Ever wonder what some of the terms that petrol heads constantly use mean? Avoid the confusion with our glossary of racing terms! Expanded information on these topics can be found on Paddock Pal.
| Term | Synonyms | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| “The Line” | The line is the route around a course and through its corners which will enable the car to go the fastest. Different cars require different approaches to stay on the line. The most important corners are those leading to the longest straights. | |
| (Brake) Caliper | Brakes, Caliper | A form of brake in which a pair of arms, carrying brake pads, move inwards and press on the the rotor. |
| (Brake) Pads | Brakes, Pads | Thin blocks (of varying compounds) that grip the rotor in a caliper brake system. |
| (Brake) Rotors | Brakes, Rotors, Disc, Brake Disc | The disc that revolves while the car is in motion in a caliper based brake system. |
| Acceleration | N/A | The addition of speed, normally caused by an engine either pulling or pushing a vehicle |
| Aerodynamics | The science dealing with a car passing through the air | |
| All Wheel Drive | AWD, 4×4, Quattro, Syncro | Vehicle configuration where power is distributed to all four wheels to create motion. |
| Alternator | An on board generator that produces an alternating current, to keep your battery fully charged during the operation of a vehicle. | |
| Anti-lock Braking System | ABS | Anti-lock braking system is an automobile safety system that allows the wheels on a motor vehicle to maintain tractive contact with the road surface according to driver inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and avoiding uncontrolled skidding. |
| Apex | The center point of a turn with respect to entering or exiting | |
| Battery | Generally a lead-acid storage battery in a motor vehicle; with a 12-volt battery of six cells; the heart of the car’s electrical system. | |
| Battery (AGM) | VLRA, Maintenance Free, Gel, Sealed Battery, SLA | A VRLA battery (valve-regulated lead-acid battery), more commonly known as a sealed battery (SLA) or maintenance free battery, is a type of lead-acid rechargeable battery. Due to their construction, the Gel and AGM types of VRLA can be mounted in any orientation, and do not require constant maintenance. |
| Battery (Dry-cell) | A cell in which the electrolyte exists in the form of a paste, is absorbed in a porous medium, or is otherwise restrained from flowing. | |
| Battery (Lead-Acid) | A lead acid battery is a secondary cell, meaning that it is rechargeable. It is very common in cars and trucks. It contains plates of lead and lead(IV) oxide in a sulfuric acid solution. The lead(IV) oxide oxidizes the lead plate, making an electrical current. | |
| Brake Modulation | Easing off of the brakes slightly when you feel the wheels locking then reapplying the brakes. ABS does this automatically. | |
| Camber | The tilt of the wheel from the vertical, viewed head on. Positive Camber means the top of the wheel leans away from the vehicle centerline. Negative camber has the wheel leaning toward the centerline. Any wheel camber has two effects. A wheel tends to run in a circular path toward the direction in which it leans, and any time a wheel is not running at a right angle with the road surface, the flat of the tread is not fully in contact with the road. Since a vehicle tends to lean away from a turn due to centrifugal force and the wheels tend to lean with it, negative camber is sometimes used so that the thread is flat on the road surface when it is on the outside of a corner. This is when you most need the traction. | |
| Carburetor | Carb | A device in an internal combustion engine for mixing air with a fine spray of liquid fuel. |
| Caster | The more-or-less vertical axis about which a wheel rotates during steering. When the top of this axis leans toward the rear, like the front fork of a motorcycle, it is positive caster. The primary effect of positive caster is that the tire contact patch on the pavement trails behind the point at which this axis contacts the pavement. This causes the wheels to tend to follow the caster axis and run straight or return to straight ahead after a turn. | |
| Center of Gravity | The center point at which the vehicle will balance | |
| Centrifugal Force | The force towards the outside of the circle | |
| Centripetal Force | The force towards the inside of the circle | |
| Cornering | Driving in an arc predetermined by either limiting barrier such as a pylon, or be mental design on the part of the driver | |
| Deceleration | The slowing of a vehicle, normally done by applying braking pressure | |
| Diesel (engine) | An internal combustion engine in which heat produced by the compression of air in the cylinder is used to ignite the fuel | |
| Dipstick | A graduated rod for measuring the depth of a liquid, especially oil in a vehicle’s engine. | |
| Disc Brake | A type of vehicle brake employing the friction of pads against a disc which is attached to the wheel. | |
| Dive | A word sometimes used to describe the pitch motion in a car under braking | |
| DOT # | DOT 3, 4, 5 | DOT 3 is one of several designations of automotive brake fluid, denoting a particular mixture of chemicals imparting specified ranges of boiling point. |
| Drum Brake | A type of vehicle brake in which brake shoes press against the inside of a drum on the wheel. | |
| Early Apex | Having the inside wheel come close to the inside of a corner before reaching the midpoint of the corner | |
| Egress Corner | A corner that exits onto a straightaway | |
| Entry Angle | The position of a car relative to an approaching corner | |
| Esses | A series of “S” shaped bends. | |
| Exit Angle | The position of a car relative to leaving a corner and approaching a straightaway | |
| Front Wheel Drive | FWD | Vehicle configuration where power is converted to motion using the front wheels. |
| Fuel (Diesel) | Diesel | A heavy petroleum fraction used as fuel in diesel engines. |
| Fuel (Gasoline) | Gas, Petrol | Refined petroleum used as fuel for internal combustion engines. |
| Fuel (Hybrid) | Hybrid | A vehicle that uses two or more power sources, most commonly an internal combustion engine, a battery, an electric generator, and an electric motor, so as to reduce local emissions with adequate vehicle performance. |
| Fuel Injection | The direct introduction of fuel under pressure into the combustion units of an internal combustion engine. | |
| Haldex | The Haldex system automatically distributes power between the front and rear wheels depending on slippage, but normally sends 95% of the power to the front wheels. | |
| Heel and Toe | Heel+Toe, Heel/Toe | A driving method whereby the right foot is used to control both the accelerator and the brake |
| Ingress Corner | A corner at the end of a straightaway | |
| Late Apex | Having the inside wheel come close to the inside of a corner past the midpoint of the corner | |
| Left Foot Braking | Using the left foot to operate the brakes thereby maintaining throttle and chassis set | |
| Lift Throttle Oversteer | LTO | Oversteer caused by lifting off the gas quickly just before or during a corner to increase weight transfer to the front of the car, causing the rear end to become light (and/or rotate). Front wheel drive cars are noted for doing this. |
| Longitudinal Mounted (engine) | A longitudinal engine is an internal combustion engine in which the crankshaft is oriented along the long axis of the vehicle, front to back. | |
| Mid Mounted (engine) | (of a car) having the engine located centrally between the front and rear axles. | |
| Neutral | The car feels balanced and responsive; the driver feels more comfortable and in control | |
| Neutral Corner | A corner with less than 160 degrees of curvature. | |
| Oil (Conventional) | Conventional oil is a mixture of mainly pentanes and heavier hydrocarbons recoverable at a well from an underground reservoir and liquid at atmospheric pressure and temperature. Unlike bitumen, conventional oil flows through a well without stimulation and through a pipeline without processing or dilution. | |
| Oil (Engine) | Motor Oil | A thick, black liquid that comes from the ground and that is used in making various products (such as gasoline, engine oil, transmission fluid, etc) : Oil makes the different parts in an engine, machine, etc., run smoothly and is also used for cooling (heat dissipation). |
| Oil (Synthetic) | Synthetic oil is a lubricant consisting of chemical compounds that are artificially made. Synthetic lubricants can be manufactured using chemically modified petroleum components rather than whole crude oil, but can also be synthesized from other raw materials. | |
| Oversteer | Tail Happy | The car wants to over-respond to your steering inputs. The rear end of the car feels light, and the car acts as if it wants to spin. |
| Pounds per Square Inch | PSI | Pounds per square inch (PSI) is a measurement of pressure in the Imperial system of measurement. PSI is commonly used to measure the pressure of gasses (pneumatic pressure) or liquids (hydraulic pressure). |
| Power Steering | Power-assisted steering through the use of hydraulics or electro-mechanical systems. | |
| Pylon | Cone | Usually a flourescent orange traffic cone, rubber or plastic material. |
| Pyrometer | A technical instrument used to accurately gauge the temperature of the rubber compound of a tire | |
| Radiator | An engine-cooling device in a motor vehicle or aircraft consisting of a bank of thin tubes in which circulating fluid is cooled by the surrounding air. | |
| Rear Mounted (engine) | A rear-engine design layout places the engine at the rear of the vehicle. The center of gravity of the engine itself is past the rear axle. This is not to be confused with the center of gravity of the whole vehicle, as an imbalance of such proportions would make it impossible to keep the front wheels on the ground. | |
| Rear Wheel Drive | RWD | Vehicle configuration where power is converted to motion using the rear wheels. This includes FM-RWD, RE-RWD and MR. |
| Reservoir | Tank, Canister | A receptacle or part of a machine designed to hold fluid. |
| Shock | Damper, Strut, Shock Absorber | A dampening device used in conjunction with springs to reduce bound (rebound), and stabilize the ride of a vehicle |
| Springs | Devices of various shapes (standard, progressive, coil-over) that support the weight of a vehicle in a resilient fashion. | |
| Starter | An automatic device (electro-mechanical) for starting a machine, especially the engine of a vehicle | |
| Sway Bar | Anti-Sway Bar, Roll Bar, Anti-Roll Bar | This device reduces body roll and is normally mounted laterally at the front and rear of the car. |
| Threshold Braking | Maximum braking with the wheels on the verge of locking | |
| Tire Pressure | PSI | A tire’s maximum inflation pressure is the highest “cold” inflation pressure that the tire is designed to contain |
| Toe (In or Out) | The alignment of the wheels as viewed from above. “Toe-Out” means each wheel points away from the centerline. “Toe-In” means each wheel points in, toward the vehicle centerline. The primary purpose for the seeming mid-alignment of toe-in is to preload the steering and suspension linkage and take out all linkage slack or springiness. It does this because the centerline of the tire usually lies outboard of the caster axis, and forward motion tends to push the wheel and tire readwards in an arc so that the wheels tend to toe-out. The amount of static-toe is such that the wheels are pointing at or near straight ahead after the car is in motion and all the slack is taken out of the system. | |
| Torsion Bars | A supporting device much like a spring, only instead of moving up and down, they torque or twist. | |
| Track-Out | Track-Out Point | The point on the course at which the car should be when you have completed the turn |
| Trail Braking | Trailing Brake | A condition whereby the driver maintains a lag in braking while cornering, usually to the apex, then accelerating. |
| Trailing Throttle | Trailing Accelerator | A condition whereby the driver maintains a lag in acceleration while beginning to apply the brakes. |
| Trailing Throttle Oversteer | TTO | Oversteer caused by lifting off the gas or breaking while in a corner. Rear engine cars are noted for doing this. |
| Transmission (Automatic) | Automatic | A system in a vehicle that changes gears at different speeds without direct control by the driver (by computer) |
| Transmission (Continuously Variable) | CVT | A continuously variable transmission ( CVT ), also known as a single-speed transmission , stepless transmission , pulley transmission , or, in case of motorcycles , a twist-and-go , is an automatic transmission that can change seamlessly through a continuous range of effective gear ratios . This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that offer a fixed number of gear ratios. The flexibility of a CVT with suitable control may allow the input shaft to maintain a constant angular velocity even as the output speed varies. |
| Transmission (Direct Shift Gearbox) | DSG, SMG | The dual-clutch transmission, also known as the Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) or twin-clutch transmission, is an automated transmission that can change gears faster than any other geared transmission. |
| Transmission (Manual) | Manual, Stick, Stick Shift | An automotive transmission consisting of a system of interlocking gear wheels and a lever that enables the driver to shift gears manually |
| Transmission (Tiptronic) | Auto-manual, Semi-automatic | A Tiptronic transmission is an automatic transmission that includes an option to switch out of automatic mode and upshift or downshift by using paddles behind the steering wheel or by using the gear lever itself. |
| Transverse Mounted (engine) | A transverse engine is an engine mounted in a vehicle so that the engine’s crankshaft axis is perpendicular to the long axis of the vehicle. | |
| Turn In | Track-In, Turn In Point | The point on the course at which you should begin to turn the steering wheel in order to complete the corner. |
| Understeer | Push, Plow | Often called “push” or “plow” the car feels like it is unresponsive to your steering inputs, will continue straight ahead, and feels like the wheels are not turned enough. The initial response – the wrong response – is to turn the wheels more. |
