Pistons are an engine-building element we like to brag about, but you won't catch many of us boasting about having cast pistons. Cast pistons are for wimps. Many of us like to talk up hypereutectic ...

Heat is a byproduct of combustion. Both air-cooled and water-cooled engines need to dissipate that heat to keep the engine from running too hot. Can piston rings play a role in managing that heat?

Just about every piston engine is defined by two basic measurements: bore and stroke. Bore is the diameter of the cylinder. Stroke is the distance the piston travels from bottom dead center to top ...

There's no need to sugarcoat what bad piston rings can do to your engine. Those rather thin cast-iron or steel rings may look small and irrelevant to untrained eyes, but they play a vital part in ...

High-output engines live in a world of brutal cylinder pressures, extreme temperatures and razor-thin safety margins, and the humble piston sits at the center of that storm. When power levels climb, ...

Free-piston engine generators and linear machines represent an innovative departure from conventional rotary systems, offering high thermal efficiency and operational flexibility by eliminating the ...

The opposed-piston engine has been around for over 100 years and is more efficient in almost every way. The engine has no traditional valves, cams, or camshafts, and no head, so it’s simpler and ...

Golf balls have dimples, so they fly farther than balls that don't. Apply the same principle to diesel engines, and you have a gross oversimplification of why dimpled pistons were invented. It's a ...