Once the engine has made its power, it is the exhausts job to help expel the gases produced, also in road cars cancelling out the sound of the engine. The sound the engine produces is a combination of high and low pulsating pressure waves. These wave pulses make their way through the exhaust pipe, at the speed of sound and ultimately the exhaust system is trying to cancel out each wave produced with another. This is the job of a standard road car´s exhaust system.
This cancelling out is a term called destructive interference and it is possible for two opposing sound waves to actually cancel each other out. When one sound wave is at it's maximum peak and the other at it's minimum trough, they effectively create a neutral balance. In a real world situation this is almost impossible to achieve and not all of the ever changing sound wave frequencies, will be able to be cancelled out. This is due to the nature of the different engine Revs and sound waves produced in a dynamic manner.
This process is a delicate compromise of power, noise and emissions. In different parts of the world we have ever increasing legislation to help combat increasing Green House effects and CO2 emission levels. During this process in production cars, the noise and CO2 levels take top priority and power is effectively sacrificed. A device called a Catalytic Converter is used to help break down some of the dangerous chemicals produced by the engine.
The Exhaust system as a whole is normally broken down into a few individual parts as this technology has under gone multiple development work over the decades, both in terms of performance gains and ever increasing environmental responsibilities.
Exhaust Manifold:
The exhaust manifold is connected to the cylinder head and takes each cylinder's exhaust fumes and combines it into one pipe. The manifold can be made of steel, aluminium, stainless steel, or more commonly cast iron.
By upgrading to a sports 4-2-1 (four into two into one) or 4-1 (four into one) exhausts, it is possible to release some of the otherwise wasted power and improve drivability, torque and horsepower. The exhaust manifold is one of the most important parts that controls the output of an engine.
Endless amounts of money on tuning your engine internally can be wasted if the exhaust manifolds design does not complement the overall goal of the engine design. Your engine may not produce the power you expected, or exactly where you wanted, it may move the torque band into a different part of the rev limit or power band. It is advised that a good matching of the exhaust system and manifold, compliments the engine target characteristics.
Exhaust Downpipe:
Connecting all of the above exhaust devices parts is the exhaust piping, this carries the gas through the system out to the tail pipe. Exhaust tubing is usually made of steel or aluminium steel tubing and the system carries away the gases created when the fuel and air are burned in the combustion chamber.
When upgrading the exhaust system, the kit will contain these pipes and the increased diameter/quality material means more flow and better rust repellent properties.
Catalytic Converter:
The main function of this component is to converts dangerous carbon monoxide and hydro-carbons into water vapour and carbon dioxide. Some converters also reduce harmful nitrogen oxides.
The device is mounted between the exhaust manifold and the silencer box (muffler). Upgrades include Full Cat back, Cat bypass exhaust systems and sports cats.
Basically speaking the Cat is a restrictive device in terms of performance and increased back pressure, thus robbing horsepower due to the increased work load the engine needs to overcome to expel the gases from the engine. Exhaust upgrades can help to overcome the issues caused and reasonable performance gains can be made by replacing the standard OEM equipment, but at the sacrifice of emissions.
Depending on your local legislation, this can have a impact on your car´s road legality for road driving. We are coming at this from a performance point of view, so please seek advise to make sure your operating with in the law for daily drivers.
Oxygen Sensor:
Modern fuel injected cars use a oxygen sensor to measure oxygen levels present in the exhaust, from this the programmed ECU can add or subtract fuel to obtain the correct mixture for maximum fuel economy.
A mixture is the working point that modern engine management systems employing fuel injection attempt to achieve in light load cruise situations.
For gasoline fuel, the stoichiometric air/fuel mixture is approximately 14.7 times the mass of air to fuel. Any mixture less than 14.7 to 1 is considered to be a rich mixture. Any more than 14.7 to 1 is a lean mixture- given perfect (ideal) "test" fuel (gasoline consisting of solely n-heptane and iso-octane). The oxygen sensor is mounted in the exhaust manifold or close to it in the exhaust pipe.
Silencer box/ Muffler:
The silencer/muffler box serves to reduce exhaust noises down to legislative acceptable levels. As the combustion process is a series of explosions that create a lot of noise, the silencer/muffler design uses baffles to bounce the sound waves around and cancel each other out.
Some designs also use fibre-glass packing fibres to absorbs the sound energy as the gases flow through the device. This is another restrictive device in terms of engine performance, but a well designed system will increase performance and also keep noise level to acceptable levels.
Source : rapid-racer.com/
Sunday, 6 March 2016
How Car Engines Work
Have you ever opened the hood of your car and wondered what was going on in there? A car engine can look like a big confusing jumble of metal, tubes and wires to the uninitiated.
You might want to know what's going on simply out of curiosity. Or perhaps you are buying a new car, and you hear things like "3.0 liter V-6" and "dual overhead cams" and "tuned port fuel injection." What does all of that mean?
Internal Combustion
The principle behind any reciprocating internal combustion engine: If you put a tiny amount of high-energy fuel (like gasoline) in a small, enclosed space and ignite it, an incredible amount of energy is released in the form of expanding gas. You can use that energy to propel a potato 500 feet. In this case, the energy is translated into potato motion. You can also use it for more interesting purposes. For example, if you can create a cycle that allows you to set off explosions like this hundreds of times per minute, and if you can harness that energy in a useful way, what you have is the core of a car engine!
Almost all cars currently use what is called a four-stroke combustion cycle to convert gasoline into motion. The four-stroke approach is also known as the Otto cycle, in honor of Nikolaus Otto, who invented it in 1867. The four strokes are illustrated in Figure 1. They are:
Basic Engine Parts
The core of the engine is the cylinder, with the piston moving up and down inside the cylinder. The engine described above has one cylinder. That is typical of most lawn mowers, but most cars have more than one cylinder (four, six and eight cylinders are common). In a multi-cylinder engine, the cylinders usually are arranged in one of three ways: inline, V or flat (also known as horizontally opposed or boxer), as shown in the following figures.
Different configurations have different advantages and disadvantages in terms of smoothness, manufacturing cost and shape characteristics. These advantages and disadvantages make them more suitable for certain vehicles.
Engine Problems
So you go out one morning and your engine will turn over but it won't start... What could be wrong? Now that you know how an engine works, you can understand the basic things that can keep an engine from running. Three fundamental things can happen: a bad fuel mix, lack of compression or lack of spark. Beyond that, thousands of minor things can create problems, but these are the "big three." Based on the simple engine we have been discussing, here is a quick rundown on how these problems affect your engine:
Bad fuel mix - A bad fuel mix can occur in several ways:
Engine Valve Train and Ignition Systems
Most engine subsystems can be implemented using different technologies, and better technologies can improve the performance of the engine. Let's look at all of the different subsystems used in modern engines, beginning with the valve train.
The valve train consists of the valves and a mechanism that opens and closes them. The opening and closing system is called a camshaft. The camshaft has lobes on it that move the valves up and down, as shown in Figure 5.
Engine Cooling, Air-intake and Starting Systems
The cooling system in most cars consists of the radiator and water pump. Water circulates through passages around the cylinders and then travels through the radiator to cool it off. In a few cars (most notably Volkswagen Beetles), as well as most motorcycles and lawn mowers, the engine is air-cooled instead (You can tell an air-cooled engine by the fins adorning the outside of each cylinder to help dissipate heat.). Air-cooling makes the engine lighter but hotter, generally decreasing engine life and overall performance. See How Car Cooling Systems Work for details.
So now you know how and why your engine stays cool. But why is air circulation so important? Most cars are normally aspirated, which means that air flows through an air filter and directly into the cylinders. High-performance engines are either turbocharged or supercharged, which means that air coming into the engine is first pressurized (so that more air/fuel mixture can be squeezed into each cylinder) to increase performance. The amount of pressurization is called boost. A turbocharger uses a small turbine attached to the exhaust pipe to spin a compressing turbine in the incoming air stream. A supercharger is attached directly to the engine to spin the compressor.
Engine Lubrication, Fuel, Exhaust and Electrical Systems
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| The exhaust system of a Porsche 911. |
In carburetion, a device called a carburetor mixes gas into air as the air flows into the engine.
In a fuel-injected engine, the right amount of fuel is injected individually into each cylinder either right above the intake valve (port fuel injection) or directly into the cylinder (direct fuel injection).
Producing More Engine Power
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| The turbocharger system of the Nissan GT-R. |
Increase displacement - More displacement means more power because you can burn more gas during each revolution of the engine. You can increase displacement by making the cylinders bigger or by adding more cylinders. Twelve cylinders seems to be the practical limit.
How are 4-cylinder and V6 engines different?
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| The inline 4-cylinder engine of the Lotus Elise. |
The number of cylinders that an engine contains is an important factor in the overall performance of the engine. Each cylinder contains a piston that pumps inside of it and those pistons connect to and turn the crankshaft. The more pistons there are pumping, the more combustive events are taking place during any given moment. That means that more power can be generated in less time.
4-Cylinder engines commonly come in “straight” or “inline” configurations while 6-cylinder engines are usually configured in the more compact “V” shape, and thus are referred to as V6 engines. V6 engines have been the engine of choice for American automakers because they’re powerful and quiet but still light and compact enough to fit into most car designs.
Source : howstuffworks.com
Saturday, 5 March 2016
Supercars shine in Switzerland: the 6 best exotic rides from the world’s most opulent auto show
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| At a standstill, the Chiron already has emphatic proportions, not least as a result of its larger wheels. |
Bearing that in mind, it’s no surprise that the annual Geneva Motor Show, one of the biggest and oldest in the world, is chock full of supercars and super luxury rides, from the well-known to the obscure.
We sifted through the masses for you to find our six favorites from the show, and compiled them for you here. Agree or disagree with us, there’s no denying that these are some spectacular automobiles.
2017 Bugatti Chiron
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| With an agressive maw and those now-iconic square LED headlights, there's simply no mistaking the Chiron for anything else on the road. |
2017 Koenigsegg Regera
| Not only is the Regera freaky fast (0 to 248 mph in 20 seconds) but it's also hybrid with and 800-volt battey. |
2017 Aston Martin DB11
| The DB11 is a beefier, more pragmatic version of the DB10, with an all-new twin-turbo V-12 under the hood. |
2017 Lamborghini Centenario
| We love everything about the Centenario... Aside from the $1.9 million price tag. |
2017 Bentley Mulsanne Grand Limousine by Mulliner
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This is the new Bentley Mulsanne Limousine, because why have a regular old Bentley when you could have a limo version instead. |
2017 McLaren 570GT
| The McLaren 570 GT is a supercar that you can actually drive. |
Source : nydailynews.com
Toyota can get weird when it wants to
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| Toyota isn't usually known as a car brand that takes big risks. These 10 cars and trucks prove Japan's biggest automaker doesn't always play by the rules. |
Based on Toyota's new TNGA platform - which underpins a vast (and growing) range of cars and trucks - the C-HR has a heavily sculpted concept car design, one that’s extremely close to the show-car that previewed the production model shown in Geneva.
Best known for reliability and strong resale value, Toyota as a brand doesn’t usually dabble its corporate toes into dangerous and daring waters. Or does it?
| The Toyota C-HR, which made its global debut at the Geneva Motor Show, has a daring look that didn't fade into the background at this supercar-centric show. |
They’re proof that Toyota can do weird, seriously.
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| The Toyota 2000GT is widely recognized as being the first Japanese supercar, not to mention a blue chip collector car. |
Want to know who invented the Japanese supercar? You’re looking at it, baby. The Toyota 2000GT burst onto the scene at a time when Japanese cars were almost laughably underpowered and lacking any design panache. Like a Jaguar E-Type, the 2000GT had a clean and lean profile, and a long hood that covered an inline-6 cylinder engine. Pop-up headlights and a body crafted out of lightweight aluminum are only a few of this Toyota’s technical highlights. Granted, it was Yamaha that did the engine wizardry on the 150-hp 2.0-liter dual overhead cam engine. Yet there’s no denying that this car, a Toyota no less, is the world’s first true Japanese supercar. Just look at recent auction sales, where 2000GTs have commanded 7-figure prices.
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| The Toyota Land Cruiser earned a reputation for longevity and adventure. The FJ model, seen here, is the darling of Land Cruiser fans. |
Like a Land Rover, but stronger. And like a Jeep, but somehow even uglier. We actually love the bulldog design of the “J40” Land Cruiser, as does anyone else with a penchant for adventure – or at least the look of someone who goes hang gliding after work. The Land Cruiser is famously rugged and can be credited for being the first Toyota model to really find a footing here in the U.S. Bullet-proof engines, available AWD, ultra-low transfer cases, and even those short front and rear overhangs all conspire to make this generation of Land Cruiser the go-to choice for classic truck fans who crave the road – or rocky trail – less traveled.
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| The sturdy Corona stuck with a rear-wheel-drive format when many rivals were beginning to power their front wheels. |
Okay, we partly put this one on the list due to it sharing a name with a certain Mexican beer. But seriously, the Corona was an outlier on a mission by the time the 1974 model year (pictured here) rolled around. Not a teeny and wheezy microcar – like Subaru’s simply god-awful 360 model – it was still smaller and a lesser-known commodity than many of its main American rivals. And remember, that ignoble list included the Chevy Vega, Ford Pinto, and AMC Gremlin. Yipes! The Corona did hold onto a rear-wheel-drive format, however, at a time when Honda and Nissan were all jumping aboard the front-wheel-drive bandwagon.
1985 Toyota Truck
Behold the truck that will not die! Or it's the Toyota with no name, unless you consider “Truck” as being particularly creative. The Toyota Truck, especially the one built up to 1985, with its solid front and rear axles, is an absolute legend when it comes to longevity and rock-crawling ability. Toyota – and other Japanese micro-trucks of the era – showed that work trucks didn’t necessarily need a thumping V-8 engine to get the job done. Sure it looked like a child’s drawing of the most basic pickup on the planet, but the Toyota Truck was much more than fancy design (or a swanky name).
1985 Toyota MR2
Haven’t some of the Toyotas listed up till now been a little, shall we say, less than weird? Okay, the Corona and Truck aren’t the wackiest rides we’ve ever seen. But you can’t say the same thing about this car, the mid-engine and two-passenger MR2. The 1985 model you see before you has the edginess (and wedginess!) you’d expect from a 1980s sports car. Borrowing from eariler sport machines like the Fiat X1/9 and Lotus Eclat, the MR2 combined sharp handling and fantastic looks, along with the brand’s noted reliability. Like many of the best Japanese sports cars – Supra, NSX, Z-Car – the MR2 could be used every day and simply run forever, providing a maximum of fun and a bare minimum of repair bills.
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| The Celica All-Trac Turbo was a force on the road, and off it. This is the first Japanese sports car to make a name for itself in the world of rally racing. |
Turbo power, all-wheel-drive, a rally racing pedigree; what isn’t to love about the Toyota Celica All-Trac Turbo? It does kind of look like a bar of soap, at least until the pop-up headlights are, well, popped up. The Toyota Celica was famously capable as serving as anything from a nimble and sturdy commuter car, to being race-prepped to win grueling rallies and blaze a trail for the likes of Subaru and Mitsubishi. The All-Trac Turbo has muscle car power and leech-like grip, this was cutting-edge tech back more than two decades ago – and it still holds its own now. If the Land Cruiser proved to the world that a Toyota could go off-road, the Celica All-Trac Turbo showed the Japanese automaker could race to win (and win a lot) on any type of surface.
1991 Toyota Previa
How could anyone make a minivan weird? Well, Toyota sure did when it opted to build the jellybean-shaped and front mid-engine layout Previa. Wait, this is a mid-engine minivan? Believe it or not, the 4-cylinder in the Previa was located behind the front axle line, pretty much below the front seats. That design flourish was great for maximizing cabin room for your brood – even if the oval exterior might make the kiddies ask to be dropped off a block, or two, from their school's entrance. In the end, the quirkiness of the Previa worked against it in the conservative minivan segment. But when it comes to taking design and engineering risks, the Previa is the poster-child for wacky people movers.
1993 Toyota Camry Wagon
Okay, wait a minute. We know you might have given the Previa benefit of the doubt, even though it’s a stretch to label any minivan as being “weird.” Yet how could the Camry, especially a Camry station wagon, ever make the cut? Umm, have you looked at the photo of the 1993 model year example seen above? Crossovers and sport-utilities are all the rage, except once there was a time when handy wagons also proudly roamed the earth. The Honda Accord and Ford Taurus wagons were blandly handsome and functional, as you might expect. So maybe Toyota was trying to set itself apart with a wagon that looked, ahem, pretty unconventional. Yes, it looks like a hearse to us too. That bizarre upward swing of the rear fender into the D-pillar gives the last Camry wagon sold on U.S. shores a look you’ll never forget.
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| Wild performance, along with one wild wing; the Supra (especially in Turbo format) was a match for the world's best sports cars. |
Hold on tight, because ‘Weird Toyota’ is about to become ‘Crazy Fast Toyota!’ The 1995 Supra sports car, seen here, came when Japanese automakers had finally decided to let their hair down and ignore a gentleman’s agreement to limit their vehicles to no more than 276-horsepower. The twin-turbocharged version of the fourth-gen Supra also sported one of the wildest rear wings since the Plymouth Superbird rolled onto dealer lots in 1970. There is more than a hint of 2000GT in the Supra’s overall shape, though the final effort is definitely more brutish than beautiful – we mean that as a compliment. The 320-hp 3.0-liter engine (in turbo format) is also famous for being highly tunable, and it’s not unheard of for some examples to churn out more than 1,000 horsepower.
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| Cutesy details - like those small rear doors - detracted from the tough-guy image portrayed by the retro-themed FJ Cruiser. |
Toyota was feeling nostalgic when it decided to create a modern reboot of the iconic FJ Land Cruiser. The FJ Cruiser seemed a long shot when it arrived as a concept car in 2003 but, in only a few short years, this crazy looking truck was rolling down the production line. Based on the 4Runner platform, the FJ Cruiser has serious off-road credential, thanks to its true truck-based running gear. Too bad the chintzy-looking rear doors detract from the macho appeal – a two-door design would have been far cooler. Still, people are wild about the FJ Cruiser, it currently boasts some of the best resale value you’ll find this side of uncut diamonds.
Source : nydailynews.com
Mazda MX-5 Miata
For pure driving bliss, the Miata is tops—and you’ll need only one turn behind the wheel to see why we named it a 10Best winner for 2016. This legendary two-seater has a 155-hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder with a six-speed manual; a six-speed automatic is optional. Its use of aluminum keeps weight down, so the Miata remains eminently flingable in the twists and turns that you’ll surely seek out whenever you hit the road. Standard features include Bluetooth, cruise control, and air conditioning.
Source : caranddriver.com
Thursday, 3 March 2016
Drifting Techniques,
Theory: A tyre grips the road up to a maximum point of adhesion, when this point is exceeded the tyre will start to slide until adhesion is restored. So finding and pushing just beyond the point of adhesion is the name of the game.
Once a car begins to drift driver control comes into play – the exact amount of turn on the steering wheel towards the direction of travel to catch and control the drift. At precisely the right moment you have to catch the drift with a measure of opposite lock and use the throttle and steering to control the drift – a sustained drift on a straight is called ‘drift lock’.
Rear wheel drive cars are the only choice for drifting particularly higher-powered models but one of the key requirements is a limited slip diff. We've seen really impressive drifts from low powered cars. A quick burst of acceleration at the right moment is just enough to break the adhesion of the back of the car.
As a car decelerates the weight is thrown to the front wheels that is why the wheels lock up under heavy breaking. A front wheel drive car is harder to drift in but uses deceleration to lighten the back of the car and make it swing wide.
To perform a left tail drift in a front drive car – build up the speed. Decelerate fairly heavily but performing a simultaneous right flick on the steering wheel – a shock wave will shoot through the car (you can feel it happen there is no easy way to explain it.) As this shock wave passes the centre point of the car steer into the direction of the tail drift, if the tail does not swing out then a short flick of the handbrake will start the drift.
We then need to catch the drift and control it using gentle throttle control and smooth steering - opposite lock (so steer to the right, just enough to keep the drift going but without overcooking things causing a spin and without undercooking throwing the drift in the opposite direction.)
The following are the main drifting techniques and most are used in combination with each other.
Clutch Kick
To make the car start to slide you dip or kick the clutch suddenly causing the car to temporarily lose traction and starting a rear wheel slide whilst on or entering a bend. Effectively using engine braking - when the clutch is dipped engine speed drops when clutch is released the wheels are moving faster than the lower engine speed requires causing a pull and breaking traction. Alternative a blip of the throttle raises the engine speed so when the clutch is released the driven wheels spin faster than they should so traction is broken.
Dirt Drop Drift
This technique is banned on most tracks. You allow the rear wheels to leave the tarmac surface into a lower grip one such as dirt, gravel or grass. The cars speed will remain pretty stable through this technique as the rear tyre friction is much lower.
Jump Drift
Similar to a Dirt Drop Drift again banned on most tracks. The rear wheels hit the rumble strip at the side of the track. The vibration is enough to upset the delicate balance of grip momentum and traction and the rear of the car slides.
Handbrake Drift
The easiest technique, used by beginners and pros to initate a drift and pretty much the only guaranteed way of sliding a FWD (front wheel drive) car (Its still not a proper drift though!). The handbrake is jabbed on causing the rear wheels to lock up and slide. When a slide is attained the handbrake is released allowing more control of the car and preventing too much loss of speed.
Feint Drift
Requires a feel for the balance of a car and needs you to sense the shockwave of swing as it flows through the car. Coming up to a right hand bend you steer to the left. Then as the back of the car moves left you steer to the right, the back of the car loses traction and starts to drift, then you countersteer and catch the drift. This is a popular technique and is often combined with other techniques, like the clutch kick, to help break the rear traction. Practice this one in large open areas.
Inertia Drift
This requires a lot of speed. Approaching a bend you need to decelerate throwing the weight of the car to the front wheels. When the back wheels become light you can steer the front into the bend and let the back wheels drift. Control is maintained with careful steering control and throttle inputs. A good technique to start drifting but requires experience as the speed involved is not very forgiving.
Source : driftlock.co
Tuesday, 1 March 2016
Geneva Motor Show: 2017 Aston Martin DB11 is no Bond car, but it's pretty close
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The DB11 is a beefier, more pragmatic version of the DB10. |
The U.K. automaker, famous for making cars featured in the James Bond franchise, will showcase the DB11 sports coupe in Switzerland this week. Lucky for us, a few photos of the car have been leaked in advance of Tuesday's press day.
With a powerhouse 5.2-liter V-12 engine, the DB11 is said to be able to make 600 horsepower and 516 lb.-ft. of torque en route to a top speed of 200 mph. It's also supposed to go from 0 to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds.
The DB11 replaces the DB9, which has been Aston's signature sports coupe since 2004. The DB11 is 44 lbs ligher than the DB9 despite being 1.18 inches longer and having a 2.56-inch-longer wheelbase. It's also said to be stiffer than its predecessor.
Aston had been keeping quiet about what the DB11 would look like, but word on the street was that it would bear a strong resemblence to the DB10, which was featured in and made exclusively for the last year's Bond film, 'Spectre.'
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Photos of the new Aston Martin DB11 were leaked in advance of the 2016 Geneva Motor Show this week.
Based on the images leaked this week, the similarities are quite striking, except the DB11 is a more muscular version of the DB10.
The headlights on the DB11 are also wider and more rounded that the slivers on the front of Bond's DB10, most likely for safety purposes.
Source : nydailynews.com |
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