There are five main gasoline engine configurations today in automobiles. At times people become confused with which one is better, or what they might have in there car. The fact is no better then the other. They each have there weaknesses to the others, or options that fit different people better. If you take some time to think about it, these lay outs of engines are so every important, without them we would be walking to school.

The V-type is an engine used in most cars today, with six, eight, and ten cylinders. The V engine has two rows of cylinders at usually a ninety degree angle to each other. Its advantages are its short length, the strenth of the block, its heavy crankshaft, and is at a low profile, for a car with a low hood. This V engine lends itself to very high compression ratios without block distortion under load, resistance to most vibration, and a shorter car length without losi

A horizontal-opposed engine is like a V-type engine that has been flattened until both banks lie in a horizontal style. It is ideal for installations where vertical space is limited, because it has a very low height. Flat engines are usually either four or six cylinders, and have been used by Porsche and Subaru.

The rotary, or Wankel, engine doesn't have piston, it uses rotors instead (usually two). This engine is small, compact and has a curved, oblong inner shape. Its central rotor turns in one direction only, but it produces all four strokes (intake, compression, power and exhaust) effectively. Although it is widely known that Felix Wankel built a rotary engine in 1955, it is also a fact that one was made in 1893!

Some topics in this essay:
Felix Wankel, Engine Variations, United V-8, Porsche Subaru, rotary engine, gasoline engine, engine configurations, internal combustion, internal combustion engines, engine cars, combustion engines, engines mainly, hybrid cars, v-type engine, inline engines,