VW-term Thesaurus

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VW-term Thesaurus

Post by eben »

How about we make this thread a place where the hundreds of different VW-related terms and names can be described/explained?

If you have something you do not know the meaning or origin of, post it here with a ? behind it.
Whoever explains/describes it, do a "name" = "description".

I will then compile it all into the first post.

What do you guys think?

I'll start. :mrgreen:


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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by eben »

Samba?
Description and origin please if known.
Lowlight?
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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by beesbal »

Samba = is one of the most popular forms of music in Brazil. It is widely viewed as Brazil's national musical style. :D :D :D
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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by Chris »

Lowlight comes from the indicator lenses on Karman Ghias and Early Bays being low on the body,just above the bumpers.Later the indicator lenses was moved above the lights on the Bays.

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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by Chris »

Nobody is too sure where the name "Samba "originated.Some say it das to do with the actual dance that has it's origins in Africa where the dance was performed in 2 lines like the 2 lines of windows on the roof.

The word "Samba" also means in motion and free.Maybe they used it to describe the feeling of driving the bus.It would make you feel free because the big open sunroof and extra windows lets a lot of air and light in.
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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by Pine »

'Lowlight' was originally the name to describe Karmann Ghia cars made from 1955 to 1959, due to the lower placement of the headlights, although the term was later adapted for use when referring to a Bay window Bus built between 1968 and 1972, more commontly known as a the T2a.

In the picture below, the brown Ghia is a 'lowlight' (note the spacing between the indicator and headlamp, as well as the fresh air intake size) and the post-59 red Ghia, with the larger fresh air intakes or 'nostrils'. The term 'highlight' is however not used to refer to a post-59 Ghia :wink:

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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by Pine »

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Next term suggestion: BOXER - as in boxer motor, boxer engine, boxer configuration etc... :wink:

Not to be confused with

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or

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or

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:mrgreen:
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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by Pine »

Confused yet?

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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by bugspray »

Boxer : horizontially opposed piston movement. Instead of up and down. Its left to right. Simple explanation.

Next words.
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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by Chris »

Semaphore was a term used to describe signals that was given by the use of flags.That is why the mechanical arms on earlier VW's were called semaphores because it looks like a flag indicating direction.
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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by Pine »

bugspray wrote:Boxer : horizontially opposed piston movement. Instead of up and down. Its left to right. Simple explanation.

Next words.
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Lets go a bit deeper into this for a moment. The name 'boxer' comes from the horisontal movement of the cylinders, like a boxer (the Callie/Gerrie/Mike/Baby Jake type) punshing shots, right Bugspray - but what would the purpose of a Boxer configuration be? Reasons I can think of off-hand are:

- Vertical space saving (how else do you mount an engine in the rear of a station wagon, like the Variant??)
- Lower centre of gravity

From Wikihoesenaam:
Flat engines are shorter than in-line engines, and have a lower center of gravity than any other common configuration. Automobiles and motorcycles powered by a flat engine generally have a lower center of gravity, giving better stability and control. These engines, however, are also wider than more traditional configurations and are more expensive to build. The extra width may cause problems fitting the engine into the engine bay of a front-engined car owing to the interference with the steering wheels, and create cornering problems for a motorcycle.

The flat configuration also lends itself very well with air cooling and aircraft engines. Air-cooled designs such as in the VW Beetle used a flat-4, as did the Porsche 356 and 912. The Chevrolet Corvair used an air-cooled flat-6, a rarity in American designs. Both the older and newer models of the Porsche 911 use a flat-6, at first air cooled but later models are water-cooled. These automobiles situate the engine in the rear rather than the front, where its width does not interfere with the steering of the front wheels.

Front-mounted air-cooled flat-twin engines were used by Citroën in their model 2CV and its derivatives, while the Citroën GS used a flat-4, and a flat-6 was proposed for the Citroën DS, but rejected. BMW uses an air-cooled or partially oil-cooled flat-twin in many of its motorcycles.

All versions of the Subaru Impreza, Forester, Tribeca, Legacy and SVX use either a flat-4 or flat-6 engine.

Boxer engines got their name because each pair of pistons moves simultaneously in and out rather than alternately, like boxers showing they're ready by clashing their gloved fists against each other before a fight. Boxer engines of up to eight cylinders have proved highly successful in both automobiles and motorcycles, and continue to be popular for light aircraft engines.

One benefit of using a boxer engine versus a V-engine is that the design provides good balance because each piston's momentum is counterbalanced by the corresponding piston movement of the opposite side. Boxers are one of only three cylinder layouts that have a natural dynamic balance; the others being the straight-6 and the V12. These engines can run very smoothly and free of vibrations with a four-stroke cycle and do not require a balance shaft or counterweights on the crankshaft to balance the weight of the reciprocating parts, which are required in other engine configurations. Note that this is generally true of boxer engines regardless of the number of cylinders (assumed to be even), but not true for all V and straight, or inline engines. However, in the case of two-cylinder boxers, a small "rocking couple" imbalance is unavoidable. This is a consequence of the "opposite" cylinders being not exactly opposite but offset slightly.

Boxer engines tend to produce more noise than inline and V-engines because valve clatter is not so well dampened due to lack of covering by air-filters and other components, and produce a larger torsional vibration than a V-engine, and so tend to require a larger flywheel. They have a characteristic smoothness throughout the rev range and, combined with the mounting position immediately ahead of the rear axle, offer a low center of gravity and more neutral handling.

Notable boxer engines

- In 1896, Karl Benz invented the first internal combustion engine with horizontally opposed pistons

- 1923 BMW R32 boxer engine In 1923 Max Friz designed the first BMW motorcycles, choosing a 500 cc boxer engine and unit transmission with shaft drive. This engine type is still in production today. The BMW 247 engine, known as an airhead due to its air cooling, was produced until 1995. BMW replaced it with the oilhead engine with partial oil cooling and four valves per cylinder, but still retaining the same boxer twin configuration.

- In 1948 Preston Tucker modified a helicopter flat 6 to be rear mounted in his Tucker Torpedo

- The Volkswagen air-cooled flat-4 engine used in the Volkswagen Beetle, SP2 and Karmann Ghia, and later developed further for the Volkswagen Type 2 (Bus) transporters and Volkswagen Type 3 cars

- The Citroën 2CV and Panhard air-cooled flat-2 engines, both influenced by the flat-2s of BMW

- The air-cooled Chevrolet Corvair flat-6

- The flat-4 engines in Alfa Romeo's Alfasud, Sprint, 33 and early versions of the 145. The last of the line was a 1712 cc flat four, 16 valves, producing up to 137 bhp (102 kW).

- The water-cooled front-mounted flat-4 and flat-6 engines used by Subaru in all of its mid-sized cars; Subaru refers to these as boxer engines in publicity commentary, and include a variety of naturally aspirated and turbo driven engines; in their turbo engines from 1984 to current, both closed and semi-closed short blocks have been used. Subaru also offer the world's first boxer turbodiesel.[1] According to the Subaru Owners on-line newsletter dated March 2008, Subaru is "currently making modifications to the diesel so it meets the more stringent U.S. standards. Subaru diesel models should be domestically available in two to three years."

- Since its introduction in 1975, the Honda Goldwing has utilized a boxer style engine, a 4-cylinder until 1987, and 6-cylinders since.
The water-cooled SOHC 1832 cc flat-6 is fitted to the Honda Goldwing from 2001 on.

- The air-cooled flat-4, flat-6 and flat-8 engines were used for many years in early Porsches. The flat-12 in Porsches famous 917´s is a 180° V-engine and not a boxer.

- The water-cooled flat-6 engines in the Porsche Boxster, Cayman and later 911 models

- The engines of light private aircraft are often air-cooled flat-4s and flat-6s made by companies such as Lycoming, Continental and Rotax.
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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by bugspray »

Dog house?
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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by hitlers revenge »

Thats where I slept last night.
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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by Pine »

No that's dog BOX :mrgreen:
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Re: VW-term Thesaurus

Post by bugspray »

:bn: kak. Full of kak, thats what you guys are. Hahaha. I love it. Insanity its a state of mind.
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