Engine Size By Cylinder

Here's a question that I've wondered about for quite some time. Everytime I go to buy a car I seemingly come to the same question and I've never really had a thorough explanation.


Given: An engine of particular displacement...

What is better and why:
Is more cylinders better than fewer what kind tradeoffs are there.


I do know that if you have a give displacement fewer cylinders mean larger pistons but what does benefits do you get when you consider cylinder count.


I'm again looking for a newsed car and I'm currently looking at Jeep Grand Cherokees and or Dodge Dakota Quad Cab.


Thanks for any info.

well, the displacement is like if you extended the cylinders all the way like after the spark plug ignites, how much water you could put in it is displacement, sort of, like, my 6.6 litre 403 cubic inch V8 engine in my 1979 trans am would make about a little under a litre per cylinder, a honda with a 1.6 litre engine makes about .4 of a litre per cylinder, I myself like 8 cyl. since they have more power and don't need as much effort to get a car to go interstate speeds, someone correct me if Im wrong bu tIm not familiar with 6 and 4 cyl. at all, except my moms van, 6 cyl. it seems like cars and trucks with 8s don't need as much power to get up to cruising speeds, plus eights also make more horses/torque, which is important to me, torque counts as much as horses do for some people, others just like horsepower, Im not sure about the piston size issue, the guy I used to work for might know but I can't get a hold of him right now

Being considered "old school" :lol: I always went by the notion that the more cylinders you had, the less work the engine had to do. I always took that into consideration when looking at vehicles that had either a 6 or 8 cylinder engine as an option. But with the technology that has embraced the automotive industry in the last 20 to 25 years, that idea doesn't hold as much water as it once did. Now with computer controlled fuel delivery, spark management,engine configurations, and other computer/sensor aided functions, a smaller engine can operate with as much power and efficiency as it's larger counterparts did years ago.
To add to that discussion, look at how many vehicles offer a 8 cylinder option in their vehicles compared to 25 - 30 years ago. Now it pretty much boils down to a 6 cylinder or 4 cylinder option for most vehicles. I guess you could take the old argument of 8 vs. 6 and apply it to 6 vs. 4 . I would choose a 6 cylinder using the old adage that it will probably work less than a 4 cylinder to get the same output, and therefore last longer. Case in point , look at vehicles used for utilities, police and taxis. Most if not all use a 6 cylinder engine, ( where an 8 cylinder is not available) and they get good results over time ( many reach over 300,000 miles while in service.) You don't see too many 4 cylinder engines in similar service that can go that long without requiring some kind of overhaul.