Mitsubishi V6 2.5 SOHC with 24 valves?

[flamingm0]

I've been looking at a Mitsubishi Galant with 2.5 V6. The car's engine has 24 valves yet has single overhead cams on each bank. Isn't this a little unusual? Most V6's I have come across (eg. Ford Duratec) are DOHC on each bank. So if you have a SOHC and DOHC V6 engine both with 24 valves, which in theory is best? How do they do all those valves with one camshaft? What's the general opinion on this Mitsy engine, any particular weakness?

[bor]

The single cam will lie approx between both sets of valves, operating each set using rocker arms.

Advantages: Packaging - more compact engine. Cost - one cam per bank instead of two.

Disadvantages: No facility to alter inlet and exhaust timing relative to each other. Possibly higher masses in valvetrain/lower rev limit due to longer, less rigid rocker arms.

Relatively common set up particularly on Japanese engines, not really worth worrying about.

[flamingm0]

Thanks for your helpful reply! Interesting approach that makes sense.