- Gasoline engine structure
The power source of a car is the engine, and the power of the engine comes from the inside of the cylinder. The engine cylinder is a place where the internal energy of the fuel is converted into kinetic energy. It can be simply understood that the fuel burns in the cylinder, generating huge pressure to push the piston up and down, and transmits the force to the crankshaft through the connecting rod, which is finally converted into rotational motion, and then through the transmission and drive shaft, the power is transmitted to the drive wheels, thereby driving the car forward.
- Number of engine cylinders
Most cars are equipped with four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines. Since the power of the engine mainly comes from the cylinders, does it mean that the more cylinders the better? In fact, this is not the case. As the number of cylinders increases, the number of engine parts also increases accordingly, and the structure of the engine becomes more complex, which also reduces the reliability of the engine. In addition, it will also increase the manufacturing cost of the engine and the subsequent maintenance costs. Therefore, the number of cylinders in a car engine is a choice made after comprehensive consideration of the purpose and performance requirements of the engine. Engines like V12, W12, and W16 are only used in a few high-performance cars.
- V-type engine structure
In fact, a V-type engine can be simply understood as combining adjacent cylinders at a certain angle, which looks like a V shape from the side. Compared with an in-line engine, the height and length of a V-type engine are reduced, which can make the engine cover lower and meet the requirements of aerodynamics. The cylinders of a V-type engine are arranged at an angle to each other, which can offset some vibrations, but the disadvantage is that two cylinder heads must be used, and the structure is relatively complicated. Although the height of the engine is reduced, its width is also increased accordingly, so it is not easy to install other devices in the engine compartment with a fixed space.
- W-type engine structure
If the cylinders on both sides of the V-type engine are staggered at a small angle, it becomes a W-type engine. Compared with the V-type engine, the advantage of the W-type engine is that the crankshaft can be shorter and the weight can be lighter, but the width is also increased accordingly, and the engine compartment will be more crowded. The disadvantage is that the W-type engine is divided into two parts in structure, the structure is more complicated, and it will produce great vibration during operation, so it is only used in a few cars.
- Horizontally opposed engine structure
The adjacent cylinders of the horizontally opposed engine are arranged opposite to each other (the bottom of the piston faces outward), and the angle between the two cylinders is 180°, but it is still essentially different from the 180° V-type engine. The horizontally opposed engine is similar to the inline engine. It does not share a crankpin (that is, one piston is only connected to one crankpin), and the movement direction of the opposing pistons is opposite, but the 180° V-type engine is just the opposite. The advantages of the horizontally opposed engine are that it can offset vibration well and make the engine run more smoothly; the center of gravity is low, and the front of the car can be designed lower to meet the requirements of aerodynamics; the direction of the power output shaft is consistent with the direction of the drive shaft, and the power transmission efficiency is high. Disadvantages: complex structure, inconvenient maintenance; demanding production process, high production cost, among the well-known brands of cars, only Porsche and Subaru still insist on using horizontally opposed engines.
Edited by Asiautos Auto Part
