If you're a follower of the "How It Works" series, you've been learning the principles of what makes a car run. You've boned up on the four-stroke cycle, valvetrains, cooling, lubrication, and ...

Imagine you're a 1960s race car driver at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. You're standing across the track from your car with a heart pounding from adrenaline and eyes locked on the French tricolor flag. The ...

At 7,000 rpm, a spark plug ignites the air/fuel mixture nearly 60 times per second. Any one of those 60 sparks going amiss can at best be mildly annoying, and at worst cost you a race or an engine.