Quote:
Originally Posted by Tervuren
I was just wondering why use the separate additional descriptor opposing if not to disambiguate.
The way I parse language I'm wondering why take the extra time to expressly mention opposed.
If not to convey the pistons moving in opposition vs together, what then?
Any production horizontal engine that I am aware of just saying it is flat or horizontal is enough descriptor to convey the engine layout as having the cylinders opposite in common parlance.
And speaking of inline 6's, maybe some one made a flat inline engine back in the day.
I know Indy cars of the past really leaned the engine over for balance and CG. Not having the drive shaft run down the center of the car had the additional benefit of lower fuel tank and driver placement.
A short period of Indy had FWD dominated machines as it lowered the CG by not running a drive shaft down the chassis at all.
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I don't know where the nomenclature came from. There is also the opposed piston engine, a very different concept.
By your definition, an inline 6 would be a flat engine, whether inclined vertically as most are, or canted over to some degree. I don't recall seeing one that was horizontal, although who knows?
Personally, I'm going to continue using the terms as I've understood them all these years and flat engines will only be those with two cylinder banks 180 degrees apart and lying in a horizontal plane.