Power.

That's a good word isn't it? Power. People go crazy over that word when it's applied to cars, but I'm not looking to get into a discussion of "dude, my such and such car makes over 984654 Horsepower!"

What I want to talk about is the basic concept of the word. Power, force, energy. Essentially it's what you need to get you car going. I'm sure y'all have noticed, but car companies have found many different ways to make power, using various different engine designs. There are so many different kinds! Don't believe me? I'll list out all the types of engines that are out on the road right now:

Inline 4
Inline 4 Turbo
Opposed 4
Opposed 4 Turbo
Inline 5
Inline 5 Turbo
Inline 6
Inline 6 Turbo
Twin Rotor
V6
V6 Turbo
V8
V8 Turbo
W8
V10
V10 Turbo
V12
W12
W12 Turbo
W16 Turbo (4 turbos!)


Yeah, I think that drove the point home. Notice anything? One, I bet there are way more engines out there than you thought; and two, pretty much every engine has had a turbo (or two, or a supercharger) slapped on it. Granted, some of those engines you won't see every day. Pretty much everything past the V8 isn't all that common. There are some heavy duty trucks that have V10s in them, but for the most part, you're talking about sports cars and exotics.

So how do you know what engine is right for you? Well that's a pretty tricky question since there are A LOT of factors that come into play. I'm going to try and simplify it as much as I can. Get ready for some bold points.

There's a misconception that engines with a lot of cylinders are inefficient. They're gas guzzlers. Alright, you got me, it's kind of somewhat true. But really, it has a lot more to do with how much car that engine is trying to move and how big the engine is. Some cars will need a bigger engine to be more efficient. When it comes down to it, efficiency comes out of how much the engine has to work to move the car. Less work = less gas used.

BIG CAR + little engine = ass mileage           That engine has to do a lot of work to get things going.

little car  +  little engine = vast mileage            If there's not a lot to move, there's not a lot

BIG CAR + BIG ENGINE = gas mileage      I couldn't think of a better way to keep the rhyme going... these are average gas mileage vehicles. We're talking 20-25 mpg

little car    + BIG ENGINE  = fast mileage       Yeah! kept the clever rhyme scheme going! Anyway, this category is a bit odd. Typically, these are sports cars. Not exactly designed to be all that economical, so the rules don't quite apply the same way as before.

Here's the last bit of information you need to know about choosing an engine: yes, more cylinders means a bit more fuel consumption, but what you really want to look at is THE SIZE of the engine.


The turbo/supercharger thing. There are some incredibly complicated ways to explain how they do what they do. Even Howstuffworks couldn't find a way to do it in under five pages, but I'll put it together nice and neat in one sentence for you:
They make your engine act like a bigger engine without actually having to make your engine bigger. Not bad right?

The number of cylinders and configuration... honestly, I wouldn't put much importance into that. Each type of engine has a different feel to it and that's about it. Go with what you like and what works for your needs. Personally, I'm a big big fan of the straight 6. Go try it. It's awesome.