Arrangement of Cylinders (Automobile)

2-5.

Arrangement of Cylinders

Three, four, five, six, eight and twelve cylinders are used in car engines. Buses and trucks
use twelve and sixteen cylinder engines. The engine cylinders can be arranged in the following
ways (Fig. 2.12).
(a) In a row (in-line)
(6) In two rows or banks set at an angle (V-type)
(c) In two rows, opposing each other (flat, or pancake)

Fig. 2,12. Common cylinder arrangements.
Generally, engines with number of cylinders up to six are of in-line type, in which the
cylinders are arranged in a bank, one behind the other. The cylinder bank is inclined to vertical
either at 30 or 45 degrees. The cylinder centerlines are parallel, one next to the other (Fig. 2.13).
They are usually located within a single block, and the connecting rods are connected to a
common crankshaft.

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Fig. 2.13. Six-cylinder in-line engine.
The engine with eight cylinders and more are V-type in which cylinders are arranged in two
banks forming a “V with the crankshaft as the bottom point (Fig. 2.14). The angle between two
banks of cylinders is either 60 to 90 degrees. However, four and six cylinder engines are also
available in V-type. Several rear engine drive automobiles use four or six cylinder engine with
half of the cylinder at 180 degrees to the other half. Cylinders work to the same crankshaft. The
cylinder centerlines are usually in a horizontal plane and they are therefore called horizontally
opposed flat or pancake type. Twelve and sixteen cylinder engines are mostly in two banks i.e.,
V-type or flat type. Some times they are in three banks (W-type) or four banks (X-type).

Fig. 2.14. V-8 engine.