Sunday, October 31, 2010

Air Filters - Which Gives the Best MPG to Your Car?

For the sake of fuel economy, it is not hard to see how easy it would be to overlook the air filter as a way to save gas, but save gas it does.

Air filters are devices which strain air through a membrane to separate particulates from the air that normally goes into an internal combustion engine. This is to prevent these particulates, such as dust, fiber, pollen and such to contaminate sensitive and hard-to-reach parts of the engine.

Air filters are judged according to two types of attributes: filtration and flow.

Filtration is the ability of the filter to separate particulates from the air. Flow is the ability of the filter to let air move through the filter element with minimal restriction, including the piping that guide air through the air filter and beyond.

Filtration elements are normally composed of paper, cotton, foam, and cloth components.

Paper. This is the most common and cheapest form of filter available. They are efficient, idiot-proof and costs less than other types of filters. The filter is normally a wide, round cylindrical shape about 3 inches in high. Particulates are easily spotted on the pleats of the air filter and can be cleaned off for further use. Paper filters have a shorter use life and are considered easily disposable.

Foam. Foam filters are oil-damp polyurethane elements. These are usually used in rally-type environments with the capacity to trap lots of dust.

Cotton. Oiled-cotton gauze filters are usually found in performance after-market air filters. Employs multiple layers supported by a metal mesh to trap dust and particulates.

Cloth. Cloth are oil-wetted as well and are considered on the same level as cotton-gauze filters. They also employ the same layering as cotton-gauze and are reusable to the point of just washing and re-oiling them.

When air flow is considered, the "plumbing" of the air filter system must be observed. What manufacturers usually attached to air filter systems is a complex set of pipes that flow up and down to slow down air flow somewhat. The purpose of this is to reduce ambient noise, sometimes at the cost of fuel efficiency.

After-market performance components have solved these problems by doing away with the plumbing system entirely and going for a more simplified straight or curved piping system topped with the filter element. This immediately shows better performance over the plumbing-type system but these do not filter out particulates as well.

Some after-market performance filter components usually include cone-shaped filters for cotton and cloth filters, mushroom-shaped filters for foam elements, and some two-stage hybrid filters, which clean out air much more efficiently but at the cost of some air flow.

What else can I do to immediately improve performance?

If all else is held constant, what you can do to improve performance would be to improve the quality of air that is drawn through the air filter. The best value for money-addition to a factory installed or improved-air filtration system would be to add a hydrogen-on-demand (HOD) generator to be drawn in through the air filter.

HOD generators are devices that produce hydrogen and oxygen as electricity passes through an aqueous medium. This gas is more known as "oxyhydrogen" or Brown's Gas or HHO. This gas is generated on-demand only (i.e. when the engine is turned on) so there is no hydrogen stored in its pure form to cause a risk to life and limb.

What does an HOD system do?

Hydrogen when compressed an introduced to an internal combustion engine:

-Releases more energy than ethanol-based mixes, maintaining the overall power of the car

-Completely burns the fuel which gives cleaner emissions

-Raises the octane level of the fuel, preventing knocking, making the engine quieter

-Lowers overall engine temperature slightly

-Requires the engine to use less gas per cycle

Cost?

Fairly inexpensive. Parts can be sourced from everyday parts found in hardware shops and basic electronics stores. Total cost for a basic unit can range between $70 to over $200 USD.

What's offered by most HOD enterprises are plans for do-it-yourself systems, with offers to build the system for the consumer if they so wish. This way the customer can opt to build it himself or to buy a unit once the concept is understood after obtaining the plans to prevent fraud.

For more information on HOD systems, increasing fuel economies, and support, please visit the url below.

Erwin Chua MCP, MCDST has been involved with cars since he was 22. In his youth he would take the car out for a ride without a license, and never get caught. He has a still-pending Master of Arts in Philosophy from De La Salle University - Manila after he decided to leave the academe in pursuit of the true Way. Currently, he is based in Penang, Malaysia spending his time working out, tinkering and puttering away on his Toyota, practicing the Way, building web sites, and writing articles on technology, health, nutrition, body conditioning, healing and travel.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Erwin_Chua

Friday, October 29, 2010

Mercedes Benz Inventions Commercial

A Mercedes Benz commercial from the United States that shows all the things Mercedes Benz have introduced to cars over the years.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Mercedes' Air Conditioning

History can vouch for the fact that Mercedes has always been known for comfort and style, with a special mention always, to its air conditioning. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the evolution of the car industry as whole is quite dictated by the developments made by Mercedes as one of the world's biggest automobile companies. Mercedes has been given the tag of the 'cool' car not just for its style factor, but also for its AC condenser. However, even with the best of the aircon systems, you might still need to get the Mercedes air-con repair sometimes. In the event you do experience some problems, you can always take you car in for the Mercedes air conditioning repair procedure.


You can even prevent many of your air conditioning problems by ensuring that you recharge the entire system at repeated intervals in order to maintain its maximum level of efficiency. Research has shown that the refrigerant that the Mercedes air conditioning system uses, reduces by almost 15% in a year. It is also possible that at times, there might be a leak which would need to be foxed, before the refilling of the refrigerant as the refrigerant might be lost due to the leak. However, the detection of this leak is hardly possible without the help of particular specialized test equipments.

Problems may also occur more during winters when the system is hardly used, there is a chance of the seals drying out and this leads to the system losing its productivity and can also result in the air conditioning system becoming unusable. But this is not a reason for great concern as the leakages can be easily detected during the Mercedes air conditioning repair procedure. During this procedure, even the refrigerant can be filled in again, without you spending much time or money on the same. One aspect that you need to be careful about is the strange sounds coming from your Mercedes aircon system. Besides the sound of the pump when it turns on and off, any other noise needs to immediately be looked into, lest it leads to major damage in the your air conditioning system.

Regular servicing is the key to keep all you Mercedes problems at bay. You can save yourself the worry of spending time, energy & money if your air-con problems are detected well in time

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_P_Wright

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Mercedes in the Movies!

Mercedes Touts Its Role in 'Sex and the City' Movie - 20 March 2008


NEW YORK - Mercedes-Benz USA will likely spend a "few million dollars" advertising its product integration in New Line Cinema's upcoming big-screen version of the hit HBO series "Sex and the City," VP-Marketing Steve Canon told Advertising Age during the New YorkInternational Auto Show.

The movie's director, Michael Patrick King, will helm the Mercedes-Benz co-branded effort breaking on national U.S. TV, Mr. Canon said. The automaker's national creative agency of record, Merkley & Partners, New York, will work closely with New Line Cinema, one of the producers and the film's U.S. distributor, to develop the ads, he said.

The automaker is also studying whether to stage private screenings for owners and prospects or special ticket offers, Mr. Canon said.


Source: http://www.speedace.info/automotive_directory/mercedes_benz.htm





Saturday, October 2, 2010

David Gallo Shows Underwater Astonishments


David Gallo shows jaw-dropping footage of amazing sea creatures, including a color-shifting cuttlefish, a perfectly camouflaged octopus, and a Times Square's worth of neon light displays from fish who live in the blackest depths of the ocean.

A friend shared this with us and we thought we would share it again! Fascinating!