Carpokes Porsche Forum

This is still work in progress, but attempts to build on the 944 acronym list with terms applicable to all Porsches. The factory has gotten in on the act lately with lots of official acronyms, so this this is a combination of official and unofficial terms you see whenever talking about Porsches... Will keep working on it before posting a downloadable PDF so if you see something missing or have suggestions, please let me know....

Edit: PDF at post #13 further down this list here


AFPR: Adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator.

A-Tune: A performance chip for the 944 Turbo, NLA.

ABD: Automatic Braking Differential. Part of PSM, uses brakes to improve traction/stability.

ABS: Antilock Braking System. Pulses brakes to avoid skidding when braking hard.

ACC: Adaptive Cruise Control. Smart CC that maintains proper distance between cars.

AFM: Air Flow Meter.

AFR: Air-Fuel Ratio. Essentially a measure of how rich or lean your engine is running.

APE: Autothority Performance Engineering.

ASR: Anti-Slip Regulation. Part of PSM, controls tire spinning under acceleration.

AWS: Auto Weight Sensing. For airbag system.

BOV: Blow Off Valve.

B/S: Balance Shaft. A rotating shaft that dampens engine vibrations on the 944/968 motors.

CARB: California Air-Research Board. Smog regulators in California.

CC: Cruise Control or Climate Control or Cubic Centimeters.

CP: Carpokes. The friendliest Porsche forum on the Internet.

CV: Cycling Valve or Constant Velocity.

CO: Carbon Monoxide: One of several exhaust gases measured during smog tests.

DFI: Direct Fuel Injection.

DME: Digital Motor Electronics. This is the main ECU that controls fuel, spark and other engine parameters.

ECU: Electronic Control Unit. Generic term for computer that controls engine management system.

EBC: Electronic Boost Controller.

EDC: Electronic Damping Control or Engine Drag Control.

EGT: Exhaust Gas Temperature. The temperature of the exhaust as it exits the head.

EMS: Engine Management System.

ET: Einpress Tiefe (i.e., wheel offset). Distance from mounting surface to wheel centerline.

FAL: Front Axle Lift. System that raised front of car to get over speed bumps, etc.

FBS: Full bucket seats (lightweight bucket carbon fiber seats aka LWB & LWBS).

FD: Final Drive Ratio. After transmission gearing, final gear ratio in the differential.

FPR: Fuel Pressure Regulator.

HC: Hydrocarbons. One of several exhaust gases measured during smog tests.

HVAC: Heat, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning. General terms for the whole climate control system.

IC: Intercooler. Cools the intake air after it’s pressurized by the turbo.

ICV: Idle Control Valve. Different name for the ISV.

ISV: Idle Stabilizer Valve.

KEP: Kennedy Engineering Performance.

KLR: German acronym. Commonly just called the KLR. It is a supplemental computer in the 944 Turbo. Among other things, it is designed to detect and control knock.

KW: KW is a coil-over and suspension parts manufacturer.

LBE: Lindsey Boost Enhancer. A device sold by Lindsey Racing that allows for a more forceful onset of boost.

LCA: Lane Change Assist. System that alerts driver when it is not safe to change lanes.

LR: Lindsey Racing. A shop that makes and sells parts for the 944.

LSD: Limited Slip Differential. Internal transaxle parts that transmit power to both wheels.

LWB: Lightweight bucket carbon fiber seats (aka LWBS & FBS).

LWBS: Lightweight bucket carbon fiber seats (aka LWB & FBS).

MAF: Mass Air Flow sensor.

MAP: Manifold Absolute Pressure sensor.

MBC: Manual Boost Controller.

MOST: Media Oriented Systems Transport Bus. Onboard high-speed multimedia bus.

MSR: Engine Drag Torque Control. Part of PSM. Helps prevent engine-brake induced tire slippage.

M/T: Manual Transmission. Transmission with clutch and gear shifter.

M-tune: A MAF kit for the 944 Turbo, NLA.

MY: Model Year.

N/A: Naturally Aspirated. A car that consumes ambient air without aid from a turbocharger or supercharger.

NOx: Nitrogen Oxides. One of several exhaust gases measured during smog tests.

NTCI/II: Negative Temperature Coefficient. Temperature sensors.

O2: Oxygen sensor.

OAP: Over Axle Pipe

OBD II: Onboard Diagnostics, 2nd Generation.

OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer.

OPRV: Oil Pressure Relief Valve. Regulated engine oil pressure.

PAA: Porsche Active Aerodynamics. System of active aerodynamic parts.

PADM: Porsche Active Drivetrain Mount.

PAS: Porsche Active Safe. A collision avoidance technology.

PASM: Porsche Active Suspension Management. System that adjusts stiffness of suspension.

PC: Porsche Connect. Phone app to connect with car.

PCA: Porsche Club of America. The biggest Porsche club in the U.S.

PCC: Porsche Car Connect. Phone app to connect with car.

PCCB: Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes. Fancy brakes, no brake dust.

PCM: Porsche Communications Management. Central video screen and related functions.

PCNA: Porsche Cars North America. The North American arm of Porsche.

PDCC: Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control. Computer-assisted anti-roll system.

PDLS: Porsche Dynamic Light System.

PDK: German Acronym for Porsche’s dual clutch transmission.

PEC: Porsche Experience Center.

PIWIS: Porsche Integrated Workshop Information System.

PP: Pressure Plate. Part of the clutch.

POSIP: Porsche Side Impact Protection System. Part of the air bag system.

PPF: Paint Protection Film.

PPM: Parts Per Million. Often used for smog test limits.

PSCB: Porsche Surface Coated Brakes (very shiny, mirror-like no-dust rotors on Cayennes & Macans)

PSE: Porsche Sport Exhaust

PSM: Porsche Stability Management. A Computer nanny system to help keep car under control.

PS, PSP: Power Steering, Power Steering Plus.

PTS: Paint to Sample.

PTV: Porsche Torque Vectoring.

PWM: Pulse Width Modulation. A type of electronics control signal.

PWT: Porsche Ersatz Teile (Porsche replacement parts).

RAS: Rear Axle Steering.

ROW: Rest of World.

TB: Throttle Body.

TDC: Top Dead Center.

TPMS: Tire Pressure Monitoring System.

TPS: Throttle Position Sensor. The DME/KLR uses this sensor to monitor the position of the throttle.

TT: Torque Tube. Rigid tube carrying drive-shaft, which adds rigidity between the motor and the transaxle.

UAI: Universal Audio Interface.

VEMS: An aftermarket engine management system.

VTG: Variable Turbine Geometry. Turbocharger technology that minimizes lag.

VR: Vitesse Racing. An aftermarket company that sells performance parts.

WOT: Wide Open Throttle. Flooring the gas pedal.

Just found this Tom - nice! Are you still considering working on additions and a downloadable PDF?

Maybe consider adding:

PWT (Porsche Ersatz Teile)
PIWIS (Porsche Integrated Workshop Information System)
PSCB (Porsche Surface Coated Brakes - the mirror-looking rotors such as the ones available on a Cayenne).

I'm sure there are other Porsche acronyms that others might think of and suggest.

edit: I added to Tom's list.

I added the 982 list here:

viewtopic.php?t=1337

P_Coastal wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2023 9:17 am I added the 982 list here:

viewtopic.php?t=1337

That's extensive. I didn't know about yours so thanks for the link!

I would have bet money I posted a PDF, but I guess not. I'll put it on my 'to do' list.

Tom wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2023 3:20 pm I would have bet money I posted a PDF, but I guess not. I'll put it on my 'to do' list.

I'm glad I found the post - it was during a random search for something else when I happened to run across it. (It was posted before I was here.)

Maybe we can get P_Coastal to convert his 982 list to pdf or, better yet, maybe just incorporate any from his that are missing from your compilation since yours is intended to be a general Porsche list for all purposes.

Source PDF:

Tom wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2023 3:20 pm I would have bet money I posted a PDF, but I guess not. I'll put it on my 'to do' list.

@Tom

I think the PDF must have fallen through the cracks.

No matter as several years ago I used Carpokes' internal bookmark feature (User control panel > Manage bookmarks) to save the thread for easy access. Trouble is, I totally forgot about it having been saved. (Actually, I had forgotten about the bookmark feature even being available - that acronym thread is the only one I ever bookmarked. Lol.)

That is until yesterday when I was searching for a particular Porsche acronym. I was using a regular search engine (Duck, duck probably) to search for the meaning and, lo and behold, your list on Carpokes from long ago popped up 4th on the results page! Somehow that sparked s synapse to reconnect and I remembered the Carpokes bookmark.

Anyway, here's a couple more acronyms to add:

LWB or LWBS - Lightweight Buckets (carbon fiber seats aka FBS).
FBS - Full Bucket Seats (the carbon fiber jobbies LWB above).
PSCB - Porsche Surface Coated Brakes. (They are the very shiny, mirror-like rotors that used to be available on Cayennes and are still offered on certain Macan models.)

edit: I added the above to Tom's list Aug 2025.

Some list as LWBS for the seats Porsche doesn't want to call GT4 seats ( without a GT4 logo ), ha, ha. I know when I ordered them in my Cayman GTS I had to ask what the heck LWBS meant?

WillyDaP wrote: Tue Aug 19, 2025 5:14 pm Some list as LWBS for the seats don't want to call GT4 seats without a GT4 logo, ha, ha. I know when I ordered them in mine I had to ask what the heck LWBS meant?

I'll edit it to LWB/LWBS so all bases are covered! They are called both - pretty unofficial terms I guess. And then there are those who refer to them as FBS. The acronyms are endless! Lol.