VW 3.6 FSI engine

The 3.6 FSI engine, produced by Volkswagen since 2005, is a modern and powerful power unit, which has found wide application in various models of cars of the VW concern. Let’s take a look at its technical specifications, performance features and tuning potential.

Technical characteristics

Performance characteristics

The 3.6 FSI engine features a high compression ratio (11.4 and 12.0), allowing it to achieve powerful figures of 260-300 hp and 350-400 Nm of torque. These characteristics provide excellent dynamics and high performance at various revs.

Fuel consumption

For the Volkswagen Touareg equipped with this engine, the fuel consumption is:

• City cycle: 14.5 l/100 km
• City cycle: 8.8 l/100 km
• Mixed cycle: 10.9 l/100 km

Oil consumption

Average oil consumption is up to 500 g/1000 km, which is normal for high-performance direct injection engines.

Technical features

1. Cylinder block material: Cast iron for high strength and durability.
2. Power System: Direct injection, contributing to improved fuel efficiency and performance.
3. Engine type: VR-type, providing compact size and weight reduction.
4. High compression ratio: 11.4 and 12.0, contributing to increased engine efficiency.

Maintenance and service life

It is recommended to use 0W-30, 0W-40, 5W-30 or 5W-40 engine oils depending on operating conditions and climate. The volume of oil in the engine is 6.7 liters. The oil change interval is 15 000 km, but to increase the engine life it is recommended to reduce it to 7500 km.

In practice, the life of the 3.6 FSI engine can exceed 300,000 km with proper maintenance and operation.

Cars with 3.6 FSI engine

The 3.6 FSI engine is installed in the following car models:

Reliability and repair of 3.6 FSI engines

In 2005, the largest representative of the VR-engine family was released – 3.6 FSI. This motor was built on the basis of 3.2 FSI series EA390. It is based on a cast-iron VR-shaped cylinder block, which is a mixture of a V-shaped engine with an inline engine. Here, the camber angle is minimal (10.6°) and the cylinders are staggered in two rows. Inside the block on 7 supports is installed cast-iron crankshaft with a stroke of 96.4 mm, new connecting rods with a length of 164 mm and aluminum pistons with a diameter of 89 mm for a compression ratio of 12. Thanks to this was obtained a volume of 3.6 liters.

This VR block is covered by a single head with two camshafts, each cylinder has 4 valves. The diameter of the inlet valves is 33.2 mm, the exhaust valves are 30.2 mm and the stem diameter is 6 mm. This cylinder head is equipped with direct fuel injection and continuously variable camshaft timing on the intake and exhaust camshafts. The intake camshafts have a range of 52° and the exhaust camshafts 42°.

The camshafts rotate the timing chain, which is quite reliable and with normal maintenance serves 250-300 thousand kilometers and more.

The intake manifold with variable geometry is installed on the inlet.

The engine is controlled by ECU Bosch Motronic MED 9.1.

This engine develops 280 hp at 6200 rpm, torque 360 Nm at 2500-5000 rpm. On the 1st generation VW Touareg and Audi Q7 it was designated as BHK (BHL – for MKPP), on Passat and Passat CC with DSG gearbox it is known as BLV.

For the Volkswagen Passat R36 and CC, a 300-horsepower variant called BWS was available. It featured an 11.4 compression ratio, intake manifold and exhaust system.

In 2008, there was a CDVA version with a compression ratio of 11.4 and with compliance with Euro 5 standards.
CHNA and CMVA motors were put on Volkswagen Phaeton, under 6 automatic transmission.

Often there are CGRA and CMTA motors, which went on Volkswagen Touareg 2 under 8ACPP and they slightly differ in cooling of the cylinder head, but not significantly. CGRA motor develops 280 hp, and CMTA – 249 hp and is delivered only in Russia, and the power is reduced by firmware.

3.6 FSI engines are still put today, but they have been almost completely replaced by the V6 3.0 TSI.

Problems of 3.6 FSI engines

Volkswagen 3.6 liters boast high reliability and durability, which compares favorably with modern turbocharged engines. Nevertheless, here occasionally can leak crankshaft oil seals, on older models there were problems with ignition coils, which were replaced under warranty.

The most popular disease comes out in winter when the engine won’t start. The 3.6 FSI has a problem with condensation in the exhaust system when running at low speeds. You have to warm it up, drain it, and repeat the procedure when the car won’t start again. To reduce the likelihood of this, you need to give the motor a good spin before stopping. Sometimes a few holes are drilled to drain water in the muffler and in the resonator.

Otherwise, the engine has no serious problems, runs for a long time and does not cause problems. Normal maintenance, oil change every 7500 km plus good gasoline, provide a resource of over 300-400 thousand km.

Tuning engines 3.6 FSI

Chip tuning

Unlike many atmospheric engines, where chip-tuning does not give anything special, here everything is different. In Russia was sold strangled under low tax 3.6 FSI 249 hp. The power is reduced mainly programmatically, and the firmware can return the factory 280 hp along with 390 Nm of torque, sometimes a little more. There are many different companies that will happily do such chip tuning. There is a second option, which is a more aggressive Stage 2 firmware along with a catalytic converter free exhaust. This gives 300 hp or even a little more.

It does not make sense to flash versions with 280 hp, it will be very difficult to feel a gain of 10-20 hp.

For those who want to get 300+ hp, there is a good and reliable solution from HGP, which will build you a 3.6 FSI Biturbo and the motor will show more than 700 hp. This requires a turbo kit based on HGP R28 turbos, all intake and exhaust, fuel tweaks, compression ratio reduction, firmware, DSG boost. But it makes no sense to dwell on it in detail, the price of pleasure is prohibitive and it is easier to change the car.

MOTOR RATING: 5-