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Automotive Topics - Ackermann Steering
- A double-pivoting steering system.
- Aerodynamic Drag
- Resistance of a vehicle body to motion through the air. A smooth surface has less drag than a rough one.
- Aerodynamic Noise
- Sound generated by turbulent flow is just as if the field were generated by a distribution of quadrupole sources.
- Aerodynamics
- Lists all Aerodynamics topics in the Encyclopaedia
- Aerodynamics Calculations
- Lists all Aerodynamics Calculations in the Encyclopaedia
- Aerodynamics Conversions
- Lists all Aerodynamics Conversions in the Encyclopaedia
- Aftermarket
- All products and services used in the repair and maintenance of vehicles after the vehicle has been sold.
- Air Filter
- A device for removing impurities from the air.
- Airbag
- A bag that is inflated when an impact is detected to restrain a vehicle passenger.
- All Terrain Vehicle
- A vehicle used in rough surface conditions.
- Alloy Wheel
- A generic term used to describe any non-steel road wheel. The usual alloys are either aluminum or magnesium.
- Anti Lock Brake System
- A system that can modulate the brake pressure under hard braking conditions to avoid a brake locking and resultant skidding.
- Auto-Ignition Temperature
- Minimum temperature at which the vapour/air mixture over a liquid spontaneously catches fire.
- Automobile
- A self-powered vehicle that travels on land typically with three or four wheels and with 2 to 9 seats.
- B100 Biodiesel
- 100% biodiesel.
- B20 Biodiesel
- A blend of biodiesel fuel with petroleum-based diesel where 20% of the volume is biodiesel.
- Baffle Plate
- A metal plate that acts as a baffle.
- Balance Pipe
- A pipe connecting two points of a system to even out pressure fluctuations.
- Ballast
- Any liquid or solid weight placed in a vehicle to change the weight distribution or trim.
- Biodiesel
- Diesel fuel derived from renewable lipid feedstocks, such as vegetable oils and animal fats.
- Biodiesel B100
- 100% (neat) biodiesel. The mono alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from renewable lipid feedstocks, such as vegetable oils and animal fats, diesel engines
- Biodiesel B20
- A blend of biodiesel fuel with petroleum-based diesel where 20% of the volume is biodiesel.
- Blueprinted Engine
- Ensuring the dimensions of the parts in the engine are more accurate and, therefore, closer to the original engine blueprint values.
- Brake Disc Rotor
- The rotating disc attached to the wheel axle and is clamped with brake pads to decelerate the vehicle.
- Brake Graunch
- The name given to the noise made by the brakes when they are just slipping when starting (or stopping) from rest. The brake graunch is mainly exhibited on the vehicles fitted with automatic transmission, but can also occur on manual vehicles e.g., on a steep hill. It is caused by brake pad stick-slip when static and dynamic friction is very similar. The term 'creep/groan' is also used to describe the brake graunch.
- Brake Horse Power
- This is the useful power available at the flywheel of an engine.
- Brake Judder
- Brake judder is the phenomenon where with medium to heavy braking from high speed, severe vibration is felt throughout the whole vehicle. It is often attributed to a mode of vibration in which the front suspension executes a predominantly fore and aft vibration with the two road wheels in-phase with each other. Excitation is often provided by the oscillatory forcing generated when applying the brakes to a brake disk that has disk thickness variation.
- Brake Mean Effective Pressure
- This is the average effective cylinder pressure that does useful work calculated from the brake horse power.
- Brake Pipes
- Pipes used to carry hydraulic brake fluid under pressure.
- Brake Servo
- A device which multiplies the driver′s physical effort in applying the brakes using the engine manifold vacuum.
- Brake Specific Fuel Consumption
- The ratio of the engine fuel consumption to the engine power output.
- Brake Squeal
- High frequency continuous tone when brakes are applied, this may be a single or multiple tones. The sound is generated by vibration on the surface of the disc itself.
- Brakes
- A device used to reduce the speed of a vehicle or object.
- Bumper
- An automobile bumper helps absorb the energy in an impact.
- Clutch
- Coupling that connects or disconnects driving and driven parts of a driving mechanism.
- Compressed Natural Gas
- Natural gas compressed to a volume and density that is practical as a portable fuel supply.
- Compression Ignition
- Ignition of a fuel charge by the heat of the air in a cylinder, generated by compression of the air, as in the diesel engine.
- Computer Aided Engineering
- A technique for using computers to help with all phases of engineering design work.
- Damper
- Device used to reduce unwanted vibrations of a system.
- Diesel Engine
- An internal-combustion engine in which the fuel is injected into the cylinder near the end of the compression stroke and is ignited by the heat of the compressed air in the cylinder.
- Diesel Particulate Filter
- A device which physically captures diesel particulates preventing their discharge from the tailpipe.
- Electric Vehicle
- A vehicle with one or more electric motors for propulsion.
- Engine
- A machine which produces power to do work, particularly one that converts heat into mechanical work.
- Engine Bay
- The enclosure in which an engine is installed in a vehicle.
- Engine Configurations
- Various configurations of engine have been developed over the years for power, low noise and vibration, economy or weight.
- Engine Excitation Mechanisms
- The physics behind the vibrations generated by the internal mechanisms of an internal combustion engine.
- Engine Orders
- Engine orders are simply the amplitudes of the frequency components which are the multiples of the rotating frequency.
- Engine Radiated Noise
- Some empirical noise prediction models have been derived from a sample of 1m radiated engine noise measurements.
- Engineering Design
- Lists all Engineering Design topics in the Encyclopaedia
- European Automobile Manufacturers Association
- The Association des Constructeurs Européens d’Automobiles and more often referred to by the abbreviation ACEA.
- Flexible Fuel Vehicle
- A vehicle that can be run on any blend of unleaded gasoline with up to 85 percent ethanol.
- Flywheel
- The wheel on the end of the crankshaft that gives the crankshaft momentum to carry the pistons through the compression stroke.
- Foot Brake
- Vehicle brake applied with the foot.
- Fossil Fuel
- A fuel such as coal, oil or natural gas that was formed through the decomposition of ancient plant and animal life.
- Four-Stroke Engine
- An engine operating on a cycle which is completed in four strokes, or two revolutions of the crankshaft.
- Fuel Cell
- A device that converts the chemical energy obtained from a redox reaction directly into electrical energy.
- Fuel Consumption
- Definitions of fuel consumption calculations.
- Gallon
- This unit of volume is defined in the British and American system of units. Note 1 UK gallon = 1.2 US gallons.
- Gearbox
- A mechanical device that provides a torque-speed conversion between an input and output shaft.
- Gross Vehicle Weight
- The maximum loaded weight, including the vehicle itself, passengers, and cargo, for which a vehicle is designed and as specified by the manufacturer.
- Handbrake
- Vehicle brake that is applied by hand to hold the vehicle when stationary.
- Hybrid Vehicle
- A vehicle that combines a conventional propulsion system and a rechargeable energy storage system.
- IC Engine
- Any engine, either reciprocating or rotary, in which the fuel is consumed in the interior of the engine rather than outside of the engine.
- Ignition Timing
- The time of occurrence of ignition measured in degrees of crankshaft rotation relative to TDC (Top Dead Centre).
- Institution of Electrical Engineers
- The IEE is an innovative international organisation for electronics, electrical, manufacturing and IT professionals, with specifically tailored products, services and qualifications to meet the needs of today′s technology industry.
- Internal Combustion Engine
- Any engine, either reciprocating or rotary, in which the fuel is consumed in the interior of the engine rather than outside of the engine.
- Liquefied Natural Gas
- Natural gas that has been refrigerated to cryonic temperatures where the gas condenses into a liquid.
- Litre
- A derived SI unit of volume.
- litres per 100km
- Unit of fuel consumption used in the automotive industry.
- mile per gallon
- Fuel consumption.
- Naturally Aspirated
- An engine that draws air in without the assistance of a supercharger or turbocharger.
- Petrol
- A volatile, flammable liquid mixture of hydrocarbons, obtained from petroleum and used as a fuel for internal-combustion engines.
- Petrol Engine
- An internal-combustion engine in which the fuel is petrol that is drawn or injected into the cylinder along with air and ignited with an electric spark.
- Petroleum
- An oily, thick, flammable, usually dark coloured liquid that is a form of bitumen or a mixture of various hydrocarbons, occurring naturally in various parts of the world and often separated by distillation into petrol, naphtha, benzene, kerosene and paraffin.
- Propshaft
- A driveshaft on a rear wheel drive vehicle that transfer rotational power from the engine-gearbox at the front to the differential at the rear.
- Shock Absorber
- A unit that adds damping to the relative motion of two parts.
- Sleeve Valve Engine
- In the sleeve valve engine the conventional valve train was replaced by a ported cylinder liner that was then rotated to align with ports in the block so as to achieve the timing for the intake and exhaust strokes for the four-stroke cycle.
- Specific Fuel Consumption
- The amount of fuel needed to provide a given power for a given period.
- Steering Offset
- The distance from the point where the steering axis intersects the ground to the longitudinal line that runs through the centre of the tyre′s contact patch.
- Sump
- The engine oil reservoir.
- Suspension
- A system consisting of small particles dispersed in a liquid. The system of springs, links and absorbers that suspends a vehicle above its wheels.
- Toe-In
- Setting the front wheels to toe in will mean that when driven the wheels will tend to be aligned.
- Toe-Out
- Setting the front wheels of a front wheel drive car to toe out will mean that when driven the wheels will tend to be aligned.
- Two-Stroke Engine
- An internal-combustion engine that has one power stroke per revolution.
- Tyre Tread Pattern
- The design cut into a tyre surface to improve grip, particularly in wet conditions.
- V10 Engine
- Ten-cylinder engine with the cylinders arranged in two banks of 5 and the shape of a V when looking along the line of the crankshaft.
- V16 Engine
- Sixteen-cylinder engine with the cylinders arranged in two banks of 8 and the shape of a V when looking along the line of the crankshaft.
- V4 Engine
- Four-cylinder engine with the cylinders arranged in two banks of 2 and the shape of a V when looking along the line of the crankshaft.
- V6 Engine
- Six-cylinder engine with the cylinders arranged in two banks of 3 and the shape of a V when looking along the line of the crankshaft.
- V8 Engine
- Eight-cylinder engine with the cylinders arranged in two banks of 4 and the shape of a V when looking along the line of the crankshaft.
- Vee Engine
- One with two banks of in-line cylinders mounted with an angular separation on a common crankcase.
- Vehicle
- A means of transport, generally meaning an automobile.
- Vehicle Noise
- The noise produced by a land based vehicle that is radiated to the surrounding environment (exterior noise) or that is observed by the occupants of the vehicle (interior noise).
- V Engine
- One with two banks of in-line cylinders mounted with an angular separation on a common crankcase.
- Wheel
- The Mesopotamians are credited with the invention of the wheel.
- Wheelbase
- The distance between the centres of the front and rear wheel axles as viewed from the side of the car.
- Winchester Gallon
- The US gallon, equivalent to 3.785411784 litres.
- Zero-Offset Steering
- A steering system whose geometry has a scrub radius of zero.
 
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