n-line engine:

internal combustion engine

In-line engines are generally abbreviated as L. For example, L4 stands for inline 4-cylinder. In-line layout is the most widely used form of cylinder arrangement today, especially on engines with displacements below 2.5L. All the cylinders of this type of engine are arranged side by side at the same angle into a plane, and only one cylinder head is used. At the same time, the structure of the cylinder block and the crankshaft is relatively simple.

Specifically, we generally have four types of L3, L4, L5, L6 (the number represents the number of cylinders). The advantages of this layout engine are compact size, high stability, good low-speed torque characteristics and less fuel consumption, which of course means lower manufacturing costs. At the same time, the engine size of the inline cylinder layout is also relatively compact, which can adapt to a more flexible layout. It is also convenient to arrange the devices of the supercharger type. But its main disadvantage is that the engine itself is low in power and is not suitable for models with more than 6 cylinders