The Synchronous Converter

You know I hate going to the Doctor. They poke and prod, take X-rays and blood tests, and then come up with some report telling you that you have some rare disease that was born in monkeys 10,000 years ago and you’re one of 17 people in the world that have it. So, generally, with such a positive attitude towards preventive medicine, I’m clearly not the best at rushing to the Doctor when I get a snivel or a headache. But sometimes, it’s clear that maybe I should to avoid deeper problems. At least I admit my shortcomings!

Well you know, the same thing goes with your car. Big problems can be prevented when you get some warning signals from your brakes. In short, the brakes should operate very smoothly and should not do anything crazy like pull you to one side or not. To get the full run down on what can go wrong, we had a fire-side chat with Troy Guthrie, our shop manager, who has over 25 years experience fixing everything from Jaguars to big trucks. Here’s what’s on Troy’s list of things to pay attention to. If any of these things are happening, it’s time to take your car to the Doctor… for a few tests:

Vibration: There should be no shake in the car on braking. Warped drums or rotors cause this and there are many causes for this.

Low pedal: Usually caused by worn out brakes and there inability to adjust up

Hard pedal: caused by a failing power brake system

Squeal: When the friction material gets too close to the metal backing plate, it starts to squeal

Drag: Feels like you’re dragging something. Brakes are staying applied from a bad caliper or brake hose.

Grab: Brakes seem to be on or off. Braking should be smooth, not on and off.

Pull: A sticking caliper on one side or the other will cause this.

Mileage: Brakes should be checked every year.

Grinding: This happens when you don’t pay attention to the above!

Frank Bellucci is the President of Performance Motors in Austin, Texas. In addition, he likes to think of himself as a rather funny person. His wife doesn’t agree. But that’s OK. Frank seems to have limitless funny experiences with cars, one of his great passions in life. You can catch Frank driving down 183 in Austin in his Land Rover. He loves his Rover more than wine. And he really likes wine (just not at the same time). Anyhow, look for articles that have good information with a bit of humor in the coming months!

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Most entrepreneurs find it extremely difficult to start a concession business from the very initials. This holds true for new entrepreneurs as well as the experienced ones. Experience regarding this over past many years has differentiated the successful entrepreneurs from the failed ones.

You should never ignore renting the trailers if you are into this business. They are much cheaper compared to the rental vans since you are required to pay only the rent for the trailer, and the additional mileage fees can be done away with. They are cheap on the gas tank as well. Most of the trailers are designed aerodynamically, and are not heavy at all. You will find trailer rentals very cheap and affordable if you make a comparison of the daily rent with the rent charges, gas consumption and mileage of the rental truck.

Don’t ever worry yourself about the size of the trailer since they are available in a variety of sizes to accommodate whatever items you have. The rental companies will provide you with the proportion of every single trailer, and that will give you a fair estimate of how much you can fit into it. If you have been worrying about the space factor, have a word with the trailer rental company, which will give you details regarding the next higher size, and will guide you in case you have a problem with the trailer rentals.

Most of the trailer rental companies offer additional features as well, like ramps, more pads for furniture, padded interiors of the trailers, and even protection for the appliances. They also provide equipment and tools to help you in the movement of large items. Also, some of them provide for hitch installation.

You can search for information on trailer rentals over the internet. Most of the companies offer the trailer rates, options, features, availability and other information on their webpage itself, from where a comparison can be made. Yellow pages contain information about them too. Make sure to check the prices as rates are not similar for all companies. Also acquaint yourself with the safety measures and ensure the absence of hidden costs.

Another altenative to save money on concession trailers is to buy used concession trailers. Take a look at ConcessionTrailerBay.com for listings of concession trailers for sale.

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The following is a general guide to install racing seats into your car. We only provide these instructions to give you an idea of what you will need to do in order to install the race seats. We highly recommend that you have your seats installed by a professional experienced in aftermarket seat installation.

Removing Your Existing Stock Seats

Start with your driver side first and locate the four bolts that hold the seat in, two up front and two in back. Starting with the rear two bolts remove the plastic covers over them and remove the bolts. Be sure to recline the chair so it is in an upright position and the weight is evenly distributed, so when you remove the front bolts of the seat it won’t fall on top of you causing injury.

After removing the front two bolts, gently lean the whole chair onto it’s back and undo all of the remaining connections to it by locating the seat belt wire attached to the female end of the seat belt socket (clip). You will also want to undo any electrical wires that were connected to the original stock seat. The most convient way to remove the seats is to roll it onto its side so it makes an “L” and swing the seat out following with the back of the chair until it is completely out of the car.

With the seat out of the car, look on the side where the seat belt receiver is. There is a plastic cover that you’ll need to remove with a phillips screw driver, with one screw in front and one in back. With it removed, you’ll see a bolt attaching the seatbelt to the seat. Remove this bolt (it’s very long so keep twisting) Now that you have the bolt off, put the plastic part back on using your phillips screw driver.

Installing Your New Aftermarket Racing Seats

Assemble your seat brackets and sliders if they did not already come assembled. The pieces are made to face in a specific direction so don’t install them backwards. Remember seat sliders have to face forward for your seat to move.

The aftermarket seat bracket will have holes for the seat belt receiver, so screw it in.You may need to remove some of the thick spacers so the seat will fit into your car, but do not remove them if you have room for them.

Attach the aftermarket bracket to your race seat before placing it into the car. Test fit and see if you like the height of the seat, adjust accordingly if you can. Don’t be surprised if your new seat brackets that you ordered for your race seat do not fit the existing holes. This is very common because these seats are made to fit several makes of vehicles and not specifically to any one kind. Just make new ones after the test fitting.

If you have a race harness (4 or 5 Point harness) now is the best time to attach the belts.

Not every bracket is made the same. Attach the front bolts in loosely, then try to put in the rears. Use a hammer if you have to so the bracket holes will line up. Just be safe about it and don’t damage the bracket.

Securely tighten all of the bolts to the car. If they are loose, you could cause severe injury or even death to yourself. If you installed sliders and you can not slide the seat freely, check how you assembled it and reinstall it.

If you did a good job, do the same for the passenger side. If not, hire help!

http://www.AutoSportz.com
http://www.autosportz.com/article_install_race_seats.htm

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Saturn is one of General Motors’ brands. It was launched in 1990
largely due to the success of Japanese small-car imports in the
United States, and this brand was the company’s response. It is
popularly known for its “no-haggle” sale policy. And it is very
commonly known to have customer satisfaction with its dealer
service that is among the highest of any car brand in the United
States. It has also received praise for its
environmentally-conscious manufacturing processes and for its
innovations such as using flexible plastic side panels on its
cars to avoid minor dents, as well.

One of the vehicles that are running under this brand is the
Saturn Relay. It is a minivan that is the first in its brand not
to have a polymer side paneling. The Saturn Relay uses a 3.5
liter High Value 3500 LX9 V6 that has the capability to generate
200 horsepower and 220 ft-lb. torque.

Interestingly, the new 2006 Saturn Relay is a mini van with four
doors that is quite capable of having seven passengers in its
interior. It has been made available in three trims that ranges
from the FWD 2 to the AWD 3. The FWD 2 is equipped with a
standard 3.5 liter V6 engine that can achieve 18 mpg in the
city, and 25 mpg during highway driving. The AWD 3, meanwhile,
is well equipped with the standard 3.5 liter V6 engine that can
take up to 17 mpg in the city and 23 mpg in the highway.
Standard for these trims is a four-speed automatic transmission
with overdrive.

The Saturn Relay brings along with it convenience due to its
features that create such a feeling for its driver and
passengers. The list includes a passenger airbag cutoff sensor
that is activated by seatbelt engagement; covered lower console
storage that is located on its floor; cruise control; OnStar
Telematics System with twelve months Safe and Sound Service
Plan; OnStar Vehicle Location System; a keyless entry that is
operated via key fob; a multi-function remote that operates
doors to lock and unlock and is also anti-theft; and a telephone
antenna.

Options for this new vehicle includes manual air conditioning,
interior dust and pollen air filter, driver airbag with dual
stage deployment, DVD player located in the second row with a
7-inch screen located in the overhead console, second row sound
controls for audio and DVD, rear window defroster, power door
locks with automatic locking, AM/FM radio with speed sensitive
volume, eight speakers, CD player, MP3 player, and
pre-programmed equalizer.

More information about the Saturn Relay is available at <
b>Auto Parts Information. Customers can also access the
website’s vast array of Saturn Relay parts and Saturn parts.

In a nutshell, what is lacking for this model is that it does
not bring along with it standard side air bags. However, it is
good that it has ABS, air conditioning, alarm, automatic
transmission, CD player, child safety locks, child seat tethers,
DVD player, OnStar System, power windows/locks, side impact door
beams, and theft tracking.

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