Inline-four is one of the cylinder arrangements of internal combustion engines and is most common in four-cylinder engines with a displacement of less than 2.0 liters. Because the four cylinders of the inline-four are arranged in a straight line, it is also called coaxial four-cylinder.
Inline four-cylinder engine
The inline four-cylinder engine is not a balanced structure. Although the imbalance is small in low-displacement and low-power structures, the vibration will increase as the engine size grows and power increases.
Inline four-cylinder engine
Most engines with a displacement of less than 2 liters and a Inline four-cylinder arrangement rely on their inherent damping effect to reduce vibration. Today, most engines with a displacement of more than 2 liters use balance shafts. A four-cylinder engine requires two balance shafts to reduce its own vibration, operating at twice the frequency of the crankshaft.
Horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine
The horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine is a type of internal combustion engine. It is a reciprocating engine with four pistons, each in its own cylinder, arranged in two pairs on either side in a horizontal opposed configuration.
Inline six-cylinder engine
A inline six-cylinder refers to an engine structure with six cylinders arranged in a single row. The straight-six engine has only one crankshaft and is designed to have a relatively balanced power output. However, it is longer than the V6 engine and has been abandoned by most car manufacturers after the popularization of the V6 engine. BMW is one of the few car manufacturers that still produce straight-six engines, which are installed in its high-performance front-engine rear-wheel-drive sports cars.
V-type six-cylinder engine
A V6 engine is one that divides all the cylinders into two groups, arranging adjacent cylinders at a certain angle together, so that the two groups of cylinders form a plane with an angle, and the cylinders appear in a V shape when viewed from the side.
The length of a V6 engine is comparable to that of a inline-4, so it can be placed horizontally in front-wheel drive sedans. Nowadays, V6 engines are widely used in mid-to-high-end sedans. The cylinder angle of a V6 engine is generally 60 degrees or 90 degrees. A 60-degree angle is better for the balance of a V6 engine.
V-type eight-cylinder engine
The V8 engine should be a standard feature for high-end vehicles. Although the V8 engine has extremely excellent performance, its manufacturing cost is too high, it is too heavy, and its fuel consumption is extremely high. Therefore, manufacturers generally dare not adopt it easily. Only on vehicles with a displacement of over 4 liters can you see the V8 engine. Currently, only the Grand Cherokee among domestic vehicles is equipped with a V8 engine.
V8 engine
Whether placed in front-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive vehicles, the V8 engine, due to its considerable weight, tends to cause the car's center of gravity to shift forward, resulting in a front-heavy condition. Therefore, many automakers prefer to use the V8 in four-wheel drive vehicles. With a 90-degree angle, the V8 engine can achieve better balance.
V-type ten-cylinder engine
Theoretically speaking, the balance of a V10 engine is not particularly good, so it is rarely used in commercially available cars. If it is used, it is usually in high-performance sports cars. Currently, the Dodge Viper in the United States has always used a V10 engine as its power source. Later, there was the Porsche Carrera GT sports car, the Volkswagen Phaeton 5-liter V10 diesel car, and the Lamborghini Gallardo also adopted a V10 engine. The most common place to see V10 engines is on F1 racetracks, where every car is equipped with a V10 engine.
V-type 12-cylinder engine
The symbolic significance of the V12 engine outweighs its practical value. Cars equipped with 12-cylinder engines are mainly found in Europe, with top luxury vehicles from Germany and the UK and high-end sports cars from Italy being the primary users. The V12 engine is complex in design, costly to produce, extremely heavy, and has a fuel consumption so high that you can hardly find the official data provided by the manufacturers.
Nowadays, luxury sedans equipped with V12 engines include the Mercedes-Benz flagship S600, BMW flagship 760Li, Maybach and the new Rolls-Royce Phantom; sports cars with V12 engines include Ferrari's 456GT and Enzo; Lamborghini's Diablo, Murcielago and Aventador; Aston Martin's V12 Vantage and Edonis BEX38, etc.