Electric Car Conversions – Batteries

The heart of any electric car conversion is the batteries. You will need special batteries, called deep cycle batteries in order to make your electric car work properly.

These batteries allow you to charge quickly and discharge further than regular car batteries normally found in your vehicle now.

Pic -batteries pic?

 They are called deep cycle because normal batteries would be wrecked by the frequent draining of the batteries used in the system. Think of it as pouring water out of a glass. A regular battery you can only pour about 10% of the water out, but a deep cycle battery you can regularly discharge down 30% or so.

You don’t want to go lower than 30% down though. Topping up a battery that is to the 70% level is as low as you go.

Where do you find deep cycle batteries? We have been living off the grid for over 10 years now and have been living with battery systems to run our home for that long.

The same batteries used with solar panels and wind generators are easily fitted to electric car conversions. They are easy to find, but can get expensive if you don’t know where to look. The plans show some great sources of free batteries too. That is a great savings since the batteries for  an electric car can be one of the greatest expenses.

 Watch this interesting video that shows some high school students building their own electric car, including a good shot at the batteries.

Video??

 http://www.youtube.com/v/4JoUJ7yiTIE&hl=en&fs=1
 

A bunch of high school students can do it, so can you.

Finding batteries is not that difficult either, isn’t it time you got started.

To learn more  visit this site and click on the link CONVERT2EV

What Happens When Auto Glass Repair Fails

It’s really not something that we think about too often. What happens when the auto glass repair job we had done isn’t done properly? For a car owner, we simply yank someone out of the phone book or call someone with a catchy jingle that we heard once and tell them our needs and hand over our keys. What happens next is not known to us and we tend to keep it that way.
In our own self imposed ignorance, we simply expect that the auto glass repair company will do the job and we get our car back later that day. Most of us are more concerned with getting a replacement inspection sticker to avoid getting pulled over than we are about the work that was done.
Upon basic inspection, it is difficult to discern whether the window repair was done correctly or not. It looks like it fits, it looks clean and new, and so off we go back into our world with our newest inconvenience taken care of for the day. Auto glass repair is not that simple, and there have been numerous places in Dallas, the surrounding areas, and other parts of the country who have been infiltrated with under par window replacement issues. The consequences can range from annoying to life threatening, and we the public are none the wiser.
The Dallas area has a high incidence of such insufficient window replacement simply due to the large number of glass companies in the area. Just like a town with too many hot dog stands, the bad hot dogs are bound to rear their ugly heads more often simply because there are more of them. Dallas hot dog stands are doing fine, the glass companies are now finding exactly where they stand on the quality scale.
Glass companies that return vehicles without a basic standard of safety are risking more than a leaky windshield. Windshields that leak are annoying and they are also a precursor to a large-scale problem waiting to occur under just the right circumstances. Window repair is not a simple project. Companies that lack the resources to properly train their employees, pay employees just enough to retain the good ones.
They lack the knowledge themselves in order to pass it onto their employees. Which risks their client’s lives with every slap dash window repair job that gets through. The general public of course, is impatient, requesting their vehicle is cared for now and without delay.
Glass companies also want to make their customers happy and offer them a speedy service that may or may not cave in on them. Glass companies must be willing to stand up and explain to the general public that a good window repair job is necessary and that they need to be patient. If the job is done correctly, customers need to wait about an additional 30 minutes on average.
Auto glass repair jobs that fail to do a good job create the most dangerous of situations. Of course, they don’t fail while your car is happily parked in the lot on a clear sunny day with no one behind the wheel. Rather, they fail in high winds on stormy nights, causing cuts and vision impairment on highways and overpasses.
They fail in the car wash, allowing burning hot water and wax to infiltrate the car and cause severe damage to skin, eyes, and of course the interior of the car. They fail while people are driving, causing nasty accidents and damages to both vehicles and humans along the way. It is rare that glass companies can even be held accountable after the fact, as the accidents that follow are more than enough to tear the remains of the windshield apart, leaving behind a tattered vehicle and the people that were riding in it.
Auto glass repair businesses are not a place for slap dash handy work and rush jobs, but window replacement takes a real skill and education in attaining that real skill. Of course, we want our cars back as soon as possible and we want to just go about our day without having to be bothered with the annoyance of a broken windshield. Unfortunately, it is up to the glass companies in Dallas and elsewhere to determine for us that they know what is best when it comes to the safety of our windshield. We ask them to fix it, and we hope they realize the great responsibility of window replacement.

How To Fix An Exhaust Hanger

Exhaust hangars are rubber straps that support your muffler and hold it close to the frame of the car. If you’re hearing a noise or seeing a spark from under your car, there is a good chance that you have a broken exhaust hanger. The first thing you need to do is look underneath your car and locate the muffler; you should see an exhaust hanger close by. If this hanger is broken, you will be able to tell right away.

Once you have found the broken hanger, remove it from the frame and the muffler. If it is a two piece, make sure you remove all of the pieces. You are ready to install the new hanger. Begin by attaching the hangar to the top mount on the car. Once that is done, let it hang there while you get ready for the next step.

If you have someone helping you, have them hold the muffler while you connect it to the hanger you just installed. If you don’t have a helper, put the muffler mount inside the mount while you hold the muffler up. Find a crescent wrench and use the end with the hole in it. Put the handle end through the hanger and put the hole end of the wrench to hang it on the mount. Another way to hold the muffler is to use a wire and attach it to a sturdy or stationary part of the car.

Exhaust hangers are fairly easy fix as long as you can remove the whole hanger yourself. If the car is an older model, you may find rust and corrosion. This can make it very difficult to remove the old hangar. Try using heat from a torch to cut it off. Be very careful of grease and of course, the gas tank. If are still having trouble, give your local muffler shop a call. If they are reputable and not too busy, they can fix it fairly quickly and for a reasonable price.

Bonus Concept: Supercharge Your Car Dealer Marketing And Branding Efforts By Creating A Super Stellar Selling Environment

If you actually want to get the largest bang for your dollar, there’s an extra step to take once the car dealer marketing and branding work is finished-that is creating an surroundings where individuals really WANT to buy a car.
Several folks blame the financial system for his or her lack of sales… however in 90% of cases, it’s not the economy-it’s the EXPERIENCE you offer them.
Let’s be honest… many used car lots have little space to work with and can be pretty ugly. Will this equate to fewer customers and less gross? At some level yes!
However by setting yourself apart from your competitors through your image (on paper and in person) you can effectively reduce the event of commodity shopping.
One method to remove yourself from the commodity car game is to make your dealership astounding. You go to your dealership every day so you are taking the environment for granted. Think about the first time you visit a new place – a brand new restaurant, a friend’s home or an amusement park. Your eyes are opened wider and your brain is processing new information. You notice everything. It’s just what we do. Several of your prospective clientele are seeing your dealership for the very first time and their eyes are wide open and taking it all in.
A great experiment to make sure your customers are “taking in” the correct scenery is to physically walk through the front door of your dealership or your service department as if you were a patron.   What are the first sights, smells and impressions you experience?  How do they make you feel as a “paying customer”.  If you don’t like what you see, fix them accordingly.
First impressions are made in fractions of a second. What will your dealerships say in a fraction of a second?
Which vehicles are on the front line? Do you have banners and signs that match your image and marketing? Is the sale you promoted in the paper truly going down? Is the personal experience as professional as the company logo?
Yet one among the easiest and most cost-effective ways to boost the customer’s experience is to CLEAN THE PLACE UP.  This may seem obvious, but is so often overlooked. People like clean environments unless they live in a cave. We know some folks love rubbish but they don’t like to go out to places and be in dirty surroundings.
If your store is screaming for some TLC, appoint a cleaning service and get the place tidied up. Don’t overlook the carpets, windows and concrete too. If the carpets can’t be efficiently cleaned to look new, get rid of them and begin fresh.
A nice coat of paint can do a lot to brighten up the place too. A fresh coat on both the inside and the outside of your building every few years (and touch ups when required) will do a lot more than you’d assume on the mental state of your clients. However don’t take our word for it…next time you see Sherwin ask him.
Your objective as time goes on should be to attempt for a congruency, or a sameness, between your advertising, your image, and the reality of shopping at your store.
As you accomplish a consistent level of professionalism in your marketing, your image, and also the experience you provide, your brand will begin to rise in value, making your job of selling and closing easier each year….all for a fraction of the cost of working with overpaid design or marketing professionals!