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Originally Posted by deanyel
The V6s seem to be noisier, not as smooth. The techs at the dealerships have not seen that many high miles cars yet. I think the jury is still out on the question of longevity.
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The ninety degree V6 configuration has both first and second order rocking couples. The first order couple is balanced by a counter-rotating balance shaft, but the second order couple remains. A 60 degree V6 lacks the first order couple, but still has a second order couple.
The inline six configuration is inherently balanced. There are no shaking forces or rocking couples below fourth order, so if the crankshaft is sufficiently robust to prevent torsional vibration problems, an inline six is inherently smoother than any V6 configuration.
Since both the V6 block and head are aluminum, it is less likely to have longer head gasket life than the iron block/aluminum head inline six. Also, the V6 has cast in high silicon alloy aluminum liners, which have a lower wear rate than cast iron as long as they don't score.
Duke