The Differences Between V6 and Straight-Six Engines

v6 versus straight-6 engines the pros and cons 6-cylinder engines have featured in some heroic cars over the years with the likes of the Toyota Supra and bmw m3 paving the way for the straight six and the Honda NSX and r35 gt-r cementing the v6 into everyone's automotive psyche sadly though the glory days of the straight six seem to be numbered as v6 turbos are commonly used in many of the world's greatest sports and supercars so what are the advantages and shortcomings of each setup and why does the v6 now dominates straight-6 advantages like any inline engine straight-6 engines are fairly simple because there's no need for cylinder offset separate heads or valve trains like in a V configuration and instead of using double the amount of smaller camshafts a double overhead cam inline six can simply use two longer camshafts to open and close its valves access to an inline six is spark plugs leads and ancillary for general maintenance is also pretty easy making this engine an amatuer mechanics friend the biggest advantage of the straight six however is its balance due to the normal firing order of a straight-6 the Pistons move in tandem with their mirror image on the other side of the engine block meaning that the reciprocating forces balance each other out this makes for a smooth revving engine for which units like the s50 and RB 26 have become synonymous for straight-6 disadvantages unfortunately for its fans there are a few big disadvantages that mean the straight-6 is all but dead in today's automotive landscape packaging has always been an issue as the extra two cylinders when compared to an inline four mean that mounting an engine in a transverse configuration is very difficult and if mounted sideways there usually isn't enough room for the size of transmission and drivetrain needed to use a straight-6 in a front-wheel drive setup the long engine and its components also lack rigidity when compared to a more compact engine setup the long camshafts and crank shafts naturally try to flex slightly during rotation along with the engine block lacking the stiffness of a v6 equivalent the dimensions of the inline six also don't help the car center of gravity with rotating and Static mass sitting slightly higher in the engine bay than other more compact engine options v6 advantages normally found in 60 or 90 degree configurations v6 still find their place in many current performance cars including the Nissan or 35 GTR and the new Honda NSX compared to inline engines v6 s are far more compact which makes it a good unit to shoehorn into multiple manufacturer platforms therefore cutting costs from research and development budgets the pressure space offered up by the neat package also opens the door to forced induction leaving room for turbochargers - nestled deep within the engine bay front wheel drive vehicles can also use a v6 engine more easily including cars such as a masa M x6 which squeezed in a 2.5 liter v6 in its second generation 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 organization v6 disadvantages 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 using two in-line three cylinders stuck together the V style engine needs balancing shafts that you specially place 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 because of the longer piston stroke and an increase in bore size the counterweights needed therefore add complexity to the engines design and manufacture increasing overall costs naturally a double overhead cam v6 must have four camshafts and potentially 24 valves in total so the complexity of the additional valve train components increases the complexity of this engine which can make working on v6 is difficult for less experienced car lovers whichever side of the fence you sits on when it comes to favoring either the v6 or the straight-6 the good news is that the straight-6 could be making a comeback recently Mercedes revealed its new modular m256 inline 6 engine with up to 480 horsepower that will use a 48 volt battery to power the ancillary components and help the powertrain it'll also emit 15 percent less co2 and will replace almost all applications of the existing gasoline v6 so in years to come we could be seeing a more equal splits of v6 and straight-6 engine which is great news in my book people often confuse drifting with power sliding and there is quite a big difference so today we've got the BMW m2 and we're gonna teach you the differences and how to initiate them [Music]

Channel: Car Throttle

Views: 5,025,720

Keywords: v6, straight six, straight-six, v6 engine, straight-six engine, straight six engine, v8 engine, inline six engine, inline four engine, v12 engine, v8, engine, alex kersten, car throttle, carthrottle

Id: u3XSfVPFM74

Length: 4min 46sec (286 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 28 2017