The following links are provided as a convience from New Celica.org. All descriptions and links are taken directly from HowStuffWorks.com.
"How does my engine work?"
Have you ever opened the hood of your car and wondered what was going on in there? A car engine can look like a big confusing jumble of metal, tubes and wires to the uninitiated. You might want to know what's going on in there simply out of curiosity. After all, you ride in your car every day - wouldn't it be nice to know how it works? Or maybe you are tired of going to the mechanic and having him say things that are totally meaningless to you and then charging you $750 for it. Or perhaps you are buying a new car, and you hear funny words like "3.0 liter V-6" and "dual overhead cams" and "tuned port fuel injection." What does all of that mean?
"What is a turbo, and how does it work?"
Whenever you hear people talking about race cars or high-performance sports cars, the topic of turbochargers usually comes up. Turbochargers also appear on large diesel engines. A turbo can significantly boost an engine's horsepower without significantly increasing its weight, and that is the huge benefit that makes turbos so popular!
"What's the benefit of aftermarket cams?"
If you have read the HSW article How Car Engines Work, you know about the valves that let air/fuel mixture into and exhaust out of the engine. The camshaft uses lobes, called cams, that push against the valves to open them as the camshaft rotates; springs on the valves return them to their closed position. This is a critical job, and can have a great impact on an engine's performance at different speeds. On the next page of this article you can see the animation we built to really show you the difference between a performance camshaft and a standard one.
"What is 'horsepower'?"
If you are alive and breathing in the world today, you have heard about horsepower. Just about every car ad on TV mentions it, people talking about their cars bandy the word about, and even your lawn mower has a big sticker on it to tell you its horsepower rating. But what is horsepower, and what does it mean? This edition of How Stuff Works will let you learn exactly what horsepower is so you can apply it to your everyday life!