Tyre Retreading

Tyre Retreading

We walk, we run. And then there are times when we leave skid marks to get of out of an uninviting situation. We have all been there! In all situations, it is our footwear on which we are depended on. And depending on the situation you get yourself into, the outer sole of the footwear is spent over a period of time. Most of us get a new pair of footwear when the previous ones are worn out. But there is alternative to that; bestowing an extension of life to your beloved footwear by recapping the outer sole.

Similarly, there is a process called tyre retreading in which the tread (Outer Skin) of a worn out tyre is recapped or remolded. This process is applied on the casings (the material under the tread, the sidewall and steel belts) of the tyre after proper inspection of its rigidity. This is simply done to ensure, that like your footwear, it doesn't skid on surfaces with less grip.

Tyre retreading is the alternate to purchasing a new tyre, at fraction of the cost. But should you risk on getting an extension of already spent tyre rather than purchasing a new one? Commercial airlines and the military certainly think so, as they prefer retreating of tyres on many of their fleet of vehicles. A recent study shows that the amount of retreads in use of the commercial airlines is as high as 80% and that an average aircraft tyre is retreaded six times. Some tyres, depending on their age and condition, are retreaded (we can even call it recycling) up to 12 times before they are sidelined.

Tyre retreading preserves about 90% of the material in used tyres and the material cost is about 20% compared to manufacturing a new one. This in turn brings the cost down of the new rubber for your car. On the other hand, there is less of everything that is involved in retreading when compared to manufacturing a new tyre; things like energy and oil topping the list. This makes tyre retreading an environmentally friendly option as well.

There are different processes of retreading a tyre but we are not getting into the details here. All in all, if you want to save a considerable amount of money and show that you are doing whatever it takes to be environmentally friendly, tyre retreading is in fact a good option provided you get it done from a renowned workshop. My suggestion would be to visit the workshops of recognized tyre manufactures – MRF, Michelin and Bridgestone.

Turbocharger vs. Supercharger

Turbocharger vs. Supercharger

Let's, for a change, start with the bottom line – a turbocharged/supercharged engine produces more power when compared to the same engine without the charging. What exactly these bad-boys do to your engine to make it more powerful? Well, in simple English, they act as injectors of adrenaline directly into the heart of the engine.

Both, a turbocharger and a supercharger, are called forced induction systems. This simply means that both these systems compress the air flowing into the engine. What is the benefit of that? For a successful combustion in an engine cylinder, both air and fuel are required. If the air flowing into the engine is compressed then that means there is more space for more air that can be pumped in. More air means more fuel can be stuffed into the cylinder (to maintain the air to fuel ratio inside the cylinder) and hence you get more power out of every explosion in every cylinder.

Theoretically, a typical turbocharger or a supercharger should provide 50% more power on top of the actual power available from the engine alone. But practically, these systems are not that efficient. You get anything between 30-40% extra boost.

Let's move on to the key difference now. It is to do with the power supply that these two use. No, you don't get an extra battery under the hood somewhere for either of them, but for the air compressors to work, they require some sort of power. In case of a supercharger, the belt of the air compressors is directly connected to the engine. A turbocharger on the other hand, gets is juices from the exhaust system of the car. The exhaust runs through a turbine which helps in spinning the compressor inside the turbocharger.

Nothing in this world comes with only goodies at their disposal and these systems are no exception.

Supercharger:
Pros: Much easier to install; instant power delivery
Cons: Comparatively expensive

Turbocharger:
Pros: Comparatively cheaper; In theory environmentally friendly (uses wasted energy as its power source)
Cons: Back pressure on the exhaust system that causes turbo-lag.

Fun Facts

Did you know?

- The heaviest limousine, “Midnight Rider” weighs nearly 23 thousand kilograms. It can entertain up to 40 passengers with 3 lounges and a separate bar on board.
- The windscreen wipers were invented by a women named Mary Anderson in the year 1903.
- The city with the most Rolls Royce’s per capita is Hong Kong.
- Car Airbags kill 1 person to every 22 lives they save.
- Most cars can drive another 60+ miles after they hit empty on the dial. This is called the "buffer zone". (It varies from vehicle to vehicle and how you drive after hitting empty. However, so don’t test this out and blame me if you get stuck in a deserted area or something!)

General Motors

General Motors Company Profile

We have all heard the name and the fact that GM takes over all the drained out car brands in the world. People leave skid marks when the GM name comes into the equation and not necessarily because of fear. But all this doesn't hide the fact that GM is one of the biggest names in the industry. With its American roots originating from the Motor City – Detroit, Michigan, it employs approximately 202K people around the world.

Some Facts and figures about this automotive giant...

- General Motors led global sales figures for 77 consecutive years from 1931 till 2007 way longer than any other automotive brand.
- GM has 396 operational facilities spread over 6 continents.
- In 2009, GM shed a number of brands – Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer.

List of automotive names under the GM name:

Buick – American automotive manufacturer (100% ownership)
Chevrolet – American automotive manufacturer (100% ownership)
Cadillac – American automotive manufacturer (100% ownership)
GM Fleet and Commercial (American)
Jie Fang – Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturer (50% ownership)
Opel – German automotive manufacturer (100% ownership)
Holden – Australian automotive manufacturer (100% ownership)
Wuling – Chinese consumer and commercial vehicle manufacturer (44% ownership)
Vauxhall – British automotive manufacturer (100% ownership)
UzDaewooAuto – Uzbekistan's UzAvtosanoat and South Korea's Daewoo joint venture owned by GM (50% ownership)

Turn off the Engine at Traffic Lights

Why turn off the engine at short halts?

I am sure that you must have been guided by someone at some point of your driving tenure that you must turn off the engine at traffic lights or at short halts. It is then when it hits you, is it really environmentally friendly to turn of the engine or will starting the engine again consume more fuel when compared to idling. Idling is when the driver leaves the engine running and the vehicle is parked. Everyday, there are lacs of vehicles which are left idling unnecessarily in India.

Yes, you may not be able to turn off the engine at very short halts or in slow-moving traffic but otherwise idling is totally unnecessary. It has a drastic effect on the environment and on your pocket.

Here are some tips to ensure that you stay idle-free and be kind to the environment:
- Turn off the engine if waiting for more than 10 seconds – Idling for more than 10 seconds consumes more fuel than restarting the engine again.
- You protect your car's engine by idling less – Quick start-stop of the engine is way less harmful to your pocket because of the wear & tear of the engine and battery, when compared to idling. This is simply because of the rising costs of fuel as compared to maintenance costs of the mechanics under the hood.
- Warm up the engine by driving rather than idling – Technology which comes integrated into today's engines do not require warming up the engine before you set off. The best and safest way to warm up the engine is by driving it and not by revving the engine like old times.
- Warm up the cabin by driving rather than idling – In winters, you love the warmth that the car's air conditioning has to offer. But you'd love it to deliver it much faster. Easing into your drive is the best way to get your vehicle's heating system delivering warmer air faster. Also, sitting inside an idling car means you are inhaling in the dirty exhaust that leaks into the car's cabin. In such a situation, it is safer to get out of the car and get inside a store or a building as damaging your health is not worth the warmth of the idling car's cabin.

Now keeping all that in mind is not a hard job. But there is logic behind it. Why bother doing all that just to safe a few bucks? Well let's find out...

- Saving money – It is the obvious reason for not idling which was highlighted earlier. You can save anywhere between 2 – 5 litres of fuel for every hour of not idling.
- Helping the environment – Idling still consumes fuel at almost the same rate while it the car is moving at town speeds. Let's look at it this way – for every 10 minutes that your engine is off, you prevent nearly half a Kg of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere. (CO2 – Carbon dioxide is the primary contributor for both global warming and global dimming)

The polluted air is harmful to all. The pollutants have been linked to serious health problems in humans, including asthma, heart disease, chronic bronchitis and cancer. Blaming global warming on other means is very easy but it really is a no-brainer that as a part of this beautiful world, we must do our bit to save the environment and make it cleaner.