The cylinder is a tubular hollow part, which is found in a car‘s combustion engine. Together with the piston, it is responsible for the vehicle’s propulsion, the process by which chemical energy is turned into mechanical energy. When the piston moves downwards, air gets inside the cylinder through the inlet valve. When the piston moves upwards, the air gets compressed and heated up in the process. In the case of a Diesel engine, the fuel is injected via a nozzle into the combustion chamber, that is to say into the cylinder, in which it is ignited together with the hot air. In the case of a spark-ignition engine, ignition occurs thanks to the aid of sparkplugs.
Cylinders are classified according to the number of them present as well as to design. The most common version in cars is the in-line engine, whose 2 to 16 cylinders are aligned in a row, one behind the other. In the case of V-engines, cylinder planes (also called “banks”) are present, arranged in respect to one another at a distinctive angle, which resembles the shape of a V. In this case, up to 24 cylinders get installed. Alongside these versions there is, among other ones, the boxer engine with 2 to 12 cylinders, which are arranged opposite each other, and the radial engine with an uneven number of up to 11 cylinders, which are located in a radial shape around the crankshaft. The more cylinders an engine possesses, the smaller and lighter are the pistons. Thus, it is possible to obtain a better acceleration and, through that, a higher rotational speed and enhanced performance. Thanks to the better distribution arrangement of cylinder capacity, the engine runs more smoothly.