V - Shaped
Inside the high horsepower and torque engines, the forces colliding need to be counterbalanced with each other. Many of these engines are angled in the V shape to help balance the engine. An 8-stroke engine is balanced when the two cylinders form a 90-degree V-shaped angle.
According to Kevin Hoag, “The forces that impact engine balance come from three sources,” the associate director of the Engine Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “the rotation of mass that is offset from the main bearing centerline (the mass at each crank throw and counterweight); reciprocating (up and down) forces due to the continual acceleration and deceleration of each piston assembly; and the firing forces in each cylinder.” Rotational and Reciprocating are often balanced through the engine configuration that you can refer to below.
The angle of the 90-degree V-shape is essential to the third force Hoag cites, the firing force. To help designers with the configuration, the have a general equation to help them.
Sample equation for a for a six-cylinder engine. (720/6)=120 A V-6 fires a cylinder every time the crankshaft turns 120 degrees.
V6 engines are derived from the V8 designs by removing two cylinders while maintaining the same V-angle. V8 engines are rarely less than 3.0 L (183 cu in) in displacement, and the automobile use has exceeded 8.2 L (500 cu in) in production vehicles.
In automobiles, V8 engines are used in a wide variety of cars and trucks, mostly in more powerful segments and types of vehicles such as American muscle cars. In some cases, V6 engines are derived from V8 designs by removing two cylinders while maintaining the same V-angle. The traditional 90o big-bore V8 engine, as found on many American makes, is generally both too wide and long to fit in vehicles with a transverse engine front-wheel drive layout.
In motorsports, V8s are common and have been a popular engine choice in purpose-designed engines for race cars in many different types and classes of automotive racing. The V8 is the best engine to give you Horsepower and Torque.