Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-08
"RATTLE OF CYLINDERS"
WACED in MOTOR WORLD
Relative Merits, Practically and Econ
omv Of Fours, Skies and Fights Re- i
main Big Problem to Makers.

BY VILLA
What might be we'll termed
designated as "a thrilling engine
engine design is now being enac
interested motoring public.
Not so long ago the MOTORS
mate engine for utility, power, c
a four, a six. an eight or twel
about engine design and the ques
UP between the skies and the eig
The twelve has been discard
power than the others. but addec
Grafton costs soaring and prove
more power than was necessary.
The four generally is admitte
itv, but four vlinder cars are h
skies and eights. Producers of
doned the four as a plant suitable
The tours are beating them all for
gas mileage. and vibration has been
greatly reduced i'll the more modern
forms. but the motorist steps up the
ladder to a good six or eight when
he becomes more prosperous.
The motoriSt. however, does not
step to an eight after he has reached
the six class merely to enjoy greater
luxury He still can find great lux
ury in a six anc spend great amount
of money for A car so powered. He
NAV. and frequently does, prefer an
eight But. in most instances, 1t is
observed that he considers other
points, such as the make of the car.
its other features. its reputation and
so on, rather than the number OF cyl
inders under the hood.
When a new straight eight was an
nounced two years ago many motor
lists would not buy It because 1t did
not look long enough for an eight.
The motorist continues to buy good
cars for what they offer in their en-
tirety and not for the number Of cyl
inders involved.
Fights Not Routing Others.
II is to attract attention TO the
merits of these two types of engines
that manufacturers now are Waglng
their battle. Fights have not made
the landslide gain their opponents pre-
dcted, neither have there been any
important additions to the ranks of
skies in the fine car field. 1t is true
that there have been a number of
new skies in the four-cylinder price
group, but they represent four-cyl-
Under competition. This is a different
conflict altogether.
II is not generally known by the
public that some of the greatest au-
tomotive engineers of the country
favor the six as the most suitable
power plant for fine automobiles. The
motorist feels that there is something
I'll a
cylinder principle. just as he feels
that the longer the e1-base, the
better the car. But Just as it was
found that 12-cylinder cars were I'M
satisfactory, so has 1t been found that
mere length does not necessarily i'm
ply the best car-riding qualities. An
eight does not surpass a. six merely
because it has two more cylinders.
In all fairness to the eight. it must
he recalled that the early varieties of
this engine too often merely were
twin fours. In the case of straight
Fights they often were fours in tan
dem. But there have been impor-
tant and significant changes in Fights,
mainly with a view to making them
more distinct type of power plant
rather than tandem or twin fours.
It is believed by some engineers
that the failure of the twelve was due
partly to the fact that this motor
was more of a twin six than a dis
tinctive type Of engine. Had the twelve
been worked out and developed to a
point where it was a. distinct crea-
ton without the characteristics of
the six. motordom now might be wit
Messing a battle beWeen the Fights
and the twelVes. The eight, however
doubtless would have won out in such
a contest, for the extra f1eXibility of
twelve is unnecessary and the added
expense of operation not practical.
The principle of a six is better
than that of a. four. This is consid-
cred automatic in engineering cir
cles The reason for this is that in
six there is an overlapping of i'm
pulses not found in four. and the
firing of the cylinders provides for
a natural balance of the engine. II
should be remembered. however, that
the superiority of the six principle
does not mean that all skies are bet
ter than fourS.
When one comes to consider the
Fights, the matter is considerably
more complicated. There is no gen
eral agreement among engineers that
the principle of the eight is better
than that of the six. Regardless OF
whether engineers might come TO ar
agreement in favor of one type or
the other. il still would be true that
some of the Fights are better than
some Of the skies. while some Of the
skies are better than some Of the
Fights. considering only cars selling
for 50 900 and over.
An argument used by advocates of
SKIES is that the eight continues the
inherent defects of the four. though
the increase in power impulses and &C
rual power tend TO blind the car
owner 10 the four eight type of in
herent vibrations. That there is some
truth in this contention is demon
strated by the competition among de
signers of Fights TO find better fir
ing order as we'll as better arrange
ment of the cylinders.
In popular Fights. nine firing orders
are in use today. There are TWO gen
eral cylinder arrangements-eight
a-line and Weight. Some of the v
Fights are 90 degrees, others 60. One
uses offset cylinders. Everything has
heen done to make Fights AS inhe
rently smooth as the skies. What the
opponents of skies fail to recognize
-A>aaa-Rk ~. -.