hmm, is a V6 really two, 3 cylinder engines ???
If so I consider it to be a '3 phase' engine NOT a '6 phase' engine.
A true 6 phase engine would run very smooth, one bang every 60 degree of crankshaft rotation....
V6's are 120 deg split (even-fire V6's that is). 720/6=120. Oddfire V6's are just odd. One cylinder fires, then 90 deg later another, then 150 deg of crankshaft rotation another. 90-150-90-150-90-150. Real strong bottom end design but they sound odd, they run odd, and they'll throw you for a loop unless you know. 3 cyl engine, vibrates horribly at certain speeds, and being diesel is wayyyy worse. As I said earlier the kubota in this post, if idled down that low, the engine will disappear into a blur because of vibration. Actually the person trying to adjust the little screw? Won't be able to, first you won't be able to see the screw and secondly won't be able to get a tool on it. Trust me I've tried. When I was younger and first getting into the kubota business another tech said hey watch this (famous last words of a redneck?). He moves the stop lever just right so that the idle speed would drop way down. At a certain point, roughly 700 RPM (on a BX nonetheless), the engine turns into a blur. The entire machine starts vibrating back and forth. 3 cyl engines in general will have a weird rocking motion about them, adn V6's generally do too if they are not counterbalanced-which the majority of them are. The old Dauntless Buick was not, and even the even-firing version (they had odd-fire and even fire versions) were called "shakers" for a reason. The 4.3L Chevy V6, they shook too, until they finally started putting balance shafts in em. Mopar 3.9's same, I think a lot of those were odd-fire V6's. May be wrong on the mopars, I haven't dealt too much with em. Ford's have had balance shafts in all their 90 deg V6's but I have not been into their 60 deg engines. Almost all modern V6's are 60 deg bank angle now, for the main reason that they fit better in front drive vehicles. Buick/Dauntless 3.8 (aka 3800), 3300 Buicks, Chevy 3.8L (229"), Chevy 200 (3.3 I think), Ford 3.8 and 3.9L (Essex V6), and the Mopar 3.9's are all 90 degree. The Ford V6's are almost identical copies of the Buick's. Ford admitted to it as I understand. They were decent engines, especially the later split ports and the 3.9L--oh and I almost forgot the 4.2L version used in pickups. Those are also 90 deg bank. Ideal bank angle of the V6 is 120 deg, but that makes for a really wide engine and to my knowledge I can't remember seeing any mass produced. They were (are?) used in racing though. Indycar?
V6's are two inline-3's but they are out of phase, but not out of phase enough to cancel out vibration. That's where the Inline 6 comes in. Two I-3's, one in front of the other...they both vibrate but they vibrate exactly opposite of each other, canceling any felt vibration out.
A lot of new tech coming out in the last 10 years or so on engines. Case in point the 270 deg parallel twin cylinder. Great design except it needs a counterbalancer. Sounds wonderful, runs very very smooth, makes good power AND torque to boot. Polaris uses them on the 925 turbo Rzr, the 850 and 1000 sportsman, Yamaha uses them on the MT-07 motorcycle and 2 or 3 side-by-side atv's, Honda on the Talon and 1000 Pioneer, among many others. I find this stuff fun to think about.
