Entries from January 2009 ↓

I’ve heard the question asked many times before, ‘Do I really need a crossover?’ Without wasting any time I quickly answer, ‘Yes you do’. Whether it’s a passive crossover or an active crossover, your car audio system will never sound good without a crossover. I want to make myself very clear here, so before you get confused let’s talk about what a car audio crossover is and why you need one.

A crossover is a filtering device which limits the frequencies that reach a speaker. It splits a music signal into separate frequency ranges and sends them to speakers that are designed to best reproduce each frequency range. For instance, only high frequencies would be sent to your tweeters, midrange to your mid range speakers, and lows to your subwoofer.

The passive crossover is very common. It’s basically a capacitor or coil installed on the speaker leads between amplifier and speaker that stops certain frequencies from reaching a speaker. It’s relatively inexpensive and easy to install.

But for your car stereo system to perform better and be efficient, you need an active crossover, also referred to as an electronic crossover. It is installed between your head unit or equalizer and your amplifiers. Your electronic crossover sends the proper frequency ranges to each amplifier. Some people run three separate amps: one for bass, one for mids and the other for highs.

Active crossovers are almost infinitely adjustable. You can vary the crossover points and adjust the level of separate speakers to achieve the best overall sound in your vehicle.

If you’re serious about sound you must have a car audio crossover. Otherwise your system will sound terrible. Oh what a mess it will be when your subwoofer and mid-range speakers duplicate many of the same frequencies! How about when your mid-range speaker attempts to put out high notes that your tweeters are supposed to handle. Can you bear such grief? I can’t.

And this is just the beginning of your sorrow and pain. Since low frequencies are being sent to your tweeters there will be distortion. As a result of this distortion your tweeters will be destroyed. Loud bass will eventually destroy your mid-range speakers as well. Now you’ve got to start from scratch and buy a new set of speakers, all because you started on the wrong footing.

1. You should purchase your new car at or around Christmas time because with everybody buying their Christmas presents, not many of them are looking to buy a new car, and it forces dealerships to up their sales strategies. Salesmen are more willing to haggle down to your prices to close the deal.

2. You can also get a good deal from July to October because that is the time of year when dealerships are trying to get rid of their inventory to make way for the new models.

3. Purchasing a car online is becoming a great way to get a new car. Just wait for good rebates and incentives online and shop around. Print out your information from the best quotes and bring it to the dealer that you are most willing to work with. Bringing in lower quotes from another company might be your best bet in getting a good deal.

4. You should visit FightingChance.com if you are hoping to find new car prices, dealer incentives, and the best rebate offers. This site is the first place that you should go for great advice on buying a car. It’s even more informative than the Kelley Blue book. This program for buying new cars can literally save you thousands of dollars.

5. A good place to start when going into a dealership is to bring a copy of your credit score with you. It can lower your interest rates on your car loan. Your car dealer should not know more about you than you do.

6. You can avoid a common scam that dealerships pull. You will often hear that your financing fell through and that you have to respond by paying more money on your loan. Don’t believe it. It’s another reason for you to get a copy of your credit score.

7. Another common scam by dealership salesmen is for them to tell you that they have found you a lower rate, but that they want you to re-sign your loan papers. Usually, that is a downright lie. Once they pull up your financing information, they have the upper hand if you don’t know the details about your credit information. You can get a copy of your credit information online at equifax.com for about $10-$15. It’s better to pay $15 now than thousands later.

8. Don’t bring in a car for trade in if you still owe money on it. The dealership rarely pays the rest of the loan on time which will result in you having to pay a great deal of late fees to the bank. If you do decide to bring a car in that you owe money on, get it in writing from the dealership that they will pay the balance on the car within 10 days.

9. Sometimes a dealership may not have all of your options and must order the car directly from the dealership. If this happens they will often ask you to pay $500-$1000 for a deposit on the car. Try not to pay more than $500 and be sure to pay with a credit card because sometimes the dealership will tell you that there was a price increase on the vehicle and will want more money. If you pay with a credit card you have room to dispute the amount being taken from you. If you pay by check, you can just consider the money gone.

10. You should never buy a car when you are in desperate need for one because a dealer will see that and take advantage. You should never wait until an old car is dead before searching for a new one because you should give yourself time to shop around for one and get the best deal possible. Desperation often clouds your judgment.

Making sure that your sports car is in shape all of the time is not difficult. All it takes is preventive maintenance to avoid the hassle of taking it to a repair shop when the engine suddenly dies or the lights in the control panel light up.

One of the leading car manufacturers in the world is BMW. Not everyone can afford to buy a sports car from this company but here are some tips that will help you maintain your sports car…

Before going out for a drive, it is wise to check the brakes, the tires, the oil and the steering system to make sure that everything is normal. If while driving the car, you hear a sound or noise that was not there before, take it to your mechanic or local repair shop to have it checked.

Have the mechanic check all the parts or the of the ignition system, for example: check the spark plugs as their condition is a very good indicator of how the engine is performing. They should be changed every 100,000 miles but there is no harm in checking them every 30,000 miles just to be sure that everything is alright.

The rotor and distributor cap are made up of plastic which deteriorate over time due to wear and tear. To make sure that these are not causing any problems when starting the vehicle have them checked/\.

The filter acts as a deterrent against rust and other harmful objects that may disrupt the performance of your vehicle. There several filters such as those for oil or fuel. These filters should be checked frequently – about every 3,000 miles.

The car’s mileage can be checked by calculating the amount of fuel purchased and the miles driven as shown by the odometer before and after fueling. If there is a sudden change in the number of miles per gallon, be concerned and take the car to the repair shop for analysis.

In the event that the car’s sensor lights come on, pull the car over to the side of the road then call for help. There is a possibility that the problem can be remedied there or it may have to towed to a repair shop.

Even if sports cars come with better and smarter engines, the possibility of something going wrong is still there. By taking every precaution, the driver can get to the place where he wants to go safely.