How well do you know your ABC’s? So, does your car have ABS? ESP? VVT? Or EBD? How about your DSR? Is it OK?The language of new cars has become very complicated in the past few years with the increase in new technologies and consumer demand for extra features growing higher and higher. Car manufacturers are constantly creating new terms and coming up with new ideas in order to edge out the competition, a trend which, while it has made our cars safer and more comfortable, can also make car buyers feel more than a little confused and lost.
The following is a comprehensive list, and explanation, of terms and abbreviations frequently used in the automotive industry.
ABS: Anti Lock Brake System
(ABS) Sometimes called anti-skid brakes. A device which senses that one or more of the wheels are locking up during braking. By the use of electronic Computers, the brakes rapidly alternate (at a rate of 30 times per second) from full pressure to full release. This process will also alternate from the left-front wheel and the right-rear wheel and switch to the right-front wheel and left-rear wheel. In this way both maximum braking and maximum steering control is allowed during braking.
A Pillar
The piece of steel on the side of the windscreen going from bonnet line to roof.
AWD
A variation of Four-wheel drive (4WD) designed to improve on-road Traction in unfavorable road conditions or for ultra high performance driving. All-Wheel Drive (AWD) reduces wheel slippage and provides greater Driver control over the vehicle. AWD usually does not require the Driver to actively engage the system and does not have a low range. AWD automatically splits engine Torque between the front and rear wheels as needed. All-Wheel Drive is generally an on-road system and is not designed for off-road use.
CNG: Compressed Natural Gas
(CNG) Natural gas comprised primarily of methane that has been compressed under high pressures, typically between 2000 and 3600 psi, and held in a container. The gas expands when released for use as a fuel for natural gas powered vehicles.
B Pillar
The piece of steel running from floor to roof between the front and back doors.
C PILLAR
The piece of steel next to the rear window running from boot line to roof.
Cetane Rating
A method of rating Diesel oil or fuel by measuring the time lapse between Fuel injection and Ignition to determine how easy it is to ignite and how fast it will burn. The lower the cetane number, the higher the temperature required to burn the oil.
Cruise Control
A feature that keeps your vehicle moving at a set Speed. Old cruise controls were mere Throttle control units which kept the engine speed the same. When the vehicle approached a hill, the vehicle slowed down noticeable going up and speeded up going down. Later models used Vacuum controls to push or pull on the Accelerator rod. Newer models use electronic controls to accomplish this task. It can be turned off by hitting the off Button or touching the Brake pedal. The resume switch allows you to return to the pre-set speed after brake disengagement. The Coast switch slows the speed down and the accelerate switch increases it.
CV JOINT: Constant Velocity Joint
A type of Universal joint so designed as to create a smooth transfer of Torque from the driven shaft to the driving shaft without any fluctuations in the Speed of the driven shaft.
CVT: Constantly Variable Transmission
Instead of interchangeable toothed steel gears and shafts, the gearbox uses belts and pulleys that change their circumference to alter the ratio of the engine revolutions to the driveshaft revolutions. The ratio between the engine revs and the drive shaft revs then becomes constantly variable.
DOHC: Double Over Head Camshafts
An engine with two Camshafts located above the Cylinders. One drives the Intake valves and the other operates the Exhaust valve. In a single overhead cam engine (SOHC), one cam has enough lobes to drive both the Intake and Exhaust valves. The DOHC engine is considered to be a very sophisticated and more efficient engine; but is sometimes more difficult to adjust the valves. Also called twin overhead camshaft.
EBD: Electronic brake force distribution
A system that helps reduce stopping distances by re-proportioning the braking force from rear to front as the vehicle stops and its weight shifts forward.
EFI: Electronic fuel injection
(EFI or EFi) A system that injects fuel into the engine and includes an Electronic control unit to time and meter the flow. Fuel is delivered in intermittent pulses by the opening and closing of solenoid-controlled injectors. Also called Pulsed injection
EGR: Exhaust gas recirculation
An Emission control system where some of the Exhaust gases are rerouted from the Exhaust manifold into the Combustion chamber to make sure that all fuel is burned before entering the atmosphere. The process lowers the Combustion temperature and reduces the formation of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in the Exhaust, thereby reducing engine pollutants
ESP: Electronic stability program
The computer uses the same wheel sensors as ABS along with some others, and then cuts engine power and applies the brakes selectively in an effort to overcome understeer or oversteer.
GPS: Global positioning system (satellite navigation)
The technology which allows a vehicle to be tracked anywhere in the world with near-perfect accuracy. The Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system was first used by the military, but has been adopted by companies such as General Motors for use with their On_Star® communication system. Several after-market communication systems using GPS are also available
DSR: Down hill speed regulation
This is mainly on 4WDs. The computer applies the brakes selectively to the four wheels to keep speed below a certain level but without letting any one wheel skid or lock up.
HSA: Hill start assist
The computer keeps the brakes applied even when the driver has taken their foot off the brake pedal. It can operate for a time, say two seconds, or until the vehicle starts to move forward. This helps to stop rolling back on hills before starting off.
BA: Brake assist
The computer applies extra pressure to the brake lines having sensed there is an emergency situation. This means the brakes work more quickly and powerfully even if the driver fails to put in maximum effort on the brake pedal.
Lambda Probe
This is a device set into an engine exhaust pipe to measure the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas. Too much oxygen means the engine's fuel injection system is running the engine too lean which uses less fuel but creates more harmful exhaust emissions. Too little oxygen means the engine is running rich, good for power but also poor for emissions and fuel economy.
LPG: Liquified petroleum gas
A mixture of low-boiling hydrocarbons found in natural gas and produced from crude oil. It exists in a liquid state at ambient temperatures when under moderate pressures: (less than 1.5 MPa. Major components are Propane (min. 85% content in the U.S.), Butane, Propylene, Ethane, Ethylene Butylene, Isobutane, and Isobutylene. It is used principally as a feedstock for the chemical industry, home heating fuel, and motor vehicle fuel.
LSD: Limited slip differential
An axle differential or central differential incorporating a locking or slip-limiting mechanism to counter wheel spin. Limited slip means that some power is always applied to each of the wheels, even when one of them is on a slippery surface like ice or mud.
A Differential unit designed to provide superior Traction by transferring driving Torque, when one wheel is spinning, to the wheel that is not slipping. A Cone or Clutch disc locks the two independent axle shafts together so that they both turn at the same time. There is a minimal amount of slippage (thus the name limited-slip) to allow for differential action.
MPI/MPFI: Multi point injection/multi point fuel injection
(MPFI) a fuel injection system that uses one injector per cylinder, mounted on the engine to spray fuel near the intake valve are or the combustion chamber.
(MPI) Gasoline fuel-injection system in which only air enters the inlet manifold; as the air approaches the inlet valve, an injection valve opens in the valve port, spraying fuel into the airstream. Used to describe a fuel rationing system where the fuel is injected individually into each inlet port or cylinder rather than one constant injection into a common manifold linking all cylinders.
Octane
Petrol in Australia is commonly rated 91, 95, and 98 octane. This is not a measure of the energy in a litre of petrol but is a measure of the petrol's resistance to exploding (detonating or knocking and undesirable) rather than burning (desirable) in an engine. A high-octane petrol means it resists exploding when compressed in an engine much better than a low octane petrol. But a car with a high compression ratio makes more power than a car with a low compression engine so 98 octane fuel is needed for high performance, high compression engines if they are to give their best.
Piezo Injector
A (relatively) new type of fuel injector for engines which is almost infinitely controllable, meaning the engine management computer can vary a fuel injection cycle not only to deliver a certain amount of fuel but can spread it out over a number of “squirts” or injections. This is especially helpful for diesel engines which benefit in less noise, less emissions and more power if the fuel injection is spread over a number of mini injections.
TC/TCS: Traction control system
The computer applies the brakes to individual wheels, and/or throttles back the engine, to overcome spinning wheels on slick surfaces. In 4WD vehicles it may distribute the power in varying amounts to front or back wheels or even individual wheels.
Torque
Torque is a twisting force. It is the force created by a spinning engine that tries to keep the engine spinning when other forces are trying to slow it down. Torque is the force that governs how quickly cars accelerate.
Horsepower/Kilowatts
Horsepower is a measurement of the engine's ability to do work. It takes a certain amount of horsepower to move a car weighing a certain amount at a certain speed. One horsepower is the equivalent of 550 foot-pounds per second, or the energy required to lift one pound 550 feet every second or 550lbs one foot every second. In the metric system one horsepower is equivalent to 745 watts or 0.745 of a kilowatt.
Turbo Lag
The time between the accelerator being pushed and the exhaust gases building up enough volume and velocity to effectively spin the turbine in the turbocharger. The time taken between pushing on the accelerator and having the engine produce effective torque or power.
VVT: Variable valve timing
The opening and closing of the inlet and exhaust valves in relation to the position of the piston in the bore, can be changed while the engine is running. “Mild” valve timing means good cylinder filling with air and fuel at low engine revs and good smooth power while “wild” valve timing at high engine revs means more power as the engine reaches its maximum speed.
Variable nozzle turbochargers
Turbochargers rely on certain pressures, and amounts, of exhaust gas to work efficiently. Variable nozzle turbos can work efficiently over a much greater range of pressure and quantity than fixed nozzle turbos. A variable nozzle turbo will therefore have much less turbo lag and will start forcing air into the engine (and consequently more fuel, which equals power) at much lower engine revolutions than a fixed nozzle turbo.
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