Embbio Innova

Archive for August, 2010

One of the most important rites of passage for any teenager is when they get their first car. It is something that marks a real change in their life – having practiced and worried for months about whether they would even pass their test, they suddenly have a kind of freedom that they have never had before. Inevitably, any teen will want a new, cool car. Equally inevitably, sometimes that just isn’t possible and they have to make do with a second-hand car or a cheaper model. Whatever the case, our first car is an important moment in our life as much for what it represents as for what it is. If the car itself is not the coolest you have ever seen, then you can at least make it look, sound and feel a bit classier.

One of the first things you can do if you are making a gift of an older car for the newly-mobile teen is to get the car thoroughly cleaned inside and out by a professional. The benefits of doing this are clear. It may not be a new car, but thorough valeting or detailing can make the car look new, or nearly new. Customizing the car is also a step worth taking. This does not mean that you have to add lights and tinted windows and make the vehicle look like a spaceship. What it does mean is making the car “feel” a little bit more like the teen that is going to be driving it. If they are interested in sports like swimming and canoeing, they may well need to put wet equipment into the car come the end of the day. Waterproof seat covers are a godsend in this situation. If their interests are more diverse, the customization can be equally so.

Alternatively, a remote car starter, which retails for around a hundred dollars, can be the little gift that really keeps giving. Starting your car on a cold winter morning before the heater comes on, or on a hot summer morning before the air conditioning has had time to weave its magic can really make a difference from a comfort point of view. There is nothing to beat getting into a warm car on a cold morning, or vice versa. Starting it remotely can allow you this little luxury – and if you give the teen in your life this opportunity they may not get it at first, but on that cold winter morning they will suddenly think you are the greatest!

You will have read the above ideas and may be thinking that the “cool” factor is conspicuous by its absence. It is true that practicality is the major concern of these tips, and this is necessary because there are few teenagers who will go straight to the practical when they are buying things for the car. Nonetheless, as a first car or a driving license often coincides with a birthday it can be a nice thought to get a present that your teen can enjoy rather than one that they need. An iPod docking station or GPS kit can serve a purpose here.

To maintain your systems stability, and to prolong its efficiency, there are some basic steps which you need to carry out. Just like a car, a PC has to be regularly maintained in order to get the best out of it, and it’s these maintenance tips which I’ll be discussing in this article.

The first thing I’ll recommend is that you get a good antivirus and spyware scanner installed on your PC. These software products will ensure that your PC is free from infection, and that your data is safe from harm. Antivirus scanners normally scan files in the background whilst you’re using the PC in day to day situations, but it’s also recommended to create a schedule, where by the antivirus software performs a full scan of your system at a scheduled interval. Once a week is best, preferably when you’re least likely to be doing strenuous work on the PC, or using it at all. I prefer to schedule my scans for every Sunday evening, as at this time I’ll normally be relaxing in front of the TV with the family, and won’t mind the PC being occupied for a few hours. Likewise, you can also get spyware scanners that scan files in the background, but at the time of writing this article, I hadn’t come across a reputable spyware software package that could be run at a scheduled time. Only scans on demand were possible.

The above steps help to protect your data from harm, but another recommended tip is to remove any unwanted junk from the PC. I visit a lot of websites day to day, download a lot of data, and create a lot of content, so produce a lot of data in a very short period of time. Rather than getting overwhelmed with files stored all over the place, I’ll do a monthly clear out, where I’ll ensure everything is organised correctly, with the correct filename and stored in the correct directory path, but I’ll also ensure that anything that is no longer needed is removed from the system. If I’m not 100% sure whether I’ll need a document or file in the future, I’ll store it in the ‘Temporary’ folder, which lies on my desktop, and keeps any documentation that I may not need in the long term.

When creating or removing a lot of files frequently, it’s a good idea to defrag your hard drive. To defrag a hard drive means to organise the hard drives data, so that the bits of those files data, are all kept together as much as possible. This defragmentation isn’t visible to the user, as all files are stored exactly as you see on the system when in use, but at a Operating system level, it sees these files very differently, and having bits and bytes of a file scattered across the hard drive increases the time it takes to save and load information from the file. Defragmentation isn’t something that has to be done very frequently, depending on the size of the files you are creating and removing. I personally try to do a complete defrag of my system once a month.

I hope you’ve found these suggestions useful, and I recommend you put them to use if you haven’t done so already.

I hate to say this but transmission repair shops employ some of the most dishonest practices in the automotive industry. They are able to get away with this for two reasons.

The first reason is for every 50 general automotive mechanic shops there are may be five transmission shops. So supply and demand naturally hires the prices these companies can charge. This is nothing new but some of these transmission companies get outrageous.

Second, unless you are a a specialist in this field you most likely know nothing about transmissions. Any technician can tell you anything and you have no verifiable way of double checking.

Here are some common scams in the transmission repair industry and some common mistakes that customers make:

We need a new transmission a shop will give usually give you two options. They can either install a brand-new transmission, which will cost a lot, or they can install a rebuilt transmission, which will still cost a lot but possibly be half the cost.

You have to understand the dangers in getting a rebuilt transmission. There is a good possibility that these will not be as good as a brand-new transmission or may not last as long. If you’re dealing with a reputable shop who has capable employees they can rebuild a long-lasting transmission.

They should also factor work up with some type of warranty. Do not get a rebuilt transmission without a decent warranty of some type. Make sure you get it in writing. There have been many shops who have sold customers rebuild transmissions and they failed within a matter of days or weeks.

Those same customers, of course being irate, came back to the shop only to find that that particular shop would not honor its “verbal” or “implied” guarantee. If you do however agree to a rebuilt transmission please do not come crying to the transmission repair shop when after the warranty you have problems again. He did go the cheapest route and you must understand that it comes with inherent risks.

Beware of transmission shops that have all sorts of low cost transmission maintenance services and specials to get in. Many of the automotive companies or what I like to call “commission fee based shops.” The shops pay their employees a small hourly wage but make it so they receive a percentage of their total gross sales.

Avoid these companies at all costs! These transmission repair shops have a system where they trick volumes of people every single day into their place of business with the lower at cheap rates and then convince them into buying services and parts they do not need.

This practice has become standard among many of the big box national chains and quite recently has been adopted by many of the small local ones. If you feel like you’re being pressured into buying something you feel you may not need, please, get a second opinion.

I have already touched a little upon the subject but I need to bring up the matter of warranties again. Every warranty and every guarantee needs to be in writing. Do not any transmission repair facility just tell you they back up all their work.

Do not just let them tell you you can bring your car back, and they will fix it for free, if within a couple weeks or months you experience the same problems they were supposed to fix. Every agreement should be in writing including all the terms and conditions.

And speaking of terms and conditions this brings us to the most common scam that most transmission repair facilities do. It is sad that many of these companies resort to what I’m about to say but all you have to do is look online and you will hear hundreds of horror stories.

You’re having transmission problems. You go to a local transmission repair shop and get an estimate. The parts and labor cost $1200. It seems fair see make arrangements to leave your vehicle with them for several days.

Within one day you get a call from the transmission shop. They proceed to tell you that the price is going to be more than what was on the estimate. The excuses are more numerous than the sands found on the beach. It could be any excuse from the parts costing more than expected to them not being aware of the certain problem when they first gave you the estimate.

So the result is that the price that was “$1200″ is now “$3500.”

Now your typical person in this position has two options at this point. He can bite the bullet and pay the $3500, in effect paying $1800 more than what was agreed upon, or he can pick his car up.

Keep in mind that the cars is most likely already torn apart at this point. Here is where shops get even worse. In order for you to pick your car up the transmission shop is still going to charge you a fee for putting your car back together, storage, towing, and trust me they will find other miscellaneous charges to add upon that.

So you end up getting the work done, but in the process getting ripped off, or you’re left with the same broken car but you paid 500 bucks just to be able to pick it back up from a shop then attempted to screw you (and they did). It’s a no-win.

This is why you should only do business with reputable transmission repair shops. How do you know if the shop is reputable? In this day and age where honesty and honor are as common as black-and-white televisions you must do your homework.

Ask family, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances for recommendations. The good transmission repair shops are out there. You just have to find them among the many bad ones.

Once you get a recommendation from someone you know look the shop up on the Better Business Bureau, local websites where people post reviews, and forums. Ask a transmission shop for customer references.

If they are in fact reputable they should be able to produce one or two happy customers you can talk to. A little due diligence goes a long way because once they have your car you are at their mercy.

Hopefully this article will have giving you insight about the tricks transmission repair shops employ to make a quick buck and hopefully you will be able to take this information and benefit from it.

Regular vehicle maintenance reduces break downs and prolongs the life of your car. The owner’s manual of your vehicle will tell what needs to be checked and when, and it is a good idea to make reading it a habit. If you don’t want to check your vehicle yourself, then plan on taking it to your service professional and have them check everything – once a month is ideal for optimum coverage: tires, oil, other fluid levels and so forth.

The fluids in your car’s motor keep the engine running smoothly and keep the car from over heating. The levels of all the fluids in your vehicle should be checked periodically according to your vehicle’s manual. Check the oil to see if needs a top up – older cars may burn oil and checking the levels when you fill up with gas is a good idea. NEVER overfill the crank case with oil. This will damage your engine, so only top up your oil if the dipstick shows you need to.

Another important fluid is the coolant. Newer cars have an overflow tank usually visible in the engine compartment (typically under the hood) and it looks like a plastic reservoir. The coolant reservoir will have a “fill to here” line. Make sure you put in the correct mix of coolant to keep your motor running the right temperature. If you are unsure what to do, ask your service professional for advice.

You will also need to check the power steering fluid, the brake fluid, transmission fluid and the battery. If you have a maintenance free battery, you don’t have to worry about the battery fluids. But if you have a regular battery, you will have to take off the caps to check the levels inside. If the battery fluids are low, top them up using distilled water. Be careful you don’t splash any of this liquid on your skin or clothes. Again, if you are uncomfortable with this procedure contact your service professional.

Similar to the oil system, your transmission system has a dipstick too and similarly you should check the transmission fluid while the car is cold. It doesn’t do it any good to check while it is hot because you will get a false reading – warm liquids expand so it will look fuller than it is.

Unless otherwise directed by your vehicle service manual, remember to change the oil and filter every 3 months or every 5,000 kilometers, which ever comes first. TIP: In the winter, or with excessive driving, you might wish to change the oil sooner. Your service professional will also likely remind you that your radiator fluids needs to be changed every 2 years – as does the transmission fluid on most vehicles.

And don’t overlook your tires – they really are “that important.” Check the pressure in your tires (remembering the spare if you have one) once a week or before any long drives. The condition of your tires is crucial to the safety of your car. Under inflated or worn tires will effect your gas mileage too, and increase the risk of blowouts – a danger to you and your passengers.

While checking the pressure of your tires, look closely at the wear patterns on the tread. If the pattern is unusual it could mean your tires need to be rotated or balanced. It is a good idea to rotate your tires every 10,000 Km – roughly every second oil change. You should also have the wheels balance and the front end alignment checked once a year – sooner if you feel a shake or wobble when driving. If you drive on rough roads, your vehicle may need realignment and rebalancing more often. Remember, a set of tires costs hundreds to replace, balancing and realignment is a fraction of that!

A few other tips: Checking your belts, hoses and wiper blades – every couple of months is a good idea. Replace them if there are any cracks or nicks in them. Wiper blades need to be replaced every season. You should definitely change them before they start smearing and dragging across your windshield making it hard to see while driving!

Also, remember to check your air filter every few months. A dirty air filter decreases your gas mileage significantly. At the same time check your battery for any loose or worn cabling. If there is any corrosion on the battery terminals it may cause starting problems. When your battery gets old replace it rather than waiting for it to fail leaving you stranded.

These are just a few of the basic maintenance activities you can do to keep you vehicle in good shape. Remember, there is never a good time for a break-down, and preventative maintenance is proven to reduce unwanted vehicle failures. Prolong the life of your car and save your self the headaches – get preventive maintenance for your car.

We should consider ourselves unfortunate for we are in the era of fuel deficiency with continuous increase in the gas prices. The $3 per gallon is itself taxing the maximum out of us, but further increase is out there on the cards. The innovative drivers are up with good ideas to deal with it, rather than investment of tens of thousands on the hybrid cars. The HHO gas car kit conversion for Browns gas is the one idea we are talking about.

FOX News should be thanked for spreading the right news at right time. The video report showed the user using this HHO gas car kit technology very fruitfully. Also many drivers have followed the idea and have benefited good. The HHO Gas Car Kit Conversion is one where water is electrolysed to produce HHO gas and this is injected into the ordinary gas stream. This when done gives lot of advantages like:

1. Increased horse power enabling us to have a smoother rde in our car than before.

2. The lesser pollution helps us to do our bit in getting a greener environment.

3. The more kits we add, more fuel efficiency we get, in turn leading to up to 5 times decrease in fuel costs.

This cheap kit can be built by yourself with just under $100 taken our of your pocket. The simple project is made simpler with the availability of the step by step manual that is coming with a 60 days money back guarantee. HHO Gas Car Kit Conversion can be done by just adding few parts that can be easily bolted on and removed from the car without any trace. It is time to forget the idea of hybrid cars and other electric cars, you just need to convert your car to burn water.

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Car performance body kits are nowadays being manufactured by different materials. All have some advantages and disadvantages and selecting a body kit of a particular material depends totally on the price, conditions, usage and other various factors. The different materials could be polyurethane body kits and others, made up of fiber glass, carbon fiber, ABS plastic etc.

In this post I intend to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of car body kits made up of polyurethane. I hope this will make your mind even more clear and lead you to a better decision making when selecting the performance kit for your next exterior car modification.

Advantages Of Polyurethane Body Kits

The biggest advantage of attempting your car body modification and then replacing it with polyurethane is its durability. These kits would be more long lasting than the famous fiber glass as the material is more flexible. This flexibility makes it to get mount on your car very easily. So if you are reluctant in changing your car’s body kit and consider installing a new one very tough job then polyurethane will change your opinion once and for all. This attribute makes a car body kit modification quite simple and pretty much a DIY job hence saving time and money.

Since polyurethane is a hard and flexible substance, it does not damage easily as compared to its other competitors. So you need to bang real hard your car in order to place an impact on it. But wait. Did I say? “Bang Real Hard!” you definitely would not love to strike your car anywhere no matter what material your car body kit is and this feeling become even more extreme when the material is polyurethane. Because the moment your car strikes and an impact is laid, there’s a great disadvantage waiting for you which I will discuss in the disadvantages section.

Disadvantages Of Polyurethane Body Kits

Since the polyurethane is a high quality material so generally the body kits made up of it are more costly than other materials so you really need to have tight pockets if you are going for it. This is a great drawback as it goes out of reach for many car enthusiasts and they cannot afford it at all. Secondly, painting over polyurethane is not a convenient job at all as paint requires more adhesion and also sags more quickly over time when exposed to sun or heat.

Furthermore, these are more heavy than fiber glass, so when you mount them over your car keep your mind well prepared for more fuel consumption as more power is going to be required by your car to drag it. Now coming to the disadvantage because of which you would not love to hit your car and cause an impression on it. Polyurethane body kits are not easily repairable or in some cases, it is impossible do retain the original shape of it and you will only have to replace it with new one as the car dents are not going to be removed you have to be even more careful on the road.

Bringing my discussion to an end, polyurethane sure is an expensive material to afford but think of it from the positive angle. The less the people will have them, the more your car is going to be unique. The decision is sure in your hands.