ano advantage ng more valves in engine?

[Gen1]

with 4 valves you have an effectively larger inlet and outlet port for the combustion gases. thus a more efficient engine.

the surface area of four circles above the piston is greater than the surface area you can fit on the same diameter circle if you use two or three circles (makes for an interesting calculus test problem if you're the nerdy type).

Down side is a more complicated manufacturing process because of the greater number of moving parts, hence a more expensive engine.

[benchph1]

bottomline is more valves creates more power and better efficiency

[mazdamazda]

IMO, mercedes is sticking with the 3V per cylinder just as a trademark.

but if you compare side by side engines of the same displacement, mercedes' engines have a lower output.

here's a comparison between MB & BMW engines. to note that even though the MB has a higher displacement the BMW still outclasses it. if you noticed, AMG tuned MBs are mostly supercharged to compensate for this.

Mercedes-Benz E240
2.6 SOHC 18V V6
power: 177bhp / 5700
torque: 240Nm / 4500

BMW 525i
2.5 DOHC 24V inline-6
power: 192bhp / 6000
torque: 245Nm / 3500

=======

SLK 350
3.5 SOHC 18V V6
power: 268bhp / 6000
torque: 230Nm / 2500-4800

BMW M3
3.2 DOHC Double VANOS 24V inline-6
power: 343bhp / 7900
torque: 365Nm / 4900