Category Archives: Engine

Many modern vehicles have forced induction systems, often referred to as superchargers or turbochargers. While some people do not understand the distinction between supercharged engines and turbocharged engines, the truth is that there are many key differences that make supercharged engines ideal for some applications while turbocharged engines tend to be better for other applications. In order to understand supercharged engines better, it is important to understand how engines work.

Engines burn fuel but require air for combustion. The more air and fuel that can be combusted in any period of time, the more powerful the output of the engine. Pistons are sleeved in cylinders, and are usually connected in two sets in such a fashion that when one set is going up,… Continue Reading…

Beginning in 1963 and continuing through 1973 more than 300 alternatives to then current automotive engines were investigated by General Motors. In 1973 development began on a particular engine which would ultimately become the Vortec engine. By the mid 1980s General Motors had developed and introduced to the automotive world, piston engines which were designed to give owners more effective combinations of fuel and air. This was the Vortec engine.

These patented products came from vortex technology that was developed simultaneously by two scientists seeking a way to generate an adequate replacement for fossil fuels, Louis M. Michaud in Canada and Norman Louat in Australia. The concept of vortex generating power actually was first suggested by Shivkar Baupii Talpade, a student of Sanskrit, born in Bombay in 1864. Talpade was intrigued by the research of Maharishi Bhardwaja and the then unknown field of Aeronautical Science.

Michaud and Louat both suggested… Continue Reading…

The term “engine misfire” is used to describe incomplete combustion within the cylinder. Most often, a driver will feel a sharp jerking action from the engine or power train when a misfire is occurring. There are a number of causes of engine misfire, including a miss-timed combustion event. Here are the four main causes of misfire along with an explanation of the problem.

Ignition misfire is probably the most common reason an engine misfires and occurs when the spark plugs, distributor cap and rotor, ignition cables and ignition coil wear over a period of time. As these parts wear, their ability to transfer the ignition spark to ignite the fuel and air mixture in the combustion chamber becomes affected and lessens. In the beginning, the spark will only begin to weaken and the misfiring event may not even be noticed. Slowly, however, the parts will wear further and the misfire… Continue Reading…

A two stroke engine, also known as a two cylinder engine, is a smaller version of the traditional four stroke engine that is used in most automobiles. Basically, the two stroke engine uses two strokes of the piston to create the combustion that is necessary to drive the motor. Two stroke engines are used in small machines, like lawn mowers, and in large machines like ships. The two stroke engine has qualities that make it ideal for industrial machinery, as well.

The Difference Between a Two Stroke and Four Stroke Engine

The main difference between a two stroke and a four stroke engine is the number of times the piston has to pump in order to drive the engine. A two stroke engine utilizes exactly half the number of piston strokes to create the necessary power. This distinction requires that the two stroke engine be configured a little differently than… Continue Reading…

Horsepower is a necessity for drivers seeking a car able to accelerate quickly and have overall excellent engine performance. The higher the horsepower number is, the better the performance by the car is. The most recent list from Autobytel of the top 7 cars with the most horsepower includes:

1. Bugatti Veyron – Significantly exceeding its second-place competitor, the Veyron is the only 8.0L engine car on the list with a four-digit horsepower number. At 1,001 horsepower, the Veyron is a manual transmission vehicle averaging 8 mpg in-city and 14 on the highway. Priced a little over $1.5 million, this car is purely a novelty item and is certainly not an everyday mode of transportation for the average person.

2. Lamborghini Murcielago – This sleek-looking manual transmission vehicle has a horsepower of 632 and a 6.5L engine. In addition to the horsepower number being lower,… Continue Reading…

Many people think that the displacement of an engine is the only way to tell whether a particular block is defined as ‘big’ or ‘small.’ Sadly, this is not only a false assumption, it can be patently incorrect even within a single lineup of engines from the same era. For example, in the 1960s and 1970s there were 400 cubic inch small block motors and 396 inch big block motors from the same vendor. So what does it take to qualify as a big block engine?

Essentially a big block engine is just what its name states: an engine bored from a big block of metal. A small block is bored and refined out of a small block of metal, and different manufacturers have defined those block sizes differently for their own purposes. Further complicating the matter is the fact that manufacturers have refined their definitions over time. Still, the… Continue Reading…

We live rushed lives, always on the run, looking at the clock. Sometimes, due to the speed of the lives we live, accidents happen, mishaps, such as putting diesel in your gas engine car. Although diesel pumps have a bigger nozzle, it may happen. You may get into a panic mode, thinking that you have ruined your mode of transportation. However, you can do a few things.

Diesel is designed for higher torque and power train engines. They need a higher compression ratio to start. Diesel does not need a spark to start. Gasoline does not provide this characteristic. Diesel is wax- like and it is necessary to lubricate the fuel injectors and diesel injection pump. Gasoline is not like that, therefore, gas engines require a spark to start, which diesel cannot provide. You cannot start a diesel engine with regular gas; it will die and fail. Regular gasoline does… Continue Reading…

As many modern motorcycles no longer utilize two-stroke engines, most scooters often do. Lots of outdoor power equipment, like snow-blowers and chainsaws additionally utilize two-stroke engines. As their construction is plainer than four-stroke engines, it is still vital to understand what the function of each of the parts makes up, in order to obtain a better knowledge of how the engine will work as a whole.

Two- Stroke Engine Basics

Like other kinds of engines, a two-stroke engine possesses a crankcase which protects and surrounds all the other portions of the engine. In the interior, it possesses a single piston, connecting rod and a crankshaft. It additionally has a cylinder, intake port, a reed valve and an exhaust port—all in addition to the combustion chamber, where the power is produced which moves whatever the engine is powering.

Two- Stroke Engine Crankshaft

The two-stroke engine crankshaft rotates, moving the piston by… Continue Reading…

Engine knocking can be devastating to your car when the fuel air charge is ignited by the spark plug, the spark plug releases to early, and an air pocket explodes outside of the normal combustion front. When this happens, the car will make a metallic pinging sound. This causes the cylinder pressure to increase dramatically and will cause damage to parts of your engine. The pollution caused by engine knocking can release poisonous gases called nitrogen oxide and unburned hydrocarbons into the air causing breathing and asthma problems.

This is not a sound or a smell that anyone wants to experience. The engine knocking usually occurs after a person applies pressure to their gas pedal. The sound of an engine knocking can be described as a sound of spray paint being shaken while accelerating the gas.

Replacing the whole engine of a car is not recommended because the knocking may… Continue Reading…

Of the various types of engines that your car can contain, three are well known to most people. The inline four cylinder engine, the V8, and the V6 are these commonly known types of engines. Second in popularity only to the four cylinder inline is the V6 engine. This article answers the question what is a V6 engine and offers some explanation for how it works.

V6 Engine Defined

V6 engines are V types of engines which possess six different cylinders that are mounted atop the crankcase. The configuration for these cylinders is commonly three cylinders in two banks. They are typically arrayed at either an acute angle to one another, or at a right angle. The six pistons work together to drive a common crankshaft.

Utility of the V6 Engine

Among the many helpful features of the V6 engine is the fact that it proves to be among the… Continue Reading…

In the last two decades engine technology has been progressing at breakneck speed. Each year the automobile industry refines engine technology with new fuel systems and computer modules that improve power and gas mileage. However, the fundamentals of the internal combustion engine have not changed in nearly a century, and the heart of every automobile is still a four-stroke gasoline engine.

To understand how a four-stroke engine operates we must first understand how an engine generates power. It may come as a surprise, but a gasoline engine is essentially a contained explosion! The explosion is contained within the engine’s cylinders, where gasoline is compressed by a piston and burned. This process takes four steps or strokes to produce power: the intake stroke, compression stroke, power stroke, and the exhaust stroke. Next we will look at each.

Intake Stroke

Before gasoline can be burned it must first enter the engine. Each… Continue Reading…

A rebuilt engine is one (usually with low mileage) that has been dismantled, cleaned, inspected, and its parts repaired or replaced to meet current manufacturer’s specifications. Rebuilding an engine takes a lot of time by skilled technicians. However, it is still less expensive than purchasing a new replacement engine–or buying a new car. Because the rebuilding process means some parts may be brand new, slightly used, or original to the engine that has been rebuilt, most manufacturers offer a warranty on their rebuilt engines, but not covering the same time frame as a new engine. Installing a rebuilt engine in your car will extend its life. It is a very cost effective solution if you know you have serious problems with your current engine.

To qualify as “rebuilt” or remanufactured, the engine will be worked over by a mechanic who will either save, replace or fix the… Continue Reading…

When it comes to large engines, there are a few key varieties to choose from: big blocks and small blocks. Unfortunately, figuring out which block is big or small is a difficult task, especially since there is no single universal standard to adhere to. Even standards offered by individual automobile manufacturers seem to evolve over time, especially as new materials are developed. Even the displacement of an engine is not a surefire way to tell the difference between small blocks and big blocks.

The best way to differentiate small blocks from big blocks is to compare the two side by side, but only from within the same generation and make. For example, comparing a few early 1980s Chevy blocks side by side should be an effective way to tell which engines are formed from a small block and which are made from a large block. The small block engines will… Continue Reading…

You may have heard of the number “350” thrown around, especially if you’re listening in on conversations about cars. If you aren’t an enthusiast or just not well versed in the various terms and slang for cars, you probably won’t have any idea that it was the heart that powered most American cars and trucks since the late 1960s, or that its still popular today among racers and performance enthusiasts.

“350” refers to the ubiquitous 350 cubic inch small block Chevy engine. Most enthusiasts refer to the small block by its cubic inch displacement, which happens to translate to 5.7 liters using metric measurements. This engine happens to be one of the most popular, well known and sought after engines in the United States and the world over. The 350 has been in production in one form or another over a span of four decades, with constant variations and improvements… Continue Reading…

Engine Pinging can result from a number of different causes but in a general sense it almost always has to do with the valve train and pistons. These two systems are intimately related – the valves open to bring in gasoline saturated air at an opportune moment so that the piston can compress it with its down stroke while the spark plug explodes the fuel/air mixture. This explosion in turn sends the piston back up and the exhaust valve opens to expel the burnt or used up fuel/air. In a properly timed and functioning system this all occurs at the exact right moments to maximize the mechanical power generated by the exploding fuel. Afterwards the process is repeated with more fuel/air let in again by the valves. This entire process is what generates the mechanical action that turns the crank shaft and finally the wheels of the car causing locomotion.… Continue Reading…