I've been on this forum since november and i've read steve scud...(sp?) and rob rinette's sites and feel like i'm pretty informed about just about everything concerning rx7's and a rotary engine, however, i'd like to have a little bit more knowledge about piston cylinder engines and what the effect is and what exactly is meant by some of teh modes taht only apply to those engines. I.e cam gears, cams, heads, headers, etc etc. Are there any good informative sites with this type of information. Thanks guys!

 

This stuff should help you.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/category.htm?cat=Eng

Unfortunately I learned most of what I've learned hanging out in my dad's garage, conversating with family members in racing, etc.

 

already read that actually, thanks for the help though

anyone else??

 

Goto the local library branch. Getting yourself a book on how to build a engine would be a great start. Plus... the time you spend searching on the internet you could have spent a $1.50 in late charges.


- Eric


p.s. If you are interested in Chevy engines Chevy High Performance is an excellent magazine!

 

Just read some of jimlabs post...

 

Sorry didn't know you read that. But if you did then you should have a basic idea of how everything goes together.

Car Craft is another great magazine. Hot Rod has kinda went gay over the past couple years, not very much content.

 

cam gears? I don't know what that is, or at least I don't know if there is any good reason to modify/upgrade them.
Cam shaft is what pushes the valves open and close. By getting a different cam you can adjust the duration the valve is open and how quickly it opens. Basically the same as porting your rotaries intake and echaust ports.
Heads are the big blocks that contain the valves and cams. The head can be milled down on the bottom to raise compression in the motor, the intake and exhaust ports can be enlarged and smoothed for beter airflow, this is called porting and polishing the head.
Header is just a much better flowing exhaust manifold. You can get them for the rotary engine also.
Stroke is what you do to increase the distance the piston moves and this increases displacement. It can be done by using a different crank shaft, which is similar to the rotary engines eccentric shaft.
Bore is the size of the holes the pistons go in. You can bore and engine and put larger pistons in it which will also raise the displacement of your motor.
Pistons, I am sure you know what they are. But you can buy pistons with different top shapes. You can get a domed piston to raise compression, a flat piston, or a piston with a well to lower compression if you wanted to do something like add a turbo to the motor.

That is what I can come up with off the top of my head in 5 minutes.

 

thanks tom

 

Just to be clear, the camshaft(s), depending on the engine type, are not always located in or on the head(s)
There are quite a few engines that have the camshaft located inside the engine block. Most of the American V8's have a single camshaft located within the engine block.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the pushrod OHV engine as was last stated. And along those lines something nobody really makes any more is the flathead engine. The heads are pretty much just flat plates that block the top of the engine. The valves are on the side of the engine block.