Crash Course: Automotive Vocabulary

[JohnBM01]

GTPlanet, I figured that I'd start a thread on automotive terms in an effort to educate first-time or inexperienced drivers. I want to do this so that people can have a sense of knowing how what is the difference between a coupe and a sedan, a radiatior from a battery, a camshaft to a throttle body, and that sort of thing. If you have the "Official Perfect Guide" for Gran Turismo 3, knowing car terms can come as easy as looking through the items. So if you all want to start a dictionary so that we can educate the inexperienced or novice car person, I hope my thread can help.

Let me begin with examples from the GT3 Guide.

(From Versus Books "Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec: Official Perfect Guide")

Dual Quad, Tri-Power, Cross-Ram, Six-Pack: All of these are denominations are for different types of vintage carbueators. During the muscle car era, every manufacturer had their own special name to seperate them from the crowd

In the future, I'm looking to start a "Crash Course" thread with racing terms. So come up with something to educate car people in terms of terms (heh...). Alright? So let's educate the inexperienced and the not too knowledgable!

 

[BeN_SpeC2]

Drivetrains:

4wd/AWD - power going to all four wheels of the car.
FR - Front Engine mount, Rear Wheel Drive
MR- Mid Engine Mount (basically rear mount), Rear Wheel Drive
FF- Front engine mount, front wheel drive

 

[BeN_SpeC2]

Since you said it at the start of the Thread...

the basics of basics

Coupe - Two door car
Sedan - 4 door car

 

[Goomba]

Understeer:
When the front tires give up traction and now matter how desperatly you try to turn, the car goes straight.

Oversteer:
When the rear wheels lose traction and the back end will go sliding out.

As Neon Duke so eliquently put it, "Oversteer is where the passanger is scared, understeer is when the driver is scared."

 

[MazKid]

SOHC - Single Over Head Camshaft
DOHC - Dual Over Head Camshafts
OHV - Over Head Valves
VVT - Variable Valve Timing
4WS - 4 Wheel Steering
RABS - Rear Anti-lock Brake System
CVT - Constantly Variable Transmission
Locked Differential - Power is forced evenly to the drive wheels.
Open Differential - Power is applied to the drive wheels but will go to the easiest to spin wheel.
Renesis - Rotary Engine for the New age with Exhaust ports on the Side housings and Intake ports on the Side housings.

 

[Jay]

heres a few

ATTESA-ETS - Advanced Total Traction Engineering System - Electronic Torque Split
HICAS - High Capacity Active Steering
Road Wheel - the thing stuck to the ground that goes round & round.
Steering Wheel - the thing that you hang on to and rotate to go around in circles.
seat - you sit in it
CAI - Cold Air Intake
FMIC- Front Mount Intercooler
LSD- Limited Slip Differential
Battery - The thing that stores electric energy

 

[Duke]

Drivetrains:

4wd/AWD - power going to all four wheels of the car.
FR - Front Engine mount, Rear Wheel Drive
MR- Mid Engine Mount (basically rear mount), Rear Wheel Drive
FF- Front engine mount, front wheel drive

Understand that this is strictly Gran Turismo game terminology. Nobody in the real automotive world uses any but the first one.

 

[Jay]

Not really, Ive heard the others being used to explain cars like on Best Motoring.

 

[Duke]

I've never heard them used anywhere but GT. I stand corrected.

 

[ShobThaBob]

MR2 anyone?

 

[Ev0]

RPM: Revoultions Per Minute (how many times the engine causes the crankshaft to rotate)

And one that has to be covered...

Turbocharger: A device that attaches to an engine, and uses hot exhaust gas to help compress air in order to increase the amount of air in an engine, resulting in greater horsepower. It works better at high RPMs, resulting in 'Turbo Lag' at lower revs.

Supercharger: Similar to the turbocharger in that it compresses air that goes into the engine, but a supercharger is powered by a belt that is attached to the engine. Superchargers typically don't lag like turbochargers, but they are more expensive generally.

Please PM me if I got anything wrong here.

 

[JohnBM01]

I'm going to use the GT3 magazine a little more for a few more definitions.

Horsepower: The common measurement when rating an engine's power. One horsepower equals 550 ft. lbs per second, which is basically the power needed to lift 550 pounds one foot off the ground in exactly one second.

Torque: In an engine, torque is the twisting motion at the crankshaft measured in foot-pounds (lb-ft, you can make conversions to newton-meter with the "measuring conversions" in my signature). One foot-pound is the force of one pound acting at right angles at the end of an arm one foot long. Simply stated, torque is the engine power that gets to a vehicle to speed- felt especially during the launch and subsequent acceleration.

Engine Displacement: Contrary to popular belief, engine displacement isn't measured by just combining the size of the piston bores. It's actually the total volume of fuel/air mixture the engine is capable of drawing into all all cylinders during one operating cycle. To put it simply, a standard 2.4 liter V6 actually pulls in 2.4 liters of fuel-air mixture during the time it takes for all six cylinders to make one complete revolution through the engine.

Turbo Lag: Within a turbocharger's operating range, lag is the delay between the instant a car's accelerator is depressed and the time the turbocharged engine develops a large fraction of the power available (at that point in the engine's power curve). One of the main weaknesses of a turbocharged engine.

 

[Rue]

MR2 anyone?

That would be a too logical choice for Toyota - actually, the 'MR' in MR2 stands for 'midship runabout'

 

[rollazn]

ABS = Antilock Braking System
ECU = Engine Control Unit, or Electronic Control Unit (computer)
GT= A trim level- Usually stands for "Grand Touring"

http://www.ravensblade-impreza.com/faq/faq2.html

On that site there are numerous of Acronym List.

 

[rollazn]

That would be a too logical choice for Toyota - actually, the 'MR' in MR2 stands for 'midship runabout'

Just like Audi TT, do not stand for Twin Turbo. It actually stands for Tourist Trophy.

 

[Event]

GTO- Gran Turismo Olomagato(sp?)
Roadster- 2 door convertable with manually operated top with windows that can be removed, but not rolled down.
Cabriolet- Roadster with an automated roof and window that can be rolled down.
Phaeton- 4 door Cabriolet
(These 3 terms are often used incorrectly. Sorry, the miata is not a roadster, it is a cabriolet...)
I helped!

 

[Joey D]

Here are a few I've picked up while working at GM along with just some other ones that I've known for a while.

IP - Instrument Panel often confused as the dash
Sugar Scoupe - The plastic collar that goes around the gas cap to catch over flow
Tulip- The rear panel on a car that is behind the rear seats and goes to the rear window
Greenhouse- All the windows
Dounut - Tires
Christmas Trees - The type of clips that hold interior door pillars on
A Pillar - The first support on a automobile, the pillar where the front windsheild is located
B Pillar - The second support on a automobile, the pillar where the front door latch is
C Pillar - The thrid support on a automoblie where the rear door latch is and on some autos where the rear window starts.
D Pillar - The last support that is on station wagons and SUV's, where the rear hatch is located.

 

[ShobThaBob]

Just like Audi TT, do not stand for Twin Turbo. It actually stands for Tourist Trophy.

Ah, that analogy doesn't work. The Audi TT doesnt have 2 turbos, , whereas an MR2 really is a midship-rwd car.

 

[rollazn]

Ah, that analogy doesn't work. The Audi TT doesnt have 2 turbos, , whereas an MR2 really is a midship-rwd car.

Ah... Did you know the new 250hp Audi TT is actually a N/A V6. The 180hp and 225hp Audi TT are turbocharged but im not sure if its twin turbo or single.

 

[JohnBM01]

How about these? Since you mentioned Audi, here is a quick definition, then some more stuff I have to add:

Quattro: This is the official noemclature that Audi uses to signify their four-wheel drive models. (From: "GT3 Off. Perfect Guide")

Now, some others for the inexperienced. These based on the GT3 guide. I'd might as well suggest getting this, even if you don't play GT3. I am inexperienced myself, so thanks for your suggestions. And that's all I want this topic to be. Help with automotive terms. Keep them coming.

"Pocket Rocket": an informal term used to describe small cars that pack impressive horsepower and/or speed.

Headers: Fine-tuned exhaust pipes that route exhaust gases away from your engine. These are the high-performance replacement for conventional cast metal exhaust manifolds, and along with a better flowing exhaust and air cleaner, they bring a new meaning to the phrase "bolt-on horsepower."

 

[///M-Spec]

Apex. The point in the turn where the car comes closest to the inside of the track.

Early Apex. Symptom of early turn-in where the car comes to the inside of the road early, causing the car to run out of road unless the driver increases steering input in the second half of the turn. Usually reduces exit speed or causes the car to run off the outside edge of the track.

Late Apex. Classic racing line where the car comes to the inside of the road later than nessessary, allowing the driver to use less steering input in the second half of the turn resulting in great opportunity for acceleration.

Bind. State of excessive steering angle when the car is turning and accelerating out of a corner. The extra angle causes extra rolling resistance and reduces the car's acceleration. (GT3 physics model does a very poor job of modelling this)

Crab. A defensive manuver in racing where a driver leaves, usually gradually, the outside edge of the track BEFORE inital turn-in. The result is using up the road width before turning, making the turn itself narrower than it needs to be.

Turn-in. The point where the driver begins turning the wheel to enter the corner.

Track-out. The point where the car completes the turn, usually by touching the outside of the track or when the steering is returned to straight-ahead.

Slip-angle. The difference between there the tires are pointing and the direction they are actually traveling in. Modern race and performance tires generate their opimum grip at a slight slip angle. Too little and the tires are not being used to their maximum; too much and the tire will 'break away', causing understeer or oversteer.

More later..


M

 

[miata13B]

I just remembered this from another thread . . .

Windshield wipers - Der Flippenflappin' ShattenSpreadin' : )

 

[ShobThaBob]

Ah... Did you know the new 250hp Audi TT is actually a N/A V6. The 180hp and 225hp Audi TT are turbocharged but im not sure if its twin turbo or single.

Yeah, I did know that, but thanks for reminding me. Great step for the TT IMO, it needed a bit more power.

 

[Famine]

Yep - the TT needs 25 more hp and a 3.2 litre six cylinder up front instead of a 1.8 turbo (single, by the way). That'll cure the understeer problem it suffers with...

John - you mentioned Horsepower, but omitted the metric equivalent "Pferdenstarke" (PS) (defined as the amount of power required to lift 75kg vertically through 1 metre in one second) - 1hp = 0.986PS - and the truly metric kilowatt (kW) - 1hp = 0.7457kW.

 

[Firebird]

Differential: transfers torque to the driving wheels using a set of gears. The engine, after having routed torque through the transmission, transfers power to an input shaft with a small gear (the pinion) on the end. This turns the larger ring gear, housed within the differential housing. The ring gear turns small spider gears, which turn the axle shafts. The spider gears allow the axle shafts, and in turn the drive wheels themselves, to turn at different speeds. This is necessary for the vehicle to turn a corner. As a vehicle turns the outer wheel must spin faster than the inner wheel, since it must cover more distance in the same time.

Locking differential: the differential features an added mechanism which disables the differentials inherent ability to allow the wheels to turn at different speeds. The axle shafts are locked together, allowing them to turn at the same speed at the same time.

Two-wheel-drive (2WD): two wheels receive torque.

All-wheel-drive (AWD): all four wheels receive torque. AWD vehicles have, along with differentials for the front and rear axles, a center differential that splits torque to each axle. Some are fully mechanical, full-time systems (à la Subaru), while others are part-time (switched between 2WD and AWD), either by mechanical means (i.e. AMC's Selec-Drive) or electronic means (i.e. Honda's Variable Torque Management (VTM)). Some center differentials can also be locked momentarily, usually by electronic means or independent mechanical activation (clutches and such).

Four-wheel-drive (4WD): as with AWD, all four wheels receive torque. 4WD differs in that the center differential has two gears: a 'high' gear (1:1) and 'low' gear (#>1:1). The center differential can also be locked, making each axle receive torque at the same speed at the same time.