Radial tires are a Michelin invention. Tires are the most important component found on your car and are sometimes still overlooked. They are the only way the car touches the ground to create grip. Thus, tires were a significant concern for engineers, who managed to discover and revolutionize the tire … Read more
Torque wrenches are most often used in automotive applications, but can also be applied in tasks where a certain amount of torque is required on a bolt or nut. Knowing how these tools work and selecting the right one for your tool cabinet can be a very rewarding endeavor. The … Read more
Let’s take a look at one automotive item we take for granted that has changed a lot since it was first created. In an increasingly digital age, car keys have gone from something totally foreign to us today to fobs that can start a car from inside your home on … Read more
There are many things we see in our day to day life but rarely give much thought to. This is a shame, because what we take for granted today was often not even imagined throughout most of history. One really good example of this is roads. We walk on them, … Read more
Back in the 1980s, cars and vans began to employ darker window tints as a means of boosting privacy and adding a little more insulation to the single-pane windows. Gone were the days of having to hang actual curtains in your station wagon or van, and the improved affordability meant … Read more
Cars are like ballerinas. They got their own feet, with their own toes that point in or out. They can dance around the track, or fail terribly and break their ankles. The difference between proper toe settings and a miserable failure can be a matter of a few degrees when … Read more
One of the most misunderstood of all automotive concepts is front-end alignment. The term front-end alignment refers to the orientation of a vehicle’s front wheels, in relation to the road ahead, as well as the rest of the vehicle itself. The alignment of a vehicle’s front tires directly dictates the … Read more
It’s scary. A suspension word that could be pivotal to your car’s handling…or is it a natural remedy for constipation? Although the latter would be a fun read, it’s more suspension-related and plays a great deal into your vehicle’s handling and driving characteristics. Related – Average Cost of a Wheel … Read more
With Ford’s recent launch of the F-150 Lightning pickup, the most popular vehicle in North America has gone electric. With 200,000 reservations for the all-electric truck already logged, the release is seen as a bellwether for consumer acceptance of electric vehicles—EVs have officially gone mainstream. The increasing electrification of the … Read more
Many people consider dual-clutch transmissions to be just as engaging as regular manual transmissions but without any of the downsides. To some extent, that’s true. That’s what helped Audi dominate the Group B rally scene in 1985. Dual-clutch transmissions are one of the few choices around that allow you to … Read more
Car manufacturers are pushing subscriptions on buyers to bolster their bottom lines. If automakers have their way, you may soon pay a monthly charge for heated seats, remote start, infotainment system connectivity, and a host of other features or services included in the upfront price. Yes, tomfoolery abounds in an … Read more
The winch is something that you must need if you love to go off-roading on a regular basis. Just imagine your car or jeep has been stuck on a muddy road and not moving an inch. What will you do in that situation? For such problems, self-recovery tools are a … Read more
Restraint systems and what they represent. When it comes to car safety, you need to know a few key things. One of those is the difference between primary and secondary restraint systems. In this blog post, we will discuss the purpose of each system and how they work together to … Read more
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a centrifugal clutch and a torque converter? In this article, we will discuss the differences between these two types of mechanical devices, their pros, cons, and application. Centrifugal clutch Torque converter Mechanism Centrifugal force Hydraulic power Gear ratio Fixed Variable … Read more
Did you know that the discovery of safety glass was accidental? In 1903, Edouard Benedictus was doing some experiments using glass flasks in his laboratory. The French chemist decided to add a transparent coating to one of the flasks. He accidentally hit it, and the flask fell from his work … Read more
Thanks to strict pollution norms enforced around the globe, catalytic converters have become mandatory. That’s because a catalytic converter can change highly noxious gases into agreeable compounds due to the clever usage of precious metals and chemistry. Platinum, rhodium, and palladium aid a chemical reaction by working as a catalyst, … Read more
Car manufacturers are running away from V8 engines at a steady clip or at least it seems that way. This week, we learned that Nissan will replace the 5.6-liter V8 powering its Armada SUV with a twin-turbocharged V6. We cannot say for certain if the Titan pickup truck will be … Read more
Manual transmissions are the original kind of transmission, as ancient as the first cars produced. However, their design changed massively over the years. Even so, manufacturers and people alike wish to phase them out, thanks to the convenience of automatics and the emergence of electric vehicles. But how does a … Read more
Every engine has a V-engine layout to some degree. The regular in-line engines have a cylinder bank angle, that’s the angle between two nearby connecting rods, of 0 degrees, hence the name of “in-line”. Consequently, we can find 60-degree angle V-engines, 90-degree, 15-degree in the case of VR engines, or … Read more
A turbocharger does the same operation as a regular supercharger, with a slight caveat. A turbocharger is powered by the engine’s exhaust gases, not directly by the engine via a belt or chain. Consequently, we can utilize those fumes’ energy to develop more power, and not just expunge them into … Read more
To extract more power out of an engine something is for certain: you need more air. The larger the quantity of air that enters the engine, the more fuel can be burnt. Consequently, the engine will develop a deeper and more powerful explosion inside the cylinder, translating into more power … Read more
Regenerative braking is one of numerous efficiency systems installed on all manners of electric vehicles worldwide. Simply put, they tap the vehicle’s inertia to use the electric motors as generators, thus stopping the automobile via the motor’s mechanical resistance and recharging the batteries in the process. The system has been … Read more
What are the similarities and differences between all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive? When you look at the names, AWD (all-wheel drive) and 4WD (four-wheel drive) cars seem to be the same. But the differences are simple and quite a bit obvious when you learn a thing or two about what … Read more
Electric vehicles are the craze nowadays. Tesla considers electric vehicles to be the future. Toyota has gone heavily into electrification as part of its plan. Many manufacturers produce electric vehicles left, right, and center. But what’s the big deal about them anyway? How do they even work? Why are they … Read more
The future of motorized vehicles is highly debated. Most people believe that all-electric vehicles are the future, regardless of their purpose. Others believe that hydrogen is the future, by using Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles, or FCEVs for short. There are big disadvantages to hydrogen, and some people even have legitimate … Read more
Horsepower and torque are important numbers with the general idea that bigger is better since it makes your car faster. But what precisely do they represent? Simply put, horsepower and torque are a few figures which can indicate the performance of an engine. Importantly, they actually shouldn’t be taken at … Read more
An octane rating is something you notice at the gas pump. But what does it mean? Simply put, the octane rating shows how difficult it is for said gas to ignite from temperature and pressure. The higher the octane rating, the more challenging it is for it to ignite. Indeed, … Read more
Engines are complex pieces of machinery that are built entirely on a “best decision for the supposed use” basis. Notably, one such choice is the design of the engine’s crankshafts, or more precisely, the crankshaft’s weights. A flat-plane crank engine is basically an engine where the crankshaft’s counterweights are alternating … Read more
Diesel engine runaway is rare, to say the least. These days, the chances of such an event happening are low, as most of the contributing parts are electronic. But first matters first: what exactly is “diesel engine runaway”? As defined, a diesel engine runaway, diesel runaway, or runaway diesel is … Read more
Most people with even the slightest interest in cars know how a regular car engine works, the most basic of principles being: air mixed with fuel makes power. Hence, mixing them must yield a specific ratio. Indeed, the ideal chemical ratio is 14.7 parts of air to 1 part of … Read more