Blog

CV joint boots

Most of modern vehicles are Front-Wheel-Drive, and they all have CV-joints (Constant Velocity joint) used to transfer the engine torque to the front wheels. The CV-joint is greased inside and sealed by a rubber boot that unfortunately, tend to break sometimes. If the CV-joint boot breaks, the grease comes out, the dirt and water comes in and the whole axle unit may become inoperative in a short period of time. CV-joint located on the internal side of each of the front wheels. You can check CV-joint boots visually looking inside the front wheel arch from the front of the car with the wheel turned outside. The boot should be dry. If it’s broken you will see a grease splashed all over the area. If the boot is broken, it needs to be replaced. If not replaced in time, whole axle shaft will need to be replaced which will cost you few hundred bucks more than just replacing the boot.

Car Gears

Gear system forms an important component of a car and thus, requires proper handling and attention on your part. Since they help you maintain the speed of your car; you cannot afford to misuse the gears. While changing the gears, it is very important that clutch should be completely pressed. At the same time, you need to make sure that the clutch is properly adjusted for free pedal movement and smooth gear change. There are some other maintenance tips as well that you need to keep in mind, to ensure a long life of the gear system. We have mentioned a few of the important ones, in the lines below.

Car Gear Maintenance Tips

Whenever you change the gear, make sure that you are pressing the clutch completely with your foot, simultaneously. Otherwise, you might end up harming the gears.

As far as possible, avoid changing the gears with too much force. In fact, whenever you change a gear, try to let the gearshift pause for a second, as it crosses the neutral zone.

Whenever you feel that the gear is not changing smoothly, it might be that the transmission fluid is contaminated or its level is low. So, get the fluid checked by a mechanic.

Select the right gear for a given condition and speed to avoid overstraining the engine. At the same time, you need check the oil level in the gear box, on a regular basis.

It is advisable to use grease on the gears, at regular intervals. This will help the gears runs with less friction and also prolong their life, before the next replacement.

Try to avoid the bad habit of resting the left foot on the clutch pedal, even when the clutch is not in use. You also need to keep away from revving the engine too much while putting the car in the first gear.

How to save fuel

We all would like to save fuel, whether it is for a noble cause like saving the planet, or for a selfish cause like not burning a hole in the pocket. Here, we at CarWale.com are going to show you how to maximize your fuel efficiency and minimize your visits to the petrol pump.

One trick that works well at conserving fuel on highways is imagining that the car has defective wheel bearings. This should limit your cruising speed, which is good for fuel efficiency. Remember that above 60kph, you’re using up most of your fuel to combat resistance from the air. Car designers have done their bit to make cars more slippery, but short of making cigar-shaped cars, there is no solution that will provide a massive improvement. Cruising at 50kph in top gear will give you the most efficiency, but it may be too slow for your liking. You could lessen the air resistance by driving behind a large truck on the highway, but always keep a safe distance from it. As a rule of thumb, you should be two seconds behind the truck at any speed – an easy way of checking is saying “One one thousand, two one thousand.” If you pass the point where the truck was when you started saying that before you finished, increase the distance. This is vital – the truck will not be able to decelerate as quickly as you can, but it may be able to thud through potholes or rough patches of road that you might need to slow down for.

Another trick that requires a little imagination is the ‘holes in the exhaust’ trick. This will work well for city driving. All you have to do is imagine that your exhaust has holes in it, and your city, strict noise regulations. You can’t drive too slow for fear of getting spotted and pulled over, and you can’t drive fast because high revs means more noise and you’ll definitely be spotted and pulled over. This is no tachometer-watching trickery, just plain imagination helping you get more practical.

Be smooth in your driving – don’t launch your car like racing drivers launch theirs at the start of a race. Don’t try to beat the amber light, you know you’re going to catch up with traffic down the road anyway. Don’t speed in the city for the same reason – it’s unsafe, and you’ll have to brake harder when you do have to stop or slow down, which will use up more fuel. To cut a long story short, here are some more tips to help you save fuel in point form:

Do not ride the clutch. Depress it only to change gears, or when at a standstill.

If you know you’re going to be stationary for an appreciable amount of time at a stoplight, switch the engine off. The amount of energy it takes to start the engine up is roughly three seconds’ worth of idling time, so anything more than that is a waste of fuel.

Drive in a gear that corresponds to the speed you’re at. This means that you shouldn’t be revving the bolts off the engine, or crawling along in top gear. Drive in the gear that your engine feels the most comfortable at, at that speed.

Get your vehicle serviced regularly, so that any glitches get sorted out while they’re still small, and haven’t affected fuel consumption for an extended period of time.

Regular engine checkups are a must – a poorly tuned engine can consume up to 50% more fuel than an engine in good condition.

Driving at 90 kilometers an hour rather than 100 can reduce fuel consumption by 10%

Under-inflated tires can increase fuel consumption by 5%. Check your air pressure once a week.

A loaded roof rack will increase fuel consumption by as much as 5% in highway driving. Even an empty roof rack can increase consumption by 1%. If the carrier is detachable, remove it when not in use.

Anticipating stops and avoiding abrupt stops will decrease fuel consumption and increase the life of your brakes and tires.

Avoid unnecessary steering wheel movement since each sideward movement of the tire causes your total driving distance to increase by a small fraction. The less the distance you drive, the less the fuel you’ll consume. Don’t straightline corners, however – safety always comes first.

Accelerate slowly on gravel or slippery roads, maintain a steady speed whenever possible and avoid unnecessary braking.

Don’t rev the engine just before you turn it off – it’ll cost you extra fuel, and can be harmful especially in the case of turbocharged motors.

Take advantage of rolling resistance rather than heavy braking to help slow you down. This technique is one of the best for saving fuel – simply increase your braking distance.

Avoid using the air-con at lower speeds, but roll the windows up and turn it on when cruising at high speeds.
Changing the spark plugs regularly can keep your engine’s efficiency at its optimum.

Driving in the rain

Losing control of your car in the wet is a frightening situation that may land you in a soup. Drive slowly and carefully to prevent skids. Steer and brake with a light touch on curves. If you want to stop, make sure that you do not brake hard or lock up the wheels, lest you end up skidding. Even if you do lose control and end up skidding, do not panic as it will only add to the trouble. Stay calm, ease your foot off the accelerator pedal and steer the car carefully in the direction you want the front of the car to go. If your car is equipped with ABS then modulate the brakes as you steer the car.

Aquaplaning is another severe predicament that occurs when the water under your tires cannot drain through the tires’ grooves fast enough. The water pressure causes the car to slide on a thin layer of water between the tires and the road surface. At this point, your car is completely out of contact with the road, and you are in danger of skidding or drifting out of your lane, or even off the road because the car will not steer, brake or accelerate. To avoid getting yourself in such a situation, keep your tires properly inflated, maintain enough tread depth on your tires and replace them when necessary.

Slow down when on wet roads, and stay away from puddles. Try to drive in the tire tracks left by the cars in front of you. Avoid stomping on the brakes or turning suddenly. This could throw your car into a slide. Ease off the gas pedal until the car slows down and you can feel the road again. If you need to brake, do it gently with light pumping actions. If your car employs ABS, use the brakes as you normally do, the ABS will take care of the rest.

2010 Scion xB RS 7.0 Limited Edition

Scion unveiled the 2010 Scion xB Release Series 7.0 at the Los Angeles Auto Show yesterday. The show car, painted in a special purple tone called “Murasaki,” is one of only 2,000 limited editions being built.

Each individually numbered car comes with lowered TRD springs that reduce ride height by an inch. The four-piece DAMD body kit adds new lower lips and side skirts, with an optional new rear spoiler available for $320. It also comes with a new sport muffler with double-walled tips.

Inside, the car uses black fabric seats with highlights that match the exterior, and the “RS” logo embroidered on the cushions. A RAZO GT Formula Spec shift knob is also used.

The 2010 Scion XB RS 7.0 will retail for $18,320 standard, with an automatic transmission adding $950 to the price. An additional $670 delivery charge is not included, as this cost may vary in different North American regions.

Fab Design Porsche Panamera

This FAB Panamera makes history for the Swiss-based tuner as the first non-Mercedes-Benz car to come out of its garage. Usually, favoured subjects include the mother brand as well as McLaren and Maybach. FAB says while it is the first, it will not be the last, so we can expect more similar projects in future.

The car’s exterior consists of a new front end with big air inlets, a circumferential front spoiler, a carbon fibre bonnet, flared fenders/wheel arches, new side skirts and a redesigned rear spoiler. An integrated rear diffuser is split by three trapezoidal tailpipes. A carbon fibre rear wing is fitted to improve aerodynamics. The suspension was lowered by 20mm which advances the cause of better handling even further.

FAB says the 4.8-litre turbo engine will be modified to a great extent resulting in an expected maximum power output of up to 515kW (700hp). It currently makes a standard maximum of 368kW (500hp) in the Panamera Turbo. A sports braking system is installed to stop the large 22-inch wheels whenever the need arises.

The FAB Panamera will be limited to 15 units only.

Lamborghini Madura Student Design Project

Slavche Tanevsky, a student at the Munich University of Applied Sciences, has created this futuristic Lamborghini design concept.

Dubbed the Madura (named after an Indonesian island famous for bull races), the concept was created – in collaboration with Lamborghini and Audi designers – for Lamborghini’s Raw Materials Project.

According to Tanevsky, “The Madura is a proposal for the first hybrid Lamborghini scheduled for 2016. Doing a car more efficient and more nature-friendly, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be exciting, good-looking and fast. (But) in my opinion this new propulsion system should be represented on the looks of the car.”

While it’s vaguely reminiscent of the Reventón and the Estoque concept, the whole design of the Madura is sleeker, more focused, and more aggressive. Up front, the Madura features slim headlights (to emphasize the cars’ width), huge air intakes, and a curvaceous hood. Out back, the front-mounted hybrid powertrain allowed Tanevsky to create a maze of intricate lines which helps to give the car a unique appearance.

MUGEN Honda CR-Z Brochure Leak

Following yesterday’s initial leak, new images of the Honda CR-Z MUGEN have emerged.

While our Japanese is a little rusty, the car features new front and rear bumpers, a revised grille, extended side skirts, a dual exhaust, a rear spoiler, and a rear diffuser. Like other MUGEN products, the CR-Z will likely offer a sports suspension and a high-performance braking system.

As we previously reported, the CR-Z will be powered by a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and a small electric motor. The petrol engine produces 84 kW (114 hp) and 145 Nm (107 lb-ft) of torque, while the electric motor churns out 10 kW (14 hp) and 78 Nm (58 lb-ft) of torque. Packing a combined 94 kW (128 hp) and 223 Nm (165 lb-ft) of torque, the CR-Z will be able to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 9.7 seconds. More importantly, the car is expected to average between 22.5 km/l (52.9 mpg US or 4.5 l/100km) and 25.0 km/l (58.8 mpg US or 4.0 l/100km).

Look for more information to be released when the CR-Z is launched early next year.

2010 European Car of the Year

Volkswagen’s Polo was officially chosen as the 2010 European Car of the Year, narrowly beating the Toyota iQ for the award. Of the seven cars on the list, two are German, two are French, one is Czech, one is Japanese, and one is technically American.

The Polo pulled in 59 votes, of which 25 put the car in first place. Toyota’s iQ scored 20 first place nods, and 58 total votes. The also-rans include the Opel/Vauxhall Astra, Skoda Yeti, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Peugeot 3008, and the Citroen C3 Picasso.

VW’s supermini is 7.5 percent lighter than the previous model, and has a five-star safety rating. Despite the lighter weight, it has a larger boot, and bigger body. The car comes with six different engine options up to the 104-horsepower 1.2-liter TSI petrol.

The award was handed down by a panel of senior journalists. Participating reporters and editors come from seven different European magazines.

Green Car of the Year 2010

Green Car Journal has named the Audi A3 TDI the 2010 Green Car of the Year. The magazine and web site gave the A3 TDI the award over the Honda Insight, Mercury Milan Hybrid, Toyota Prius, and Volkswagen Golf TDI.

“This compact luxury car features an impressive EPA estimated 42 mpg on the highway – a 50 percent highway fuel efficiency improvement over the standard gasoline engine A3,” says Green Car Journal head Ron Cogan. “Plus, this Audi’s quiet, clean diesel engine delivers loads of low-end torque and a fun-to-drive experience, all with the functionality of a 5-passenger hatchback.”

The award is decided by a six-member jury, which includes International Council on Clean Transportation president Dr. Alan Lloyd, Global Green USA president Matt Peterson, and Sierra Club excutive director Carl Pope. Also on the panel is automotive enthusiast and talk show host Jay Leno, car designer Carroll Shelby, and Jean-Michel Cousteau, the founder of the Ocean Futures Society and son of oceanic explorer Jacques Cousteau.

Its an honor that also pleases top brass at Audi. “In winning the 2010 Green Car of the Year Award, the Audi A3 TDI demonstrates the bright future that clean diesel technology provides through reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions,” said Audi of America president Johan de Nysschen in a press release.

The Audi A3 TDI uses a 2.0-liter engine, mated to the S-tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission. US retail price is $29,950.

Next Page »