For those who maintain cars or motor cycles or those in the building maintenance business, buffers and polishers are indispensable equipment. They are used to maintain the gloss of the paint for long and keep the floors of buildings spick and span and shining all the time.

Buffers and polishers eliminate small deficiencies such as “scratches and dings” and wipe them out completely, besides polishing the existing finish in the region of deficiencies in such a way that the scratches and other defects are barely noticeable.

Buffering and polishing equipment are normally run along the floors after applying wax like solution to make the surface appear bright and gleaming. A floor buffing and polishing equipment normally consists of two big spinning heads at the bottom, provided with a shaft, handles and controls meant for the user to move it forward along the length of the floor.

A small motor powers the rotating pads and the user presses it down to get a bright glossy polish on the floor. A wax solution is normally applied on the surface and left it as it is for some time for drying before it is buffed and polished.

After this, if the machine is run, it will produce a beautiful finish. Buffing and polishing equipment are also known as “‘rotary floor machines”. The rotary heads will turn at different speeds depending upon how intense one needs to rub the floor.

Lower speeds are necessary to remove stubborn stains, scars and dirt. Lower speeds are also required if the exiting polish is to be removed so that one can apply a fresh polish. Higher speeds are needed for polishing or cleaning hardwood floors.

The head for floor buffing and polishing equipment is capable of turning around 100 to 400 revolutions per minute. Most of the floor polishers need regular electricity from the mains to run, though a few industrial models can be operated with the help of batteries or propane canisters.

Plug-in models ensure steady supply of electricity. The battery and gas models are ideal for pollution-free clean energy buildings and for clearing dirt from distant corners in a building. The floor buffer and polisher equipment cost anywhere between a few hundred dollars and thousand dollars.

Polishing & Buffing Cars

Car and motor vehicle buffer and polisher machines are almost similar to floor polishing equipment, though there are certain major differences between the two.

Car and motor cycle paint buffer and polisher have only one rotating head that spins at varying speeds. Only hand tools are used for paint finish before buffing and polishing. Buffing and polishing machines are equipped with automatic as well as manual drives.

In automatic drive, a computer controlled system will determine the precise speed required for the job. These adjustments can also be done manually. These equipment are available in various sizes based on the diameter of the wheel and include three inch, four inch and six inch diameter machines.

The user of the equipment will exert pressure depending upon the requirements. A buffer and polisher equipment can remove scratches, rust, stains and dirt from the paint easily. Costlier implements are provided with a “computer controlled feedback” device that automatically regulates the speed of the wheel based on the extent of pressure exerted.

These equipment can be plugged into the electrical sockets on the wall. The head of automatic equipment spins at varying speeds between 1000 and 8000 revolutions per minute. The prices of a car or motor cycle buffer and polisher equipment vary from forty dollars to over one hundred dollars depending upon its quality and features.

Everyone loves to have a smooth ride in a car and one of the major factors closely related with smooth riding is shock absorbers. But to what extent the shock absorbers can be blamed for undue vehicle jerks, as it depends on the proper functioning of sway bars, bushings, stiffness of the chassis and the quality of the tires may also make the ride miserable.

As you know, a homemade electric car has to carry extra weight of the deep cycle batteries throughout the chassis of the vehicle. When the internal combustion engine of the vehicle has been removed, it is very important to get the total weight balanced correctly. In this sense, the suspension system of the DIY electric car is even more important.

To have a comfortable and smooth ride, suspension settings are very crucial and these settings may vary from vehicle to vehicle depending upon the driving conditions. An experienced driver may be aware of the road condition and would be very cautious while driving and would prefer safe and controlled driving methods, when compared to an inexperienced driver who may be little rash and may ride at high speeds irrespective of the road conditions.

For instance, two cars manufactured by the same company are given to an experienced and less experienced driver then both of them would prefer to make significant tuning suspension damping for smooth riding according to their driving styles. So the key for fine tuning of suspension lies in the hands of the driver who has good control over the car he drives.

The fine tuning of suspension is no guarantee for a smooth ride on your EV as the settings have to be changed from driver to driver frequently and better alternative to this would be to prefer non-adjustable expensive shock absorbers of Bilstein and Koni with lifetime warranties.

If you want to have shock absorbers within your budget, then you should think of Tokico blues, known for good performance at a competitive price. So these shock absorbers are of great choice to an average driver who enjoys smooth rides without breaking the bank.

Now, let us think about a high performance electric car. In this case, an adjustable shock absorber will be very helpful to improve the performance and handling of the EV. The problem is not during acceleration because the electric motor has more than enough torque.

The problem is when your electric car is taking a corner at high speed. The extra weight of the batteries will definitely send your vehicle off the cornering line. So a high quality suspension and shock absorbers are important for a safe ride.

Having high quality shock absorbers to your electric car is no guarantee for a smooth ride as loosen or weak chassis condition may not give the desired smooth ride results. Over a period of time, if the chassis is not repaired in time, it may cause some amount of damage to the absorbers. Make sure the check and maintain the absorbers on a regular basis to prolong its service life.

The best way to have hassle free car riding would be to install chassis braces and good quality sub frame connectors. To fix the cars inflexibility cheap braces would benefit a lot.

For people who love to ride their EV fast can replace the spring with that of sway bars and for a comfortable high speed ride. Sometimes the change of sway bars may not result in the desired result, then you may have to replace stiffer brushings also.

The process of suspension tuning is to choose the best alternative for a given car model. So before opting for changes to the absorbers, it is always advisable to know your expectations and to have a clear idea of what to buy.

How well do you know the tires used on your DIY electric car? Green product, fuel saver and low rolling resistance, these are all the jargon used when you are introduced to tire designed with silica.

Generally, they all are fundamentally the same thing and refer to performance and advantages achieved by adding silica to the tread compound of tires. Yup, it is pretty technical stuff and the significant advantage of adding silica is reduced drag and at the same time maintaining performance and essential qualities such as wet grip. In other words, the tires are safer and you can reduce the discharge rate of the batteries on your homemade electric vehicle (EV).

Tires containing silica have been in the market for over a decade. Where silica has actually been widely used in tire design plans since last few years or so. The use of silica is today widespread.

Use of silica by leaders such as Michelin in the Michelin Energy and Continental in the ContiEcoContact CP and EP tires was considered to be an actual breakthrough in tire technology.

Question is why low rolling resistance tires are so revolutionary in design and how does a consumer benefits from what it offers? Solving the compromise is a major problem that is faced by tire designers who have traditionally solved the compromise between low rolling resistance and wet grip.

Rolling resistance is the amount of energy a tire absorbs caused by revolving and deflecting. The lower the rolling resistance the lesser the energy needed propel the vehicle forward thus lower power consumption from the electric motor.

However, lowering the rolling resistance has traditionally meant a reduction in wet grip performance which obviously is unacceptable. What’s the use of having power in the battery bank but you’ll end up in a ditch every time you take a corner in your EV?

This problem has been worked out by replacing certain quantities of carbon black with silica in the tire’s tread compound which enables manufacturers to produce tires that provide wet skid properties, better winter performance and lower rolling resistance, all at the same time. All in all, it is a good thing!

The reason why this technology has been considered to be revolutionary is best described as follows: Grip is affected the degree at which a tire is distorted at higher frequencies, in other words the degree to which it hits the small stones and unevenness on the surface of the road.

Grip is also served by rubber compounds that absorb higher level of energy (high hysteresis compounds). Rolling resistance, on the other hand is affected by low frequency distortion that is the deflection of tire as it revolves. It also requires compounds which absorb low quantities of energy (low hysteresis compounds).

This contrast is the reason to why it has been impossible in the past to provide tires which can reduce rolling resistance and increase in wet grip. Again, it is very technical but kind of interesting if you are a science freak.

Tire engineers however have been able to produce compounds which are high hysteresis at high frequencies and low hysteresis at low frequencies with the addition of silica. The use of silica can cause a reduction in rolling resistance by 20% and more.

Assuming correct tire pressures are maintained and making allowances for changing speeds together with different driving characteristics, a 20% reduction in rolling resistance equates to 5% fuel savings on conventional gasoline driven automobile.

The use of silica can also improve wet skid performance. By adding silica to their winter tire range, Vredestein claim to have improved wet skid performance by 15% and at the same time substantially improving, braking distances.

Silica also provides substantial benefits with winter tires and all-season tires. Compounds using silica are more elastic and flexible at lower temperatures that allow better grip and braking during cold weather.

Therefore, when you are looking for a new set of tires for your electric car, get the type with silica designed. With this type of tires, you can extend your EV effective driving mileage and much safer at the same time.

DIY Electric Car Conversion Manual

If you are looking for a good Do It Yourself (DIY) electric car conversion book, check out Gavin Shoebridge’s Electric Conversion Made Easy guide.

Gavin is from New Zealand and he has converted his old 1987 Mitsubishi Treadia into a pure electric car in his garage.

Gavin is also well known in the homemade electric car realm. This is because of all the videos he took when he was converting his Tredia to EV.

==> Click here to read more about Electric Conversion Made Easy!