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 11th 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*.
What Is Synthetic Fuel?
You’ve probably heard that the way that the oil and gas fields that produce the petrol and diesel we put in our internal combustion engine (ICE) cars were once ancient forests that were somehow buried and transformed into the form they are in today. You may have wondered whether it would be able to make something chemically identical to crude oil or refined oil in the lab, given that we know the chemical formula for petrol and diesel.
Why You Need To Stay Alert During Winter (Even In A Car With All The Driver Assistance Features)
No review of any car produced from 2010 onwards would be complete without a list, or at least a partial list, of some of the driver aids. Most of us have noticed that cars have become more electronic and have more computer-controlled gadgets (and we may have grumbled about it if we are DIY mechanics who know how to use a spanner but go to pieces when confronted with anything containing a chip). The list of driver aids seems to be getting longer and longer, starting with basic things like rear view cameras and going on to things like traffic sign recognition, lane departure correction and more.
There’s no denying that these aids are very useful – I love the reversing camera we fitted onto our Honda Jazz – but it’s important that we don’t become too reliant on them. Even though it may seem as though the clever people who design these systems and sensors are trying to replicate a horse (autonomous, 360° audio warning system, 210° cameras, voice activation, carbon-neutral, emission-free, running on 100% biofuel and completely biodegradable), one has to remember that your car isn’t actually intelligent – like KITT from Knight Rider – and isn’t a horse, and those sensors and systems can have problems in certain conditions.
Your In-Car Emergency Kit
Winter is a difficult time to drive in, as conditions make things more dangerous. Depending on where in the country you are, you may have to cope with a lower angle of the sun, which gets in your eyes and dazzles you as well as showing up every single smear and speck of dirt on the windscreen. You may have to cope with more rain, or even frost and snow, and you may have to cope with darker mornings and evenings. Of course, this will vary, depending on how far north, south or inland you live. Accidents become a lot more common.
Level 2, 9 Help Street