Does that same formula work on our 6 cyl cars ? V-8s ?
Yup. The formula is based on the fact that the crankshaft turns twice as fast as the camshaft.
Counting the number of times the rocker goes up and down determines the number of times the camshaft rotates in six seconds.
Multiply the six seconds times 10, you now have how many times the camshaft is turning in 60 seconds (one minute).
Multiply the number of rotations of the camshaft by two and you have the number of rotations of the crankshaft in one minute (RPM).
When I take one of my old trucks to the local High School Auto Shop and I have the engine running, I tell the students that shop manual says to set the idle at 300 RPM with the spark retarded. But, of course, there's no tachometer, so Chevrolet provided a simple way to determine the RPM.
In the manual, it actually says to grab one of the rocker arms between your thumb and index finger.

;-) Dean