Having a mobile home has many benefits, somewhere, where you can escape too, and relax whenever you get the chance.

But what about maintenance?

Mobile homes tend to lack maintenance until something goes wrong, but just like your main home, they should be maintained on a regular basis.

The mobile home water heater never gets looked at till it breaks down, but just like your central heating boiler ay home, it should be serviced annually.

Most of the new mobile homes are now supplied with a full central heating system installed, run by an LPG combination boiler.

Older models were supplied with an LPG water heater, normally fitted in a compartment somewhere.

The most popular heaters were made by Morco and Bosch.

They produced around 5-6 liters of hot water per minute, which for the average family was enough.

Now though, if you need to repair or replace your heater, both Morco and Bosch have ceased production of these models.

Searching the internet you may be able to find a replacement or parts, but these are old stock, and you will pay through the nose for your model.

So what options are there for mobile home water heaters?

If your heater has stopped working, you have two options.

One, try and get it repaired, which could cost you nearly as much as replacing it, or two, replace it with a new model,

A Spanish company now produces a replacement for the Morco and Bosch water heaters.

The make is called Forcali, they produce two models, 6 and 10-liter versions.

Each water heater is supplied with standoff brackets to bring it inline with the existing flue.

It’s best practice though to replace the flue at the same time.

Everything needed for the installation is supplied in the box, even the flue adaptor.

These replacement models have been designed to save on running costs by having no fixed pilot.

The water heater operates automatically as and when there is a call for hot water.

Your old water heater was probably D rated, whereas these new units are A rated and better for the environment.

Like I said at the beginning, mobile homes need regular maintenance to keep them working, but the most important thing is SAFETY.

When you arrange for someone to carry out the maintenance, make sure they are Gas Safe Registered, and that they also registered to work on LPG.

The ultimate prize has come to the Pokemon Centers in Japan. Shiny versions (alternate colors) of Suicune, Entei and Raikou plush Pokedolls. These three legendary beast Pokemon plushies are absolutely gorgeous. They are different color versions from the original Pokedolls. Suicune has a light blue main instead of purple, Entei is brownish color instead of red and Raikou is orange in color with a yellow mane instead of yellow with a purple mane. They have a different color shiny tag and are absolutely gorgeous.

Now the bad news. These three beautiful plush toys are not for sale. They are the top prize in the 2010 Pokemon Center lottery. There are 400 colored marbles that are in a bingo-style machine. When you spend 2500 yen (about $30) at the Pokemon Center from now until mid-July, you will receive one chance to win them. The top prize is one set of all 3 legendary beast Pokemon pokedolls.

The lottery consists of 4 different color marbles. White, yellow, red and blue Red is the top prize for the set of 3 pokedolls and there is only 1 red marble out of 400. So your odds of winning are 1 in 400. The blue marble is the second place and allows you to choose 1 of the 3 Pokedolls. Not sure how many, but I think less than 5 out of 400. The 3rd prize is the yellow marble and it gets you a set of shiny (alternate color) legendary beast charms. I’m not sure how many of these are in the bunch, but I think less than 10. The last place prize is the white marble and it awards you a shiny legendary beast sticker. The color marbles vary from Pokemon Center to Pokemon Center, but the prizes are the same.

I have heard reports that there are only 250 of the Suicune, Entei, and Raikou Plushies made. This would seem inline with the amounts that have been coming out. I personally have spent $2000 and had over 80 tries in the lottery and I got 80 stickers. No plushies, no charms, nothing but stickers. Its very frustrating to try to win these beautiful prizes.

I have seen only a couple of the plushies go for sale. Expect to pay nearly $500 for the set of 3, and the price will probably continue to rise as they get harder and harder to find. Considering the demand for these, you are going to have to be very lucky to get your hands on a set of them.

It is no secret that we live in the most stressful time of history. It is the opinion of a growing number of health care professionals that stress has become a global health epidemic. Even in conversation we throw the word ‘stress’ around more and more every day. You only need to stand in line at a busy post office to feel stress and tension rising in the room. People get extremely impatient and start to breath heavier, mumble their unhappiness and start to twitch. In fact, when in line the other days, someone in front of me actually said ‘This is SO stressful!’ I thought to myself, what is this person’s life like on a day to day basis? If standing in line is that stressful, imagine the rest of her day. Having grown up in South Africa, I instantly thought of the unfortunate masses in Zimbabwe that have to wait in line two to three hours at the ATM, every single day just to draw enough of the hyper-inflated currency to take care of their daily needs. Their inflation is so extreme that this is the only way that the country can function economically. It makes me wonder how the person in front of would survive over there, and also how these people manage to cope.

Stress and disease

Stress has been clinically linked to the majority of major diseases. Knowing this, I began to wonder about this lady’s health and how many current diseases she might be allowing to cultivate in her body through stress. I couldn’t help seeing this person as a heart attack just waiting to happen. As a stress management specialist, I’m not one to think negatively, this thought scared me. And this is just one example I experienced recently but more and more, people are feeling the negative effects of stress on a daily basis.

A disease like cancer or a stroke doesn’t happen overnight. They are the accumulation of years of stress put on the body. When I talk about stress, I’m talking about various kinds of stress. There is physical stress – such as repetitive motion, chemical stress – such as pesticides in our food and chemicals in our water, and emotional stress – that causes our cortisol levels and blood pressure to rise. The American Medical Association says from the beginning of the problem, to the first symptom of a heart attack, forty three years go by. Unfortunately, in many cases, the first sign of illness results death.

Why are we so stressed? It is scary to measure how much stress is increasing every year. We live in a now society. Everyone wants everything now, gratification must be instant and patience is quickly becoming a thing of the past. If we could see into ourselves down to a cellular level at all times, we would very quickly think twice about losing patience and getting angry over things that cannot be controlled.

Getting back to my example of people in Zimbabwe, what’s ironic is they are some of the most gentle, patient people you will ever meet. They have extremely difficult lives living under a brutal dictatorship and struggle to find enough money to feed their families, yet they still smile and are warm and friendly to even foreigners. How do they do it?

I believe a lot of it has to do with the fact that they are far more grounded in reality and spirituality than the average westerner. I experienced similar amazement in Thailand where a family took me in and treated me as family without knowing anything about me. Their spirituality was so deep it was almost tangible. They simply live it by being selfless.

I believe the western world has fallen so far from our inner selves we have lost sight of what is truly valuable; love, compassion and forgiveness. The western ideals of getting all you can for yourself are actually poisoning us, and causing an epidemic of death by stress. People have become ‘outer reactive’ instead of being ‘inner actualized’.

As I write this article, it is my hope that you will think about the real meaning of life. Selflessness and truly caring for your fellow human being is one of the primary purposes in life. I hope you can incorporate this ideology into a practical application in your daily life. There is so much negative self talk and negative talk towards or about others these days. Words are extremely powerful whether positive or negative. If you took two households with a pregnant wife and spoke positive words to the belly of the one mother, and negative to the other, you would have two very different outcomes in those children.

For example, if the mother of the first unborn child has a calm loving household with spiritual parents who consistently talk positively over the child, you would have a calm baby at birth and possibly for their entire life. If, on the other hand, the other child has irresponsible, alcoholic parents who scream constantly and speak negatively about the burdens of the arrival of the child, it will absolutely have a negative consequence on the baby.

Most of us have experienced someone screaming at on the road, and even that seemingly impersonal confrontation can have many stressful repercussions. These events often lead to a lapse in concentration long after the incident and believe it or not, have the ability to cause accidents. The person that kicks off the chain of events can affect many others. In turn the person that started the chain was likely put in that stress mode through another chain of events and had a negative impact on them My point is that we all affect each other every single day and our decisions are powerful.

Stress and society

It has been scientifically proven that all matter is a collection of very dense, or sparse frequencies or vibrations. We are vibrational beings and our vibrations, whether positive or negative are constantly having a reaction on each other, often on a subconscious level. This means we actually affect each other’s health. This might seem far-fetched to some but I strongly believe it to be true. In fact, I will say I know it to be true.

As I mentioned before, stress is linked to all disease – the father of stress research, Dr. Hans Selye, proved that all disease is caused from stress. He dedicated his life to the study of stress and the negative impact it has on our lives and health. Look at what Dr. Seyle has to say:

“The body passes through three universal stages of coping. First there is an “alarm reaction,” in which the body prepares itself for “fight or flight.” No organism can sustain this condition of excitement, however, and a second stage of adaptation ensues (provided the organism survives the first stage). In the second stage, a resistance to the stress is built. Finally, if the duration of the stress is sufficiently long, the body eventually enters a stage of exhaustion, a sort of aging “due to wear and tear.” Dr. Hans Selye

Stress first affects the brain, followed by the nervous system and then finally all other functioning parts of the body. The big problem with the allopathic, western, medical world is that even though they know this to be true, they are still in the business of treating symptoms instead of getting to the cause of the problem (probably because there is more money in the comeback, but that is another article for another time.)

This in short means that if your treatment doesn’t go deeper than simply where the pain or discomfort is, you are not treating the cause. If you don’t treat the cause, the condition is sure to worsen. You only need to turn on the television and watch commercials to see how Big Pharma is pushing pharmaceuticals more than ever before. When the side effects are read off speedily at the end, it seems like something from a Saturday Night Live skit, but there is nothing funny about it. The fact that the FDA approves a medication to treat a non-life-threatening issue with a drug that has life-threatening side effects is proof the industry is run by greed instead of love for humanity. We as humans have lost our way. We have moved further and further from our source, and closer to death.

We have become a narcissistic society, less concerned with long term health and more concerned with immediate, selfish conquests. Dealing with stress appropriately is our only hope for long life, happiness and true success in its purest form. I believe that this could save humanity from its current decline. As I mentioned, we all affect each other every single day and our decisions are powerful. Our lives can either spiral upward through sometimes difficult but positive decisions, or downward by taking the easy way out. A powerful way to stay on the upward spiraling path is to incorporate powerful stress relief solutions into your life. One such solution (the most powerful in my humble opinion) is a wellness system I practice, called Alphabiotics. Keeping your body and entire being balanced and making sure internal, physical stressors are removed, goes miles toward an increasingly positive outlook, allowing you to make better decisions and choices each day. If you haven’t already, I urge you to make the decision today to begin walking the upward spiraling path, and you’ll never regret you did.

Learn more at http://www.alphabioticbalance.com

Bruce Fulford, Board Certified Alphabioticist

In essence, the Honda C90 was introduced as an upgraded version of the Honda C70 in 1978. Primarily deemed as falling under the scooter motorcycle category, the Honda C90 achieved immense popularity within local as well as international markets owing to its decent physical exterior, commendable engine schematics and substantial reliability from an overall perspective. The Honda C90 comprised of an OHC single cylinder (2 valves per cylinder) four stroke air cooled engine with a displacement rating of about 89 CC. Similarly, it had a bore value of 50 mm as well as a stroke value of 45.6 mm as well as maximum engine revolutions per minute rating of 10000.

On the other hand, according to the makers at Honda Motor Company, the Honda C90 had a compression ratio of 8.2 to 1 which was in line with its engine power. However, its engine had the ability to produce 7.50 Horse Power at 9500 revolutions per minute as well as engine torque of 0.67 N-M at about 6000 revolutions per minute. Similarly, in terms of the ignition unit, the Honda C90 was fitted with contact breaker points as well as a clutch unit that comprised of a Multi plate wet automatic component, an upgrade that was in line with recent technological advancements.

However, the Honda C90 had a 3 speed chain transmission gear box which was a disappointment since a 4 speed gearbox would have been more in line with its engine schematics. Nonetheless, the Honda C90 had a variety of other features that played a vital role in its universal acceptance as a high quality scooter class bike. Its frame was molded from pressed steel which accounted for its sturdiness as well as durability. On the other hand, the front suspension unit consisted of hydraulically dampened leading link forks in conjunction with a 3 inch travel component. Similarly, the rear suspension unit comprised of a hydraulically dampened compression spring coupled with a 3.8 inch travel.

Alternatively, drum brake units for the front as well as the rear tire were employed with measurements of 4.3 inches and 4.5 inches respectively. Lastly, one of the main reasons why the Honda C90 was so popular was also because of its excellent fuel mileage rating of 2.5 liters per 100 kilometers as well as the fact that technological advancements enabled it to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted through its exhaust unit.

Nowadays, the coolest animal that you can ever have as a pet is a Sugar Glider. This cute and cuddly pet will be surely loved by the kids, also by your family. You can surely be proud having this cute pet.

This exotic animal, like most people, can be very nice to others if they have been treated well. Feeding it with right food at the right time can surely make it so nice. Treating it right, you can feel their appreciation on the form of their behavior. This is one great characteristics of sugar gliders have that you cannot find on other exotic pets. This small cute marsupial does not eat much, but they have special diet to maintain their healthy life style. Pet owners should include some particular foods on their diet.

Petaurus briceps is the scientific name of this small arboreal marsupial that can be mostly found in the native forest of Australia, New Guinea, including the state islands of Indonesia and Tasmania. Members of the same type of family are the kangaroos, opossums, wombats and Tasmanian devils.

One common characteristic of Sugar gliders can be easily recognized by the extra ordinary thickness of their grayish soft mink that resemble the hair and posses black stripe throughout the body that is inline with their spine. The black stripe is located from the heartht to the tail. Here are some things that you will need to know about the characteristics of sugar gliders.

* The face and the legs of this animal have a dramatic black shades.

* The width of their body is equal to the length of the tail, which commonly measures five to six inches.

* Adult Sugar Glider weighs about four to six ounces, however, males can exceed this proximity because they are much bigger than the female.

* Sugar Glider, like many other marsupials, they also have the pouch were they carry their young’s, that are commonly know as the Joey’s

* In the natural habitat, they are tree dwelling and mostly living in a herd, which is composed of fifteen to thirty members.

* This exotic animal are nocturnal that mainly feed on small vertebrates like insects and plants such as the acacia tree, eucalyptus and the gum tree.

* Sugar gliders can be compared to the flying squirrel because they glide themselves above up to a hundred feet. They glide using their membrane, which is called the patagium and by using their tail, the direction can be control while on the air.

* They posses opposable fingers and toes and the male has a forked penis.

* Their ear moves frequently in other for them to hear even the smallest sounds.

* Ears of this animal are hairless, large and thin.

* Sugar Gliders individually have unique scents that are been recognized by other Sugar Glider. The scent gland of the male is located on the head that appear like a diamond while on the female it is located near the pouch.

The longer you’re into car audio the more chances you will have to install the components yourself. In this basic guide, I’ll tell you certain tools and components you will need to install a car audio amplifier.

Amplifiers can be a little bit tricky to install. They require removal of internal panels and also the running of wires from the front of the car to the rear or wherever the car audio amplifier will be mounted.

After purchasing you car audio amplifier you will need to purchase an amp wiring kit. These kits usually contain:

* A power wire (big red wire)

* Inline fuse holder

* set of RCA’s

* a long thin wire (mostly in blue color) called a remote

* some speaker wire and various wire connectors and wire loom

These kits also come in various sizes or gauges, with the most common being 8 gauge and 4 gauge kits. The smaller the number means the bigger the wire. 4 gauge kits will be plenty to handle up to roughly 600-1200 watt amplifiers.

Once you have got the car audio amplifier and amp wiring kit now its time to take a look under your hood and locate your battery. Once you have located the battery it’s best to unhook the battery during installation so that you don’t short anything out while working. Look around the firewall area on the side where your battery is located and check for any type of hole that would lead into the inside of your vehicle where you could run your power wire through. If you cannot find an easily accessible hole then you may have to drill one yourself. If you do have to drill one yourself it’s best to make a small hole at first so that you don’t damage any wires in the area. Gradually make the hole bigger with some type of step bit. Once the hole is made use rubber grommets to make sure the hole is sealed and that the metal edges don’t cut your power wire.

Now that the power wire is routed though the firewall it’s time to start to remove the internal panels for wire installation throughout your vehicle. During this process you will run 3 wires to the location of the car amplifier. Generally the amp will be in the trunk/hatch area. The first wire will be a red wire (which is the power wire you ran from the battery of the vehicle). The next will be a set of RCA’s, and the final wire will be the thin blue wire we call a remote. In some kits the remote wire can be built into the RCA’s. The RCA’s are what sends the sound or signal to the amplifier and then is amplified through the speakers. One rule I generally use when running the wires is to separate the power and RCA’s by running the power wire down one side and the RCA’s down the other. If not done correctly there is a chance that you could generate some engine noise from within your speakers. The RCA’s will plug into the output on the back of the radio, some CD players there will be a ‘subwoofer out’ set of RCA jacks that will give you more control over sound quality. The next is the remote wire (usually the blue thin wire) this is the wire that sends the amplifier the signal to power on when the radio is powered on. This wire hooks into the remote wire on the back of the CD player. Don’t worry about the wires being too long during this phase of the process, they can easily be trimmed once you find were you want the amplifier to sit.

Once you have the wires run you can set your box and amplifier were it will eventually be permanently installed to give yourself a reference on how much wire will need to be trimmed. You will also be able to establish where your ground will go at this time; generally a body ground somewhere within one foot of your amplifier will be sufficient. Once you have located a suitable place use a little sandpaper to clear the area of any paint so you will have a solid connection to the vehicle body. Now you can connect all the wires to the amplifier and subs and hide any excess wire to make your install look more professional.

The final phase is to connect the power wire to your battery and install the inline fuse protector. With everything completed time to turn your system on and make all your adjustments to the levels you see fit for the type of sound quality that you desire.

You’re busy.

Your day is packed. You need to write, but there’s never enough time.

It’s a common writer’s lament, but what that writer usually means is there’s never enough time, in one sitting, to get much accomplished. But where is it written that a writer must have large blocks of time in order to get anything done?

Consider how many wasted minutes could be found during the day, and used for furthering your work in progress. Time is lost waiting in line, sitting in traffic, running errands, attending meetings and elsewhere.

It’s possible to reclaim some of these “lost minutes” for writing time:

1. Use your “waiting time” wisely. How many times have you stood in line at the grocery store and cruised through a handy magazine on the nearby rack? In less time than it takes to flip to page forty-seven to read about the latest UFO sighting, you could have written the snappy dialogue required for your boy-meets-girl scene.

Other places you can make use of “waiting” time are doctor’s offices, the mechanic’s, at the bus stop, school drop off and pick-up, sitting in line at the gas station, at the bank, even while on hold during a phone call. Almost any place you arrive a few moments early (or are often kept waiting) is a good candidate for “waiting” time.

To make this work, be prepared: Don’t find yourself empty handed when you have those few minutes to burn. Keep a pen and a few index cards, a small notebook, or even a folded sheet of paper in your pocket.

If you’re at home, keep your computer on all the time. A “waiting” computer leaves you no excuse to put off writing a scene or jotting down a few notes while dinner cooks or water boils for tea. Also, a few minutes may be all you need for some minor research for your project. Bonus: you’ll be less apt to waste time surfing if you’ve only got a few dedicated moments.

2. Bus rides, train commutes, taxi shuttles and flights all present opportunities to write. In fact, any travel in which you’re not driving is ideal. Whip out your notebook or laptop computer and write away. Too noisy? Carry earplugs or headphones and an mp3 player to drown out the chatter.

3. If you drive, stop lights are your friend. Keep a clipboard on the passenger seat of the car for jotting notes and scenes on when you get stopped. This method is especially useful if you’ve spent your drive-time thinking about, and planning, your story or article.

If you don’t like the idea of writing in the car, carry a small, pocket recorder and make your notes by talking aloud.

(Another great use of commute time is listening to audio books. Choose a non-fiction book, perhaps one about writing, and make notes during stop lights. Or do some necessary research while driving by listening to a book on a subject related to your work in progress.)

4. Master your meetings. Everyone attends meetings: there are those at work, club meetings, PTA meetings, Scouts meetings, etc. Few are called to order on time. Arrive a few moments early, grab the best space for writing, and write. Ignore the chit-chat around the coffee pot and other socializing. It may even be possible to write during discussion that’s not pertinent to you.

You may find it difficult to write prose while others are talking. So, spend that time outlining an article or a few scenes in your work in progress. If that fails, create a list of scenes you may need, or brainstorm some article ideas.

5. Give up something else. This isn’t so much about finding time as it is making it. If you’re schedule is so packed that you can’t find little bits of time, then you should consider giving up one activity for another. Cancel a class you’re taking, stop watching TV, don’t meet a friend for lunch or sacrifice a little sleep by setting the alarm 15 or 20 minutes earlier than usual. You can also stop cleaning the house, leave dirty dishes in the sink and mow the yard less frequently. (Or pay someone else to do it while you write. Seriously.)

There are always empty moments to be found in the day. Reclaim that time by employing one or several of the ideas mentioned and watch your progress grow.

Japan, home to the most technologically advanced culture, has several of the largest automotive manufacturers in the world. High standards of quality control, reliability, affordability and efficient engineering have led Japanese manufacturers to be a dominate force in the global automotive market. In this article, a comparison will be made between Japan’s modern engine-design methodology to use smaller-capacity, high revving, turbo charged engines, and that of America’s tradition of using large-capacity, low-revving, naturally aspirated engines. Japan’s most technologically advanced performance engine, the 2JZ-GTE, will be compared against America’s newest high performance engine, the LS2. The 2JZ-GTE engine manufactured by Toyota is a 3 litre (2997 cc), dual overhead cams, inline 6 cylinder powered by two sequential turbos and found in the Supra. Manufactured by General Motors, the LS2 is a 6 litre (5967 cc), 8 cylinder (v-configuration) pushrod engine found in the Corvette.

When comparing performance engines, the main thing that matters is the amount of power and torque the engine produces, right? Err…well yes, and no. There are many factors to consider when comparing engines. However, first, let’s take a side-by-side comparison of the power and torque figures for each engine. General Motors’ LS2 puts out an impressive 400 horsepower at 6000rpm, and 530nm of torque at 4400rpm. Toyota’s 2JZ-GTE makes a modest 320 horsepower at 5600rpm, and 440nm of torque at 3600rpm. From inspection of these figures, it looks like we have a clear winner. The LS2 makes more power and more torque, so why do I believe the 2JZ-GTE is a superior performance engine? An important factor rests on the size of the engine, the LS2 is exactly double the size of the 2JZ-GTE, yet the power and torque figures are not even 25% greater. Why the high level of inefficiency?

The problem with the LS2 is that the engine possesses several fundamental design flaws and relies on outdated technology. The LS2 is of a pushrod design, technically speaking, this means it is a type of piston engine that places the camshaft below the pistons and uses pushrods to actuate lifters or tappets above the cylinder head to actuate the valves. Pushrod engines are an old technology, which have largely been replaced by overhead cam designs in Europe and Japan.

Pushrod design is plagued with several problems. Firstly, pushrod engines suffer from a limited capacity to rev compared to overhead cam designs. This is due to their larger rotational mass, susceptibility to valve “float”, and a tendency for the pushrods themselves to flex or snap at high rpm. The LS2’s redline is at 6500rpm, compared to the 2JZ-GTE’s higher 7200rpm redline. Secondly, pushrod engines have limited valve flexibility. Most pushrod engines only have two valves per cylinder (such as the LS2). Overhead cam engines, however, often use three, four or even five valves per cylinder to achieve greater efficiency and power. The 2JZ-GTE has four valves per cylinder, making a total of 24 valves for the engine. The LS2, with its two valves per cylinder, has a total of 16 valves for the engine.

In the form of twin sequential turbo chargers perhaps the biggest innovative feature of the 2JZ-GTE compared to the LS2 is its use of forced induction. Due to the 2JZ-GTE having a low compression ratio, it allows turbo chargers to be run. A turbo charger is a device that compresses the air flowing into the engine. The advantage of compressing the air is that it lets the engine squeeze more air into a cylinder, and more air means that more fuel can be added. Therefore, you get more power from each explosion in each cylinder. Turbo charging is perhaps the most efficient way to get power out of an engine – both small and large.

By using turbo chargers on smaller capacity engines Japan has been able to create extremely light, high-revving engines that are easily modified and have excellent fuel economy. Simple modifications on turbo cars allow for huge performance gains, especially in comparison to naturally aspirated engines. As an example, the 2JZ-GTE with an aftermarket exhaust, front mount intercooler and running a higher boost setting puts out significantly more power than the LS2. If one spends more money, the gains can be enormous. To extract power from a naturally aspirated engine is significantly more work. Firstly, if you are chasing big power, you really need to open the engine and do internal modifications for extra power, unlike a turbo engine that can be modified effortlessly, without opening up the engine. Power is often extracted from naturally aspirated engines by modifying the camshafts and doing work to the head of the engine. These modifications are both expensive and significantly alter the ‘street friendliness’ of your car. That is, produce a rough idle, have a tendency to stall and poor fuel economy.

With all the praise I have been giving the 2JZ-GTE it may seem that the LS2 engine is a poor performance engine. This is certainly not the case, one only needs to look at the stock power figures to realise that straight out of the car dealership this engine is seriously fast, with neck-snapping torque. Its design may be old-fashioned and its fuel economy poor but there is no doubt about it. If you are after the V8 rumble many Australians long after, then you will definitely be happy with the LS2. The LS2 is very ‘street friendly’ with 90% of its torque available just off idle. This equates to effortless towing, overtaking and a pure adrenalin rush every time you tap the throttle. Furthermore, the LS2 does have some advantages over the more advanced 2JZ-GTE engine. The LS2 is a far less complex engine, and as such, when something goes wrong it is much easier to identify the cause and solve the problem. More so, because the LS2 is naturally aspirated (unlike the 2JZ-GTE) there is far less stress placed on the internal components of the engine and thus, you would expect a longer engine life than the 2JZ-GTE.

Currently with fuel prices reaching an all time high, it is important to make sure your engine has the optimum balance between performance and fuel economy. Yet again the 2JZ-GTE outperforms the LS2. This is due to the capacity of the engine, with the Toyota being 3 litres and the GM engine being 6 litres in capacity. With exactly twice the displacement, unsurprisingly the LS2 uses more petrol. However, this is not by any means saying the 2JZ-GTE has good fuel economy. Unfortunately, power does come at a cost and both engines discussed are not economical.

The 2JZ-GTE has numerous features of intelligent design, which contribute to its strength and robustness as a motor. Two of its most advanced features are the use of sequential turbos and VVT. VVT stands for Variable Valve Timing and it is an advanced technology in overhead cam engines where, a mechanical device is used to swap over between a ‘small’ cam for low and medium revs and a ‘big’ cam for high revs. This allows good drivability at low revs and excellent high-powered acceleration at high revs. However, the 2JZ-GTE’s prime feat of engineering is its use of sequential turbos. Having twin turbo chargers allows a small primary turbocharger to spool up early and give excellent boost response at low revs and then a secondary turbocharger to be phased in further up in the rev range for incredible top-end power. By having this setup, it allowed Toyota to create an engine with phenomenal response anywhere in the rev range and also leave the way open for serious modification potential.

To conclude, size definitely does not matter as far as performance car engines are concerned. Japanese performance engines are using new technologies such as turbo charging and VVT to obtain phenomenal power and torque figures similar to that of engines double their size. The 2JZ-GTE from a technical and engineering design perspective is far superior in every aspect than the outdated technology featured in the LS2.

Dubbed as a sports activity coupe by BMW, the BMW X6 is a combination of a luxury SUV, which has a completely unique automatic transmission capability. This mid-size luxury coupe was provided to the market by the second quarter of 2008. With its large wheel and tires, it can course through any weather and has a high ground clearance while still possessing the sloping roof of a classic BMW coupe.

The BMW X6 shares the same platform with the BMW X5. The X5 and the X6 are both made and assembled at Spartanburg, South Carolina. Compared to the X5, the BMW X6 can only seat up to a maximum of 4 passengers although it is comparatively longer and wider. The Frankfurt car show in Germany released an idea model for the X6 a year earlier than its official release in 2008. The official debut of the BMW X6 was held at the Montreal world auto show and the Detroit international auto show. In the said auto shows in 2008, a statement was given by BMW relating to its release of a cross-breed version of the X6. The BMW idea X6 active hybrid was published to be released by 2009.

The petrol engine versions of the BMW X6 makes use of twin turbo charged engines. A 4.4 litre twin- turbo charged V8 engine is available for the XDrive50i which is a top of the line model. The V8 engine used is actually the first turbocharged V8 engine in the world that places the turbochargers between the V sections of the 2 banks of cylinder. Another engine model, the X6 Drive35i gets power from a 3.0 liter twin-turbo charged inline-six gasoline engine. The said engine is used in the BMW one, three, and five series respectively. Diesel versions of the engines for the X6 are also available.

Exhaust fans are a type of exhaust or forced ventilation method. According to the ASHRAE Standard number 62.1 titled ‘Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality’, the air in homes must be of acceptable quality. The Government of Australia’s Department of Environment estimates that Australians spend about 90% of their time indoors. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) places the cost of poor indoor air quality at 12 billion Australian Dollars annually. This is borne both by the individual in their own capacity and as a taxpayer to the National Government.

So how can this be reduced significantly? One way is by using exhaust fans.

Exhaust fans fall under the category of exhaust only ventilation systems. This is how these systems work generally: they decompress the air in the room, creating an area of low pressure. As a result, outside air comes rushing in. Cleaner cooler air comes rushing in during the summer for instance, despite the heat. These fans can be fixed on the exterior part of the building, or with the ‘faces’ facing the air inlet or outlet.

Types of this fan are:

1. Inline Exhaust Fans

These line vents and propel the air that flows along them.

2. Ceiling fans

Fans that are fixed on the ceiling generally displace warm air downwards. In this case, that warm stale air is directed to vents on the roof of the basement where it is let out.

3. Exterior fans

These are installed and housed outside the building. Sometimes fans can be quite noisy, being mechanical devices. In this case, your home remains quiet since it works outside. They draw all the stale air from the home.

4. Wall fans

These are mounted on the walls inside the basement. They circulate the air in the room and expel the stale.

5. Multifunctional Exhaust fans

These have the ability to heat, light and ventilate. This feature is a big plus for this kind of fan.

Fans can also be graded as single point, two point or multiple point.

The required ventilation rate required by ASHRAE for an area like the basement should not exceed 200 feet per cubic meter.

The Department of Environment in the Australian Government lists organic compounds as the biggest pollutants. Some of these, concluded after research, are benzene, Carbon monoxide and mold. When carbon monoxide is inhaled in large volumes, it causes death. This is especially so in rooms with poor ventilation. It is the worst killer since it is odorless and colorless. The most likely sources of this gas are furnaces, fireplaces and cigarette smoke.

Exhaust fans, when used in basement ventilation, will solve these problems for you. They simply get rid of the pollutants and let in cleaner, fresher air.

As they work, these fans can be noisy as mentioned earlier. When selecting one, go for a silenced one or one with a sound rating of less than 1 on the sone scale. The last thing you need is constant banging and incessant grinding sounds when the fans rotate.