Advance Auto Zone

The laws of physics work every time for good or for pain; in this case for pain.
Good driving technique, mindfulness or knowledge of physics; either of these applied in this moment could have prevented this accident. There are a number of factors contributing to this accident. We will only discuss the physics portion here.

To perform a wheelie the bike must be made to rotate around the center of the axle in the rear wheel.
This is done by ove rthrottling and/or help from the driver in terms of shifting the drivers weight to the rear. It will be simpler to look at the case in which only over throttling occurs. The following is a conceptual explanation, not a detailed analysis of forces, vectors, torques etc.

The driver over throttles, this produces more torque at the sprocket than the resisting torque ((weight of bike rider) x gravity), so the front of the bike rotates upward. Fun so far.

The thing keeping the passenger on the bike seat is the force of gravity, friction and the angle of the seat. When the bike is level gravity is pulling the passenger straight down. But when the front of the bike is elevated part of the force is pulling straight down but another part is pulling down the slope of the seat. And, the part pulling down the slope of the seat is opposed by friction. If the force pulling down the slope of the seat is greater than the friction between a riders’ bottom and the seat cover, the rider slides backward. In this accident the driver slid backward pushing the passenger rearward and the passenger slid toward the rear and off of the seat.

Another complication was the return of the bikes front wheel to the pavement which caused a rotation around the bikes center of gravity. This occurred at a very bad time for the passenger, just when the passenger was unbalanced on the back of the seat. That rotation caused a little “flip” at the rear seat, flipping the passenger off while in a vulnerable position.

When doing extreme stunts it is common sense and courtesy to know all of the variables affecting the outcome. The laws of physics operate whether we want them to or not.

Don’t get on a powered vehicle with anyone you think does not value your live and health enough to find out.

Bruce

Please go to the following link to view the basis for this analysis.
gridesinc.com/RandomStuff.html” target=”_blank gridesinc.com/RandomStuff.html.
View the movie clip “Outrageous Wheelie.”

Bruce teaches high school science, rides and has a small company which manufactures cupholders for motorcycles, ATVs, boats, etc, 4wheelercupholder.com 4wheelercupholder.com

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Worrying whether or not you were overcharged for your car repair is an awful feeling. There’s tons of advice on how to avoid getting ripped-off, but few discuss the actual car repair prices. We really need to look at the charges on a car repair estimate or auto repair invoice to determine if we’re paying too much.

The focus needs to shift from giving outdated and ineffective advice to addressing the specific charges. Are they legitimate charges? Can they be justified by industry guidelines?

Now car repair estimates can be confusing. So let’s break it down to get a better idea if your auto repair shop is billing you appropriately.

First, a glossary of terms is in order, as the auto industry has a language of its own…

Aftermarket Parts: parts not made by or for the manufacturer.

MSRP: Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price

OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer. Manufacturer approved parts designed specifically for your vehicle.

TSBs: Technical Service Bulletins. Notes and instructions provided by the manufacturer for known and specific concerns (they are not recalls).

Flat Fees: services such as alignments that don’t get broken down into parts, tax, labor

Miscellaneous Charges: these can include, but are not limited to shop supplies - rags, chemicals, hazardous waste disposal fees, waste oil …etc.

Labor Rate: a repair center’s hourly charge to service your vehicle

Labor Time: the amount of time or hours determined that it will take to fix your vehicle

Labor Description: the step-by-step written details of repairs and/or services

Ok, let’s look at the Anatomy of an Auto Repair Estimate:

There are six basic components to a car repair estimate

1) Customer/Vehicle Information
2) Parts
3) Labor
4) Miscellaneous Charges
5) Flat Fees
6) Summary of Charges

Customer and Vehicle Information
Using a generic “top down” style estimate, the top portion simply contains your personal information and your vehicle’s specifics: year, make, model, mileage…etc, as well as your request or concern.

We also want find the shop’s labor rate. The labor rate is critical in determining if you paid too much. Most repair centers don’t list the labor rate. We’ll discuss why shortly.

Auto Parts
Parts are listed usually with a brief description, as well as the quantity, and the price. There are three types of parts: OEM (parts made by or for a manufacturer). These are the parts installed by a dealer, although many local shops use OEM parts too.

Aftermarket parts are non OEM parts, and there are various degrees of quality, depending on the brand and where they’re made – China versus USA, for example.

Then there are Used parts purchased from a salvage yard.

To determine if you paid too much for parts, first find out what type of parts are being used. With OEM parts, you don’t want to pay more than MSRP, although most people do without realizing it. Premium aftermarket parts are similarly priced across brands, although beware not to pay more than MSRP, which again, many folks do. Used parts prices are all over the place, so pick the price in the middle.

Auto Repair Labor
Labor is billed in tenths. So 1.0 equals 1 hour. 1.5 equals an hour and a half.
Labor rates range from $60 to $100 per hour at local repair shops and $80 to $140 per hour at the dealer level. Labor times are based off established industry guidelines, which are frequently abused.

If you don’t see the shop’s labor rate posted on the car repair invoice, ask your service center for the rate. Repair shops can manipulate the labor rate (among other things) with a labor matrix. Matrix pricing is a complicated and ethically questionable practice discussed at length in RepairTrust literature. What you need to know is that you can pay as high as $150 per hour rather than the posted labor rate of $105 per hour.

Thus, you’ll want to multiply the number of hours billed (which is also often not posted) by the shop’s labor rate to determine if you’ve been charged accordingly.

Most labor descriptions are poorly written and difficult to understand. So ask questions.

Here’s a “clear” labor description for a 30,000 mile service on a Toyota Camry.

Performed 30,000 mile service per customer request, and in accordance with manufacturer guidelines. Changed oil and filter, installed new air filter, cabin filter and performed all necessary tests, checks, and procedures, including road test (miles 30,123 – 30,125). Performed lubrication services and confirmed proper vehicle operation. Set tire pressures, and checked fluids, belts and hoses. Note: vehicle is pulling slightly left. Needs alignment

Miscellaneous Charges
The bulk of your car repair invoice will be parts and labor, but we can’t forget about Miscellaneous Charges. These charges can include, but are not limited to, shop supplies - rags, chemicals, hazardous waste, disposal fees, waste oil …etc. The latter of these may be billed out separately in a summary at the bottom of your repair invoice.

Very few of these “extras” are actually used during regular repairs. Miscellaneous charges are calculated off the amount of labor hours billed, not the amount of miscellaneous items used.

Flat Fees
Flat fees can be another very tricky area. Flat fees are services, such as an alignment, which don’t get broken down into parts, tax and labor. This makes it difficult to determine the real and fair price. On the plus side, most flat fees are competitively priced.

Be warned however, another term for Flat Fee is called Menu Selling. In other words, you might see Tune Up: $99.99 or Transmission Flush: $89.99. Follow your manufacturer’s recommendations only, not a dealer’s or repair shop’s menu.

For an interesting read on this topic, click
repairtrust.com/car_maintenance_costs.html car maintenance costs

Summary of Charges
The last part of an auto repair estimate is the summary of charges. It’s usually found in the bottom right hand corner of the invoice. Check it against the charges above to ensure that it all adds up mathematically, as well as logically.

This basic estimate outline may differ from your particular invoice, which may have other categories such as “Sublet” or “HazMat.”

A sublet charge is added when your auto repair shop uses another vender to fix or repair your car, such as a glass company that replaces your windshield.

A HazMat charge may include waste oil or other disposal fees. Just make sure that the charges are warranted, as again, they too are often calculated off the labor time rather than actual need.

In sum, understanding the “actual” charges, asking the right questions, and breaking down your auto repair costs is the best way to avoid paying excessive car repair prices.

-Theodore P. Olson (Ted)
RepairTrust
Making sense of repairtrust.com/ Car Repair Prices

Ted Olson is the founder of RepairTrust - a web site designed to empower the car repair customer.

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I am sure that many of you have heard about ATVS and how they have the ability to go over rough and difficult terrain that many other vehicles – sporting, normal and in some cases heavy duty can’t. These ATVs are a great way to get to some hard to reach locations. Now while you may have heard about these vehicles how will you be able to select an ATV that will fit all of your requirements? Well the best way could be with an ATV review.

These ATV reviews are there mainly to inform you about the performance of various makes of ATVs. You can select an ATV reviews from various web pages on the internet that deal with ATVs. There are many sites that will inform you of the status of these ATVs – the pros and the cons that can be found within the field of ATVS.

For instance sometimes you will find web pages that give you the performance reviews for the current favorites that are being used. ATVs from companies like Polaris, Kawasaki and Honda will be given. In addition you will be given the other types of ATVs in that range that have been reviewed for their specifications, prices and the technology that has been used to take their performance into peak level.

An ATV review will be given by experts and consumers who have used these ATVs and they have had the experience of seeing these vehicles perform in various tasks in different types of terrain. You can also find what these people have to say about the aftermarket parts and other parts that you can fit on to the ATV to make it work even better.

There are some web pages that will give ATV reviews for sample ATV types. For instance you can find the different types of Polaris ATVs that many people use. The ATV review on the Polaris will let you know about the performance factor that you can find from any of the ATVs in this brand. This way you can decide if you would like to buy this particular type of ATV or maybe investigate the idea of getting another type ATV altogether.

As these ATV reviews have been based on the personal preferences of various individuals you may not agree with what they have said about these ATVs in the different ATV reviews. Therefore you should try out different types of ATVs and see what you think about those ATVs. This way you can give your ATV review to various people that you know.

Bowe is the webmaster and content provide for many informational websites. Please visit his ATV site at: atv.infoforuonline.com atv.infoforuonline.com

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