Desaxe

If the offset is in the direction of rotation, it has the effect of increasing the leverage applied to the crankshaft during the "power" stroke, and reducing thrust wasted against the cylinder wall.

In a conventional four-stroke engine, each of the strokes (intake, compression, power, exhaust) involves a nominal rotation of 180°, totaling 720° for the complete 4-stroke combustion cycle.

The relative proportion of offset distance versus stroke length ranges from very small to almost 20%; viz.

[1] All single crank split-single engines such as those used by DKW and Puch had, by necessity, highly desaxe cylinders.

The Scuderi engine, as shown in the animated illustration, has highly desaxe cylinders.