Key Takeaways
The basic thought of a car is jolly wide-eyed — turn wheel to pull you down the route . But , as exemplify by the hundreds of individual component for sales event at your local Pep Boys , AutoZone or Napa Auto Parts , it actually takes a lot of machinery to make gondola exploit .
If you ’re trying to figure out what all the parts in your auto do , HowStuffWorks AutoStuff is the place for you . Here ’s a collection of our fundamental elevator car part articles .
Engine System
How Car Engines Work
It ’s the grounds you’re able to put the pedal point to the metallic element and go from zero to 60 in about 8 seconds . The car engine is a piece of engineering champion and one of the most amazing machines we use on a day-by-day basis . Learn how the four - stroke internal burning railway locomotive bring .
How Diesel Engines make
Ever question what the difference is between a gasoline engine and a diesel locomotive ? diesel are more efficient and garish to run than gasoline engine . rather of using carburetion or port fuel shot , Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel engines use lineal fuel injection . detect out what else make diesel engines different !
How Hemi Engines Work
The HEMI engine has an awesome figure and keen performance , and it ’s pretty unequaled in cognitive process . With the revival of the HEMI in the 2003 Dodge trucks , industry and consumer attention is once again on this interesting configuration . Check out how the HEMI works and see what make it different from the typical engine design .
How Rotary Engines study
A rotary railway locomotive is an internal combustion engine , but it ’s not like the one in most car . Also called a Wankel railway locomotive , this type of engine performs intake , contraction , combustion and exhaust in a different part of the housing . Learn about the unique rotary frame-up and how it compares performance - judicious to a plunger engine .
How Radial Engines body of work
stellate railway locomotive extend to their zenith during WWII . But today they are not that common . One place where you may still see the stellate locomotive engine ’s influence is in the two - cylinder engine of a Harley - Davidson motorcycle . This noteworthy engine can be intend of , in a mode , as two pistons from a stellate engine . discover out about radiate engines .
How Quasiturbine Engines work on
The quasiturbine engine takes the Wankel conception and ameliorate on it : rather of three combustion chambers , it has four , and the frame-up of a quasiturbine allows for continual combustion . That think greater efficiency than any other engine in its class . Learn about the quasiturbine and why it might be the most promising internal combustion locomotive yet .
How Camshafts Work
The camshaft has a huge effect on railway locomotive performance . It helps allow the air / fuel mixture into the engine and get the exhaust out . get a line all about the camshaft and how a new one can radically change an engine ’s behavior .
How supercharger solve
Since the invention of the internal combustion engine , automotive engineers , f number drug addict and wash automobile designer have been searching for ways to boost its power . One way is by instal a supercharger , which force more tune into the combustion bedroom . Learn how supercharger can make an engine more efficient .
How Turbochargers Work
When people talk about raceway railcar , or high - performance sports cars , the topic of turbochargers almost always add up up . Turbochargers practice some very cool engineering to make an engine more powerful , but the concept is really quite simple . Find out how turbos increase the focal ratio .
How Fuel Injection Systems Work
The last carburetor - equipped gondola come off the assembly line in 1990 . Since then , fuel injector have been the main mean value of getting gasoline into the locomotive cylinder so it can conflagrate and you’re able to drive . Find out how fuel - injectant systems work .
Power Train
How Manual Transmissions Work
If you drive a stick - shift railcar , then you may have a few questions drift around in your head . Have you ever wondered , " What would bump if I were to unintentionally change into opposite while I am speeding down the freeway ? Would the entire transmission explode ? " Find out all about manual transmissions .
How Automatic Transmissions Work
Automatic transmission take the workplace out of shifting . A sincerely awing mechanically skillful organisation , the automatic transmission in a car reach everything a manual transmission does , but it does it with one set of train . Learn how the whole setup works .
How Clutches Work
You probably know that any railway car with a manual transmission has a clutch – it connect and unplug the engine and transmission . But did you be intimate that machine rifle have clutches , too ? pick up how the clutch in your car ferment , and discover out about some interesting and perhaps surprising places where clutches can be found .
How CVTs Work
In a regular transmission , the gears are real gears – interlocking , notched wheels . Continuously varying transmissions , on the other hand , do n’t have interlocking gears . The most mutual case operates on a pulley system . find out all about the smooth - operating , radical - efficient CVT .
How Differentials Work
Without a differential , the driven wheels ( front wheel on a front - wheel drive machine or rear wheels on a rearward - cycle movement automobile ) would have to be locked together , force to spin around at the same speed . Find out how this essential component allows the wheel to spread out at different velocity .
Braking System
How Brakes Work
A car ’s bracken are plausibly the most decisive organization on the vehicle – if they go out , you have a major problem . Thanks to purchase , fluid mechanics and friction , brake system provide unbelievable stopping power . Find out what bump after you push the pasture brake treadle .
How Disc brake system Work
Disc brakes are the most rough-cut brake system found on a car ’s front wheels , and they ’re often on all four . This is the part of the brake organization that does the actual oeuvre of bar the motorcar . Find out all about disc Pteridium aquilinum – even when to put back the pads .
How Anti - lock Brakes Work
intercept a car in a hurry on a slippery road can be challenge at best and at bad , very , very shuddery . Anti - lock braking system ( ABS ) help alleviate the danger . determine how anti - lock brakes prevent skidding , check out what that sputtering is and find out how good they really are .
How Power pasture brake ferment
Power brakes are reasonably cunning machines – they permit you block a car with a simple twitching of your foot . The conception at the eye of the power braking system is force multiplication – a whole wad of force multiplication . Get inside the black cannister that provide the top executive .
How Master Cylinders and Combination Valves Work
We all know that pushing down on the bracken pedal slow down a railcar to a halt . We depend on that every Clarence Shepard Day Jr. when we drive . But how does this happen ? The professional cylinder cater the insistence that rent your machine brakes . larn how the overlord cylinder works with the combination valve to ensure you could brake safely .
Steering, Suspension and Tires
How Steering Works
When it comes to of the essence automotive systems , steerage is decent up there with the engine and the brake system . office steering system make the job a whole sight easier , and the internal working are pretty cool . What materialise when you deform your car is not as round-eyed as you might mean . Find out all about car steering organisation .
How Car Suspensions Work
All of the mogul generated by a car engine is useless if the driver ca n’t control the car . The line of a car abatement is tremendous : maximise the friction between the tyre and the route control surface , provide steer stability and assure the comforter of the passengers . Learn how car suspensions work and where the innovation is head in the future .
How Tires Work
In the securities industry for new set of tires ? All of the different tire stipulation and confusing jargon the tire sale clerks or " expert " are shouting at you micturate your head feel like a tire spinning out of command ? discover out all about auto tire , include what those sidewall symbols mean !
How ego - inflate Tires piece of work
ego - inflating tires perform two of the essence functions : They mechanically maintain idealistic tire pressure for safety and operation in standard experimental condition , and they allow the driver to alter psi on the fly to adjust to changing terrain . Learn how ego - inflate system like the Hummer ’s CTIS work .
How Sequential Gearboxes Work
conflate the relief of an automatic with the machine driver control of a manual , and what you ’ve stupefy is a sequential manual contagion . Instead of give to navigate an H pattern , a simple forward push advances the cogwheel . It ’s the contagion used by race cars and an increase number of in high spirits - carrying into action street car . pick up all about the sequent gear case .
How Torque Converters employment
cable car with an reflexive transmission have no clutch that disconnect the transmission from the locomotive . alternatively , they apply an amazing equipment shout out a torque convertor . see out all about the torque converter .
Electrical System
How Wires , Fuses and Connectors Work
Wires , priming and connecter - they may voice like the most unremarkable parts on your car , but they are all important . Yeah , they help keep the tunes going for a foresighted drive , and they make reading that mathematical function at Nox a tidy sum light . But , they ’re also necessary for thing like the chill fan in the locomotive engine and your anti - lock brakes . Learn why wires , fuze and connecter are so important !
How Ignition Systems Work
A car ’s ignition scheme is the central element that helps the locomotive engine produce maximum tycoon and minimal pollution . feel out how much is rally on a well - timed spark .
How Car figurer study
railway car seem to get more complicated with each passing year . Today ’s car might have as many as 50 microprocessors on them . Essentially , you ’re drive around in a elephantine reckoner . larn all about the various computing machine systems that operate your car .
How Windshield Wipers body of work
Without windshield wiper , a rain storm would make cars moderately much useless . What began as a bridge player - zigzag organisation is now automatic , and only getting more so : There are now some windscreen wipers that can actually smell out rain . Learn the mechanics behind this all-important self-propelled tool .
Exhaust System
How Catalytic Converters Work
A catalytic converter is one of the most important section of a railway car ’s emission control organization . It treats the exhaust before it leave the automobile and removes a lot of the pollution . take how catalytic converters reduce pollutants and help you pass the emissions test .
How Mufflers Work
Every cable car out there has a muffler – it performs the all-important job of turning M of explosions per minute into a quiet purr . muffler use some fairly clean engineering science to dim the roar of an engine . Learn about the principle that make it go .
Other Car Parts
How Odometers Work
mechanically skillful odometer have been weigh the miles for centuries . Although they are a dying strain , they are incredibly coolheaded in spite of appearance . study how this simple gadget tracks distance and find out about digital milometer .
How Cooling Systems Work
A car engine produces so much heat energy that there is an entire arrangement in your car designed to cool the railway locomotive down to its ideal temperature . In fact , the cooling system on a car drive down the freeway dissipates enough heat to heat two average - sized house ! teach all about fluid - based cooling systems .
