It’s a fact of life in the Olympic Exclusion Zone that your survival depends on your car. And even the most mechanically inept will tell you that a car needs an engine to run. 

There are only four engines in Pacific Drive, but choosing which to use is one of the most important build decisions in the game. Some engines are better suited for specific zones, others can be a death sentence under certain junction conditions. Making this decision confidently can be tough, so we’ve ranked the four engines from worst to best below.

4. AMP Engine

Keep the Olympic Exclusion Zone beautiful!

The AMP engine is the only fully electric engine in Pacific Drive. Despite its high horsepower and increased health, its battery usage makes it tough to recommend to players for most builds.

Using this engine will render your fuel tank obsolete, which is an inefficient use of available resources. It requires constant electricity generation to keep up with its power drain, an issue that can be exacerbated by certain junction conditions. The AMP engine is hardly an upgrade from the turbolight engine, which has the same health and slightly less horsepower.

AMP Engine Review

• High Battery Usage

Since this engine is completely electric, it relies solely on battery power to run. This places a higher strain on your battery, which already has to power up to four abilities and headlights.
Upgrades to Balance Battery Usage: You can combat the battery drain with battery expansion upgrades, like the side, backseat, or roof batteries. In addition to extra battery capacity, you can also add accessories like wind turbines or hydro generators to help get that extra power. The problem with needing all these upgrades is that it takes up valuable real estate that could be used for things like abilities and storage.

• Inefficient Usage of Resources

While this engine is the eco-friendly option, there is no way to repurpose your fuel system once you’ve gone green. Your gas tank isn’t used to power anything else once this engine is installed, so it becomes a waste of space and resources.

• Dangerous Junction Conditions

Several junction conditions, like “battery sapping” or “disruptive discharge”, can be devastating when running a battery-only build. These conditions cause your battery to drain faster than usual, and will require resources like battery jumpers to counteract.

AMP Engine Details

• 500 health
• 44 MPKW
• 234 horsepower

How To Get the AMP Engine

This blueprint can be unlocked with 4 kLIM of unstable anchor energy and 3x fabric. You must already have unlocked the advanced workbench and researched circuit boards before you can grab this blueprint. To craft the AMP engine, you’ll need 70x scrap metal, 10x plasma, 3x circuit boards, and 360x swamp coral.

3. Carbureted Engine

It’ll get you from point A to point B eventually…

With the lowest health and horsepower but the highest MPG, the carbureted engine is your most basic option. It’s the easiest engine to get in the game because the remnant comes with one already installed. While having a fancy engine that goes fast is fun, sometimes the best option is the safest and cheapest.

My favorite aspect of the carbureted engine is that it actually gives me more control over my speed and makes for safer runs. With the upgraded engines, I find that I damage my car more often by accidentally speeding into hazards than I do when using the default engine. It doesn’t run on electricity and it’s definitely the slowest in the game, but it’s a good enough engine for most situations in the Zone.

Carbureted Engine Review

• Easy to Craft

One of the biggest reasons this engine isn’t lower on the list is how common its parts are. Since it’s the most basic engine you can get, all parts can be found in the Outer Zone without even really trying.

• Safe

The benefit of using the slowest engine in the game isn’t obvious at first, but driving fast in the Zone can be especially dangerous. Your car usually takes damage on the front bumper and hood, which protects your engine, from various anomalies and environmental hazards. Without your engine you aren’t making it through the gateway, so it’s better to be safe than sorry!

• Best MPG

Fuel consumption can be a tough problem to overcome, but the carbureted engine has the best MPG of all three gas options. If you never want to worry about fuel consumption again, you can pair this engine with a couple of fuel tank upgrades.

• Lowest Horsepower

A downside of the carbureted engine is that it has the lowest horsepower out of all four choices. This is the trade-off for its economic MPG, and can make going up steep hills nearly impossible and slow-going. Using this engine in the Deep Zone is ill-advised.

Carbureted Engine Details

• 400 health
• 18 MPG
• 128 horsepower

How To Get the Carbureted Engine

You don’t have to do anything to get this engine since it’s already installed in the Remnant at the beginning of the game. However, if you need to craft a replacement, you just need to build the basic workbench and research how to craft steel sheets. Since there’s no blueprint for the carbureted engine, it requires no anchor energy. 

Once the prerequisites are met, you can craft this at the basic workbench with 6x rubber, 10x copper wire, 6x gas cylinders, and 6x steel sheets.

2. LIM-Chipped Engine

Flux capacitor sold separately.

If you feel like you’re not moving fast enough, then the LIM-chipped engine is for you. It’s the fastest engine in the Olympic Exclusion Zone, and you’ll want speed on your side when facing the dangers of the Deep Zone.

By the time you can unlock this engine, you’re within walking distance of the last story mission in the game. It also requires one of the rarest resources in the game to craft, which can be frustrating to farm so close to the end. That’s not to say that the upgrade isn’t worthwhile; depending on your playstyle though, it can be largely irrelevant by the time you actually unlock it.

LIM-Chipped Engine Review

• Fastest Engine

Driving fast is fun! But more importantly, a faster engine lets you escape from dangerous and unpredictable anomalies in the Deep Zone more quickly. As long as you can maintain control of your vehicle, this is the best engine upgrade to choose for speed.

• Needs Olympium Fragments to Craft

Olympium fragments, one of the rarest resources in the game, are needed to craft this engine. They can only be found in the Deep Zone and it can take several runs to accumulate enough. You can use the resource radar to make farming this resource somewhat easier, but it still bogs down the pacing of the end game.

• Highest Engine Health

Since this engine is crafted with the strongest resource in the game, its health is also the highest. By the time you get this engine, you’ll have encountered several hazards in the Deep Zone that quickly deal explosive and impact damage. Having high engine health means that a damaged or lost hood isn’t as dire as it would be with a lesser engine.

• Fuel Consumption

The trade off for speed and high health is fuel efficiency. Out of all the combustion engines, the LIM-chipped engine has the worst MPG. This can be balanced by adding extra gas tanks, but it’s something to keep in mind when considering this engine.

LIM-Chipped Engine Details

• 600 health
• 9 MPG
• 304 horsepower

How To Get the LIM-Chipped Engine

A peculiar LIM-chipped engine is available through the story, but it can’t be repaired due its peculiar status. The crafting blueprint can be unlocked with 4 kLIM of corrupted anchor energy and 3x fabric. You must have already built the advanced workbench and researched the LIM chip component before you can unlock this blueprint.

To craft the LIM-chipped engine, you’ll need 16x gas cylinders, 10x explosives, 40x Olympium fragments, and 4x LIM chips.

1. Turbolight Engine

Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

The turbolight engine may not be the fastest or flashiest engine in the game, but it is the most well-rounded. If you prefer a more balanced build that also prioritizes performance, then this is the engine to choose. 

Its crafting cost is low since all resources can be found in the Outer Zone, and its stats are a considerable upgrade from the default engine. This engine will get you through the end game without sacrificing much car space to support it.

Turbolight Engine Review

• Decently Fast

While the turbolight engine doesn’t have the highest horsepower, it’s still a 35% increase from the starter engine. With this engine, you won’t struggle to make it up hills or to escape most anomalies. 

• Easy to Unlock and Craft

Late game engines can be frustrating to gather resources for, requiring rare resources to craft. But the resources needed to build the turbolight engine are abundant in the Outer Zone, and the blueprint is easy to unlock.

• Fuel Efficient

You do get less miles per gallon than with the carbureted engine, but the decrease isn’t significant. Adding a gas tank or two should offset fuel consumption and allow you to utilize accessory slots for other upgrades.

Turbolight Engine Details

• 500 health
• 12 MPG
• 196 horsepower

How To Get the Turbolight Engine

The turbolight engine can be unlocked with 4 kLIM of stable anchor energy and 3x fabric. You must have built the basic workbench, installed the scanning antenna, and researched the steel sheet component. Once you meet all these prerequisites, you can craft the turbolight engine with 15x copper wire, 10x gas cylinders, 10x steel sheets, and 42x thermosap crystals.

Pacific Drive is developed by Ironwood Studios and is available now on PC and PS5.

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