Alloy Wheels 101

Many new models trundling out of car showrooms these days sit proudly on alloy wheels, which are usually measured in inches (only two other things are habitually measured in inches these days, with the other two being display/TV/computer monitor screens and a gentleman’s 11^th finger).  These alloys look very pretty but do they have any other advantages other than simple aesthetics?

Alloy wheels are often contrasted with steel wheels.  Here, the pedantic geek in me has to stand up to tell you that, technically speaking, steel is an alloy of iron and carbon (and other bits, such as chromium, vanadium, boron, tungsten, titanium and other obscure elements on the period table).  It’s probably one of the most common alloys, though it’s not the oldest: that honour goes to bronze (an alloy of tin and copper) and electrum (an alloy of gold and silver that can occur naturally).  There are lots of alloys that have been used since ancient times, and the ability to create them is one of the earliest metalworking technologies out there*. 

To be more precise, alloy wheels are made from alloys of aluminium or magnesium.  This is why you’ll hear some people referring to mag wheels or mag-alloy wheels; mag is an abbreviation of “magnesium alloy”.  This term probably dates back to the 1960s, which is when these wheels, previously only available to the car racing community, hit the market.

Steel wheels have their benefits, such as being cheaper and being easier to bang back into shape after a serious ding.  However, they’re usually only fitted to cheaper cars and entry-level variants (if at all), and will never be found on any luxury vehicle worth its leather seats.  So why do they use them? 

The metals used to make alloy wheels tend to be a lot lighter, but they still have the strength needed to stand up to the rigours of driving.  Getting the weight down is important to car designers (the weight of the vehicle, that is, not the designers) for a number of reasons. Firstly, lowering the unsprung weight of the vehicle makes things easier for the suspension, which, in turn, makes the car handle a lot better.  So that’s definitely a good reason for fitting a car with alloy wheels.  Being lighter also improves the fuel efficiency of the vehicles they’re fitted to because the lighter something is, the less energy it takes to move it.  Needing less force to get moving also means that acceleration gets better. The reverse is true as well: objects that don’t weight as much are easier to stop and/or slow down.

Having less weight also means that a vehicle can have bigger wheels without adding extra kilos, and the general thinking is that if it’s measured in inches, bigger is better.**  

However, having less weight is not the only advantage.  The aluminium and magnesium alloys have better ability to conduct heat away from the brakes, meaning that the brakes perform better.  If you’ve got an aluminium frying pan and a cast iron or steel skillet in your kitchen, you can see this easily.  If you get them both up to the same temperature then whip them off the heat, the aluminium pan will cool down more quickly than the steel one (have your oven mitts handy).  However, because of the greater strength of the aluminium or magnesium alloy, the wheels can be made with an open design – you know, those pretty stars and spokes.  Yes, these are a lot more aesthetically pleasing than a plain old steel wheel but this sort of design isn’t just beautiful but functional as well.  The open design allows the aluminium or magnesium alloy to release some of the heat generated by braking to the air, and the more surface area it’s got, the more heat it will lose.

The main ways of making alloy wheels are forging and casting.  Forging involves heating up the metal or alloy, rolling it, hammering it and generally mashing it about.  This process of heating, etc. makes the alloy grow stronger (I can see a nice little metaphor for a life lesson in there).  However, it’s a long and complicated process, and is more costly than casting.  Casting is where molten metal is poured into a mould, where it hardens.  Cast alloy wheels are cheaper and easier to produce en masse, but they aren’t quite as tough as forged alloy wheels.

Of course, these days, there is a new kid on the wheel block: carbon fibre.  Carbon fibre is even lighter than aluminium or magnesium alloys while still being super tough (diamond is pure carbon, remember).  Carbon is also better able to withstand bumps without forming microcracks, meaning that it’s tougher in the long run.  However, carbon fibre is a lot more expensive.  Will we see carbon fibre becoming more common (and cheaper) as time goes by?  I suspect we will, especially as EVs weigh a lot more than ICE vehicles, and thus cause more wear and tear on our roads, so trimming the weight down will be important (there’s also part of me that wonders if carbon fibre could be a way to sequester carbon, ultimately leading less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but this part is probably wrong).  Anyway, in EVs, regenerative braking transforms a lot of the kinetic energy lost during braking into electrical potential energy rather than heat energy, so there’s no need for open wheel designs that dissipate more heat. Instead, the designers can go for aerodynamics for even better efficiency (and look even cooler).  It will be interesting to see what they come up with.

* Could somebody please inform the writers of Amazon’s The Rings of Power of this fact?

** This may be true of wheels and screens, but speaking as a straight woman, it’s not true of the third.  Seriously, size really doesn’t matter.

Choosing The Right Driving Posture

When I learned to drive, I wasn’t told much about correct driving posture apart from ensuring that my feet could reach the pedals (obviously) and that my hands were in the “ten past two” position*. However, as time went on and I drove more, I soon came to learn that there’s more to sitting comfortably, and there’s a reason why car manufacturers take so much trouble with designing seats and making them adjustable in many different ways.

If you’ve felt stiff and sore after driving for a long time, then your driving posture might have something do to with it. Sitting down in a car seat is no different from sitting down in an office chair from some perspectives, and it’s important to allow for regular breaks during a long drive so that you can stretch your legs, etc. – just like you would if you were at work. Your office chair is probably not as comfy and cushy as the driver’s seat, unless you’ve done what I’ve done and converted the seat from an old Ford Falcon into an office chair (it’s a pig to move in and out, though, as I haven’t put castors on it).

Although the idea would be to get up every 20 minutes, we all know that this isn’t always possible when driving (every hour is more like it).  However, you can reduce the strain on your body – and it is strain – from holding in one position for ages by ensuring that you’re sitting correctly. If you’ve felt stiff after a long drive, then this might help you.

Everybody’s body is different, so I can’t give precise measurements and angles.  You may have long legs in proportion to your body, a big bum or a long back.  You may be a massive great big dude over six feet tall, or you may be a petite woman reaching five feet in her high heels.  This means that what’s ideal for you probably won’t be idea for someone else.  In fact, what’s best for you might not even be possible in some vehicles, so always test out the seats before you buy a new car.  This means that in the case of a couple consisting of the big dude and the petite lady, you’ll need to compromise (not ideal) or even buy two cars.

OK, to make sure you’re sitting comfortably, let’s begin with some basics. Take your wallet and/or phone and anything else out of your back pocket, because that will have an effect.  Now take time to find out what a neutral spine feels like.  A neutral spine is not a straight back, as the human spine is supposed to have a nice gentle S-bend shape to it.  Stand up and, if you can, check in a mirror side on.  Ensure that your weight is evenly distributed on both feet and don’t fully lock your knees.  Now imagine that there’s a string attached to the top of your head and that it’s pulling you up. 

For more help with knowing what a nice neutral spine feels like, I suggest chatting to your friendly local physiotherapist, taking up Pilates or both.

Now to get into the car.  Oddly, you need to start with the seat in completely the wrong position and then bring it into the right position.  If you’re doing this for the first time in a new car (or a car that you’re considering buying) then move everything as far as it can go – seat angle, steering wheel and all. Push the seat right back as far as it can go.  Now you’re ready to adjust it.

Let’s start with the seat height. In fact, the seat height is the least adjustable thing in many cars, so if you can’t get the height right, you may have to consider another vehicle. Your hips should be about as high as your knees or just a smidge lower (but not too low).  However, you shouldn’t be so high that you hit your head on the top of the car or that you have to crane your head down to see the instrument panel.  If you are too low down, you can use a cushion to get you high enough.  Also check where the edge of the seat is relative to the backs of your knees. If the edge of the seat pushes into your knees, this will restrict your circulation, and riding in that car will be very uncomfortable. Seriously, this matters.  I once owned a car that did this to me. It was great in other ways but the problem with circulation in the feet and legs was so bad that we sold the vehicle (hope it suited the new owner better). Reach down and see if you can fit two fingers between the edge of the seat and your knees. If you can, you’re all good.

Now bring the seat forward so you can reach the pedals (and the footrest) while keeping your back snugly against the seat.  You should have a small bend in your legs, as locking your legs for long periods isn’t all that good for them.  Your heels (in bare feet or ordinary shoes, not high heels) should be on the ground rather than dangling, and you should be able to push the pedal down with your heel on the floor as the fulcrum of a lever.  It’s possible to buy pedal extenders so you can do this if the car is perfect in every other way.  Of all the things that make driving tiring, an accelerator pedal that you can’t operate with your heel on the floor is the worst, and I’ve driven a couple.

If you can adjust the tilt of the seat, play around a bit until you find the position that gives you a neutral spine.  Women will naturally have a more forward tilt than men thanks to the shape of the female pelvis (high heels were invented to exaggerate this) but not too extreme.  Modern car seats have been designed to prevent “submarining”, which is when someone slides out under the seatbelt during the sudden stop in a crash, but this slightly backward angle isn’t all that good for our backs.  There’s not much you can do about this, so get the tilt as close as you can to what gives you a neutral spine.

Now for the seat back. This should not be at right angles to the ground (straight up and down) but it shouldn’t be so far back that it forces you/allows you to slouch your chest, head and shoulders forward.  Keep that spine in neutral position.  If you have lumbar support, this should sit snugly into your lumbar lordosis (the curve in your lower back just above your pelvis).  Some cars don’t have height-adjustable lumbar support (bad luck), and just have lumbar support that’s adjustable in terms of depth.  If your car doesn’t have lumbar support or if it’s in the wrong place for your body (I have a long back in proportion to my legs, so this happens to me a lot), then a lumbar cushion is worth buying and fitting to your car.

Moving on up, make sure that your shoulders can press against the back of the chair, then adjust the head rest. The head rest is supposed to be a head rest, not a neck rest, so sit with a neutral spine and ensure that the head rest touches the back of your head.

Now to adjust the steering wheel. You should be able to get both hands on it with a slight bend in your elbows – driving with straight arms puts strain on your shoulders and neck.  The best position isn’t “ten to two”, as I was taught, but quarter past nine (nine and three) down to seven and five.  Adjust the height of the steering wheel to suit you.

In a perfect world, we’d be able to customize everything so that it suited our bodies perfectly, especially when it comes to female bodies. Traditionally, car seats have been designed to fit the average male, but manufacturers have seem to have woken up to the fact that half of the population has a female body and are factoring this into their seat designs and safety features (Mazda and Volvo, for example).  That’s a topic for another day (and one I’ve discussed before) but in the meantime, if you aim to have a neutral spine and to keep a gentle bend in your arms and your legs while driving, you should be about right.

And don’t forget to allow for regular breaks to get up out of your seat during a longer journey.

What Does an Electric Water Pump Do?

An electric water pump, or EWP, is a mechanical device, powered by electricity, that pumps water through the cooling system of your car.

Because it relies on electricity, an EWP will work as long as there is power in the battery. This means that if a vehicle has been running for a while and the ignition gets switched off, a control device can keep the EWP running afterwards. This is especially crucial in automotive high load areas or in motorsport.

On the other hand, a mechanical water pump stops working when the engine is turned off and the battery is no longer operating.

This means cooling fluid is no longer pushed through the engine internals and through the radiator, which can lead to severe damage to the engine and potentially the radiator as well.

Another benefit of an EWP is the constant pressure and flow rate, including the ability to consistently deliver flow since they’re not dependent on a crankshaft and belt to spin.

What’s more, because an EWP is electrically powered, they’re not sapping energy from a mechanical system.

This means less strain, better fuel economy, and longer lasting mechanical parts. They’re also a lot smaller, which means less weight, better efficiency, and they can be mounted in certain positions to help tidy up an engine bay.

In contrast, it is quite common to find systems where a mechanically driven fan is attached to the nose of a mechanically driven water pump.

The fan has a kind of clutch that allows the fan to spin up to speed or spin down to a stop by itself. In a cooling sense, these fans are only effective if the engine is running.

Due to their source of power, these types of fans will not be as energy or fuel efficient, plus they’ll sometimes not be as aerodynamically efficient due to the design of the fan blade, or their location in respect to the radiator.

How 5G Technology is Transforming the Future of Automotive Connectivity 

Technology-driven ecosystems are quickly emerging in the automotive industry.

What we expect of a vehicle is evolving – from a tool used to merely move us from point A to B, to an integrated and fully connected tech-hub! Yes, you read that right – and it’s all due to 5G.

5G is becoming an integral part of technological transformation in the automotive industry.

So, to enlighten you about what 5G technology can bring to automotive connectivity, we’ve defined what this technology is and listed some of the key benefits you’ll experience with 5G connected vehicles.

What is 5G technology?

5G is the fifth generation of cellular technology, and it’s set to transform our daily lives by virtually connecting everyone and everything together with faster latency than any previous cellular technology.

Fast-paced, reliable connectivity will allow billions of devices to use and transmit data in more places, bringing major advancements to the IoT (Internet of Things), Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and more.

How does 5G impact the vehicle industry?

When it comes to automobiles, 5G allows for vehicle-to-vehicle communication in real-time which could deliver reliable connections with lower latency. The reliable and high-volume data transfer enabled by 5G unlocks the potential for V2X (vehicle-to-everything) and V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) communication – which in turn, unlocks the potential for a variety of features that enhance road safety and convenience for the user.

4 ways 5G network coverage is redefining the driving experience

With the demand for greater connectivity set to soar, 5G-enabled connected cars will become the new norm.

Here are 4 ways 5G will enhance vehicles in the near future:

1. Improved safety

With an increasing number of road fatalities in Australia, safety applications of 5G are of great importance.

Here are some of the applications of 5G in the safety features of cars:

• Speed Control - When connected to the network via 5G, cars can be programmed to automatically adjust speeds based on road closures, congestion or accidents and prepare the driver in advance, avoiding mishaps such as collisions or pileups.
  
  
• Alerts - 5G connectivity can be used to detect obstacles by opting to assist in NLOS (non-line-of-sight) scenarios, activate emergency braking warnings, or even crash warnings to avoid accidents.
  
  
• Intersection Management - 5G in cars when connected with multiple cameras at intersections can be used to manage traffic better and increase safety.
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2. Improved driving experience

Driver demand for connectivity is increasing as people become more familiar with and reliant on the benefits of staying connected. 

According to research, around 40% of global consumers would change car brands just to gain more connectivity. Here are some of the applications of 5G in improving your driving experience:

• Navigation - With 5G entering the picture, navigation is likely to get more accurate with real-time map updates and 3D imaging.
  
  
• Media - Using the 5G network, connected cars will be able to stream rich HD media content to their infotainment systems directly – which means more entertainment, more often.
  
  

3. Efficiency

The 5G network can be used intelligently for delivering value in fleet and commercial vehicles. This can help reduce costs as well as fuel consumption through:

• Route Optimisation - Using real-time maps and traffic data, vehicles can plan faster trips by optimising their routes, therefore reducing the overall cost of travel.
  
  
• Platooning - With the help of high-speed networks that operate in real-time, commercial vehicles can drive in a coordinated fashion and maintain a fixed distance between each other, resulting in lower fuel consumption, costs and carbon emissions – all enabled by 5G.
  
  

4. Faster freight and shipping

Vehicles that transport our goods will also be getting a makeover thanks to 5G. The logistics industry expects to see faster deliveries and less revenue leakage as a result.

These are some of the projected advancements in the logistics industry:

• Virtual reality road assistance – Companies will be able to manage fleet maintenance using a remote mechanic. This will speed up roadside assistance, getting autonomous trucks back on the road faster to improve delivery times.
  
  
• Advanced location tracking – “Dead zones” may become a thing of the past thanks to 5G. With more accurate and advanced geo-location technology, travel delays in remote and rural areas will be easier to track.

The long list of exciting benefits we stand to gain from 5G-connected vehicles is why the future of the automotive industry is infinitely bright. However, the industry requires huge investments to improve network performance and to have a significant impact on the automotive ecosystem.

Ready to drive smarter on the road with a 5G-connected vehicle?

The automotive industry is experiencing changes driven by digital transformation.

So, whenever you’re ready to take the next step towards a 5G-connected car, it helps to have a vehicle expert who can guide you. If you have questions about smart cars and how you can choose the right one for you, simply reach out to us for a chat.

Find the right smart vehicle for you with Private Fleet.

Private Fleet empowers you to gain all the benefits of a fleet purchase, but as a private buyer.

Backed by decades of vehicle industry experience, fleet buying power and a network of car dealers across Australia, we are here to ensure that buying a 5G-connected car will be as straightforward as possible for you.

Buying a new car is a memorable experience – let us make it hassle-free, too.

Reach out to us today for a seamless and easy car-buying experience.