Each wheel is inspired by the designs of the classics. There are two broad categories of originals and classics. The originals are striking, straightforward designs for the most beautiful of cars. The classics follow the designs of classic roadsters and hot rods. In addition, the hottest in new wheels are available for your current vehicle.

The originals and classics come in multi-piece, two, and one piece wheels. The multi-piece wheels come divided into two or three piece designs, bolting in the center. The two piece wheels have a center welded to the rim and are available in a polished aluminum finish. The one piece wheels have been cast and are available in multiple finishes from shiny metal to black oxide. The multi-piece designs are also available in polished, chrome, and custom finishes. The variety in designs creates the ultimate custom fit for any car.

Foose wheels can also be matched and painted to the color of your vehicle. Many owners have ordered wheels in colors that include hot pink, neon green, bright orange, and lemon yellow. All these choices depend on your taste and wallet. The range for customizing is expansive. For many, their car is their baby, an expression of their personality, not just a means of transportation.

All Foose wheels are available in numerous tire sizes. If you have any concerns, their website will direct you to the list of available tire sizes for each design. Whether you are looking for a match to your truck, SUV, or car, you will find a wheel that’s right for you. When one is spoiled for choice, it would be difficult to not find your perfect match.

These wheels are the result of many years in the business of building hot rods and automotive design. Foose wheels are seen as the perfect pairing to creating beautiful cars. They are prized for their enhancement of a person’s vehicle. It’s hard to say if the wheels complete a beautiful car or if the beautiful car completes the wheels. Most would argue you can’t separate one from the other once they’ve been matched so perfectly.

If you attend a car show you can see the vast range of cars that can sit atop these wheels. They can be seen on modern vehicles, concept and award winning cars, and vintage roadsters. The wheels may not be the first thing to grab your attention, but once they do, it is undeniable that the pairing is like that of a good wine and a great meal. Once they are together, you can’t imagine it any other way.

Driving a vehicle with Foose wheels will get you noticed. Ignoring them is impossible. Owners adore them, and you will probably never see one with a scratch or with dirt on it. Once you’ve bought a set, you’ll probably never go back to plain factory wheels again. These perfectly crafted custom wheels have become an inherent part of car culture. Whether your taste goes to modern or vintage, you will find a set of Foose wheels. These classic designs are here to stay and will never go out of style.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ben_Pate

1. Mercedes-Benz Count Trossi SSK

Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz has named this “Count Trossi” SSK after the “aristocratic” Italian race-car driver Count Carlo Felice Trossi. This car actually has a very stylish set of wheels, despite having ‘weird car design’. This car had been extremely successful in the Le Mans, Monaco, and the Mille Miglia.

There are only four original models of the Count Trossi SSK in the world and each is a ‘holy grail’ among car collectors. Recently one model from 1929 sold for US$7.4 million!

2. Peugeot Honey-B

The Peugeot Honey-B like its namesake looks pretty much like a big honey bee on wheels! It seems like a Peugeot car designer must have got stung by a honeybee one day and he decided to immortalize his ‘honeybee experience’ and came up with this strange car.

Like bees, it is aerodynamic, but unlike bees, it is a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) powered by hydrogen fuel cells. This Honey-B boasts of seats with techno-cool hydraulic arms that help various preset adjustments which means they retract automatically to your preferred position once you’re seated!

3. Hondo Puyo

The Honda Puyo can be termed as the “Weird-great Puyo”. The little information we found on this ‘weirdo’ car tells us that this is a concept car which runs on hydrogen fuel. Unlike the fuel-cell powered Honda FCX, the Puyo prides on “no sharp edges” and is covered in soft silicone so that it can absorb light collisions. If you are planning to ride this, you have to use a joystick instead of a steering wheel.

4. Nissan Moon Buggy

Fueled by imagination, designer Robert Hoffmann drew up this Nissan Moon Buggy concept for an auto magazine. This weird car is very unlikely to go into production. This strange Nissan Moon Buggy has been inspired by the Lunar Modules.

The car has oversize rear wheels that are supposed to provide more efficiency in maneuverability. Not only that, when it reaches high speeds, Ailerons are deployed for increased aerodynamics, Ailerons are commonly found on fixed-wing aircraft!

To be honest, the car looks like a cross between an alien and an iPod.

5. Nissan Pivo 2

Who says no car designers design cars for gals? The Nissan Pivo 2 is just not a ‘girlie-girlie’ car concept but a very urbane one in that! It is powered by advanced compact lithium-ion batteries and features a unique rotating cabin, which means no reverse gear is required! The four wheels are powered by electric engine and can turn through 90 degrees to allow the Pivo 2 to drive sideways as well as forward. The Pivo 2 looks as if it has come from the Pixar Studio!

To read more interesting car articles, visit Carazoo.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=V_Divya

Each profession has its lingo. And for one to be better understood he must know the common terms or at least a few of the most colorful words used by experts. In the automotive world, metal and words unite. And auto brand’s vocabulary is known as the colorful realm of design language.

The beltline separates the greenhouse, or glassed-in upper body, from the part that widens down from the window sills. Michael Castiglione, the principal exterior designer at DaimlerChrysler’s Pacifica studio in Carlsbad, Calif., said that equally important is the A-line. The A-line is the length of the vehicle’s body from headlight to taillight. The vehicle may also have a crease created in the sheet metal of the sides called the character line.

Styling cues are also used to prompt recognition of a particular model to other product lines of the same brand. The cues include the curve of the roofline, the distinct design of the grille, as well as the shapes and lines of the vehicle.

The angle of the windshield called rake could convey different meaning. It is said to be fast when it extremely tilts. The rocker panel which is the body section below the base of the door is treated with a varying degree of turn-under. Chris Chapman of BMW’s Designworks studio in Newbury Park, Calif., defines it as the shape of the panel as it curves inward at the lower edge.

Stance tells you whether the auto sits on the wheels with superb energy or not. Robert Boniface, the director of advanced design for General Motors, recently worked on the Chevrolet Volt and the Camaro show cars. He said that “stance has to do with the relative visual stability or instability of a particular design.”

According to Bryan Thompson, the designer at the Nissan Design America studio in La Jolla, Calif., another essential relationship is that one found between the glass and the body. “A vehicle whose body is relatively thick compared to the amount of glass is called chunky. The proportion between wheel and body sizes is important in lending a vehicle its visual personality,” he said.

Thompson added, “Wheel-to-body is the relationship of the wheel-tire plane to the sheet metal wheel opening. Wheels that are flush to the body are desirable. Wheels that are well inboard of the sheet metal plane are buried. Vehicles with buried wheels are called overbodied. At its extreme, an overbodied car has the look of a parade float, with the body visually overpowering the wheels.”

Peter Davis, the director of interior design at General Motors, said the space between wheel and surrounding fender or wheel well suggests the jounce of the car. The intervening space between tire and wheel well is sometimes called the dead cat hole. He described the British-sounding mucketts as “complicated rubber moldings that hide nasty window-door frame areas or direct water drips to appropriate places.” “In Italy,” he added, “what we call the plenum, the area at the base of the windshield where the wipers sit and run off is directed is called the vasca di pesce, or fish bowl.”

Another term to define the personality of the car is its axle-to-dash ratio, the proportion between the front wheel and the cowl or the base of the windshield. There is also what is dubbed the roller skate effect. It happens when the tires and wheels are too small for the body.

There are so many terms in the auto industry realm. And it is an edge on your part to know them all. The next time you purchase EBC Greenstuff or other auto parts, you will not be surprised to hear those terms.

Anthony Fontanelle is a 35-year-old automotive.buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop. For more information, please visit EBC greenstuff.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anthony_Fontanelle

One thing that has always intrigued me was frame design. With out a frame we basically have a pile of random parts, but there’s more to it then just a place to bolt it all together. This is the beginning and end of how well your bike is going to perform. You can put the best suspension, biggest brakes, and lightest wheels you can afford on your bike, but if the frame is weak and twitchy all those killer parts are for nothing. In the day and age we live in, it’s hard to beat the quality and construction of the latest and greatest factory superbikes. Let’s face it. They have the time and money to put all the R&D and design into them they want until you have a super light, super rigid frame. Now that doesn’t mean we have to swear off the idea of designing our own. This is kind of the crème de la crème of building a special. A truly one off frame separates the men from the boys so to speak. For those of us with older bikes this can greatly help overall performance and handling by making the bike much more sturdy and responsive. But also on a styling note this is where you can really start laying out the look of a bike. The chopper crowd has been stretching and raking frames for decades. This was for a mater of style. But when you start building your own frame you can make it all work together. You can have the style and performance in one package.

Different Streetfighter Motorcycle Frame Designs :

Trellis Frames:

For those of you that have been around the fighter scene, you no doubt have seen the beautiful examples built by Spondon, Harris, RAU and some of the later builders such as Martek, Steelheart and PEST. The most common design of these frames is a trellis format, similar to Ducati and MV Agusta. Built from either large diameter aluminum tube or chromoly steel, they offer a very light and rigid construction, but also give the builder a range of adjustability in component placement and over all layout. Mounting points can be made to fit many different engine configurations and also allow for a range of suspension locations.

Backbone or Cradle-Style Frame:

The next form of frame configuration is the backbone style or cradle frame. Most commonly found in older bikes and traditionally styled cruisers. RAU has adapted a version of this to act as a stressed member frame. Instead of a full cradle frame that has mounting points for the engine to sit into, they use the engine to mount the frame. This style does away with the lower frame rails. It incorporates a large diameter tube for the “backbone” and a section of down tubes to connect to the engine mounts. Honda has also adapted this style frame on their Hornet line. This setup is not only very rigid but also allows to showcase the engine. The down side is the frame has to go over the engine witch can make the bike rather tall.

Twin-Spar or Twin-Beam Frame:

The twin spar or twin beam frame is one of the most commonly used frames among sportbikes. If you’ve owned a GSXR, YZF, CBR or ZX of the last 10 years you’ve ridden a twin spar. They are very rigid, and strong frames. They can be heavy and bulky compared to other examples but in recent years the manufacturers have come up with new technologies to help cut the weight while still maintaining the strength. Arguably not the prettiest of designs but can be made to work as eye candy if done well. Another advantage of this design is the ability to hold or hide some of your components or fluids. Case in point the Buell XB series with its fuel in frame design.

Monocoque Frame:

One of the most unique designs is the monocoque. This can be done a number of ways. A number of panels that bolt together, tubes that mount in triangulated shapes, even just bolting everything to the engine. It’s a complex structural design that pulls the machine together in a very unorthodox way.

As for materials these frames can be made from, the range is also large. Steel and aluminum being the most common, although there are examples that have been made of carbon fiber, stainless steel and titanium. All these materials require a certain amount of skill to work with. Steel is probably the easiest and cheapest although is the heaviest of materials. The up side is it is the most resilient to flexing forces and if designed right can weigh in very close to an Aluminum frame. Aluminum would be next up the scale but takes more skill to work with. Welding aluminum can be tricky. It melts faster then steel and you have to have a good working knowledge of this material for it to weld right. It is very rigid and strong though and also half the weight of steel to gain the same strength. Titanium is very expensive and hard to get in large quantities but is the lightest and strongest of the more common metals. Carbon fiber is also getting harder to get and requires a totally different set of skills to work with. It also requires quite a bit to gain the same strength as the aforementioned metals. It is brittle though and has been known to shatter under the right forces.

So how do we lay all this out and make it work? Well, like I said earlier, that’s what you have to figure out. I will say this. Start drawing lines from the steering head to the swingarm pivot and go from there. Look at some new bikes and how they are laid out. Specifically, look at there mounting points; steering, engine and rear end. Break out your imaginary pen, A.K.A. your finger, and start drawing lines from one point to another. I’m interested in what you’ll come up with. There’s a lot more to this as well, such as component positioning, center of gravity, rake, trail ride height etc., but we will attack these issues another time!

Shaun “Scrapyard” Kelly
Custom Fighters – Streetfighter Motorcycle Forum
Streetfighter Apparel, Art, and Project Bikes

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shaun_Kelly

Call them crash protectors, crash bobbins, fairing protectors or frame sliders, all these products ultimately seek to do one thing – protect your expensive bodywork or the essential and often expensive structural parts of your motorcycle from damage in the even of a fall or tip-over. The frame slider concept is as old as the proverbial ‘crash bar’ and today there are as many designs and brands as there are models of bikes. The proliferation of these types of products testify to the success of the idea of providing a sacrificial item to absorb some of the damage in the event of a fall. We are by no means experts on this concept nor were we the first to come
up with it, but in this article we hope to provide you with an unbiased view so that you can make an informed decision when you’re ready to put down your hard earned cash.

Cost:

Cost of the frame sliders must be appropriate to the items that they are designed to
protect. Price is not necessarily the best indicator of quality. Poorly designed frame
sliders made of the nicest shiniest materials may not serve their purpose as well as
well designed but less ‘bling’ ones.

Mounting Configurations:

The frame slider must be designed to mount securely onto a strong enough part of
the motorcycle so that impact forces can be adequately distributed or absorbed.
Here are some popular mounting configurations.

Fairing Mounted Frame Sliders

Sliders that mount onto the fairing with small fairing screws may provide some
protection in a minor tip-over but offer very minimal protection in a slide. These
sliders are not generally recommended for serious riders.

Frame Mounted Sliders – Direct

The most popular and viable mounting option is directly to a selected strong point
of the frame. Sliders with this design offer the most protection and impact force
distribution. The installation of this type of slider often require modification of the
fairing and in some cases like the Honda VFR800, as extreme as requiring the
modification of the coolant bottle. For this reason, many choose the first or the
third option as fairing modification can at times be quite intimidating. This option is
the most popular for serious sportsriders, amateur and semi-professional racers
alike as they provide the best protection for the money. One other thing to consider
when choosing these types of sliders is where they will be mounted to.

Many
models of sportbikes offer several places to mount them, frame slider
manufacturers all have their personal reasons for choosing the mounting location
for theirs and many of them make that choice for the wrong reasons. An example is
cost – a location that offers a two short bolt mounting location is cheaper than one
using a long through the engine bolt choice. The former being a much weaker
location. If you own an SV650 you will know what we mean. Another choice is the
use of a bracket so that cutting of the fairing is avoided – see below (Frame
Mounted Frame Sliders-Through-Engine Bolts).

Frame Mounted Sliders – In-Direct

To address some of the concerns owners may have about modification of the
fairing, some manufacturers have opted for a design that allows for the slider to
mount onto an offset bracket that then mounts onto the frame. This offset
introduces a whole new set of variables into the mix. Depending on the degree of
the offset, impact forces now include amplified torque stresses which will be applied
to the frame mounting points. Offset brackets will need to be of beefier
construction, but not so beefy as to stay intact during an impact while severely
damaging the frame mounting points. This is often the most costly type of slider
configuration as most brackets require ingenious CNC work and design. In some
situations employment of a bracket is a calculated risk, in others it is just not
feasible. No cut sliders are attractive to most bikers so do your homework and ask
the manfacturer questions before you buy them.

Frame Mounted Frame Sliders-Through-Engine Bolts

The third mounting option found only on certain models of bikes like the Suzuki
DL1000 Vstrom, TL1000S, SV650 and Ducati models of bikes allow for use of the
long, through-the-engine mounting bolt. This method is by far the strongest
available as impact forces are allowed to be distributed over a much larger area.
This is also the second more costly design as these long bolts are quite expensive
to manufacture. The design must be structurally strong enough not to break off
when encountering the various types of impact forces but not so strong that these
forces would be transmitted entirely to and damage the considerably more costly
frame mounting points. In other words you want to sacrifice your slider before your
fairing and then your frame in that order. It’s a delicate balance and there is no sure
way to ensure that any one design will accomplish this desired goal.

Frame Slider Material:

The choice of material used for the frame slider should be a balance of the following
3 requirements:

Abrasion Resistance – the material should be hard enough to be
able to slow the bike down in a slide and not be totally worn down to the bolt half
way through a slide

Structural Strength – the material should be strong but not brittle and snap off too
easily on impact

Energy Absorption-the material used should have some energy absorbing
properties but not be so hard that all impact forces are transmitted to the mounting
points or fasteners (solid steel or aluminum materials are examples of non-energy
absorbing materials).

Most high quality frame sliders today are made of some kind
of nylon or other for energy absorption and with aluminum inserts for strengthening
of the fastening points. The range of nylon types, with different levels of abrasion
resistance and “brittleness” used is also quite varied.

Fasteners and Components:

Quality of materials used, aesthetics and quality of workmanship should also be
considered when choosing the right frame slider for your bike.
Look for high quality anodized steel bolts. Black non-coated bolts will rust in a
week or less depending where you live. Stainless steel washers between your steel
bolts and aluminum inserts in the slider also reduce potential corrosion problems.
Socket head cap screws offer the smallest footprint allowing for a thicker and
stronger slider dimensions and are generally much more expensive then regular
hex-head screws. Nyloc lock nuts where applicable are another added safety
feature. True, these are all minor considerations in the overall scheme of things but
they all add up to the cost of manufacturing. One last thing to remember is to
always try to use some form of thread lock compound like Loctite and to properly
torque the mounting bolts to the manufacturer’s recommendations. If you’re not
sure check out our torque reference guide.

CONCLUSION:

Where does that leave you the consumer? Well, we all don’t want to think about the
day when we will be able to justify the purchase of frame sliders. The reality is that
as long as bikes have only two wheels, you can expect them to fall over sooner or
later. Frame sliders are one of the surest and least expensive ways to ensure some
protection for the expensive or sometimes irreplaceable parts of your bike. After all
some protection is still better than none. Think about broken rear brake levers, gear
shifters or even worse – punctured radiators or coolant bottles, when you’re miles
from civilization. The rule is the same in our opinion no matter what you’re
spending your money on – buy the best you can afford and don’t be afraid to ask
the manufacturer why their product is better than the plethora of other brands
available out there. Any good manufacturer will be very clear about what
differentiates their products form others so that you will be able to make the correct
purchase decision.

Author is the manufacturer and distibutor for US based frame slider and accessories company. http://www.motovationUSA.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roland_Lee

Initially, the company was confined into manufacturing only racing car wheels. But in course of time, the company evolved into MOMO Course and started to make other mainstream car accessories. Their range of products made by the company includes steering wheels and gear shift knobs. All the accessories of this company are famous for their design and durability.

Momo Corse has also designed a steering wheel for computer peripheral company Logitech (called the Logitech MOMO). This particular tyre was to be used as a video game controller. Though famous for its racing car wheels, other accessories of the company are highly in demand. They come handy when you need to glamorize your car or make it safer to drive.

However, Momo Course wheels and air-bagged steering wheels the most sought after products of the company. These two have become the standard accessories on some regional Subaru and Mitsubishi performance cars. All the other accessories of the company are also equally popular and used by number of users round the globe.

It was the amateur racer Gianpiero Moretti who founded the company. It has the fortune of sponsoring the Ferrari 333 SP sports prototype car, after Ferrari had retired from that racing category 20 years earlier. The car itself was built by Michelotto to World Sports Car regulations and used a Ferrari F1 engine. The odd-looking racing car wheels that the company made used by one famous racing car and eventually became the winner. Since then, there was looking back for the company.

Alexus Devon is a automobile writer specializing in automobile and car accessories products and has written authoritative articles on the car accessories industry. He has done his Master in Business Administration and is currently assisting direct car accessories as a car accessories specialist.

For more information please click here: Momo Corse [http://www.directcaraccessories.co.uk/catalog/steering-wheels-c-469.html]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alexus_Devon

Cons: Stock antenna is huge, 17 inch wheel styling is mediocre.

When ordering our long term 2008.5 Mazda 3 s GT model we were sure to spec it out with almost every option available with the sole exception being factory navigation (We went with a Garmin Nuvi 760 instead).

On top end 2008.5 Mazda 3 s GT models the car is outfitted with more aggressive styling cues like a body colored split grille, sportier bumper design, clear LED taillights and all-season tires wrapped around 17-inch alloy wheels. With a combination of sharp edges and flowing body lines typically found on entry level luxury cars, the Mazda3 is a real head turner and is often mistaken as a car that cost $30,000 or more.

On the topic of appearance, the design of the 17-inch alloy wheels left us a little confused. Mazda freshened the wheels with a new design but the newer, snowflake style of the 17-inch wheels looks out of place on a car with such clear sporting intentions. In spite of the snowflakes, the 2008.5 Mazda 3 has a very dominant stance and shows very strongly in photos.

Something that has plagued the Mazda 3’s design since 2004 is Mazda’s choice to use a long antenna at the rear center of the car to give it a more European look. While we agree that the antenna’s placement does look sporty and very Euro, it’s also way too big. In fact, the stock antenna measures more than a few inches tall and sticks out of the Mazda 3 like Elroy Jetson’s hat.

Our first mod for our Mazda 3 was to swap out the antenna with a shark fin.

Other notable exterior features include turn in (folding) power mirrors, auto on/off headlights that come on automatically at dusk, fog lights, rain sensing wipers and adjustable HID headlights that can be adjusted to one of four levels (Level zero is when the lights are pointed at their highest and level three aims the lights lower towards the ground which is ideal for fog).

Overall the 2008.5 Mazda 3 is very well built with striking exterior design features and significant luxury oriented options that not only make driving safer but vastly more convenient. Whether lighting your path amidst thick fog or automatically sensing and keeping rain off the windshield at varying speeds, the Mazda 3 makes driving more user friendly and fun.

Learn more about the Mazda 3, including the upcoming 2010 Mazda 3, by visiting our enthusiast website and Mazda 3 Forums.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joshua_Ferris

The exterior part of the vehicle shows to have a sleek design that is unlike any other car. Acura intended to create a vehicle that has never been designed before, but still retain all of the old qualities that the Sedan is known for. The front part of the vehicle is filled with more unique designs that make it a truly awe-inspiring car. From the hood, to the front bumper, this car is filled with new designs that can “wow” just about anyone.

The hood comes with accented lines that help to bring out the aggressive appearance sought in its design. In the front is also a five-sided grill, and the two combined surely creates a vehicle with a more than intimidating appearance. The grill itself is manufactured with polished aluminum, and a high quality crystal-based Acura symbol towards its front. The front headlights are designed to compensate the location of front air-intakes, which combine to make the vehicle even more impressive.

In the back part of the vehicle, there is an accented rear light that is designed to compensate the incredibly sleek rear bumper. The luminescent and bright rear lights are positioned close to the sides of the rear part of the car to better accent the low, yet wide, design of the car. With all of these features of the rear part of the car, comes with a dual exhaust that produces great sound and helps the vehicle to perform to its very best.

Other aspects of the vehicle like the roof, is designed entirely out of tinted glass which allows those inside the vehicle to be able to clearly see out of the car, whereas those outside of the vehicle cannot see into the car. The car is held off of the ground by 22 and 23 inch wheels which are mounted on custom-designed aluminum wheels, giving the vehicle excellent handling along with an impressive appearance. Within the wheels are powerful disk brakes allow for better braking whenever a quick stop is needed.

The Acura Advanced Sedan is filled with new designs that set it aside from any other vehicle ever designed. All of these designs work together to bring out all of the emotions and feelings that are intended to come from the car. All of the impressive aspects of this vehicle all imply that under the hood, this car is surely going to have a powerful engine.

Jeff Ryan creates quality articles to help you learn more on interest(s) you may have. His portfolio spans a medley of informational websites.

To see pictures or learn more about the vehicle, checkout the Acura Advanced Sedan.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Ryan