Editing Connecting rod (section)

=== Cylinder wear ===
The sideways force exerted on the piston through the connecting rod by the [[crankshaft]] can cause the [[cylinder (engine)|cylinders]] to wear into an oval shape. This significantly reduces engine performance, since the circular [[piston ring]]s are unable to properly seal against the oval-shaped cylinder walls.

The amount of sideways force is proportional to the angle of the connecting rod, therefore longer connecting rods will reduce the amount of sideways force and engine wear. However, the maximum length of a connecting rod is constrained by the engine block size; the [[Stroke (engine)|stroke length]] plus the connecting rod length must not result in the piston travelling past the top of the engine block.
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