CARS.COM — A car tuneup is an outdated service consisting of replacing parts to bring the ignition and fuel systems up to spec for maximum engine performance and efficiency. A traditional tuneup hasn’t been available or necessary for years. Today’s remaining tuneup services include new spark plugs and cabin air filter replacement. Both are part of your vehicle’s maintenance schedule just as much as checking tire pressure or getting an oil change are — and today’s “tuneup” services are likely to be more like checkups for your car.

A hopper car (US) or hopper wagon (UIC) is a type of railroad freight car used to transport loose bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, and track ballast. 1 2 3 Two main types of hopper car exist: covered hopper cars, which are equipped with a roof, and open hopper cars, which do not have a roof.

Related: More Maintenance Coverage

Spark plugs, for example, are typically replaced every 100,000 miles. And the federal EPA and Department of Energy say that replacing a clogged air filter will not improve gas mileage but can improve acceleration by roughly 6 to 11 percent. The agencies do not say what benefit can be derived from fresh spark plugs, but computers that control today’s engines adjust the air-fuel mixture and spark timing to compensate for wear, such as when the electrodes on spark plugs are worn down.

Even so, some car owners still dutifully take their vehicle in periodically to have it “tuned up.” Instead, what actually happens is that service technicians will inspect and perhaps test the fuel, ignition and emissions systems to look for faulty vacuum hoses, oxygen sensors and various other parts that can hurt the car’s performance. The federal government, for example, says a bad oxygen sensor can give engine computers false readings and reduce fuel economy by as much as 40 percent.

Don’t Ask for a Tuneup, Just Follow Your Car’s Maintenance Schedule

Having your vehicle serviced and inspected periodically is a good way to extend its life and keep it operating efficiently. (Here are some signs your car needs to be checked by a mechanic.) However, walking into a repair facility and asking for a tuneup is a bad idea because it indicates you’re still living in a previous century with no knowledge of what your car actually needs and have extra money to spend. Some in the auto repair business will take advantage of those opportunities.

Look in the owner’s manual for your vehicle (or separate maintenance schedule) to find what the manufacturer recommends, and see if you can even find the word “tuneup.” (Finding it with a hyphen counts; don’t worry, we’ll wait.) For example, we looked at the maintenance guide for the Ford Fiesta that also applies to other Ford vehicles. The first mention of anything related to a traditional tuneup was to replace the engine air filter every 30,000 miles. The only other related item was to replace the spark plugs every 100,000 miles.

Now, to find a mechanic you trust and get some proper maintenance done, check out the video below.

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A hopper car (US) or hopper wagon (UIC) is a type of railroadfreight car used to transport loose bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, and track ballast.^[1][2][3] Two main types of hopper car exist: covered hopper cars, which are equipped with a roof, and open hopper cars, which do not have a roof.

What Does Auto Tune On The Hopper Mean Youtube

This type of car is distinguished from a gondola car in that it has opening doors on the underside or on the sides to discharge its cargo. The development of the hopper car went along with the development of automated handling of such commodities, with automated loading and unloading facilities.

Covered hopper cars are used for bulk cargo such as grain, sugar, and fertilizer that must be protected from exposure to the weather. Open hopper cars are used for commodities such as coal, which can suffer exposure with less detrimental effect. Hopper cars have been used by railways worldwide whenever automated cargo handling has been desired. 'Ore jennies' is predominantly a term for shorter open hopper cars hauling taconite by the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway on Minnesota's Iron Range.

A rotary car dumper permits the use of simpler and more compact (because sloping ends are not required) gondola cars instead of hoppers. Covered hoppers, though, are still in widespread use.

Special hopper trains[edit]

What Does Auto Tune On The Hopper Mean In One

The Coke Express, a unit train of hopper cars loaded with coke, with the words 'Coke Express' painted on the sides of the hoppers.

Typical American freight car weights and wheel loads[edit]

Increase in wheel loads has important implications for the rail infrastructure needed to accommodate future grain hopper car shipments. The weight of the car is transmitted to the rails and the underlying track structure through these wheel loads. As wheel loads increase, track maintenance expenses increase and the ability of a given rail weight, ballast depth, and tie configuration to handle prolonged rail traffic decreases. Moreover, the ability of a given bridge to handle prolonged rail traffic also decreases as wheel loads increase.^[4]

Etymology[edit]

The word 'hopper', meaning a 'container with a narrow opening at bottom', goes back to the thirteenth century,^[5] and is found in Chaucer's story 'The Reeve's Tale' (written late fourteenth century) in reference to a machine for grinding grain into flour.

See also[edit]

• Gravity wagon, also called a slant wagon

References[edit]

1. ^'Covered Hopper Railcars'. GATX Corporation. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
2. ^'Small Cube Open-Top Hoppers and Gondolas'. GATX Corporation. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
3. ^'Covered Hopper Cars'. Chicago Freight Car Leasing Company. Archived from the original on 16 April 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
4. ^Bitzan, John D.; Tolliver, Denver D. (October 2001). 'The Economics of Heavy Hopper Cars'. Mountain-Plains.org. Mountain Plains. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
5. ^'Hopper'. Online Etymology dictionary.

What Does Auto Tune On The Hopper Mean In Text

External links[edit]

• Union Pacific #7801 – Photos and short history of an example of a typical self-clearing, open-top triple hopper