Saturday, 30 November 2013

Automaster Nigeria: What problem do you have servicing your car yourse...

Automaster Nigeria: What problem do you have servicing your car yourse...: What problem do you have servicing your car yourself, let's discuss it?

Automaster Nigeria: What problem do you have servicing your car yourse...

Automaster Nigeria: What problem do you have servicing your car yourse...: What problem do you have servicing your car yourself, let's discuss it?

What problem do you have servicing your car yourself?

What problem do you have servicing your car yourself, let's discuss it?

Sunday, 3 November 2013

KNORR QUEST SEASON 2

Knorr Taste Quest Season 2 about to unfold in exciting & bigger way Knorr, the great taste maker from Unilever Nigeria plc is back with another exciting season of its cooking TV Show tagged Knorr Taste Quest. The idea behind the show is to provide a platform for people to showcase their culinary expertise, as well as bring to the homes of consumers the most exhilarating and educational cooking show in Nigeria. Season one which showcased the journey of 12 contestants battling it out in the kitchen for the title of Nigeria’s Best in culinary matters, was a huge success with Lalu Surdiham emerging as the winner, and going home with a 2013 Hyundai Elantra car, One million naira cash and lots of kitchen equipment. Continue... According to the Brand Building Director, Unilever Nig. Plc, Mr David Okeme, Season II promises to be more engaging and captivating. It is no doubt going to be bigger as the show will be having regional auditions in Lagos, Calabar and Abuja. The show is open to individuals who appreciate good food and are passionate about cooking. They need to be able to take up the challenge of exploring creative ways to cooking. Speaking at the unveiling of the Knorr Taste Quest Season Two, Category Manager Savoury, Unilever Nigeria, Bolanle Kehinde-Lawal while describing the modalities for the show, said interested consumers are to go to www.unilevernigeria.com and complete the entry form. Shortlisted participants would be invited for auditions where 50 contestants would emerge. These 50 would then be whittled down to 28 contestants who would go head to head to compete for the grand prize. Contestants would be eliminated weekly based on how they perform on the various tasks assigned. The brand Manager Knorr – Miss Abimbola Ogunsemi, said in this season, the winner of the show will walk away with a brand new car, N2m cash prize and brand new kitchen equipments. The 1st runner up will get N1m cash prize and brand new kitchen equipments. The 2nd runner up will win N500, 000 brand new kitchen equipments. She said the show would go a long way to impact not just the top 3 contestants but also the other 25 contestants, who would go home with different kitchen equipment and they could also win cash vouchers if they win any of the special tasks. The viewers at home are not left out as they would be engaged with a rich TV content and an opportunity to win the weekly viewers prizes as well. Unilever is a leading FMCG company in Nigeria, and its mission is to add Vitality to life by meeting everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that make people feel good, look good and get more out of life. Consumers can also call the toll free line 08031230051 for further enquiries. This is one of the various ways, Unilever rewards loyal consumers who have consistently shown positive disposition to the brand and also truly endorsed it as the best in delivering taste.

Wednesday, 31 July 2013

FUEL EFFICIENCY

Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the efficiency of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier fuel into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device, which in turn may vary per application fuel efficiency, especially fossil fuel power plants or industries dealing with combustion, such as ammonia production during the Haber process. In the context of transport, fuel economy is the energy efficiency of a particular vehicle, and is given as a ratio of distance travelled per unit of fuel consumed. Fuel economy is expressed in miles per gallon (mpg) in the USA and usually also in the UK—there is sometimes confusion as the imperial gallon is 20% larger than the US gallon so that mpg values are not directly comparable. In countries using the metric system fuel economy is stated in kilometres per litre (km/L) in the Netherlands, Denmark and in several Latin American or Asian countries such as India, Japan, South Korea, or as the reciprocal ratio, "fuel consumption" in liters per 100 kilometers (L/100 km) in much of Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Litres per mil are used in Norway and Sweden. Fuel consumption is a more accurate measure of a vehicle’s performance because it is a linear relationship while fuel economy leads to distortions in efficiency improvements. Weight-specific efficiency (efficiency per unit weight) may be stated for freight, and passenger-specific efficiency (vehicle efficiency per passenger). Vehicle design Fuel efficiency is dependent on many parameters of a vehicle, including its [[engine]] parameters, [[Drag (physics)|aerodynamic drag]], weight, and [[rolling resistance]]. There have been advances in all areas of vehicle design in recent decades. [[Hybrid vehicles]] use two or more power sources for propulsion. In many designs, a small combustion engine is combined with electric motors. Kinetic energy which would otherwise be lost to heat during braking is recaptured as electrical power to improve fuel efficiency. Fleet efficiency Fleet efficiency describes the average efficiency of a population of vehicles. Technological advances in efficiency may be offset by a change in buying habits with a propensity to heavier vehicles, which are less efficient, all else being equal. Energy efficiency terminology Energy efficiency is similar to fuel efficiency but the input is usually in units of energy such as British thermal units (BTU), megajoules (MJ), gigajoules (GJ), kilocalories (kcal), or kilowatt-hours (kW·h). The inverse of "energy efficiency" is "energy intensity", or the amount of input energy required for a unit of output such as MJ/passenger-km (of passenger transport), BTU/ton-mile (of freight transport, for long/short/metric tons), GJ/t (for steel production), BTU/(kW·h) (for electricity generation), or litres/100 km (of vehicle travel). Litres per 100 km is also a measure of "energy intensity" where the input is measured by the amount of fuel and the output is measured by the [[distance]] travelled. For example: [[Fuel economy in automobiles]]. Given a heat value of a fuel, it would be trivial to convert from fuel units (such as litres of gasoline) to energy units (such as MJ) and conversely. But there are two problems with comparisons made using energy units: * There are two different heat values for any hydrogen-containing fuel which can differ by several percent (see below). * When comparing transportation energy costs, it must be remembered that a [[kilowatt hour]] of electric energy may require an amount of fuel with heating value of 2 or 3 kilowatt hours to produce it. ==Energy content of fuel== The specific energy content of a fuel is the heat energy obtained when a certain quantity is burned (such as a gallon, litre, kilogram). It is sometimes called the heat of combustion. There exists two different values of specific heat energy for the same batch of fuel. One is the high (or gross) heat of combustion and the other is the low (or net) heat of combustion. The high value is obtained when, after the combustion, the water in the exhaust is in liquid form. For the low value, the exhaust has all the water in vapor form (steam). Since water vapor gives up heat energy when it changes from vapor to liquid, the liquid water value is larger since it includes the latent heat of vaporization of water. The difference between the high and low values is significant, about 8 or 9%. This accounts for most of the apparent discrepancy in the heat value of gasoline. In the U.S. (and the table below) the high heat values have traditionally been used, but in many other countries, the low heat values are commonly used. Neither the gross heat of combustion nor the net heat of combustion gives the theoretical amount of mechanical energy (work) that can be obtained from the reaction. (This is given by the change in [[Gibbs free energy]], and is around 45.7 MJ/kg for gasoline.) The actual amount of mechanical work obtained from fuel (the inverse of the [[Brake specific fuel consumption|specific fuel consumption]]) depends on the engine. A figure of 17.6 MJ/kg is possible with a gasoline engine, and 19.1 MJ/kg for a diesel engine. See [[Brake specific fuel consumption]] for more information. Fuel efficiency of vehicles See also: Fuel economy in automobiles The fuel efficiency of vehicles can be expressed in more ways: Fuel consumption is the amount of fuel used per unit distance; for example, litres per 100 kilometres (L/100 km). In this case, the lower the value, the more economic a vehicle is (the less fuel it needs to travel a certain distance); this is the measure generally used across Europe (except the UK, Denmark and The Netherlands - see below), New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Also in Uruguay, Paraguay, Guatemala, Colombia, Japan, China, and Madagascar.[citation needed], as also in post-Soviet space. Fuel economy is the distance travelled per unit volume of fuel used; for example, kilometres per litre (km/L) or miles per gallon (MPG), where 1 MPG (imperial) ≈ 0.354006 km/L. In this case, the higher the value, the more economic a vehicle is (the more distance it can travel with a certain volume of fuel). This measure is popular in the USA and the UK (mpg), but in Europe, India, Japan and Latin America the metric unit km/L is used instead. Converting from mpg or to L/100 km (or vice versa) involves the use of the reciprocal function, which is not distributive. Therefore, the average of two fuel economy numbers gives different values if those units are used, because one of the functions is reciprocal, thus not linear. If two people calculate the fuel economy average of two groups of cars with different units, the group with better fuel economy may be one or the other. However, from the point of energy used as a shared method of measure, the result shall be the same in both the cases. The formula for converting to miles per US gallon (exactly 3.785411784 L) from L/100 km is , where is value of L/100 km. For miles per Imperial gallon (exactly 4.54609 L) the formula is . In parts of Europe, the two standard measuring cycles for "litre/100 km" value are "urban" traffic with speeds up to 50 km/h from a cold start, and then "extra urban" travel at various speeds up to 120 km/h which follows the urban test. A combined figure is also quoted showing the total fuel consumed in divided by the total distance traveled in both tests. A reasonably modern European supermini and many mid-size cars, including station wagons, may manage motorway travel at 5 L/100 km (47 mpg US/56 mpg imp) or 6.5 L/100 km in city traffic (36 mpg US/43 mpg imp), with carbon dioxide emissions of around 140 g/km. An average North American mid-size car travels 21 mpg (US) (11 L/100 km) city, 27 mpg (US) (9 L/100 km) highway; a full-size SUV usually travels 13 mpg (US) (18 L/100 km) city and 16 mpg (US) (15 L/100 km) highway. Pickup trucks vary considerably; whereas a 4 cylinder-engined light pickup can achieve 28 mpg (8 L/100 km), a V8 full-size pickup with extended cabin only travels 13 mpg (US) (18 L/100 km) city and 15 mpg (US) (15 L/100 km) highway. The average fuel economy is higher in Europe due to the higher cost of fuel. In the UK, a gallon of gas without tax would cost US$1.97, but with taxes cost US$6.06 in 2005. The average cost in the United States was US$2.61. Consumers prefer "muscle cars" but choose more fuel efficient ones when gas prices increase.[2] European-built cars are generally more fuel-efficient than US vehicles. While Europe has many higher efficiency diesel cars, European gasoline vehicles are on average also more efficient than gasoline-powered vehicles in the USA. Most European vehicles cited in the CSI study run on diesel engines, which tend to achieve greater fuel efficiency than gas engines. Selling those cars in the United States is difficult because of emission standards, notes Walter McManus, a fuel economy expert at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. "For the most part, European diesels don’t meet U.S. emission standards", McManus said in 2007. Another reason why many European models are not marketed in the United States is that labor unions object to having the big 3 import any new foreign built models regardless of fuel economy while laying off workers at home.[3] An example of European cars' capabilities of fuel economy is the microcar Smart Fortwo cdi, which can achieve up to 3.4 l/100 km (69.2 mpg US) using a turbocharged three-cylinder 41 bhp (30 kW) Diesel engine. The Fortwo is produced by Daimler AG and is currently only sold by one company in the United States. Furthermore, the current (and to date already 10 year old) world record in fuel economy of production cars is held by the Volkswagen Group, with special production models (labeled "3L") of the Volkswagen Lupo and the Audi A2, consuming as little as 3 L/100 km (94 mpg-imp; 78 mpg-US).[4] Diesel engines generally achieve greater fuel efficiency than petrol (gasoline) engines. Passenger car diesel engines have energy efficiency of up to 41% but more typically 30%, and petrol engines of up to 37.3%, but more typically 20%. That is one of the reasons why diesels have better fuel efficiency than equivalent petrol cars. A common margin is 25% more miles per gallon for an efficient turbodiesel. For example, the current model Skoda Octavia, using Volkswagen engines, has a combined European fuel efficiency of 41.3 mpg for the 105 bhp (78 kW) petrol engine and 52.3 mpg for the 105 bhp (78 kW) — and heavier — diesel engine. The higher compression ratio is helpful in raising the energy efficiency, but diesel fuel also contains approximately 10% more energy per unit volume than gasoline which contributes to the reduced fuel consumption for a given power output. In 2002, the United States had 85,174,776 trucks, and averaged 13.5 miles per US gallon (17.4 L/100 km; 16.2 mpg-imp). Large trucks, over 33,000 pounds (15,000 kg), averaged 5.7 miles per US gallon (41 L/100 km; 6.8 mpg-imp).[5] Fuel efficiency in microgravity How fuel combusts affects how much energy is produced. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has investigated fuel consumption in microgravity. The common distribution of a flame under normal gravity conditions depends on convection, because soot tends to rise to the top of a flame, such as in a candle, making the flame yellow. In microgravity or zero gravity, such as an environment in outer space, convection no longer occurs, and the flame becomes spherical, with a tendency to become more blue and more efficient. There are several possible explanations for this difference, of which the most likely one given is the hypothesis that the temperature is evenly distributed enough that soot is not formed and complete combustion occurs., National Aeronautics and Space Administration, April 2005. Experiments by NASA in microgravity reveal that diffusion flames in microgravity allow more soot to be completely oxidised after they are produced than diffusion flames on Earth, because of a series of mechanisms that behaved differently in microgravity when compared to normal gravity conditions.LSP-1 experiment results, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, April 2005. Premixed flames in microgravity burn at a much slower rate and more efficiently than even a candle on Earth, and last much longer.[8] Driving technique There is a growing community of enthusiasts known as hypermilers who develop and practice driving techniques to increase fuel efficiency and reduce consumption. Hypermilers have broken records of fuel efficiency, for example, achieving 109 miles per gallon in a Prius. In non-hybrid vehicles these techniques are also beneficial. Hypermiler Wayne Gerdes can get 59 MPG in a Honda Accord and 30 MPG in an Acura MDX.[10] All drivers have the potential to improve their fuel efficiency. Applying these five basic fuel-efficient driving techniques can potentially reduce your fuel consumption by up to 25% and save you hundreds of dollars a year in fuel. Plan your routes, calculate your fuel consumption and adopt other fuel-efficient driving habits to save even more. Fuel-efficient driving is easy. In fact, it’s one of the simplest and most effective ways any driver can cut their fuel costs, shrink their environmental footprints and ward off climate change. Advanced Technology improvements to improve fuel efficiency The most efficient machines for converting energy to rotary motion are electric motors, as used in electric vehicles. However, electricity is not a primary energy source so the efficiency of the electricity production has also to be taken into account. Currently railway trains can be powered using electricity, delivered through an additional running rail, overhead catenary system or by on-board generators used in diesel-electric locomotives as common on the UK rail network. Pollution produced from centralised generation of electricity is emitted at a distant power station, rather than "on site". Some railways, such as the French SNCF and Swiss federal railways derive most, if not 100% of their power, from hydroelectric or nuclear power stations, therefore atmospheric pollution from their rail networks is very low. This was reflected in a study by AEA Technology between a Eurostar train and airline journeys between London and Paris, which showed the trains on average emitting 10 times less CO2, per passenger, than planes, helped in part by French nuclear generation.[11] This can be changed using more renewable sources for electric generation. In the future hydrogen cars may be commercially available. Powered either through chemical reactions in a fuel cell that create electricity to drive very efficient electrical motors or by directly burning hydrogen in a combustion engine (near identically to a natural gas vehicle, and similarly compatible with both natural gas and gasoline); these vehicles promise to have near zero pollution from the tailpipe (exhaust pipe). Potentially the atmospheric pollution could be minimal, provided the hydrogen is made by electrolysis using electricity from non-polluting sources such as solar, wind or hydroelectricity or thermochemically by the use of the Thorium fuel cycle in a molten salt reactor. In any process, it is vitally important to account for all of the energy used throughout the process. Thus, in addition to the energy cost of the electricity or hydrogen production, we must also account for transmission and/or storage losses to support large-scale use of such vehicles. For this reason the use of the idea "zero pollution" should be avoided.

Friday, 26 July 2013

Car tips

A car that is not properly maintained will not last long for the owner. Cars deteriorate faster when they are not given adequate maintenance. The following tips are simple ways to maintain your car, according to automobile dealers and mechanics. Drive carefully Experts say when you drive, do your car a favour by driving gently. Common sense will tell the driver that he is not just doing the car a favour but himself and occupants of the car whenever he drives carefully. Experts advise that you think of your car like your own body. By driving carefully, they note that the driver should accelerate slowly, not snapping his head back. They note that driving carefully means anticipating your braking so you can brake gently and avoid panic stops. They note that if it's below cold outside, the driver should allow the car a minute or so to warm up before driving it hard. They note that he should then drive slowly for a few minutes, until the engine oil has warmed up and started to fully lubricate all the components of the car. For new cars, experts say the car owner should follow the break-in recommendations in the owner's manual. They note that it is advisable to change your car's oil after the car has covered its inaugural 1,000 miles when used. Change vital fluids, oil especially It is important to change your car's fluids during regular service intervals. Experts say car fluids degrade when they are driven as well as when they are packed. They note that each fluid in a car is vital to the long-term health of the engine, transmission, steering or brakes. They note that simply keeping the fluids topped off is not always okay for proper car maintenance. This is because over time they lose important properties. The properties that can be lost include the ability of the oil to remove heat and lubricate, as well as the ability to prevent rust and freezing in your car. Some of the fluids in cars include transmission, differential, brake and power-steering fluid and engine oil. Other fluids like the windshield washer fluids, experts say are not too important in a car According to experts, regular transmission and differential fluid changes are often overlooked, but this service is very important. Automobile dealers say you should follow recommendations of the manufacturer when changing your car fluids. They note that you should adopt the time duration prescribed by the manufacturer. According to experts, fresh, clean transmission fluid assures that your car's drive-train stays cool and uncontaminated. Fix faults as soon as possible Experts say when you identify a small problem with your car, get it checked out sooner rather than later. Delay getting it that simple problem fixed, though, and you will eventually end up by the side of the road, unable to drive and forced to seek the help of tow vans to take your car home, experts say. There are many problems that start small but develop into much bigger faults if they are not addressed right away. Experts say that you make sure your car is safe to drive. They note that if you have any doubts about such things as brakes, brake lines, ball joints, tie rods, airbags, seat belts or even the structural integrity of your car, get it checked out.

Saturday, 8 June 2013

wheel balancing and alignment

Symptoms of a car out of balance are recognised by vibration in the steering wheel also seats or floorboard at certain speeds. Even weight distribution is absent from mass produced wheels. Consequently when it rotates it tends to ‘vibrate’ this can be the biggest killer in any machine, an inherent imbalance which will get worse and cause un-even tyre wear. A tire is out of balance when one section of the tire is heavier than the others and if left untreated will cause steering ‘wobble’ at various speeds and ware of shock absorbers, suspension and chassis components. Popular misconception is that Wheel Balancing is required only for the front wheels, but if not done on front and rear wheels not only does the car user experience steering ‘wobble’ but can also kill wheel bearings prematurely. To balance a wheel, the technician will mount it on a balancing machine which spins the wheel to locate the heavier part and attach a lead weight on the opposite side. Symptoms of a car that is out of alignment are, uneven or rapid tyre wear and drifting away on a straight level road, also the spokes of the steering wheel are off to one side while driving on a level road. It is wise to have the alignment checked regularly, as uneven wear on tyres can become too bad to save the tyre. The best type of wheel alignment is a four wheel alignment this will allow the technician to identify any rear tracking problems and make the appropriate adjustments to the front. Tire balancing Despite advanced tire manufacturing processes and advanced rubber compounds used today, some weight imbalance can still be evident in new tires. Therefore they should be balanced with wheel weights to achieve smooth rolling of the tire. An imbalanced tire expresses itself as a wheel shimmy (rocking back and forth of the steering wheel while driving, usually at a specific speed). To balance a tire, it must first be mounted in the proper rim and then inflated to the proper air pressure and a new valve stem installed. Next, the complete tire/wheel assembly is affixed to a machine that is designed to spin the tire and identify the location and severity of the imbalance. The tech must then affix the proper weight to the rim in the location designated by the machine. Finally, the wheel is spun again to ensure that the tire is properly balanced. A tire is balanced based on the mass of rubber present at the time of its first balance. As the tire rolls down the road, rubber wears off, causing the tire to become imbalanced again. For this reason, when tires are rotated on the vehicle every 5-6,000 miles or 6 months, they should be checked and rebalanced if necessary. So how could you lose money by not having an alignment done? By significantly decreasing the life of your new tires. The steering and suspension of your vehicle has wear points. They are bushings, ball & socket joints, and miscellaneous mechanical links. When the steering and suspension system is new and adjusted according to factory specs, the rate at which the tires wear is minimized and the vehicle corners and handles smoothly. Over time, the steering and suspension systems are jostled and hammered (compliments of America’s highways). This produces wear in the parts listed above, causing the alignment to go out from factory specs. This results in poor cornering and handling, and a significant increase in tire wear. There are three alignment angles that must be in line for the vehicle to handle properly and for minimal tire wear. Carmakers have built adjustment points into the steering and suspension that allow for re-alignment of the front end. There are three alignment angles: Camber is the angle of wheel alignment that measures the tilting in or out in reference to the top of the tire. If a car’s camber angle on a tire is too positive then the top of the tire is tilting outward. If the camber angle is too negative then the top of the tire is tilting inward. This angle is adjusted mechanically. Conditions that cause excessive camber are worn ball joints, control arm bushings, strut bearings/mounts, or excessively worn wheel bearings. These parts must be ‘tight’ (not sloppy) to insure accurate alignment of the camber angle. Toe: The best way to explain how this angle affects wheel alignment is to look down at the tops of your feet. Imagine that you’re hovering above the hood of your car and you can see through the body of the vehicle. Your feet represent the tops of the tires. Now slowly turn your feet inward to an excessive degree. That’s what your tires look like when they’re toed-in. Now turn your feet outward excessively. That’s what your tires look like when they’re toed-out. This alignment angle is adjusted through the lengthening or shortening of a steering linkage part called a tie rod (found in both Conventional and Rack & Pinion Steering systems). Obviously when this angle is out or in too far, tires wear out quickly! This angle also affects whether your car’s steering wheel is straight. If the steering wheel is crooked, the toe’s probably way out. Excessive toe can be caused by worn tie rods, loose rack mounts, worn idler arm/s (some vehicles have two), pitman arm, drag link assembly, or a worn rack or steering box. Before you can accurately set the toe angle, you must have tight steering linkage parts. Caster is adjusted either by mechanical adjustment or by bending a suspension part. The caster angle can be best illustrated by the bicycle of your childhood youth. Remember when you rode your bike with “no hands?” Remember how the handlebars returned to the straight-ahead position when you leaned right or left to turn a corner? This is the caster angle expressing itself. The caster angle of your car expresses itself when the steering wheel returns to the straight-ahead position after making a turn. It is also expressed when the car wants to wander right or left. When having new tires installed, at the very least have the wheel alignment checked. If it’s out, have the vehicle realigned or pay the price of another set of new tires sooner than later.

Sunday, 12 May 2013

Formula 1 - Alonso wins in front of home crowd at Spanish GP

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso bounced back in the title race with victory in the Spanish Grand Prix.

Sunday, 21 April 2013

Auto maintenance

Auto maintenance describes the act of inspecting or testing the condition of car subsystems (e.g., engine) and servicing or replacing parts and fluids. Regular maintenance is critical to ensure the safety, reliability, drivability, comfort and longevity of a car. During preventive maintenance, a number of parts are replaced to avoid major damage or for safety reasons, e.g. timing belt replacement. The actual schedule of car maintenance varies depending on the year, make, and model of a car, its driving conditions and driver behavior. Car makers recommend the so-called extreme or the ideal service schedule based on impact parameters such as number of trips and distance traveled per trip per day extreme hot or cold climate conditions mountainous, dusty or de-iced roads heavy stop-and-go vs. long-distance cruising towing a trailer or other heavy load Experienced service advisors in dealerships and independent shops recommend schedule intervals, which are often in between the ideal or extreme service schedule. They base it on the driving conditions and behavior of the car owner or driver. Common car maintenance tasks include: Car wash check/replace the engine oil and replace oil filters check/replace fuel filters inspect or replace windshield wipers check or refill windshield washer fluid inspect tires for pressure and wear Tire balancing Tire rotation Wheel alignment check, clean or replace battery terminals and top up battery fluid inspect or replace brake pads check or flush brake fluid check or flush transmission fluid check or flush power steering fluid check and flush engine coolant inspect or replace spark plugs inspect or replace air filter inspect or replace timing belt and other belts lubricate locks, latches, hinges check all lights tighten chassis nuts and bolts check if rubber boots are cracked and need replacement test electronics, e.g., Anti-lock braking system or ABS read fault codes from the Engine control unit Some tasks that have equivalent service intervals are combined into one single service known as a tune-up. In modern cars, where electronics control most of the car's functions, the traditional tune-up doesn't apply anymore. Maintenance jobs like a tune-up used to mean getting the engine's performance back on track. Today embedded software takes care of it by constantly checking thousands of sensor signals, compensating for worn-out spark plugs, clogged filters, etc. The so-called limp-home function allows driving on limited power when the engine is in trouble. In the old days this might have meant a breakdown.

Basic Tips in Car Servicing

A motor vehicle service is a series of maintenance procedures carried out at a set time interval or after the vehicle has travelled a certain distance. The service intervals are specified by the vehicle manufacturer in a service schedule and some modern cars display the due date for the next service electronically on the instrument panel. Maintenance tasks commonly carried out during a motor vehicle service include: Change the engine oil Replace the oil filter Replace the air filter Replace the fuel filter Replace the spark plugs Tune the engine Check level and refill brake fluid Check level and refill power steering fluid Check level and refill Automatic Transmission Fluid Grease and lubricate components Inspect and replace the timing belt if needed Check condition of the tyres Proper monitoring is essential daily so as to elongate the life span of the automobile. An automobile in good and proper condition guarantees a sure safety over the life of the user. With the above maintenance, the automobile will maintain a good shape and even look more attractive to others and provide more comfort when driven.

Wednesday, 27 February 2013

BRAKE SYSTEM

Vehicle Braking System Your car's braking system is vital to your family's safety. Most vehicles weight anywhere from one to two tons, some even more - once that tonnage is moving forward, it will take an equal amount of energy to stop it. Sticking your foot out like Fred Flintstone just won't get it. The brake system delivers to the brake pads (either drum or disk) a measured amount of hydraulic force as to apply pressure to the brakes drum or rotor to slow the rotation of the tires; the more pressure applied, the more force that will be applied which will absorb the energy of the rotating tires. The energy. The energy is displaced as heat which is why it is important to ensure your brakes are well ventilated. As your brakes become worn, stopping distances only get further. Your vehicle's braking system is made up of various parts such as the master cylinder, brake lines, brake pads, rotors, brake pedal, automatic hydraulic control system (if your car is equiped with anti-lock brakes (ABS)), and brake fluid. Basic operation of your braking system; when you depress your brake pedal, your master cylinder will send brake fluid to your brake pads to pinch or depress on the rotors to slow, and eventually stop the wheels from turning (depending on the amount of force you place on the pedal). The ABS system (if installed) in the right conditions will pulse the brake fluid providing a safe moderated flow helping to ensure the brakes will not lock up which could cause an uncontrolled skid, and/or potentially hazardous slide.

Wednesday, 6 February 2013

Wozniak: 'I begged HP to make the Apple I. Five times they turned me down.'

Steve Jobs may have marketed Apple into the gazillion-dollar business it is. But another Steve launched the products on which Apple became a platinum-plated brand. Apple, as we know it, emerged from the "hobbies" of a young Silicon Valley engineer named Steve Wozniak. If Jobs was the face of Apple, Wozniak — simply referred to as The Woz — was the brains. In front of a packed ballroom at Georgia State University on Wednesday, Wozniak spoke about entrepreneurship, the future of technology, and the company that turned him into a geek prophet. Wozniak has an engineer's sartorial style — he wore a black suit, over a black polo shirt, and blue Puma sneakers. The way Wozniak tells it, Apple's seed was planted in a Hewlett-Packard cubicle. While designing scientific calculators at HP during the day, Wozniak developed what would become the Apple I at night and on weekends — often in his HP cubicle. Wozniak designed the hardware, circuit board designs, and operating system for the Apple I. "I was such a nerd coming out of high school, that in those days I had little chance of having a girlfriend, or a wife,", Wozniak said. "So, when I finished designing calculators at HP in the daytime, I went home, watched Star Trek and then (worked on his computer projects.)" The scrupulous and loyal Wozniak first took his "project" to his employer. "I begged (HP) to make the (Apple I)," he said. "Five times they turned me down." Instead, it was Jobs who recognized the potential in Wozniak's hobby. "I constantly build things for the fun of it," Wozniak said. "Every great thing I built, I would have just given away, if I hadn't been talked into going into Apple."

Eaton Technologies Help Improve Performance and Efficiency on 8 of 10 Ward’s Best Engines Winners

Eaton Technologies Help Improve Performance and Efficiency on 8 of 10 Ward’s Best Engines Winners Date: January 16, 2013 GALESBURG … Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton today announced that its engine boosting, fuel- and emissions-saving technologies are on eight of the top ten engines chosen by WardsAuto at its 19th annual Ward’s 10 Best Engines competition. The winners were honored today during a ceremony held at the North American International Auto Show at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel in Detroit, Mich. “We are very pleased to see our valued customers receiving this prestigious award and we are honored that our technologies have been able to contribute to their successes in advancing engine development,” said Staci Kroon, president – Automotive, North America Division. “Eaton technologies have contributed to winning engines since the inception of the Ward’s 10 Best Engines program nineteen years ago, and this year is especially satisfying with 80 percent of the winning engines containing Eaton content.” The Eaton technologies that are part of the winning engines and the Eaton facilities that supply them include: Superchargers – Eaton Twin Vortices Series™ (TVS): Audi S5 – 3.0L TFSI V-6 (Tczew, Poland) Ford Shelby GT 500 – 5.8L DOHC V-8 (Athens, Ga.) Valves – High performance, super alloy and lightweight: Audi S5 – 3.0L TFSI V-6 (Nordhausen, Germany) BMW 135is – 3.0L N55 (Bosconero, Italy and Nordhausen Germany) BMW 328i – 2.0LT (Bosconero, Italy and Nordhausen, Germany) Cadillac ATS – 2.0T (Kearney, Neb.) Ford Focus ST/Taurus – 2.0T (Ahmednagar, India) Honda Accord – 3.5L SOHC V-6 (Westminster, SC – Joint Venture facility) Honda Accord – 2.4L I-4 (Westminster, SC – Joint Venture facility) “The continuing success we have in providing our customers with leading powertrain technologies could not happen without the hard work and dedication from our Vehicle Group employees in our facilities throughout the world,” added Kroon. The Ward’s 10 Best Engines competition pits the latest engines available in the U.S. market against the returning winners from the previous year. To be eligible, an engine must be available on a production vehicle that is on sale within the first quarter of 2013 and with a base price of less than $55,000. Eaton supplies the automotive industry with critical components that improve fuel economy, reduce emissions and enhance vehicle performance. Principal products include superchargers, engine valvetrain components, torque control products, fluid conveyance components, light-duty transmissions, fuel emission and powertrain controls. Eaton is a diversified power management company providing energy-efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company is a global technology leader in electrical products, systems and services for power quality, distribution and control, power transmission, lighting and wiring products; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulics and pneumatic systems for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and powertrain systems for performance, fuel economy and safety. Eaton acquired Cooper Industries plc in 2012. Eaton has approximately 100,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries.

Eaton Technologies Help Improve Performance and Efficiency on 8 of 10 Ward’s Best Engines Winners

Date: January 16, 2013 GALESBURG … Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton today announced that its engine boosting, fuel- and emissions-saving technologies are on eight of the top ten engines chosen by WardsAuto at its 19th annual Ward’s 10 Best Engines competition. The winners were honored today during a ceremony held at the North American International Auto Show at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel in Detroit, Mich. “We are very pleased to see our valued customers receiving this prestigious award and we are honored that our technologies have been able to contribute to their successes in advancing engine development,” said Staci Kroon, president – Automotive, North America Division. “Eaton technologies have contributed to winning engines since the inception of the Ward’s 10 Best Engines program nineteen years ago, and this year is especially satisfying with 80 percent of the winning engines containing Eaton content.” The Eaton technologies that are part of the winning engines and the Eaton facilities that supply them include: Superchargers – Eaton Twin Vortices Series™ (TVS): Audi S5 – 3.0L TFSI V-6 (Tczew, Poland) Ford Shelby GT 500 – 5.8L DOHC V-8 (Athens, Ga.) Valves – High performance, super alloy and lightweight: Audi S5 – 3.0L TFSI V-6 (Nordhausen, Germany) BMW 135is – 3.0L N55 (Bosconero, Italy and Nordhausen Germany) BMW 328i – 2.0LT (Bosconero, Italy and Nordhausen, Germany) Cadillac ATS – 2.0T (Kearney, Neb.) Ford Focus ST/Taurus – 2.0T (Ahmednagar, India) Honda Accord – 3.5L SOHC V-6 (Westminster, SC – Joint Venture facility) Honda Accord – 2.4L I-4 (Westminster, SC – Joint Venture facility) “The continuing success we have in providing our customers with leading powertrain technologies could not happen without the hard work and dedication from our Vehicle Group employees in our facilities throughout the world,” added Kroon. The Ward’s 10 Best Engines competition pits the latest engines available in the U.S. market against the returning winners from the previous year. To be eligible, an engine must be available on a production vehicle that is on sale within the first quarter of 2013 and with a base price of less than $55,000. Eaton supplies the automotive industry with critical components that improve fuel economy, reduce emissions and enhance vehicle performance. Principal products include superchargers, engine valvetrain components, torque control products, fluid conveyance components, light-duty transmissions, fuel emission and powertrain controls. Eaton is a diversified power management company providing energy-efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. The company is a global technology leader in electrical products, systems and services for power quality, distribution and control, power transmission, lighting and wiring products; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulics and pneumatic systems for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and powertrain systems for performance, fuel economy and safety. Eaton acquired Cooper Industries plc in 2012. Eaton has approximately 100,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries.

Eaton Technologies Help Improve Performance and Efficiency on 8 of 10 Ward’s Best Engines Winners

Friday, 1 February 2013

Formula 1 - Di Resta flies solo at Force India car launch

Ferrari has presented its new F138, the car with which the Italian squad hopes to return to championship glory in the 2013 Formula One season - and the company's chief admits that the company's vanity has forced them to make it better looking than last year's unloved model. Already the critics have been praising the stunning lines of the new creation - in stark contrast to the outrage that greeted the car dubbed the "ugliest Ferrari ever" last season. The car, whose name is a combination of the current year and a tribute to the V8 engines that will be used for the last time this season, is the 59th grand prix single-seater produced by the Maranello-based squad. The F138 has been developed in the Toyota windtunnel in Cologne following Ferrari's decision to shut down its own unit in order to upgrade it. Ferrari is seeking to hit the ground running with its new car after a dismal performance by its predecessor when it made its testing debut last year. Despite that, the historic Italian outfit managed to stay in the championship fight until the end of the year, with Spaniard Fernando Alonso losing out to Red Bull rival Sebastian Vettel in the final race of the season in Brazil. "The key objective that we must have is of immediately delivering a competitive car to our drivers," team boss Stefano Domenicali acknowledged. "Unfortunately in recent years we have at the beginning of the winter unfortunately not been able to be right on top of what we are doing. "We have tried to look at our organisation to be much more effective in the preparations over the coming week." Domenicali described some of the changes from the 2012 car as "extreme", and Alonso added that it would be impossible to judge the team's hopes for this year until the car hits the track in testing. "The difference at the front is just tenths," said Alonso, "tenths you cannot see by looking at the car. "Sometimes you don't know why a particular car holds sway. We need to get on track and really see how competitive it is." Domenicali also pointed out that the decision to cover up the step in the car's nose with a new-for-2013 'vanity panel' was for performance reasons. "We wanted to go in that direction because the whole project is to improve performance in that area," he said. "And it is more beautiful!" Two-time world champion Alonso will be partnered by Felipe Massa again this year after the Brazilian secured a one-year contract extension thanks to his resurgence in the second half of the season. Massa will be tasked with driving the F138 for the first time next Tuesday at Jerez. Reuters / Eurosport

Formula 1 - Di Resta flies solo at Force India car launch

Germany's Adrian Sutil, a former Force India driver, and Ferrari-backed Frenchman Jules Bianchi, last year's reserve, have both been linked to the vacant seat but the team were in no rush to make a decision. "Paul's here," grinned deputy team principal Bob Fernley, representing the absent aviation and liquor baron Vijay Mallya who co-owns and runs the team, when asked what the situation was with the drivers. "The shareholders will make their decision in due course. We know who is on the short list. We are trying to put together the programmes that are going to really take the team through a longer period than just one year," he added. "We need to be very careful where we are going and the shareholders will take as long as necessary. I suspect that we will probably announce the two remaining drivers (race and reserve)...before Barcelona". The first of three pre-season tests is in Jerez next week with the second in Barcelona from February 19. The season starts in Australia on March 17. Di Resta, who will have his third different team-mate in three seasons after partnering Sutil and then Nico Hulkenberg, will do most of the Jerez testing with Britain's James Rossiter having some time in the car to provide a benchmark for the simulator work he will be doing. The choice of second driver ultimately is likely to favour whoever can bring most sponsorship, or other forms of backing, with them. In the absence of news, the car was the star - with the black cover coming off the VJM06 on a cold and damp morning before the Mercedes-powered car was wheeled out of the garage to be fired up for the first laps by any team this year. It immediately stood out for its 'nose job' - a 'modesty panel' turning what was a stepped nose last season into a smooth and flowing front end. Lotus, the first of the teams to show off their new car on Monday, eschewed such cosmetic surgery on the grounds that it was only added weight but Force India technical director Andrew Green said it was there for performance as well as aesthetics. "Our's is purely performance driven and really the performance is not on the top of the chassis, it's what you can do underneath," said technical director Andrew Green. "And by pushing the chassis to its limits it allows us to get the aerodynamic performance. Putting the panel on top cleans up the flow over the top of the chassis. It's a small thing but to us it's important." Green said the car was new from the ground up, even if an evolution of the one that took the team to seventh place overall last season, with a lot of tweaks to the suspension. Di Resta said it looked sharp and felt fine on the shakedown laps. "It's cold," the Scot declared after the first run. "But I'm very comfortable in the car. Flying solo at the team, he said, also had its benefits. "I'm quite enjoying the attention," said Di Resta, who will be one of four Britons on the grid this season now that rookie Max Chilton has joined Marussia. "It's a strange feeling obviously not to have a second driver and a reserve around but it's not hampering my preparations in any way."

Ferrari puts faith in beauty with stunning F1 car for 2013 season By Eurosport | World of Sport – 5 hours ago Email RecommendTweet Ferrari has presented its new F138, the car with which the Italian squad hopes to return to championship glory in the 2013 Formula One season - and the company's chief admits that the company's vanity has forced them to make it better looking than last year's unloved model. Already the critics have been praising the stunning lines of the new creation - in stark contrast to the outrage that greeted the car dubbed the "ugliest Ferrari ever" last season. The car, whose name is a combination of the current year and a tribute to the V8 engines that will be used for the last time this season, is the 59th grand prix single-seater produced by the Maranello-based squad. The F138 has been developed in the Toyota windtunnel in Cologne following Ferrari's decision to shut down its own unit in order to upgrade it. Ferrari is seeking to hit the ground running with its new car after a dismal performance by its predecessor when it made its testing debut last year. Despite that, the historic Italian outfit managed to stay in the championship fight until the end of the year, with Spaniard Fernando Alonso losing out to Red Bull rival Sebastian Vettel in the final race of the season in Brazil. "The key objective that we must have is of immediately delivering a competitive car to our drivers," team boss Stefano Domenicali acknowledged. "Unfortunately in recent years we have at the beginning of the winter unfortunately not been able to be right on top of what we are doing. "We have tried to look at our organisation to be much more effective in the preparations over the coming week." Domenicali described some of the changes from the 2012 car as "extreme", and Alonso added that it would be impossible to judge the team's hopes for this year until the car hits the track in testing. "The difference at the front is just tenths," said Alonso, "tenths you cannot see by looking at the car. "Sometimes you don't know why a particular car holds sway. We need to get on track and really see how competitive it is." Domenicali also pointed out that the decision to cover up the step in the car's nose with a new-for-2013 'vanity panel' was for performance reasons. "We wanted to go in that direction because the whole project is to improve performance in that area," he said. "And it is more beautiful!" Two-time world champion Alonso will be partnered by Felipe Massa again this year after the Brazilian secured a one-year contract extension thanks to his resurgence in the second half of the season. Massa will be tasked with driving the F138 for the first time next Tuesday at Jerez. Reuters / Eurosport

Ferrari puts faith in beauty with stunning F1 car for 2013 season By Eurosport |

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Monday, 28 January 2013

Google Faces Legal Action In UK Over Alleged Secret iPhone Tracking Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-faces-legal-action-in-uk-over-alleged-secret-iphone-tracking-2013-1#ixzz2JGXIUUXz

Google CEO Eric Schmidt

Google is facing a fresh privacy battle in the UK over its alleged secret tracking of the internet habits of millions of iPhone users.

An estimated 10 million Britons could have grounds to launch a privacy claim over the way Google circumvented Apple's security settings on the iPhone, iPad and desktop versions of its Safari web browser to monitor their behaviour.

At least 10 British iPhone users have started legal proceedings and dozens more are being lined up, according to Dan Tench, the lawyer behind the action at the London-based firm Olswang.

"This is the first time Google has been threatened with a group claim over privacy in the UK," he said. "It is particularly concerning how Google circumvented security settings to snoop on its users. One of the things about Google is that it is so ubiquitous in our lives and if that's its approach then it's quite concerning."

A letter before action has been sent to Google executives in the US and UK on behalf of two users, including Judith Vidal-Hall, the privacy campaigner and former editor of Index on Censorship. Another 10 are preparing to launch proceedings, and plans are afoot for a group to form an umbrella privacy action.

The legal action comes just months after Google was hit with a $22.5m (£14m) fine in the US over a privacy breach between summer 2011 and spring 2012.

Google has admitted it intentionally sidestepped security settings on Apple's Safari web browser that blocked websites from tracking users through cookies – data stored on users' computers that show which sites they have visited. Security researchers revealed last February that Google's DoubleClick advertising network intentionally stored these cookies on users' computers without their consent.

Although the legal bill for Google is likely to be small compared with last year's profits of $10.7bn, the damage will be significant given the millions of iPhone users in Britain at the time. The exact figure for compensation is not known and will depend on a number of factors.

Alexander Hanff, a privacy campaigner working on the legal claims, said: "This group action is not about getting rich by suing Google, this lawsuit is about sending a very clear message to corporations that circumventing privacy controls will result in significant consequences. The lawsuit has the potential of costing Google tens of millions, perhaps even breaking £100m in damages given the potential number of claimants – making it the biggest group action ever launched in the UK."

Lawyers for claimants in the UK have ordered Google to reveal how it used the private information it secretly obtained, how much personal data was taken, and for how long. It is understood the claimants are suing Google for breaches of confidence and breach of privacy, computer misuse and trespass, and breach of the Data Protection Act 1998.

News of the legal action was first reported by the Sunday Times. Vidal-Hall, who could not be reached by the Guardian, was quoted as saying Google was guilty of "electronic stalking". She added: "It angers me that our data is either being sold or passed on to third parties."

A Facebook group called Safari Users Against Google's Secret Tracking has vowed to hold Google to account for the tracking. It said: "Google deliberately undermined protections on the Safari browser so that they could track users' internet usage and to provide personally tailored advertising based on the sites previously visited. There was no way to know that Google did this. In fact, they made it clear that they did not do this on the Safari browser."

It continued: "It could mean for many users that surprises such as engagements, presents and holidays were destroyed when partners looked at their computers and saw display ads based on sites previously visited. There are many examples of the inappropriate consequences of such intrusion."

Google is no stranger to damaging privacy battles, having being censured for snooping on Wi-Fi users with its StreetView cars and the failed launch of its email social network, Google Buzz.

Google declined to comment. A statement it released at the time of the $22.5m fine last July claimed it had "collected no personal information" with the cookies.

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Vine, Twitter's New Video-Sharing App, Already Has A Porn Problem

Vine, Twitter's New Video-Sharing App, Already Has A Porn Problem Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/porn-on-vine-2013-1#ixzz2JGT2McAe

Screenshot

Vine's search screen. You can find a lot of lewd topics and videos here.

Vine, the new app from Twitter that lets you edit and share six-second videos, already has a number of users posting graphic sexual content.

Vine lets you explore video categories with a hashtag, and a few quick searches for #sex, #porn, and some others that we'd prefer not to write down here show a number of graphic videos that feature male genitalia and recordings of pornographic videos streaming on laptops.

That's just scratching the surface of the graphic content we've seen on Vine so far.

The Vine app allows users to flag videos as inappropriate. If a post is flagged, you get a warning before you tap the video to view it. But many graphic videos are still slipping through.

According to Vine's terms of service, users are responsible for the content they post. However, the terms make no mention of graphic and/or sexual content. Here's a snippet from Vine's ToS:

You are responsible for your use of the Services, for any Content you post to the Services, and for any consequences thereof. The Content you submit, post, or display will be able to be viewed by other users of the Services and through third party services and websites. You should only provide Content that you are comfortable sharing with others under these Terms.

Still, Apple has a strict policy that blocks apps with graphic sexual content. As recently as last week, Apple pulled a photo-sharing app called 500px because it supposedly made it easy to find nude photos. Apple pulled another video-sharing app called Viddy about a year ago because the app featured a lot of lewd content. The format and content on Viddy at the time is nearly identical to what we're seeing on Vine right now.

There's also a disconnect in Apple's policy. It's very easy to find pornographic content using apps like Twitter and the Chrome browser. Sometimes Apple warns you if an app may have "mature/suggestive themes" before you download. Chrome has that warning; Twitter does not.

UPDATE 5:30 p.m.: Twitter got back to us with a statement saying users can flag graphic sexual content found on Vine and it will remove videos that are inappropriate. Twitter also suggests reading Vine's full terms of service.

Users can report videos as inappropriate within the product if they believe the content to be sensitive or inappropriate (e.g. nudity, violence, or medical procedures). Videos that have been reported as inappropriate have a warning message that a viewer must click through before viewing the video.

Uploaded videos that are reported and determined to violate our guidelines will be removed from the site, and the user that posted the video may be terminated. Please review the Vine Rules (http://vine.co/terms) for more information on these violations.

We've reached out to Apple for comment and will update if we hear back.

Vine, Twitter's New Video-Sharing App, Already Has A Porn Problem Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/porn-on-vine-2013-1#ixzz2JGSagBC2

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Twitter is a free microblogging and messaging service created by Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, and Biz Stone in 2006. A developer who helped build the platform, Noah Glass, came up from obscurity in April 2011 to reveal that he... More »