The smart phone craze has hit the world hard and anyone who is tech savvy will want to buy one. The smart phone concept works well for people on the move and want connectivity all the time. The Android and IOS system works well on tablets and smart phones but is it practical for cars?
Some car head unit manufacturers have started to make head units using the Android platform as they predict will be a trend. Having seen numerous Android powered head units I start to question if this is really practical!
Android system allows the user to download Apps (short for applications) onto their head unit but in reality in the scenario of a car one would need only the main few functions such as Radio (or satellite radio in some countries), CD player (soon to be obsolete since people are downloading songs), GPS navigation system, USB / SD card input (for media storage and playback), Smartphone connectivity to allow media playback on the head unit from files stored on the smartphone. Android OS have over 600,000 Applications available for download and only a handful would be applicable for use in the car.
Applications such as Youtube or other video archive playback apps would only work well if the car is stationary and have a 3G or Wifi connection. It also won't be practical to play games while driving and the passenger playing the games would most likely suffer from motion sickness.
I personally feel that the Android system for car head units is just over kill.
Wednesday 24 October 2012
Tuesday 23 October 2012
Car tuning and so called forum experts
These days there are lots of automotive forums on the internet these days and thousands of people will voice their opinion on tuning and modifications. Some of the opinions are based on real life experience while many are based on things they read on the internet but without real world experience. These the so called "arm chair" tuners who will use the power of the internet to influence people but may not have the necessary experience to back it up.
There are also many forums which do offer good technical advise as the materials are written by professionals or tuners with years of experience. Some of course will have their vested interest to market their company's services or products.There are also some who will be happy to educate or impart their knowledge to readers. There is no definitive answer to who is right and who is wrong. The basis of the technical postings should be based on experience and technical background of the person posting their comments.
American tuners, Japanese tuners and European tuners all have different approach to tuning. Europeans usually will be more subtle in their approach and keep the car looking relative sedate while the Japanese will be more daring with their extreme body kits and outlandish color schemes. The Americans will go for out right muscle by putting in turbos, super chargers or NOS kits. All this makes the tuning industry very interesting and ever changing.
Every year the SEMA show in Las Vegas will show case some of the best examples of tuned cars. Some will be for aesthetics while others will be for performance and audio. In the tuning industry, stock is boring! everything can be modified and will be modified.
Famous tuning magazines such as Option, Hot Imports, Fast 4s. Hot 4s and etc have a huge following worldwide as they appeal to the car owners with the itch for tuning.
These magazine have extensive technical information and also tips from professional tuners.
There are also many forums which do offer good technical advise as the materials are written by professionals or tuners with years of experience. Some of course will have their vested interest to market their company's services or products.There are also some who will be happy to educate or impart their knowledge to readers. There is no definitive answer to who is right and who is wrong. The basis of the technical postings should be based on experience and technical background of the person posting their comments.
American tuners, Japanese tuners and European tuners all have different approach to tuning. Europeans usually will be more subtle in their approach and keep the car looking relative sedate while the Japanese will be more daring with their extreme body kits and outlandish color schemes. The Americans will go for out right muscle by putting in turbos, super chargers or NOS kits. All this makes the tuning industry very interesting and ever changing.
Every year the SEMA show in Las Vegas will show case some of the best examples of tuned cars. Some will be for aesthetics while others will be for performance and audio. In the tuning industry, stock is boring! everything can be modified and will be modified.
Famous tuning magazines such as Option, Hot Imports, Fast 4s. Hot 4s and etc have a huge following worldwide as they appeal to the car owners with the itch for tuning.
These magazine have extensive technical information and also tips from professional tuners.
Wednesday 3 October 2012
Extreme engine downsizing
The European car manufacturers have been adopting the engine downsizing for the last 6 years and with great effect. Now they have taken this concept one step further by reducing the engines even more and strapping on larger turbos to provide adequate performance.
BMW recently launched their 1 series with a new 1.5 litre 3 cylinder turbo engine capable of producing 180ps and 270Nm! It is lauded as a very bold move considering that none of the luxury car makers have tried to adopt a 3 cylinder engine. Car manufacturers resisted using 3 cylinder engines as they were not as smooth revving as the 4 cylinder engines and 3 cylinder engines were also noisier. BMW proved this all wrong with their new engine that was capable of very smooth revving and produced astonishing performance with good fuel economy. BMW is now considering to put it in an entry level 3 series to increase the usage of the engine and also promote better fuel economy for its range of cars.
In the past car makers such as Daihatsu and Suzuki have developed 3 cylinder engines for their K-Cars (super compact cars) but their engine capacities ranged from 660cc to 1,000cc. None of these engine were used on bigger models similar to the 1 series size as the engines lacked the performance to match the car's weight.
Ford also took engine downsizing to the extreme when they launched their 1.0 litre turbo engine. It was initially thought that this engine was meant to be used in the Ford Fiesta and Focus however, Ford took this one step further and put it in a Mondeo. The Mondeo is not exactly a small car and putting a 1.0 litre turbo engine took many motoring observers by surprise. The question is whether the consumers will accept this idea considering that the engine is so small and the car's physical size is of a mid size saloon that weighs around 1400kgs. The impressing thing about this 1.0 litre turbo is that is capable of producing 130hp and 200Nm making is very similar to a naturally aspirated 2.0 litre engine.
It is amazing how the high cost of fuel can drive engineers and car makers to think out of the box to create innovative products.
BMW recently launched their 1 series with a new 1.5 litre 3 cylinder turbo engine capable of producing 180ps and 270Nm! It is lauded as a very bold move considering that none of the luxury car makers have tried to adopt a 3 cylinder engine. Car manufacturers resisted using 3 cylinder engines as they were not as smooth revving as the 4 cylinder engines and 3 cylinder engines were also noisier. BMW proved this all wrong with their new engine that was capable of very smooth revving and produced astonishing performance with good fuel economy. BMW is now considering to put it in an entry level 3 series to increase the usage of the engine and also promote better fuel economy for its range of cars.
In the past car makers such as Daihatsu and Suzuki have developed 3 cylinder engines for their K-Cars (super compact cars) but their engine capacities ranged from 660cc to 1,000cc. None of these engine were used on bigger models similar to the 1 series size as the engines lacked the performance to match the car's weight.
Ford also took engine downsizing to the extreme when they launched their 1.0 litre turbo engine. It was initially thought that this engine was meant to be used in the Ford Fiesta and Focus however, Ford took this one step further and put it in a Mondeo. The Mondeo is not exactly a small car and putting a 1.0 litre turbo engine took many motoring observers by surprise. The question is whether the consumers will accept this idea considering that the engine is so small and the car's physical size is of a mid size saloon that weighs around 1400kgs. The impressing thing about this 1.0 litre turbo is that is capable of producing 130hp and 200Nm making is very similar to a naturally aspirated 2.0 litre engine.
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