CARNAMA - Episode 29 - Maintenance of car AC

CARNAMA – Episode 29 – How to maintain car AC !

So u are already tired of the heat outside? And just when u are about to travel I your car, you realise that the AC isn’t cooling enough and you have to roll down your car windows instead.

Well, the problem lies in the fact that many people ignore maintenance of the car A/C. Just filling gas is not sufficient.

Here’s some tips on how to keep your car’s AC running cool all year:

•Check the condition of the air filter as a dirty air filter may clog up the air passages and reduce the coolness of the AC. You can clean the air filter with water and soap. If it is too dirty or damaged, replace with a new one.

•Excess moisture can cause bad smell in your AC system. You can reduce moisture by running the car AC for longer periods or even by switching ON the defroster for about 15 minutes or so.

•Once in a month run the car’s AC on full cold and highest fan speed for 15-20 minutes.

•Timely check for any leakages in the hose pipes.

•Maintain clean evaporator coils. Replace damaged evaporator coils.

•Be gentle when using the car AC switches.

•Finally, do get the AC gas topped up regularly from an authorised outlet.

So go ahead and enjoy your drive in the hot summer with CARNAMA confidence !

CARNAMA - Episode 28 - Flex Fuel

CARNAMA – Episode 28 – Flex Fuel!

Now what kind of fuel is Flex Fuel?

I drive a Ford Expedition and it has this ‘Flex Fuel’ sign badge at the back. That made me think as to what kind of petrol do I use in my vehicle.
...
A Flexible Fuel Vehicle or FFV is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol or methanol fuel.

FFVs have been produced since the 1980s, and dozens of models are currently available. Since FFVs look just like gasoline-only models, you may be driving an FFV and not even know it.

How to check if your vehicle is a FFV?

Check the colour of your car’s fuel cap. Most manufacturers started putting yellow gas caps on FFVs as of model year 2008.

Some cars have labels on the fuel door indicating the fuel type.

Look for ‘flex fuel’ badge on your car’s body, like I found on my vehicle.

In fuel economy testing, the E85 vehicles achieve less kms more per gallon (mpg) than their gasoline-fueled counterpart since Ethanol contains less energy per gallon as compared to gasoline.

So check your vehicles and tell us if you are driving a ‘Flex fuel’ automobile.

CARNAMA - Episode 27 - Crash Test Certification !

CARNAMA – Episode 27 – Crash Test Certification

You would never imagine that your car should meet with an accident. No way !

However, accidents are just that – accidents. They are not planned and happen suddenly, for which you may or may not be prepared.

Now, what does happen when cars meet with accidents? External damage to the car body and possible harm to its occupants?

In order to minimise injury and possible death to the occupants of cars, car manufacturers have to follow the strict guidelines on crash safety test standards.

One such Standard of crash test is the 5 Star rating established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in USA.

It's simple: More Stars equal Safer Cars. 5-Star Safety Ratings measure the crash worthiness

Also called the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), the 5-Star Safety Ratings System was created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to provide consumers with information about the crash protection and rollover safety of new vehicles beyond what is required by statute. One star is the lowest rating, five stars is the highest. More stars equal safer cars.  Five stars is the highest rating, one is the lowest.

The 5-Star Safety Ratings System was initiated in 1978 to measure the level of increased safety for vehicle occupants in frontal crashes. Side crash rating results were added with 1997 model year vehicles and rollover assessments with 2001 models. This is a program that encourages manufacturers to voluntarily design safer vehicles by giving them safety ratings that can be used by consumers to compare vehicles when shopping for a new car.

So next time when you go shopping for a new car, be sure to ask about the 5-Star safety rating of the car. Who knows, a small question like this could prove to be a saviour of you and your loved ones !

CARNAMA - Episode 26 - AIRBAGS !

CARNAMA – Episode 26 – AIRBAGS!

We are all worried about our safety, at each and every turn in life and in our cars!
The seatbelt used to be the only safety restraint feature in a car, until there came the airbag.

Did you know the first car manufacturer to offer driver and front passenger airbags as a standard feature was CHRYSLER. They started this in 1988!

Since then all car manufacturers have made it a standard in all their cars.

There are two types of airbags; frontal and the various types of side-impact airbags. Advanced frontal air bag systems automatically determine if and with what level of power the driver frontal air bag and the passenger frontal air bag will inflate. The appropriate level of power is based upon sensor inputs that can typically detect: 1) occupant size, 2) seat position, 3) seat belt use of the occupant, and 4) crash severity.

The purpose of airbags is to slow an occupant's motion as evenly as possible in a fraction of a second in a crash. Airbags are supplemental restraints and work best in combination with seatbelts.

Frontal airbags are deployed in less than 50 milliseconds. Airbags for side protection have to be fully inflated within 15 milliseconds, which is eight times faster than the blink of an eye. Once an airbag deploys, deflation begins immediately as the gas escapes through vent holes in the fabric. A frontal airbag is empty after approximately one second.