Rover T-Series engine

The Rover T16 engine was a 1994 cc petrol engine, produced by Rover from 1992 to 1999. It has a bore of convert|84.45|mm|in|abbr=on and a stroke of convert|89|mm|in|abbr=on. It is a development of the M-Series (M16), which was in turn a development of the O-Series, which dated back to the BMC B-Series engine as found in the MG B and many others.

Several variants were produced for various models, but all had the same displacement. The naturally aspirated type produced convert|136|hp, and turbocharged types were available with 180 and Convert|200|hp|kW|-1|abbr=on. However, unlike some other turbocharged 2-litre engines of the same era, the Rover T16 cannot be easily and cheaply tweaked to produce more power, as its pistons were made to a price and not capable of holding boost much higher than standard. Older M series and O series pistons can be used with a little modification and do allow for higher boost. Forged piston are also available for the engine. Up to Auto bhp|800|-1 has been produced from a T series. [http://www.an-racing.com]

While the engine itself is capable of a great deal of power, its limiting factor was the PG1 Powertrain Ltd gearbox it was coupled with which could not handle the torque. Due to this the engine is electronically limited to a lower torque output than it is easily capable of, giving the engine a very 'flat' overall torque curve. The real torque capability of the engine is easily restored by removing the electronic limiter unit and replacing it with a boost controller set at 12 PSI. This is a good level for engine reliability and gives about Auto ft.lbf|25|0 more torque. Careful driving can preserve the gearbox and uprated gearbox bearing can be fitted to allow full use of the extra torque.

Applications

GSI turbo and GSI Sport turbo. With Auto bhp|197|0 as standard, these were among the original turbocharged 'hot hatches', with power almost matching the Lancia Delta Integrale of the same era, though short-lived production runs robbed them of this status, and clean examples are now a rarity.

Many 2-litre powered Austin Rover Group vehicles of the same era could be retro-fitted with the engine. One popular recipient was the Austin Maestro, which in original MG Turbo guise could out-accelerate many supercars of the time up to convert|60|mi/h|km/h|-1|abbr=on, so when retro-fitted with the more powerful T-Series turbo engine, was even more rapid.

The non-turbo engine also found its way into the short-lived and generally underpowered Land Rover Discovery 2.0i. Land Rover also fitted the same engine to a special batch of Defenders built for the Italian Carabinieri, which operated an exclusively petrol-powered vehicle fleet.

The T-Series engine is a very underrated, reliable and powerful engine for its time and has many enthusiasts.

External links

* [http://www.rover400.org.uk/ Rover 200 and 400 Owners Club - Club for Owners of the Mk2 Rover 200 and Mk1 Rover 400]
* [http://www.an-racing.com/ AN-Racing - T-16 Tuning 800+whp from the Rover Engine]
* [http://www.rovertech.net/ Rovertech.net - Rover owner/enthusiast technical forum]
* [http://www.gb-ent.com/ GB Enterprises - T-16 Tuning Specialist]
* [http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/ The UNOFFICIAL BMC>Rover Web resource and forum]
* [http://www.forums.mg-rover.org/ The unofficial MG Rover enthusiasts website]
* [http://www.smartautodevelopments.co.uk/ MG Rover Specialists