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Car engines
car-engines.net
It would be incorrect to say that car engines have become lighter over the years. The engines made today are as heavy as the earliest engines made in the past. However, there is a huge difference between the car engine made today and the engine that was made a hundred years ago. Despite being same weight, there is a huge difference in performance and capacity. Today, a heavier than average engine will provide superlative performance. On the other hand, the heavy engines that were manufactured in the past were very poor in terms of performance. Hence, even if the weight has remained the same, the weight to performance ratio has changed drastically.
The reduction in the weight of car engines has taken place are primarily due to the invention of newer materials. Car engine basics remain the same. Aluminium is as hard as iron but is a lot lighter. Today, even precious and new age metals like platinum and titanium are being used in automobiles. These metals are very expensive but are very light and enhance the life of the engine without making it heavier.
Until the Second World War, auto engines were heavy as it was still in its evolutionary stage. It was only in the 1930's that cars were consistently fitted with engines with more than four cylinders. The difference between muscle cars, which were performance oriented, and utility cars, which were efficiency- oriented helped as well. This process compelled car makers to be innovative about car engines. The heavier engines were offered to those who wanted high horsepower. On the other hand, smaller and lighter engines were fitted into cars that were used for mobility only and not for any other fancy macho stuff.
Post eighties, the weight of the internal combustion engine has been consistently coming down. This is because the job of the carburetor is now being done by the fuel injection system, which in turn is being controlled an electronic chip. Rather than installing complicated mechanisms consisting of springs and the other mechanical objects, a single electronic chip is sufficient to control the entire engine. As number of essential parts comes down, the weight of the engine has also come down.
The weight of the engine is a very important parameter as far as engine comparison is concerned. Car engine guides often point out the importance of the weight to power ratio. Simply comparing weights in absolute terms without any consideration of performance does not make sense. A 800 pounds engine is definitely better than a 400 pounds engine if the former generates proportionately more power as compared to the latter. This is exactly what the weight to power ratio of an automobile is all about.
You can find all the information you need about car engines, its specs, its weight and its impact on its performance online. This will give you an exact idea of how the weight of your engine will affect performance.www.automotix.net offers all this along with great deals on engines.