THE CAR NAIRA BLOG

 The displacement of an engine is the total internal volume of the cylinders at the bottom (i.e. minimum compression point) of the piston’s stroke.  Thus, a 2.4-litre straight 4 in your Camry will have a single row of four cylinders, each with an internal volume of 600ml. The 1.8-litre engine in your Corolla has a single row of four cylinders as well, each with an internal volume of 45oml.  You can have 1.2, 1.6 and 1.8 litre variants of the same block; the cylinders simply have thinner or thicker walls. The external size of an engine isn’t a reliable guide to its internal displacement, because the latter only takes into account the size of the holes bored or cast into the cylinder block. A full engine also includes the cylinder head or heads, manifolds, camshaft and rocker covers, pumps, filters, coolant inlets and outlets, mounting points for other components……and that, is why a 2-litre engine is a lot bigger than 2 litres! Twitter and Instagram; @VverteAutoSevcs Email;...

Cabin air filters have been installed in vehicles for the past two decades and are designed to improve the air quality as it enters the interior of your vehicle.  That’s why it’s important to periodically replace the cabin air filter in your vehicle from time to time.  But how do you know when your cabin air filter needs to be replaced? What Does A Cabin Air Filter Do? Cabin air filters as the name suggest filters air as it flows into the interior or cabin of your vehicle.  Cabin air filters have been installed in cars since the early 2000s as a way to improve the air quality inside vehicles. How Often Should You Change Your Cabin Air Filter? The mileage at which you should replace your cabin air filter will be mainly dependent on how much dirt, soot, and debris you regularly drive through. If you live in an area where you regularly have to drive down untarred roads then you would need to replace your cabin air filter more frequently than someone that mainly does city/hig...

Back in 2017, Rolls-Royce unveiled the Sweptail, an incredibly huge Phantom-based one-off coupe with a completely custom coach built body, the first of its kind from Rolls in the modern era. Right after the Sweptail was revealed, Rolls-Royce had a number of clients asking for custom vehicles of their own, leading the company to today announce that it's spinning off Coachbuild into a division of the brand. But three particular customers had very similar visions of what they wanted, and after four years of development, the new Boat Tail was born. Three Boat Tails will be built, one for each of said customers, and each one will have its own unique styling elements, colour and trim specs and special features. So far, only one car has been built -- the blue one you see here -- and Rolls-Royce isn't ready to talk about the other two yet. <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-2583627563363777"      crossorigin=...

Nissan Qashqai Nissan is developing an engine for road cars that could reach 50% thermal efficiency, meaning the potential for much more fuel-efficient cars. An engine's thermal efficiency is a measure of how much of the heat energy generated by combustion is actually converted into useful work. A good rating for a road car is about 40% whereas 50% is a rating normally associated with the best Formula One engines. Most cars particularly older models are have 20%-30% efficiency ratings. Nissan said Friday that an engine designed for road cars could achieve 50% thermal efficiency, but there's a catch: the engine would need to be running at a constant rpm, for example when used as a generator in an extended-range electric vehicle. In a conventional car, an engine experiences a wide variety of rpm and loads, which prevents it from running in its most optimal state due to the rich air-fuel mix required at certain rpm levels. This isn't the case for an engine acting as a generato...

Automotive supplier giant Continental has a tire concept whose technology may end up in production in the not too distant future. A continental concept tyre Called "Conti C.A.R.E." (Connected, Autonomous, Reliable and Electrified), the concept was first shown at the Frankfurt International Motor Show and was developed with future self-driving taxi fleets in mind. It can send information to a fleet manager. The tire features sensors able to measure key vitals such as tread depth, temperature, air pressure, and signs of damage. When necessary, the tire can send information from these sensors to a cloud network where a fleet manager could monitor it. Suppose the tread on a self-driving taxi is getting low, the fleet manager would receive a warning and could call the car back to the station. It can adjust it's air pressure on the fly. Another interesting aspect is the tire's ability to actively adjust its air pressure on the run. This is made possible by centrifugal pumps...

Scratches and swirl marks are part of car ownership. Despite best efforts to keep a car clean and of imperfections, such paint imperfections are often out of the owner's control, that is, if the keke and cab drivers don't get you first. Enter corn to solve the problem. A ceramic coated Chevrolet Camaro A new corn-based lacquer promises to fill in scratches and swirl marks that normally mar a paint finish's outer coat of clear lacquer with nothing other than heat to fix the problem. Germany's Leibniz Institute for New Materials announced Wednesday that it had developed the corn-based lacquer, which is actually derived from corn starch. The lacquer features what the scientists called a "nanomer" property that includes ring-shaped molecules known as cyclodextrins. The molecules are threaded onto a chain of polymer molecules and the cyclodextrins are free to move about this chain, so to speak. They also can't fall off due to the presence of other molecules tha...

Volvo's new cars and SUVs strike up a conversation with one another 2020. The automaker has announced Monday that every new car sold in Europe will be fitted with its latest connected-safety technology that can warn other Volvo drivers about road conditions or vehicle crashes. Volvo connected car safety Volvo calls the features its "Hazard Light Alert and Slippery Road Alert", which rolled out in 2016 on the brand's 90-series cars, but was relegated to Sweden and Norway. Now, all 2020 model year Volvos will feature the technology across Europe. Motor Authority reached out to Volvo to learn if U.S. drivers will be treated to the technology and a spokesman confirmed there are plans for an introduction. However, Volvo isn't ready to say when it will be ready for the U.S.  Before you ask, there's no hope for Africa.  Volvo connected car safety The technology works over a cloud-based network that all Volvo cars will be connected to. From there, every car will anony...

Android users have a new way to interact with their built-in Google Assistant. Google has announced a new Driving Mode for the assistant. Screenshot of Google assistant's driving mode The Driving Mode turns the Google Assistant into an extension of an infotainment system for any Android smartphone. The Driving Mode also focuses on accomplishing tasks with just the driver's voice so they can keep their attention on the road ahead. Upon pairing the smartphone with a car's Bluetooth connection, Driving Mode will open automatically and provide information for the trip ahead. For example, Driving Mode will suggest events or reservations. Drivers can then begin a navigation route to the destination from Driving Mode without fumbling around with their phones. The most relevant functions are front and centre on the screen, such as navigation, media, messages, and phone. The media function ensures a song, podcast, or whatever the driver was listening to before jumping in the car pic...

General Motors has said it will test a prototype airless tire from Michelin. The prototype is called the UPTIS, short for Unique Puncture-proof Tire System, and GM plans to test them on a fleet of Chevrolet Bolt EVs, with a view to making them available as early as 2024. An airless tyre from Michelin Airless tires, often called tweels, are nothing new. Michelin has been developing them for over a decade and already offers them for some commercial vehicles.  A Chevrolet Bolt EV fitted with prototype airless tires from Michelin Airless tires feature a conventional tire tread wrapped around a resin spoke that can compress to absorb impacts. The design eliminates the worry of flats and blowouts, which in turn reduces the use of raw materials and waste. The airless tires also last longer than conventional pneumatic tires, since they also eliminate irregular wear and tear caused by tires with too much air or too little. But the benefits don't end there. Fewer and fewer cars are being sup...