Kalmia Records Blog

In our last publication, we touched a bit on 4-stroke diesel
engine. Today, let’s touch on 2-strokes.

What is a 2-stroke diesel engine?

As the name suggests, these engines work on reciprocating
actions of pistons. One stroke means one linear motion of the
piston in one direction. When the piston moves in the opposite
direction, that is counted as another stroke.

For a 2-stroke engine, the piston has to move up, and then down
to complete one cycle of the engine. In those 2 strokes of the
piston, the crankshaft will have turned 1 revolution.

The 2 strokes of the piston is to complete 4 stages of the
combustion cycle - air intake, compression, combustion and
exhaust. As you might have known, in order for a fire (or
explosion) to occur to power the engine, we need a fuel, a
heat source, and oxygen coming together at the same time.

Remember how the crankshaft and the piston moves in a cylinder?
The reciprocating movement of the piston is converted to rotary
motion by means of a crankshaft. The piston reciprocates between
Top Dead Center and Bottom Dead Center inside the cylinder liner.

One of the most prominent feature of a 2-stroke engine is the
presence of air intake ports on the cylinder liner that will
enable fresh air to be led in for combustion.

These air inlet ports are cut into the cylinder liner somewhere
at the lower end of the latter. In a typical design, the air
inlet port are located about 35 degrees from the Bottom Dead
Center (BDC).

In many designs, the fresh air that is introduced into the
cylinder is also used to drive out the spent exhaust gases
inside it. Many designs make use of scavenging air fans like
electric blowers or turbochargers to slightly pressurize the
intake air before the latter is introduced into the cylinder.

In order to allow the exhaust gases to be expelled from the
cylinder, exhaust ports are often cut into the cylinder just
like the air intake ports. A typical design will have the
exhaust port located about 50 degrees from Bottom Dead Center.

So, let’s describe our engine stages at the combustion space
between the piston top and the cylinder head.

From Bottom Dead Center (BDC), the piston, full of fresh
air, moves up the cylinder liner until it covers up the air
intake port. The air intake process stops.

The piston moves further up. It then covers up the exhaust
port on the cylinder liner. The exhaust process stops.

The piston moves further up. The air inside the combustion
space is compressed and becomes hot. The piston has nearly
reached Top Dead Center at this point.

Highly atomized fuel is then injected into the combustion
space. The fuel burns rapidly causing an explosion inside
the combustion space. The explosion causes a tremendous
rise in pressure and the piston is pushed down towards BDC.

As the piston moves down, the exhaust ports uncover about
50 degrees from BDC. Exhaust gases are thus led out from the
cylinder. The pressure inside the cylinder drops immediately.

The piston moves further down. At 35 degrees from BDC, it
uncovers the air intake port. Fresh air is then led into the
cylinder.

The piston then reaches BDC. Because of the momentum
created from the force of the explosion, the piston reverses
in direction and moves upwards towards Top Dead Center (TDC).

The process then repeats itself.

In some designs, the exhaust gases are removed through an
exhaust valve, located at the cylinder head and very similar
to the 4-stroke engines. This type of scavenging is called
uniflow scavenging. The timing of the valve opening and
closing will be controlled by a camshaft, push rods, rocker
arms or other similar devices.

Well folks, why do we want to squeeze all the strokes into
2 cycles? That could be discussed further…

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One of the first questions that comes to mind when thinking of leasing a car is: “What will my monthly lease payment amount be?” or “How much can I save by leasing when compared to buying?”

Getting the answers can be as simple as using an online lease calculator such as the Lease Calculator from LeaseGuide.com, which calculates payments, finance charges, taxes, and total lease costs by walking you through a number of easy steps in which you answer questions and input information about your lease.

Lease payment calculators use a standard leasing industry payment formula to determine monthly payment amount. Additional calculations are performed to determine other costs.

Even though you may not know some of the factors you need to plug into the calculator, you can guess or make some assumptions. Then you can go back and change some of the factors to see how it affects the results. In this way, you can play with the calculator to get the answers you want.

If you have all the figures about a specific lease deal from your dealer lease price (cap cost), down payment (cap cost reduction), lease-end value (residual), length of lease (term), and finance rate (money factor) you can check the honesty of your dealer’s payment calculations by using an online lease calculator. A dealer’s figures should exactly match yours. If not, then the dealer is using numbers that he has not accurately disclosed to you. If you both are using the same numbers as input to your calculations, the results will be precisely the same to the penny.

If you want to compare the cost of leasing to the cost of buying, use a Lease vs. Buy Calculator. Based on the input figures that you provide, you can easily see the difference between buying and leasing.

Lease payments are always smaller than loan payments for the same vehicle. However, this does not necessarily mean leasing is right for you, nor does it mean that a specific lease is a good deal. To understand this better, see the Lease Guide for more details.

Al Hearn is owner and operator of LeaseGuide.com, a popular web site for automotive consumers interested in leasing. It has served thousands of visitors since 1995.

You’ve heard it a hundred times: That shiny new car your buddy
just bought? It doesn’t really cost him anything. He writes off
the car as a tax deduction.

Your first thought is usually, “That can’t be right.” Your
second thought is, ‘I got to figure out how to enjoy that
loophole.”

But what does the law say? And what are the rules for writing
off vehicles? It turns out that you can write off the cost of
buying and using a car if you’re self-employed and use your
vehicle in your business. Specifically, you can probably deduct
the business portion of your vehicle expenses on your business
tax return.

But this deduction is trickier than most people realize. Here’s
the first big thing that goofs many people up. You need
substantiation to prove your business use. Ideally, in fact, the
Internal Revenue Service wants you to keep a log of your
business miles, your commuting miles, and your personal miles.

With this information, you can then either deduct an amount
equal to the business miles times a standard per-mile rate of
roughly $.35 or $.40 a mile (depending on the year)… or you
can deduct the percentage of your vehicle expenses equal to the
percentage that your business miles represent.

Note that only your business miles–and not your commuting miles
or personal miles are deductible.

For example, if your business use equals 5,000 miles, personal
use equals 3000, and commuting equals 2000 miles, your total
miles for the year equal 10,000. Business miles as a percentage
of total miles equal 50% because 5,000 divided by 10,000 equals
.5 or 50%.

In this example, you could therefore deduct 50% of your fuel,
50% of your insurance, 50% of your maintenance and repairs, 50%
of the car loan interest, 50% of the depreciation, and so on, as
a business deduction. This means you can’t ever deduct all the
costs of owning and running vehicle–only the business use of a
vehicle.

If you don’t have exact records about your business use, you can
sometimes use good sampling. For example, if you keep a good
appointment calendar of your business activities, one popular
tax reference suggests that you can look at the total business,
personal and commuting miles driven during one week each month.
Then, you can average this data to get good weekly estimates of
your business, personal, and commuting miles. Finally, you can
multiple these weekly estimates by 52 (the number of weeks in a
year) to get reasonable estimates of your business, personal and
commuting miles.

But before you go out and buy a new luxury auto, you need to
know there’s another complication. Congress limits in most cases
the amount of depreciation or lease rental that you can include
in your vehicle expense calculations. The rules are a bit
tricky, but essentially, for purposes of vehicle depreciation
and lease payments, you only get to look at the first $17,000
(roughly) of vehicle cost. In other words, if you buy a $60,000
vehicle and your friend buys a $15,000 vehicle, you may both
have the same business depreciation expense–even though your
vehicle costs four times what your friend’s does.

One other related point: You may have heard about the sport
utility vehicle loophole. This SUV loophole really does exist.
Specifically, the luxury auto limits mentioned above don’t apply
to sport utility vehicles that weigh more than 6,000 lbs. Note
that Congress partially closed that loophole in 2004, however,
by saying that a special, super-accelerated form of depreciation
called Sec. 179 depreciation can’t be used to write off all of
the cost of an expensive SUV in the year the vehicle is
purchased.

Many cars now come with the option to have super protective coatings applied, often called clear coats and “bras”. These are a great help in keeping such things as acidic bird droppings and rock chips from damaging your car’s exterior paint job. But when someone spills Super Glue on it, that’s a much stickier situation.

We wish this was good news and bad news, but there is no good news to Super Glue and painted surfaces. The basic ingredient in most removers for Super Glue and Crazy Glue, is acetone. This chemical is also found in nail polish, which is highly popular for removing little drips and drabs around the home, as long as they are on skin, wood, glass, and surfaces that aren’t going to be stained or leached of their color.

Acetone can even be used on a finished table or cupboard top, but chances are, it will damage the shine/finish, and should always be tested on a hidden area, first.

There really is no safe way to get this kind of bonding material off the painted metal surface of a car, without removing an area of paint. The one method you can try, which is by no means guaranteed, is also used on skin and that’s a combination of heavy hand cream, with some powdered or liquid soap. First, soak the spill with warm water by laying a dripping rag on it. Then take a cloth, dip it in your mixture, and apply it to the glue and rub. The combination of grease and sliding of the petroleum ingredients in soap, can ease glue off skin, but on a car, given that the glue is bonded to the paint and not a permanent surface, you may be able to shift the glue, but it will take the paint off with it.

Visit http://www.LearnHowToRemove.com for a growing library of tips to remove those annoying messes in your life.

Out in the market today are many types of wheel covers specifically made for your beloved Honda. Honda wheel covers actually do more for your Honda than just cover your wheels.

Wheel covers are commonly mixed up with hubcaps. However, looking more closely at these two, wheel covers cover the entire wheel of your vehicle, while, on the other hand, hubcaps, cover only the hub, or the center of your wheel. These wheel covers are made from tough material - they are created and manufactured using plastic or metal retainers, so as to facilitate better and easier fastening to your Honda wheels. They are clipped on your vehicle’s wheel to accentuate your wheels and, at the same time, protect it from mud, grime, snow, dirt, water, and other elements that could prove to be damaging or corrosive to your wheels.

Honda wheel covers are not necessarily considered a requirement for your car, however, they can actually improve your wheels’ appearance greatly. You see, wheel covers have been created to cover your entire wheel and conceal from view the ugly bolts that attach your wheel to its axle. And along that line, it adds distinction and uniqueness to your Honda wheels to your Honda’s overall appearance.

In choosing your wheel covers, you may opt for those that have been especially manufactured and created to be durable, lightweight, able to withstand really extreme and excessive temperatures, and also created to be resistant to corrosion. Wheel covers that had been made just merely for decorative purposes may actually damage easily and damage your wheels as well.

Information above provided by Joe Thompson, contributing author for Auto Parts Wholesale, your one-stop-shop for premium quality auto parts at discount prices.

First Step: Decide the type of limousine (Standard Stretch, Super Stretch, SUV
Hummer, Escalade, Rolls Royce) desired color, the number of passenger. How many
hours you would like to rent the limousine.

Questions to ask when calling to inquire about renting a limousine

While most people assume that all companies are equal, well they are not. Most
consumers concern themselves with the hourly rate first and this is a typical
mistake, since most of the times you get what you pay for!

When you hear a price that is much lower than other companies be for warned it
will probably mean the year, make and features of the limousine offered are
older and over used. So the word to the wise: Pay the extra $5-15 dollars more
per hour. For a first class vehicle and the professional service you can expect
to get from a well trained driver. Besides when you consider that a typical 3
hour minimum you are only talking $75.00 dollars on the high end for a new six
passenger limousine versus one that has gone beyond the 100,000 mile mark and
the car looks like it too.

Multiple Vehicle Discounts

If renting more than one vehicle. Example: a limousine, a bus, be sure to ask
about discounts that may apply to the second vehicle. Many companies offer
special discounted rates when multiple vehicles are used.

Murphy’s Laws Back Up

Will the limousine company provide you with a live person to contact during your
scheduled event should you require any assistance. If not, be certain to obtain
a contact phone number of an operating manager in charge.

Additional Questions To Consider

How long has the limousine company been in business?

Do they have testimonials from past clients?

How big is their limousine fleet?

What types and colors of limousine are available on your specified date?

Do the vehicle have air conditioning and heat controlled from the passenger
area?

What are the cost?

Are there minimum hour requirements?

Is the gratuity/tip included in the final price?

How much are tolls if applicable?

Are the vehicles fully stocked and are the drinks complimentary?

Does your company charge for driving time to and form the limousine rental
company or does the time start when the driver arrives at your pick up
location?

How are the drivers dressed?

Some limousine companies have a uniform standard while others do not. The
appearance of the driver is as important as the appearance of the vehicle and
you will want to have your driver appearance professional and clean.

If renting for a wedding and want to display a “Just Married” sign can it be
attached to the vehicle? If so, does the company provide a standard sign or
allow you to attach your own. If so is their and extra cleaning or service
charge.

Tishawn Merritt
CEO Of Tristarlimo.com
212 427-7827
tishawn@tristarlimo.com
http://www.tristarlimo.com

The drive train serves two functions: it transmits power from
the engine to the drive wheels, and it varies the amount of
torque. “Power” is the rate or speed at which work is performed.
“Torque” is turning or twisting force. Multiple ratio gearboxes
are necessary because the engine delivers its maximum power at
certain speeds, or RPM (Rotations Per Minute). In order to use
the same engine RPM’s at different road speeds, it is necessary
to change the “Gear Ratio” between the engine and the drive
wheels. Just like a bicycle, the car has to switch gears in
order to move at a wide range of speeds. Unlike your bicycle,
the car’s drivetrain also has to allow you to back up. (Well,
you could push it backwards if you ate your Wheaties) There are
actually two sets of gears in the drive train; the transmission
and the differential. The transmission allows the gear ratio to
be adjusted, and the differential lets the drive wheels turn at
different speeds. Manual transmissions usually have four or five
speeds, and often have “overdrive”, which means that the output
shaft can turn faster than the input shaft for fuel economy on
the highway. Some use an electric clutch and a switch that
controls whether the overdrive is engaged or not. An interesting
development on a few cars is the “clutchless” manual
transmission, which uses a stick shift and an automatic electric
clutch. Speed and position sensors, mini computers, and throttle
controls keep the engine from over-revving when the driver
shifts gears. As with many automotive “inventions”, this is an
old idea, which may now reach feasibility due to the computer
revolution. Automatic transmissions commonly use three forward
gears to blend speed and torque. In the case of a three-speed
transmission, first gear delivers maximum torque and minimum
speed for starting. Second gear offers medium torque and speed
for acceleration and hill climbing. Third gear allows maximum
speed with minimum torque for highway travel. A reverse gear
permits backward movement. A transmission is a speed and
power-changing device installed at some point between the engine
and driving wheels of a vehicle. It provides a means for
changing the ratio between engine RPM (Revolutions Per Minute)
and driving wheel RPM to best meet each particular driving
situation. Some types of drive train layouts use a “Transaxle”,
which is simply a combination of the transmission and the
differential. These are usually found on front wheel drive cars,
but are also used on mid- and rear-engine cars. Some exotic cars
have their engine in the front, and a transaxle in the rear of
the car for better weight balance. Torque is derived from power.
The amount of torque obtainable from a source of power is
proportional to the distance from the center of rotation at
which it is applied. It is logical, then, that if we have a
shaft (in this case, the crankshaft) rotating at any given
speed, we can put gears of different sizes on the shaft and
obtain different results. If we put a large gear on the shaft,
we will get more speed and less power at the rim than with a
small gear. If we place another shaft parallel to our driving
shaft and install gears on it in line with those on the driving
shaft, we can obtain almost any desired combination of speed or
power within the limits of the engine’s ability. That is exactly
what an automobile transmission does by means of gears and other
devices. There are two types of transmissions; manual and
automatic. If you have a manual transmission, you have to shift
the gears yourself, usually with a stick located on your console
and the clutch pedal. If you have an automatic transmission, the
mechanism changes without any help from you. This is
accomplished through a system that works by oil pressure. Each
shift of the gears is controlled by a shift valve; the gears
shift change depending on speed, the road, and load conditions.
Another basic component of all drive trains is some form of a
clutch. it allows the engine to continue rotating while the
gears and wheels are stationary. Automatic transmission cars use
a “torque converter” in lieu of a clutch. The last component in
the drive train is the axle. In a rear wheel drive car the axle
is in the rear. Engine power is transmitted from the
transmission to the axle via the drive shaft. The drive shaft is
basically a metal tube with joints on each end called universal
joints. These joints allow the tube to move in relation to the
suspension and keep power flowing to the rear. In front wheel
drive cars the axle is integrated into the transmission thus the
term transaxle. From the back of the engine to where the rubber
meets the road, the drive train encompasses one of the most
complicated systems of your car. Some people say looking at a
transmission “makes their brain hurt”. The above information is
directly from the Auto Insight program, which you can buy online
from AutoEducation.com. Common Problems: Manual transmissions
suffer from wear mainly in the synchronizers. The synchronizers
make shifting easier and help to prevent gear clash. Over time
the synchronizers, which are made of brass, can wear out causing
hard shifting and grinding. Automatic transmissions can also
wear out, causing slipping and uneven shifting patterns.
Universal joints can wear and cause vibrations while driving.
Many newer universal joints are sealed and cannot be lubricated,
leaving replacement as the only option. Preventive Maintenance:
Change the fluid in your transmission at recommended intervals.
Your owners manual will give you a time schedule in miles and or
months. If you tow a boat or trailer be prepared to change the
fluid even sooner. Most owners manuals will give you recommend
intervals for severe use like towing or off-road use. Do not
“ride” the clutch if you have a manual transmission. Learn to
release the clutch in a smooth motion without revving the engine
too much. Revving the engine too much while pulling out can
cause premature wear on the clutch. If you do tow a boat or
trailer, consider getting a transmission cooler for your
automatic transmission. Temperatures can approach the boiling
point in severe conditions. Most newer trucks come equipped with
transmission coolers if sold with a towing package. Make sure
your universal joint is lubricated at oil changes if they are
the type, which can be lubricated. When replacing universal
joints try to find replacements with lubrication fittings so you
can lubricate in the future. If you have a front wheel drive
car, avoid applying the gas to the floor while the wheels are
turned at full lock. This puts stress on the universals and can
cause premature failure. This can happen when stuck in the snow
and trying to get out. What to discuss with your mechanic: If
you are noticing a vibration in the car while driving, make sure
to describe when it happens. While accelerating? braking?
maintaining speed? when turning?