Turbocharging and supercharging, grouped together under the forced-induction options, pump additional air into the engine, which increases the available oxygen and thus the amount of fuel that can be burned—resulting in more power when you want it and more efficiency when you don't need the power. Diesel engines do all this without spark plugs.
But no matter the engine, as long as it's of the internal-combustion variety, the basics of how it works remain the same. And now you know them. New Cars. Buyer's Guide. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. Getty Images. The Best. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Detailer. Meguiar's Water Magnet Microfiber Towel. Meguiar's Ultimate Interior Detailer. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses.
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For one, it will give you an advantage when you're buying a vehicle because you'll be able to compare different cars based on what's under the hood. When you own your own vehicle, knowing your way around the engine will make it easier to maintain the car and troubleshoot mechanical problems. Similarly, if you ever need to take your car in for repairs, being familiar with the engine will help you understand what work needs to be done and why. The majority of cars have four, six, or eight of them.
The cylinders are also equipped with valves that let in air and fuel, and allow exhaust to escape. The fuel inside the engine is ignited with spark plugs, and this combustion powers the motion of the pistons. Since vehicles generally have at least four cylinders that fire in succession, the cylinders are always going through different stages of the cycle, meaning there's always a piston moving to power the crankshaft. To learn more about your car and to gain driving skills that will keep you and others safe on the road, sign up for classes at Western Slope Driving School in Littleton.
Topics: Education. Revenue River Marketing. Yet after more than a century of automotive progress, reciprocating pistons continue to produce most of the power that moves us. Applications: Ford Fiesta shown , Focus. Applications: Ford F, Mustang shown. As the workload for pistons increases, so do the demands on connecting rods. Higher combustion pressures translate to greater stresses on the sticks linking the pistons to the crank.
With the rare exception of exotic titanium pieces, connecting rods are typically either made from powdered steel, compressed and heated in a mold, or forged from steel stock for higher-performance applications. The major technological shift is cracked big-end caps for both powdered-metal and forged connecting rods. Previously the rod and the crank-pin end cap were manufactured as separate pieces. Rods with cracked caps come out of the mold as a single, box-wrench-shaped piece.
The crank-pin end is etched, then snapped in two with a press. The resulting irregular surface improves the alignment; yields a more secure cap-to-rod connection; and allows for a more slender, lighter connecting-rod assembly. Nonmetallic Pistons: Ceramics and composites offer the allure of lower thermal expansion, lighter weight, and higher strength and stiffness compared with aluminum.
In the s, Mercedes-Benz used a German government grant to create a E engine with carbon-composite pistons that ran for 15, miles without issue. While the technology is sound, manufacturing was the limiting factor.
The alternative was a time-consuming hand lay-up process. With no new Mazda RX on the horizon, our only hope for a rotary revival appears to be Audi, which teased us with a Wankel-type range extender in its Audi A1 e-tron plug-in hybrid concept. Oval Pistons: During a time when two-stroke motorcycle engines were the norm, Honda brought a four-stroke to the World Motorcycle Grand Prix in The bikes regularly retired from World GP races and occasionally failed to qualify.
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