The Car Guide

Archive for January, 2010

Performance Chips

In this article I will tell you about different products that use the common name “performance chips”. I will be focusing mostly on power chips and supercharger chips due to their wide usage.
The name “power chip” pretty much speaks for itself it is boosting the power of the vehicle or more precisely this is a device that is calibrating the engine using some software. It is made to optimize the efficiency of your engine. Its original idea was to be used in car racing but today it is available for many car models and customers all over the world are using these devices to take the most of their engines.
When installed to your engine system the power chip will get data from the electronic control unit of your vehicle ECU. This data will be analyzed by the chip software and special settings will be applied to your engine. This simple idea made possible for quick decisions to be taken by the software of the power chip. The final result is optimal settings of the engine for all situations made as you drive without a need for your interference in this process. All you need to do is setup the chip and drive.
One nice example of a power chip is the “Jet import ECU upgrade kit” available for BMW 650i. The good thing about this specific unit is that it applies settings for the full power band and not just for full throttle. This is very important because if you get some graphs on your driving you will see that the full throttle is usually not the biggest part of your driving experience. Your car needs different settings for the whole range of usage from the moment you power the engine to the moment you stop it.
The superchargers are the other aspect of the performance chips I would like to cover. The supercharger is a system that provides forced induction to the engine using an air compressor. Generally there are two types of supercharger systems: positivedisplacement and dynamic compressors. The main difference between them is that the positivedisplacement system provides almost a constant boost regardless of the RPM the current speed of the engine. On the other hand the dynamic compressor will measure the RPM and with the increasing of the RPM the boost will also increase.
There is also another term that is commonly used and its called “turbochargers”. The difference is that the turbochargers are driven by the exhaust gases and more precisely the pressure that they provide. In some cases turbochargers are more efficient than the superchargers but this differs in the different situations.
You can find a lot of data regarding many supercharger units on the web and the markets and I will not give examples or try to cover all of them. However I would like to say a few words about some of the terms that you may need to know.
The first one is the boost. Boost is the amount of pressure that is provided by the supercharger. The values you will see are usually in psi pounds per square inch.
You will also see a lot of abbreviations in the specifications you will read. Things like PD1 VT1 VT2 TS etc. PD stays for Powerdyne. It is nonintercooled and also not in production any more. VT means Vortech and its also a nonintercooled system. TS stays for Lysholm TwinScrew systems. TS2 is with Laminova liquid intercooling and TS3 is with Laminova liquid intercooling too but it also has upgraded engine internals.
With all these abbreviations and specifications its sometimes hard to find your way to the system you need but if you do you wont regret spending all the money on it.

About the writer:  More information on Performance chips and other products.

Owning A Hybrid Car

The first warnings were launched about 30 years ago when the Middle Eastern countries had stopped the oil exports sending the world into a never before seen energy crisis.

Todays world is not that different with oil prices climbing up day by day. Besides the peace factor modern cars burn millions and millions of tons of oil each year resulting tons of carbon dioxide and other gases that are the main causes of global warming.

Mankind has to find an alternative to traditional fuels and with todays level of engineering the hybrid cars appear to be the solution as least for the time being.

With the advent of the hybrid car car owners and users all over the world are now finding relief that indeed there is hope from spending hundreds of dollars each month at the gas station.

A hybrid car combines a traditional engine an engine with internal combustion either gasoline or diesel powered with an electric engine to move the car.

A hybrid car has the advantage that at slow speeds such as those on busy motorways the car uses only the electric motor to move. This results to low emissions and a very high mileage the electric engine brings in its benefits in those areas where the internal combustion engine was the least beneficial at slow speeds and around the city. When a certain speed is passed the internal combustion engine kicks in to help the electric engine move the car.

If you look at a hybrid from a pure technical point of view a hybrid cannot be classified as an electric vehicle entirely because only about 40 of the energy consumption of the vehicle is from electric sources. This energy is stored in large batteries inside the car.

Until technology finds better solutions to burning oil and gas to move cars hybrid cars are the only alternatives that can help you save money and contribute to the stop of global warning. However there are also a series of drawbacks to owning a hybrid car.

First the hybrid technology used in cars today is very new and its development costs have not yet been recovered by manufacturers. That is why a hybrid car will cost significantly more than the normal version of that car. Studies have shown that on average a hybrid car costs more than the regular model by around 2000 to 5000 sometimes even more. The production facilities are limited and the demand is high so manufacturers have the pleasure keeping prices up for hybrid cars.

Second the batteries storing the electricity required by the electric engine are very heavy and large taking up significant interior space. . There are several states in the United States and some other global governments that are charging additional fees and other charges for acquiring a hybrid car in the end the user ends up paying more than the car would normally cost.

The voltage required by the electric engine are very high and this adds to the cars complexity and makes it difficult to find specialized repairing shops There is also the possibility for more dangerous car accidents if something goes wrong with the electric parts of the car. Furthermore the prices of spare parts can be very expensive for a hybrid car. You have to take a lot of things into consideration when deciding to buy a hybrid car as things are not that simple as they might appear at first sight.

About the writer:  Dennis runs Car Dealer Check which has independent Car Dealer Reviews written by the car dealerships customers and a Car Forum.

Nitrogen Infalted Tyres For Your Car

Every one replaces one thing with something. Car manufacturers replaces old models with a new car. People replace their petrol or diesel fuel with the LPG or the CNG kits. Then why not replace the air in a tyre? Shocked?

But it is true we can replace the air with nitrogen in tyres. Nitrogen in tyres is not a new concept.It was used in aircraft tyres military vehicles racing bikes and the also in the Formula one cars. It is often said that Nitrogen inflated tyres are better than the air inflated tyres. Oxygen in the compressed air tyres penetrate through the tyre walls and causes under inflation. This will also lead to the decaying of the rubber particles. Where as in the nitrogen inflated tyres due to lack of oxidation the nitrogen does not escape. In the air inflated tyres as oxygen enters through rubber there is possibility of steel belts and the steel bead rusting.

Oxidation will further lead to overheating of tyre reduces life of tyre and also results in blow outs. An under inflated tyre is very much prone to friction. Over a period of time it will not be able to carry the load the vehicle is designed for. The steering will turn slow and sluggish. And all this problems can lead to disastrous results. The air tyres is composed of 78 nitrogen 21 oxygen and about 1 water vapour and other gases. Whereas dry nitrogen is cooler lighter and does not cause any kind of rust on the steel or aluminium rims. As nitrogen inflated tyre does not heat up up the life of the tyre is longer braking is efficient and also helps in good fuel economy. By reducing oxygen and water vapour in your tyres from 22 to less than 7 the tyres will maintain pressure three to four times longer as well as safer on the highway.

Highlights of Nitogen Tyres

Reduced corrosion there is no moisture in the pure nitogen therefore rusting does not happen.
Slower rate of pressure loss Due to its chemical structure the molecules of nitrogen are larger than the oxygen and this means that it is slowere to leak out and helps to maintain the tyre prssure
Ecofriendly in nature Nitogen nitrogen is a colourless odourless tasteless and non toxic gas that forms about 78 of the earth’s atmosphere and this inturn will support the ‘green environment’.

Easy to Fill

Replacing air inflated tyres with nitrogent is a very simple process. First all the air is removed from the tyres. Ensure that it air is completely escaped and then simply fill your tyres even tubeless tyres with nitogen. Many garages are now offering nitrogen fills for tyres instead of conentional air filling. Unlike air filled tyres you do not have to often refill air. The tyre pressure has to be checked in every six months and enjoy the smooth drive.

Primary Advantages of Nitrogen tyres

Improved Fuel Efficiency It is very important to have the accurate tyre pressure that is recommended by the car manufacturer. This inturn will not only improve the performance of the tyre but also the maximizes the fuel efficiency.
Long Life In the air inflated tyres when the other material blend with oxygen it causes oxidization. Oxidisation ages the rubber which resulting in poor strength. In the air atyre the temprature increases and there is high possibility of tyre blowout. Nitrogen inflated tyres inturn is cooler and lighter. It does not heats up and gives long life to the tyres. nitrogen can mean up to a 25 increase in tyre life and a 5 reduction in fuel consumption together with a reduction in CO2 emissions.
Safety Compared to the airfilled tyres Nitogen inflated tyres are much safer .90 percent of tyres are blown out with the underinflated tyres. Nitrogen helps to maintain accvurate tyre pressure reducing the chances of blowouts.

Nitrogen used by others

NASCAR National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing teams use nitrogen as it helps to predict the the tyre fluctuation accuretly. Though nitrogen fluctuates with temperature change but it is comparitely lesser than when water vapor is present. Oxygen losses its explosive properties.
Commercial Airlines All the commercial aircraft tyres are nitogen inflated. This helps to eliminated potential for water vapou from freezing at high altitudes. Some of the aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing use nitrogen membranes in their OnBoard Inert Gas Generation Systems OBIGGS to “top” fuel tanks with nitrogen.
U.S. Government NASA and the U.S. military utilize nitrogen for many of the same reasons aforesaid.
Food Processors and Packagers In order to preserve food for longer period processors and packagers often use modified atmosphere packaging MAP and controlled atmosphere packaging CAP where it replaces some or all of the oxygen in the air inside thepackage with nitrogen.

About the writer:  Carazoo.com