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Old 09-07-2010, 07:57 PM
 
Location: Duluth, Minnesota, USA
7,639 posts, read 18,121,762 times
Reputation: 6913

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Anybody know of engines that were...

V-3/I-3?
V-5?
I-5?
I-6?
V-7?
I-7?
I-8?

Any W's below 10?
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Old 09-07-2010, 08:05 PM
 
Location: Eastern Washington
17,214 posts, read 57,064,697 times
Reputation: 18579
Well, off the top of my head the little Suzuki cars were built with 3-cylinder engines. Audi made an inline 5 for a while.

Inline 6 is not really an oddball, a *lot* of manufacturers have built them over the years. Matter of fact I can't think of any manufacturer who has not built an inline 6.

Inline 8's were popular back in the day, they tend to be physically long and with a long flexible crankshaft, and are relatively hard to get good mixture distribution on all 8 cylinders with a single carburator.

V-3 and V-5 engines are pretty oddball, I am not aware of any V-3 engines commercially produced. I vaguely recall a SAAB or Volvo V-5 but maybe not.

You missed the VR-6 "semi-V" layout like VW has used - a very narrow angle V-6 with a single head.
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Old 09-07-2010, 09:24 PM
 
Location: north of Windsor, ON
1,900 posts, read 5,905,247 times
Reputation: 657
There were Saab V4 engines a long time ago. Inline fives are still around, the standard Golf and New Beetle have them standard and GM has one optional in the Colorado/Canyon and was standard in the mechanically similar Hummer H3. Triples are still available in Europe and Asia. VW has also used a W8 in nicer models as well, a few Passats had them, Phaetons, I think the Touareg as well. My friend the VW repairman told me once what a maintenance nightmare those VWs were...nine quarts Mobil 1, eight or nine oxygen sensors, don't remember which...
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Old 09-07-2010, 09:36 PM
 
Location: U.S.A.
3,306 posts, read 12,220,282 times
Reputation: 2966
The geometry of a an odd numbered V configuration is nonsensical and would be a balancing predicament. I-3 is around, off the top of my head I can think of the 1.0L in a geo metro.

As Mitch pointed out the longer block configurations to accommodate a row of 8 cylinders is heavily limited by the strength and rigidity of the crankshaft. IIRC Cadillac overcame this issue with their V-16 by simply using a split crankshaft (two separate ones connected within the block). This is not always exactly the case since the size of the cylinders can be very small and a W-16 or a V-12 could be the size of a big V-8.
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Old 09-07-2010, 10:14 PM
 
Location: Pomona
1,955 posts, read 10,981,373 times
Reputation: 1562
One less than the VW VR6 is the VR5 variant.
VR6 engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

7-cylinder engines ... not in cars, but in planes.
Radial engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Old 09-07-2010, 10:15 PM
 
Location: Columbia, California
6,664 posts, read 30,610,392 times
Reputation: 5184
Citroen made a V2 motor.
The last straight 6 by Volvo was designed by Porsche.
GM had a straight 8.
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Old 09-08-2010, 04:12 AM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 103,166,939 times
Reputation: 29983
Quote:
Originally Posted by M3 Mitch View Post
Well, off the top of my head the little Suzuki cars were built with 3-cylinder engines. Audi made an inline 5 for a while.
Audi/VW still does make an inline 5; think base Golf and Audi TTRS. Volkswagen in general has and still does make some oddball configurations, such as the W12 still used in some cars such as the Bentley line (turbocharged) and the top-end A8 (N/A), the W16 used in the Bugatti, a brief appearance of the W8 in Passats, and the most goofy of them all, the narrow-angle VR5.

Anyway, 3-cylinder engines aren't all that odd. I believe BMW is reviving the 3-cylinder for future use in the Mini and also a FWD A-segment. You still see them in motorcycles every so often as well, particularly on a number of Triumph models.

Flat engines seem a novelty anymore, relegated to use by Subaru who have used nothing but flat 4's and 6's for a couple of decades now, and by Porsche in the 911/Boxster/Cayman. I suppose BMW still uses a flat twin for some of its motorcycles too.
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Old 09-08-2010, 05:07 AM
 
Location: South Jersey
7,780 posts, read 21,876,438 times
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Gm offers a Vortec 3.7L I-5 engine in the Codorado pu and the suv variant.
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Old 09-08-2010, 08:39 AM
 
Location: Central Texas
13,714 posts, read 31,169,560 times
Reputation: 9270
As said already the I-6 is not odd at all and never was. BMW's 6 cylinder engines are all I6.

Volvo still offers an I5 engine.

I don't think "flat" engines are particularly unusual. They are often inline engines turned on their side. Nothing unusual in the crankshaft, etc.

Flat "boxer" engines are distinct because the pistons are opposed. Subaru uses boxer engines in a flat position. Some BMW motorcyles use a 2 cylinder boxer. The Honda Goldwing uses a boxer 6. Porsche uses boxer engines. And Ferrari had a boxer 12 cylinder.

Honda produced V4 motorcycles for a while.
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Old 09-08-2010, 08:45 AM
 
Location: Incognito
7,005 posts, read 21,333,578 times
Reputation: 5522
Ever seen a W4 motor? Me neither.
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