Useful things for your car (VAZ-2110)

The radio will improve comfort

A radio tape recorder will make driving doubly enjoyable, listening to music while driving is more useful than harmful. In some foreign countries, there are special radio stations for drivers that select the appropriate repertoire and broadcast it. And it is harmful when it takes up so much space that it turns the car's interior and trunk not into a music salon, but into a concert hall, and if headphones also lock the driver in this concert hall, then you should at least remember that he is on wheels and the traffic light will soon be red.

There are many different types of radios nowadays, one better than the other, one more expensive than the other. Take your pick. You can order "music" when buying a car. There are special companies that sell and install it. If you want, you can install the radio with speakers yourself, but you need to go shopping, or maybe it's better to find everything at a radio market.

The section "Music in the VAZ-2110" provides recommendations on choosing and installing music sources in the interior of your car.

The air conditioner will provide a microclimate in the cabin

An air conditioner will help you escape the heat in the car. It is especially necessary in the southern regions of Russia. And the "ten" is good because the one who developed it, foresaw that it can be used where not only driving a car, but also just sitting in the cabin is very hot, when the hot outside air burns your hand, and the cabin is stuffy.



When you buy a car, you will be offered a car with air conditioning. They will install it, connect it and test it.

There is a place for it, there is a place for the evaporator, we mentioned it. The cabin temperature control system turns into a cabin microclimate control system. The air conditioner allows you to provide a microclimate up to an outside air temperature of 0°C.

A refrigerator will make your journey enjoyable

If your plans for using the "ten" include trips longer than a day, long-term business trips, or you are planning to go "for a week to Komarovo", where there is no electricity, but there is a forest and fishing, then a refrigerator will help not to spoil your appetite, and cold beer will provide comfort in the tent.

Compressor car refrigerators operate on the same principle as household refrigerators, they require space, freeze well, the refrigerator is almost always 10°C, and consume little electricity.

Another type of car refrigerators include refrigerators that work on the Peltier effect, the so-called thermoelectric refrigerators. They are cheaper than compressor refrigerators, lighter and more reliable. They work silently and in any position. But such refrigerators give a temperature difference in the air and in the refrigeration chamber of only 20-25°, which is often enough.

It is not recommended to install a refrigerator in the trunk, it should be kept in the passenger compartment. Refrigerators are sold with batteries. They are sufficient for different refrigerators in different ways - from 3 to 8 hours.


Imported car refrigerators are also available for sale.

If you want to go on a trip or fishing, it will be more fun with a refrigerator.

Antiradar will save you travel expenses

A device that detects radar installations ahead that measure the speed of vehicles. The use of anti-radars is prohibited in our country. Anti-radar is a free interpretation of this device. In fact, it is a receiver of signals emitted by a radar; previously, simple receivers were simply called detector receivers. Detector in English means a detector. A detector receiver is a detector of magnetic waves emitted by a radio station.

It is unclear why their use is prohibited, it is the same as punishing a driver for warning an oncoming driver with a light signal about a traffic police officer standing in front, and for what? Obviously, for improper use of lighting devices.

But such devices exist and many people use them. They discipline the driver, encourage him to reduce his speed to a reasonable level. At the same time, safety on a certain section of the road increases. But what if a traffic police officer is standing on a section where safety really needs to be increased? This means that his radar is not intended for violators who do not have a detector receiver, but to warn other road users that they are entering a dangerous zone where they need to reduce their speed. Therefore, in many countries, the use of such a detector receiver is not prohibited.

Such detector receivers are sold here too, mostly imported. Well, why they are not made here is clear. The capabilities of these devices are different, the higher the price, the wider the capabilities. The main capabilities of such devices are as follows:

• detection of radars in the frequency ranges in which these radars operate,
• choice of operating mode: urban - with a lower sensitivity level of the receiver, and suburban - with a higher sensitivity level,
• additional services: availability of a compass, night and day mode, turning off and reducing the volume of the buzzer, the ability to detect a signal in a 360° zone.

If you decide to save time, money and nerves, buy this device, it will make your movement more disciplined and safer.

The compressor will help not only to inflate the tire on the road

A compressor is far from the last thing in a car. Of course, its main purpose is to pump up and inflate a tire if you find it difficult to use a foot pump. But it can pump up many different things, such as an inflatable boat or a mattress. And if you have a carburetor engine, it can also blow out its jets. Compressors can also provide other services, such as having a built-in flashlight, acting as a spray gun, pumping out used oil from the housing (whoever changes the oil themselves knows that this is not always easy), and so on.

There are both imported and domestic compressors on the shelves of our stores. But imported ones are not always better than domestic ones, especially if they are from Asian countries. On imported ones, the pressure gauge indicator is sometimes in PSI units, i.e. pounds per cm², and 1 kg/cm² is approximately 14 PSI. The cost depends on the services that the compressor can additionally do: from 200 to 1000 rubles.

Roof rack - for those who carry a lot of things

If you plan to transport a refrigerator, boards and many other bulky things to the dacha, you will need it. "Tens" do not have gutters on the roof, so they will need slatted ones, and the station wagon already has slats installed and needs supports.

You can put whatever you want on two arches and four slats. The first condition: the arches and slats are a support to which all sorts of boxes of different volumes and shapes or special baskets are attached. The second condition: they cannot withstand everything you want to transport, the maximum load by weight is no more than 50 kg, the requirements of the manufacturer. In terms of dimensions, the load should not protrude more than 1 m in front and behind, and no more than 0.4 m on the sides. The load should be marked with shields during the day (identification marks) with red and white slanted stripes, or red flags, at night a red light or reflective elements. If the load at the back hangs more than 2 m, and the width of the car with the load is more than 2.5 m, then you must obtain permission from the traffic police officers to transport the load. In addition, the load must not interfere with visibility, cover the lights and license plates. These are the requirements of the traffic rules, and the traffic police officers' kit also includes a tape measure.

In the markets and in the store you can buy everything you need to transport cargo on the roof of the trunk, both imported and ours. You can choose both by price and by design.

A trailer is not only needed by tourists

In addition to tourists, trailers are used by summer residents, repair crews transporting their units, wholesalers transporting their goods from distant countries and neighboring countries, for whom the trailer allowed them to earn not only "ten". But the trailer played another role in our country - it did not allow many repair enterprises in Russia to completely collapse. Consequently, trailers are in great demand and their choice is large.

The greatest demand is for trailers with a maximum permitted weight of up to 750 kg, since a passenger car whose driver has category "B" can be used as a tractor for it.

Their bodies are all-metal and have an awning, VAZ wheels, and if the load capacity is more than 500 kg, they also have a braking system. There are many modifications of trailers, they differ in suspension, coupling device, and side height.

If you decide to buy a trailer, first of all think about where you will store it. Small trailers can be stored vertically, the trailer can have a folding hitch, such a trailer can also fit in the garage.

According to GOST, the requirements for trailers are as follows:

• the length of the trailer must not exceed 1.5 times the length of the tractor and be more than 8 m;
• the width of the trailer must not exceed the width of the tractor by more than 200 mm on each side and be more than 2.3 m;
• the height of the trailer must not be more than 1.8 times the width of the trailer track or more than 3 m from the roadway;
• the centre of gravity of a loaded trailer must be positioned so that the ratio of the height of the centre of gravity to the track of the trailer is no more than 0.725 (if the load is distributed evenly over the entire surface of the trailer and the load capacity is not exceeded, then this condition will always be met);
• the ground clearance of the trailer must not be less than the ground clearance of the tractor.

Driving a car with a trailer is much more difficult than without a trailer. The specifics of this control will be discussed in another section.

A device that allows you to use your cell phone hands-free

Since April 1, 2001, more than 60 amendments and additions have been made to the Traffic Regulations by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation. Every driver should know about this. One of such additions to paragraph 2.7 is: "The driver is prohibited... from using a telephone while driving that is not equipped with a technical device that allows for hands-free conversations.".

This requirement increases traffic safety. The driver's hands, especially in difficult traffic conditions, should control the car, and not press buttons, take out a phone, etc. In many countries of the world, this point is in the rules, and violators are severely punished.

Nowadays, there are many devices that make it easier to talk on a mobile phone, i.e. without using your hands. Some telephones do not require additional devices, such a telephone allows you to negotiate without using your hands, it has a built-in loudspeaker. True, if you negotiate in a room where there is practically no noise, of course, this is good, but when talking in a car, the speech is unintelligible.

The simplest and cheapest today are headphones connected by wires and a microphone with a special button. We accept a call, press the button and talk, pressing the button again interrupts the conversation.

Advantages:

• easy to use, good sound quality, what the subscriber says, other passengers do not hear;
• no need to put on and take off the phone;
• the ability to negotiate in public transport and other crowded places.

Flaws:

• the abundance of dangling wires does not create comfort;
• constantly turning the plug on and off reduces the reliability of the phone.

The local speakerphone is very convenient to use. A small speaker and amplifier are inserted into the cigarette lighter, and a microphone with a clip is attached to the telephone. These two devices are connected by wires.

Advantages:

• easy to handle;
• has virtually no impact on traffic safety.

Flaws:

• relatively difficult to install;
• the conversation can be heard by passengers present in the cabin.

A very simple system to use is when a special cassette is inserted into the radio instead of a cassette, and a microphone is installed on the front panel and a connector is connected to the telephone. The special cassette reproduces the conversation.

Advantages:

• volume as desired;
• easy to handle.

Flaws:

• the ability for another person to listen to the tape;
• radio interference has a strong impact on communications;
• the driver is deprived of music in the cabin.

More expensive systems provide many additional services, such as:

• accept and disconnect a call;
• dial a number;
• search for number;
• connecting an external antenna;
• all passengers can talk from the phone, naturally, without picking it up;
• the loudspeaker provides loud and clear conversation;
• the standard radio is muted.

Convenience, comfort and design also come at a price.

Fire extinguisher, first aid kit and warning triangle

Fire extinguisher, as they say: "God grant that you never need it!" Well, if you do need it, then let it fulfill its purpose.

Fire extinguishers are available for sale in a wide range, both domestic and imported.

The simplest, most attractive and inexpensive one is always at hand, like a glass of water it can put out any fire that is just starting, but it cannot fight it - these are aerosol type fire extinguishers.

The most common fire extinguishers are carbon dioxide ones - they can put out everything, including electrical wiring. But you need to know how to use them. The snow-forming foam that comes out of it has a temperature of -70°C. The capacity of a fire extinguisher can be from 2 liters or more. For a "ten" a 2-liter one is enough, but in a garage you need more.

Powder fire extinguishers are also in demand. They are more compact and lighter than carbon dioxide, and easier to use.

The most common question from drivers: where to keep a fire extinguisher? An example from personal experience. About twelve years ago, I was driving, then still from Leningrad, to the Black Sea coast for a vacation, before the city of Rostov-on-Don, an officer of the then traffic police stopped me, checked everything. Where is the fire extinguisher? I showed it, it was attached to the pillar, near my left foot, tightened with a clamp. "You know, we have a hot climate, it is hot in the car, there was an incident, the fire extinguisher exploded, immediately put it in the trunk." So I did. I drove 350 km and in the Krasnodar Territory, before the Caucasus Mountains on the way out of Goryachy Klyuch, there is a well-known traffic police post. They stop, check. "Where is the fire extinguisher?" - "In the trunk, covered so that it does not explode from the heat!" - "You know, we had a case, while the driver was rummaging in the trunk, getting the fire extinguisher, his car burned down!" Is the conclusion clear? And where to store it is not clear. In one instruction I read: "In the place established by the manufacturer". And my advice: in a convenient place for you, where you can quickly find it.

Be sure to take a first aid kit with you, especially if you are traveling far from home. Check the medications in it. There are special requirements for car first aid kits. There are many things in it. But the medications you need, a tourniquet, a pipette, a bandage, iodine, a bactericidal bandage and an adhesive plaster are a must.

You should have an emergency stop sign - it is sometimes used - preferably made of reflective elements. In imported cars there is a special place to store them: in the trunk lid on the inside, and it does not interfere with opening and closing the trunk, and your car is visible from afar even at night. A small touch, but it is useful. You can also attach an emergency stop sign to the roof of the trunk on the inside.

Tow rope and a number of other necessary things

The traffic regulations require the towing rope to be between 4 and 6 m long and have at least 2 red flags. Driving a car while towing is a responsible matter. We will look at how to tow properly later.

But having it in the trunk is no less important than a spare wheel or a pump. There are a lot of towing cables on sale. Each towing cable should be strong and preferably with a snap hook.

There are mainly three types of cables:

• a metal cable, usually made of steel, strong but less compact,
• nylon rope, also strong and compact,
• synthetic.

The cables come with springs to reduce the shock when starting to move.

The rear view mirror plays a big role in road safety and it is advisable to have it on both sides; if you have tinted windows or curtains installed on the rear window, then the Road Traffic Regulations require the mandatory installation of a second outside mirror on the right side.

The mirror must meet the requirements defined by the standard. But not always the handicraft manufacturer of the mirror adheres to them. Therefore, it is best to buy them in brand stores.

Mirrors come in:

• with a reflective layer on the back of the mirror glass and with a reflective layer on the outside of the mirror glass. This is a modern technology, and it is better to buy mirrors with an outer coating of mirror glass;
• mirror with a spherical element. A mirror with a flat element is not allowed by the standard. It is available for sale, it was made in a handicraft way;
• a tinted mirror protects the driver's eyes from being blinded by reflected headlights, naturally, it is better to choose one;
• the mirror should fold forward and backward, but you can find a mirror that folds only one way or does not fold at all, this is very bad, it is dangerous;
• the mirror can be adjusted by turning the housing or by turning the optical element, the second method of adjustment is better.

How to adjust the mirror for better safety will be discussed in another section.

It is possible to install a hatch in the roof of the "ten". But its installation should not violate the rigidity of the body. Therefore, the space allocated for the hatch should not intersect the transverse reinforcements of the roof. If the hatch design does not allow it to be installed without violating the rigidity, then it is necessary to ensure sufficient strength of the hatch frame.

Of course, it is also desirable to have a portable car flashlight; they come in different designs and there are currently a lot of them on sale, both domestic and imported.

You may also need a kettle, a fan, an electric razor. If you have the opportunity to watch TV in the bosom of nature, you will relax with pleasure.