posted by Savanah on Mar 26
Have the kids gotten old enough to sit in the car for longer periods of time? Is it time to load them up and hit the road with the dodge caravan repair manual by your side and see some of the amazing sights. Which Highway is it going to be? There are many fantastic American highways to travel. If you haven’t made it up Highway 1 along the California coast maybe this would be a good time.
Maybe you would rather leave the kids at grandma’s house while you take this road trip. Maybe you would rather run it with a nice sedan or an old classic Ford Mustang. Just make sure you have the reliable manuals you need to keep it running smoothly. There are some great sights to see along the way.
If you start out in the Los Angeles area it will be at the Santa Monica Pier which is a great stop. This is also the end of the Route 66 that comes across the country from Chicago. The pier is a historical marker for Santa Monica. From there the drive takes you through Malibu Beach and on up to beyond San Francisco. Some say the best place to start is San Francisco or Monterey because following the highway south give a better view and easier road side stops for photo ops. The north part of the drive is really some of the most beautiful parts of the drive. The drive itself is a state of mind. One has to be in it just for the drive itself and not worrying about when the next stop will be. Turn on some great music that motivates you and take in the fresh air and sights with an open heart and you will be in driving bliss.
posted by Savanah on Mar 16
Almost everyone has a tire changing story. There are lots of memories connected to these moments, because they almost always come at the most inopportune moments. Whether it’s a high-speed blowout, or a simple little flat that goes unnoticed until the rain starts to pick up, we have all found ourselves by the side of the road at some point, trying to figure out how to work the jack. Some days are luckier than others, when some kind-hearted mechanic or police officer will stop to help, and other times it’s a solitary venture that seems to go on forever.
Moments like these remind us of how important it is to maintain your car tires , and sometimes a flat can be an excuse to finally get the trick new set of wheels that you’ve always wanted. Some of the inconvenience of having to change your tires is very much helped out by some of the best tire changing stories. It’s pretty hard for some of us not to think about Ralphie in the Christmas Story ‘s tire changing scene, and that little chuckle that always comes back can be enough to keep you a little bit warmer, or at least help to see the humor in these things.
That iconic scene, however, also reveals where we’ve come in terms of tire technology. It’s fascinating to see how things have changed over time, and it’s also interesting to see how films will try to create the past, even when they sometimes get some key details a little bit mixed up. The vintage tires in that scene are changed with nuts, when it’s only bolts that were on the wheels of that particular vintage. Special thanks go out to those who watch for anachronisms in classic films to point this out.
posted by Savanah on Aug 24
One of the components that serves to ensure the safety of a race car driver, is the tires. Anyone who has known anyone involved in the industry, especially those guys driving the cars themselves, knows the importance of a high quality general tire. As in the tires of a street car, the tires of the NASCAR automobiles are radials. However, racing tires differ due to the requirements of the racing industry. The materials used for production, the rubber and the metal, must be stable during situations of high speed and extreme temperatures.
The ability to change a tire by the pit crew is of importance to the competitions, and the need for a high level of traction on the course is of importance to the driver’s safety. Race car tires are often filled with nitrogen rather than air, due to the decreased moisture of the chemical. When tires get hot, the moisture will tend to expand and vaporize at the same time, which serves to cause pressure increases within the tire itself.
These seemingly small differences affect the way the driver is able to maneuver his or her vehicle. With the use of nitrogen, more control is given to the team, and they will be better able to deal with cases of a discount tires overheating. When the speeds of a race are extreme, the requirements alter, giving the drivers the benefits of an inner lining. This is equivalent to having two tires on one axle, one mounted inside the other, but having its own supply of air.
In the case wherein an out tire blows, the inner one will remain intact and functioning. This allows the drive to stop in the pit in a safe manner, and have the entire tire changed. There are various compounds used on race tracks. Soft compounds allow for speed, but harder compounds allow for durability. The difference is in the consequential wear and tear on the Toyo tire, the first wearing out the inner tire, and that later wearing out the outer. In all cases, tires are one of the most important ‘parts’ of a racing car, not only for the win, but for the life of the driver in the car.
posted by Savanah on May 19
Carbon fiber (alternatively called carbon fibre, graphite fiber, graphite fibre or carbon graphite) is a material consisting of extremely thin fibers about 0.005–0.010 mm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms.
The carbon atoms are bonded together in microscopic crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber. The crystal alignment makes the fiber very strong for its size. Several thousand carbon fibers are twisted together to form a yarn, which may be used by itself or woven into a fabric.
Carbon fiber has many different weave patterns and can be combined with a plastic resin and wound or molded to form composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic (also referenced as carbon fiber) to provide a high strength-to-weight ratio material. The density of carbon fiber is also considerably lower than the density of steel, making it ideal for applications requiring low weight.
The properties of carbon fiber such as high tensile strength, low weight, and low thermal expansion make it very popular in aerospace, civil engineering, military, and motorsports, along with other competition sports.
Many high performance wheel and tire package companies are now making carbon-fibre rims with each of them weighing about 9lb less than an equivalent alloy wheel. Check with a tire dealer when looking for tires and rims for your vehicle.