6 Cylinder Engines , The Reality Of It

Author

Javaughn Barrow

The mighty 6 cylinder engine! For a long time 6 cylinder engines were a straight/inline layout. With the increasingly popular V6 layouts, now there are multiple ways to enjoy the power of 6 cylinders. Whether the pistons are all in a row or 3 side by side or staggered, this motor can bring a lot to the table from performance to efficiency. 6 cylinder engines can be one of the smoothest in the game of power delivery. Might even be better than a V8? Let’s discuss…

What you will learn:

What engine has 6 cylinders?

Engines that have 6 cylinders are V6 engines, Straight 6 engines, VR6 engines and Slant 6 engines. The cylinders are a point of reference, indicating how many pistons an engine has. These 6 piston engines come in different layouts like I mentioned above.

V6’s are when half of 6 pistons or two inline 3 engines are essentially, set up side by side at an angle like the shape of a “V.” A great example of a V6 is the Nissan GTR, nicknamed GODZILLA. The GTR is definitely a GOD in the car community. This Twin Turbo Sportscar punches above its weight class; running down supercars is just one of its hobbies.

Straight 6 engines, also referred to as inline 6’s are when all 6 pistons are arranged in a straight line one in front of the other. An example of this is also a Nissan GTR. However, this one came out between 1999 and 2002 with the RB26DETT and RB28DETT engines. Some say this is the golden age of straight 6 engines. Japan pushed the limits of this car so much so, it yet again made history with the GTR.

VR6 engines have a Staggered layout. Like a V6, the pistons are at a slight angle, however, the pistons aren’t exactly side by side. The pistons are placed in a zigzag pattern. This engine layout is attempting to find the sweet spot, between the inline 6 and V6 engine. VW was popular for the VR6, with their MK3 Jetta and GTI. This VR6 engine was something special for that time, it especially sounded good when being pushed to the limits.

Slant 6 engines are just Straight 6 engines at an angle. These engines were produced during the 1960’s – 1980’s era in some of the most iconic cars. Two examples of slant 6 engines were the Dodge charger and challenger. Yes, those cars had slanted 6’s not a V8!

Does anyone still make Straight 6 engines?

Japan has a legacy with the straight 6 engine. The Nissan Skyline, with the RB26 straight 6 engines and the Toyota Supra with the 2JZ I6’S. These engines were a masterpiece in my opinion, they made your car sound like it was alive at idle. If you ever get a chance to listen to a cammed RB26 in person, you’ll know what I mean. In today’s market, the Germans are revolutionizing the straight 6 engine category. For instance, BMW and Mercedes introduced the straight 6 engine in their sports and upper class vehicle line ups. One issue with a Straight 6 engine, is the length of the overall engine. Size matters when it comes to the engine bay.

Mercedes tweaked the platform by adjusting the size of the pistons. This makes it shorter, which is perfect. Then they essentially electrified the engine, eliminating certain engine components that would otherwise take up space. These additions supply the engine with essentially a good amount of boost coming from an electric compressor and an integrated starter alternator, not just the turbos.This makes the straight 6 engine more exciting than it’s ever been.

BMW also swears by the straight 6 engine, putting it in their top tier M sports cars. For example, the M3 and M4 with their S55 engine.Even their S58 Engine pulls hard in the X3 M. The S58 Straight 6 engine from BMW is my favorite, simply because of the exhaust sound. Straight 6 engines are making a comeback and that is amazing. It brings a level of simplicity to the game that a V6 doesn’t.

Is a 6 cylinder engines faster than a v8 ?

It definitely can be depending on engine components. Usually the more cylinders you have, the more output of power you can get in an engine. However, the twin turbo V6’s punch above its weight class. For example, twin turbo V6’s  could outperform V8 powered supercars or V12 powered supercars. However, those are modified V6 engines, let’s keep it stock. The Nissan GTR is a great example of a V6 outperforming a V8. That twin turbo V6, gives such a rush of aggressive power to the wheels, you can feel it in your spine when doing launch control. However, if you put a set of turbos on a V8 then things are different.

Do 6 cylinder engines use more gas ?

6 cylinders generally use more gas than 4 cylinder and 5 cylinder engines. However, it uses less than a V8. This is because each piston uses fuel for their 4 stroke cycle. Being that 6 cylinders have an extra 2 cylinders versus a 4 cylinder, that’s two more pistons using up fuel. Another point is that an engine with more power, uses up more resources. That being said, you will generally get more power from a 6 cylinder engine, than a 4 cylinder or 5 cylinder motor.

What is the disadvantages of 6 cylinder engines?

For an inline 6 cylinder engine, packaging has always been an issue. The engine tends to be very long, because all the pistons are in a line one in front of the other. Whereas an inline 4 is shorter for using fewer pistons. This layout for 6 cylinders engines brings many benefits. Two of which include, its need for less parts to manufacture and being naturally balanced. The length of the 6 cylinder engine ultimately comes with a packaging issue, when trying to fit the engine into an engine bay.

Usually cars that come with an inline 6 engine, need a longer hood to account for the space. Also, fitting it transversely either makes it worse for your turning radius or doesn’t work at all. Manufacturers found a way around the inline 6 engine, by making a V6 engine for better packaging. This ultimately solved the problem of space, but brought another host of issues, more moving parts. A V6 sacrifices the naturally smooth balance of the inline 6 because six pistons are split, which is three side by side.

These 3 pistons are at an angle, all connected to one point, which is the crankshaft. This takes the shape of a “V.” This unique shape requires 2 cylinder heads, 2 exhaust manifolds and 4 camshafts. To Account for the imbalance, it needs certain aids like balancing shafts, counterweights, even a splay angle crankshaft. As you may have guessed this complicates things for manufacturers. More moving parts, means more opportunity for things to go wrong and it also brings overall costs up. Whereas an inline 6 cylinder engine, only needs half that amount of parts to operate.

Conclusion

In an effort to make the inline 6 layout work for space, automakers definitely solved the problem with the V6 and VR6s. However, simplicity was sacrificed in the process. With the electrification of the car industry and Mercedes’ example of their electrified inline 6 engine, this layout might be making a comeback! I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the sweet sweet inline 6.

Javaughn Barrow

Hello! My name is Javaughn Barrow, a young car enthusiast who writes all the articles for Karcandy.com. I’ve written over 50 articles about automobiles. With each article, I deepen my understanding and expertise in writing and the automotive world. Ever since childhood, I’ve always had a strong passion for cars. All types shapes and sizes were interesting to me. I’d spend most of my time after school researching cars and the more I found out about them the more exciting it was. In my teens, I created a fan page about corvettes posting content at least ten times a day! Yes, I was crazy about it. The page ended up garnering over 40k followers! After a while, I wanted more than a fan page. I wanted to express my passion differently. I wanted to create more helpful content, higher-quality content. My first car was a 2013 VW CC Sport. Learned very quickly car ownership wasn’t as expected. I spent a lot of time replacing control arms, cam position sensors, brake rotors, brake pads, etc. Walking away with more information than I knew before. As I was growing in my automotive journey I was learning about writing. Starting by writing a detailed outline about 300 words long then I would pay a professional to write a full 1000-word article and learn from them getting familiar with the process of writing. The moment I realized I could use my writing skills to express my passion for cars and help people simultaneously, I started Karcandy.com. I realized with my unique perspective coupled with my hard work discipline and work ethic I can create a space online to help bridge the gap between the complicated and simple in the automotive world. I’m motivated by the challenges and work it will take to create such a space. My work ethic is something I choose to refine and make better each day. I think it’s important to push myself and stay committed to my evolution as a human and this website is only one of the results of that.

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