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Brooke Herbstreit
Mrs. Dunbar
Senior Project Paper
April 25th, 2014




Engines



The use of engines is one thing that is commonly overlooked. Whether people realize it
or not, engines are apart of peoples everyday lives; even in early history. Engines have been
around for a long time and have impacted not only individuals, but society as well. Engines have
quickly evolved, impacted society by a tremendous amount, and have created numerous
activities that provide endless hours of entertainment.
Think of older car engines as wolves and modern car
engines as dogs. They're share the same heritage and have similar
characteristics, but one does just fine in everyday modern
situations, while the other just couldn't adapt to living in a city or
suburb. [5 Ways Modern Car Engines Differ from Older Car
Engines]

Before you begin to understand the differences in todays engines compared to older
engines, you first need to understand the basic functions of an engine. Engines can be every
complicated, but if you break down an engine piece by piece and you understand what each part
does, engines can become common sense. Basically, gasoline and air are ignited into a chamber,
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known and the cylinder. Inside the cylinder, lies the piston. The piston then gets moved up and
down every fast (about a few hundred times per second) due to the gasoline/air explosion. The
piston is attached to the crankshaft. The crankshaft is rotated from the power of the piston
moving up and down. The crankshaft then goes out to the transmission, which transmits the
power created to the wheels of the car. Seems simple enough, right? Well, the same concept
applies with modern engines, but there are a lot more to think about and understand because
engines are constantly being improved.
There are several main advances in todays engines as opposed to older engines. One
reason that modern engines differ from older engines is that modern engines work smarter than
basic engines. Modern engines do not have to work as hard as older engines had to. To be more
specific, in an old V-8 engine, all eight cylinders were firing no matter what. If the car was being
idled, accelerating at a slow speed, or accelerating at the highest speed, all eight cylinders were
being fired without hesitation. This caused the same amount of fuel to be burned no matter how
much work the engine was putting off at the time. Todays engines have technology specifically
made to make engines smarter. One example of technology used today to improve engines is
called Cylinder Deactivation. This allows some cylinders to be shut off when they are not in use
or when they are not needed (this would explain the reasoning stated before). The cylinders that
were shut off before will automatically start working again when the car needs more power.
Cylinder deactivation obviously makes engines more efficient because they save a good amount
of fuel from being burned. Variable-valve timing and lifting is another example of technology
used today to help improve engines. Variable-valve systems helps the engine by opening the
valves that are only needed for the type of work the engine is doing. Keep reading to learn how
modern engines out-muscle their older counterparts.
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Engines of today have advanced from older engines is because they are much more
powerful. Modern cars are bigger, heavier, and more advanced than the first car invented.
Modern cars are heavier today than they were before because they now hold safety features and
accessories. Therefore, modern engines must have more work to do. Modern cars are carrying
more weight at much faster speeds. People are just as concerned with fuel economy as they are
concerned with engine power. The first cars only had horses to keep up with, now we have
freeways and other high-speed routes. Even with their increased efficiency, todays engines are
more powerful than their predecessors- even compared to engines that are just a few years old. In
1983, the Chevrolet Malibu had a 3.8-liter V-6 engine that made 110 horsepower. In 2005, it had
a 2.2-liter inline four cylinder making 144 horsepower. The 2011 Malibu has a base 2.4-liter four
cylinder making 169 horsepower. Buyers can also get a 3.6-liter V6 that makes 252 horsepower.
Even though the V6 on the 2011 Malibu is smaller than the V6 offered on the 1983 model, it
makes 146 horsepower. Even the current four-cylinder engine on the Malibu makes 59 more
horsepower than the 1983 models V-6. [5 Ways Modern Car Engines Differ from Older Car
Engines, #2]
One important detail about the evolution of engines throughout the years is that engines
today are much smaller. Since modern engines have more power, you would expect them to be
larger than older models. But in fact, it is the exact opposite. As engine power increased, the size
decreased. Engines do no need to be bigger to increase power, just the technology. The best
example of this is Ford F-Series trucks. The best selling truck (and often the best selling vehicle,
period) in America. The 2011 Ford F-150 is a textbook example of a smaller engine doing the
same work as a larger one. The 2011 F-150 has an optional 3.5-liter V6 engine that makes 365
horsepower. The available 5.0-liter V-8 makes 360 horsepower. As a rule of thumb, a bigger
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engine will still make more power than a smaller one. The F-150 has an available 6.2-liter V-8
that makes 411 horsepower, which pretty much blows the 3.5-liter V-6 out of the water. But, the
fact that a V-6 engine can compete with a smaller V-8 in terms of power is pretty impressive. As
consumers call for better fuel economy, expect to see smaller engines doing the work that was
once reserved for monster V-8s. [5 Ways Modern Car Engines Differ from Older Car Engines,
#2]. If the engine is smaller ,that means less weight is added to the total weight of the car. Less
weight, means more power, and therefore faster speed.
Modern engines compared to older engines have a few major difference. One difference
modern engines have opposed to older engines is that modern engines have partners. Today's
car engines are not only sophisticated technological achievements, they're partnered with other
high-tech components that help them do their jobs better. [5 Ways Modern Car Engines Differ
from Older Car Engines, #2]. Engines back then could achieve a four or five speed transmission
and be considered top notch. However, engines today can have up to seven and eight speeds. The
more speed a transmission has, the better it will be able to work with the engine power, making
the whole drive run more efficiently. Two examples of engine partners would be battery packs
and electric motors. In modern hybrid cars, instead of having the average engine, they can now
be prepared by battery packs. The battery packs are for back-up, mostly. The battery packs, and
other engine accessories, can run the car at slow speeds but the battery packs/accessories can
generate extra power when needed; like when a car is moving fast and needs the extra boost of
power. Having an electric motor as a backup means that the cars engines can be a bit smaller and
less powerful, which in fact, saves fuel.Some car companies today are combining both electric
motors and big, powerful engines together for a performance punch, making the new engine
extra powerful and efficient. Keep reading to see other reasons how engines today are much
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more efficient.
A major improvement that is obvious on how modern engines have evolved from basic
engines, is that today's engines are much more efficient. However, the basic car engine is not all
that efficient, in fact, it isn't very efficient at all. Out of all the chemical energies found in
gasoline, only about roughly 15 percent actually gets converted into the mechanical energy used
to move the car. The EPA says that over 17 percent of energy is lost as the engine idles, and a
tremendous 62 percent is lost in the engine caused by heat and friction. Modern engines have a
large selection of technologies that help make modern engines more efficient. One example is
the Direct Injection Technology. The Direct Injection Technology was made to mix the fuel and
air together before getting put into the cylinder. This can improve engine efficiency by 12
percent because the fuel is being burned more efficiently. Another example of technologies used
to make todays engines more efficient are Turbochargers. Turbochargers (which uses
compressed air from the cars exhaust system) compresses the air that is used in the combustion
cycle. The compressed air then leads to a more efficient combustion. As stated before, Variable-
valve timing and and Cylinder Deactivation are other technologies that allow the engine to only
use the fuel that it needs, therefore raising efficiency. There is a common misconception that
efficient engines are underpowered engines.
Engines have affected todays society by a tremendous amount. From transportation, to
entertainment, all the way to climate change. Keep reading to find out how engines have affected
modern times.
Gasoline and diesel powered vehicles emit what we call greenhouse gasses. Greenhouse
gasses are mostly carbon dioxide emitted from tailpipes of cars. This contributes to global
climate change. Today we have special vehicles specifically made to be more efficient and
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caring of the earth environment. The future of cars are leading towards fuel efficiency, energy-
savers, hybrid vehicles, battery electric vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles.
One example of these efficient vehicles are called fuel cell vehicles. Fuel cell vehicles are
powered by pure hydrogen, therefore they emit no greenhouse gasses whatsoever from their
tailpipes. Fuel cell vehicles only emit heat and water. However, depending on the the procedures
needed to produce the hydrogen, (which is needed to power the fuel cell vehicle) can generate
greenhouse gasses. Even though some procedures needed to produce the hydrogen emits
greenhouse gasses, it is much less than that emitted by conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles.
Todays engines have reduced oil dependence, thanks to the invention of fuel cell
vehicles. Fuel cell vehicles (also known as FCV) could reduce our dependence on foreign oil
simply because they are powered by hydrogen. This means that the power needed can be derived
from domestic sources like natural gas and coal. The power needed can also be taken from
domestic resources such as water, agriculture waste, and biogas. That would make our economy
less dependent on other countries and less vulnerable to oil price shocks from an increasingly
volatile oil market. [Benefits and Challenges, #2]. Using fuel cell vehicles also means less air
pollutants. Highway vehicles emit a significant share of the air pollutants that contribute to smog
and harmful particulates in the United States. Fuel cell vehicles are powered by pure hydrogen,
therefore they emit no harmful pollutants. If the hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, some
pollutants are produced, but much less than the amount generated by conventional vehicle
tailpipe emissions, as stated before.
The use of engines have not only impacted the environment, but the entertainment
industry as well. The use of engines have helped create racing and other similar activities. Not
much after the first gasoline fueled internal-combustion engine was invented in the 1880s,
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automobile racing began. The very first race was held in 1895, starting at Paris and ending in
Bordeaux, France (a distance of 731.97 miles (1178 KM) the winner had an average speed of 15
mph (24.15 KPH). However, an automobile competition (close to a practice run/reliability test)
was held in 1894, starting in Paris and ending in Rouen, France. In racing, engines are put to
their limit by making vehicles go as fast as possible, and hopefully out running their opponents.
When it comes down to the main point of racing, it all depends on the engine. Not every engine
is the same. For example, engines that weigh less, tend to go faster. Racing in the United States
was originally speedway track racing. The tracks varied from a half mile dirt track to two and a
half mile track for the Indianapolis 500. Stock car racing came around the 1930s in Florida on
the Daytona Beach, then moved to tracks, and then formed into The National Association for
Stock Car Auto Racing, also known as NASCAR.
NASCAR has affected the entertainment industry tremendously. NASCAR is a very
popular sport in America, especially in the south. Millions of people come together to watch this
particular sport many times a year. NASCAR is indeed one of the top sports in America. When
comparing fan bases, Nascar is more popular that the National Football League. Although the
NFL grosses more money per year, NASCAR has a wider viewing audience overall. As you
know, the NFL is a huge sport in the United States. This fact proves the point of how popular
Nascar and other races really are.
One other activity that involves the use of engines are car shows. Cars are not only used
for transportation and racing, but as a fashion statement as well. Car shows have positively
impacted the entertainment industry by a large percent. Car shows involve many people coming
together and bringing their best cars. From car models, to design, to engines, and other important
aspects of a car, car shows have become more and more popular by the year. Car shows, Car
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runs, TV shows, Radio stations, and many other sources all bring the attention of the viewers by
showing off the best cars around.
Without the use of engines, believe it or not, we would not be living the way we do
today. Before, when vehicles were not in use, towns were much smaller. Mostly everything was
within walking distance or that of a horse and carriage. Cars became more affordable in the
1920s. Therefore, the demand for cars rose exponentially. Cars were now used almost daily and
they affected society by a great amount. Trips that took days to complete before, will now only
last a few hours. As engine powered vehicles started to become more popular, towns became
larger and eventually became cities. The Urban Sprawl began soon after. Urban sprawl is the
uncontrolled spreading of an urban development which originally had few people living in it.
Large stores, groups of houses, and other large buildings and businesses are built around a small
town, and creating something much larger. Suburbs were invented soon afterwards as well. The
suburban trend is emphasized by the fact that highway transportation encourages business and
industry to move outward to sites where land is cheaper, where access by car and truck is easier
than in crowded cities, and where space is available for their one or two story structures. Better
roads were constructed, which further increased travel throughout the nation [The Impact of the
Automobile on the 20th Century, #3]. Cars helping the growth of suburbs have also encouraged
people to live and work in the outskirts of the city by commuting. Before, people who worked in
the city, also lived in the city; and people who worked on the farms, lived in the country. Engines
have made cars worth using. Now, in todays society, cars and other vehicles are a part of
everyone's daily lives. Almost every part of what used to be small towns and country land are
now extremely expanded and covered with roads and buildings due to the demand of larger
areas, as well as population growth and the popularity growth of engines and vehicles. At the
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beginning of the century the automobile entered the transportation market as a toy for the rich.
However, it became increasingly popular among the general population because it gave travelers
the freedom to travel when they wanted to and where they wanted...The convenience of the
automobile freed people from the need to live near rail lines or stations; they could choose
locations almost anywhere in an urban area, as long as roads were available to connect them to
other places. [The Impact of the Automobile on the 20th Century, #3]. Transportation has
opened up the world to many useful opportunities. The postal service and many other businesses
have expanded dramatically thanks to engines. The use of engine powered cars means more
freedom and open opportunities for everyone. The use of engine powered cars have impacted
society by such an outstanding amount. Nothing would be the way they are today if it werent for
engines.
From the evolution of engines, to the effects engines have left on society and the
entertainment industry, engines have changed the world. The positive effects of engines
definitely out-weigh the bad. Engines have quickly evolved, impacted society by a tremendous
amount, and have created numerous activities that provide endless hours of entertainment.
Engines will always be apart of everyones lives, and in the future as well. Engines will never be
forgotten.