Motor Vehicle Terminology Explained Into Laymans Terms Prt Three

                  Motor Vehicle Terminology explained in layman’s terms Part Three.

The Motor trade sells to us through Terminology that is designed to baffle and confuse us and convince us that the abbreviations are worth paying for.  Through my 29 year experience in the Motor trade I will explain some of the common abbreviations.

16V.  This refers to 16 valves in the cylinder head of the engine, some engines have 20 valves and some 24 valves.  Car engines used to have 8 valve cylinder heads. One valve is called the Inlet valve and the other the Exhaust valve.  Quite simply the Inlet valve allowed fuel and air into the combustion chambers and the Exhaust valve allows the burnt fuel and air out of the combustion chamber.

A 16V Cylinder head.

Designers started fitting 2 inlet valves and 2 exhaust valves per cylinder to engines which allowed for better flow of gases which gave the engine more power. These days most engines have 16V technology as standard.  To make the most of engine performance the engine will need a better fuel system and exhaust system to utilise the 16V technology, which most engines do not have.  So don’t be fooled by the 16V badge you will not be slipping behind the wheel of a racing car!

STABILITY CONTROL.  This basically is a means of controlling the ride and stability of the vehicle electronically.  A central electronic control unit will utilise ABS and Traction control combined with adjustable suspension to give the optimum handling into corners.  The system will help greatly in icy and snowy conditions to stabilise the vehicle.

A typical skid that Stability Control can prevent.

The electronic control unit will bring in the brakes on individual wheels as it will utilise the traction control to keep the car as safe as possible on all road conditions.  Theses systems like other systems comes with an on and off switch for drivers who do not want Stability control.  These Stability systems are extremely clever and very complicated, please bear this in mind when purchasing a used vehicle because if they go wrong you will be faced with a huge repair bill!

THATCHAM APPROVED ALARM/IMMOBILISERS.  This refers to the Thatcham test centre which test all alarm and anti theft devices.  Thatcham has a grading system  for alarms and immobilisers and mechanical anti theft devices.  Insurance companies will give you a premium discount if your vehicle security system is Thatcham approved.

LSD.   Refers to Limited Slip Differential.  You may have noticed if you have a powerful car and you pull away sharply one of the driving wheels may spin uncontrollably and burn the tyre creating smoke.  Although this looks impressive it stops your vehicle from pulling away.  Many high performance vehicles have LSD’s fitted as standard but will use the LSD terminology as a selling point.

A mechanical Limited Slip Differential.

The LSD works simply by stopping one wheel spinning on its own, power is distributed equally to both driving wheels which cuts down wheel spin dramatically.  LSD action can be purely mechanical however electronic LSD’s are becoming more and more popular.

REACTIVE MIRRORS.  This is a simple one to explain many more expensive vehicles have reactive mirrors, just think of a pair of reactive sunglasses the brighter the sun gets the darker the lenses in the frames become.  The reactive glass in cars works exactly the same, if a vehicle comes up behind you at night and its headlights are too high and they hit the rear view mirrors, they will darken cutting out the glare in the drivers eyes. As with the other extras on cars there is a switch to turn off that feature of the mirrors if you do not like it.

A Reactive rear view mirror.

CITY STEER.  This is a system just used by Fiat if my memory serves me.  When parking the vehicle the driver can press a button that will bring in an electric motor to assist the driver to park by making the steering extremely light.  However the system was unreliable and I am not sure if the system is still in production.  It is one to avoid if your buying a used Fiat.

I truly hope this short series of Motor Vehicle Terminology has been useful for you. The knowledge explained is through my experience as a motor mechanic and to the best of my ability the information is correct.

Lord Banks