Straight-six engines and flat-six engines do not experience this imbalance. The displacement of modern V6 engines is typically between 2.5 to 4.0 L (153 to 244 cu in), though larger and smaller examples have been produced, such as the 1.8 L (110 cu in) Mazda V6 used in the 1991–1998 Mazda MX-3, or the 1.6 L (98 cu in) Mitsubishi V6 engine used in the 1992–1998 Mirage/ Lancer, while the largest V6 built was the 7.8 L (476 cu in) GMC V6 used in the 1962 GMC C/K series 6500.Īll V6 engines with even firing spacing-regardless of the V-angle between the cylinder banks-are subject to a primary imbalance caused by each bank consisting of an inline-three engine, due to the odd number of cylinders in each bank. Some sports cars like the Porsche 911 use flat-six engines instead of V6 engines, due to their near perfect primary engine balance and lower centre of gravity (which improves the handling). A downside for luxury cars is that V6 engines produce more vibrations than straight-six engines. Due to their short length, V6 engines are often used as the larger engine option for vehicles which are otherwise produced with inline-four engines, especially in transverse engine vehicles.
