In a conventional application, there are three rings per piston. The top ring is called the compression ring. Its purpose is to seal the combustion gas pressure, transfer heat from the piston to the ...

In an effort to increase the basic understanding of automobile technology for those new to the hot rod world or those who have been involved for a while but don't have a good foundation of knowledge.

Do you understand the mechanical workings of the vehicle you drive on a daily basis? If your answer is no, don’t worry. You’re not the first – and certainly won’t be the last – person to simply ...

High-output engines live in a world of brutal cylinder pressures, extreme temperatures and razor-thin safety margins, and the humble piston sits at the center of that storm. When power levels climb, ...

A fire piston works on the same principle as a diesel engine - compression ignition. I'm a big fan of this kind of thermodynamics as it matches well to the theory and is very repeatable. So what's ...

If you are a motorhead, an unusual engine will immediately get your attention. Most vehicles today have either an inline or V-shaped configuration, so anything peculiar will immediately stick out. If ...

Rotary engines (also known as Wankel engines and Wankel rotary engines) are quite different from piston or "reciprocating" engines. One of the distinguishing features is that they don't need valves to ...

Free-piston engine generators and linear machines represent an innovative departure from conventional rotary systems, offering high thermal efficiency and operational flexibility by eliminating the ...