5 New Gas Engine Technologies

With all the hype about hybrid, electric and alternative fuel cars, it's easy to think that the age of the gasoline engine is over. When you've got cars that run on hydrogen or that plug into the wall, the internal combustion engine can seem downright passé.

But the fact remains that the vast majority of cars sold in the United States are powered by gasoline engines. The dominance of gas engines in the automotive market is going to persist for the foreseeable future. Car makers use gasoline engines for a lot of reasons. People are used to them, there's an infrastructure that supports them, and they fit nicely with how most Americans use their cars.

5 Ways Modern Car Engines Differ from Older Car Engines

Compared to other technologies we use every day, it seems like car engines haven't really changed much. The engine in an old Ford Model T has plenty in common with the engine in a 2011 Ford Fusion, but it's doubtful Alexander Graham Bell would know what to do with an iPhone. While communications technology has changed drastically, car engines use the same basic principle: The combustion of air and fuel to create rotational force and move a car.

But while the same basic principles that drove the first car engines are still used today, modern car engines have evolved to meet the power and efficiency needs of today's drivers. 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.

How Self-regenerating Tire Tread Works

In the 2008 movie "Speed Racer," the title character is engaged in a dangerous race across a futuristic desert. A rival driver shreds one of Speed's tires, but he's ready -- he hits a button on his steering wheel and his car, the Mach 5, sprouts a new tire at once.

In real life, we haven't gotten to the point where our cars can instantaneously regenerate tires. But some tire companies have devised ways for the tread to replenish itself after thousands of miles of travel. But how is it possible for the same, worn tire to create new tread?

Most of us don't realize just how important our tires are. Believe it or not, those ugly rubber donuts can make a huge difference in the way your car or truck drives. The right set of tires can even help deliver sports-car handling or superior gas mileage, depending on what you're looking for.

How the Tweel Airless Tire Works

For more than 100 years, vehicles have been rolling along on cushions of air encased in rubber. The pneumatic tirehas served drivers and passengers well on road and off, but a new design by Michelin could change all that - theTweel Airless Tire.

In this article, we'll look at what the Tweel Airless Tire is, why you would use it in place of traditional tires, some of the problems that may occur with a Tweel Airless Tire and where you might see the Tweel Airless Tire in the future.

Warning Signs You Need New Tires

Start the Countdown

Just as your feet are sore after a long walk, the tires on your car take a beating every time you drive. This isn't a sign of bad driving --well, not usually -- but rather an inevitable fact of life. Tires get old and worn down. And because a tire failure while you're driving can be catastrophic, causing your car to go out of control or leaving you stranded in the middle of nowhere without any easy way to get home, you want to know when your tires are in bad shape so you can get new ones before something goes wrong. Of course, if you have a mechanic look at your car periodically, he or she will probably tell you if the tires need to be changed, but there are several things you can do yourself short of a visit to your local auto center to make sure your tires are in good shape.

We've listed five of the warning signs that indicate you need new tires (in no particular order) over the next few pages.

Adjusting Brake Pedal Height and Free Play

Finding Your Proper Pedal Free Play

Most pedals (brake and clutch) should have a small amount of free play. Free play is the distance the pedal can be pressed before it makes contact on the other end. It's very small, usually less than 10mm.

What You'll Need:

- ruler

- open end wrenches

- line wrenches

- pliers

- Wite-Out or another way to mark a metal surface

5 Cheap Ways to Increase Horsepower

Your car is fine. It's got a great stereo, and you've been driving it long enough that the seat has that perfect butt-groove going on. You've been pretty diligent about taking care of it, with regular oil changes and trips through the car wash. But wouldn't it be nice if it were, I don't know, faster? Maybe had a little oomph when you take off from a red light? Maybe, just maybe, your car could even pass another car while going uphill -- with a little tuning. We're not talking about making your car a queen of the drag strip; I mean, that's expensive. Or is it?

There are easily five things you can do to pep up your commute or turn in a respectable time on the quarter-mile, and it doesn't have to cost more than your mortgage payment to do them.

This is the first thing just about anyone will tell you when you say you want to up your horsepower. It's kind of like those minty-fresh gum commercials with the ice swirling around, and the price is only a smidge more than a pack of gum. A kind of big smidge, but still. The idea is that cold air is more dense, so more air gets into the cylinders to mix with the fuel. More air means more combustion, and more combustion means more power, to the tune of a realistic 5- to 7-horsepower in a typical engine. This only works if the air intake is the limiting factor, however. If your engine is already sucking in big breaths of cool, fresh air, then try one of the other tricks on this list.