Author: zaMKADpride
07 May 2015 12:31
Tags: auto interesting useful things
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Most adults have a car, so why not make the trip from point A to point B as comfortable as possible? These simple and clever tips will take car ownership to a new level of comfort and make your life a lot easier.
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Remove mobile snowdrift
Winter gives us a new sophistication on this topic: every now and then there are cars on the roads with huge snowdrifts on the roof, trunk, and sometimes on the hood. The advice here is simple: never stoop to such a ride yourself! And it’s not just a matter of aesthetics: such a traveler’s snowdrift can cause a lot of trouble. Let's list just a few: if such a snowdrift slides onto the hood, it will block visibility; when driving, it can cause serious damage to the car driving behind; in a parking lot, such a car looks abandoned, provoking thieves to steal something from it. And aerodynamics are also deteriorating, gluttony is increasing, etc.
What to do if gas is low
If the gas level drops to zero and the car stalls, there is a way to make it to the nearest gas station without pushing the car. Usually, when the car stalls, there are still 3-4 liters of gasoline left in the gas tank. However, the pump can no longer reach this level. Take a rubber ball or a thick plastic bag and pour about a liter of any liquid into it. Tie a strong rope to the end of the bag. Very carefully lower the structure into the tank, secure the free end of the rope firmly to the gas tank cap. This will raise the gas level.
Alloy wheels
From the name it is clear that the technology for producing cast products consists of pouring molten metal into the shape of a future wheel. In general the process looks like this:
- Melting raw materials and bringing to a homogeneous mass.
- Pouring the alloy into the mold.
- The frozen part is removed from the mold and machined to remove excess metal and balance.
- Testing the product at various speeds and simulated shock loads.
Advantages and disadvantages of alloy wheels
The main advantage of this type of disc is their attractive appearance. As a rule, this becomes the reason to buy an alloy wheel. The choice of different configurations is significantly extensive and every motorist will be able to choose a model specifically for their vehicle.
The choice of alloy wheels is huge, which allows you to choose a “casting” for any car based on both appearance and price. Naturally, products from the world's leading brands cannot a priori be cheap. In the photo: Audi alloy wheels
In addition to this, the cast disc has other advantages:
- The low weight of the product has a positive effect on controllability and efficiency.
- The dynamics are increased and the braking distance is shortened.
- Long service life.
- Accuracy of disk balancing.
In practice, the real benefit of alloy wheels is felt only in durability and beautiful appearance. The remaining characteristics can only be noticed by very experienced drivers.
As for the disadvantages, the first weak point of cast products is that a strong impact can cause a crack. A cast disc cannot be repaired (although domestic craftsmen are trying to weld them). In addition, the cost is significantly higher in comparison with stamped options by at least 50%. Also, the service of changing tires at a tire shop costs a little more.
Alloy wheels are not designed to carry too much load. Therefore, they are prohibited from being installed on minibuses, large SUVs and small trucks.
Visit supermarkets!
About gifts again? No, the point is that in the cold, from time to time the car can buckle: say, the summer washer is frozen, the windows or trunk are stuck, the folding mirrors do not obey. In such cases, if you still managed to get into the salon, it is best to warm up the car a little - the underground parking lots of various retail establishments are suitable for this. Just don’t forget, when leaving the establishment, to treat the rubber seals and other capricious elements with silicone grease, otherwise you will have to travel to such places constantly.
Fill the tank with the “wrong” washer fluid
We have already spoken on this topic so many times that it is enough for a dozen media outlets. For cold regions with real Russian frosts, you need unauthorized isopropyl washer fluids, which are smelly and thickening, and normal methanol ones - like in Canada and Scandinavia. They will not lose their fluidity in the cold and will give you a good view. Fortunately, they are sold at markets and other stalls. They have one drawback: they are definitely not suitable for internal consumption. But would a normal person do this?
Forged wheels
Despite the name of the type, it does not quite correctly reflect the disc manufacturing procedure. The product is not forged, but is forced out of a heated alloy under high pressure using a hydraulic press.
Forged wheels are visually similar to cast ones
Main stages of the production process:
- Preparation of the alloy and pouring into a cylindrical mold.
- Passing through several stages of pressing.
- Heat treatments for hardening the alloy and relieving internal stresses.
- The spoke pattern and disc configuration are created using special equipment.
- Passing tests at peak overloads.
Advice from experienced car enthusiasts: what works and what no longer works?
Many experienced motorists, who drove a car back in the Soviet Union, like to give newcomers various kinds of advice. But in modern realities, not all of them are equally useful. Let's figure out which tricks of experienced drivers are worth adopting, and which are no longer relevant.
Gasoline allows you to remove bitumen and midges from the body
Experienced drivers are advised to wipe off bitumen or crushed midges from the body using gasoline, kerosene or white spirit. This is really good advice, but beginners still shouldn’t use it.
The fact is that wiping the body with these products should be done extremely carefully - otherwise there is a considerable risk of damaging the paintwork. This can happen due to excessive force or if this process is carried out in the sun.
Having decided to remove midges or bitumen stains from the car body, it is recommended that the owner wait until the evening, when the sun disappears below the horizon. Then you should apply the selected special product to a clean soft cloth and quickly, but without unnecessary effort, wipe the contaminated area
If something is done wrong, a cloudy spot may appear on the paintwork, which, most likely, can only be removed by repainting. Note that a similar nuisance can happen during refueling if you spill gasoline on the body and do not immediately wash it off with running water.
Only its owner can wash a car properly.
Experienced motorists (most often of Soviet origin) believe that only its owner can wash a car efficiently, advising “young people” to avoid specialized car washes. In their opinion, the employees of the latter do their job carelessly, while armed with a bucket and a rag the driver can clean even the most inaccessible places of his car.
There is some truth in their words, but such cleaning will require a lot of time and effort. In addition, wiping the body of modern cars with an ordinary rag is not the best idea. Of course, dirt will be removed from the car, but this poses a risk of harming the paintwork, leaving barely noticeable scratches and abrasions.
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In addition, do not forget that washing a car in courtyards, garage cooperatives or in nature is no longer legal, so the only thing left to do for water treatments is to go to the dacha (if you have one).
In general, washing your car yourself can be a good idea only if you have the appropriate equipment, namely high-pressure washing systems, which are also used in specialized car washes. Still, a bucket with a rag today is more like a hello from the past.
Cleaning headlights with toothpaste
Over time, the headlights become cloudy and become covered with a web of small cracks and chips, which not only spoils the appearance of the car, but also worsens the functionality of the head optics, which no longer illuminate the road as well as before.
In times of shortage, when simply replacing the headlight plastic with a new one was problematic, many experienced motorists tried to restore the lighting equipment to its original form using ordinary toothpaste.
It was believed that this accessible abrasive, when applied to the surface with a certain force, allows one to polish the top layer of plastic, eliminating minor abrasions and slightly improving its light transmittance.
However, the effectiveness of this method is extremely low. In addition, today there are special polishes for plastic on sale. They cost not much more than the same toothpaste, but the results are more noticeable. In general, this advice is no longer relevant today.
Cleaning windows with tobacco
Many older generation motorists believe that they can clean the windshield and side windows of dirt and fingerprints with a pack of cheap cigarettes, namely those containing tobacco. Other (younger) drivers are surprised by this method, to put it mildly, but in fact its effectiveness has been proven in practice.
To clean the interior and exterior of the car, you will need three or four gutted cigarettes. The tobacco obtained in this way must be laid out on a wet rag and wait until it gets wet, dyeing the fabric in the appropriate color.
After this, you can begin to wipe the glass with slow circular movements. The procedure must be repeated two to three times, and then rinse the glass with clean water. If everything is done correctly, the result will surprise even people who are skeptical about this method.
Cleaning windows with tobacco allows you not only to get rid of grease stains and dirt, but also to achieve ideal transparency. The only drawback of the method is the characteristic smell of tobacco in the cabin, and the drawback is quite significant.
Use sandpaper to restore wipers
After winter, the windshield wiper blades need to be cleaned of any dirt that has accumulated on them. To do this, it is recommended to use a solvent, after which it would also be a good idea to rub the wipers with silicone.
However, some experienced drivers advise “young people” to use sandpaper to grind down the edge of the cleaning cloth. In their opinion, this contributes to better contact of the brush surface with the glass.
Perhaps in the Soviet years, when wipers were made from a one-component mixture, and they were just a strip of rubber, this method worked, but today windshield wiper blades consist of many different layers, coated on top with graphite.
If you go through sandpaper, the integral structure of the windshield wipers will be damaged, which is why you will soon have to fork out for a new set. In general, this advice is not worth taking into account.
Pour alcohol into the gas tank in autumn and spring
