A super-car with its sleek looks and exotic feel, the Lotus Elise is a roadster one would truly enjoy on the road. With a Carbon fiber composite body and epoxy bonded extruded aluminum for it’s base structure, the low weight allows it to come to a top speed of around 150 mph going from 0-60 mph in just 4.9 seconds. The soft cloth top, LED taillights, sealed headlights and daytime running lights, this futuristic looking roadster fits in alongside the Porches and the other notable roadsters of today. The suspension is fully independent with unequal length wishbones combined with Bilsten mono-tube gas dampers, an Eibach Coil Springs and a front anti sway bar it all adds up to a stable and smooth ride in all road conditions. The four ventilated cross-drilled disk brakes coupled with Lotus’s racing and Brembo Calipers with ABS, braking is smooth and reliable even during the most demanding turns and maneuvers.
It’s 190 Horsepower, 1.8 Liter Mid-mounted 4 cylinder engine loaded with DOHCs and VVTL-I makes for a powerful powerhouse that delivers on demand. Multi-point injection ensures the engine gets the most amount of power when requested for and the electronic controlled ignition and throttle control maximizes the engines capabilities at the users command and demand.
The Lotus Elise comes from a long line of historic and pioneering cars that have always managed to stay in the news in spite of its low presence on the roads. The car’s history has maintained a loyal following and assures it a place in the cars to look out for in the years to come. At just under $60,000 US, the car is considered to be a medium priced roadster, but alongside the Audi’s, Lambo’s and Porche’s, it is a car to be reckoned with indeed.
The car has killer looks and that might be due to the prestige associated with the brand. More related to James Bond than any other car (well in one movie he used a Mercedes and controlled it with a Nokia Communicator), the brand has become synonymous with cutting edge technology and sleek stylish looks inside and out.
With a chassis made up mainly of aluminum, magnesium alloys and carbon composite materials (which has been the trend to increase fuel efficiency making them lighter and stronger than steel) the car truly is a product of cutting edge research into alternative materials that have begun to go out of the space industry. An all alloy engine with quad-overhead camshafts, 48 valves, 5935 cc. V12 it is one of the most powerful and complex engines around. The brakes are also out of the sci-fi box with six pistons which would be needed for it has a maximum speed of almost 200 miles per hour.
The steering has servotronic speed-sensitive power assisted and the suspension, well, it has double wishbones in front with incorporated anti-dive geometry, coil springs, anti-roll bars and monotube adaptive dampers. For the rear, we have double independent double wishbones with anti-squat and lift technology (mostly derived from F1 Racing technology as most European cars have under the hood). The nice thing about this monster, it has settings for road and track making racing as easy as pie with the switch of a button adjusting all suspension, steering, engine and braking systems accordingly.
The headlights are high intensity discharge adaptive lights that are now becoming standard on most luxury cars allowing maximum illumination during the darkest driving hours. The rear brake lights are LED type with adaptive displays allowing maximum visibility on and of track. The Aston martin DBS, a breed on it’s own.
A True American Classic which comes from a long line of muscle cars that have graced racetracks all over the world. Loaded with an 8.4 liter V10 a356 T56 Aluminum engine, capable of generating 600 hp controlled by the new Venom Engine management system giving maximum output while still staying within idle and OBD requirements. It has a 6-speed manual transmission using wider gears (10%) giving more power than previous generations. It has independent front and rear suspension, along with a 4-wheel disk brake with ABS. The car is a true muscle car in its class and along with manufacturer approved and tested upgrades it can even get better. Priced under $100,000.00 US, it is still in the moderate range falling below European cars that are in the upper echelons.
Being a Muscle car, it can go from 0 to 60 in less than 4 seconds, the engine features variable valve timing which allows phasing of intake and exhaust called Cam in Cam making it more fuel and emission efficient. Using twin disk clutches, it shifts easier and faster than previous models and can rival any other car in its class. Using Brembo Brakes for unparalleled braking and cornering allowing maximum control even on those tight corners coupled with GKN Visco-Lok Limited slip differentials you get the power when and wherever you need it. And it doesn’t stop there, the styling and looks of the viper truly makes it worthy of the name Viper which has been known for stunning looks that is sure to make heads turn where ever you go whatever the weather adding the hum of it’s powerful engine that is music to the ear of the most avid car lover.
This has become the case with many cars whether they be green (alternative fueled) or newer generations of classics that still use petroleum-based products but are so efficient with respect to their emission controls that they have little or no emissions at all. Catalytic converters have long been a mainstay of the auto industry since they became mandatory by law way back in the late 70’s and early 80’s but unbeknownst to all, these devices though considered to be quite rugged can and do get their fair share of problems. Leaks, cracked pipes and elements are just some of them. They are also quite expensive for the reactive compounds use exotic metals such as platinum and silver.
Catalytic converters refine the exhaust of your vehicle via chemical reaction converting harmful/highly toxic gasses to less toxic ones. The trend nowadays is to produce a more efficient emission control device that would strip most if not totally eliminate the waste products of internal combustion engines. There are currently vehicles that are powered both by alternative fuel and gas that have the best emission control systems on earth but as the blog states, not all American states have them as part of their inventory. As it turns out, green cars are only available in those states that have the highest pollution control penalties.
So even if you do want to go green and got the cash to shell out for the extra they charge for these green machines, they might just not be available in your state, yet. Till all the states and eventually the world places enough laws to allow them or make them mandatory, you might have to wait a few more years for you to get one parked into your car as we all try to lower our carbon footprints in the future.
Now, to the maintenance part for as you have seen there are actually many parts that form the whole brake system which is imperative that you keep in tip top shape as possible for safety’s sake. Any fluid leak should be inspected or at least have it looked at by a mechanic to ensure they are not a danger. Worn out hoses and brake lines can suddenly burst (the pressures are immense if you were only able to see the small brake pads in how they stop your vehicle) leading to sudden loss of pressure preventing them from functioning. There is however a safety feature on brake systems which is now standard which is a dual line system which divides the wheels into two brake circuits. The driver’s side wheel is linked to the one at the rear of the passenger’s side and the other way around. This allows braking even if one of the brake systems fails and as last resort, there is still the mechanical parking brake (check out the post on how to stop without power assisted brakes for if not done properly you could lock the wheels and totally loose control).
The brake disks and drums also have to be inspected for they eventually develop deep grooves that have to be re-milled in a process called re-facing wherein the rotor/disk and drums are machined to make the surfaces flat removing the deep grooves that occur naturally. The break pads are replaced even if they are new so as to avoid making new grooves on the newly re-faced parts. Wheel cylinders get stuck or springs leak (which usually happens if they get submerged in water, say in a flood) causing them to bind which leads to smoking wheels for the brakes don’t release and the wheels have a hard time turning. Some problems can be repaired and some may have to be replaced but with proper maintenance and care you should be able to have brake trouble free use of your vehicle providing for your transportation needs for times to come.
The brake system of your car is one of the most vital safety features that without which driving would be impossible. There are many things that can go wrong with your brakes and as preventive maintenance and regular inspection, it would be best to check on a few parts so you don’t get caught without brakes on the road.
Under the hood of any vehicle there is a container or reservoir as it is called that contains brake fluid and to most drivers, is the most known part of the brake system. Don’t keep this only topped off but make sure you use the right type of brake fluid (DOT 3 is the most common brake fluid grade used). The metal thing this reservoir sits on is called the Master cylinder which contains the pistons that forces the fluid from the reservoir into the brake lines (more on the other parts as we go on) to the wheel cylinders. Directly behind that is a metal drum like thing that is the brake booster which has a rubber gasket inside which multiplies the amount of force exerted by your foot on the pedal into immense pressures to stop your car. The brake fluid then goes through the brake lines to each wheel which are actually metal pipes with some rubber hoses in tight corners and moving areas to the wheel cylinders. The wheels all have individual cylinders or pistons that push the brake pads or drums to close and stop the vehicle. The parts the pads come in contact with are the rotors for disk brakes and drums for drum brakes.
More on the next post regarding maintenance and troubleshooting of the brake system.
Well, this might have to do more with the way the human body is designed and how much information we can process in a short period of time. Scientific data has shown that our actual active line of sight window (or the area of our vision which is fully analyzed and can be reacted to instantaneously) is limited to a few square inches in front of you. The rest is what is considered to be the peripheral vision area which we are aware of but do not have too much concentration on. Add to it the tunes playing on the radio, the shifting combination of the depressing the clutch and changing gears and you have a lot of information to handle for the human body to actually process (try this test to see if you are a safe distance from the car in front of you).
At 40 kmh, the average car (with stock brakes) can stop reliably in about 5 car lengths which translates to around 50 or 60 feet. This might sound quite far but this is true. Now back to the speed limit thingy, well these are placed due to many considerations such as the type of road surface, the amount of traffic that is to be expected, and the surmised fuel savings and so on and so forth. The one about speed in relation to fuel consumption is a good one, for at 80 kmh, your vehicle is running in balance with it’s weight and the momentum or it’s forward thrust that the engine is running efficiently burning only enough fuel to maintain that speed no more and no less. Now with most carburetor type vehicles that would be a good idea for these vehicles do not have computer brains like the newer models of cars which seem to have technology crammed into each and every corner.
The ECU (Electronic Control Unit) or computer of newer cars has the necessary programming to obtain information from a bank of sensors on the engine (temperature, idling speed, revolutions, amount of air entering the engine and many more) that allows it to adjust the performance of its parts to provide or attain maximum efficiency while maintaining fuel economy. Depressing the gas pedal on a carb-type vehicle and you pour gas into the engine even if it doesn’t need it sending some into the overflow line onto the street. Newer cars have recovery lines which send excess fuel back into the fuel delivery system or the gas tank for re-use. The speed limit is the determined safe speed to maintain necessary distances for braking allowing you enough time to react properly to the events that unfold such as in emergency cases in front of you. The human body reacts quite fast (in milliseconds actually which is the time your eyes see the information, sends it to the brain, processes it and comes up with the necessary response and sends the nerve impulses to the necessary muscles on your limbs for you to react) but at high speeds, that might not be enough. Why race down a street which is only a few blocks long? Just ease on the gas pedal and accelerate gradually for it not only saves fuel, it also saves on the wear and tear on other parts of the vehicle(brakes, suspension and other parts). Enjoy the trip and not the ride for it allows you to ponder about better things than the darned traffic jam ahead of you.
Drive-by-wire is the common name for electronic throttle control. Traditionally, cars’ accelerator pedals are connected by cable to the throttle control on the engine. The relevance of DBW is that it takes the guesswork out of “stepping on it,” and calculates the appropriate throttle, based on traction, vehicle speed and engine speed. It’s called “drive by wire” because the gas pedal is no longer physically connected to the engine in order to function. Instead, it’s all electronic.
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We’ve all heard the bad rap biofuels has gotten with the increased pollution and macro-economic impact it has on society but you’ve gotta’ give credit for these engineers who have managed to come up with alternatives to our increasingly oil dependent economies in so short a time. The problem wasn’t with the fuel itself for it fulfilled all pre-set criteria for a fuel that burned with less emissions than oil-based fuel products. As it turns out, it takes more energy to produce a liter of biofuel that off-sets the gains of the said alternative. The foray of engineers into the hybrid arena was merely to fill in the gap till fully electric systems became more feasible.
Fuel cell technology today, has resulted in some of the coolest cars around. From electric compacts that run on hydrogen or compressed natural gas that has similar abilities as bio fuels used in conjunction with better fuel cell technologies and reactors they all make for a better transition from an oil-based economy to a hydrogen or LNG-based one. The benefits of these alternative fueled cars is so much that research has been pushed to the extent of breakthroughs being put into prototypes as soon as they are discovered making for some really cool cars. With some manufacturers fielding test fleets to iron out the kinks in the system, they should have a working infrastructure by 2010 when most manufacturers schedule the release of their versions of the electric vehicles to take up the slack where bio-fueled vehicles left off.
We are at an age where most cars come with special features. One thing that is bound to get our nod as far as preference is the all-power features that include power locks, power windows and power steering. Of the three, the power steering is what captures the attention of modern drivers since unlike the conventional vehicles of yesteryears, they don’t have to worry about hard steering that some may call as a reason for developing muscles while driving.
But while power steering does make it easier for people to steer and drive, it also means you have to be careful as far as preventive maintenance. The more advanced features that come with your car means that you also have to address small issues and avoid them from getting out of hand.
Some people care less. Leaks or weird sounds in the steering wheel area can worsen over time if not addressed immediately. The last thing you would want is to get a completely busted steering wheel mechanism which can cost a lot and hard to repair.
This is one waterloo if you are not paying much attention to car maintenance. Do not allow small issues to get out of hand. Bring your car to the car garage and have it fixed. You save a lot more money that way and prolong the durability and reliability of your car in the process.
