How Car Motors Work
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Car Motors are a Vehicle's Heart and Lungs
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A motor is the engine and all its supporting systems, which are the heart and lungs of your car. Most cars are powered by a four-stroke internal combustion engine which sits under your vehicle's front hood. Inside an iron block, pistons move up and down inside cylinders. On the first downstroke, the piston draws air and fuel in through an open intake valve. The valve closes, and on the upstroke, the piston compresses the air and fuel into a volatile mixture. The spark plug fires at the top of this compression stroke, which ignites the air and fuel, and pushes the piston downwards on its power stroke. Then an exhaust valve opens, and the piston travels upwards, pushing out the exhaust on its fourth stroke.
Air, Fire, Fuel Let A Car Motor Hum
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Car motors must have clean, smoothly flowing air and fuel, and a sharp spark from the spark plug to operate properly. Clogged air filters or fuel-line filters mean that the mixture which the internal combustion engine need to fire for its power stroke will not have the appropriate level of volatility. Using the wrong grade of gasoline will also affect power stroke efficiency, as will spark plugs that are dirty or fire at the wrong time. Clean filters and plugs, properly adjusted spark timing and the right grade of gasoline will ensure maximum power and fuel efficiency from your car motor.
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Oil and Water Keep Car Motors Flowing
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Car motors cycle through their four strokes at a rate of thousands of revolutions per minute. All that moving metal creates heat and friction which can destroy an engine. Water circulates through the engine block and then through a radiator to keep the metal cool. Oil lubricates the lower half of the engine, keeping the crankshaft which drives the pistons, and the camshaft which opens and closes the valves, clean and cool. Check your oil levels and coolant levels frequently to keep your car motor flowing along.
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- Photo Credit Cindy Hill
