I took this photo (Mustang GT muscle car from the movie “Gone in 60 Seconds) at the super car show: Top Marques, Monaco 2008.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Auto Salon Aussie Car Seport
Right from the moment you laid eyes on it, this AP1 had you, didn't it? Go on, even you turbo-junkie, died-in-the-wool brand whores will have to admit that this has to be one of the meanest, angriest S2000 Honda you've seen, and also one of the best. This S2000 is built to circuit specifications, with thorough lightening of the chassis and body, along with a million adjustable suspension components and an engine that revs like a jet turbine.
To be able to lap Tsukuba in under the one-minute barrier, the line between all-out motor sport engineering and traditional street tuner modifications blurs. Every single piece of the motor's systems has to be scrutinised to check for inefficiencies, wasted power, less-than-perfect balance and possible weaknesses, because while they're all very minor on their own (perhaps contributing maybe one percent, if that), when you go right through a vehicle with a race engineer's eye you'll find quite a few of these issues and suddenly you've got a huge gain on your hands.
A couple of numbers concerning the highly worked F22C engine stand out on the info sheet the Japanese tuning legends provided us: 12.9:1 and 235. That is the sky high compression ratio and amazing amount of kilowatts this naturally aspirated 2.2-litre car puts out, which is about as far removed from your average street-driven AP1 as Jupiter is from Black town, and what an F22C it is!
To be able to lap Tsukuba in under the one-minute barrier, the line between all-out motor sport engineering and traditional street tuner modifications blurs. Every single piece of the motor's systems has to be scrutinised to check for inefficiencies, wasted power, less-than-perfect balance and possible weaknesses, because while they're all very minor on their own (perhaps contributing maybe one percent, if that), when you go right through a vehicle with a race engineer's eye you'll find quite a few of these issues and suddenly you've got a huge gain on your hands.
A couple of numbers concerning the highly worked F22C engine stand out on the info sheet the Japanese tuning legends provided us: 12.9:1 and 235. That is the sky high compression ratio and amazing amount of kilowatts this naturally aspirated 2.2-litre car puts out, which is about as far removed from your average street-driven AP1 as Jupiter is from Black town, and what an F22C it is!
One of J's Raising's own crate motors which cashed up punters can buy for an eye-watering 798,000 Yen, plus shipping! it is a finely balanced, high-revving, quad-throttle masterpiece that encapsulates all that is great and good about manic track-prepped Honda four-cylinders. In short, this thing is the alpha male of S2000 engines and you can't help but realise that the second you clap your peepers on it.
The custom intake and quad throttles feed obscene amounts of air into the completely rebuilt in-line four-cylinder, which has benefited from judicious reworking of Honda's already excellent engineering to provide a fantastically response power plant that can withstand the brutal forces dished out from regular track work. The sump is now a J's Racing design that stops engine-destroying surging, while there are fluid coolers not just for the motor, but the gearbox and diff as well, all to ensure that they don't overheat and damage anything. Then there are the Megen heavy duty engine mounts, Sam co radiator hoses (that resist blowing off) and an Aussie MoTeC M400 ECU, which will keep a very strict electronic eye over proceedings.
Everything has been carefully tinkered with, as J's Racing went about changing and honing only what they needed to, though they saw fit to develop a new exhaust manifold and featherweight titanium exhaust system for the two-door flier. But, it's not just about power, with the efficient delivery of each of the 235kW the car puts down of utmost importance.
The custom intake and quad throttles feed obscene amounts of air into the completely rebuilt in-line four-cylinder, which has benefited from judicious reworking of Honda's already excellent engineering to provide a fantastically response power plant that can withstand the brutal forces dished out from regular track work. The sump is now a J's Racing design that stops engine-destroying surging, while there are fluid coolers not just for the motor, but the gearbox and diff as well, all to ensure that they don't overheat and damage anything. Then there are the Megen heavy duty engine mounts, Sam co radiator hoses (that resist blowing off) and an Aussie MoTeC M400 ECU, which will keep a very strict electronic eye over proceedings.
Everything has been carefully tinkered with, as J's Racing went about changing and honing only what they needed to, though they saw fit to develop a new exhaust manifold and featherweight titanium exhaust system for the two-door flier. But, it's not just about power, with the efficient delivery of each of the 235kW the car puts down of utmost importance.
To this end, J's Racing had Exert build them a custom-specification Hyper Single clutch, while the boys in the back room changed the final drive ratio to a shorter, more accelerating 4.4:1. They also packed in one of their own 1.5-way limited-slip centres for increased traction and a set of hardened gearbox and differential mounts to erase the slop of the standard rubber units and assist power delivery. It was those excessive tolerances that provided the impetus for a lot of the suspension work that went on under the sexy bodywork.
After having the shell spot-welded for strength and a thorough roll cage welded in, a set of J's Raising's own CRUX Colver's were fitted, shod with pillow ball upper mounts for a solid mating face, as the noise and harshness damping effects of the stock rubber pieces were not required on this track-only brute. J's also fitted a 20mm roll centre adjuster to let them get their geometry bang on perfect, along with a set of pillow-mount tie rods to eliminate the S2000's cursed bump-steer (where the toe angle changes as the suspension moves up and down, slowing the car in the corner and making it unstable).
Further limitations were eradicated with the removal of the OEM suspension arms, which were replaced by J's Raising's own SPL rear pillow-mount arms, along with the J's Racing sub-frame reinforcement kit in both the front and rear ends, which reduces twisting and takes the last ounce of slack in the OEM road set-up and drop-kicks it out of the park. Make no mistake: this S2k is stiffer than one of the Sydney Harbour Bridge's support girders.
After having the shell spot-welded for strength and a thorough roll cage welded in, a set of J's Raising's own CRUX Colver's were fitted, shod with pillow ball upper mounts for a solid mating face, as the noise and harshness damping effects of the stock rubber pieces were not required on this track-only brute. J's also fitted a 20mm roll centre adjuster to let them get their geometry bang on perfect, along with a set of pillow-mount tie rods to eliminate the S2000's cursed bump-steer (where the toe angle changes as the suspension moves up and down, slowing the car in the corner and making it unstable).
Further limitations were eradicated with the removal of the OEM suspension arms, which were replaced by J's Raising's own SPL rear pillow-mount arms, along with the J's Racing sub-frame reinforcement kit in both the front and rear ends, which reduces twisting and takes the last ounce of slack in the OEM road set-up and drop-kicks it out of the park. Make no mistake: this S2k is stiffer than one of the Sydney Harbour Bridge's support girders.
Honda Accord Crosstour shows tiny problems in the IIHS rollover tests
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducted rollover tests on several vehicles and the Honda Accord Crosstour was among those that didn’t do well.
Already, many observers expect this model to get an early refresh. The suggestions include a new face and a titanium-reinforced roof. In the latest tests, the IIHS didn’t exactly roll the vehicles. Rather, the IIHS pushed a metal plate against 1 corner of a roof at a constant speed. To get a good rating, a roof must withstand a force of 4 times the vehicle’s weight before reaching 5 inches of crush. To get an acceptable rating, the minimum strength-to-weight ratio that’s needed is 3.25. A poor rating is given to those that have lower than 2.5. Vehicles that did remarkably well are the Grand Cherokee, Highlander, Liberty, and Venza, which all withstood forces of almost 5 times their weights. The Crosstour can withstand 2.8 times its weight while the Endeavor and Pilot can endure only 3 times its weight.
Spray painting your Car
Spray painting refers to a painting technique in which a device is used to spray a coating of paint, ink, varnish, etc. through the air onto a particular surface. The most common types of spray painting techniques make use of compressed gas, generally air, to atomize and direct the paint particles. Spray guns are either automated or hand-held and are equipped with interchangeable heads that enable different spray patterns. Spray guns are mostly used for spraying cars. Various spray painting techniques are employed to paint the surface of a car and almost all of them use compressed air or air pressure to discharge and direct the spray.
In case, your car needs to be painted but you don't wish to spend the money on a professional paint job, you can easily paint it yourself! Here are a few tips that might be useful for you:
* Before beginning to paint, sand or grind out all rust spots. Always use a filler for areas that are heavily rusted.
* Use a masking tape to distinguish those areas that you don't want to paint. Sometimes, you will have to remove certain pieces of the car so as to paint evenly.
* A lot of time and money will be wasted on paint if you don't prime your car with a high-quality metal primer. The surfaces that are to be painted must be first covered with a primer.
* Paint using a high-quality enamel such as Rust-Oleum to protect your car and to enhance the durability of your paint job. To attain good results, you can also attach a spray can and air compressor or buy a snap-and-spray aerosol can holder from any store for a reasonable amount. These spray can holders help in producing an even flow and you don't have to hold the spray nozzle for a long period of time.
* Maintain a distance of 8 to 15 inches from the car while spray painting it in order to prevent paint runs. Apply the paint in an area that does not have dirt or dust as these particles can get into the paint before it dries.
(ArticlesBase SC #2514486)
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