Approach towards the concept of Green Car by enhancing your auto parts available at partsavatar

Save your atmosphere from pollution of car’s harmful gases and Go Green with your Car.

The emergence of cars is both wonder as well as threat to existence on earth. There is hardly a day when you find a road, vehicle free. We must be saving a lot of time with the help of cars but at same time we are creating problems for our environment too. In big cities, air is way too polluted that sometimes it is hard enough to breathe. For instance in Beijing due to high traffic, sometimes smog covers the whole city and even people are advised to avoid getting out of their places. We can contribute to save our environment in many ways without going for a smart car option. In this article some tips will be shared to go green with your car and make your driving life greener.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

There is variety of electric vehicles in the market. Some solely depend on electric charge given to battery. There are a lot of benefits with EV. There is no need for oil changes, fuel system service, muffler replacement, ignition system maintenance. If you are hoping to choose an EV then Chevrolet, Toyota and Nissan are producing high quality EVs in the market.   

     

 Plugin Hybrid vehicle uses both electric and gas/diesel. These cars use a rechargeable battery pack that runs the car up to 35 miles before the gasoline engine takes charge. In some cars, gasoline not only runs the engine but at the same time charging the battery. A plug in hybrid is only limited by its range of Gas tank. The Toyota Prius, Chevrolet Volt are good examples of plug ins today along with Nissan Leaf as a whole electric running vehicle. 

FOLLOWING SERVICE SCHEDULE 

Periodically checking engine performance, changing oil regularly, replacing air filters, checking gas caps and keeping tires inflated help reduce pollution, fuel consumption ,emissions and burn less gas. Regular auto maintenance may be a bit of bother but will definitely pay off in long run. Keeping proper level routine maintenance not only saves your bucks at garage but also saves money for gasoline. 

GREEN DRIVING PRACTICES

Driving techniques contribute a lot in fuel economy of your car. A rash driving not only kills your MPG or fuel efficiency but may also get you in danger. Drive wise, void sudden starts and stops and go within the speed limits. You can also reduce your driving distance by running errands in one ride or meeting at mid distance. These techniques are called” hypermiling”. Proper driving practices can improve the eco friendliness of your car. Let’s have a look at some smart driving practices.

1. Speeding is not only dangerous but also increases carbon footprint of your car. Slowing down the speed by 10 mph increase fuel efficiency and decrease carbon dioxide output.  Ensure you drive within speed limits all the time.

2.  Keeping your car in idle state even for a minute can produce toxic emissions. For example in traffics, it is advisable to turn off the engine rather letting it stay idle.

3.  Accelerating more and then slamming the brakes to halt the car not only damages the engine but also causes brakes to wear quickly. It is advisable to anticipate the traffic pattern and to decelerate to a stop gradually.

4. You can use your car’s ECO features to optimize transmission shift points and decrease AC’s impact on the engine.

TAKE IT EASY ON THE AC

Use windows than car's air conditioning system to keep your car cool. You can also use solar fan or electric fan as substitute. Alternatively, you can switch on the AC for short period and keep the fan on for air circulation.  Air conditioning system is powered by gas, so it may affect fuel efficiency considerably thus affecting the environment adversely. Moreover it is wise to park your car in a shaded area to keep your car cool.

DIESEL AND CNG VEHICLES

Car running on CNG reduces tailpipe emissions hence increasing the efficiency of the vehicle. CNG vehicles use standard piston engine. Latest generation diesel vehicles produce fewer tailpipe emissions and significantly reduce carbon dioxide output. Automobile giants are also working on making gasoline run engines more environmental friendly. For example ford’s EcoBoost engines use turbo charging technology. It uses more fuel efficient engines to provide good level of acceleration and efficiency.

RECYCLE MOTOR OIL AND RE POWER YOUR ENGINE

Recycle motor oil, fluids, batteries and other components when they are no longer in use. Take extra care while recycling to help protect the environment. You can give your vehicle a new life by rebuilding the engine. This will save your money and time for repair and make it more fuel efficient.

REMOVE ADDITIONAL WEIGHT

Added weight and air resistance causes more fuel to burn. Keeping the luggage on the roof could make your car less aerodynamic. So it is crucial to keep the load in the trunk. It is advisable to keep the load in the back and remove it as soon as the journey is complete to increase fuel efficiency.

CHECK THE TIRES

Less air pressure than specified, in your car’s tires may increase rolling resistance. Therefore the work of the engine increases as the tire goes flat. Before driving always check your tire’s pressure. Adequately inflated tires ensure road as well as environment safety.

CHECK EMISSION SYSTEM

Emission system should be checked periodically in order to ensure that the car is not polluting. A bad exhaust system often emits harmful gases as hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. Exhaust system components like vacuums, oxygen sensors and hoses should be properly examined so as to reduce the emission of harmful gases in the air.

REDUCE NEED OF CAR

Though it is easy to say but very hard to do, but we can reduce need of the car by walking, biking, public transport, car sharing and teleconferencing. For short distances take public transit, bikes or even use electric scooters.

These practices will not only increase your car’s eco friendliness but also improve fuel efficiency. These few steps can make a bigger impact on environment. Your little efforts will contribute vastly to this global cause. 

Chevrolet Volt Premier - Run smooth, silent and green! Don't have a new green car yet? Tune up your emissions with better parts

Still driving a Polluting Gas Guzzler? See the new 2017 Chevrolet Volt Premier- Runs cheap, silent and clean

 Chevrolet is making its place in the hybrid world by introducing electric driving cars that will be travelling 200 miles or more per charge. Cars are not solely battery operated, but if the battery gets tapped, fuel or gasoline takes charge.You can then forget about your gas burning engine and polluting car exhaust fumes! Everyone wants to have a good, smooth experience of hybrid electric car and Chevrolet 2017 volt provides this without any refueling drawbacks.

It is a flexible and user friendly car. You will get 106 MPGe from volt typically or 42 MPG on gas. 

You can choose mode of driving as

Normalmode (uses battery first, then gas)

Sport (profligate with power when you hit the accelerator)

Mountain (more efficient at greater inclines)

Holdmode (changes instantly to gas mode saving battery’s charge for later on)

Electric range is the primary reason of buying a hybrid car. Compared to volt’s 53 miles, other hybrid cars like Ford Fusion Energi, Kia Optima PHEV are not in same league because volt is blended plug in hybrid i.e. it is EREV.

For the hybrid world, volt is standing at number one position due to its performance efficiency compared to other automobile companies. General motors is serious about efficiency.

To date, volt’s EV range is unmatched by blended computers. The car is able to stay in EV mode for full speed acceleration with zero emissions. This EV is equipped with 2.4 G gas tank and its speed and power are limited in range extended mode especially in mountains.

Volt comes with sleek four door hatchback with 1.5 L four cylinder engine and two AC motors for propulsion.An 18.4 KWH battery pack runs down the volt’s spine inside T shaped box.

This review focuses on points that may help you to get a better idea about 2017 Chevrolet Volt.

EV DRIVING

As mentioned above, once the battery is tapped out, the 101 hp engine fires up to drive the front wheels and recharge lithium ion cells with the help of motors or generators. By punching console button you can change the mode to sport, mountain, hold or normal mode. Sport mode sharpens the throttle response. Mountain mode keeps the battery in reserve to help the engine ascend steep grades. Hold saves the battery for later use such as visiting cities where combustion engines are prohibited. The gas engine does not directly drive the wheels instead it creates electricity for electric motors in car.  Volt’s speed can be controlled in most situations using accelerator pedals. You can do this by dropping shift lever to L position.

Chevrolet volt premier costs $38445 which is equipped with leather seats, Bose8 speaker audio system , finishes aluminum wheels, wireless phone charging,  automatic parking assist, a heated outside mirror and an auto dimming inside mirror.

INTERIOR

Chevrolet is silent in action and provides a decent driving experience.  Steering is tight on the centre and quick to hunt down the apexes. Driving is firm but not painful. Dashboard gets soft touch plastic with 8 inch My link infotainment touch screen system installed which is quite responsive. This touch screen system supports both apple car play and android auto. You will have to spend $495 more for Chevrolet’s navigation system.  It also provides On star 4G LTE hotspot in it.

Volt’s cellular link allows checking its location, unlocking it and starting it.

Volt also provides two driver’s confidence packages for additional $495 as blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alerts and lane keep assist, low speed front automatic braking system, auto headlamps. These packages could be costly but they do provide good amount of safety.

volt is five seater vehicle. there is plenty of room under the hatch. Passengers could feel cramped in the backseat. Backseat space is 0.6 inches longer than first generation in legroom and 0.2 inches less on the head room. There is also 120V charging cable in the trunk which works with any regular household outlet and could take up to 13 hours for charging the battery. Better go for 240V level 2 charger that takes four and half hours to fully charge the battery. In cold conditions electric heating capacity of battery takes more energy than A/C and it can reduce its range by one third.

As for summer, volt gives its standard output of 53 miles without much problem. Basically, efficiency depends upon driver and its conditions.

The volt is a compact family car with space wise limitations. It is best for one or two people day to day or those with kids. Outboard occupants ride with their noggins under the hatch glass and their knees rubbing the front seat backs.

One can also do close comparisons with tools by U.S. EPA’s fueleconomy.gov which lets one look at mpg, electric range,tailpipe emissions and upstream average.

Despite volt’s eco image, it is fun to drive. Its gasoline hybrid power engine provides better acceleration and greater efficiency. The all electric range is 53 miles after which the gas starts up to recharge the battery. For hybrid loving people, volt is the number one choice.

If Chevrolet Volt was not in your wish list, then you may add it definitely. If you are looking for Chevrolet Auto Parts then click on Partsavatar.ca for lucrative offers.

Latest high tech cars can now prevent crashes. Get these sensors & car parts at Partsavatar.ca

Now your High-Tech Car can save you from a crash…even if you are asleep!

Our life expectancy has increased, not because of healthy food, expensive cosmetics or medicines but automakers are to thank for this. Automobile industries have taken a right turn to increase safety technologies within their products.Wearing seat belts by law saw a revolution in accident statistics. But sometimes we take safety for granted while choosing a car. Rather we give importance to its style, luxury, entertainment technologies, panoramic roofs and fun stuffs. Since life is unpredictable so is driving. We carelessly set out to drive but driving gives no guarantee of avoiding mishaps and unpredictable happenings can occur. Luckily a number of new technologies have been introduced to make driving safer. These technologies basically alert you of the danger and before getting into a mishap you could safely avoid it.

Here are some technologies available to bolster your driving experience.

LANE DEPARTURE ASSIST

It analysis an approaching vehicle’s speed and distance and warns you of potential danger if you change lanes. This also alerts the driver if he unintentionally moves out of his lane.Such a situation could create a panic and could ultimately cause mishap.

It relies upon the cameras in the housing around the rear view mirror to read between lines on the road ahead. Even if you are inattentive, lane keeping helps correct the course of the car. There are several different signals of alert like an audible warning message or vibration of steering when you wander of your lane. These systems require one or two white lines to judge the safe zone for car. Bad weather could hinder the visibility of lines and reduce system’s capability. The lane assist generates warning signals whenever it detects unsafe driver behavior or rash driving. Some high tech devices even monitor eye activity, body posture to decide if the driver is falling asleep. In this case system may take charge of the steering and slow down the speed just in case.

COMPUTER CONTROLS

Today cars are equipped with computer controlled braking, electrical power steering and throttle systems.  They not only work on driver’s input but also take control in case the driver is inattentive. They can even provide emergency assistance if a crash proves unavoidable.  It can provide you with an exact navigation without having to open or look at your smart phone.

Car's TPMS (TIRE PRESSURE MONITORINGSYSTEM)

In some countries like U.S., vehicles weighing 10000 pounds or less are required to be equipped with TPMS. TPMS sensors give a driver warning signs if air pressure is too low. This keeps you safe from any on road mishap.

ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

Cruise control adjusts throttle and  car brakes to keep a safe distance from vehicle in front of you with the help of sensors and radars. Once you set maximum speed of your car say 70 mph, as long as the car In front of you goes say 70 yours will too. If the car in front of you slows down, so will yours. If the system detects collision situations, it will brake hard and tighten the seat belts. Once it knows the lane is clear, it will return to its normal position.

AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING (AEB)

AEB is one of the most significant technologies that help in reducing fatal crashes and accidents. It identifies the danger on the road with the help of radar, lasers and optical sensors. It is different from anti lock braking system as it recognizes when the driver makes a panic stop and will apply additional brake pressure in case of emergency. At first it will alert the driver with alarm and even if the driver fails to take any action, car automatically applies the brakes to avoid collision. Cameras increase the capability as they can tell the difference between metal and matter. So they can assess whether they are viewing another car, bicycle or pedestrian.

BLIND SPOT DETECTION

Blind spot monitoring scans rear area on both left and right with cameras to warn you if it is not safe to change lanes. Often a picture is highlighted in the wing mirror if it is not safe to change lanes. It is designed to cars in your blind spot while driving. It is short range detection systems that generates light in your mirror or cause the steering wheel to vibrate when it detects something in the way.

VISION ENHANCEMENT

An attentive or clear sight avoids a lot of mishaps on the road. Daylight vision is not a problem but night time may cause less visibility. So, assistive adaptive car headlights identify changes in the road direction and track the road around curves to improve visibility. The major goal of this system is to help you see farther down the road and to spot people, animals on your way. An image is generated on the cockpit display.

DUAL STAGE CAR AIRBAGS

This technology helps to sense the posture of the riders, seatbelt usage, rear facing child seats and speed and accordingly deploys air bags.

HIGH BEAM ASSIST

High beam assist is beneficial for night drivers. Sensors scan the road and dip the headlight when traffic is identified.

INTELLIGENT SPEED ASSISTANCE

It basically keeps the driver within recommended speed limits. Some speed alerts generate signals based on road signs they monitor on the road. Speed often kills. So if a driver unintentionally increases their car’s speed, sensors warn the driver with audible messages or even reducing the speed automatically.

REAR VIEW CAMERAS

New technology rear view cameras not only protect your car from collision but also provide wide open shot of what is happening behind you to help with parking.

The benefits of these technologies are extremely valuable for this as well as the future generation. all these safety features avoid accidents and save our precious lives. for your next car purchase do give importance to safety over luxury. for online aftermarket auto parts shopping visit Partsavatar.ca as it offers high quality auto parts at competitive prices.

Now you can check your car's brakes yourself with simple tips and buy brake system parts at cheap prices only at Parts avatar

You can ignore some issues, but car's brakes are not one of them. Learn to diagnose faulty brake system.

car Brakes are very important part of an automotive system but still people take it for granted. But not to forget, it may take your life if you keep it away from maintenance. This article prioritizes in giving information about brake and bearing repair and to spot trouble before it occurs.  Braking system is quite complex. It needs proper maintenance over the lifetime of your car. Brake system should be kept in good condition because it is very important for your safety.

Bearing hold important place in breaking system. loose bearing will cause the wheel to run in negative camber. Uneven wear of brake lining would not prevent your car from stopping. brake boosters, drum brakes, disc brakes, brake pedal, car brake shoes and anti lock braking system of car make a braking system.

its best to check each part of your brake system for wear and proper performance. you should have enough knowledge so that do not have to pay much expense for the repair to the mechanic.

There are several braking issues that can indicate your brakes need repair. Some of the symptoms are:

1. Strange noises and vibrations during braking.

2.  Brake pedal presses farther than usual.

3. When you apply brakes, vehicle pulls to other directions.

4. Squeaking, grinding or increased stopping distance.

5. When applying brakes, warped rotor will give pulsing feeling.

CHECKING YOUR BRAKE SYSTEM

Check your brakes every 10000 to 20000 miles. If it is taking longer, your vehicle pulls to one side and brakes squeal when you try to stop, check them immediately. Next, we would discuss the checking and repairing of parts of brake system.

BRAKE PEDAL

When you step on the pedal and press it down, you can easily feel and evaluate the sensation you feel.                                                                                                                                                             Start the engine.  Apply steady pressure to the brake pedal. If you feel spongy, then you may be having air in your car’s brake lines. When you apply pressure on the pedal, if it seems to be sinking slowly to the floor, your master cylinder may be defective this time. You need more brake fluid if pumping the pedal makes the car stop when the pedal is higher up.    

  

BRAKE LINES

If the inner surfaces of your tire are wet, it could be a leak in the brake lines. Put the vehicle up on a hydraulic hoist, raise it over your head, walk under it and examine the lines.  Feel the rubber parts for the signs that rubber is becoming sticky, soft or worn. If brake lines look bad, have a professional take a look at them.

DRUM BRAKES

car's Brake drum may contain dust in it. Brake drums are classified as hubbed or floating. You can see grooves on inner walls from wear. If the grooves look deep, have them checked by professional. For even braking performance, brake drums must be replaced with the drums of same size.

DISC BRAKES

Most vehicles have four wheel auto disc brake. You should check disc brakes and disc brake linings every 10000 miles.  If the lining is down to the thickness of the steel braking plate, the pads should be replaced. If your disc is badly worn, then let the professional decide whether to replace or reground it. If the brake pads inside the disc look much thinner then have them replaced.

WHEEL BEARINGS

car Wheel bearings usually come in pairs of outer and inner wheel bearing. They allow the wheels to turn thousands of miles by cushioning the contact between wheel and the spindle. It is important to check the bearings when you check the drum brakes to make sure that the grease hasn’t become fouled. If the bearings look cruddy, repack them. You must replace the bearings if the grease has sparkling silver particles on it. If you can almost slip rollers out of their place then replace the bearing. If your vehicle is quite old and you hear grinding noise from vicinity of your rear wheels, then get the bearings checked and replaced.

BRAKE FLUID

Brake fluid should be restored to its proper level. Always use top quality brake fluid from a good manufacturer. Brake fluid has an affinity for moisture and air. Adding fluid contaminated with water vapor to your brake system can rust the system. It may cause the brakes to work either poorly or not at all. Keep the fluid away from painted surfaces. Use plastic turkey baster to remove old dirty fluid.

ANTI LOCK BRAKES

If the warning light installed in the anti lock brake system, still goes on while you are on the road then your vehicle seems to be using only normal braking system. Get the ABS repaired as soon as you can. if you hear some clicking and feel some pulsing when pressing the pedal, get it checked.

These techniques not only help your brakes live longer but you too. If you keep in mind even the basic knowledge about braking system you could save a lot of money by getting your vehicle checked before things go out of your hands.

For more cars related products and brake system products visit Partsavatar.ca.

Partsavatar offers good quality oxygen sensors for detecting fuel effciency of your car so check it out

Is your fuel lean or rich? Detect your car’s fuel efficiency with the help of Oxygen Sensors available at parts avatar.

Every new car, mostly after 1980s have an car oxygen sensor or O2 sensor. O2 sensors measure the amount of oxygen in the exhaust gases and detects if the engine is running lean (not enough fuel) or rich (too much fuel). To regulate engine performance and efficiency, the computerized engine control system depends on the inputs from these sensors. O2 sensors tell the car’s computer if it needs to add or take away fuel. It also measures the efficiency of catalytic converter. The amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas indicates good efficiency of engine combustion. A gasoline engine burns gasoline in the presence of oxygen. Oxygen sensors are located in exhaust manifold downpipes. It also does the job of checking air to fuel ratio. 

Temperature of air, engine, barometric pressure, load on an engine and altitude can affect oxygen pulling efficiency of an engine. Therefore, we would not know the exact air to fuel ratio which would result in car’s poor performance. That was why the oxygen sensors were designed.

Too much amount of oxygen in the exhaust gases indicates a lean mixture. On the other hand too less amount of oxygen indicates rich mixture. Both these circumstances affect fuel efficiency. Lean mixture could damage an engine by increasing temperature of engine and can ultimately lead to misfire. Rich mixtures reduce economy and result in excess emissions.

Modern spark ignited combustion engines use oxygen sensors and catalytic converters of cars to reduce exhaust emissions.

HOW IT WORKS?

An oxygen sensor generates voltage signal proportional to amount of oxygen in the exhaust gas and sends this signal to engine control unit i.e. ECU. ECU maintains a certain air fuel ratio, by analyzing the information it gets from O2 sensors.

The sensing element is ceramic coated on both exhaust and reference sides with porous platinum electrodes. Ceramic body is made of zirconium dioxide or zirconia. Rich mixture causes oxygen demand. Due to transportation of oxygen ions into sensor, the voltage builds up generally 0.8 to 0.9 volts. Lean mixture causes low voltage generally 0.1 to 0.3 volts since there is excess level of oxygen.

Modifications that alter the engine to act either too lean or too rich may result in inefficient fuel consumption. So tampering with signals of O2 sensors could damage a vehicle.

TYPES OF OXYGEN SENSORS

Customers should have a good knowledge of oxygen sensors in order to get correct oxygen sensor fitting for their car.

ZIRCONIA SENSOR

It is most common sensor and comes in both heated and unheated form. Its two electrodes provide an output voltage proportional to quantity of oxygen in exhaust gases. It is called a narrow band sensor because it can only detect a narrow band of air to fuel ratio. It can either read lean or rich mixtures.  Zirconia sensor is of two types:

1. Zirconia thimble type

2. Zirconia thick film type

TITANIUM DIOXIDE

It is less common type of narrow band sensors called titanium dioxide sensors. It does not produce its voltage but changes resistance in response to oxygen concentration. Its voltage drop varies from 0 to 5 volts. They are expensive as compared to zirconia sensors but their response time is also fast.

AIR FUEL RATIO SENSOR

Its work is similar to that of an oxygen sensor, the difference being that the output signal is not changed right after the mixture goes lean or rich. It is widely used in cars to achieve better fuel economy and better engine performance. It not only tells the ECU if the mixture is lean or rich but also tells how rich or how lean it is. It is commonly used in after market high performance and driver air fuel display equipment.

DIAGNOSING THE SENSOR

There are a few things to watch out before your O2 sensor fails.

1. The very first affect of bad oxygen sensor is on fuel delivery and combustion system. The incorrect measurement of air to fuel ratio may lead to reduced gas mileage of your vehicle. If you need to fill your gas tank more than usual then get your oxygen sensors checked by a professional.

2. A bad sensor could affect air to fuel ratio and combustion intervals. This could lead to misfiring of the engine.

3. Catalyst depletion could cause the failure of heated sensors. Unheated sensors fail due to building up of soot on ceramic element.

4. Lead, silicon, oil ash or sulphur into the exhaust could damage the oxygen sensor. Some natural elements like dirt, oil or water could also reduce efficiency of sensor.

5. Applying external voltage to sensors could damage them.

6. Engine light would illuminate if you have a failing sensor. Contact the professional as soon as you detect this symptom.

7. If you detect rough idling of engine and increased tailpipe emissions, then there may be something wrong with your oxygen sensor. Get it checked.

REPLACING THE SENSOR

If you are getting consistent error codes from the computer, the sensor probably needs to be changed. The sensor is a wear item and does fail over time. Replacement of bad sensor will reduce the level of emission, restore fuel efficiency and increase the life of converter. Unheated sensor can be replaced after 30000 to 50000 miles.  A replacement interval of 100000 miles is recommended for heated or OBDII equipped vehicles.

You can visit Partsavatar.ca for good range oxygen sensors.

Now you can replace Catalytic converter and direct fit converters at affordable prices at partsavatar

Is car’s exhaust system emitting harmful gases? Parts avatar brings a good range of Catalytic converters and exhaust system auto parts at cheap prices across Canada.

All cars have exhaust system to transfer combustible gases away from the engine. Exhaust system of car not only reduces the emission of gases to the atmosphere but also helps the engine to run more efficiently. With the increase in number of cars on the road, air pollution level has also increased rapidly. Fortunately, nowadays cars come with a device called “catalytic converter” that helps in reducing air pollution and harmful gases emitted by car’s engine.  A catalytic converter is an emission control device that decreases the toxicity of gases and diesel engines by basically catalyzing a redox reaction.

For deeply understanding catalytic converters let us understand the term catalyst. Catalyst is a compound that can start a chemical reaction without affecting itself. It just makes a chemical reaction run faster. It speeds up the process of removing the pollution.

A controlled combustion reaction needs to occur inside car engine for operating the internal combustion in car's engine. But it also produces harmful gases in the air. So as to decrease the harmful gases in the air modern automobiles are equipped with catalytic converters. Today, catalytic converters are mandatorily used in trucks, cars, motor bikes, mining equipments and even stoves.

A catalytic converter reduces the following compounds found in car exhaust:

1. Carbon monoxide

2.  Nitrogen oxide

3. Hydrocarbons

Catalytic converter is a metal box underside your car and has two pipes coming out of it. The task of catalytic converter is to convert these harmful compounds into less harmful compounds before leaving the exhaust. One of its two pipes is input pipe and its function is to bring in hot and polluted fumes from engine’s cylinders. Second pipe is called output pipe which is connected to the tailpipe of car's exhaust or exhaust. A chemical reaction triggers whenever the gases from engine fumes blow over the catalyst, separating pollutant gases and converting them into less harmful gases.

A combination of platinum, palladium and rhodium is used as catalyst in catalytic converter. The metals coat the ceramic beads within metal casing of exhaust pipe. The catalytic ceramic beads provide maximum surface area for the reaction to take place by using less amount of catalyst.

REACTIONS INSIDE CATALYTIC CONVERTER

Reduction and oxidation reactions take place inside the converter. Gases flow through honeycomb like structure that is coated with catalysts and made of ceramic. Honeycomb structure gives them enough space for reaction.

First with the help of reduction catalyst such as platinum and rhodium, catalytic converter reduces nitrogen oxide into nitrogen and oxygen gases.

In the second stage of oxidation reaction, catalyst as platinum and palladium turn carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide.  Another oxidation turns unburned hydrocarbons into water and carbon dioxide.

As we can see, there are three reactions going on in total. Therefore, these are called three way catalytic converters.

In the end, the exhaust produces gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water (steam form).

In gasoline engines, about 90 % of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides are converted into less harmful compounds. So these are much efficient in gasoline run engines.

As catalytic converters work at high temperatures, its efficiency is very less in diesel run engines.

CHOOSING A GOOD CATALYTIC CONVERTER

1. The best way to search a good catalytic converter is to find the converters that fit with your vehicle’s year, model and design.

2. In the engine compartment, you can see a vehicle emission control information tag. This emission certification helps you to choose a better converter for your vehicle.

3.  You can opt for direct fit or universal fir design. Direct fit will give you a hassle free fitment while universal will require cutting, welding or fabrication. As compared to direct fit, universal fit is a cheaper option to opt for. Keeping in mind your requirements and specification you can easily make your choice.

DAMAGE AND PRECAUTIONS         

 Excessive oil or carbon could clog a catalytic converter. When this happens, the engine will not accelerate and may stall after a few minutes. An engine with a clogged converter may send error code from car Oxygen sensors to computer. A clogged converter should be replaced by professional.

Due to additive run in the engine, they can also become poisonous. This causes the converter to work less efficiently.

Catalytic converter deteriorates when leaded gasoline or rich fuel mixture is used.  A rich fuel mixture produces high temperature that causes the parts in converter to melt.

The lead in leaded gasoline adheres to and coats the catalyst, which then can’t do its conversion job on polluting gases. A thick coat of lead builds on catalyst. The end result of this is that the exhaust gases are kept from coming into contact with the catalyst.

Other harmful substances that can damage a catalyst converter are sulfur, manganese and silicon. They can enter the exhaust stream through the leak in the engine.

Depending on the contaminant, sometimes a poison can be reduced by running the engine for a long time under heavy load. The increased temperature may vaporize the contaminant from its surface. But it is very difficult to remove lead deposits because lead has high boiling point. So it is advised to always use unleaded gasoline in your vehicle.

The OBD diagnostic systems are designed to alert a driver to a misfire condition as misfire conditions could severely damage catalytic converters.

Because catalytic converters are made up of expensive metals like platinum, rhodium, palladium and even gold, they are target for thieves. Bolt on converters can easily be cut or removed of the late model vehicles or SUVs. It can cost more than $1000 to replace.

DIRECT FIT CONVERTER VS UNIVERSAL CATALYTIC CONVERTER

Direct fit and universal catalytic converters are aftermarket options available. car's Direct fit catalyticconverter exactly matches the design or model of your car. If you are considering a high performance engine then go for direct fit converter. Direct fit converter components are specially designed using specific length and pipe width to take advantage of vacuum that hot gases produce when they leave the exhaust manifold. Not only they increase engine performance but also they reduce noise. But they are costlier as compared to universal converters.

Universal converters are designed to fit for various trucks, cars or vans. They can hinder the effectiveness of a direct fit converter thus decreasing engine’s performance. They are generally cheaper than the direct fit converters. But its installing is quite complicated as compared to direct fit.

While making choice, vehicle’s design should be kept into consideration along with other factors that could affect the installation of converter. You could take a professional’s advice or follow standards specific to your vehicle’s state.

Direct fit converters are also available under affordable prices at partsavatar.ca. So if you are looking for aftermarket purchase of exhaust system auto parts and catalytic converter components then do visit partsavatar.ca.