WANDER
Reference to steering where vehicle moves or
rambles from a fixed course without control.
WARNING LIGHT
A red light mounted in the instrument cluster
indicating ACRS system readiness or malfunction.
WARNING SYSTEM
The lamp and buzzer used in conjunction with the
ignition interlock.
WASHOUT
Violent stop signal made by waving both arms in a
downward circle or by swinging lamp in wide, low semi circle across the track
by night.
WASTE MOLD
A negative mold destroyed or wasted in freeing the
positive cast.
WASTEGATE
Louvers or textured grille that permits the
exhausting of air. Can be either function or merely ornamental.
WATT
Unit of electrical measurement of power.
WAYBILL
A document prepared at the point of origin of a
shipment, showing the point of origin, destination, route, consignor,
consignee, description of shipment and amount charges for the transportation
service, and generally forwarded with the shipment to the agent and
destination.
WEAVE
A combined roll and yaw motion.
WEIGHMASTER
A person who operates a scale for the weighing of
freight or motor vehicles. A certified
weight master is one who has been licensed by some governmental authority as
skilled in the art of proper weighing.
WEIGHT
The attraction between an object and the earth
gives objects their weight. W= m x g
WEIGHT SHEETS
Itemized list furnished by shippers to weighing
bureaus, itemizing articles in each consignment.
WEIGHT SHIFT
A transfer of weight from one portion of a vehicle
to another as a consequence of an acceleration or deceleration. It is not caused by a movement of weight, or
mass, within the vehicle, but is caused by the redistribution of external
forces that must occur when a body of finite size is accelerated or decelerated
by non Centrodial forces.
WELD
Fusion of metal by electric arc or gas heat.
WELD LINE
Area designated to complete all spot welding after
removal of side frames.
WELD STUDY
A study in layout form depicting welding for all
areas of the body assembly.
WET CLUTCH
A type of clutch that operates in an oil bath.
WET GOODS
Liquids.
WET TANK
Part of the air brake system. Compressed air produced by the compressor
goes to the wet tank, which collects any water and engine oil that the air has
in it. This tank must be drained at
least once a day.
WHEEL ALIGNMENT
The mechanics of keeping all the parts of the
steering system in correct relation to each other.
WHEEL BASE
The distance from the center of the front wheels to
the center of the rear wheels or, if there is a tandem axle, the distance to
the midpoint between the to tandem axles.
WHEEL CENTER
The point at which the spin axis of the wheel
intersects the wheel plane.
WHEEL COVER
An ornamental disc that covers the wheel of a car,
mounted on the rim. Sometimes called wheel disc. (Also see hubcap.)
WHEEL CYLINDER
A wheel cylinder is a piston and cylinder assembly
mounted at the wheel of a vehicle. It
is connected to a hydraulic line from the master cylinder, and the pressure in
the line causes the pistons to move within the wheel cylinder. The movement of
the pistons causes the friction material to press against the brake rotor ( in
a disk brake system) or against the drum ( in a drum brake system).
WHEEL FLANGE
The protecting edge or rim on the circumference of
a car wheel for keeping it on the rail.
WHEEL FLUTTER
Forced oscillation of steerable wheels about their
steering axes.
WHEEL HOP
Tendency of tire and wheel to hop during braking or
acceleration of vehicle.
WHEEL HOUSE
The encasement around the front and rear wheels.
WHEEL PLANE
The central plane of the tire, normal to the spin
axis.
WHEEL SKID
The occurrence of sliding between the tire and road
interface which takes place within the entire contact area. Skid can result from braking, driving and/or
cornering.
WHEEL TRACK
(wheel tread)
The lateral distance between the centers of tire contact of a pair of
wheels. For vehicles with dual wheels,
it is the distance between the points centrally located between the centers of
tire contact of the inner and outer wheels.
(see SAE J693)*
WHEEL WOBBLE
A self-excited oscillation of steerable wheels
about their steering axes, occurring without appreciable tramp.
WHEELBASE
Distance between centerlines of front and rear
axles or to centerline of tandem axles.
WHEELFLIGHT
A rotary disturbance of the steering wheel produced
by forces acting on the steerable wheels.
WHEELIE
A slang term for the event that sometimes takes
place under rapid acceleration, where by the front wheel becomes airborne and
looses contact with the road surface.
WHISKERS
Flashout or expulsion at spotweld location of
heated metal.
WINCH
Manual or power device employing a drum with cable
or rope for pulling objects where great power is required. Power generated by
vehicle engine and transmitted through power take-off on transmission.
WIND RESISTANCE
The force of the atmosphere against a moving
vehicle; atmospheric drag factor; a combination of forces produced by motion of
the vehicle through the air and motion of the air itself. Under certain circumstances, wind may assist
rather than resist the motion of a vehicle.
WINDCORD
A narrow cord that frames a door opening and serves
to finish the edge and close the gap.
WINDLACE
Molding or trimstrip used to finish pinch weld
flanges in door openings.
WINDOW FRAME
Metal frames reinforcing door windows above the
belt in some body styles.
WINDOW MOLDING
Any molding that frames the window of a vehicle;
usually stainless steel or bright finished.
WINDSHIELD
Glass sheet formed to enclose the forward-viewing
area of a vehicle's passenger compartment.
WINDSHIELD POST
See "A" pillar.
WINDSHIELD SIDE FRAME
Pillar that defines the sides of the windshield
openings.
WIRES
Wire wheels or wheelcovers that simulate wire
wheels.
WIRING HARNESS
The means of providing electrical continuity for
the air cushion system.
WOBBLE
A motion of the fork assembly about the steer axis.
WOOD MODEL
A three-dimensional replica of a part make of
"impreg" and used in construction of the tooling and checking
fixture.
WORK
Work is a physical quantity caused by moving a
force through a distance.
WORM GEAR
Rear axle gear assembly having corkscrew-type
pinion.
WRAP DISTANCE
The distance measured from the ground below the
front bumper of a vehicle up over the front face of the vehicle, around the
hood edge, and back along the hood to the point of head impact. The wrap distance is typically within a few
centimeters of the pedestrian's height.
WRAP TRAJECTORY
The kinematics of the impacted pedestrian where the
torso and head pivot over and onto the hood during impact. The pedestrian achieves the velocity of the
vehicle and may stay with the vehicle until the vehicle comes to a stop.
WRAPAROUND
Any surface that goes laterally across the car and
around a corner, I.e., wraparound windshield, bumper or taillights.