How to Stay Safe If You Break Down

If your car breaks down, you and your passengers could open many dangers. In fact, studies show that deaths and injuries on the highway shoulders almost 20% increased between 2005 and 2007.

to consider ways to keep the security of all and to help you, here are some important tips to help you fall on any street:

Keep the security of all. It is a good idea, your vehicle on the road, away from traffic. Make sure passengers are safe - and out of the car - and all the animals you have to be kept with you in check.

Notify users of the road. Turn on your hazard lights and put a warning triangle on the road at least 45 meters (feet 150) behind your broken down vehicle on the same side of the road - not with a warning device on a floor of highway, although, as you might put yourself in danger, rapid transport .

If it is dark or when the visibility is poor, you keep your side lights, but let no one stood before them. They are wearing a fluorescent / reflective jacket or vest, but are not here (or let someone else) between your vehicle and oncoming traffic.

Call for help. But mobile in the vicinity of gasoline vapors or spills. Contact your recovery service of breakdown or emergency number 999 (112 if you are abroad). Make sure you clear information about your position - route number, direction of travel (about "East" or "Salisbury"), websites and so on.

Help prepare your provider of roadside assistance, if they ask for your type of vehicle, registration number and the number of people with the vehicle, with information. You can also ask whether you have an idea of the reason for the crash.

Finally, when help arrives, do not forget to request proof of identity.

additional considerations when you fall to the motorway

Move the security. If your vehicle is in a position to try the highway at the next exit to leave or move to a service area.

If you can not leave the highway. Turn your hazard lights and indicators, or pull off the road. Stop the far left as possible, and turn the wheels left. Try to stop near an emergency telephone, if possible, it saves you a disadvantage and can go to dangerous consequences.

Exit the vehicle from the left side doors to avoid you and your passengers to the danger of speeding traffic - they should allow the animals in the vehicle, except in emergencies.

Once it from the vehicle, the people keep away from the floor, and children under control. Do not attempt even simple repairs, or leave open the lid.

Get help. There are posts every 100 meters on the back of the shoulder. Follow the arrows on the aid station next to the phone - calls are free and are connected directly with the police. If you give them your details be sure to tell them when you feel vulnerable - for example, if you are a woman alone, or if you have small children with you.

When you return to your vehicle, wait behind the barrier on the motorway embankment.

If you are willing to have got on your way to always increase the speed on the shoulder before the movement in a safe place.

David Williams is the CEO of GEM Motoring Assist, a provider of award-winning breakdown cover to the United Kingdom.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_N_Williams

On A Whim

Not all masterpieces are products of a systematical, organized approach. some just seem to fall into place.


To build a hatchback fit for print and worthy of praise, following all the proper steps, using caution and taking a scientific approach, if you will, are all but requisite. Methodical planning is almost always necessary too, ensuring that the car purchased and the proposed mod's will ultimately agree with one another. Setting aside an ample amount of time and adequate financial resources are equally important.

Screw that. This project car buildup for Hacienda Heights, California, resident Jovito La Victoria was spawned from nothing more than a whim and is arguably better for it.It was 2003 when La Victoria first laid eyes on his '96 Civic CX hatchback. He tells us the car was covered in primer and played host to more than a few "holes and dings.""I didn't buy the car planning on fixing it up," La Victoria says of the EK he just couldn't pass up. "I bought it on a whim."
Honda Civic Hatchback Full Engine Bay View

Already preoccupied with two other long-term buildups (a 2003 Civic Si and a 2005 Scion XB), and understandably not wanting to take on another project, La Victoria says he planned to leave the hatchback untouched.

As time passed, the hatchback proved nothing short of timeworn. Mechanical failures and broken parts became predictable occurrences and the exterior appeared more embarrassing each day, La Victoria explains. Still lacking intent on forging the CX into anything other than a daily-driven commuter ride, La Victoria dropped the car off at Monterey Park Auto Body for a makeover. The plan was basic: transform his ride into less of an eyesore, cover up the parking-lot-primer job and rid the body of its war-zone persona. But when La Victoria picked up the freshly painted hatchback, visions of a new project car buildup soon clouded his head.
Honda Civic Hatchback Roll Cage View

The glistening of the freshly applied Integra Type R Championship White paint was too much for La Victoria, and the desire to complement the rest of the car to match overtook him. He first turned to the factory-supplied D-series, which he decided, with little persuasion, had to go. He turned to the folks at GTR Performance in La Habra, California, for an engine swap. La Victoria soon settled on the idea of a JDM Integra Type R engine transplant, and had his eye on one B18C in particular. GTR Performance had a fully functional, '96 Type R for sale but, to La Victoria's dismay, we're not interested in parting engine from chassis. Undeterred, La Victoria waited months until a fellow customer-one interested in the chassis alone-came along and left all but body and frame for him.

With the help of a Hasport engine mount kit, the technicians at GTR Performance fitted the B18C into La Victoria's EK, along with the Type R's transmission, suspension and brakes. Elegant Motorsports of Burbank, California, hooked La Victoria up with a set of special-order Volk Racing Gram Light wheels, while Robear Racing of Upland, California, outfitted the EK with a host of suspension add-ons, including their own chassis strengthening bars and a set of TEIN Super Street coilovers. La Victoria says it took nearly six months to get the rims, but adds, "like the engine, they were worth the wait."

In comparison to the other carefully planned and well thought out project cars that had grace the confines of La Victoria's garage, he tells us he enjoys driving the EK the most. "The XB is like a 'fridge on wheels and the turbo car is a bit unpredictable," La Victoria admits. "They say once you go turbo you don't go back, but they're wrong," he says, "I'd much rather drive my all-motor hatchback any day." While naysayers may never stray from the road of careful research and planning when project car buildups are concerned, La Victoria's EK is proof positive that a car built upon a whimsical notion is something not to be underestimated.

bolts&washers

Jovito La Victoria's
1996 Civic Hatchback CX

Propulsion

La Victoria turned to the JDM Integra Type R for powertrain components and, for the most part, has modified them little. The B18C inhales more effortlessly, thanks to a Feels air pipe mated to an HKS air filter. Exhaust characteristics are improved upon with the help of an HKS header but encounter restrictions when mated to the OEM Civic exhaust system. Save for some NGK spark plug wires teamed with the company's iridium plugs, all else remains stock.
Honda Civic Hatchback Low Driver Side View

Engine cooling is improved upon with the help of an aluminum radiator from Koyo. Hasport engine mounts fasten the B-series engine and 5-speed gearbox to the chassis.

Rims & Rubber

Volk Racing 57S Gram Light wheels are wrapped within 205/40R-16 Neo Gen rubber, courtesy of Nitto. The 16x7-inch rims feature a 42mm offset and the '96 Type R's 4x114.3mm bolt pattern.

Stance
TEIN Super Street coilovers take care of compression and rebound duties and are housed within '96-spec Integra Type R suspension components at all four corners. Warding off body roll are Suspension Techniques anti-roll bars on-call at both ends. Up front, a duo of strut-tower braces reside-one from the Integra Type R and the other a three-point piece from Carbing. A Mugen rear strut-tower bar and Robear Racing chassis strength bars further reinforce the Civic. Aluminum lower control arms from TC Spoilers are on call as well, reducing unsprung weight and improving handling.
Honda Civic Hatchback Driver Side Rear View

Resistance
La Victoria's EK makes due with OEM Integra Type R rotors, calipers and Project u street pads at each corner. Honda brake fluid flows through Goodridge steel braided lines.

Body

Outside: The hatchback's body is dressed up with Civic Type R front and rear lips, a Spoon Sports-style wing, OEM side skirts and hood-all made of carbon fiber. Spoon Sports-style mirrors; JDM headlamps, fog lights and side markers and a Civic Type R front grill complete the transformation.Inside: La Victoria opted for Recaro seats yanked from the '99 Integra Type R to replace those of the Civic's Takata four-point harnesses strap everyone to their seats, while La Victoria takes command with a Momo Corse steering wheel and an assortment of Pivot gauges to monitor everything from engine speed to water temperature. A '99 Si gauge cluster replaces the hatchback's OEM-issue unit. With the help of Pit Crew Motorsports in San Gabriel, California, La Victoria finished off the JDM interior theme with an Integra Type R shift knob, shift boot and center console.

I.C.E.
Pioneer head unit and speakers.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

This Crazy Street 1997 Honda Civic EK Turbo is an Evil Carnival on Wheels

Famed American author Ray Bradbury penned the classic "Something Wicked This Way Comes" in 1962. The book chronicles the desperate actions of two teenage boys, Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade, as they struggle to save the fate of their hometown from the evil Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show, a carnival that threatens to steal the souls of the citizenry by granting their deepest secret wishes.

When properly prodded Hugh Le's 1997 Honda Civic can be just as menacing as a Cooger & Dark sideshow. The pristine indy yellow EK reminds us that sometimes it's good to be bad.

Since this Honda is representing on the cover of our 20th Anniversary issue it is quite telling that our Senior Tech Editor, Robert Choo, built the long block of this beast. The Civic relies on a B20B block fitted with Benson's Full Metal Jacket ductile iron sleeves with copper o-rings to withstand the torturous stress of big boost. At the inner core of the block a shaped and lightened LS crank swings JE 9.0:1 slugs on beefy Crower con rods. A Mugen baffled oil pan, Toda oil pump gear, Toda timing chain setup and Honda CTR N1 crank pulley round out the block build.

The engine was completed at Raceline Development where a Type-R cylinder head was affixed to the bustling B-series bullet. Tom Fujita of Portflow sculpted 84mm combustion chambers, port matched the unit and assembled the head with stainless steel oversized valves, titanium retainers and dual valve springs. The head was fitted with Top Fuel Japan turbo-spec cams and JUN cam gears. A JG Edelbrock intake manifold was secured to the head via a Hondata insulated gasket designed to reduce heat transfer to the intake charge.

Fuel and ignition are addressed with a hard-hitting array of components. Big, 1000cc Blitz injectors are fed by Aeromotive SX gear: high-flow pump, filter and regulator by way of Earl's -8 Pro Light lines and a trick custom fuel rail from ADF. The spark side is an all-MSD affair with a Digital 6 Plus ignition box, Blaster coil and Pro Cap putting the zap to NGK V-Power plugs.

Raceline then installed the engine and an Integra LS transmission using Mugen mounts. The gearbox features a GS-R fifth gear and final drive, an OS Giken twin-plate clutch and lightened flywheel, KAAZ LSD and The Driveshaft Shop 36mm Stage 5 axles.

The next stop on the Civic's power tour was TSR Fabrication where Datsun 510 fanatic Mario Lozano flexed his considerable fabrication muscle in creating the turbo manifold and three-inch downpipe, which are masterpieces in their own right. The medium was stainless steel and Mario related that not all turbo manifolds are created equal. "People don't realize that the turbo accessories they choose have a big impact on how I go about fabbing a manifold," says Mario. "In this case, special buttressing for the TiAL wastegate they were running was essential because that thing is an anchor. I fabricated the manifold to position the turbo and wastegate in a comfortable position as far as access to work on it and how it looks when you pop the hood."Hondas are tough customers. I have built turbo manifolds that last 12 years without a whimper but there is something about the harmonics of high-revving Honda engines that can vibrate apart tubular manifolds so you have to go overboard on the buttressing and other strengthening strategies."

Mario's downpipe leads to a trick Top Fuel Japan 3.25-inch exhaust system that allows the turbo to spool freely while delivering a mean snarl when the B20 hits full song.

From TSR's Torrance locale the Honda migrated to City of Industry, Calif., and the friendly confines of SP Engineering. Since this is where Hugh works he was able to keep tabs on the project as it neared completion. SP attacked with an HKS GT3240 turbo and then swapped the TiAL unit for a lighter HKS GT-II wastegate with 60mm valve assembly. A Blitz SBC-ID boost controller was wired up as was an HKS F-CON V-Pro 3.2 tuning computer. SP's Hiro Kondo fabbed all the intercooler piping, installed an HKS Type-II blow-off valve and a Blitz three-row FMIC kit with special anodized bracing fabbed by TSR.

After a few break-in sessions on the Dynojet it was time for SP's Lead Technician, Jason Reinholdt, to get serious. Jason sealed the deal in only 14 runs with the B20 topping out at a sick 675.3 whp and 455.4 lb-ft of torque. Max boost was 30 psi. The fuel used was C-16 race gas.

When it comes to Honda tuning you need to have a seamless tuning strategy with total control to ensure a proper air/fuel ratio to avoid damaging detonation. At 675 whp being a bit off can be catastrophically bad. The Civic produced an air/fuel curve that was predictably stable and held a 11.8:1 AFR from 6500 rpm to redline.

Also of importance is having a bottom end built to handle the high cylinder pressures, added heat and kinetic demands of big boost and big power. To this end Rob Choo stresses three points, "Clearances, clearances and clearances. When it comes to building a high-performance engine," says Rob, "there is nothing more important than checking the clearances on everything. You need to check the clearance on the rings, bearing, cylinders, etc ... everything.

"Any engine builder will tell you the longest part of an engine build is checking the clearances and not the actual hands-on assembly. A properly trained monkey can assemble an engine, not everyone can actually build one."

Style wise there should be a familiar ring at work here as Hugh`s car was on the cover of the March 2001 issue. It only made 347 whp back then but retains a similar look. The car kept its Civic Type-R front end conversion, C-West body kit, and Civic Type-R headlamp conversion.

20/20 Autobody traded the championship white hue for an indy yellow color, swapped the

previous Type-R wing for a Spoon Sports carbon fiber example and added a Backyard Special carbon rear hatch and Sunny Styling carbon hood.

Footwork consists of all new stuff. Top Fuel Japan Drag coil-overs, Cusco front and rear strut tower bars Civic Type-R sway bars, Z-10 front traction bars, Top Fuel Japan rear lower control arms and a JDM Type R 5-lug hub conversion. The hubs are home to golden-hued 17-inch Advan RG aluminum wheels and Falken 215/40-17 GRB rubber.

Stopping power is enhanced by a Mugen braking system with slotted rotors, Mugen calipers and pads and braided stainless lines.

Hugh also has a set of drag-oriented rolling stock and he plans to really put the whip to this Civic on the road, on the strip and around the road course. After all, what good is having ripped, bulging muscles if you're not willing to flex them?