Editing Engine configuration (section)

== Piston engines ==
[[File:Napier Lion II 2.jpg|thumb|1919 [[Napier Lion|Napier Lion II]] aircraft engine with three cylinder banks]]

Any design of motor/engine, be it a V or a boxer can be called an "in-line" if it's mounted in-line with the frame/chassis and in-line with the direction of travel of the vehicle. When the motor/engine is across the frame/chassis this is called a TRANSVERSE motor. Cylinder arrangement is not in the description of how the motor/engine is oriented. Therefore a V4 motor/engine can be a transverse or an in-line.

Where the cylinders are arranged in two or more lines (such as in [[V engine|V engines]] or [[Flat engine|flat engines]]), each line of cylinders is referred to as a 'cylinder bank'. The angle between cylinder banks is called the 'bank angle'. Engines with multiple banks are shorter than straight engines of the same size, and will often have better [[engine balance]] characteristics, resulting in reduced engine [[vibration]] and potentially higher maximum engine speeds.

Most engines with four or less cylinders use a [[straight engine]] layout, and most engines with eight cylinders or more use a [[V engine]] layout. However, there are various exceptions to this, such as the [[straight-eight engine]]s used by various luxury cars from 1919-1954,<ref name="VVC70">{{cite book| last = Posthumus| first = Cyril| author-link = Cyril Posthumus| others = John Wood, illustrator| title = The story of Veteran & Vintage Cars| edition = Phoebus 1977| orig-year = 1977| year = 1977| publisher = Hamlyn / Phoebus| location = London| isbn = 0-600-39155-8| page = 70| chapter = War and Peace}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Engine of the Day: Packard Inline Eight |url=https://jalopnik.com/engine-of-the-day-packard-inline-eight-380781 |website=www.jalopnik.com |access-date=15 November 2019 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Hemmings Classic Car |date=February 2010 |volume=6 |issue=5 |page=39}}</ref> [[V4 engine]]s used by some marine outboard motors, [[V-twin engine|V-twin]] and [[flat-twin engine|flat-twin]] engines used by motorcycles and [[flat-four engine]]s used by various cars.

=== Single cylinder bank ===
[[File:Indian 4 engine manifold side.jpg|thumb|1928-1942 [[Indian Four]] straight-4 motorcycle engine]]
[[Straight engine]]s (also known as "inline engines") have all cylinders aligned in one row along the crankshaft with no offset. When a straight engine is mounted at an angle, it is sometimes called a "slant engine". Types of straight engines include:
* [[Single-cylinder engine|Single cylinder]] example BMW R25 R26 R27
* [[Straight-twin engine|Straight-2]] example Sunbeam S7 
* [[Straight-three engine|Straight-3]], also known as "inline-triple"
* [[Straight-four engine|Straight-4]]
* [[Straight-five engine|Straight-5]]
* [[Straight-six engine|Straight-6]]
* [[Straight-eight engine|Straight-8]]

=== Multiple cylinder banks ===
==== V engines ====
[[File:IC engine.JPG|thumb |V6 engine]]
[[V engine]]s (also known as "Vee engines") have the cylinders aligned in two separate planes or 'banks', so that they appear to be in a "V" when viewed along the axis of the crankshaft. Types of V engines include:
* [[V-twin engine|V2]], commonly called "V-twin"
* [[V3 engine|V3]]
* [[V4 engine|V4]]
* [[V5 engine|V5]]
 
* [[V6 engine|V6]]

* [[V8 engine|V8]]
* [[V10 engine|V10]]
* [[V12 engine|V12]]
* [[V14 engine|V14]]
* [[V16 engine|V16]]
* [[V18 engine|V18]]

VR5 and VR6 engines are very compact and light, having a narrow V angle which allows a single [[cylinder block]] and [[cylinder head]].
These engines use a single cylinder head so are technically a straight engine with the name "VR" coming from the combination of German words “Verkürzt” and “Reihenmotor” meaning “shortened inline engine”.

==== Flat engines ====
[[File:Douglas motorcycle engine, Abergavenny steam rally 2012.jpg|thumb|[[Douglas (motorcycles)|Douglas]] flat-twin motorcycle engine]]
[[Flat engine]]s (also known as "horizontally-opposed" engines) have the cylinders arranged in two banks on either side of a single crankshaft. [[Flat_engine#Boxer_engine|Boxer engines]] are a subtype of flat engines where opposing pistons move in and out in tandem.

Types of flat engines include:
* [[Flat-twin engine|Flat-2]], commonly called "flat-twin"
* [[Flat-four engine|Flat-4]]
* [[Flat-six engine|Flat-6]]
* [[Flat-eight engine|Flat-8]]
* [[Flat-ten engine|Flat-10]]
* [[Flat-twelve engine|Flat-12]]
* [[Flat-sixteen engine|Flat-16]]

==== W engines ====
{{main|W engine}}
W engines have the cylinders in a configuration in which the cylinder banks resemble the letter W, in the same way those of a V engine resemble the letter V. Types of W engines include:
* [[W8 engine|W8]]
* [[W12 engine|W12]]
* [[W16 engine|W16]]
W engines using twin "VR" engine banks are technically a V engine. These engine banks use a single cylinder head so are technically a straight bank with the name "VR" coming from the combination of German words “Verkürzt” and “Reihenmotor” meaning “shortened inline engine”.

==== Other layouts ====
[[Radial engine]]s have cylinders mounted radially around a central crankcase. [[Rotary engine]]s have a similar configuration, except that the crankshaft is fixed and the cylinders rotate around it. (This is different from the [[Wankel engine]] configuration described below.) Radial and rotary engine designs were widely used in early [[aircraft engine]]s.

[[U engine]]s consist of two separate straight engines (complete with separate crankshafts) joined by gears or chains. Most U engines have four cylinders (i.e. two straight-two engines combined), such as [[U engine#Square four engine|square four engines]] and [[U engine#Tandem twin engine|tandem twin engines]]. Similar to U engines, [[H engine]]s consist of two separate flat engines joined by gears or chains. H engines have been produced with between 4 and 24 cylinders.

An [[opposed-piston engine]] is similar to a flat engine in that pairs of pistons are co-axial but rather than sharing a crankshaft, instead share a single combustion chamber per pair of pistons. The crankshaft configuration varies amongst opposed-engine designs. One layout has a flat/boxer engine at its center and adds an additional opposed-piston to each end so there are two pistons per cylinder on each side.

An [[X engine]] is essentially two V engines joined by a common crankshaft. A majority of these were existing V-12 engines converted into an X-24 configuration.

The [[Cam_engine#Wobble_plate_engine|Swashplate engine]] with the K-Cycle engine is where pairs of pistons are in an opposed configuration sharing a cylinder and combustion chamber.

A Delta engine has three (or its multiple) cylinders having opposing pistons, aligned in three separate planes or 'banks', so that they appear to be in a Δ when viewed along the axis of the main-shaft. An example of this type of layout is the [[Napier Deltic]].