Alejandro Mendez

Writing for Engineering

Technical Description

Technical Description of a V8 Engine

A V8 engine is built by several companies and this motor engine is one of the best engines a customer can have in their car. This engine compared to others is extremely reliable due to its previous modifications with many variants of its kind. This engine was built for longevity and high-performance vehicles, such as the Chevy Camaro, Chevy Corvette, Ford Mustang, Dodge Hellcat and many more. 

Introduction

There are various designs of a V8 engine but there are some companies that make better V8 engines by modifying them each year and looking for other ways to improve the engine. The first engines only had two or one pistons that were aligned, over the years there have been many modifications that make the engine become more powerful, increase horsepower, and more torque.  In this description, I will be explaining how a V8 engine works and the components to make each part work. V8 engines were improvised over the years by their previous models like V2 or V3, the reason for the letter V is due to the shape of the engine which looks like a V.

External Components

A specific V8  model engine was used for the Corvette between 2008 and 2014, this engine was a modification for its smaller counterpart, the originating V8 with smaller components. This engine back then could make up to 430 horsepower and can make the Chevy Corvette go from 0 to 60 MPH in 4.0 seconds. This engine has components that are built with aluminum which makes the car lighter and weighs less than its V engine predecessors that are made out of steel. A V8 engine can be made from aluminum or steel for durability, although aluminum seems to be the better option due to its lightweight.

  In figure 1 it shows the different parts of a V8 and how each part works together to maintain a constant flow. When turning on a car with a V8 engine,  Ignition Coils activate and send high voltages through specific spark plugs (Sabhadiya, J.). Spark plugs are important because they are the ones that send a spark to the mix of air and gas through the combustion chamber (Sabhadiya, J. ). There are two parts of an engine that need each other, that would be the cylinder head and the cylinder block, sound very alike, but in reality, they’re unique with both having different uses (“Most Common Parts of a Car Engine and Their.”). For one the cylinder block is where the combustion occurs to power up the car, this part has many holes for the cylinders to be in place. In addition, there is water and oil flow so the engine can lubricate itself, not causing friction and cooling itself in the process. 

Meanwhile the cylinder head has other smaller components like valve springs, valves, lifters, pushrods, rockers, and camshafts to determine the amount of gas and oxygen put into the combustion chamber (Sabhadiya, J. ). The harmonic balancer is another vital component because this component controls the vibrations in the engine since the camshaft is causing the vibrations due to its torque (“Most Common Parts of a Car Engine and Their.” ). Meanwhile, the exhaust manifold’s job is to collect the engine’s exhaust gas from several cylinders and send these gasses through the exhaust pipe (“Most Common Parts of a Car Engine and Their.” ). Lastly the supercharger component has its uses by being the only part that increases torque and power put into the engine (“Most Common Parts of a Car Engine and Their.”) .

Internal Components

In image 2, from the interior design we can see that the throttle body is an important component because air enters through this component and is controlled through a flat valve that rotates through the tube-shaped component. The throttle body is controlled through the pedal which indicates that the amount of pressure put in the pedal, depends on the amount of air the throttle body will take in (Engine cooling system). Now that we know air enters through the throttle body component, this air then goes through the Intake Manifold where the air is distributed into different cylinders. After the air goes through the Intake Manifold, it would proceed into the cylinder head which leads to the combustion happening in all 8 cylinders (Sabhadiya, J.  ). The next component in a V8 is the Water Pump since this device focuses on cooling down the engine when it is overheated due to the heat coming from the combustion chamber ( ). The one that controls the amount of cooling intake would be the thermostat housing since there has to be a specific amount based on the V8 engine’s temperature. 

In image 3, inside the combustion chamber, pistons are shaped like cylinders but are flat on the surface (Sabhadiya, J.). This component compresses the air and fuel mixture from the spring valve which lets the fuel and oxygen in, which is why the piston is shaped like a flat surface. All pistons are connected through a crankshaft with a connecting rod which makes each piston go up and down in different intervals, which makes the engine run more smoothly (Sabhadiya, J. ). The crankshaft must also be filled with lubricant to not cause friction and cause damage through the connector that connects the pistons (Sabhadiya, J. ). While the engine does run smoothly, it still makes lots of noise which is why the front cover acts as an insulator and makes the engine sound quieter ( Hunting, B.). The main bearings and bearings bring stability for the crankshaft and the engine block as well as the oil pan (Main bearings ). The oil pan is attached to the bottom of the engine which acts like a reservoir for oil that is pumped throughout the engine and turned into a lubricant to clean and cool down moving parts (“Most Common Parts of a Car Engine and Their.” ). 

Conclusion

In the end, a V8 engine is diverse, being built with different modifications from different companies, but most V8 engines contain the same components that make it a true beauty and a powerful engine. A V8 engine is similar to a phone in a way, by having the same concept of a phone having a touch screen while changing the inner features of a phone to make the phone more convenient for customers. Based on this information there are tons of parts within a V8 but each one has their own purpose to create a sound that is magnificent alongside a high number of horsepower, which range from 429-797 horsepower. The V8 engine will evolve into more complex parts and maybe it already has with electric vehicles being the new meta in this generation. 

Glossary:

Throttle Bottle: This controls the amount of air entering the engine cylinders from the combustion chamber.

Super charger: Increases the power and torque of an engine

Pushrods: This part of the engine is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber, this part houses the camshaft and crankcase.

Combustion Chamber: An area designed for the mixture of air and fuel to be compressed by the piston and be ignited by a spark by the spark plug. 

Spark Plug: A spark plug is an electrical component that will ignite the ignition system and this goes through the combustion chamber from the electrical ignition system so that the cylinders push down and up creating an ignition of the fuel and air. 

Sources:

“Most Common Parts of a Car Engine and Their.” StudentLesson, 2 Oct. 2023, studentlesson.com/common-parts-of-a-car-engine/. Accessed 09 Mar. 2024. 

Sabhadiya, J. (2023, December 23). 30 basic parts of the car engine with diagram. Engineering Choice. https://www.engineeringchoice.com/car-engine-parts/ 

What does a harmonic balancer do?: K1 Technologies. K1 Technology. (2023, August 4). https://www.k1technologies.com/k1-blog/what-does-a-harmonic-balancer-do/ 

Engine cooling system: How it works and Main Components. Industrias Dolz. (2024, March 2). https://www.idolz.com/en/2021/05/27/engine-cooling-system-how-it-works-and-main-components/ 

Main bearings. Drive. (2021, August 12). https://www.drive.com.au/news/main-bearings/ 

Hunting, B. (n.d.). Is there anything worse than a plastic engine cover?. DrivingLine. https://www.drivingline.com/articles/is-there-any-worse-than-a-plastic-engine-cover/ 

Image Sources: 

“Aquatadas Motors.” Facebook, www.facebook.com/Aquatadasmotors/posts/external-components-of-the-engineknow-your-caraquatadasmotors/1719355318434790/. Accessed 09 Mar. 2024. 

Brain, M. (2003, September 24). How Hemi engines work. HowStuffWorks. https://auto.howstuffworks.com/hemi.htm