Quote:
Originally Posted by Just_me
What's the difference between 3-cylinders vs 4-cylinders, why is 4 better than 3? Why is more cylinders important?
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In-line or opposed-cylinder four-cylinder engines often suffer from vibration issues on at least two axes because there is no firing order combination that can cancel out linear imbalance of combustion and related moments of inertia. V-four engines minimize this effect, but other issues (packaging, size, cooling) have kept V-fours at bay until recently.
Meanwhile, 3-cylinder engines generally are naturally balanced and inherently smoother because the central cylinder acts as a natural harmonic balancer. Two-cylinder designs often need to incorporate a so-called 'balance shaft' to keep inertial cylinder oscillation at bay.