Flat-4

A flat-4 is a four cylinder internal combustion engine where the cylinders are arranged in a flat configuration. This is not a common configuration, but some brands of automobile have favoured such engines and it is a common configuration for smaller aircraft engines such as made by Lycoming. Although they are considered to be superior to "inline-fours" in terms of refinement and vibration, they have largely fallen out of favor because their larger overall dimensions are not suited to modern small cars. The shape of the engine suits it better for rear engine designs, where the low center of gravity is an advantage; in front engine designs the width interferes with the ability of the front wheels to steer.

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The open and exposed design of the engine allows air cooling over water cooling, and in air cooled applications fins are often seen machined into the external cylinder block walls.

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Internal combustion engine: An internal combustion engine is an engine that is powered by the expansion of hot combustion products of fuel directly acting within an engine. A piston internal combustion engine works by burning hydrocarbon or hydrogen fuel that presses on a piston; and a jet engine works as the hot combustion p...

Automobile: An automobile is a wheeled vehicle that carries its own motor. Different types of automobiles include cars, buses, trucks, and vans, with cars being the most popular by far. Earlier terms for automobile include "horseless carriage" and "motor car." An automobile has seats for the driver and, almos...

Aircraft engine: The term aircraft engine, for the purposes of this article, refers to aircraft reciprocating, or rotary, internal combustion engines as opposed to jet engines or turboprops....

Flat-4 related Images and Photos (experimental)

Flat Iron	Flat Track	Flat Track	Flat Flyer
Tortilla Flat (Remastered)	The Flat Sea	Flat Track Drafting	Flat Irons Boulder Colorado
Salt Flat Land Speed Cloud	Flat Coated Retriever Xing Sign	Flat-Coated Retriever Leash Hook	Flat-Coated Retriever Leash Hook