Car Maintenance and the Importance of Authorized Ford Service Centres

Having your car serviced properly is the most important way to keep your vehicle in prime condition. Aside from that, proper servicing also increases the safety and durability of the vehicle. If you own a Ford, then the only way you can get proper servicing is by bringing it to an authorized Ford service center.

Vehicle service goes well beyond just fixing a problem. You have to make sure that the parts, the tools, and methods of service all follow the rigid instructions of the Ford Motor Company. There are a lot of service centers that will say they can repair your Ford vehicle, but if you want to be safe and sure with the vehicle repair, then the only way to do it is to bring your vehicle to an authorized Ford service center. Here are the reasons why you should do so:

Warranty

Having your Ford serviced at an authorized Ford service center is the only way to keep its warranty. With your warranty still intact, you wont have to worry about any repair costs should any problems arise with your vehicle within the warranty period. Just make sure to follow your vehicle maintenance schedule rigidly.

Genuine Parts

Only authorized Ford dealerships Oakville drivers can trust have Ford-specific tools and the latest computerized diagnostic equipment designed specifically for your vehicle. Most importantly, all Ford dealers use original Ford Parts, engineered to fit and perform perfectly with your vehicle. If you take your vehicle to any random service center, chances are the replacement parts will be substandard, and this can cause a lot of trouble for you and your vehicle later.

Quality of Service

The Ford service teams take as much care servicing Ford cars Oakville residents own as the manufacturing team that built it. The highly skilled and experienced mechanics will help keep your Ford car in tip-top condition and safe to drive. You can expect professional service whenever you step into an authorized Ford service center.

There are a number of authorized Ford service centers in and around Oakville. In choosing a service provider, you should gather all information you can get about a particular service center, and check for the authenticity and the quality of service. Once youve found the best Ford dealership Oakville has to offer, schedule your next vehicle service with them. You can read more about the benefits of proper vehicle servicing at autos.com.

Remote Control Car Setup Tips

Setting up a remote control car is as much a science as it is an art, the physics behind rc cars is exactly the same as the physics that governs real cars, if you know how setup changes in a race car work, you already know how to setup a remote control car.

The problem that most people have with setting up RC cars is that when you make a change in one area it always has a knock-on effect on the rest of your settings, setups are very much a balancing act

To start with I’ll concentrate on the basics of handling, over steer and under steer. The physics behind this is pretty simple, if you turn into a corner the center of gravity will move in what ever direction you were initially travelling. Your tires via friction push back with (hopefully) an equal amount of force. When your wheels lose traction and start to slide the energy that was being turned into heat in your tires gets released as inertial energy in the original direction of travel. With cars, both back and front don’t break traction equally, this creates either under steer or over steer, which is how we describe the experience the driver has under these conditions.

Under steer

Under steer is when the front of the car loses traction while the rear of the car still has grip on the tar, the effect is that the nose of the car drifts away from the direction you are turning, turning harder makes it worse, the only thing you can really do is back off the throttle and bleed off speed.

Over Steer

Over steer is the opposite of under steer, and in most cases it’s best to have a little of this. The front of the car keeps traction while the rear lets go. One of the key benefits is that you can typically corner much faster in a car that has some over steer

Over steer / Under steer Tuning tips

There are a lot of ways to tune the handling or your radio controlled car, the easiest is to adjust the front and rear shocks. While there are a lot of options with springs, different oils and all sorts we are just going to concentrate on the basics, most decent shocks have adjustments, either with spacers or bolts that let you adjust how hard or soft the shocks are.

As far as maximum and minimum stiffness goes, make sure that the bottom of your car doesn’t scrape the ground, and on the other end make sure it doesn’t bounce and leave the asphalt, apart from that you need to find the setup that matches your driving style, most people get winning setups off the internet and try to learn to drive them, mind you this is a great starting point, and most championship winners post their setup sheets

Shock Stiffness guide

Stiffen in front = increasing under steer or reducing over steer
Stiffen in rear = increasing over steer or reducing under steer

You may be wondering why one setting makes two changes, this is because it’s all about balance, you could for example setup your rc car by only every changing the rear stiffness, but you would find that when you got the perfect amount of over steer under braking the car would then be uncontrollable during the exit of the corner. It’s all about balance,

Another thing to keep in mind is that when you change the shocks you also change the roll of the car, this the the chassis of the car moving with the inertia, in effect pushing the front tires into the road during breaking and the rear during acceleration. If your shocks are too soft then the transfer might dig your front wheels in and lift the rear enough to make you car spin out, or lose steering under throttle, you have to find the right balance

More to come…

Electric Car Distance Limitation Facts

Electric cars have become very popular recently due to new information on how to convert to a electric vehicle. Most people seem to believe that electric vehicles are not practical because they can not travel far enough, but this is simply not true.

Granted you are not going to take a cross country trip in one, unless you also happen to own the worlds largest extension cord. Until battery technology improves, that is even beyond the range of a brand new $100,000+ tesla roadster. So that proves your point right? Lets take a
closer look.

How much do you really travel every day? Government studies show that 80% of Americans drive less than 50 miles a day, 50% drive less than 25 miles a day, with a range of 100 miles or more an electric vehicle will easily get you through the day.

Add up the miles you drive, 10-30 mile round trip to work, businesses you frequent are usually within 5 miles of your home, so you can see when you build your own electric vehicle it is really practical for everyday use.

Here are some more advantages of electric cars:

Quiet

Reliable

Environmentally friendly

Cheap to operate and maintain

Reasonably fast

This last fact may come as a surprise to many people, but there are electric cars available right now that will do 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds, while a conversion car is not targeted to that kind of speed, the acceleration you get is more than adequate, and it will do highway speeds which makes it good enough for most peoples needs.

Another thing to consider is that you can build your own electric vehicle for under $500, which makes it within the reach of just about everyone. A car is very important for most of us, but the growing concerns over its impact on the environment, shrinking fuel resources, and the rising cost of gasoline forces us to look at other options.

If you are ready for better and cheaper solutions for your transportation needs while saving gasoline, and without adding to global warming, an electric vehicle is the way to go.

Car Parts Putting A Car Back Together Again

So youve sunk a whole load of money into an old car with the intention of lovingly restoring it to its former glory. But its only now that youve started looking for car parts that youre beginning to wonder what on earth have you let yourself in for. Whether youre in it for the money or for the sheer fun of it, any car you restore is only going to be the sum of the car parts you put into it. So before you start building from scratch, here are a few points to consider.

Cars arent that complicated to understand, right? Well, theres a world of difference between replacing the odd car part here and there and refitting the insides of an empty carcass like a jigsaw. Before you commit financially to any project, be sure to ascertain honestly what your ability is, and also how much time and effort youre prepared to put into the project. A fancy paint job and new upholstery can be as much fun as installing the most basic of engine parts, if that is where your technical comfort level is. Consider what youre prepared to put in, before you start ripping those old car parts out.

Once youve decided upon the type of project you want to work with, be sure to wait for the right car with the right parts. Of course you can learn as you go along, and that might even be part of the fun, but dont invest in a car minus parts you havent the interest in learning to find and fit. You might love that make and model at the time of purchase, but a few weeks of sitting in your front yard without the final missing part will be enough to sour your relationship forever.

If you are a novice, be sure to take an expert car parts man along with you when you view potential cars and parts. What might look about right to you might actually be along the wrong lines completely, and you could find yourself shelling out a fortune for a part that is completely unsuitable. Also bear in mind always how much money you are willing to spend on car parts, and what you plan ultimately to do with your restored car. An older part might be fine in a vehicle you hope to use for show purposes only, but a fully operable car will need car parts of the same standard.

Caution is the watchword when choosing car parts to put into your restoration job. Know what you want and stick to that, and if in doubt then save your money. Whatever your reasons for restoring a car, the parts you put inside need to be just right, so do the best job you can by waiting for the best parts.

Auto Detailing Calgary How to Get Soda Stains Out of Your Car Seat

You know you love your car. You love driving around, and going to different places throughout the day. You stop to fill up on a little gas and decide to get a cherry soda. Why not, it is hot out right? You just got your car detailed, so you tell yourself you are going to be very careful drinking this tasty beverage. You are driving down the road and go to take a sip, and all of a sudden the car in front you slams on their brakes and that soda is all over you and the seat. How are you going to get the soda stain out? This article will explain exactly how to do that and possibly prevent them for happening in the first place.

Soda stains are pretty hard to prevent in a car. It just seems like they are a natural occurrence, especially if you have kids. The only true way to stop soda stains from happening is keeping you car soda free. Why not, it is your car after all. If your family loudly opposes this idea you can let them only bring bottled soda in the car, because that at least has a cap on it whereas soda cans do not. Another thing you could do is to spray a fabric protector on all of your car seats according to the manufacturer’s directions. While this won’t stop your kids from simultaneously pouring grape soda on your nice white car seats, this will make clean up a little easier on you. Of course you can put car seat covers on all of the seats. Then all you would need to do is throw the covers in the washer machine the next time a soda spills.

How to get the soda stains out may be a little trickier but it is possible. Let’s first discuss how to clean up a fresh soda stain, which may be easier to deal with than a set in stain. So, you just spilled some soda on your car seat. The first thing you should when it is safe to do so, such as after you pull over, is to blot the soda with a paper towel. Keep on blotting until you get all the liquid up. Make sure you do not use a scrubbing motion because you will only rub the stain into the seat. Once you do that take a spray bottle filled with 4 cups of warm water and a tablespoon of detergent and spray the stain. Let it sit for a couple of minutes and then proceed to blot this up with paper towels. Repeat until the stain is gone. If you have leather car seats dampen a paper towel with warm water and blot the soda up. Make sure to dry the spot with more paper towels until dry.

If you have stains that are set into the seat of you car you may want to use a foaming upholstery cleaner according to the manufacturer’s directions. You could alternatively use a steam vacuum with a hose attachment on the stain, and follow the directions. As always when cleaning any fabric make sure you test the method on a small spot of the upholstery that isn’t as noticeable to make sure it doesn’t do any damage.