As hard-chrome plating has fallen out of favor, hydraulic-cylinder manufacturers have developed alternative coatings and platings. Here is how they affect seal performance and life. • Hard-chrome ...

It's amazing that an object as simple as a piston can withstand the rigors of combustion for hundreds of thousands of miles without failing. There's a lot more to a piston than meets the eye, matey.

Wait! Don't say anything. Okay—they're gone. I didn't want those guys to hear what we were saying about them. Who? The people who flipped past this article without reading it, of course! You see, ...