Automotivetry.com – Motor Sports, Exotic Cars, and Everything In Between

There are specific indicators that present themselves early on in your youth that will help to guide you later in life. Many artists discover their creative sides drawing or painting as children, and musicians often find their passion for music early on as well. Chances are you realized it in an early age in case you are good at anything in particular. Whether you decide to expand on that talent and transform it into a true skill later is completely approximately your and you circumstances. Some just figure out what these are good at and not do anything along with it, and many shape their lives because of it. You will have probably discovered your interest in cars long even before you knew how you can drive, being an automotive enthusiast. The fascination with cars can lead you in many different directions. You could find that you just love to drive competitively, or maybe just alter them aesthetically, or you might even find yourself captivated by the mechanical side of automobiles with the itch to tear them apart to fix them.

1997 honda civic exospeed 3 piece front endthrough and through. To his friends and acquaintances, he is referred to as the Pump Gas King. He’s been working on cars since his teenage years with his fantastic love of cars and making them go fast has always been a driving force in their life. I’ve been concentrating on cars since I was 12 years old and building engines for the last 14 years, Rosario says. My father taught me the best way to wrench in a very early age and I’ve been taking care of cars before I was even old enough to get one. Neighbors would come knocking on the door wanting tune-repairs and ups completed to their cars often. I started street racing back in ’97 but left that alone soon after because I had some run-ins with all the local authorities. Then I made the decision to make my car an all-purpose track car and started running in the Heads-Up All-Motor Street Class.

Rosario seemed to always be a little before his time, and by 2004, he had already assembled his first K-swapped Civic. The idea he came up with ended up being to build a reliable 300hp daily driver running strictly on pump gas-a feat that had been considered extremely hard at that time. Not for any daily driven Honda, especially running on conventional gasoline, although three hundred was really a number that race cars were acquainted with. Rosario explains, It took me almost 2 years of testing different combos together to finally reach those numbers. Around 2008, my RSX Type-S motor was making 310 hp on 93-octane gas. It was very reliable and driven each day in therain and sleet, and snow. I drove it to the track, raced it, and drove it home. That’s when people started calling me the ‘Pump Gas King.’ They were astonished at how much power it made back then considering how it was driven every day. When you input it all into perspective, it’s funny how only 4 years later 310 hp is not really much. Today’s advancements have really changed the landscape of the community.

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The journey with this Audi Nimbus Grey-painted 1997 Civic chassis began in 2008. His competitive nature soon took over, although it had humble beginnings and began as only a fun car for Jeff to have. He wanted a track car that was competitive enough to work in the All-Motor Street Class. He had already built a couple of high-horsepower, naturally aspirated engines for local shops, so it had been a simple task when it came time for him to construct his own. He acquired a K24 CNC cylinder head from 4 Piston Racing and began testing by using dyno-tuning expert, Chris Harris of Xenocron. The 4 Piston CNC cylinder heads are unlike any other in their class, featuring a low-turbulence intake port and unique exhaust port design-exactly what Rosario needed, especially when combined with his Kinsler individual throttle bodies. The K24 motor I had made great power and I was very pleased. The only real weak link was the stock transmission that I was running. Toward the end of 2010, the All-Motor Class had advanced so much that the only way for me to remain competitive was to operate a PPG dog box transmission. I ran a personal best ET of 10.73, but it was far from where I needed to be. I necessary to build a bigger engine to lay down some lower times.

1997 honda civic QuickCar ignition control panelAll the others in his class was employing a ’92-95 Civic chassis, which is considered the more aerodynamic of these two generations. If it didn’t run the lower 10-second ET he wanted, he would switch everything over to a different chassis, he told himself he would ensure that it stays for one more race season, and. At the 2011 World Cup Finals in Maryland’s International Raceway, he would set his new personal best ET of 10.24, and after that followed it immediately after having a 10.22. A new chassis was not an option. I finally got the automobile into the low 10s and was running with the rest of the heavy hitters in my class. That is as i chose to provide the car a makeover. I acquired a 3-piece Exospeed front-end, sent it well to Angel Designs for bodywork, after which had it resprayed within this grey tone.

Though Rosario has found positive results in the All-Motor Class, there is still more to come. I am not even close to done, as he tells us. I can’t just relax and not constantly strive to improve, as an active racer. I already have my eyes on running a 10.00-second ET; hell, maybe I’ll even be able to reach the elusive 9-second pass that everybody in my class shoots for. I’m also entertaining the concept of stepping as much as the Prostock FWD All-Motor Class. The future is bright for me. I may even turn the motor sideways and make a turbocharged Pro RWD car.

Although many people dream of owning one of the shiny new motors… or even pre-owned motors somewhere like Universal City Nissan, the sad reality is that not everybody has the funds to do it. The problem is that although some people can’t afford to switch their trusted old vehicles until they get way beyond their “”best before”” date, neither can they afford to pay large sums on repair bills to keep them plodding along.
If you are the sort of person who would love to call the service center and book your car in whenever you hear an unusual rattle but just can’t afford to do so… read on. You just might find something useful if you keep on reading, you are certainly not alone.
According to researchers and people who ask a lot of questions in the name of knowing what’s happening in the World, the average age of cars on the American roads… privately owned cars that is… is more than a decade. Yep, there are a lot of cars driving through your neighborhoods which have been around for more than ten years. Whatever the optimists say about things getting better and picking up soon, there’s no sign that this particular statistic will be changing in the near future.

So you see, you’re not the only one driving along in a car which smells of stale burgers, has a dulled dash from being parked in the sunshine for far too many summers and smokes more than your Granddad on Christmas Eve when Grandma isn’t looking. So what are the main tricks and tips to follow when it comes to making sure that these trusty old reliable steeds remain trust and reliable?
Lubricate – older people will tell you that their bones creak more as the years advance, and the same goes for motor vehicles. Lubrication is needed to make sure that everything runs smoothly. Okay, so even older cars have warning lights which flash when oil levels are getting low, but if this light goes on the levels are generally far too low. Don’t wait for the light to remind you to top up your oil levels, instead make the effort to check them regularly.

Remember too that there are lots of different parts in the motor which all need individual lubrication – the brake and transmission fluid for example.
Read the Manual – every car comes with a manufacturer’s manual or handbook and the chances are that even if your car is old and tired, the manual will still be sitting in the glove box looking as good as new. These manuals are supplied for a reason you know, and are packed with all kinds of useful information. Read the manuals and follow their advice, they have been written by people who really know what they are talking about . . . particularly about your specific motor.

Pressures – having the correct tire pressures is not only crucial for safety and handling purposes but it can also help your tires to last longer and even help you to get more miles for your gas. This information will be found, yep, you’ve guessed it . . . in the manual.
Now that’s firmly in your head it can’t do any harm to check out http://www.downtownnissan.com and dream a little. You might be surprised at some of the fabulous motors and deals they have . . . in fact you might find that you can afford to switch your vehicle after all. You should still remember these tips though.

In 1989, VW released one of its rarest production cars of all time. It absolutely was a hand built specimen from the production plant in Wolfsburg, Germany. Was themed around its Helios blue paint, although the rare gem wasn’t an increased-performance race edition with extra power and exclusive suspension upgrades.

VW produced only 1500 samples of the special 1989 Jetta GLI 16v in Helios blue, along with the lucky few who obtained an example were bestowed with the typical features found in a loaded GLI. But alongside the exclusive exterior paint, the factory Recaros also received special blue plaid inserts. Aside from color-matched wheels, the cars were identical to their GLI counterparts.

The exclusivity stood the test of your time, with many enthusiasts still lusting after the low-production sedan integrated the venerable Mk2 GLI chassis, although some deemed the Helios upgrades insufficient for admiration.Within the last few years, FMS has built cars for the SEMA show and chose a couple of Jettas to steal the show in 2013. The first can be seen here, while the second car is really a more extrovert widebody conversion for the popular VW sedan that can be seen here. Read about both cars, as well as their build up here. (Widebody build, Helios Jetta build)

The Jetta is a capable car that may be equally appealing when modified, said Rory Stramer from FMS, though Not to take anything away from the wonderful Golf GTI platform. For many people with families, the Jetta is really a more viable option. So that we wanted to show VW fans how the current Jetta adaptsto this sort of treatment. Therefore, we decided on a crazy, high-horsepower, widebody build for just one car, but took a much more attainable approach to the Helios tribute car, he added.

I instantly suggested we build a Helios tribute car, simply because I owned an original and still regret selling it, said Gil Plasencia from FMS Automotive in Cerritos, CA and builder of this car, Once we first explored the idea of building cars for the SEMA booth. The Mk2 chassis really spoke to you and the Helios cars were extra special with the blue paint and special interior. It was exclusive and something only hardcore VW fans know about.

Keen eyes will note that the Tribute isn’t actually Helios blue. It’s finished in Tempest Blue Metallic, which can be almost a dead ringer for the original paint. It’s available on the 2014 VW Jetta and helped inspire this tribute.

Preferred to use Tempest Blue because it’s available right now to anybody wanting to build something similar, even though before balking with the paint code, understand that FMS could have painted it in the original color.

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For your build, we again sourced as many parts as possible from your VW Accessories catalog. We even sourced some OEM parts from across the pond, while everything else came from well respected aftermarket companies that again make the project easily accessible to anybody looking to replicate our car, Plasencia said.

The exterior is simple but effective thanks to OEM parts such as the gloss black mirrors and VW Accessories body kit. The latter was painted black to reflect the trim about the ’89 car.

Other OEM accents feature a gloss black Jetta Hybrid trunk headlights, spoiler and grille. In addition, it has smoked tail lights from the 2014 GLI along with custom LED foglights and blue pinstriping on the front-end.

Life inside is a lot of the same: elegant and restrained. It starts off with Recaro Specialist seats that were reupholstered in black leather with blue/grey cloth inserts, designed to echo the original Helios cloth. This is also carried over to the rear seats. A VW GLI steering wheel was installed, and it was trimmed in black leather with blue stitching. This treatment was then carried over to the e-brake handle, center console and famous golf-ball shift knob.

The RNS315 navigation system and back-up camera were retrofitted into the car. Harder to recognize is the VW Accessories sound box and digital sound processor that had been discreetly mounted in the spare wheel. It improves the sound without sacrificing space and was one of only three units currently in the united statesis indeed cool. It’s got the existing school, throwback feel of the original car. I think we nailed it, Plasencia opined. All show and no go wasn’t portion of the equation. In fact, the original 16v cars were fast within their day, so ignoring performance wasn’t going to fly.

Underneath the hood you’ll find the new 1.8T fortified with APR software and an early production version of its Carbonio carbon fiber cold-air intake.

Downstream, there’s a custom 2.5 exhaust developed for FMS having a Magnaflow muffler to uncork the power and sound.

Of course, more VW accessories found their way onto the new motor, like reservoir caps, while FMS custom-painted the engine cover. When it comes to cutting corners and slowing your roll, you’ll find color-matched Golf R brakes each and every corner, with H&R coilovers bringing down the house.

Turning this symphony of speed into forward motion are a set of ceramic-coated 19×9.5 VW Motorsport wheels that were wrapped in 235/35 R19 Nitto Invo tires.

I think a combination of parts works. It’s got traditional flavor blended with modern style and just enough performance. It’s also something anybody could build. So, i’m pleased with how it ended up and hope it sparks enough interest that VW builds another Helios Edition in the near future, Plasencia said.

I can’t say I’ve been much of a Ford guy. Haven’t driven too many of them except for a couple of rentals. , all standard.Mustang and Focus Nothing that got me to excited, that may be, until now. The Fiesta ST opened my eyes to something completely new, and it’s pretty cool to finally say: Now here’s a great car!

It’s no secret that this Sport Technologies (ST) versions of Ford’s models are the stuff that reigns supreme on the roads of Europe, yet until recent times had been a strictly Euro-only thing, that may be, until Ford brought the main objective ST over, and soon, the Fiesta ST in 2014. Launched originally in ’05 in the European market as a hatchback, the usa (sadly) will only see a 5-door hatch making its way over by using a 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder EcoBoost motor that’s primed to supply 202lb and 197hpfrom the Angeles Crest Highway, just a couple miles north of L . A .. Even in standard city driving, there was an undeniable cool factor about the way the Fiesta ST’s engine revved up and only as you apply your foot on the gas pedal will you truly bring it to reality. A low hum creeps up into your eardrums, not inside an annoying tin can rattle sort of way, and buzzes harmoniously while you shift from one gear to the next. Once we reached the less traveled stretch of road that the Angeles Crest Highway allows, the drive became even more exciting. It handles remarkably well, not at all an issue that I was expecting, taking turns and the occasional straight-lines like a champ. The suspension is tight and nice, stiff at times but a necessity that ties in well using the ST heritage. Up and down a great 25 miles or so of road wasn’t enough time but plenty in order to satisfy my quench for fun driving.

The next natural thought that got to mind was, How would I modify this? Yet, using the Fiesta ST, I had a hard time finding any faults really, except that it still won’t visit our market as a 3-door. Regardless, it’s surprisingly fresh and fast out of the box, and that’s a rare thing nowadays. Of course, some extra bump in power and dropping it down by using a proper list of aftermarket wheels wouldn’t be a bad thing either.

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That New Car Smell

2014 Ford Fiesta ST

The Sticker starting fromOn the Pump 26/35 (city/highway projected)

The Competition Mini Cooper S, Chevy Sonic RS

Deep Thoughts The Fiesta ST may not have had us instantly at hello, but it didn’t take long for it to win our hearts. Very cool car that’s worth checking out.

Do you have hundreds of pin on Pinterest representing many, many projects? If so, you may be a fanatic. Stop simply admiring projects that you want to do and start making some pretty things based on the ideas you get on Pinterest. With these great must-haves, you too can begin to create beautiful decorations for your place that will look spectacular and be the envy of your friends.

One of the best ways to find project pieces is to know where the good second-hand stores, thrift stores and garage sales are every weekend. You can get pieces that you can really turn into something breathtaking. With the Nissan Frontier from Nissan Palm Springs, you can get tons of cargo room so that you can haul any of those one-of-a-kind items home with your, without having to rent a truck. From dressers to couches, you will always be able to get your finds home. Find out more about the Nissan Frontier at http://metronissanredlands.com.

Another must-have for when you are doing projects on Pinterest is a solid sewing machine. If you are just a beginner, you may want to consider a used one that you can buy for just a fraction of newer models. There are tons of options out there for either new or used models that meet every kind of skill level. When you have a sewing machine, you can find hundreds of how-to videos on YouTube, meaning that you can be a pro in no time.

Don’t forget that you need a place to do all the crafts. Carve out some studio space to work on crafts in an unused part of the garage or a room that no one every uses at home. There you can set up a craft table, a place to paint items and a place to store all sorts of supplies to make your Pinterest dreams come true.

Jaguar’s presence at the LA Auto Show 2013 was hard to ignore. Not too long ago the entire world was presented with the first true sports car from your automaker in 50 years, the F-Type Convertible. Now we have now been witness to one more incredible achievement from the leaping cat manufacturer; the F-Type Coupe. As outlined by Ian Callum, Jaguar Designer, the Coupe is the car’s purest form. We might not agree more. With stunning visual appearancein regards to the new Coupe. What the Coupe really represents for us is it more than doubles the market potential of the F-Type. We launched in California because California may be the largest sports car market in the world, so to have the global launch here in LA was a pretty big deal. There are more Coupe sports cars sold than Convertibles, despite the fact that California is really aa great deal of the features and specs are already known, we wished to know how much coin one of these cats would cost. Should you compare the comparable V6 models between Coupe and Convertible, the Coupe is $4000 less expensive than it’s facing Convertible, as outlined by Philippo. The base F-Type Coupe is $65000, the base F-Type Convertible is $69000, the F-Type S Coupe is $77000 and the F-Type S convertible is $81000. Then again you go to the V8 S on the Convertible or the Coupe R with increasedBut once will we see a manual transmission within the F-Type? Philippo replied, We unfortunately cannot talk about future products but we have heard the message loud and clear from enthusiasts and journalists that think this may be the right car to have a stick in.

Let’s hope that that loud message means a wonderful sports car manual transmission. Wouldn’t you desire the option of switching your own gears in the all-new F-Type Coupe R, having aninterest and buzz using the debut of your new Coupe, Jaguar held a party Thursday night, November 21, in the LA Convention Center to help celebrate the newest arrival from Jaguar. drink and Food is at unlimited supply and cars were strategically displayed urging curious attendees to find out just what the new Coupe is all about. The Jaguar C-X17 SUV Concept was also there and added toin the design process behind the all-new F-Type Coupe.

Explain the design technique of the F-Type.

WB: This is a very simple artistic process where every car here at Jaguar starts like a sketch. We then review the walls of sketches placed high on boards, picking out the ideas that we want to develop. We will make very rough little models on software before considering those models and going to full-sized clay models. We then spend literally each year or so sculpting and working and honing the clay model until we have achieved what we hope can serve as perfection. We then scan the car and carry it into the digital world and create a whole surface for the interior and exterior of the vehicle and from there we begin to do business with the actual production car. That whole process is about 3.5 to 4 years.

2013 Jaguar Party LA Auto Show Wayne Burgess and Toniahead of the other?

WB: The Convertible was designed first, that was a conscious effort. From a structural integrity viewpoint it is much better to design the Convertible first to get the torsion and stiffness in the car and also to make sure that the deck is as low as possible. And then the Coupe is an easy job, as you can see the Convertible and Coupe are extremely similar and that’s because we knew exactly what we had been doing. If we designed the Coupe first, when it comes to designing the Convertible you don’t understand how it’s planning to look or where the deck lid will sit and you have to do a lot of reengineering to make the stiffness and torsion work in the car, so absolutely design the Convertible first and therefore the Coupe.the two?

WB: 20 kilos (44 lb). The coupe is 20 kilos (44 lb) lighter.

Then we caught support with Tim Philippo, Jaguar Sports Cars Product Manager, for a few more F-Type questions. Additional interview questions found below

What exactly is the goal with this model for the brand?

TP: As you know we introduced the convertible first. You want to have a cadence of merchandise; you don’t want to created everything all at once. You want to give people a reason to revisit, keep the press interested and obtain people interested about test drives. So, many people ask why there was no Coupe at launch, why was there no R at launch, you just want to wait. You will see the sensation of excitement many people have for the F-Type Coupe, it is actually doing absolutely outstanding. For almost all other markets around the world, Coupes are going to be a large percentage of volume. It has significantly more luggage space compared to the Convertible, the Convertible has 7 cubic ft and that has 11 cubic ft. It draws those who would like to take it out for the track or the golf course and even use it being a daily driver. It’s simultaneously more sporting and more practical.

Despite its appearance. Yet this initial introduction of your fastest and many powerful vehicle to ever emerge from the company’s Goodwood facility in England contradicts the official Rolls-Royce message. The latest Rolls-Royce Wraith isn’t a sports coupe because the British luxury automaker doesn’t make sporty cars – they merely hint at it.

The four-passenger Wraith shares the platform of the Ghost. This means both of these are constructed over a heavily modified, mostly steel, unibody platform common with the BMW 7 Series. All itsThe Ghost’s unique rear-hinged coach doors were retained, leaving brightly polished handles to match those on the flagship Phantom Coupe, though the coupe is shorter in both height and length, its wheelbase continues to be reduced more than 7.

However the front fascia of the Ghost and Wraith appear similar in the rearview mirror, closer examination reveals the stainless grille about the new coupe is slightly more recessed, its air intakes larger and the signature Spirit of Ecstasy figurine is angled forward 5? – she’s now leaning into the wind.

Because Rolls-Royce massaged its familiar 6.6-liter V12 twin-turbo to make 624hp at 5600rpm and 590 lb-ft at 1500-5500rpm, she’ll have to hold on though. That’s 61hp greater than before.beneath the guidance of an innovative Satellite Aided Transmission (SAT) program – a niche first.

The balance of the mechanicals, from brakes to suspension architecture, generally mirror the Ghost – the most significant being the air springs with electronic variable damping that provide the signature Rolls-Royce magic carpet ride.

A glance down in the tires confirms the coupe rides on slightly larger wheels (20 as standard, with 21 options).

The Wraith cabin is splendid. What isn’t swathed in buttery natural grain leather is covered in new Canadel panelling – open grain wood which allows the natural texture to come through. Thick wool carpets rest underfoot, and nearly all of the key switchgear is finishedin to the roof. They offer a welcome glow and a novel experience. Everything throughout the carpet and cabin-lined trunk has been treated for the finest materials, with a Teflon-coated umbrella still found within each front quarter panel.

There is zero drama when the massive V12 fires. From the driver’s seat it was hard to realise it was even running, the lack of tachometer (replaced by a cool power reserve gauge) compounding the confusion.

A gentle foot on the throttle will motivate the coupe around town, yet without an audible soundtrack from yourThe downside could it be will send all champagne glasses flying into the footwells, though rolls-Royce quotes -60mph in just 4.4sec, which can be an impressive feat for such a heavy vehicle.

On its carefully modulated air suspension, Rolls-Royce consciously tuned the coupe to offer a sense of adventure for the driver. To accomplish this, the steering is heavier and more direct, as the air spring and damper settings tend to be more dynamic than the Ghost. However, it remains softer than any other sports coupe available.

On the highway, it glides effortlessly over bumps and expansion joints, with all the smooth V12 ensuring forward progress remains unaffected by hills, wind or calamity. However, the heavy two-door isn’t happy in sharp canyons, where sudden directional changes evoke massive understeer and squeals of protest from the overworked tires. It does lose some of its finesse, although it never relinquishes its composure.

The new SAT transmission logic operates almost transparently. Unlike many of today’s adaptive systems, that monitor driver inputs to control shift logic, the SAT system reads GPS map data to predict straights and corners. Employing this information, the automated transmission will hold gears or downshift into a corner to anticipate the need. Rolls-Royce didn’t tune this for performance (don’t expect neck-snapping shifts), but rather for smoothness since being in the rightWithout question, the Wraith is more involving than the Ghost or Phantom, yet all of its primary controls felt calculatingly buffered to driving input. Accuracy isn’t an issue: A high steering ratio translated to slow turn-in, and the brake pedal required a strong push before the calipers bit firmly, even though the vehicle is obedient to directions. Even the throttle tip-in could be labeled leisurely. A gentleman would refer to it as restrained, although a motoring enthusiast would consider the coupe’s feedback soft.

On paper, as well as in photos, the Wraith seems to present itself as a powerful luxury sports coupe to rival the Bentley Continental GT. But even as the Rolls-Royce wins the horsepower battle, its performance plays second fiddle to its primary objective of isolating the occupants externally world. It drives with grace, dignity and a sense of nobility that is peerless in the segment, while nonchalantly hiding its copious potential.

The Wraith is a magnificent luxury coupe, but it can barely be understood without taking a prolonged drive. And in the exclusive world of Rolls-Royce, that’s the best way it should be.