How to get better mileage out of your own car

Most people worry about the mileage of a car when they buy it, but they don't realize that without proper maintenance you can very quickly change your 26 mpg car to an 18 mpg car.

1. Check your tire pressure at a monthly basis. If even just one tire is low on air, that can easily bring your mpg down a few units.

2. Make sure you follow proper maintenence. Without proper maintenece, your engine starts exerting a lot more energy than it needs to. For example, if you haven't changed your oil in a while, the higher viscosity from dirty oil will make your engine constantly having to work harder to do the same thing it could with clean new engine oil.

3. Don't keep junk in your car. Weight is one of the main factors that will determine how much fuel a car will use up given any scenario. Keep it clean and happy, and you'll feel the same way.

4. Drive moderately. Speeding is the number one gasoline chugger. Generally, at highway speeds the faster you go, the more gas you will consume. More than 90% of the fuel dedicated to move a car at high speeds is for air resistance. If you have tried sticking your hand out at highway speeds, you'll know what I'm talking about. But generally, a car will always have better mileage on highways when compared to city driving. That is because acceleration uses up more fuel than maintaining certain speeds. In the city, all you do is accelerate and decelerate, which uses more energy. So when travelling, make sure you take the route where you have to stop and turn the least, even if it means going an extra km or two.

5. Aerodynamics plays a major role. If you have a broken headlight or bumper or anything in the front of the car broken, tape it up and make it smooth if you can't afford to fix it. I have seen experiments where people merely sealed the small opening between the hood and the bumper, and all those other crevices a car has where air can enter. It made a very significant difference in mileage.

All in all, just take care of your car, and you should be fine.

A Guide to Buying a Used Car

Most people I talk to are always scared of buying a used car. They always have some stereotypical image of the car breaking apart right after they buy it. That may be the case, but I find that if you follow a simple set of rules, you can make your car purchase a lot easier and safer. If anything, I prefer to buy used cars because you can get much more value than you would from a new car. Now these day, anyone can go online to kijii.com or craigslist.com, and I think it's a great idea. This way, you can compare and contrast whatever car you want, from both private and public sellers. Let me break down the steps for you

Determine what kind of car you want: Do you need a minivan for the family? A truck for work? A small car for city driving? Whatever it may be, you have to make your mind up in order to slowly narrow down your search.

Determine your price range: You have to set the limit at which you can't pay more. This will also help narrow down your search, and get a better understanding of everything in your price range.

Look at the major and best selling Auto companies: I know that people should be free to pick any car they want, but the truth is that looks can be very deceiving. You might find a car that looks cleaner and prettier than an old Honda Civic, but that Civic might still be able to run forever with no problems whatsoever. Aim for major brands like Honda, Toyota, and Ford. Look at the most common cars in the street, there's a reason why many people have them. There are cars in all price ranges, but you only see a few shining in those price ranges.

Reading the Specs: People will say everything and anything when they're trying to sell a car. The two most important factors are MILEAGE and MODEL YEAR. Compare the cars age with how long it has traveled. A 1999 Honda Civic with 100,000 km will almost always be better than a 2002 Civic with 130,000 km. The distance traveled compared to the model year is a great formula to loosely determine how much a car has been abused.

Once you find what you want, don't be in a hurry if you think you found "the winner"
Once I came to Canada and knew which car I wanted, it took me an additional 4 months to find the right one. I know this seems like a ling time, but that's only because it is. Give yourself a month of searching before you make a final decision, you'd be surprised how far a little patience can take you.

Inspecting the car: Now that you've done all these steps, you're going to proceed to seeing the car in person.

• You should look at the car's body and see if there are any bumps or scratches. If you do see anything, it should be your cue to drop your offering price if the irregularities weren't mentioned in the post.
• Look at the tires tread, if it is less than 3-4 cm deep, you're going to need new tires soon, consider that.
• Look at the brake pads, they are the pads that actually touch the brake rotors, and if they don't have at least 2 cm of depth, they will have to be replaced soon, consider that.
• Ask for a car fax or receipts, if none are available that can be a bad sign.

Lastly, before you buy the car, take it to a car inspection place, like Canadian tire. A full inspection will tell you everything about the car, and it will cost around $100. It will definitely be a $100 well spent.

After you finished all these steps, and only if you're satisfied (have a good vibe), buy the car.

Supercharger vs Turbocharger

The supercharger versus the turbocharger, this can easily be one of the most discussed & heated topics in the automotive world. Ironically enough, they are in technically the same exact thing. They serve the same purpose, and that is to force more air into the engine, hence more power. These are called systems of forced induction. The difference between the turbo and the super lies in the process in which they force that air into the engine.

The turbo is consisted of two turbines (fans). The first turbine spins according to how fast the exhaust air is coming out. So basically, the more exhaust air that is coming out of your tailpipe, the faster your first turbine will be spinning. The second turbine on the other hand, is directly connected to the first turbine via an axle, so whenever the first turbine spins because of the exhaust flow, the second turbine constantly spins with it. Now this second turbine is connected to an air intake, so while the exhaust is pushing the first turbine, the second turbine is sucking the equivalent amount of air back into the engine. 

http://asia.vtec.net/beystock/turbo/

The supercharger on the other hand is just a turbine that is connected to the engine on one of its many pulleys via a belt. So as the engine creates the rotational motion, it is causing the superchargers turbine to constantly push more air.

Superchargers and turbo chargers can be modified in terms of how much "boost" you want. Setting the boost to the desired pressure is not difficult, and it is usually determined by atmospheric pressure. Our atmospheric pressure is 14-15psi (pressure per square inch), so theoretically speaking, you should double your horsepower with every additional 14psi of boost you make your super/turbo push out. That is only in theory though, in the real world, hp increase will more likely be 60-70% as opposed to 100% given that there are countless real world variables that we cannot control. 

Both the supercharger and turbocharger have pros and cons. The main problem with the turbocharger is turbo lag. There is nothing in the whole world of cars that people hate more than turbo lag.. Turbo lag is basically the lag time it takes for your turbocharger to build up momentum and start giving back air. Because the turbos rotational energy comes from the exhaust, it can only work at full potential once there is enough exhaust flow. So in other words, you can put your pedal to the metal but the turbo won't fully kick in until your engine is working itself (usually somewhere between 3,000-4,000 rpm), only then will there be enough exhaust flow for the turbo to give you that full additional power. There are hundreds of ways to decrease turbo lag, but the general rule of thumb is: The bigger the turbo, the bigger the power, the bigger the turbo lag. Turboed cars are usually seen to have sudden and abrupt power since torque is not even throughout the rev range. 

Superchargers on the other hand do not have any lag, because they are constantly spinning as the engine is spinning. So the supercharger works as fast as the engine is working, creating quite an impressive torque range. Now at this point, everyone is probably thinking its clear now that a supercharger is much better than a turbocharger. That's not true. Even though the supercharger never lags, and has instant power readily available, it is because of that reason that makes it also weaker in a sense. You see, if anyone can recall newtons third law of motion, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The engine is excerting energy in order for the supercharger to spin, and that is power robbed from making the car go faster, only so the supercharger can spin. Now the supercharger still gives more power than it takes, but a turbo charger robs NO power from the engine, because it is using a source of energy (exhaust flow) that was going to end up leaving the car either way. So where as a supercharger at 14 psi can give you 100 hp, a turbo of that same size at that same psi might give you 120 hp. 

So the point I'm trying to make is that one isn't really better than the other. It really depends more on the car than the system of forced induction itself. Nowadays Turbos are used much more than superchargers are. In fact, in less than the last decade alone, the whole automotive industry became saturated with turbo charged cars from the factory. Those cars that have turbos aren't meant to go fast, but to get better mileage. To make this easier to understand, you can have a 5 liter v8 @ 400 hp, or you can have a turbocharger 3.0 liter v6 @ 400 hp, the v6 will still have better mileage, even though it has v8 performance. 

If we're just talking about speed and power, turbocharged applications are more for smaller engine cars such as 4 cylinder Japanese sports cars. Twin turbos are sometimes used for the bigger block american muscle, but i would generally rather have a supercharger because the massive engines can deal with the slight power loss from a supercharger, and torque will be virtually instant.

All in all, both systems are great. If you're looking to buy one or the other, be prepared to dish out $5,000+ in add-ons and installation costs in order for these systems of forced induction to work fine.

Alternative fuels for cars

The time will soon come when oil won't be the ample commodity it is today. Besides that fact, rising gas prices are becoming somewhat of a nightmare. Engineers have always tried to find as many ways possible to power engines with alternative fuels. It hasn't always been a failure, but the reason you don't see cars running on alternative fuels is because non yet are as efficient as gasoline and diesel are. I'm going to talk about all the interesting and potentially usable forms of fuel that we have already tried and tested.

Electric Cars: I have to say straight off the bat that I do have a negative bias towards electric cars. It is not without reason, but I feel sometimes I tend to be harder on them than I do with any other non-gasoline powered cars. As you've already assumed, an electric cars source of power comes from a battery. It runs on a DC (Direct Current) engine, similar to the ones found in RC cars. The main reason I don't like electric cars is because of their traveling range and fueling time. I'm sure no one wants to wait 8-12 hours charging their car from a normal outlet, just so they could start driving again. The range of these cars doesn't come anywhere your average gas powered car either. They are quiet though. This is just a technology that the world isn't ready for. Maybe after a good 15-20 years in the future, technology will have worked out all the quirks. But until that time comes, my opinion remains the same. 

http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/images/12/2008/09/production-chevy-volt_02.jpg
Chevy Volt

Methane Powered Cars: These to me are the most humorous of the bunch. Methane is flammable and combustible just like gasoline, so the main difference lies in the source of the fuel. Methane as you know, is a byproduct of animal waste. So if you haven't put two and two together yet, yes, methane powered cars are mainly powered by cow and human excrement. A show on BBC called Top Gear has even went far enough to make a human excrement powered car, cow excrement powered car, and an equivalent gas powered car, for the purpose of putting them all in a drag race to see who would win. Surprisingly enough, cow power was the first across the line, whilst the human powered car was last. Whether it's the case of cows having better quality poop than humans, we won't know because the experiment was taken lightly for the sake of a television show.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48625000/jpg/_48625294_jex_9086_de27-1.jpg
Methane Powered Beetle

Hydrogen Cars: Hydrogen is the most abundant element in our atmosphere, so you'd think that we would have more hydrogen powered cars than anything else. That would actually be the case, if we only found a way to extract it from our atmosphere. Honda actually made a production hydrogen powered car called the Honda FCX Clarity, so it does exist, and we know it works just fine. The greatest thing about hydrogen powered cars is that the hydrogen combines with oxygen during combustion, and we all know that hydrogen and oxygen make water. Wouldn't it be great if all cars only had water coming out of their exhaust instead of carbon dioxide? Yes it would be, but unfortunately until we find an effective way to extract it, we have to stick with whats best.

http://www.autospectator.com/cars/models/2009-honda-fcx-clarity
Honda FCX Clarity

Bio-Fueled Cars: These cars run on vegetable oils and animal fats. The great thing about them is that some, such as bio-diesel, are actually MORE efficient than our best gasoline cars. This also includes Ethanol, which is usually extracted from corn products. But as you might have guessed, it isn't an abundant enough commodity for us to be able to use it at a daily basis. Besides, what would be left for us to eat??

http://www.sustainableguernsey.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Drayson-Racing-Flex-Fuelled-Lola-Coupe-racing-car-SGB-em.jpg
Drayson Racing Bio-fuel Racecar

Propane Powered Cars: Propane is a liquefied petroleum gas, and there has been cars that were converted to run on propane to see how it compares to conventional fuel. Even though propane burns cleaner than gasoline, its unfortunately not as efficient. That basically means that the mileage isn't up to par with its gasoline counterpart.

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2009/01/22/380707.1-lg.jpg
Propane powered Ford F-350

I now want my car to go a lot faster

First off, if you guys haven't read my last post, I suggest you do because this is a continuation of the post before it. At this point now, you're going to need a lot of professional help. You'll also be spending a lot of money, even $20,000 isn't enough in some cases.

My best advice is that you shouldn't really waste you're money, unless you really really really want it bad. Most people I know realize that it's not worth it when it's far too late. That being said, lets talk about the big boys of aftermarket car products.

Aftermarket Engine Internals & Strokers: The engines internals is composed of 3 main parts:

1. Pistons
2. Rods
3. Crankshaft

These are usually the weakest parts of a car's powertrain, and the reason they need to be swapped is because factory internals aren't meant to push more than double its power. The factory parts simply lack the structural integrity required for mass amounts of power. Most factory cars have cast aluminum engine internals, and whats required for mass amount of power is FORGED internals.

briancrower.com
From the top: Crankshaft, pistons, rods

This picture is a forged internal set. These will allow you to push your cars power probably up to 4 or 5 times without you having to worry about a piston flying out of your hood and ending your cars life, or perhaps your own.

A stroked engine is the same as buying these aftermarket internals, except you would buy over sized pistons, and grind (STROKE) your cylinder walls to accommodate the bigger pistons. This creates more displacement (bigger engine) therefore allowing more fuel, which creates more combustible energy, hence more horsepower. Stroked engines are more difficult to tune because you have to adjust to the change in displacement, which requires very professional people that charge a lot of money, maybe around $2,000 just for a computer tune. The price of a set like this one can range from $3,000-$15,0000+. Usually the bigger the engine, the more expensive the parts are going to be. This set in the picture costs $10,000, and is for a 4.4 liter engine. 

Turbocharger/Supercharger & Turbocharger/Supercharger Kits:  This is considered the holy grail of all the tuning parts. These usually give you the highest power increase per part than anything else you could possibly buy. Turbos and superchargers are systems of forced induction, which is basically a mechanical system that forces more air into the cylinder, hence more fuel, hence more power. They both do the same thing essentially, but they do it in two different ways. A turbo uses the exhaust flow of your car to spin a turbine that pushes more air into the car, while a superchargers source of energy comes from the spinning motion of the engine itself. Both have their ups and downs, I will leave those details to be in my next post. The size of their turbines determines the power output, but there are pros and cons to both large and small turbines. To see what's best for your car, you will have to talk to a professional, or let me know what kind of car you have and I'd be happy to help you.

aacorvette.com/superchargers/
Vortech Supercharger

You can buy a turbo or supercharger by itself, but unfortunately they require many extra parts in order for them to be able to function. That is why many tuning companies provide turbo or supercharger kits. Be wary of bad or incomplete kits, so make sure you gets yours from a reputable company.

atpturbo.com
Garrett Turbocharger

turbomagazine.com
Average Turbo kit

Built Block: A built block is basically an engine built from scratch, ready to be abused with whatever you want to add on to it. These engines will usually start off as what your car engine was, and they are taken apart, inspected, and put back together with the best quality parts the company can provide. Some blocks are stroked, and some are just ported wherever possible, but they should always have completely forged internals. They are usually sold as short blocks, or long blocks. The difference between the two is that the short block does not include the engines head or heads. The heads contain the camshaft, valves, spark plug, and are usually situated right on top of an engines cylinders. There are many companies that make built blocks, and they will usually specialize in only car brand or two.

Picture rights to rallysportdirect.com
Cosworth Long Block (Boxer engine)

Before I conclude, I should mention that there are still hundreds of products and things you can do to make your car go faster. If I chose to mention them all it would take a lifetime. Things like larger fuel injectors, ported heads, larger valves, better clutch plates, differentials, intercoolers, weight reduction, larger tires, and short throw shifters, will aid in making your car go faster. These are only things i could think of off the top of my head right now, so you can imagine how long the list is. If anyone has any questions about any part, don't hesitate, I'd be glad to help. 

I want my car to be faster

Among all the people I know that like cars for more than just a source of transportation, the most common question is how to make a car go faster. There are thousands upon thousands of products that one can buy, the car tuning world is a massive place to try treading in. That's why its essential that you know what you're doing, because if you don't, 2 of the following might happen: 

• You will spend your money on useless things.
• You will cause great damage/completely destroy your engine.

Now as a forewarning, there is no cheap way to turn your car into a rubber burning monster, if you want big power you're gonna need a big cash flow :( I will though discuss the best bang for buck products, and the steps you need to take before you're thinking of adding major amounts of power.

• Aftermarket Air Intake: This is the most common aftermarket product. It is also the FIRST product anyone will buy if they want to start tuning their car. This is where everyone starts. I would suggest for anyone to buy this, even if you don't want more speed. They almost always give you better mileage along with a few horses, so its a win win situation either way. K&N is the most widely used brand, but there are many other excellent ones. Prices should average $150-$300. Installation is very easy.

(www.knfilters.com)

Air Intake

www.dymacvehiclegroup.com
Headers



• Headers and Exhaust System: These are usually the second things people buy after the air intake. They compliment each other because since the air intake is adding more air to the engine, it is better to have a better breathing exit for that extra air (It won't hurt your car if you only have the air intake). Headers are also called exhaust manifolds, so if you're looking to buy one for your car, be sure to try both words. These two parts are necessary especially if you are thinking of doing a lot more to your car down the line. Depending on the car, you can get anywhere from 10-50hp increase. Separately they cost $500-$600 each which is a bit steep, but its essential as a structural base to work on your car. Installation: medium difficulty. Note: For turbocharged vehicles, a down pipe should be purchased along with the exhaust pipe.

lextacy.com
Exhaust system

• ECU Controller: This is probably the most significant product for tuning your car. Brands are usually car manufacturer oriented, so there should be a specific ECU controller for your car manufacturer that works best. As there are too many brands to name, please comment and I'll let you know what brand is best for your car. Generally, Diablosport pictured here is the most commonly used brand for American cars. These ECU controllers can adjust and read every sensor in the car. That means you can make your car more powerful with a press of a few buttons, or better mileage, or virtually anything you want. The reason for this is because the car manufacturers tune their ECU's for mileage, safety, and overall practicality, so there usually is quite a bit of room to sacrifice mileage and practicality for power. They contain pre-made maps for the car, some make your car more powerful, and some give it better mileage, it is up to you to install the map that you want. Prices vary from $350-$2,000+ depending on how advanced you are. Installation: very easy (plug and play)

cobbtuning.com
Crank Pulleys

• Aftermarket Crank Pulley: The crank pulley is the pulleys used to transfer power from the engine to the transmission. Essentially, an aftermarket one does not offer more power. What it does is make less stress on the engine (Since aftermarket pulleys are much lighter than stock pulleys), therefore transferring more power to the wheels because there is less energy spent turning the pulley. These are NOT SAFE for cars that have factory pulleys that act as harmonic balancers. Very few cars have these, but make sure to check if your car does. Also, if you don't know what you're doing, make sure the diameter of the aftermarket pulley is IDENTICAL to the factory pulley. That is because some cars do not take well to underdriving or overdriving pulleys, so avoid that just to be safe. Product manufacturers always mention if the pulley overdrives or underdrives, make sure to check. Prices vary from $125-$600. Installation: Difficult (needs professional help)

Now at this point, you'll most likely have hit a wall. Your car should have a 50-100hp increase, which is quite significant for the average car. This is where you start thinking of expensive products, after this point you'll be looking at spending at least $2,000-$5,000 dollars depending on your car. If you are not a fanatic, it is best to stop here. In my next post, I'll discuss some of the more advanced tuning options.

How to check/change your oil

Since I've already elaborated on engine oil, the sensible thing to do would probably be to show you how to check and change your own engine oil. I want to explain the term "oil change," because that implies that you're completely draining the oil from your engine, and adding new oil. That is NOT what I'll be discussing here. The reason I say this is because your car will probably have a few or NO oil changes within its lifetime. In fact some car manufacturers suggest to never change your oil, because the process can damage engine internals when you start your car. While the new oil tries to cover all internal surfaces, there's a small time frame where its metal on metal.

What I will be explaining is the process of adding oil to your engine when it runs low, which should average at every 5,000 km.

Couple things to keep in mind

• Make sure your engine isn't hot, there's lots of surfaces you don't want to touch.
• You'll need a funnel to make your job much easier.
• Park on a level surface to get an accurate oil reading.
• If you just turned off the engine, you'll need to wait 10 minutes to get an accurate reading as well.

This is a picture I took just to show you the universal engine oil symbol. That's the engine oil cap, with the dipstick directly below it.

1. Open the hood and find you oil dipstick. 
2. Pull it out, some like to twist open, you'll be able to tell quickly. 
3. Wipe it clean with a piece of cloth or towel.
4. Insert it all the way back in, and pull it out again.
5. Look at the end of the dipstick to see the reading, there should be a small line to show you what FULL is supposed to look like.

(All rights to samarins.com)

Now that you've realized you're low on engine oil, locate your engine oil cap, like the one shown in the picture. It should look something like this, and most importantly, that is the universal symbol for oil. All you have to do is open it up, drop a funnel in, and pour the oil.

Hope I helped someone out that, please comment if you have any questions.