How does an engine work?

[sublyminull]

I agree completely with this thread. If you minus the bullsh*t it's pretty informative to someone just getting into cars.

I do not know one person born with a wrench in one hand and a piston in the other. We are all just ignorant until we learn.

 

[oaklandopen]

Hahaha...I haven't even opened any of the links, this thread is lolz

I agree that probably 80% of drivers don't know engine basics. And I'm willing to bet that at least half don't even open their hood even if its just to refill the washer fluid

What I don't agree with is that all mechanics are scammers, whoever said that, or that all women don't know s*** about engines, whoever said that as well. My wife knows just enough about engines to get by just fine. And if she doesn't know specifics, she is at least smart enough to realize that something isn't "normal" and asks me about it

And if I don't know about it, I'm smart enough to use the internetz to get more info. And I'm smart enough to know how computers work....1's and 0's

And really, not everyone needs to know exactly how an engine works. The ppl I consider ignorant are the ones that destroy their cars because they ignore check engine lights, let their tires go bald or never properly inflate them, etc. My brother-in-law thought his new car's factory engine oil lasted like 10k miles, till he learned the hard way. This is why ill never buy used

 

[peavey]

nothing like a good fight on forums to perk up ur day,



a small percent of mechs and will rip you off, espially if you are a women, I have seen it first hand where they would say the weirdest s*** to my wife, then I would go in and a lot cheaper and not be the "lack of unicorn blood fueling the flux capacitor" that was explained to my wife (unamused)


as Oakloandopen states.

use google!

I review everything in google, down to where I am taking my car,

some1 some where will have either had a good experince or bad at the mech shop, google the s*** of it first and you wont go wrong.

use your judgement also, go and get a second opion and if you do get taken, report it on google somewhere, or even on here and egg the s*** out of the place! (ok the last bit as a jk)

 

[peavey]

also, ask on here,

some1 would let you know if you are being taking for a ride

 

[oaklandopen]

Yea, forums are the best things to use for anything

Oh and another thing along the lines of ppl feeding bulls***....this is why one of my favorite past times is walking around a car dealer waiting for the sharks to come out and try to explain their vehicles to me. Especially when I decide to hover around a used ms3

I've gotten it all on the ms3 at a used lot..."this is mazdas awd turbo vehicle that blows away the sti and evo", or "its got a turbo V-6", or even "the previous owner put these aftermarket 18s on it" when they were stock

 

[peavey]

Yea, forums are the best things to use for anything

Oh and another thing along the lines of ppl feeding bulls***....this is why one of my favorite past times is walking around a car dealer waiting for the sharks to come out and try to explain their vehicles to me. Especially when I decide to hover around a used ms3

I've gotten it all on the ms3 at a used lot..."this is mazdas awd turbo vehicle that blows away the sti and evo", or "its got a turbo V-6", or even "the previous owner put these aftermarket 18s on it" when they were stock

I am a systems and Network admin, I still love to go around Bestbuy and listen to the Techy talk to customers...

"a switch is exacty the same as a hub just newer" Bahahahhaa!

 

[rally2003]

All I can say is wow to this whole thread. I feel lost in a ritorical question

 

[thecrash91]

I am a systems and Network admin, I still love to go around Bestbuy and listen to the Techy talk to customers...

"a switch is exacty the same as a hub just newer" Bahahahhaa!

if you're going to bestbuy to buy either a switch or a hub then you probably deserve it... newegg for life

 

[racecar68]

I,m new to this forum, and to Mazda,s I have a 2010 cx-7. I am not new to mechanical things. I have built and raced engines and cars for over 40 years. My suggestion to anyone who wants to learn about cars, buy books!!!and read them. Very basic stuff can be found in used book stores very cheap.. I notice on all these forums that the discussions go to rants and bashing very quickly.
Use your brain and learn this stuff for yourself. You will find it interesting and you will not be bs,ed by someone who really doesn,t understand what theyre trying to tell you..
Thanks for reading
Racecar68
Rick Davidson

 

[hornsfan10609]

My brother-in-law thought his new car's factory engine oil lasted like 10k miles, till he learned the hard way. This is why ill never buy used

There is no reason for any damage to occur just because he didn't change his oil on time.
http://www.moneybluebook.com/the-3000-mile-oil-change-myth-save-your-money/

 

[oaklandopen]

I'm sure all bmw owners read that article, too. Love the one woman that came in. Every 6k for her bimmer cuz "it said so", and when I go to take the filter out it broke apart in my hand

Sorry, but I still change my oil every 3-4k, whether its my ms3 or 2010 ram. Not everyone drives under "perfect driving conditions"

 

[peavey]

good link,

lovely reading a little spatt!

the comments are funny.

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

if you're running synthetic you're throwing your money away. I run my oil at least 6k miles in my S2000 and believe me its not "perfect driving conditions." Do yourself a favor, order a free test kit from Blackstone-Labs and have an analysis done on your oil. You'll see how good your oil still is after 3k miles and that you can go even further.

I'm sure all bmw owners read that article, too. Love the one woman that came in. Every 6k for her bimmer cuz "it said so", and when I go to take the filter out it broke apart in my hand

Sorry, but I still change my oil every 3-4k, whether its my ms3 or 2010 ram. Not everyone drives under "perfect driving conditions"

 

[isbre]

if you're running synthetic you're throwing your money away. I run my oil at least 6k miles in my S2000 and believe me its not "perfect driving conditions." Do yourself a favor, order a free test kit from Blackstone-Labs and have an analysis done on your oil. You'll see how good your oil still is after 3k miles and that you can go even further.

Cars are different. From the user manual of VAG's 1.8T: "Check and refill engine oil every time you stop for gas" !! It might be a translation error from German to Norwegian though.
There is a difference between oil too, the oil change interval for an EDM MZ3 MPS is 20000km/2years if I remember correctly.

Difference between 2- and 4 stroke: http://www.carbibles.com/fuel_engine_bible.html

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

Of course there is a difference with cars and oils. But getting an oil analysis is something everyone must do if they run one oil religiously. It will tell you a lot about the oil. I have to check the oil on the S2000 often as it is known to consume some when in Vtec.

Cars are different. From the user manual of VAG's 1.8T: "Check and refill engine oil every time you stop for gas" !! It might be a translation error from German to Norwegian though.
There is a difference between oil too, the oil change interval for an EDM MZ3 MPS is 20000km/2years if I remember correctly.

Difference between 2- and 4 stroke: http://www.carbibles.com/fuel_engine_bible.html

 

[oaklandopen]

I think regardless of intervals and what is considered to be "throwing mone away" the point is that engines age. Its crazy to assume that since the recommended oil change interval is X miles that you should only go in at that point to change your oil, for the life of the vehicle

Parts wear. They wear out, they wear thin, they deteriorate, they end up requiring new oil sooner than the manual calls for. I use synthetic in the speed, change every 3-4k, but I check the dipstick probably 3 or 4 times between changes to see how much oil I have, and its consistency. I don't change every 5k (which I believ is recommended) because I don't like how it starts smelling like gasoline. Burden of charged engines, plenty more blowby than NA

Sure, I could get an oil analysis. I could also go check my cholesterol levels with my doctor every couple months or just keep eating my fruits and vegetables

Btw, I get exactly 18mpg in the city and 23mpg on the highway, just like the window sticker told me I would get

 

[HighSpeed]

this is like the proverbial hen house.

Crash was just trying to help, I mean damn give him a break. Just one scroll down the " MSP Problems" page will show you that most people have issues understanding basic mechanics, including myself, and I have built a few forged engines myself, some making serious power, and I am humble enough to read thru his post

 

[hornsfan10609]

You'll see how good your oil still is after 3k miles and that you can go even further.

My point exactly, oil does not break down in 5k miles, the frequent oil change habit was created by oil companies to sell more motor oil. Fiters and oil will get dirty but to say an oil filter will fall apart after 6k miles is absurd.
I change my oil every 5k anyway, mobil 1.

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

Same here. The MSP I do about 5k miles and the S2000 about 6k miles.

Heres my oil report from the MSP. Mileage was only 4157 but I had to change the oil in the S2000 and wanted to send in both samples for analysis so I changed it early.

My point exactly, oil does not break down in 5k miles, the frequent oil change habit was created by oil companies to sell more motor oil. Fiters and oil will get dirty but to say an oil filter will fall apart after 6k miles is absurd.
I change my oil every 5k anyway, mobil 1.

 

[11B-33T]

^ good info man. I'll try them, Blackstone Labs, on all my vehicles to get a 'snapshot' of how all my vehicles are doing.

The links are great reads as well if to re-fresh for some or others could consider it the instruction manual for the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch!