All The Basics!!!!!

[need_fast_civic]

Ok,
So ii have looked up and down this whole forum but have not found any items to the liking of the following post.
I will ask MODS to either keep this thread here, make it a sticky, or put it in a rapidly accessible place for all NOOBS.
I am still a noob, but ma oh man would i have liked for someone to answer these questions for me at some point, i had to do much searching outside this forum to find out what some of tehse were, others were answered by members, but like i said, there was no specific thread assigned to do this job.
i know some of the q's have been answered in other threads but it is always nice to keep them all together.

First of all:

What is a "head"?what does it do?

Where is the "intake manifold"?what does it do?

What are RPM's?what does it do?

What is "idle"?what does it do?

What is the difference between VTEC and non VTEC?

DOCH and SOCH?

What are . CAI, short RAM and other typed of intakes?what does it do?

What are the main components of the engine?

What is JDM?

What are "turbos"?what does it do?

"Superchargers"?what does it do?

"slicks"?what does it do?

"headers"?what does it do?


and if you guys want to add any other q's that would be great. Thanks!!!!

[CivicSpoon]

First off it's DOHC and SOHC; Dual Overhead Cam (meaning 2 cams) and Single Overhead Cam (meaning 1 cam).
And for Honda/Acuras (for the most part) it's header (as in 1) and not headers implying there are more than 1.

[ridestreet84]

JDM = japanese domestic market ie the shit we dont get here
RPM = revalotions per minute ie home many times you pistons go up or down in a minute

Idle= the rpms at a stand still should be around 500 -800
slicks= tires with great amount or grip good for drag racing

[GTR2b]

Originally Posted by need_fast_civic

Ok,
So ii have looked up and down this whole forum but have not found any items to the liking of the following post.
I will ask MODS to either keep this thread here, make it a sticky, or put it in a rapidly accessible place for all NOOBS.
I am still a noob, but ma oh man would i have liked for someone to answer these questions for me at some point, i had to do much searching outside this forum to find out what some of tehse were, others were answered by members, but like i said, there was no specific thread assigned to do this job.
i know some of the q's have been answered in other threads but it is always nice to keep them all together.

First of all:

What is a "head"?what does it do?
"Head" is short for cylinder head. They are usually made of Cast Aluminum these days and on most imports contain the engine's valvetrain and camshaft and houses the spark plugs. Bascially what it does is route the fuel/air mixture from the intake manifold to the cylinder, and then routes the exhaust gasses from to the exhaust manifold.

Where is the "intake manifold"?what does it do?
The intake mainfold are where your fuel injectors thread into and where the outside air fed through the throttle body gets mixed with fuel from the fuel injectors and fed into the cylinder head.

What are RPM's?what does it do?
"RPM's" stands for Revolutions Per Minute. It's how many complete cycles that the engine makes in one minute. Think of it like this. At 2000 rpms, one cylinder will fire 2000 times in one minute.

What is "idle"?what does it do?
"Idle" is known as the amount of RPM's that an engine will run at with your foot off the gas. Typically between 700-1000 rpms.

What is the difference between VTEC and non VTEC?
VTEC is known as Variable Timing Electronic Camshaft. What this means is the the cam-timing can be changed by the engine's computer depending on the input from the driver. The Sunday-School version is that the engine will switch from economy to performance mode depending on how hard the vehicle is being driven. Non-VTEC simply means that the engine does not have this feature.
(edit note; my apologies for butchering the VTEC acronymn. I think I'm somewhat close but I don't think it's correct. I'm not typically a Honda guy)

DOCH and SOCH?
SOHC = Single Over-Head Camshaft
DOHC = Dual Over-Head Camshaft

What are . CAI, short RAM and other typed of intakes?what does it do?
CAI stands for Cold Air Intake. It's basically a long tube that runs from the throttle-body and has a filter on the end. The idea behind these are that since cooler air is more dense, it's better to gather outside air from a location other than inside the engine compartment due to the higher tempuratures there. Usually routed to the bottom of the engine compartment.

What are the main components of the engine?
Research this yourself, there's not enough room here to explain this in any kind of detail.

What is JDM?
JDM = Japanese Domestic Market. Basically means anything that is bought over the counter here in Japan. (yes, I live in Japan.)

What are "turbos"?what does it do?
A turbocharger is a bascially (very basically) a pump that is driven by exhaust gasses from the engine and forces oustide air into the intake manifold making much more power for the engine. Since there are entire books written about turbos, intercoolers, and forced induction theory, I won't go into the details here.

"Superchargers"?what does it do?
A supercharger is basically (again, very basically) a pump that is driven via a pulley from the crankshaft that, again, forces ouside air into the engine. Again, this is a HUGE subject so I won't go into the details here.

"slicks"?what does it do?
"Slicks" are the shorthand term for treadless tires that are used for racing only. THEY ARE NOT LEGAL FOR ROAD USE! Bald tires also do NOT, and I repeat NOT qualify as "slicks" either. Slicks, are usually made out of a softer rubber compound that most street tires are. Depending on the use of the tire, road track or drag racing, will depend on the type and softness of the tire.

"headers"?what does it do?
"Headers" These are usually the replacement for the exhaust manifold on an engine. Here's the skinny on that. Exhaust manifolds are most often made out of cast iron and are heavy and don't tend to flow very well. So a common upgrade is to buy lighter, tube-steel "headers" that flow much better to help the engine get rid of it's exhaust gasses more efficiently.


and if you guys want to add any other q's that would be great. Thanks!!!!

Here's the scoop on learning about engines and cars in general. GO TO SCHOOL DUDE. The internet is no replacement or even viable alternative to a formal automotive education.

[Kven]

Originally Posted by need_fast_civic

Ok,
What is a "head"?what does it do?

Where is the "intake manifold"?what does it do?

What are RPM's?what does it do?

What is "idle"?what does it do?

What is the difference between VTEC and non VTEC?

DOCH and SOCH?

What are . CAI, short RAM and other typed of intakes?what does it do?

What are the main components of the engine?

What is JDM?

What are "turbos"?what does it do?

"Superchargers"?what does it do?

"slicks"?what does it do?

"headers"?what does it do?


and if you guys want to add any other q's that would be great. Thanks!!!!

head=controls air/fuel going into combustion chamber(where the spark is created and power begins ) pretty much has "gates" ; valves, that open and close, also directs air from the manifold via ports to the combustion chamber.

intake manifold=directs air from the air filter through individual runners into the ports that are located in the head. also controls amount of air is allowed to the engine via throttle body.

RPM=revolutions per minute; how many times the crankshaft turns in 1 minute.

idle=rpm or state where the engine is running but your foot is off the throttle.

VTEC=2 cam profiles(cams are what control when the valves open and close in the head), non-VTEC= single cam profile.

DOHC and SOHC; explained above.

CAI=Cold Air Intake; air filter is outside of the engine bay where it can suck in cold air, Short Ram: an intake system that consist of a short air tube. both CAI and Short Ram are connected to the intake manifold. all they do is direct air into the intake manifold.

main components: Block, Head, Valvetrain, Crank, Piston, Rod(might be more, if any knows just add on)

JDM=explained above

turbochargers: force air into the engine via two centrifugal "pumps"; the compressor and the turbine. turbocharges use exaust gas to turn the turbine, which in turn turns the compressor and forces air into the intake manifold.

supercharger; same concept of the turbo except they run off the engine(via pulley). there are two types; centrifugal and roots. roots is like the turbocharger with out the turbine, roots is like two "scrolls" that force air, works like an oil pump.

slicks=tires that are "bald" in order to create the largest contact patch on the road surface. used in racing.

header=directs exhaust gases away from the engine; directs gasses into exhaust system.

[need_fast_civic]

You see, now anyone can come here, look at thepost and see most of teh basics they need to knwo in order to be able to wok on heir beautiful engines. Cool, thnX

[ridestreet84]

no prob it should have gotten out there sooner

[need_fast_civic]

That's true! ha ha,
if we could only make a single thread... or forum... kinda like a diccionary, wher people could go and find pretty much any term related to their car.
that would be awesome. hard, but awesome!
just a thought

[AudioGuy93DelSol]

www.howstuffworks.com its all there

[97CivicX]

www.google.com its all there

[GTR2b]

I hate having to repeat myself.

Read it, learn it, live it guys.

"Here's the scoop on learning about engines and cars in general. GO TO SCHOOL DUDE. The internet is no replacement or even viable alternative to a formal automotive education."