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Flat Plane Vs Cross Plane V8 engines. A flat plane V8 (animated on the left) is very much like two inline-4 engines mated together in a V configuration. Therefore end-to-end balance is inherent, as the first and last piston of a bank is always exactly in the same position, as are the center two pistons on each bank.
The reason is because the flat-plane crankshaft allows the pistons to keep their movement the same on each bank, as they would be if they were in two separate inline-four engines. There are a few different firing orders for flat-plane crankshaft engines, but they all share the same piston movement, R-L-R-L-R-L-R-L. This design makes for a more balanced engine. Racing engines use this design because itâs lighter across the board, and creates more even exhaust pressure.