Bird poo does not destroy your car’s paint… at least not by itself

Filed under: Etc.

Toyota Camry covered in bird poop

Every summer we’re stuck with the same dilemma. We can park the car out in the sun, which will inevitably will lead to scorching hot interior temperatures. The alternative is to park under a shady tree, where birds will undoubtedly poop all over our freshly washed ride. We usually opt for the sun out of auto vanity, but at least we don’t have to worry about bird poop messing with the paint.

We’ve heard that acid from the bird droppings is the reason for the doo-doo perforations, but a study by UK car care experts Autoglym reveals that the excrement is only part of the problem. The real culprit is the sun, which expands and warms the paint on your vehicle. When the sun hits that bird poop, the poo hardens at the same time the paint expands. When the sun sets and the vehicle cools, the paint then contracts and forms itself around the hardened crap.

If a bird does his or her business on your vehicle, the best thing to do is remove it, and fast. A moist cloth will do the trick in most instances, or if you’re not into close encounters of the rectal kind, you could also hit the car wash. We would go into more detail, but we’re thinking that’s enough excrement talk for one day. You can, however, hit the jump for more detail via the Autoglym press release.

Continue reading Bird poo does not destroy your car’s paint… at least not by itself

Bird poo does not destroy your car’s paint… at least not by itself originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 May 2011 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Forces at play in Formula One enough to destroy wheels

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos

red bull f1 racer experiences front wheel failure

All this Red Bull racer wants for Christmas is his two front wheels – Click above to watch video after the jump

It’s no secret that Formula One exerts high levels of force on both drivers and cars. Case in point: As seen in the video after the break, Red Bull driver Sebastien Buemi experienced catastrophic failure of his front wheels under hard braking. Buemi was setting up for a corner and slowing from around 185 miles per hour when both of his front wheels tore themselves away from his race car.

We shared this news last year, but this version of the clip has a few more angles from which to take in the carnage. Click past the jump for a terrific show of F1 force.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Forces at play in Formula One enough to destroy wheels

Forces at play in Formula One enough to destroy wheels originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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