Volkswagen EOS

concept C

VW Eos is a convertible coupe, which is considered as world’s first four-seater car with five-section CSC roof - a folding top that combines the characteristics of a coupe, sliding, and convertible roof, so three different car concepts are formed in one vehicle. Amazing it is.

Eos is generated from a greek name of the goddess of dawn and wind. From the term itself, we already know what to expect with VW Eos. But let’s assess first on the exterior details.

When closed, the CSC roof curves in an arc between the rear end and windscreen. This gives rise to an outstanding coupe roof that apprears sporty, yet elegant. The roof’s curve elongates while the rear end looks aggressive and muscular. The overall impression is of high quality. When the roof is open, the 4.41 by 1.79 m Eos reveals a body concept that has not been derived from any other model. The CSC roof enables the windscreen frame to be kept short while the rear compact lends the sensuous proportions in the classic convertible style.

The five sections CSC structure offers practical advantages. Among the most significant ones is the pure convertible feeling. Another is the optimum entry and exiting. The shorter windscreen frame makes it easier to get into the Eos when the top is down. The integrated glass/sliding/tilting roof gives benefits as well. The sun does not always shine nor is it always summer. Thus, full opening and closing becomes quick. The system completes the process with a signal tone, so as to confirm if the roof is either opened or closed. The CSC roof also offers benefits on unimpeded suitability throughout the year and minimal driving noise whenever it is closed. This is also less appealing to vandals than a soft top.

From the exterior, let us now focus on the inner details of Eos. Behind its powerful appearance are extraordinarily agile and safe handling. These character will let you enjoy pure driving even if your roof is down.

Some of the details that you will enjoy inside an Eos are the ESP, safety- optimized front headrests, safety gadgets like airbags (including the side head-thorax airbags), air conditioning system (climatic/V6: climatronic), electric window lifters, ambient lifting, gear level knob, handbrake lever, Dynaaudio sound system with ten-channel amplifier, ten loud speakers, and 600W output power, and more. Also featured is a power latching system that closes the boot lid the last few millimeters. Another is the through-loading aperture that is additionally integrated into the rear bench seat.

New look?

Having your vehicle flaunted down the road is not simple. Some styles just don’t bring contentment at all. Oftentimes, it is a matter of taste as you tend to go in with halfhearted effort buying cheap auto parts that will just make your ride look tacky. Uuhm… Don’t get offended (big grin :D).

If you really want to have an attention-grabber look for your ride, you have to give extra money, time, and effort. Styling a car is not that simple as I said. You need to have a theme in mind. Just like decorating your home, you have to carefully choose colours that blend or contrast well.

Your theme is important and you have to think about it a million times so that your car will really stand out down the road. Nonetheless, you have to set limits to avoid exaggeration. Attention to detail and maybe, sense of humor will also go a long way. You can find lots of inspiration from the worl of motrosport. Among the most popular applications that you can have are the spoilers and wheels. You can also experiment on your car’s paint. The wheels can be customized using stylish colors and finish.

One word is important on your goal to customize your vehicle: originality. Off the shelf body kits are quite easy to modify so you can create a totally unique look. There are kits from sports cars that are modified and fitted to typical hot hatches and bring them into a higher level.

Some enthusiasts have their vehicles fabricated using wide body kits, making their cars look more aggressive and powerful. Because of that, more and more people get impressed.

Remember that unleashing the best looks on your ride can be a hard task so you need a lot of patience. If you don’t have “sufficient supply” of patience, make sure that you are ready to stretch your wallet then look for an expert who can do the task perfectly for you.

Vent your vehicle’s dullness

The looks of every vehicle is dominantly affected by the way your fascia is maintained. Apparently, even from a distance, the front fascia exhibits an appeal that will make or unmake your vehicle. For this reason, more and more enthusiasts have their vehicles customized through the front details. Among the most frequently modified parts is the hood, which is usually referred to as the bonnet.

Hood is considered as another door as it gives access whenever you need to work on the engine bay. This door protects the important auto systems from foreign elements. Aside from such detrimental elements, the components under the hood also need to be protected from extreme heat. This is the reason why auto grilles are installed on vehicles.

Grilles however may not be enough to draw in sufficient air; that’s why some car owners have the bonnets modified with vents. From a distance, a vent exposes a different look. It exhibits a different attitude and style. If you want a complete motorsport look for your vehicle, then a vent in your bonnet will make your ride.

Vents can range from subtle slits to a honeycomb of vents that cover up to 50% of the bonnet area. These are very useful in keeping the under bonnet temperatures moderated while maintaining the performance of the engine.

The size of a vent is a big factor in keeping the temperature down. Nonetheless, you should not get too mad because the larger the vent, the bigger is he effect on the aerodynamics.

Before you go and take an angle grinder or jigsaw, mark out where the main support frame is and avoid cutting it as this will dramatically affect the rigidity of the bonnet. On a frosty morning, as you run the engine, the supports will generally be the last part of the bonnet to defrost. This can be a fool proof way of approximating their whereabouts. Better yet, use large sheets of paper stuck together to fabricate a patter from which you can decide where cuts shall be made.

You can find a lot of ways in designing your bonnet. You may practically cut the bonnet and fabricate the vents yourself. This will be an inexpensive option but you will need to roll the edges of the cut to make them smooth. It will be hard to get a good straight symmetrical cut in the bonnet.

Never attempt to cut the bonnet while it is still on the car though you have propped it open since it is the best way to get an off symmetrical cut and or seriously injure yourself. You may also need to check the bonnet supports before cutting so that you won’t undermine the strength of the sheet.

An expensive but great looking route of getting a bonnet vent is to buy a bonnet with pre- cut vents or moulded vent panels. You can have the bonnet applied with protective mesh underneath it. This will give an attractive finish, like the carbon fibre bonnets that really look great. Nonetheless, you can still lave the bonnet unpainted or painted with a matching or contrasting colour. This method of modifying your bonnet will provide you with a smooth professional looking finish.

On the other hand, you could have stick vents and use these to finis off your DIY cut outs. This can be a handy way of finishing off a DIY cut job. However, you need to give more effort and money so that the vent will perfectly harmonize with the rest of the bonnet.

The new vent can be finished with a quality of mesh, which is available in various designs. The mesh can be painted with your preferred color including black, polished, and paint effect finish. If you go with a polished metal finish mesh, the metal will not get corroded.

If you are not sure with your own knowledge for DIY job, then make sure that you will find a reliable personnel who can accomplish the task for you.

More articles…..

New look
Vent your vehicle’s dullness
Is your car perfectly tuned?
Upgrade your interior
Have a more powerful clutch!
Bored with your doors?
Paint your wheels

Is your car perfectly tuned?

Why not try a sports cat?

Being an environmentalist and driver, some things are just hard to deal with. Sometimes, It feels like I don’t want to push the gas pedal down because of the exhaust that will be released behind my crossover. However, I often realize how responsible I am with maintaining the condition of my auto systems especially the exhaust system.

Among the most important part of my crossover that makes me proud is the catalytic converter. Would you believe that my car is of almost zero-emissions, making it environment- friendly.

So what makes my catalytic converter that clean? If you would look a little closer on my crossover’s exhaust, you will notice a significant substance that converts harmful gases to less harmful ones. Such substance is called catalyst.

Catalysts are definitely vital elements in our environmentally conscious society. These substances work by accelerating the chemical reaction in the catalytic converter.

In cars, exhaust fumes are fed through a matrux of ceramic honeycomb lined with precious metals. When these metals heat up, the gases flowing through them will react and will be changed into less harmful substances.

In a two-way diesel catalyst, carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide and partially burnt fuel into carbon dioxide of water. In a three-way catalyst used in modern petrol engines, nitrogen oxide is converted into nitrogen and oxygen, carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons into carbon dioxide and water.

Catalysts typically die if there are unburnt fuel entering. The same thing may happen when a catalyst is used while it is cool. You should therefore avoid jump starting your vehicle with a catalyst. If possible, avoid short journeys as well.

You can analyze if there are power gains from a sports or high flow cat and compare these with the removal of the catalyst together. A sports catalyst or sports cat has a much greater flow rate than a standard cat. This is constructed of the same materials but the chamber size and smoothness may give way to the exhaust gases, which will be released quickly out of the pipe.

Regarding the efficiency, they will have the same effect as a standard cat on your vehicle emissions. These generate less turbulence than a standard cat, having a finer matrix and therefore a greater internal surface area.

Another important consideration is the weight. A sports cat is basically of lesser weight than a standard catalyst. Most sports cats are a drop replacement although some have wider bore capacity so would better suit a car that has had a sports exhaust upgrade.

Power gains on smaller engines can somewhat be unnoticeable. Larger engines, on the other hand, may have power gains that fall between 4 and 10 bhp. Generally, the more power the car is generating, the greater the benefit will be from a sports cat.

The de-cat pipe is one of the most popular cat choices today. This has replaced the catalyst causing the exhaust fumes to flow freely. A de-cat is a cheap option but there are some drawbacks. In some cars with oxygen sensors, you will create anomalies with the ECU. This can lead to running in a fail safe limp home mode. Engine can however decide out of the amount of unburnt oxygen, while using less fuel. This may cause the engine to run lean.

Some cars have the Lambda or oxygen sensor before the catalyst so it will run harmoniously with a de-cat pipe. Nonetheless, this is an illegal modification in some countries, where mandatory carbon dioxide reduction systems are legally required.

Catalyst designs have indeed gone far today as most modern cars take advantage on power gain and emission reduction. In case you catalyst need replacing, you can take the benefits of a sports catalyst. The prices of an original catalyst and a sports catalyst are almost the same. But I’ll tell you, sports cat would be a wise choice. It guarantees you with high performance and less expenses on maintenance.

More articles…..

New look
Vent your vehicle’s dullness
Is your car perfectly tuned?
Upgrade your interior
Have a more powerful clutch!
Bored with your doors?
Paint your wheels

Upgrade your interior

Are you getting bored with the classic colours and fabrics of your interior? Why not try looking for custom re-upholsterers to swap in your aftermarket parts?

A lot of cars today come with black and grey interiors and sometimes navy blue or a slight coloured cord finish. Some also have the slight variation in the fabric. These may look great at a closer look but when you are from a distance, you may notice that they are not that attractive at all.

Even as a car interior usually appears to a wide selection of motorists as it stands up to 20 years use, there is much that can be done to spice up the interior of your car. You can start having your seats upgraded. Many sports seats are available in the market today. However, these are somewhat difficult to track down rear seats to match as most aftermarket seats. Universal fit seats have an adapter rail that will match the car, whereas the rear seats have to be specific in size and must have precisely cut belt holes and release catches.

Using the new seats as base, you can get them without having the recovered or completely re-upholstered. Once you have swapped them in, you can earn bucks by having your old seats sold to your fellow car owner.

Re-upholstering is not an easy job. If you want to do it by yourself, it may take a week or two before you finally take advantage of the output. But if you want to have it finished at once, you should look for an experienced upholsterer.

On the other hand, you should also reckon with the materials of your new fabrics. Be careful with selecting the hard wearing fabric like leather. This material is great as it repels most stains from liquids. This is also easy to clean and is stretchable, as it fits flawlessly into your auto seats.

Aside from leather, you can also choose other fabrics such as heavy cotton, alacatra, and synthetic fibres. Make sure that these fabrics are properly stitched. They must not get a lot of abuse otherwise, you will suffer from a bad interior.

Upholstering is definitely a major activity that will result to major changes in your interior. Hence, it is always a part of a complete interior makeover that you must provide with ample time, effort, and money. This may also include the upgrade on door cards. You can remove the door furniture like the switches, handles, and catches. The door cards typically pushed on with studs and are warped as they are removed.

You can also upgrade the speakers. You can add up small colored panel that can radically transform your car’s appeal. Less is more it is.

New fabric trim can be simply stretched over the doorcard, holes from furniture that can be added and then you can affix the fabric to the door card, having a heavy duty carpet tape spread liberally over the backing surface to a keep them from stretching or a good quality fabric adhesive.

If you are using an adhesive, make sure that it won’t oose through the fabric otherwise, it will harden the fabric, making it scratchy to touch. You can pull the fabric over the edges. You can glue down the seam on the reverse of the door car then rely on the door furniture to avoid sagging.

The finishing touches, dials, dash board function, gear knob, and handbrake can be upgraded too so that they will blend in with the rest of your interior. All of these can represent your personality so get on your feet and be ready with all that these may cost.

More articles…..

New look
Vent your vehicle’s dullness
Is your car perfectly tuned?
Upgrade your interior
Have a more powerful clutch!
Bored with your doors?
Paint your wheels

Big power? Have a more powerful clutch!

Your vehicle’s capability to accelerate matters a lot. Hence, big power always requires a powerful clutch that will manage more effective and efficient shifting of gears.

Clutch takes engine power and puts it down through the drive shaft to the driven wheels but it also allows you to disengage the engine whilst performing a gear change. This kind of contact often requires a lot of grip and fast response. As, the more power there is, te harder it is for the clutch to operate.

Power is potentially lost if the clutch slips. Failing to make steady contact with the contact plate when the clutch was first released. Power clutches are usually designed with high friction surfaces and sometimes 2 or 3 contact plates.

Heavy duty race clutches have less feel and are practically on or off. Because of this, it may become hard to drive smoothly in traffic or pulling away smoothly on a hill, requiring a fair bit of leg muscle.

Clutch release spring is fairly heavier on most race clutches. A fast road power clutch makes more sense for road use though the high spec multi-plate race solution would seem the best, it is not that great to domestic driving for most vehicle types.

Most clutches have power ratings. If your engine’s output is greater than the rated power of the clutch, clutch slip is more likely experienced while you are accelerating. As a result, the clutch will wear out quickly.

What is clutch slip? A sudden surge of power can cause the clutch to lose grip. This will end up with failure in transferring power to the wheels. This is evidenced by a rise in the revs but not in the road speed. So do you now understand what clutch slip is? This can be compared to pulling a table cloth off a table and all the crockery still stay in place.

As you find some knowledge about clutch slip, you may also want to know more about clutch judder. When clutch does not engage properly, the engine will experience a kangaroo start or intermittent power to the wheels. This must be solved at once by checking your clutch release mechanism and cable.

Clutch problem is always a big deal. Once it is not solved immediately, more and more engine power will be corrupted. More and more notchy clutch (especially on the first and second gear) is surely not a good at all. Having the clutch replaced is a good idea however, you can never assure that 100% of the original’s efficiency is attained. This is because of the permanent damage to the synchromesh has been done as the first remained notchy. If you are adjusting the hydraulic clutch, you must remove the mats from the car especially if they are thick (as they can reduce the pedal travel significantly, making the clutch appear to wear out).

So how will you know that your clutch is still going great? As your clutch wears out, it will usually start slipping or sticking, and not fully engaging or disengaging. Shifting to the first and second gear often becomes harder.

Your car may eventually stall every time you try to put in gear from stationary. Fortunately, the third and fourth can work as you can limp to a garage. If your clutch has gone, you can engage the third and fourth easily without using the clutch if you just carefully match the engine speed to the gear that you select, while your car is moving. When the clutch cable stretches , same problems can occur.

If you are looking for immediate replacement, make sure that you will get the new clutch that will perfectly match your vehicle’s transmission system. Always check your manual for the specs before purchasing a replacement. Regarding the installation, make sure that it is serviced by a qualified personnel.

More articles…..

New look
Vent your vehicle’s dullness
Is your car perfectly tuned?
Upgrade your interior
Have a more powerful clutch!
Bored with your doors?
Paint your wheels

Bored with your doors?

Are you bored with the standard doors of your vehicle? Why stick with such doors when you have an option to convert them into more exciting design. Nonetheless, if you want to convert your doors, you have to consider several pros an cons of having them. Among the most popular door designs that I can share to you are the lambo/scissor door, gullwing door, suicide door conversions.

Kits are available for about every car as you can also find many universal fitting kits. Manufacturers usually offer fitting service but then, you might get problems with choosing the right conversion kit for your ride.

Most kits will require cutting of the interior wing. They may also involve the use of small amount of spraying so you will need to be reasonable confident once you decide to get a DIY fit. You must understand that you must also add a door conversion before you do other paint and bodywork as these may need touching up after the door conversion is fitted.

Since conversion kits are part of the coolest styling additions for vehicles today, why shouldn’t you try it now? Let’s talk about the types of kit one by one.

Scissor doors or lambo style or vertical doors are basically pulled out a little like ordinary doors. They are lifted up over the roof line like someone doing a butterfly stroke. You can find different kits that allow the door to go completely vertical while others give option to a fairly normal pull outwards to 60-75 degrees as well as swinging upwards to 90 degrees. The kits should match the weight of the door or else, it will fall down. These must also match the amount of width available in the door hinge area.

Lambo doors are sometimes hard to close from a seated position so thought has to be given to the handles. Drop handles can make it easier or you go for the very impressive electronic opening and closing lambo doors. These doors can be impractical on the rear doors because they will swing up and over obscuring the front door.

Apparently, lambo doors are advisable for front doors. If you own a sedan, then the back doors can be the suicide doors. So what are suicide doors?

They are not doors that will end your life. Suicide doors take the hinge of the other side of the door. And they are called such because they open behind you, so as to expose you fully to oncoming traffic.

Suicide doors are fairly simple, however they can make your vehicle look strange. Nonetheless, make sure that they are properly installed in place so your ride will not look weird at all.

If you don’t want the style of lambo and suicide doors, then you last option might be the gullwing doors. The hinge of these doors is placed at the top of the door and the door swings out and upward must like the wings of a bird in flight.

Gullwing doors look impressive as lambo doors, however, these door have not become popular at all. These doors require a slightly wider opening space so if you are parking side by side with other vehicles, you may not be able to open you car. This apparently tells you that gullwing doors are not for supermarket run car.

Should you want to adopt any style of these doors, make sure that proper installation is carried out. Remember that doors keep you from getting thrown out of your vehicle. so better assure that they will remain stuck tightly in place. Better yet, look for a specialist who can successfully do the task for you.

imgs from these sites:

http://bcdsm.labattz.com/Robin%20Ride/Lambo%20Doors%20022.jpg

http://www.215.org/NECO/shows/CCCJ03/images/Focus%20Suicide%20doors.jpg

More articles…..

New look
Vent your vehicle’s dullness
Is your car perfectly tuned?
Upgrade your interior
Have a more powerful clutch!
Bored with your doors?
Paint your wheels