Design of V8 engine

A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.

The first known working V8 engine was produced by the French company Antoinette in 1904 for use in aircraft, while the American 1914–1935 Cadillac L-Head engine is considered the first automotive V8 engine to be produced in significant quantities. The popularity of V8 engines in cars was greatly increased following the 1932 introduction of the Ford Flathead V8.

DESIGN

V-angle

1917 Liberty L-8— an aircraft engine with a V-angle of 45°

The majority of V8 engines use a V-angle (the angle between the two banks of cylinders) of 90 degrees. This angle results in good engine balance, which results in low vibrations; however, the downside is a larger width than V8 engines that use a smaller V-angle.

V8 engines with a 60 degree V-angle were used in the 1996–1999 Ford Taurus SHO, the 2005–2011 Volvo XC90, and the 2006–2009 Volvo S80. The Ford engine used a 60 degree V-angle because it was based on a V6 engine with a 60 degree V-angle. Both the Ford and Volvo engines were used in transverse engine chassis, which were designed for a front-wheel-drive layout (with on-demand all-wheel drive system in the case of the Volvos). To reduce the vibrations caused by the unbalanced 60 degree V-angle, the Volvo engines used a balance shaft and offset split crankpins.[2] The Rolls-Royce Meteorite tank engine also used a 60 degree V-angle, since it was derived from the 60 degree Rolls-Royce Meteor which in turn was based on the famous Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 engine.

Other V-angles have been used occasionally. The Lancia Trikappa, Lancia Dilambda, and Lancia Astura, produced 1922–1939, used narrow angle V8 engines (based on the Lancia V4 engine) with V-angles of 14—24 degrees.[4] The 1932 Miller four-wheel drive racing cars used a V8 engine with a V-angle of 45 degrees. The 8-cylinder versions of the 1945–1966 EMD 567 diesel locomotive engine also used a V-angle of 45 degrees