Convert in³ to cm³ cubic inches ↔ cubic centimetres Free Online Secure
Type a value in cubic inches and read it in cubic centimetres at once. The factor is exact by definition, the arithmetic happens in your browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
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Common values — Convert in³ to cm³ (cubic inches ↔ cubic centimetres)
| in³ | cm³ |
|---|---|
| 1 | 16.387064 |
| 2 | 32.774128 |
| 3 | 49.161192 |
| 5 | 81.93532 |
| 10 | 163.87064 |
| 20 | 327.74128 |
| 50 | 819.3532 |
| 100 | 1638.7064 |
Where these units come from
The litre has an awkward history. From 1901 it was defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water at its densest, which sounds elegant but came out at 1.000028 cubic decimetres — close enough to be confusing and far enough to spoil careful work. In 1964 the definition was abandoned and the litre became exactly one cubic decimetre, which it has been ever since. The gallon has a messier story still: the US gallon descends from the English wine gallon of 231 cubic inches, while Britain redefined its own in 1824 as the volume of ten pounds of water. Nobody reconciled the two, so a US gallon is 3.785411784 litres and an imperial gallon 4.54609 — about a fifth larger. The gallon, pint, cup, fluid ounce and spoons on this page are the US ones.
Where you meet them
Millilitres and litres run through daily life almost invisibly: bottles, fuel, paint, dosage, the capacity of a kettle. Cubic metres belong to water bills, concrete, shipping and the air a ventilation system has to move. Cubic centimetres name engine displacement, cubic feet appear in freight and in appliance capacities, and cups and spoons live almost entirely in recipes — which is exactly where the difference between a US cup and a metric one quietly ruins a cake.
Questions people ask
How do cubic inches relate to engine size?
A cubic inch is exactly 16.387064 millilitres, so 61 cubic inches is almost exactly a litre. American engines were long described in cubic inches: a 350 is about 5.7 litres. The figure states displacement, the total volume swept by the pistons, and not the power of the engine.
What does cc mean on an engine?
It stands for cubic centimetres, the same as cm³, and it states the engine's displacement: the total volume swept by its pistons. A 1600 cc engine is a 1.6 litre engine. The figure is a measure of size and not of power, since two engines of the same displacement can differ greatly in output.
Is the answer exact?
Where both units are defined in terms of one another by whole numbers, yes — the page says so above the figure, and the only rounding is in how many digits are shown. Where the ratio has no finite decimal, the page shows twelve significant digits and says the relation is approximate rather than pretending otherwise.
Does anything I type leave my device?
No. The arithmetic runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no server to upload it to. Load the page once and it keeps working with the network switched off.
Big blocks and small blocks: the cubic-inch V8s in cubic centimetres
American engines were named by their size in cubic inches long before anyone talked about litres: the 289, the 350, the 427, the 454. A buyer in Europe, where registration papers, insurance and tax use cubic centimetres, needs to convert in³ to cm³ to know what the badge means. You multiply by 16.387064. The famous 350 is 5,735 cm³, which is 5.7 litres, the 427 is 6,997 cm³, nearly 7.0 litres, and the 454 is 7,440 cm³. This page multiplies as you type, and the text below walks through the engines that made the units famous, along with a few modern designs.
Here you will find the rule with examples, a note on each unit, a comparison, a gallery of engines and the slips to avoid. All arithmetic happens in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to convert in³ to cm³: multiply by 16.387064
The rule
One inch is exactly 2.54 centimetres, so a cubic inch is 2.54 cubed, which is 16.387064 cm³. To convert in³ to cm³, multiply the cubic inches by 16.387. So 100 in³ is 1,639 cm³, 300 in³ is 4,916 cm³ and 454 in³ is 7,440 cm³. To go the other way, multiply cubic centimetres by 0.0610237.
Worked examples
A 289 is 4,736 cm³. A 302 is 4,949 cm³, which is why it is sold as a 5.0 litre. A 383 is 6,276 cm³. A Harley-Davidson of 107 in³ is 1,753 cm³. For a quick estimate, multiply by 16 and add 2.5 percent: 350 in³ gives 5,600 plus 140, or 5,740 cm³, against 5,735 exactly.
Why not 2.54
The figure 2.54 turns inches into centimetres. A volume multiplies three lengths, so the factor is 2.54 cubed. If you use 2.54 on a displacement, the 350 becomes 889 cm³, which is clearly not an engine of that class.
A quick sanity test
The cubic centimetre is the smaller unit, so the number grows by roughly sixteen times. If your “convert in³ to cm³” calculation result grew only two or three times, you used the linear factor.
The cubic inch
An inch on each side
The cubic inch is the volume of a cube one inch on a side, 16.387 cm³. American and some British engine makers used it for engine displacement for most of the last century, and the habit survives in the badges of old and new cars.
Where it appears
Muscle cars, motorcycles, outboard motors, vintage manuals and parts catalogues.
The cubic centimetre
A centimetre on each side
The cubic centimetre, one millilitre, is the unit of engine displacement in most of the world, written cc or cm³. It sits behind the litre figure on most European badges: 1,598 cm³ becomes a 1.6.
Where it appears
Registration papers, insurance classes, tax tables, motorcycle licensing categories and reviews.
Cubic inch and cubic centimetre compared
A cubic inch holds nearly 16.4 cubic centimetres. A typical American V8 therefore has five to seven thousand cubic centimetres, while a European family car has a thousand or two. Putting the engine in the same unit shows right away how large the American unit really is.
The factor is not round, so mental conversions are approximate. Multiply by 16 and add a little for an estimate, and use 16.387064 for any figure that goes on a form.
Where the conversion appears
Classic V8s
The Chevrolet small blocks included the 283 (4,637 cm³), the 327 (5,359 cm³) and the 350 (5,735 cm³). Ford's 289 was 4,736 cm³, its 302 4,949 cm³ and its 351 5,751 cm³. The Chrysler 318 was 5,211 cm³, the 340 5,572 cm³ and the 383 6,276 cm³. The big blocks went up to 427 (6,997 cm³), 440 (7,210 cm³) and 454 (7,440 cm³).
Racing classes
The Trans-Am class in the 1960s was limited to 305 in³, which is 5,000 cm³, or five litres, and that is why the Camaro Z/28 carried a 302 detuned within the limit. NASCAR used 358 in³, 5,867 cm³, for decades. Class limits are always in one unit, and a “convert in³ to cm³” calculation makes entries from other series comparable.
Modern engines
A modern 5.3 litre LS V8 of 5,328 cm³ is 325 in³. A 7.0 litre LS7 is 427 in³. Harley-Davidson's Milwaukee-Eight comes as a 107 (1,753 cm³) and a 114 (1,868 cm³). The marketing names still use cubic inches for tradition, and the conversion is part of any specification sheet.
Bore, stroke and the arithmetic of a 350
A small-block 350 has a bore of 4.000 in (101.6 mm) and a stroke of 3.48 in (88.4 mm). The swept volume of one cylinder is π/4 times bore squared times stroke: 43.7 in³, or 716 cm³. Eight cylinders make 350 in³, 5,735 cm³. Engine builders who measure in inches and sell to a metric market produce both figures in the specifications for the same reason.
In a spreadsheet
Place the cubic inches in column A and use =A2*16.387064 in column B. For the reverse direction, =B2/16.387064. A third column with =B2/1000 gives litres. Format the cubic centimetres with no decimals and the litres with one, as an engine badge would. Keep the original in its own column to audit later.
Rounding
Round to the precision of the source. If an advert says 350, it gives three significant figures, so 5,735 cm³ or 5.7 L is enough. If a manual gives 350.0, you may report 5,735.47. The factor is exact, so rounding is your decision, but do it at the end of any longer calculation.
A mental shortcut
Multiply cubic inches by 16 and add 2.5 percent. For 400 in³, 6,400 plus 160 gives 6,560 cm³, against 6,555 exactly. For 305 in³, 4,880 plus 122 gives 5,002 cm³, against 4,998. The result is within a small fraction of a percent, which is as good as the rounding of an engine badge.
Reference values
100 in³ is 1,639 cm³, 200 in³ is 3,277 cm³, 300 in³ is 4,916 cm³, 350 in³ is 5,735 cm³, 400 in³ is 6,555 cm³, 454 in³ is 7,440 cm³ and 500 in³ is 8,194 cm³. These are the numbers you will see on most American engines of the muscle car era.
Checking by reversing
To check your “convert in³ to cm³” calculation result, divide it by 16.387. If a 350 gave 5,735 cm³, then 5,735 divided by 16.387 returns 350. A second check is the litre badge: 5,735 cm³ is 5.7 litres. If you end up with 0.57 or 57 litres, a decimal slipped.
Horsepower per cubic inch
Enthusiasts have long judged engines by how much power they extract from each cubic inch. One horsepower per cubic inch is the benchmark: a 350 making 350 hp is at 1 hp/in³, which is about 61 hp per litre, or 0.061 hp per cubic centimetre. Modern engines routinely beat this figure. To compare an American 5.7 and a European 2.0 turbo, convert in³ to cm³ for the first and divide the power by the result.
Boring and stroking
Boring a 350 by 0.030 in raises the bore to 4.030 in and the displacement to 355 in³, 5,822 cm³. A stroker kit with a 3.75 in crank and the same bore gives about 383 in³, 6,272 cm³. Builders talk in cubic inches, parts vendors in both units, and machine shops in thousandths of an inch, so a clear conversion of the final volume keeps everyone on the same page.
Aircraft engines
Light aircraft engines are named after their displacement as well. The Lycoming O-320 has 320 in³, 5,244 cm³. The O-360 has 361 in³, 5,916 cm³, and the Continental O-470 has 471 in³, 7,718 cm³. Pilots from Europe who buy an American aircraft find the engine described in cubic inches in the logbook, while the authority registering it may ask for litres.
Trucks and diesels
A diesel truck engine of 6.6 litres is 403 in³, and one of 5.9 litres is 360 in³. American advertising for pickups often lists displacement in litres now, but older engines carry cubic-inch names such as the 460 (7,538 cm³) or the 6.2 litre (379 in³). When a European importer reads the old paperwork, it helps to convert in³ to cm³ before asking how the vehicle should be classified.
Why Americans kept the cubic inch
The cubic inch fit the American habit of measuring everything in inches: bore and stroke were drawn in inches, and multiplying them gave a number that the buyer understood. Even after the industry went partly metric, the names of engines stayed. Today the unit lives on in badges, enthusiast clubs and race rules, which is why a conversion page is still useful decades after the last carburettor left the factory.
Why 302 is sold as 5.0
The Ford 302 has 302 in³, 4,949 cm³, which rounds to 4.9 litres, but the badge says 5.0 because the marketing department liked the round number. Chevrolet did the same with the 350, calling it a 5.7. These rounded litre names are not exact, and any registration paper will list the real cubic centimetres, so it is worth converting the original figure.
Engine size and insurance
Insurers in several countries group cars by engine capacity in cubic centimetres. A 289 at 4,736 cm³ sits far above a 2,000 cm³ family car, and its premium reflects that. Because the group is set by the figure on the registration, the owner of a car with a cubic-inch badge needs the exact conversion, not a rounded litre figure from the brochure, to read the bands correctly.
Engine swaps and parts matching
Swapping a 5.7 litre engine into a car originally built with a 4.7 litre unit changes the load on the front axle, the fuel system and the cooling. The change in displacement is 1,000 cm³, or about 61 in³, which is why people speak of "adding 60 cubes". Parts catalogues list gaskets, pistons and bearings by engine family, not by capacity, but the capacity tells you at once whether an engine is a candidate for the swap.
Reading displacement from the block
Many American blocks carry a casting number rather than the capacity, and the cubic-inch figure has to be looked up or measured. The simple measurement is bore and stroke: square the bore, multiply by 0.7854 and by the stroke, and multiply by the number of cylinders. The result is in cubic inches when the dimensions are in inches. Once you have it, convert in³ to cm³ with 16.387 to get the figure a European authority or insurer will ask for.
Trans-Am, the 305 limit and the 302
The Sports Car Club of America set a limit of 5.0 litres for its Trans-Am series, which is 305 in³. Chevrolet built the Camaro Z/28 with a 302 to stay under it. That is 4,949 cm³, comfortably below 5,000. The engine was thus a product of a number: a rule written in litres forced a design in cubic inches. A “convert in³ to cm³” calculation would have told the engineers at once how much margin they had.
Reading old advertisements
Period adverts boast "427 cubic inches" or "455 cubic inches of fury". Those engines are 6,997 and 7,456 cm³. For a European reader, the phrase "455" means a seven and a half litre engine, which is bigger than almost any truck engine of the time. Converting the old claims helps you judge whether they were truthful or exaggerated.
Small engines and the cubic inch
Outboard motors, lawn mowers and model aircraft engines also use cubic inches. A small outboard of 10 in³ has 164 cm³. A lawnmower engine of 12.5 in³ has 205 cm³. A model engine of .40 in³ has 6.55 cm³. Hobbyists importing parts need the conversion every time they cross the Atlantic.
Motorcycles
American motorcycles list engine size in cubic inches, 88, 96, 103, 107, 114. Those are 1,442, 1,573, 1,690, 1,753 and 1,868 cm³. An Italian sports bike of 1,100 cm³ is only 67 in³, so the American machines have engines of roughly one and a half times that size. Both sides compare power and torque, not capacity, but capacity is the first figure in any ad.
Compression and volume
A compression ratio of 10 to 1 on a 350 means that the combustion chamber is about 4.9 in³ per cylinder when the piston is at the top. In metric terms 80 cm³ of chamber for 716 cm³ of swept volume. The ratio is the same in any unit, but if the two figures come from different sources you have to convert in³ to cm³ for one of them first, or the ratio will be wrong.
Fuel and displacement
An engine of 350 in³ turning at 3,000 rpm draws in, in theory, 350 in³ every two revolutions. That is 525,000 in³ per minute, or 8.6 million cm³, 8.6 m³ per minute. Real engines fill their cylinders to about 80 to 90 percent at best. The numbers are used to size air filters and carburettors, and they come from both systems on a typical catalogue page.
Importing a classic car
A classic American car imported to Europe will have its engine size recorded in the registration documents in cubic centimetres, and tax or insurance categories may depend on it. A 289 becomes 4,736 cm³, which is placed in the highest tax band in many countries. Owners often ask whether the badge in cubic inches or the document in cubic centimetres is right. Both are, once you apply the factor correctly.
More values for convert in³ to cm³
A longer list of conversions
If the value you need is not in the first list, these further conversions may be close enough to read off directly:
- 0.1 in³ = 1.6387064 cm³
- 0.5 in³ = 8.193532 cm³
- 3 in³ = 49.161192 cm³
- 4 in³ = 65.548256 cm³
- 7 in³ = 114.709448 cm³
- 15 in³ = 245.80596 cm³
- 20 in³ = 327.74128 cm³
- 75 in³ = 1,229.0298 cm³
- 200 in³ = 3,277.4128 cm³
- 500 in³ = 8,193.532 cm³
- 2,000 in³ = 32,774.128 cm³
- 10,000 in³ = 163,870.64 cm³
Mistakes when you convert in³ to cm³
Using 2.54
That converts lengths. For volumes, multiply by 16.387064.
Dividing instead of multiplying
The cubic centimetre is the smaller unit, so the number grows. If 350 in³ became 21, you divided.
Trusting the badge
The badge is a marketing figure. Use the cubic inches in the specification, and convert those.
Quick answers
How many cubic centimetres are in a cubic inch?
16.387064.
How do I convert in³ to cm³?
Multiply by 16.387064.
How many cubic inches are in a cubic centimetre?
0.0610237.
What is a 350 cubic inch engine in cubic centimetres?
5,735 cm³.
Is the number I type uploaded?
No, it stays in your browser.
More pages and a closing note
For other volume conversions see Convert in³ to ft³, Convert ml to cm³, Convert m³ to cm³, Convert cm³ to m³, Convert km to mi, Convert mi to km, Convert °C to °F, Convert °F to °C, Convert Mach to m/s. The opposite direction is Convert cm³ to in³.
In short, you convert in³ to cm³ with 16.387064, which is 2.54 cubed. Your figure is calculated on your own device, with no account and nothing sent to a server.