? Probably, not. You are unlikely to get to the service limit of any modern engine.
 


alias Igme

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I like my 1.5t, but i too believe that 2.0 will win for long term reliability. The less complexity you introduce, the less chance of something breaking eventually.

Then again, if reliability will be my main criteria for a car, then I'll probably go for Corollas.
 

jopale

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I say do the turbo. When it breaks, you can swap out the engine from a Type R (in 15 years when the engines are aplenty). Boom. Solved. LOL
 

latole

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Hi Civic owners,


Do you guys think the 2.0L is "more" reliable for the long run compared to the 1.5T?

Yes ,
All cars mag I read say that too, stay away from the turbo.
 

gtman

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Yes ,
All cars mag I read say that too, stay away from the turbo.
This is something you always harp on. The reality is it's fairly bogus and based on the fuel dilution "issue".

Here's the thing. All DI engines have some fuel dilution. There's a simple fix to keep it in check. Drive til the engine gets to normal operation temps. Change oil on time. Viola.

The reason a turbo motor probably won't last as long is simple. The turbo definitely creates more stress and complexity. But we're probably talking 150,000 miles versus 200,000 or something to put it in proper perspective.
 
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civicmanic

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The reason a turbo motor probably won't last as long is simple. The turbo definitely creates more stress and complexity.
.

Isn't the engine built tougher knowing that it will need to withstand the extra stress of the turbo? It's not like they built it for naturally aspirated applications and then decide after the fact to slap a turbo on there as is... It was purposefully built to be turbo'd.

18 wheelers are built to put on more miles than anything out there. Plenty go well over a million miles. And they're turbo'd!
 
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gtman

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Isn't the engine built tougher knowing that it will need to withstand the extra stress of the turbo? It's not like they built it for naturally aspirated applications and then decide after the fact to slap a turbo on there as is... It was purposefully built to be turbo'd.

18 wheelers are built to put on more miles than anything out there. Plenty go well over a million miles. And they're turbo'd!
Obviously Honda knows what it's doing but I don't think many would argue that a normally aspirated motor is likely to outlast a turbo'd one. But like I said earlier, it's relative. The 1.5T will certainly last a lot longer than the average owner will own one.
 

civicmanic

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Obviously Honda knows what it's doing but I don't think many would argue that a normally aspirated motor is likely to outlast a turbo'd one.
If you took two stock k20 engines, then slapped a turbo on one I am sure that one would crap out sooner all else being equal. But if you build it from the ground up to be turbocharged, it could easily but just as, or more reliable than its stock na counterpart..
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