Replaced Pads & Rotors May 13th, 2009
Replaced the pads and rotors on the front of Kim’s truck. Ceramic pads are great.
Picked up a set of break pads May 13th, 2009
Picked up a set of break pads for Kim’s truck.
Cookout at Amanda’s March 8th, 2009
Street Rod Auction Preview (5/2/2008) May 3rd, 2008
Flush Nasty Cooling System – 9/19/2007 September 19th, 2007
Truck Rolled 100,000 – 8/10/2007 August 10th, 2007
Tacky Little Cars June 2nd, 2007
Tacky Little Cars
So you bought a four cylinder front wheel drive economy car? Great! Hats off to dependable transportation. Now all it needs is 17″ rims with 40 series tires, a ten piece ground effects package, $10,000 worth of car stereo equipment, a six inch bell exhaust tip, drop spindles, custom paint, neon lights, and a great big Batman wing on the back. Awesome, right? Wrong!!!
This just screams that all your taste is in your mouth. You’ve done nothing to the motor. You draw extra attention to a car that can’t perform up to it’s bastardized image. In fact, with the extra weight you may be slower than stock. And worst of all, the car looks like shit. You now have an aggressive looking econobox that gets smoked off the line by just about any farm truck with a V8.
Now don’t get me wrong, I know there are some fast Hondas and Neons out there. There are some people out there that have done some awesome engine and suspension work on these cars. However, these are the exception not the rule.
Most of these cars that you run into at the red light are “all show and no go.” Cheap, gaudy cars driven by little boys who wear their baseball hats backward and play obnoxious (c)rap music loud enough to shake the screws out of their dashboards. They are probably all headed to the “audio drags.”
If your are personally offended by these statements, listen up! You need to know about REAL cars and trucks.
A real car/truck has a V8 with rear wheel drive (or 4WD). Real cars/trucks are big and heavy. If you have V8 power, why not drive a car/truck made with real metal? Remember, if you are in an accident, “He who has the most metal-Wins!” You don’t need a shoehorn to get into a real car.
Automotive Links May 30th, 2007
Cars
Chevrolet
Dodge
Ford
ToyotaJ. C. Whitney
Summit Racing
AMSOIL Home Page
Autoshop Online
Car Talk
cars.com
Air Conditioning Information Server
Motor Trend Auto News
Car and Driver
FindPartTrucks
TruckWorld Online!
Off-Road.com
Blue Ribbon – Share Trails
FOUR WHEELER MAGAZINERacing
Hybrid Cars January 2nd, 2007
Hybrid Cars
I recently saw a round table discussion show on the Speed Channel. The participants were auto industry insiders and representatives from the big 3 auto makers. The discussion moved to hybrid electric technology. Participants all seemed to attack to head of R&D from GM. They all seemed upset that GM has not made significant progress to introduce a tiny hybrid electric car. They all pointed to the Toyota Prius as the ideal vehicle.
The GM representative held his ground. GM’s hybrid program has focused on the other end of the market. They are focusing on large vehicles that use the most fuel.
GM has produced a revolutionary hybrid electric bus. It has an ultra clean burning diesel motor that charges an electric fuel cell and motor that powers the Allison transmission. The city bus has a 60% fuel savings over a conventional bus.
According to GM:
“If the 13,000 transit buses in service in the nine largest U.S. cities were replaced with buses featuring hybrid technology, the U.S. would use nearly 40 million fewer gallons of diesel fuel each year. That’s the equivalent fuel savings of 584,000 small hybrid cars.”
GM plans to produce pickup trucks with the same technology as well as non-hybrid fuel saving technology like “Displacement on Demand”.
according to GM:
“Displacement on Demand saves fuel by using only half of the engine’s cylinders during most normal driving conditions. When loads are light, the control system automatically closes both intake and exhaust valves for half of the cylinders, cutting off their air and fuel supply. The valves are reopened to provide all-cylinder operation when the driver needs it for brisk acceleration or for hauling heavy loads.”
These innovations can produce real fuel savings for the types of vehicles that use the most fuel.
The Toyota Prius is a neat car. The geek in me has to admire the technology. Using brake friction to charge the batteries is brilliant. 50-70 MPG for city driving is very impressive. But without the hybrid technology, the car would still get 35-40 MPG.
Why is the car so efficient? It is basically a beer can car with a rubber band motor. It is your standard econobox. Like most Americans, I view econobox cars as impractical.
I am 6′ 6″ tall, and weight 250lbs. I hunt, fish, and buy large items at Lowe’s and Sam’s Club. Hybrid cars and sheets of plywood don’t mix. You can’t pull a trailer or boat. Forget about taking it through the mud hole on the farm. Everyday driving for someone my size would require a shoehorn just to get in a hybrid car.
Hybrid cars may be perfect for a Green Party bumper sticker. However, until they are made bigger, safer, and more powerful, they will not appeal to most Americans.