In 1673, Christian Huygens invented the first engine. It was designed to pump water from the Seine River to King Louis XIV's Palace of Versailles. Built with an open combustion chamber, it consumed ...

You might not think much about hydrogen-engines, but they're actually similar to gas-powered motors in a lot of ways. They both use a four-stroke design for intake, compression, ignition, and exhaust, ...

Both gasoline-burning engines and diesel engines produce power through a process of internal combustion. However, the latter are usually larger, louder, and often dirtier. While many people may not ...

Last month we began a new series on the basic operation of the internal combustion engine. We realize that many of our readers may be new to the high-performance scene and do not fully understand the ...

Push-button start may be common today, but it wasn't always the dominant way to crank an engine. Push-button start systems and ignition key systems activate the same process in different ways. Do you ...

Rotary engines differ from conventional ones in many respects — and one of them is the fact that they use two different spark ...

Have you ever wondered why you need to add oil to your chainsaw’s fuel supply? Or why some dirt bikes have a higher pitched exhaust note than others? We’ve all been burdened with yard work or been ...

Turbocharger use is more prolific than ever, and understanding how one works explains why it’s such a popular choice. To understand the benefit of a turbo, we need a refresher on the basics of the ...

Turbochargers as used on cars bear some similarities with jet engines. Fundamentally, both contain a turbine that harvests energy from hot gas, using it to spin a compressor which sucks in fresh air ...

With more and more new electric cars on the horizon, the future of internal combustion engines seems darker every day. But this new type of hyper-efficient engine design might keep it around for a bit ...

The first three articles in this series on the basic operation of the internal combustion engine dealt with the theory of such a mechanical device, the identification and the function of the primary ...