I know there are V-6's and V-8's (engines), but is there such a thing as a V-4? Or are they just referred to

Question

as 4 cylinders. My friend and I disagree on this. I have never heard of a V-4. It drives me crazy when he refers to my 4 cylinder car as this....

Hope this isn't a stupid question!!! :-)

Answer 1

There definitely were V4 engines. Lancia made a whole bunch of V4 models between 1920 and 1970 (Lambda, Augusta, Artena, Aprilia, Ardea, Appia, and Fulvia). Ford used a V4 on Essex (produced in Britain) and Taunus (produced in Germany).

V4 engines are also used on motorcycles (Honda VF/VFR, Honda Magna, Yamaha VMax) and in outboard motors for boats (Johnson, Evinrude, and Yamaha all have V4 models).

This said, automotive V4 is considered exotic. A V4 is poorly balanced, so many V4 engines include a balancing shaft designed to reduce vibration. A much more common design for a four-cylinder engine is inline. A four-cylinder inline engine is usually referred to as I4.

Answer 2

The V designation is the shape that the cylinders are in. In a V-6 or V-8 car, there are 3 or 4 cylinders that meet in a 90 degree angle, so it sits like a V, with the apex at the center and bottom of the engine. While it is not very popular, there are V-4 engines, mostly in small foreign (to America) cars. The more popular 4 cylinder engines are in a straight row, designated as an I-4

Answer 3

V refers to the shape of the engine, V-8 means you have 4 cylinders on one side and 4 on the other and they move up and down along the V pattern. I have heard there are some V-4's out there but honestly couldnt tell you in what. Most 4 cylinder cars are i-4's (Inline) meaning all four cylinders are lined up in a row.

Answer 4

Yes there are V-4's, and V-2's (usually called V-twins). V-4's are in cars and in motorcycles. It is the configuration of the cylinders that give it the V designation. If they are all in a line a 4 cylinder is call an inline 4 or i4.

Answer 5

The "V" refers to the arrangements of the pistons. If the engine's pitsons are not arranged in a"V" they are referred to as "staright." This is where the term"straight six"comes from. There are straight sixes and even a few straight eights (although straight eights are nearly impossible to find in an automobile). Most 4 cylinder engines are "inline" or "straight" four cylinders, however there a few that are arranged in a "V". Therefore, there are V4's. However they are quite rare.

Answer 6

I've been looking for cars this week, new and used and I've never heard of a V-4. 4 Cylinder yes.

Answer 7

There have not been many cars made with V4 engines. The most common 4 cyl layout is inline or I-4. Subaru also makes a "flat 4" in that the pistons are 180 degrees apart.

Answer 8

Yep, check out the link from Wikipedia. To quote:

V4 engine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A V4 engine is a V form engine with four cylinders.

Lancia produced several narrow-angle V4 engines from the 1920s through 1960s for cars like the Lambda, Augusta, Artena, Aprilia, Ardea, Appia, and Fulvia. These were a spiritual predecessor for Volkswagen's VR6 family.

The Ford of Europe produced two totally different V4 engines with a balance shaft, one in the UK and one in Germany:

* The British Ford Essex V4 engine
* The German Ford Taunus V4 engine (also used by Saab)

The Ukrainian manufacturer ZAZ also used air cooled V4s with a balance shaft, produced by MeMZ and used in Zaporozhets cars.

V4 engines are also sometimes found in motorcycles, for instance the

* Honda VF and VFR
* Honda Magna
* Honda ST series (Pan European)
* Yamaha VMax

One other large use of the V4 engine is in outboard motors. They are two stroke cycle and generally carburated. Some manufacturers are Johnson, Evinrude and Yamaha. This type of engines is popular because of their small size, while still allowing 140+ horsepower.

Answer 9

Saab used to make V-4's back in the day!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_two-stroke

Answer 10

its a four cylinder