Motorsport: Guide to V8-speak

Back-to-back series champions Stone Brothers Racing have compiled a list of racing terms. Here's how they see some of the alphabet:

AERODYNAMICS

The science of managing airflow over, under and around a car plays a major role in V8 Supercar design and tuning. Areas of high and low pressure are carefully managed to maximise downforce (to help the tyres grip the ground) while minimising drag (to maximise speed). The two main areas involved are the surface area on the underside of the front bumper and the rear wing.

APEX

The geometric inside centre point of a corner. In racing, a driver will often use a "late apex," turning into the corner a little later than normal in order to straighten out the last part of the corner. This allows the driver to accelerate earlier and harder, gaining maximum speed down the next straight.

BLISTER

Tyres subjected to excessive heat can form blisters on the surface that contacts the track. In V8 Supercars, this can occur when a car's handling is not quite right, resulting in excessive wear on one or more tyres. A blister is caused when the rubber tread compound exceeds its maximum operating temperature and melts.

BRAKE FADE

Brakes transform motion into heat. The heat in the cast-iron rotors of a V8 Supercar can reach 900C. When the fluid in the brake system exceeds its boiling point due to hard use, bubbles can form in the brake lines and calipers. Since these bubbles can be squeezed smaller by pressure from the brake pedal, the pedal tends to "go soft" and may even go to the floorboard without the brakes working properly.

CAMBER

An element of chassis tuning. Each tyre can be tilted inward or outward depending on the track. The usual idea is to tilt the top of the tyre inward (negative camber) so that under cornering loads, the entire surface of the tread is being used to the maximum. Teams adjust the camber setting based on reading tyre temperatures across the surface of the tread. Equal temperatures across the surface of the tyre indicate it is being used to its maximum capacity.

DAG

Acronym for "Data Acquisition Geek or Guy," a computer expert who maintains a team's Data Acquisition system and analyses the data.

ECU - ENGINE CONTROL UNIT

The engine control unit in a V8 Supercar is a more sophisticated version of the computer in a street car, controlling functions such as ignition timing and fuel metering. An ECU can be easily reprogrammed by connecting a laptop computer to a plug on the side of the car. In V8 Supercar racing the ECU are a "controlled" device and are handed out to teams by race officials at each meeting.

MARBLES

Bits of rubber scrubbed off of racing slicks while cornering. These small balls collect on the outside of the turn, and if a car goes wide (into the marbles, or "the grey", referring to the lighter appearance of an area covered with marbles), then much adhesion is lost. This rubber debris will stick to the hot tyres and cause poor traction for the next few corners until they rub off.

REV LIMITER

Modern engines are controlled by electronic "mapping" software that controls things such as fuel consumption and ignition timing. Rev limiting is to keep the engine from exceeding its maximum rotational speed and exploding into bits of very expensive shrapnel, and to adhere to speed limit rules in the pit lane. V8 Supercars have a maximum 7500rpm.

SCOOP

A V8 Supercar has one main scoop built into the front bumper. This scoop gathers air and forces it into a specific places for a specific purposes, from feeding air into the engine to keeping hot parts cooled down, such as brakes.

SLICKS

A racing tyre with no tread. There is a misconception that the tread pattern of a tyre provides traction. This is true in dirt, snow or on wet pavement, but on dry pavement the maximum amount of "contact patch" is desirable.

TAKE A LOOK

A driver following closely behind another car may dart momentarily to the inside at the entry to a corner, pretending to attempt a pass in order to disrupt the concentration of the driver in front and hopefully cause a small mistake, setting up a subsequent passing attempt.

TURN IN

As a car reaches a corner, this is the moment at which a driver actually begins to turn the wheel. The timing of this action and the car's response to it are crucial.