As you know, the main part of a vehicle is the engine. So, we can define the engine as the heart of your car. Let’s talk about the answer to the “What does an engine do?” question. One of the most essential functions of the engine is to convert heat from burning gas into the force turning the wheels. Basically, the engine is made of cylinders which comprise pistons that move up and down repetitively to keep the engine functioning. Even though engine anatomy seems complex, you should learn important car engine parts.
When you know the main functions of car engine components, you can prepare a regular repair and maintenance schedule to preserve the overall quality of engine operation. Also, those who are not aware of how an engine works generally tend to buy risky car performance parts. If you have enough information about car basics 101, you can understand whether a car upgrade part is reliable or not. Thus, when you obtain sufficient information about cars hood parts, you will protect the engine operation and also get a reliable car upgrade part.
Moreover, if you want to make your car perform better, you should understand how a car engine works. As you can guess, there is a strong connection between acceleration and engine power. For this reason, changing necessary parts of an engine with new ones can take your car to the ultimate level of performance, acceleration, and fuel economy.
On the other hand, many manufacturers claim that engine chip tuning provides a better performance upgrade compared to simple aftermarket parts. But, this claim cannot go beyond a kind of empty promise because there are serious risks of chip tuning to the engine operation.
As a result, this article includes everything from cars 101 to engine 101. If you want to protect the engine quality and increase the engine power of your car, all you need to do is read this article to learn everything about car parts engine.
One of the most important pieces of information about basic engine is based on the answer to the “How does an engine work?” question. Firstly, let’s talk about it. As we mentioned before, the engine of your car is made of fixed cylinders and moving pistons. The combustion gases coming from the engine push the piston, which in turn rotates the crankshaft. Ultimately, this motion drives the vehicle's wheels through a system of gears in the powertrain. After this detailed introduction about how an engine works, we can now talk about the most crucial car hood parts.
We can define air intake systems as oxygen tubes of the car engine. The reason is that the air intake system is designed to bring air from outside the car into the engine intake manifold. This air including more molecules of oxygen is mixed with fuel from your gas tank. Then, this air/fuel mixture is ignited and sent through to the engine cylinders, which makes the wheels of your car move. Without air intake systems, the engine would not complete the combustion process, so you have to face a loss of engine power, worse gas mileage, and engine maintenance problems.
If you have a forced induction engine, one of the most significant parts of it is an intercooler that is designed to cool the air before it enters the engine and combustion chamber. In other words, it reduces the temperature of turbochargers or superchargers to the oxygen content of the air. This is because these car parts compress more air flowing into the engine’s cylinder, so the intercooler is responsible for cooling hot air resulting from this process. Thus, we can say that intercooler is a necessary compartment of the engine in terms of preserving the engine quality.
Another important car engine part is a camshaft. We can describe it as a cylindrical rod of metal in piston engines. The camshaft is responsible for opening and closing the inlet and exhaust valves in the right amount at the right moment. Accordingly, the camshaft determines how much torque and power the engine of your car generates. If the camshaft of your vehicle is exposed to serious damage due to any car mods, you have to face a loss of horsepower. For this reason, you can change your old camshaft with the new one to enhance the performance of your car.
A spark plug falls into the category of important car hood parts because it is designed to deliver electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine. The main function of this process is to ignite the compressed fuel/air mixture by an electric spark while containing combustion pressure within the engine. For maximum performance, the engine’s spark plugs should be clean with no damage to the electrodes. If the spark plugs become dirty or fouled, it can affect how the engine works. So, these bad spark plugs can lead to reduced gas mileage, lack of acceleration, hard starts, and engine misfires.
One of the most essential car engine parts is an exhaust manifold that is designed to connect the engine to the exhaust system. It is responsible for taking out exhaust gases from the combustion chamber after the process of combustion. Even though the exhaust manifold is made from a solid piece of metal, it is impervious to damage. If you neglect your car maintenance or buy a risky car mod, you can face a broken exhaust manifold. As s result, this leads to worse gas mileage, loud exhaust noise, and burning smells.
If you’ve read this far, you are currently familiar with which car hood parts are crucial for the ride quality of your car. In fact, there are still many other engine parts. However, after paying more attention to car maintenance and repair, all you need to do is stay away from some car mods like performance chip tuning. Just keep reading to discover it!
The engine chip tuning is designed to modify the software inside the ECU in order to increase horsepower. For this reason, it has direct and radical intervention in the way the engine works. This situation may lead to serious damage to the original engine components. To create extra horsepower, you need to overwork the engine, creating more heat, wear, and hotspots.
Moreover, the chip tuning can void your car warranty by damaging the factory settings of your engine. Also, you need to know that some insurance companies accept chip tuning as an invalidated policy. It is also illegal in many states. For this reason, the chip tuning is not worth buying because of its risky operation on the engine. If you are tired of searching for the right aftermarket part, all you need to do is keep reading to learn the good news!
Key Points
There are many important parts of a vehicle that help keep it running and able to move from place to place. One of the most vital is the engine. It produces the power necessary for your car to function.
Did you know there are many types of car engines out there? The layouts and cylinder configurations can vary. Keep reading to find out more about how vehicle engines work, as well as some of the different layouts and configurations.
While there are several different types of engines, when it comes to size and layout, all late-model vehicles (apart from hybrid electric models) use the internal combustion engine.
Combustion is the process that results from energy being released from the fuel and air mixture present inside an engine. An internal combustion engine burns fuel to convert chemical energy into torque, or mechanical energy.
Internal combustion engines feature fixed cylinders and moving pistons. The mechanical energy that’s generated is used to help push the pistons, which then rotate the crankshaft. Gears that are set in motion in the powertrain help move the wheels on the vehicle.
There are thousands of controlled explosions occurring every minute the engine is running. Most internal combustion engines have a four-stroke combustion cycle:
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Diesel engines are also often four-stroke engines, but they’re different from engines that are gasoline-powered in how they perform the combustion process. Instead of using spark plugs to ignite the air-fuel mixture, they rely on high compression ratios.
While most vehicles use internal combustion engines, the setup of these engines can vary. The cylinder layouts can vary, depending on the amount of power a manufacturer wants the car to have or to ensure the engine will fit the space that’s allotted.
The most common cylinder layouts include:
The number of cylinders a vehicle has helps determine the amount of power an engine can produce. Items like turbochargers allow for extra compression in the combustion chamber, meaning engine power can be increased without adding more cylinders.
The smallest engine configuration is a twin-cylinder, but these don’t offer much power or capacity. However, they are sometimes found on smaller eco-friendly engines.
Three-cylinder engines typically are arranged in a straight-engine layout and can sometimes be found on smaller vehicles or hatchbacks. This compact design provides good fuel economy, and cars can still have a decent amount of power with the addition of a turbocharger.
The most common engine configuration is the four-cylinder, which is found on a variety of vehicles from small to midrange. A four-cylinder engine is set up in an inline design and offers a good amount of engine output.
The number of cylinders in an engine can continue to increase, like six-cylinder engines that are found in high-end performance and sports cars.
The terms “engine” and “motor” are often used interchangeably because they have a singular goal – supplying motive force, or converting power into motion.
However, engines and motors accomplish this in very different ways.
As we’ve learned, engines have several moving parts that work together to ignite an air-fuel mixture. This ignition prompts a small explosion that creates thermal energy, later converted into mechanical energy that moves the vehicle.
Motors also convert power into mechanical energy, but their power source is electricity. For instance, electric vehicles have motors that draw energy from a battery pack instead of a fuel source.
So, the primary difference between engines and motors is that engines use an internal source (fuel), while motors require an external power source (electricity).
Turbocharged engines use exhaust gas to spin a turbine, which then compresses the intake air, increasing engine power. Supercharged engines use a belt connected to the engine to drive an air compressor, directly boosting engine power by forcing more air into the combustion chamber.
Hybrid vehicles use internal combustion engines and electric motors. The electric motor can assist the gasoline engine or run independently to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, often using energy recovered from braking or coasting.
The best type of car engine depends on the driver's priority. Turbocharged engines are known for their performance and fuel efficiency. Supercharged engines offer immediate power. Hybrid engines excel in fuel economy and lower emissions. Different types of engines have their benefits depending on the user's requirements.
Students in the Automotive Technology program at Universal Technical Institute (UTI) are taught the fundamentals of car maintenance and repair. This instruction helps prepare students for entry-level roles as automotive technicians.1
The program can be completed in less than a year and covers a range of industry-relevant topics, including working on different types of car engines in the Introduction to Engines course.7 Students also get the opportunity to perform an engine teardown, blueprint and rebuild during the Power & Performance I: Engine Build course.33
This knowledge can make a big difference when applying for jobs in the industry. Employers are looking to hire qualified individuals with the right training and education.
To learn more, visit our program page and request information to get in touch with an Admissions Representative today.
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