1. Power
   Fuel efficiency
2. Running temperature
   None of the above

Nitrous oxide when heated will split. One of the products of this is oxygen, which when fed into the engine provides more power. Nitrous oxide is commonly known as NOS in the racing world.

1. Valve cover
   Piston clip
2. Sparking cable
   Ignition coil connector

The valve cover is bolted onto the cylinder head. It acts as a protective lid and prevents dirt from entering the engine, for example.

1. Oxygen sensor
   Muffler
2. Valves
   Pushrod

The valves within an engine open and close in sequence. They do this to let the air and fuel mixture in. Then they seal to allow combustion to take place. Finally, they open to let the gas produced, out.

1. Glow plug
   Spark plug
2. Carburetor
   Rotor

The spark produced by the spark plug is the catalyst that ignites the fuel/air mixture in the cylinder after the compression stroke. This results in the next stroke, the power stroke. Note that a four-cylinder car will have four spark plugs each firing at the right time.

1. Oil filter
   Air intake housing
2. Circlip
   Valve spring

The moving parts of an engine are lubricated by oil. An oil filter helps to remove impurities in the oil that might damage the engine.

1. Piston
   Engine control unit
2. Fan
   Thermostat

The movement of the piston within the cylinder helps to compress the fuel/air mixture and then produces the power to turn the crankshaft once that is combusted.

1. Exhaust stroke
   Intake stroke
2. Squashing stroke
   Compression stroke

The compression stroke in an engine sees the piston move within the cylinder to compress the fuel/air mixture let in by the intake stroke. This allows more energy to release on ignition.

1. High tension leads
   Distributor
2. Oil sump
   Cambelt

Part of the ignition system, the distributor fires the spark plugs in the correct order. It is connected to them by high tension leads.

1. Engine bay
   Cylinder block
2. Sump
   None of the above

The engine block is also known as the cylinder block. Cast from metal, it houses all the major engine components including valves, cylinders and pistons, for example.

1. Starter motor
   Tappet
2. Alternator
   None of the above

If your car's alternator is not working properly, you soon will have battery problems. And thanks to the alternator, you can listen to all your favorite hits on the radio, turn on lights and power your electric windows up and down!

1. Coolant
   Brake fluid
2. Gasoline
   Oil

Oil is needed right through the internals of an engine to lubricate. Without it, metal will grind on metal. An engine that has no oil in it will quickly seize.

1. Oil pan
   Glow plug
2. Rotor
   None of the above

Found at the bottom of the cylinder block, the oil pan serves as the oil reservoir. A hole in this will soon leave you with a seized engine, a big mess and an even bigger repair bill.

1. Tailpipe
   Muffler
2. Catalytic converter
   None of the above

The exhaust emissions on all modern vehicles are controlled by the catalytic converter. This should always be replaced when the sensors indicate on your dashboard.

1. Stutz
   Ford
2. Chevrolet
   Marmom

Incredibly, Ford waited until 1932 to introduce their first V8 engine. This was called the Flathead V8 and was produced by the company until 1953.

1. In stroke
   Entry stroke
2. Open stroke
   Intake stroke

The intake stroke is the first one an engine takes when started. It allows the fuel/air mixture into the cylinder where it is compressed, combusted and the gases produced are removed.

1. True
2. False

That is in fact true! But why? Well, properly inflated tires mean less friction on the road. And that simple fact means a car will use less fuel.

1. Water pump, radiator
   Fan, radiator
2. Water pump, fan
   None of the above

The radiator holds the coolant which is pushed through the engine by the water pump to cool it down when needed. Another part of the cooling system on your engine is the thermostat.

1. Tailpipe
   Muffler
2. Catalytic converter
   Intake manifold

The car's tailpipe is the final piece of the exhaust system. All gases produced by the combustion process within the engine leave the car through here.

1. Coil
   Thermostat
2. Fuel pump
   Solenoid

A thermostat ensures that coolant is only pumped from the radiator once the engine has warmed up sufficiently. If it malfunctions, you'll soon find yourself with steam coming out from under the hood!

1. Ignition box
   Fuel level sensor
2. Balance shaft
   None of the above

The balance shaft is a counterweighted engine shaft. It offsets unwanted crankshaft vibrations.

1. Crank pulley
   Starter motor
2. Rocker Cover
   Carburetor

It was the job of the carburetor to meter the flow of air and gas into the engine. Carburetors were activated as soon as the throttle was pushed.

1. Rigid
   External
2. Internal
   Light

Although electric and even steam engines were around driving cars at the turn of the 20th century, the internal combustion engine held out to win the race. Of course, hybrid and electric engines are now starting to give it a real run for its money, and in the next 100 years it's possible that it might be phased out completely.

1. Alfred Buchi
   Henry Ford
2. Adam Opel
   Charles Rolls

In 1905 Alfred Buchi, a Swiss engineer, invented the turbocharger. He did this because believing that gasoline engines were not powerful enough, he wanted a way to deliver more power. And performance freaks have been happy ever since!

1. Connecting rod
   Rotor
2. Crankshaft
   Carburetor

The crankshaft changes the linear motion of the piston stroke into a rotational one which turns the driveshaft and makes a vehicle move.

1. 125
   13,000
2. 999
   1,234

The V8-engined Cadillac model was an instant hit in 1914 when introduced. In fact, 13,000 units were sold in the first year of production, which is a pretty significant amount!

1. Intake stroke
   Compression stroke
2. Exhaust stroke
   None of the above

During the exhaust stroke of the engine, it can lose power due to something called back pressure. Here, power is lost as the exhaust stroke meets the pressure produced in the stroke process.

1. Cylinder head gasket
   Piston pin clip
2. Distributor cap
   Piston sleeve

The piston pin clip keeps the piston pin in place within the cylinder. To make sure it remains secure, it is connected on both sides.

1. Cambelt
   Air intake manifold
2. Glow plug
   Brake rotor

The air intake manifold allows the fuel/air mixture into the cylinder of the engine where it will combust, prompting the engine to run. It does this by evenly distributing the air/fuel mixture to the intake ports.

1. Nikolaus Otto
   Henry Ford
2. Karl Benz
   William C. Durant

Nikolaus Otto is the man credited with the invention of the internal combustion engine as we know it, in other words an engine that ran on gasoline. His version, called the Otto engine, was invented in 1867.

1. 1 to 1
   14.7-to-1
2. 2.5 to 1
   None of the above

A car engine running at peak efficiency needs a ratio of 14.7 parts gasoline to 1 part air. Any more gasoline and it will be running rich; any less and it will be running lean.

1. 10%
   75%
2. 200%
   50%

One of the ways car lovers improve their engine performance is by adding a supercharger. This will give a 50% increase in power, certainly not to be sniffed at!

1. Cadillac
   Ford
2. Chevrolet
   Dodge

Although V8 engines had been installed in cars before, the first American company to use a V8 engine was Cadillac in 1914. Others soon followed including Oldsmobile in 1916 and Chevrolet in 1917.

1. 10,000 rpm
   50,000 rpm
2. 100,000 rpm
   3,000 rpm

A supercharger spins at an impressive 50,000 revs per minute. No wonder it adds 50% more power to an engine! Bet you want one for you car now as well ...

1. Karl Benz
   Henry Ford
2. Louis Chevrolet
   Ransom E. Olds

Karl Benz introduced the Benz Patent Autowagen to the world in 1895. It was effectively a carriage with an engine and no horse and even steered using a tiller. But historians credit Benz's creation as the first modern car.

1. Model A
   Model T
2. Model N
   Ford Quadricycle

Henry Ford's first car was the Quadricycle, which he first built in 1896. Over the next four years, Ford produced another three. Running on ethanol, it produced 4 horsepower.