Essential Car Care

When Shiro Nakamura, an international artist and musician, became Nissan’s design chief, he has pushed that the company must be “looser and more creative” with their design concepts. Nakamura saw to it that hindrances between design and development were remedied and from then, engineers and designers were collaborated, and not anymore waiting on each other.

Koji Nagano, Nissan’s project design director, notes that, “Design is very emotional stuff.” On a more personal take, Nagano feeds his creativity with art and music. He shares in particular that he has a large aquarium at home and relates that the fish help him see colors he never saw before. “It is very organic, how the colors interact with one another.”

As with Nissan, a growing number of car designers aimed their “creative fires to animate cold, lifeless metal”. With the aesthetics and design in mind, it is best to also keep the end user in mind.

(Taken from Business World Highlife magazine, Issue 31)

Ahhh.. This is the fault of watching Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift too many times, I want to drift but don’t know where to start. So First of all, what is drifting? Wikipedia defines drifting as:

Drifting refers either to a driving technique, or to a sport based on the technique; this article deals primarily with the sport. When the rear slip angle is greater than the front slip angle, and the front wheels are pointed in the opposite direction to the turn (e.g. car is turning left, wheels are pointed right), and the driver is controlling this, the car is drifting.

And now the moment you’ve all been Waiting for.. The Video from Youtube

Remember.. Safety First…

Jaren Cudilla Posted This really awesome Post on StudyDriving.com : Going On a Road Trip and now this is a good reminder for us and we can make this as a basic checklist template.. whenever we’re planning a roadtrip. Exciting, yes.. I love roadtrips. It’s an escape from the realities of life. Driving makes me happy inside. Driving is my Inner Peace.

Going on a Road Trip? Here are tips for a safe, pleasant, worry-free road trip.

Before planning a road trip, make sure to have your car checked or serviced first, things like under the hood (the car battery, A/C, Engine Oil) and under the chassis (shocks, align wheels, as well as the exhaust systems)

Now on the actually going to the road trip part, Before leaving make sure you check :

1. Check the Brake Fluid Level. Fill up to the recommended level
2. Radiator coolant Level. Fill up to the recommended level
3. Window wiper Washer Level. Fill up to the recommended level
4. Check Brake lights, Headlights, foglamps, and always bring a spare bulbs
5. Check Fuses, bring spare fuses
6. Fuel tank. A full tank is wise choice
7. Check tire pressure. Inflate to recommended level
8. Check your spare tire, set of car tools, Early warning Device, First aid kit
9. Maps

Simple Tips I’ve learned from driving on long road trips

1. Bring Water for all the passengers.
2. Eat light snacks to keep you alert
3. To keep you charged, drink energy drinks, soft drinks, or fruit juices.
4. Don’t drive all the way take short breaks to stretch your muscles, If you have a replacement driver even better.
5. Whenever you feel sleepy, take a rest or switch with your co-driver.
6. Listen to a happy driving song, ( I listen to Gin Blossoms & Better than Ezra, whenever I go on a road trip)

Lastly, Have fun and Safe Road Trip.

One of the most important car maintenance tasks you should do regularly for your automatic transmission cars is to check the automatic transmission fluid.

1. Park the car in a level spot. Start the engine. The shifter must be in the “park” position.

2. Pull out the transmission dipstick. Consult your manual to know where you can find it. Wipe it off with a clean lint-fee rag. Insert the transmission dipstick back carefully.

3. If the car has just been used, the fluid level should be at the upper end of the HOT indicator, while if the engine’s not been running long, then it should be at the COLD end of the dipstick. The general rule is that brownish and blackish liquid must be replaced as soon as possible, but do check your manual just to be sure.

Ever noticed your neighbor’s dogs peeing on your all aluminum mag wheels, then wash it out immediately for the high salt content in their pee tends to eat away aluminum. This could lead to problems such as rusting at the wheel nuts and corrosion in the underside of the rims that can render them ugly and even lead to failure. Wash away debris and pee off the wheels so they don’t affect the appearance, you can also tell the neighbor so they get down to cleaning it for you as it’s their dog that did the thingy’.
Dogs have an insatiable appetite to mark their territory and having smelled scent from another dog triggers them to mark it over with their own product. This is bad news for alloy and aluminum wheels for it can find any kinks in the clear coat of the wheel rim (clear coat lacquer) that protects it from the elements. Getting some wiggle in your steering lately, might be some debris caught in the inner part of the rim you can’t see. Get the wheel taken out and better yet rotated so they wear out evenly. Have the service guy clean out the wheel to get rid of road tar and other contaminants which may be sticking to the other parts of the rim and wheel. Try some pepper oil and spray it onto the wheels, dogs hate it (produces a burning sensation onto their tender noses) and it’ll sure teach them not to do their business on your beautiful and shiny wheels.

Tires though made tough, need inspection from time to time which can give the driver an overview of their health. Unlike the other parts of your car, these rubber wonders of technology are the ones in contact with the road thus the ones that are sure to suffer even with normal driving. Have a tire that seems to get flat once too often, there might be a leak with the tire valve or a puncture that is too small to cause a major flat. There could also be a leak in the side walls where the rim meets the tire, this can be corrected easily by having it re-mounted. Technicians use a sort of sealant that makes the tire stick to the rims thus preventing leaks.
Erratic wear might be an indicator of unbalanced wear or a problem with the suspension, mention that to the mechanic next service appointment for inspection. Treads have a maximum wear indicator in the form of a bump (three or more) in between the tread impressions. Once they line-up with the tread’s surface, it’s time to get new ones. This is more a safety issue, for a worn out tire would not be able to grip the road properly in wet weather sending you hydro-planing across the road. Buckle Up and drive safe.

画像転載元: car-aircon.com

自動車を運転する時に、家庭や職場にいる時と同じレベルのくつろぎを求める現代人は多いでしょう。 ボタンを押したりレバーを引いたりするだけで、暑い車内がすぐに涼しくなったり、逆に暖かくなったりしますが、どうしてそのようなことができるのか、疑問に思うことすら稀です。

普通の人は、車の見た目 のほうにより興味を持っています。車内の清潔さにはあまり気を配らない人が多いようです。 カーペットを掃除機で綺麗にする、シートやサイドを常に清潔にしておくといったことで、エアコンの寿命を延ばすことができるのです。 車内が清潔なら、気分がいいのはもちろん、エアコンの内部に埃がたまることを防いでくれるのです。 それによって、車載エアコンのACシステムの効率が上がります。
その結果、定期的な修理の回数を減らし、維持費を大幅に減らすだけでなく、もちろん車内の空気もよくしてくれます。

車を維持するのはかなりお金がかかるが、いくつかの問題は決して無視するべきではない。 修理をするのが遅れるともっと多くの問題につながり、修理に大金がかかる事になる。 ここにトップ５の車の問題がある。

1. ブレーキ：車で一番安全な物だ。もしブレーキパッドがすり減っていたり、油圧システムが漏れている場合は、直ちに修理すべきだ。

2. オイル：車のオイルを交換する事で、エンジンやトランスミッションの寿命を延長するのを助け、オイル交換は高価なトランスミッションの分解点検からお金を使う事を省ける。

3.タイミングベルト：タイミングベルトの怠慢はエンジンをだめにする。

4. ステアリング（操舵）：すり減ったステアリングシステムは主な危険要素だけでなく、タイヤがすり減るのを早くする原因だ。

5. 水のポンプ（ウォーター・ポンプ）：ブンブンとうなるような音を聞いたら、内部の警告灯はだめになっているので、交換する必要がある。

Image Source:insidesocal.com

Most car manufacturers advise car owners that they change engine oil once a year for a brand new car or when they reach 7,500 miles. Whichever comes first. That is for gasoline powered engines. But for diesel powered engines, the time or mileage is shorter, usually you are required to change oil every 300 miles or once every six months. All this recommendations are applicable in normal or ideal driving conditions. And unfortunately, normal ideal driving for most of us means, in actuality, severe service driving. Severe service driving, which we often think as ideal driving are the often short trips under 10 miles, city driving… most likely a stop and go traffic situation, driving in dusty roads and sustained highway driving in hot seasons.

Image Source: car-aircon.com

As we drive our automobiles today, most of us would want to enjoy the same comfort levels that we are accustomed to at home and at work. With the push of a button or the slide of a lever, we make the seamless transition from hot environment to cooling and back again without ever wondering how this change occurs.

Most people are so fixated with exterior appearance of their car; little do they know that the cleanliness of the interior part is as important. Vacuuming the carpets and wiping the seats and sides prolongs the life of the air condition. Not only does it maintain the cleanliness of the inside but it prevents the car’s air condition from accumulating dust. Thus helps the efficiency of the vehicle’s AC system.
This will significantly minimize the frequency repair and reduce higher operating costs and add comfort.