Owning a desirable car gives you a tremendous feeling - but having somebody pinch it makes you feel lower than a Honda with no springs. Make sure that you avoid being the victim of car theft by remembering a few important points...
First and foremost, if possible don't drive the car to a destination where you know you'll have to park it somewhere unguarded. This is probably the most important part to remember. As always, though, it helps if your car has a good alarm system and immobiliser, a visual deterrent (such as a Clublock), locknuts on the wheels and an 'invisible' stereo system. Whatever you do, don't simply chuck your deck's detachable face in the glovebox - we've been caught out by that one ourselves...
If you're installing a new cold air intake to your ride, make sure that the air pick-up location is relatively protected. A forward-facing cold air scoop might be the Number One priority from a performance point of view - but there's more to consider than just that. A scoop on the bottom edge of your bumper will catch airborne bugs, stones flicked up from the car in front and, of course, a lot of dust. You also run the risk of serious engine damage if you attempt a water crossing. That might seem like a laugh now, but it's not so funny when you drive through an unexpectedly deep storm water drain...
The excessive under-bonnet heat caused by slow stop-start driving conditions can affect engine power and cause damage to electrical wiring and components. Therefore, it pays to think about the airflow characteristics under your vehicle's lid - where gets the hottest and what gets most affected by the heat? An easy way of letting heat-soak out from under the bonnet is to install bonnet vents; heat will, naturally, rise up through the vents and leave your under-bonnet components alone. If you want to get more elaborate, you can also install a 12-volt air blower (such as the pcitured marine bilge blower) to keep a cooling stream of air circulating in areas of the engine bay. This can be augmented by large diameter flexible ducting and fabricated metal walls to create airflow 'channels'.
If your turbo machine's got the usual mods - exhaust, intake, intercooler and boost - you may find that the engine is running at the maximum injector duty cycle. That is, the injectors are open for the longest time they can be; this puts a definite ceiling on the power output that you can easily attain. The traditional solution has been to ditch the standard injectors for bigger ones, buy an aftermarket computer and - while you're at it - install a high-flow fuel pump. All of this works a treat - but it will also cost you a bomb to have fitted and tuned.
If you're realistically only after a bit more power, however, it's quite feasible to up the fuel pressure and force just a bit more fuel through the standard injectors. A variable fuel pressure regulator lets you do just this, and on turbo cars, the fuel pressure can be increased only when on max boost - just when you need it.
The age-old question you'll hear in a high-performance exhaust shop is - "Will that muffler hurt my car's performance?" It's a tough balance to find acceptable noise and maintain maximum gas flow. But, even worse, inserting resonators at random isn't guaranteed to make a system quieter - some actually make the tailpipe dBs louder!
The VariFlow variable backpressure system - as previously tested in AutoSpeed ["Pure Pipe Perfection 2 - Introducing the Secret Weapon..."] - is an actively controlled exhaust butterfly valve that sits at a closed (or near-closed) position at low load, and automatically flips wide-open when you're going for it. In the 'closed' position, the valve makes all cat converters, resonators and mufflers in front of it work more effectively, and the valve body itself also cuts back noise. When the butterfly is thrown wide-open, however, there's just the narrow cross-section of the valve blade (only a couple of millimetres) impeding gas flow - bugger all.
The VariFlow system gives the best of both worlds - and it's pretty darn tricky at the same time!
Car insurance companies can give you some wild quotes on premiums. This will always be the case if, (a) you're insuring a performance car, and/or (b) you're a young driver. But there are some other factors that affect the amount of an annual premium. Here is a selection of them - along with the answer that gives you the best premium price...
Will the vehicle be used for business use? - No
Where will the car be stored? - Lock-up Garage
Is there an insurance approved alarm fitted? - Yes
Is the vehicle modified? - No
Is there any finance on the vehicle? - No
Would you like to insure the car for market value? - No. Insure the car for whatever you think it's worth. This will mean you'll may more if the car's highly modified, but less if you think yours is a cheapie. Note that the term 'market value' is also a bit vague - especially when it comes to Japanese imports, where prices vary hugely.
As always, though, we should remind you that telling 'misinformation' to an insurance company may cause - amongst other things - absence of coverage when you most need it.
If you're looking to perform a little bit of cylinder head de-burring and perhaps a little bit of runner tidying up, a tool that you might be interested in is the Dremel Multipro Model 395. Using a variable speed motor, the Dremel can spin from 10,000-37,000 rpm and develops 125 watts of power. Using a quick-change collet, a multitude of attachments can be inserted; abrasive wheels, wire and bristle brush wheels, cutters, grinding stones, routers and more.
So - in addition to being suited to light-duty aluminium head porting - it is also perfect list of applications around the house! Available from most hardware stores, the Dremel costs around $200.
Factory blow-off valves are often one of the first things to be replaced when people modify their turbo engines. A common reason people give for this is that the factory blow-off valve leaks - but does it really? One of the simplest ways to identify when a BOV is leaking is to run a long hose from the venting side of the valve into the cabin. This might mean passing the hose forward through the grille and all the way back, or merely leaving the bonnet on its safety catch and passing the hose between the bonnet and guard. Note that in most cars the pre-turbo fitting that the blow-off valve normally vents back into must be sealed in to maintain proper fuel mixtures.
With an assistant holding the end of the hose in the cabin while you drive, it'll be obvious when the valve is starting to crack open under boost. Other than the "psshht" noise, you can also place a finger over the hose to get an idea of how much pressure is venting.
This simple test might save you buying an aftermarket BOV when you don't really need to.
When taking the plunge and spending up on programmable engine management, it's the norm that a MAP load sensor will be used, rather than an airflow meter. Both are categorised as engine load sensors, but each takes a significantly different reading; an airflow meter measures the mass of airflow, while a MAP sensor measures intake pressure. When the manifold pressure signal is put into the equation with revs, air temp and the engine's volumetric efficiency, airflow can be calculated. Of course, a MAP sensor hose branching out from the intake manifold will cause absolutely no airflow restriction, but people seem to overlook the tuning benefits of retaining the factory management - complete with hotwire airflow meter.
Probably the biggest advantage of an airflow meter is the ability to tune to accommodate lumpy cams and/or altered cam timing - which cause huge pressure fluctuations in the manifold. If you're still concerned about airflow restriction, however, some monster airflow meters can be bought in the aftermarket and a few big 'uns sometimes appear at Japanese import wreckers.
A poor under-bonnet appearance can easily be rejuvenated - without having to spend a wad on braided lines and aftermarket accessories. AutoSpeed has already covered three surface finishes in previous issues - polishing, powder coating and zinc plated/gold passivating ["Polishing Up Your Act", "Powder Room" & "Fastener Finishing" ]. A six cylinder rocker cover typically costs around $60 to have polished; a bucket load of bolts, screws and brackets will only set you back by around $30 to have plated/passivated; and it never costs much to have your components powder coated (just make sure they're heat tolerant first, though!).
Sure, it may take a while to strip everything back and send all of the parts off, but the end result is spectacular. Finishing touches can then be made with lengths of split convoluted tubing (to tidy wiring), cans of spray paint and some good ol' fashion spit'n'polish.
Quite a few people are now running around with custom water-to-air intercooler set-ups on their rides. This is often a good move, but don't rely for too long on a cheap impeller-type water pump (complete with nylon bearings) without checking occasionally on its operation. Nylon bearings are not designed for continuous use and - depending on how you've got yours wired - it might have already passed its use-by time. This reduces power and can lead to engine damage.
A good way of checking that your pump is still healthy is to permanently install a liquid compatible low pressure gauge to read off the pump outlet hose. That way, you can always see how the pump is holding out.
If all of this sounds too hard, go out and buy an agricultural type diaphragm water pump that uses ball bearings. These things last 'forever'.
When you're buying a second-hand car, we'd recommend always getting it professionally inspected. While most people get inspections done to verify whether or not a car is a lemon or not, we - the self-confessed car nuts - can use an inspection in a very different way. Having a car inspected will invariably show up a few extra problems (no matter how small) that are perfect to use as bargaining weapons. Having a list of defects to present to the owner is a big advantage to when it comes to talking turkey.
The cost of having a vehicle inspection is always more than outweighed by the negotiation that follows!
If you want to improve handling without having to suffer a firmer ride, there are a couple of approaches you can take. Aftermarket bushes will help remove some 'slop', suspension tower braces hold more consistent wheel angles through corners, but it's playing with swaybars that can have the most dramatic low cost effect on handling (though note that wet-weather handling can sometimes become a little slippery). Upsizing wheel width and diameter plus going for low-profile rubber also aids turn-in. Of course, your tyres play a major part in determining grip - so go for the stickiest, slickest tyres that you can legally and safely get away with in your local climate.
After all mechanical changes have been made, we'd recommend a custom wheel alignment. AutoSpeed has already presented a tech feature on how to select the right wheel alignment for your particular vehicle ["Pointing the Wheels"]. Lastly, you should try experimenting with tyre pressures a little - you'll be amazed at the difference it can make!
Likewise, you can often make some very real improvements to your brakes without having to spend heaps on big discs and calipers. Aftermarket brake pads can give improved retardation and/or heat dissipation, high quality brake fluid helps to maintain good pedal pressure, braided stainless brake lines give better braking response and the fitment of brake cooling ducts will make a huge difference if you're having problems with fade. If you're lucky, you might also be able to find a larger brake pad that - with slight backing plate mods - will slide into your existing calipers; again, this is a mod that we've already covered in AutoSpeed ["Padding Up"].
Sure, a set of 6-pot Brembo monster brakes look cool, but - for the little money outlaid - the above system mods yield unbeatable results.
Last but not least, attention AWD turbo owners. As you may well be aware, high-performance turbo cars - especially modified ones - are notorious for frying clutches. The answer has always been to fit a heavy-duty pressure plate and/or a paddle clutch. Of course, this prevents slip - but the likelihood of breaking a gearbox also goes up by about 1000 times.
AutoSpeed had been amazed by the owner of one 12-second Impreza WRX who managed to get heaps of kilometres out of a standard clutch as well as setting its best ever ET. When it did finally give up, he replaced it with an extra HD clutch - and that's when all the fun began. Pop, pop, pop went three gearboxes in quick succession...
So - take it from us - if you can live with a bit of clutch slip and a putrid stink every now and then, don't opt for a dramatically upgraded clutch/p-plate; you'll save yourself thousands in gearbox repairs.
|