Joseph Miller-

8/9/2019 Joseph Miller-

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First Edition, 2007

ISBN 978 81 904575 1 4

© All rights reserved.

Published by:

Global Media

1819, Bhagirath Palace,Chandni Chowk, Delhi-110 006Email: [email protected]


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Table of Contents

1. Auto Mechanic

2. Automobile

3. Art Car

4. Art Bike

5. Car Modding

6. Cut Down

7. Engine Tuning

8. Transmission

9. Suspension of a Vehicle

10. Different Types of Suspension

11. Dashpot

12. RLC Circuit

13. Shock Absorber

14. Multi-Link Suspension

15. Car Handling

16. Steering

17. Mechanical Engineering

18. Vehicle Dynamics

19. Some Important Guidelines for your Vehicle


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Auto mechanic

A mechanic working on the rear end of a car.

An auto mechanic is a mechanic who specializes in automobile maintenance, repair, and

sometimes modification and design. Education is usually post-secondary or secondary

vocational education, although apprenticeship under a master mechanic is also an

accepted method of learning the trade. A good mechanic must be proficient in

mathematics, physics, electronics and computer science as well as logical processes used

for diagnosing problems. Most reputable mechanics are ASE certified, which is a

standardized method of testing skill level. The technology used in automobiles changes

very rapidly and the mechanic must be prepared to learn these new technologies and

systems. The auto mechanic has a physically demanding job, often exposed totemperature extremes and well as lifting heavy objects and staying in uncomfortable

positions for extended periods as well as exposure to gasoline, solvents and other toxic

chemicals. Related jobs include motorcycle repair and small engine repair.

Auto 'mechanics' are today professionally referred to as 'technicians', due to the level of

technological competency now required to diagnose and perform needed repairs. Fading

quickly is the day of the 'shadetree mechanic', who needed little knowledge of today's

computerized systems. Today's technician must have knowledge of these systems, as well

as more basic mechanical principles.

Due to the increasingly labyrinthine nature of the technology that is now incorporated

into automobiles, most automobile dealerships now provide sophisticated diagnostic

computers to each technician, without which they would be unable to diagnose or repair a

multitude of common failures.


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Mechanic

Mechanic at steam pump in electric power house

A mechanic is a person who uses tools to repair things (generally machinery) or works to

keep things operating properly.

Many mechanics are specialised in a particular field such as auto mechanics, boiler

mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics (millwrights), air conditioning and

refrigeration mechanics and aircraft mechanics.

Mechanics possess many skills in technical, electrical/electronic and other vocational

areas. Being a good repair technician is more than just "fixing things". A good sound

repair requires troubleshooting skills which at times requires the tech to teach themselves

how a particuar system operates; often in a timely manner.


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Automobile

Karl Benz's "Velo" model (1894) - entered into the first automobile race

An automobile is a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor. Most

definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, tohave seating for one to six people, typically have four wheels and be constructed

principally for the transport of people rather than goods. However, the term is far from precise.

As of 2002 there were 590 million passenger cars worldwide (roughly one car for everyeleven people), of which 140 million in the U.S. (roughly one car for every two people). .

History

An automobile powered by the Otto gasoline engine was invented in Germany by KarlBenz in 1885. Benz was granted a patent dated 29 January 1886 in Mannheim for thatautomobile. Even though Benz is credited with the invention of the modern automobile,several other German engineers worked on building automobiles at the same time. In1886, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Stuttgart patented the first motor bike,

built and tested in 1885, and in 1886 they built a converted horse-drawn stagecoach. In1870, German-Austrian inventor Siegfried Marcus assembled a motorized handcart,though Marcus' vehicle did not go beyond the experimental stage.

Automobile history eras

1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s1960s1970s

1980s1990s


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2000s

Veteran Brass orEdwardian Vintage Pre-War

Antique

Post-War

Classic

Modern

Internal combustion engine powered vehicles

Animation of a 4-stroke overhead-cam internal combustion engine

In 1806 François Isaac de Rivaz, a Swiss, designed the first internal combustion engine(sometimes abbreviated "ICE" today). He subsequently used it to develop the world's firstvehicle to run on such an engine that used a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen to generateenergy. The design was not very successful, as was the case with the British inventor,Samuel Brown, and the American inventor, Samuel Morey, who produced vehicles

powered by clumsy internal combustion engines about 1826.

Etienne Lenoir produced the first successful stationary internal combustion engine in1860, and within a few years, about four hundred were in operation in Paris. About 1863,Lenoir installed his engine in a vehicle. It seems to have been powered by city lighting-gas in bottles, and was said by Lenoir to have "travelled more slowly than a man couldwalk, with breakdowns being frequent." Lenoir, in his patent of 1860, included the


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provision of a carburettor, so liquid fuel could be substituted for gas, particularly formobile purposes in vehicles. Lenoir is said to have tested liquid fuel, such as alcohol, inhis stationary engines; but it does not appear that he used them in his own vehicle. If hedid, he most certainly did not use gasoline, as this was not well-known and was

considered a waste product.

The next innovation occurred in the late 1860s, with Siegfried Marcus, a Germanworking in Vienna, Austria. He developed the idea of using gasoline as a fuel in a two-stroke internal combustion engine. In 1870, using a simple handcart, he built a crudevehicle with no seats, steering, or brakes, but it was remarkable for one reason: it was theworld's first vehicle using an internal combustion engine fueled by gasoline. It was testedin Vienna in September of 1870 and put aside. In 1888 or 1889, he built a secondautomobile, this one with seats, brakes, and steering, and included a four-stroke engine ofhis own design. That design may have been tested in 1890. Although he held patents formany inventions, he never applied for patents for either design in this category.

The four-stroke engine already had been documented and a patent was applied for in1862 by the Frenchman Beau de Rochas in a long-winded and rambling pamphlet. He

printed about three hundred copies of his pamphlet and they were distributed in Paris, butnothing came of this, with the patent application expiring soon afterward and the

pamphlet disappearing into obscurity.

Most historians agree that Nikolaus Otto of Germany built the world's first four-strokeengine although his patent was voided. He knew nothing of Beau de Rochas's patent oridea, and invented the concept independently. In fact, he began thinking about theconcept in 1861, but abandoned it until the mid-1870s.

In 1883, Edouard Delamare-Deboutteville and Leon Malandin of France installed aninternal combustion engine powered by a tank of city gas on a tricycle. As they tested thevehicle, the tank hose came loose, resulting in an explosion. In 1884, Delamare-

Deboutteville and Malandin built and patented a second vehicle. This one consisted oftwo four-stroke, liquid-fueled engines mounted on an old four-wheeled horse cart. The

patent, and presumably the vehicle, contained many innovations, some of which wouldnot be used for decades. However, during the vehicle's first test, the frame broke apart,the vehicle literally "shaking itself to pieces," in Malandin's own words. No morevehicles were built by the two men. Their venture went completely unnoticed and their


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patent unexploited. Knowledge of the vehicles and their experiments was obscured untilyears later.

Production of automobiles begins

Karl Benz

Replica of the Benz Patent Motorwagen built in 1886

Internal combustion engine automobiles were first produced in Germany by Karl Benz in1885-1886, and Gottlieb Daimler between 1886-1889.

Karl Benz began to work on new engine patents in 1878. At first he concentrated on

creating a reliable two-stroke gas engine, based on Nikolaus Otto's design of the four-stroke engine. A patent on the design by Otto had been declared void. Benz finished hisengine on New Year's Eve and was granted a patent for it in 1879. Benz built his firstthree-wheeled automobile in 1885 and it was granted a patent in Mannheim, datedJanuary of 1886. This was the first automobile designed and built as such, rather than aconverted carriage, boat, or cart. Among other items Benz invented are the speed


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regulation system known also as an accelerator, ignition using sparks from a battery, thespark plug, the clutch, the gear shift, and the water radiator. He built improved versionsin 1886 and 1887 and went into production in 1888: the world's first automobile

production. His wife, Bertha, made significant suggestions for innovation that he

included in that model. Approximately twenty-five were built before 1893, when his firstfour-wheeler was introduced. They were powered with four-stroke engines of his owndesign. Emile Roger of France, already producing Benz engines under license, nowadded the Benz automobile to his line of products. Because France was more open to theearly automobiles, more were built and sold in France through Roger than Benz sold inGermany.

In 1886 Gottlieb Daimler fitted a horse carriage with his four-stroke engine. In 1889, he built two vehicles from scratch as automobiles, with several innovations. From 1890 to1895 about thirty vehicles were built by Daimler and his assistant, Wilhelm Maybach,either at the Daimler works or in the Hotel Hermann, where they set up shop after fallingout with their backers. Benz and Daimler, seem to have been unaware of each other'searly work and worked independently. Daimler died in 1900. During the First WorldWar, Benz suggested a co-operative effort between the two companies, but it was notuntil 1926 that the they united under the name of Daimler-Benz with a commitment toremain together under that name until the year 2000.

In 1890, Emile Levassor and Armand Peugeot of France began producing vehicles withDaimler engines, and so laid the foundation of the motor industry in France. They wereinspired by Daimler's Stahlradwagen of 1889, which was exhibited in Paris in 1889.

The first American car with a gasoline internal combustion engine supposedly wasdesigned in 1877 by George Baldwin Selden of Rochester, New York, who applied for a

patent on an automobile in 1879. Selden did not build an automobile until 1905, when hewas forced to do so, due to a lawsuit threatening the legality of his patent because thesubject had never been built. After building the 1877 design in 1905, Selden received his

patent and later sued the Ford Motor Company for infringing upon his patent. Henry Fordwas notorious for opposing the American patent system and Selden's case against Fordwent all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled that Ford, and anyone else, was freeto build automobiles without paying royalties to Selden, since automobile technology hadimproved so significantly since the design of Selden's patent, that no one was buildingaccording to his early designs.


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In Britain there had been several attempts to build steam cars with varying degrees ofsuccess with Thomas Rickett even attempting a production run in 1860.One of the major

problems was the poor state of the road network. Santler from Malvern is recognised bythe Veteran Car Club of Great Britain as having made the first petrol powered car in the

country in 1894 followed by Frederick William Lanchester in 1895 but these were bothone-offs. The first production vehicles came from the Daimler Motor Company foundedin 1896 and making their first cars made in 1897.

Innovation

Ford Model T, 1927

Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, a French inventor, is credited for having built the world's firstself-propelled mechanical vehicle or automobile in 1765. The first automobile patent inthe United States was granted to Oliver Evans in 1789 for his "Amphibious Digger". Itwas a harbor dredge scow designed to be powered by a steam engine and he built wheelsto attach to the bow. In 1804 Evans demonstrated his first successful self-propelledvehicle, which not only was the first automobile in the US but was also the firstamphibious vehicle, as his steam-powered vehicle was able to travel on wheels on land ashe demonstrated once, and via a paddle wheel in the water. It was not successful andeventually was sold as spare parts.

The Benz Motorwagen, built in 1885, was patented on 29 January 1886 by Karl Benz asthe first automobile powered by an internal combustion engine. In 1888, a major

breakthrough came when Bertha Benz drove an automobile that her husband had built fora distance of more than 106 km (about 65 miles). This event demonstrated the practicalusefulness of the automobile and gained wide publicity, which was the promotion shethought was needed to advance the invention. The Benz vehicle was the first automobile

put into production and sold commercially. Bertha Benz's historic drive is celebrated asan annual holiday in Germany with rallies of antique automobiles.


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In 1892 Rudolf Diesel got a patent for a "New Rational Combustion Engine" bymodifying the Carnot Cycle. And in 1897 he built the first Diesel Engine.

On 5 November 1895, George B. Selden was granted a United States patent for a two-

stroke automobile engine (U.S. Patent 549160). This patent did more to hinder thanencourage development of autos in the United States. Steam, electric, and gasoline

powered autos competed for decades, with gasoline internal combustion enginesachieving dominance in the 1910s.

Ransom E. Olds, the creator of the first automobile assembly line

The large-scale, production-line manufacturing of affordable automobiles was debuted byRansom Eli Olds at his Oldsmobile factory in 1902. This assembly line concept was thengreatly expanded by Henry Ford in the 1910s. Development of automotive technologywas rapid, due in part to the hundreds of small manufacturers competing to gain theworld's attention. Key developments included electric ignition and the electric self-starter

(both by Charles Kettering, for the Cadillac Motor Company in 1910-1911), independentsuspension, and four-wheel brakes.

Although various pistonless rotary engine designs have attempted to compete with theconventional piston and crankshaft design, only Mazda's version of the Wankel enginehas had more than very limited success.

Model changeover and design change

Since the 1920s nearly all cars have been mass-produced to meet market needs, somarketing plans have often heavily influenced automobile design. It was Alfred P. Sloanwho established the idea of different makes of cars produced by one firm, so that buyerscould "move up" as their fortunes improved. The makes shared parts with one another sothat the larger production volume resulted in lower costs for each price range. Forexample, in the 1950s, Chevrolet shared hood, doors, roof, and windows with Pontiac;


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the LaSalle of the 1930s, sold by Cadillac, used the cheaper mechanical parts made bythe Oldsmobile division.

Production statistics

In 2005, 63 million cars and light trucks were produced worldwide.

Top 15 Motor Vehicle Producing Countries 2005 edit Car and Light Commercial Vehicle Production (1,000 units)

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,0007,000 8,000 9,000 10,000 11,00012,000United States 11,524Japan 10,064Germany 5,543

China 5,067South Korea 3,657France 3,495Spain 2,677Canada 2,624Brazil 2,375UnitedKingdom 1,783

Mexico 1,607India 1,406

Russia 1,264Thailand 1,110Italy 995

Large free trade areas like EU, NAFTA and MERCOSUR attract manufacturersworldwide to produce their products within them reducing currency risks and customscontrols and additionally being close to their customers. Thus the production figures donot show the technological ability or business skill of the areas. In fact much, if not most,of Third World countries car production uses Western technology and car models andsometimes complete Western factories are shipped to such countries. This is reflected in

patent statistics as well as the location of R&D centers.


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The automobile industry is dominated by relatively few large corporations (not to beconfused with the much more numerous brands), the biggest of which (by numbers ofcars produced) are currently General Motors, Toyota and Ford Motor Company. It isexpected that Toyota will reach the No.1 position in 2006. The most profitable per-unit

car-maker of recent years has been Porsche due to its premium price tag

Top 15 Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Companies 2005 edit Car and Light Commercial Vehicle Production (1,000 units)

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,0008,000 9,000

10,000General Motors 9,040Toyota 7,100Ford 6,418Volkswagen Group 5,173

DaimlerChrysler 4,319PSA Peugeot Citroën 3,375Honda 3,373

Nissan 3,348Hyundai-Kia 2,853Renault-Dacia-Samsung 2,617Suzuki-Maruti 2,072Fiat 1,934Mitsubishi 1,327BMW 1,323

Mazda 1,285Total global production: 67,265

Future of the car


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The hydrogen powered FCHV (Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle) was developed by Toyota in2005

There have been many efforts to innovate automobile design funded by the NHTSA,including the work of the NavLab group at Carnegie Mellon University. Recent effortsinclude the highly publicized DARPA Grand Challenge race.

Relatively high transportation fuel prices do not significantly reduce car usage but domake it more expensive. One environmental benefit of high fuel prices is that it is anincentive for the production of more efficient (and hence less polluting) car designs andthe development of alternative fuels. At the beginning of 2006, 1 liter of gasoline costapproximately $0.60 USD in the United States and in Germany and other Europeancountries nearly $1.80 USD. With fuel prices at these levels there is a strong incentive forconsumers to purchase lighter, smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. Greenpeace, however,demonstrated with the highly fuel efficient SmILE that car manufacturers aren'tdelivering what they could and thus not supplying for any such demand [citation needed ].

Nevertheless, individual mobility is highly prized in modern societies so the demand forautomobiles is inelastic. Alternative individual modes of transport, such as Personal rapidtransit, could serve as an alternative to automobiles if they prove to be cheaper and moreenergy efficient.


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Lexus LF-A concept car at the 2006 Greater Los Angeles Auto Show

Electric cars operate a complex drivetrain and transmission would not be needed.However, despite this the electric car is held back by battery technology - a cell withcomparable energy density to a tank of liquid fuel is a long way off, and there is noinfrastructure in place to support it. A more practical approach may be to use a smallerinternal combustion (IC) engine to drive a generator- this approach can be much moreefficient since the IC engine can be run at a single speed, use cheaper fuel such as diesel,and drop the heavy, power wasting drivetrain. Such an approach has worked very well forrailway locomotives, but so far has not been scaled down for car use.

Alternative technologies

The Henney Kilowatt, the first modern (transistor-controlled) electric car.

Increasing costs of oil-based fuels and tightening environmental laws with the possibilityof further restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions are propelling work on alternative

power systems for automobiles.

Many diesel-powered cars can run with little or no modifications on 100% pure biodiesel.The main benefit of Diesel combustion engines is its 50% fuel burn efficiency compared


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with 23% in the best gasoline engines. Most modern gasoline engines are capable ofrunning with up to 15% ethanol mixed into the gasoline fuel - older vehicles may haveseals and hoses that could be harmed by ethanol. With a small amount of redesign,gasoline-powered vehicles can run on ethanol concentrations as high as 85%. 100%

ethanol is used in some parts of the world using vehicles that must be started on puregasoline and switched over to ethanol once the engine is running. Most gasoline fuelledcars can also run on LPG with the addition of a heavy propane tank for fuel storage andcarburation modifications to heat the liquid to its boiling point before injection into theengine to avoid carburettor icing. LPG produces non-toxic emissions and is a popular fuelfor fork lift trucks that have to operate inside buildings.

The first electric cars were built in the late 1800s, prior to combustion engineautomobiles, nevertheless attempts at building viable, modern battery-powered electricvehicle began with the introduction of the first modern (transistor controlled) electric car.

Current research and development is centered on "hybrid" vehicles that use both electric power and internal combustion. Research into alternative forms of power also focus ondeveloping fuel cells, Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI), and evenusing the stored energy of compressed air or liquid nitrogen.

Alternative forms of combustion such as Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) are starting toappear in production vehicles. GDI is employed in the 2007 BMW MINI.

Design

The 1955 Citroën DS; revolutionary visual design and technological innovation.

The design of modern cars is typically handled by a large team of designers andengineers from many different disciplines. As part of the product development effort the


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team of designers will work closely with teams of design engineers responsible for allaspects of the vehicle. These engineering teams include: chassis, body and trim,

powertrain, electrical and production. The design team under the leadership of the designdirector will typically comprise of an exterior designer, an interior designer (usually

referred to as stylists) and a color and materials designer. A few other designers will beinvolved in detail design of both exterior and interior. For example, a designer might betasked with designing the rear light clusters or the steering wheel. The color and materialsdesigner will work closely with the exterior and interior designers in developing exteriorcolor paints, interior colors, fabrics, leathers, carpet, wood trim and so on.

In 1924 the American national automobile market began reaching saturation. To maintainunit sales, General Motors instituted annual model-year design changes in order toconvince car owners that they needed to buy a new replacement each year. Since 1935automotive form has been driven more by consumer expectations than by engineeringimprovement.

Safety

Automobile accidents are almost as old as automobiles themselves. Early examplesinclude, Joseph Cugnot, who crashed his steam-powered "Fardier" against a wall in 1771,Mary Ward, who became one of the first document automobile fatalites on August-31,

1869 in Parsonstown, Ireland, and Henry Bliss, one of the United State's first automobilecasulties 1899-09-13 in New York City, NY.

Cars have two basic safety problems: They have human drivers who make mistakes, andthe wheels lose traction when braking or turning forces are close to a half gravity.

Early safety research focused on increasing the reliability of brakes and reducing theflammability of fuel systems. For example, modern engine compartments are open at the

bottom so that fuel vapors, which are heavier than air, vent to the open air. Brakes are

hydraulic and dual circuit so that failures are slow leaks, rather than abrupt cable breaks.Systematic research on crash safety started in 1958 at Ford Motor Company. Since then,most research has focused on absorbing external crash energy with crushable panels andreducing the motion of human bodies in the passenger compartment.


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Significant reductions in death and injury have come from the addition of Safety beltsand laws in many countries to require vehicle occupants to wear them. Airbags andspecialised child restraint systems have improved on that.

There are standard tests for safety in new automobiles, like the EuroNCAP and the US NCAP tests. There are also tests run by organizations such as IIHS and backed by theinsurance industry.

Despite technological advances, there is still significant loss of life from car accidents:About 40,000 people die every year in the U.S., with similar figures in Europe. Thisfigure increases annually in step with rising population and increasing travel if nomeasures are taken, but the rate per capita and per mile travelled decreases steadily. Thedeath toll is expected to nearly double worldwide by 2020. A much higher number of

accidents result in injury or permanent disability. The highest accident figures arereported in China and India. The European Union has a rigid program to cut the death tollin the EU in half by 2010 and member states have started implementing measures.

Automated control has been seriously proposed and successfully prototyped. Shoulder- belted passengers could tolerate a 32G emergency stop (reducing the safe intervehiclegap 64-fold) if high-speed roads incorporated a steel rail for emergency braking. Bothsafety modifications of the roadway are thought to be too expensive by most fundingauthorities, although these modifications could dramatically increase the number ofvehicles that could safely use a high-speed highway.

Economics and societal impact

The economics of personal automobile ownership go beyond the initial cost of thevehicle and includes repairs, maintenance, fuel, depreciation, the cost of borrowing,

parking fees, tire replacement, taxes and insurance. Additionally, there are indirectsocietal costs such as the costs of maintaining roads and other infrastructure, pollution,

health care costs due to accidents and the cost of finally desposing of the vehicle at theend of it's life. The ability for humans to move rapidly from place to place has farreaching implications for the nature of our society. People can now live far from theirworkplaces, the design of our cities is determined as much by the need to get vehiclesinto and out of the city as the nature of the buildings and public spaces within the city.

Further reading


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Articles relating to Automobile configurations

Car body styleandclassification

2 plus 2, Antique car, Cabrio coach, Cabriolet, City car, Classic car,Compact car, Compact performance car, Compact SUV, Convertible,Coupé, Coupé convertible, Coupe Utility, Crossover SUV, Custom car,Drophead coupe, Fastback, Full-size car, Grand tourer, Hardtop,Hatchback, Hot hatch, Hot rod, Large family car, Leisure activityvehicle, Liftback, Limousine, Luxury car, Microcar, Mid-size car, MiniSUV, Minivan, Multi-purpose vehicle, Muscle car, Notchback, Personalluxury car, Pickup truck, Retractable hardtop, Roadster, Sedan, Saloon,Small family car, Sport compact, Sports car, Sport utility vehicle,Spyder, Station wagon, Estate car, Supermini, Targa top, Taxicab,Touring car, Town car, T-top, Ute, Van, Voiturette

Specialisedvehicles Amphibious vehicle, Driverless car, Gyrocar, Flying car.

Fueltechnologies

Internal combustion engine, Electric vehicle, Neighborhood electricvehicle, Hybrid vehicle, Battery electric vehicle, Hydrogen vehicle, Fuelcell, Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, Steam car, Alternative fuel cars,Biodiesel, Gasohol, Ethanol, LPG (Propane), Homogeneous ChargeCompression Ignition, Liquid Nitrogen, Gasoline Direct Injection

Driven wheels Two-wheel drive, Four-wheel drive, Front-wheel drive, Rear-wheeldrive, All-wheel drive

Engine positioning Front engine, Rear engine, Mid engine

Layout FF layout, FR layout, MR layout, MF layout, RR layout

Engineconfiguration

Internal combustion engine, Straight-6, V engine, Wankel engine,Reciprocating engine, Inline engine, Flat engine, Flathead engine,Diesel engine, Two-stroke cycle, Four-stroke cycle, Pushrod engine,Straight engine, H engine, Turbodiesel, Hybrid vehicle, Rechargeableenergy storage system, Electric vehicle, Hydrogen vehicle

Articles relating to Parts of Automobiles


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Framework

A-pillar, Bumper, Cabrio coach, Chassis, Crumple zone,Body-on-frame, Dagmar bumpers, Fender, Fender skirts,Grille, Hood, Hood scoop, Monocoque construction,Pontoon fenders, Quarter panel, Shaker scoop, Spoiler,

Subframe, Tonneau

Doors Butterfly doors, Gull-wing door, Scissor doors, Suicide door

Glass Sunroof, Greenhouse, Windshield

Body

Other Antenna ball, Bumper sticker, Hood ornament, Japan Black paint, Monsoonshield, Nerf bar, Truck accessory

LightingDaytime running lamp, Headlamp, Headlight styling, Hiddenheadlamps, High intensity discharge, Retroreflector, Sealed

beam, TrafficatorsExteriorEquipment

OtherBritish car number plates, Distance sensor, US and Canadianlicense plates, Vanity plate, Vehicle registration plate,Windscreen wiper, Windshield washer fluid

Air/Fuel

Air filter, Automatic Performance Control, Blowoff valve,Boost, Boost controller, Butterfly valve, Carburetor, Chargecooler, Centrifugal type supercharger, Cold air intake,Engine management system, Engine Control Unit, Forcedinduction, Front mounted intercooler, Fuel filter, Fuelinjection, Fuel pump, Fuel tank, Gasoline direct injection,Indirect injection, Intake, Intercooler, Manifold, Manifoldvacuum, Mass flow sensor, Naturally-aspirated engine, Ram-air intake, Scroll-type supercharger, Short ram air intake,Supercharger, Throttle body, Top mounted intercooler,Turbocharger, Turbocharged Direct Injection, Twin-turbo,Variable Length Intake Manifold, Variable geometryturbocharger. Warm air intake

Car engine

Exhaust Catalytic converter, Emissions control devices, Exhaust pipe,Exhaust system, Glasspack, Muffler, Oxygen sensor


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Cooling Aircooling, Antifreeze, Ethylene glycol, Radiator,Thermostat

Ignition systemStarter, Car battery, Contact breaker, Distributor, Electrical

ballast, Ignition coil, Lead-acid battery, Magneto, Spark-ignition, Spark plug

Other

Balance shaft, Block heater, Crank. Cam, Camshaft,Connecting rod, Combustion chamber, Crank pin,Crankshaft, Crossflow cylinder head, Crossplane,Desmodromic valve, Engine knocking, Compression ratio,Crank sensor, Cylinder, Cylinder bank, Cylinder block,Cylinder head, Cylinder head porting, Dump valve,Engine

balance, Oil filter, Firing order, Freeze plug, Gasket, Headgasket, Hypereutectic piston, Hydrolock, Lean burn, Main

bearing, Motor oil, Multi-valve, Oil sludge, Overheadcamshaft, Overhead valve, PCV valve, Piston, Piston ring,Pneumatic valve gear, Poppet valve, Power band, Redline,Reverse-flow cylinder head, Rocker arm, Seal, Sleeve valve,Starter ring gear, Synthetic oil, Tappet, Timing belt, Timingmark, Top dead centre, Underdrive pulleys, Valve float,Variable valve timing

Instruments

Backup camera, Boost gauge, Buzzer, Car computer,Carputer, Fuel gauge, Global Positioning System, Idiot light,Malfunction Indicator Lamp, Navigation system, Odometer,Speedometer, Tachometer, Trip computer

ControlsBowden cable, Cruise control, Electronic throttle control,Gear stick, Hand brake, Manettino dial, Steering wheel,Throttle,

Motor vehicle

theft deterrence

Car alarm, ESITrack, Immobiliser, Klaxon, Vehicle tracking

system, VIN etching

Interiorequipment

Passengersafety &seating

Airbag, Armrest, Automatic seatbelt, Bench seat, Bucketseat, Child safety lock, Dicky seat, Passive safety, Rumbleseat, Seat belt


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OtherAir conditioning, Ancillary power, Car audio, Car phone,Center console, Dashboard, Motorola connector, Powerwindow, Rear-view mirror, TripSense

Wheels andTires

All-terrain tyre, Bias-ply tire, Contact patch, Custom wheel,Drive wheel, Hubcap, Magnesium alloy wheel, Mud-terraintyre, Paddle tires, Radial tire, Rostyle wheel, Run flat tires,Schrader valve, Slick tire, Spinner, Tire code, Tread,Treadwear rating, Whitewall tire, Wire wheels

Transmission

Automatic transmission, Clutch, Continuously variabletransmission, Differential, Driveshaft, Electrorheologicalclutch, Epicyclic gearing, Fluid coupling, Fully-automatictransmission, Gear stick, Gearbox, Hydramatic, Limited slipdifferential, Locking differential, Manual transmission, RotoHydramatic, Saxomat, Semi-automatic transmission, Semi-automatic transmission, Super Turbine 300, TiptronicTorque converter, Transmission (mechanics), TransmissionControl Unit, Turbo-Hydramatic, Universal joint

Steering

Ackermann steering geometry, Anti-lock braking system,Camber angle, Car handling, Caster angle, Oversteer, Powersteering, Rack and pinion, Toe angle, Torque steering,Understeer

Suspension

Axle, Beam axle, Coil spring, De Dion tube, Doublewishbone, Electronic Stability Control, Hydragas,Hydrolastic, Hydropneumatic suspension, Independentsuspension, Kingpin, Leaf spring, Live axle, MacPhersonstrut, Multi-link suspension, Panhard rod, Semi-trailing armsuspension, Shock absorber, Sway bar, Swing axle, Torsion

beam suspension, Transaxle, Trailing arm, Unsprung weight,Watt's linkage, Wishbone suspension

Powertrain

Brakes

Anti-lock braking system, Disc brake, Drum brake, Hand brake, Hydraulic brake, Inboard brake, Brake lining, Brakefade, Brake fluid, Hydraulic fluid, Brake bleeding, Engine

braking, Electronic brakeforce distribution, Regenerative brake


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Art car

"Animal print" art car, with owner dressed in matching motif.

An art car is a vehicle that has its appearance modified as an act of personal artistic

expression. Art car owners often dress in a matching motif (much like their previous

generation hippie counterparts) when displaying their cars.

Also, well known artists like Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol etc. have designed BMW

Art cars , mainly racing cars like the BMW V12.

Overview

seen in Minnesota

Art cars are public and mobile expressions of the artistic need to create. In creating an art

car, the

"exteriors and interiors of factory-made automobiles are transformed into

expressions of individual ideas, values, beliefs and dreams. The cars range from


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imaginatively painted vehicles to extravagant fantasies whose original bodies are

concealed beneath newly sculptured shells"

(from Petersen Automotive Museum's Spring 2003 Los Angeles, California

exhibit Wild Wheels: Art for the Road Gallery Guide)

In the U.S. the Art Car movement is strongest throughout Texas and the Southeast, in the

Minnesota/Wisconsin area, and on the west coast. Art Cars are least evident in the

Northeast, although there is a large Baltimore show. In Canada, Art Cars are popular in

British Columbia and also in the western Canadian plains (see Artcar Society of Canada)

with shows in Nanaimo, B.C. and Regina, SK.

History

Humankind's fascination with decorating vehicles probably predates the custom ofRoman charioteers adorning their chariots with objects of a personal nature. More

recently, in the Roaring Twenties people who wished to express their free spirit often

decorated old cars ("flivvers") with sexy or bizarre cartoon characters, such as Betty

Boop. One can imagine rows of these raffish vehicles pulled up at a roadhouse where

gargantuan drinking bouts would be accompanied by uninhibited jazz, lewd dancing, and

eventual trips to the 'back seat.'

There is some disagreement as to what precisely started the modern Art Car Movement.

It can be seen as a twining together of several influences - the hippie-themed VWs of the

late 1960s, the lowrider, as well as a Merry Pranksters' creation, the day-glo schoolbus

known as Furthur.

During the late 1960s, singer Janis Joplin had a psychedelic-painted Porsche 356 and

John Lennon, a paisley Rolls Royce. Partly in imitation, the late 1960s/early 1970s

counterculture featured many Day-Glo painted VW Buses and customized vehicles (e.g.

a customized 1977 Cadillac Fleetwood seen in the film Escape From New York).

Artist Larry Fuente was among the first to take motorized applique to the limit with his

"Mad Cad." Later, artists' Jackie Harris and David Best contributed their works to the

burgeoning movement.

'Cartistry' truly attained unstoppable momentum as a social and artistic movement in the

1990s, on the spur of movies and books with a wide underground following, and the


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development of innovative art display venues such as Burning Man.Among the countless

latecomers, yet ever-present, has been filmmaker Harrod Blank, who has not only made 3

full-length documentary films on Art Cars, but has made three outstanding arted vehicles

himself, and who founded the U.S.'s second largest Art Car festival in the San Francisco

Bay Area (q.v.)

A well known early art car used for commercial advertisement was the Oscar Meyer

Wienie Wagon -- Later versions were known as the Wienermobile. These are bus-sized

vehicles styled to appear as a hot dog on a bun.

Artistic styles

Later themes have become more widely focused and more satirical or dark in theme: the

Latte Mobile, the Copper Car, the Carthedral, the Vain Van, Jahmbi the Tiki Bus, theCamera Van, Mirabilis Statuarius Vehiculum, The Grape (Revenge of the Road Kill),

Rocket Van, Titanic Limo. One of the funniest and most inventive entries in recent

memory was titled "Student Driver:" it featured a telephone pole laminated through one

corner of the cabin; a leg with roller skate still attached projecting from one wheel well;

and sundry jokey dents and marks of mayhem all over the vehicle. Science fiction themes

(monsters, giant insects from Them!, flying saucers) are common crowd pleasers.

Expressions of the Gothic and the sublime are not unknown. Surrealism is commonplace.

In parades and shows, shtick often includes 'arted' bicycles or motor-scooters or costumed

roller-skaters weaving among the art cars. Many Art Car owners are natural-born hams,

and incorporate elements of music or street theater in their presentation.

Art cars have been surfaced with stone, with brick, with computer boards, with pennies,

with tree bark. There is an ever-expanding search for new frontiers and new effects:

spinning windmills, orifices spewing flames, steam, or smoke, things that light up after

dark, random noise generators, mini performance stages on roofs, truck beds, skirts. An

art cartist is limited only by his/her imagination. Sympathetic souls often turn up to

compensate for gaps in technical expertise, enabling the artist to reach beyond perceived physical limitations and achieve an artistic triumph. Providing an example of the

unexpected and wondrous, Art Cars bring surprise and laughter wherever they roam,

helping to defuse road rage on the congested highways of the U.S.A. As one Cartist said,

"It gets 500 smiles to the gallon."


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Some art cars

CaNdid

This 1971 VW Super Beetle was completely repainted by the artist. It took many hours, but CaNdid is covered from top to bottom with the artists comic strip characters; Candid,

Mack Duck, and Christof. All of these characters are in various scenarios and costumes

on the vehicle. Also a big attraction to the car is the glitter (the bumper, hubcaps,

character costumes, etc). The artist says that 'glitter is a poor girls' replacement for

diamonds. Previously seen in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood, now CaNdid resides in

Newport, OR. *Sorry, I'm not well versed on computer speak, so you're going to have to

click to see the pics.

Buddha Buggy

Buddha Buggy

A 1987 Honda CRX, the Buddha Buggy features a 1.6 m high detachable Nepalese

Buddhist stupa on the roof, with strings of prayer flags running up to the golden pinnacle

of the stupa. In back, a 300 mm golden Buddha, holding a miniature pagoda, is flanked

by intent Laptop Buddhas. These are but a few of the 50 golden statuettes, mostly onBuddhist or Asian spiritual themes, that adorn the car and stupa. Adding to the effect are

twirling yin-yang hubcaps, psychedelic-era stickers, and the vanity license plates,

TOOCOOL . Not visible in the image is a 330 mm high porcelain Amitabha Buddha in its

niche in the stupa, and paintings of the Buddha], comic dragons, a cartoon portrait of the

owner, comets, a flying saucer with 2 green aliens, and toothy, two-legged fishes. The


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car's interior includes a velvet altarcloth-draped dashboard with brass Tibetan incense

burners, statues, and gold tassels; a painted explosion of cosmic love inside the doors;

and a temporary installation of spiritual beings meditating in a circle in the back cargo

area. The Buddha Buggy is the work of its Seattle, Washington owner, Larry Neilson,

and his many collaborators. It has appeared at Art Car events all over the western U.S.and Canada, including the Tacoma_Art_Museum and San Jose (CA) Museum of Art.

Camera Van

A van entirely covered with photographic and videocameras and featuring a video

display, built by filmmaker and art car guru Harrod Blank. This vehicle has the

distinction of being one of the few works of art that actually looks back at the viewer, as

it photographs and videotapes them using some of the cameras mounted upon it, and has

the ability to play the video back on the external screen, allowing you to watch it -watching you as you are watching it watch you.

Flying Saucer

This is an otherwise conventional VW Beetle but with aluminum arching skirts all around

that make the platform completely circular. In place of the sun roof is somewhat

hemispherical transparent plastic dome.

Further and Furthur

The Day-Glo painted schoolbus Furthur is a remake of the original, the Merry Pranksters'

hippie bus whose destination sign read simply Furthuur and which "tootled the

multitudes" in 1964 in 'real life' and in Tom Wolfe's book The Electric Kool Aid Acid

Test .

"The painting job, meanwhile, with everybody pitching in in a frenzy of primary

colors, yellow, oranges, blues, reds, was sloppy as hell, except for the parts Roy

Seburn did, which were nice manic mandalas. Well, it was sloppy, but one thing you had to say for it; it was freaking lurid . The manifest, the destination sign in

the front, read: "Furthur," with two u's."

-- from The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test


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The bus is also prominently mentioned in the Grateful Dead's song "(That's it for) The

Other One", as "the bus to never-ever land" with "...Cowboy Neal (Neal Cassady) at the

wheel...".

General Carbuncle

This sculpture by artist James Robert Ford involved transforming a second-hand Ford

Capri into the General Lee, from the Dukes of Hazzard, by covering it in little toy cars.

Over four thousand toy cars were used, many of which were donated to the artist from

people all over the world. The donator could leave a little message in the toy car, or mark

it in some way, so they actually become part of the art whilst contributing to the

sculpture. General Carbuncle official website.

Guitcycle

This art car is fashioned on a motorcycle chassis, and appears to be a large guitar. The

Guitcycle is used as a promotional tool to help raise money, for a charity that buys guitars

for young music students that need them.

The H-WIng at 20th Century Fox Studios.

H-Wing Carfighter

A "next generation" art car is the H-Wing Carfighter, a science fiction-themed 1995

Honda Civic del Sol SI two-seater. Designed after a Rebel Alliance A-Wing fighter from

Star Wars, it features external laser cannons, lighting effects and an automated R2-D2

"Astromech droid". The interior features computers and other gadgetry. Many

modifications are made from "found" parts including sports equipment, plumbing

fixtures, and toys. The overall design blends elements of real war machines through the


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ages, such as World War Two fighter planes, with the fictional. H-Wing is a member of

Road Squadron, a collection of science fiction-related art cars, and generated a great deal

of web traffic when featured on Fark.com and Slashdot (see Slashdot effect).

The Nevada Car

Built on an International Harvester pickup truck as a community project during Reno,

Nevada's Reno Days event under the direction of David Best. Features a "supercharger"

on the hood which is actually the motor head unit from a Kirby Sani-Tronic vacuum

cleaner. Owned and (formerly) driven by Patrick Dailey of Novato, California, who

states: " Wherever we go people are always trying to give us more junk to put on it." and

"...we hardly ever have to buy our own gas." As of summer 2005 the Nevada Car is

stored in Boulder City, Nevada, in need of engine repairs.

Oh my God!

A 1965 Volkswagen Beetle with the California license plate OMYGAWD , which features

exotic plastic fruits and vegetables, a world globe and the phrase "Oh my God" painted in

dozens of languages. A creation of Harrod Blank, this Beetle was featured in the 1992

documentary Wild Wheels (the documentary featured a scene in a courtroom where

Blank was seen contesting a parking citation on the contention that art cars and their

respective artists were usually subjected to police harassment).

Phone Car

"Teleman" and the Phone Car

Created by business owner, Howard Davis (seen here as his alter-ego, Teleman), as a way

to promote his business telephone company. It was featured in various magazines

including Motor Trend and Weekly World News, and was also in the Petersen

Automotive Museum in Los Angeles for its exhibit on art cars.


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The Phone Car is built on a 1975 Volkswagen Beetle frame and has a tinted glass

windshield which allows the driver to see clearly out of it. It also has a telephone ringer

as its horn, so instead of a honk, it rings!

Purple Haze

Purple Haze.

This Rover Mini was painted in 2 days from its original metallic blue paint to this

psychedelic paintwork. The twisted ribbons down the sides represent strands of DNA, the

CND symbol on the bonnet is contained within the sun, indicating that nuclear power

should be replaced with solar energy. Each hubcab featured a different circular design: A

smiley face, a mushroom, a spiral and a Yin-Yang symbol. The number 69 was included

(in race car style) to represent the year of Woodstock.

Rocket Car

A car that looks like a Buck Rogers style art deco rocket ship, complete with a gauge-

filled cockpit interior which appears to be suitable for a jet aircraft.

The Worthington Bottle Car

One of the earliest examples are the Bottle Cars built in the 1920s to advertise

Worthington Beer in England. The five cars were fitted out with boiler plate bodies to

resemble the shape of a bottle laid on its side - each one weighed about 2.3 tons.


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Art bike

An art bike at the Burning Man Festival, Nevada USA

Art bikes are increasingly popular in the Summer Solstice Parade & Pageant, held

annually in Fremont, Washington.

An art bike is generally considered to be any bicycle modified for creative purposeswhile still being ridable. It is considered a type of kinetic sculpture. The degree of artistic

creativity and original or new functionality of art bikes varies greatly depending on the

artist or designer's intentions (as well as the subjective interpretation of what "art" is by

the observer).

Examples

• The annual Burning Man festival (held in the Black Rock desert of Nevada, USA)

is a popular setting for members of the art bike community to display and ridetheir sometimes radically modified and decorated bicycles.

• The Dekochari is a form of art bike indigenous to Japan.


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• A cycle rickshaw is a bicycle designed to carry passengers; in countries like

Bangladesh, India, Japan and South Africa these cycle rickshaws may feature

elaborate decorations and can be considered art bikes.

• Clown bikes and tall bikes are forms of art bikes.

• "Pimp My 'Fahrrad'" is a German TV show featuring "pimped" bicycles

especially modified for urban environments.

Clown bicycleA clown bicycle or clown bike is designed for comedic visual effect or stunt riding.

Sometimes called a circus bike .

Types of clown bike

• bucking bike (with one or more eccentric wheels);• tall bike (often called an upside down bike , constructed so that the pedals, seat and

handlebars are all higher than normal)• Come-apart bike , (essentially a unicycle, plus a set of handlebars attached to forks

and a wheel).

Some clown bikes are also built that are directly geared, with no freewheeling, so that

they may be pedaled either forward or backwards. Some are built very small but are

otherwise relatively normal. Pedaling an extremely small bicycle is very difficult and

usually much slower than walking, so there is little practical advantage to having a

bicycle that will fit in one's purse or pocket.

Some bikes are built so that the frame or other parts appears to be made of junk or found

objects: Bongo the Clown built several bikes which were as much kinetic sculptures as

transport, used in parades by members of The North Valley Clown Alley.

Tall bike


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A modern home constructed tall bicycle

A Tall Bike is an unusually tall bicycle, typically built for the purpose of fun and

recreation, though with occasional practical use.

Modern tall bikes are most commonly constructed by individuals from spare parts. Two

conventional bicycle frames are connected, by welding, brazing, or other means, one atop

the other. The drivetrain is reconfigured to connect to the upper set of pedals, and the

controls are moved to the upper handlebar area.

Alternatively, a bicycle can be built by inverting the frame, and inserting the forks from

the 'wrong side', flipping the rear wheel, and adding a long gooseneck and tall handlebars,

then welding a long seatpost tube to the 'bottom' (now the top) of the frame. This type of

tall bike is made with only one bike frame, and is often called an upside-down bike rather

than a tall bike, though the seat can be quite high, depending on the frame shape used.

This type can be somewhat safer, as there is less tubing between the rider's legs and

dismounting in a hurry can be easily accomplished.

Tall bikes are a popular mode of transportation for modern 'bicycle clubs' (SCUL, Rat

Patrol, Zoobomb,Black Label Bike Club, Dead Baby Bikes, CHUNK 666, etc.) andactivist groups. They are also a mainstay among builders of Clown bikes, art bikes,

Clown alleys and parade groups. Bicycle modification is considered a fun and cheap

hobby, and never fails to attract a lot of attention. Most modern cities contain large

quantities of unused or abandoned bicycles that provide the raw materials for tall bikes

and other mutant cycles.


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Practical Uses

Tall bikes can be used for general transportation and recreation, just like other bicycles.

Regular tall-bike commuters note that both their increased visibility and the simple 'wow

factor' gives them a safety advantage in automobile traffic over 'short bikes.'

A Giraffe Lamplighter Bicycle, manufactured in 1898

Historically, one of the the first practical uses of the tall bike was as a late 1800's lamp

lighting system, by which a worker would mount a specialized tall bicycle while

equipped with a torch for lighting gas lamps. As the worker rode to each lamp, theywould lean against the lamp post, light the lamp, and then ride to the next. Upon

completing the circuit of lamps, an assistant would help the rider dismount.

Sporting

Tall bike jousting is a popular sport among bicycle hackers. Combatants arm themselves

with lances, and attempt to score points by dislodging the other rider. Rules vary by area,

and with the mood of the combatants. Like the ancient sport of jousting, this is a sport

where honor plays a role and dishonorable wins are frowned upon.

Gentle rules: Foam pool noodles can be used as lances, and points may be scored by

delivering a touch to the chest.


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More intense rules: PVC pipe with foam covering can be used as lances, and points may

be scored by causing the other rider to fall off their tall bike.

Very intense rules: Metal pipes or pieces of wood may be used as lances, and points may

be scored by knocking the other rider off their bicycle, and/or damaging their bicycle orcausing an injury.

Fire jousting: The foam ends of the lances are set alight. A dangerous and spectacular

variation.

Jar Rules: Riders mount tall bike with a lance, metal or wood, with a jam jar placed on

the tip called a jarry. Points are scored when the jar is broken. Riders then can choose to

battle with the broken jam jar, or replace it. Battle continues until all the jars are broken,

or an opponent is retired.

Design Considerations

Tall bikes present some interesting design considerations, and different localities tend to

have different methods of dealing with them.

One consistent issue is that the seat tends to end up in line with, or behind, the rear axle,

which creates a powerful tendency to lift the front wheel of the bicycle on acceleration.

Some bicycle builders simply accept this tendency, but others solve the problem bymoving the seat post forward, lowering the handlebars, or by using a smaller wheel in

front, typically a 24" instead of a 26".

Stability can also be negatively affected, and enhancements such as extended wheelbase

by welding extensions on the front and rear dropouts can benefit stability. Contest holders

often place restrictions on such modification to prevent unfair advantages.


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Car modding

Tuned Kia Rio, with bespoke alloys, spoiler and tinted glass

Car modding is when a vehicle (usually a passenger car) is modified in an attempt to

make it look better, to have better performance, or both. Major areas of modification

include engine performance tuning, suspension enhancement or modification, exterior

modification, and interior modification.

Areas of modification

Engine tuning

Engine tuning involves modifications designed to increase the power of the engine. These

modifications can range from a simple chip tuning, to adding nitrous injection, to a

complete engine swap.

"Tuning an engine" has many different meanings today. Traditionally, to actually tune an

engine meant adjusting the timing and the air/fuel ratios. Today, many people consider

tuning to be adding cold air intakes, exhaust systems, turbochargers, or any other part that

could conceivably make the car faster. It is important to note that the two different

meanings behind the word tuning refer to two completely different methods of making a

car faster.

Adjusting engine timing and air/fuel ratios generally improves power and reliability of an

engine without any futher modifications. On the other hand, tuning an engine becomes

incredibly beneficial after already heavily modifying the engine with upgrades, like

forced induction (including nitrous) or adjusting the internal parts to increase engine

compression.


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The second meaning is actually an incorrect use of the word tuning. Adding parts to

increase horsepower and torque is not actually tuning, but physically modifying the

vehicle and its engine.

Suspension tuning

Suspension tuning involves modifying the feathers/springs and shock absorbers of a

vehicle. Here shorter feathers/springs and stronger shock absorbers are mostly used, in

order to reduce body roll during cornering. Often the vehicle is lowered somewhat,

reducing the vehicle's clearance.

For offroad vehicles, the emphasis is on lengthening the suspension to increase clearance.

Lowriders with hydraulic suspensions are another unique kind of suspension tuning.

Body tuning

Body tuning involves adding or modifying spoilers and a body kit. Sometimes this is

done to improve the aerodynamic performance of a vehicle. More often, these

modifications are done mainly to improve a vehicle's appearance.

Interior modifications

Interior modifications often call for a change or upgrade from factory-installed

equipment. Seats may be upgraded for performance or styling reasons. Some car

modifiers add such products as lava lamps or electric balls to make the car look classy or

different to other modified cars.

One common type of interior modification is the addition of multimedia devices, for

example amplifiers, speakers and subwoofers, DVD players, etc. Another type of

multimedia is small television playing.

Terms

"Pimped" cars are usually classic convertibles.


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"Streeted" cars are Japanese imports, such as a Toyota Supra or Lancer Evolution series,

these cars are most commonly modified with the more expensive mods available. The

most popular modifications include neon lights and vinyl stickers.

"Tasteless" car modifications

Cars are often modified in a manner that is considered to be "tasteless or unsightly ", an

example of this being bright colors and low-cost exterior/interior modifications. Tasteless

car modifications are one of the components of the British stereotype of the "chav". Note

that the crucial aspect of car modding associated with this stereotype is its superfical

nature (Bean can tail pipes, cheap "blow-over" paint jobs, redundant spoilers etc.). Other

British subcultures engage in car modding, with the focus on "under the hood"

modifications (customised engines, brakes etc.), without incurring the same criticism or

condescension.


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Cutdown

Skinhead with Cutdown

Cutdown is a term referring to a customised scooter (usually Vespa or Lambretta), which

has had parts of the bodywork removed or cut away.

Cutdowns were popular in the 1970s and 1980s with skinheads and scooterboys. Many of

the scooters are cut down to improve power to weight ratio, and tuned (much like a four-

wheeled hot rod). Some cutdowns are used to drag race.

Power-to-weight ratioPower-to-weight ratio (sometimes referred to as the more general Specific power) and

its inverse weight-to-power ratio are measures commonly used when comparing various

vehicles (or engines), including automobiles, motorcycles, aircraft, and armoured fighting

vehicles. It is the power the engine generates, divided by the vehicle's (or engine) weight

or vice versa:


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Units are usually horsepower per tonne ( hp/tonne - PtW) or kilograms per horsepower

(kg/hp - WtP), although nowadays watts are used for power in most countries that

adopted the metric system

The power-to-weight ratio is often used as an indication of likely performance. The largerthe PtW (the smaller the WtP) the more performance can be expected. Vehicle weights

have relatively little impact on top speed, which is mostly dependent on aerodynamic

drag (see drag equation). Acceleration ( a ), on the other hand, is dominated by the

Newtonian acceleration term, F = ma , so more force ( F - from the engine's torque

delivered to the driven wheels or thrust delivered by an aircraft engine), will deliver more

acceleration for any given vehicle mass ( m = weight/g).

In any vehicle the engine power-to-weight ratio is essential for vehicle power-to-weight

ratio. But in an aircraft it is more critical than in any other vehicle because any additionalweight requires more lift to be generated by the wings in order to lift it. More lift from

the wings automatically means more drag, through a process known as induced drag,

slowing the plane down. Thus if any two engines deliver the same power, the lighter one

will result in a better plane. Power-to-weight ratio therefore has a much more important

impact on overall performance in aircraft, including top speed.

In this usage the power-to-weight ratio is typically used to refer to the weight of the

engine alone, as a useful way of comparing various aircraft engines. The term applying to

the aircraft as a whole is power loading , and is used especially in helicopter engineering.

Power-to-weight ratio is also often used as a general indicator of the mobility of tanks

and other armoured fighting vehicles, usually expressed in horsepower per tonne (hp/t).

Such vehicles, weighing up to seventy tons, must be able to achieve relatively high

speeds quickly, while overcoming a great deal of inertia and mechanical resistance even

on hard surfaces, and also travel at high speeds over soft ground and up steep slopes.

Porting (engine)In motor racing, porting is the modification of the shape and size of the engine's ports

(that portion of the intake and exhaust systems which is within the engine castings) for

enhanced aerodynamic flow. This allows for greater volumes of air/fuel mixture to be

smoothly entered into the compression chamber.


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Car tuning

It has been suggested that Car modding be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Car tuning is both an industry and a popular hobby, in which a car is modified in order

to improve its performance.

Car tuning is related to auto racing, but most performance cars never compete. Rather

they are built for display at motor shows and club meetings, or just for the pleasure of

owning and driving such a vehicle.

The focus of many car tuners is the engine (see engine tuning ), but the transmission,

suspension and brakes are often modified as well.

Another major part of tuning a car is the body work. This includes changing front, side

and rear bumpers, adding spoilers, alloy wheels window tinting, neon lights, sound

systems, seats and just about everything else that you can change in a car.


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Engine tuningsEngine tuning or engine building is the adjustment, modification or design of internal

combustion engines to yield more performance, either in terms of power output or

economy. It is a popular pastime with amateur mechanics or "gearheads" and

"petrolheads". It has a long history, almost as long as the development of the car in

general, originating with the development of early racing cars, and later, with the post-

war hot-rod movement.

Tuning can describe a wide variety of adjustments and modifications, from the routine

adjustment of the carburetor and ignition system to significant engine modifications. On

older engines, setting the idling speed, mixture, carburetor balance, spark plug and

distributor point gaps and ignition timing were both regular tasks on all engines and thefinal but essential steps in setting up a racing engine. On modern engines some or all of

these tasks are automated.

At the other end of the scale, performance tuning of an engine can involve revisiting

some of the design decisions taken at quite an early stage in the development of the

engine.

Performance tuning

Performance tuning focusses on the tuning of an engine for motor sport, although many

cars built by hobbyists never compete but are rather built for display at motor shows or

the simple pleasure of owning and driving such a car. In this context (and depending on

the particular event), the power output, torque and responsiveness of the engine are of

premium importance, but reliability and economy are also relevant. To win, a car must

complete the event. This means the engine must be strong enough to do so, often far

stronger than the production design on which it is based, and also that the vehicle must

carry sufficient fuel. The weight of this fuel will affect the overall performance of the car,

so fuel economy is a competitive advantage.

This also means that the performance tuning of an engine should take place in the context

of the development of the overall vehicle. In particular, transmission, suspension and

brakes must match the performance of the engine, otherwise the car will be unreliable,

uncompetitive, and perhaps extremely dangerous.


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In most cases, people are interested in increasing the power output of an engine. Many

well tried and tested techniques have been devised to achieve this, but essentially all

operate to increase the rate (and to a lesser extent efficiency) of combustion in a given

engine. This is achieved by putting more fuel/air mixture into the engine, using a fuel

with higher energy content, burning it more rapidly, and getting rid of the waste productsmore rapidly - this increases volumetric efficiency. The specific ways this is done

include:

• Increasing the engine displacement. This can be done by "boring" - increasing the

diameter of the cylinders and pistons, or by "stroking" - using a crankshaft with a

longer stroke (in combination with pistons of shorter compression height, to

maintain the original compression ratio), or both.

• Using larger or multiple carburetors, to create more fuel/air mixture to burn, andto get it into the engine more quickly. In modern engines, fuel injection is more

often used, and may be modified in a similar manner.

• Increasing the size of the valves in the engine, thus decreasing the restriction in

the path of the fuel/air mixture entering, and the exhaust gases leaving the

cylinder. Using multiple valves per cylinder results in the same thing - it is often

more practical to have several small valves than have larger single valves.

• Using larger bored, smoother, less contorted intake and exhaust manifolds. This

helps maintain the velocity of gases. Similarly, the ports in the cylinder can be

enlarged and smoothed to match. This is termed "Cylinder head porting", usually

with the aid of an air flow bench for testing and verifying the efficacy of the

modifications.

• The larger bore may extend right through the complete exhaust system, using

larger diameter piping and low back pressure mufflers, and through the intake

system, with larger diameter airboxes, high-flow, high-efficiency air filters.

Muffler modifications will change the sound of the car's engine, usually making it

louder; for some tuners this is in itself a desirable property.

• Increasing the valve opening height (lift), by changing the profiles of the camshaft

or the lift (lever) ratio of the valve rockers (OHV engines), or cam followers

(OHC engines).


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• Optimising the valve timing to improve burning efficiency - usually this increases

power at one range of operating RPM at the expense of reducing it at others. For

many applications this compromise is acceptable. Again this is usually achieved

by a differently profiled camshaft. Four-stroke cycle#Valve Timing, variable

valve timing.

• Raising the compression ratio, which makes more efficient use of the cylinder

pressure developed and leading to more rapid burning of fuel, by using larger

compression height pistons or thinner head gasket or by milling "shaving" the

cylinder head.

• Supercharging; adding a supercharger or turbocharger. The fuel/air mass entering

the cylinders is increased by compressing the air first, (usually) mechanically.

• Using a fuel with higher energy content or by adding an oxidiser such as nitrous

oxide.

• Changing the tuning characteristics electronically, by changing the firmware of

the engine management system (EMS). This chip tuning often works because

modern engines are designed to give a great deal of raw power, which is then

reduced by the engine management system to make the engine operate smoothly

over a wider RPM range, with low emissions. By analogy with an operational

amplifier, the EMS acts as a feedback loop around an engine with a great deal of

open loop gain. Many modern engines are now of this type, and are amenable to

this form of tuning. Naturally many other design parameters are sacrificed in the

pursuit of power.

The choice of modification depends greatly on the degree of performance enhancement

desired, budget, and the characteristics of the engine to be modified. Intake, exhaust, and

chip upgrades are usually amongst the first modifications made as they are the cheapest,

make reasonably general improvements (whereas a different camshaft, for instance,

requires trading off performance at low engine speeds for improvements at high engine

speeds), can often actually improve fuel economy, generally do not affect engine

reliability too much (because no moving parts are modified), and are in any case essential

to take full advantage of any further upgrades.


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• Manufacturer Detuned Engines - Changing the tuning characteristics

electronically, by changing the firmware of the engine management system

(EMS). This chip tuning also works because many manufacturers produce one

engine which is used in a range of models and the power and torque

characteristics are determined solely by the engine management system software.This allows the manufacturers to sell cars in various markets with different tax

and emissions regulations without the huge development cost of designing

different engines. Cross platform engine sharing also allows for a single engine to

be used by different brands, tuned to suit their particular market.

Examples of models using one engine with different ECU software providing varying

specifications:

Volvo V70 D5 Euro IV available as 126 bhp, 163 bhp, 185 bhp, all sharing the same 2.4turbo diesel engine. Mini One and Mini Cooper available as 90 bhp and 127 bhp

respectively, both sharing the same 1.6 normally aspirated engine. Ford Focus ST225 and

Volvo S40 T5 both sharing the Volvo 2.5 turbo petrol engines, with different power

outputs controlled by the engine management system.


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Transmission (mechanics)In mechanics, a transmission or gearbox is the gear and/or hydraulic system that

transmits mechanical power from a prime mover (which can be an engine or electric

motor), to some form of useful output device.

Explanation

Transmission types

Manual

Automatic

• Tiptronic

Semi-automatic

• Twin-clutch Gearbox

Continuously-variable

Multitronic

Derailleur gearsHub gears

Early transmissions (gearboxes) included right-angle drives and other gearing in

windmills, horse-powered devices, and steam engines, mainly in support of pumping,

milling, and hoisting. Most modern gearboxes will either reduce an unsuitable high speed

and low torque of the prime mover output shaft to a more useable lower speed with

higher torque, or do the opposite and provide a mechanical advantage (i.e increase in

torque) to allow higher forces to be generated. However, some of the simplest gearboxes

merely change the physical direction in which power is transmitted.

Many systems, such as typical automobile transmissions, include the ability to select one

of several different gear ratios. In this case, most of the gear ratios (simply called "gears")

are used to slow down the output speed of the engine and increase torque. However, the

highest gear(s) may be an "overdrive" type that increases the output speed.


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Uses

Gearboxes have found use in a wide variety of different—often stationary—applications.

Transmissions are also used in agricultural, industrial, construction, and mining

equipment. In addition to ordinary transmission equipped with gears, such equipmentmakes extensive use of the hydrostatic drive and electrical Adjustable Speed Drives.

Simple transmission

The simplest transmissions, often called gearboxes to reflect their simplicity (although

complex systems are also called gearboxes on occasion), provide gear reduction (or, more

rarely, an increase in speed), sometimes in conjunction with a right-angle change in

direction of the shaft. These are often used on PTO-powered agricultural equipment,

since the axial PTO shaft is at odds with the usual need for the driven shaft, which is

either vertical (as with rotary mowers), or horizontally extending from one side of the

implement to another (as with manure spreaders, flail mowers, and forage wagons). More

complex equipment, such as silage choppers and snowblowers, have drives with outputs

in more than one direction.

Regardless of where they are used, these simple transmissions all share an important

feature: the gear ratio cannot be changed during use. It is fixed at the time the

transmission is constructed.

Multi-ratio systems

Many applications require the availability of multiple gear ratio. Often, this is to ease the

starting and stopping of a mechanical system, though another important need is that of

maintaining good fuel economy.

Automotive basics

The need for a transmission in an automobile is a consequence of the characteristics of

the internal combustion engine. Engines typically operate over a range of 600 to about

6000 revolutions per minute (though this varies from design to design and is typically

less for diesel engines), while the car's wheels rotate between 0 rpm and around 2500

rpm.


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Furthermore, the engine provides its highest torque outputs approximately in the middle

of its range, while often the greatest torque is required when the vehicle is moving from

rest or travelling slowly. Therefore, a system that transforms the engine's output so that it

can supply high torque at low speeds, but also operate at highway speeds with the motor

still operating within its limits, is required. Transmissions perform this transformation.

Most transmissions and gears used in automotive and truck applications are contained in

a cast iron case, though sometimes aluminum is used for lower weight. There are three

shafts: a mainshaft, a countershaft, and an idler shaft.

The mainshaft extends outside the case in both directions: the input shaft towards the

engine, and the output shaft towards the rear axle (on rear wheel drive cars). The shaft is

suspended by the main bearings, and is split towards the input end. At the point of the

split, a pilot bearing holds the shafts together. The gears and clutches ride on themainshaft, the gears being free to turn relative to the mainshaft except when engaged by

the clutches.

Manual transmission

Manual transmissions come in two basic types: a simple unsynchronized system where

gears are spinning freely and must be synchronized by the operator to avoid noisy and

damaging "gear clash", and synchronized systems that will automatically "mesh" while

changing gears. The former type is only used on some rally cars and heavy-duty trucks

nowadays.

Manual transmissions dominate the car market outside of North America. They are

cheaper, lighter, usually give better performance, and fuel efficiency (although the latest

sophisticated automatic transmissions may yield results slightly closer to the ones yielded

by manual transmissions), and it is customary for new drivers to learn, and be tested, on a

car with a manual gearchange. In Japan, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Sweden and France

at least, a test pass using an automatic car does not entitle the driver to use a manual car

on the public road unless a second manual test is taken. In most of the other European

nations like Italy and the Netherlands, obtaining a driver's license is only possible by

passing a driver's test driving a car with manual transmission. Manual transmissions are

much more common than automatic transmissions in Asia & Europe.

Automatic transmission


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North American cars have an automatic transmission that will select an appropriate gear

ratio without any operator intervention. They primarily use hydraulics to select gears,

depending on pressure exerted by fluid within the transmission assembly. Rather than

using a clutch to engage the transmission, a torque converter is put in between the engine

and transmission. It is possible for the driver to control the number of gears in use orselect reverse, though precise control of which gear is in use is usually not possible.

Automatic transmissions are easy to use. In the past, automatic transmissions of this type

have had a number of problems; they were complex and expensive, sometimes had

reliability problems (which sometimes caused more expenses in repair), have often been

less fuel-efficient than their manual counterparts and their shift time was slower than a

manual making them uncompetitive for racing. With the advancement of modern

automatic transmissions this has changed. With computer technology, considerable effort

has been put into designing gearboxes based on the simpler manual systems that use

electronically-controlled actuators to shift gears and manipulate the clutch, resolving

many of the drawbacks of a hydraulic automatic transmission.

Automatic transmissions have always been extremely popular in the United States, where

perhaps 19 of 20 new cars are sold with them (many vehicles are not available with

manual gearboxes anymore). In Europe automatic transmissions are gaining popularity as

well.

Attempts to improve the fuel efficiency of automatic transmissions include the use of

torque converters which lock-up beyond a certain speed eliminating power loss, and

overdrive gears which automatically actuate above certain speeds; in older transmissions

both technologies could sometimes become intrusive, when conditions are such that they

repeatedly cut in and out as speed and such load factors as grade or wind vary slightly.

Current computerized transmissions possess very complex programming to both

maximize fuel efficiency and eliminate any intrusiveness.

For certain applications, the slippage inherent in automatic transmissions can beadvantageous; for instance, in drag racing, the automatic transmission allows the car to be

stopped with the engine at a high rpm (the "stall speed") to allow for a very quick launch

when the brakes are released; in fact, a common modification is to increase the stall speed

of the transmission. This is even more advantageous for turbocharged engines, where the

turbocharger needs to be kept spinning at high rpm by a large flow of exhaust in order to


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keep the boost pressure up and eliminate the turbo lag that occurs when the engine is

idling and the throttle is suddenly opened.

Semi-automatic transmission

The creation of computer control also allowed for a sort of half-breed transmission where

the car handles manipulation of the clutch automatically, but the driver can still select the

gear manually if desired. This is sometimes called "clutchless manual". Many of these

transmissions allow the driver to give full control to the computer.

There are some specific types of this transmission, including Tiptronic, Geartronic, and

Direct-Shift Gearbox.

There are also sequential transmissions which use the rotation of a drum to switch gears.

Bicycle gearing

Bicycles usually have a system for selecting different gear ratios as well. There are two

main types, derailleur gears and hub gears. The derailleur type is the most common, and

the most visible, using a number of sprocket gears. Typically there are several gears

available on the rear sprocket assembly, attached to the rear wheel. A few more sprockets

are usually added to the front assembly as well. Multiplying the number of sprocket gears

in front with the number to the rear gives the number of different gear ratios, often called"speeds". A 21-speed bike will have three sprocket wheels in front and seven in back.

Hub gears use epicyclic gearing and are enclosed within the axle of the rear wheel.

Because of the small space, they typically only offer a handful of different speeds,

although at least one has reached the level of 14 different gear ratios.

Note: add content for bicycle automatic transmissions, ie. (browning transmission,

shimano electronic transmission, and modifications of derailer type ala landrider and

others.)

Uncommon types

Continuously-variable transmission


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The mechanical systems described above only allow a few different gear ratios to be

selected, but there does exist a type of transmission that essentially has an infinite number

of ratios available. The continuously variable transmission allows the relationship

between the speed of the engine and the speed of the wheels to be varied constantly. This

can provide even better fuel economy if the engine is constantly running at a singlespeed. However, this is somewhat disconcerting to drivers, who are accustomed to

hearing and feeling the rise and fall in speed of an engine, and the jerk felt when

changing gears. Changes to software in the computer control system can simulate these

effects, however.

Hydrostatic transmission

Hydrostatic transmissions transmit all power with hydraulics; there is no solid coupling

of the input and output. One half of the transmission is a variable displacement pump andthe other half is a hydraulic motor. A movable swash plate controls the piston stroke to

change the pump's displacement.

They are used in the drive train of some types of heavy equipment, diesel multiple unit

trains, and applications requiring continuously variable control (such as riding

lawnmowers and lawn tractors). Their disadvantages are high cost and sensitivity to

contamination.

Electric transmission

Electric transmissions convert the mechanical power of the engine(s) to electricity with

electric generators and convert it back to mechanical power with electric motors. If the

generators are driven by turbines, such arrangements are called turbo-electric. Likewise

installations powered by diesel-engines are called diesel-electric. Diesel-electric

arrangements are used on many railway locomotives.


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Suspension (vehicle)

The front suspension components of a Ford Model T.

Suspension is the term given to the system of springs, shock absorbers and linkages that

connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose - contributing

to the car's handling and braking for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping

vehicle occupants comfortable and reasonably well isolated from road noise, bumps, and

vibrations. These goals are generally at odds, so the tuning of suspensions involves

finding the right compromise. The suspension also protects the vehicle itself and any

cargo or luggage from damage and wear. The design of front and rear suspension of a car

may be different.

Important propertiesSpring rate

Spring rate is a major component in setting the vehicles r

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