Straight-3

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Straight-3

A straight-3 or inline-3 is an internal combustion engine

Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs in a combustion chamber inside and integral to the engine. In an internal combustion engine it is always the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases that are produced by the combustion which apply force to the movable component of the engine, such as...
with three cylinder

Cylinder (engine)

A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically casting from aluminum or cast iron before precision features are machined into it....
s arranged in a straight line side by side.

Most straight-3 engines employ a crank angle of 120° and are thus rotationally balanced; however, since the three cylinders are offset from each other, the firing of the end cylinders induces a rocking motion from end to end, since there is no opposing cylinder moving in the opposite direction as in a rotationally balanced straight six.

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Encyclopedia

A straight-3 or inline-3 is an internal combustion engine

Internal combustion engine

Cylinder (engine)

Balance shaft

In piston engine engineering, a balance shaft is an Eccentric weighted shaft which offsets vibrations in engine designs that are not inherently balanced ....
in antiphase to that vibration produces a smoothly running engine.

An exception to the 120° crankshaft can be found in some of the straight-3 engines made by motorcycle manufacturer Laverda

Laverda

Laverda is an Italian manufacturer of Combine harvesters and one-time a manufacturer of high performance motorcycles. The agricultural equipment brand is famous for quality, simplicity, and efficiency; while the motorcycles in their day gained a reputation for being robust and innovative....
. In these engines, sometimes referred to as 180° triples, the outer pistons rise and fall together like a 360° straight-2. The inner cylinder is offset 180° from the outer cylinders. In these engines cylinder 1 fires, 180° later cylinder 2 fires, and then 180° later cylinder 3 fires. There's no power stroke on the final 180° of rotation—much like a 4-cylinder engine that's missing the fourth cylinder.

Automobile use

The smallest

List of automotive superlatives

This page lists Wiktionary:superlatives of the automobile industry - that is, the smallest, largest, fastest, lightest, best-selling, and other such topics....
straight-3 engine was the 543 cc Suzuki

Suzuki

Suzuki Cervo

The Suzuki SC100 was a car manufactured by Suzuki and launched in 1979 in the United Kingdom and Holland. It was the first passenger car sold in the UK by the newly set up Heron Suzuki four wheel division....
. Smart

Smart (automobile)

smart, formerly smart GmbH , an automotive brand of Daimler AG, is a manufacturer of microcars and supermini car based in B?blingen, Germany, produced in Hambach, Moselle ....
currently produces a diminutive 799 cc diesel

Diesel

Diesel or diesel fuel in general is any fuel used in diesel engines. The most common is a specific fractional distillation of petroleum fuel oil, but alternatives that are not derived from petroleum, such as biodiesel, biomass to liquid or gas to liquid diesel, are increasingly being developed and adopted....
straight-3, the smallest ever. Most straight-3 engines fall below 1.2 liters, with a 1,198 cc Volkswagen

Volkswagen

Volkswagen Passenger Cars, also known as VW, is an automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Germany and is the original as well as the largest brand by sales volume within the Volkswagen Group....
unit seen as the largest petrol unit. A 1.8 L (1779 cc) diesel was produced by VM Motori

VM Motori

VM Motori S.p.A. is a diesel engine manufacturing company in Cento, Italy, which is the heart of Emilia-Romagna and also home to Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Ducati....
to 1984 Alfa Romeo 33

Alfa Romeo 33

Alfa Romeo 33 may refer to:* Alfa Romeo T33, a sports car racing prototype used from 1968 to 1977* Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, a rare road going version of the race car, built in 1967...
1.8 TD, the largest straight-3 produced for automotive use.

Straight-3 engine are also used in a some of Daihatsu cars. The Daihatsu Charade and the Cuore used or are still fitted with this engine type. The 3 cylinder 1.0 liter Daihatsu Diesel engine was also available with a turbo charger.

Mitsubishi has also made extensive use of 3 cylinder engines.

Motorcycle use

4-stroke:

Aprilia, Laverda

Laverda

Triumph Motorcycles

Triumph Engineering Co Ltd was a United Kingdom motorcycle manufacturer, originally based in Coventry. A new company, Triumph Motorcycles Ltd based in Hinckley took over the name rights after the collapse of the company in the 1980s and is now one of the world's leading motorcycle manufacturers....
, Yamaha, BMW

BMW

, is an independent German automotive industry founded in 1916. It also produces BMW Motorrad, is the owner of the MINI brand and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars....
, Benelli, Petronas

Petronas

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian owned oil and natural gas company that was founded on August 17 1974. Wholly owned by the Government, the corporation is vested with the entire oil and gas resources in Malaysia and is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and adding value to these resources....
, MV Agusta

MV Agusta

MV Agusta is a motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1945 near Milan in Cascina Costa, Italy....
, BSA

BSA

BSA may refer to:...
.

The Triumph Rocket III

Triumph Rocket III

The Triumph Rocket III is a United_Kingdom motorcycle made by the Triumph_#Triumph_Motorcycles_Ltd factory and has the largest displacement engine of any mass production motorcycle in the world , at 2294 cc....
has a 2,294 cc straight-3 engine, currently the largest engine in a motorcycle being made by a major manufacturer.

2-stroke :

Kawasaki

Kawasaki Heavy Industries

is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chuo-ku, Kobe, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shozo Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Kanagawa....
, Suzuki

Suzuki

is a multinational corporation headquartered in Hamamatsu, Japan that specializes in manufacturing compact automobiles, a full range of motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, outboard motor, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines....

Suzuki made, from 1972 to 1977, the water-cooled 750cc GT750, and the aircooled GT550 and GT380.

In 1968, Suzuki made the racing-only, water-cooled, 3-cylinder 50cc RP68, with 14 speeds. Rule changes prevented it from ever racing.

Between 1969 and 1978, Kawasaki made 3-cylinder models in 250cc, 350cc, 400cc, 500cc and 750cc, all air-cooled.