Engineering Explained

What is a balancing shaft? Balancing shafts are used in four cylinder engines to balance out the secondary forces of the engine, thus resulting in a smooth running engine with minimal vibration.

What is an inline four cylinder? What are the advantages of an inline engine? What are the advantages of a four cylinder engine?

With a 400 HP engine and two 120KW motors, the ZEOD RC generates a good amount of heat. How does the ZEOD RC cooling system work?

What is an active suspension? What is a magnetic suspension? How does a magnetic suspension work?

The ZEOD RC is an electric racecar designed to make the first all electric lap at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in June, 2014.

The 2014 Subaru WRX STI hatchback, the last model year which still provides the 5-door option. This is my first new car!

What are secondary engine forces? How do you balance secondary forces? This video explains secondary forces, which are forces that occur twice per revolution of the crankshaft.

What is primary balance? Primary engine balancing is balancing the forces that occur once every rotation of the crankshaft.

What is a balanced engine? Why do you want a balanced engine? An engine has uneven forces from rotational mass, reciprocating mass, and firing intervals.

Having your car stolen is awesome. There are so many benefits to car theft. So maybe your car insurance will go up, or maybe your vehicle will be completely destroyed.

How do tires affect cornering speed? How does downforce affect how fast you can corner? This video explained the relationship between tires, road conditions, and downforce, to cornering speed.

What is downforce? How does downforce work? Downforce is a downward force that a car experiences at speed due to its aerodynamic design.

Car spoilers, rear spoilers, and rear wings. How spoilers work. Although commonly used interchangeably, spoilers and rear wings are actually different.

What is aerodynamic drag? What makes a vehicle aerodynamic? How does drag affect cars? Drag is the resistive force a fluid places on something trying to pass through it.

What is a camber kit? How does a camber kit work?

Turbo cars have a variety of different turbocharger set ups.

What is a twincharger? How does twincharging work? Twincharged engines incorporate both a turbocharger and a supercharger.

How twin scroll turbochargers work.Twin scroll turbo chargers split the exhaust portion of the turbocharger into two channels, separating the incoming exhaust pulses.

How variable geometry turbochargers (VGT), or variable nozzle turbochargers (VNT) work.

How diesel twin turbos and variable twin turbochargers work.

Twin turbocharger engines. How twin turbochargers work. There are several ways for an engine to incorporate twin turbos.

What is a parallel hybrid car? How do parallel hybrids work? Parallel hybrids use both an electric motor and an engine to power the driven wheels in a car.

What is a series hybrid? How do series hybrids work? Series hybrid cars use an engine to power a generator, which generates electricity to power a motor, which drives the wheels.

What is a hybrid? How do hybrids work? Hybrid cars are simply cars that use two energy sources for power. A common type of hybrid is a gas-electric hybrid.

What is lithium ion? How do lithium ion batteries work?

What is a battery? How does a battery work? How do lead acid batteries work? A battery is simply a cathode (positive plate) separated from an anode (negative plate) by an electrolyte solution.

What is an induction motor? How do induction motors work? Induction motors induce a current into an electromagnetic rotor in order to create rotation.

What is an AC motor? How do AC motors work? How do electric cars move? This video explains how AC motors work, using a simplified example which uses a permanent magnet as the rotor.

Regenerative braking saves energy. How much energy does regenerative braking save? It of course comes down to the vehicles speed, and mass, and ultimately is a product of kinetic energy.

2014 Formula One engines. In 2014 F1 cars will be powered by 1.6L V6 turbocharged engines revving up to 15,000 RPM. The new F1 engines will also incorporate ERS, or energy recovery systems.