WHY MAHINDRA VEHICLE NAME ENDS WITH "O" ? KNOW HERE !

Not many would have realized that every Mahindra product ends with an 'O' - Bolero, Scorpio, Xylo, Quanto, Verito, and even the XUV500 and TUV300, pronounced five double 'oh' and three double 'oh'. Take even the motorcycles that Mahindra manufactures - Panter(o), Moj(o), Gust(o), Dur(o), Rode(o), and so on.

WHAT IS THE REASON BEHIND THIS?

The Scorpio and the Bolero were two of Mahindra's greatest success stories. Pawan Goenka, president, automotive and farm equipment sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, says after the success of Bolero and Scorpio, the company thought the 'O' at the end of the vehicle was lucky and decided to stick with it.

"You can call it a bit of superstition, but it has worked for us. It has become a tradition for us and it is now an expectation from M&M to follow that practice. Thanks to this, people easily identify an M&M product," Goenka said. Since both the vehicles end with an 'O', Mahindra just thought it was lucky, so decided to name all the vehicles based on that. You can call it superstitious in a way, but thinking practically, it also makes the vehicles sound uniform, maintaining a pattern.

Even the commercial vehicles made by Mahindra follow the invisible rule of ending with an 'O' - Maxximo, Jeeto, Supro, and Truxo. Another interesting thing to note is that the letter 'O' is the fourth most common letter used in the English language.

But the new 2018 Mahindra Alturas G4 doesn’t ends with ‘O’ and also does the Thar.

KNOW HOW A CAR ACCELERATES ?

Going from 0 to 60 mainly involves the throttle, engine, transmission or differential, and tires of a vehicle. How fast it takes depends on the features of these parts.When you hit the gas pedal/throttle on your vehicle, there are a number of forces at play to get it going. 

Here is a basic run-down of what happens when your vehicle accelerates.

1.)Throttle to engine

The throttle pedal/throttle is a direct line to your vehicle’s engine. It controls the airflow into the intake manifold either through a throttle body for fuel injection, or a carburetor. This air is then mixed with fuel, fed either by a fuel rail and fuel injectors, or a carburetor, and is then introduced with spark (such as fire), fed by spark plugs. This causes combustion, which forces the engine’s pistons down to rotate the crankshaft. As the throttle pedal gets closer to the floor(full throttlr in case of motorbikes), the more air is sucked into the intake manifold to be mixed with even more fuel to rotate the crankshaft faster. This is your engine “revving” as the revolutions per minute (rpm) of the crankshaft increase.

2.)Engine to transmission

If an engine’s crankshaft output shaft is not connected to anything, it will simply rev and make noise - not acceleration. This is where a transmission comes into play, as it helps transform engine speed into wheel speed. Regardless of whether you have a manual or an automatic transmission, both varieties tap into the engine via an input shaft. Sandwiched between the engine and the transmission is either a clutch for manual transmissions, or a torque converter for automatics. In essence, a clutch and engages the engine from the transmission, while a torque converter maintains the connection but uses a fluid-fed one-way stator and a turbine to eliminate engine stalling when idle. Think of it as a device that is constantly “slipping” the connection between the engine and the transmission.

And from transmission the motion goes to tyres in case of motorbikes through chain or belt and in case of cars, it will go to differential and from differential it will go to tyres.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOVERNOR AND FLYWHEEL EXPLAINED !!

Both flywheel and governor are mechanical devices used mostly for the same purpose; that is to control or regulate the fluctuations in speed with the exception of the point of impact.While a flywheel regulates the variation of speed at crankshaft, governor controls the variation of speed caused by load variation.Let us first understand the applications of flywheel and governor and then we will come to differences.

FLYWHEEL:

A flywheel is a heavy rotating wheel attached to a revolving shaft that smooths out the delivery of power of a reciprocating engine due to the difference between the driving torque and the active torque over the cycle of operation.

Basically, it’s a mechanical device specifically designed to store rotational energy. It acts as a reservoir, meaning it stores energy when the supply of the energy is more than that is required for the operation and releases the same when the supply is less than the requirement.

GOVERNOR:

A governor is also a mechanical device that controls mean speed of the engine when there are variations in the load. 

It’s essentially a speed-controller device used to measure and regulate the speed of the machine irrespective of the load variations. It maintains the speed of the engine within specified limits regardless of load variations.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FLYWHEEL AND GOVERNOR:

SUMMARY:

While the function of a flywheel is to regulate the fluctuations of speed during each cycle, the function of a governor is to keep the mean speed of the engine constant throughout the entire cycle. Flywheel stores rotational energy when the mechanical energy supplied is more than that’s required for operation, whereas a governor regulates the fuel supply according to the varying load conditions. While hypothetically both serve the same purpose, that is speed control, they do it very differently. The main difference in fact lies in the point of impact.

KNOW THE REASON AND SOLUTION OF DIFFERENT EXHAUST SMOKE COLOURS !!

Exhaust smoke is a way of your car communicating with you to say what is wrong. Usually, the smoke that gets emitted is black, white, grey and blue. The exhaust gases is an old school way to detect symptoms of problems i.e. large amounts of black smoke may mean the EGR is blocked and it's over fueling.

Knowing the difference between the smokes that comes from the exhaust is very useful. If you are not going to fix the car yourself, take note when the smoke appears and the color and report back to your mechanic. Avoiding the problem will only shorten the life of the engine and result in unnecessary repair bills.

TYPES OF EXHAUST SMOKES

1. White smoke
2. Black smoke
3. Blue smoke

Let us discuss the reason for each type of smoke in detail:

1. WHITE SMOKE

Thick white smoke can be caused by the engine burning coolant. This can be caused by the coolant leaking into the engine due to a leak in the head gasket, a damaged cylinder head or a cracked engine block. If you happen to see this kind of smoke take your car to the garage as soon as possible as the leaking coolant can lead to overheating which could cause damage to your engine. Not to mention chances of coolant mixing with the oil.
White smoke has a varying amount of causes and symptoms, which are more common in gasoline cars. The most common cause of white smoke is when the car has just been started. The white smoke is just steam from condensation that clears as the car warms up.

White Smoke from Petrol/Gasoline Car

White smoke as mentioned is usual from startup however if it continues when warm, you have a problem. Check the following for white smoke causes in petrol cars:

a. Head Gasket Failure.

b. Turbo Issues

c. Overheating Engine.

d. Cracked Engine Block.

White Smoke from Diesel Car

Sadly, white smoke from a diesel car operating at its optimum temperature is bad news in most cases. Check for the following for white smoke in diesel cars:

a. Worn or Leaking Injectors.

b. Poor Quality Diesel.

c. Low Cylinder Compression.

Usually caused by other components such as piston rings becoming worn out

2. BLACK SMOKE

Black smoke that gets emitted from a car is more common in diesel cars. Apart from when the car is cold, white smoke should never appear from a diesel car exhaust. The majority of older diesel cars will blow black smoke under heavy acceleration but new diesel car will not emit any black smoke.This results in very poor miles per gallon and extra stress on engine components.

Petrol engines very rarely emit black smoke from the exhaust compared with diesel cars. In almost all circumstances, black smoke from a petrol car is due to the air to fuel ratio.

Black smoke from a diesel car is the result of poor combustion of the fuel. The issue is either due to insufficient air flow or poor quality diesel that builds up into a carbon deposit. Causes of black smokes from diesel car exhausts are the following:

a. Clogged Air Filters

b. Damaged Fuel Injectors

c. Faulty MAF (Mass Airflow Sensor)Sensors

d. Bad EGR Valve

e. Damaged Piston Rings

f. Engine Deposits

g. Poor Quality Diesel Fuel.

h. Faulty Turbocharger and Bad Air to Fuel Ratio.

3. BLUE SMOKE

Blue smoke is an indication that the car is burning engine oil. This happens when the piston rings are worn out and oil is leaking to the combustion chamber where it is burned together with the fuel. For a turbocharged car, the smoke is a sign that the blower is in need of replacement. Burning oil can cause rough starts due to the fact that it can ruin a car’s spark plugs.

ELECTRIC PARK BRAKE EXPLAINED !!

The Electric Park Brake functions as a conventional hydraulic brake for standard service brake applications, and as an electric brake for parking and emergency braking.

Electric Park Brake (EPB) is a caliper with an additional motor (motor on caliper) that operates the parking brake. The EPB system is electronically controlled and consists of the EPB switch, the EPB caliper and the electronic control unit (ECU).

The electric parking brake or the EPB is an advanced version of conventional parking brake or handbrake. Sometimes, people also refer to this system as 'Electronic Parking Brake'. Technically this system is a sub-part of 'Brake by Wire' system.

The main function of parking brakes is to avoid motion of vehicle when parked. In addition, these brakes also play an important role in avoiding backward motion of vehicle which resumes moving on a slope. Generally, parking brakes operate only on the rear wheels of a vehicle.

EPB functionality relies on four elements:

1. Control switches,
2. Wheel-speed sensor,
3. Force sensor
4. Electric motors.

Together, these monitor a variety of input signals and determine when to apply or release the brakes.

COMPONENTS:

However, in Electric Parking Brake, no cable connection exists. Instead, it works with the help of following main components:

1. Electronic Brake Module
2. Actuator or electric motor
3. Electric Switch in cabin

WORKING PRINCIPLE:

Conventional parking brakes employ a cable that connects handbrake lever and brake shoes. When the driver operates the lever, tension in the cable increases thereby forcing the brake shoe (or pads) on brake drum (or disc). Thus, wheels cannot move further.

When the driver operates the switch, it sends a command to Module which senses that parking brakes are required to be operated. Later, this module commands the actuators or electric motors installed in the brake calipers to operate. Thus, brake pads are forced on the disc thereby restricting the movement of wheels.

Due to the use of electronic components, the operation of this system is almost instantaneous and efficient. Also, it improves the reliability of braking because of the absence of mechanical connection. This brake deactivates automatically when the driver presses the accelerator pedal. Some vehicle manufacturers also integrate Assist function with this system.

TYPES OF EPB:

1. Cable-pull systems

The cable pull system is simply a development of the traditional lever and cable method. As the switch is operated, a motor, or motors, pull the cable by either rolling it on a drum or using an internally threaded gear on a spiral attached to the cable. The parking brake can be released manually on most vehicles. After removing a plastic cover or similar, pulling a wire cable loop will let off the brake.

2. Electric-hydraulic caliper systems

These types are usually employed as part of a larger control system such as an electronic stability program (ESP).
When the driver presses the switch to activate the parking brake, the ESP unit automatically generates pressure in the braking system and presses the brake pads against the disc. The calipers are then locked in position by an electrically controlled solenoid valve. The caliper remains locked without any need for hydraulic pressure. To release the brake, the ESP briefly generates pressure again, slightly more than was needed to lock the caliper, and the valve is released.

3. Full electric drive-by-wire systems

The drive-by-wire system was developed by Continental. It uses an electric motor and gearbox to apply pressure on the pads and therefore on to the disc. A key component is the parking brake latch. This is like a ratchet and it prevents the pressure in the piston from rotating the motor – and it therefore keeps the brakes applied.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES:

Advantages:

• Modular architecture, scalable clamp load and durability with reduced hysteresis
• Significant weight savings compared to mechanical park brake systems to support enhanced fuel economy and reduced emissions
• Vehicle coverage from small car to light truck segments
• Electronic control allows for integration with other safety technologies
• Pioneered EPB technology in 2000 and now in fifth generation with more than 90 million EPB calipers on world roadways
• The response time of this system is very short.
• The operation is highly reliable.
• Improves control of the vehicle while starting from standstill condition on a slope.

Disadvantages:

1. This system is costly.
2. It needs a skilled professional for troubleshooting.