Fuel stores chemical energy. Follow it through the engine and gears, all the way to the wheels.
How this model works · sources & credits
What’s simplified?
This illustrates a conventional, spark-ignition gasoline car with rear-wheel drive. Electric cars, hybrids, diesels, and other layouts work differently. One enlarged cylinder stands in for a multi-cylinder engine; its flywheel and other cylinders keep rotation going between power strokes. Fuel may be injected into the intake or directly into the cylinder.
The gear bench is an ideal pair: output speed = input speed ÷ ratio; output torque = input torque × ratio. A real gearbox loses some energy. No gear creates power. The vehicle lab uses a toy 1,000 kg car, a 0.30 m tire radius, three ratios (3:1, 1.5:1, 1:1), a 4:1 final drive, and 90% mechanical transmission efficiency. Its clutch/launch coupling is automatic and simplified. Brake input cuts the throttle for this game.
The flat-road lab includes an illustrative drag force, a simplified engine torque curve and rev limit. It omits tire slip, ABS, engine braking, gear-change transients, suspension, steering, detailed cooling, fuel consumption, and emissions. Values are teaching examples, not specifications or advice. Warm-colored brake effects indicate energy transfer, not actual temperature or glowing road brakes.
Animations run much slower than real components. Reduced motion keeps scenery and continuous parts still; instruments keep updating. The four-stroke button remains available as a deliberate, instant step.
Learn more from primary sources
- U.S. Department of Energy · Internal Combustion Engine Basics — cylinder, piston, crankshaft, and four-stroke sequence.
- DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center · How Do Gasoline Cars Work? — fuel injection, ignition, transmission, and supporting components.
- Toyota · Types of Car Transmissions — different ways cars transmit engine power.
- LEGO Education · Gear — how meshing gears trade rotational speed for turning force.
- Akebono Brake Industry · Disc Brakes — hydraulic pressure, pads, rotating discs, and motion converted to heat.
Original illustration, code, and lesson design for Motor Lab. Source links need an internet connection; the complete game does not. No tracking, accounts, external assets, or saved personal data.