V4 engine
A V4 engine is a V form engine with four cylinders.
Lancia produced several narrow-angle V4 engines from the 1920s through 1960s for cars like the Lambda, Augusta, Artena, Aprilia, Ardea, Appia, and Fulvia. These were a spiritual predecessor for Volkswagen's VR6 family.
The Ford of Europe produced two totally different V4 engines with a balance shaft, one in the UK and one in Germany:
- The British Ford Essex V4 engine
- The German Ford Taunus V4 engine (also used by Saab)
The Ukrainian manufacturer ZAZ also used air cooled V4s with a balance shaft, produced by MeMZ and used in Zaporozhets cars.
V4 engines are also sometimes found in motorcycles, for instance the
- Honda RC212V
- Honda VF and VFR
- Honda Magna
- Honda ST series (Pan European)
- Yamaha VMax
- Yamaha YZR500
One other large use of the V4 engine is in outboard motors. They are two stroke cycle and generally carbureted. Some manufacturers are Johnson, Evinrude and Yamaha. This type of engines is popular because of their small size, while still allowing 140+ horsepower.
A common mistake is to refer to the much more common inline 4 as a V4.
| Piston engine configurations | |
|---|---|
| Straight | Single, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14 |
| V | 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, 24 |
| Flat | 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, H |
| W | 8, 9, 12, 16, 18 |
| Other inline | H, VR, Opposed, U (Square), X |
| Other | Hemi, Radial, Rotary, Pistonless, Deltic, (Wankel) |
| Heat engines | |
|---|---|
| Stroke cycles One • Two • Four • Six • | |
| Engine types Gas turbine • Piston • Jet • Rocket engine • Steam engine • Stirling engine • Tschudi• Twingle Rotary • Wankel • Free-piston • Britalus • Coomber • Swing-piston • Orbital • Quasiturbine | |
| Valves Cylinder head porting • D slide • Four-stroke • Manifold • Multi • Piston • Poppet • Sleeve | |
| Piston layouts Single cylinder • Straight • Opposed • Flat • V • W • H • Deltic • Radial • Rocket engine nozzle • Rotary • Stelzer • Controlled Combustion • Bourke | |
| Motion mechanisms Cam • Connecting rod • Coomber rotary • Crank • Crank substitute • Crankshaft • Linkages (Evans • Peaucellier-Lipkin • Sector straight-line • Watt) • Double acting/differential cylinder | |
| Thermodynamic cycle |