WHAT IS CAR TUNING?
Performance tuning is the tuning of an engine to increase the power output, torque, and responsiveness of the engine as well as the reliability and economy. To performance tune the engine, it must be strong enough to endure the extra power, sometimes far stronger than the standard engine. Also when Performance Tuning the car you must take into account the transmission, suspension and the brakes to make sure that these match the power output and torque of the engine as this will affect the overall performance of the car and make it more reliable and competitive. Most people want to increase the power output of an engine. The main way that is used to do this is to increase the rate and efficiency of combustion in an 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 products more 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, and to 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 efficiency 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 air boxes and 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).
• Optimizing 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. See also 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.
• Forced Induction; adding a turbocharger or supercharger. 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 oxidizer 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 amenable to this form of tuning. Naturally many other design parameters are sacrificed in the pursuit of power. The choice of m
odification 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 improve fuel economy, generally don't affect engine reliability much (because no moving parts are modified), and are in any case essential to take full advantage of any further upgrades.
• 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.
How to Save Money on Your Car
There are many expenses that come with owning a car. How can you save money?
Often, saving money starts right at the beginning -- with the purchase. If you are looking to buy a new car, you might consider going small. Generally, the smaller the car, the cheaper it is. Plus, smaller cars usually get better gas mileage.
The cheaper the vehicle, the cheaper the insurance premiums. You should pick out several different vehicles and then ask your agent for quotes on them. This way, there are no surprises after the deal is done.
Did you know that automatic transmissions get five miles per gallon less than manual transmission vehicles? If you know how to drive a stick, it might just save you some money. Six-cylinder engines get five miles per gallon less than four-cylinder engines. Consider all of the options when purchasing.
You can save money by keeping your car a little longer. Don't simply trade in for a new vehicle every two to three years. You lose money through low trade-in values. If you plan on getting a new car, why not try to sell your current one as a private sale. You can get what the dealer would out of it, giving you money for a downpayment on the new vehicle.
Many dealers will try to push extras on you like credit life or disability insurance, service contracts, extended warranties and gap insurance. Your regular life, disability and gap insurance (through your auto policy) should protect you just fine. There is no point in being double-covered. You are paying twice, but you will only be paid back once. The extended warranties usually aren't worth what you are being charged. They are often very limited and are available directly from providers at a fraction of the dealer cost.
Once you have your car, you should make sure that you are fanatical about keeping up on maintenance. A poorly tuned car will use almost 33% more gasoline each year. By changing the oil and oil filter every 3,000 miles, you are extending the life of your vehicle's engine. Make sure that the air filter is clean to get the best possible gas mileage. Also make sure that your tires are filled to the appropriate psi.
You shouldn't use a higher octane gasoline than recommended in your owner's manual. Most cars don't need high-octane gas, so it is simply a waste to your vehicle. Check your manual for the correct octane level for your vehicle.
When filling the gas tank, don't top it off. When it is hot out, gas expands and it will simply run off. You are paying for what you are never using.
It isn't hard to find ways to save money on vehicle expenses. The number one way is to drive less. Consider carpooling or walking. Park in one central location when running errands and walk from place to place. This not only saves gas, but gives a good work out.
UFO is an abbreviation of Unidentified Flying Object. There has been quite a lot said and heard over the years about sightings of possible or actual alien spacecraft, many of these sightings may include objects like meteors, disintegrating satellites, flocks of birds, aircraft, lights, weather balloons, or just about anything moving within the visible band of electromagnetism. However, so far, it would appear that everything which has been said about these sightings has turned out to be a just gossip or fiction. This is because our senses and science require logics and proofs, and so far, no one has been able to produce actual proof that could help to positively identify any UFO sighting as an alien spacecraft. No one has been able to produce any physical evidence to support of their claim that they have seen alien spacecraft or actual aliens. Ofcourse, the possibility of some government agencies having proof of such things is a strong one. If any government agency anywhere in the world does have such proof it is highly unlikely that they would share this with the general population.
Take for example the large number of photographs which have been published of UFOs. They all appear blurred and many of these are quite obviously forgeries. Again, many people talk about physical evidence, such as alleged debris from alien crashes, or scorch marks on the ground apparantly from alien landings, or implants in noses or brains of alien bodies, etc. But, when science does its job, most of these alleged physical evidences turn out to be terrestrial and or just forgeries.
Overall, one of the most important facts which should be noted is that those people who claim to have watched the UFO are mostly untrained sky watchers. No professional or amateur astronomer has ever made such claims. This is the reason why UFOs would appear to be sheer science fiction instead of being science fact.
