Notes from the workshop.
Engineering writeups on combustion physics, simulator internals, and the decisions behind the sandbox.
17 min readFiring Order Explained: SBC, LS, Ford, Hemi and Diesel Orders
Firing order is the sequence an engine's cylinders fire in: the SBC, LS, Ford, Hemi, Duramax and Power Stroke orders, cylinder numbering, and what it changes.
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16 min readHow Does VTEC Work? Variable Valve Timing on the Dyno
How VTEC works: two cam profiles, a hydraulic pin, and a switch at the rpm where the two torque curves cross. Measured on a 2.0 L four, and how VVT-i differs.
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19 min readWhat Is Engine Braking? We Measured It on Gasoline and Diesel
Engine braking is the drag an engine puts on a car in gear when you lift off. How it works, whether it is bad, and why trucks need Jake brakes, measured.
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17 min readAir-Fuel Ratio Explained: Stoichiometric, Lean vs Rich, and a Good AFR
What air-fuel ratio means, why 14.7:1 is gasoline's number only, what lean and rich do to power and fuel, and a simulator where you drag lambda and watch.
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13 min readDoes a Diesel Engine Have Spark Plugs? No, and What Replaces Them
Diesels have no spark plugs, coils or distributor: compressed air lights the fuel on contact. What glow plugs are for, why 17.5:1 matters, and a simulator to try.
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16 min readHorsepower vs Torque: The Difference, Measured on a Dyno
Torque is the twist, horsepower is torque times speed, and the curves cross at 5,252 rpm. Measured on a turbo-diesel, a pushrod V8 and an F1 V8.
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22 min readDoes a Bigger Turbo Really Mean More Lag? We Sized Five and Timed Them
Five turbo wheels, 60 to 110 mm, on one 3.0 L six at the same 1.92 bar target. We timed each to boost at four speeds and found where lag turns into never.
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22 min readSupercharger vs Turbocharger: Which Makes More Power? We Fitted Both to One V8
Supercharger or turbocharger? We fitted a Roots, a centrifugal and a turbo to one 6.2 V8. The turbo wins peak power, the Roots leads below 2,080 rpm.
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22 min readHow Much Horsepower Does One Point of Compression Add? We Measured It
Forums say 3–4% per point. We swept an LS7 and a 4.6 Modular from 8.5:1 to 13.5:1 with knock on and off, and found where the gain stops being free.
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20 min readWhy Do Diesel Engines Make So Much Torque? We Took the Turbo Off to Find Out
Long stroke, high compression, or the turbo? We measured a Cummins 6BT against two gasoline V8s, then removed each lever to see which one torque follows.
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14 min readCross-Plane vs Flat-Plane Crank: Why V8s Sound Different
Cross-plane V8s burble and flat-plane V8s scream, yet both fire every 90°. What a flat-plane crank is, what each exhaust bank hears, and whether it costs power.
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14 min readWhy F1 Engines Could Rev to 20,000 rpm (and Why Yours Can't)
A 39.75 mm stroke is the whole trick. We ran the Cosworth CA2006 against its nine-point published power curve and landed within 1.9% at the rated point.
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16 min read8 Engine Experiments for the Classroom (No Dyno Required)
Compression ratio, knock, torque vs power, boost — eight reproducible experiments built on a free browser simulator, each with the measured numbers and an honest note on where the model and reality part ways.
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15 min readHow a Torque Converter Works (And Why It Can Be Quicker Than a Clutch)
A converter multiplies torque before the car even moves. Measured on real gearboxes in the simulator: 2.10x at a dead stop, a coupling point at 2.4 seconds, and automatics beating manuals off the line.
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12 min readInline-6 vs V6: We Built Both at 3.0 Litres and Measured Them
Two three-litre sixes on identical physics, one inline and one 60° V. Peak power lands 1.1% apart, and with every other variable held equal the layout is worth 0.02 hp. What it does decide: balance, packaging and boost.
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14 min readTwo-Stroke vs Four-Stroke Engine: What Actually Differs (Measured)
A two-stroke fires every revolution, so it should make twice the power at equal displacement. It doesn't — measured here at 1.89x to 2.35x, and the reason is not what most explanations say.
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17 min readRoots vs Centrifugal Supercharger: Boost Curves Compared
Two crank-driven blowers, two pressure laws. Measured torque, belt drag and charge heat on one 6.2 V8 — plus the A/B that says which difference matters.
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17 min readWhy the Rotary Engine Is Coming Back (and Why It Left)
Mazda stopped building rotary engines in 2012 and restarted in 2023. Why the Wankel returned as a generator, what killed it, and what the numbers show.
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18 min readHow a Turbocharger Works (Boost, Lag, and Wastegates)
A turbocharger is an air pump driven by exhaust you were about to throw away. How the turbine, compressor, wastegate and intercooler work, with measured curves.
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9 min readCompressor Stall vs Surge in Jet Engines
Compressor stall is blade-passage flow separation, often local or rotating; surge is a system-wide oscillation. Learn the map, causes, and protection.
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8 min readHow Does a Jet Engine Start? Step by Step
A jet engine starts by spinning its compressor, adding ignition and fuel, then accelerating to governed idle. The sequence, the gauges, and the failure modes.
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18 min readWhat Is Vapor Lock? Symptoms, Causes and How to Fix It
Vapor lock is gasoline boiling in the fuel line, so the engine starves on a full tank. Symptoms, the temperature it starts at, roadside fixes, permanent cures.
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9 min readOtto Cycle Explained: Live P-V Diagram and Efficiency Formula
The Otto cycle's four processes on a P-V diagram you can drag, the efficiency formula η = 1 − 1/r^(γ−1) worked at r = 10 (59%), and why real engines get half.
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8 min readAI in Engines: Can ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini Run One?
LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini cannot run an engine, yet AI is already deep inside one. Where machine learning lives in a production engine, and where LLMs help.
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8 min readThe 4 Strokes of an Engine: Intake, Compression, Power, Exhaust
What happens in each of the four strokes of an engine (intake, compression, power, exhaust), why only one of them makes power, and an engine you can watch run.
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8 min readJet Engine vs Rocket Engine: Which Is More Powerful?
Jets breathe air; rockets carry their own oxygen. That one difference decides thrust, efficiency, and top speed. The full comparison, with real numbers.
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7 min readWhat Is Engine Knock? Causes, Sounds, and How to Stop It
Engine knock is fuel detonating before the flame front arrives, a metallic ping that hammers pistons. What causes knock, what it damages, and how to stop it.
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