Top 10 Family Cars Of 2011

Top 10 Family Cars of 2011 as chosen by Kelly Blue Book, the car resale value specialists.

(NAPSI)—Since families now come in all shapes and sizes, it’s a good thing the family vehicles of today follow suit. Whereas once the typical family owned a sedan or station wagon, contemporary families can also choose among SUVs, crossovers, minivans, wagons and hatchbacks. While it certainly can be nice to have options, a wide variety of choices can make the choosing all the more difficult, so each year, the editors of Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com pool their collective knowledge and expertise to decide the Top 10 Family Cars.

Among the wealth of criteria used in the spirited judging are the characteristics that make vehicles family friendly. Safety, comfort, economy of operation, child friendliness, a reasonable purchase price and good resale value are tops in the consideration process. The editors believe all the worthy vehicles on this year’s list will provide excellent service and a fine ownership experience for the families that choose to make them their own.

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Auto Care Tips Beware Of Rust Breakouts This Spring

Auto care tips: Beware of rust breakouts this spring with the help of a rust inhibitor from Krown.

(NC)—The signs of spring are everywhere. The flowers are starting to bloom, the grass is greener and the temperature is rising with the warm glow of the sun. Unfortunately, another rite of spring is also upon us – the attack of corrosion on our vehicles.

According to experts, with warmer temperatures comes the dreaded eyesore of vehicle corrosion.

“It's a popular misconception that winter is the harshest season for vehicles due to snow and salted road conditions,” explained Freeman Young, president of Krown Rust Control. “While salt will accelerate the corrosion process, it's actually the humidity and moisture that will cause rust to appear on a vehicle. Increasingly warm temperatures have a major impact on corrosion as well, that's why spring and summer are in fact the harshest seasons.”

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Car Paint Chip Repair Options

Car Paint Chip Repair Options

A chip in your car paint doesn't have to be detrimental, there are solutions to repair the paint chip. There are a few options for car paint chip repair. You can choose to work with a professional body shop or repair the chipped paint at home. There are kits to work with at home and if you decide a professional is the way to go costs to consider. You should always check with your automobile insurance before you proceed to see if the repair is covered.

Insurance

Depending on how your paint was chipped it may be covered under your car insurance policy. If it was as a result of an accident, weather conditions or vandalism you may be covered. Always document damage when it occurs or you notice it first. Most insurance companies will ask you to acquire repair quotes from a number of different body shops before you're able to process the claim. Some insurance companies have a list of approved body shops they work directly with.

Professionals

Just about any body shop can handle car paint chip repairs, there are also mobile repair businesses that come to you. The cost of repair through one of these options is generally between $35 and $85 with an average cost of $50. You can get a quote ahead of time and compare the cost, quality and service before deciding which way to go.

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Suspension Setup

As you know, there's a lot more customization that goes on with a dirt bike than a pocket rocket. Why? The riding conditions are different and if you want to be competitive, your bike has to fit you like a glove. One of the first things to tweak is the suspension. Right out of the box your bike's compression clickers and the rebound setting might be set anywhere.

The best place to start is to set these two settings in whatever the manufacturer recommends as “standard”. This is a good starting point. If no setting is recommended, just choose a middle setting. This is what an average might employ.

The rear spring may or may not be right for you. Did you buy your bike second hand? In that case, it might not be standard for you model; the former owner might have customized it. Take it for a test ride. Does it feel right for you? If so, you're on the right track. Otherwise, before you start tuning the suspension to your liking you might want to consider installing the standard spring.

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Clutch Tip

How badly do you want to win? It sounds like a simple question, but it involves a number of improvements on your bike. They might be simple tweaks individually, but taken together they make the difference between first and second place.

One of the most important things you can do to tweak your bike is to tune up your clutch. Every time you engage or release the clutch, valuable seconds may be spent or lost on the lap’s time.

The clutch has been a pivotal part of the forward momentum formula for as long as bikes graced the pavement (or dirt), but really haven’t changed much as far as utility is concerned. It gives you access to the different gearing that will give you an advantage over your rivals when changing speeds or angles of attack.

Slipping clutches will penalize you, so this is something to guard against. It will drag or slip and cause your rivals to scoot past you. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s time for a tune-up; no doubt about it.

Number 1: You’ll need to install new clutch plates; the first thing to do is soak them in gear oil. This will make certain that they are completely lubricated. The easiest way to do this is to put them in order in a Ziploc bag and then fill the bag with the recommended grade of gear oil. After a short period of time, they will be ready for installation.

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10 Tips For A Bulletproof Clutch

Your motocross clutch is the key to your bike's performance, and by extension, yours. You might have more tricks up your sleeve than anyone else hitting the dirt but if your clutch isn't up to par, you and your engine are going to be on totally different wavelengths and no translator out there can help. Let's talk about how to put the clinch on your clutch.

First, Get Rid of those Factory Clutch Springs!

Bike factories take a minimalist view when they assemble the clutch assembly. One of the reasons they do this is to not turn off weaker riders in the showroom. They want all prospective buyers to say, “Ahhh,” and not, “Arrgh!”

So if you're not comfortable with wimpy clutch action (and really, who is?), go ahead and swap them out the springs for stiffer ones. For instance, you can substitute 250-rated springs if you're a 125 jockey.

For fine-tuning, keep in mind that you don't have to change them all out; in most cases two or three will do – just experiment and see what works for you.

Secondly, Don't Neglect Your Tranny Oil

No, this isn't like your car or truck, where you only change it every year, or in some cases, hardly ever. Ideally, replace your tranny oil every two or three races. Sound excessive? Maybe, but it's cheaper than a tranny overhaul, and the crud you pick up on the track will place early stress on your clutch plates.

Third, Carry Shims for a Quick Fix

Suppose you're out at the moto and halfway through the day, your clutch starts feeling spongy and you're fresh out of springs. What to do? If you packed a mess of assorted washers, you can simply insert the right ones under the bolt and viola! The added thickness will preload your springs and you're back on your game.

Forth, Remember that in a Pinch You can Run Automatic Transmission Fluid

Although you might not have known it, you can top off your tranny to the proper level with automatic tranny fluid. If you have to though, be sure to use ATF (GM compatible), but don't use Ford type fluid. (The container will tell you which it is.)

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Race fuel for your body

You know the race day drill – you get up early with a jolt of adrenaline in your veins; this isn't going to be another day at the office! You give your bike the once over for the third time. Everything tightened up? Check. You paw through your gear bag again. Everything squared away? Check.

Your gas can has been topped off so it's time to pack your ice chest with the grub and drinks that'll get you through the day. The question is, what are you packing it with? It's not junk food and sugar-laden snacks, is it? If it is, you'll be giving away your edge when the rubber hits the dirt.

What Kind of Food Will Give Me the Edge?

The answer to this question is, “It depends.” Ever rider is different, so every rider's diet is unique. What works for Bob might not be the right mix for Nancy. But that being said, there are some definite guidelines that serve as a good starting point.

First, the primary ingredient in the mix is lean meat. This includes turkey, skinless chicken, and lean cuts of beef. Add some seafood to round it out. Salmon is a particularly good choice. It contains fats, but they're the good type.

Second, throw in fresh fruits and vegetables. Eat organic if you can, not to be trendy, but because the mineral and vitamin uptake is greater and those pesticides aren't going to help you in the long run.

Don't forget dairy. You need strong bones when you ride and load-bearing exercise that riding is helps you to absorb the calcium that make that happen. Low-fat milk, cheese, and yogurt will help you in this department.

Finally, chow down on carbs. Whole grain bread and pretzels will give you a longer energy plateau than highly processed white bread. Have a sweet potato rather than a russet. Legumes such as lentils deliver energy for a longer, more consistent period than any other food. This is a fact from the glycemic index.

How do I Implement My New Diet?

Easy! Take a look at your current diet and the physical state you're in. Carrying a few extra pounds? Most of us are. But don't rely on weight alone; this is a poor assessment. Instead, rely on fat percentage. Male rides should be around twelve to fifteen percent, just a tad more for females.

The best way to monitor this is to buy a digital scale that also analyses your fat percentage. You can find one in most sporting goods stores.

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The 2011 Yamaha YZ250 two-stroke is like an IQ test for the motorcycle buying public. How stupid are you?

As a writer, I can come up with some rather outrageous (and original) insults for people (or large groups thereof) and/or race sanctioning bodies, idiot politicians, or even soulless, mentally-retarded people who drive Toyotas….as I often do for my primary reading audience, in NASCAR circles. In addition, an oddball (and usually witty) observation or three that comes out of nowhere might be printed in an editorial of mine, most of the time going in a direction that nobody was expecting….and often afterward, hilarity ensues.

 While I’d like to think I might be the next Oscar Wilde, Anton Chekov, or (insert name of any other famous dead white guy author here), the fact of the matter is that I, nor any other writer out there, can think of everything. We do our best, but quite often, when I’m reading someone else’s work, I occasionally read something so moving, so intelligent, that I feel somewhat-lessened for not having come up with it myself.

I’ve been searching around a decade now, for the shortest explanation possible to explain why soooo many idiots buy four-stroke-powered motorcycles, ATV’s, UTV’s, and…whatever else has these dated, stupidly-complicated, incredibly-overweight, and woefully-underpowered engines providing forward….and in the case of the French….rearward propulsion.

I think I may have stumbled onto something.

My last motorcycle/ATV/whatever was a 1993 Honda TRX300EX, which was an improvement over the ATV that this replaced, which was a 2002 Honda TRX400EX.

Yes, you read that correctly.

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MXA’s 2011 YZ 250 vs. YZ 250F

This is a great article from Motocross Action Magazine!

Here is the question that everyone wants to know the answer to, but certain people don’t want to hear: Which 250 motocrosser is better? Smoker or thumper?

The two-stroke versus four-stroke question comes up at regular intervals—so, we are rerunning our shootout to add clarity to the arguments.

    Let’s cut through the effluvia! Rules changes made the four-stroke what it is today. It didn’t get there by virtue of its power per cubic centimeter, power per pound or power per dollar. Nope! Without the AMA four-stroke exemption rule of 1998, the modern four-stroke would still be defined by the Honda XR600. Forget about EPA rules (they don’t affect closed-course racing machines), fleet fuel averages (they don’t apply to offroad bikes), cost savings (four-strokes cost more to produce) or any of the other hokey reasons that the nattering nabobs of negativity credit the rise of the four-stroke on. None of those things are players. Engine for engine, cc for cc, ounce for ounce, the two-stroke motocross engine is a vastly superior piece of equipment. If the two-stroke was invented today, it would sweep the four-stroke motocross engine off the face of the earth (which is exactly what it did 43 years ago—when the displacement rules were equal). The only way a four-stroke can compete with a two-stroke is if the displacement is larger. The AMA four-stroke rule change was the impetus for the switch (followed by significant bike sales for the 1998 Yamaha YZ400–which led every other manufacturer to jump into building four-stroke motocross bikes).

Sign the AMA Rule Change Petition Here.

No four-stroke displacement rule, no four-stroke motocross sales. No sales, no four-strokes.

A YZ250F four-stroke makes 20.1 foot-pounds of torque. Are you ready? A YZ250 two-stroke pumps out 30.6 ft-pounds.

The AMA rule forced 250cc two-strokes to compete against 450cc four-strokes. On paper it’s not that good a match, with both horsepower, torque and powerbands falling on the side of the thumper. Eventually, the factory race teams came to the realization, egged on the sales departments, that they needed to go all four-stroke, all the time.

    The last competitive two-stroke 250cc rider on the AMA circuit was James Stewart. He was still winning motos, as late as 2006 on a KX250, but by the middle of the season he made the switch to four-strokes.

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