I6 vs. v8???

Pure BMW I6
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If we were still back in the 1950s where every car was 2 valves per cylinder and had pushrods and a max engine speed of 5,500 RPM, then your argument would be accurate. It is, in fact, true that more cylinders equal more power, generally speaking of course. But we can't forget how far technology has come from then to now. Ford's 2.3L Ecoboost 4 cylinder makes over 300 horsepower. Let me say that again, over 300 horsepower from 2.3 liters. That little engine actually produces more power than the 4.3L V6 found in my GMC Sonoma (about 1.5 times more power), or the 5.4L V8 found in my dad's F-150 and my mom's Expedition. That's absolutely insane seeing as how the 5.4 made in 2010 and the 2.3 made now are so close together in terms of production. "There's no replacement for displacement" really has no meaning anymore, in the 60s and 70s, yes, but not now especially with rising fuel prices and emissions regulations. Now, I do understand that this does come down to tuning, cam lobes and so on, but the moment we can get 400 horsepower from 1.5L efficiently, reliably, and cheaply, cars will become even lighter and better handling as a result.

Granted, the more displacement and cylinders one has, the more reliable the engine may be, again, generally speaking. They also tend to sound better as well. But smaller engines are generally smooth running, efficient, cheap to fix, and lighter.

 

The only engines that run rough anymore are i4s. Power and torque is different in any engine whether V6 or i6, its more about how it is designed like stroke and bore. V6s do heat up more, but again that isn't an issue with today's technology. They don't really sound an awful lot different. Yes the V6 may have a choppier sound, but personally I like that better because it actually sounds like its a piston engine and not a vibration free electric motor. Maintainance is generally easier on an i6, but the overall design of the car and the setup also contributes. In my opinion, V6s look better. The power loss may have been an issue years ago when V6s were junk, but with today's technology there is virtually no difference. Neither is really better than the other if both are being produced. Personally I like v6s a little more because I'm more used to them, but then there's V8s which I like even better so... Anyway, as long as there is more than4 cylinders (unless a crossplane i4) then I like it.

 

a crossplane i4 would be incredibly rough running unless it was a 2 stroke engine.
It takes 720 degrees of rotation of the crankshaft to complete 1 power cycle. A flatplane i4 allows 2 cylinders up and 2 cylinders down, with a journal in the centre of the shaft (between cylinders 2 and 3) you can easily support a configuration in which the end 2 cylinders are up while the centre 2 are down, this gives fairly smooth engine balance and a perfect 180 degrees between power cycles. A crossplane i4 would have a severe rocking motion and 90 degrees between power cycles before a 360 degree period of no power before 90 degree power cycles again, just awful. A regular i4 may suffer from the lack of overlapping power strokes as in 5 cylinder or more engines, but a flatplane i4 is far superior the the crossplane i4. THe crossplane i4 doesnt have a single benefit over flatplane.

 

Normally I would agree, but Yamaha seems to have figured it out



Also for those of you that think an i6 cant give a V8 rumble... skip to 50 sec



And that a V8 can't scream like an i6... real crappy video, but it makes my point



So as far as sound goes... it really doesn't matter what you have, just how you make the exhaust... for example


thats a supercharged 2.3L i4... at throttle it sounds like an old Dodge Charger in my opinion

As you can see I don't really have a side for what engine I like best, or even what sound for each engine I like best... I like the sound that suits the car... not the engine... if you can make it have that sound with whatever engine is in it, well thats just more awesome in my opinion.

But thats just me.

 

I honestly prefer whatever was put in the car when it was built. If it was built with an I6 leave it. There isn't a lot left. They are more reliable compared to there V8 counter parts to. The Ford 300CI I6 didn't even have timing chains/belts. It used gears.