The series engine BThe four cylinder engine shown above is a series engine, too. The cylinders stand next to each other leading in the same direction. When people wanted to obtain more and more performance on small space, this arrangement became problematic: The cylinders located in a series led to very long engines, the ones with smaller bores and the same cubic capacity led to higher ones. The series engine was used for narrow, elegant engines, which represented once a status symbol in cars with enormous hoods before small windshields. Grafic: Series twin engine Views (35 K, 290 * 320)   The opposed cylinder-type engine Shorter, but broader engines than in a series result in the case of the opposed cylinder-type engine. These were rather common in motorcycles, but today hardly used any more. The cylinders lying far from each other need their own camshafts and even separate carburetors, if the engine is to come to the performance of the series engines. So the opposed cylinder-type engine becomes more expensive and more susceptible to damage.   Grafic: opposed cylinder-type engines Views (60 K, 490 * 310) The V-engine The very common V-engine offers a good alternative between the two designs discussed above. The engines are not extremely high and long, the cylinders don't lie too far apart. Unfortunately no engine is perfect, and so also the problems of this type can rapidly be seen: The pistons are no longer shifted for half a revolution of the crankshaft at the upper point of reversal, and therefore ignition order and valve timing become more difficult. Grafic: V-engine

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