Glossary

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Armco Barriers -race circuit - Longitudinally corrugated steel barriers used around circuits to prevent cars leaving the circuit in the event of an accident. 'A' frame -suspension- a linkage which gives transverse and lateral location to a live axel. Anti-roll Bar -suspension- A bar connecting both ends of a suspension unit which feeds forces from on to the other, stiffing the suspension and reducing body roll. Assembly Area -race circuit- A closed area where cars line up before the start of the race. Autocross –type of competition- A speed event where cars compete alone or in small groups, against the clock, around a circuit constructed in a field . Autodrome -race circuit- Usually a constructed around a disused aerodrome (airfield) Backbone Chassis -body/chassis- A chassis made of tubular or flat metal with a central section locating suspension, drive train and engine; the body hangs over this and provides the passenger area. Baffled Sump -engine- A oil sump with plates and one-way gates to prevent oil surging away from the pump during high-speed cornering. BARC –organisation- British Automobile Racing Club BRDC –organisation- British Racing Drivers Club Beam Axel -suspension/drivetrain- (see live axle) bhp –engine- Brake horsepower , a method of quantifying the power out put of the engine either at the flywheel of road wheels Bonnet -body/chassis- An opening which allows access to the engine. Boot -body/chassis- The storage space of road-going cars. BRSCC –organisation- British Racing and Sports Car Club. Chassis: -body/chassis- The structural component of the car, where the suspension, drive train and engine is located. Chassis, Backbone -body/chassis- (see backbone chassis) Chassis, Monocoque -body/chassis- (see monocoque) Chassis, Spaceframe -body/chassis- (see spaceframe) Chicane -race circuit- A tight left-right or right-left corner. Clerk of Course -race circuit- The person responsible for the running of the races and safety. Coil Spring -suspension- A spring constructed fro round bar and wound into a coils. Course Car -race circuit- A car used by the Clerk of Course to check the circuit after every race. Cylinder head -engine- The top of the engine, containing the valves, valve-gear, inlet and outlet ports. Damper -suspension- (see shock absorber) de Dion Tube -suspension- A tube located across the car and connected to uprights of an independent suspension. Usually used in conjunction with parallel links and a panhard rods DDMC –organisation- Darlington and District Motor Club DHC –body/chassis- Drop head Coupe, a convertible sports car. Differential -drivetrain- A differential turns the engines movement through 90 degrees and feeds the power to the drive shafts. Differential, Limited Slip (LSD) -Drivetrain- (see limited slip differential) Drive Shaft -drivetrain- These are the shafts which take the engine's drive from the differential to the hubs and wheels. Drive Train -drivetrain- The gearbox, differential, prop shaft, drive shafts and hubs. Dry sump: -engine- A method of lubricating an engine from a remote oil reservoir. This method does away with oil surge at high cornering speeds by using a baffled reservoir and an external oil pump. Elliptical Leaf Spring -Suspension- (see leaf spring, elliptical) Esses -race circuit- As the name suggests an part of the circuit shaped like a lazy “S”. Exhaust Manifold (Header) -Engine- This takes away exhaust gases from the cylinder head's exhaust ports. FHC –body/chassis- Fixed head coupe, a sports car with a fixed roof. Flag Marshal -race circuit- Marshals who use colour coded flags to signal warnings to drivers during the race. Fire Marshal -race circuit- Marshals who were trained to deal with fire. They had access to fireproof suits. Flat- 4 -engine- A four-cylinder engine with two banks of two cylinders at either side of the engine. These banks are on a flat plane. Flat- 6 -engine- A six-cylinder engine with two banks of three cylinders at either side of the engine. These banks are on a flat plane. Flywheel –engine- A large wheel situated at the output end of the crankshaft, which smoothes out the engine revs, connects the engine to the gearbox via a clutch, and is connected to the starter motor. Forced Induction –engine- A method of forcing air into the engine to gain more power (see Turbocharger and Supercharger) Four-valve Cylinder Head -engine- A highly efficient way of getting gasses in and out of the combustion chamber using two inlet and two outlet valves per cylinder. Header(exhaust manifold) -engine- This takes away exhaust gases from the cylinder head's exhaust ports Hillclimb –type of competition- A speed event where cars compete alone, against the clock, along a hillside road Homologated –rules- Rules governing the eligibility of cars/car parts based on the number of sold for road use. A car or part is Homologated if , say, 500 road units have been sold. Homologation -rules- Rules governing the eligibility of cars/car parts based on the number of sold for road use. Homologation is the process of having these cars/parts accepted. Hairpin -race circuit- A tight, 180 degree bend. Inlet Manifold -engine- This takes the air and petrol mixture from the carburettor to the inlet ports of the cylinder head. Inline-4 -engine- A four-cylinder engine with all cylinder in the same vertical plane. Inline-6 -engine- A six-cylinder engine with all cylinder in the same vertical plane. Leaf Spring -suspension- These are flat springs with a history going back to horse-drawn vehicles. They provide some axel location and are tough, being are especially useful for off-road vehicles. (picture) Leaf Spring, Elliptical -suspension- Made up of layers of long, flat springs located length way to the chassis and fixed at both ends. The axel, usually a beam axel, in clamped to the middle of each spring as apposed to one end as in semi-elliptical. Leaf Spring, Semi-elliptical -suspension- Made up of layers of short, flat springs located length ways to the chassis and fixed to the front end only. The axel, usually a beam axel, is clamped to the other, free end. Leaf Spring: Transverse -suspension- Made up of layers of long, flat springs located across the chassis and fixed in the middle. The suspension uprights are fixed to either end.(picture) Limited Slip Differential (LSD) -drivetrain- A differential turns the engines movement through 90 degrees and feeds the power to drive shafts. If, for some reason, one wheel loses grip, all of the power is fed to the other. In motor sport this situation reduces grip and forwards motion, so the LSD addresses the situation by feeding power to both wheels at all times. Live Axel -suspension/drivetrain- A rear axel combining differential, drive shafts and hub in one casing. The result is a non-independent suspension. LSD -drivetrain- (see limited slip differential) Marshal -race circuit- Specially trained volunteers who look after the running of races and safety during races. Marshal (flag) -race circuit- Marshals who use colour coded flags to signal warnings to drivers during the race. Marshal (fire) -race circuit- Marshals who were trained to deal with fire. They had access to fireproof suits. Marshal (post) -race circuit- Points around the circuit where the Marshals were situated. These post were place in safe positions near to potentially hazardous areas and were guarded by Armco barriers or railway sleepers. McPherson Strut -suspension- A suspension strut incorporating the shock absorber, coil spring and hubs. The top is positively located onto the body while the bottom end has two location arms. MCD –organisation- Motor Circuit Developments – owners of race tracks. Monocoque Chassis -Body/Chassis- Literally meaning single shell, this type of chassis is made from folded, flat sheets of metal held together by means of rivets, bonding or welding. Aluminium was the material used during the seventies to produce units of exceptional strength, but this has given way to much stronger carbon fibre monocoques. NSCC –organisation- Nottingham Sports Car Club. OHC (overhead cam) –engine- An engine where the camshaft is situated in the cylinder head an operates the valves directly. One-piece Front-end -body/chassis- Usually made of a light weight material, this incorporates the front wings, bonnet, grill, headlights and front valance into a single unit. Paddock -race circuit- A part of the circuit set aside for the racing cars and their crews where the cars can be prepared for the race. Panhard Rod -suspension- A rod located across the car, joined to the chassis at one end and the rear axel at the other. The aim of this device is to stop sideways movement of the axel.(see picture) Parallel Links -suspension- Two rods running the length of the car, one attached to the rear axel from above and the other from below. The other ends of the rods are attached to the chassis. The aim is to stop back and forwards movement of the axel. (picture) Pits -race circuit- An area where cars can be repaired during the race. Pit Lane -race circuit- The road leading off the circuit to the pits. Post (Marshal) - race circuit - Points around the circuit where the Marshals were situated. These post were place in safe positions near to potentially hazardous areas and were guarded by Armco barriers or railway sleepers. Prop Shaft -drivetrain- The shaft joining the gearbox to the differential. Pushrod Engine -engine- An engine with the camshaft low down in the engine block. The valves are operated by rods passing through the engine and cylinder head to the valve rockers. Railway Sleepers -race circuit- Very big, very heavy baulks of timber used to connect railway lines. These were used as barriers around circuits during the seventies but were very dangerous, and have long since been abandoned in favour of safer methods. Rallycross –type of competition- Races help on a closed circuit which consists of tarmac and off-road sections. Roll Cage -safety device- A tubular metal framework which protects the driver from being crushed in the event of the car rolling over. Roll Over Cage -safety device- (see roll cage) Rollbar -suspension- (see anti-roll bar) rpm –engine- Revs Per Minute. Scrutineers -race circuit- Trainer personnel who scrutineer racing cars. Scrutineering -race circuit- A process whereby racing cars are check for safety and eligibility by trained personnel (Scrutineers). Semi-elliptical Leaf Spring-suspension- see leaf spring, semi-elliptical Shox-suspension- his component controls the suspension's natural inclination to oscillate up and down. (see shock absorber) Shock Absorber-suspension- This component controls the suspension's natural inclination to oscillate up and down. St John's Ambulance Brigade –organisation- A volunteer organisation which provided First-Aid trained personnel in emergencies and for public events. Straight -race circuit- Parts of the circuit which contain no bends Straight-4-engine- A four-cylinder engine with all cylinder in the same vertical plane. (see inline- 4) Straight-6 -engine- A six-cylinder engine with all cylinder in the same vertical plane. (see inline- 6) Solid Axel -drivetrain- (see live axel) Spaceframe-body/chassis- A chassis made of tubular metal and using triangulated box sections for stiffness. (picture) Splitter-aerodynamics- An aerodynamic device used to control the flow of air. Spoiler-aerodynamics- An aerodynamic device used to create down force from air pressure. Sprint –type of competition- A speed event where cars compete alone, against the clock, around a racing circuit. Sub Frame-body/chassis- A small, sub-unit of the chassis. Supercharger–engine- A method of forcing air (Forced Induction) into the engine to gain more power by driving a compressor, connected to the engine by a drive belt. Sway-bar-suspension- (see anti-roll bar) TEAC–organisation- Thames Estuary Automobile Club. TC- see Twin- cam Transaxle-drivetrain- A gearbox incorporating a differential. Transverse Leaf Spring-suspension- see leaf spring, transverse Torsion Bar-suspension- A device which replaces springs by twisting a metal rod. Trunk-body/chassis- (see boot) Turbo-engine- forced induction device which uses an exhaust gas driven rotor to pressurised the air being mixed with the fuel. Turbocharger -engine- A forced induction device which uses an exhaust gas driven rotor to pressurised the air being mixed with the fuel. Twin cam ( TC) -engine- An engine with two camshafts situated in the cylinder head and directly driving the valves. Valves – engine- These control the flow of inlet and outlet gases through the cylinder head by means of the camshaft. Ventilated Disks-braking- Disk brakes with a built in means of increasing surface area to allow more air to pass over the surface to aid cooling. Methods employed are spiral patterns of drilled holes, spiral grooves and twin plates with hollow air spaces between them. V6-engine- A six-cylinder engine with two banks of three cylinders at either side of the engine. These banks are inclined at about 60 to 120 degrees to each other. V8-engine- An eight-cylinder engine with two banks of four cylinders at either side of the engine. These banks are inclined at about 60 to 120 degrees to each other. Weber-engine- A type of carburettor used in high performance cars. (picture) Wet Sump-engine- A type of lubrication system where the oil is stored in the sump. Wing (1)-aerodynamics- Aerodynamic devices used to produce downward forces due to air pressure. Wing (2)-body/chassis- The part of a car covering both front and rear wheels Wishbone-suspension- A roughly triangular shaped suspension unit, used top and bottom, which located the axel in all planes.