AutoSPARK Study Material

AutoSPARK Courseware
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www.mbsgroup.in support@mbsgroup.in
List of Contents
S.No Topic Page
1. What is Automotive? 3
2. Chassis 3
3. Suspension Unit 5
4. Braking System 8
5. Steering 12
6. Transmission 19
7. The IC Engines 35
8. Engine Layouts 35
9. Spark plugs 36
10. Ground Electrodes 37
11. Carburetors 38
12. Valves & Valve Mechanisms 40
13. Feedback form & Website links 46

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What is Automotive?
Automotive is that branch of engineering which deals with anything which is aut omatically in
motion. Automotive engineering is the combination of mechanical engineering, vehicle
dynamics, drive train engineering and engine design to form a subject that deals with all
aspects of vehicle.
CHASSIS
TYPES OF CHASSIS
LADDER FRAME CHASSIS: Its construction, indicated by its name, looks like a ladder - two
longitudinal rails interconnected by several lateral and cross braces. The longitude members
are the main stress member. They deal with the load and also the longitudinal forces caused
by acceleration and braking. The lateral and cross members provide resistance to lateral
forces and further increase torsional rigidity.
TUBULAR SPACE FRAME CHASSIS: As ladder chassis is not strong enough, motor racing
engineers developed a 3 dimensional design - Tubular space frame. Tubular space frame
chassis employs dozens of circular-section tubes (some may use square-section tubes for
easier connection to the body panels, though circular section provides the maximum
strength), position in different directions to provide mechanical strength against forces
from anywhere. These tubes are welded together and forms a very complex structure, as
you can see in the above pictures.
For higher strength required by high performance sports cars, tubular space frame chassis
usually incorporate a strong structure under both doors (see the picture of Lamborghini
Countach), hence result in unusually high door sill and difficult access to the cabin.
MONOCOQUE FRAME CHASSIS: Monocoque is a one-piece structure which defines the

overall shape of the car. While ladder, tubular space frame and backbone chassis provides
only the stress members and need to build the body around them, monoque chassis is
already incoporated with the body in a single piece, as you can see in the above picture
showing a Volvo V70.
In fact, the "one-piece" chassis is actually made by welding several pieces together. The
floorpan, which is the largest piece, and other pieces are press-made by big stamping
machines. They are spot welded together by robot arms (some even use laser welding) in
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a stream production line. The whole process just takes minutes.
ULSAB MONOCOQUE: Hydroform is a new technique for shaping metal to desired shape,
alternative to pressing. Conventional pressing use a heavy-weight machine to press a sheet
metal into a die, this inevitably creates inhomogenous thickness - the edges and corners are
always thinner than surfaces. To maintain a minimum thickness there for the benefit of
stiffness, car designers have to choose thicker sheet metal than originally needed. Hydroform
technique is very different. Instead of using sheet metal, it forms thin steel tubes. The steel
tube is placed in a die which defines the desired shape, then fluid of very high pressure will
be pumped into the tube and then expands the latter to the inner surface of the di e. Since
the pressure of fluid is uniformal, thickness of the steel made is also uniformal. As a result,
designers can use the minimum thickness steel to reduce weight.
Sandwich steel is made from a thermoplastic (polypropylene) core in between two very thin
steel skins. This combination is up to 50 percent lighter compared with a piece of
homogenous steel without a penalty in performance. Because it shows excellent rigidity, it is
applied in areas that call for high bending stiffness. However, it cannot be used in
everywhere because it needs adhesive bonding or riveting instead of welding.
BACKBONE FRAME CHASSIS: Backbone chassis is very simple: a strong tubular backbone (usually
in rectangular section) connects the front and rear axle and provides nearly all the mechanical
strength. Inside which there is space for the drive shaft in case of front -engine, rear-wheel drive
layout like the Elan. The whole drivetrain, engine and suspens ions are connected to both ends of
the backbone. The body is built on the backbone, usually made of glass -fibre.
It's strong enough for smaller sports cars but not up to the job for high -end ones.
ALUMINIUM SPACE FRAME: ASF consists of extruded aluminum sections, vacuum die cast
components and aluminum sheets of different thicknesses. They all are made of high -strength
aluminium alloy. At the highly stressed corners and joints, extruded sections are connected by
complex aluminum die casting (nodes). Besides, new fastening methods were developed to join
the body parts together. It's quite complex and production cost is far higher than steel
monocoque.
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 CARBON-FIBER MONOCOQUE
There are several Carbon-fibers commonly used in motor industry. Kelvar, which was developed
by Du Pont, offers the highest rigidity-to-weight ratio among them. Because of this, US army's
helmets are made of Kelvar. Kelvar can also be found in the body panels of many exotic cars,
although most of them simultaneously use other kinds of carbon-fiber in even larger amount.
Production process: Carbon-fiber panels are made by growing carbon-fiber sheets (something
look like textile) in either side of an aluminium foil. The foil, which defines the shape of the
panel, is sticked with several layers of carbon fiber sheets impregnated with resin, then cooked in
a big oven for 3 hours at 120°C and 90 psi pressure. After that, the carbon fiber layers will be
melted and form a uniformal, rigid body panel.
SUSPENSION UNIT
Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages
that connects a vehicle to its wheels.
SPRING RATE
Spring rate is a ratio used to measure how resistant a spring is to being compressed or
expanded during the spring's deflection. The magnitude of the spring force increases as
deflection increases according to Hooke's Law. Briefly, this can be stated as
F = -kx
Wheel Rate
 Wheel rate is the effective spring rate when measured at the wheel. This is as opposed
to simply measuring the spring rate alone.
 The wheel rate is calculated by taking the square of the lever arm ratio (0.5625) times the
spring rate. Squaring the ratio is because the ratio has two effects on the wheel rate. The
ratio applies to both the force and distance traveled.
Roll couple percentage
 Roll couple percentage is the effective wheel rates, in roll, of each axle of the vehicle.
 Critical in accurately balancing the handling of a vehicle.
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 Commonly adjusted through the use of anti-roll bars or by use of different springs.
Weight Transfer
The total amount of weight transfer is affected by 4 factors:
 the distance between the wheel centers

 the height of centre of gravity
 mass of the vehicle
 acceleration experienced
Two types of weight transfers:
 Un sprung Weight Transfer

 Sprung weight transfer
Jacking Forces
• Jacking forces are the sum of the vertical force components experienced by the
suspension links.
TRAVEL
Travel is the measure of distance from the bottom of the suspension stroke (such as when the
vehicle is on a jack and the wheel hangs freely), to the top of the suspension stroke (such as
when the vehicles wheel can no longer travel in an upward direction toward the vehicle).
Camber Control
 Camber changes with wheel travel and with body roll. A tire wears and brakes
best perpendicular to the road. Depending on the tire, it may hold the road
best at a slightly different angle. Small changes in camber, front and rear, are
used to tune handling. Anti-dive and Anti-squat
 Anti-dive is front diving under braking

 Anti-squat is the rear squatting under acceleration
Macpherson Strut or McPherson strut

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This is currently, without doubt, the most widely used front suspension system in cars of
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European origin. It is simplicity itself. The system basically comprises of a strut-type spring
and shock absorber combo, which pivots on a ball joint on the single, lower arm. At the top
end there is a needle roller bearing on some more sophisticated systems. The strut itself is
the load-bearing member in this assembly, with the spring and shock absorber merely
performing their duty as oppose to actually holding the car up. In the picture here, you can't
see the shock absorber because it is encased in the black gaiter inside the gaiter.
The steering gear is either connected directly to the lower shock absorber housing, or to
an arm from the front or back of the spindle (in this case). When you steer, it physically
twists the strut and shock absorber housing (and consequently the spring) to turn the
wheel. Simple. The spring is seated in a special plate at the top of the assembly which
allows this twisting to take place. If the spring or this plate are worn, you'll get a loud
'clonk' on full lock as the spring frees up and jumps into place. This is sometimes
confused for CV joint knock.
Double wishbone suspension systems
Coil Spring type 1
This is a type of double-A or double wishbone suspension. The wheel spindles are supported
by an upper and lower 'A' shaped arm. In this type, the lower arm carries most of the load.
If you look head-on at this type of system, what you'll find is that it's a very parallelogram
system that allows the spindles to travel vertically up and down. When they do this, they
also have a slight side-to-side motion caused by the arc that the wishbones describe around
their pivot points. This side-to-side motion is known as scrub. Unless the links are infinitely
long the scrub motion is always present. There are two other types of motion of the wheel
relative to the body when the suspension articulates. The first and most important is a toe
angle (steer angle). The second and least important, but the one which produces most pub
talk is the camber angle, or lean angle. Steer and camber are the ones which wear tyres.
Coil Spring type 2
This is also a type of double-A arm suspension although the lower arm in these systems can
sometimes be replaced with a single solid arm (as in my picture). The only real difference
between this and the previous system mentioned above is that the spring/shock combo is
moved from between the arms to above the upper arm. This transfers the load-bearing
capability of the suspension almost entirely to the upper arm and the spring mounts. The
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lower arm in this instance becomes a control arm. This particular type of system isn't so
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popular in cars as it takes up a lot room.
Multi-link suspension
This is the latest incarnation of the double wishbone system described above. It's currently
being used in the Audi A8 and A4 amongst other cars. The basic principle of it is the same,
but instead of solid upper and lower wishbones, each 'arm' of the wishbone is a separate
item. These are joined at the top and bottom of the spindle thus forming the wishbone
shape. The super-weird thing about this is that as the spindle turns for steering, it alters the
geometry of the suspension by torquing all four suspension arms. They have complex pivot
systems designed to allow this to happen. Car manufacturers claim that this system gives
even better road-holding properties, because all the various joints make the suspension
almost infinitely adjustable. There are a lot of variations on this theme appearing at the
moment, with huge differences in the numbers and complexities of joints, numbers of arms,
positioning of the parts etc. but they are all fundamentally the same. Note that in this
system the spring (red) is separate from the shock absorber (yellow). Click on the image for
a reverse view of the same system (this will popup a separate window).
BRAKING SYSTEM
TYPES OF BRAKING SYSTEM
 ¾ Drum brakes
 ¾ Disc brakes
 ¾ Pneumatic braking system
 ¾ Hydraulic braking system
 ¾ Anti locking braking system
Drum brakes
Two semicircular brake shoes sit inside a spinning drum which is attached to the wheel.
When you apply the brakes, the shoes are expanded outwards to press against the inside of
the drum. This creates friction, which creates heat, which transfers kinetic energy, which
slows you down. The example below shows a simple model. The actuator in this case is the
blue elliptical object. As that is twisted, it forces against the brake shoes and in turn forces
them to expand outwards. The return spring is what pulls the shoes back away from the
surface of the brake drum when the brakes are released.
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ADVANTAGES
 ¾ Often applied to the rear wheels since most of the stopping happens in the front of
the vehicle and therefore the heat generated in the rear is significantly less.
 ¾ Occasionally fitted as the parking (and emergency) .
 ¾ In hybrid vehicle applications, wear on braking systems is greatly reduced by energy
recovering motor-generators
DISADVANTAGES
 ¾ When the drums are heated by hard braking, the diameter of the drum increases
slightly due to thermal expansion of the material, this means the brakes shoes have to
move farther and the brake pedal has to be depressed more.
 ¾ If the surface overheats to the point where it becomes glazed the reduction in
braking efficiency is more permanent.
 ¾ Excessive heating of the brake drums can cause the brake fluid to vapourise, which
reduces the hydraulic pressure being applied to the brake shoes.
DISC BRAKES
Disc brakes are an order of magnitude better at stopping vehicles than drum brakes, which is why
you'll find disc brakes on the front of almost every car and motorbike built today. Sportier
vehicles with higher speeds need better brakes to slow them down, so you'll likely see disc
brakes on the rear of those too.
Disc brakes are again a two-part system. Instead of the drum, you have a disc or rotor, and
instead of the
brake shoes, you now have brake caliper assemblies. The caliper assemblies contain one or more
hydraulic pistons which push against the back of the brake pads, clamping them together around
the spinning rotor. The harder they clamp together, the more friction is generated, which means
more heat, which means more kinetic energy transfer, which slows you down.
Self-Adjusting Brakes
The single-piston floating-caliper disc brake is self-centering and self-adjusting. The caliper is
able to slide from side to side so it will move to the center each time the brakes are
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applied. Also, since there is no spring to pull the pads away from the disc, the pads always
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stay in light contact with the rotor (the rubber piston seal and any wobble in the rotor may
actually pull the pads a small distance away from the rotor). This is important because the
pistons in the brakes are much larger in diameter than the ones in the master cylinder. If the
brake pistons retracted into their cylinders, it might take several applications of the brake
pedal to pump enough fluid into the brake cylinder to engage the brake pads.
Anti locking braking system
Stop without skidding, and maintain control of the vehicle. That's the premise of ABS. It was
first introduced in the 1980's and has been undergoing constant refinement ever since. The
system is typically comprised of 4 ABS rings, 4 sensors, an ABS computer and a number of
pressure-management circuits in the brake lines. The ABS rings are attached either to the wheels,
or more often, to the brake discs. They look like a notched ring - see the image to the right.
The sensors are magnetic field sensors which are held very close to the ABS rings and can detect
the slight change in magnetic field as the teeth on the ring pass them. The pulsing field tells the
ABS computer that the wheels are spinning, and how fast they're spinning.
When you brake, the wheel rotation starts to slow down. The ABS computer "listens" to the input
from the sensors and can detect if one wheel is slowing down much quicker than the others - the
precursor to the wheel locking up. (This all happens in milliseconds, by the way). When the
computer detects this condition, a pressure regulator in the brake circuit interrupts the pressure in
the brake lines by momentarily reducing it so that the brakes release just enough to give the wheels
a chance to keep spinning rather than lockingup. The computer then instructs the regulator to re -
apply full pressure and again measures the wheel rotation. This on/off/measure cycle happens
around 15to 30 times a second. If the ABS kicks in, you'll feel it through the brake pedal as a
vibration because the pulsing in the brake circuit affects all the components
Power Brakes
Power brakes (also known as power assisted brakes) are designed to use thepower of the engine and/or
battery to enhance your braking power. Whilst you can generate a fair amount of force using
your foot, using systems from elsewhere in the car to help you apply even more force means
that you get more powerful brakes as a result.
The four most common types of power brakes are: vacuum suspended; air suspended; hydraulic
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booster, and electrohydraulic booster. Most cars use vacuum suspended units (vacuum boosters).
In this type of system, when you press the brake pedal, the push rodto the master cylinder opens a
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vacuum control valve This allows vacuum pressure (normally from the intake manifold) to "suck"
on a diaphragm inside the vacuum assist unit. This extra vacuum suction helps you to produce
more force at the pedal end of the brake system.
Hydraulic booster systems usually utilise pressure from the power steering system to augment
pressure on the master brake cylinder.
Electrohydraulic booster systems use an electric motor to pressurize the hydraulic system
downwind of the brake pedal which has the effect of amplifying the internal pressure in the whole
system.The advantage to this system is that as long as you have battery power, you have power
brakes even if the engine fails. With vacuum-assist brakes, no engine means no assistance.If you're
curious about how power brakes work, go
out to your car and with the engine off, step on the brakes. They'll have a slightly solid, almost
wooden fee to them. Turn the engine on and do it again and you'll notice a lot less back -pressure on
the pedal. This is the power assist which is making it easier for you to depress the pedal.
Brake fluids
Brake fluid does not compress. It's a good job too- if you put your foot on the brake pedal and it
went all the way to the floor, you'd be worried. But that's exactly what can happen if you disregard
the "health" of your brake fluid.
Brake fluid is hygroscopic - that means it attracts and soaks up water. This is why it comes in
sealed containers when you buy it, and why when the crazy guy four doors down offers you some of
the 15 gallons of brake fluid he's had in his garage since the war, you should turn him down. The
problem with it being hygroscopic is that if it does start to take on water, Bad Things can happen.
Pull up a chair and allow me to explain.
Your typical DOT 4 brake fluid (see later for DOT ratings) boils at about 446°F (230°C). Water boils at
212°F (100°C). Imagine your brakes are getting hot because of a long downhill stretch. Whilst the
brake fluid is quite OK, the temperature of the brake components might get up over the boiling
point of water. If that happens, the water boils out of the brake fluid an d forms steam- a
compressible gas. Next time you put your foot on the brake, rather than braking, all the pressure in
the brake systemis taken up with compressing the steam. Your brakes go out, you don't stop. Getting
a little more complex, the boiling point of a liquid goes up with its pressure (Physics 101). So when
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you step on the brake, the boiling point of the brake fluid might actually go up to 500°F (260°C) and
the boiling point of the water content might raise up to 250°F (121°C). This is great, you might think,
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because now the boiling point is higher than the temperature of the brake fluid. At least it is until
you take your foot off the brake again. Now the pressure in the system returns to normal, the boiling
points revert to normal and instantly the water boils off into steam again.
The symptoms are slightly different now. Under this scenario, the brakes work the first one or two
times, but on the third or fourth press, they stop working because now the temperature and
pressures have conspired to boil the water.
The worst possible scenario is brake-fade (see right at the top) combined with air in the system. If this
has happened to you, then you're likely reading this page from beyond the grave, because in most
accidents where weak brakes become no brakes, there aren't any survivors.
STEERING
Rack-and-pinion
Steering
Rack-and-pinion steering is quickly becoming the most common type of steering on cars, small trucks
and SUVs. It is actually a pretty simple mechanism. A rack-and-pinion gearset is enclosed in a metal tube,
with each end of the rack protruding from the tube. A rod, called a tie rod, connects to each end of the
rack.
The pinion gear is attached to the steering shaft. When you turn the steering wheel, the gear spins,
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moving the rack. The tie rod at each end of the rack connects to the steering arm on the spindle (see
diagram above).
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The rack-and-pinion gearset does two things:
x It converts the rotational motion of the steering wheel into the linear motion needed to turn
the wheels.
x It provides a gear reduction, making it easier to turn the wheels.
Recirculating-ball Steering
Recirculating-ball steering is used on many trucks and SUVs today. The linkage that turns the wheels
is slightly different than on a rack-and-pinion system.
The recirculating-ball steering gear contains a worm gear. You can image the gear in two parts. The first
part is a block of metal with a threaded hole in it. This block has gear teeth cut into the outside of it,
which engage a gear that moves the pitman arm (see diagram above). The steering wheel connects to a
threaded rod, similar to a bolt, that sticks into the hole in the block. When the steering wheel turns, it
turns the bolt Instead of twisting further into the block the way a regular bolt would, thisbolt is held
fixed so that when it spins, it moves the block, which moves the gear that turns the wheels.
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Instead of the bolt directly engaging the threads in the block, all of the threads are filled with ball
bearings that recirculate through the gear as it turns. The balls actually serve two purposes: First,
they reduce friction and wear in the gear; second, they reduceslop in the gear. Slop would be felt when
you change the direction of the steering wheel -- without the balls in the steering gear, the teeth
would come out of contact with each other for a moment, making t he steering wheel feel loose.
Power Steering
There are a couple of key components in power steering in addition to the rack-and-pinion or
recirculating-ball mechanism.
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Pump
The hydraulic power for the steering is provided by arotary-vane pump (see diagram below). This pump is
driven by the car's engine via a belt and pulley. It contains a set of retractable vanes that spin inside an
ova chamber.
As the vanes spin, they pull hydraulic fluid from the return line at low pressure and force it into the outlet
at high pressure. The amount of flow provided by the pump depends on the car's engine speed. The
pump must be designed to provide adequate flow when the engine is idling. As a result, the pump moves
much more fluid than necessary when the engine is running at faster speeds.
The pump contains a pressure-relief valve to make sure that the pressure does not get too high, especially
at high engine speeds when so much fluid is being pumped.
Rotary Valve
A power-steering system should assist the driver only when he is exerting force on the s teering wheel
(such as when starting a turn). When the driver is not exerting force (such as when driving in a straight
line), the system shouldn't provide any assist. The device that senses the force on thesteering wheel is
called the rotary valve.
The key to the rotary valve is a torsion bar. The torsion bar is a thin rod of metal that twists when torque is
applied to it. The top of the bar is connected to the steering wheel, and the bottom of the bar is connected
to the pinion or worm gear (which turns the wheels), so the amount of torque in the torsion bar is equal to
the amount of torque the driver is using to turn the wheels. The more torque the driver uses to turn the
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wheels, the more the bar twists.

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The input from the steering shaft forms the inner part of aspool-valve assembly. It also connects to the
top end of the torsion bar. The bottom of the torsion bar connects to the outer part of the spool
valve. The torsion bar also turns the output of the steering gear, connecting to either the pinion gear
or the worm gear depending on which type of steering the car has.
As the bar twists, it rotates the inside of the spool valve relative to the outside. Since the inner part of
the spool valve is also connected to the steering shaft (and therefore to the steering wheel), the
amount of rotation between the inner and outer parts of the spool valve depends on how much
torque the driver applies to the steering wheel.
Airbag Inflation
The goal of an airbag is to slow the passenger's forward motion as evenly as possible in a fraction
of a second. There are three parts to an airbag that help to accomplis h this feat:
x The bag itself is made of a thin, nylon fabric, which is folded into the steering wheel
or dashboard or, more recently, the seat or door.
x The sensor is the device that tells the bag to inflate. Inflation happens when there is a
collision force equal to running into a brick wall at 10 to 15 miles per hour (16 to 24 km
per hour). A mechanical switch is flipped when there is a mass shift that closes an
electrical contact, telling the sensors that a crash has occurred. The sensors receive
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information from an accelerometer built into a microchip.

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x The airbag's inflation system reacts sodium azide (NaN3) with potassium nitrate (KNO3)
to produce nitrogen gas. Hot blasts of the nitrogen inflate the airbag.
The airbag and inflation system stored in the steering

wheel. See more airbag images.
Early efforts to adapt the airbag for use in cars bumped up against prohibitive pricesand technical
hurdles involving the storage and release of compressed gas. Researchers wondered:
x If there was enough room in a car for a gas canister

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x Whether the gas would remain contained at high pressure for the life of the car
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x How the bag could be made to expand quickly and reliably at a variety of
operating temperatures and without emitting an ear -splitting bang
They needed a way to set off a chemical reaction that would produce the nitrogen that would inflate
the bag. Small solid-propellant inflators came to the rescue in the 1970s.
The inflation system uses a solid propellant and an igniter
The inflation system is not unlike a solid rocket booster (seeHow Rocket Engines Work for details).
The airbag system ignites a solid propellant, which burns extremely rapidly to create a large volume
of gas to inflate the bag. The bag then literally bursts from its storage site at up to 200 mph (322 kph)-
- faster than the blink of an eye! A second later, the gas quickly dissipates through tiny hole s in the
bag, thus deflating the bag so you can move.
Even though the whole process happens in only one-twenty-fifth of a second, the additional time
is enough to help prevent serious injury. The powdery substance released from the airbag, by the
way, is regular cornstarch or talcum powder,
which is used by the airbag manufacturers to keep the bags pliable and lubricated while they're in
storage.
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Airbag Deactivation
In response to concerns about children -- and others, especially smaller people -- being killed or
seriously injured by malfunctioning or overly powerful airbags, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) in 1997 issued a final rule to allow auto manufactu rers to use lower-powered
airbags. This rule permits airbags to be depowered by 20 to 35 percent. In addition, starting in 1998,
repair shops and dealers were allowed to install on/off switches that allow airbags to be deactivated.
Vehicle owners could now be authorized (by the NHTSA) to get on/off switches installed for one or
both airbags in their car if they (or other users of their car) fell into one or more of these specific risk
groups:
x Forboth driver and passenger sides - Individuals with medical conditions in which the risks
of deploying the airbag exceed the risk of impact in the absence of an airbag
x Forthe driver side (in addition to medical conditions) - Those who cannot position themselves
to properly operate their cars at least 10 inches (25.4 cm) back from the center of the
driver airbag cover
x Forthe passenger side (in addition to medical conditions) - Individuals who need to transport a
baby in a rear-facing child restraint in the front seat because the car has no rear seat, the
rear seat is too small to accommodate a rear-facing child seat or because it's necessary to
constantly monitor a child's medical condition
x Forthe passenger side (in addition to medical conditions) - Individuals who need to carry
children between one and 12 years old in the front seat because (a) the car has no rear
seat, (b) the vehicle owner must carry more children than can fit into the back seat or (c)
because it's necessary to constantly monitor a child's health .
Transmission
Types of Transmission system
 ¾ Manual transmission
 ¾ Automatic transmission
 ¾ Semi automatic Transmission
 ¾ Continuously variable transmission
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Manual transmission
A Real Transmission
The following animation shows you the internal workings of a four -speed transmission with reverse.
The five-speed manual transmission is fairly standard on cars today. Internally, it looks something
like this
There are three forks controlled by three rods that are engaged by the shift lever. Looking at the shift rods
from the top, they look like this in reverse, first and second gear:
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Keep in mind that the shift lever has a rotation point in the middle. When you push the knob
forward to engage first gear, you are actually pulling the rod and fork for first gear back.
You can see that as you move the shifter left and right you are engaging different forks (and therefore
different collars). Moving the knob forward and backward moves the collar to engage one of the gears
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Reverse gear is handled by a small idler gear (purple). At all times, the blue reverse gear in this
diagram is turning in a direction opposite to all of the other blue gears. Therefore, it would be
impossible to throw the transmission into reverse while the car is moving forward -- the dog teeth
would never engage. However, they will make a lot of noise! .
Before the gearbox - the clutch
So now you have a basic idea of how gearing works there's a second item in your trans mission that
you need to understand - the clutch. The clutch is what enables you to change gears, and sit at
traffic lights without stopping the engine. You need a clutch because your engine is running all the
time which means the crank is spinning all the time. You need someway to disconnect this
constantly-spinning crank from the gearbox, both to allow you to stand still as well as to allow you
to change gears. The clutch is composed of three basic elements; the flywheel, the pressure plate
and the clutch plate(s). The flywheel is attached to the end of the main crank and the clutch plates
are attached to the gearbox layshaft using a spline. You'll need to look at my diagrams to
understand the next bit because there are some other items involved in the basic operation of a
clutch. (I've rendered the clutch cover in cutaway in the first image so you can the inner
components.) So here we go.
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In the diagram above, the clutch cover is bolted to the flywheel so it turns with the flywheel. The
diaphragm springs are connected to the inside of the clutch cover with a bolt/pivot arrangement that
allows them to pivot about the attachment bolt. The ends of the diaphragm springs are hooked under
the lip of the pressure plate. So as the engine turns, the flywheel, clutch cover, diaphragm springs and
pressure plate are all spinning together.
The clutch pedal is connected either mechanically or hydraulically to a fork mechanism which loops
around the throw-out bearing. When you press on the clutch, the fork pushes on the throw -out
bearing and it slides along the layshaft putting pressure on the innermost edges of the diaphragm
springs. These in turn pivot on their pivot points against the inside of the clutch cover, pulling the
pressure plate away from the back of the clutch plates. This release of pressure allows theclutch plates
to disengage from the flywheel. The flywheel keeps spinning on the end of the engine crank but it no
longer drives the gearbox because the clutch plates aren't pressed up against it.
As you start to release the clutch pedal, pressure isreleased on the throw-out bearing and the
diaphragm springs begin to push the pressure plate back against the back of the clutch plates, in turn
pushing them against the flywheel again. Springs inside the clutch plate absorb the initial shoc k of the
clutch touching the flywheel and as you take your foot off the clutch pedal completely, the clutch is
firmly pressed against it. The friction material on the clutch plate is what grips the back of the flywheel
and causes the input shaft of the gearbox to spin at the same speed.
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Burning your clutch
You might have heard people using the term 'burning your clutch'. This is when you hold the clutch pedal in
a position such that the clutch plate is not totally engaged against the back of the flywheel. A t this point,
the flywheel is spinning and brushing past the friction material which heats it up in much the same was as
brake pads heat up when pressed against a spinning brake rotor (see theBrake Bible). Do this for long
enough and you'll smell it because you're burning off the friction material. This can also happen
unintentionally if you rest your foot on the clutch pedal in the course of normal driving. That slight pressure
can be just enough to release the diaphragm spring enough for the clutch to occasionally lose grip and
burn.
A slipping clutch
The other term you might have heard is a 'slipping clutch'. This is a clutch that has a mechanical problem.
Either the diaphragm spring has weakened and can't applyenough pressure, or more likely the friction
material is wearing down on the clutch plates. In either case, the clutch is not properly engaging against the
flywheel and under heavy load, like accelerating in a high gear or up a hill, the clutch will disengage slightly
and spin at a different rate to the flywheel. You'll feel this as a loss of power, or you'll see it as the revs in
the engine go up but you don't accelerate. Do this for long enough and you'll end up with the above - a
burned out clutch.
Automatic transmission
If you have ever driven a car with an automatic transmission, then you know that there are two big
differences between an automatic transmission and a manual transmission:
x There is no clutch pedal in an automatic transmission car.
xThere is no gear shift in an automatic transmission car. Once you put the transmission into drive,
everything else is automatic.
Both the automatic transmission (plus its torque converter) and a manual transmission (with its clutch)
accomplish exactly the same thing, but they do it in totally different ways. It turns out that the way an
automatic transmission does it is absolutely amazing!
Just like that of a manual transmission, the automatic transmission's primary job is to allow t he engine to
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operate in its narrow range of speeds while providing a wide range of output speeds .
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Mercedes-Benz CLK, automatic transmission, cut-away
model
Without a transmission, cars would be limited to onegear ratio, and that ratio would have to be
selected to allow the car to travel at the desired top speed. If you wanted a top speed of 80 mph, then
the gear ratio would be similar to third gear in most manual transmission cars.
You've probably never tried driving a manual transmission car using only third gear. If you did, you'd
quickly find out that you had almost no acceleration when starting out, and at high spe eds, the engine
would be screaming along near the red-line. A car like this would wear out very quickly and would be
nearly undriveable.
So the transmission uses gears to make more effective use of the engine'storque, and to keep the
engine operating at an appropriate speed.
The key difference between a manual and an automatic transmission is that the manual transmission
lock and unlocks different sets of gears to the output shaft to achieve the various gear ratios, while
in an automatic transmission, the same set of gears produces all of the different gear ratios. The
planetary gearset is the device that makes this possible in an automatic transmission.
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Compound Planetary Gearset
This automatic transmission uses a set of gears, called acompound planetary gearset, that looks like a
single planetary gearset but actually behaves like two planetary gearsets combined. It has one ring
gea that is always the output of the transmission,but it has two sun gears and two sets of planets.
Let's look at some of the parts:
How the gears in the transmission are put together

Left to right: the ring gear, planet carrier, and two sun gears
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The figure below shows the planets in the planet carrier. Notice how the planet on the right sits lower
than the planet on the left. The planet on the right does not engage the ring gear -- it engages the other
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planet. Only the planet on the left engages the ring gear.
Planet carrier: Note the two sets of planets.
Next you can see the inside of the planet carrier. The shorter gears are engaged only by the smaller
sun gear. The longer planets are engaged by the bigger sun gear and by the smaller planets.
Inside the planet carrier: Note the two sets of planets

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Automatic transmission uses torque converter instead of clutch
Just like a manual gearbox, an automatic gearbox needs a method of decoupling the constantly -
spinning engine from the gearbox components. To do this it uses a torque converter which is a
viscous fluid coupling (because it's full of hydraulic fluid). A torque converter consists of three basic
elements. The impeller, the turbine and the stator. The impeller is attached to the torque converter
housing which itself is attached to the engine flywheel. The impeller is basically a centrifugal pump.
As the flywheelspins, so does the impeller and the vanes take the fluid from the central part of the
torque converter and fling it to the outside creating a pumping action. The fluid then circulates
around the outer edge of the torque converter and back into the turbine. The turbine is basically
the opposite of the impeller- it's like a ships's propeller in that the fluid passing through it causes it
to spin. The turbine is connected to the input shaft of the gearbox via a splined shaft so as the
turbine spins, so doesthe input shaft to the gearbox. The fluid passes through the turbine from the
outside towards the inside. Finally, as the fluid reaches the central core, it passes through the
stator which is designed to help redirect the flow into the inner vanes of the impeller. (Without
the stator, the whole system would be a lot less efficient) With this mechanism, the fluid is
constantly being circulated. In the image below I've rendered the various parts of an example
torque converter taken apart so you can see the internal construction.
When the engine is idling, the fluid is pumping around without a lot of force and the amount of
torque on the turbine is minimal. As you accelerate, the impeller speeds up and creates larger
forces on the turbine which in turn spins more quickly and with more torque. Because it's
connected to the input shaft of the gearbox, this feeds more rotational speed and torque into the
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gearbox and the car starts to move forwards It's because of this viscous liquid coupling that
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automatic gearboxes have a certain amount of 'slop' in them - the engine can rev up and down
without the car actually changing speed too much. It's also the reason automatics are less fuel
efficient because the torque converter uses up energy from the engine simply in its design by
spinning the hydraulic fluid.
Semi-automatic Gearboxes
Despite the name, these are actually an advanced type of manual gearbox. It's better to refer to
them clutchless manual gearboxes because that more accurately describes what they are. Semi -
automatics do
not use planetary gearsets and torque converters; they use layshafts, output shaf ts, clutches and
selector forks just like a manual. They come in three flavours, all of which have the same internal
mechanisms. Two of those use the familiar paddle-shifters or up-down gearstick for changing gears. (This
begins to explain why you cannot simply look at a gearstick or paddle-shifter and tell what the gearbox
is. Up/down gearsticks or paddleshifters can both control sequential manual, clutchless manual or
TipTronic ® type gearboxes.) The third type has a pure manual gearstick. None o f the three types have a
clutch pedal though so how do they work? Well in the case of the first type, when you click the gearstick
up or down, or press one of the paddleshifters, a hydromechanical system disengages the clutch and
then moves the gearbox selector forks into the position for the next gear before re -engaging the clutch.
Because the system takes inputs from load- and torque-sensors as well as road speed, throttle position
and engine demand sensors, and because it's all computer controlled, it ca n shift more quickly and more
smoothly that you or I ever could.
The third type uses the same hydromechanical system underneath but has additional sensors
coupled to the gearstick. With this type, the action of moving the gearstick out of the gate for one
of the gears (for example pulling it back from first) passes a hall effect sensor which tells the clutch
to disengage. When you push the gearstick into the gate for the new gear, another hall effect sensor
detects the final position of the gearstick and tells the clutch to re-engage. Effectively it's identical to
driving a manual car only without a clutch pedal.
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CVT (continuously variable transmission)
The most basic CVT has two variable pulleys and a steel -core rubber belt. One pulley is connected
to the flywheel and the other to the gearbox output shaft. A belt loops around between the two.
On simple scooter-type CVTs, the pulleys change geometry simply by rotational forces - the faster
the engine pulley spins, the more it closes up and the faste r the output pulley spins, the moreit
opens out. In automotive applications, the geometry of the pulley is governed by a hydraulic piston
connected to the ECU. The pulley itself is basically a splined shaft with a pair of sliding conical
wedges on it. The closer the wedges are together, the larger the radius 'loop' the belt has to make
to get around them. The further they are apart the smaller the radius 'loop' the belt has to make.
Based on the principles established right at the top of the page when I was talking about
intermeshing gears, if the flywheel pulley has a small radius and the output pulley has a large radius,
then the transmission is essentially in low gear. As the car gets up to speed, the two pulleys are
adjusted together so that they present an infintely changing series ofradii to the belt which ends up
with the flywheel pulley having the largest radius and the output pulley having the smallest. On
then to the pictures. This first image shows the basic layout of a pulley -based CVT with the two
sliding pulleys and the drive belt. This is the equivalent of 'low gear' - the drive pulley spins two or
three times for each rotation of the output pulley. It's the equivalent of a small gear meshing with a
large gear in a regula manual gearbox.
This image shows the same system in 'high gear'. The drive pulley has closed up forcing the drive
belt to travel a larger radius. At the same time, the output pulley has pulled apart giving a smaller
radius. The result is that for each turn of the drive pull ey, the output pulley now spins two or three
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times. It's the equivalent of a large gear meshing with a small gear in a regular manual gearbox. The
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difference here is
that to get from the low gear to the high gear, the infinite adjustment of the position of the pulleys
basically means an infinite number of gears with no point where the drive is ever disconnected from the Page |
output. 30
Advantages of CVT
 ¾ It increases the pick up of the vehicle. i.e. vehicle runs on CVT will take 7.5 secs for 100mtrs
while the vehicle with manual transmission will take 10 secs.
 ¾ It improves the mileage of vehicle as it has infinite gear ratio’s.
 ¾ Noise cut off.
Differentials
With one or two exceptions, every car has a differential. This was a great surprise to an insurance adjuster
spoke to a few years back when he came to process a claim. He eloquently informed me that my claim was
being rejected because my car didn't have a differential to replace. In the following few paragraphs you'll
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learn why that loss adjuster was talking bollocks.

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So how best to begin to talk about differentials? I suppose to start with you need to understand a very
simple concept to do with circles. When you make a car go around a corner, the outer wheels travel
furthe than the inner wheels. Have a look at the diagram below tosee what I'm talking about.
The first thing you'll notice is that the rear wheels take a different path to the front wheels, but the othe
thing to notice is that because the car's wheels are describing different radius arcs, the further away from
the centrepoint of the arc, the larger the distance that gets travelled. In car terms, that means the oute
wheels need to turn more times than the inner ones every time you go around a corner, because they're
describing a larger arc. The brighter ones amongst you will now have figured out that if the outer and inner
wheels were joined together with a solid axle, one of them could not turn more times than the other-
they'd have to turn at the same rate. That, dear reader, is the crux of the matter. Differentials basically
allow two wheels on the same axle to turn at different rates. (As well as allowing the wheels on the same
axle to turn at different rates, the differential also acts as the final gear reduction in the driveline.)
Open Differentials
We'll deal with open differentials first because they're the easiest to explain, they're the most common
and they supply the same amount of torque to each output. Open differentials have a few essentia
components, illustrated below. The input pinion gear is the gear that is driven from the drivetrain -
typically the output shaft from the transmission. It drives the ring gear which, being larger, is what gives
that fina gear reduction I mentioned. Attached to the ring gear is the cage, containing two captive
piniongears that are intermeshed with the two output pinion gears, one connected to each axle. The
captive pinions are free to rotate how they wish.
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As the input pinion spins, it meshes with the ring gear. The ring gear spins, spinning the cage and the two
captive pinions. When the vehicle is travelling in a straight line, neither drive pinion is trying to spin any
differently from the other, so the captive pinions don't spin and the turning of the ring gear is translated
directly to both drive pinions. These are connected to the driveshafts to the wheels, so effectively, the ring
gear spins the wheels at the same speed that it is turning. When the vehicle starts to turn a corner, one of
the wheels is going to want to spin more quickly than the other. At this point, the captive pinions come
into play, allowing the two drive pinions to spin at slightly different speeds whilst still transmitting
torque to them. Clever. You can tell if your vehicle's differential is working properly by jacking the driven
axle up off the ground and spinning one wheel. When you do, because the gearbox is stationary, it holds
the ring gear solid, the captive pinions spin in opposite directions, and the other wheel on the axle spins
the other way around. This also explains why a two-wheel-drive vehicle can get into trouble when one
wheel has less friction with the ground than the other. The open differential cannot compensate for this.
If one drive pinion is held solid compared to the other, then all the input gets redirected to the drive
pinion that has the least resistance. This is why when you gun a two-wheel-drive car with one wheel on
ice and the other on the road, the wheel on the ice spins and the wheel on the road doesn't. You don't go
anywhere because all the engine power is directed to the wheel with least resistance - the one on the
ice. Imagine the same scenario on a four-wheel-drive vehicle that has open differentials on the front and
rear. If you're off-roading in such a vehicle and get it into a situation where one front wheel and one rear
wheel are off the ground, you're stuck. The differentials will spin the airborne wheels and send no torque
to the ones on the ground. That leads us nicely on to the next topic :
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Limited-slip differentials
Physically there's not a lot of difference in the design of a limited-slip differential. It still has all the
components of an open differential but there is two crucial extra elements. The first are spring pressure
plates which are a pair of springs and pressure plates nestled in the cagebetween the two drive pinions.
These push the drive pinions outwards where the second extra element comes into play- clutch packs. The
backside of the drive pinions have friction material on them which presses against clutch plates built into
the cage. This means that the clutch is always going to try to behave as if the car was moving in a straight
line by attempting to make both output pinions spin at the same speed as the ring gear and cage. However
when a car with a limited-slip differential goes into a corner, there are enough forces at play that the drive
pinions begin to slip against the clutch material, thus allowing them to turn at different speeds again. The
stiffness of the spring pack coupled with the friction of the clutch pack together determine the amount of
torque required to overcome the clutch. So lets go back to our hapless driver stuck with one wheel on
the ice and another on the road. With a limited-slip differential, because of the spring- and clutch-packs,
even though one wheel is on the ice, the differential is going to attempt to spin both drive pinions at the
same speed. With low engine revs and steady throttle control, the wheel on the road will get enough spin
to move the vehicle forwards. If the engine is revved hard though, it can still generate sufficient torque to
overcome the clutch pack and once again, only the wheel on the ice will spin. To get around this, it's a good
idea to try to pull away in second gear - that gives the limited-slip differential a chance to do its job. The
render below shows the generic open differential from above modified to be a limited-slip differential.
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IC ENGINES
Engine layouts
Below are some illustrations of the most common types of cylinder layout you'll find in engines today. Singles are
typically used in motorbikes, snowblowers, chainsaws etc. V-twins are also found in motorbikes. The triple is almost
unique to Triumph motorbikes where they call it the Speed Triple, or the 675. Inline-fours are the mainstay of car
engines, as well as being found in some motorbikes too such as the BMW K1200S. Inline fives used to be used a lot in
Audis but have found a new home in current Volvos. The V5 is something you'll find in some VWs. The V6 has the
benefits of being smoother than an inline-four but without the fuel economy issues of a V8. Boxer engines are found
in BMW motorbikes (twins) and Porsches and Subarus (fours and sixes). You hadno idea, did you?
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Top Dead Centre (TDC) and ignition timing
When a piston in an engine reaches the top of its travel, that point is known as Top Dead Centre or TDC.
This is important to know because I don't think any engine actually fires the spark plug with the pistons
at TDC. More often than not, they fire slightly before TDC. So how does your ignition system work, and
what is ignition timing all about?
Well generating the spark is the easy part. The electrical system in your car supplies voltage to your coil
and ignition unit. The engine will have a trigger for each cylinder, be it a mechanical trigger (points),
electronic module or crank trigger. Whatever it is, at that point, the engine effectively sends a signal to
the coil to discharge into the high voltage system. That charge travels into the distributor cap and is
routed to the relevant spark plug where it is turned into a spark. The key to this, though, is the timing of
the spark in relation to the position of the piston in the cylinder. Hence ignition timing. Having the spark
ignite the fuel-air mixture too soon is basically the same as detonation and is bad for all the mechanical
components of your engine.
Having the spark come along too late will cause it to try to ignite the fuel-air mixture after the piston
has already started to recede down the cylinder, which is inefficient and loses power. Timing the
spark nowadays is usually done with the engine management system. It measures airflow, ambient
temperature, takes input from knock sensors and literally dozens of sensors all over the engine. It
then has an ignition timing map built into its memory and it cross references the input from all the
sensors to determine the precise time that it should fire the spark plug, based on the ignition timing
map. At 3000rpm, in a 4 cylinder engine, it does this about 100 times a second. In older systems, the
spark timing was done using simple mechanical systems which had nowhere nea the ability to
compensate for the all the variables involved in a running combustion engine.
Typically as an engine revs quicker, the ignition timing needs to advance because the spark needs to
get to the cylinder more quickly due to the engine running faster. In modern systems, this is all
taken account of in the ignition timing map. On older mechanical system, they used mechanical or
vacuum advance systems, so that the more vacuum generated in the intake manifold (due to the
engine running quicker), the more advanced the timing became.
Spark plugs
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And engine without a spark plug is useless, unless it's a diesel engine in which case it uses a glowplug
instead. But we're talking about regular petrol engines here so the next topic to get to grips with is the
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spark plug. It does exactly what it says on the tin- it's a plug that generates a spark. Duh. So why spend
time talking about it? Well with apologies to George Orwell not all spark plugs are created equal. Some
are more equal than others. They'll all do the job but the more you pay, the better the plug. All spark plugs
share the same basic design and construction though.
The high voltage from your vehicle's high-tension electrical system is fed into the terminal at the top of
the spark plug. It travels down through the core of the plug (normally via some noise -suppression
components to prevent electrical noise) and arrives at the centre electrode at the bottom where it jumps
to the ground electrode creating a spark. The crush washer is designed to be crushed by tightening the
spark plug down when it's screwed into the cylinder head, and as such, it helps keep the screw threads
under tension to stop the spark plug from shaking loose or backing out. The insulator basically keeps the
high-tension charge away from the cylinder head so that the spark plug doesn't ground before it gets a
chance to generate the spark.
The type of plug I've illustrated here is known as aprojected nose type plug, because the tip extends
below the bottom of the spark plug itself. The other main type of spark plug has the centre electrode
recessed into the plug itself and merely grounds to the collar at the bottom. The advantage of the
projected nose type is that the spark is better exposed to the fuel -air mixture.
Ground electrode (ground strap)

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types.There are plenty of different types of grounding electrodes kicking around in spark plug designs
nowadays, from 'Y' shaped electrodes (like SplitFire plugs) to grooved electrodes like you'll find on
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Champion plugs all the way up to triple-electrode plugs like the high-end Bosch items. They're all designed
to try to get a better spark, and to that end, you'll now find all sorts of exotic materials turning up too.
Titanium plugs, for example, have better electrical conductivity than brass and steel plugs, and the theory
is that they'll generate a stronger, more reliable spark Gapping a spark plug. Gapping a spark plug is the
process of ensuring the gap between the two electrodes is correct for the type of engine the plug is going
to be used in. Too large a gap and the spark will be weak. Too small and the spark might jump across the
gap too early. Generally speaking, the factory-set spark plug gap is just fine, but if you're running an older
engine, or a highly tuned engine, then you need to pay attention to the gap. Feeler gauges are used to
measure the gap, and a gapping tool is used to bend the oute r electrode so that the gap is correct Heat
ranges. Something that is often overlooked in spark plugs is their heat rating or heat range. The term
"heat range" refers to the relative temperature of the tip of the spark plug when its working. The hot and
cold classifications often cause confusion because a 'hot' spark plug is normally used in a 'cold' (low
horsepower) engine and vice versa. The term actually refers to the thermal characteristics of the plug
itself, specifically its ability to dissipate heat into the cooling system. A cold plug can get rid of heat very
quickly and should be used in engines that runhot and lean. A hot plug takes longer to cool down and
should be used in lower compression engines where heat needs to be retained to prevent combustion
byproduct buildup.
Carburetors
A carburettor is basically a shaped tube.

The shape of the tube is designed to swirl the incoming air and generate a vacuum in a section called
the ventur pipe (or just the venturi). In the side of the venturi is a fue l jet which is basically a tiny
hole connected to the float chamber via a pipe. It's normally made of bras and has a miniscule hole
in the end of it which determines the flow of fuel through it. In more complex carburettors, this is an
adjustable needle valve where a screw on the outside of the carburettor can screw a needle in and
out of the valve to give some tuning control over the fuel flow. The fuel is pulled through the jet by
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the vacuum created in the venturi. At the bottom of the tube is a throttle plate or throttle butterfly
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which is basically a flat circular plate that pivots along its centreline. Itis connected mechanically to
the accelerator pedal or twist-grip throttle via the throttle cable. The more you push on the
accelerator or twist open the throttle, the more the throttle butterfly opens. This allows more air in
which creates more vacuum, which draws more fuel through the fuel jet and gives a larger fuel-air
Charge to the cylinder, resulting in acceleration.
When the throttle is closed, the throttle butterfly in the carburettor is also closed. This means the
engine is trying to suck fuel-air mix and generating a vacuum behind the butterfly valve so the
regular fuel jet won't work. To allow the engine to idle without shutting off completely, a second
fuel jet known as the idle valve is screwed into the venturi downwind of the throttle butterfly. This
allows just enough fuel to get into the cylinders to keep the engine ticking over.
Float and diaphragm chambers.
To make sure a carburettor has a good, constant supply of fuel to be sucked through the fuel jets, it
has a float chamber or float bowl. This is a reservoir of petrol that is constantly topped up from the
fuel tank. Petrol goes through an inline filter and a strainer to make sure it's clean of contaminants
and is then deposited into the float chamber. A sealed plastic box is pivotted at one end and floats
on top of the fuel. Believe it or not, this is called the float. A simple lever connects to the float and
controls a valve on the fuel intake line. As the fuel drops in the float chamber, the float drops with i
which opens the valve and allows more fuel in. As the level goes up, the float goes up and the valve
is restricted. This means that the level in the float chamber is kept constant no matter how much
fuel the carburettor is demanding through the fuel jets. The quicker the level tries to drop, the more
the intake valve is opened and the more petrol comes in to keep the fuel level up. This is why
carburettors don't work too well when they're tipped over- the float chamber leaks or empties out
resulting in a fuel spill - something you don't get with injectors. To combat this, another type of
chamber is used where carburettors can't be guaranteed to be upright (like in chainsaws). These use
diaphragm chambers instead. The principle is more or less the same though. The chamber is full o
fuel and has a rubber diaphragm across the top of it with the other side exposed to ambient ai
pressure. As the fuel level drops in the chamber, the outside air pressure forces the diaphragm
down. Because it's connected to an intake valve in the same waythat the float is in a float chamber,
as the diaphragm is sucked inwards, it opens the intake valve and more fuel is let in to replenish the
chamber. Diaphragm chambers are normally spill-proof.
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Valves and valve mechanisms.
If you've got this far down the page, hopefully you understand that the valves are what let the
fuel-air mixture into the cylinder, and let the exhaust out. Seems simple enough, but there are
some interesting differences in the various types of valve mechanism.
Spring-return valves.
Spring return valves are about the most commonly-used and most basic type of valvetrain in
engines today. Their operation is simplicity itself and there are only really three variations of the
same style. The basic premise here is that the spinning camshaft operates the valves by pushing
them open, and valve return springs force them closed. The cam lobes either operate directly on the
top of the valve itself, or in some cases, on a rocker arm which pivots and pushes on the top of the
valve. The three variations of this type of valve-train are based on the combination of rocker arms
(or not) and the position of the camshaft.
The most basic type has the camshaft at the top of the engine with the cam lobes operating directly
on the tops of the valves. The second more complex type still has the camshaft at the top of the
engine, but the cam lobes operate rocker arms, which in turn pivot and operate on the tops of the
valves. With some of these designs, the rocker arm is pivoted in the middle (as shown below) and
with other designed, it's pivoted at one end and the cam lobe operates on it at the midpoint. Think
of a fat bloke bouncing in the middle of a diving board whilst the tip of the board hits a swimmer on
the head and you'll get the general idea.
The third type which you'll find in some motorcycle engines and many boxer engines are pushrod-
activated valves. The camshaft is actually directly geared off the crank at the bottom of the engine
and the cam lobes push on pushrods which run up the sides of the engine. The top of the pushrod
then pushes on a rocker arm, which finally pivots and operates on the top of the valve. The image
here shows the three derivatives in their most basic form so you can see the differences between
them. Note that the pushrod type shows the camshaft in the wrong place simply for the purpose of
getting it into the image. In reality the camshaft in this system is right at the bottom of the engine
near the crank. The rocker arms shown here are also called fingers, or followers depending on who
you talk to.
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Tappet Valves
Tappet valves aren't really a unique type of valve but a derivative of spring -return valves. For the most
part, the direct spring return valve described above wouldn't act directly on the top of the valve itself,
but rather on an oil-filled tappet. The tappet is basically an upside-down bucket that covers the top of
the valve stem and contains the spring. It's normally filled with oil through a smal hole when the engine is
pressurised. The purpose of tappets is two-fold. The oil in them helps quiet down the valvetrain noise, and
the top of the tappet gives a more uniform surface for the cam lo be to work on. From a maintenance
point of view, tappets are the items which wear and are a lot easier to swap out than entire valve
assemblies. The image on the left shows a simple tappet valve assembly. I've rendered the tappet slightly
transparent so you can see the return spring inside.
Desmodromic Valves
Desmodromic valve systems are unique to Ducati motorbikes.

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From the Ducati website: The word 'desmodromic' is derived from two Greek roots, desmos (controlled, linked)
and dromos (course, track). It refers to the exclusive valve control system used in Ducati engines both valve
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movements (opening and closing) are 'operated." Classy, but what does it mean. Well in both the above
systems, the closure mechanism on the valve relies on mechanical springs o hydraulics. There's
nothing to actually force the valve to close. With the Ducati Desmodromic system, the camshaft has
two lobes per valve, and the only spring is there to take up the slack in the closing system. That's
right; Ducati valves are forced closed by the camshaft. The marketing people will tell you it's one of
the reasons Ducati motorbike engines have been able to rev much higher than their Japanese
counterparts. The idea is that with springs especially, once you get to a certain speed, you're bound
by the metallurgy of the spring - it can no longer expand to full length in the time between cylinder
strokes and so you get 'valve float' where the valve never truly closes. With Desmodromic valves,
that never happens because a second closing ro cker arm hooks under the top of the valve stem and
jams it upwards to force the valve closed. In fact, the stroke length, rods, and pistons all play their
part in valve timing and maximum engine speed- it's not just the springs and valve float.
This is why F1 cars use such a small stroke and pneumatic valves springs. In truth, both systems
spring or Desmodromic only work well up to a limit. Newer Japanese bikes have engines that can
rev to the same limit as a Ducati just using spring-return valves. You can see the basic layout of a
desmodromic valve on the right. As the cam spins, the opening lobe hits the upper rocker arm
which pivots and pushes the valve down and open. As the cam continues to spin, the closing lobe
hits the lower rocker arm which pivots and hooks the valve back up, closing it. The red return spring
is merely there to hold the valve closedfor the next cycle and doesn't provide any springing force to
the closing mechanism. This is a fairly simple layout for the purposes of illustrat ion. The real
engines have Desmo-due and Desmo-quattro valve systems in them where pairs of valves are
opened and closed together via the same mechanism.
Engine Air cooling

42
don't see this much on car engines at all now. The most
famous cars it was used on were rear-engined boxers like the original VW Beetle, Karmann Ghia,
Page
and Porsche Roadsters. It is still used a lot on motorbike engines because it's a very simple method
of cooling. For air cooling to work, you need two things - fins (lots of them) and good airflow. An
air-cooled engine is normally easy to spot because of the fins built into the outside of the cylinders.
The idea is simple - the fins act as heat sinks, getting hot with the engine but transferring the heat to
the air as the air passes through and between them. Air-cooled engines don't work particularly well
in long, hot traffic jams though, because obviously there's very little air passing over the fins. They
are good in the winter when the air is coldest, but that illustrates a weak spot in the whole design.
Ai cooled engines can't regulate the overall temperature of the cylinder heads and engine, so the
temperature tends to swing up and down depending on engine load, air temperature and forward
speed. A famous problem with air-cooling is associated with V-twin motorcycles. Because the rear
cylinder is tucked in the frame behind the front cylinder, its supply of cool, uninterrupted air is
extremely limited and so in these designs, the rear cylinder tends to run extremely hot compared to
the front. The image on the right is ©Ducati and shows the engine from the Monster 695
motorbike. It's a good example of modern air-cooled design and you can see the fins on the engine
are all angled towards the direction of travel so the air can flow through them freely.
Oil cooling
To some extent, all engines have oil-cooling . It's one of th e functions of the engine oil - to transfer
heat away from the moving parts and back to the sump where fins on the outside of the sump can
help transfer that heat out into the air. But for some engines, the oil system itself is de signed to be a
more efficient cooling system. BMW 'R' moto rbikes are known for this (their nickname is 'oilheads')
As the oil moves around the engine, at some points it's directed through cooling passageways clos e
to the cylinde r bore s to pick up heat . From the re it goes to an oil radiator placed out in the airflow
to disperse the heat into the air before returning into the core of the engine. Actually, in the case o
the 'R' motorbikes, they're air- and oil-cooled as they have the air-cooling fins on the cylinders too.
For a quick primer on how the radiator itself works.
Water cooling
This is by far and away the most common method of cooling and engine down. With water cooling
a coolant mixture is pumped around pipes and passageways insidethe engine separate to the oil,
before passing out to a radiator. The radiator itself is made of metal, and it forces the coolant to
flow through long passageways each of which have lots of metal fins attached to the outside giving
a huge surface area. The coolant transfers its heat into the metal of the radiator, which in turn
transfers the heat into the surround air through the fins- essentially just like the air-cooled engine
fins.
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The coolant itself is n ormal ly a mixture of dis tilled wa ter and an ant ifreeze component. The water
ne eds to be dist illed because if you just use tap water, all the minerals in it will deposit on the inside
of the cooling system an d mess it up. The antifreeze is in the mix, obviously to stop the liquid from
freezing in cold weather. If it froze up, you'd have no cooling at all and the engine would over heat
and weld itself together in a matter of minutes. The antifreeze mix normally also has other
chemicals in it for corrosion resistance too and when mixed correctly it raises the boiling point of
water, s o even in the warmer months of the year, a cooling system always needs a water /
antifreeze mix in it.
The coolant system in a typical car is under pressure once the engine is running, as a byproduct of
the water pump and the expansion that water undergoes as it heats up. Because of the coolant
mixture, the water in the cooling system can get over 100°C without boiling which is why it's never a
good idea to open the radiator cap immediately after you've turned the engine off. If you do, a
superheated mixture of steam and coolant will spray out and you'll spend some quality time in a
burns unit.
The complexities of water cooling. Water cooling is the most common method of
cooling and engine down, but it's also the most complicated. For example you don't wan the coolant
flowing through the radiator as soon as you start the engine. If it did, the engine would take a long time
to come up to operating temperature which causes issues with the emissions systems, the drivability of
the engine and the comfort of the passengers. In truly cold weather, most water cooling systems are so
efficient that if the coolant flowed through the radiator at startup, the engine would literally never get
warm. So this is where the thermostat comes in to play. The thermostat is a small device that normally
sits in the system in-line to the radiator. It is a spring-loaded valve actuated by a bimetallic spring. In
layman's terms, the hotter it gets, the wider open the valve is. When you start the engine, the thermostat
is cold and so it's closed. This redirects the flow of coolant back into the engine and bypasses the
radiator completelybut because the cabin heater radiator is on a s eparate circuit, the coolantis allowed
to flow through it. It has a much smaller surface area and its cooling effect is nowhere near as great. This
allows the engine to build up heat quite quickly. If you look at the first of the two diagrams on the right,
you can see the representation of the coolant flow in a cold engine.
44
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As the coolant heats up, the thermostat begins to open and the coolant is allowed to pass out to the
radiator where it dumps heat out into the air before returning to the engine block. O nce the engine is
fully hot, the coolant is at operating temperature and the thermostat is permanently open, redirecting
almost all the coolant flow through the radiator. If you look at the second of the two diagrams on the
right, you can see the representation of the coolant flow in a cold engine. It's the action of the
thermostat that allows a water-cooled engine to better regulate the heat in the engine block. Unlike an
air-cooled engine, the thermostat can dynamically alter the flow of coolant depending on engine load and
air temperature to maintain an even temperature.
The radiator fan. In the good old days, car radiators had belt-driven fans that spun behind the
radiator as fast as the engine was spinning. The fan is there to draw the warm air away fro m the
back of the radiator to help it to work efficiently. The only problem with the old way of doing it was
that the fan ran all the time the engine was running, and stopped when the engine stopped. This
meant that the radiator was having air drawn through it at the same rate in freezing cold conditions
as it was on a hot day, and when you parked the car, the radiator basically cooked because it had no
airflow while it was cooling down. So nowadays, the radiator fan is electric and is activated by a
temperature sensor in the coolant. When the temperature gets above a certain level, the fan comes on
and because it's electric, this can happen even once you've stopped the engine. This is why
sometimes on a hot day, you can park up, turn off, and hear the radiator fan still going. It's also the
reason there are big stickers around it in the engine bay because if you park and open the hood to go
and start messing with something, the fan might still come on and neatly separate you from your
fingers.
The cabin heater. Most water-cooled car engines actually have a second, smaller radiator that the
coolant is allowed to flow through all the time for in-car heating. It's a small heat-exchanger in the
air vent system. When you select warm air with the heater controls, you will either be allowing the
coolant to flow through that radiator via an inline valve in the cooling system (the old way of doing
it) or moving a flap to allow the warm air already coming off that radiator to mix in with the cold air
from outside.
It's all these combinations and permutations of plumbing in a water -cooled engine that make it so
relatively complex. The rendering below shows the basic elements a water-cooled engine.
45
Page
Reach Us & Feedback
For any suggestions & queries you can mail us at support@mbsgroup.in or just fill the form given at the
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Workshop) http://horizon.mbsgroup.in/eyebotics.php
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10. Ground Electrodes 37

12. Valves & Valve Mechanisms 40

13. Feedback form & Website links 46

MONOCOQUE FRAME CHASSIS: Monocoque is a one-piece structure which defines the

a stream production line. The whole process just takes minutes.

Roll couple percentage

The total amount of weight transfer is affected by 4 factors:

 the distance between the wheel centers

Two types of weight transfers:

 Un sprung Weight Transfer

 Anti-dive is front diving under braking

Macpherson Strut or McPherson strut

Double wishbone suspension systems

Coil Spring type 1

Coil Spring type 2

popular in cars as it takes up a lot room.

TYPES OF BRAKING SYSTEM

Anti locking braking system

wheels, the more the bar twists.

information from an accelerometer built into a microchip.

The airbag and inflation system stored in the steering

x If there was enough room in a car for a gas canister

The inflation system uses a solid propellant and an igniter

Before the gearbox - the clutch

x There is no clutch pedal in an automatic transmission car.

Let's look at some of the parts:

How the gears in the transmission are put together

Inside the planet carrier: Note the two sets of planets

learn why that loss adjuster was talking bollocks.

Ground electrode (ground strap)

A carburettor is basically a shaped tube.

Float and diaphragm chambers.

Desmodromic valve systems are unique to Ducati motorbikes.

Engine Air cooling

IF YOU WANT TO ORGANISE THIS WORKSHOP AT YOUR CAMPUS,

1 Ethical Hacking & Information Security Workshop

2 MobileBOTICS (Mobile Robotics Workshop) http://horizon.mbsgroup.in/mobilebotics.php

3 A F X (3D Designing & Animation Workshop) http://horizon.mbsgroup.in/afx.php

4 EyeBOTICS (Image Processing Based Robotics

5 CF&CI (Computer Forensics & Investigation

6 Wings (Aeromodelling) http://horizon.mbsgroup.in/wings.php

www.mbsgroup.in for more details.

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