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Some Handy Tips To Drive Safely During Winter

Friday, September 24th, 2010

Drive Safely Driving in cold climate can be a very risky thing to do, especially if you are not experienced enough. This is something which most US citizens residing in cities like Mountainside and Cranford would agree to. In fact one of the main causes of road accidents during winter season is not being cautious while driving in such cold climates. Whether it is your Ford or any other brand, it is always recommended to prepare your vehicle for winter and also to know what to do in certain emergency situations.

Road accidents are one the main reasons for death during the winter season. Here are some useful tips that can help you drive safely in winter:

* Check brakes, wipers, and exhaust system: Before winter starts knocking at your door, prepare your vehicle by checking whether the brakes, exhaust, wipers, and heater are in top order. It is important that these work properly since roads in winter tend to get very slippery.

* Check the vehicle tires: Ensure that the tires are all properly inflated and that the tread is in perfect condition. Also do not forget to check the spare tire. Good treads will grasp the slippery roads better and make the drive safer for you.

* Drive slowly: Ice and snow tend to make the stopping distances of vehicles much longer. Due to the slippery nature of winter roads it is always advised to drive slowly during the cold climate. Also ensure to maintain enough distance between the car ahead and your vehicle. Try to avoid sudden direction changes and quick stops. Most US people residing in numerous cities like Summit and Mountainside, try to drive faster in order to save time and ultimately meet with accidents. This is something that should be avoided even if you have very less time for an appointment.

* Look properly: During winter season due to bad weather conditions visibility is a major concern for most car drivers in US. Whichever car you drive, whether Ford or any other make and no matter how many lights you use, visibility seldom improves in severe bad weather. So it always advised to slow down and be more observant for other vehicles especially if you are at a crossing.

How To Choose Aero For Your Drift Car

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Aero For Your Drift CarThe first step to making a drift run look cool is driving a cool looking car. This article will focus on how you can make your car stand out in the eyes of spectators as well as judges. After all, you can run the best line of the day but if your car looks like a pile of shit than nobody is going to care. Even if you win a competition you still have to go home looking like a loser.

The first step to properly styling a drift car is choosing an overall theme that all parts will sort of fall under. Are you going for a street styled, clean and simplistic look? Or do you prefer mad radical and in your face track-car style that screams “look at me!”? There are all sorts of happy mediums between the two, but every part on your car must flow with the overall theme that you should have picked out before assembling parts. You must have a vision of what everything will look like assembled and complete.

Once you have an overall theme picked out the first step to properly styling a drift car is choosing what aero you will go with. If you are thinking of going with a more street styled and clean lined theme, then something like Vertex aero with minimalistic lines and clean styling is a great choice. Pair a subtle front bumper with some very clean and simple side skirts, and your car will be sure to impress everyone. Once you have the fronts figured out, a rear bumper that completes the clean and street look should be picked out. In a street styled car, a rear wing is entirely optional. Some people like to run no wing and let the aero and wheels do the talking. Some prefer to run a very clean lip wing such as the Supermade, which is my personal favorite. Another very cool option is the GP sports three piece lip wing which combines a center section with two side pieces on the fenders to give a low profile and sleek accent to subtle and street styled aero.

Once the front bumper, sideskirts, rear bumper, and rear wing have been chose, a you must choose what fenders to go with. Usually with a street styled theme you should try to pick some sort of widebody fenders that aren’t super aggressive but still allow easy changing when crashes and love-touches happen on track. Twenty millimeter fenders out front and fifty millimeters out back is a typical setup for a street styled car. Some drivers even prefer to stick with stock metal fenders but the reparability and functionality often suffers. Fenders are often overlooked but can truly make or break the overall presence of a drift car. Too narrow and the car looks timid and weak. Too wide for the aero you run and the cars look bulgy and out of place.

If you want to go with a track styled and very loud and obnoxious drift car theme than there are countless options waiting for you. The most ridiculous and obscene aero that most people think of is BN Sports. BN lines are extremely flared and often extend a cars overall width by up to 6 inches. A flared front bumper paired with flared side skirts and rear bumper scream for attention and make the car look similar to a hovercraft. Some other wild and crazy aero companies are Works9 and Origin, both offering similar styled kits that are known for being loud and crazy. The common theme for a track styled car is to go as wide as possible and have very sharp, flat lines that help accentuate super wide wheels that extend far beyond even wide fenders.

Usually on track styled cars people tend to run GT wings with giant stays at least 10 inches tall. A GT wing is anything that has detachable stays that place the wing plane high above the roof line of the car. A common theme to make your drift car look wider and cooler is running the wing stays extremely far apart from each other, sometimes even out on the fenders. Another way to make your car stand out is to run custom stays with crazy designs and patterns cut into them. Some people run shooting stars, crazy patterns, or simple little cut outs with simple cuts to reduce weight while still retaining structural integrity. Occasionally people will shy away from GT wings and run something super bad ass such as the 326 power wing. This wing is extremely aggressive and has fang type side plates that extend down almost to the quarter panels. This allows a driver to stay away from strict GT wings but still keep an extremely aggressive look that intimidates other drivers.

After the main accessories have been chosen, the next step to finalizing your aero choices is to pick out all of the details. In a street styled car a roof wing is typically a good call, keeping things fresh and clean without going over the top. A roof wing also can look cool with a GT wing because it helps divert some of the attention away from it. People have also been known to run small lip wings along with roof wings and GT wings, sort of the trifecta idea. Another common detail is the use of canards on the front and rear bumpers. Although originally used in strict time attack racing the use of canards can increase the aggressiveness of both subtle and radical aero.

The Benefits of Using ASE Master Technicians

Saturday, September 18th, 2010

ASE Master TechniciansWhen people are in need of automotive repair, they want to have the job done right the first time. This always leaves people in search of a good mechanic who is worth the money it costs to do any needed repair work. One way to go about finding such a mechanic is to look for ASE Master Technicians. These are highly trained automotive service professionals who have both the automotive education and experience needed to do high quality automotive work.

What Exactly Is an ASE Master Technician?

The National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence is an independent and non-profit organization which offers programs and training for those looking to become highly qualified automotive professionals. In order for a mechanic to be a Master technician with them, a mechanic must first pass the standard courses offered by the institute. They must later pass a series of tests in the specific type of automotive work they are looking to specialize in.

When a mechanic is certified in a particular concentration of auto repair work, they are qualified to do both maintenance and repair work in that area. The work they are trained to do is of the highest quality since they have been educated in how to execute automotive work at the highest professional level. This means that an ASE professional will give you the best work money can buy.

How to Find a Professional

Automotive repair shops which employ Master Technicians advertise this in their shops and often in their advertisements. If you do not know of such a shop in your area, go to the official ASE website. They have a section dedicated to assisting motorist in finding a certified professional in their area. The website is user friendly and only asks you to enter basic information about your location to narrow the search for your technician. After finding the list professionals in your area you take your search one step further. You can do this by looking up reviews for the mechanics and shops on your list. This will help you in identifying the location you feel the best about taking your car to for maintenance and repairs.

Questions to Ask ASE Master Technicians

Many people simply take their car into an automotive professional when they are in need of having major repair work done. When this happens most people do not think to ask the professional working on their car questions other than those which pertain to the work they are currently having done. This is unfortunate because the advice offered by an ASE professional about other aspects of their cars maintenance can be very helpful. Before you take you car in, make a list of questions you would like to ask. This will ensure that you do not forget anything you may be concerned about once you get to the shop. Be sure to ask questions about areas of car maintenance which can save you money such as tips on fuel efficiency.