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MacPherson Strut
A type of suspension that is known for being very efficient and compact. This suspension system employs a coil spring and shock strut, acting as an integral unit. Compared to conventional suspension systems, MacPherson struts use fewer parts, meaning a reduction in weight and elements that could wear out. |
| MAF
Mass Air Flow - A sensor which converts the amount of air drawn into the engine into a voltage signal. The ECM needs to know intake air volume to calculate engine load. This is necesary to determine how much fuel to inject, when to ignite the fuel in the cylinder, and when to shift the gear (automatic gearboxes). The air flow sensor is located directly in the intake air stream, between the air filter and throttle body where it can measure incoming air.
:: Click for detailed MAF information |
| Main Bearing
Large insert type bearings that mount in an engine block and support the crankshaft. |
| Manifold - Resonance Intake
Boxer engines and V-type engines (but not inline engines) may employ resonance intake manifold to boost mid to high rev efficiency.
Each bank of cylinders are fed by a common plenum chamber through separate pipes. The two plenum chambers are interconnected by two pipes of different diameters. One of the pipes can be closed by a valve controlled by engine management system.
:: Click for detailed Manifold - Resonance Intake information |
| Manifold - Variable Intake
Increasingly more popular since the mid-90s. It is employed to boost low to medium speed torque without any drawback in fuel consumption or high speed power, thus improve flexibility of the engine. An ordinary fixed intake manifold has its geometry optimized for high speed power, or low speed torque, or a compromise between them. Variable intake manifolds introduce one or two more stages to deal with different engine speeds.
The result sounds like variable valve timing, but variable intake manifold benefits more low-speed torque than high-end power. Therefore it is very useful for sedans, which are heavier and heavier these days. For better derivability, there are also increasingly more sports cars feature variable intake manifold alongside VVT, these including Ferrari 360 M and 550M.
:: Click for detailed Manifold - Variable Intake information |
| Manual Gearbox
From the most basic four-speed manual in a car from the '60s to the most high-tech six-speed in a car of today, the principles of a manual gearbox are the same. The driver must shift from gear to gear. Normally, a manual transmission bolts to a clutch housing (or bell housing) that, in turn, bolts to the back of the engine. If the vehicle has front-wheel drive, the transmission still attaches to the engine in a similar fashion but is usually referred to as a transaxle.
:: Click for detailed Manual Gearbox information |
| Manual Vs Automatic Transmission
What is the difference between automatic and manual transmissions?
In a vehicle with manual transmission, the driver must manually shift from gear to gear. Each shift in gears signals a change in the ratio of wheel revolutions to turns of the engine. By changing gears, the driver keeps the engine at its optimal performance level in the varying conditions. The clutch pedal in a manual transmission disengages the gears in the transmission which allows the engine to continually spin even when the wheels don't, allowing the driver to shift gears without damaging the engine.
An automatic transmission vehicle contains neither a "gear box" as such, nor a clutch pedal. A planetary gearset automatically changes the gear ratios between the wheels and the engine to meet the optimal level of performance. Instead of a clutch, an automatic transmission contains a torque converter. When the engine speeds up, it feeds transmission fluid to the converter, which distributes more torque to the wheels.
:: Click for detailed Manual Vs Automatic Transmission information |
| MBC
Manual Boost Controller - A simple mechanical and pneumatic control to allow some pressure from the wastegate actuator to escape or bleed out to the atmosphere or back into the intake system. This can be as simple as a T-fitting on the boost control line near the actuator with a small bleeder screw. The screw can be turned out to varying degrees to allow air to bleed out of the system, relieving pressure on the wastegate actuator, thus increasing boost levels. These devices are popular due to their negligible cost compared to other devices that may offer the same power increase. |
| MIVEC
Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control system.
The dual-intake valve camshaft enables changing between low-speed and high-speed modes, resulting in easy operation from low to high rpms, improving the driving experience when starting from a stop light, merging onto the freeway, or accelerating to overtake another car. In the pursuit of pure driving enjoyment, potentially incompatible goals like fuel economy, environment-friendliness, and clean driving have all been achieved.
:: Click for detailed MIVEC information |
| Molded Seat
A type of seat that by its construction allows the manufacturer to avoid the use of seams in the seat covering. |
| Muffler
Part of the Exhaust System,the idea behind the muffler remove unwanted noise pollution (which is measured in dB (decibels) a scale which is used to measure sound) that the an engine will produce to an acceptable level, depending on the regulations of your state or country that you live in and or for the suitable application.
:: Click for detailed Muffler information |
| Multifunctional Steering Wheel
Lets the driver control most commonly-used vehicle features safely and conveniently. Driver does not need to take hands from the wheel, and can concentrate fully on the surrounding traffic.
The multifunction keys are ergonomically integrated in the steering wheel and programmed to activate often-used features. So instead of reaching over to the dashboard, the driver can for example control the volume of the sound system, change radio stations, accept or make a hands-free telephone call or, depending on the model, operate the automatic air conditioning (e.g. air recirculation, steering wheel heating) and the cruise control. Two additional keys can be freely programmed to users favourite functions (model-dependent). |
| Multi Link Rear Suspension
A system, generally employed only on driven wheels, in which a number of "links" are used to give vertical, lateral and fore-art support to the wheels. This system can be "tuned" or adjusted to give excellent steering characteristics during acceleration, braking and lateral G forces. |
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| Multi Valve Engines - Brief History
Multi-valve engines started life in 1912, adopted by a Peugeot GP racing car. It was briefly used by the pre-war Bentley and Bugatti. However, it was not applied to production cars until the 60s - Honda S600 was probably the earliest production road-going 4-valve car. In the 70s, there were several more 4-valve cars introduced, such as the Lotus Esprit (1976), Chevrolet Cosworth Vega (1975, engine made by Cosworth), BMW M1 (1979) and Triumph Donomite Sprint. The latter introduced the first single-cam 4-valve engine, using rocker arms to drive valves.
:: Click for detailed Multi Valve Engines - Brief History information |
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