At last, the long-awaited announcement is official Go Daddy is taking Danica Patrick to the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2010. Danica will drive the #7 GoDaddy.com Chevy in a partial Nationwide schedule next season, plus one ARCA race. The Go Daddy Girl will be racing as a member of the JR Motorsports (JRM) team owned by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Rick Hendrick, Kelley Earnhardt and Tony Eury, Jr. through 2011. “It’s been a long time coming, but the stars finally aligned for me with Go Daddy and JRM,” Danica said just before making her announcement. “I have always said I love to drive, and if I could make it work to race in both IndyCar and NASCAR with the right sponsor, like GoDaddy.com and the right team, like JRM then I’d love to drive in NASCAR!” Go Daddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons introduced Danica today as she made it official with the unveiling of her new stock car in front of fans and media outside Chase Field in downtown Phoenix. Parsons and the Go Daddy Girl driver were flanked by the brand new bright green #7 GoDaddy.com Nationwide Chevy and the equally distinctive 2010 IndyCar at today’s news conference. Go Daddy is leveraging its existing relationship with Earnhardt, Jr. who has also driven for Go Daddy in the Nationwide Series and will continue to work as a Go Daddy spokesperson. Danica’s NASCAR races would take place before, after and in between her IndyCar schedule. Michael Andretti, owner of Danica’s IndyCar team, Andretti Autosport, addressed that issue. “Danica and I are both working hard for a win at the Indianapolis 500 keeping the race schedules separate will help keep her focused,” Andretti said. (GoDaddy.com PR), It was also announced that Tony Eury, Jr. would be her crew chief.
All posts by John
Camero VS Mustang
You would think with all the problems the Big 3 are having they wouldn’t be playing the same old games. Ford and GM are at it however, the 2011 Mustang will produce one more horsepower, 305, then the Camero at 304 it will also have 1 more MPG. You would think they have better things to do then milk another horsepower and MPG just to one up GM. I can’t imagine anyone buying a Camero or Mustang for mileage. The new Duratec all aluminum does sound promising for Ford. Of course this is not new they have been playing this ever since GM introduced the Camero in 1966 to counter the Mustang 2 years earlier, as usual Chrysler brought up the rear with the Challenger in 1970. I still think the AAR Cuda is the coolest muscle car ever built. I was a Service Manager in a Dodge dealership when it came out and it was fast. Of course I was also there through the introduction of Lean Burn the Aspen and the Omni. Which is the reason I have grey hair?Chrysler has been doing a lot of bragging lately about the new Challenger but I don’t see it around here the local dealer must have at least 20 or more in stock, I do have to admit it is a sharp ride. If anyone is thinking Xmas for me I like the red with the black stripe.An afterthought I wonder if the new GM head will boost thinks up a little he is known as a person who shakes thinks up and see who can hang on to keep there job.
New EDPM Belts
The new serpentine belts that are constructed of EPDM construction, which stands for ethylene propylene diene M-class rubber. Visually, it’s hard to tell the two types of belts apart, but EPDM belts far outlast and outperform any of their predecessors. Older belts last 50-60 K but I have seen them go a lot farther if they stay clean. The newer EPDM belts will go a 100K easily. The problem is they will not show cracking and materials lose as the older belts do. The valley of the belts wears out making the use of a gauge mandatory to check a belt. They will then begin to make noise and slip the good news is they are very quiet otherwise, even when starting in cold weather with the AC on which has been a problem for years. When the valley wears the length of the belt also will increase causing problems.A gates wear gauge can be obtained at this site.[url”>http://www.gatesprograms.com/beltwear
Car Myths
Myth: Engine oil should be changed every 3,000 miles. Reality: Despite what oil companies and quick-lube shops often claim, it’s usually not necessary. Stick to the service intervals in your car’s owner’s manual. Under normal driving conditions, most vehicles are designed to go 7,500 miles or more between oil changes. Changing oil more often doesn’t hurt the engine, but it can cost you a lot of extra money. Automakers often recommend 3,000-mile intervals for severe driving conditions, such as constant stop-and-go driving, frequent trailer-towing, mountainous terrain, or dusty conditions.Myth: Inflate tires to the pressure shown on the tire’s sidewall. Reality: The pounds-per-square-inch figure on the side of the tire is the maximum pressure that the tire can safely hold, not the automaker’s recommended pressure, which provides the best balance of braking, handling, gas mileage, and ride comfort. That figure is usually found on a doorjamb sticker, in the glove box, or on the fuel-filler door. Perform a monthly pressure check when tires are cold or after the car has been parked for a few hours.Myth: If the brake fluid is low, topping it off will fix the problem.Reality: As brake pads wear, the level in the brake-fluid reservoir drops a bit. That helps you monitor brake wear. If the fluid level drops to or below the Low mark on the reservoir, then either your brakes are worn out or fluid is leaking. Either way, get the brake system serviced immediately. You should also get a routine brake inspection when you rotate the tires, about every 6,000 to 7,000 miles.Myth: If regular-grade fuel is good, premium must be better.Reality: Most vehicles run just fine on regular-grade (87 octane) fuel. Using premium in these cars won’t hurt, but it won’t improve performance, either. A higher-octane number simply means that the fuel is less prone to pre-ignition problems, so it’s often specified for hotter running, high-compression engines. So if your car is designed for 87-octane fuel, don’t waste money on premium.Myth: Flush the coolant with every oil change.Reality: Radiator coolant doesn’t need to be replaced very often. Most owner’s manuals recommend changing the coolant every five years or 60,000 miles. Of course, if the level in the coolant reservoir is chronically low, check for a leak and get service as soon as possible.Myth: After a jump-start, your car will soon recharge the battery.Reality: It could take hours of driving to restore a battery’s full charge, especially in the winter. That’s because power accessories, such as heated seats, draw so much electricity that in some cars the alternator has little left over to recharge a run-down battery. A”load test” at a service station can determine whether the battery can still hold a charge. If so, some hours on a battery charger might be needed to revive the battery to its full potential.Myth: Let your engine warm up for several minutes before driving.Reality: That might have been good advice for yesteryear’s cars but is less so today. Modern engines warm up more quickly when they’re driven. And the sooner they warm up, the sooner they reach maximum efficiency and deliver the best fuel economy and performance. But don’t rev the engine high over the first few miles while it’s warming up.Myth: A dealership must perform regular maintenance to keep your car’s factory warranty valid.Reality: As long as the maintenance items specified in the vehicle owner’s manual are performed on schedule, the work can be done at any auto-repair shop. If you’re knowledgeable, you can even do the work yourself. Just keep accurate records and receipts to back you up in case of a warranty dispute on a future repair.Myth: Dishwashing and laundry detergents make a good car wash.Reality: Detergent can strip off a car’s wax finish. Instead, use a car-wash liquid, which is formulated to clean without removing wax. News source: Autos MSN
Holes Theory
I recently wrote about wires and I stated that sound is carried on the outside if the wire. I have received several Emails “telling me I am nuts among other things”. In truth no one knows where it is carried to an absolute certainty. Many fields of thought subscribe to the theory that the power is pushed through the wire and returned by the ground. My problem with this is that no ground should be required if all of the amps are used by resistance in other words if a lamp uses all the available, amps, by resistance, ohms, then the lamp should light with no ground necessary. The holes theory, which makes more sense to me, has a feeder from the ground that draws the power from the source and the power follows that to a ground. Or to put it bluntly the ground sucks. This is seen as nature as a lighting strike. A feeder comes from the ground and the bolt follows that to ground. A car system works the same a feeder on the inside of the wire is a path from the ground that the power follows to ground. This is why a ground is needed to light the lamp. This is simplified and to the extent I understand the holes theory. Electricians will talk about delta among other theories mostly as it pertains to 240 and higher voltage but they all still need a ground. I understand battery, DC voltage, as in cars more than I do house power, AC voltage. To further add validity to my theory this is why ground controlled systems perform better then controlling the power. IE fuel injectors I don’t think we could turn the power on and off as rapidly as necessary using a power controlled circuit. Also when using lower voltages the ground controlled systems seem to work better. I don’t know how a return reading from an O2 sensor or a TPS would work. You would have to measure the resistance and this would not be adequate as to the required accuracy.
Electric Water Pump
When I first heard the term electric water pump associated with a gas engine in a car I thought I had read it wrong. Why would you put an electric water pump in a car. In a dragster or other high powered engine where every horsepower is being sought after there I can see it but in an everyday car. The advent of cramped engine compartments have brought about many changes and the electric water pump is one of them and I think we will be seeing more of them in the future. They can be placed almost anywhere as long as they have access to the cooling system and they are also very efficient. Most models that now use an electric pump mount it directly to the radiator. This eliminates several space robbing hoses, belts and increases the efficiency. It also decreases the side torque on the crank shaft usually not a worry in a everyday driver but a large concern in high powered engines.When the water pump was placed in and run by the timing belt. I could see this being a problem. It saved space among other things but it just did not work. Here is where the electric pump will come into play in the future. I can see a future engine with no belts some of the hybrids have already went this route with a electric AC pump and an alternator run directly off the cam.
F1 And Tires
Bridgestone is leaving Formula One after next year and Pirelli, Goodyear and Michelin have no interest in jumping into the fray. Hankook and several other brands have been mentioned but so far no takers. Honda and BMW have left the series and now Renault is leaving and Toyota is only staying through 2010. Brawn the 2009 manufacturer winner is having money problems after losing Virgin and Honda dollars. Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes are still on board. Max Mosely was forced out after his sex escapades became public. At least now the story of Danica Patrick makes sense as she is leaving a sinking ship and may well stand a chance to win the Indy 500. I just hope she hires Jimmy Spencer to teach her how to handle the politics of NASCAR in his out behind the garage way. I think she could hold her own against Jeff Gordon among others.
Tire Pressures & Choices
With the rapid changes in temperature we experience this time of year it is time to discuss tire temperature and its effect on pressure. Pressure will rise 1 psi for every 10 degrees in temperature. It will also increase by 1 psi for every 5 minutes of driving for the first 20 minutes and hold steady after that if there is no increase in temperature from outside influences such as surface temperature or sun. If you drive a few miles to check your tire pressure it could be off by 1 or 2 psi. More if the outside temperature is high and the sun has warmed up the road surface. A couple of psi doesn’t seem like much but with low profile tires it can be a large percentage of the total volume of the tire with larger tires the effect is less. Gas mileage is affected by tire pressure not a lot but if you combine it with other saving ideas, less weight in trunk, windows up and several others it can add up to quite a savings. There are several sites that explain tire rating so I will not go into it in depth now. Tire ratings are a sliding scale the harder the compound the better it wears, has less traction and a harsher ride. The softer the compound the better the ride and traction but it wears out quicker. I have 3 different tire brands on my vehicles, Toyo, Michelin and Cooper. I have Cooper on my pickup and love them as I do the Toyo on my one Bonneville. The other Bonneville has Michelin and they do ride a bit harsher then I would like but 2 are about in need of replacing. I will probably go with 4 Toyo but I also have a commercial account at the Toyo dealer so the price is less. Tires are another item that every tech has an opinion on such as oil and blondes. But with tires higher price does mean better quality in most cases. Many dealers offer a ride guarantee with new tires also this is another example where having a good relationship with a shop helps.
Overpriced Cables
I know this post is going to create a lot of controversy. As I have said before everyone has their personal taste in engine oils and many other products. Cables are another area where everyone has an opinion.I have considerable experience with cables, speaker HTMI or whatever. I have 8 TV’s in my house, yes I know I am addicted, 3 rooms with surround sound with a variety of Media centers TIVO and replaytv’s. Yes I do hate to watch commercials, I like to control my own time, not have it controlled by a TV schedule. In my defense one room is mainly for my grandkids. When they have a sound system with a DVD, as it is meant to be watched. Their attention span is longer. Monster cables or any other overpriced cable is not worth the money. With HTMI and optical the cost of the cable has no bearing on the quality digital is either on and perfect or off and no amount of money you spend for a cable is going to help. All other cables RG 6, S-Video, composite, coaxial RCA and speaker the cost can make a difference. The amount of shielding is the biggest concern with an S-Video cable a metallic shield is the best option. Insulation is important on RG 6, All others except for speaker wire the connector, wire size, remember the smaller the number the bigger the wire, and insulation are factors to consider. Composite and component should be molded together. Speaker wire size is a concern but more important is the number of strands of wire. Special alloys, magical filaments or direction specific are all a waste of money. Sound is carried on the outside of the wire so the more surface you have the better the sound. I have used the flat molded wire for surround with success and it is very small about 24 gauge but it has numerous strands. 14 gauge is the one I usually use any bigger and it becomes a problem to connect and route. I do plate all connections with solder including the ones at the component. The exception is sub-woofer wiring use the biggest wire that will fit in the component connector usually this is a 12 but with some of the new style connectors it is a tight fit. Computer cables RJ-45 are rated, cat 5 and 6 which rates there transmission speed and connectors are rated by their contacts most quality are 50u. All of this is little concern to the average person very few homes need a 550MHz RJ-45 cable or above 50u rated connectors. At some point in time, as more and more services are available on the net, this may change so consider this if doing new construction. I buy the majority of my cables from Monoprice, there are other sites with equal quality and fair pricing, I just like there cool colors and I would like to know why they use them. Buy several cables at one time to keep shipping costs down. Cables will develop problems they can come loose RG 6 cables are the worst for this and I wish I knew why, they never move I actually use a wrench to snug mine up and this helps. All cables will develop problems over time and usually the sound or picture deteriorates slowly, with the exception of digital, until you notice a difference. With any feed use as few splitters as possible, and a booster if necessary. Always use a surge protector including cable feed and phone if used.
Spark Plug Replacement
Modern cars require about as much maintance as a toaster except for the fluids and filters about the only thing that needs attention are the spark plugs. Many manufactures recommend replacement as high as 100K. The advent of many new electrode metals, platinum the most popular, have allowed this as the recent engineering of fluids extended there life. I think that many hours of testing go into the spark plug selection so I only recommend replacing with the recommended. There are several gimmicks on the market and none of them work so stay away from them. The only one I have used is the Champion truck plug and I didn’t notice any improvement but they looked great with the gold body.There are 2 common types of plugs the tapered and gasket. Except for access on some vehicles replacement is simple. I do recommend using a torque wrench mandatory when installing the ones with a gasket and will prevent future problems with the tapered. The crush of the gasket is crucial to provide a proper seal and never reuse the gasket. The tapered will be easier to remove if not over tightened and none are easy to remove at 100K. One last tip when replacing plugs consider replacing the wires and put a dab of dielectric grease on the connector it will prevent corrosion and make the wire easier to remove.