Thursday, September 6, 2007
For over twenty years, EBC has been a dominant force in motorcycle brakes with a list of national and world championship winners using its Brakes and other performance parts. Among the users of EBC are Arena Cross US Champion Buddy Antunez and World Champion Joel Smets. EBC has also manufactured brake disc systems and brake pad sets for premier mountain bike system builders such as Cannondale, Hope Technology, Magura, Hayes, Avid, and Shimano.
Founded in 1978, the EBC Brakes Group became pioneer of aftermarket disc brake pads for motorcycles. Since then, EBC Brakes has grown to be a worldwide group with strengths in every area of the brake industry.Having successfully dominated the motorcycle industry with majority market shares in most western markets, EBC Brakes has developed a huge range of brakes for mountain bikes, automobiles, race and rally cars, vans, trucks, buses, commercial vehicles and even mainline locomotives.
EBC Brakes divides its brake disc system and brake pad sets in different categories, namely: Greenstuff, Yellowstuff, Redstuff, and Bluestuff.
“Greenstuff” is a high friction Aramid-based organic pad with very low metallic content that comes on strong from first application of the brake pedal, without disc damage and minimal brake dust. It is for fast and heavy street use, brakes well from cold, and holds up even to temperatures of above 650 degrees Celsius. “Greenstuff” has a high initial brake effect and gives drivers confidence from first application of the brake pedal. There is no such thing as a NO DUST pad. The very nature of how a brake works requires that some dust be generated to avoid rotor vibration (shimmying). The EBC pad creates less dust and dust is more easily washed off than most. All pads create more dust as they are bedding in especially if rotors are worn.
“Greenstuff” is used to replace high friction brake pads, which is prone to a front-to-rear brake imbalance. An application example of this technology is the SUV/Light Truck 6000 Series 4x4 Brakes. An excellent solution for 4x4 use, this heavy duty “Greenstuff” formulation has slightly lower friction than its counterparts but has the benefit of longer life and better resistance to off-road conditions of dust and sand. It has an extremely low rotor wear factor and medium-to-good lifetime.
“Yellowstuff” coded as Yellowstuff 1793 is the name for EBC’s latest full race formulation which is currently in race use in Europe. Although a full race material and capable of high temperature use with very good wear life, this new formulation sets a new trend in race type brake pad compounds. The “bite” from cold is superb which is uncommon with race materials (normally requiring warm-up) and makes this a pad which can be safely used on the highway as well as on the race track. It has a nominal friction coefficient of 0.46 with zero rotor damage and low dust. Since “Yellowstuff” was introduced in late 2003, it has received many positive write ups from performance drivers of faster cars such as the Subaru Impreza WRX. It emits far less dust than semi-metallic pads and has been proven to stop a saloon car 13 meters quicker than OEM pads from 100mph/160kph.
“Redstuff, ” on the other hand, is a semi-metallic high performance road material used in saloon car racing, having clinched the Slick 50 Saloon Car Championship with the Honda of Ian Mitchell in 1997. It was extensively used by many race teams going into 1999. “Redstuff” is recommended for road use, only in cars that have 200BHP+. “Bluestuff, ” EBC Brakes' longest lasting material, has a slightly lower friction coefficient than its counterparts Green, Yellow, and Red, but delivers far longer life and is suitable for endurance races up to six hours in duration on most types of saloon cars.
For SUV's, EBC designed a noiseless pad that will stop faster, and last longer with almost zero brake dust. Called “the ultimate SUV front end pad, ” the 7000 Series SUV Supreme do not include any steel fiber, and therefore none of the dust sticks or adheres to wheel alloys.
EBC also introduced its Drilled & Slotted Sport Rotors, special disc alloys designed to have wider slots that actually draw cool air across the pad surface keeping pads and rotors cooler. They also expel dust, dirt, and hot gases better than fine slots, which is prone to rust accumulation. The blind drilled holes break down surface gases when braking from speed but do not weaken the rotor cross section, thereby lessening the chance of rotors cracking over time and heavy use.
EBC has proven its mettle in the field of brakes performance parts, and will seem to continue stamping its class with its innovative line of brake pad systems.
Brains and Brawns for Edge Products
Diesel engines produce high torque and are used by powerful climbers. For this reason, they are primarily used in most 4x4's or small trucks. It only got better when power programmers were manufactured to boost the diesel's capabilities. Edge is one of the companies that has made a mark in electronic diesel boosters.
Founded in 1999, Edge Products has become the premier name for aftermarket performance electronics. Initially, the company was founded on its efforts to produce performance electronics and power programmers on diesel-powered trucks. Over the years, however, Edge has expanded its selection to include power performance products for the gas truck and Jeep markets. Edge has twice been named in the Inc. 500's fastest growing private companies and was noted as Utah's fourth fastest growing company between 1999-2004.
Edge produces modules and programmers for all major vehicle manufacturers, including Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and Jeep under the following brands: A2, Juice, Attitude, Evolution, EZ and Trail Jammer. Since its inception, Edge has been known for the power its modules and power programmers give to small trucks. Coupled with the additional gains in horsepower, Edge's ability to display multiple engine parameters and to provide associated safety features for those parameters on its stylish in-cab monitors, has revolutionized the small truck industry.
One of the primary purposes of Edge of power programmers is to control exhaust gas temperature of a diesel engine. EGT is the single most important indicator of how a diesel engine is performing. Unlike a gasoline motor, a diesel motor continues to increase power as more fuel is added. As more fuel is added, heat is generated until the motor just gets too hot and things start to melt. This is a situation to avoid. Exhaust gas temperature is the ideal measurement of how hot the motor is, since temperature fluctuations in the gas are almost instantaneous.
There are basically three ways for a power “box” to make more power in a diesel: timing, duration and pressure. Some boxes just do pressure, some do timing and duration and some do all three. If a box does just pressure, the box is fooling the truck’s computer into thinking it has less fuel pressure than it really does. In response, the computer increases the fuel rail pressure and so when the injectors fire, since there is increased fuel pressure, more fuel is released into the engine and additional power is created.
Two examples of Edge's highly sophisticated power programmers are the A2 and the Juice Platinum. The Edge A2 is a multi-level device that acts as an in-cab controller, and provides Award-Winning TomTom GPS Software with preloaded maps of the U.S. and an optional backup camera. As an added safety feature, the A2 automatically de-fuels to prevent excessive EGTs, turbo boost, and tranny slip – and also provides cold engine protection. The A2 monitor allows you to monitor the performance of your engine’s vital engine components and output values. One of its additional features, the backup camera gives high-quality color image with “night vision” infrared LEDs to allow users to see objects in total darkness, up to a range of approximately 30 feet.
Built for the Ford 6.0L Power Stroke Diesel, the Juice Platinum is considered the most powerful module built ever. Juice Platinum increases engine output and monitors powertrain vitals while adding a host of new attributes, including a Turbo Timer, expanded transmission control, and even diagnostics trouble code clearing.
The Turbo Timer is the latest in a long list of Juice Platinum safeguards. This feature prolongs turbo life by allowing the truck to run after shut-off for a predetermined time or until a specific EGT is reached. Carryover protective features include automatic de-fueling to prevent excessive EGT, boost, and transmissions slip; and cold-engine protection.
Truly, diesel trucks are muscle rides. Turbo chargers give them extra grunt, but power programmers beef them up with brains and brawns.
Protecting the Looks with Covercraft Car Cover
Harsh weather conditions and environmental elements can be debilitating to automobiles. The vehicle's looks and performance are at risk when it is resting at the frontage or under the tree. Car covers were made to address this problem. A lot of car accessory companies endeavored to provide this kind of protection to different car makes and models. One such company, the Covercraft Industries, opened up way back in 1965 to manufacture all-weather Performance Parts, particularly custom-patterned car covers. The company has since amassed a library of over 67, 000 Covercraft car cover patterns. It pioneered the market for custom-fit vehicle covers and over the years has added programs for a wide variety of products for exterior and interior protection – seat protectors, front end masks, tonneau covers, window heat shields and pet travel items.
"Universal and semi-custom covers had been around quite a while and began catering to enthusiasts who wanted a more ""perfect fit"" for the cover being used to protect their pride and joy. Back in the 60's, the most popular covers were made for British and European sports cars and they were called ""mittens."" There are several kinds of “customized” covers, which do not just fit a specific automobile but also provide unique protection."
Custom Cab Coolers allow pickup and SUV owners to protect the interior of the vehicle, even if there is no room to carry around a full-size cover. Cab Coolers protect against the heat and UV rays of summer, as well as frost and snow during the winter. They are easy to install and held in place with hook & loop straps, usually at the door handles and under the mirrors.
Interior Covers protects convertibles when the top is down. Interior covers protect the windshield and interior from UV rays, airborne pollutants and droppings from trees and birds. Installation is easy, with hook & loop straps for door handles and/or mirrors and most include anti-theft tabs that are secured inside the trunk lid. These covers are great for summer use and are compact for easy storage. A full cover is always the best answer, but for protection on quick trips interior covers do the job.
When the weather is great, Hardtop Covers are used to protect both the inside and outside while the hardtop vehicle is not in use. The cover also uses hook & loop fasteners to attach the outer and inner portions of the cover together and it can be used with most hoists that are used to remove hardtops.
Over the years, car covers' importance has been widely recognized. For one, they can help prevent vehicle from being stolen. A car cover takes a few minutes to remove, so a thief's exposure time is increased. With so many cars uncovered, why would a thief want to increase the risk of being caught? A cover also helps protect the contents of a vehicle. When radios and other items are out of sight they are less likely to tempt a thief.
In protecting versus other harmful elements, however, car covers count on their fabric make to deliver the goods. Different fabrics offer different levels of protection performance and some focus on protecting from a specific element, like intense sun exposure or dust. The best car cover fabrics hold up well against the worst circumstances. There are, however, factors to be considered in the selection of car cover material. For example, the best fabrics will shed water, but in extended rain storms even the best fabrics will absorb varying amounts of moisture. Other factors include the fabric's breathability, eat insulation, protection, weight, size, and resistance to contaminants such as acid rain, tree sap, dirt dust, mold or mildew, and even bird droppings. For instance, rain water might not hurt a vehicle's finish, UV rays and pollutants may. Most fabrics are degraded by the sun's UV rays. So, to slow down the degradation process, chemicals are added during the production of the fabric.
Some car cover makes use of unique processes to deliver versatile protective performance. One of these is WeatherShield's immersion encapsulation, which uses heat and pressure to permanently encapsulate the fibers of the fabric to shed moisture and block dust, dirt, bird droppings, tree sap and grime. This encapsulation process places an ultra-thin coating around the fabric fibers and at the same time creates a durable, breathable barrier within the woven polyester fabric to complete the intricate process. The result is a fabric that provides maximum protection, but it is not bulky and hard to store.
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