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Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over hot parts of the engine to cool them.

A cylinder from an air-cooled aviation engine

Most modern internal combustion engines are cooled by a closed circuit carrying liquid coolant through channels in the engine block, where the coolant absorbs heat, to a heat exchanger or radiator where the coolant releases heat into the air, and so on, ad infinitum. Thus, while they are ultimately cooled by air, because of the liquid-coolant circuit they are known as water-cooled. In contrast, heat generated by an air-cooled engine is released directly into the air. Typically this is facilitated with metal fins covering the outside of the cylinders which increase the surface area that air can act on. It is worth noting that in all combustion engines, a great percentage of the heat generated (around 44%) escapes through the exhaust, not through either a liquid cooling system nor through the metal fins of an air-cooled engine (12%). About 8% of the heat energy finds its way into the oil, which although primarily meant for lubrication, also plays a role in heat dissipation via a cooler. [1]

Many motorcycles use air-cooling for the sake of reducing weight and complexity. Few current production automobiles have air-cooled engines, but notable past models include the Volkswagen Beetle and related models, Citroën 2CV, the Chevrolet Corvair, the Porsche 911 and others.

Most aviation piston engines are air-cooled, including most of the engines currently (2005) manufactured by Lycoming and Continental and used by major manufacturers of light aircraft Cirrus, Cessna and so on. Notable exceptions have included the Allison V-1710 and Rolls-Royce series of (most well known, the Merlin V-1650) liquid-cooled V12 engines which powered P-51 Mustangs, Avro Lancasters, Hawker Hurricanes and Spitfires.

Some small diesel engines, e.g. those made by Deutz AG and Lister Petter are air-cooled.

• Watercooling
• Engine cooling