“AUTO! :

OTIVE

Descrambling auto jar

OVERDRIVE

I HOPE Part 1 of last
week’s definitions helped
some of you in under-
standing the automotive
alphabet-soup jargon. The
following definitions are
Part 2 of the definition ar-
ticle.

It might be a good idea to cut

out Part | and Part 2 so that you
can refer to them in the future.
All definitions are listed in
alphabetical order.
@ Supercharger — a device
designed to increase power output
by forcing more air into the cyl-
inder of the engine. The air is
forced imo the engine by means
of a mechanically driven air com-
pressor. The extra air forced into
the engine allows more fuel to be
burned, improving both horse-
power and torque.

As an example, the super-
charger on the Thunderbird SC
increases the horsepower from 140
(on the non-supercharged engine)
to an impressive 210, and the tor-
que from 215 to a whopping 315

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(pound-fect}.

6 Torquz -- Subjectively. i is
how strong the car feels a4 ¢ ac-
celerates from a standing sta . 00
how the car feels as it puth 2
trailer. A car with a very high
torque will tend to push you
against the seat as the car acceler-
ates.

More precisely, a torque is the
rotational force measused in
pound-feet. When you tighten a
nut using a wrench, you’se ap-
plying @ torque to the out
measured by the amount of force
applied by your hand (pound
multiplied by the distance between
the nut and your hand (feet.
car with excellent torque output
will subjectively feel faster than an
equivalent car with lower torque
and higher horsepower.
© T-top roof ~—- a type of- rceot
where the two portions of the root
(above the driver and passenger)
can be lifted off to create a
semi-convertible roof style.

The front and rear windshvekds,
along with the supportiog
members, do not come off. Also,
a centre bar ‘‘bridging’” the froat
and rear section of the roof exists.
Widely popular in the "70s and
"80s, it is only available on a few
cars today, including the Nissan
NX.

A targa roof is similar to the

T-top except the centre bar does
not exist. The targa roof is mot as
structurally solid as the T-iop, bat
is currenlty the more popular
choice. Once removed, the targa
top fits in the trunk via special at-
tachments. Cars like the Honda
del Sol and Corvette feature targa
tops.
@ Terbocharger -—- basically iden-
tical in principle to the super-
charger, except for the fact thar
the compressor is driven by the
exhaust gases.

Because the turbine i is driven by
the exhaust, there is a time leg be-
tween the moment the acorlerator

is peessedd (producing more ex-
hausz} and the moment the extra
boos kicks in, the result of more
ais beimg forced mato the engine.
‘This. delay is called the turbo lag.

A turbo can inerease power by

Oy or more. There are many
new model using turbochargers,
such as the Toyota MR2, Nissan
30OZX, Dodge Stealth R/T,
Hyundai Scoupe, and the Audi
St.
@ Traction control — By using
computer-conirolfed sensors,
wheel spim ta the driving wheel is
minimized by reducing the power
to the wheels and/or by applying
brakes to the spinning wheels. The
electronic system utilizes the anu-
flock brake sensors to detect when
the driving wheels are about to
break loose.

The simpler, cheaper versions
usually only reduce engine power
ta slow down the wheel spin.
More expensive versions also

See Antivoll bar page 23

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WE HAVE JUST BEEN RANKED

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COME IN AND LET US SHOW
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A,

New 1992 RS
Convertible
Stock #23-4464
Automatic - Loaded

MPAICED ELSEWHERE TO: $22,900

CECK IRWIN DISCOUNT :

ALS.ALP. :

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B Your Price :
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f Cash back from GM

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$21,028
($500) §
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($500) f

CONSIDER THIS!

The Federal Government gets 7%
The Provincial gets 7%
At Dick Irwin, this week ony

1992 ‘Black on zack New Corvette.

* New high periorrnance LT1 5.7 litre V8 (300 H.P.)
Electronic traction control ~
© New Generation 111 tires -

° Multi-adjustable leather sport seas - dose disc/cassetie