Articles
Audi Volkswagen - Prestige Motor Vehicles from Germany
The modern motor vehicle is a very complex machine, containing more computing power than first put Man on the moon. None more so than the Volkswagen Audi group of vehicles, with Audi pioneering Four Wheel Drive systems with quattro and being at the forefront of Vorsprung durch Technic for over thirty years.
To put this into perspective, a modern Audi A7 with all the bells and whistles contains upward of 87 control units, all communicating over 6 different networks using a mind-blowing number of switches, actuators and sensors. Simply putting a window down can involve 4 control units, 2 networks and an array of digital messages travelling between them. Even lights and wipers are switched on digitally these days, and having an understanding of how all these systems and components come to work together is part of the job of the modern day Technician.
Older vehicles, which used electrics rather than electronics, were all put together in a very similar fashion. This meant that a good mechanic could successfully work on just about any kind of vehicle. With the onset of electronics and computer systems finding their way into the motor vehicle, more specialist knowledge is now required to successfully check, monitor and repair these systems.
The same can be said for routine servicing too. Some twenty years ago there would have been a generic Service Schedule which would have covered most light vehicles. Today however, servicing requirements vary dramatically from manufacturer to manufacturer and even from vehicle to vehicle. Having specialist knowledge is vital to ensure that your Prestige vehicle is maintained to the highest standard. Even cancelling the Service Reminder on the dash is a particularly important part of the service. With the introduction of Variable Service Intervals, sensors within the engine monitor the condition of the oil and put on the service light when the service is due. Re-setting this reminder incorrectly can influence when the light comes on for the next and subsequent services, which obviously could affect the performance of your vehicle.
Here at York Road Garage, Wilberfoss we have not one but two Audi trained Master Technicians with collectively over 45 years of experience in the maintenance and repair of all the VAG group vehicles, including Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Bentley and Lamborghini. You simply can't buy that kind of knowledge and expertise, but you get it here as standard at York Road Garage.
To maintain and service your Prestige Vehicle, you were forced to take it to the Main Dealer for servicing and repairs to maintain the validity of the Manufacturers Warranty. With the introduction of Block Exemption, this is now no longer the case. Providing your vehicle is serviced using genuine parts and the correct fluids and lubricants, you can have your Prestige Volkswagen Group vehicle serviced here at York Road Garage and still retain your Manufacturers Warranty.
In conclusion, the modern motor vehicle is a very complex and complicated animal and it takes very specialist knowledge to keep it happy and contented. It could be said that even simple things are operated in a complicated way these days, but here at York Road Garage we have the necessary knowledge, expertise and equipment to carry out all maintenance and repairs to all these systems to manufacturers specifications. Don't trust it to anyone else.
Protect Your Vehicle With WaxOyl
Vehicles today are subject to rust and corrosion due to moisture, humidity, tons of road salt and other airborne pollutants that can cause rapid deterioration of your automobile. If neglected, the damages can make your automotive investment of little value.
Although automotive Manufacturers have improved the way vehicles are built, their efforts are not nearly enough to battle the damages of rust on automobiles.
If you consider that new vehicles undergo thousands of spot welds and numerous bends and folds during assembly; this process damages the automobile coating systems, exposing these panels to corrosion. Besides body-panel damage, certain mechanical parts are also at risk - suspension mounts, hood-locking mechanisms, door hinges, brake cables - which are all susceptible to the damaging effects of rust on your automobile.
To protect your vehicle against corrosion our rust proofing formula does more than just cover the metal required. A rust proofing product must be applied as a high-pressured spray, ensuring protection to your vehicle's most critical areas by penetrating, displacing existing moisture and protecting the many vulnerable crevices of your automobile.
WAXOYL- is effective on a new car, used car and even a rusty car.
Prices start from just £40.00 + VAT
MOT - Friend or Foe?
When it comes round to that time of year when your MOT is about to expire, does the prospect of the MOT Test fill you with dread? Well, it shouldn't. You should look upon the Vehicle Operator and Standards Agency (VOSA) Annual Roadworthiness Test as an opportunity to make sure your vehicle, be it car, motorcycle or Class 7 is in as good as possible a condition, and above all is safe. Let's face it, if you are exploiting the Queen's highway to the full, you will want to be safe in the knowledge that should you have to hit the brakes in an emergency, you are in fact going to stop, and that a turn of the steering wheel will actually make your vehicle change direction.
The MOT test as it is still known, even though the Ministry Of Transport no longer exists, is designed to avoid a safety related mechanical failure endangering life, and that alone makes it worthwhile. Although some unscrupulous Testing Stations use it as a money-making scam, here at York Road Garage we share the philosophy that your safety is our number one priority.
Many parts of your vehicle are thoroughly examined during the Test some of which can be checked yourself, such as the lights, horn, wipers and washers and the like. However, much more thorough checks are made to the vehicle structure, suspension, steering and braking systems that you simply couldn't do yourself without the specialist equipment and know-how we possess here at York Road Garage.
In fact, there are more thorough checks made on the braking system for example than is conducted during an annual service, as each brake is checked for performance using a Roller Brake Tester.
So, you can be sure that should you choose to bring your motorcycle, car, van or motor-home to York Road Garage, Wilberfoss for its next MOT, you can rest assured that a thorough but fair examination will be carried out using the very latest equipment and our years of experience with workmanship to the highest standards, and you will know that your vehicle is safe. We work closely with VOSA to ensure we use the latest techniques to ensure your safety.
Automotive Air Conditioning
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Until recently Air-Conditioning was regarded as an expensive optional extra, only fitted to the very top of the range cars and deemed as not really necessary for our temperate climate. Nowadays however, it is fitted to all but the most basic of models and its benefits are enjoyed by most of us, the most obvious being that it gives us nice, cooling air on hot summer days. This is not its most useful attribute however, this being something that you maybe wouldn't even notice until the system stopped working. It has the added capability of drying the air within the cabin and this reduces the tendency for the windows to steam up on wet days as well as keeping you more awake and alert on longer journeys.
So, how does it work? Well, without going too deep into the physics of the thing, it uses the principle that to change the state of a substance from a liquid to a gas and then back to a liquid again, the substance takes away and gives out energy in the form of heat. I know that sounds a bit heavy, but I'll try and make it a little simpler. For a substance, and we'll use water as an example, to change from a liquid to a gas, it takes a lot of heat energy to make that transformation. When you get out of the shower, even on a hot day you feel cold. That is because the water on your body takes heat energy from your skin to change it into a gas and evaporate. The Air-Con system does the same thing, and I'll try and explain the function of the system very briefly.
A Compressor does exactly as its name suggests and compresses the refrigerant gas. Compressing the gas causes it to rise in temperature and also has the effect of raising the boiling point. It flows to a Condenser where the hot, compressed gas condenses into a hot liquid, giving off heat as it changes its state. The Condenser is the bit at the front of the car that looks like another radiator. It then flows through a restrictor, and on the other side of the restrictor the pressure reduces dramatically. It then flows to an Evaporator where the low pressure liquid then evaporates into a gas. As it changes state back into a gas, it draws heat from its surroundings. The air coming in to your cars' heater system passes over the evaporator and as it does so it has the heat removed from it by the cold evaporator, so you get nice cold air into the cabin.
Now, because the Evaporator is cold and the air flowing over it is substantially warmer, water condenses on the surface. This is much like when you get a nice, cold beer from the fridge, the bottle instantly becomes wet and you have to put it on a coaster to stop it leaving a mark on your polished table. This is where the system dries the air in the cabin, drawing out the moisture from the incoming air passing over the evaporator as I described earlier, and also why you can see water dripping out from under your car after you have parked up.
So that is Air-Conditioning in a nutshell, but it doesn't end there. In order to keep your Air-conditioning functioning efficiently, as with everything, there is a certain amount of routine maintenance required.
In the refrigerant circuit there is a small amount of a special oil that is carried around the system by the refrigerant gas. This is Polyalkylene Glycol oil, luckily more commonly known as PAG oil, and as well as lubricating the moving parts of the compressor, it keeps all the seals between the pipe-work and components moist. The molecules of the refrigerant gas are very small, and if the Air-Conditioning is switched off for any length of time, the oil drains back to the lowest point, the seals dry out to a certain degree and contract, and a small amount of refrigerant gas can be lost. This reduces the efficiency and therefore the cooling capacity of the system and a Re-Gas is necessary.
All Automotive Air-Conditioning systems employ some kind of Pollen Filter in the heater system. This not only helps clean the air entering the cabin, it also helps keep the Evaporator clear of debris and leaves. It usually takes the form of a paper element-type filter which should be changed at the Manufacturers Recommended interval.
Lastly, because the Evaporator is always wet as I described earlier, it is not uncommon for bacteria to start to build up on the damp surface, resulting in a rather musty smell. This can be avoided by the regular use of an anti-bacterial agent applied into the heater system which keeps the Air-Conditioning components in the cabin clinically clean.
Now, from July 4th 2010, anyone handling refrigerant gas must hold a Nationally Recognised qualification. Here at York Road Garage we have the necessary Qualifications, expertise and state of the art equipment to keep your Automotive Air-Conditioning working cleanly and at its optimum efficiency. We can offer you a comprehensive Air-Conditioning service which is second to none. Phone David or Jonathan on 01759 380482 for more information and make sure you keep cool this summer.
