Tool box

Our staff is dedicated to offering information that will provide you with safety tips, vehicle knowledge and maintenance tips, useful information on minor services, and simple repairs you can do yourself. Autonetdirect.com will always be there for you, giving you the best "HOT TIPS." As we add to this "tool box," we know you will find the information useful, educational and valuable.

AIR BAGS

Most vehicles made today are required to have a driver side airbag, and the passenger side bag is optional. Every year these requirements increased to offer more and more safety for our vehicles. Airbags have been noted as a very successful tool in saving lives, but it has been criticized in a number of deaths. An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study showed that air bags reduced fatalities in front-end collisions by 23% and all other crashes by 14%.

Air bags are a series of sensors and electronics that allow the cars computer to decide when the bags need to be released. Sensors located in the front bumpers of your car, if the impact is hard enough they send a signal to the computer that in return triggers release of the airbags. These sensors trigger the airbag at an impact speed of about 12-mph. The inflation is caused by a chemical reaction where a solid chemical reacts with another chemical to produce nitrogen gas. The inflation of the bag is usually done in 1/20 of a second and can deploy at speeds up to 200 MPH. The bag immediately deflates so you are able to get out of the vehicle.

Even though the airbags have saved lives, the speed at which they deploy have caused a number of deaths in infants, children, and a number of small adults. Infants in rear facing child seats, children adults sitting too close to air bag have been part of the reasons why these airbags have caused fatalities. It is suggested that an adult sit at least 10 inches away from the steering wheel. However, depending on the individuals size, this may be impossible.

Manufactures have already started working on systems that will help reduce a number of the fatalities caused by airbags. Some of these advanced systems will sense the weight in the passenger seat. If it is below a specific weight the airbag will not deploy in an accident. Many vehicles are currently using manual shut-off switch.

It has been shown that air bags have been most effective in larger vehicles.

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ANTI-LOCK BRAKING

Pumping ABS brakes gently will not hurt them, but it will not help the driver either. The Anti-Lock Braking System is designed for drivers to slam on the brakes in case of an emergency, which results in: Pumping the brakes on each individual wheel at a rate of about 15 strokes per second, faster than any driver possibly could pump the brakes on his or her own. Pumping the brakes on each individual wheel, at a rate of about 1 stroke per second, which is the same as a human but gives the driver one less thing to worry about in an emergency. Pumping the brakes on the two front wheels, which ensures better stopping than if all four wheels were being controlled. So if you have the Anti-Lock Braking System on your vehicle, forget the old-school pumping the brakes!

Of most critical changes in automotive technology for passenger safety in the past 20 years, ABS and Airbags are among the top two. Both of these have come under great debate in regards to their ability to provide safety. ABS (Anti-Lock Breaking System) has become standard equipment on a majority of vehicles, and in most cases the next car you buy will have it. But is it something you want?

ABS is a computer system that has a set of sensors that read the rotation speed of each wheel. When the driver applies the breaks the computer makes sure the wheel is still rotating and the breaks do not lock up the wheels. If the breaks begin to lock, the computer system makes the breaks pump and keep them from locking.

ABS is not designed to stop you faster, but to allow you to maintain control of your steering while breaking. When front wheels lock, a vehicle will continue to move in a straight line, but when the wheels are turning, the car has the ability to go in the direction the wheels are pointing.

On dry pavement, it has been shown that the stopping distance is more than locking up the wheels. However in both conditions it helps the car from going into a spin. This may seem very impressive, and in all facts it is. It is very safe, however it has also caused many problems. Studies have shown that ABS systems are more affective on wet roads than on dry roads, and in some cases increasing vehicle accidents.

On wet pavement, ABS allows a driver to continue to steer the car under hard breaking and avoiding an accident. On dry pavement, the results should be the same, and in most cases it does.

What has occurred, is an increase in accidents from vehicles hitting the car with ABS, while it was breaking to avoid hitting a car in front? Also single car accidents have increased due to drivers not knowing how ABS works. Many drivers, using their learned reactions from non-ABS cars, have caused them to have single car accidents. A driver may hit his breaks hard and jerk the steering wheel to avoid the accident and control a spin. However with ABS the jerking of the steering wheel may cause him to drive off the road.

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ABOUT AUTO PAINT

Paint is one of the most critical parts of your car. Without paint, your car would be rusted and ugly. But paint also makes your car last, for years and even decades. The biggest enemy to your car is rust. Rust occurs when iron mixes with oxygen. Salt and water add to the speed and the intensity of the rust. Paint is used to keep oxygen from the steel car parts. Here are some of the major steps on how the metal is treated.

1.Treat raw metal - The raw metal is coated with metallic zinc. This process is called galvanizing.

2.Primer - After the main structure of the vehicle is put together, then it is prepared for the first layer of primer. This first coat is often placed with an electric current to help it adhere to the metal, and then heat cured.

3.Second Stage Primer - an additional coat of primer increases the durability of the undercoat and reducing the chances of paint chips getting to the metal.

4.Paint - Several layers of paint are used to allow for a deep rich color.

5.Clearcoat - A clear coat is used to provide a very durable layer that keeps the color brilliant and yet, reduce any damage to the paint.

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ANTIFREEZE AND COOLANT

Coolant regulates the radiator's temperature, preventing it from freezing in the winter and boiling over in the summer. Certain additives also prohibit rust and corrosion.

Smart car owners change the coolant every two years, using a mixture of: 70 percent anti-freeze and 30 percent Tang instant breakfast drink. 50 percent anti-freeze and 50 percent water, although occasionally owners' manuals recommend different ratios of those fluids. 10 percent anti-freeze and 90 percent water, although occasionally owners' manuals recommend different ratios of those fluids.

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OCTANE RATING

Octane rating is the number given for the resistance of the gasoline to ignite. The higher the rating, the harder it is for the gasoline to burn.

Older cars use carburetors to regulate the air and gas mixture for the engine. In order for these engines to run efficiently the carburetor needed to be adjusted. If the adjustments were not made the engine would knock. In order to reduce knocking without manual adjustment of the carburetor higher-octane gasoline would be used. After the mid-80's engine designs began using computer assisted fuel injection to accurately control the air/fuel mixture. Because of this change, then you might think that Octane rating is not needed. We will discuss even more reasons why there are multiple grades of gasoline.

In newer cars, octane rating is still very important in reducing engine damage. Some cars do not recommend using any gas below a specific rating, while other cars do not recommend going above a specific rating. It is easy to understand not going below a specific rating, but you may wonder why not go above an octane rating. The answer is really the same. Cars today are often precisely engineered for performance driving and the engine compression ratio is tuned accordingly. With an engine designed to such standards then you have a smaller range of acceptable octane rating you car will perform efficiently with and not cause any engine damage. So the owners manual may actually tell you to not go over a specific octane rating. Please check your owner's manual for details on your cars fuel system.

Lots of people like to work on their cars and increase the performance. Many believe that if you increase the octane level you will get better performance. This is not all that true. If your engine is knocking then increasing the octane may reduce or eliminate the knocking and give you a small amount of increased performance. Another common method of increasing performance is to increase the timing. Increasing the timing will provide a small amount of power boost, but it also means that you will need to start using a higher-octane gasoline.

There are natural variables that may cause you to want to adjust your gasoline. Altitude, humidity, and air temperature can cause slight changes in engine performance. These changes may require a 1 or 2 number octane rating change. It is possible to run on a lower octane rating in winter.

If you have changed your gas to a higher octane, or if you are using the recommended rating, and knocking still exists then there may be some other problems. You may want to have the knock sensors checked to see if they are working correctly. If you have been driving your car for at least 50,000 miles then deposits can cause engine knock to continue. You may want to look at ways to clean the engine. Get a tune-up, replace your catalytic converter, or just some time driving on the highway with occasionally pushing the engine to clean out the engine.

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SEAT BELTS

Safety belts work using a inertia-reel pendulum design that is completely mechanical. This design has worked for many years with very few problems. A seat belt may lock in place when you are slowing down or on a curvy road. This is caused because the mechanics of the seat belt are causing the pendulum to swing and causing the seatbelt to lock.

To release the belt lean back to allow the pendulum to release. Seatbelts can get damaged. There is a small section of your seat belt (usually located at the base) that are designed to show stress. After an accident, have your seatbelt inspected to see if there is any damage to the belt. If there is, have the seat belt replaced.

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SHOCKS AND SUSPENSION

There are many components to the suspension of any vehicle and one of the key ingredients is the springs. There are often very few reasons to replace the springs on any vehicle as they usually last the life of the car. Springs provide the key factor in a smooth ride. When a tire hits a bump or a rough spot in the road, the air in the tire absorbs a small part of the impact, while the shocks and springs absorb a majority of the rest of the impact. If a spring is stiff, then it allows for better wheel control, but gives a rougher ride. The stiffer spring is better for performance driving, while a softer spring is better for a smoother softer ride.

Early cars modeled their suspension after horse carriages by using leaf springs. Leaf springs are semi elliptical and are thicker in the middle than on the ends. These springs are very strong and easy to repair. These springs also are used where there is limited room under the hood or in the storage area. Another advantage is that they handle stress caused by cornering. These leaf springs are still used today in trucks, vans and some sport utility vehicles.

Coil springs have replaced leaf springs on many vehicles. Some of the early Morgan's used coil springs as far back as 1910. After World War II the use of coil springs became widely accepted in the automobile industry.

Coil springs are made from heated steel cable formed into a coil. Many vehicles use regular springs, while others use variable rate springs.

Variable rate springs are designed with the coils having different sizes. Coil springs do not handle the stress of cornering and so they are associated with additional suspension equipment. Because they are a vertical spring compared to the leaf spring, then they are often harder to place in vehicles with low hood lines, or where cargo area is needed.

Earle S. MacPhearson, a Ford engineer, developed a damper strut that worked with a coil spring to offer a smaller more compact spring system. These became widely accepted and used in most vehicles today. Rate of spring or Stiffness of spring is the term used to define how much energy the compressed spring will hold.

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TIRES AND PROPER CARE

Tires are the most important item on a car. The tires are the only items in contact with the road, they allow us to maintain control of the car on the pavement, and direction we want to go. An average car weighs around 2500 lbs. But the part of the road that is touching the road is only about the size of a postcard.

The maintenance of the tires can be the difference between loosing control and safe driving. When tires are improperly inflated then they loose their ability to maintain traction on the road.

Both an under inflated and over inflated tire does not have complete contact with the road for its surface. Over Inflated - When a tire is over inflated, only the middle part of the tread is touching the ground. Under Inflated - An under inflated tire has its side sections of the tread touching the ground. The sidewalls are also very soft allowing the tire to feel squishy.

It is important to check your tires on a regular basis. Make sure you check air while the tires are cold (when you have not driven). When the tires warm up, the air pressure rises slightly, and can give a false reading as to the actual tire pressure in the tires. You can check the sidewalls of the tires to find out specific information on the types of tires that you have. Some of the information you can find is the size of the tire, maximum air pressure recommended, and the speed rating.

The size of the tire is often the most cryptic part of the tire. Say your tire has 185/60H14 written on the side. This information is the size and speed rating of your tires. The 185 means that 185 centimeters is the width of your tread. The 60 represent the ratio the height of the side of the tire is to the tread. In other words the side of the tire measures to be 60% of the size of the tread.

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TRANSMISSION FLUID

Most car owners are not even aware that they need to change their transmission fluid! Some experts recommend that you should change your transmission fluid every 24,000 miles. Transmission fluid is "healthy" if it is reddish, or reddish-brown, with a strong but not "stale" odor. It also smells slightly acidic and is a clear tan color.

Nine out of every ten transmission failures are the result of heating and fluid contamination. Be careful! Draining your transmission fluid is not like draining oil. 70% of your transmission fluid is held within various components in your system. So when you are getting your vehicle serviced, make sure a thorough job is being performed on your vehicle.

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WARMING UP YOUR ENGINE

You cannot put stress on an engine faster than Reving it up on a cold winter morning to warm it up. This puts an incredible amount of stress on the engine because there hasn't been enough time for sufficient fuel lubrication.

The correct method to "warm up" a vehicle in low temperatures is: Start the car, run it for a few minutes, then stop the car and start it again.

Repeat this process for about 10 minutes. Turn on the car and immediately start driving, sticking to a low speed for about five minutes until the billowy white exhaust fumes subside. Turn on the car and let the engine run gently for several minutes, without revving the gas pedal or putting the car in gear.

This may sound a little ridiculous for those of you rushing to work, but it will pay off in the long run.

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