Cadillac 1937 LaSalle VVI Information page 62

2. Compactness:
a. Smoother operation.
b. Permits most efficient functioning of fuel, cooling
and lubricating systems.
c. Grants more body space per inch of wheelbase.
To prove the simplicity of V-8 design it is only necessary
to look inside the engine and make a comparison in a like
manner with the working parts of a straight eight.
The simplicity of the Cadillac crankshaft is obvious, with
its three main bearings of extremely wide surfaces. Con-
trast these with the nine small bearings of the eight-in-line
crankshaft. The wider V-eight bearing surfaces retain oil
better and are easier to lubricate than the nine narrow bear-
ings of the straight eight engine. Consider also how much
easier it is to properly align only three bearings of the
Cadillac crankshaft instead of the nine used in the straight
eight design.
In the Cadillac 90° V-type engine the short compensated
crankshaft, its length considered, has a much greater rela-
tive diameter than the in-line eights and is therefore much
better able to withstand the great stresses imposed on it by
the explosive forces of the engines and the centrifugal
forces set up by the rapid crankshaft revolutions.
For these reasons the Cadillac V-type engine is assured
longer life and its maintenance is far more economical than
it is possible to achieve with straight eight operation.
Operating smoothness, to a degree not approached in
other types, is also an asset of V-8 design. This smoothness
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