Transmission Flush

Posts Tagged ‘Cars’

In one sense, your car is living being. All living beings need substance to survive. Fluids provide this for your automobile and without it they would quickly die. You’ll find yourself with a heap that won’t move and will just be lying on the side of the road. Maintaining the fluid levels in your automobile is an easy job. This is something that even an introductory mechanic can handle. More importantly, it’s fun and will add years the life of your car.

While it is important to always maintain these levels, you specifically want to make sure that prior to long trips you take care of this maintenance task. There are seven areas in your car that need liquid to survive: window washer, air conditioner, engine, radiator, battery, brakes and transmission. Let’s take a quick look at each one and ensure that your car stays on the road.

Window Washer-This is probably the easiest of all tasks with the reservoir being located in the rear of the engine compartment. If you’re having trouble locating it, consult your owner’s manual. Most newer automobiles will have a warning light that comes on indicating that it needs to be filled. You may want to add a little bit of Windex to improve the cleaning capabilities of your washers. You’ll find this useful tip when dealing with bugs and road salt, as it will remove them from your windshield easier.

Air Conditioner-While this is an area that needs to be checked, it is not usually something the armchair mechanic can handle. While it is important to check this fluid level, this is a task that you should trust to a certified mechanic that specializes in air conditioning.

Engine-For an automobile, oil is the equivalent of blood. Without oil, your engine would lock up and become completely useless. The procedure itself is quite simple. Take your automobile out for a quick ride and find a nice spot to let it cool down for about five minutes. This will give the oil needed time to settle into the sump. Open your hood and find the dipstick, it will be located in the front of the engine and usually has a distinctive handle. Remove the dipstick and wipe it down and then reinsert it in the reservoir. If the level is low add a quart and re-check it. Repeat the process until you have an acceptable level. Do not overfill it as this will lead to problems.

Radiator-This is a process that you want to do when the engine is luke warm, not cold. Also make note at the radiator should never be checked while the car is on. The radiator cap is easy to locate as it is in the center of the engine compartment. Be careful and use a rag to remove it. Simply look down and see if the fluid is at a high level. If it’s near the top your fine if not you’re going to have to add some fluid. The mix for engine coolant is 50% water and 50% coolant. You are also going to want to check the coolant reservoir. This is a plastic reservoir on the side of the radiator with a hose that connects it. This should be filled about two thirds of the way.

Battery-If you have a maintenance free battery, this is a simple task as you need do nothing. However, if you have a standard battery, the cells will need refilling. The cells will either screw off or be pried off with a flat screwdriver. This should be filled with distilled water. Caution should be used when filling a battery, as it contains sulfuric acid. Use the necessary precautions.

Brakes-Locate the brake fluid reservoir, it is usually in the engine compartment. Take off the lid and check the level. It is not at least two thirds full replenish it to the full line with brake fluid. If this is a consistent problem, you may want to have a mechanic look at it.

Transmission-for an automatic transmission, the dipstick is usually located behind the oil stick at a lower level. When checking this fluid, your automobile should be on and running. This is a sealed system, therefore, if you’re fluid is low is probably an indication of a leak. This will be easily confirmed by an oil like stain underneath your automobile. If the fluid is very dark or black, this is a sign that it needs to be changed.

As you can see, checking all of these should take no time at all. However, the few minutes that you do spend maintaining your automobile’s fluid levels will save you lots of money and prolong the life of your car.

Hybrid means the resultant product of two or more things and a hybrid car is a car that runs efficiently on two fuels- gas and electricity. It combines the advantages of being fuel efficient and environment friendly as well as cost efficient.

Generally, the hybrid cars are designed in such a way that they have two different  engines- a gasoline engine to start and stop the car and an electrical engine to actually move the car. When two such engines are used, the car need not necessarily depend wholly on gasoline, which in turn brings down the cost of the gasoline being used.

Hybrid cars can also be categorized based on their modes of operation as series hybrid cars and parallel hybrid cars. In the former type, the gasoline engine starts the car and then the electrical engine takes over control of the car. The gas engine is also responsible for charging the batteries.

In the latter type of parallel hybrid cars, both the gas and electric engines are used to start and stop the car and also to enhance the power of the vehicle whenever needed and parallel hybrid cars are more fuel efficient than their series counterparts.

It is widely claimed that hybrid cars increase the efficiency of the fuel. This is justified by the fact that hybrid cars are made up of light weight materials. Therefore, the load on the hybrid car is brought down to a great extent and hence it does not need more fuel to move. The size of the engine of a hybrid car is less than that of other cars.  In addition, the tires of the hybrid cars are firmer than those of regular cars.

Evidently, hybrid cars emit lower amounts of carbon di oxide into the atmosphere, reducing the green house emissions as much as fifty percent. One more advantage of a hybrid car is that it has a self charging feature and so, there is no need to plug into an outlet which is very convenient while going on a long journey. The battery is recharged while it is running slow or not in motion.

In conclusion, it can be authentically stated that hybrid cars are more economical than other vehicles because they consume only fifty to sixty percent less fuel and are undoubtedly environment friendly. But the high cost of the hybrid car is a drawback but that can be overcome if more and more environment-conscious people come forward to purchase hybrid cars, due to the obvious benefits. Hybrid cars offer a good chance for every car user to contribute his part in saving the greenery of the earth and make it a better place to live in!

Now a days we always hear of all things initiating with automobiles getting environment friendly. Hybrid Car is a type of car which runs on the alternative source of energy and gasoline. It is a combination of  two types of engines working together namely a standard gas powered engine and an electric motor supported by  the rechargeable nickel-metal hydride battery which is  charged with electricity.

A Hybrid car is a perfect solution to the problems like deteriorating environmental conditions and rising oil prices.  The increase in consumption of fossil fuels has resulted in the depletion of these reserves on earth. Thus, using hybrid cars would at least cut down the consumption to a large extent.

The future hybrid cars are mostly concentrating on the development of the engine and trying to increase its horsepower up to the maximum level. The future models of the hybrid cars are carefully designed as per the modern requirements.

They are mostly trying to develop the cars which are more fuel efficient, powerful, stylish, and better than the conventional sports cars. The models of these cars are remodeled and structured many times before finalizing the structure of the models.

The future hybrid cars once completed, it would be very difficult to select the best variety of hybrid cars. It would also lead to an emergence of a new concept in hybrid cars i.e. the car racing which is still at a very primitive stage in terms of hybrid cars.

There are various options available online such as Hybrid sports car reviews and mileage counter which can be utilized for selecting the best sports car. Apart from these, there are many varieties of cars available such as the cars that are stylish and give you the satisfaction of driving a sports car. These cars are also available in cool designs, stylish classy looks, and advanced engine.

 

Hybrid cars are great and have a lot of advantages, no doubt about it. Hybrid cars save you gas, therefore keeping your wallet thick! These cars also have less contribution to the greenhouse effect than conventional cars. These are the two biggest pros of a hybrid car. But we all know if something has advantages, it has disadvantages too!

The Price

The biggest disadvantage of hybrid cars is definitely the price! For instance, the 2008 Toyota Camry costs about $19,000, while the hybrid version costs almost $25,000. That is approximately a $6,000 difference, which is a lot of money. Another example is the 2008 Honda Civic with a base price of $15,000, while the Civic Hybrid is costs $7,000 more. On average, the hybrid version of a car costs between $2,000 and $4,000 more than the non- hybrid version.

Dangerous in Accidents

Although the electric engine gives you more mileage and helps you save gas, it can be also dangerous in a collision. Most hybrid cars use metal hydride batteries and the high voltage that they store can be really unsafe when the wires are exposed, thus there is a chance the driver will get electrocuted when involved in an accident.

The Battery

As mentioned above, the batteries in hybrid cars can kill theoretically. There are some other issues with the battery. Hybrid car manufacturers include warranties to cover the batteries for 80,000-100,000 miles. The carmakers also say the car’s battery will last forever. But what if something unforeseen happens and the car’s batteries are not under warranty anymore? Unfortunately batteries cost a fortune! The other problem with the batteries is that it needs to be recharged at least every second week. So, if you go to vacation you might need to find a “car-sitter” to take care of your car. Some hybrid car owners also report problems with the battery in cold weather.

Performance

No offense, but most hybrid cars are slow! They have slower acceleration and a lower top-speed than conventional counterparts. If you are in need for speed, hybrid cars won’t satisfy your needs! Hybrid cars will make you drive slow, which is actually not a bad thing!

Despite all these drawbacks, hybrid cars are the way to! Car manufacturers are working to eliminate these disadvantages. I am pretty sure hybrid cars in the near future will be lighter, safer and provide better performance!

 

Hybrid cars have been getting a lot of buzz the last three or four years, and now with the soaring cost of oil and gasoline, hybrids are expected to get hotter than ever. Here are some Questions and Answers about hybrids.

1. What is a hybrid car?

A vehicle is a hybrid when it combines two or more sources of power. Hybrid cars almost always have a gasoline engine and an auxiliary electric motor system that runs off rechargeable batteries.

We normally assume that the point of hybridization is to save fuel, and that is definitely the case with most of the smaller compacts and sedans. But in fact some of the more upscale hybrid models are more concerned with boosting power and “performance” without the usual loss in fuel efficiency.

2. Do you have to plug your hybrid in at night?

You may assume because a hybrid car runs part of the time off its battery pack, that it is necessary to plug it in at night and recharge the batteries (like a golf cart!). But this is almost never the case. Hybrid cars recharge their batteries “on the fly” by making use of unused energy which is normally wasted during normal driving.

For instance, most have a system that captures some of the energy used while applying the brakes, and converts it to electrical energy to charge the battery. This is called “regenerative braking”.

If hybrids had larger battery packs that you could plug into the electricity grid, they would be able to transfer more of the vehicle’s power requirements over to the electric motor(s), and use even less gasoline. But most auto makers have been unwilling to go this route, arguing that today’s batteries could not take the extra load and more extensive usage.

3. Do you have to replace the batteries?

The short answer is No. Hybrid batteries typically have an 80,000 – 100,000 mile warranty. The U.S. Department of Energy tested them to 160,000 miles and stopped testing because they still performed almost like they were brand new. Some taxi drivers have gone more than 200,000 miles in a Toyota Prius without battery problems.

In any event, since hybrid battery packs have hundreds of cells, individual cells or modules could be replaced if there was a problem.

The best way to keep nickel metal hydride batteries performing at their peak is to keep their charge between 40% and 60% — never fully charged and never fully drained to zero power.

4. How long have hybrids been around?

Alternatives to the ICE (internal combustion engine) in automobiles have been around since at least 1900. The first patent for a gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle was filed in 1905. Alternative fuel sources were wiped out as a result of two things. First was the development of the electric self-starter (in 1913) that made gasoline driven cars much easier to start.

The second development was the advent of the age of cheap oil that started around the time of the first World War. This completely removed the economic incentive to look for alternative fuel sources. This is only starting to change now, 80 years later.

5. Are hybrids expensive to purchase?

In January, 2006, there were 10 different hybrid models available from $19,000 to $53,000. The most popular models — the Insight, Civic, and Prius — are less than $30,000. According to auto maker announcements there should be more than 50 models available by 2010. As sales and production increase the prices should not be significantly more than for standard ICE models.

Even with the slightly higher average cost for a hybrid — usually around $3,000 — these additional initial costs can be offset by federal and state tax incentives, lower maintenance costs, and exceptionally strong resale values.

6. Are hybrids small and underpowered?

Initial hybrid models emphasized fuel economy, so were much lighter vehicles, and had smaller engines. The objective was to offset the loss of power in the ICE with additional power from the electric motor. This would result in essentially the same level of power while burning less fuel.

But this principle does not have to result in underpowered vehicles. In fact the Lexus Rx400h and Toyota Highlander Hybrid both have a 270 horsepower power system. And the Lexus GS 450h hybrid sedan is expected to have more than 300 horsepower and go 0-to-60 in less than six seconds. Taking the quest for hybrid power even further, the Toyota Volta concept venicle has a 408 hp power plant.

7. What is the main reason people buy hybrid vehicles?

Saving money on fuel is the first thing most buyers think of. But, in fact, the amount saved on fuel over the life of the vehicle may not equal the extra purchase cost of the hybrid.

There are obviously other factors at play in the gradually building popularity of hybrids. Some people want to make a “green” statement, others simply want to be the first on the block with a new and promising technology.

8. Will hybrid technology save the environment?

There’s no doubt about it. Hybrids are becoming more popular. In the past five years hybrid sales in the U.S. have grown 2000 percent. Sales in 2000 were 9,500, and by the end of 2005 had grown to over 200,000.

But even this larger number is just 1.2% of the 17 million new cars sold last year. If every hybrid gave double the current fuel economy, from an average of 20 mpg to, say, 40 mpg, that would save roughly 100,000 gallons of gasoline a day. But that amount pales in comparison to the total daily gasoline consumption in the U.S. — 400 million gallons! The savings of 100,000 gallons would bring that number all the way down to … 399,900,000 gallons.

Not very significant. Obviously governments and auto makers will have to start getting very serious about hybrid technology before it will make a significant difference.

9. Does that mean hybrid technology is only a fad?

No it does not. Because the only way towards a sustainable future is to find a combination of fuels that will reduce our almost total dependence on oil. Hydrogen fueled vehicles will be part of that future, as will fuel cells, deisel, and alternative fuels such as ethanol.

But what is almost certain is that every promising solution will involve some kind of hybrid combination of technologies. So today’s hybrid vehicles are an important and necessary step towards a much more promising and sustainable future.

Hybrid cars are the Model T of our century. They are cars produced to reduce greenhouse gases, at the same time to get better gas mileage than other vehicles which no one probably dreamed would be at all possible, but hybrid owner is grateful since the huge increase in gas prices in recent months. But do you know what is behind the hybrid cars’ ability to reduce emissions? How do they work?

A hybrid car is a cross of two kinds of cars: the fuel-driven and the electric car. Let us see how the two work and how they can function as one hybrid engine.

Fuel-driven engines of cars have a fuel tank, an internal-combustion engine, and a transmission, which work to let the wheels of the car go round and round. Fuel from the fuel tank is sent to the engine, which it processes through the transmission to make the wheels turn.

The same process goes through electric cars, but battery packs are used to send electricity to the motor. The motor then processes this through the transmission, which then makes the wheels turn.

A hybrid car has the parts of both the fuel-driven and the electric vehicle, including fuel tank, gas engine, battery pack, generator, and transmission. Some differences include the gas engine which is smaller on hybrid cars, and developed for more efficiency and emitting less harmful gases to the environment. Transmissions can be constructed so differently in some hybrids, but with the same basic purpose.

The one item a hybrid has that neither the electric nor the conventional car have is the generator. The generator on a hybrid is used to produce electricity, making the hybrid more efficient than an electric car because it does not have to stop to charge up.

The part that distinguishes a hybrid from the electric and the conventional car is the generator. This generator produces electricity, which makes the hybrid car more efficient than the electric car because there is not need to stop just to recharge.

A hybrid harnesses the power from electricity and gasoline using a computer system that commands the engine to shut off when its speed is 15 miles per hour or less. It can also tell the motor to push more when there is a need in getting uphill.

Let’s go back to the smaller engine size to understand how the hybrid vehicle works more efficiently. Its design, as you can see, is for the driver’s actual, not possible, needs. The traditional vehicle normally has a heavy engine for times it is really needed. But both energy and gasoline are wasted because we hardly need to step on it as much. The lighter and smaller parts of the hybrid engine can meet the actual needs of most drivers. There, so less energy and fuel are used unnecessarily in moving the heavy engine.

Hence, the power from two energies in the hybrid cars, electricity and gasoline, are more efficiently used in the long run. You are being eco-friendly too, the more you use the hybrid.

The price of fuel and the damage it brings to our environment has become more severe, and because of that, hybrid cars are currently considered as very beneficial to the preservation of the environment and natural resources. The reason behind this is that hybrid vehicles do not depend mainly on fuel for it to have power, but it also makes use of electricity resulting to a smaller amount of fuel consumption and less emitted air pollution.

List of hybrid cars should be provided so that people have options on what particular brand can be the best for fuel economy– is it hybrid suv, toyota hybrid car?

A hybrid car integrates an electric motor and gasoline engine to provide sufficient power to the vehicle with least fuel usage and fewer emissions. They are also far more fuel-efficient than purely gas-run cars, and far more practical for daily use than purely electric-powered cars. Integrating the two sources of power, a vehicle then is developed that is relatively non-polluting and will lead to less fuel consumption which means it possesses enough power to have freeway speeds that does not require too much fuel, it is also great for the stop and go driving in traffic laden areas.

The hybrid car was designed due to the result of the demand and clamor to clean the environment from pollutions and for the need to rely less on fuel consumption. To be able to recharge, plugging the hybrid into an electric outlet is not a necessity.They are charged by themselves by means of power usually lost during coasting and braking and can also be charged by the car’s gasoline engine.

It can offer many benefits than the usual regular gasoline engine type cars. Here is a list of a number of advantages hybrid cars offer.

Pollution is less promoted

It is a fact that the continuous ruin to our ozone layer is due to the greenhouse effect, and one of the factor that is contributing to its damage is pollution in the air, in which hazardous chemicals are transferred to the air, like carbon dioxide that are emitted by cars. The measure of carbon dioxide emitted by the hybrid vehicle is principally relative to the quantity of fuel it consumes; thus hybrid cars can extremely be a contributing factor in minimizing the advancement of global warming.

With the utilization of hybrid cars, fewer fuel is used because hybrid car do not totally use gas in order to operate, it also makes use of electricity, a power source that does not bring any danger to the environment.

More mileage with minimal fuel consumption

Another clear advantage of hybrid car is that it saves on gas. With the utilization of hybrid vehicles, you are able to save gas money because you don’t need to buy gas after every long trip wherein you can go several miles consuming less fuel.