(no subject)

[arethinn]

I've been reading lots of informative stuff about various parts of a car at HowStuffWorks. Dude. A car (especially when considered as a whole) is a really complex piece of [insert favourite noun here]. But I now have a good visualization of what is going on with the valves and cylinders and crankshaft, and where ignition timing figures into it all and therefore what the timing belt actually does and what it means to "advance" or "retard" timing and where the heck "top dead centre" is, and why my ailing engine needs premium gas to prevent pinging, and stuff. Dude. (Oh, I said that.)

I've had a decent practical understanding of a lot of this for a number of years, since we do all our own car repair in my household (except for precise machining jobs like turning brake rotors), but there's a difference between knowing how to take the distributor off the car and put it back on again, and knowing how it actually interfaces with the rest of the car to make the thing run.

Whoa. Transmission faaancy. How was anyone able to think this up in the first place? I must bow to IQs clearly double mine. But automatic transmission - brain explodey. Oh dear. *gets a sponge*

I have a sudden urge to take auto tech, since this is all making so much sense, but I'm certain I don't really mean that.