VirtualDrives​.com


Everything you need to know about driving games

Glossary

Glossary

 

Driving

Apex - The sharpest, innermost point of a corner. Clipping the apex is often the shortest and fastest way to navigate a corner.

Chicane - A short complex of corners consisting of two or three bends in opposite directions.

Drafting - Driving closely behind another car for a speed advantage. Drafting utilises the clean air immediately behind the car ahead.

Drifting - The art of maintaining a power slide without spinning out. Drifting requires immense skill, with professions developing cars purely for going sideways.

Oversteer - Where the car turns in at a sharper rate than usual, often resulting in a slide.

Power Slide - Losing traction through excessive throttle input, causing the rear end to become unstable and resulting in a slide.

Understeer - Where the front wheels fail to sufficiently grip, under steer is generated. Under steer often occurs when tyres begin to degrade or by entering a corner too fast.

 

Electronics

Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) - Improves braking performance by preventing the brakes from locking.

Hand Brake (E-Brake) - Used when a car is brake to lock the wheels and prevent the car from rolling away. When racing, handbrakes are used to quickly lock the wheels to initiate a slide.

Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) - Most KERS units harvest energy while a car is braking. Any energy gained through braking charges an electronic motor, which can either be deployed by the driver or automatically by the car for a speed advantage.

Stability Control (ESC) - Maintains the car's stability by applying the brakes when it detects a loss of traction or rapid steering inputs.

Traction Control System (TCS) - An electronic aid to improve or eliminate a loss of traction.

 

Race

Drag Racing - Where two cars race in a straight line from a standstill. Drag races are used to determine which racer's car has the best acceleration and top speed.

Endurance - A long race ranging from half an hour to 24-hours. Most endurance events require a pit stop and some require multiple drivers to share one car.

Point-to-Point - Where the start line is at a different location to the finish. Rallying and hill climb events see drivers race the clock, rather than another car on track.

Rallycross - A mixture of dirt and tarmac surfaces. Rallycross events often feature multiple heats consisting of short sprint races.

Sprint - A race without a mandatory pit stop and therefore short in length. Drivers race from start to finish without stopping.

 

Technical

Drag (Aerodynamics) - When wind passes over a car and causes friction. This reduces the car's momentum but can also be used to improve cornering with the assistance of aerodynamic wings.

Diffuser - Structures at the rear of a car that suck air compressed from underneath and launch it out the back. Diffusers create large amounts of downforce without causing aerodynamic drag.

Downforce - Where the air flowing over the car is used to push it into the ground, increasing grip at the front and traction at the rear.

Drag Reduction System (DRS) - A moveable aerodynamic device that reduces drag when driving in a straight line. DRS systems are used in Formula One when a car is less than one second behind the driver in front.

Power - How much energy a car creates, usually measured in horse-power (hp) or kilowatts (kW).

Torque - The turning force of a rotating object. Torque, measured in foot-pound (ft lb) or newton meter (Nm), gauges the force that a car axle spins.

Wings - These are used primarily at the front and rear of a car to generate downforce.