GLOSSARY

Terms that relate to French car ownership with some comments by Mark.

Cam Belt or Timing Belt  Toothed reinforced rubber belt that drives the camshaft/s from the crankshaft as an alternative to chains or gears.  Commonly used on modern engines.  Disaster if it fails in service as the the crankshaft will continue to turn for some time pushing the pistons into one or more valves left in the open position by the now stationery camshaft.  This why manufacturers specify cam belts be replaced as part of the service schedule.  Often called a timing belt as the inlet and exhaust valves are "timed" to coincide with the pistons moving through the various strokes of a 4 stroke engine.

Chaude  French for hot.  Marked on some dipsticks to indicate the correct fluid level when the transmission is hot or normal operating temperature.

Citroen  Founded in 1919 by Andre Citroen and was the first mass produced car outside of the USA.  Famous for its very innovative and unusual designs such as the Traction, 2CV, DS and CX models.  Unfortunately technical brilliance was not matched by equivalent company management and strategic thinking.  The French government fearing massive job losses of the bankrupt company arranged the takeover by Peugeot in 1973/74.   

Coolant  Strictly speaking any fluid inside inside the cooling system is a coolant.  Most common types are a corrosion inhibitor and water mix, ethylene glycol in 33% or 50% mix and OAT(Organic Acid Technology) or so called Hybrid OAT solutions.  Unless stated otherwise the term coolant generally refers to the ethylene glycol type.  Most French cars require the 33% to 50% mix.  However check your handbook or service provider to ensure the correct type is being used in your vehicle.  This is most important on modern engines with a mix of metal components including all alloy engine blocks and cylinder heads as most French cars currently employ.

DOHC  Stands for Dual Over Head Camshafts, a hangover from the days when the "DOHC" specification engines were rare and considered exotic which they were!  They were expensive to manufacture until modern manufacturing methods made DOHC virtually a standard feature on all engines today.  DOHC engines have advantages in valve operation mechanism designs and the geometry between valves and is particularly suitable for todays multi valve engines such as 4 valves per cylinder.

FAP Filtre A Particules in French or in English normally referred to as DPFS for Diesel Particulates Filter System.  These high tech filters are fitted to the exhaust systems to virtually eliminate particulate matter being expelled into the atmosphere as was the case of older diesels.  FAP equipped engines have some special service requirements such as a special engine oil that must be used to ensure the FAP is effective and has a reasonable service life.

HDi  High Pressure Diesel Injection.  A term used by the PSA(Peugeot and Citroen) group to describe their modern common rail and electronically controlled diesel engines.

Peugeot  The family company started in manufacturing in the late 1700's initially making coffee, salt and pepper grinders then moving into bicycles and other products to build its first car in 1889.  Today Peugeot still makes pepper mills and motorcycles as well as being the 2nd largest vehicle manufacturer in Europe.

Power  Is the mechanical energy that an internal combustion engine produces from air and fuel to propel a vehicle.  In automobiles it is normally stated as a maximum value at a certain engine speed, usually near the maximum speed of the engine.  For example 120kW @ 6000rpm.  In the metric system it is measured in kW(kilowatts).  It can be measured on a dynomometer which is a device that can apply load to an operating engine or a running vehicle.  The dynamometer is in effect measuring the turning force or torque that the engine or vehicle is producing at that speed.  This torque value when multiplied by engine speed (RPM) and a numerical constant equals the power the engine is producing.  ie Power(kW) = Torque(Nm) x Speed(RPM) x Constant(a number to give kW units)

PSA  Stands for Peugeot Societe Anonyme and refers to the company that manufactures Peugeot and Citroen vehicles.  Peugeot acquired part of the then bankrupt Citroen company in 1973/74 and most of it in 1976 creating the PSA group.  This was later changed to PSA Peugeot Citroen.  Both Peugeot and Citroen cars share many common components such as engines and transmissions but PSA tries to separate them at a retail level.

Shock Absorbers  A commonly used term that is technically incorrect as "shock absorbers" in fact control the suspension spring oscillations and are properly called dampers.  However "shockies" are here to stay! 

SRS or Supplemental Restraint System  Modern cars are equipped with safety features to protect the occupants that are additional to the seat belts which are the main or primary restraint system.  SRS items currently fitted include the many variations of air bags and pretensioned seat belts. 

Timing Belt  See Cam Belt

Torque  Another very misunderstood and misused term.  Torque is a rotational force or force required to rotate an object.  In the SI metric system it is measured in Nm(Newton metres)  An engine may develop say 150Nm at say 3000rpm, another example is Peugeot specify alloy wheel bolts are tightened to 90Nm.  Torque(Nm) is a force, measured in N(Newtons) applied at some radial distance from the centre of rotation the force is being applied to, measured in m(metres)  so Torque(Nm)  =  Force (N) X Distance (m).  Sales "information" often gives the impression that torque is the same as power which it is not, however when the torque is multiplied by angular speed or rpm and a constant then the answer is power.  In a way then torque is a subset or part of what you need for power.  It is possible to have torque and no rpm which gives zero power and the car is not going anywhere!

Tune Up  One of Marks pet hates, the only "tune up" required on modern cars is to tune in the radio stations!  There are no tuning adjustments to be done on modern cars.  If your car is not running properly or performing as it did it does not need a "tune up" but a fault that needs to be repaired.  Unfortunately the industry still persists in this myth and any money spent on a "tune up" is wasted and bordering on fraudulent.  Euromotive has never found a tune up referred to in a manufacturers handbook yet!