Monday, May 19, 2014

Brake-O-Rama Short Course on Wheel Alignment

In its most basic form, a wheel alignment consists of adjusting the angles of the wheels so that they are perpendicular to the ground and parallel to each other. The purpose of these adjustments is maximum tire life and a vehicle that tracks straight and true when driving along a straight and level road.
This article begins with information that any motorist should know; however, if you are interested in learning more about this topic, click on the underlined words for more detailed explanations of each term. We will cover various levels of detail with the deepest levels containing information that even a wheel alignment technician will find informative.
Wheel Alignment is often confused with Wheel Balancing.  The two really have nothing to do with each other except for the fact that they affect ride and handling.  If a wheel is out of balance, it will cause a vibration at highway speeds that can be felt in the steering wheel and/or the seat.  If the alignment is out, it can cause excessive tire wear and steering or tracking problems.
If you know anything about wheel alignment, you’ve probably heard the terms Camber, Caster and Toe-in.
CAMBER
Camber is the angle of the wheel, measured in degrees, when viewed from the front of the vehicle. If the top of the wheel is leaning out from the center of the car, then the camber is positive ,if it’s leaning in, then the camber is negative. If the camber is out of adjustment, it will cause tire wear on one side of the tire’s tread. If the camber is too far negative, for instance, then the tire will wear on the inside of the tread.
If the camber is different from side to side it can cause a pulling problem. The vehicle will pull to the side with the more positive camber. On many front-wheel-drive vehicles, camber is not adjustable. If the camber is out on these cars, it indicates that something is worn or bent, possibly from an accident and must be repaired or replaced.
CASTER
When you turn the steering wheel, the front wheels respond by turning on a pivot attached to the suspension system.
Caster is the angle of this steering pivot, measured in degrees, when viewed from the side of the vehicle. If the top of the pivot is leaning toward the rear of the car, then the caster is positive, if it is leaning toward the front, it is negative.
If the caster is out of adjustment, it can cause problems in straight line tracking. If the caster is different from side to side, the vehicle will pull to the side with the less positive caster. If the caster is equal but too negative, the steering will be light and the vehicle will wander and be difficult to keep in a straight line. If the caster is equal but too positive, the steering will be heavy and the steering wheel may kick when you hit a bump. Caster has little affect on tire wear.
The best way to visualize caster is to picture a shopping cart caster. The pivot of this type of caster, while not at an angle, intersects the ground ahead of the wheel contact patch. When the wheel is behind the pivot at the point where it contacts the ground, it is in positive caster. Picture yourself trying to push the cart and keep the wheel ahead of the pivot. The wheel will continually try to turn from straight ahead. That is what happens when a car has the caster set too far negative. Like camber, on many front-wheel-drive vehicles, caster is not adjustable. If the caster is out on these cars, it indicates that something is worn or bent, possibly from an accident, and must be repaired or replaced.
TOE-IN
The toe measurement is the difference in the distance between the front of the tires and the back of the tires. It is measured in fractions of an inch in the US and is usually set close to zero which means that the wheels are parallel with each other. Toe-in means that the fronts of the tires are closer to each other than the rears. Toe-out is just the opposite. An incorrect toe-in will cause rapid tire wear to both tires equally. This type of tire wear is called a saw-tooth wear pattern as shown in this illustration. 
If the sharp edges of the tread sections are pointing to the center of the car, then there is too much toe-in. If they are pointed to the outside of the car then there is too much toe-out. Toe is always adjustable on the front wheels and on some cars, is also adjustable for the rear wheels.  

via http://brakeorama.info/brake-o-rama-short-course-on-wheel-alignment/
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Tuesday, January 14, 2014

SightSeeingRides.com and the Zalman Silber Empire

No New York sight-seeing would be complete without the ultimate tour: The Skyride at the Empire State Building. The brainchild of serial entrepreneur Zalman Silber, it’s so obvious you wonder why you hadn’t thought of it yourself! What it is, is a virtual tour of the city narrated by actor Kevin Bacon in surround-sound as guests lay back in ergonomically designed seats on a special mobile platform featuring kinetic feedback synchronized with the high-definition video. More than thirty locations throughout the Big Apple are explored through aerial fly-bys, from de rigueur visits to the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge to slightly lesser-known sights that help out-of-towners discover the New York of everyday residents. The whole half-hour ride also features two opening programs that outline the history of the Empire State Building itself in addition to surveying all the other things there are to do in the city.

And speaking of the Empire State Building, the Skyride offers special combination tickets that provide holders with special expedited access to the top floor, bypassing many of the lines thanks to the Fast Track Program. Here’s a tip, though: You should go through the Skyride first before proceeding to the observatory deck of the Empire State Building. While it is possible to go to the top first, you won’t be able to get the benefit of the Fast Track Program because you will have to start your journey from the ground floor, instead of from the Skyride!

So what’s the take-away? Well, it’s very similar to other theme park rides of its kind, but it is also a very New York kind of ride, too, an introduction to New York in itself even outside of its programming due to the ethnic diversity of its staff as well as taking place in one of the city’s most iconic landmarks. This popular attraction is available every single day of the year, with slightly curtailed hours

during Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Open for business from eight in the morning until ten at night, the New York Skyride is a multimedia experience suitable for all audiences, including young children. That does not include, however, babies and toddlers, as everyone needs to be properly seated (no sitting on laps allowed, for obvious safety reasons) and so guests must be a minimum of three feet high. Generally speaking, early in the morning and lunchtime is the best, least busy time to visit, though naturally this rule of thumb can vary.