Category: Education
Air-cooled vs water-cooled engines
Nearly all modern production cars have water cooled engines nowadays, however, there was a time when air cooled cars held their own. Cars like the VW Beetle, Porsche 911 and the Fiat 500, all used air cooled engines. There were some advantages to an air-cooled system but ultimately the efficiency and reliability of water-cooled systems
What’s the best spark plug for my car?
Your engine inhales air and fuel, at the top of the compression stroke, the spark plug ignites the mixture. The spark plug only has that job, to ignite the mixture. Yep, you’ve got a whole ignition system for the sole purpose of one spark each cylinder at the top of every combustion stroke. The spark
Why do I need a wheel balance?
Your wheels are round, they have tyres fitted over the top of them and they roll. Why fix what isn’t broke? Well, your wheels do roll, that’s where the problem comes from. Your wheels may be round and roll nicely, but without balancing, they won’t do that very well at all. If you need a
Why does oil need changing?
Your oil is the most critical fluid in your engine. It lubricates all the really expensive stuff, it keeps things clean, and it cools the engine when you’re driving. Due to your oil being circulated constantly and lubricating a bunch of moving parts, it picks up dirt, moisture and other carbon deposits. To keep these
What is a flywheel and how does it work?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t make your car fly. It does do some really neat other stuff though. It’s actually critical to any car with a manual transmission. It’s bolted to the crankshaft and serves as the mechanical connection between the crankshaft and the transmission. It also starts the car and makes sure it’s comfortable when it
What’s a wheel alignment and why do I need one?
Your car should drive in a straight line when you want it to. To do this, you need the wheels all pointing in the same direction. Often you’ll find your car pulling to one side, this is a sign that your tyre alignment needs a check. Your wheel alignment means that your car will go
Why is turbo lag a thing?
A turbo is a impeller that is spun via exhaust gas. It then spins an impeller that sucks in air, pressurises it and forces it into your engine. So your turbo takes something that you weren’t using anyway and turns it into more horsepower. Add in the fact that it often makes your car more
What happens when your spark plugs call foul?
When a spark plug is ‘fouled’, it basically means it’s becoming too worn or contaminated to work properly. While they’re a lot more reliable in modern cars, there are still things inside your engine (like fuel and carbon) which can build up onto your spark plugs, and eventually render them ineffective in either firing or
What is a egr valve and how does it work?
An EGR valve sounds like it belongs in your heart. It doesn’t involve ventricles or aortas, it involves exhaust gas, the intake manifold, air and fuel, and emissions. EGR stands for Exhaust Gas Recirculation, it is a valve that car makers turned to in the fight against emissions and for fuel economy. It sounds really
What the hell is a ‘tune-up’?
Okay, so truth be told, the term tune-up is a little redundant these days. It only really applies if you’re talking about a pre-2000s car, although I still hear it bandied about today, so it seems like it’s loosely interchangeable with service or routine maintenance. The way modern cars are built has changed and so
