The Truth About Boxer Engine Cars 

⬇️Scotty’s Top DIY Tools: 1. Bluetooth Scan Tool: amzn.to/2nfvmaD 2. Cheap Scan Tool: amzn.to/2D8Tvae 3. Professional Socket Set: amzn.to/2Bzmccg 4. Wrench Set: amzn.to/2kmBaOU 5. No Charging Required Car Jump Starter: amzn.to/2CthnUU 6. Battery Pack Car Jump Starter: amzn.to/2nrc6qR 🛠Check Out the Tools I Use and Highly Recommend ► goo.gl/rwYt2y ⬇Things used in this video: 1. Common Sense 2. 4k Camera: amzn.to/2HkjavH 3. Camera Microphone: amzn.to/2Evn167 4. Camera Tripod: amzn.to/2Jwog8S 5. My computer for editing / uploading: amzn.to/2uUZ3lo 6. Video editing software: amzn.to/2jv5Fhf 7. Thumbnail software: amzn.to/2k7tz6C 🔥Scotty Shirts and Merch ► goo.gl/pTAeca Subscribe and hit the notification bell! ► goo.gl/CFismN Scotty on Social: Facebook ► facebook.com/scottymechanic/ Instagram ► instagram.com/scotty_the_mechanic/ Twitter ► twitter.com/Scottymechanic?lang=en

"Its basically an old design" You mean, like a piston engine?

I have 2 Subarus. A 4 and a 6. The sounds of both is wicked cool and the reliability has been 100%. The boxer design is awesome. Big props to Porsche and Subaru for sticking with it.

I bought my 99 Impreza with 200,000 miles on it and have put many more on it. All I've had to do was a water pump so far. I was scared with all the headgasket stories but I absolutely love my Subaru and wouldn't trade it for anything. They're also surprisingly easy to work on too.

My 2004 Subi WRX Turbo was very fast and crazy reliable. I sold it, all original, with no repairs to the engine other than the standard stuff such as alternator, belts, water pump, timing chain and associated bearings, and I sold it still running good with with 340K miles on it. Take care of your car and it will take care of you! Good vid, thank you!!

I've owned 3 Subarus over a 40 year period and they are one of the most reliable cars on the planet.

Just remember kids if it's not an early - mid 90s Toyota it's the worst car ever.

Fun fact: the inline 4 cylinder was invented before the boxer engine. So going by your logic the inline 4 is older technology.

Subaru boxer rumble is caused by unequal exhaust manifold lengths. My 2006 WRX has 306,000 miles. Original engine, transmission,head gasket, and CLUTCH.

Its interesting to me that Scotty downplays the significance of the boxer engine since Porsche has won dozens of motorsports championships and that they are almost exclusively used by all small aircraft worldwide...not to mention that Subaru won the world rally car championship for several years with this boxer engine...

Many years ago I had an Alfa Romeo 33 ti (boxer engine). And now a Subaru Impreza .... There is indeed something enchanting about them .

Reasons why boxers are great engines: 1) lower center of gravity for better handling 2) they can produce reasonable HP and torque if engineered correctly 3) Today’s boxer engine are fuel efficient and smoother than yesterday’s boxer that Scotty is talking about. Drive a new Subaru! You’ll be impressed.

Hi Scotty, I have a 2010 Subaru Forester. With a normal gearbox. It's the most reliable car I have had since my 1970 Toyota Corolla which was great..

I have a Subaru with 182,000 miles, it's been 100% reliable! So it may be old, but so is my 1911 pistol. Doesn't mean it doesn't work!

The head gasket issue that Subaru had was because of a defective head gasket they put on the cars but they haven't used that head gasket for more than a decade

5:19 That moment you are grateful you are watching Scotty on RU-vid rather than in person. Say it don't spray it. :)

I’ve driven most 4x4s, in bad conditions, in the Pacific Northwest, nothing is as good as a Subaru. A massive part of that is because on twisty, hilly roads the boxer engine sits low between the front tires. It’s not trying to breakaway on corners. When it snows in my area, Subarus are just about the only vehicles out and about (and there are a lot here!)

wait til i tell you when the wheel was invented

Porsche was thinking about ditching the 911 entirely and replacing it with the 928. Has nothing to do with the boxer engine. A flat 6 still got the gt2 rs around the ring in record time. The V engine predates the boxer by 8 years so do we call v configurations "old technology?" Also until Porsche 919 broke the record, the 962 also had the overall record with a flat 6 and was the most successful endurance car of its time. Boxer engines were great for endurance racing for reliability.

Hey Scotty always love hearing your comments on the different vehicles. I am driving my third Subaru Forester I only put about 70,000 on them and I have got to say they have served me well. I always get the extended warranty then I have no worries so to speak. I love hearing your take on all the different vehicles I always feel I am getting an unbiased opinion.I subscribe to your channel as I said I always love hearing you opinion.Thanks Charlie in Kentucky!

I’m on my third Subaru (this time a 2003 WRX) and I love the boxer engine. My last two Legacies ran past 200k before I sold but I’m sure they’re still on the road. This new one has 101k and I’m hoping to get 300 out of it this time because I really love it.

My new Subaru Ascent has a 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer-4 engine makes 260 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque, and it definitively doesn't feel under powered, that's more horsepower than my V8 Durango that I still drive.

"My wife's old matrix would run circles around it (BRZ)." You must be smokin' that good stuff again.

Blown head gasket issues were due to a single layer gasket, which has been fixed with using the multilayer head gasket.

Scotty strikes me as the kind of guy who decided he knew everything 20 years ago, and hasn't learned anything since. I have had old timer mechanics just like him tell me authoritatively that placing a car battery on concrete will make it discharge - something that hasn't been true since we stopped making the casings out of wood. Hey Scotty, if you took a V6 engine, and made the V angle 180 degrees does that engine instantaneously become outdated? Of course not, because the boxer/180 degree engine is technologically the same as a V or inline engine. The main reason most manufacturers stick with an inline or V layout is for packaging. The boxer can be mounted low, but it takes up a large area and pretty much leaves you no option but to mount it longitudinally. That means you get the triple whammy of a large engine bay, a transmission tunnel and rear diff that has to fit under your car - all that takes up a lot of space. Your typical manufacturer will instead take an upright engine, and cram it transversely with a transaxle into the shallowest possible engine bay to maximise the amount of cabin space they're left with. And this isn't 2001 any more, Subaru aren't making EJ25s with graphite coated gaskets. They are no more prone to head gasket problems than any other vehicle.

My '95 Subaru Liberty has over 400,000 miles on the original engine and is the most reliable car I have owned,I keep it maintained by doing things like changing timing belts every 100,000 miles ,changing oil regularly etc,the car is plenty powerful enough for my needs and is great on fuel so for me boxer engines are fine ! Thanks for the videos Scotty.

Hey scotty why r you not recording in 4k. 1080 is an old design like the boxer engine

Scotty, thank you for explaining the Boxer engine in easy to understand terms. I've been wondering about those for awhile now but I haven't delved into it that much.

I have the 2000 forester and has 400,000km and still going well. Very capable long distant Companion

The main reason that VW discontinued the Air Cooled Boxer engine in 1975 in the Beetle was due to emissions compliance, not for any mechanical shortcomings. Plus it was still made in Brazil into the 2000's. It also never even had head gaskets. I could never understand why the Corvair was deemed a failure, when it was essentially of a copy of the Beetle which went on to sell multiple millions more after Nader destroyed the Corvair. And the Porsche, which is a Beetle design on Meth, is still produced today. And if Subaru and Porsche are selling them today as fast as they can make them, how can it be outdated? I am sure if Toyota made them you would be jerking off to them 24/7.

You get a top of the line AWD system with Subaru on a budget. Mother in law had an outback with 400k miles. I think that engine is just fine.

Daily driver is a 2001 Subaru Outback. Bought it new, has over 412K miles and still going strong. Not very powerful, but extremely reliable.

Great video! I’ve owned 5 Subaru’s (1992-2005) and yes they have their issues but I just have a lot of fun and enjoy the noise they make with unequal length headers and a nice quiet deep muffler. But now that I’m at the top of my career chapter and two kids with one on the way, I’m sticking to Toyota. My wife’s Sienna has been amazing and get better gas mileage than my old outback (it just started leaking gasses into coolant) I’m going to retire it and get Camry hybrid or something Toyota like that and when I have a shop later on down the road, I’ll buy a Subaru project and do all fun stuff I’ve dreamed about.

Some observations: 1. There are few more pleasing engine sounds than the native sound of the WRX. 2 Corvair was the victim of crusader Ralph 3. The original beetle couldnt keep up with emission requirements.

Nothing better than the sound of an air-cooled Beetle engine with the stock muffler and tailpipes...definitely a distinctive sound!

Boxers are great thats why been in aircraft for a century. Scotty! In aircooled design they are optimum for airflow and balance. Fit into cowling perfectly. Too much power makes any engine unrelible in the long run anyway. In the car , especially Suv; makes a Suv handle like a car due to lower center of gravity. Four cylinder Sub is like a six due to great balance..

I like the little history lesson you sneak in your videos Scotty. I re-watched this video today and enjoyed it once again.

I feel the urge to constantly wipe my screen while watching this video

My Subaru WRX does 0 to 60 in 5.3 seconds, and has an electronically limited top speed of 140mph. That's out of a turbo charged 2.0 liter boxer engine. It sounds like heaven under full throttle, and I've never considered it to be "slow". And I think it's amazing how much HP and torque Subaru managed to milk from a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder. Judging the performance of boxer engines based on the BRZ's performance is silly. The biggest mistake Subaru made was not offering it with a WRX drive train.

I had an '83 Subaru wagon that had it's share of problems but none of them were engine-related. It did sound agricultural and certainly idled roughly but it was always reliable.

A stick shift with competent driver and the Boxer is Gold.

Man, I love these videos. I love learning about cars from a virtual cartoon character (no offense, Scotty) that can hold my A.D.D.-riddled attention. Also, the added graphic boxes are brilliantly funny. Well done, sir!

I really like this format of video

This guy obviously has never seen the 2018 GT3 with 4.0 L NA flat six that revs to 9k and has 500 HP........

I work at a used car lot as a mechanic and my boss likes Subaru’s and one thing I have noticed in checking dozens of those cars is I’m surprised when I find one that doesn’t either leak oil or coolent from the head gaskets. Especially ones with the older SOHC timing belt engines. The newer timing chain versions are FAR better engines. Ohh and another thing I find is that people like to remove the heat shields on the cats that rattle like crazy on every one of them. This in turn cooks the oil in the filter and the pan causing even more problems.

I love the boxer engine in my Porsche. The sound it makes at full throttle is pure bliss!!

I own a subaru brz. My biggest complaint is the power. You really have to floor it. But then again, it doesnt really matter cause you cant go fast anyways. Cops are real good in Virginia

I bought my 08 Subaru wrx cuz I love the sound on the boxer engine

I bought a 2021 Subaru Impreza with the 2.0 boxer as a commuter car. I also have a 911 Carrera S. They both have the joyful rumble and vibration from the boxer engine. Love them both!

Tucker cars had a water cooled six cylinder engine boxer engine, not air cooled. (Tucker car fan btw) One of my VW's has had one engine rebuild on it and car has 485,000 one owner, miles documented. He (great uncle Bill) was driving it up till one month from his death. When not modified, a boxer engine is very dependable and smooth running powerplant.

LOL two of my subarus have 300k+ miles.

I bought a Subaru Forrester last year and it's the best SUV I've ever had out of the 5. It's says that it is only 170 odd horsepower but feels nearly twice that. Shocking getup and go of it. I would most certainly buy another.

Good stuff SK. Thx for helping me get my head around this mess I got myself into- 2009 Forester 200K*

Subie for life

Never actually knew what “boxer engine” meant...good video thank you

I love the way the Boxer 4 cyl sounds. Put an exhaust on it and that deep rumble is just amazing to hear. That's why people love the WRX and Impreza hell even the Forester STI sounds great.

Young heavy vehicle mechanic from Australia who loves ya work Scotty, keep it up mate! Could definitely have a mad conversation with you over a few cold ones... Or hot ones. You could tell stories about how only suits had a mobile phones, money once was made of paper and how the rise of over-entitled digital natives became the now. Until then, "Rev up your engines!"

Scotty, what is the craze of 5 cylinder engines?

I thought it started raining at 5:20 Great video really always good vids

I dunno, my Subaru is a best seller. So much for that ancient design.

I saw the Celica in the background I’m definitely subscribing you know your stuff sir

Subaru Legacy 1994 longest I have ever owned a car. Alway a pleasure to drive.

I have a boxer engine in my Toyota 86, yaaaay I love my car, it's not super fast but it's really fun to drive

Just bought the 2022 Toyota GR86 premium with a manual! Awesome power, handling, and has a wicked great sound! Scotty, I live about 2-1/2 hours east of Nashville, let’s go for a ride!

I drive the absolute hell out of my 2nd hand 2001 forester GT, the only thing I've done to it is put a bigger STI turbo in it, its been reliable so far and fun as hell

Welll now we all know that Scotty hasn't driven the 911 GT2...

My 2000 Subaru Outback Wagon boxer engine has 238,000 miles on it, so far. Only replaced the belts, water pump, ignition module, knock sensor and spark plugs.

Great video. It all makes common sense. Thumbs up!

Scotty, long time subscriber here. I bought a 99 Impreza WRX GC8, it's on it's original engine, even tuned with more turbo boost. it was well maintained though, an older man owned it. i've had it 6 years and going strong today. however the car is the 2.0 engine, which i believe are much more durable than the EJ25 engine. i think you said it was a good car in a comment years ago. peace.

I love my Subaru it has a 3.0 six cylinder H6 engine in a Legacy it’s a liberty here in Australia it’s great so fun to drive

“Rev up your Toyota’s!”

and scotty you are right you just have to love them.2001 outback and a 1150 bmw rt

One if the easiest starters I ever changed was in a friends Subaru. Didn't even have to get under the car. Was really easy to get to and change.

I like 2019 SUBARU WRX STI. Very nice car.

I have a Legacy 3.6r. I love how balanced the engine is. It is incredibly smooth and it is not noisy like scotty says; however, I did put aftermarket exhaust on it and now it sounds awesome and borderline older 911 sound alike. It is super roomy in the interior, not overly complicated like some cars are I do wish it was a hatchback though cause i would like the versitility of the outback without the stilts. It has been very reliable, shoot at the same mileage my previous Buick had oil leaking, had to replace all coolant piping and radiator, a/c and heater went out it was a mess. BTW it really is not hard to work on. I can do an oil change or transmission drain and fill or a differential drain and fill in about 30 minutes each. Air filter is always super easy, cabin filter is easy, battery is easily accessible. Serpentine belt was done in 20 minutes. Brakes are no different than any other mainstream car. Spark plugs are the only real difficult regular maintenance and that is because of the close frame to engine. however if you have 2 jacks and know how to loosen a couple engine mounts its really easy too. If not it could take hours yourself if you do not have the right extensions or swivels. Shoot for the price they charge at the dealer I would just buy a second jack and save yourself a couple hundred in the life of your car. I will admit though, their fluid levels are kind of high(takes almost 7qts of oil every 5k miles, 4qt of trans fluid per drain) So Scotty, how is it hard to work on? You get a balanced engine, symmetrical AWD (none of the fwd/rwd biased crap) that gets great gas mileage for an AWD car (dont compare to fwd cars cause everyone knows there is power losses and efficiency losses with awd) and extremely they are extremely practical. The key to their balanced AWD is their boxer engine. Also have you seen the crash tests of these cars, they are ridiculous at withstanding lethal damage to the occupants and my insurance is significantly lower than any other car I have owned which have all been midsized sedans or eco cars. I have 0 problems in snow of 5.5 inches or less, obviously bumpers get in the way. Shoot im confident in the awd that if the outbacks had some goot all terrain tires they could make it through 8 inches. Yes Subaru is less reliable than Toyota... but guess who owns a pretty good percentage of subaru now... Toyota. So with toyota's reliability and hybrid tech, I can see Subaru and Toyota merging and dominating a lot of the market. Shoot put Subarus AWD in the Tacoma and say goodbye to some of the smaller trucks. I have a vision that Subaru will be one of those companies that started as relatively nothing and turn into a walgreens or an amazon. And for goodness sake subaru, make a luxury line. I know too many Doctors that drive subarus mainly for their awd notoriety.

Scotty roll that blunt bro !!! Excellents videos always watching your channel from argentina

“Unbalanced Forces Inside.” CLASSIC!! Love it!!

Porsche GT2RS and GT3RS are literally some of the fastest cars ever made. They use boxers. Yet you argue they are obsolete. You have no idea.

2019 Porsche 718 Boxster - 365-hp turbocharged 2.5-liter flat-four (GTS model). Zero to 60 miles in 4.3 seconds. Economy: 21 mpg city / 28 mpg highway

Thanks for the loosely related popup pictures.

Love to hear Scotty’s opinion on the variable valve technology on BMW’s “new” boxer engines; the debate amongst motorcyclists is raging.

My father rode an air cooled BMW boxer 340k miles with just routine maintenance.

As a relatively new employee at Subaru, I might disagree a bit with the idea of the engine being antique or outdated. We currently have a wait time of several months for the Ascent because we can't build them fast enough.

I loved my Porsche boxsters! Great cars!

Awesome info. Thanks.

U should do who makes better engines Honda or Toyota

As a mechanical engineer, boxer engines are by far my favourite engine. You get low CG because the engine is flat, meaning you can corner harder. low vibration by design, which means you can make them rev higher. I have to disagree with scotty that they are niche because they are an "old design". The reason they are niche is because they are more expensive to make than straight or v engines. Straight engines are the cheapest to make which is why they are the most common, and why most research goes into them.

My next car will be a Subaru Impreza WRX I think. I love the sound they make

I love my boxer engine in my Subaru.

Subaru EJ22s are bullet proof its the EJ25 that has the head gasket issues (bad head gasket design, not from thrashing or whatever mentioned) - if you replace those head gaskets with the genuine Subaru EJ25 TURBO head gaskets (different design MLS gaskets) its a permanent fix, if you have a manual EJ25 Subaru and your clutch is due and on original head gaskets leave the transmission in and remove the engine and do the heads at the same time. The original head gaskets for SOHC EJ25 usually leak externally and cause no major problems and can be ignored for years, the DOHC EJ25 (early EJ25) have internal leaks (coolant-combustion) If you take your Subaru to the dealership for head gaskets they will replace them with the same part number and it will fail again (usually sooner due to poor workmanship - heads not inspected/machined, poor preparation of heads using a flap wheel etc) These are really simple cars to work on, everything is easy to get to.

I will argue that point.. The boxer being obsolete. I have owned my first Subaru hatchback and absolutely love the hell out of it. I recently went "mudding " and despite the fact that I have to replace a wheel bearing and four CV axles, I've never been happier with any vehicle and I'm a die hard Ford lover. Yes I know that expensive repairs are necessary and common but I be damned as far as I'm concerned, it's worth it. I'm gonna drive my Subaru till it ain't worth fixing, then I'm gonna make it a rally racer.

After listening about the the boxer engines. I love the sound of them. I don't know that I'd want one. But this video made think of the old Chrysler slant 6. That engine seemed to be indestructible , but again it couldn't hardly get out of its own smoke

i LOVE LOVE my subaru forester it handles like a sportscar

The boxer engine layout has the lowest center of gravity found in conventional dino burners. That is why Porsche continues to use boxer engines. In some cases handling characteristics take precedent over power, efficiency, or durability found in other engine layouts.

Hey. Don’t be throwing shade on my slow Toyota 86. How dare you lol.

Had an 04 Legend, 130,000 miles, very smooth running engine. It ran exceptionally smooth under acceleration like no other vehicle I've ever driven. If it wasn't totaled in a accident I'd still have it. For the right price I'd buy another one.

Great information

We have a 2016 Subaru Outback with the Boxer Engine in it . 75 K miles and still going strong , love Subaru boxer engines 😊 .

The pros and cons about flexfuel engines? Are they better than single fuel engines?

Back in the 1970s a friend of mine put a 4 cylinder Porsche boxer engine in a beetle. Made a nice sleeper.