L16 vs. R16
Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2004 8:13 pm
do these engines interchange parts and is the L16 a direct bolt in? i don't know what the difference is between these 2 motors. can anyone help explain the difference?
The R motor is a pushrod style motor where the cam runs inside the block with lifters and pushrods doing thier thing to the valve train. The L series motors are overhead cam driven with the cam quite literally sitting on top of the valve train. Parts are not interchangeble between the motors. An L series motor will fit into a roadster. This was dicussed recently but you can go to the article here http://www.311s.org/tech/engine/lserieswap.html The L series motor is most likely a lot cheaper to rebuild and much easier to come by than an R motor. Although more and more people are opting for the more modern KA24 or the SR20 Nissan power plants so there may be more R motors on the market than before. Nothing wrong with an L series as they are rock solid little motors. I would go with an L20 rather than an L16 for more displacement.
Steve