Ultimate Car Expert Terminology Cheatsheet (Part 2)

We bring you through this two-part special of the technicals of every car terminology you should add to your vocabulary from A to Z.

   O

1. OMV: The Open Market Value is how much a car distributor paid the factory for a buyer’s new car, plus the cost of shipping it over, and the cost of insuring it against a transit mishap.
2. Overhang: The distance from the front wheel to the rear wheel.
3. Oversteer: A fault in the set up of the steering system when a car steers round a corner more sharply than the driver had intended.
   

   P

4. PARF: De-registering and scrapping or re-exporting a car when it reaches the end of its COE decade (or anytime before) can get some of the upfront taxes the driver paid back, as a Preferential Additional Registration Fee rebate.
5. Pillar: Pillars will connect the roof of the body to the vehicle.
6. Pinion: A type of gear that has small teeth that mesh with other, large gears.
7. Powertrain: A group of components used to power the wheels that are calibrated into either front or rear-wheel drive.
8. PQP: For individuals who wish to keep their cars beyond the stipulated 10 year mark, the Prevailing Quota Premium is equivalent to the three month COE price average.
   

   R

9. Rear wheel drive: The power of the engine is transmitted to the rear wheels only. The front wheels are primarily used for steering.
10. Revs: An engine revolution occurs every time the pistons in the car travel up and down the cylinders.
11. RPM: Revs per minute. The higher the number of revs per minute, the higher the power.
12. Rubbing strip: Protective strips that are moulded to fit around the door.
    

    S

13. Scoop: These verves protrude from the vehicle to allow cooling to take place.
14. Sill: Any extensions to the body of the vehicle.
15. Spark Ignition (SI) engines: Use petrol as the fuel to drive the car.
16. Spark plugs: Used in petrol engines to ignite the petrol and air mixture to drive the car.
17. Spoiler: An attachment that alters the forces that work on the car, creating less lift and/or cooling the car.
18. Stroke: The difference between the extremes of the piston’s movements as the engine revs.
19. Supercharger: An air compressor used to increase power by forcing more air into an engine than it can inhale on its own.
20. Suspension systems: Absorbs shock from the road. It also helps the car to travel around corners safely.
21. Swage line: The body of the vehicle curves in a signature way for the appearance or functionality of the vehicle.
    

    T

22. Torque: A measurement of the force with which the engine turns its wheels of the car. The greater the torque, the faster the vehicle.
23. Track: This is the distance measured side-to-side between the base of the vehicles.
24. Transmission: A gearbox with a number of selectable ratios. This is used to match the engine’s rpm and torque to differing wheel requirements.
25. Turbo: A device which uses the exhaust gases to drive a turbine which forces more air into the combustion chamber.
26. Turn-in: The moment of transition between driving straight ahead and cornering.
    

    U

27. Understeer: A fault in the steering which causes the car to turn around a corner less sharply than the driver had intended.
    

    V

28. V-type engines: The cylinders are divided into two angled banks, forming a ‘V’.
    

    W

29. Wheelbase: The distance between the center of the front wheels to the center of the rear wheels
30. Wheel well: The wheel sits in the wheel well under the body of the vehicle.

Now that you’re completely fluent in car-talk, impress car dealers the next time you’re looking for a good deal! This will ensure that you won’t get scammed as now you’ll be able to come across as an expert!