elektronika: Curb feeler

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

Curb feelers or curb finders are automotive accessories designed to alert drivers when their vehicle is a safe distance from a curb while parking. Functioning much like a cat's whiskers, these devices consist of flexible metal springs or wires mounted low on the vehicle's body, close to the wheels. When a vehicle approaches a curb, the protruding feelers scrape against the concrete before the body or wheels can make contact. This physical contact generates an audible scraping sound inside the cabin, warning the driver to halt before damaging the road wheels, hubcaps, or tires. Because they are manufactured using high-flexibility steel or alloy, they can withstand repetitive bending without…

Evidence: 54 • authority: 72

A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which the wheel travels. Most tires, such as those for automobiles and bicycles, are pneumatically inflated structures, providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock as the tire rolls over rough features on the surface. Tires provide a footprint, called a contact patch, designed to match the vehicle's weight and the bearing on the surface that it rolls over by exerting a pressure that will avoid deforming the surface. The materials of modern pneumatic tir…

Evidence: — • authority: 72

A fender is a part of an automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle body that frames a wheel well (the fender underside). Its primary purpose is to prevent sand, mud, rocks, liquids, and other road spray from being thrown into the air by the rotating tire. Fenders are typically rigid and can be damaged by contact with the road surface. Sticky materials, such as mud, may adhere to the smooth outer tire surface, while smooth, loose objects, such as stones, can become temporarily embedded in the tread grooves as the tire rolls over the ground. These materials can be ejected from the tire's surface at high velocity as the tire imparts kinetic energy to the attached objects. For a vehicle moving fo…