An option on many cars today, especially sports models. When engaged, this device “senses” when a driving tire has no traction, and attempts to compensate by slowing the wheel movement. This is good for getting traction in an area where it may normally be hard to do so (i.e. snow, gravel, rain). Traction Control was developed in Formula One racing ... Read More »
Two-Staged Turbo
Since there is often a lag while a turbine comes up to speed, some performance cars use two (or more) Turbo units, large and small, driven by different legs of the exhaust. The smaller turbos speed up quickly giving rapid response, and the larger units provide the volume needed for high power at higher rpm’s. Read More »
Tri-Oval Track
An oval track with an extra rounded corner. Daytona is a tri-oval track. Read More »
Torsional Rigidity
Sometimes called chassis stiffness. It relates to how rigid the chassis is in twisting. Imagine a sport utility vehicle that needs to climb over rocks. Those without long suspension movements sometimes have lower torsional rigidity to allow the chassis to respond to uneven ground. A passenger car, on the other hand, should have high torsional rigidity in order to give ... Read More »
Trick
Particularly in relation to motorcycles — means really cool, really hot, really new and unobtainable/expensive, e.g. a rear brake button on the left handgrip is really trick. Read More »
T-Boned
A vehicle collision where one vehicle hits another straight into the driver’s door. Read More »
Triple Clamp
The topmost attachment point for the front fork and wheel assembly. So called because is has three clamping points — one for each of the two front forks, and one for the steering tube. Read More »
Tachometer
Gauge that reads the revolutions per minute of the engine. It is equivalent to speed of the engine. It also tells how fast the engine is running so that if you have a manual transmission you know when to shift gears. Read More »
Transverse Mount
The engine is mounted sideways. The fan belt will be over one of the tires rather than in the very front of the vehicle. This is common in front-wheel-drive cars. This enables the car to be more compact because the space under the hood is used more efficiently and provides better weight distribution. Read More »
Tank Bag
A bag that sits on the gas tank of the motorcycle, secured by a magnet or by straps. Tank bags are good for holding lightweight items such as gloves, maps, and wallets. Read More »
