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Turbochargers and superchargers solve the same problem in completely different ways, and the debate over which one is better has divided car enthusiasts for decades. CNET’s Car Tech 101 breaks down exactly how each system works, from the exhaust-driven spool of a turbo to the belt-driven immediacy of a supercharger. The differences affect everything from fuel economy to how a car feels the instant the throttle opens. Watch the breakdown that finally makes the debate make sense.
Chris Duke takes his Chevy 350 small block to the machine shop for the step most DIY rebuilders are tempted to skip: crack inspection, boring, decking, and align honing to factory tolerances. It is the unglamorous work that determines whether a rebuild lasts for years or fails within months. This is part two of Motorz’s full five-episode Chevy 350 rebuild series. Watch to see what real machine shop precision looks like.
Picking up right where the bottom end left off, this fourth chapter of a five-part Chevy 350 rebuild series tackles the top end — the cylinder heads, valvetrain, and intake work that determines whether an engine merely runs or actually performs. Chris Duke walks through the precision work that separates a rebuild built to last from one built to fail. Watch to see the small block get one step closer to its first start.
Does bolting on headers actually make more power than stock manifolds, or is it forum folklore? Nick Panaritis put a 426 Hemi stroker on the dyno to find out, running both configurations back to back so the numbers could speak for themselves. With nearly 300,000 views, plenty of gearheads clearly wanted a real answer instead of another argument. The dyno chart settles it.
Engineering Explained breaks down ten real mechanical reasons engines lose horsepower over time, from dirty air filters and exhaust restrictions to worn piston rings and carbon-fouled intake valves. It all comes back to four essentials: air, fuel, compression, and spark. If your engine doesn’t feel like it used to, this explains exactly why.
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A junkyard Chevy 350 small block gets torn down step by step in this video, the opening chapter of a five-part rebuild series that follows the engine from core to fully running. Chris Duke walks through exactly what to check, what to save, and what a genuine teardown requires before any machining begins. He even corrects an early misidentification of the donor truck along the way. Follow along before moving on to the machine shop stage.
Compression ratio sounds simple until you actually try to calculate it for your own engine build — and getting it wrong can mean the difference between reliable power and an engine that pings itself apart. David Freiburger breaks down the theory and the practical math in this Roadkill Extra segment. Watch before you order your next set of pistons.
Hagerty’s Davin Reckow put his own 396 big-block 1966 Chevelle through a full test battery — butt dyno, eighth-mile strip, chassis dyno, and gas mileage — after swapping its carburetor for a Holley Terminator EFI system. The results settle an argument that’s split classic Chevelle owners for years: does fuel injection actually make a big-block Chevelle better, or does it just make it different? Watch the full breakdown to see which side wins.
Flowmaster makes more than a dozen distinct series of street mufflers, and picking the wrong one can mean an exhaust note that’s either too quiet or unbearably loud on the highway. Summit Racing sat down with Flowmaster’s VP of Sales, Alex Ortega, to break down exactly what separates each series and how to match one to your vehicle and sound preference. It’s the explainer most buyers wish they’d watched before they bought.
Long before fuel injection took over, every muscle car engine breathed through a carburetor — a device that runs almost entirely on basic physics rather than electronics. This breakdown explains the venturi effect, the float bowl, and the jets that together meter fuel with no computer involved at all. It’s the same technology still keeping lawnmowers and chainsaws running today, decades after cars moved on. Understanding it is the key to actually diagnosing what’s happening under a classic muscle car’s hood.
Holley breaks down exactly how to choose the right carburetor for your build, covering CFM calculations, street versus race carburetors, and the difference between vacuum and mechanical secondaries. It’s a practical, timestamped guide built to save builders from the expensive trial-and-error of guessing carburetor size. Whether you’re building a daily driver or a dedicated race engine, the sizing mistakes covered here are worth knowing before you buy. Watch to make sure your next carburetor purchase is the right one.
Engine Masters settled a decades-old garage argument by bolting a 600-plus-horsepower 454 Chevy to the dyno and running it through both 2.5-inch and 3-inch exhaust systems back to back. The results reveal exactly where bigger pipe stops helping and starts costing low-end power — numbers that matter more than the peak horsepower headline. Presented by AMSOIL, it’s the kind of controlled test that most exhaust marketing never bothers to run. Watch to see where the crossover point actually falls.
The Chevy LS V8 has become such a fixture of car culture that ‘LS swap it’ is practically a meme — but this video, featuring twenty minutes with master engine builder Tom Nelson of Nelson Racing Engines, actually explains why the reputation is earned. The Drive sat down with someone who has pushed LS-based engines well past 1,000 horsepower and asked him to break down the real engineering behind the platform. It gets deep into the design decisions most owners never think about. Watch for an explanation that goes further than the usual internet shorthand.
Carburetor or fuel injection? It’s one of the oldest arguments in the hobby, and Summit Racing’s Dave cuts through the noise. He walks through two-barrel, spread-bore, and race carbs before comparing them fairly to modern EFI — covering what each actually does well. It’s a practical primer for anyone planning an engine build. Watch to finally understand the difference for yourself.