The guys at Muscle Car Review show you how to check engine compression with the latest tools. Check it out only at hotrod.com or the October 2011 issue of Muscle Car Review Magazine.

Late-model engine designs have come a long way in the engineering of pistons and cylinder heads to improve combustion efficiency, allowing higher-compression engines to run on regular gas.

Also, engine compression readings can vary depending on altitude and other factors, so it is more important to compare the cylinders to each other rather than the assumed compression number.

Nissan luxury brand Infiniti is claiming a breakthrough in engine technology that will allow for variable compression for the first time.

A Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition engine can achieve 60 percent thermal efficiency. That's incredible.

Some engines use a spark to ignite their fuel, and others rely on compression. What does all of that mean? And how do the two kinds of engines differ?

But the SKYACTIV-X merges the diesel engine's compression ignition—and its efficiency and low-RPM grunt—with the gas engine's high-RPM responsiveness, creating an engine that pulls strongly ...