SA Dealers News and opinions about topics in general

Foton who is synonymous with taxi’s and panel van’s in South Africa are going to expand their range by importing the Thunda bakkie.

You can view an image (albeit a small low quality one) at http://www.wheels24.co.za/News/General_News/Foton-brings-the-Thunda-20100623

Have you noticed how many of Foton’s Taxi’s are on the road? I must say I have not noticed many, but am trying to take note of the ones I do see.

In this kind of economic climate I wonder if expanding your range of vehicles is wise, but on the other hand if the Thunda comes in cheap enough, then it will be quite attractive to people, particularly the handyman/small construction company who find it hard to justify paying exhorbitant prices for bakkies with frills they don’t want/need.

Fotons website: www.fotonsa.co.za

Foton Dealers on SA Dealers

Posted under Car news

Just saw an article on www.iafrica.com where a guy has converted his Porsche 911 to use an electric motor.

Interesting to see this done on a Porsche, though I noticed he is using lead acid batteries, which I assume are deep cycle (otherwise they won’t last very long).

Obviously (unfortunately??) the guy is not from South Africa, but still it’s nice to see.

This has me wondering if there are any South African ‘converts’ out there? I think (because I am boring) it would be interesting to see how much red tape they had to go through to get their creations road-worthied and registered.

If you have ‘converted’ anything or know of someone who has, send some info through,  pleeeaaassse!

Links to original articles;

iafrica.com : http://motoring.iafrica.com/features/2492381.htm

wired.com : http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/01/diy-ev-porsche/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+wired/index+%28Wired:+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29

Posted under Car news, Electric Vehicles

Who would do something this awful? I saw a beautiful dark green Bentley Continental GT once and I LOVED IT! It powered past me on the highway and seeing it go is incredible. Then I saw THIS, what the hell!?!?!?!

Sorry but doing that to a car , especially one like that is criminal!

Posted under Car news

Starting on page 24, there is an article on servicing the valves on a VW beetle, it’s still surprises me that technicar did these articles, as these days it is almost impossible to find any articles covering the details on servicing your car.

This article continues to page 31, detailing the process with photos and provides more information than some manuals I have seen recently. Quite impressive, if I had owned a beetle I would have definitely been interested.

Page 33 has an article on how Caltex developed their new fuel, Boron. It details the 3 groups that the development scientist split the performance characteristics into,
Group A: Apparent Immediately
Group B: Apparent Immediately or After Extended Use
Group C: Apparent After Extended Use

Pages 34 through 37 are a road test on an MG TC Midget, and includes a bit of history on the MG car company, and a few nice (even in black and white) phoos of the car which had been restored over a period of a year and at a cost of R1,000!

That’s all I have time for, but will try and work through the rest of the magazine as soon as I can.

Posted under Uncategorized

Vermillion will be importing the Gonow vehicles as well as Meiya brand into South Africa. The previous importers of Gonow went under in 2009.

The vehicles have yet to be added to to the NATIS system but will be.

Safety features are non-existent, so no ABS, airbags etc. which seems a shame, surely we are at the point where such features become mandatory, much like safety belts became mandatory in the 70′s?

Styling for the headlights and tail lamps will be slightly updated from the previous models imported, but no major changes have been made.

Pricing is as follows;

Std Single Cab 2.2i     R109 990
Lux Single Cab 2.2iL     R129 990
Std Double Cab 2.2i     R139 990
Lux Double Cab 2.2iL      R150 990
Lux Double Cab 2.8CRD     R159 990
Warranty: 3 year/100 000km

MEIYA 2.2iL TRP 9 14-seater R199 990
Warranty: 6 month/30 000km

A 6 month warranty on a brand new vehicle is  a but poor, perhaps this has to do with the manner in which these will be driven?

For more info go to www.autodealer.co.za

Posted under Car news

The Honda CR-Z is a neat looking hybrid sports coupé, and is set to be available in South Africa by the end of the year.

It’s a 2+2 that uses the efficient 1.5 litre i-VTEC engine in conjunction with a high torque electric motor.

You can find out more on the car here.

Posted under Car news, Electric Vehicles

The electric motor world is separated into two categories. Without going into unnecessary detail, there are direct current (DC) motors and alternating current (AC) motors. Electric car motors can be of either variety. Large vehicle manufacturers will usually use AC motors in their vehicles. These are lighter and can usually produce more power for their size.

On the other hand, AC motors are also a lot more complicated for the DIY enthusiast to install and also quite a bit more expensive than DC motors. This is the reason most of us prefer the DC motor for all of our conversion projects. So how do you find the right one for your project?

To start with, DC electric car motors are most often categorized by their diameter. It probably goes without saying, but greater horsepower can be produced from larger diameter motors. However, larger motors also consume more energy and require more batteries or more frequent charging. The best motor to use for an electric vehicle conversion project is one between nine and 13 inches.

On average, this size motor will have a range of between 150 and 200 miles between charges and will travel at top speeds approaching 55 MPH. We have found that deep cycle batteries perform the best in electric car conversions and a motor in the 9 to 13 inch range works very well with this type of battery.

Electric car motor installation is easy to do and pretty much fail safe assuming you follow the instructions. The motor will weigh around 150 lbs so you will need a helper for this step. I recommend to everyone considering an electric car conversion that you don’t buy a new motor. These cost between $1000 and $5000 depending on the size.

A reconditioned used motor, available for a fraction of the new price will usually outlive any car you put it in. Actually, I’ve known of some that have outlived two cars. Why spend the extra cash on something that is no more reliable and requires no less effort to install? If you look around locallyt, you’ll find these cheap, reliable motors are available in ample supply.

A good set of plans and an experienced guide starts to become extremely valuable here. You do have to know where to look and what to look for to save the most money you can. A proper project guide will provide you with priceless information on where to find your parts including the right motor at very cheap prices, and in some cases even free.

It also takes you step by step through the entire conversion and makes sure that your controller, motor, batteries and every other part you use (including the car!) are all appropriate for the project and for each other. Including batteries you can usually complete the full conversion for well under $500 with the right guidance.

By:
Nick Molinar

More questions about electric car motors? You can find a lot more information information, resources and recommendations here. Stop by and check it out.

Posted under Electric Vehicles

I will be discussing motorcycle repair. The tools you need to always carry at night and what to do when the bike just is not going anywhere. These things can save your bike from being vandalized or stolen if you get stuck leaving it. 40% of thefts or vandalism to bikes is derived from roadside stalls.

First lets discuss the tools or things you should carry with you when traveling at night on any road. Of course each different type of bike will require different things but I will cover the basics. Always carry a few screw drivers at least one slotted and one Phillips. A flash light is essential, you must have a working flashlight or you are dead in the water. Now you will also need a rag and a pair of small vise grips and a crescent wrench.

Ok now we are stuck on the side of the road. There are two key elements to any combustion engine and those are fire and fuel. Make sure you have fuel and it is getting to the carbs or intake. Next time to check if you have spark. Pull a plug wire and put it up against the block in the dark so you can see it spark. Crank the bike over with the button and watch the plug wire and see if it is generating spark. If you dont have either of these fuel or fire you are not going to get the engine to fire at all. Troubleshooting is simple and keep it that way. Spark and fire equals start so you must ensure you have both. If you cannot get both time to go to plan B.
Plan B you got to move the bike by pushing it or having someone come pick it up. If someone can come help you and pick it up no problem you are ready to get it home and off you go to fix it the next day. But if you cannot get someone to come get it or dont have the money for a tow what are you going to do??? Well there is only a couple of options in this situation if you must leave it. Get it to a 24 hour store if possible that has cameras outside in their parking lot. This can help deter would be thieves. Now if you cannot get it to a 24 hour store believe it or not it is time to hide it. I have heard of people literally hiding their bikes behind some trees on the side of the road until they can come the next day and pick it up.

I know this sounds strange but a bike left alone for any extended period of time will be gone. The parts are just too valuable and easy to get rid of. Bikes are stolen everyday like this and would be thieves are literally driving the roads in trucks just looking for bikes left on the side of the road. Take every precaution and do whatever you can to get that valuable baby home!

Lead Writer Carol Heath for
Good Info and writing an article this time for R6 Frame Clean Title

Posted under Motorcycle news