Does cold weather affect car fuel consumption?

Question : Does cold weather affect car fuel consumption?

Answer : Yes !! It most certainly does. Cold air is more dense so the aerodynamic drag of pushing the vehicle through the air is higher than when pushing through hot air. Also it requires more fuel to warm the engine to normal operating condition as it has to run rich (choke) for a longer period of time.

Also in cold weather engine oil is thicker, transmission and axle oil are also thicker so it requires more power to pump the oils and move the gears. Colder tires also don't roll as easily as warm tires.

Anti-freeze - Which one is right for you?

Anti-freeze : Antifreeze is used in internal combustion engines, and for many other heat transfer applications, such as electronics cooling and chillers for HVAC. Compounds are added to water to reduce the freezing point of the mixture to below the lowest temperature that the system is likely to be exposed to, and to inhibit corrosion in cooling systems which often contain a range of electrochemically incompatible metals (aluminum, cast iron, copper, lead solder, etc.).

Now we know the technical meaning , but What anti-freeze is right for your car?

There is the old style that is green in color and is used in most cars from 1996 and older. GM uses Dex-Cool which is orange in cooler on its newer vehicles. Ford uses Yellow and Honda uses red and so on.... This can be confusing at times. But remember one thing. You can not mix green with any other color or it may cause damage to the engine and other cooling/heating system components.

You should try to use like colors with the different vehicles and if it says use Dex-Cool only... then use Dex-Cool only.

Happy New Year - Drive Safe

New Year's Eve is upon us along with the temptation to drink and drive. Keep in mind that all police enforcement are asked to work this night. The Police refer to this night as "Amateur night" and are constantly looking to enforce the no drinking and driving law.

If you do not drink but do get out and drive , please be extra cautious and aware of those that have decided to tempt the police. Drive defensively , drive as if anyone around you might be drunk at the wheel. Let them go first at the stop sign, Let the guy over that is trying to get in front of you and in extreme cases, pull to the side of the road and let them get far enough away that they can't harm you or your vehicle.

If you do decide to drink, drink responsibly !!

Alaska Lemon Law Information

The Alaska Lemon Law applies when, during the first year following delivery of the new vehicle: 1)the dealer has attempted to repair the same problem three or more times, or 2)the vehicle has been out of service due to repair attempts by the dealer for a total of 30 or more business days. The defect or problem must substantially impair the use or the market value of the vehicle, & must not be the result of alteration, abuse or neglect.

Toys for Tots urgently needs your help.

Marines Toys for Tots is in need of your help in reaching their goals this year to keep form leaving many needy children without gifts this holiday. By sending free eCards from Month2Month.com, a cash contribution is made to Toys for Tots. Here's where to get the month2month free eCards . The Marine's are trying to gather the much needed money to purchase toys for children that have not yet received one. "the Foundation is encouraging people to make cash contributions because it allows them to purchase the toys they need to fill in gaps and match the remaining needs" (see full press release below). month2month.com has made it easy to contribute by sending eCards. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Bill Grein Marine Toys for Tots V: 703-640-9433 F: 703-640-0917 wjgrein@toysfortots.org http://www.toysfortots.org/ Steven Marcus Month2Month.com V: 914-933-2638 F: 501-325-9147 smarcus@month2month.com http://www.month2month.com/ Marines Toys for Tots Needs Last Minute Help Quantico, VA. December 21, 2007 / PR Newswire – The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is making a nationwide last minute appeal for more toys. Since time is critical as they go into their toy distribution phase this weekend the Foundation is encouraging people to make cash contributions because it allows them to purchase the toys they need to fill in gaps and match the remaining needs. One novel way to get cash immediately into the hands of the Marines is to send lots of holiday eCards to everyone you know. Month2Month.com, a free eCard website has agreed to contribute up to $50,000 when their cards are sent and received. Bill Grein, Vice President for Marines Toys for Tots, said: "Cash contributions are critical for us at this time because we can purchase the toys we need and can place them where they are needed most at the last minute. It will help us close a gap in many areas where the economy, toy recalls and even bad weather have caused us to come short of our goals so far. We urge everyone to take advantage of this wonderful offer from Month2Month." John Aslanian, CEO of Month2Month.com said: "We are expecting to have 1 million cards sent in the next few days that could result in a contribution of up to $50,000. We know that for some the economy might be putting a crimp in their generosity. But what this can do is to save them the cost of buying cards and the postage. We are asking everyone to send these cards, even if they already sent other cards, to help make this a merry Christmas and happy holiday for many more needy children." Month2Month.com cards are all produced by top-notch artists working in a loft studio just outside of New York City. The cards show great care in design and detail and often take weeks or months to complete. They are all professionally animated often requiring hundreds of frames to get the motion to look smooth and flowing. Month2Month.com is a privately held online greeting company founded in 2005. The site offers free high quality online greeting cards and can be found at http://www.month2month.com/. This year marks the 60th anniversary for the Toys for Tots tradition of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. In 2006, Toys for Tots delivered more than 19.2 million toys to over 7.6 million children.

Aptera - Best Fuel Mileage ?

The Aptera was designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle, and later as an extended range electric vehicle. After building the proof-of-concept Mk-0, we hired the automotive design firm, 'eleven', to help us further develop the concept vehicle. The 'eleven' team, led by Jason Hill and Nathan Armstrong, made great strides in the development of the Aptera's body styling, interior design, and structural engineering.

Crash Testing----------------------Aptera has been working quietly with CD-Adapco and ABAQUS for several months, conducting frontal offset crash test simulations. Using these incredibly powerful tools, we are continually refining and testing our vehicles in software, performing numerous 'virtual crashes' on computers. Our next step is to corroborate the data with live crash tests.

The real deal about Aptera's Mileage---------------------------------------------------------With the All Electric Aptera, it is very easy to figure out the mileage range. The mileage is determined by the distance you can drive, under normal circumstances, until the batteries are effectively drained. In the case of the first Aptera typ-1e, we have calculated the range to be about 120miles.

Aptera

Spark Plugs -

The spark plug theory: It forces electricity to arc across a gap, just like lightning. The electricity must be at a very high voltage in order to travel across the gap and create a good spark. Voltage at the spark plug can be anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000 volts. The spark plug must have an insulated path for this high voltage to travel down to the electrode, where it can jump the gap and, from there, be conducted into the engine block and grounded. The plug also has to withstand the extreme heat and pressure inside the cylinder, and must be designed so that deposits from fuel additives do not build up on the plug. Spark plugs use a ceramic insert to isolate the high voltage at the electrode, ensuring that the spark happens at the tip of the electrode and not anywhere else on the plug; this insert does double-duty by helping to burn off deposits. Ceramic is a fairly poor heat conductor, so the material gets quite hot during operation. This heat helps to burn deposits from the electrode. How often do you need to change them ? If your car's engine is equipped with a carburetor, then you will need to replace the spark plugs about once a year or every 15,000 miles. For Fuel Injected engines before 1996 the plugs will need to be replaced every two years or every 30,000 miles. For Fuel Injected engines that are 1996 or newer, the spark plugs will only need to be replaced every 80,000 to 100,000 miles.

Pay Per Play - New

Well it is getting close to the new year and if you are like myself , you are still banging away at your keyboard in an effort to make some money !! Pay Per Play is here.

HERE is the NEWEST way to make money with little effort and no clicking needed. That's right no one has to click on the add . It is a 5 Second audio add, just like the one you heard when you entered this site. The add you heard is just an example, the program will not start running adds until Feb 1, 2008. That's how new it is. I signed up today and can't wait to start making that money. There are a limited number of sites they are going to accept, so sign up now.

Straight to sign up page

If you want to know more and are interested in earning money from your website check out how at Pay Per Play

Wiring Diagrams

Looking for Automotive wiring diagrams all over the net but can't seem to find a good source. Well look no further. You can get full automotive wiring diagrams that will cover your entire car for just $9.99. Along with the wiring diagrams you will receive full repair instructions, diagnostic charts, factory recall information and even Service Bulletins. This is the same information the dealers use to help them service your car.

All you have to do is choose your vehicle and fill out the subscription form for whatever length of time you wish and you will have full online access to all the information you could ever want. Yes, you heard me right,,, all of it is accessible on line right from your home computer. So if you need a wiring diagram this is the place to go. Online Automotive Wiring Diagrams

Ultimate Brake Tool

Speaking as a professional mechanic this is by far the most used tool during a brake job aside from my impact gun. Do your normal remove the tire and caliper bit, then remove the outer brake pad and insert this tool. A couple of firm squeezes and the caliper is fully compressed. And the best thing is that it will save you time. For a mechanic, anything that will save you time and effort is a definite win. If you get a chance to buy one of these, you won't be disappointed. I purchased mine from the Weekly Tool Guy that stops by our shop , But you can buy yours online from several places.

Just Google "Lisle Speedy Brake Pad Spreader"