The Good Life – January-February 2016

BY: MATT LACHOWITZER
The automotive world is full of
terminology and misconceptions about
every aspect of vehicles: engines, axles,
transmissions, tires, brakes, bodies,
modules, and the other 25,000-plus
components that make up todays
vehicles. Most of these terms and
misinformation spread like wildfire
through social media, the internet, and
word of mouth. Sit down, grab a pen
and paper, and take some notes about
the things that you may have thought
you knew about your vehicle.
RPM
Revolutions per minute, or RPM, are
often misconstrued to be the speed
at which your wheels rotate. The
speedometer in your vehicle represents
the speed at which your wheels rotate,
and your tachometer will inform you
of the RPM. RPM is actually how many
revolutions per minute the crankshaft
2
in your engine is turning - so if your
tachometer says 2,000 RPM, that means
your crankshaft is rotating 2,000 times
per minute, not your tires.
Tire Pressure
Some people are under the assumption
that if you exceed the maximum
pressure listed on the sidewall of your
vehicles tire that it could explode. This
is untrue-burst pressure, or the point
at which a tire will explode, is much
higher than the max tire pressure
listed on the sidewall. Always check
your owner’s manual or the place card
located on the driver’s door jamb for
the correct tire pressure setting needed
to carry the load of your vehicle and to
properly inflate your vehicles tires.
Horsepower
Horsepower is the most common unit
of measurement used to determine
the power of an engine. Most people
think that horsepower is referred to the
power possessed by one single horse.
For example, if you removed the engine
from your vehicle and strapped 300
horses to the front of it, you would be
able to get the same amount of power
as your 300hp engine. This is not true.
A single horse actually produces only
.7hp, while the actual conversion is one
horsepower equals 746 watts.
Oil Wear
Did you know that your vehicles “oil”
never actually wears out? By oil, I mean
base oil, the blank slate for your vehicles
motor oil. Motor oil manufacturers
employ thousands of scientists who mix
different “recipes” of oil using different
additive packages. Most of these
packages contain detergents, which
help clean the mechanical parts of your
engine and help prevent the buildup