Is there a difference between inline and V engine configurations?
There are actually three different engine configurations commonly used in automobiles: • Inline — the cylinders are arranged in a line in a single bank: Click on image to see animation • V — the cylinders are arranged in two banks set at an angle to one another: Click on image to see animation • Flat (also known as horizontally opposed or a boxer) — the cylinders are arranged in two banks on opposite sides of the engine: Click on image to see animation You can find, for example, inline 6 cylinder engines, flat 6 cylinder engines and V-6 engines. If you built all three of these six cylinder engines to the exact same specifications — same displacement, same valves, same intake and exhaust systems, etc. — they would likely perform nearly identically. Displacement is displacement. However, there would be a number of differences between the engines in use. Here are several of them to give you a
