Is the more cylinders the better?

Question

I've seen cars with 4-CYL that have more HP than some 6-CYL versions of the same car. So does more cylinders mean more power?

Answer 1

More cylinders means more potential power, but there are mods that can be done to smaller engines to make them more powerful than their stock larger counterparts.  

Answer 2

No, there are many factors that go into horsepower. Cylinder size (bore x stroke), compression ratio, valvetrain, injectors, intake and so forth.

Answer 3

lol, It all depends on the wieght of the car. But if you are talking about the same car a V6 Should be able to beat a I4 in performance

Answer 4

There are a lot of factors that determine engine output and the number of cylinders is not one of them.  Typically, the more cylinders there are, the smoother the engine is.  Power is made by burning fuel. Bigger engine= more power if everything else is equal. Everything else includes but is not limited to: compression ratio, volumetric efficiency of the intake and exhaust, low reciprocating mass, etc.

Answer 5

Short answer is: NO

It depends on many variables.

For instance how high the engine will rev, the displacement, the aspiration type, the state of tune, the cams, the compression ratio etc etc.

  

Answer 6

How they rate hoarse power is a joke I have been a diesel mechanic for 30 years. I have rebuilt engines 25HP to 2000HP. The old cat D8H low HP had only 285 HP the bore was 5.75" and high idle was only 1200 RPM that old cat with only 285 HP wood out pull a 750 HP race car.  

Answer 7

horsepower is basically torque X RPM to figure peak HP. Different engines produce torque based on the bore (width of the cylinder) and the stroke (length of travel). SO it is possible for a 4 cly car to have more HP than a V6 or straight 6. My Honda accord, 2007 has more HP than a 1981 Corvette with a V8!!!

Answer 8

No, it's more a matter of displacement, combined with compression ratio, air volume and pressure, etc.

If you look at the numbers the number of cylinders is pretty much irrelevant unless you are replacing spark plugs, plug wires, connecting rods, pistons, valves or something there is more of on a bigger engine.

Typically inline 4s are availible from I'm going to say 1.6 or maybe a little less liters to around 2.5 or maybe a little more.

Inline 6s and V6s are usually around 3-4 liters

V8s are typically used as the biggest of American engines and so they can range form around 4 liters to 7 liters+

V10s aren't a naturally balanced engine and they are larger than a V8 so they are generally not seen much but there are a few cars like the Viper that use them in sizes up to around 8.4 liters I believe is the Viper's current record.

The most cylinders I've seen in a car is the Bugatti Veyron's 1001hp W16 engine.

If you pay attention though you'll notice that the 2 liter Honda S2000 while being the most powerful (stock) per liter of any 4 cylinder car (naturally aspirated at least) it does require 91 octane fuel and runs an 11:1 compression ratio with Variable Valve Timing.

By comparison I drive a 3 liter Nissan Maxima with 160hp with a 9:1 compression ratio, no VVT. If I used 10:1 compression I would probably make 190hp, if I used 11:1 I'd probably make 220hp, if I changed my valve timing with an aftermarket camshaft I could probably make a bit more. However that would probably put me in the 91+ octane club just like the S2000.

Rotating mass is also known to rob power and people often install lighter weight flywheels, pulleys, etc. Which can net you a little more and I can't say how light an S2000's flywheel or etc is compared with mine but when it all comes down to it any engine size can be more powerful than any other if it can handle the increased wear.

Answer 9

No. A lot of variables come into play that determine how powerful or efficient a motor is. Such as size of the cylinders which effect the displacement, the carb. or fuel injector system, whether or not the motor is turbo charged, exhaust system, and many other things.  

Answer 10

Jaguar put a 3.5 liter V6 on the XJ220 and it produced 550 hp.

Answer 11

More hp is possible in any engine configuration -- what you really WANT is more torque. There's no way a four banger, even if it's blown and stroked, will ever produce torque at the same rpm as say a Viper V10 engine.

Answer 12

yeah. also means "use more fuel"

basically cylinders is how many pistons a car has...idk i forget

more pistons=more explosion power, but it also depends on the size of the chambers

Answer 13

typically yes, but not always.  displacement is a better indicator, but not fool proof either... as a 1.8L may have more HP than a 2.2L does.  also, year makes a difference as we have figured out more ways to get more and more out of a motor, even without a turbo.  for example, in 1988 when the original 'new' chevy pickups came out, the 5.7L made only about 200 hp.  when it was discontinued in 1999 the same motor was running 275 hp.