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Author: Olly

  • Here’s how the ultimate car detailing garage was built

    Ammo NYC founder Larry Kosilla brings an obsessive attention to detail to everything he does, including the space where he works on cars. After outgrowing his home garage, Kosilla set out to build the ultimate detailing garage, a process that took about a year.

    Kosilla started with an existing building, working with an architect on an extensive remodeling. The building is divided into three areas, including garage bays on the ground level, an office, and an editing suite for videos shot in the garage.

    To convert the ground level from its previous function as an art studio to a garage, core samples were taken to ensure the concrete could support heavy vehicle lifts. The lift locations were then mocked up with cardboard, and cuts were made in the appropriate places. Pipes were also installed in the floor for the lifts’ hydraulics, and in the walls for a central vacuuming system that can be used for cars in the garage bays, or to clean upstairs spaces.

    Ammo NYC detailing garage

    Ammo NYC detailing garage

    Kosilla also outfitted the garage with custom-built Moduline cabinets and Prevost air lines, the latter featuring a snazzy blue enamel coating.

    The garage floor got an epoxy coating with a UV protectant and an additional layer to “knock down” the gloss finish, as powerful lights were also installed in the garage bays that could damage the finish, or produce excess glare that would be picked up by camera lenses. Walls, meanwhile, were painted gray to keep the focus on the cars.

    Watch the full video for complete details on this build. It’s part car video, part home-improvement how-to.

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  • Rimac shows how electric cars are tested for electromagnetic emissions with C_Two hypercar

    The Rimac C_Two electric hypercar is undergoing homologation ahead of a planned start of deliveries in 2021. Part of that process involves testing for electromagnetic emissions, the Croatian company explained in a short video.

    All electronics—including those used in cars—produce some amount of electromagnetic emissions. Those emissions can also interfere with electronics.

    That means if a car’s emissions are too high, traffic lights, speed cameras, and cell communications could be disrupted, while if a car’s onboard systems aren’t properly shielded, outside emissions could interfere with things like air conditioning or the radio.

    To prevent either issue, the European Union requires electromagnetic-emissions testing in order for cars to be homologated for sale, Rimac said, adding that electric cars produce a much higher level of emissions than internal-combustion vehicles. That’s to be expected, as electric motors are a major potential source of electromagnetic emissions.

    Rimac C_Two electromagnetic-emissions testing

    Rimac C_Two electromagnetic-emissions testing

    Under the ECE R10 testing standard, cars are placed in a semi-anechoic chamber, which is sealed off from outside electromagnetic emissions to ensure accurate test results. Cars are then driven at specific speeds on a dynamometer, while subjected to radiation of between 20 MHz and 20 GHz.

    With the radiation bombardment underway, accessories like air conditioning, lights, and windshield wipers are turned on to ensure they work properly. In the case of the C_Two, different drive modes needed to be tested as well.

    Once the initial test is completed, Rimac completely disassembles its prototype cars, makes any necessary tweaks, reassembles the cars, and runs the test again. It’s all part of the process of putting a new car on sale—even a 1,914-horsepower electric hypercar with a very limited production run.

    When it unveiled the C_Two in concept form at the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show, Rimac said it would build just 150 cars. Rimac views itself more as a tech firm than a maker of cars, and has since attracted investments from Hyundai and Porsche that will likely see its technology incorporated into their cars.

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  • The Aston Martin badge is forged in fire at 1,472 degrees

    A lot goes into making the winged badge on the hood of every new Aston Martin. While most automakers have moved to common plastic, each Aston badge is still handmade from metal. This video from YouTube channel MrJWW shows how it’s done, for a special-edition DBX, in this case.

    A 200-year-old British company called Vaughtons has been making Aston badges since the 1960s. The company has also made medals for the Olympics and Premier League soccer, as well as badges for the first-class suites on the Titanic.

    Each badge starts as a metal blank. These blanks are stamped multiple times in a machine press, but because the material will only move so much while cold, it’s also heated to 1,472 degrees Fahrenheit in between stampings (called “blows” in the business) to make it softer. This process, called annealing, brings out all of the detail.

    2020 Aston Martin Vantage Coupe

    2020 Aston Martin Vantage Coupe

    Each badge can go through the press up to 14 times before it’s ready to go on a car, with six rounds of annealing in between. After that, excess material is trimmed off and the badge is sent for finishing.

    With the basic shape achieved, the badge is cleaned using both ultrasound, and an electrolytic process that uses a mixture of soap and cyanide. Badges are then plated and finished, before being sent to the factory to be mounted on cars.

    Aston Martin isn’t the only automaker that treats its badges like fine jewelry. Every Bugatti “macaron” badge is made from 150 grams of sterling silver, and takes 10 hours to make.

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