Summer is around the Corner

Summer is again a short step away. But before you take your gear out of the closet and set off for the charms as well as excitement of that well-deserved sea shore trip, clear a couple of things, first. Make sure the exhaust system of your ride is well and truly up for the sweaty clutch of the days that are certain to plague you for quite a bit of a spell. If you have an imperfect acquaintance with the exhaust system and often shake your head, wondering what it does in there, now's as good a time as any to play catch-up. The exhaust system is the part of your engine that sees to two chief functions: one, it gets rid of the lethal gases emitted by the engine and two, it reduces the degree of noise that inevitably results when the gases make their way out of the car's system.

Do you know what happens when gas seepage into the passenger compartment occurs? Nausea, headaches as well as heightened irritability are common. On the other hand, inhaling a goodly amount of dosage can also cause an alarming loss of consciousness and in extreme cases, even death. This bit right here is quite important to remember. After all, we all have a penchant for staying inside the car when the heat gets too high. Cooking awhile under the sun and getting a tan is fine but turning into a reddened lobster doesn't go quite well with one's notion of making merry in the summer. Neither

is suffering from sunburns or skin cancer.

With that said, it is imperative that we make sure the passenger compartment won't have any gas seepage mishaps or we may find ourselves in an uncomfortable fix. And driving while the windows are down, which is one way to prevent any gas seepage from turning into a potential danger is not something most of us wish to contemplate, much less endure when the temperature is a near-hundred degree. Sweating your way through a workout is productive. Sweating while sitting inside your car is not, especially when you're on your way to work or out for a family picnic with three squabbling kids in the backseat.

One surefire way to know if your exhaust system is already in need of immediate part replacements is excessive noise when gases escape from your muffler. The noise may indicate worn patches in the tubes somewhere within. These are torn areas through which the gases escape. If you happen to hear this with a bit of regularity, better start a more thorough inspection of your exhaust system as soon as possible.

You may have a defective catalytic converter or a series of faulty exhaust pipes in your ride. If your system still stays buggy after you've satisfactorily seen to these concerns, then maybe you ought to get new Oxygen sensor mufflers to go with the rest. Remember, when checking the system, do a careful job of it. Inspect the entire exhaust assembly. See the exhaust manifolds for any damages, the pipes, the resonator, tailpipe and miscellaneous clamps as well as brackets. If any of these parts have sustained damages of the critical sort, don't just diddle around in your haunches. Set out to acquire the proper replacements immediately. You don't know when you'll require the full talents of your exhaust system and exhaust system components, especially during the warm days of summer. You don't want to be driving with your windows down, squinting in the heat and glare simply because your exhaust system is having trouble keeping up.

Not to mention the fact that you are also adding to the pollutants in the atmosphere by cruising around with leaky exhaust pipes or tubes. Is there a reason this matters? Yes, especially in connection to appreciating the oh-joys of summer. See, pollutants that clog up the air rise to the atmosphere where they proceed to destroy the ozone layer. The thinning out of the ozone and emergence of holes in it, as we know and are all aware of, both contribute to the increasing count of skin cancer and other epidermal woes in the populace due to the preponderance of harmful UV rays. If this continues, more and more people will be less than likely to grow thrilled with the prospect of beach outings and then where would that leave us? Our summers will never be the same again.

You see then. No matter how convoluted, long-winded or round-about it is, how you see to your exhaust system plays a significant part in the scheme of things in this world. Isn't that grand? So do your part but well.

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Disgusted by black, noxious fumes coming out of your vehicle?

That smoke is fouling the air you breathe, and by the way, poisoning not only yourself but also your loved ones. And it could also mean frequent emissions tests, as mandated by various state laws and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

You can solve that problem by installing catalytic converters into your vehicle. A catalytic converter (also known as catcon or cat) is a device that turns harmful exhaust gases like nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and unburned fuel into basic molecules like nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water. "Cats" reduce the toxicity of these emissions from your internal combustion engine. This way, these gases can no longer cause damage in the environment, thus making you safer and healthier.

Motor engines try to regulate the air:fuel ratio to 1:14.7. Meaning, for every pound of fuel to be burned, the engine needs 14.7 pounds of air to do the job. But in reality, when driving the air-fuel ratio in your engine varies from lean (an air-to-fuel ratio higher than 14.7), and other times the mixture can be rich (an air-to-fuel ratio lower than 14.7).

Because of these non-ideal conditions, the burnt fuel can actually produce other kinds of emissions like:

* Carbon monoxide - a poisonous gas that is colorless and odorless
* Hydrocarbons or volatile organic compounds - produced mostly from unburned fuel that evaporates

Sunlight breaks these down to form oxidants, which react with oxides of nitrogen to cause ground level ozone (O3), a major component of smog.
* Nitrogen oxides - contributes to smog and acid rain, and also causes irritation to human mucus membranes.

The catalytic converter works by:

1.Reduction of nitrogen oxides to nitrogen and oxygen.
2.Oxidation of (non greenhouse gas, but toxic) carbon monoxide to less harmful (greenhouse gas) carbon dioxide.
3.Oxidation of unburnt carcinogenic hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and water.

Several components make up the standard catalytic converter. These are:

1.The core or substrate. The core is made up of a ceramic honeycomb, which provides support to the catalyst.
2.The washcoat. This is a mixture of silicon and aluminum. This forms with the core, a rough, irregular surface which has a large surface area. The large surface area gives more places for the catalyst to bind. The catalyst is first suspended to the washcoat before being applied to the core.
3.The catalyst. Tis is usually a precious metal, either platinum, palladium or rhodium. Platinum is most widely used but is the most expensive. Either palladium or rhodium is substituted for it. Platinum and rhodium are used as reduction catalysts, while palladium and platinum are oxidation catalysts.

One downside of having catalytic converters is that it becomes ineffective in the presence of lead, which leads to catalyst poisoning. Catalyst poisoning occurs when a substance in the engine exhaust coats the surface of the catalyst, preventing further exhaust access to the catalytic materials. To avoid it, vehicles with catalytic converters are run using unleaded fuel.

Catalytic converters help protect lessen the emissions brought about by the burning of fossil fuels. Having one installed is doing your share in protecting our environment. In the end, you are also protecting yourself and your loved ones.

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