# Noob Question on W-Style Engines **URL:** \ **Category:** NYSpeed Automotive\ **Created:** [February 15, 2007, 8:01am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/noob-question-on-w-style-engines/24596 "2007-02-15T08:01:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![9ONA3OOZX](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/9ona3oozx/32/7242_2.png) [@9ONA3OOZX](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/9ONA3OOZX)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 8:01am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/noob-question-on-w-style-engines/24596/1 "2007-02-15T08:01:34Z")
Having trouble finding a diagram online anywhere… I understand for a W16 there’s 4 banks of 4 cylinders each, or a W12 is 4 banks of 3 each…but how is the block set up? I mean…when thinking of such an engine, a W12 for example…i picture 2 V6’s side by side…but if that were the case, there would have to be 2 cranks… Just something i’d like to be educated in if somebody has anything useful to say or a good link to a writeup or two, maybe with pics and cross section graphs/diagrams/animations and what not… ---
**Author:** ![Garick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8797f3/32.png) [@Garick](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Garick)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 8:06am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/noob-question-on-w-style-engines/24596/2 "2007-02-15T08:06:50Z")
I am wondering the same things…this thread shows a W9 [http://www.nyspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24365](http://www.nyspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24365) ---
**Author:** ![9ONA3OOZX](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/9ona3oozx/32/7242_2.png) [@9ONA3OOZX](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/9ONA3OOZX)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 8:07am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/noob-question-on-w-style-engines/24596/3 "2007-02-15T08:07:57Z")
that looks like a W shape…but it’s not the same as the more “typical” W engine i think…which consists of 4 cylinder banks… ---
**Author:** ![fiend540](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bcef8e/32.png) [@fiend540](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/fiend540)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 8:21am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/noob-question-on-w-style-engines/24596/4 "2007-02-15T08:21:09Z")
some pics, there used to be a good cutaway pic but i can’t find it. ![http://www2.uol.com.br/bestcars/carros/vw/w12-pistoes.jpg](http://www2.uol.com.br/bestcars/carros/vw/w12-pistoes.jpg) ![http://www.vq30de.net/laautoshow2005/dscf9710.jpg](http://www.vq30de.net/laautoshow2005/dscf9710.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Fry](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fry/32/7284_2.png) [@Fry](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Fry)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 8:28am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/noob-question-on-w-style-engines/24596/5 "2007-02-15T08:28:18Z")
Don’t get hung up on the shape of the letter. Just for fun, here’s a radial engine: ![http://www.ultralightflyer.com/images/radcam03.jpg](http://www.ultralightflyer.com/images/radcam03.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![9ONA3OOZX](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/9ona3oozx/32/7242_2.png) [@9ONA3OOZX](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/9ONA3OOZX)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 10:01am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/noob-question-on-w-style-engines/24596/6 "2007-02-15T10:01:44Z")
oh so it’s just two huge heads…i for some reason thought there’d be 4… and in i think last month’s or a couple month’s ago American Iron Magazine…my dad subscribes…on the cover was a bike with an old airplane radial engine…was pretty cool ---
**Author:** ![newman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/newman/32/7569_2.png) [@newman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/newman)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 10:17am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/noob-question-on-w-style-engines/24596/7 "2007-02-15T10:17:35Z")
it’s kind of like 2 vr6s ---
**Author:** ![Fry](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fry/32/7284_2.png) [@Fry](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Fry)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 10:22am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/noob-question-on-w-style-engines/24596/8 "2007-02-15T10:22:00Z")
Instead of 2 banks of cylinders like a typical “V” engine, there could be 3 or 4 banks all connected to the same crank. (The VW “W” motors have 4 banks, basically 2 VR’s. The Bugatti W18 is 3 banks of 6.) W3: ![http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/BikerFry/radcam03.jpg](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/BikerFry/radcam03.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![fiend540](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bcef8e/32.png) [@fiend540](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/fiend540)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 10:42am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/noob-question-on-w-style-engines/24596/9 "2007-02-15T10:42:34Z")
[quote=“90NA300ZX,post:6,topic:24596"”] oh so it’s just two huge heads…i for some reason thought there’d be 4… [/quote] It’s only two heads because it is similar to vw’s vr6 in that although it is a v its only by 15 degrees or so ---
**Author:** ![SoloIIscoob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@SoloIIscoob](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/SoloIIscoob)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 11:37am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/noob-question-on-w-style-engines/24596/10 "2007-02-15T11:37:56Z")
[quote=“fiend540,post:9,topic:24596"”] It’s only two heads because it is similar to vw’s vr6 in that although it is a v its only by 15 degrees or so [/quote] yes VR series engines have banks offset 15 degrees of each other. ---
**Author:** ![9c1](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/9c1/32/7392_2.png) [@9c1](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/9c1)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 11:43am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/noob-question-on-w-style-engines/24596/11 "2007-02-15T11:43:06Z")
Found these two: ![http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-abc/Bugatti-EB-16-4-Veyron-engine-study-1280x960.jpg](http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-abc/Bugatti-EB-16-4-Veyron-engine-study-1280x960.jpg) ![http://www.autoclub.com.au/uploaded_images/bugatti-veyron-w16-engine-776255.jpg](http://www.autoclub.com.au/uploaded_images/bugatti-veyron-w16-engine-776255.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![TrueBlue](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/trueblue/32/7245_2.png) [@TrueBlue](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/TrueBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 1:10pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/noob-question-on-w-style-engines/24596/12 "2007-02-15T13:10:13Z")
[quote=“9c1,post:11,topic:24596"”] Found these two: [/quote] :tup: Great find. The first is the “study” engine, the second is the production motor. That is an engineering masterpiece.