Torque Horse

Torque Horse

Car Jargon Deciphered

Torque, body roll and chassis- they sound more like dance moves than motoring terms. As if working out what it all means wasn't hard enough, now advanced technology and the widespread use of acronyms has added to the mind boggling world of car talk. The list of car jargon is endless but here are a few of the most commonly heard terms to get you started on the road to car expert…..ok not quite but it's a start.

ABS- Or Anti-lock braking system does what it says on the tin, it prevents brakes from locking- failing to rotate- if you have to stop too abruptly or you hit an icy patch for example. An ABS system allows you to continue to steer if your wheels have lost traction with the road. They are primarily a safety feature as they improve stopping distances and give the driver better control.

ACC – For long is active or adaptive cruise control, depending on the car manufacturer. Cruise control is designed to maintain a constant speed for when you on the motorway for example, adaptive cruise control goes one step further and automatically adjusts the cars speed in order to maintain a safe stopping distance between you and the car in front. Clever!

4WD, AWD, RWD and FWD- In front-wheel drive (FWD) cars the engine drives only the front wheels, whilst on rear-wheel drive (RWD) vehicles the engine powers the rear wheels only. The engine controls all wheels in a four wheel drive (4WD) or all-wheel drive (AWD) vehicle, but 4WD can be turned off whilst an AWD drive system is permeantly on. All-wheel drive is generally found in crossover sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and high performance cars.

BHP – Brake Horsepower refers to the maximum amount of power your engine is capable of producing. A 210 bhp engine is more powerful than a 170bhp engine for example. Why is it called horsepower? Because engineer James Watt ( the inventor of steam engines ) wanted a way to measure how much work a horse in the mines was capable of doing, he found one horse could do 22,000 foot-pounds of work in a minute.

Chassis- A car's chassis is the frame on which the body sits plus the suspension, exhaust system and engine, everything that keeps the car running.

ESP- Electronic Stability Control is nearly always seen with ABS. The system detects any unnatural manoeuvres, if you turn too sharply for example, and corrects the move by applying the brakes to individual wheels as necessary.
Body Roll- Refers to how a vehicle's body moves on its suspension when taking a corner. When taking a corner, especially a sharp corner, you might notice that the car will lean and it will take a few seconds before you can steer the car in the direction you want. Suspension is designed to keep the cars wheels in contact with the road, manufacturers try to minimise body roll by fitting Anti-roll bars to the suspension.

Gasket – A gasket or head gasket is a seal that fills the gap between the cylinders and engine block (cast metal block containing the cylinders of an engine). It is designed to prevent the release of pressure and stop leakages into the cylinders. A ‘blown' head gasket is an expensive misfortune and can be prevented by ensuring oil and water is topped up.

MPG – The miles per gallon or MPG of a car is a good indication of how fuel efficient it is, the MPG is normally more than you would realistically achieve. MPG is expressed in three different ways as urban, extra-urban and combined. Urban is an estimate of how many miles per gallon your car would be expected do in the city, extra-urban refers to motorway driving and the combined MPG is worked out by combining both urban and extra-urban.

Torque – The definition of torque is a rotational force, but what does that have to do with cars?  Well it refers to the turning force or power that is transferred to the cars wheels, which directly affects how fast an engine works, not to be confused with horsepower. Torque is normally measured in in foot pounds (ft-lbs) or Newton meters (Nm). A Kia Sportage in Bristol generates 197 Nm of torque whilst a Chevrolet Matiz produces just 71 Nm of torque.

About the Author

Amy Sawyer is an online marketing executive currently researching Kia Sportage Bristol.

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