Once upon a time, picking a cam for a given engine combo was all about compromise: improve top-end power at the expense of low-end torque, run well at wide-open throttle but sacrifice idle stability ...

When it comes to the many variables of combustion inside an engine, engineers measure the timing of key events in degrees of crankshaft rotation, a relative frame of reference that remains constant ...

There is so much going on with internal combustion engines (ICEs) these days, it can give you a headache just reading about them. That's why we do the research for you and then cram it into bite-size ...

Valve overlap—that crucial interval when both the intake and exhaust valves are open, expressed in degrees of crankshaft rotation—is typically a fixed parameter and always a compromise. For example, ...

If you're a car enthusiast, you've probably heard the term "VTEC" before, but you might not know what it means. If you don't, here's an explainer. But the way VTEC goes about switching cam profiles is ...

Without variable valve timing, these intake and exhaust valves would operate in the same manner regardless of the engine’s RPM (revolutions per minute) speed or the driving environment. This isn’t ...

In order to set a stage for what follows, let's first revisit some of the fundamentals involved in how valve timing relates to power output. And to further clarify how "power" is defined in the ...

The language of import performance can be strange. Sometimes it's a verbal stew of numbers and letters--RX-8, NSX, and MR2, for example--that seem randomly tossed together. At other times it adopts ...

Somewhere there's a perfect balance between peak horsepower, low-speed response, reduced emissions, and something you can afford. Variable valve timing and lift have done their part in getting us all ...

Alanson Partridge Brush. Remember that name. Because it was according to his patents that Cadillac put into production something that Honda and Alfa Romeo took decades to match. Mr. Brush's invention?