The
overall attention to detail, workmanship, fit and finish of parts,
detail to construction, absence of obvious flaws, quality and choice
of materials used used in an automobile as well as it's durability.
Quarter-eliptic
leaf spring
A
leaf spring shaped like a quarter ellipse. No longer used in automobiles
but used by some hard-core off-roaders for rock-crawling vehicles.
Quarter
panel
Another
name for a car's front or rear fender, however, mostly applied
to rear fenders.
Also,
the name of an interior panel which covers one of the front or
rear quadrants inside the passenger compartment. May be down by
the front passenger's feet or on the C-pillar.
Quarter
window
A
small, usually triangle-shaped, window installed on the front or
rear doors or installed in the C-pillar. Also called vent windows
because originally they could be opened to help vent the passenger
compartment. Not used in modern vehicles.
Quartz
halogen bulb
A
bulb that emits bright, white light commonly used for headlights.
The bulbs are made of quartz glass, a tungsten filament inside and
filled with an inert gas which is usually iodine or another halogen
gas. The gas allows the filament to glow bright without burning
out rapidly but also serves to prevent tungsten deposits from accumulating
on the glass surface - which could cause blackening. Quality quartz
glass must be used due to high filament temperatures. The bulbs
can be large such as used in older two-headlight vehicles, or small
and inserted in a composite headlamp.
Quench
To
cool hot steel by immersing in water or oil. A way to harden steel.
Using different liquids at different temperatures a metalworker
can harden steel in a more controlled manor.
Quench
area
An
area of the combustion chamber in some engines where a small gap
exists between the top of the piston and the cylinder head. Most
of the combustion occurs in a larger area near the valves. The smaller
area is called the quench area because since little combustion occurs
in this region it is cooler and draws heat away from the hotter
regions of the combustion area and helps reduce detonation. However,
carbon deposits tend to form in the cooler quench area.
