Friction is the engine's worst enemy. Continuous lubrication of moving parts in the engine is incredibly essential for efficient power output. Why is that? Well, as you may already know, too much friction results in the build-up of excessive heat, which, believe it or not, can actually melt some of the components of the engine and fuse them together. Oh, now that's something we definitely want to avoid. So what is the piston, crankshaft and connecting the rod? The piston is a cylindrical component that slides up and down a cylinder in the engine as a result of continuous gas combustion. The crankshaft is the component situated directly below the piston, which converts the reciprocating motion, which is the up and down motion of the piston through rotational motion, where the crankshaft begins to rotate and drives the system. The connecting rod is a short metal piece that ties the piston to the crankshaft. So how does this lubrication process work? In conventional engines, oil is pumped from an oil sub into oilways, so that once the oil reaches the crankshaft, it passes through a small-champage slot and into a diagonally drilled oilway inside the crankshaft. As a result, the connecting rod bearing and crankshaft are lubricated. The connecting rod and piston are then lubricated separately via oil spray. However, the Honda GX-160 engine takes a completely different approach. It uses something called a splash lubrication system. An oil thrower on the connecting rod passes into the oil sub with every rotation of the crankshaft and consequently splashes oil onto the connecting rod and piston's guts. Oil then slides down the surface of the connecting rod and flows through these slots to lubricate the crankshaft bearing. As the piston continues to move up and down the cylinder, cylinder walls are also lubricated.