Is there a difference ?
Only in the way that the cylinders are arranged.
Most of the time, 6 cyl. means an inline six, whereas v6 means 3 cylinders on each side in a V shape
If you are talking about new cars, I haven’t seen a new “straight six” in a long time. Some older six cylinder engines have three cylinders on each side but they don’t form a V shape. Today, I think all new six cylinder engines are V-6s.
Jeep still offers the straight 6, I believe. This is a tough and relatively trouble-free engine, and it is also cheap to build.
Not true at all. BMW uses inline 6’s and incredible engines at that. There are others but cannot recall.
I thought BMW was still a straight 6.
I prefer a straight 6…far easier to work on…
I HATED the Slant-6…Pain in the ass to work on.
Also the inline 6 and the V-12(two inline sixes put together) are the most balanced engine configurations. Diesels are still made in inline 6.
My wife has a 2004 volvo S80 with a straight six.
And there’s also the Chevrolet 4.2L I6 Atlas.
I prefer in-line 6s for their running smoothness and ease of maintenance.
The difference is mostly space and weight. An inline 6 is going to be heavier than V6 because there is more metal in the crankshaft because of its increased length and required strength to handle torque pulses. The block has to have at least 4 main bearing saddles and should have 7 for high output engines.
The length of a I6 is longer than a V6 requiring the engine compartment to be longer. This either makes the entire car longer or it encroaches on the passenger compartment. Also a I6 cannot be easily be put in a transverse position – at least no manufacturer has done it so far. The BMW 325 is an inline 6 but it is only 2.5L which is small for a six and rear wheel drive to boot. The V6 allows the transaxle to be placed to the side and behind producing a compact mechanical cube that fits well in a front wheel drive vehicle.
In certain applications an I6 works quite well, like the 240Z, 260Z, and 280Z, a well balanced rear wheel drive 2 seater.
I stand corrected. I don’t look at many BMWs and Jeeps, so that would explain why I havn’t seen a new straight 6 in a long time. The last one I owned was a 1984 Mercury Marquis and that car was a nightmare to own.
The Toyota Cressida used to use a straight six. The Toyota Land cruiser used one as well as the Ford 4.9 in a pickup. Straight ones are made heavier for the trucks like in the old days. A V-6 has two banks of cylinders and looks like a small V-8. The 4.9 Ford is a monster and is very powerful.
The folks at Porsche and Subaru would also be g to differ. They make flat-6 engines (horizontally opposed cylinder banks).
Yeah,but, those Chrysler Corp. Slant 6s didn’t need any work! I owned a 165 c.i., a 198 c.i., and a 225 c.i. Loved 'em all! In fact, since I was replacing the 165 anyway, I let it run on 4 cylinders. Seconds on what Researcher said.
I guess I forgot about the horizontally opposed engines. I have seen them used in motorcycles. I was thinking about designs where the cylinders are above the crank shaft.
Researcher,
My wife has a 2004 volvo S80 with a straight six. It is transverse mounted.
Says who???
The ONLY car I ever had to replace the flywheel on because of a warped flywheel…77 aspen…
In fact it was a fairly common problem with those vehicles…not to mention the never ending carb problems…So much so there were so many aftermarket companies making replacement or rebuilt carbs you could buy one for $50.
Got some facts to back that up, mikeinnh?
What facts you looking for Roadrunner…In 77 I was finishing up college and working as a mechanic…We had 4 Aspens/Volare’s in the shop with warped flywheels…Can’t tell you how many floats we replaced in those cars Chryco was using…The float was easy to replace…Carb was on the EASY side of the engine…But when you had to pull the engine it was a nightmare
The Aspen and Volare’ were the ONLY versions of the Duster/scamp that was having these problems…From 76 thru the end of the Slant-6 line.