What are the benefits of having a boxer engine vs inline?

Question

Is it true that boxer engines go faster than inline?

Answer 1

To answer your questions a simply as possible, neither an inline nor horizontally opposed engine is faster than the other. There are just too many variables. As far as benefits, an inline is generally less expensive to produce and easier to package because it's narrower. A boxer will generally allow you to have a lower center of gravity and is better balanced. Here is where I have a problem with this entire question.

The first responder, 'USC chick", took it upon herself to shamelessly plagiarize someone else's work. I don’t know who wrote it the first time (it may have been me), but the words are not her own. Proof? How about, http://fixedreference.org/en/20040424/wikipedia/Flat_engine , http://www.answerbag.com/a_view.php/6961 , http://open-encyclopedia.com/Flat_engine , http://www.gurupedia.com/f/fl/flat_engine.htm , http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36761&highlight=180+deg+v12 , http://experts.about.com/e/f/fl/Flat_engine.htm , so on and so forth, on and on, ad infinitum. There is nothing that pisses me off more than someone who steals another person’s work.

That being said, there one thing that is incorrect in all of the (same) descriptions. Horizontally opposed engine DO NOT have perfect balance. As a person who has built them for over 30 years for street and racing cars, street and racing motorcycles and even aircraft and boats, I know a thing or three about boxers.

They do in fact have perfect SECONDARY balance because the opposing pistons/rods cancel out any vibration from each other. Each pair travels up and down the cylinder at the same time, so they balance each other. PRIMARY balance is when the crankshaft counterweight offsets the piston/rod mass. Most boxer stock boxer engines don’t use counterweights because of the aforementioned secondary balance. Now it gets sticky.

Because opposed engines use offset crankpins due to their very nature, they ALWAYS have a rotational imbalance. This cannot be corrected by counterweights and could only be potentially corrected by balance shafts; however I’m unaware of any production boxer engine that uses them at this time.

End of rant, and a tip to anyone who reads this question. Just because you read something on the internet, doesn’t mean it’s true… My answer included. Feel free to research what I’ve said to confirm or deny it’s merit. And feel free to e-mail me with any questions, corrections or offers of free money.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What are the benefits of having a boxer engine vs inline?
Is it true that boxer engines go faster than inline?

Answer 3

Boxer Engine Advantages

Answer 4

there was a website that provided more rigorous analysis of vibrations and harmonics in different type engines, but I couldn't find it anymore.

A flat engine or boxer engine or horizontally opposed engine is a type of engine where the pistons lie horizontally opposed, with pairs of cylinders on the left and the right, as opposed to most modern engines where all pistons are inline, or the alternating pistons are positioned in a "V"-angle. Some experts distinguish between V-at-180° engines and real boxer engines. The real boxer has one crank pin per piston while in the V-at-180° engine two pistons share the same crank pin. Real boxer engines can run perfectly smooth and free of vibrations with a four-stroke cycle, regardless of number of cylinders.

The benefit of using a boxer engine versus a V engine is that it provides perfect balance because each piston's movement is exactly counterbalanced by the corresponding piston movement of the opposite side. Boxer-engined automobiles also generally have a lower center of gravity, giving better stability and control. However, boxer engines are also wider than normal engines and are more expensive to build than traditional engines and, thus, are not widely used by automobile manufacturers.

The flat configuration fits very well with air cooling and aircraft engines. Air-cooled designs such as in the VW Beetle used a flat-4, as did the Porsche 356 and 912. Both the older and newer models of the 911 use a flat-6, while Subaru use the flat-4 and flat-6 design extensively, although referring to it as an "H engine". Ferrari used a flat-12 on the Testarossa. Air-cooled flat-twin engines were used by Citroën in their model 2CV and its derivatives, while the Citroën GS used a flat-4, and a flat-6 was proposed for the Citroën DS but rejected due to impractability. BMW uses a flat-twin in many of their motorbikes.

Answer 5

Horizontally Opposed Engine

Answer 6

An Inline engine weighs less..... the only advantage having a box engine is that it would be shorter front to back, but wider than an inline.

Answer 7

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The pistons are horizontally opposed which gives a little less friction on the cylinders when working and because the engine is flat gives a lower centre of gravity and better handling.

Answer 8

indy racecars use inline-straight 4-cylinder engines, and they are really fast. But, the Porsche 911 revolutionized the world of automobiles with the box-6, and it's really fast as well.

Answer 9

It's faster but wider. might not fit easily in some cars and it is air cooled like the old VW's. But this other guy really knows this better.

Answer 10

ok I give the thumbs up to usc chick...seems to know her stuff...I've heard of the boxer but never seen one ...nice info from usc chick...makes sense what she said.