Fuel injection parts and fuel injection kits - ELECTRONIC FUEL INJECTION (EFI) SYSTEMS.

CAMSHAFT
A rotating shaft with a number of cams or eccentric lobes used to open and close the engine cylinder valves, usually via pushrods and rocker arms. The crankshaft drives the camshaft through gears, belts, or chains.

CARBURETOR
A device through which air and fuel are atomized and drawn into the engine. It meters the proper proportions of fuel and air to form a combustible mixture and varies the ratio according to the engine operation. Air blowing over the fuel nozzles (jets) results in an air-fuel mixture burned in the cylinders. Carburetors were common on most vehicles before 1985. Currently, most vehicles use some form of fuel injection instead.

CATALYST
See Below.

CATALYTIC CONVERTER
Often simply called a "catalyst": a stainless-steel canister fitted to a car's exhaust system that contains a thin layer of catalytic material spread over a large area of inert supports. The material used is some combination of platinum, rhodium, and palladium; it induces chemical reactions that convert an engine's exhaust emissions into less harmful products. So-called three-way catalysts are particularly efficient; their operation, however, demands very precise combustion control, which can be produced only by a feedback fuel-air-ratio control system.

CHASSIS DYNAMOMETER
To ensure comparable emissions data, the temporal progression curves for the speeds and forces acting on the vehicle during the simulated cycle on the chasis dynamometer must precisely coincide with those for highway operation.

Choke
A temporary restriction in a carburetor throat that reduces the flow of air and enriches the fuel-air mixture to aid in starting the engine.

Clutch
A mechanism that uses plates coated with a high-friction material to transfer power from the engine to the drive train. Used when changing gear ratios during accelerationClutches are also used to isolate rotating and non-rotating components. Clutches can allow slip between components to reduce shock loads between rotating and stationary components. Manual transmission vehicles use a clutch to transfer power from the gearbox to the wheels. Air conditioning compressors use clutches as well.

CHOPPER
Originally, a motorcycle that has had all non-essential parts removed (or "chopped") to make it lighter and faster. Today, this name generally applies to custom built motorcycles that may have a rigid frame (no rear suspension), an extended fork, and a stretched or elongated appearance.

CLONE
A motorcycle built to resemble and function like a Harley-Davidson motorcycle without actually being a Harley-Davidson motorcycle (the vehicle title will identify it as something other than a Harley-Davidson).

COLD-START ENRICHMENT
Depending upon the engine temperture, the cold-start valve injects an additional quanity of fuel for a limited period of time during starting.

COMBUSTION CHAMBER
The space remaining at the top of the cylinder when the piston is at the top dead center position. Where the fuel-air mixture begins to burn. Since most of the air-fuel mixture's combustion takes place in this space, its design and shape can greatly affect the power, fuel efficiency, and emissions of the engine.

COMBUSTION KNOCK
Under certain conditions, combustion in the spark-ignition engine can degenerate into an abnormal process characterized by typical "knocking" or "pinging" sound.This undesirable combustion phenomenon marks the outer limits of ignition timing advance, and thus, at the same time, defines the boundaries of power-generation potential and efficiency. It occurs when fresh mixture preignites in spontaneous combustion before being reached by the expanding flame front. During an otherwise normally initated combustion event, hte pressure and temperature peaks created by the piston's compressive force generate self ignition in the end gas (remaining unburned mixture).

COMPRESSION RATIO
The ratio between the combined volume of a cylinder and a combustion chamber when the piston is at the bottom of its stroke, and the volume when the piston is at the top of its stroke. The higher the compression ratio, the more mechanical energy an engine can squeeze from its air-fuel mixture. Higher compression ratios, however, also make detonation more likely.

CONTINUOUS INJECTION
All injectors in a CI (Continuous Injection) system spray at the same time the same amount, there is no timing as with mechanical injection.

CONTINUOUS LAMBDA CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL
While the two-state sensor can only indicate two states - rich and lean - with a corresponding voltage jump, the wideband sensor monitors deviations from lambda=1 by transmitting a continuous signal. In other words, this wide-band sensor makes it possible to implement lambda control strategies based on continuous instead of dual-state information.

CYLINDER HEAD
The aluminum or iron casting that houses the combustion chambers, the intake and exhaust ports, and much or all of the valvetrain. The head (or heads, if an engine has more than one bank of cylinders) is always directly above the cylinders.The detachable part of the top of the cylinder block that contains the spark plugs and valves. It seals the cylinder and forms the top of the combustion chamber.