Automotive Business

Archive for March, 2011

Alloy Wheel Repair – Repair Your Alloys and Make Them Last Longer

Alloy Wheels are an expensive but worthy investment, so it makes sense to look after them as best you can. However it’s inevitable that at some point in your driving life you will get the odd knock, scuff and chip from curbs whilst parking or stone and gravel kickups from other vehicles passing.

Whilst the scuffs and chips don’t affect the alloys performance they do make the alloy appearance look flawed and messy and can ruin the vehicle image. Many people just live with this problem because they think that it’s too expensive to be repaired or fixed, and if you don’t look in the right places or for the right people it can be.

There’s a surprisingly simple solution to the problem of alloy scuffs, and many products available that will fix the problem quickly and effortlessly Alu Scratch is certainly one of the market leaders. As with similar products alu scratch is specifically designed to repair surface damage to metal or aluminium products (so not just alloy repair) however this is the purpose it was created for. Almost all cosmetic damage to the alloys can be repaired by the kit, and in most cases the repair can be done with out removing the wheel.

All you have to do is clean the area around the chip or scuff, mix the relevant components of the kit together and apply into the chip, when this is done to a satisfactory level apply the reacting agent that sets the material hard and decreases the curing time. It sets in about 5 mins and is ready to sand down. Often spray paint is used to finish the colour but this is not always necessary.

How to Keep Your Steering Wheel Control Functionality Using Adapters

Steering wheel control adapters, also known as stalk adapters, allow for easy installation and integration of aftermarket head units in cars that have steering wheel controls or stalk controls.

For example, you have an Audi, BMW, Citroen, etc. and you want to install your new Alpine head unit. You also want to retain the full functionality of your steering wheel controls for your volume, radio presets, etc. Steering wheel control adapters are the perfect solution.

Connection of a steering wheel control adapter with your head unit is via a 3.5mm jack socket, fly lead, mini DIN and mini ISO connection. Your head unit must have these in order to ensure compatibility. These connections are found at the rear of the head unit. Sony’s jack socket is called RMX4S. So, look for this in the features list.

Each brand of head unit has a different connection type and this is dependent on the aftermarket radio being installed and the model number. Kenwood, for example, has two different types of connectors.

Also, please be aware that some radios in certain brands (not all brands) will NOT have the facility to add a steering wheel control adapter. Typically, entry-level (most basic) models in the head unit range would be spared this feature. Please, check models for compatibility.

Ways to establish if your head unit is steering wheel control compatible:

Check with the head units features list on websites /brochures.

Consult with the manufacturer’s website or help lines.

Installation is “Plug & Play” (think Lego blocks snapping together) and requires no cutting or splicing of wires. Therefore, it will NOT invalidate your car’s manufacturer’s warranty.

A Wagon Wheel Chandelier – Western Theme Lighting Making a Classic Design Comeback

Looking at the trends in home decor nowadays, the increasing demand for western furniture is on the rise which only means that western themed homes are steadily gaining popularity as well.

When we think of western, images of the Wild Wild West with men wearing boots are mounted on mahogany colored horses screaming, “Yee Ha!” Yes, that’s right – that is exactly what the western theme is all about. Chairs and tables are made of unfinished wood, bar stools made of weathered iron and such. If this is the current theme in your home or if you are thinking of changing it to a western style, why not kick it up a notch and use a wagon wheel chandelier?

You might be thinking, “are you serious?” and the answer is YES. Wagon wheel chandelier is becoming more and more popular because one, it is very simple that you can even do it yourself and two, it is very cheap compared to glass or crystal chandeliers.

Basically, what you will be using for a wagon wheel chandelier is, as the name suggests, a wagon wheel. On the circumference of the wheel, you have the freedom to attach light bulbs, and other decorations such as horses or carriages.

These chandeliers are commonly placed in study rooms, libraries and porches. Because of their rugged appeal, it is a little bit hard to incorporate if you do not have a western theme at home. Overall though, this type of home decor allows for more light, is very easy to do even by yourself, and is even more fun to decorate with the family. You could either get a wagon wheel from a local thrift shop, or you could also have your own customized by a carpenter. If you are good in woodworking, you can even make your own from scratch!

If you operate a vehicle that requires a 5th wheel, chances are good that you have at least some working knowledge of how 5th wheel accessories can protect your truck, enhance driving comfort, and ensure that your vehicle stays scratch-free. However, for those drivers just beginning to learn about the functions and features of a 5th wheel, here is an overview of some of the most popular 5th wheel optional and mandatory accessories that you will need to know about in order to operate the vehicle safely and effectively:

Bedsaver

A bedsaver helps to prevent you from dropping the wheel. The accessory attaches to the 5th wheel hitch and prevents the trailer from dropping onto the truck in the event that the 5th wheel becomes detached (or uncoupled) from the hitch. In essence, the bedsaver catches the 5th wheel hitch and holds it until you can fix the issue. The bedsaver does not get in the way of loading or unloading and can be reapplied by backing up until the hitch pin is placed back into the hitch.

Wiring Components

No matter which type of 5th wheel hitch you get, you will need to have wiring components, such as plug adapters, in order to properly operate the fifth wheel safely and within the law. These adapters should fit onto any 5th wheel.

5th Wheel Hitch

There are a variety of different types of 5th wheel hitches. However, each 5th wheel hitch is uniquely designed to carry several thousand pounds in the trailer weight and several more thousand pounds in hitch or torque weight. The hitch should contain specialized mechanisms that make it easy to load and unload the hitch from the trailer.

Extended King Pin

An Extended king pin will make it possible to add inches to the clearance between the truck and the trailer, which can make a ride much safer and easier. The king pin can adjust to the amount of pounds that are being hauled.

Before you purchase accessories for your fifth wheel, make sure you understand what kind of load you will be carrying, including the approximate weight of the load, when possible. Having the right accessories can make your travel safer and can make your job more efficient than ever before. Drive safely!

Alloy wheels can make quite an impact to the overall look of a car. Further, it can make a big difference to the functioning of the car.

Over the years, car manufacturers have taken a cue from the popularity of specialized alloy wheels and have opted to install modified wheels for their stock cars. Alloy’s are now a common factor in most cars but along with its growing popularity comes several concerns regarding its maintenance.

Alloy wheel repair

It is a common misconception that alloy wheel repair is almost next to impossible. Most people believe that it can be a complete waste of effort and money. However, alloy wheels can actually be repaired to a great extent. Alloy repair is in fact a well studied operation. Many professional wheel repair companies can undertake the job perfectly.

Common alloy wheel problems

The most significant of damages that can affect an alloy wheel are radial runout, lateral runout and cracks. These damages will not only make the wheel look ugly but it can also greatly affect the car’s driving performance. Let’s take a closer look!

Radial runout affects the balance of the tire across its diameter. This results in the tire moving up and down with respect to its central axis while rotating. Lateral runout is damage that affects the balance of the tire across its width. Lateral run out is often left undiagnosed as the tire can look true but balance testing will prove otherwise. In the case of lateral run out if there is significant damage it will often be irreparable. Cracks, depending on the location can be repaired but in certain extreme cases it is safer to get a replacement alloywheel than to use one that has undergone alloywheel repair.

Repair for non-forged wheels

Alloy – wheel repair is often recommended for wheels that are non-forged. Forged alloy wheels are tougher and can also be more expensive. Most of the time, forged wheel repair merely consists of having the wheel refinished. Two-piece and three-piece alloy wheels are also more prone to damage as the outer lips of the wheel are commonly made of softer alloy materials.

Alloy wheel repair- the right timing

The best time to plan for alloy wheel repair is during the warmer months. Normally, alloy repair can take anywhere from three to five hours depending on the extent of the damage. If you want to minimize the damage, use high pressure especially when you are using low profile tires. However, it is important to make sure that the wear of the tire is still even.

Save money with alloy-wheel repair

Alloy’s are an expensive investment. Fortunately, alloy repair companies offer you the option to get your wheels to look and function as good as new.

My article is about a situation that happened to my neighbour. I thought I would write about it to so as it does not happen to you. He loves cars and has a beautiful 2005 Lincoln LS that he takes care of better than his kids (ha ha!). Anyways, he got a flat tire last week and called Canadian Automobile Association. They came over to take the tire off to fix or take to a garage.

My neighbours tires and wheels have anti-theft locks protecting them, so he went looking for the special key to remove them. By his surprise an hour later and he had the car half apart looking for the lock key. The tow truck driver towed the car to the garage. The next day he received a phone call from the garage, they could not locate the key and tried unsuccessfully to get the locks off.

They told him that they would try a few other methods to get them off. He was unsure of what to do, but had no other option and told them to go ahead. Later that day he went to the garage and almost had a heart attack when he saw the wheels on his car. They had damaged the wheels(rims) trying to get the wheel lock off. They did get the locks off and he received a bill for $375.00. Unfortunately he had to replace all four wheels at a cost of $2200.00. A costly mistake for misplacing that precious wheel lock key. Later that night I did some research to see if this was a common concern for the average consumer.

I was surprised to find out that this was not a rare situation, that there is no dedicated location for this little lock key. The key is small enough to get misplaced or stolen I suppose very easily. Next I decided to spend some more time on the internet to try and find a solution to this problem. After a couple of days fiddling around on the net I found a website that had a fix for this problem that my neighbour had gone through. It was called the WHEELLOK CASE. I decided to buy one for him and give it to him on his birthday.

He loved it and has never lost his lock key again.

http://WWW.WHEELLOK.COM

For centuries there has been a debate about what has been the single most useful invention of man. The answer to this question varies a lot from person to person. Most of the answers are based on the personal and professional background and knowledge of an individual. But if there is one thing that almost everyone seems to agree upon, it is undisputedly ‘The wheel’. The wheel is a very simple invention itself, based on the concept of a round circulating object around an axle. But have you ever seen machinery which does not contain at least one part based on the same concept? There is hardly any. From the very first wheel used for cart to the ones used in a modern luggage cart and portable cart, the basic principle of wheel remains the same.

Today we see a lot of newer inventions which tend to replace the wheels as major transportation mechanism. We see highly electromagnetic trains and tracks, and we see hovercrafts and sledges. However, the simplicity of wheel is something that makes it irreplaceable by any modern day wonder.

The oldest evidence of the usage of wheel is found to be of around 3500 BC in Mesopotamia and at the same time in Central Europe. The Mesopotamian wheel was a potter’s wheel made up of clay. The same wheel traveled to the Indus Valley about half a century later. Pictorial evidences from Indus Valley civilization suggest that it was used mainly for traveling carts. Many people say that mechanical and industrial usage of wheels dates back much prior to the usage in vehicles.

The wheel at that time was just a round slab of wood or clay. During the 2000 BC, Egyptians used the wheels to make their grand chariots. The Egyptian, as they did to any invention, enhanced the wheel. They added spoke to make it stronger yet lighter than the slabs.

The wooden spooked wheel was used all over the world to run chariots and carts. Then with the rise of bronze and Iron Age, people began to mold the wooden wheel into much stronger iron and bronze. It is said that the usage of wheels was still very limited as the roads were not proper.

It was not until Nineteenth century that the wheels took there next revolution. In 1802 G.F. Bauer introduced the tension spoke. The round tension spokes provide flexibility and strength required. The very first tire was used to cover the bare rim of the wheel. The tire was nothing but a hard rubber. In 1882, John Dunlop developed the pneumatic tire for his son’s bicycle and also patented it. The tires were air filled, therefore reduced the chances of injuries and aches during traveling.

These tires soon became a rage but they were not very stable. In only three to four miles, the tire would get puncture or any other problem was likely to appear. Today the tires we use in automobiles can go 50,000 miles before getting puncture or anything. The revolution did not end here, today we see tires which do not even require air but are more resistant. And still it is too early to say where the next spin of the wheel might lead to.

There are new, modern exercise wheels on the market for your small pets. The Wodent Wheel by Transoniq is one of the best. I should backtrack and give a little history of pet running wheels first. As recently as 15 years ago, the only pet running wheel you could find had big metal horizontal bars as the running surface. It sat in the cage by means of a metal stand. It was connected to the stand by two big cross bars at each opening of the wheel.

Over time, people realized these types of wheels had two major safety issues.
Little feet could easily get caught in the spokes of the wheel as your pet ran. Your pet could get pinched between the bar of the stand and the cross bars as the wheel rotated. This was extremely hazardous for pets with long tails but also dangerous for pets without tails if you had more than one. If one animal tried to get in the wheel while another was making it rotate, its head could get caught.

Many pet wheel manufacturers fixed the first problem by replacing the horizontal bars with a mesh. Small feel won’t slip through the small mesh. This is the kind of wheel you’ll see the most often in pet stores today.

But it wasn’t until the mid 90s that people started addressing the second problem. That’s how the Wodent Wheel was born in 1995. The founder, Eric Geislinger, wanted to create a running wheel that was safe for his pet rats. That’s why Eric created a wheel whose stand attaches to the wheel on its closed end. Think of an old-fashioned hat box, minus the lid. Since the stand is attached to the wall of the wheel, there is absolutely no way for a pet to get caught between the stand and the wheel.

And Eric didn’t stop there with the design. To appeal to small animals which are natural wall-huggers, he put a cover on the other side of the wheel that has small openings. That way your pet feels like he’s crawling inside an enclosed space, which small animals love. Also they feel safer when they run.

My own pets love the design of their Wodent Wheel so much, they sometimes sleep in it.

From that time on, other exercise wheel designs have come forward with the safety of your pet in mind. But the Wodent Wheel was the original pet wheel designed for maximum safety. It’s interesting to note that during the ASPCA’s Seal of Approval program from 1999 – 2006, the Wodent Wheel was the only running wheel to receive this recommendation.

The Wodent Wheel comes in 3 different sizes:

Wodent Junior is for hamsters and other small pets Wodent Senior is for medium-sized pets such as sugar gliders and large hamsters Wodent Wobust is for large animals such as hedgehogs, prarie dogs, and rats

There are two types of pets that this wheel isn’t recommend for. Since it is plastic, it’s not good to use for pets who are known to be big chewers such as gerbils or degus. And there are some animals such as guinea pigs and chinchillas that really should have a flat running surface.

But for most small pets, this is the perfect wheel.

Measuring Wheels are great tools for the Appraiser, Estimator, Engineer, Architect, Contractor, Surveyor, Banker, Realtor, and anyone that is interested in measuring large distances in a short period of time. Most Measuring Wheels are for estimating and get fairly accurate, but we do recommend if you want ultimate accuracy you should consider a measuring tape and not a wheel. One thing to consider is measuring from against an object like a wall inside of a house for example. If you put the wheel against the wall and start rolling, you must add the distance of the radius of the wheel on both sides of the room. So, basically you add the diameter (radius x 2) to the distance you measured in order to measure from wall to wall.

There are basically two types of Measuring Wheels to choose from. There’s the Mechanical type, and then the Electronic type. Here are some pros and cons of each;

MECHANICAL TYPEPros: Does not rely on batteries and is usually very simple to operate.Cons: One Measuring Wheel typically offers a single unit of measure.

ELECTRONIC TYPEPros: Can handle multiple units of measure all in a single wheel.Cons: Have to have batteries. What if your batteries die when in the field?

Other things to consider when shopping for a Measuring Wheel are;

PRICE

If you’re concerned with cost of the product you’re planning to buy, consider the useful life expectancy. You should consider the price being spread out over these years and not be as concerned with price in our opinion. We always think of the nice steak supper for $50 that lasts only a few hours. That’s a good way to think about where your money is going.

INSIDE OR OUTSIDE

Will you be wanting to use your measuring wheel indoors or outdoors? Or possibly both places? If only inside use is planned, we would recommend a smaller wheel, possible dual-wheel model. If outdoors, you may consider a 10 inch or 12 inch model. If you’re going to use for both indoors and outdoors, then maybe consider a 6 inch model. We are referring to the diameter, which is the distance from one side of the wheel to the other and traveling through the center of the wheel.

SIZE OF WHEEL

The size of the wheel can make the measuring task at hand easier if the size of the wheel matches what you plan to do with your wheel. Read our section of “Inside or Outside” and see how we recommend the various sizes of measuring wheels. Please note that the overall size of the unit is something to consider, as some measuring wheels handles even collapse to save space.

UNITS OF MEASURE

The units of measure that you will want is up to you to decide. Will you want to measure in feet and inches, meters and decimeters, or tenths and feet? These are examples of units of measure. Please consider that a mechanical wheel you will need to decide and purchase the product that meets the units of measure that you desire. If you’re buying an electronic wheel, most of the electronic measuring wheels offer multiple units of measure you and can typically push a button to select which unit of measure you want to measure in. This setting can be switched to your liking depending on the measuring units you want to perform. This is a benefit of an electronic measuring wheel, however please remember the disadvantage of having batteries to rely upon.

WARRANTY

Most are one year, but you can find some with lifetime warranties. Something to possibly consider but most wheels last a very long time if properly cared for and used.

CARRYING CASE

You may want to consider buying a measuring wheel that comes with a carrying case, or possibly buying an optional case. Using a case will help keep dust and water off of your measuring wheel and allow it to last longer.

We recommend taking the time to think about what you want to accomplish with a measuring wheel. Then, putting your criteria in ranking order before you make the purchase.

For many decades industries around the world have depended upon small wheel production, taking advantage of every imaginable type of small urethane wheels including both standard and custom made little polyurethane wheels. But as we enter a new decade, polyurethane wheel manufacturing is in greater demand than ever and is a totally cutting edge high-tech field.

Technology Innovations

As the need for small polyurethane wheels and critically important small wheel components grows and expands, companies everywhere look for ways to improve small wheel performance while they also make the production of these urethane parts more precise and efficient. To meet this need, science and engineering technology has created methods and designs that now give us small polyurethane wheels that can, for example, be mathematically calibrated for hardness and durability and can be outfitted with dozens of different types of treads. These custom products can also be taken from design prototype to production and put to work in the real world within a remarkably short period of time. But despite the efficiency of modern manufacturing, today’s wheels outlast and outperform their predecessors while generally being much more affordable.

Big Roles and Responsibilities for the Little Urethane Wheel

As small wheel urethane technology advances, so does the role of these unique polyurethane products. Many companies use urethane wheels to roll components along the assembly line, and there are small wheels that ensure that inventory travels swiftly across continents. There are also little wheels with specific hardnesses to move fragile products without damaging or scratching them along the way. Manufacturing facilities throughout the world use various kinds of smaller urethane wheels, but so do industries as diverse as the amusement park industry, the military, and those involved in food service.

The Science

Today engineers can, for example, vary the recipe for polymer ingredients used to create small wheels to alter their hardness or softness, depending upon what the end-user’s small wheel application happens to be. In many of the modern manufacturing environments electrical charges can disrupt components, too, so it is now possible to even offer anti-static additives that are added to urethane wheels.

There is strong demand for little wheels to haul heavy loads, to move delicate lightweight cargo, to stand up against extreme temperatures in frigid climates or scorching desert conditions, and to withstand long term exposure to intense corrosive chemicals. In this day and age they are called upon to do it all, and do it day in and day with dependable reliability