15 words and phrases that only total car nuts understand

People who love cars — people who really, really love cars — have a language all their own.

We call these people "gearheads" ("petrol heads" in the UK), and while we are sometime among their numbers, more often we are listening to their secret lingo and saying "Wha?"

The words and phrases all sound cool, and maybe a tad offputting. But with a bit of study, you too can soon be speaking fluent gearhead.

Read on.

Torque

A lot of folks understand horsepower as being a measure of how much energy an engine can output. "Torque," on the other hand, is far less well-understood.

It's essentially the amount of rotation that a given amount of power can generate. This is an important concept, because car engines take power that is moving up and down in combustion cylinder and transfer it to the drive wheels.

Gearheads love to talk torque because it's the physical factor that makes cars go fast, beyond just pure horsepower. Torque is also delivered at different points as a car accelerates, so heavy gearheads can debate where a car's sweetspot is.

For electric cars, torque is also an important concept, but for different reasons. Electric motors deliver 100% of available torque at 1 rpm, which is why a Tesla Model S with "Ludicrous Mode" can outrun some supercars from 0-60 mph. 

Banger

Internal-combustion engines have cylinders. The controlled explosions that create power enable pistons to move up and down in these cylinders, or combustion chambers. 

Modern IC engines have 4-, 5-, 6-, 8-, 10-, and 12-cylinder engines. The 4s, 6s, and 8s are the most most common, giving us V6s and V8s when the cylinders are arranged in a V shape with an equal number on each side; a 4-cylinder engine will usually set the cylinder up "inline"— in a straight line.

Gearheads will often call a 4- or 6-cylinder motor a "four banger" or "six banger" because the exploding gas-air mixture and pistons will "bang" in the cylinders.

Turbo lag

A turbocharger uses exhaust gases to spin a turbine that compresses the air that's fed into the cylinders.

This can increase an engine's power output, making a V6 perform like a V8.

However, unlike an un-turboed V8, which can pour on its horsepower continuously, a turbo V6 can take a few seconds to deliver its power.

Gearheads call the wait "turbo lag" and will often knock a turbo for it. But many modern turbos reduce or nearly eliminate turbo lag.