Archive for February, 2010
Get Better Fuel Mileage By Controlling Excessive Speed
Speed is for adrenaline rush! Speed to show your power over the four wheels cruising the streets. Speed is to feel the air in your hair speed is to impress. Cliched it may sound but statistics show that every four out of five consider speeding while driving as a style factor. But did you know that speeding and at times the lack of it can help you get better mileage from your car?
Let’s look at some tips that have firsthand success record of giving great results.
The magic number is 55mph: Research says that your mileage can decrease by 1 for every mile that you go beyond 55 miles per hour. Maintaining the optimum speed of 55mph can help you get good mileage says California Energy Commission. So simple math goes as follows:
If you drive at 75mph instead of 55mph you are crossing the optimum limit by 20mph which negatively impacts your mileage by 20.
If you reach 60mph and increase your speed by 5mph you may end up paying 10 pence per gallon.
Cruise Control is there for a reason: Use the cruise control of your car. It’s there for a reason to give you control over your speeding to give you peace of mind and to help you be a decent driver on the road. As you know controlled speed equals to better mileage. Speeding braking often changing lanes frequently and rash driving can affect your car’s mileage adversely to the extent of lowering your mileage by up to 33 on freeways. Does rash driving seem that stylish anymore?!
Controlled speeding is not difficult: Believe me I am not suggesting slow driving. In fact driving at a speed lower than the optimum speed necessary for your car and the road conditions will again decrease your mileage drastically. Maintaining your speed is also important which is why cruise control plays an important role in controlling your car’s mileage. You will spend the same amount of gas in maintaining a speed of 35mph as you would in accelerating from zero to thirtyfive. So braking every now and then and then speeding is not good for the car.
Keeping in mind some tips: Lower your window and stop your air conditioning before you start your car. Gain the optimum speed and switch on the air conditioning. Keep your feet off the gas and clutch pedal. This will reduce mechanical wear of your car and also help in achieving better fuel economy. Staying within the speeding limit will take away the speeding concern from your mind which will help you concentrate better on the road. Reduce your stress by letting people pass by staying on your lane by keeping speeding within limits.
Speeding and keeping an eye on it is the real thrill! Not just for a better mileage but also for a longer life of your car. Don’t drive too slow and don’t drive too fast. Staying within limit is often smarter and cooler than staying off it!
About the writer: Gregg Hall is an author living on the Treasure Coast of Florida. Now that you know more about fuel economy be sure that you get quality goodyear tires by going to http://www.nsearch.com
Gemballa Avalanche 600 Gt2 Evo
As one of the premier addresses for stylish and refined Porsche tuning GEMBALLA has earned itself a worldwide reputation over the course of time. Thanks to its outstanding expertise proven in numerous conversions each customer acquires a vehicle that represents the absolute pinnacle of what is achievable in terms of design and performance. One further such demonstration of its abilities is GEMBALLAs “Avalanche 600 GT2 EVO”.
The basis of the Avalanche 600 GT EVO is the Porsche 997 turbo or the GT2. GEMBALLA even knows how to boost the already impressive set of performance figures of the production model. 600 bhp 442 kW put the competition from Maranello and Sant’AgataBolognese in a tight spot. The sixcylinder boxer with a torque of 840 Nm powerboosted by the GEMBALLA car parts power kit stands out even more. Jetlike acceleration in every gear and at every speed being the outcome.
A sports intercooler ensures that this performance can be reliably accessed even in hot ambient temperatures. As an option this task can also be performed by a racing sports intercooler. The power boost is acoustically announced by the sports exhaust system fitted by GEMBALLA whose awesome sound thrills the vehicle occupants and listeners alike.
Upon request this can also be achieved by means of a fourpipe system instead the two tailpipe versions. GEMBALLA’s power boost allows the modified 997 to race at a top speed of 320 km/h accomplishing the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.5 seconds. The latter can depending on the drivers skill be even further enhanced by fitting the sport shifter for vehicles with a manual gearshift reduced gear lever travel which is available in the “Sport” and “Race” versions.
If it looks like a racing car it should also drive like one. The enhanced engine power alone goes a long way to achieving this. To boost the overall performance GEMBALLA however relies on an additional extensive enhancement of the suspension and brakes. The GEMBALLA “PROFESSIONAL CONCEPT” is used for the suspension.
This consists of a variable ride height coilover suspension a strut bar stabilizer kit and stiffened axle mounts. As an option GEMBALLA is offering the “RACE CONCEPT” which additionally includes racing transverse links for the car parts front and rear axle. For vehicles without ceramic brakes GEMBALLA offers a brake system with four red highperformance brake calipers and brake discs with the diameters 380 mm front and 350 mm rear. For an additional charge an even larger system is available with a brake disc combination 405/380 and brake calipers in the customer’s requested color.
About the writer: Anthony Fontanelle is a 35yearold automotive buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop.
Gas Savings Equals Reliability In Recent Consumer Survey
Of the hundreds of different models of cars on the road today which ones do you think are the most reliable? Well if you pick by the brand Toyota and Honda you would be right but there is a more telling way to figure out which cars are the best: they’re the most fuel efficient ones.
In a recent survey conducted by Consumers Union the independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair just and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves and published in their magazine Consumer Reports the small car segment performed quite well.
Consumer Reports found that nine hybrid models rated above average in predicted reliability with most of those produced by Japanese automakers. In the the Family Cars category the Toyota Prius the Toyota Camry Hybrid and the Nissan Altima Hybrid as well as the luxury Lexus GS450h Hybrid sedan have all been recognized among the most reliable vehicles for sale today.
The Lexus RX400h and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid are among the most reliable in midsized SUVs while the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid small SUVs rated above normal in expected reliability. The report also found that the Honda Civic Hybrid is above average while recognizing that conventional gas powered cars such as the Honda Fit Scion xD Smart ForTwo and Toyota Yaris had few problems reported.
Although the report sung high praises for most Japanese makes while also recognizing the great strides in quality improvements from Korean and European brands the report also recognized some interesting trends among the three American automakers.
Specifically Consumer Reports now says that Ford’s quality nearly matches the industry leaders Toyota and Honda while General Motors offers a mixed bag of quality across its many vehicle segments. For GM some of their newer vehicles such as the Chevrolet Malibu performed quite well while its highly touted Cadillac CTS and crossover triplets Buick Enclave GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook performed below average.
Worst were the findings for Chrysler. The report noted that the Dodge Caliber hatchback and Jeep Patriot SUV were above average but found that the company’s minivans midsize cars and Jeep Liberty performed below average. Indeed the convertible version of the Chrysler Sebring midsize car performed exceptionally bad in this survey.
So if you are in the market for a new car taking Consumer Reports’ survey into consideration should help you make a purchase you can live with. I’m not endorsing Consumer Reports per se but when you’re researching what car to buy considering what they have to say about various makes and models is a wise move.
Source: Consumers Union
About the writer: Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance writer who resides in Cary North Carolina. Matt provides magazine web content and article writing services to clients all over the world serving the automotive human interest and business communities. Matt’s Musings is his personal weblog.
