Gildshire
  • Magazines
    • Art & Culture
    • Business
    • Cars & Motorcycles
    • Family
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Fitness & Health
    • Food & Nutrition
    • Home & Garden
    • Politics
    • Science & Technology
    • Sport
    • Travel & Nature

Gildshire

  • Magazines
    • Art & Culture
    • Business
    • Cars & Motorcycles
    • Family
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Fitness & Health
    • Food & Nutrition
    • Home & Garden
    • Politics
    • Science & Technology
    • Sport
    • Travel & Nature
Business Magazine
Cars-Motorcycles-magazine
Family magazine
Fashion-Beauty-magazines
Food-Nutrition-Magazines
Home-Garden-Magazines
Politics-magazines
Science-Technology-magazine
Sport-magazine
travel-nature-magazine
TOP
Cars & Motorcycles

Users Guide to Talking Like a Gearhead

written by Kim Hastings July 20, 2017

Every group of enthusiasts has a lexicon. Theater lovers like to talk about “the call board,” “dry tech,” and “spike marks.” Sabremetric baseball fans can visit with one another for hours, using terms such as “OPS+,” “BABIP,” and “WAR.” (What is it good for, absoul…oh that’s something different. never mind.) As it turns out, auto enthusiasts have a lexicon of their own, as well. It sounds as foreign to the uninitiated as “dead-on center for the waste block he parted off,” sounds to a non-woodworker. Haven’t you always wanted to be conversant in gearhead-ese? Wouldn’t you like to throw out terms like “gear ratio” and know what you’re about? Gildshire Magazines has your back, Pit Crew member-to-be. Here are some phrases to sprinkle into your next car conversation. They’ll think you’re Richard “The King” Petty. Or, that you write for Car and Driver.

Torque: Everyone knows horsepower (though few know the methodology behind the calculation), but “torque” is free entry into “He knows his stuff!” Simply put, torque is the measure of the horsepower efficiency. It is the physical factor that makes cars go fast. A car with lower horsepower can still perform well if it has a high torque.

Banger: Served with mashed potatoes, bangers are saus…oops, wrong again. Gearheads will refer to a 4-cylinder motor as a “four banger” because the exploding air-gas mixture and pistons will “bang” in the quartet of cylinders. Occasionally, your gearhead friend may say “6-banger” for a six cylinder configuration, but that expression is rarer.

Turbo Lag: Turbochargers from the 70s-90s would hesitate before kicking in. That would create a slight delay in acceleration. The delay may have been slight, but the driver of a turbocharged yellow and black ’79 Mustang knew it was there. Carmakers today have almost eliminated the turbo lag.

Oil Burner: Gas is gas. Diesel is gas, too. That doesn’t stop gearheads from calling diesel-powered cars “oil burners.” Diesel engines use a less refined form of petroleum than gas engines. The less-refined fuel looks similar to oil. Diesel engines have a bad rep as dirty polluters. The VW emission-cheating scandal is an example. However, diesel engines provide better, here’s that word again, torque.

Proper use of drift

Proper use of drift

Drift: Rear-wheel drive cars were great drifters. Those were the days. A talented wheelman (or woman) can go into a turn and cause the rear wheels to lose traction. We called it a “skid” back in the day. The drift aids the car in rounding the bend, sending it speeding on its way. An untalented wheelman (or woman) will spin the car out and leave it looking ridiculous backward on the road. Don’t be that guy (or girl).

I've got this, Gearhead!

I’ve got this, Gearhead!

Wrench: Not the tool or, at least, not always the tool! Used as either a verb (wrench on the car) or noun (turn a wrench) the gearhead is declaring love a car that needs some care.

To “wrench” means a reluctance to turn the car over to a mechanic that has no reason to love it. The wrench was more common before the guts of an engine was a computerized motherboard.

Bondo: Oh yes, I’m the great…surrenderer. The duct tape of car repair, Bondo is a filler used by the DIY car repair guy who is out of his depth. He won’t be able to sculpt, paint, or sand the Bondo into invisibility. It will always be there as a mark of shame and indignity. The next owner will see it, too.

Heel and Toe: Here is where that subscription to Car and Driver comes in handy. Those guys heel and toe constantly, or so they say. When you downshift,  pop the throttle slightly, to equalize the engine RPMs between gears. Expert drivers will “pop” while braking. They use one side of their foot for the brake and the other for the gas pedal.

Rockford Turn: You have to have some personal mileage on your body’s odometer to remember the origin of this one. Officially called a “J Turn” it was employed by James Garner (or, more likely his stunt driver) as Jim Rockford in the TV series.

The maneuver involves turning the wheel and slamming on the brakes while traveling in reverse. The resultant spin sets up the car to speed away. Think of it as a reverse drift. Ansel Elgort in Baby Driver, now in a theater near you, uses it to great effectiveness.

That should be enough to get you started down the road to Gearhead. Watch that drift when you heel and toe, or you may be in the market for Bondo. Love the throaty sound of that 6-banger. Wrench you later.

 

Users Guide to Talking Like a Gearhead was last modified: July 20th, 2017 by Kim Hastings
#Cars
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Kim Hastings

Kim is a writer of wide scope. In his submissions he strives to shine a new light, offer a new perspective and make our readers smile. Should he accomplish all of those goals in any one piece, he has succeeded. He is a family man, a dedicated husband, father and grandfather.

previous post
Perini Ranch Serving Up Fine Dining in Buffalo Gap
next post
Etiquette And Politeness Tips Everyone Needs to Know

Related Articles

Honda Unveils Hot New Africa Twin Bike

November 10, 2017

The Birth of the Expemotion Electric Motorcycle

August 19, 2015

Kia Stinger Looks to Buzz Past the...

October 5, 2017

Audi A7 – From Silicon Valley to...

June 28, 2015

Ten Least Reliable Cars and SUVs Revealed

October 29, 2016

Electric Mini May Soon Be the Only...

December 2, 2017

Electric Vehicles: Pros and Cons Expense-Wise

September 1, 2017

BMW/China Partnership On Board With Self-Driving Car

June 16, 2015

Lincoln Goes All Out to Appeal to...

April 17, 2018

Honda Introduces “Clarity” Fuel Cell Car

February 5, 2016
ThanksUSA

Our Favorites from Around the Web

  • Remembering Barbara Bush, a beloved first lady of strength and purpose

    NBC News

  • CDC expands E. coli warning to all romaine lettuce

    CNN

Popular Posts

  • Toyota Rumored to Bring Back the MR2

    March 26, 2017
  • Volkswagen to Introduce the T-Roc Crossover to U.S. Drivers

    April 1, 2017
  • National Highway Board Push for Railroad Crossing Safety Underway

    April 19, 2017
  • Why New Car Sales Are Cratering in the U.S.

    May 2, 2017
  • Ford Releases a Mustang GT…Ringtone?

    April 17, 2017

Featured Posts

  • April 27-29: Gildshire Goes to the Movies

    April 26, 2018
  • Health News: Women are Fairer, Excessive Drinking and Being Overweight

    April 26, 2018
  • Economic Effects of Climate Change Right Now!

    April 25, 2018
  • The Greatest Road Trip Ever Taken – Colorado

    April 25, 2018
  • Health News: Low Sperm, Marijuana Second-Hand Smoking and Postpartum Depression

    April 25, 2018

Popular Posts

  • The Very Best Diners in the U.S.A.

    May 15, 2017
  • The Benefits of Watching TV as a Family

    April 17, 2017
  • The Fastest Growing YouTube Channels in the World

    June 3, 2017
  • The Ten Highest Grossing Movies of All Time

    April 20, 2017
  • Crimes That Used to Be Punishable By Death

    February 7, 2017

Magazines

  • Art & Entertainment
  • Business
  • Cars & Motorcycles
  • Family
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Fitness & Health
  • Food & Nutrition
  • Home & Garden
  • Politics
  • Science & Technology
  • Sport
  • Travel & Nature
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
Footer Logo
  • Contact Us
  • Contributors
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap

@2016 - Gildshire. All Right Reserved. Site by Gaslamp Media


Back To Top

Subscribe and be our friend!

Keep in touch and get the top stories emailed.

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning”

Albert Einstein