Engine Mods: It All Starts With Airflow- Part 2

In part one of we went into how an engine moves air, common ways to increase airflow, and why increasing airflow increases operating efficiency. At the end of the last article I mentioned compressors used to increase air charge into an engine and thus increase power and efficiency. Lets go into specifics of the two common types of compressors used and whats needed to make them function, the differences between them, and the benefits of either and why. 

Engine Mods: It All Starts With Airflow- Part 1

Have you ever noticed the big blower sticking out of the hood of a hopped up hot-rod? Or how about the loud exhaust when the throttle is opened on a high horsepower monster machine? Have you ever wondered why the big intake system or loud exhaust on these powerplants? Its not all about chrome, looking cool and noise- no really, its not. 

An 80's 4x4 adventure: not like that tho... Part 2

Well, I finally made a plan for getting back over to my buddies old work truck. I loaded up my main tools with my diagnostic basket containing the compression tester, vacuum pump with attachments, spark tester, timing light, my electrical boxes (just in case), some spare extraneous parts from inventory and all the toothbrushes, rags, solvents and small parts washing containers I thought I would need.

What does 2 minutes cost?

First: 
   On this, the first day of April, I wanna wish my wombmate, my sister Elizabeth, a very Happy Birthday.  You are loved more than you know Liz- heres hoping its a great day for ya!!  

    What can 2 minutes get ya?  Warm-ups part 1
  
    Well, to speak for the machines, let me clue ya in. We all have been told for years that every cold start on an engine is detrimental and does irreversible damage. Realistically, we can't much avoid that type of initial damage without pricey pre-oilers, but driving and loading a cold engine is far more damaging long term and quickly takes over as root cause of premature engine failure.
  
    Some of the damage is alleviated by using good oil, but loading a cold engine and cold oil cannot help but remove miles from the tail end of the engines life at a more rapid rate regardless. Define 'cold' you say. OK, so, some parts of the engine run very hot, some run cooler. When possible, everything under the hood should roughly half of its normal operating temperature before putting any load on the engine- 'rule of thumb' there if ya need one.

I,C,P,E or Suck, Squish, Bang, Blow... an engine operates HOW?

A friend asked me the other day to diagnose the misfire on his little car and recommend how to fix it when we got onto a sidetracked into a discussion about how the engine actually functions and makes power.  I have answered this question so many times over the years for so many people that I figured I should just get it down in writing.  So here goes- Caution though, there be Physics ahead!
    This explanation needs to be fairly basic to accomplish the goal of assisting folk with no real physics background to get the ideas here.  I will not bore anyone with the math behind it, just the concepts and functional ideas.