What is the difference between 6 cylinder and v6

Cars Picanto Optima. Commercial Vehicle K K Find a dealer. What Is the Difference Between a v6 and a v8 Engine? V6 Engine The V6 engine is compact and solid. V8 Engine V8 engines typically offer better power and acceleration.

What Is Routine Maintenance on a Car? All Rights Reserved. Keeping this information in mind will hopefully help to make the final decision much easier! Related Posts. Previous Post Next Post. Find Your Vehicle. Search by keyword. Search Keyword. Make All. Model All. Body Style Body Style. Price Range All. Submit Search Search. Certified Service. Schedule Service. Free Credit Check. As pistons 1 and 6 reach top dead Centre, the other four pistons are evenly spaced at degrees and degrees respectively around the engine cycle, meaning that the reciprocating forces balance each other out.

This makes a smooth-revving engine for which units like the S50 and RB26 have become famous for. Unfortunately, there are numerous reasons why the straight six is all but dead. Packaging has always been an issue, as the extra two cylinders when compared to an I4 means that mounting the engine in a transverse configuration is very difficult.

The long engine and its components also lack rigidity when compared to a more compact engine setup. The long camshafts and crankshafts naturally try to very slightly flex during rotation, along with the engine block lacking the stiffness of a V6 equivalent.

Found normally in 60 or degree configurations, V6s can still be found in numerous performance cars, with the art of turbocharging creating upwards of horsepower from the likes of the MY17 GTR and the latest tech-fest NSX. The precious space offered up by the neat package therefore opens the door for forced induction, leaving room for turbochargers to nestle deep within the engine bay. Front-wheel drive setups can also utilise a V6 as a powertrain, which can lead to some truly epic performance bargains like the MG ZS which used a Rover KV6 and the Mazda MX-6 which squeezed in a 2.

So the V6 allowed car companies to easily produce a performance variant of their usual boring four-cylinder cars without having to drastically change chassis dimensions or engine bay organisation. Although it may feature the same number of cylinders as its in-line brother, the V6 does not have the same intrinsic balance. Effectively made up of two in-line three-cylinders stuck together, the V-style engine needs balancing shafts that use specially placed weights to counteract the unwanted inertia created by the reciprocating engine.

Without these balancing shafts, large vibrations would travel through the crankshaft and offset the efficiency of the reciprocation. The engine balance is worsened as displacement increases longer piston stroke and an increase in bore size increasing the mass of the piston.