DICTIONARY OF AUTOMOTIVE TERMS - "Tu"

Tub:

See:
body tub
wheel tub

Tube:

1. A long, narrow, hollow cylinder for holding or passing liquids or gases.
2. A rubber doughnut-shaped bladder which is placed within the carcass of a tire and inflated.

Also See:
axle tube
bourdon tube
capillary tube
carburetor venturi
choke tube
curing tube
distribution tube
down tube
emulsion tube
fuel filler tube
glow tube
head tube
heat shrink tube
inner tube
japanese lantern-type jacket tube
jet tube
mini tube cutter
neon tube
pitot tube
road-draft tube
seat tube
shrink tube
steerer tube
stern tube
top tube
torque tube drivetorque tube
venturi tube

Tube axle:

See torque tube axle

Tube bender:

A tool for bending tubing without collapsing it

Tube, constricted:

Tubing reduced in diameter.

Tube butyl:

See butyl tube.

Tube cutter:

A tool used to cut tubing by passing a sharp wheel around and around the tube. Also see mini tube cutter

Tubed:

A tire which has an inner tube

Tube drive:

See torque tube drive

Tube frame:

A car frame made up of rigid tubing welded together. Tube frames are easier to manufacture in small quantities than unitized frames.

Tube latex:

See latex tube.

Tubeless:

A tire with no inner tube

Tubeless tire:

A tire which does not have a tube. Air is sealed in the tire chamber because the bead of the tire adheres to the tire's rim. First developed by B. F. Goodrich in 1948.

Tubeless tires:

See tubeless tire.

Tube seat:

An insert or machined face, against which a flared tube end seals.

Tube-within-a-tube:

Water-cooled condensing unit in which a small tube is placed inside large unit. Refrigerant passes through outer tube, water through the inner tube.

Tubing:

Fluid-carrying pipe which has a thin wall.
Also See:
butted tubing
plain gauge tubing
seamed tubing
seamless tubing
tube.

Tubing bender:

A tool used to bend tubing without kinking or deforming its walls.

Tubing reamer:

A tool used to remove burrs on hard tubes (not inner tubes), e.g., after a tube cutter is used when servicing the brake line system

Tubing wrench:

A wrench used to turn fittings on tubing. A tubing wrench distributes the turning forces evenly around the fitting and minimizes the possibility of damage.

Tubular:

In the shape of a tube; cylindrical

Tubular backbone frame:

A backbone chassis with a tubular central spine

Tubular frame:

A frame construction that features members of tubular cross section; often used for racing cars, as this layout allows for weight-saving design with the use of aluminum

Tubular nut driver:

A nut driver with handle and tubular shank for driving hexagon nuts and bolts

Tubular tire:

A type of bicycle tire that has a tube sewn up inside the casing, also known as a sew-up.

Tucker:

A vehicle brand of which the 1948 models are milestone cars.

Tucking:

Reducing the length of certain sections of a panel. Opposite of throwing. When making a panel with rounded edges that has to be folded along the inner edge, the radius along this edge must be increased and its length reduced; this is done by thickening the material in certain areas

Tudor:

A word coined by Ford for a 2-door sedan.

Tug:

A boat equipped with powerful engines for towing or pushing large ships or barges

Tumblehome:

1. The severe inward (concave) curvature used on the sides of some cars.
2. The tilt of a panel of moveable glass such as the side windows as it aligns within the window frame.
3. The inboard slope of a ship's side above the designed waterline

Tumbling:

The smoothing of an aluminum surface by tumbling it in rotating barrels with metallic or ceramic shot but without any form of abrasive

Tune:

To adjust the engine controls (carburetor, timing, etc.) for optimum running. See out of tune

Tuned exhaust:

Intake and exhaust systems that harness the pressure pulses and resonances inside the various passages and chambers of the intake and exhaust manifolds. In this way they increase the flow of intake charge into and out of the combustion chambers. Although the exhaust port must be a smooth as possible, the intake port must not because the fuel must churn and mix with the air.

Tuned for economy:

An engine (and often other components) which have been adjusted to use less fuel

Tuned header:

See high performance header

Tuned port injection:

(TPI) a GM fuel injection system that uses tuned air intake runners for improved airflow

Tuner:

That component/circuit of a radio which tunes to the frequencies of radio stations; (tuner + amplifier = receiver)

Tune up:

See tune-up.

Tune-up:

The intent of a tune-up is to obtain the maximum performance and economy of the engine with the lowest possible exhaust emissions so that the vehicle engine will meet the manufacturer's specifications. It involves checking the components of the ignition system and cleaning or replacing them; cleaning and adjusting the carburation or fuel injection system; adjusting the points and timing cleaning and gapping the spark plugs. Tune-ups should be performed according to the recommendation of each manufacturer.

Tune up kit:

See tune-up kit.

Tune-up kit:

A set of parts containing points, rotor
condenser cam lube, and possibly a feeler gauge. Each vehicle make, model, and year has its own tune-up kit.

Tungsten:

A hard, malleable, greyish-white element used in lamp filaments, electrical contact points and, alloyed with steel, in high-speed cutting tools

Tungsten-arc:

See gas tungsten-arc welding

Tungsten-arc welding:

See gas tungsten-arc welding

Tungsten-halogen bulb:

A quartz-halogen bulb with a tungsten filament

Tuning:

The adjustment of the carburetor, ignition timing, etc. to improve performance.
Also See:
exhaust tuning
performance tuning
quartz tuning system

Tuning system:

See quartz tuning system

Tuning the exhaust:

See exhaust tuning.

Tunnel:

See:
center tunnel
transmission tunnel
wind tunnel

Tunnel drier:

A heated tunnel through which body shells are passed in painting lines, e.g., to dry their phosphate coatings

Tunnel furnace:

A heated tunnel through which body shells are passed in painting lines, e.g., to dry their phosphate coatings

Tunnelling:

Moving a component deeply into its surrounding sheet metal to give the appearance of being recessed, e.g., headlights, tall lights, and antennas

Turbine:

Turbine: A type of engine in which all the parts that are in regular motion are rotating, making for very smooth operation. The basic gas turbine operates as follows: air enters the compressor and is compressed. It is then delivered to the combustion chamber under pressure and here the fuel is introduced, mixed with the air and burned, the quantity injected determining speed and power output. The hot, high-pressure burning gases then proceed to the first turbine, which drives the compressor and continue to the power turbine, which delivers power to the output shaft through reduction gears. The gears are necessary because the speed of turbine rotation is measured in tens of thousands of rpm not thousands as with a typical piston engine. The turbine's attractions include its utter simplicity and directness in getting power from burning gas, its smoothness, easy cold starting and its ability to run on almost any hydrocarbon fuel. On the minus side are high cost, problems with materials because of the high temperatures and speed of rotation and relatively high NOx production. Also see gas turbine

Turbine casing:

The casing enclosing a turbine

Turbine engine:

An engine that uses burning gases to spin a turbine, or series of turbines, as a means of propelling the vehicle. Also see turbine.

Turbine housing:

The casing enclosing a turbine

Turbine wheel:

1. A turbocharger wheel driven by exhaust gases, the turbine wheel spins at speeds up to 160,000 rpm and drives the compressor which is located at the opposite end of the turbine shaft; wheel and shaft are usually inseparable.
2. A driven member of a torque converter which transmits multiplied engine torque to the transmission input shaft

Turbo:

Abbreviation for "turbocharger." In computers the term is erroneously used to mean an increase in speed. Also see two-staged turbo

Turbocharged engine:

An engine fitted with a turbocharger

Turbocharger:

An exhaust powered turbine super-charger. Turbochargers always use centrifugal-flow compressors, which operate efficiently at the high rotational speeds produced by the exhaust turbine. See blower.

Turbo charger:

See turbocharger.

Turbocharging:

A method of increasing power and decreasing emissions by rerouting hot exhaust gases through a turbine which drives a pump that forces more air into the engine cylinders. Also see exhaust turbocharging

Turbo-diesel:

A diesel engine which is turbocharged

Turbo gauge:

A boost pressure gauge on turbocharged engines

Turbo lag:

Within a turbocharger's operating range, lag is the delay between the instant a car's accelerator is depressed and the time the turbocharged engine develops a large fraction of the power available at that point in the engine's power curve.

Turbo-supercharger:

See turbocharger

Turbulence:

Violent, broken movement or agitation of a fluid or gas. Also see swirl

Turismo:

See gran Turismo

Turn:

See:
handbrake turn
right hand turn signal

Turn a lap:

To drive one full circle around the race track.

Turnbuckle:

A device which allows the linkage to be lengthened or shortened. A threaded hole is found on each end of the turnbuckle. The linkage which attaches to the turnbuckle can be screwed in or out on each end to create the necessary length. Usually a lock nut secures the turnbuckle in place. In some instances, the turnbuckle may have a threaded hole at one end and a threaded stud at the other.

Turner:

See flywheel turner

Turn-in:

The moment of transition between driving straight ahead and cornering.

Turning circle:

The smallest circle in which a vehicle can turn, i.e., with the wheels on full lock. See turning radius.

Turning over:

See turn over.

Turning radius:

The diameter of the circle created by the outer front wheel when making a full turn. There are two ways of measuring the turning radius: curb to curb and wall to wall. The latter is always larger because it takes into account front-end overhang. As the vehicle turns, the inside wheels make a smaller circle than the outside tires. Also see Ackermann steering.

Turn-in rate:

The way a car steers into a bend; the roll-steer effect

Turn into the skid:

To turn the steering wheel in the same direction as that in which the rear of the car is sliding, in order to counteract the skid

Turnout:

See roadside turnout

Turn over:

An engine is said to "turn over" when the starter has caused the crankshaft to begin to turn, which starts the pistons moving so that combustion can begin to take place in the cylinders providing power to move the vehicle.

Turnpike:

A US toll road, especially one that is an expressway

Turns:

See toe-out on turns

Turn signal:

See right hand turn signal

Turn signal indicator:

A light (usually accompanied by a click or chime) which flashes when the turn signal lever is engaged and the signal lights flash. Most are located somewhere on the dash in front of the driver, but Cadillac and others also mounted them on the upper edge of the front and rear fender or the rear headliner.

Turn-under:

The inward sloping of a car's body below the waistline

Turnup:

See ply turnup.

Turret web:

See suspension turret web

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