By Aaron Gold
- 100,000 Mile Nationwide Warranty. Accurate Engines is an industry leading remanufacturer for 3.4 liter Chevrolet engines. Our remanufactured Chevy 3.4 liter engines are being shipped daily to warranty companies, Chevrolet dealerships, engine repair facilities and directly to Chevy vehicle owners.
- Three cylinder engines are a big deal now. The age of downsizing has seen myriad three-pot options appear from VW Group, BMW, Honda and more. Usually featuring turbocharged assistance, power is.
When you're reading about cars, you're going to run into engine specifications, i.e. a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder turbo producing 160 horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque. Cylinders? Torque? What do all those numbers mean? That's the subject of this VroomGirls University lesson.
CYLINDERS
4 cylinder engine major and cylinders. Repair and overhaul your engine reliably with 4 cylinder engine major and cylinder components, including blocks, flywheels, auxiliary drives, crankshafts, cylinder heads, engines and blocks and lubrication components. Best of all, we keep thousands of parts in stock, ready for next day delivery. COPO Crate Engines. Goodwrench Engines 4 cyl Engines; 5 cyl Engines 6 cyl Engines 8 cyl Engines. All 5.0, 5.3, 5.7 Liter V8 Goodwrench Engines. GM Engines List. Apparel; Brakes. Camaro Brake Kits. Gen 5 Camaro Brake Kits; Gen 6 Camaro Brake Parts. Corvette Brake Parts; Solstice Brake Parts; Sonic Brake Parts; Truck Brakes. CED Engines; Chrome.
A cylinder is the power unit of an engine; it's the chamber where the gasoline is burned and turned into power. (For more on what goes on inside the cylinders, see How Engines Work.) Most cars and SUV enginess have four, six, or eight cylinders. Generally, an engine with more cylinders produces more power, while an engine with fewer cylinders gets better fuel economy.
Cylinders will either be arranged in a straight line (an inline engine, i.e. 'inline 4', 'I4' or 'L4' ) or in two rows (a V engine, i.e. 'V8').
DISPLACEMENT (Liters and Cubic Inches)
Engines are measured by displacement, usually expressed in liters (L) or cubic centimeters (cc). Displacement is the total volume of all the cylinders in an engine. An engine with four cylinders of 569cc each totals 2276cc, and will be rounder off and referred to as a 2.3 liter engine. Larger engines tend to produce more power — specifically more torque (see below) — but use more fuel.
Up until the early 1980s, engines were measured in cubic inches. One liter equals about 61 cubic inches, so a 350 cubic inch engine is about 5.7 liters.
TURBOCHARGERS
A turbocharger is a device that is used to boost the power of an engine. A four-cylinder engine with a turbocharger can produce as much power as a six-cylinder engine, but uses less fuel when driven gently. (For more information, see How Turbochargers and Superchargers Work.) Engines with a turbo sometimes get a T after their displacement; '2.0T' denotes a 2-liter engine with a turbocharger.
HORSEPOWER AND TORQUE
Soulver 2 6 8. Horsepower and torque measure the amount of power an engine develops, with horsepower being the most commonly-used measurement. The difference between horsepower and torque is widely misunderstood (and difficult to explain).
Torque, which is measured in pound-feet (lb-ft or ft-lbs), measures pulling power; when you step on the gas pedal and the seat pushes into your back, you are feeling torque. Trucks need lots of torque to get their heavy loads moving. Horsepower is a function of torque and engine speed (RPM), and indicates how much sustained work the car can do. Racing cars need high horsepower to maintain high speeds. Generally, bigger-displacement engines develop more torque, but small engines can spin faster, which increases their horsepower output.
A car with high horsepower but low torque may feel sluggish from a stop, but will feel stronger as the engine spins faster and faster. A high-torque, low-hp engine will accelerate strongly from a stop, but will trail off as the engine speeds up (until the transmission shifts gears).
Horsepower and torque measurements are 'peak' numbers; a 180 horsepower engine will only produce 180 horsepower at a certain engine speed — say, 6,000 RPM. At other speeds, the engine develops less horsepower. The same goes for torque, although some engines (especially those with turbochargers) have a sustained peak-torque range, developing their rated torque between, say, 1,800 and 4,000 RPM. An engine with strong mid-range torque (peaking between 2,000 and 4,000 RPM) will have good passing acceleration, while lot of low-end torque (below 1,500 RPM) is useful for towing trailers or driving off-road. However, cars with high-torque engines are more likely to slip and slide in rain and snow.
All that said, other factors, such as how much the car weighs, will affect acceleration. How the vehicle feels when you drive it is more important than the horsepower and torque ratings.
Buying a new car? VroomGirls recommends you get the Price Promise Certificate from Edmunds.com – our official car-buying partner. Click here to learn more.
Share This:
This is super helpful and no condescending or cheesy 'manliness' language! THANK YOU!
I'm a man and it helped me too.
You didn't need to throw in the word ‘condescending.' thanks
Awesome Explanation !!!!!!
Just signed to say thanks …this is helpful for many people
I appreciate the information, but still have a question – currently car shopping (compact to midsize SUV) and I'm stuck on the cylinders. I need a car that can accelerate quickly (esp. from a stopped position) – I was adamant about getting a V6, but now that I'm considering a compact suv and most have a V4 engine, is that enough? Should I focus on horsepower instead? (I'm assuming 4 cylinders are sufficient for smaller suvs due to lighter weight?) Look forward to hearing your opinion. Thank you!
I suggest a Range Rover supercharged otherwise if you want more acceleration you need a car with lots of torque.
Try the Ford Escape or Lincoln MKC. They have the new Ford Eco-Boost engines that use 4 cylinders with turbochargers to get good gas mileage without losing horsepower. Plus they look great! I am planning on buying a 2016 Lincoln MKC myself.
To accelerate quickly you would need more torque. Horsepower is the Rotations Per Minute or R.P.M.'s Your car needs to exert a certain amount of power, so technically while you would have a higher top speed with more horsepower, you would not be 'accelerating' very fast witout enough torque, but too much torque will cause your wheels to spin out, so:
Torque: How fast you get to a certain speed or how fast your wheels are spinning
Horsepower: The top speed of your car or how fast you can actually go.
A V4 Would be more fuel efficient, but would not accelerate as quickly or have as much horsepower for the simple fact that there are less cylinders and less volume to be filled with oxygen and gas. A turbocharger or supercharger (forced induction) will allow you to gain both torque and horsepower, and allow your V4 engine to produce the same power output as the V6, ir even twice the output of your engine itself, it would not be as big as a V6, but it would be cheaper, but adding forced induction to a V6 can make it more efficient at low rpm as well as twice the power as the engine itself if tuned correctly. There are many many many factors you have to take in to persoective when using forced induction such as the size of the turbo or supercharger, the cooling method used (air or intercooler), how many cylinders you car has and what type inline or v shape, the wastegate, oil lines, and water coolants that you may want to use. Over all, if you do you research and find a good tuber shop or aftermaket shop around where you are, you coukd serioisly turbi your v4 for faster acceleration without having to put in a lot of money for the v6.
Do u mean an inline 4 because they dont make a v4 for the cr-v or rav4 or pretty much anything anymore or at all.
From a guy who knows little about cars, this helped a lot haha
Excellent article. I really thought the explanation was great. A couple of comments, though:
I think there is a mistake in '… engines were measured in cubic inches. One liter equals about 61cc, so a 350 cubic inch engine is about 5.7 liters.' I think it should be: 'engines were measured in cubic inches. One liter equals about 61ci'
Also, it would be useful to understand a little more about how to compare displacement and power. Often, a user is exposed to power when purchasing a new vehicle or lawn appliance. Sometimes the measurement of effectiveness of the device is given in power, while sometimes the displacement is listed. These aren't really convertable, but it would be nice to understand a bit about how much power I'm getting, in general, if I purchase a 90cc lawn mower. 😉
Excellent article. However, there is a slight mistake that needs correction. It is mentioned that 'One liter equals about 61cc'. I think 1 liter equals 1000 cc.
I am still confused which car will move faster a bigger engine size or a car with more horse power .
There is more than just that either one can be faster. The gears effect alot, cars weigt effects a lot. And the usable rpm range effects a lot and the driver effects a lot.
more than engine size, for example areodynamics, wieght to power ratio, gear ratio, rev limiter, quality, air to gas ratio and many more.
Just a guy with little knowledge but this helped that out
what is the actual horse power of a 5.7 L engin
Good explanation of horsepower and torque! Thank you!
I need something with AWD due to the weather, but also something that can get out of the way/merge quickly as I drive on congested freeways. I was looking at crossovers and compact sedans, what I see tends to be in the range of around 145@4200 (Torque) and 148@6200 (Horsepower) OR 185@4800 (Torque) and 204@6400 (Horsepower).
It seems like, for my purposes, the range of 145@4200 for torque is probably better?
I am confused about one thing and it isn't explained in the why can you have a challenger hellcat with a v8 engine that has 700 hp the you have say a Audi R8 with a v10 and it only has 520 hp is this a thing to do with patens or is a way to balence the wait if someone could explain that would be great Thanks:)
Okay, let's look at some specs. The 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat has a 6.2 liter supercharged V8 engine with 707 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. The 2016 Audi R8 has a 5.2 liter naturally-aspirated V10 engine with 533 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque. I myself am a bit surprised at the power figures of the Audi R8, but you have to take in mind that the Audi R8 is only naturally-aspirated, meaning that it has no supercharger or turbocharger. The Dodge Challenger Hellcat, on the other hand, has a supercharger, allowing it make more horsepower and torque. The Hellcat also has more liters of displacement, allowing it to use more fuel.
A car with high torque at low to middle engine speeds (1500 to 4000 RPM) will produce more power in that engine speed range. This is good for people who like their car to accelerate strongly without having to make the engine roar to get good acceleration. On the other hand, a smaller engine car even with the same peak horsepower as the high torque car, will need to brought up to high engine speed any time it needs decent acceleration. Cars with low torque but high peak horsepower engines, need to downshift on even the slightest inclines and need to shift down 2 or more gear to pass another car. Such highly strung engines may be a fun novelty for a while for a 17 year old boy racer, but it gets old very fast. So pick a high torque engine if you want good power and acceleration at normal engine speeds and pick a smaller, lower torque, higher horsepower engine if you only want good acceleration power at high engine speeds and don't mind the transmission constantly changing gears to keep up with traffic – such engines will feel weak below 4000 rpm.
i am impressed
I am old school. I have no clue as to what 2.0 liter or what ever means. I evaluate by 0 – 60 in how many seconds. To me a car that takes 14 seconds to do this is not fast as a matter of fact correct me if I am wrong you have to almost push it up to the top of a hill. If a car does 0 – 60 in 8 sec it has some guts no speed demon, if you do it in 5 or under you have the need for speed.
Now I am not up to date (my current car is 18 years old) tells you how much I love dealing with car sales people but why is there not an interpretation mandatory of dealerships that talk your language that you understand instead of talking a language you have no clue about what it is saying.
In order to go 0 – 60 in 8 seconds what liter do I need to look for.
I do find you site informative, thanks.
liters is just the displacement, what youre looking for is hp and torque and what wheels the power goes to and areodynamics
Thank you. Really helped me understand this concept.
Awesome Explanation !!!!!!
Very good, I could make a distinction between the 'High revving RPM engine' being able to sustain higher horsepower and it still could have a relatively smaller displacement than, say, a 'muscle car' engine that has a lower RPM limit and accelerates faster from a standpoint but has certain difficulties with achieving higher speed. As a car enthusiast, I prefer a 'middle of the road' kind of vehicle, being capable of having a descent top speed and also descent torque, followed by the engine that could theoretically produce more HP but less torque. I'm no fan of gas-guzzling muscle cars because of the fuel price of where I live.
nice stuff
Before purchasing a car, we should first keep some valuable things in our mind such as; features, engine capacity, design, performance and mileage. But the most efficient part if engine section; we should go for efficient engine and its features which consist of turbochargers, good horsepower and many others. So that, we can get a good driving experience.
Thanks for the article, interesting stuff, but my question is unanswered… actually I may be asking something that doesn't make sense sooo.
What's the relationship between displacement and hp? Is there a simple formula for a rough (educated) guess?
I'm guessing it's not a direct relationship between cc and hp, pretty sure it's not actually… we used to own a 6cyl 3.4L impala (567cc/cyl) with 180hp, and just now in the news I saw a mazda racer 4cyl 2L (500cc/cyl) that puts out 600(!!)hp, from a 2liter engine! Oookay, so larger displacement doesn't necessarily mean more hp.
So then the question becomes how is displacement important? It's always one of the first numbers you get when hearing about a car, but it seems to be an essentially useless metric, it doesn't really mean anything other than what it says.
This doesn't answer my question on why we use liters and cubic centimeters to measure engines.
Leave a Comment
The LLR Vortec 3700 is one version of the only 5-cylinder engine General Motors has ever made available in the U.S.
Americans tend to enjoy their engine cylinder counts in even numbers. Engines of 4-, 6-, and 8 cylinders have powered an overwhelmingly large majority of the vehicles ever sold in the U.S, and for good reason.
The basic design of the 4-cycle engine favors even cylinder counts, at least when it comes to balance and smoothness, with the classic inline 6-cylinder configuration inherently the smoothest of all.
Still, there are reasons a carmaker might stray from the tried and true when it comes to engine layout. For purposes of economy, American consumers have occasionally been able to purchase vehicles powered by 3-cylider engines. The Ford Fiesta, for example, can be had with that maker's EcoBoost 1.0-liter mill, which employs just 3 pistons.
More common, though hardly common by absolute standards, is the 5-cylinder engine.
Chevrolet markets most of its non-diesel truck engines under the Vortec banner.
Though more prone to vibration than any even-numbered engine configuration, the inline 5-cylinder does offer certain design advantages. For starters, it's easier to package than an inline 6-cylinder, which, for obvious, reasons is longer, and thus more difficult to wedge between a vehicle's firewall and grille. This issue has become more profound in recent years as hoodlines have lowered, leaving less space in the engine bay. It was specifically to allow for more aerodynamic vehicle designs that Mercedes-Benz famously began moving to V6 engines back in 1997.
Inline 5-cylinder engines are also usually less costly to produce than are V6 mills. While a V6 has cylinders arrange in two banks, and thus requires twice the milling, any inline engine has its cylinder bores aligned in a single straight line, which simplifies manufacturing. Additionally, with two cylinder banks, a V6 requires two cylinder heads, which adds cost, weight, and complexity to the engine.
It's the German carmakers that have most readily embraced the 5-cylinder engine, with BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen (including Audi) each offering 5-pots in the U.S. at some point in time. Between 2000 and 2005, VW also offered to its European customers the VR5, the only V5 engine ever to find its way under the hood of a modern production vehicle.
Other 5-cylinder engines include a 2.5-liter Honda plant that was available in the Acura Vigor. Ford of Europe sold an inline 5 for a while, a version of which powered the previous generation of the Focus RS. Volvo still produces 5-cylinder engines, though it is in the process of switching its entire lineup to turbocharged 4-cylinder engines. Land Rover also offered a 5-cylinder diesel mill in several of its models over the years.
Fiat and European engine builder VM Motori have supplied a number of 5-cylinder diesel engines to different carmakers over the years, with those powerplants ending up in various stray brands and models.
But, to the best of our recollection, no domestic maker has ever built and sold a 5-cylinder engine in the U.S. Well, not ever. There was this one time…
General Motors dubbed it the Atlas engine, and it was a family of inline engines designed to be light weight, fuel efficient, and easy to package.
The Atlas family of engines included a hulking 4.2-liter six, a workhorse 2.8-liter four, and, oddly enough, a 3.5-liter 5-cylinder.
Though not a production model, the 2002 Chevrolet Bel Air Concept was pitched to the public as being powered by a 3.5-liter 5-cylinder engine. Whether or not a running example of the vehicle ever existed, we consider it the first vehicle powered by the Atlas 5-cylinder engine, and the only car.
The first Atlas engine made its debut in 2002 in GM's new GM360 and GM370 midsize SUVs. Marketed as the Vortec 4200, the 4.2-liter six proved a capable base engine for these burly trucks, which included for '02 the Chevrolet Blazer, GMC Envoy, and Oldsmobile Bravada. Subsequent model years would bring the Buick Rainier, Isuzu Ascender, and Saab 9-7X, all of which were based on the same GM architecture and would be offered with the Atlas 6-cylinder engine.
It was not until 2004 that the Atlas 4- and 5-cylinder engines would come into play. For '04, Chevrolet and GMC rolled out redesigned compact pickups, both of which would be powered exclusively by Atlas engines.
The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon were offered with the 2.8-liter four (Vortec 2800) as the base engine, with the 3.5-liter five (Vortec 3500) as the optional mill. The big six would not be offered in these trucks.
On paper, the Atlas engines looked like good fits for the little pickups. The 4-cylinder engine was good for 175 horsepower, while the five cranked out a healthy 220. One wonders, however, if traditional truck buyers balked at purchasing a 5-cylinder truck, when the previous generation of these vehicles had been available with a burly 4.3-liter V6.
Other 5-cylinder engines include a 2.5-liter Honda plant that was available in the Acura Vigor. Ford of Europe sold an inline 5 for a while, a version of which powered the previous generation of the Focus RS. Volvo still produces 5-cylinder engines, though it is in the process of switching its entire lineup to turbocharged 4-cylinder engines. Land Rover also offered a 5-cylinder diesel mill in several of its models over the years.
Fiat and European engine builder VM Motori have supplied a number of 5-cylinder diesel engines to different carmakers over the years, with those powerplants ending up in various stray brands and models.
But, to the best of our recollection, no domestic maker has ever built and sold a 5-cylinder engine in the U.S. Well, not ever. There was this one time…
General Motors dubbed it the Atlas engine, and it was a family of inline engines designed to be light weight, fuel efficient, and easy to package.
The Atlas family of engines included a hulking 4.2-liter six, a workhorse 2.8-liter four, and, oddly enough, a 3.5-liter 5-cylinder.
Though not a production model, the 2002 Chevrolet Bel Air Concept was pitched to the public as being powered by a 3.5-liter 5-cylinder engine. Whether or not a running example of the vehicle ever existed, we consider it the first vehicle powered by the Atlas 5-cylinder engine, and the only car.
The first Atlas engine made its debut in 2002 in GM's new GM360 and GM370 midsize SUVs. Marketed as the Vortec 4200, the 4.2-liter six proved a capable base engine for these burly trucks, which included for '02 the Chevrolet Blazer, GMC Envoy, and Oldsmobile Bravada. Subsequent model years would bring the Buick Rainier, Isuzu Ascender, and Saab 9-7X, all of which were based on the same GM architecture and would be offered with the Atlas 6-cylinder engine.
It was not until 2004 that the Atlas 4- and 5-cylinder engines would come into play. For '04, Chevrolet and GMC rolled out redesigned compact pickups, both of which would be powered exclusively by Atlas engines.
The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon were offered with the 2.8-liter four (Vortec 2800) as the base engine, with the 3.5-liter five (Vortec 3500) as the optional mill. The big six would not be offered in these trucks.
On paper, the Atlas engines looked like good fits for the little pickups. The 4-cylinder engine was good for 175 horsepower, while the five cranked out a healthy 220. One wonders, however, if traditional truck buyers balked at purchasing a 5-cylinder truck, when the previous generation of these vehicles had been available with a burly 4.3-liter V6.
Calculator
The 5-cylinder engine would go on to be optional in an Isuzu clone of the Colorado and Canyon, the i-Series. The compact Hummer H3 SUV would also come standard with the Atlas 5-cylinder.
Note that for 2007 the Atlas 4- and 5-cylinder engines would receive a bump in displacement to 2.9 liters and 3.7 liters, respectively. Horsepower for the mills jumped accordingly, to 185 and 242, respectively. With the size increase came the predictable name changes to Vortec 2900 and Vortec 3700.
The Atlas 5-cylinder engine would survive through 2012, when GM's compact trucks were redesigned and treated to a new series of base and optional engines. With that the entire Atlas family of engines was retired, with it the only 5-cylinder motor any U.S. maker has built and sold in the States.
Amassed here are all the vehicles ever to be offered with the Atlas 5-cylinder engine. Let us know if you ever spent time with one of them.
2004-2012 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon
2011 GMC Canyon
The Colorado and Canyon were the first production vehicles to be powered by the Atlas 5-cylinder engine. The engine was optional on most versions of the Colorado and Canyon, with the Atlas 2.8-liter 4 serving as the standard mill. For 2007 the both the 4- and 5-cylinder engines received displacement and power bumps, and would then go on unchanged through 2012 when the trucks were redesigned. Curiously, though a 6-cylinder engine was never offered in these trucks, a 5.3-liter V8 was made available beginning in 2009.
Permute 3 4 4 Cylinder Engine For Sale
2006-2008 Isuzu i-280/i-350 and i-290/i-370
When Isuzu decided to get back into the pickup truck business for 2006, it did so in the easiest manner possible: It simply bought trucks from General Motors and slapped its own grille on them. Thus was born one of the messiest bowls of model-name alphabet soup ever to be thrust upon the American car-buying public. By basing its new trucks' names on their engine displacement, Isuzu was forced to change those names when the engines were updated for 2007. Thus what were the Isuzu i-280 and i-350 for 2006 became the i-290 and i-370 for 2007, not that consumers cared all that much. Apart from the grilles, these small trucks were identical to the Chevy Colorado, with only stickers–not badges–used to denote trim levels. Needless to say, the i-Series trucks were the only 5-cylinder Isuzu products ever sold on the U.S.
2006-2010 Hummer H3
2006 Hummer H3
10 Permute 3
The lone socially responsible member of the short-lived Hummer family was also the only model to be made available with a 5-cylinder engine. As the H3 was based on Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon architecture, it only made sense that the drivetrain components would also be shared. The H3 came standard with the 5-cylinder plant, with a 5.3-liter V8 coming along as standard later in the production run.
