Piston Class

The learning path

  1. Engine BasicsHow an engine turns fuel and air into power, and how that power reaches the wheels.
  2. The engine in more detailThe parts inside, how they are timed, and how the engine is fuelled and managed.
  3. Forced inductionHow turbos and superchargers push in more air, and what that costs.
  4. Getting the power to the roadClutches, gearboxes, differentials and which wheels get driven.
  5. Suspension and handlingSprings, dampers and geometry, and why a car understeers or oversteers.
  6. Tyres and gripWhere grip comes from, how tyres are sized and what pressures do.
  7. BrakesHow a braking system stops the car, and what upgrades really change.
  8. Electronics and modern carsThe electrical system, control modules and the driver aids that ride on them.
  9. Performance and modificationWhere extra power really comes from, and how to make mods work together.
  10. Understanding performancePower-to-weight, aerodynamics and what makes a car quick around a track.
See the whole learning path

Lessons

  1. How an engine makes powerSuck, squeeze, bang, blow: an engine in four strokes
  2. How power gets to the wheelsFrom crankshaft to tarmac in six steps
  3. Horsepower vs torqueWhich number actually makes a car fast?
  4. Naturally aspirated vs turbocharged vs superchargedThree ways to fill an engine with air, and how each one feels
  5. Cylinders, cylinder layouts and firing ordersWhy engines come in rows, Vs and flats, and fire in a strange order
  6. RPM: what it actually meansWhat the needle on your rev counter is really counting
  7. What happens when you press the acceleratorFrom your right foot to a bigger bang, in a fraction of a second
  8. What an ECU doesThe small computer that runs your engine, a hundred decisions a second
  9. How fuel gets into the engineFrom the tank to a fine mist, a few thousandths of a second at a time
  10. How an engine gets airAn engine is an air pump, and the air is the hard part
  11. How an engine gets rid of exhaust gasesGet the burnt gas out, clean it up and keep it quiet
  12. How ignition worksHow 12 volts becomes a spark, and why its timing matters so much
  13. Why engines need coolingA third of your fuel turns into heat the engine has to get rid of
  14. Why engines need oilA film thinner than a hair is all that stops your engine grinding itself apart
  15. Pistons, connecting rods and the crankshaftHow a piston going up and down turns a shaft round and round, thousands of times a minute
  16. The cylinder head and valvesHow the top of the engine lets air in and exhaust out, with valves that open and shut up to 50 times a second
  17. Camshafts and valve timingWhy the valves open before the stroke starts and shut after it ends, and how a different cam changes the whole character of an engine
  18. Timing belts vs timing chainsBoth keep the camshafts in step with the crank. One needs changing on time, the other needs clean oil, and getting either wrong can wreck an engine
  19. Variable valve timingHow modern engines move their camshafts while they run, so they can idle smoothly, pull hard low down and still breathe at the redline
  20. Compression ratio explainedHow hard an engine squeezes each breath, why more squeeze means more power from the same fuel, and why petrol engines can't squeeze as hard as diesels
  21. Air-fuel ratiosWhy an engine needs about 14.7 times as much air as fuel, and what happens when it runs rich or lean
  22. Octane: what it actually meansWhat the number on the pump really measures, why it isn't extra power in a bottle, and when paying for higher octane is worth it
  23. Fuel injection: port vs direct injectionSpraying the fuel into the port or straight into the cylinder, why most new engines do the second, and the catch that comes with it
  24. Throttle bodies and electronic throttlesThe valve that decides how much air a petrol engine gets, why your pedal is only a request, and what happens when it fails
  25. Intake manifoldsThe pipes that share the air out between the cylinders, and how their length tunes an engine
  26. Exhaust manifoldsWhy the pipes from each cylinder are shaped the way they are, and what headers and manifolds built into the head change
  27. Catalytic convertersHow a box of honeycomb cleans up nearly all the harmful gas in the exhaust, and why it only works with the mixture just right
  28. Oxygen sensors and other engine sensorsHow the ECU checks every burn with a sensor in the exhaust, and the other sensors it relies on to run the engine
  29. Why forced induction makes more powerPower is limited by how much air an engine can swallow. Squeezing the air packs more in, but squeezing also heats it
  30. How a turbocharger worksTwo fans on one shaft, spun by exhaust gas, that squeeze air into the engine. And the valves that stop them squeezing too hard
  31. WastegatesThe valve that decides how much boost a turbo makes, and the small canister, spring and solenoid that work it
  32. Blow-off valves and diverter valvesWhy lifting off at full boost would hammer a turbo without one, and why some go "pssh" while others stay quiet
  33. IntercoolersHow well an intercooler cools, why that changes from one minute to the next, and the trade-offs in where it goes and how big it is
  34. Twin-scroll turbochargersOne turbo with two doors for the exhaust, so the pulses from each cylinder stop tripping over each other
  35. Variable geometry turbosA ring of moving vanes lets one turbo act small at low revs and big at high revs, and explains a very common diesel fault
  36. How superchargers workRoots, twin-screw and centrifugal superchargers, how each squeezes the air, and what it costs the engine to drive them
  37. Turbo vs superchargerThe same engine with each, through the same drive, and why nearly every new car ends up with a turbo