Most auto parts are costly. Nonetheless, if you have a warranty for your car, then you can easily cover those expenses of major repairs and part replacements.

Always, seek professional help before buying auto parts for your vehicle. For buying any kind of car parts, you have two main options, you can either visit some of the local stores specialized in selling car parts or go online to find such auto parts. Many stores now have established online stores to sell car parts to customers.

For a budget conscious person, two different options are available to buy inexpensive car parts. These options include discount auto parts and used auto parts. Usually, you get discount on your car parts when you buy more than one auto part. Similarly, you can also buy used car parts at affordable rates. However, be sure to buy the quality ones for long-term use.

Some Vital Auto Parts:

Before purchasing any kind of auto parts, do a little bit of research over the Internet to know some of the vital car parts. These parts include accessories, body kits, air intakes and conversions, brakes, car audio, bulbs, auto alarm system, video, exhaust, car interior, ground effect kit, tail lights, head lights, performance parts, ignition systems, spoilers, police light sound, suspension door kits and wheels. You can find these custom auto parts in several online as well as offline automobile stores, wherein they sell car parts and other auto accessories.

While purchasing auto accessories, ensure to buy the right one for your car. You can take help of web sites in this regard, since they display a wide array of motor vehicles wherein you can select the best to fit in. Air intakes are the most beneficial auto parts for your car and are available in two varieties such as the very long on that goes into your bumper and another that goes into your hood. They add additional power for your car engine and help to control the noise that your car may produce.

Brakes are also one of the vital auto parts. Best thing about brakes is that you can get the best braking power, since most shops and sites enable you to get efficient brakes for driving. You can either fit them yourself or seek professional help to install for your car. However, it is necessary to know the kind and model of your car, so that you can have a perfect compatibility. Some well-known quality brakes available in the market include Audi brakes, Acura brakes, BMW brakes, Bentley brakes, Ford brakes, Honda brakes, Hummer brakes, Toyota brakes and Jaguar brakes.

Online Dealers of Auto Parts:

The Internet has made it possible to buy auto parts for your car at comfort of your home. This process is convenient as well as cost effective. In addition, when you order these car parts online, you have an option to get delivery of such parts the next day itself. Moreover, when you buy through online sellers selling auto parts, you get discounts on replacement parts, tools, equipment, accessories, performance parts and chemicals. Of course, this costs some additional price, but is better than putting hard efforts on looking for desirable car parts.

The compressed air engine has some environmental advantages:

No battery disposal issues that an electric vehicle would have; The vehicle will remain operational longer than conventional cars and car part disposal should occur less often.  This is a result of fewer parts and few moving parts. The light weight implies that the tires will last longer and tires are a major disposal concern.

There are several companies actively developing compressed air engine technologies, too many to mention here.  Although the compressed air car solution sounds like a godsend there are some issues with the technology:

Use of air compression to store energy is not particularly efficient. The required air pressure is significantly higher than what is provided at a typical gas station for filling tires.  There is no infrastructure in place for high pressure air pumps. Electricity is required to fill the tank and thus the carbon emissions problem is transferred from the vehicle to the electric power plant. It could take up to 4 hours for a refill at home through the electrical grid (although this could often be done during off-hours at night).   Using a high pressure air pump the time could be reduced to approximately 3 minutes. The Air Car suffers with low temperature usage.  These cars likely won’t likely function in cold weather climates. Safety of driving around with compressed air tanks. (But better compressed air than hydrogen.)

More information on compressed air cars.

An interesting show was one from the 2009 Hyundai Nuvis Concept from the New York automobile show, which was clear indication that Mazda might be facing competition in their fluid dynamics technology. According to the manufacturers, this model was made for the users of the car, claiming that there are no lines that are stagnant in this car. It is fitted with a 30 kilo watts motor that is electric. The motors, when used in conjunction with the installed six speed automatic transmission give it its remarkable speed.

Apart from that, its gasoline engine is one to desire. The power it produces is out of this world, which in turn goes a long way in giving this car model fast speed. It is fitted with a cargo floor which also acts as a mount for its battery which is of the Lithium-polymer king. This battery operates using 270 volts which is ideal for such a product.

The New York show stopper was the legacy sedan Subaru. Its interior is big enough as compared to others of its kind. It is also much taller and these two features can come in handy especially when one wants to carry luggage. It is engineered to have a wheelbase that is long which is also an advantage to the user. It has a great engine that powers it incredibly to deliver high speed driving. 

The Frankfurt auto show has several automobile models to showcase. This show had several car models which included the BMW active hybrids, one of the best vehicles in the market. In addition to that, this automobile show had the jaguar XJ car model and the Moserati GranCabrio, which are some of their best models. The four-door Aston Martin was a great revolution. It is fitted with a twelve cylinder that is engineered to drive the rear wheels.

This car model is very attractive and it allows the user to shift the transmission manually, thanks to the fitted paddle shifters made from aluminum at the steering column. As if that is not enough, this car model has a transparent roof which is treated with HVAC controls. Apart from that, the car has systems used in infotainment. Its audio system is great. With the 15 speakers in the car and the audio system engineered to operate at 1000 watts, one could never ask for more when it comes to entertainment. Several models were showcased in the automobile car shows, but these were worth mentioning.

Put some style back into your cars interior with this massive 7 inch LCD car DVD with an awesome shadow chrome trim. Features with this model include Bluetooth, Analog TV, CDC Control, Subwoofer out and Ipod input.

The disc and file formats available with this model cannot be beat – from SD and USB flash drives to DVD, VCD, CD to cd-r’s containing AVI’s, MP3′s, and JPG’s to just name a few. A great upgrade for any vehicle – and bought to you at great factory direct price with no M.O.Q. (no minimum order quantity).

China Manufacturer Specifications

Main Function: Touchscreen Car DVD with TV + Bluetooth Discs/ Formats Played: DVD/VCD/MP3/MP4/CD/CD-R/CD-RW/DIVX/JPEG Video Color System: PAL/ NTSC Screen Information
- Screen: 7 inch digital color TFT-LCD Touchscreen
- Screen Resolution: 480×234
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Video Output Level: 1Vp-p 75Ohm
- Horizontal Resolution: 500 TV Lines TV Tuner Information:
- Systems: PAL, NTSC, SECAM Audio Information
- EQ Settings: POP/ROCK/CLASSIC
- Bass/Treble + Balance/Fade Control
- Max Power Output: 50W x4
- Signal-To-Noise Ratio (SNR): 70dB Input/Output
- Sub Woofer Pre Out
- 4 Audio Preouts (FL, FR, RL, RR)
- Sanyo CDC Control Port
- Radio Ant IN
- TV Ant IN
- Ipod IN (with included Cable)
- USB/SD/MMC interface (up to 2GB each)
- Built in Microphone
- AV IN (Video and Stereo Audio)
- Rearview Camera Input
- CD Changer Video Input
- Antenna Control line Bluetooth Profiles: Handsfree AM/FM Tuner Range: worldwide RDS where available Languages: English, Chinese Manufacturer Ref: 3Y500PEB2BUW

Product Notes

Motorized Front Panel Simple User Interface 2 SD Card Slots Wonder if you can really do it yourself? Check this out – Information On Installing A Car DVD Player

Package Contents

Model CVSF-1006 Stylus Remote control Face Surround Cabling Mini USB to USB Female Cable Mounting Brackets and Screws
Visit the website: http://www.boutic.power-heberg.com
You will find much more. Current Reviews:    This product was added to our catalog on Monday 12 May, 2008.

With this model you get more value with less space as the innovative creation is designed to give a premium vibration resistance and long lasting performance through the rather rough environment in the car. So it maintains its high value along with adding many other specifications to the mix as you get Bluetooth and much more features to mess around with as well.

This car audio accessory has been designed to be mechanism free which means there are no complex disc dive parts or moving electron elements that are needed to play a CD. You get a simplistic creation and is very effective as the main unit is able to give you a sky high resistance to shocks as your songs play smoothing over all of those bumps and dips in the road!

This long lasting product within the Clarion range will definitely prove to be on your side and is an advanced in-vehicle entertainment system so will not fail to please your expectations so that you will be able to cruise around the streets in full style and confidence as your friends look on and stare in amazement.

Its intuitive construction means that you just have to touch a few icons on your main control panel which are illuminated and you have changed the track or panel settings. This is a prime example of H.M.I which means you have less buttons cluttering up your screen and more space which means less confusion for you and a far sleeker looking device. This is what I meant earlier by you are getting more for less, the amount of buttons are decreased in order to increase how well the audio accessory functions and works for you.

This means only the keys that are most important to you are on the display screen such as volume control, radio channel options and skipping track buttons so you can quickly access these. This is definitely one of the main things that separates the Clarion FZ409E from any other car audio device as the designers have set out time to make your life easier.

A few of its other distinguishing features are that it has 18 preset radio stations on both FM and MW/LW frequencies. You also have a rear mini jack which is your auxiliary input with level control and a subwoofer level manager so you can choose your loudness. The Clarion FZ409E also posses the unique feature of having a BEE MP which compresses the audio therefore improves the quality and definition of the sound. This is a great bonus for all of you who cherish your music, hearing every inflection and dynamic in detail so don’t miss out on this extremely affordable yet high quality car stereo.

This is really the height of all the modern car audio accessories you come across today with its front auxiliary input located at the front of he panel granting you an easy access route to tuning in your favorite CD’s or MP3′s. This fantastic model within the pioneer audio accessory range will guarantee to deliver a pure digital audio sound and the highest quality you could ever dream of listening to in your car.

The pioneer system has a powerful MOSFET 50w x amplifier to back up the sound and gives you the best levels of performance and sharpened sound quality with hardly any annoying distortion and is very well designed by its creators meaning you don’t have to worry about your most loved songs being ruined by bad quality, with pioneer this problem is out of the equation. This model comes with an integrated hard wired remote control which is all ready for use, this enables you to connect it to the steering wheel remote control you already had in place. So you have easy access to the primary functions of the CD tuner.

The Pioneer DEH-112E knows that your safety and customer satisfaction comes first on their check list so is fitted with a safe
And user friendly tool that allows you to keep both hands on the steering wheel and at the same time change certain setting on your car audio system! This shows that Pioneer look after its customers as they are the number one priority whilst your car reaps the benefits of this sleek and stylish system. So be prepared to take it easy while the system does all the hard work in delivering the highest quality performance.

Here are some excellent integrated features that come with the Pioneer DEH-112E:

• the tuner comes with 18 pre-set stations
• The Pioneer DEH-112E system plays all of your CD collection including those dreaded re-writables that always jump in car players! You can also plug in other portable media devices through the front auxiliary input
• A removable front panel as an extra safety feature
• The display screen illuminates with a white LCD as it shows the title of your song and artist
• Cellular telephone auto muting and a green button illumination to give you a contrast with the white LCD
• The pioneer accessory also comes with many tuner features such as updates on traffic jams, Radio Data System, best stations memory, eighteen preset channel memory and a PTY search.

So if you are going to show off to your mates, do it in style with this brand new quality Pioneer DEH-112E and make the most out of your audio car system by utilizing all of these fantastic features and giving your music system the quality it deserves!

So here’s the first installment of our guide to the most famous TV and film cars on the planet. We’ve even included a van – see if you can guess which programme that’s from!

TV Programme: Ashes to Ashes

Car: Audi UR quattro:

While the star of the show is Gene Hunt, a fictional police detective in a TV series set in 1980’s Britain, his bright red Audi UR quattro plays more than just a supporting role.

The car sprang into real life in 1980 and with 4WD and a whole raft of amazing other German car-making wizardry packed into it, the car became an instant cult classic.

Brilliant on the road, brilliant on the rally scene. And now in much demand thanks to Gene Hunt. If you can lay your hands on one – do it. Easy and cost-effective to insure.

Our star rating: 4 stars

TV Programme: Kingdom

Car: Alvis TE21

Fruity old thespian Stephen Fry plays an East of England lawyer in this gentle comedy drama and he scoots around Norfolk in a fabulous Alvis TE21 drophead – sparking an interest in classic cars from a whole new generation.

Alvis is a weird marque. In the best part of 50 years from 1920 onwards, the Coventry-based firm produced cars that were noted for top quality, great handling and a nifty, sporty character. The TE21 model arrived at the end of 1963 – and with a stiff suspension it could shift a bit.

The TE21 was pretty heavy yet managed a very respectable top speed of over 120mph and was available with automatic transmission or a five-speed manual gearbox. It’s a very, very stylish classic – and a restored version could easily set you back ?100,000.

Our star rating: 2 stars

TV Programme: The Sweeney

Car: Mk1 Ford Consul GT

When ITV in the UK screened The Sweeney for the first time, the programme marked a whole new concept in cop shows. Previously fed a diet of boring old ‘bobbies’ like Z-cars and Dixon of Dock Green, The Sweeney had fast cars, swearing, sex scenes, drinking and extreme violence.

And it made household names of main characters Reagan and Carter. In series 1 and 2 the mainstay of the CID crew was a copper brown Mk1 Ford Consul GT, reg NHK 295M – although in later series, Ford Granadas were the norm.

The Consul had front bucket seats as standard, a central floor-mounted remote control gear shift and the speedometer, fuel and temperature gauges all had black non- reflecting dials.

The Consul ‘L pack offered special seats, loop pile carpet colour keyed to the interior, vanity mirror, heated rear screen, clock and trip mileage recorder (not that the Sweeney ever bothered with anything within the law!). No surprises then, that they went for the GT pack option, which included the larger 3.0 V6 engine – capable of 0-60mph in 9 seconds.

Our star rating: 2 stars

TV Programme: Inspector Morse

Car: 1960 Mk II Jaguar

In Colin Dexter’s novels, grouchy copper Inspector Morse’s car was a classic Lancia, but ITV used a Jaguar MK II 2.4 from the start of the television series. In fact, the Carmen red Jag became so iconic that new editions of the earlier novels have been changed so that Morse’s car is a Jaguar!

The Jaguar Mark II ‘a compact four-door saloon’ was introduced in October 1959, at a price of just ?1,534.00 and was made until 1967. Morse’s Jaguar is a 2.4 litre model with a twin overhead-cam 6-cylinder 2,483-cc engine giving 120 bhp.

It’s a bit slow for TV coppers, only capable of accelerating from 0-60 mph in 17.3 seconds, with a maximum speed of 96.3 mph, but Morse didn’t exactly need to burn around the university city of Oxford. Jaguar made almost 84,000 Mk11s, 25,070 of Morse’s 2.4 variation.

Our star rating: 3 stars

TV programme: James Bond films

Car: Aston Martin DB5

Spy 007’s love of fast cars is evident all the way through the original Ian Fleming novels and when they eventually made the silver screen, car lovers everywhere drooled over his gorgeous DB5.

The 1963 DB5 is famous for being the first and most recognised Bond car, featuring notably in: Goldfinger, Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Casino Royale, while it also made background appearances in The World Is Not Enough and Diamonds Are Forever.

The DB5′s engine had been enlarged from the previous DB4’s 3.7L to 4.0L, while the addition of a five-speed transmission and three SU carburetors enabled the car to pull 282hp and propel it to 141 mph (238 km/h).

Standard equipment on the DB5 included reclining seats, pile carpets, electric windows and a fire extinguisher. All models had 4 seats and 2 doors. The UK recommended list price of the sports saloon (coupe) in December 1963 was ?4,248 including Purchase Tax, the convertible was ?4,562.

Our star rating: 5 stars

TV Programme: Dukes of Hazzard

Car: 1969 Dodge Charger

Testosterone-filled teenage boys remember a couple things about the Dukes of Hazzard – Catherine Bach’s never-ending legs (and pert bum in spray-on denim shorts) and the General Lee car.

The General Lee was a 1969 Dodge Charger with a 426 Hemi in every season of the hit programme (except season two, where it had a 440 Magnum engine). It was also said to be the Road/Track model.

Bright orange with a Confederate battle flag painted on the roof, and the words ‘General Lee’ and number ‘01’ on each door, the car’s name refers to the American Civil War Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

The show also used 1968 Chargers since the start (which shared mostly the same sheet metal) by changing the grill and tail lights to the 1969 model year style, and smoothing over the round ’68 side marker lights, which were rectangular on the ’69 model year.

Our star rating: 3 stars

TV Programme: Starsky and Hutch

Car: Ford Torino

We loved the 1970’s. Big hair, disco music, chunky sweaters – and all of this in just one TV series. Los Angeles cops Starsky and Hutch fought villains in a two-door Ford Torino, which was red with a large white vector stripe.

It was nicknamed the Striped Tomato by Hutch but the term didn’t come from the series’ writers – it came from a real-life comment that actor Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky) made. The standard Torino was pretty dull, so producers jazzed it up with a large white vector stripe, 5-slot alloys and larger rear tires. Air shocks were added to give the car an aggressive rake and it worked – especially for Ford, who built 1,000 replicas of the “Starsky and Hutch” car in the spring of 1976.

The ‘Starsky and Hutch’ replica was available with all Torino engines, and the limited production package was essentially a special paint option with the deluxe bumper group and dual colour-keyed sport mirrors as mandatory options. Seat colours were restricted to white or black and were available with all cloths and seating options.

Our star rating: 2 stars

TV Programme: Knight Rider

Car: 1982 Pontiac Trans Am

Forget Baywatch – bubble haired David ‘The Hof’ Hasselhoff first shot to fame in Knight Rider – a bonkers TV series that ran from 1982 to 1986 which featured KITT, a talking car equipped with mind-blowing gadgetry.

Unsurprisingly, given its low-budget cast, KITT became the star of the show, but then it was a gleaming black 1982 Pontiac Trans Am. The car oozed sex appeal and sparked a massive interest in American Classics, which exists still to this day.

By the way, KITT stands for ‘Knight Industries Two Thousand’ an eponymous doff of the cap to its weird technology-cum-crime fighting creators.

Our star rating: 3 stars

TV programme: The A-team

Car: The GMC van

Da-da-da, dada, da. Da, dada, da, da, dadada, da. It’s hard to believe any TV programmes, especially from Hollywood, could make vans sexy – but the A-team did it in bucket loads.

The black and metallic grey GMC van used by the A-Team – a crackpot collection of crime-fighting misfits – had a characteristic red stripe, black and red wheels, rooftop spoiler, and became an instant icon.

The van is a 1983 G-series which was heavily customised by the Universal Studios prop department. The engine is a 350 cid with minor modifications (mainly the carb and exhaust system), while the wheels are turbine style 15″ painted black with red accents.

Other modifications include – quad headlight conversion, full front brushbar, fog/driving lights, exterior sun visor, quad square exhaust tips (each side in front of rear wheels), and custom made rear wing. Interior was custom-white bucket seats, shag carpet, and custom gun case in the back.

It also had beefy air shocks in the rear to improve handling, which was poor and underpowered. In fact, scenes where it burns out were done by spraying bleach in front of and onto the rear tyres which creates billowing grey smoke.

Our star rating: 2 stars.

TV Programme: Back To The Future (Film)

Car: De Lorean DMC-12

Look, make no bones about it, apart from James Bond’s DB5 this is THE iconic TV and film car. It grabbed attention in real life and it grabbed attention on-screen.

The De Lorean DMC-12 became a time machine for Back To The Future, but was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and manufactured for real in 1981 by the De Lorean Motor Company, in Northern Ireland. The 2-door coupe had a 2.8 L (2849 cc), V6 engine and was available in 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmissions.

It was the only model ever produced by the company and featured gull-wing doors with a fiberglass ‘underbody’, to which non-structural brushed stainless steel panels are fixed.

The first prototype appeared in March 1976, and production officially began in 1981 (with the first DMC-12 rolling off the production line on January 21st) at the DMC factory in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. During its production, several aspects of the car were changed, such as the bonnet style, wheels and interior.

About nine thousand DMC-12s were made before production stopped in late 1982.

Our star rating: 5 stars

TV programme: Herbie ‘The Love Bug’

Car: 1963 Volkswagen Beetle ragtop sedan.

Peace and love, man. With the amount of ‘acid’ dropped in the hippified atmosphere of the late 60s, we weren’t all that surprised when a film starring a humanised VW beetle appeared.

Herbie The Love Bug was a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle deluxe ragtop sedan painted in Volkswagen L87 pearl white. The interior would normally be a matching white but Herbie’s interior was painted a special non-reflective grey, so the camera and studio lights would not reflect.

In this original 1968 film, Herbie’s stripes differ from those in later movies – the stripes do not cover the valances or louvers of the car and the blue is a lighter shade. Also, Herbie features color-keyed running boards, while in later films the running boards are standard black.

Our star rating: 2 stars

A Canadian shopping in the U.S.A. for a car and then bringing it in, (importing the car), through relatively standardized channels can save a wallop of cash. For example – an Acura MDX models starts at $ 40,000 in the US but $ 54,000 in Canada. Or take the case of Volvo cars – which are made in Sweden, nowhere near the North American continent. For the exact same luxury model – the S60 the “premium” option package the cost is $ 995. After extensive travel and research industry experts such as Winnipeg based William Simpson has come to the conclusion that the cost of this options package priced in Canada would easily range between $ 5 – $ 8,000 that is with this “premium “options package was available to the Canadian automotive market as opposed to piece-meal and ala carte.

The humorous part or not so humorous part is that it does not seem to matter where the car is made. Regardless of domestic or offshore origin you as a Canadian will pay a lot more for the same product – irrespective of any taxes paid. It is not a situation as with gas prices where the bulk of the cost of the product is taxation. In this case with no taxes, or taxes out, there is a large pricing difference to you no matter what Whether your car is made and manufactured in Canada, with all kinds of federal and provincial government support and informal subsidies and then treated as a NAFTA free trade vehicle or the car is manufactured far away in a foreign country or continent the pattern is all the same..

How does an average person and consumer go about importing a vehicle into Canada from the United States? Importing a car from the U.S. into Canada is a relatively simple matter and process. First the prospective buyer researches his car in a standard and normal sense. Next he or she should check with the Canadian Government agency to check and verify if the car, truck or S.U.V. vehicle that they wish to import is admissible. The website is easily found, in a standard manner, from the Canadian Government Department “The Registrar of Foreign Motor Vehicles “or Riv for short. The website can be found at www.riv.ca . Prominent on the front page of the Riv.ca website is “Importing a U.S. Vehicle into Canada Find out how.”

The RIV’s process states to check and verify: that your vehicle is admissible and can be modified to meet Canadian requirements by checking Transport Canada’s List of Vehicles Admissible from the United States. The Registrar of Imported Vehicles program regulates only vehicles originally manufactured for the U.S. market. Vehicles originally manufactured to standards other than the U.S. or Canada, are inadmissible into Canada under the current laws. The program regulates passenger cars, trucks, vans, jeeps, chassis cabs, trailers, motorcycles, off-road vehicles and snowmobiles less than 15 years old and buses manufactured after January 1, 1971.

For information on the importation of vehicles into Canada from countries other than the United States, go to Transport Canada’s web site as well as Canada Border Services Agency’s web site.

Next in line with RIV’s procedure is to check for vehicle modification requirements. Even if your vehicle was manufactured in Canada for North American requirement your vehicle must meet Canadian standards. As examples Canadian vehicles are required by laws and standards that both have car infant tether mounts and daylight running lights.

One more recent addition to the lists is for a simple recall clearance letter. The recall clearance letter sates that the vehicle has no outstanding recalls by the manufacturer on it.

The recall clearance letter must be on official letterhead from either the dealer or manufacture.

Either can simply issue the letter. However the letter is mandatory at the time of entry, in order to pass the Canadian border clearance process.

In order to “export “your car from the United States to Canada you must receive export clearance from the U.S. border authorities. This is mandatory and if not done can result in major fines – either now or later on a simple road trip “across the line”. Simply fax the appropriate U.S. border post’s vehicle export fax phone number at least 72 hours before arrival.

In terms of transporting your vehicle there are several options. Either you can do it yourself and perhaps make it a holiday and vacation of picking up your vehicle. In other cases either you may not have the time available or feel the drive is too strenuous. A processional car transport service can be hired to transport your new vehicle. On top of that if the vehicle leaves the dealer lot on a transport truck, its tires will never hit the pavement of the highway. The car does not have to be plated in the state. As a result the savings incurred in states sales taxes that may not have to be paid, may well pay for the transportation costs of the car carrier service. Of course verify all of this both with the dealer and the local state tax authorities before committing to any plans and the auto carrier transport service.

Next, after receiving clearance follow the process outlined on the Riv site at the Canadian Border Port of entry. Not all Canadian border posts are set up for this process. Generally the larger entry ports are. You will be asked to provide documentation as indicated on the Riv site.

Title, documentation and sales receipts are required. You will need a valid Canadian address to be eligible for this process. You will be billed by Canada customs a Riv fee of approximately $ 300, General Sales Tax (G.S.T.) on the price of the vehicle. In addition, depending on the origin of manufacture of the car you will be required to pay 6.1 % duty if the car is not made within the NAFTA Free Trade Zone (U.S.A., Canada and Mexico). G.S.T. in 2008 now runs at 5 %. Provincial Sales Tax payment will vary depending on the province of the owner and importer of the vehicle.

Interestingly enough if the car is a “Classic Car”, older than 15 years of age; the car will fall in a different and much simpler procedure with few requirements and inspection. It all depends on the rules and modifications for that vehicle as stated on the Riv website. If in doubt phone. Remember that you will have to comply again with certain regulations – such as daytime running lights and other requirements in your specific locale and province.

All in all importing a car into Canada from the United States can be a fairly easy and straightforward affair, even if you do it yourself, without the need for a broker. Two factors come into play – always verify what the current rules are with the Government of Canada authorities – Transport Canada and the Registrar of Foreign Motor Vehicles (Riv). Lastly always pay close attention to fluctuations in the currency rates – Canadian dollars vs. U.S. American currency.

Lastly even If you have done all your homework you may be squeamish or not have the time and energy to physically transact the final importation process. Some people may have had previous encounters with the customs authorities.. Others may have their own reasons and just want it done right. For a nominal fee a professional customs broker can accomplish the final leg work. Such a trained professional can vette your paperwork and inspect it. A great amount of time and energy can be saved by using the services of a trained professional customs broker, who is both trained in process, and does it all the time. Often using the services of a professional customs broker is money well spent.

Here are a few easy ways to care for your vehicle tires.

Inflation (The Good Kind):

It’s usually a given that proper inflation gives you more efficient fuel usage. And it is certainly true for street driving, that under-inflated tires can greatly decrease your mileage, make your car more prone to skid in wet conditions, and cause uneven tire wear.

But for a vehicle that you take off-road, there are different considerations and conditions. So many Jeep owners actually prefer softened, aired-down bias tires. But, these are definitely not street tires, so there is additional maintenance required is you use these types of tires.

You may wish to consider off-road savvy radial tires. These would seem to provide the best of both worlds. However, you will need to adjust the inflation depending on whether you are on paved streets or negotiating off-road conditions and obstacles.

Either way, one tool you cannot afford to be without is a portable air compressor. This allows you to inflate or deflate your Jeep tires on the go, all from a compact and easy-to-use compression unit.

As The Tires Rotate:

Once again, what you know about automobile tire rotation doesn’t directly correlate to what should be done for a 4-wheel off-road vehicle.

Generally, off roading tires require more frequent tire rotations than a street vehicle. This is because an aggressive tread wears faster. Given the wear discrepancy between front and rear tires, tread balance becomes uneven quickly, resulting in major loss of performance.

Generally, off road vehicles require tire rotation every 6,000 to 8,000 miles, but more use and wear may necessitate rotations as frequently as every 4,000 to 6,000 miles. This is where being proactive in maintaining your tires comes in handy. If you are actively monitoring your tire wear, you will be able to judge best how often to rotate your tires.

Keep in mind that for new tires, the first rotation is the most critical. You will want to pay particular attention to tire inflation and alignment. You can do a lot of damage quickly if you don’t take the time to make the required adjustments at the start.

Also, tire rotations in a Jeep should not be done front to back, as with a street vehicle. Rather they should be done in an X. This means that front-left goes to rear-right, and vice versa, while front-right goes to rear-left, and vice versa.

Consider Nitrogen:

Essentially, nitrogen gas tire inflation is nothing more than replacing the air in your tires with nitrogen gas. This modification provides improved gas mileage, longer tire wear, and better performance. Best of all it is also environmentally friendly. So you can go off-road and go green at the same time.

Nitrogen gas tire inflation for your Jeep tires is becoming more common as it becomes more readily available. If it is not available to you now, keep watching your favorite auto supply store. It should be available soon. This is one enhancement you will want to adopt.

What exactly is drifting?

In a nut shell drifting is the art of changing the angle of attack of your car, while still maintaining full control, so in a typical drift driver X approaches the corner and turns in hard too early, this will bring the rear of the car around, Driver X will then turn back into the slide and keep the car going around the corner while maintaining as much angle and speed as possible, then he will over correct and throw the car into another slide right after the first one, with as little straight lining as possible.

Can a RC car Drift?

Yes, if you`ve ever been involved with RC racing, you know the level of setup that even the basic RC Cards come with, and drifting is no exception. While a stock standard RC car can drift out of the box, there are some basic setup and chassis modification that will help you get more angle, speed and chicks

Where do I start?

The first thing you need is a RC car, I’ll use two examples, both of which I’ve had personal experience with, the Tamiya TT01 and the Tamiya TA05. The first step to drifting is to break that traction, due to the power to weight ratio of RC Cars we need a little help, Drift Tires are all you need to get sideways, but there is a little more you can do if you want to compete. If you can’t find RC Drift tires you can use insulation tape, be sure to wrap it in the same direction that the wheel will be turning, a good trick is to lay it down and roll you RC Car over it, this is the right way, Taped tires tend to work best on surfaces that already have a little to no traction, i.e. an underground parking lot, but they don’t last long. Drift tires all have different tractions, more traction = bigger drifts, but this is useless if you need to compete on a tight track as the amount of torque used to break traction will also generate a lot of speed, in the end it’s down to personal preference.

What next?

Okay so you taped your tires and played around a bit, not we need to get the car to be more predictable, all the standard racing setting apply, shocks, ride height and wheel angles are up to you, but if there is a must have it’s the rear differential, you need to lock it, this is also know as a spool diff, basically it means that both wheels must turn at the same time. The result is a car that will break and regain traction on command, the drifts will also be much easier to control, more throttle = more angle, less throttle = less angle.

TT01

The Tamiya TT01 uses a planetary gear setup for the rear diff, which is easy to convert (and convert back should you change your mind later) the two most command ways to lock this diff are 1. Open the Diff and fill it with glue from a glue gun, or 2. Take a small piece of fuel tubing ,cut it open along it’s length, and roll this around one of the planetary gears. Once done close the diff and check if it give the desired result before you put it back. The other option is to buy a hop-up spool diff.

TA05

The TA05 uses a ball diff at the back and the front, this is not as easy to modify, but it can be done. The way I modified mine was to use pop rivets. I opened the diff and removed the ball bearings and metal plates that the balls run along. I then drilled three small holes in the side, getting both halves of the diff. I then pop riveted them together and filed down the rivets. This worked, but be careful. 1. It’s not reversible and if you make a mistake the diff will be destroyed. 2. It doesn’t last long, eventually the forces that go through the diff will destroy this because it’s been weakened by holes. A Spool diff is available for the TA05 and this is the preferred options.

What about the front diff?

Now that we have a solid platform we can experiment with slightly different setups to find the one that suites us best, this varies from car to car, but the principle is the same. I personally love using a front one-way diff, or a center one-way diff for more control. The downside is that using brakes at any time is the same as using you e-brake (hand-brake) in a real car, the tail will slide around in a 180, while this can be useful to initiate a drift and transition to a second drift from the first it’s very easy to spin out, so most people prefer not to use the one-ways. Once again this is down to personal preference.

Why drifting is much better than racing.

Well I love both, but from the drifting side it takes a lot more skill and a lot less car, what I mean is that while racing takes skill, you can compensate with an awesome car, there is no way a TT01 will consistently win in a race against a carbon fibre racing machine. But with drifting you can, a TT01 can out perform any car out there, yes it will be difficult, but so much of drifting is down to driver skill that anything can happen. This being the case it’s also possible to get into drifting with very little financial backing (unlike racing)

I hope this article has given you some idea’s about drifting, please feel free to contact me if you have any suggestions or need any advice, advice is always free, like the rest of my site