What is a Throttle?
A car’s throttle is essentially what controls how fast the engine goes, and therefore how fast the car goes. The throttle is usually a butterfly valve assembly on the intake manifold, and is connected to the accelerator, or gas pedal, via the throttle linkage. This linkage enables you to control the engine’s throttle by how far you move the gas pedal — the further down you press the gas pedal, the more the throttle opens. Many people hold the misconception that the purpose of the throttle is to control the amount of fuel going into the engine. In fact, it is the exact opposite: the throttle controls the amount of air that goes into the engine. An internal combustion engine runs on the force of exploding fuel and air. However, to generate the proper explosion in the combustion chambers, there needs to be a very specific mixture of vaporized fuel and oxygen. Therefore, in an internal combustion engine, there are several systems in place to regulate the air/fuel ratio. In a carbureted car
