Have
you ever opened the hood of your car and wondered
what was going on in there? A
car engine can look like a big confusing jumble
of metal, tubes and wires to the uninitiated. You
might want to know what's going on in there simply
out of curiosity. After all, you ride in your car
every day -- wouldn't it be nice to know how it
works? Or maybe you are tired of going to the mechanic
and hearing things that are totally meaningless
to you and then paying $750 for whatever that stuff
means. Or perhaps you are buying a new car, and
you hear funny words like "3.0 liter V-6"
and "dual overhead cams" and "tuned
port fuel injection.
"
What does all of that mean? "
If you have ever wondered about
this kind of stuff, then read on! In this edition
of HowStuffWorks, we'll discuss the basic idea behind
an engine, and then go into detail about how all the
pieces fit together, what can go wrong and how to
increase performance!
Introduction to How Car Engines
Work