V8 engine showing the four cylinders on each side of the V configuration]] A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinder mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but occasionally at some other angle. In its simplest form, it is basically two straight-4 engines sharing a common crankshaft. This simple configuration, however, has the same secondary dynamic imbalance problems as two straight-4s, resulting in annoying vibrations in large-displacement engine. Most modern automobile V8s use a somewhat more complex crossplane crankshaft with heavy counterweights to eliminate the vibrations. This results in an engine which is more powerful than and nearly as smooth as a straight-6 of equivalent cylinder size, while being considerably less expensive than a V12 engine. Applications The V8 with a crossplane crankshaft (see below) is a very common confi