Different Engine Arrangments of a Camshaft:
There are some different arrangements of camshafts we found on engines. We’ll discuss a number of the foremost common ones. You’ve probably heard the terminology:
- Single overhead cam (SOHC): The oldest configuration of an overhead camshaft engine is that the single overhead camshaft (SOHC) design. A SOHC engine has one camshaft per bank of cylinders, therefore a straight engine has a complete of 1 camshaft. A V or flat engine with a complete of two camshafts (one per bank of cylinders) could be a single overhead camshaft engine, not a double overhead camshaft engine.
- Double overhead cam (DOHC): A double overhead camshaft or dual overhead camshaft (DOHC or “twin-cam”) engine has two camshafts per bank of the plate, one for the intake valves and also the other for the exhaust valves. Therefore there are two camshafts for a straight engine and a complete of 4 camshafts for a V engine or a flat engine.
- Pushrod: An overhead camshaft or OHC engine has overhead valves; but, not to be confused, Overhead valve engines that use pushrods are often called “pushrod engines”. Some early “intake over exhaust” engines used a hybrid design combining elements of both side-valves and overhead valves.
