How To Save On Gas Usage As Gas Prices Keep Going Higher

By Gregg Hall

As I write this article oil prices are near $100 a barrel and the price for a gallon of 87 octane gas where I live in Northwest Florida just went to $3.05 per gallon! Since I drive a Nissan Titan Crew Cab and don't get the greatest gas mileage I am a little agitated. Here are some things that you can do to help reduce the consumption of gasoline with your vehicle.

One of the biggest culprits contributing to poor fuel economy is lack of regular maintenance. It is crucial to keep your car tuned up regularly so that it will make the most efficient use of the fuel. Another maintenance item that contributes to bad fuel economy is dirty air filters which can reduce your mileage by ten percent or more.

You need to avoid jackrabbit starts and stops as well, keeping a steady rate of speed when driving can help you avoid wasting as much as a third of the fuel you are using. At the current gas prices you could save nine dollars for every ten gallons of gas. If you have cruise control on your vehicle, use it to keep your driving steady and save gas.

If you have alternate routes you can take that are less trafficked than your normal one use them to avoid the stops and starts. You should also keep from using the clutch excessively.

One thing many people don't think about is how temperature affects your gas usage, buying your fuel in the morning hours or late at night will help you get more for your money when fueling up.

If you are on the highway you should keep your windows rolled up to avoid wind drag. This is another big waster of gasoline. The friction or drag that occurs when your windows are down completely goes against any aerodynamic styling your car may have.

The operation of the air conditioning is another thing that is a major fuel waster, if it is at all possible you should only use the AC when absolutely necessary. If you must use it do so sparingly and at the lowest settings in order to get the best fuel economy.

If your wait time is going to be longer than a minute or so turn the engine off. If you let your engine idle more than that you are using more fuel than restarting the car would. This is another big fuel burner that many people don't think about.

f you have Jimmy Hoffa in your drunk, dump him. Seriously, if you have a lot of unnecessary stuff in your car get rid of it. Excessive weight can also waste gas at a much higher rate.

Keep your tires at the proper and recommended levels for your vehicle to get the best fuel economy. If your tires are under inflated or over inflated it will make a difference in fuel usage.

Gregg Hall is an author living with his beautiful wife and family in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about sports cars as well as car care products at http://www.5starshine.com

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The Important Features of Cordless Car Stereo Headphones

By Victor Epand

In today's fast moving world, all of us have become so busy that we crave for some peace of mind. Most people like listening to music for relaxing themselves. Quite naturally a lot of people go for car stereos. This makes driving, even long distance ones, a pleasurable activity.

But, in spite of the great variety of stereos available today, it really becomes difficult when one has to make too many changes in the running of the manual stereos. In order to correct such problems, customers these days prefer to carry cordless car stereo headphones with them.

Having a cordless car stereo headphone allows one the freedom of driving peacefully without any involvement of hands. This makes driving much easier. The cordless car headphones help us avoid the many wires and cords that are otherwise necessary. These headphones are very user friendly and can be used while driving or working.

With a cordless car stereo headphone you are not only free from the hassles of wires but it also gives you the freedom of listening to the music of your own choice without disturbing others. There are different types of car headphones designed keeping in mind the taste, use, need and the comfort factor as well as portability. There are of course various types that are available. While some are sleek others are dynamic. These days, car headphones have ceased being a fancy item. Today is has almost become a necessity.

There are different brands and types of headphones that are available in the market. Starting with the Senheiser RS-120Wireless, which can be best, used for both hi-fi & TV. Being lightweight it is very much comfortable to use. The range for this can be up to 300 feet with 3 selectable RF channels. Putting it onto a charging standard can easily recharge it. It carries a 2-year warranty with it.

The other one is the Plantronics CS361N Wireless. This type has noise canceling microphones, which filter the background sound, and improves clarity. It has been designed in such a way that it gives no discomfort to the neck and back while being used. It has binocular earphones with total focus sound reduction. It also has the voice dedicated DECT 6.0 technology, which delivers premium audio quality.

The third one is the RCA Wireless sterio, which uses 40 mm driver, with 3-channel transmission. Other features include rechargeable 600 mAh NiMH batteries. It is a high quality 900 Mhz wireless stereo headphone. Its best features include auto tuning and PLL technology, which gives the best frequency and sound. The third and most user friendly is the Koss JR-170 Wireless. It has the capacity of multiple sound sources when used with additional transmitters. The frequency response is 20Hz-28Khz.It also has an AC adapter and transmitter.

Thus, we can understand that with the advancement of technology man can now choose a means for listening to music without any hassles, enjoying his time with himself. It can also be said that today we have a list of items to choose from based on our financial standard and comfort levels.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for used DVDs, used movies, and used car stereos. You can find the best marketplace for used DVDs, used movies, and used car stereos at these sites for used DVDs, used movies.

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Build an Electric Car - It is Easy to Do

By Gio Rigt

Why have you been waiting to build an electric car? Is it because the gas prices are killing your wallet or is it because you are interesting in building one yourself? Whatever the reason might be, I will tell you how to build your own.

Electric cars have been existence even before the 1900s and there is an Electric Auto Association that started in 1967.

If electric vehicles have been around for so long, there should be a way that you can build your own electric car.

Before you start working on your car, you have to use your car kit. Custom kits are available for specific vehicles and there are also universal kits, which can be installed in various vehicles.

In a nutshell, the steps you need to take are to remove the engine and install electric motor in place. For a motor you can use an AC or DC. Usually the cars have a DC controller and a DC motor. The DC motor is easier to install, more available, and less expensive.

After the motor is installed, add batteries and attach the adapter plate.

Once you have done this you can use any outlet to plug in and recharge your auto, but you should install a Magna charging system instead. This allows you to monitor your electricity output and it charges your car faster.

Building an electric car has many benefits.

• the auto is silent when driving, so you will not here any loud disturbing motor noises
• It also has a much better resale value, because fewer parts need to be maintained
• It is quick and easy to charge, just plug it into an outlet
• Using no gas makes for a pollution free car and using no gas means saving a lot of money

So what are you still waiting for?

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The Possible Causes of Automotive Air Conditioning Problems

By Fei Lim

Although many people usually take the air conditioning in their cars for granted, until it stops working correctly, of course, the truth of the matter is that this is a rather important part of your vehicle with many vital components that must be maintained on a regular basis. If you've ever sat down in a car that's been sitting in the sun, you are already well aware of just how necessary a functioning air conditioning system really is.

While the push of a button is all it takes to turn the air conditioner on in your car, there are many different components working in tandem behind the scenes to produce the cool air we've come to rely upon, and any one of these may cause the system to not work properly. Fortunately, the air conditioning in cars made today are usually highly reliable systems with very little problems occurring, however, the most common difficulties are either no cool air or simply not enough cool air flowing from the vents.

No Cold Air

No cold or cool air at all coming from the air conditioner's vents may mean any one of the following problems:

- A blown fuse
- A broken drive belt
- A clog in the expansion valve
- A clogged refrigerant line
- A clogged receiver-drier line
- An existing defect in the expansion valve
- A slow leak in the hoses or seals
- A loose drive belt

Not Enough Cold Air

An insufficient flow of cool air coming from the A/C may signal another set of problems, including:

- A clogged condenser or evaporator
- A loose drive belt
- A low refrigerant charge
- A partially clogged expansion valve
- A partially clogged filter
- A problem with the compressor clutch slipping
- A slow leak somewhere in the system, such as in the hoses or seals

While it is completely normal for some refrigerant to leak from a car's air conditioning system, larger leaks may indicate a bigger problem with the compressor's seal or damage to one of the components.

Caring for Your Car's Air Conditioner

Although most repairs for air conditioning systems in cars will require special tools and equipment that many of us do not own, there are still several things you can do to keep your car's A/C running at its full capacity. Regular maintenance checks, according to the recommendations in your car's owner's manual, are important as the system contains many moving parts and components that must be checked for damage or disrepair.

Many newer makes and models of cars come equipped with filters within the duct portion of the air conditioner that are in place to trap dust and pollen before it reaches the air in the car. Although these may be rather beneficial for those people who suffer from allergies, depending on where you live and the air quality and pollution levels, the filters may fill up quickly and cause a reduction in airflow.

While there may still be enough refrigerant in place to cool the air, the clogged filter will impede the flow, making it too weak to cool down the inside of the vehicle. Directions for changing this filter and where to purchase new ones should also be in the owner's manual.

Even air conditioning systems without this special filter in place can experience reduced airflow because of trapped dirt, pollen, and moisture that may eventually turn to mold, further aggravating allergies.

If there is a musty odor coming from the A/C vents just after turning the system on, this may indicate the presence of mold which could be blocking the system's evaporator. The air might feel cool, but the flow won't be strong enough to cool off the entire car. A mechanic will be able to remove the parts necessary to clean, such as those leading to the evaporator, with certain chemicals needed to dissolve the build-up.

Even if you live in a cold climate and don't need to use your car's air conditioner very often, many mechanics recommend running the system for at least ten minutes per month to keep the moving parts within the compressor properly lubricated. The compressor is also used in many types of cars when the defroster is used, so you may not have to actually run the air conditioner at all.

The best buy and sell autos, auto trader, and read the oldest to newest auto reviews at vehicleride.com.

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How Does A Power Inverter Work?

By Jason Miller

People always ask us "exactly how does a power inverter work?" The answer to this question often surprises our customers. Car power inverters work much more simply than mysteriously, and the learning curve required to understand them requires no more than a very basic knowledge of electricity. Essentially, there are two forms of electrical power in the Universe: Direct Current (DC) and Alternating Current (AC). Direct current flows continuously from the positive electrical pole to the negative electrical pole. Alternating current flows back and forth between the two poles. DC current occurs in Nature and batteries, while AC current is man-made and supplies power through the public utility grid that supports human industry and infrastructure. Car batteries presented a problem in the past when people realized they needed to operate traditionally AC-powered devices in their cars but could not do so because of incompatible current requirements. Manufacturers like Vector stepped up to solve this dilemma by working to design car power inverters that would safely and efficiently convert DC to AC. Their successful engineering has resulted in a wide range of compact, rectangular devices that connect to batteries and output the resulting alternating current safely through one or more standard electrical plugs.

Two factors determine how a power inverter works: wave output and wattage output. Wave output describes the physical appearance of electrical signals as they move across an oscilloscope. Square waves appear exactly as their name specifies: like squares on a grid. Pure sine waves, also called true sine waves, appear as visible waves on the screen. Sine wave car power inverters work better than square wave power inverters when uninterrupted power flow is a critical issue. In fact, true sine output is sometimes slightly superior to that of public utility power grids! Because of this, they are also the most expensive devices of their kind on the market. Recent advances in technology have accommodated users on a budget with a hybrid design generally referred to as either a modified square or modified sine wave power inverter. The technical differences that determine how a true sine car power inverter works and how a modified sine power inverter works are too minor to produce any noticeable effects with standard electronics. Only the most high-end equipment requires true sine output, and the cost of these devices may justify the additional investment in pure sine technology to deliver maximum quality and reliable performance.

Another new development that allows car power inverters to work with even more reliability than ever before is the sophisticated Soft Start Technology, branded "SST" by manufacturers such as Vector. SST is the next step in the evolution of how power inverters work. The very first power inverters for cars would only work intermittently during cold engine starts. Because they could not pull enough power from the battery, they would shut down from current underload and require a manual restart. SST resolves this issue by gradually increasing voltage ramp up during engine startup. If the output dips for any reason, SST makes instant adjustments to compensate and will prevent most shutdowns. If in the rare event a shutdown does occur, the newer car power inverters work automatically to restart themselves without distracting the driver from the road.

Red Hill Supply delivers only the best and most reliable power inverters that will work in virtually any situation requiring DC-AC conversion. Learn more about how power inverters work in our Resources section, and browse our online catalogue to obtain the most high end.

Jason has been in the construction equipment and industrial sales business for over 10 years. He owns and operates Red Hill Supply to better serve the automotive and industrial industries. - Automotive Tools

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AC Charging Scale

By Jason Miller

When repairing and refilling an air conditioning system, getting the exact amount of coolant in the system right is essential if you want it to work properly. This is where A/C charging scales come into their own. These handy tools work in conjunction with your AC coolant recycling equipment to refill the AC system properly and get it completely correct.

The more accuracy that you can work with when adding the coolant to an AC system, the better it will work, and the less likely it is for anything to go seriously wrong with it in the near future. A/C charging scales are designed to provide a pre determined amount of coolant such as Freon into the system in order to get the system filled up as efficiently as possible.

An A/C charging scale is a tool that is designed to help you to get the right amount of coolant prepared for loading the AC. In general, an air conditioning system will be rated to contain a specific amount of refrigerant in order to work correctly. This is done by weight rather than volume, as this can vary greatly dependent on temperature.

When the refrigerant has been purified correctly, it can be weighed using an A/C charging scale to gauge the correct amount. Then it can be injected back into the air conditioning at the correct pressure to make it work correctly.

There are a number of important EPA guidelines to consider whenever you deal with CFC coolants such as Freon. These chemicals are very volatile, and have been linked with doing serious damage to the ozone layer. This important part of the atmosphere is the main protection for the planet from ultra violet radiation from the sun. The ozone layer protects our lives, and since the 1980s, when concerns about the effect of CFCs on the ozone layer first became important, governments around the world have put in place specific guidelines designed to limit the amount of CFC gases that are released.

A number of manufacturers produce a wide range of different A/C charging Scales to suit all different sized jobs. There are a number of factors to consider when choosing the right equipment for your workshop in order to ensure that it is compatible with the kind of work you want to carry out. Things to look out for are the ability to measure accurately over a wide range of different volumes and the simplest operation possible.

Features that you should expect as standard on an A/C charging scale to make it as simple to use as possible include factors like auto zero on the scales, the capacity to take relatively large weights of 110oz or more, and maintain an the highest levels of accuracy to get the perfect levels coolant to fill the AC properly.

Manufacturers like Infinicon offer high tech solutions that will allow you to effortlessly get the quantities right in advance of loading them into the AC system, while at the other end of the spectrum there are a number of different and more simple systems available from well known and highly respected tool makers such as Robinair that are much more straightforward.

Whether you opt for a standard measuring pressure system that will connect to a complete range of AC systems and inject the coolant directly from the tool, or alternatively opt for an A/C charging scale that lets you measure out the correct amount of CFC coolant in a separate vessel, you will still have to keep to the relevant guidelines and ensure that you only use the correct amount of coolant to prevent the unnecessary and uncontrolled release of this potentially dangerous substance.

Jason has been in the construction equipment and industrial sales business for over 10 years. He owns and operates Red Hill Supply to better serve the automotive and industrial industries. - Air Compressors

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Carroll Shelby - The Life

By James Martell

Carroll Shelby had a vision. It was the kind of vision that would change the world of cars forever. Teenage boys -- especially those who were into hot cars -- could only hope to be like him someday. Born in Leesburg, Texas, Shelby had a lust for speed. He knew what he wanted in a car and went on to develop it -- a high performance American sports car -- which he raced in competitions all over the world by the time he was in his late 30s. There is no other sports car that will make the blood stir more than the car that took Shelby to his fame -- the 1962 Cobra.

A Little History of the Cobra

The Cobra began in 1961 when the British builder of Ace roadster, AC Cars of Thames Ditton in England, lost their manufacturer for the lightweight, but powerful Bristol motor. Carroll saw the Ace as an object of great admiration. To have it gone forever would be wrong. He coveted the look of the Ace with its sleek design, open top, race potential. So, seeing what he had to do keep the production of the car going, he made a proposal to the owner of AC Cars, Charles Hurlock. Shelby suggested they continue making the Ace chassis for a good old U.S. V-8 engine. He didn't let on that he did not have a clue as to where it would come from, but he liked the idea and was determined to pull it off -- which he did in 1962, just a year after receiving the first chassis from AC. It was a marriage of the British Ace roadster and Ford's hot new 260-cid V-8 engine. Later there was a 289 which now put the Cobra up to 380 horsepower and crowns in the SCCA-A-production and the U.S. Road Racing Championship.

His career as a championship race car driver was in full swing, winning competitions all over the world, including the 24 hour Le Mans, beating such sophisticated models as Ferraris and Corvettes. Then in 1960 Shelby discovered he had a heart condition, which forced him to quit racing due to the stress involved in competitive racing. It didn't stop him from continuing his heartfelt dreams, though. He would begin a new path, a new chapter in his life, as an automotive designer. If he couldn't drive fast himself, he could create cars that could give some other driver a thrill. He would make them faster, lighter, and able to beat out the world's fastest cars.

In 1965, at the 12 Hours De Reims in France, Shelby and his team raced a Cobra that would score enough points to win the prestigious FIA World Championship of GT cars, taking the title virtually owned by Ferrari for a decade. With his success, doors opened for Shelby, including partnering at times with Dodge and Ford Motors. The Cobra was hot and only getting hotter.

But the Cobra production stopped in '68 after a total of 356 had been produced. It didn't take long before 427 replicas were popping out of the woodwork. When AC cars revived, they began producing its own specimen of replicas back in the late 80s. That was great, except Shelby went one step farther by having 43 new "1965" Cobras built from leftover parts in the mid-1990s.

Since 2003, the finest Cobra "replica" built comes from Shelby himself, manufactured at Shelby Automobiles in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unlike the original, Shelby's Cobras now offers a fiberglass, carbon fiber, or aluminum body, and the frame is stronger. But to the untrained eye, this is an identical 1960s Cobra -- a fine work of art signed by its maker.

Shelby's Career Doesn't Stop There

Although the Shelby Cobra roadster was the beginning of Shelby's career, with groups such as the Beach Boys writing songs about the car, Shelby's life work continues even later in life. A little history of his later years:

• 2006: The new Shelby GT
• 2007: Shelby GT500KR -- introduced the 2008 model
• 2007: Shelby GT-H Convertible introduced
• 2007: Post-title Super Snake package introduced for the Shelby GT 500's
• 2007: Shelby GT convertible introduced
• 2007: Shelby Performance Parts Company is formed
• 2007: Shelby Terlingua Racing Team returns

His achievements are many, far too many to mention. Shelby is a legend in many ways, and these are only some of his achievements in the past two decades:

In the 90's, Shelby American developed the awesome Shelby Series 1, the fastest car ever tested in the standing measured.

In the 90's, while waiting for a heart transplant, Shelby founded the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation, a charitable organization focused on children in need of transplants. His role as legendary racer and designer is broadened even more by this generous move.

In 1991, after pacing the Indianapolis 500 in a Dodge Viper, Shelby was inducted into the International MotorSports Hall of Fame.

Since 2005 Shelby has partnered with Edsel Ford and the Ford Motor Company once again, continually producing number one models for the Ford Mustang.

Today at the age of 85, Shelby, the legend, continues to be a driving force (no pun intended) in automotive design. His love of the sports car is reflected in everything he does, living up to the reputation he so deserves.

James Martell, publisher of KitCarConnection.com, is probably one of Carroll Shelby's biggest fans. His admiration for Shelby can be seen in many ways -- including buying a Shelby Cobra replica of his own, visiting the Las Vegas Shelby American factory numerous times, and naming his daughter Shelby. He lives on the west coast of Canada in Victoria, British Columbia, with his wife, Arlene, and their four children, Adam, Justin, Shelby and Victoria. In his leisure time he continues developing his kit car website, attending car shows, and going on cruises.

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