AUDI A9 HYBRID CONCEPT

The Audi A9 is a futuristic vehicle designed by Daniel Garcia. Since it is a hybrid then it will appeal to the eco geeks due to its low emissions.

The roof and windscreen is made from (not yet fully produced) nano material that will make the car be capable of repairing itself.

Electronic paint job means you can change the colour of the vehicle at a touch of a button (ladies, its like new colour shoes when you feel like).

Its a real beauty just not yet for this world.Those wheels just kill me, what do you say?

KEN BLOCK'S FORD RAPTOR

Ken Block's Ford Raptor.....presented by Ford. I have no words just admire.

MUSTANG GT500 1967 (Eleanor)

MUSTANG GT500 1967 (Eleanor)

Most motor fans would associate this beauty from the movie Gone in 60secs. Its raw power and butch exterior appealing to our adrenaline and will to drive such a machine. Funny enough this was not the original model for the 1967 GT500 mustang plus the specifications were not as impressive although, by its right and time of manufacture quite impressive.

The GT500 packs a 7Lt 428 cubic-inch cobra jet V8, (which the older version was water cooled) rated at 335 horse power. 0-60mph in 6.5secs and with an estimated top speed of 128mph. The original model was a 3speed automatic while the modified one is a 4 speed manual.

To get one of these beauties there are only 3 ways, you steal one, buy one from an owner or get one made. It takes about 4 months to make one (2500 man hours) from classic recreations in America who are licensed to recreate the model. The damage would be about 250,000$ (approx22M ksh) before import duty and such taxes. The upside though of making it is that the year of manufacture would be the current year since everything to the chassis will be new so you do not have to register it as a classic car while importing.

The GT500 Shelby Mustangs have gone a long way to the current model. Above is the 2013 GT 500 5.8LT supercharged V8, 650horsepower @6250rpm. Nuff Said!

Bugatti in Kenya

After the west gate motor show I got the honour of having dinner with the Unity Garage participants, one of them whispered about bringing one of these beasts into Kenya, when I asked him when, he replied "I have already ordered it." I guess we will see in a month or two.

Resistor Spark plugs

These plugs service a wider range of vehicles, all EFI engines and most VVT/VVT-I  engines of 1800cc or less. The come in many types:

single tip resistor plug

double tip resistor plug

long range resistor plug

The above plugs are the common ones for Japanese vehicles. Plugs to be used on a vehicle are mostly measured by the CC of the vehicle. For example, 1000cc to 1400cc usually use the single tip plug, 1500cc-1800cc use double tip plugs, but some 2000cc EFI engines use double tip plugs. This two plug's prices range from KSH1200-KSH1400 for the NGK single and Denso double tip, KSH2000-2500 for the NGK double tip plugs. The prices are for a set of 4 pieces.
The third picture, the long range plug is common for the VVT-I 1800cc-2500cc mostly for the X-trail and Suzuki Vitara, some Nissan wingroad are known to also use this plug. You can not exchange this plug and put any of the common resistor plug. The price Ranges from KSH2500-KSH3500 per set of 4 pieces.
 That said, there are resistor plugs manufactured for specific vehicles e.g. the Mitsubishi GDIs and the HONDAS, their plugs are also resistor but are made for certain specific engines therefore changing the plugs in these vehicles to the ones mentioned above could cost you the performance of your car or worse, a new engine. The price range from KSH2200-KSH3500 per set of 4. The quote so far are for genuine NGK and Denso plugs, if you are paying less and your car still does not have the power it had, then you should consider changing where you buy your plugs.
Happy Driving and God bless.

Plugs for Carburator Engine

  Carburetor engines are found in the older petrol fueled models of vehicles. The carburetor engine is less efficient than the EFIs/VVT/VVT-I and the current CDI engines. In that regard the spark plugs used for these engines are different from the rest. The plugs used are called non-resistant plugs and the surface area around the washer is usually bigger but not limited to all carburetor plugs.

BIG CARBURETOR PLUG

 

SMALL CARBURETOR PLUG

With the many fakes in the market you can get GENUINE DENSO(toyota), NGK, CHAMPION or BOSCH plugs for between KSH900-1000/= per set of 4 pieces. The common carburetor vehicles on the Kenyan roads are the Peugeot 504, the Toyota Hilux RN85 and Nissan B12. The Carburetor engines are not usually specific to which make of plug you put in the vehicle any can do but I will encourage one to continue using the plug they are used to.
In some cases there are vehicles of 1800cc and higher which require resistor plugs and I will get to that type of plug in detail next time.
Have a blessed time with your car, and God bless.

WESTGATE MOTOR SHOW, NAIROBI.

UNITY GARAGE - CALDINA

UNITY GARAGE- SUPRA AKA ZEUS AND THE SHOW'S WINNER

ZEU'S ENGINE

LAST YEARS WINNER UNITY GARAGE - SUPRA

ZEUS-N2O TANK

This are just some of the vehicles that were displayed in the motor show. For the rest follow WEST GATE MOTOR SHOW 2012.

SPARK PLUG INTRO 1

Spark plugs are the difference when it comes to your car consuming more fuel or your car consuming to its up most possible economical potential. They are the difference in power output in your car. If your car keeps on jacking, is slow at accelerating , smoking or consuming more fuel than normal, spark plugs could be the problem. In the next few posts I will, in leiman's terms, explain the different types of plugs that are available and the best motor application for them.

Your car service costs could be doctored

For most vehicle owners, the most dreaded time is when the car needs service. At that time, you would hear certain individuals complaining that service costs are high when all they do is leave their vehicles in a garage with the mechanic. Now, if the mechanic is an individual and not part of an established garage then there could be a high possibility that your 'high service costs' are doctored and since most people are ignorant of even the model of their cars, I would say they deserve to be duped.
I will outline some of the innovative ways your mechanics can use to squeeze extra fees out of you, but to do so I will use the Toyota NZE as an apparatus to gauge how much one can get conned.
Some of the ways you get conned are as followed:
1. This is probably the most common, you as the car owner, is represented by a quotation of how much your car will cost to do a basic service so that you can give the mechanic the cash to go purchase the items required. The quote probably looks something like:
Oil filter - ksh500
Air filter - ksh800
Engine oil 4lts - ksh1800
Spark plugs - ksh2000 for a set of 4pcs.
Brake pads - ksh1800

TOTAL - KSH6900

You should note that this is NOT a quote for genuine items but for replacement parts except for the plugs and oil even then there are many fakes. This is an average of what the quote should actually look like:
Oil filter - ksh150
Air filter - ksh350
Engine oil 4lts Shell/Total - ksh1500
Spark plugs 4pcs Denso Toyota Genuine - ksh1200
Brake pads (Japanese quality) - ksh1500

TOTAL - KSH4700

So the mechanic gets himself a bonus of ksh2200. He may even present you with a receipt with an ETR receipt on it, many shops engage in this type of deals with them.

2. The mechanic will tweak with all sorts of things in your car to convince you there is a problem after his 'analysis' he gives you a rough quote of how much it will cost. Lets say you go with him to the shop and purchase all these items, usually mountings and suspension parts, the total of these items comes to ksh30,000. You will be satisfied that you have not been robbed, so you leave the mechanic to work on the car. Now that is where  you actually get robbed. He will go back to the car, fix the places he was tweaking with and replace what actually needs to be replaced then return the other items to the shop and gets a refund. Out of your ksh30,000 purchase he probably only used ksh8,000. You have unknowingly paid for his rent.
Once again the shop he took you to buy the items are in an alliance with him to carry out this kind of deals.

3. The term 'Genuine' is usually abused. Genuine in the parts industry does not necessarily mean Toyota Genuine parts, for example, an oil filter's make could be Nitoyo, that makes it a genuine Nitoyo filter, if the filter is made locally and packaged Nitoyo by other parties than the dealers, those filters are fakes of the Nitoyo filter. There are many fakes in the market especially for suspension parts, spark plugs, brake pads, shock absorbers and Engine oil and lubricants. I would encourage most people to shopping for their own parts because what happens if you send the mechanic, he will charge you for the genuine and put the fake in the car.

These are just some of the ways car owners are duped. Your car will serve you as well as you take care of it. That is why you can see a vehicle, KAC number plates looking cleaner than  KBP. I will try my best to inform you of many ways to take care of your car, until next time, happy driving and God bless.