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More About the Ice Road to Tuktoyaktuk!

So, last Friday, I promised to tell more about the Ice Road (also known as the James Dalton Highway).  Sit back and enjoy more about this spectacular road that is the northernmost road in North America.  Of course, since the road is made out of pure ice, there are no trees.  This means that if you are going to camp alongside the road, DON’T make a campfire!  You will start to melt the ice, bringing you and anything else within 500 feet of you down to the depth’s of the ocean (at least you’ll meet Spongebob. . .)!  The ice melt begins usually in late April-early May, but this year, the road service says it looks like it will be closer to June.  Record snow levels are keeping the road open longer.  That doesn’t mean you should travel in late May, as weather conditions might change, bringing you down into the frozen Mackenzie River.  The Ice Road to Tuktoyaktuk is only open in the dead of winter (from the time the ice is at least 3-4 inches thick) to mid to late spring.  The road is perhaps best known for it’s being featured on the second season of Ice Road Truckers.  The road conditions change depending on tides and weather.  Many people who went on the Ice Road to Tuktoyaktuk say that the best traction is on snow covered ice – right in the middle!  Even if you drove a tank across the ice, you’d be able to tell the tale, as the ice can support up to around 2 million pounds per square foot.  That doesn’t mean you should test the ice to the edge of it’s abilities, as who knows what might happen.

There are very few cars that are suited to driving 10 hours a day, at -40˚ fahrenheit.  The cars that people who have driven the road recommend:

  1. 2005 (or newer) Jeep Wrangler with: 4WD, CB radio, plenty of spare tires, and a working heater and highly visible paint.
  2. 2011 Ford F150 SVT Raptor with: CB radio, plenty of spare tires, a camper shell and highly visible paint.
  3. 1988 Audi Quattro with: working heater, CB radio, and plenty of spare tires and parts, plus, highly visible paint is always helpful.
  4. 1997 Toyota Land Cruiser with: working heater, CB radio, plenty of spare tires and good luck.  Highly visible paint is a must-have on any car you drive on the Ice Road.
  5. 2003 (or newer) GMC Sierra or Chevy Silverado HD pickup truck with: 4WD, CB radio, diesel engine (a must-have because of extra torque), camper shell, plenty of spare tires and a full tank of diesel fuel.  Highly visible paint is always nice, too.
  6. 2010 Honda Pilot with: AWD, CB radio, plenty of spare tires and highly visible paint.

These are the cars NEVER to drive on the Ice Road to Tuktoyaktuk:

Anything with 2WD!  It’s already hard enough for a semi driver with only two driving wheels, so they go very slowly.  Otherwise, when they brake, it takes hours to get back up to speed. But, when Motor Trend did an epic road trip from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk, they took two SMART ForTwo’s, they said it was pretty scary in something so small that you can die just by tipping over. . .

Cars without heaters (a really, really bad choice).

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about my BIG (HUGE, GARGANTUAN, GINORMOUS) surprise on Friday!  So tune in for a special give-away!  Tell you friends, family and everybody you can think of.  And make sure to do some donuts on the way down the Unmuffled Auto News!  It’s ZOOM for the buck time!!

zoomvroom The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

The Ice Road to Tuktoyaktuk

The Alaska Ice Road (commonly called the James Dalton Highway or Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road) is a 414 mile road that goes from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk.  In the summer, the only way to Tuktoyaktuk is by boat or plane because the Ice road goes over a vast delta of the Yukon river.  Even though there is a road, it is a service road for the State of Alaska and the oil companies.  This road goes from Fairbanks, Alaska to Prudhoe Bay.  The only way to get to Prudhoe Bay is by something tough like a military vehicle, a Land Rover or Jeep.    The road in summertime is made of slippery gravel that apparently kicks up such big clouds of dust that accidents with a big rig are as common as an encounter with a Grizzly bear (actually very common. . .).  Up until 1995, permits were required to traverse the James Dalton Highway (the man who was the highway deputy supervisor [just a fancy name for foreman] back in 1943), but now you only need a permit in the winter if your vehicle weighs over 25,000 pounds.

All right, I’ll tell you the history of the Ice Road!  Way back in 1943, F.D.R and William Lyon Mackenzie King agreed that if and when there was a German and/or a Japanese invasion of the U.S., the U.S. would be trapped in, unless they could get into Canada or Alaska.  So, F.D.R decided to start carving two roads:  one to the coast, the other to Canada via Alaska.  The one to the coast would soon be cut off from everywhere else because of the Yukon River flooding.  The road to Canada would go to the small community of Tuktoyaktuk, where Americans would catch a plane to Canada and Russia.            Most of the road would be gravel, but about 35% would have to be on the Yukon River.  Since the attacks were expected to be in late winter, people would be able to get all the way to Tuktoyaktuk on gravel and the Yukon River.  Once the people were in Tuktoyaktuk, the Army Corps of Engineers would place mines in the ice and head off to Tuktoyaktuk.  The road never was used, but every year, the State of Alaska repaves it with gravel.

Since there is a lot to say about the ice road, please tune in again on Tuesday for more on the ice road. . .

zoomvroom The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

Pappy, What’s a Jimmy?

Due to some very. . . shall we call it OCD reasons,  this morning I did NOT want to stop reading the new Eragon Inheritance book, Inheritance.  It is a GREAT book, and I did NOT want to put it down, but I didn’t want to disappoint you either.  Enjoy my short definition of ‘Jimmy’.  Haven’t you always wondered why the word ‘jimmy’ was attached to certain vehicles? I thought so.

Jimmy (auto-related):  A name designated for a short-wheelbase, sport utility vehicle.  Primarily, the name has been employed by GMC truck, but is used as a popular term to describe all such trucks.  The car, the GMC Jimmy,  is the clone of the Chevy Blazer, but under the GMC name (Sierra pickups, Sonoma pickup, Yukon SUV, etc.).  Funny enough, the term ‘Jimmy’ is also a popular name for all GMC parts.  Jimmy superchargers, Roots-type superchargers for diesels (they’re all called Jimmy!).

zoomvroom The auto dictionary. Look it up here!, Uncategorized

Yay! It’s Definition Day!…

Hey, y’all…Sorry I wasn’t able to get you the post I promised on Saturday, as I had more than mountains of homework (on Thanksgiving weekend!).  Since I don’t have time to do a post on all the cars that I took pictures of at the San Francisco International Auto Show, I hope that you’ll be content with a definition.  By the way, I will do a post on the San Francisco International Auto Show on Friday!

SAE stands for?  Society of Acura of England?  Nope, it’s Society of American Engineers.  SAE publishes articles on cars, does horsepower and torque testing, and some safety testing.  SAE has been around since 1841.  SAE is made up of the brightest engineers from  all over America.  SAE accepts about 50 engineers annually.  Overall, people would have very odd feelings about their car(s).

zoomvroom The auto dictionary. Look it up here!, Vehicle repair

Second Time’s the Charm!

So, I’m sure that many of you have had a leaky radiator.  This can be a quick and cheap or an expensive problem.  I know this, as I’ve heard stories of it, and it just happened the other day to Mom’s Chrysler Town & Country.  You know the setting.  You pull into the driveway, turn the engine off, and start walking towards the house.  Just as you enter the house, you remember you forgot your cell-phone in the car.  You run out to the car, and see smoke pouring out from under the hood.  You pop the hood open, and the radiator is smoking.  You call Triple A and the mechanic (or dealer), and the car ends up at the mechanic’s shop.  The mechanic says, “Well, looks like you need a new radiator.  Hmmmm…Yeah, yaw’re radiator is smoking.”  You end up paying $500 big ones for a new radiator.  So, I think right now’s a good time to tell you how to look for telltale radiator leaks, and how to prevent them.

Radiator leaks just happen.  It’s just the way they work.  You can’t help it.  If you live in an area where the roads get salted, a leaking radiator may happen more frequently.  It’s more actual age than anything else.  If you have a car at least five years old, it’s a REALLY good idea to check the coolant level.  If you don’t the radiator may run dry without any warning.  If you have a car (or truck) with an electronic message center, and you haven’t checked the radiator in a while, there may be a message telling you to “check radiator.”  This means: you’ve got a leak in the radiator, or low (or non-existant) coolant levels.  Either of these are bad.  If they happen, then the engine in your car will overheat, and Ka-Boom!..I will tell you the telltale signs of a leaking radiator.  Just so you know, you do NOT need to be OCD about checking your radiator after you read this post!  These are the signs:

  • Low coolant level.  This is NEVER good, so check the radiator coolant level from time to time.  Your coolant level can go from full to almost empty (what happened to my truck 15 years ago)  Also, check your radiator before you go on a road trip over 200 miles.
  • A good amount of smoke pouring out through the grille.  This usually means that there is a leak on a radiator hose, which gets very hot, and the coolant is starting to burn.  It won’t do any serious damage to your engine, but you will need to replace the hose.
  • A puddle underneath your car.  It will be: bright (never shiny), neon-green, have a slightly radioactive look to it, and slimy to the touch.  DO NOT touch your face, or any part of your body with the body part you used to touch it with.  Wash your hands!  It is ethylene glycol.  It is one of the most toxic chemicals ever invented.  This is your radiator coolant.  This will need to be cleaned up properly.  DO NOT use laquer thinner!  It will only make it soupy and sticky.  Use some sort of absorbent material such as sand, kitty litter, or canvas.  Use rubber gloves and paper towels to clean it up!  According to the EPA, radiator coolant can go in through your pores, causing severe internal damage.  Blechg!

If you have a pressurized radiator (where a certain pressure is kept to maintain a cool engine), and have any of the above problems, call a mechanic right away!  You will have severe problems if you let it be.  I won’t even tell you what will happen if you let it be!  It makes me queasy just to think about it!

I know what it’s like to have to get a year-old radiator fixed, as Mom’s Chrysler Town & Country just had the smoke and leakage out a hose problem…Dad and I pulled into the driveway, got out of the car and saw some smoke pouring out from under the hood.  We popped open the hood, got a flashlight out, and saw some neon-green, bright stuff on a radiator hose.  Dad repeated some ‘unworthy of this blog’ words, and called the mechanic first thing in the morning.  I hope that it’s nothing serious, but hopefully, we’ll just need to get a new hose.

Some cars need radiator repairs more than others, but that may just be because you tow and/or haul a lot.  If so, then you’re engine has to work harder with that load behind you.

There are many online websites for radiators, but, radiator.com offers deals up to 75% off!  For example, a 1999 Nissan Quest’s radiator might cost $429 from a dealer, but from radiator.com will sell it to you for $118!  How about that type of deal?  Well, then again, it’s around the Holidays…

I hope you all have a fun Thanksgiving!  So, eat a lot of turkey, pumpkin pie, and my personal favorite; mashed potatoes!  Gobble-Gobble (Not you, turkey!)!  Just so you know, my tag on the top of the page will say “The Unmuffled Auto News; A Car Blog for Kids.” I am now going to be doing posts on an adult level of understanding.  Kids CAN read my blog, but it might be a LOT harder for them to understand…

zoomvroom The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

Don’t worry, I won’t Bang Your Finger or Shoot You…

“Drop the Hammer” is a term used by us oddball car enthusiasts.  I know I shouldn’t be letting these rare terms out onto the internet, but y’all have a VIP pass…  You’re probably thinking “good for the oddballs…”, but the term is defined as: The driver of a car must engage the clutch and depress the accelerator on the wave of the flag at a drag race.  The term also means to suddenly depress the accelerator to increase speed; i.e.: “When I was in a race, I dropped the hammer,” or, “when there was a passing zone, I dropped the hammer.”  The origin of the term comes from the cocking of a gun.  The term originated when at the beginning of a race, a gun would be fired, urging the driver’s to “Drop the Hammer.”

zoomvroom The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

Yay! It’s Definition Day!

Hip, Hip, Hooray!  It’s Definition Day!

So, today, I opened up my dog-eared auto dictionary and saw a term that I’m sure none of you have ever heard of.  It’s called “Racy Bopper.”  I guess if you have a twisted sense of humor it could be “Racy Blooper,” but Racy Bopper means an auto racing groupie.  So, if you are a die-hard racing fan who goes to every race in the world, then I am sad to inform you that I must classify you as a Racy Bopper.  It would be nice to have live coverage from every race in the world…

zoomvroom Car Culture, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

Who Wants to Play “Red-light, Green-light?”

The Traffic Light.  Some might call it the greatest invention of traffic control.  Others might call it a pain in the @$#.  I call it one of the greatest inventions of traffic control.  I had a LOT of fun researching the history of the traffic light!  Uh-oh, I see an amber light ahead…

In 1920, Detroit, Michigan, police officer, William L. Potts got frustrated at the number of cars that would go zooming through the intersection, on many occasions nearly missing a pedestrian.  He devised a signal that had railroad lights that were: green, amber and red.  He then took an old telegraph pole and put the lights on it.  Needing to have power to make the lights flash, he took electrical wiring and hooked it up to the electrical supply for his house.  That was the first electrical traffic signal that the world knew.  It was installed on the corner of Woodward and Michigan avenues in downtown Detroit.

This is what the first traffic signal looked like: Potts Traffic Light photo courtesy The Henry Ford, Greenfield Village.

Before long, there were traffic signals all over Detroit, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco.  Police officers had an easier time controlling traffic, and pedestrians were able to cross the street without having to go across with a coffin and a shovel!

Are you ready for a cool traffic fact?  I thought so.  Do you know what the percentage of drivers do when they see an amber light? Well, 85% of them DON’T know what to do.  That leaves about 10% who DO know what to do.  The final 5% usually get it right 47% of the time.  The other 53% of the time, they get a ticket.  Today, most people hit the brakes suddenly, or floor it.  What you are SUPPOSED to do is slow down, unless you have control of the intersection.  Then, you can floor it…  The red light happens 10 seconds later.  So you can’t go suing me if you go through an amber light turning red, while reading this post, AND get a $1000 ticket for going through a red light while on your cell-phone!

Today, traffic lights have evolved from the humble beginnings of railroad lights to LED lighted traffic lights that are computer driven!  Preposterous…

zoomvroom Tech Talk, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

The Challenge is on!

One of my loyal readers, Hudsonjet has “thrown down the gauntlet.”  Hudsonjet has challenged me to do definitions of “valve sleeves” and “valve shims.”  I can’t back down from a challenge, so hold on for a wild ride!

Dear Hudsonjet,

I am sad to inform you that there is no such thing as the “valve sleeve.”  However, there is a sleeve valve.  I hope that this is what you were thinking of.  If not, than this mistake is on me.  I did some research on sleeve valves, so enjoy.

A sleeve valve is a type of valve that usually has a metal sheet around it.  (This helps the engine rev higher without danger of breaking the catalytic converter.  This type of valve is popular in heavy machinery or heavy-duty trucks.  The exhaust gets so hot that there is danger of damaging the engine valves.  The sleeve valve protects the integrity of the valve.  The sleeve valve also prevents oil from leaking too much.

For the less mechanically inclined, an engine valve forces air into the cylinder, where it is mixed with the fuel, and then the spark injector makes a spark.  There is a small explosion, and then the piston forces the mixture up into another engine valve.  The mixture is then sent to the catalytic converter, which cools down the mixture, and sends it through the muffler and out into our wonderfully polluted atmosphere.  Pretty amazing, isn’t it?

A valve shim is a disc of hardened metal that has a very precisely calibrated height to adjust the clearance of the valve lobe that is on an engine valve.  Without the valve shim, the valve lobe would flop open and stay there.  The valve shim forces the valve lobe to go back down and open when the fuel/air mixture comes out of the cylinder.The valve shim’s part in the engine play is sitting on top of the valve lobe and preventing engine gunk from entering the combustion chamber.  This is a very important part, because without it,  your mechanic would be a millionaire within a few days!  Without the valve shim, your valve lobe would allow engine gunk to enter the cylinder, and blow the piston.  Thank god for valve shims….

So, my readers, how did you enjoy these little answers to Hudsonjet’s questions?  You tell me, was I stumped?  Hudsonjet, were these the correct answers to your questions?  Anything to add?  Anyone else care to try and stump me on ‘Definition Day’?

Tune in Tuesday for a special post!

zoomvroom Car Culture, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

The Ultimate Self-Driving Machine!

So, you know how BMW has always been known for building the “Ultimate Driving Machine” for so many years?  Well, the car of the future that was being bragged about in the ’50’s was a self-driving car!  Well, more than sixty years later, that brag is starting to come true.  There are many auto-makers working on a self-driving car.

Google, a longtime internet search engine has quietly and patiently been working on a self-driven car.  The cars they are using are six Toyota Prius’, and an Audi TT.  They are currently negotiating with Chevrolet to get a Camaro SS to use for research.  The Priii and TT have logged over 140,000 miles in testing.  These cars are not allowed to drive by themselves.  A manned operator and assistant sit in the driver and passenger seats.  The reason that there have to be an operator and assistant in the car is the car might go crazy and create a major car crash.  The problem is Google would lose years of valuable data.

Nevada passed a bill on June 24, 2011 that makes self-driving cars legal to drive within the state.  An operator must be in the car to make it legal, otherwise the NHP (Nevada Highway Patrol) will pull it over and impound it.  Google met with the governor of Nevada, and showed up to every meeting of the Nevada Legislature.  They even met with the Nevada state rep!

As Google Software Engineer, Sebastian Thrun said on the Google blog, “According to the World Health Organization, more than  1.2 million lives are lost every year in road traffic accidents. We believe our technology has the potential to cut that number, perhaps by as much as half. We’re also confident that self-driving cars will transform car sharing, significantly reducing car usage, as well as help create the new “highway trains of tomorrow.” These highway trains should cut energy consumption while also increasing the number of people that can be transported on our major roads. In terms of time efficiency, the U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that people spend on average 52 minutes each working day commuting. Imagine being able to spend that time more productively.”

You can easily distinguish one of the Google test cars by its roof-mounted laser range finder, which helps it ‘see’ traffic and adjust its speed accordingly.  If any of the software ever malfunctions, the operator in the driver’s seat can turn off all the software as easily as a driver turns off cruise control.

Google also has a deal with Apple to supply them with computers.  The engineers in the cars take all the information from the car onto a computer, which then sends it all to Google’s Mountain View campus.  IBM is also trying to negotiate with President Obama to sign a contract to take out 450 traffic signals around the U.S. and put in “smart” signals.  This means that the signals will be able to transfer traffic information around the area to the car.  If this does work out, then the Google test cars could find out important information, and take a detour.

So far, the Google cars have gone down Lombard street, gone across the Golden Gate Bridge, gone down to Los Angeles from the Mountain View campus of Google software all the way down Highway 1.  They have driven down Rodeo Drive, down Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles, and driven through LAX.  Wow!  I’ve even seen one in Los Angeles!  You know what I say, ONLY IN LA!

DARPA has also gotten into the self-driven auto field as well.  They host a series of races for self-driven vehicles (none of which Google competed in) across the Mojave desert, and in traffic.  Since DARPA is a branch of the military, the races were heavily sponsored by the US Army. More than 10,000 drivers of supply trucks, tanks, jeeps and HUMVEE’s have been killed since 1945.  The rate is expected to climb up to almost 300 deaths a year in 2020.  So, the Army needs to figure something out.  Soon.  The Army is currently working on a semi truck to tackle the European Alps in 2013.  There is even a documentary on the first DARPA race, titled “NOVA: The Great Robot Race.”

Colorado hosts an annual hill climb at Pikes Peak.  The goal is to get up to the peak in the shortest time possible.  Let me clarify, the hill-climb is for CARS, not people!  At last year’s climb, the Google Audi TT competed.  The Google Audi TT did fairly well for something with a radar system.  It did a 15 minute, 14.453 second hill climb.  Though there was no self-driven class at Pikes Peak, there will be one in 2012.  Now I can see why Google asked for that Camaro SS…  Google is thinking of taking their Audi TT to Infineon Raceway sometime next summer.  They are even thinking of having the car drive itself from Google’s headquarters to Infineon Raceway.  Maybe they’ll do it on a track day!

One can only imagine the possibilities!  You could have the car take the kids to school, take you to work, go to the market with your wife, and then fuel up!  Then pick up the wife and kids, and then you…  How fun!  Especially if the car could cook all your meals for you!  All right, I’ll be quiet now…