Water-Cooled VW Performance Handbook

Engine displacement calculator

With the bore, stroke, and number of cylinders in your engine, you can calculate the displacement. If your bore and stroke are in inches (that is, the value for “Bore” is less than 40), the calculator will return the results in cubic inches. If the bore and stroke are in millimeters (“Bore” 40 or more), the results will be in cubic centimeters.

For example, a four-cylinder engine with a bore of 84 mm and a stroke of 81 mm will have a displacement of 1,795.5 cc. An eight-cylinder engine with a bore of 4 inches and a stroke of 3.48 inches will have a displacement of 349.8 ci.

The formula for engine displacement in cubic inches is:

\[Displacement = \pi \times \left(\frac{Bore}{2}\right)^2 \times Stroke \times Cylinders\]

… where each of your measurements is in inches.

The formula for engine displacement in cubic centimeters is:

\[Displacement = \frac{\pi \times \left(\frac{Bore}{2}\right)^2 \times Stroke \times Cylinders}{1,000}\]

… where each of your measurements is in millimeters.