Steve Grauman wrote:
>
> I'm having a fit of dumb**** and not following. I'm well aware of how the
> standard combustion driven engine operates but I'm not sure as to how a
> 4-cylinder with a 1-2-3-4 firing order could be any more or less smooth than
> one with a 1-3-4-2 firing order, or any other variation.

The firing order will have an effect on the frequency distribution of
the vibration, thus affecting the peak intensity which is what will be
perceived by the human. A 1-3-4-2 order should, hypothetically, produce
vibrations of twice the frequency and half the amplitude that would be
generated by a 1-2-3-4 order. (This is one of the reasons why 1-3-4-2
or 1-3-2-4 are more commounly used than 1-2-3-4.)

> Beyond that, I've
> ridden in a W12 Pheaton and found it to be quite smooth, so I find Ghee's
> claims (as usual) to be obnoxious.

Indeed. Car & Driver's recent writeup of the W12 Phaeton uses words
like "completely silent", "won't even realize it's running", and "no
vibration transmitted through the steering column" or some such. That's
low enough in vibration for me.

--
Mike Smith