Engine Configuration

ENGINE CONFIGURATION
Engine configuration:
Engine configuration is an engineering term for the

layout of the major components of a reciprocating
piston internal combustion engine. These components
are the cylinders and crankshafts in particular but
also, sometimes, the camshaft(s).
Engine Configuration
Cylinder Crankshaf Camshaf

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Categorization by piston motion
1. SINGLE-CYLINDER ENGINE
2. INLINE ENGINE DESIGNS
3. RADIAL DESIGNS
4 . WA N K E L E N G I N E
Inline engine designs:
• Straight engine, with all of the cylinders placed in a single row
• U engine, two separate straight engines with crankshafts

linked by a central gear.
• V engine, with two banks of cylinders at an angle, less then

180
• Flat engine, two banks of cylinders directly opposite each

other on either side of the crankshaft.
• W engine. Combination of V and straight, giving 3 banks, or

two V's intertwined giving 4 banks.
Primary balance:
Primary balance is supposed to indicate the balancing of items that
could shake an engine once in every rotation of the crankshaft.
Primary balance is controlled by adding or removing mass to or from
the crankshaft.
Secondary balance:
Secondary balance can include compensating for
• Kinetic energy of the pistons.
• The non sinusoidal motion of the pistons.
• The sideways motion of balance shaft weights.
1. Four-cylinder inline four:
Let’s start with one of the most common engines, the inline four cylinder. Inline-
four engine or straight-four engine is a type of inline I.C four-cylinder engine with
all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The
single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane
with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft.
Advantages
• The four-cylinder, inline four is small and compact, meaning it easily fits
in nearly any engine bay.
• It’s also lightweight, and with only one exhaust manifold, weight is
further reduced.
• With only one cylinder head, there are fewer moving parts than engines
with multiple cylinder banks. This means less energy is lost which
reduces the probability of malfunctions.
• Primary forces are balanced because the outside two pistons move in the
opposite direction of the inside two pistons.
• Four-cylinder engines are easy to work on; the cylinder head is the highest
point which makes spark plug jobs and valve train access very easy.
• Four-cylinder engines require lower manufacturing costs.

Disadvantages:
• Secondary forces are not balanced, which ultimately

limits the size of the engine.
• Inline fours will rarely exceed 2.5 litres to 3.0 litres.
• Larger four cylinder engines will often require

balancing shafts to cancel the vibration caused by the
secondary imbalance.
• High Centre of gravity compared to some layouts.
• Not as rigid as some layouts (V6, V8).

2. Horizontally-opposed (Flat engine)
A flat engine is an internal combustion engine with horizontally-opposed
pistons. Typically, the layout has cylinders arranged in two banks on either
side of a single crankshaft and is otherwise known as the boxer, or
horizontally-opposed engine. From a performance standpoint, there aren’t
many options as attractive as an engine with horizontally-opposed cylinders.
The boxer four isn’t nearly as common as the other engines on this list, but
from an engineering standpoint it’s a logical choice for your race car.
Advantages:
• Primary and secondary forces are well balanced. This is a smooth engine.
• This allows for less weight on the crankshaft, resulting in less power lost
to rotational inertia.
• Low centre of gravity allows for better handling, stability and control.
Disadvantages:
• Packaging size: these are very wide engines, hence more expensive.
• Flat engines were once used in Formula 1 for their performance

advantages, but due to their width they obstructed airflow and are no
longer used.
• Complexity - two cylinder heads/valve trains.
• Maintenance can be challenging if packaging is tight.

3. Straight-six:
An engineer’s object of affection, the straight-six is the result of tacking
on two more cylinders to an inline four engine. BMW loves them, and
it’s the layout of one of the most well-known boost-ready engines, the
2JZ.
Advantages
• The straight-six is Inherently balanced.
• The layout combined with its firing order leads to essentially the
smoothest engine out there.
• Lower manufacturing cost - single cylinder block with all the cylinders in
one orientation.
• Simple design, easy to work on much like the I4.

Disadvantages
• Packaging can be difficult due to the length.
• Not ideal for FWD vehicles.
• High center of gravity (vs flat engines).
• Lower rigidity than V engines as it’s long and narrow.

4. V6:
Now cut that straight-six in half and match the two cylinder banks to a common
crank. The V6 is a common layout when there are six spark plugs involved. It’s
also the current layout for Formula 1 engines.
Advantages:
• They’re compact and can easily be used for both FWD
and RWD vehicles.
• Allows for greater displacement than four-cylinder

engines, typically meaning more power.
• Rigid design.
Disadvantages:
• Two cylinder heads means added cost, complexity, and weight.
• Additional rotational inertia and friction (more moving parts).
• High centre of gravity vs flat engines.
• Cost is often greater than inline.
• Secondary imbalance requires additional weight on the crankshaft.
• Two exhaust manifolds means additional weight.

5. V8 :
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder V engine with the cylinders mounted on

the crankcase in two sets of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle
to each other, but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons
driving a common crankshaft
Advantages:
• Packaging size (short in length).
• Good balance, depending on the crankshaft type and firing order.
• Rigid design.
• Allows for high displacement.

Disadvantages
• Like a V6, the V8 engine’s weight can be high.
• Additional rotational inertia and friction (more moving parts).
• Cost and complexity will be higher.
• Higher centre of gravity vs flat engines.
• Engine weight is usually increased.
• Packaging is large, typically restricted to RWD/AWD vehicles.

Radial designs
The rotary engine was an early type of internal-combustion engine, usually designed
with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration, in which
the crankshaft remained stationary in operation, with the entire crankcase and its
attached cylinders rotating around it as a unit. Its main application was in aviation,
although it also saw use before its primary aviation role, in a few
early motorcycles and automobiles.
Wankel engine
The Wankel engine is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design to
convert pressure into rotating motion. Over the commonly used reciprocating piston designs,
the Wankel engine delivers advantages of: simplicity, smoothness, compactness, high
revolutions per minute, and a high power-to-weight ratio. The engine is commonly referred to
as a rotary engine, although this name applies also to other completely different designs. All
parts rotate moving in one direction as opposed to the common piston engine which has
pistons violently changing direction. The four-stroke cycle occurs in a moving combustion
chamber between the inside of an oval-shaped housing, and a rotor that is similar in shape to a
triangle with sides that are somewhat flatter.

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ENGINE CONFIGURATION

Engine configuration is an engineering term for the

Cylinder Crankshaf Camshaf

2. INLINE ENGINE DESIGNS

• U engine, two separate straight engines with crankshafts

• V engine, with two banks of cylinders at an angle, less then

• Flat engine, two banks of cylinders directly opposite each

• W engine. Combination of V and straight, giving 3 banks, or

• Four-cylinder engines require lower manufacturing costs.

• Secondary forces are not balanced, which ultimately

• Inline fours will rarely exceed 2.5 litres to 3.0 litres.

• Larger four cylinder engines will often require

• High Centre of gravity compared to some layouts.

• Not as rigid as some layouts (V6, V8).

• Flat engines were once used in Formula 1 for their performance

• Complexity - two cylinder heads/valve trains.

• Maintenance can be challenging if packaging is tight.

• The straight-six is Inherently balanced.

• Simple design, easy to work on much like the I4.

• Packaging can be difficult due to the length.

• Not ideal for FWD vehicles.

• High center of gravity (vs flat engines).

• Lower rigidity than V engines as it’s long and narrow.

• Allows for greater displacement than four-cylinder

• Additional rotational inertia and friction (more moving parts).

• High centre of gravity vs flat engines.

• Cost is often greater than inline.

• Secondary imbalance requires additional weight on the crankshaft.

• Two exhaust manifolds means additional weight.

A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder V engine with the cylinders mounted on

• Packaging size (short in length).

• Good balance, depending on the crankshaft type and firing order.

• Allows for high displacement.

• Like a V6, the V8 engine’s weight can be high.

• Additional rotational inertia and friction (more moving parts).

• Cost and complexity will be higher.

• Higher centre of gravity vs flat engines.

• Engine weight is usually increased.

• Packaging is large, typically restricted to RWD/AWD vehicles.

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