Automotive Semantics

[Ethan1]

Originally Posted By: mightymousetech
Originally Posted By: Ethan1
Wheels are shiny round metal things. Tires are round black rubber things. Rims are what people who think they're cool call wheels.


Wheels are the rim and tire together.

That is 100% wrong.

If you order a reconditioned wheel for a car, what are they going to send you? A wheel, also known as a rim. You will not receive a tire on that wheel.

Go on car-part.com, look up your car, and look up a wheel, and click "display with image". You will not see any tires.

If a car has 20" wheels, you're saying the tire is 20" in diameter?

 

[Ethan1]

Ford base part number 1007 is "WHEEL ASSY". You will not receive a tire, you will receive a shiny metal wheel.

Open a phonebook and you will find places called So-and-So's Wheel and Tire or Main St Wheel and Tire. What does that mean to you?

If you think a wheel includes a tire, you're outta your treehouse.

 

[Carmudgeon]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
OE = Original Equipment. I.E., whatever came on the car in the first place.

Genuine = Manufacturer-branded replacement parts or fluids. Guaranteed to be within the car manufacturer's spec and backed by the car manufacturer's warranty.

OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer. I.E., made by the people who make the OE part. Might or might not be within OE tolerances; doesn't carry the same warranty; etc.

OE and Genuine are basically the same in practice, but OEM is a different animal.


That's my understanding as well, which came from a veteran parts dealer who had been in business dating back many years.

Factory/Dealer/Genuine/OE are pretty much interchangeable, with the distinction that the parts carry the marque branding and are distributed primarily through the dealer network.

OEM is made by the same manufacturer who supplied the part to the factory, but only carries the manufacturer's branding, and is distributed though aftermarket channels. Sometimes, the parts will have visible traces of the marque branding that has been removed, before being put into the OEM's packaging.

But, language is malleable, and OEM has come to mean the same as Factory/OE for almost everyone now, and the distinction is lost.

Then, you have the dunderheads at FCPEuro, who aren't helping matters by trying split the difference between Genuine and OE, in an attempt to address another distinction between whether an OEM supplies parts in general to a marque, or a specific part for a specific application.

Using "rims" to describe wheels is also another term changed through popular usage.

"VIN number" -- vehicle identification number number?

"clutch fan" -- as opposed to what, a fan fan?

Breaks, bumbers, Mobile oil, Alpha Romero...if I had a dime for every time that occurred...

And one for the BITOG folks -- Redline oil is not Red Line Oil.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Picking excrement with Gallus gallus domesticus. Also sometimes referred to as PSWTC

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Picking excrement with Gallus gallus domesticus. Also sometimes referred to as PSWTC

 

[Lolvoguy]

"Cadillac" converter vs. Catalytic converter.

I had a good chuckle for months after I read that.
...Come to think of it, I still chuckle from time to time.

 

[gman2304]

Grille vs Grill...

 

[4WD]

Rear End for rear axle/differential - of course an accident report has another version of rear end ...

 

[DweezilAZ]

OMG. Love this topic.

"Skirted fenders" are not vehicles with a short wheel opening or wheel cutout. A skirted fender is one with a detachable skirt.

"Post" anything. There are two and four door sedans and coupes. A car without a B pillar is a hardtop, two, four door or even wagon variety. No manufacturer ever called a two or four door sedan or coupe with a B pillar a "post". Redundant.

"Needs restored". No. Needs restoration.

"Switch out", "Swap out", "Change out" : If one is switching, swapping, or changing, the old item or fluid is going out. "Out" is a filler word or used to make something sound more detailed than it is. Again, redundant.

 

[Tomioka]

When someone has a "blown" engine. Blown headgaskets, supercharged, what?

Or maybe when someone is trying to "unload" a vehicle. I have been meaning it as that the owner just spent too much money on repairs and is getting rid of it at a loss.

 

[555]

Everybuddy needs to relax! Don't loose your mind over this stuff. It's there mistake not yours. People write crazy stuff when cut lose on a keyboard!

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Manual Transmission not Manuel Transmission!

Years ago, I was laughed out of the Suzuki Forum ( mainly youngsters) for calling a transmission a tranny.

I guess they were thinking Trans- ... whatever!