eli5: How do car engines last so long?

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A car engine basically has thousands of mini explosions happening inside of it, is has parts moving very fast and generating tons of heat, and experiences extreme temperature fluctuations on a daily basis. Yet it is the part that usually dies last in a car.

How do they make them last so long and why are we unable to make other parts of the car as long lasting, such as tires and brakes?

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21 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

An engine is much more difficult to take out of a car and take apart and fix broken parts on the inside. Conversely, tires and brakes are relatively easy to remove and replace, hence money and tech is used to make production of these parts cheaper, therefore cheaper for a consumer to replace every year or 2 instead of companies spending money and technology to try and make them last longer. Because engines are much harder to repair/replace, manufacturers have spent time and tech on making them last longer such as the discovery and widespread use of synthetic oils in modern engines, using multi grade oils, using baffled oil pans, more efficient/effective oil filters, thermostats to optimise engine temperature, using cylinder sleeves, cylinder deactivation, variable valve timing, air fuel sensors and ecus to optimise combustion (as opposed to old fashion carbs)

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