Wednesday 18 April 2018

FORD FREESTYLE TO BE LAUNCHED ON 26TH APRIL 2018:TECHNICAL DETAILS YOU NEED TO KNOW !!

Ford has just pushed back the launch date of the Freestyle hatchback-based crossover from 18th April to 26th April, 2018. The reason for the delay in the launch of the Freestyle may be due to the fact that the facelifted Mahindra XUV500 is launching on the same day, and the first drives of the Tata Nexon AMT are also scheduled for that day.
The Freestyle is the rugged version of the Figo hatchback, which sports black honeycomb grille, faux silver skid plates, beefy front and rear bumpers with black body cladding. The ground clearance of the Freestyle is up by 15 mm as compared to regular Figo Variant.It also gets sporty suspension set up over the regular Figo variant.

ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS:

Ford Freestyle will be powered by a new 1.2-liter Ti-VCT petrol engine tuned to give out 95 bhp of power and 120 Nm of torque. The diesel engine, on the other hand, will be tried-and-tested 1.5-liter unit producing 99 bhp and 215 Nm of peak torque. Both engines will come mated to five-speed manual transmission. Ford claims the Freestyle petrol variants will give 19.0 kmpl fuel efficiency while the diesel variants will come with 24.4 kmpl mileage.

The Freestyle will be offered in four variants – Ambiente, Trend, Titanium, and Titanium+ and six color options – Canyon Ridge, Absolute Black, Moondust Silver, Oxford White, White Gold and Smoke Grey.
Based on the KA platform that it shares with the Figo hatchback and Aspire compact sedan, the Freestyle is a very important vehicle for Ford, and is one of the biggest launches of this year. The Freestyle is supposed to be priced at Rs. 50,000 more than the Figo, variant to variant. This puts the Freestyle’s starting price at the Rs. 6 lakh mark.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRAKE FADE AND BRAKE DRAG EXPLAINED !!

Brake fade-Since during braking of a vehicle a large amount of heat is generated and the brakes drums and discs are forced to absorb this.Hence brake fade describes a condition where heat is generated at a faster rate than they are capable of dissipating into the surrounding.


Since the brake pad is fixed with some adhesive material hence when such large temperatures are achieved during braking this adhesive material starts to vapourise and forms a layer between the disc rotor and brake pad there by decreasing the braking force(as the layer formed is compressible)which in turn reduces the braking efficiency of the vehicle.Also the friction material overheats and the coefficient of friction drops off significantly which also reduces the braking ability of brakes.

Brake drag-It is the rolling drag that brakes incur at elevated temperatures.This problem can be caused by several occurrences from failing of master cylinder to misalignment of brake calipers.Generally brake drag is caused due to incomplete brake shoe release.

Or by broken or weak springs on drum brakes.Or may be due to corroded or jammed caliper piston.Also brake drums that have defective linig material,out of round(elliptical),have clogged lines or hoses or loose anchor pins can also cause brakes to drag.

KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU BLOCK YOUR ENGINE EXHAUST !!


If someone blocked it successfully the engine would stop because it can't expel the exhaust gas on the second stroke of the piston.Damage to the engine would be highly unlikely.The engine is basically a big air pump. Air is drawn into the engine through the air filter and the fueling system by the movement of the pistons. As the piston moves down, valves open on the air filter side allowing air to fill the piston. As the piston move back up after compression and ignition, the valves on the exhaust side open allowing the air to be pumped to the exhaust system. If the exhaust system won’t allow any air out, the engine won’t run as it won’t be able to draw air and fuel into the engine. Air has to have somewhere to go for it to flow.

Tuesday 17 April 2018

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STRESS AND PRESSURE EXPLAINED !!

Stress and pressure are the two important terms used frequently in the science and technology. Though they give same meaning, there are unique characteristics for each term. Pressure is defines as the amount of force applied per unit area.Stress is the amount of force per unit area experienced by a material.Although both have same units of newton/meter^2, they are different only in their context.

Major Differences are:


1. Pressure represents intensity of external forces acting at a point. but stress represent intensity of internal resisting forces develop at a point.


2. Pressure always acts normal to the surface. but but stress may also act either normal or parallel to the surface.


3. Magnitude of pressure at a point in all direction remain same. but magnitude of stress at a point in all the direction are unequal.


4. Pressure can be measured by using measuring device.like pressure gauge. but stress can't be measured directly by using any device.

REASONS FOR ENGINE SEIZE EXPLAINED !!

Engine seize is a condition when engine stops working due to some external or internal cause.In other words,engine seize is when some portion of the engine has lost lubrication and the moving parts have started to abrade each other, either from friction, heat or mechanical failure (example: broken piston ring) to the point that the engine stops turning.Unusual engine noises, low oil pressure, engine overheating, loss of power, misfiring, hard starting and similar driveability and performance complaints can all be indications of problems that need attention.


Causes of Engine Seize :

The major causes of engine failures can be lumped into four basic categories:
  • Overheating (excessive heat)
  • Lubrication (or the lack thereof)
  • Detonation (Spark Knock )(Detonation)
  • Misassembly

1.Overheating:

Overheating can be caused by any number of things. It is often the result of coolant loss or a low coolant level, which is turn may be due to leaks in hoses, the radiator or the engine itself. A weak radiator cap that leaks pressure can allow coolant to escape from the system. Not getting the cooling system completely filled after changing the antifreeze can allow steam pockets to form that make the engine overheat or run hot. An electric cooling fan that fails to come on due to a faulty thermostat, relay, wiring or motor may be an overlooked cause of overheating. So too can a slipping fan clutch. Even a missing fan shroud that reduces the fan's effectiveness may be a contributing factor.

Too much heat in an engine can cause serious problems because heat causes metal to expand. The hotter the engine gets, the tighter clearances become until there are no more clearances left. Overheating can cause valve stems to gall and stick, and pistons to scuff and seize. So if you see either of these conditions when you tear the engine down, it is a pretty good clue that overheating caused the engine to fail.

2.Lubrication:

Every engine needs oil between its moving parts not only to reduce friction but also to carry away heat. Oil is the primary means by which the rod and main bearings are cooled, as well as the pistons. So any reduction in oil flow may cause these parts to run hot, gall and seize.Overhead cam engines are even more vulnerable to oil starvation and low oil pressure problems than pushrod engines because the cam and valvetrain are farther from the pump. When an OHC engine is first started, it takes awhile for oil pressure to reach the cam bearings.
If you suspect engine damage may have been caused by a low oil level, check the dipstick to see how much oil is in the pan. A low oil level may be the result of neglect, oil leakage and/or oil burning.

3.Detonation:

Detonation (Spark Knock ) is a form of abnormal combustion that results from too much heat and pressure in the combustion chamber. The fuel ignites spontaneously causing a sudden rise in cylinder pressure. The result is a sharp hammer-like blow on the piston that produces a metallic knocking or pinging noise. Light detonation is considered normal and should not cause any damage, but heavy or prolonged detonation can crack rings, pound out piston ring grooves, punch holes through the tops of pistons, smash rod bearings and blow head gaskets.

Causes of detonation include excessive compression, elevated engine operating temperature, preignition, overadvanced ignition timing (spark knock), lean fuel mixture, spark plugs that have too hot a heat range for the application, low octane fuel, and even bad driving habits such as lugging the engine excessively with a manual transmission.

4. Misassembly:

You can probably ignore misassembly as a factor in a high mileage engine failure. But in a newly rebuilt engine or a low mileage failure, it should certainly be considered as a possibility. Some common mistakes to look for:
  • Incorrect engine bearing clearances (too tight or too loose). Galling or seizure would tell you bearing clearances were too tight, while fatigue failure would point to excessive clearances.
  • Insufficient Valve-to-Piston Clearance, or Piston-to-Cylinder clearance. Not checking clearances may result in valves hitting pistons (especially with high lift cams or rocker arms) or pistons sticking in cylinders.
  • Misalignment. If the center main bearings show much greater wear than the end bearings, the crankshaft may be bent or the main bores may be misaligned. The underlying condition must be corrected by straightening or replacing the crank and/or align boring the block. The same applies to camshafts and cam bearings (pushrod & OHC).
  • Failure to clean parts properly during engine assembly (not scrubbing out the cylinder bores with soap and water to remove debris and honing residue after they have been bored or honed, for example). Any junk that is left in the engine can scour bearings and wear surfaces.

Monday 16 April 2018

RIDE-BY-WIRE TECHNOLOGY EXPLAINED !!!

The technologies in case of motorcycles is evolving at a faster rate.

ABS,Cornering ABS,Cruise control,adaptive cruise control etc. are the common examples.  Among these Ride by Wire is again a new technology.Let's understand this technology in this article.

Ride by wire refers to the absence of mechanical linkage between accelerator and throttle. Instead, various sensors and actuators (connected by wires) control the fuel-air supply going to the engine. Yamaha pioneered the use of ride by wire technology in 2006 on YZF-R6.
One of the main aspects of using the ride-by-wire technology is that motorcycle manufacturers can stick to strict emission norms, while still being able to make high displacement motorcycles. The bigger the displacement, higher the emission and ride-by-wire technology keeps emission under control as air-fuel mixture can be fine-tuned.

Why it is needed?

In a conventional setup, the butterfly throttle valve is directly controlled by the throttle control on the handlebar. As the rider twists the throttle for hard acceleration, the abrupt, large flow of air in the combustion chamber causes the bike to momentarily stall. This results in poor combustion and harsh ride. The ride-by-wire technology eliminates this problem.Also,aemission standards are getting stricter, it is becoming very difficult for motorcycle manufacturers to employ higher capacity engines while maintaining emission limit.So ride by wire is a solution.


How does Ride-by-wire work?

In earlier bikes having carburetor, accelerator had a direct cable connection with the butterfly valve in the carburetor body. Thus, in such engines, a twist of the accelerator would directly control the supply of fuel-air mixture to the engine. However, this is not the case with ride by wire system as there is no cable connection between accelerator and throttle. 
In this system, when rider twists the accelerator, actuators in the electronic throttle body sense this movement and change the throttle opening accordingly. The movement of throttle alters air supply to the engine.

Throttle position sensor senses this change and sends a signal to ECM. Based on this signal, ECM calculates the exact amount of fuel required and orders fuel injection system to supply it. Hence, engine receives correct amount of air-fuel mixture in every situation.

What are the Advantages of Ride-by-wire?

To sum it up ride-by-wire offers the following advantages
  • Smooth acceleration
  • Improved fuel economy
  • Enables rider aids like Cruise Control, Traction Control
  • Enables ride mode control

Limitations:

  • Skilled person required for troubleshooting.
  • Cost of repair is high.
The Ride By Wire technology is responsible for features like Cruise Control, Traction Control and Variable Power Modes in high end bikes. These features obviously demand premium and hence come with almost all sorts of supersports bikes by different names.

Saturday 14 April 2018

WHY LONG WINDSHIELD IN CRUISER AND RACING BIKES ???

A windshield is typically installed to provide a fair bit of aerodynamic leverage for a rider riding at high speeds. It is primarily present to deflect the wind hitting your chest area, this is because the chest region forms one of the biggest wind barriers whist riding a motorcycle.
There are multiple reasons behind this,lets discuss all of them on detail:

1.Track racers will use it to tuck/crouch forward so as to only expose the top of the helmet to the wind blast. Being most aerodynamic is essential for that edge in performance.
2.While tourers use bigger versions of the windshield to aid in deflecting debris, bugs and wind being blasted on their helmets.
3.Windshield diverts hot and dry air in summer season and will also divert cold and wet turbulent air in winter season.At the same time it protects you from rain, its very difficult to ride in high intensity rain.It act as a shield to high intensity rain hitting your face and chest.

4.After installing windshield,less air is pushing your face and body resulting in less faitigue,back pain,arm strain and more comfortable and fun ride. Less turbulence from wind results in more miles you can ride without fatigue.

5.While riding at night,usually it happens that flying ants attracted towards motorcycle’s beam light and sometimes hit our helmet instead.You can ignore this with windshield installed on your bike.Some strong fiber windshield even protect you from minor head on collision with road side animals or other vehicles.

6.Also windshields not just block the air flow coming onto you but they divert it in other directions causing a streamline effect. This gives the bike a bit more aerodynamic effect provided the windshield is properly fit, shaped and angled; else it could end up into all ways of bad. It is not that serious though.

So remember that having a windshield is always beneficial if you are into touring and high speed riding. But if you are riding in the city, you would not really feel a difference and this is the reason why windshield are provided in motorbikes of either high speed or that is supposed to cover longer distance.