Whats the difference....

[16-4Veyron]

whats the difference between a straight and inline cilinder configuration. and what are the B and W configurations? i no im actin like a noob and askin a very simalar question than white devil, but im 3 yrs younger

[Egg Nog]

I don't want to get too specific because I'm sure it wouldn't help too much at this point, but...these images should help. You'll be able to figure most of it out yourself:

Common Types:

In these pictures, the rotating green rod turned by the piston movement is called the crankshaft.

Inline-4 Engine: (I4, Straight-4, etc. all mean the same thing)

V6 Engine:


Flat-4 Engine: (Horizontally-Opposed 4, Boxer 4, etc. all mean the same thing)


Rotary Engine: (Wankel Engine means the same thing)



For an extremely good reference: (I suggest that you read these all, they are very good and explain technical stuff in a very manageable way)

Normal (Piston) Engines:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine.htm

Rotary (Wankel) Engines:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/rotary-engine.htm


Hope this all helps...

-Shawn (Egg Nog)

[16-4Veyron]

wow thx, so inline and straight are the same thing

[Egg Nog]

wow thx, so inline and straight are the same thing

Yes, exactly.

I'm hoping you've read the articles I linked to...I think you'll learn quite a bit. They've got a whole bunch more little animations, but I couldn't link to them because they're all done in flash. There's a really good couple of ones depicting each cycle of a 4-stroke engine...

[BMW Lover]

which one of theses engines is the most powerful ?

[Egg Nog]

Well, now it gets a lot more complicated...

Which is more powerful will vary highly from engine to engine, depending on displacement, induction (Naturally aspirated or turbo/supercharged), number of valves, bore, stroke, pistons, camshafts, connecting rods, cylinder head design, valve clearance, ignition timing, compression, and the list goes on and on and on and on and on...

[16-4Veyron]

ya... A.K.A "Efficiency"

lol

[Egg Nog]

ya... A.K.A "Efficiency"

lol

Hmm?

What exactly do you mean? They're just different methods of getting power; the efficieny of different methods can also vary...

[BMW Lover]

Well, now it gets a lot more complicated...

Which is more powerful will vary highly from engine to engine, depending on displacement, induction (Naturally aspirated or turbo/supercharged), number of valves, bore, stroke, pistons, camshafts, connecting rods, cylinder head design, valve clearance, ignition timing, compression, and the list goes on and on and on and on and on...

tks 4 explanation

[DiabloVT]

well if by most power, u mean most efficency. id have to put up my hand and say the rotary. because it dwarfs in size of conventional pistion engines (ie, 13B = 1.3L) yet, with the right tuning and turbocharger, can produce some extremely silly bigger power figures!

[DasModell]

efficiency doesn't mean power .. .. cause theoreticaly a diesel is more efficient then a petrol engine and it delivers less power ..