Product profiles

Products The latest automotive products

5.5t two-post car hoist

The Automaster AM-6255R two-post car hoist has a lifting capacity of 5500kg, making it ideal for larger vans and commercial vehicles. The columns utilise double-S bends to increase column strength, and the top cross bar has three height settings to suit different roof heights — 5200mm, 5320mm, and 5420mm. It has three-stage telescoping front arms with arm extensions, rubber-covered screw-up feet with 80mm and 155mm height extensions, and rubber column guards offering great value for money. For more information and pricing, see Automaster.co.nz, or call 0800 214 604.

Is it a lolly? Is it a plane? It’s a fragrance!

Make your car smell good enough to eat in the form of a lolly-style jet plane air freshener. Jelly Jets come in six ‘flavours’ – bubble gum, cherry, blueberry, green apple, vanilla, and strawberry in the Hang-It version, or three fragrances in the Clip-It form: bubble gum, cherry, blueberry. To be fair, the Clip-It version also offers six variants, in that the three flavours are also available with sparkles. They are available from leading automotive and hardware stores.

For more information, stockists, and pricing see jellyjets.co.nz.

Ignite beacons

Ignite’s 10-80V LED Beacons offer 10 x strobe and 2 x rotating patterns with up to 100,000 hours LED lifespan. SAE J845 Class 1 and IP67 rated, the highquality beacons are available in amber, blue, or red with either a two-bolt metal mount or magnet mount. Ignite LED Beacons have a low-profile, black aluminium alloy powder-coated housing and a durable PMMA polycarbonate lens and come with a five-year warranty. Available from CoolDrive or see cooldrive.co.nz.

Suspension for engines

The Meyle-HD hybrid engine mount lasts, and lasts, and lasts — without any vibrations. By combining polyurethane and proprietary polyelast, the Meyle-HD hybrid engine mount ensures vibration-free suspension and reliable damping of the engine. It comes with a four-year guarantee. For more information, see meyle.com/hybridenginemount, or order from alleuroparts.co.nz.

AGM from ACDelco

ACDelco’s Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) range brings the best in advanced battery technology for cars with the most advanced fuel-saving technology, including stopstart and regenerative braking. AGM plate separators reduce internal resistance, providing significant improvement in all performance criteria, including increased cycling ability, fast charge acceptance, and improved cranking power in a partial state of charge. The AGM range is ideal for modern cars that have higher electrical accessory loads. For more information, or to become a stockist, call 0800 546 000, or visit rjbatt.co.nz.

The endless power of the Intelli-Start jumpstarter

Projecta’s Intelli-Start jumpstarters make that whole charging issue a thing of the past. The IS1500 Professional Intelli-Start Jumpstarter has deep reserves of power in a lightweight unit, performing up to 150 cranking starts on a single charge. Thanks to its lithium iron phosphate (LifePO4) cell construction and smart controls, it can be recharged on the spot by the started vehicle’s alternator (if it’s still functional) just by leaving it connected for a short time.

Strong arm tactics

Bigger is better! Meyle engineers have built an advanced Meyle-HD control arm for Mercedes W205 models to better withstand the high loads of these vehicles. An enlarged ball diameter reduces wear and tear on the ball pin and a special heat treatment makes it even more resistant. Meyle backs its design with a four-year Meyle-HD warranty. Learn more at meyle.com/steering-suspension, or order from alleuroparts.co.nz.

Know your disc brake pads

BRAKE PADS WORK IN TWO DIFFERENT WAYS WITH DIFFERENT DESIGNS OF FRICTION MATERIALS — ABRASIVE AND ADHERENT

Traditional abrasive brake pads create friction stopping power by grinding away at the rotor. The brake pad acts like sandpaper with the rotor being the wood in this analogy.

This mechanical rubbing robs the kinetic energy in the rotation of the disc by converting it into heat. Abrasive pads wear away but they also wear the rotor surface away pretty fast too.

The most common abrasive brake pads are semi-metallic. Due to their construction, hardness and abrasiveness, they provide the best stopping power of all brake pad types. That’s why they’re used on heavy SUVs, light trucks, and larger trucks.

Adherent brake pads operate differently. They set up a sticky bond between the pad and the metal surface which is less damaging to the disc. During the break-in or ‘bedding’ operation, the technician drives the vehicle and makes multiple smooth brake applications to wipe a thin layer of brake pad friction material into the pores of the rotor face. The thin film of brake pad material that adheres to the rotor face is called the transfer layer.

Heat is still essential to the braking process. During all future braking, the brake pad presses against the transfer layer, creating friction. The heat breaks the transfer layer bond to the rotor, changes the transfer layer on a molecular basis, and replaces the damaged transfer layer with a new layer of material from the brake pad. The process of damaging and replacing the transfer layer happens multiple times during braking.

Because the brake pads are always depositing a new transfer layer onto the rotor, the pads wear faster in this system than the brake rotor.

The most common adherent brake pads are non-asbestos organic (NAO) and ceramic.

Originally, brake pads were made of asbestos, an effective but highly toxic heat-absorbing material. Today, brake pads fall into three categories: organic, semi-metallic (metallic), and ceramic.

ORGANIC MATERIAL

Organic brake pads are made of a mixture of common materials like rubber, carbon, glass/ fibreglass, and others, secured together by resin. These brake pads are suitable for every day driving of non-performance vehicles and don’t produce excessive heat with stopping. These pads are often known as non-asbestos organic (NAO).

SEMI-METALLIC (METALLIC)

Semi-metallic (or often referred to as just ‘metallic’) brake pads contain between 30 and 70 per cent metals like copper, iron, steel, or other composites, and often a graphite lubricant and other durable filler material to complete manufacturing. Semimetallic brake pads can serve a variety of functions from every day driving, to heavy haulage, to track performance.

CERAMIC

Ceramic brake pads are made of a durable ceramic compound, often fortified with other material to help with friction application and heat management. Prior to 2015, ceramic brakes commonly contained copper threads for heat management and increased friction performance characteristics, but since then, the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency has called for the reduction of copper material in brake pads, mandating a reduction of copper content to 0.5 per cent by weight by 2025. While usually sold at a higher price, ceramic brakes are quiet, produce less dust as they wear, and perform consistently at a wider range of temperatures and driving conditions.

Ceramic and semi-metallic pads offer different advantages which should be considered when choosing between them.

For performance vehicles, track driving, or when towing, most drivers prefer semi-metallic brakes, as they provide better braking over a wider range of temperatures and conditions. They are made of material that conducts heat well, thus making them more able to withstand higher temperatures upon braking, while simultaneously being able to help shed that heat and cool the system. Semi-metallic brake pads can be noisier than ceramic brake pads, and their price point normally falls between organic and ceramic brake pads.

Ceramic brake pads, while quieter, are also able to handle high temperatures with quick recovery, causing less damage to the rotors. As they wear, ceramic brake pads create a finer dust than semimetallic brake pads, leaving less debris on the vehicle’s wheels and on the road.

Ceramic brake pads typically last longer than semi-metallic brake pads, and through their lifespan, provide better noise control and less wear-and-tear to rotors without sacrificing braking performance. When deciding between ceramic and semi-metallic brake pads, bear in mind that not all vehicle makes and models are compatible with ceramic brake pads, so research is advised.

Understanding how brake pads function, and how different brake pad materials are suited for different applications will help you to make the right brake pad selection to fit your customer’s unique vehicle and driving needs.