Petrolheads vernacular: A short guide to confusing automotive jargon

Car enthusiasts can be an odd bunch. Despite looking like normal human beings, most of the time, we have a tendency to think, act and talk differently, often to the detriment of our non-petrolhead friends. 

To many of them, it may seem like we talk in a "code", using run-of-the-mill words with entirely different meanings. 

Well, we do that. And this week, we are providing you with a small glimpse of our secret codebook so you too can understand some of what we are saying. 

Dorito

Normals folk:  A type of tortilla chips that are either too spicy, too dry and entirely unhealthy. 

Petrolheads: A pistonless engine made by a German with no engineering degree that revs high and makes lots of power in a small package. Burns a lot more gas and oil and can be a nightmare to fix.

N/A

Normals folk: Limit to a petrolhead's car budget

Petrolheads: Naturally aspirated. Meaning the car breathes naturally, not force-fed air via the means of a super or turbocharger. 

ICE

Normals folk: Chunky water. 

Petrolheads: Internal Combustion Engines. Every non-eclectic car uses one for locomotion. Complex, heavy, inefficient but can sound really cool and are amazing to look at. 

STI

Normals: Sexually Transmitted infection. The ones that burn. 

Petrolheads: Subaru Tecnica International. Subaru's motorsports division that builds cars capable of bolting through a foot of mud at triple-digit while occasionally blowing a head gasket.

LSD

Normals folk: A controlled substance that lets you see the world in new and colourful ways, for the small cost of one's health. 

Petrolheads: Limited Slip Differential. A set of gears that keeps a car's rear wheels spinning at the same speed. Provides additional traction at fast corners and prevents rapid unplanned pavement ejection. 

Cats

Normals folk: A fluffy little friend or a spawn from hell. 

Petrolheads: Catalytic converters. Reduce exhaust pollution and lower engine output. Many petrolheads like to "de-cat" their cars for a few extra hp. 

Deep dish

Normals folk: Chicago-style pizza that puts the cheese under the sauce. 

Petrolheads: Rims where the spokes recessed deep into the wheel itself. Designed to accommodate wide tyres. 

Boxer

Normals folk: A really hands-on face reconstruction expert. 

Petrolheads: A engine where the cylinders are laid horizontally opposed to each other. Provides a car with lower centre of gravity and the lateral piston movement cancels out a lot of the engine vibrations. Tends to be more complex than other type of motors. 

Murdered out 

Normals folk: You may or may not need to contact the authorities. 

Petrolheads: An aesthetically interesting but functionally impractical visual car modification involving covering every surface of a car in some kind of black tint/paint. Also known as "blacked out".  

Sleeper

Normal folk: Most people on a holiday. 

Petrolheads: A car with an unassuming exterior that has been mechanically heavily modified to be really, really fast. Driven by people who like to give supercar owners buyer's remorse.