It's springtime! Time to start working on your project car, learn a new wrenching skill, discover what everything is under the hood (and how it works), or just spruce up your daily driver. All month, ...

In order to set a stage for what follows, let's first revisit some of the fundamentals involved in how valve timing relates to power output. And to further clarify how "power" is defined in the ...

Manufacturers like to use a lot of acronyms on their cars. Variable valve lift (VVL) and variable valve timing (VVT) are two of the most popular ones. These systems sound pretty similar, but what do ...

Without variable valve timing, these intake and exhaust valves would operate in the same manner regardless of the engine’s RPM (revolutions per minute) speed or the driving environment. This isn’t ...

The tough guy in you says to stab that cam in retarded a few degrees for maximum top-end horsepower, while your more practical alter ego suggests advancing it a hair for improved low-end torque and ...

Engines are complex bits of machinery. At their core level, yes, it's easy to understand what is happening. Air and fuel enter the engine where they are ignited and combustion occurs resulting in ...

The language of import performance can be strange. Sometimes it's a verbal stew of numbers and letters--RX-8, NSX, and MR2, for example--that seem randomly tossed together. At other times it adopts ...

VTEC is an acronym for a variable valve-timing system used on Honda and Acura models since 1989. The full name is variable valve timing and lift electronic control, and the first U.S. model with VTEC ...