V6 vs In Line 6 ... what are the differences???

[F10 CREW]

BMW is famous for their In Line 6 or straight 6 engines. Then there is also V6 engines.

What are the differences? Any differences in power,performance,maintenance cost etc?

I am sure I am not the only one whom is wondering about this. Anyone care to share their valuable and priceless knowledge on this matter is greatly appreciated.

 

[moots]

http://www.examiner.com/article/inline-6-versus-v6-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-both

 

[airtube]

Honestly it is a very long story. So I suggest start from beginning and see how far we can go.

Firstly is reasoning. Why 6 inline and why V6 orientation.
Answer: Packaging of combustion engine in engine bay.

Basic factors to consider:
1. Engine positioning - front, mid, rear
2. Drive Wheels - FWD, RWD
3. Other factors - rare cases of unique chassis designs

For the basics: read and understand the following Automotive Layout explanation before we move to next step of understanding the best practices.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_layout

Deep DeEp @ Heisenberg

 

[KengKok]

love my natural aspirated e46 inline 6. it's the purist I should say I am that love the "purr" of the engine. Sublime. Other technical info you can easily google.

 

[alantiong]

well i guess, inline 6 has always be my preference and V6 is more a compensation to inline 6 to my opinion. V6 is supposedly lighter and compact in design copmparing the same combustion size. but due to more complex chassis and compact design of new cars, its actually became a preferred engineered choice.

having 2 sets of heads will never gives you the timing accuracy of single head. so there are many pros and con.

again .. too many parameter to compare.. almost impossible..

nowadays maybe due to age, i choose to look at the time and not ask about how the clock work.. but once in a while its fun too.. get my brains going..

 

[bell]

wow.. excellent topic.. just wanna know basic bimmer V8 or V12 firing order..