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.
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Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. As the name implies, the system only requires two piston movements in order to generate power. The main differentiating factor that allows the two stroke engine to function with only two piston movements is that the exhaust and intake of the gas occurs simultaneously, [6] as seen in Figure 3. The piston itself is utilized as the valve of the system, along with the crankshaft , to direct the flow of the gases.
In addition, due to its frequent contact with moving components, the fuel is mixed with oil to add lubrication, allowing smoother strokes. Overall two-stroke engine contains two processes:. In this type of engine, there is a rotor inner circle labeled "B" in Figure 4 which is contained in an oval shaped housing. It performs the common four-stroke cycle steps intake, compression, ignition, exhaust however, these steps occur 3 times per one spin of the rotor —creating three power strokes per rotation.
Fossil Fuels. Nuclear Fuels. Acid Rain. Climate Change. Climate Feedback. Ocean Acidification. Rising Sea Level. Without a muffler, what you would hear is the sound of thousands of small explosions coming out your tailpipe. A muffler dampens the sound. The emission control system in modern cars consists of a catalytic converter , a collection of sensors and actuators, and a computer to monitor and adjust everything.
For example, the catalytic converter uses a catalyst and oxygen to burn off any unused fuel and certain other chemicals in the exhaust. An oxygen sensor in the exhaust stream makes sure there is enough oxygen available for the catalyst to work and adjusts things if necessary.
Besides gas, what else powers your car? The electrical system consists of a battery and an alternator. The alternator is connected to the engine by a belt and generates electricity to recharge the battery. The battery makes volt power available to everything in the car needing electricity the ignition system, radio, headlights, windshield wipers , power windows and seats, computers , etc. Now that you know all about the main engine subsystems, let's look at ways that you can boost engine performance.
Using all of this information, you can begin to see that there are lots of different ways to make an engine perform better. Increase displacement: More displacement means more power because you can burn more gas during each revolution of the engine. You can increase displacement by making the cylinders bigger or by adding more cylinders. Twelve cylinders seems to be the practical limit. Increase the compression ratio: Higher compression ratios produce more power, up to a point.
Higher-octane gasolines prevent this sort of early combustion. That is why high-performance cars generally need high-octane gasoline — their engines are using higher compression ratios to get more power. Stuff more into each cylinder: If you can cram more air and therefore fuel into a cylinder of a given size, you can get more power from the cylinder in the same way that you would by increasing the size of the cylinder without increasing the fuel required for combustion.
Turbochargers and superchargers pressurize the incoming air to effectively cram more air into a cylinder. Cool the incoming air: Compressing air raises its temperature. However, you would like to have the coolest air possible in the cylinder because the hotter the air is, the less it will expand when combustion takes place. Therefore, many turbocharged and supercharged cars have an intercooler.
An intercooler is a special radiator through which the compressed air passes to cool it off before it enters the cylinder. Let air come in more easily: As a piston moves down in the intake stroke, air resistance can rob power from the engine. Air resistance can be lessened dramatically by putting two intake valves in each cylinder. Some newer cars are also using polished intake manifolds to eliminate air resistance there. Bigger air filters can also improve air flow.
Let exhaust exit more easily: If air resistance makes it hard for exhaust to exit a cylinder, it robs the engine of power. Air resistance can be lessened by adding a second exhaust valve to each cylinder. A car with two intake and two exhaust valves has four valves per cylinder, which improves performance. When you hear a car ad tell you the car has four cylinders and 16 valves, what the ad is saying is that the engine has four valves per cylinder.
If the exhaust pipe is too small or the muffler has a lot of air resistance, this can cause back-pressure, which has the same effect. High-performance exhaust systems use headers, big tail pipes and free-flowing mufflers to eliminate back-pressure in the exhaust system. When you hear that a car has "dual exhaust," the goal is to improve the flow of exhaust by having two exhaust pipes instead of one.
Make everything lighter: Lightweight parts help the engine perform better. Each time a piston changes direction, it uses up energy to stop the travel in one direction and start it in another.
The lighter the piston, the less energy it takes. This results in better fuel efficiency as well as better performance. Inject the fuel: Fuel injection allows very precise metering of fuel to each cylinder.
This improves performance and fuel economy. The number of cylinders that an engine contains is an important factor in the overall performance of the engine.
Each cylinder contains a piston that pumps inside of it and those pistons connect to and turn the crankshaft. The more pistons there are pumping, the more combustive events are taking place during any given moment.
That means that more power can be generated in less time. Four-cylinder engines commonly come in "straight" or "inline" configurations while 6-cylinder engines are usually configured in the more compact "V" shape, and thus are referred to as V6 engines. V6 engines were the engine of choice for American automakers because they're powerful and quiet, but turbocharging technologies have made four-cylinder engines more powerful and attractive to buyers.
Historically, American auto consumers turned their noses up at four-cylinder engines, believing them to be slow, weak, unbalanced and short on acceleration. However, when Japanese auto makers, such as Honda and Toyota, began installing highly efficient four-cylinder engines in their cars in the s and '90s, Americans found a new appreciation for the compact engine.
Japanese models, such as the Toyota Camry, began quickly outselling comparable American models. Modern four-cylinder engines use lighter materials and turbocharging technology, like Ford's EcoBoost engine, to eke V-6 performance from more efficient four-cylinder engines. Advanced aerodynamics and technologies, such as those used by Mazda in its SKYACTIV designs , put less stress on these smaller turbocharged engines, further increasing their efficiency and performance.
As for the future of the V6, in recent years the disparity between four-cylinder and V6 engines has lessened considerably. But V-6 engines still have their uses, and not only in performance cars. Trucks that are used to tow trailers or haul loads need the power of a V-6 to get those jobs done.
Power in those cases is more important than efficiency. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Under the Hood. Types of Engines. How Car Engines Work. Mercedes AMG. There are different kinds of internal combustion engines.
Diesel engines are one type and gas turbine engines are another. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
There is also the external combustion engine. The steam engine in old-fashioned trains and steam boats is the best example of an external combustion engine. The fuel coal, wood, oil in a steam engine burns outside the engine to create steam, and the steam creates motion inside the engine. Internal combustion is a lot more efficient than external combustion, plus an internal combustion engine is a lot smaller. Internal Combustion The principle behind any reciprocating internal combustion engine: If you put a tiny amount of high-energy-density fuel like gasoline in a small, enclosed space and ignite it, an incredible amount of energy is released in the form of expanding gas.
Intake stroke Compression stroke Combustion stroke Exhaust stroke. The piston starts at the top, the intake valve opens, and the piston moves down to let the engine take in a cylinder full of air and gasoline. This is the intake stroke. Only the tiniest drop of gasoline needs to be mixed into the air for this to work. Compression makes the explosion more powerful.
Part 2 of the animation When the piston reaches the top of its stroke, the spark plug emits a spark to ignite the gasoline. The gasoline charge in the cylinder explodes , driving the piston down. Part 3 of the animation Once the piston hits the bottom of its stroke, the exhaust valve opens and the exhaust leaves the cylinder to go out the tailpipe. Part 4 of the animation. Basic Engine Parts " ". Figure 2. Inline: The cylinders are arranged in a line in a single bank.
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