The Different Components of a Cars Suspension, and Aftermarket Products

Posted on 19/05/2012 by adam

When people think performance and aftermarket modification they normally think of horsepower, torque, acceleration and top speed. But all of the power generated by an engine is useless if the driver can’t control the car. That’s why vehicle engineers turned their attention to the suspension system, almost as soon as they had mastered the internal combustion engine.

The purpose of a car’s suspension is to maximize the friction between the tyres and the road surface, to provide steering stability with good handling and to ensure the comfort of the passengers. Suspension has evolved massively over the years culminating in huge ranges and types for the discerning consumer to choose from.

Most vehicle engineers consider the dynamics of a moving car from two perspectives:

Ride – a car’s ability to ride smoothly over a bumpy road

Handling – a car’s ability to accelerate, brake and corner

There are three fundamental components of any suspension: springs, shock absorbers or dampers and anti-roll bars.

Springs – There are various types, sizes and rates of suspension springs. The size and strength of a spring can help alter the ride height of the car. The spring rate will adjust the level of firmness of the ride and the rigidity of the cars handling. Vehicles with worn out or damaged springs ride lower to the ground which reduces the overall amount of compression available to the suspension and increases the amount of body lean. Performance vehicles can sometimes have spring rate requirements other than vehicle weight and load.

The shock absorber damper is a device that controls unwanted spring motion through a process known as dampening. Shock absorbers slow down and reduce the magnitude of vibratory motions by turning the kinetic energy of suspension movement into heat energy that can be dissipated through hydraulic fluid. To understand how this works, it’s best to look inside a shock absorber to see its structure and function.

A­nother common dampening structure is the strut or coilover – basically a shock absorber mounted inside a coil spring. Struts/Coilovers perform two jobs: They provide a dampening function like shock absorbers, and they provide structural support for the vehicle suspension. That means struts deliver a bit more than shock absorbers, which don’t support vehicle weight – they only control the speed at which weight is transferred in a car, not the weight itself.

Because shocks and struts have so much to do with the handling of a car, they can be considered critical safety features. Worn shocks and struts can allow excessive vehicle-weight transfer from side to side and front to back. This reduces the tyre’s ability to grip the road, as well as handling and braking performance.

Anti-roll Bars

Anti-roll bars (also known as anti-sway bars) are used along with shock absorbers or struts to give a moving automobile additional stability. An anti-roll bar is a metal rod that spans the entire axle and effectively joins each side of the suspension together.

When the suspension at one wheel moves up and down, the anti-roll bar transfers movement to the other wheel. This creates a more level ride and reduces vehicle ‘roll’. For this reason, almost all cars today are fitted with anti-roll bars as standard equipment, although if they’re not, kits make it easy to install the bars aftermarket.

Apex

The geometric apex or clipping point is an often used term in motorsport, though other racing sports such as skiing and cycling have similar concepts of an ideal line. The apex is often but not always, the geometric center of the turn. Hitting the apex allows the vehicle to take the straightest line and maintain the highest speed through that specific corner. It is also the tightest part of a corner. Apex is also the brand name of a famous suspension and suspension part manufacturer. They began in the early 80′s by supplying springs for Group A Touring cars. Since then Apex have manufactured high quality products under the stringent DIN ISO 9001:2008 quality control system offering 5-year, unlimited mileage warranties.

Apex Springs

An APEX Sport Spring kit replaces the standard springs on your car. They usually lower the car by 30-40 mm. Not only will this improve your cars’ handling, response and grip, but will add that extra touch of style that will make your car look different from the rest of the crowd. The ride will be a little firmer, but never too harsh providing a great balance for road and race enthusiasts alike.

Dampers/Shock Absorbers

APEX uprated high performance gas front shock absorbers increase stability, improve handling and ride quality. They are a great upgrade on their own, but are at their best when combined with a set of APEX Sport Lowering Springs. This will dramatically improve the dynamic driving qualities including handling of your car whilst retaining driving comfort. Apex shock absorbers are ideal for fast road use, have superb handling qualities and will significantly reducing body roll.

The Gas Shock Absorbers in Apex kits are shortened to ensure precise control of the sport springs. Ride height is lowered 25-60mm depending on application.

Apex RDX Coilovers

Apex RDX Coilovers are the best kit APEX has ever produced. The APEX RDX Coilover offers complete height adjustment. The drops range from 30-80mm which may vary on application. The damping is fixed and uprated by 30%.

The kit benefits from full on car height adjustment, once fitted simply jack the car up, remove the wheel and rotate the spring seat to adjust the height. These kits are ideal for fast road or race track days.

The piston rods in these RDX Coilovers are short allowing you to run the car low with complete safety. Built in bump stops reduce wheel and tyre contact. Anodised locking rings ensure no corrosion and reduce the chances of the adjuster collars seizing.

Apex RDX Coilover Kit Features

· A quality height adjustable suspension kit

· Height adjustable from 30mm-80mm

· 30% uprated damping

· Built in bump stops and helper springs

· Short piston rods ensure full suspension travel

· Ideal for fast road or track use

· Gives the car a fully adjustable ride height

· Superb handling and ride

· Reduces body roll

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Women’s Bodybuilding: Controversial Fad or Life Changing Sport

Posted on 18/05/2012 by adam

One of the biggest changes in the world of bodybuilding has been the growing proportion of women in the sport. Increasingly more and more women are choosing bodybuilding as a method to improve their health, fitness and strength, which is hardly surprising given how successful this sport can be in achieving these goals.

One of the pioneers of female bodybuilding was Lisa Lyon, who developed many of the dance-like muscle poses that are still popular today. She also sought out a variety of photographers that took the photos that introduced the sculpted female body to the world. The stunning Rachel McLish, who won the very first female Ms. Olympia title then set the standards that many female bodybuilders still try to achieve today. She managed to combine her sexy looks with muscularity and body tone and in doing so created a benchmark that many people still aspire to.

The world of women’s bodybuilding however had to travel a relatively rocky road to reach the point of relative acceptance that it enjoys today. Women had never built their muscles for aesthetic purposes before, although they have always used other forms of exercise to keep fit and attractive. In any case, bodybuilding for women was not widely approved of at first and was criticized by both men and women. These days however, women’s bodybuilding, while not nearly as popular as men’s bodybuilding is a much more accepted form of fitness. Whether this is simply the sport itself maturing, changing personal beliefs or the growing equality between the sexes, female bodybuilding is enjoying a much higher profile these days.

The most of obvious benefit of female bodybuilding is its effect on health and fitness. As has been written before, bodybuilding provides a very effective way to manage weight, health and body shape that many other general exercises and sports simply can’t offer. This statement holds true whether the participant is male or female. Many women suffer from strength deficits, body weight issues and a loss of physical capacity, especially after childbirth, and bodybuilding is a great way to manage these issues. Unfortunately many women concentrate exclusively on aerobic exercise and never perform any form of resistance training as they have been told they will look like a man if they lift weights, which is of course a myth.

It is very common for women to try a variety of dieting programs, some of which are extremely unhealthy and misleading. These kinds of diets can cause a loss of general health, bone mass, and lean muscle mass. Bodybuilding can help avoid all of these issues as participants learn to integrate exercise and nutrition using well-developed and well-understood scientific principles into their daily lives and routines, which has obvious health benefits.

Many of these bodybuilding workouts that can be easily found online are as relevant for women as they are for men. Although the goal might be to develop muscle tone as opposed to developing muscle size this is easily accommodated by varying the sets, repetitions, and weights that are used when performing the exercises. Women who want to undertake bodybuilding should therefore learn the common exercises that are performed in the gym the same way as a man would, and incorporate them into a training program that uses higher repetition and lower weights in order to achieve the goal of increased body tone.

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Costa Rica – The Best Sport Fishing in the World

Posted on 18/05/2012 by adam

Do you wish to enjoy and have the best fishing experience in your lifetime? Are you looking or searching for an ideal dreamland for fishing? Then, your search ends here. You will get startling and adventurous fishing experience at no other place than Costa Rica. Many biologists, naturalists and savvy travelers visit this place from decades to enjoy as well as explore rain forests, national parks and wonderful beaches. With changing time and generation, this small country has started getting to be known as an one of the best sport fishing destination all over the world. It has gained a fast reputation in the history of fishing destinations.

Now, you might wonder what is there at Costa Rica that sets it apart from other fishing destinations, globally. It is nothing, but a simple fact that other countries in Latin America are its dream for the future and conservation of the natural resources. National parks occupy about twenty percent of the country and it is believed that ten percent of the world’s biodiversity is seen here. There are about thirty two national parks and 750 miles of coastline and so one can easily understand why Mr. C. Columbus must have named it “Rich Coast”.

Pristine rivers running across the untouched green shorelines and mountain rainforests offer an ideal habitat for game fish as well as bait fish. No matter, you i Costa Rica for year round world-class fishing experience or to escape from the cold weathers, it will provide you some of the extravagant and stunning views and fishing experience that you will never ever get in your lifetime.

Its name is associated with about eighty four International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) world records and hence, Costa Rica is instantly becoming the preferred destination for most of the serious sports fishermen. The mineral rich rivers passing through the mountains offers for a constant population of bait fish in this area. This is the major attraction for the bigger game fish. Rocky islands as well as shorelines create for an ideal hideaway of the Wahoo and the rooster fish. The Pacific Ocean is the home for the billfish found in large numbers, here.

You will not believe, but countless adventure shows, sports magazines and also ESPN had visited Costa Rica to view the abundant billfish, world record tarpon and excellent in-shore fishing throughout the year. If we combine the ideal fishing conditions of the country, its natural beauty and elegance and the ever-booming tourism industry here, you will definitely learn that Costa Rica is a Fishermen’s Paradise. On any day and any time of the year, one can catch and eat the bass, one catches at Lake Arenal, battle three pound tuna, fight fifty pounds or more roosterfish or raise ten sailfish, at least.

People all over the world love to travel to this small fishing paradise. It is the jumping off point for the surfers, explorers, campers, and backpackers who wish to travel across the Corcovado National Park to take a close look at Mother Nature and its creations.

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Maserati GranTurismo Sport: Engine, Technology and Safety

Posted on 18/05/2012 by adam

Maserati has recently launched the GranTurismo Sport, its new two door coupe with increased performance and elegant sporty restyling. The new Maserati GranTurismo Sport’s engine is sporty and responds immediately when pushing the accelerator pedal. The engine is in fact flexible enough to modify its responses based on current conditions: well-behaved in urban settings to dynamic and powerful on the open road. If the driver selects the ‘Sport’ button, then the exhaust valves open up, the gear changes and suspensions are calibrated for maximum performance and the engine takes on an aggressive, deep and exciting tone symbolizing Maserati’s competitive heritage and nature.

Driving a Maserati GranTurismo Sport brings you to a whole and different experience. The new Maserati is the result of Maserati engineers tweaking the engine to produce a GranTurismo with an overall balance and driving experience as close to perfection as possible.

The GranTurismo Sport features a six-speed automatic ZF transmission equipped with MC Auto Shift Software. The ZF transmission provides a smoother gear changes without compromising performance and grants an ideal weight distribution of 49% in the front axle and 51% in the rear. The double wishbone suspension on the GranTurismo Sport is controlled by the Sport Skyhook System of the new variable dampers that are constantly adjusting the damping by a new set up. The driving experience becomes even more enjoyable and reactive while improving the comfort levels of all four occupants. The Maserati Stability program (MSP) is alerted when the driver presses the “Sport” button, allowing the Maserati GranTurismo Sport to become more precise and reactive but continuing to absorb bumps in the roads and adapt to any surface conditions.

The new Maserati GranTurismo Sport is equipped with Brembo dual-cast technology brakes teamed with six-piston mono-block calipers in the front and four-piston unit in the rear. The drilled and slotted discs are crafted from cast iron and aluminum allowing to decrease the weight by 20%, to provide a more comfortable ride and to reduce overall wear and corrosion. The BluOpaco caliper palette is a new tint for both, Brembo and Maserati.

In developing the GranTurismo Sport, active and passive safety was at the forefront of Maserati engineers, resulting in a vehicle employing the very latest safety technology available in the motoring field. The Maserati Stability Program (MSP) gives the car a complete stability: the system works with the ASR traction control and ABS to stop the wheels locking under braking together with the hydraulic braking assistance (HBA).

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Muscle Cars For Sale – Plenty Of Options In The Market

Posted on 18/05/2012 by adam

Buying muscle cars seems like a mouth watering deal especially because there aren’t a lot of such cars in the market and buying one will make you feel special amongst the rest. However, there are a few things that you need to take good care of while buying such cars from the market. You are spending a lot of money on the car and hence you need to do a lot of research before buying them. Or else, all the money might go wasted. Before buying from the inventory of muscle cars for sale in the market, it is recommended that you get in touch with the seller and ask him a lot of questions about the automobile. All these queries should be asked before you take a look at the car and you should judge the muscle car dealer if he is genuine or not. Ask him a lot of questions and he should answer all of them confidently.

If he can’t answer them well, then you should know that the dealer might be hiding something from you about the car. You should ask the dealer if all the parts in the car are original or not. Also, you should check all the exact specifics of the ar like the transmission, engine options, etc. There shouldn’t be any flaws in the paint or body damage. If this exists, then you should bargain to get the price of the car reduced. The muscle car dealer should tell you his asking price and you should negotiate with him to get it down. Never consider the asking price of the muscle cars trader as the final price. Apart from that, the muscle cars shouldn’t have any safety problems. It should be completely safe for driving on the roads. If this requirement isn’t met with, then you might have accidents in the future. Apart from that, if the authorities go through your vehicle and if they suspect that the safety requirements aren’t complied with, then you might get in legal trouble.

The car should flawlessly on roads. It shouldn’t have any problems. If there are any problems, then you will need to spend extra money for repairs and hence you should talk with the car dealer for bringing the price down. While looking for the Used muscle cars for sale, you should check the history of the automobile. The car should not have any long history of accidents. If the car has gone through a lot of problems, then it is best recommended that you ignore the car and move on to something else. While buying the car, you should set a date and time to inspect the car. This date should be set as per your convenience and not according to the dealer. You shouldn’t appear to eager to buy the car or else the seller might increase the asking price of the car too much.

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