Bad Wheel, No Bounce!

So there you are, driving along the road, and a pothole or bump jumps out in front of you too late to miss. After the bump, the shudder and wobble continues for a hundred feet after the bump. Or instead, you hit the brakes hard and swerve around the bump; the car nose- dives and sways, then bounces back and forth a few times afterward. Or, you glance under the car at the shocks and see they are coated in oily dust. Guess what?  

Compress This! A Diesel primer.

Ah, the poor, abused, maligned Diesel engine. Whether for the perception of being impossible to start and causing winter frustrations, or for the smokey, clattering, rattling, growling machines being perceived as being adequate only for big truck, trains and ships, diesels have somehow earned a bad name. All this is nonsense you must realize.  Diesels make fine automobile and smaller truck and equipment powerplants that can attain amazing fuel economy numbers.  Diesels can be smooth, quiet, and fun to drive since by design, they have very driver- friendly torque output.

Never Open When Hot...

   When was the last time you thought about the radiator cap on your cars cooling system? It took a few years of working with machines for me to appreciate what was going on with that simple device. On the surface, it would seem that a radiator cap is indeed a simple device to keep the coolant in, but on closer inspection it becomes a complex regulator of pressure and temperature required for proper engine operation. It took automotive engineers many iterations and many years of R&D to come up with the system we take for granted today.