When the function of a camshaft(s) is explained to non-mechanically-inclined types, it's sometimes referred to as the "brain" of an engine. Most engines will live their entire lives with the stock cam ...

Last month's "How It Works" story gave you the basics of the four-stroke cycle, describing the motion of the intake and exhaust valves in relation to the piston moving up and down in the cylinder.

This is the camshaft, or simply, the cam. From the look of the lobes, which are also called eccentrics, you can see why we sometimes call the cam a bumpstick. In a single-cam engine with two valves ...