4 vs. 6 cylinder, 2.0 vs. 3.1L

I am shopping for a "new" car. Are there any advantages/disadvantages of a 4 cylinder enginer vs. a 6 cylinder? Once upon a time I was told to stay away from any 4 cylinder cars. I have no clue as to how many cylinders are "good".

Also, what advantages/disadvantages does a lower # liter engine have over say a 3.1 or 3.6L?

I currently drive a 3.1L 1990 Chevy Lumina. That's about all I know on this car.

I know what I want in a car but this cylinder and liter stuff is confusing me.

Thanks.

umm, you have a lot to learn. get involved with this site and you will learn quite a bit. but the main reason a 6-cylinder has over a 4-cylinder is you can get more power out of it. i don't want to type a page long thing, so i just say read around.

There's large differences of 4 and 6 cylinders of the same displacement. It's all based on how an engine is built and who built it.

basic rule of thumb, the more cylinders and more Liters of displacment = more power
Less = better fuel economy and gas mileage
so a 2.0 4 cylinder will get a hell of alot better gas mileage than a 5.0L v8 engine. The 6 cylinder is a bit of a compromise between the two. Giving you less power than an 8 cylinder, and less gas mileage than a 4 cylinder. Any of them will get you from point A to point B. The only reason someone would tell you to stay away from a 4cylinder is a lack of power. But if you are a typical driver who doesn't race around and just needs the car for driving than 4 cylinder is the way to go. If you have a lead foot, you may prefer a v6 or v8, just realize that with the ever inflating gas prices, a 4 cylinder may really save you some money.

not all 6's make more power than 4's its just that most 6's are bigger than the 4's so the displacment is higher than a say a 4 so the 6 will make more power but the milage isn't as good,but not all 4's are economy well now most is that there sports engines like the srt4's motor or the nissan sr20det they make a lot of power too all so look at the evo8 makes tons of power like 300hp out of a 4, so you make the call on whut you want.

More displacement = more power. It's nothing more than a simple physics. The more air you can cram in, the more power you will get it. Sure, you can run a turbocharger on a smaller engine to make more power, but running the same psi on a bigger engine will make even more power. Simple as that.

with all the power a a four banger can make would it hold true that because of it being four the rpms would have to be Extremly high to make as much power as a 6 cyl at lower rpm???

can someone reply to what I just said I thought it was a good question maybe its true

with all the power a a four banger can make would it hold true that because of it being four the rpms would have to be Extremly high to make as much power as a 6 cyl at lower rpm???

I'm not sure if I understand your question but I think I got it. Yes you are going to have to push your 4 cylinder alot harder to equal the power of a V6.

You obviously don't know too much. A V6(6cylinder) Will generate more power but get worse mileage. This continues the more cylinders you get. There is 4, 5(rare), 6, 8, 10, 12($200,000 imports, rare BMWs). And the more cylinders you get the worse the mileage but the better the power. Same with displacement (the Liters thing), the more displacement the more power you get but the worse mileage. However, its not just about how many cylinders and how much displacement, the engine varies too. Like, you get more power out of and Inline 6(6 cylinders in 1 straight line) then you would get out of some other V6's.

what cars have an inline six?? under 10k used???
with that said a four with lots of displacement can beat a v6 with less dispacement???

Any car can have an inline 6...but for under 10K u could get a jeep grand cherokee...most of them come stock with it. Some 4 cylinders can beat 6 cylinders w/or w/o more displacement b/c it depends on the weight and other mods but...in the scenario youre suggesting, i doubt it would happen b/c you need more cylinders for more displacement but a cylinder adds more power then say .5L of displacement. thats like comparing an intake to a turbo. they both help but one helps alot more.

i see no wonder why crx's with b16s are so fast

what other 4cylin. engines are good ??

Any 4 cylinder CAN be good but it all depends on the mods. If youre looking for a fast 4 cylinder, you wanna look for a light car. CRXs themselves arent that fast, people like them because they are easily modded.

Any 4 cylinder CAN be good but it all depends on the mods. If youre looking for a fast 4 cylinder, you wanna look for a light car. CRXs themselves arent that fast, people like them because they are easily modded.


Some 4 cylinders are hopeless! even with mods. fairly ignorant/ricy thing to say? Sorry, I am sure that you know what you are talking about.

you give me a car and 15000 dollars and i bet you i can get that bitch to go...any 4 cylinder.

execpt for maybe the daewoos

I bought my 68 chevelle for 1k and it had an in line 6. It has a decent amount of power, but the weight of the vehicle almost ruins it. Our Honda CRV can tear it a new one very easily. (2.0L for the CRV and I have 3.8L)

chevelles are an easy restore...most of the time they have the 350 or the 307 V8 i believe but id check it if u need to kno for sure. but yes...all old cars are heavy. I forget what the 4 cylinder engine with mad horses is. I think its called the M3 or somethin...could someone let me kno?