Clips vs. Magazines, Engines vs. Motors, Hoppe's, etc.

Technically a gasoline engine that does nothing but drive the wheels IS a motor. It's normally called an engine because it runs everything else on the car as well, such as the alternator to provide electricity, steering pump to provide power brakes, the A/C compressor for air conditioning, etc..

An engine is something that runs an entire system. A motor provides locomotion. As such, an engine can be a motor, and a motor can be an engine.

Also people need to pronounce it right. Hoppe's is pronounced (hop eez) not (hops).

Click to expand...

Where are you getting this info?

Its Hop-eez. Has always been thus.

what about hydrolic motors and pneumatic motors?

my understanding is the term 'motor' means 'any device that converts another form of energy into mechanical energy to produce motion' and derives from the latin word for motion.

On the other hand, engine is any device that performs mechanical work. Your definition of fuel-user doesn't work, because a steam engine doesn't use fuel, steam isn't consumed or used up, it is just harnessed. Same with Hydro.

Fuel is any material that is burned or altered to obtain energy

Heck, this is why catapults and the like are termed 'Siege Engines'


Anyways, engine had the unofficial connotation of industrial machine back in the days when people were getting serious about transportation other than the horse. (heck, Cotton Gin is a shortening of Cotton Engine)

so a lot of the early NON-combustion engines started using the term MOTOR (this is especially true of the steam engines) to basically say 'we don't just stay in one place, we GO SOMEWHERE.

So when the Internal Combustion Engine started to make headway, it's proponents went back to the older term 'engine' as a way to distinguish themselves.

Mag vs clips is understandable. However, Hoppe's pronounced correctly sounds retarded, and I will still use the incorrect pronunciation. Besides, we may be backwards up here in Wisconsin, but I've never heard anyone, seasoned veteran or otherwise, call it Hoppies.

............. Really, guys? I've been here less than a week and I've seen this brought up in about eight different active threads.

Agree to disagree, establish defensive positions and armed camps, or whatever, but geez aren't there more interesting things to talk about?

A lot of racing people I know often refer to their engine as a motor. It always sounded funny to me, but they know far more about cars and engines than I do.

As for Hoppe's there is no question. I've used it for fifty years and have never heard it pronounced as one syllable.

FarmGirl said:

............. Really, guys? I've been here less than a week and I've seen this brought up in about eight different active threads.

Agree to disagree, establish defensive positions and armed camps, or whatever, but geez aren't there more interesting things to talk about?

Click to expand...

Calibers?

We can always have a caliber war.

how about a prius? motor and engine.

Whatever floats your boat, man.

I just think that this particular subject is one very well-dead horse, and no amount of beating it will make it get up and run again.

This is what gets done best, spliting hairs. No progress or resolution just a short rest and it all starts over again.

Back when I was young I loved to watch the trains pulled by steam motor locomotives. Sadly, those were replaced by the modern diesel/electrics which has a diesel motor turning an electricity generator to power those electric engines on the axles.

Inasmuch as that generator is taking in mechanical energy and converting it to electricity, is it more properly to be called a rotom or should it be enigne?

Does all this REALLY make any difference in the grand scheme of life?


Or does this just make it possible for those out there who are perfect have something to correct the rest of us on.

kidrice, you got that right.

akodo said:

my understanding is the term 'motor' means 'any device that converts another form of energy into mechanical energy to produce motion' and derives from the latin word for motion.

Click to expand...

That is correct, a motor is an engine with a specific output of kinetic energy (motion.)


An engine is simply a device which converts one form of energy to another. Calling the device in an automobile either an engine or a motor are both technically correct, the best kind of correct!

However, clips are not magazines.