dont laugh too much

okay im a newbie here to AF, and i have a question that may sound kind of stupid, but im gonna ask anyway. basically i wanna know what the best way is to learn about cars (engine wise). ya see i wanna learn so i can upgrade and tune up my own car, and stuff like that. none of my friends are into cars and neither is my family. got any suggestions on where to look? :banghead:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com

This will give you pretty much all the basics to start out with...

As for tuning up your car.... start with new spark pugs and leads... then try adding extractors and go from there.

There are also some excellent articles in www.automotivearticles.com about engine related devices and peripherals, but I would suggest learning the basics at Howstuffworks before reading anything at automotivearticles.
If you don't understand anything you read, feel free to ask about it, most of us would be happy to answer.

hey thanks a lot, thats a big help, i really appreciate it

Also, try joining a more technically oriented car club. Reading and theory is terrific, but seeing how other people work on their cars is very important, even for the basics like the correct way to use tools etc.