Ways Through Which We Move Along.

 Chapter 5:

 Not all of us move at the same pace. Some of us are too quick while some of us take our own time to get moving along. This is nature’s way of programming, which is necessary for us to survive.

 Imagine us all programmed to move at the same speed (Top Gear), even though we all have different hearts (Engine). Not everyone is made that Torquey enough to break inertia, even in the highest gear.

Some will stall, some will judder, some unique ones will get a move on. But in that process, the fuel consumed will make no sense to our environment, our society.

 For our society to function, we required all its Cogs to move in a synchronous, harmonic way. Which means that we need different programming for every one of us, same way each and every Engine requires a transmission suited to its needs. That's how we come to different types of transmission available around us.

 Manual transmissions come in two basic types:

 

·        A simple but rugged sliding-mesh or unsynchronized/non-synchronous system, where straight-cut spur gear sets spin freely, and must be synchronized by the operator matching engine revs to road speed, to avoid noisy and damaging clashing of the gears

 

·        The now ubiquitous constant-mesh gearboxes, which can include non-synchronized, or synchronized/synchromesh systems, where typically diagonal cut helical, or sometimes either straight-cut, or double-helical gear sets are constantly "meshed" together, and a 'dog clutch' is used for changing gears. On synchromesh boxes, friction cones or "synchro-rings" are used in addition to the dog clutch to closely match the rotational speeds of the two sides of the declutched transmission before making a full mechanical engagement.

 The former type was standard in many vintage cars (alongside e.g. epicyclic and multi-clutch systems) before the development of constant-mesh manuals and hydraulic-epicyclic automatics, older heavy-duty trucks, and can still be found in use in some agricultural equipment.

 The latter is the modern standard for on- and off-road transport manual and automated manual transmission, although it may be found in many forms, non-synchronized straight-cut in racetrack or super-heavy-duty applications, non-synchro helical in the majority of heavy trucks and motorcycles and in certain classic cars the Fiat 500, and partly or fully synchronized helical in almost all modern manual-shift passenger cars and light trucks.

 Manual transmissions are the most common type outside of North America and Australia. They are cheaper, lighter, usually give better performance, but the newest automatic transmissions and CVTs give better fuel economy.

 Some manual transmissions have an extremely low ratio for first gear, called a creeper gear or granny gear. Such gears are usually not synchronized. This feature is common on pick-up trucks tailored to trailer-towing, farming, or construction-site work. During normal on-road use, the truck is usually driven without using the creeper gear at all, and second gear is used from a standing start.

 Some off-road vehicles, most particularly the Willys Jeep and its descendants, also had transmissions with "granny first's" either as standard or an option, but this function is now more often provided for by a low-range transfer gearbox attached to a normal fully synchronized transmission.

 Continued......

 

Tips to remember when negotiating with a Potential Buyer.

 

Selling anything in today’s time & age is not a problem. Be it some antiques owned by the family, some gadgets that are barely being used or something big like ‘a House’ or ‘a Car’. The Internet has made it a lot easy for sellers to get in touch with the buyers directly.

Cars, for most people, are not just a means of transportation. There are emotions attached, especially when it is their first car. Therefore, in most cases, when selling a car, it is important for us to not only find a good home for it but also to price it correctly justifying all the work put on it during the years of ownership.

It is easy to understand why many questions can run through the mind when people start considering selling their present car. But once the decision is made, the next step is to find a good buyer. During the negotiation round, one needs to make sure that he/she does not fall below the minimum price that was have set for their car. Which means that one has to put the “Negotiator Cap” on and make the deal while selling their used car. Here are a few steps that he/she should keep in mind while selling a car.

1.   Negotiating on the basis of well-maintained Documents / Service History while selling a car.

When selling a car, it is important for prospective customers to know that he/she has properly maintained the car and that it has gone through only authorised service channels for the majority of its time were under his/her ownership. This can not only create trust in the buyer but also will let him/her command a premium over similar but dodgy cars in the market.

2. Read the “Buyers Mind” & talk about what they want.

When meeting the buyer, trying to understand his/her actual requirement through the conversation is the key to striking a deal. it is an important step for negotiating a perfect price for the car. Once the buyer ready to take a look, promoting the stand out points of the car, as per what he/she has in mind is crucial. for example, if a family person is looking for a car for his/her usual family commute, then one needs to talk about ‘how spacious the car is’ or ‘how the boot space is enough for those weekend family excursions’ as this type of a buyer might not be that much interested in ‘aftermarket sporty instalments’ that are done on the car. Or if it a young/single (20-28-year-old) buyer, looking for first car him/herself, then he/she will not be concerned about the ‘backseat comfort’ or ‘how great the fuel economy is’. For them, it is primarily going to be the experience of driving, rather enjoying their very own vehicle.

3. Giving Buyer’s a few good Payment Options.

It is always good to keep a few ‘Payment Options’ ready if the need arises. Getting the full payment, either in Cash or A cheque is the most ideal solution. But if the buyer is a Known person, someone who can be trusted & has a good financial history, then allowing them to go for part-payment method (payment via post-dated cheques) for the car is something that would be beneficial to both the buyer & the seller.

4. Showing them the homework is done for getting the price right & how it will be a value for their money proposition.

Explaining the entire homework done for estimating the right price is a must. Going through that effectively, he/she can show the buyer the research work done to come to the price of the car that has been quoted to them. This will not only build trust with the buyer but also allow him/her to avoid unreasonable negotiations with them.

Also making the buyer understand how much of a ‘Value for Money’ deal him/her is getting is essential. For someone going for a used car, it should be made evident that pre-owned car deals are much more value for money than going for a new car purchase. If one is made to understand about how much money him/her saves by avoiding deprecation that occurs when he/she buys a new one and also the fact that he/she is getting a well-maintained car too, which means that he/she can save on the added expenditure for running a new car through its initial services. This also allows us to keep the negotiations to the minimum.

5. Highlighting the USP’s & Helping with the formalities while selling a car.

Bragging about the car is no crime, especially when you are planning to sell it. No deal can be made without marketing the car properly in the first place. When the car is loved & kept well maintained, it shows beyond mere words. There may be a reason to sell the car, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the ‘Love’ for it is gone. Promote ‘special’ or ‘segment-best features’ and attributes about the car. Tell the buyer about the way it handles, how frugally it runs, how easy-to-use or comfortable it is on those long cross-country journeys. When talking about the USP’s of the car, the buyer can sometimes get connected with it, before even buying it. This can also allow reducing the negotiations, as the decision can go towards an emotional side, rather than being completely on the practical side.

Also assisting them with the legal formalities can go a long way in making the deal a pleasant one. If the buyer is someone you know or if he/she feels genuine, getting the documentation & formalities done for him will reduce the hassle the buyer feels when he is opting to buy a used car. This also makes the buyer negotiate less, as he feels he/she is getting the most for his money. Making sure that you pre-plan & add the expense in your final quote, will help in getting the maximum amount possible for the car.

Let's Do Some Burnouts!!!

Chapter 4: 

"Every day is a new day" a saying that makes sense, for us all. Each day we wake up, it requires us to exert different levels of energy, to go about the day. Each task has its own requirement and rewards. Each task takes something from us and puts it to use in our own realities. Each task has its own pace requirement, which is fulfilled by our bodies, by selecting 'the Right Gear at the Right Time'.

 

What it means when we say that, is that even though our body has the capability to go a lot higher, faster, if going that way unnecessarily, it will wear us out and make us use our energy in a very inefficient way.

 

Same goes with our Beloved Vehicles. What good is it, if we keep on doing burnouts every time we want to move on? We need some sort of modulation, some form of control between Axle/Differential and Engine.

 

That is where a transmission comes in play. By definition, a transmission is a machine in a power which provides controlled application of the power. Often the term 5-Speed transmission refers simply to the gearbox that uses gear and gear trains to provide speed and torque conversions from a rotating power source to another device. In British English, the term transmission refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, Driveshaft (for rear-wheel drive), differential, and final drive shafts. In American English, however, the term refers more specifically to the gearbox alone.

 

The most common use is in a motor vehicle, where the transmission adapts the output of the engine to the drive wheels. Such engines need to operate at a relatively high rotational speed, which is inappropriate for starting, stopping, and slower travel. The transmission reduces the higher engine speed to the slower wheel speed, increasing torque in the process. Transmissions are also used on pedal bicycles, fixed machines, and where different rotational speeds and torques are adapted. Often, a transmission has multiple gear ratios or simply "gears" with the ability to switch between them as speed varies. This switching may be done manually by the driver or automatically. Directional, that is forward and reverse control is also provided. Single-ratio transmissions also exist, which simply change the speed and torque (and sometimes direction) of motor output.

 

In motor vehicles, the transmission generally is connected to the engine crankshaft via a flywheel or clutch or fluid coupling, partly because internal combustion engines cannot run below a particular speed. The output of the transmission is transmitted via the driveshaft to one or more differentials, which drives the wheels. While a differential may also provide gear reduction, it's primary purpose is to permit the wheels at either end of an axle to rotate at different speeds, essential to avoid wheel slippage on turns, as it changes the direction of rotation.

 

Like life, we can keep on moving ahead smoothly, if we are in ' the Right Gear at the Right Time'. Sure, burnouts feel good from time to time, constantly starting with burnout not only consumes our tyres(body) but also our precious fuel(energy) and start slowly breaking down our Engine Blocks (Heart & Mind).

 

No matter how much fun it can be, what good it is, if we cannot extract our full potential and stretch out for those precious extra miles which matter at the end of our journey.

 

Even though I said " let’s do some burnouts", let us all "do that responsibly".

 

First Impression....Coming Soon

From Rocks to Roll.

Chapter 3: 

 

As we talked about Wheels last time, the thought grew deeper, no matter how important invention the wheel was, alone it was useless. The wheel is more like the 'Jack of all trades and Master of None'. We have an existence of wheel since early stages of Stone Age, but the use of the wheel as a mode of transportation dates back to 4200-4000 BC.

 

One of the first applications of the wheel to appear was the Potter's wheel, used by prehistoric cultures to fabricate clay pots. The earliest type, known as "tournettes" or "slow wheels", were known in the Middle East by the 5th millennium BC. One of the earliest examples was discovered at Tepe Pardis, Iran, and dated to 5200–4700 BC. These were made of stone or clay and secured to the ground with a peg in the center but required significant effort to turn. True potter's wheels, which are freely-spinning and have a wheel and axle mechanism, were developed in Mesopotamia (Iraq) by 4200–4000 BC. The oldest surviving example, which was found in Ur (modern-day Iraq), dates to approximately 3100 BC.

 

Evidence of wheeled vehicles appeared by the late 4th millennium BC. Depictions of wheeled wagons found on clay tablet pictographs at the Eanna District of Uruk, in the Sumerian civilization of Mesopotamia, are dated between 3700–3500 BC. In the second half of the 4th millennium BC, evidence of wheeled vehicles appeared near-simultaneously in the Northern Caucasus (Maykop culture) and Eastern Europe (Cucuteni–Trypillian culture). Depictions of a wheeled vehicle appeared between 3500 and 3350 BC in the Bronocice clay pot excavated in a Funnelbeaker culture settlement in southern Poland. In nearby Olszanica, a 2.2 m wide door was constructed (2.2 wide doors were constructed) for wagon entry; this barn was 40 m long and had 3 doors. Surviving evidence of a wheel–axle combination, from Stare Gmajne near Ljubljana in Slovenia (Ljubljana Marshes Wooden Wheel), is dated within two standard deviations to 3340–3030 BC, the axle to 3360–3045 BC. Two types of early Neolithic European wheel and axle are known; a circumalpine type of wagon construction (the wheel and axle rotate together, as in Ljubljana Marshes Wheel), and that of the Baden culture in Hungary (axle does not rotate). They both are dated to 3200–3000 BC. Historians believe that there was a diffusion of the wheeled vehicle from the Near East to Europe around the mid-4th millennium BC.

 

The mechanical advantage of a simple machine like the wheel and axle is computed as the ratio of the resistance to the effort. The larger the ratio the greater the multiplication of force (torque) created or distance achieved. By varying the radii of the axle and/or wheel, any amount of mechanical advantage may be gained. In this manner, the size of the wheel may be increased to a convenient extent. In this case, a system or combination of wheels (often toothed, that is, gears) are used. As a wheel and axle is a type of lever, a system of wheels and axles is like a compound lever.

 

Got a bit, sorry, a lot technical didn't I. Bear with me for another chapter, as we have now got the wheel rolling. And as they say, " Life.....it keeps rolling on."

Round and Round with the Wheel

Chapter 2:

 

As I was moving around through some old memories, a thought kept jumping in my mind...…."How did a Wheel come into Existence?"

A simple thought, yet the answer to which generates interest in every human who has encountered a wheel.

The wheel, as historian says, was invented roughly in 3500 BC. As Humans evolved in the Palaeolithic era, they discovered that heavy, round objects could more easily be moved by rolling them than bulky, irregular ones. The realisation was made that some heavy objects could be transported if a round object such as a fallen tree was placed underneath and the heavy object rolled over it. However, diagrams on ancient clay tables suggest the wheel did not materialise for thousands of years until a potter’s wheel was used in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) in 3500 BC.

The oldest wooden wheel discovered so far was found in Ljubljana, Slovenia and is believed to date back to about 3200 BC. It was about the same time that the wheel was first used for transportation on chariots. With a need for greater speed and manoeuvrability, the Egyptians created the spoked wheel around 2000 BC, while Celtic chariots a millennium later employed iron rims for greater strength. However, the wheel remained largely unimproved until the 19th Century when Robert William Thompson invented the pneumatic tyre, a rubber wheel using compressed air which paved the way for automobile and bicycle tyres.

The idea of the wheel may have been influenced by Nature, as many inventions are. The closest evidence to a wheel in nature is the home of a Dung Beetle. Dung Beetle lay their eggs in dung and transport it by rolling it into a ball. Another wheel found in nature is the tumbleweed.

By Pradnesh Shankar Naik.

 

Chapter 1: Breaking into old memories.

 

Machine has been an integral part of Man's evolution from the primal state of to a being that is now known as Homo Sapiens. Earlier in life, it was a plane bow and arrow, but as we evolved these machines started taking various forms like a hardworking tractor or mind-numbingly fast supercomputers.

 

But while life progress on Top Gear, we tend to forget the single-most greatest invention….'The Humble Wheel'.

 

The wheel single-handedly pushed the boundaries of man from Hunting and Gathering to the modern trade we now take for granted. The wheel is such a unique machine that it can connect with every person on this planet, almost every being born in today's time has encountered a wheel at least once.

 

My exact memory with a wheel, rather 4 of them, was with a beautiful vehicle called Premier Padmini. Manufactured in India from 1964 to 2000 by Premier Automobiles Limited under the License of FIAT Spa, it was a carburetted 1,089-cc four-cylinder petrol engine, rather than the 1,221-cc engine fitted to the GranLuce in Italy. With a 10.8:1 compression ratio, it created 47 bhp at 4,800 rpm with a maximum torque of 71 Nm at 3,000 rpm. The original transmission was a four-speed manual gearbox (without synchronized first gear), which drove the rear wheels via a live rear axle. Its shifter was mounted on the left of the steering column. Weighing 895 kg, its top speed was 130 km/h.

 

The beauty that I remember was an artic white, decorated tastefully by chrome garnishing around her waistline. My uncle had bought the one with the bench, rather sofa seats of the era. She was never a screamer like many of the golden oldies of the era. But it had a very tasteful whine from its rather reliable and easy to live with engine. Its note was throaty and it pull was linear, was rather surefooted for the era and with its lightweight and sturdy chassis, it can still give a run for their money to some of our current day entry-level vehicles.

 

It was one of the things which gave me immense pleasure whenever I was around her. I believe that was the starting point of my obsession with cars. While I sat today, sipping my favourite coffee, enjoying the calm breeze, that moment passed through my mind……..maybe it was that beautiful lady, trying to convince me to pen down my thoughts, my moments, my experiences with the various beauties and beast I have been able to encounter in the short span of my time on this planet earth……as a journal that maybe I can pass onto my children or to like-minded enthusiasts like me. Someone who gets excited by anything and everything related to cars……….