Pure purpose built racing V8 engines tend to use the flat 180 degree crankshaft for lower rotating mass and even exhaust tuning on each bank of cylinders for greater power and engine acceleration. This includes Forumula 1 and later Indy V8 engines, unless rules mandated the 90 degree "stock style" crankshaft configuration. The detrimental effect is engine vibration. Back in the sixties, V8 engines racing engines with 90 degree crankshafts use in mid-engine cars, such as the Ford GT40 and Indy cars, had the elaborate exhaust systems on the rear of the engine with 2 headers from each bank of cylinders to each collector. To my knowledge the results of even exhaust pulses is still advantageous. Exhaust tuning is fairly complicated, so individual results must be viewed with scrutiny.
http://www.e31.net/engines_e.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V8 On the first website, the information stating that all boxer engines can be perfectly balanced (without balance shafts) is incorrect. A flat four cylinder engine cannot be balanced completely.
