What does a car’s computer do? Does it receive input from the car’s mechanical components? And if so, how?
In: Technology
The cars computer keeps track of data from various sensors throughout the car.
For example there’s a crank shaft position sensor that tracks the rotation of the crank shaft.
Oxygen sensors in the exhaust to measure how much Oxygen is left after combustion.
Fuel flow sensors to know how much fuel you are burning.
Temperature sensors to measure air temperature and the temp of the engine.
Etc
It uses this data to manage your engine, changing fuel flow and conditions within the engine to optimize its performance based on pre-programmed settings. Most engines are tuned by the manufacturer to maximize the life time of the engine and overall efficiency. Changing some settings in the computer can significantly boost performance at the price of efficiency and extra wear, although this isn’t recommended.
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