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Hydrogen can appear to be the answer to our fuel problem, unless we’ve looked at the big picture. I saw a comment to an article I was reading about BMW and a hydrogen car they were supposedly going to market next year. The person asked why we didn’t have a full-on hydrogen car in the

Vehicles driven daily are typically driven 15,000 miles a year. But there are situations where cars put on even fewer miles. This includes: being driven only on the weekends, never driving in the rain, “show” cars, and cars that are stored for extended periods of time. So, some tires on these types of cars put on less than 100,000. But it doesn’t mean that they are safe tires. Tires deteriorate over time and can “age out” wear out before they wear out. In a statement from the British Rubber Manufacturers Association (BRMA) issued on June 5, 2001 regarding the age of tires they state, “BRMA members strongly recommend that unused tires should not be put into service if they are over 6 years old and that all tires should be replaced 10 years from the date of their manufacture.” Tire age can be accelerated by a variety of environmental factors, such as sunlight exposure and coastal climates. Poor storage and infrequent use of your vehicle are other things that can accelerate tire age.If you keep your tires in ideal conditions, the tire age can go as high as 10 years from its manufacture date. But ideal conditions are the exception rather than the rule. And the worst part is that you cannot tell the safety of an old tire just by looking at it since there are no conclusive tests for the safety of tires without destroying the tire itself!Due to this, some European car manufacturers of high performance sports cars, coupes and sedans have hedged their bets, stating in their owners manuals that the tire age should reach no higher than 6 years.How Better Rubber Makes Tires That Are SafeThere have been a lot of changes in rubber compounds since Charles Goodyear discovered how to cure rubber when he baked a combination of natural rubber and sulfur on his family’s kitchen stove. Thus, he would convert an unappreciated raw material into many useful products. Goodyear cross-linked sulfur with polymers that, when exposed to heat, would help make rubber durable and at the same time maintain its elasticity. The main focus of new research has been finding tire age inhibitors. Sulfur molecules are one such tire age inhibitor that is reactivated every time they are exposed to heat, making the rubber harder.Nowadays, rubber in tires has oil in it that tends to migrate into the tires’ under tread/casing and evaporate into the air. In the process of this, the tire compound releases oil and gets harder. If you can’t quite visualize this, go into any tire store and take a big whiff. You’ll smell the oil there.Before curing, most tires are coated with a mold release agent that is makes it easier to remove from their mold after curing. If it’s a little hard to visualize, think about spraying “Pam” on a fry pan before pouring on the batter for pancakes. This increases the safety of tires because some of the mold release agent gets “cooked” onto the surface of the cured tire, which prevents all the oil from evaporating. What Is The Right Tire Age?In most cases, most street tires are good for 6-8 years if maintained properly. Don’t forget though that this includes the time the tires spent from the manufacturer’s plant to the dealer to you. So, keep this in mind when you are determining tire age.Most tires get to you anywhere between 3-6 months. Some stay longer with the tire manufacturer, but generally all tires that go on your car are less than a year old. So, you should not get an old tire from any tire manufacturer.Which Tires Last Longest?If you want to buy a tire based on how long it will last, you have to consider thread compound. The more aggressive its compound … the shorter tire life. Below is a list of tires from longest-lasting to shortest-lasting:

• Max Performance
• Ultra High Performance tires
• DOT-legal competition tires

Bottom line: if you want to avoid safe tire issues go with tires that last long and properly maintain them.

1. Support the vehicle properly – Don’t go cheap and use some homemade jack to raise your car up off the ground and don’t use the bottle jack that comes with your car to lift it up and then crawl under it. First use a good floor jack that can support at least 1 ½ tons. Once your car is in the air, use some good jack stands to keep it there. Never crawl under a raised automobile weighing several tons without the proper support. 2. Wear proper safety gear – This one seems obvious, but most mechanics just grab some air tools and go to work. Safety glasses are cheap and will save your eyes from falling debris. It only takes a little metal shaving to stick in your eye and cause a lot of damage. Mechanic’s gloves are also becoming very popular. They are thin enough to allow a mechanic to feel bolts and tools and they still provide protection. How many bloody knuckles have you gotten from smashing your hand on the engine block?3. Use the right tools – It is very tempting to just improvise with what you have on hand in your garage. Beg, borrow or purchase the right tools for your auto project. A good example, is not using a good torque wrench. You can easily damage an expensive cylinder head on your engine if they are not torqued properly. Also, use a good transmission jack. Transmissions are made of soft aluminum and can be easily damaged.4. Buy a good manual – This one will save you a lot of headaches, frustration and money. The old adage “when all else fails, read the instructions” definitely applies to the automotive shop and garage mechanic. Chiltons produces great manuals and will more than pay for itself5. Common sense is not that common – Use your brain too. It is all too common to see people working a gas tank on their car with a cigarette hanging in their mouth or working on a running engine with their neck tie hanging down over the fan blade.

Although driving fast during extreme weathers is not really a good idea, there are times when circumstances would push us to test the limits of our very fast cars. If you happen to be one of those people who are always in a hurry to get somewhere even during bad weathers, you should make sure that your car is in top shape all the time. Always remember that very fast cars can be quite difficult to control during extreme conditions and if you are not prepared for these things, you could end up in a hospital a bed. To help you keep your very fast car in top shape, here are some things that you need to consider.Buy The Right TiresWhen it comes to very fast cars, changing tires regularly is a must. Never take the tires of your very fast car for granted or you will pay for your negligence dearly. Aside from changing tires regularly, you should make sure that you have the right type of tires for your car. According to experts, you need to use different types of tires to match with the season. For instance, during the summer, you need to install summer performance tires that provides good grip during warm weather. After the summer, you need to switch to another type of tires that are suitable for snow and ice. Always remember that summer performance tires perform really badly during the winter so you should never use them during this season. If you are not very familiar with these types of tires, go to your favorite tire dealer and ask about these types of tires.Check Your Engine PowerIf you are planning to drive very fast cars in extreme weather conditions, you better check the engine power first. Although powerful engine can be a lot of fun to have on very fast cars, they are not really very safe especially on slick roads. According to experts, high powered engines can make your very fast car skid on the ice causing you to lose control of the vehicle. This situation can be very dangerous especially if you are driving on the express lane. There have been a number of recorded cases of pile ups in the fast lane due to skidding vehicles so be very careful. You do not really want to risk hurting yourself and others. To help you control the power of your very fast car, look for a feature in the car that gives you more traction control.

There are many who are looking forward to retirement and would like to spend their time seeing the country from the inside of their home away from home. Most are also shocked at the average 5 or so mpg that RV’s get, and they end up with their dreams dashed. Well there are also some other factors that they aren’t aware of. There a few modifications that can be made to dramatically increase power and fuel economy of RV’s and Motorhomes.The first upgrade that comes to mind is the performance chips or module. Most people aren’t aware that these are available for such big engines. Most of these chips and modules are available only for diesel motorhomes but there are also a select few for the gas versions. These performance modules and chips alter the fueling in many ways. They can increase timing which tells the engine to inject the fuel slightly sooner to improve the efficiency of the engine. They can also do what is called duration which tells the engine to hold the injector open longer, to add more fuel. The last way is called pressure which tells the engine to increase the pressure in the fuel lines slightly to put more pressure up against the fuel injector, this creates a finer mist when injecting into the cylinder and helps a higher percentage of the fuel to be burned. Most modules and chips use a combination of these methods to increase power and economy.The only other modification that the average person would do to a Motorhome or RV to increase power and economy is an exhaust system. There aren’t really any companies that make full exhaust systems so to have one custom made can get a little expensive. The best alternative is the aero turbine muffler made by aero exhaust. This muffler has a straight through design free from the baffles and restrictions of the average muffler so the exhaust can flow more freely. The Aero Turbine Muffler also works similar to a jet engine due to its inner design. The Jet like insides speed up the exhaust as it flows through which dramatically increases performance and economy. The muffler comes in a resonated and non resonated version. They both are dyno tested to give the same results, the only difference is the sound. The non resonated version has a deeper throatier tone, the resonated version is closer to stock sound levels although it still has a deep throaty tone to it.

If you don’t live in an area that remains warm during the winter there will come a time where you’ll want to put your bike in storage through the long snowy, winter months. Following are steps that you should take when preparing to store your motorcycle for the winter.1. Clean, wax and detail the motorcycle. Wash all dirt, road grime, and grit off of the motorcycle. Make sure to get the hard to reach areas. Then apply a layer of wax or protectants to plastic, rubber, vinyl, leather etc.2. Stabilize the gasoline. You don’t want to store the bike with a minimum amount of gasoline in the tank. An empty tank or nearly empty tank can cause condensation to build, which could cause rust. Fill the tank and add a fuel stabilizer. Fuel stabilizers prevent gum and varnish from building up in the fuel line and carburetor.3. Change the oil. Give your bike fresh oil for the long months of storage.4. Change the coolant. Fresh coolant will prevent rust and corrosion from setting in during the winter storage.5. Lubricate the cylinders. When you will not be running the bike any more for the year remove the spark plugs and pour two tablespoons of fresh oil into the spark plug ports. Put the plugs back in (but don’t install the caps) and turn the bike over once or twice. This allows extra lubrication to reach the upper cylinder walls, which prevents rusting.6. Battery Storage- When batteries are not used for a long time the natural process of sulfation is accelerated. Sulfation is the process that happens to a lead-acid battery (like a motorcycle battery) that causes it to lose its ability to hold a charge when it’s kept in a discharged state for an extended period of time. In order to prevent this from happening prematurely take these steps. Fill each cell of the battery with distilled water. If the battery is not fully charged then charge it. Disconnect the battery from the motorcycle and connect it to a trickle charger. A trickle charger charges the battery at the same rate that it’s discharging. If your motorcycle will be stored in an unheated space, consider removing the battery from the bike altogether and placing it someplace that will not be exposed to temperatures below freezing.7. Lube and grease the appropriate parts such as the chain, swing arm etc. Apply a light film of oil to exposed
unpainted surfaces.8. Tires- Inflate the tires to their proper inflation. Support the motorcycle under the frame. You want to take all of the weight off of your tires.9. Cover- Cover the motorcycle. Cover the exhaust and intake manifolds.Taking these steps will protect your motorcycle during its storage. Don’t forget in the spring when you take it out of storage to perform the spring ritual.

In today’s world we are constantly being told about environmentally friendly products and how we can all do our little bit to save natural resources. One of the questions I always get asked is whether the new ‘waterless car washes’ are really any good?In a time when many countries are facing increasing water shortages and droughts, many car cleaning companies are coming out with these so called waterless washes, which are a liquid chemical sprayed directly onto your vehicle and wiped off removing dirt at the same time, without using any water.The problem is exactly that. Traditional washing loosens the dirt from the vehicle prior to chemical application. Using a waterless wash you are unable to get this initial loosening and the next stage of cloth washing will actually scratch your paint. While this may not be immediately apparent, with continued use, you will dull your paintwork giving it a ‘hazy’ appearance. It is for this reason that we would never advise the use of waterless wash.Instead, our advice is to use rain water from your own tank, or from a touchless wash that uses recycled rainwater. In order to achieve a show winning shine, you can then use a premium quality polish to buff your paintwork to perfection. The use of a polish will also keep your paintwork in top condition for longer, and will lead to you having to wash your car less frequently and with less effort. These small measures will help save the environment and help save your paintwork.

Prolonging the life of your car and making sure it keeps running properly through the years of wear and tear and extreme weather changes depends heavily on the auto mechanic or technician maintaining your car. Now the weather changes are strictly dependent of where you live but there’s no denying the wear and tear that every car goes through and having a hack work on your car will really take its toll on the life of your car and your pocket book.It’s your responsibility to ensure that the auto mechanic or auto technician working on your vehicle or vehicles has the experience and ability to handle all necessary issues that can arise and that will save you time and money down the road. Don’t take any chances with the health and life of your vehicle; you’ve invested a lot of money to buy it so insist on your auto mechanic or technician to be ASE certified. ASE certification is monitored from the nonprofit organization, National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence which was founded in 1972 and can be found at www.asecert.org.The ASE has certified nearly 500,000 automotive professionals in the industry now with ASE testing and certifying auto technicians in all of the major areas of auto repair and auto service. You can find ASE certified auto technicians as well as auto parts specialists all across the

The lifespan of your car can be greatly enhanced with the right air filter. Your car’s air filter is very important since it keeps the engine of your car free of dust and dirt, which may reduce its efficiency. A wrong air filter can greatly affect the performance of your car. Hence, its highly recommended that you check the filter and change when necessary. Checking and changing your air filter is not as difficult as some people out there think. There are some simple steps which need to be followed.When should you change your car’s air filters? You should change it once a year or after every 15,000 kms, but it is always recommended to keep checking the filter after 10,000 for dust and wear and tear. It’s not hard to check or replace the air filter. You can do it once you learn the how-to.How do you check and replace it? You can do it by using a torch or some source of light from inside pointing outside and check how bright it looks through it. If you can see the light clearly, then your air filter is still in a pretty good condition. But if you cannot see much of the light , it is time for a new air filter.Newer cars come with different air filters than the older ones. If your car is new, then its air filter is probably rectangular and can be found under the hood, near the radiator area or fender wells. Open it and remove the air filter from it and replace it with the new one. Make sure you close it up after replacing the filter.But if your car is older, then the air filter will probably be of a big round shape which can be found near the engine area. You may find it screwed. Unscrew the cover, remove the air filter and put the new one instead while not forgetting to screw it back again. However, this demands your utmost attention in case there are any other attachment mechanism that may need to be removed as well.However, if you can’t do all of that, it’s recommended that you call a professional mechanic to help you change it. It’s also advisable that you stay with him when he’s changing the air filter as well as ensuring that a genuine air filter is actually used to replace the old one. There are many mechanics out there that will fix the wrong or fake air filter into your car. This ensures that you come back to them to have your car repaired. Be careful.

If you live in a state where snow and ice covers the ground each winter, you’re probably well aware of just how necessary it is to de-ice the roads. Since the 1930s, when salt was originally realized to work for this purpose, agencies have been using this tried and true method to keep roads safe for driving. Salt works because of its natural ability to melt ice without adding too many harsh chemicals to the environment. But salt is, as we’ve all seen evidence of, quite corrosive and over time, it can cause vehicles to rust, shortening their life spans.Beginning in 1976, NACE International (formerly the National Association of Corrosion Engineers), based in