Hacker News Reader

> If I were to guess, how we let cars turn into computers probably started with fuel injection.

I don't recall the exact answer, but Technology Connections did a video on this very question 2 months ago.

Engines haven't been fully mechanical in decades - and that's good! 2.4M 1mo ago 58:45 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KoeY54M5VA

View on HN

A mechanical carburetor is simply a crazy invention: it has to provide fuel stoichiometry under wildly varying conditions. Cold start, hot start, summer, winter, high altitude, low altitude, ... not to mention different RPMs and loads.

In the carburetor era, cars guzzled gas, and you could smell unburned fuel in the exhaust.

There is no way you can optimize the performance and fuel economy without a real time system controlling key variables like injection of fuel, and timing of ignition and valves.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com