Archive for January, 2009

It’s important to know even just a bit about tires and tire size. After all, you wouldn’t want to get the wrong sizes for your car. How do you find out your tire size and what do the size figures stand for?

Size Importance

It’s a big mistake to try to fit the wrong sized tires on your car. A lot of things can happen. At the very least you can reduce the performance capacity of a car that would ordinarily work fine with the right tires. You therefore get less for what you bargained for. More importantly though, ill-fitting tires can be the cause of accidents and on-road mishaps. These can result in injuries and life threatening situations. You should never underestimate the value of proper sized tires.

How to Find the Size

There are a couple of ways for you to find out your tire size. The most logical place to start is to look into your car manual. You can however also find the size of the tires on the placard on the driver’s door or on the sidewall of the tire itself. If you are online and you do not have your car beside you, you can log on to some websites that will allow you to enter your vehicle type and model to find the size that will fit it.

What the Figures Say

You will see a series of letters and numbers if you look at your tire’s sidewall. These constitute your complete tire size information. It may seem like a foreign language but the letters and numbers stand for important information that you may have to keep in mind.

- The beginning letter tells you what kind of vehicle the tire may be used for. It could be intended for a passenger vehicle, light trucks, heavy cargo trucks and European cars. Some tires can also be designated as temporary spares. Following its intended use will be numbers that stand for the tire’s width in millimeters.

- Aspect ratio, tire construction, tire and wheel diameter, load index and speed rating are the other information that your tire can tell you.

Asking Your Dealer

Even if you have some knowledge about sidewall information you may still not be sure about your tire size. You may also be uncertain that you can interpret the information correctly. If this is the case, you should consider asking your tire dealer.

Pick the right tire dealer, though. You need one who has had considerable tire knowledge. A good tire dealer will look into your type of vehicle, brand, driving conditions and your personal performance preferences before giving you some advice on the right tires to use. This means you need customer oriented employees who are more than just salespeople but tire and car experts as well.

You can never be too sure with your tire size. When in doubt, the safest route is to ask experts for advice and help.

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When buying electric scooter parts, make sure they’re compatible with your scooter. Many customers make a mistake of buying the wrong parts for their scooters.

Popular electric scooter parts are:

- Accessories - Batteries - Chains - Chargers - Controllers - Throttles

Accessories

There are several types of accessories for scooters. A popular choice for a scooter’s bag is a large multi-compartment bag than can be placed onto the rear cargo rack. A good bag would be made of a cloth that is high resistant to abrasions, tears and scuffs. Twin Velcro straps should hold the bag securely onto the seat rail or post.

Baskets are great accessories. Good baskets would be those that fold out of the way when they’re no longer in use. Steel construction is the best with thick enamel finish.

Another accessory you should consider is the safety warning bell. Some bells are made with compasses too. These bells fit all electric scooter and bicycle handlebars. Bells that have a pleasant sound and are audible are advisable.

A self-contained removable power unit, a mounting rack and mounting hardware are some of the items you can find included in a bike motor kit. You can also buy this kit in local motorcycle stores.

A good headlight would have side light markers that provide additional illumination in the right and left side of the scooter. This is for visibility during nighttime.

Your helmet should cover the back of your head to protect it from backward falls. It should have an air-gulping front, top and back holes. There should be a thick shock absorbent lining inside the helmet that can be easily removed and replaced for cleaning purposes. Most importantly, helmets should be certified by the ASTM F1447 helmet standards or any country’s helmet standards.

Even though some states don’t require scooter drivers to wear helmets, it is still recommended to wear a helmet no matter how short the distance is.

One other accessory that you might want to consider are mirrors. Additional mirrors are also available as extra electric scooter parts. You can choose a round shaped mirror that is made of chrome plated steel, glass and rubber construction. There should be a safety reflector at the back of the mirror.

Batteries

Batteries can come in a range of varieties. If you know the voltage, dimensions or amp hours, you will be able to choose what battery should you require.

Chains

The #25 chain is the most commonly used for electric scooters. This chain has a ” spacing between each chain link and is ” wide.

Chain Breakers

Despite what they’re called, chain breakers don’t break the chain. Their function is to remove the pins that hold the chain links together. Master links are used to connect chains together in a continuous solid loop.

Chargers

Intellect Charger - An “Intellect Charger” works with electric scooters and bikes that have a 12 Volt battery or two 6 Volt batteries.

Controllers

Chinese-made electric scooters come with speed controllers already. This part helps control the speed of your scooter from full stop to full forward.

Throttles

The Hall Effect Throttle is the most common type that is used on electric scooters. They work on Chinese-made electric scooters and are sometimes called accelerators, twist bar, speed bar, turn throttle, speed control or derailleur.

Then, there’s also the on/off throttle. This is used for medium size electric scooters.

5k Ohm Throttles are for high-end and older model electric scooters.

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Regardless of whether you live in the country or the city, your car is the only thing that can help you get around. However, we all know that even luxury cars are nothing without a good set of tires. If you want to personally shop for your tires, here are some important pieces of information that you should never neglect.

Size Matters

Difference in tires does not end in their difference in brands. They also come in different sizes. Your car tires should always fit the type of vehicle you are driving. Examples of various types of tires for vehicles are passenger and light truck type tires. If you get a smaller size than is appropriate, you could endanger yourself or end up paying more for tire maintenance.

You would know your tire size by looking for it in your car manual or on the sidewall of your tires. The sidewall print also contains other pieces of important tire information. If you are not sure how to interpret the sidewall letters and numbers, you may want to consult a tire and car website for proper interpretation. Some sites will simply let you enter information on your car’s model and make so you can get your tire size information.

Rims Should Match

Aside from the size, you should also have the appropriate rims for your tires. The rims give your tires the right support. Getting the wrong rim for your car tire may result in too much tension on your tires. This could damage your tires sooner than they should be. If you want to customize your wheels, make sure you consult experts who know which tires fit with which rims.

Many Different Tires

You can choose from different options. You can have tires for the winter and summer. Tires are also categorized according to type of vehicle. Passenger tires have different dimensions from those used in vans and SUVs.

One other category of tires is according to use. Each driver may have very specific driving styles. Some may also drive more often in rough terrain than others or may need their vehicles for frequent transport of heavy load. There are specific tires depending on your intended use and the way you use your tires.

Tires Don’t Last Forever

No matter how you take care of your tire, it will eventually wear out. Part of keeping yourself safe on the road is to know exactly when your tires should be changed. You can follow manual suggestions for when tires should be changed. You should however also manually check your tires. Look for leaks, tears, wear and bumps on the rubber of your tires.

You Shouldn’t Guess

If you aren’t sure about anything about your tires, then you shouldn’t make guesses. You could put your life in danger. If you need any help with tire information or tire changes, you should ask a qualified tire dealer.

Get the right tire. Save on money and effort by asking experts to help you get your tires.

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One effective method of selling a car is understanding how the customer and salesperson relationship works. You have bought plenty of items for yourself over the years and one auto salesperson technique that you can use to sell is by taking a walk in the customer’s shoes. By putting yourself in your customer’s position, you can easily understand how an auto salesperson that pays attention to their customers needs can make a successful sale every time they engage a new client.

With that in mind, ask yourself if you are selling a car to a customer based on their perspective as the buyer and not as the seller. If you answered no to that statement, then you need to think about your current selling strategy and put it into perspective. If you sell a car to someone by being the customer, you will be able to look at everything from their point of view and get a better understanding of their needs and wants.

It only takes four steps to do

Let’s take a look at the four steps most customers - including yourself - take when they go to buy an item.

Step 1: The relationship between the salesperson and the customer must be established.
Unless you and your customer develop some form of relationship, then more than likely the sale is not going to happen, even is you can sweet talk the devil into buying an air conditioner. The more powerful the relationship between you the car salesperson and your customer, the more likely a sale is going to be made. You want to develop trust between you and your customer so that they know you are not trying to sell them a car they don’t want.

Step 2: Decide whether or not there is even a remote possibility of getting a sale.
Help the customer understand how the process works from start to finish and listen to what they are telling you about what they are looking for. If you weren’t listened to by a salesperson, you’d walk away. Listening is key to closing the deal.

Step 3: Determine if this is a good opportunity.
When you put yourself into the customer’s shoes and look at the sales agreement and commitment you need to determine if this is a good buying opportunity. Price is a major factor in whether or not the customer will ultimately buy from you so engaging them in conversation about how they are feeling about the sale is a good way to easing any worried they may have and allow you to show them how this purchase will beneficial to them at that point in time.

Step 4: Give the customer time to decide on the course of action that is right for them. Don’t be pushy. They will come to you with their final answer.

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The Garmin Nuvi 660 Automotive GPS Navigation System has virtually every option you could ask for when you are on the road. The system is equipped with the capacity to store two-gigs of data, an anti-glare display, and wireless technology.

Standard Features

The display on the Garmin Nuvi 660 is easy to read at 4 inches wide, with a backlit and no-glare screen that allows you to use your Nuvi 660 even in the dark or in intense sunlight. You will also get a CD user’s guide to read which will teach you about the amazing uses of the Nuvi 660 before you start using it.

You may charge your unit with either a cigarette lighter adaptor or a standard plug-in adaptor, both of which are included in your package. You can also easily load music, audio books, and photographs to your Nuvi 660 using the included USB jack.

As an added bonus you will also receive a leather safety case for your Garmin Nuvi 660 in the package you buy.

Entering Destinations

The touch screen makes the Nuvi 660 simple to run. You can put in your destination according to city name, zip code, or latitude and longitude. All you need to know is a little bit of basic data about your specific destination, such as the city name and street address in order to draw road instructions on the Garmin Nuvi 660.

You will also be able to keep your home address in the navigator so that all you have to do is put in an endpoint as you start your road trip. Your Nuvi 660 is guaranteed to come equipped with an FM radio and an MP3 system. The system is an excellent way to play music in conjunction with your Nuvi 660, since the instructions will cut into your music, making it easy for you to hear them clearly.

Traffic In Real Time

The AM and PM rushes can effortlessly be by using the Nuvi 660’s current traffic updater. The only thing you must do is to put your Garmin Nuvi 660 Automotive GPS Navigation System in your vehicle and start making use of the real-time traffic updater. The system will offer you the best road directions to use to get past the bulk of city traffic.

The data is updated by looking at the FM radio that is part of your Nuvi 660 package. The roads will be coded with signs that will be green, red, or yellow to show you where the traffic is in your area.

Safety Features

The Garmin Nuvi 660 GPS Navigator System can work with a PIN number so that your unit can be only used by you and your relatives. Taking the Nuvi 660 is pointless since a thief would not be able to use the unit unless one had the PIN number.

The Garmin Nuvi 660 also offers a default function that does not let you enter any destination during driving, but you have the chance to drop this feature later on.

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Judging from the numbers you see on the road, gas motor scooters are becoming one of the most favorite modes of transportation these day. And although you may be doubtful about purchasing a scooter yourself, still, you begin to wonder what makes it so popular.

The Advantages - There are many advantages in buying a scooter. Obviously, you can’t deny the fact that gas prices are currently raising everyday, and fueling your car seems to be draining out your financial resources. This may pose as a problem for those who are trying to save up enough money for the future. So how do we put the plug on that huge hole in your wallet?

Environmental - Since scooter companies are now making an effort to reduce emissions from their scooter, there are now LPG powered scooters in the market that run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) instead of petrol or diesel.

Practicality - If you do the math, you’ll notice that the price you paid for your scooter will be reimbursed earlier in the future compared to buying a car. Parking won’t be a problem too with your scooter. Because of its size, scooters are also allowed to park in bike racks which has a cheaper fare compared to parking your car. You also can get to different places easily and not having to worry about traffic or being late for school or work.

You don’t have to worry about comfort. The new range of scooters now offer comfort features such as a comfortable seat, alarm, start button, radio, windshield, heated hand grip, a clock and an outside temperature gauge.

A Look at the Disadvantages - Nevertheless, there are still some dangers that you face when riding a motor scooter. Since the motor scooter is quiet and smaller compared to motorcycles, other vehicles might not be aware of you while you’re driving in the street.

Safety - The motor scooter doesn’t give you the protection that a car gives you too. Bee stings, bugs, dust, splashes, droppings, and rain may be hard to avoid when riding a scooter. The most that you can do is to wear a safety helmet. By wearing a helmet, you are not only avoiding the things mentioned before, but also are keeping your head safe if in case a motor vehicular accident might happen.

Also, people who will be driving scooters might find their outfits for driving limited. Yes, scooters were designed early in the 1950s for women so that they will be able to wear skirts while driving. However, a recent study shows that skirts or dresses divert women driver’s attention because of the fact that winds are strong when riding, and skirts occasionally billow. Other experienced scooters advise on an ordinary shirt and jeans when driving a scooter. High heels are not encouraged since they expose your ankles to danger.

So far these are only a few of the advantages and disadvantages of a gas motor scooter. Before you go and replace your car with a scooter, you might want to weigh the pros and cons a little bit more. Assess whether or not a scooter fits your lifestyle the best.

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