UKs Motoring

Car terminology explained

Everyone has heard of such common technical car terms as ‘suspension’, ‘rear wheel drive’ and ‘carburettor ‘, but not everyone knows what exactly these terms actually mean. These are just a few of the commonly used car terminologies along with brief descriptions of their meanings.

Suspension

This refers to the collection of springs within the car, such as the torsion bars and shock absorbers, which provide the car with cushioning on uneven and bumpy road surfaces. They also ensure that the wheels remain on the road at all times, ensuring better control of the vehicle and surface traction for the driver.

Traction

This refers to the ability of the car’s wheels to grip the road surface and move forward and backwards on a variety of road surface types and conditions.

Carburettor

This is a piece of equipment, which vaporises petrol while blending it with air to the degree required by the car’s engine. The carburettor works by means of a filter attached to it, through which the air goes. The air then mixes with the petrol inside the carburettor, before entering the engine’s combustion chamber to be burned.

Rear wheel drive

This can have two meanings. Firstly it simply can refer to the mechanisms powering the back wheels of the car. However, it is also to a car driven primarily by the wheels at the back rather than the front. Such cars have the engine located at the back of the vehicle, where they are united with a rear-wheel drive transaxle.

Transmission

This is the part of the car, which controls the ability to move the vehicle at different levels of power and different speeds, depending on the situation. There are two different types of transmission, manual and automatic. Manual transmissions are controlled by the driver by means of the gearshift and clutch, while automatic ones are controlled by hydraulics.

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