For me it is the fact that our blood contains iron. I earlier used to believe the word stood for some ‘organic element’ since I couldn’t accept we had metal flowing through our supposed carbon-based bodies, till I realized that is where the taste and smell of blood comes from.
Using engine brakes can cause your car to not use fuel in some cases.
I’ve read and heard this from different sources (even driving instructors) and I don’t get how it’s possible. Your engine is still running, doesn’t it use at least as much as it does while it’s idling?
Edit: thank you all for your answers. I knew how the engine brake effect worked, my confusion was about exactly why the engine didn’t consume fuel in the process. I now understand so thanks all.
the inertia from the cars current speed is used to spin the engine rather than the engine spinning the wheels, the resistances of the engine is what causes the slowing effect
modern cars with fuel injection can complete disable injecting fuel when not needed and can also adjust the timing of the injections for maximum efficiency
Usually your engine uses fuel to turn your wheels.
When you engine brake, your wheels turn your engine.
The most difficult part lf stanrting a car is gettinf the pistons to move, if your engine still has inertia (if you are going downhill for example) you can completely cut the fuel injection and it can starts again because the pistons that are still moving will compress the gas (and for diesel engine that’s enough to ignite given enough temperature in the block, for gasoline the spark plugs will work as usual).
Of course if the engine has low inertia (it’s spinning too slowly) the car will stall, but probably the electronic injection will compensate.
If you drive manual you can go down a hill without burning a single drop of fuel, not sure if automatic are smart enough to do it.
And don’t engine brake a two-stroke engine, as fuel is mixed with oil. No fuel, no oil… No more engine for you.
The fuel injectors are off when engine braking. It is the momentum of the car that keeps the engine running/rotating. That is why you are slowing down more rapidly because you’re losing momentum into the engine.
It’s not putting fuel into the cylinders. So it’s spinning, but there are no explosions.
