The Smoking Tire

Inside the Coolest Car Collection You’ve Never Heard Of

Matt — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:01:42 +0000

As part of my trip to Sweden to drive the production version of the Volvo S60 Polestar (which, full disclosure, Polestar generously paid for after I was supposed to drive the bonkers 508 hp concept version, but it fell through), we were taken to a semi-secret collection of amazing racing cars. This is the collection of Mr. Gregor Petersen, and it’s incredible. I’m not going to say much, but the pictures are worth scrolling for.

This Volvo Amazon is the original Volvo Touring car. The shifter boot sits way forward, so the lever is practically horizontal.

This could be the most famous Volvo race car of all time: the Tom Walkinshaw-built 850R WTCC

This S40, also by Tom Walkinshaw Racing, competed in the Swedish Touring Car Championship in the late 1990′s.

Polestar is now in charge of Volvo motorsport, and this 2010 C30 WTCC, driven by Tony Rustad, is

the newest Volvo in the collection. Look at the rear camber!

Far and away my favorite car in the whole collection: the last Volvo 242 Turbo ever built. The first 240 race car

ever built can be found in the same collection (inside the building, see gallery)

These are not the same cars previously shown outside. Third from left, the first Volvo 240 Coupe ever built.

This is the engine bay of a March Formula 3 concept. It’s got FIVE Husqvarna Motorcycle engines sharing a crankshaft.

Legend has it, the car once ran for one minute, 27 seconds, before committing suicide.

This 1961 Lotus chassis is actually a Formula Ford. It finished top-five in a race less than three years ago.

This 1971 Chevron Prototype weighs 1,000 Lbs and makes 275 horsepower at the wheels. Mr. Petersen says

it’s the fastest car he’s ever driven.

The engine bay of the S40 Touring Car. Note how far low and rearward the engine has been moved from the stock location.

This is the coolest Mini I’ve ever seen. It’s got a 1300cc engine and a chopped roof. I love it.

This is the original second-generation Escort touring car. It was the first race car built of the generation.

Yes, this is a real, functional Bennetton Formula One car, as driven by Teo Fabi in the 1987 season.

The man doesn’t just like Volvo’s. Here’s a trio of BMW Swedish Touring Cars, an E46, E92, and Z4 GT3

Lastly, a body-less spec Solution F Chassis, which will be covered with the new S60 Polestar STCC body and

powered by a modified version of the Nissan VQ engine. In Swedish Touring Car, all teams use this chassis and engine.

Video: EV West’s Electric E36 Makes 850 TQ at the Wheels! – TUNED

Matt — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:51:48 +0000

Meet the EV West M3. On the outside, it looks like a normal E36 race car, like you’d see at any number of SCCA events on any given weekend. Underneath, it’s a torque monster powered by electricity. The two DC motors make 400 KW, which translates to a massive torque number at the wheels, which we confirm with a dyno run. It’s not meant to save the planet, improve your commute, or keep you from having to buy gas. It’s meant for a short race, where combustion engines suffer loss. Sound familliar? How about the 14 mile Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, which starts at 9,000 feet. While internal combustion engines suffer power losses up to 20 percent at that altitude, EV West’s electric motors run at a full clip, regardless of the elevation. So, what’s it like to drive? I took it for a spin to find out.

GTR BARGES up a ski hill. ‘Nuff said. [VIDEO]

Zack K — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:55:50 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Some of us see the entire world through a demented car’s eyes. At a baseball game, “Man, I’d like to drift around the bases.” On a hike, “Ooh if you had a rally car here this would be way more fun. You could totally air of that hill the- sorry, babe, here’s the Nalgene.” A sure sign of crazy is, “You could do axis spins on this wedding dance floor.” You totally could.

Skiing used to be fun on its own: Magic chair carries you up, you slide down. It’s a water slide with no stairs and no pool of urine to land in. Then you catch the virus, usually around 16, and you stare at a ski slope the way a real estate developer stares at a beachfront jungle in Costa Rica: “This would be great if I could just…”

In our case, the rest of that sentence is “drive it.” A ski slope is to snow driving what a runway is to drag racing; more of what you like with more room for error. A group called Team Ice Ricers (Don’t analyze it, just move on) got the opportunity to play on a freshly-groomed slope in a modded (600HP) Nissan GT-R. They said they wanted to find out if it could make it; of course it will make it. Snow tires, packed snow, lots of run up, it will make it. But who cares why they did it, because it is AWESOME. Who wants to drive a powerful AWD car up a mountain? This kid does! The video looks great, thanks to one of my favorite companies, Clash Production. High quality, badass stunt, yes please. You go watch it, while I figure out how I could gymkhana the Miata inside this coffee shop…

Team IceRicers V-Log4: The Skislope from Redhouse media on Vimeo.

Source: Team Ice Ricers and Rehouse Media

Paper towels, toilet paper, 50lbs of meat, F1 simulator…

Zack K — Sat, 18 May 2013 19:56:36 +0000

By Zack Klapman

You can buy this F1 simulator at Costco (in the UK) for $136,000. That’s a new level of “impulse buying”. Its materials include aluminum and carbon fiber (Easier on carpet!), and it even has real brakes and tires, which are great for telling people, “It even has real brakes and tires!”

Look for the Kirkland brand one to come out next year, which is 3 laptop screens glued to the dash of an Alfa Spyder.

Source: Autoblog

Porsche 918 Spyder and BMW X3/X5 Prototypes Spotted in SoCal

Matt — Sat, 18 May 2013 18:40:47 +0000

Southern California is ripe with prototype testing this week! Two days ago, I spotted two Porsche 918 Spyders sitting in traffic heading north on the PCH in Malibu. One of them was cruising in silent electric mode, while the other was running on gasoline power. The gasoline one gave off a low, even hum, not unlike a Cayenne or Panamera with an aftermarket exhaust. Note the blacked out Sprinter van that followed right on the rear bumper of the second car.

Then, yesterday, I spotted a fleet of these BMW SUV prototypes, which I believe to be the new X3 and X5. If you want to see BMW’s testing, you want to be on western Culver Blvd or Vista Del Mar at 4:30 PM every weekday; you’re guaranteed to see at least one.

[VIDEO] The Porsche 918 Spyder auditions for Chris Harris’ affection

Zack K — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:46:07 +0000

By Zack Klapman

When the Porsche debuted the 918 concept, I fell for it as quickly as a 14 year old falls for his first love. I had seen 3 photo-shopped pictures, and read the optimistic ethereal specs, but it didn’t matter. I was smitten. I’d never met the girl, talked to her, or heard her say a word. I’d seen her walk by in the hallway, and as I fell down that flight of steps -the price for all cognitive thought ceasing immediately- I thought she was perfect. I wrote multiple love letters with hardly a breath in between, and I couldn’t wait to see her again.

Impulsive to be sure, but when someone says they’re making a super car that has a V8 that also gets a million miles per gallon -pushing all my automotive and hippy buttons at once- I get excited. Calling the 918 “the only car I’d ever need” might be a bit rash; it’s not a drift car, I can’t jump it, and it’s really really expensive. But does it still scratch all the itches it said it would, all those years ago? Since I’m (understandably) low on the hyper-exotic-press-car totem pole, I have to watch Chris Harris‘s video, as he tries to suppress his hatred of weight to look at the 918 with an open mind.

Is it the perfect car? No. But there is no perfect car. There never will be. But it’s fast, exclusive, smart, pretty, and efficient. That’s a lot of good selling points. My love isn’t as youthful as it was, but it continues to burn.

Source: /DRIVE

Video: TST’s Tom Morningstar Co-Drives to Win High Desert Trails Rally!

Matt — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:17:48 +0000

We love us some good rallying. Our own Tom Morningstar loves it the most, and, while he hasn’t quite built the Subaru of his dreams, he gets close by co-driving Jon Burke’s Up2Mtns Subaru STI in a couple rallies a year. In their most recent outing, the High Desert Trails Rally, Jon and Tom did swimmingly, winning the 4wd Open Class as well as overall victories for the event. Here’s some highlights from the on-board video.

Well played, Your Highness of Driving.

Zack K — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:09:01 +0000

Source: imgur via Reddit

This man is doing things right. If your collection can be only 2 deep (and, obviously, with a budget), it’s hard to argue with these choices. This owner is a fan of driving, and I mean that in the Biblical sense. Two of the strongest players in the world of driver feedback and interaction are Lotus and Porsche. Owning one of these can mark you as a person proficient in the arts of heel-toe.

But… it can also mean you’re just good at following the Joneses, or maybe that you can read magazines. It could mean -and we’ve all seen it before- you’re a poser. (A good hint that someone is a poser is if they tell you what a magazine said about the car, and thus supporting their purchase, before they tell what they themselves love about it.)

But to own both? You are a connoisseur. You take a break from your medium-fast, feedback-full Lotus by driving your medium-fast, feedback-full Porsche. You’re someone who goes home from your job as a logger and cuts trees to relax. This man is a genius, and we should make him president of the NHTSA. Bravo, Sir. Want to be friends?

This 9-cyl. motorcycle is Engine Swap Supremacy [VIDEO]

Zack K — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:28:27 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Yup, that’s motorcycle with an airplane engine. A 9-cylindered airplane engine. Automotive engine swaps are great, but there’s an added level of difficulty with bikes. I imagine the concerns with packaging, fitment, and balance increase with the deletion of two wheels, no? And the wires and special fabrication required for a swap can be hidden by a hood (or, if you’re Lexus, by an engine cover the size of the hood), but on a bike the engine is out in the open, so not only do you have to make it work, you have to figure out how to make it look tidy too.

The first king of the bike swap was the Boss Hoss, the motorcycle that puts a V8 between your legs; ‘Merica. That is insane from a power-to-safety perspective. This bike though – and no offense to the Boss Hoss people – looks like a greater challenge. 9 cylinders, a radial layout, huge circumference, a prop shaft, oh my. The V8 swap uses an engine that’s at least meant to propel something on the ground. This is similar to powering an ATV with an out-board boat motor. Like cross-breeding a bird and a dog, there had to be unique challenges. The result is a very cool bike that looks as hard to ride as it would be to build. Your soon-to-be-gone-leg sits inches above the drive belt, there’s probably inertia thrown every which way, and it’s big. But as the rules of engine swaps dictate, the more difficult it is to use, the cooler it is.

Source: motorrad via Road & Track

Ferrari Crash Offers Reality Check, we Decline [video]

Zack K — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:04:39 +0000

By Zack Klapman

When we film the things we do, we’re often in places that normal people would refer to as “dangerous”: the sides of a road, climbing a hill with a tripod over our shoulder, laying down in the apex of a corner, etc. There’s a little adrenaline kick from the risk, but we do it because it’s necessary, and (most importantly) we trust each other. If I lay down in the road, I completely believe Matt will not lose control and hit me.

But things are different at an open race track, with drivers you’ve never met, skill levels that vary like an open mic night, or cars that sometimes just freakishly go wrong.

This video, of a Ferrari 458 slamming a wall at the Suzuka Circuit (both the driver and side worker are ok), was emailed around to us by /DRIVE C.O.O. JF Musial, reminding us of the risks we sometimes too-carelessly take, and the danger we are actually in. I pass it to you with the same caution: Cars are fun, we love being around them, and doing extreme things in them is part of the fun. Everyone has a camera now, and everyone is making videos, but before you go and stand in the street to film a drag race, or offer up your knees as the clipping point at an amateur drift night, think about what happens when a big piece of metal going very, very fast, hits something.

We’re not going to stop filming, and putting ourselves in “dangerous” situations, but we accept that this could happen. Make sure you are too, or just get a zoom lens.

TST Podcast #70: “Hot Dog Based Economy”

Zack K — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:05:05 +0000

The crew is back! Thaddeus is back from his top-secret automotive job and Tom is back from filming IMSA, so it’s a TST party. We had a lot to talk about: The new Aston Martin Vanquish. How was the turbo-charged 425HP Crawford Subaru BRZ (see the video here)? What’s the best way to spend $10,000-30,000 on a free C6 Corvette? How little we think we want to meet the narcissistic owner of the Lamborghini Egoista, and a barrel of other stuff.

Go to our Shout Engine page to download the podcast from RSS, raw MP3, and iTunes.

The Smoking Tire Podcast

[VIDEO] Chris Forsberg Formula D Helmet Cam

Zack K — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:44:59 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Who doesn’t love a helmet cam? It shows us how a driver moves his hands, where he’s looking, how the wheel reacts, how firm the suspension is, and how damn loud it can be inside a fully-built race car. This one is from Chris Forsberg‘s practice runs at Formula D Atlanta, 2013. From pulling out of the pits, to warm-up burnouts (which apparently need to be 30 minutes long, minimum), to a full run, it’s like gluing your eyes and ears to his helmet and saying, “Ok Chris, show me how you do this whole slidey thing.” Note the smoothness with which he runs the course; once in the slide he just makes small steering adjustments. It’s like ballet….if it were being done in a room full of chainsaws.

Source: Chris Forsberg Racing

Nic Cage still needs money [VIDEO]

Zack K — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:52:36 +0000

“Ergh, these taxes are giving me an ulcer or something.”

By Zack Klapman

Welcome back to Cage Watch 2013, where we keep an eye on how Nic Cage will offend the motoring public on screen, solely so that he can avoid bankruptcy. This all started in 2011, when he starred in the long-form YouTube video known as Drive Angry. During screenings, producers of Fast Five marveled at the liberties taken with the laws of physics and realism, quoted as saying, “I know we had Paul Walker survive an 8,000 ft. fall into a river, and we dragged a safe weighing as much as the moon by cop cars, but this is ridiculous.” Of note were the special effects, done by recent elementary school graduates.

And so began our task of monitoring Nic as he swims against the current of completely-avoidable financial ruin by starring in questionable automotive-inclined productions.

A breaking story today as Nic stars in Town of Car Legends, a Chinese commercial for the Chinese-made, Saab-based Senova D Series. Apparently, Saab overseas got a lot of features we didn’t. The one Nic drives can pop up onto two wheels just be downshifting. American cars require a ramp for the same maneuver, damn government infringing on our rights…

The video features every car cliche you could think of:

1. The story is merely a backdrop for stunts- Actually, in this case, it’s indiscernible. Cage runs from people, who turn out to be smiling women, and is then welcomed into what looks like a church community. Ok then.

2. There is a J turn- Of course there is. Does the hero car drive in reverse, yet out-run the forward-moving bad guys? You betcha!

3. There’s drifting- Which is accentuated by the car striking an arc of plastic barriers, perfectly. “Put a slide in there, the kids love sliding cars.” This reminds me of Acura’s commercial starring their very FWD wagon drifting a U-turn. Another option we didn’t get here.

4. The cars sound nothing like they sound- The Senova D series is offered with a 1.8, 2.0, or 2.3 liter four-banger. The cars in the video sound an S500. Another cool feature we were forbidden from. Damn NHTSA…

5. Unrealistic Shifting- Let’s break down the shifts:

- Shift #1 Nic pulls the shifter back (like you would from 3-4, or R to D), and accelerates away from bad guy #1. Ok, so that’s the magical gear to accelerate, agreed? Excellent.

- Shift#2 he pulls it the same way and it kicks him up on the two left wheels? noted. Ohhhh kay… maybe it’s like Cruisin’ USA, where the gas pedal does everything, that would make sense.

- Shift #3, he spins around and pushes the lever forward, presumably into rever-WAIT A SECOND. He pushes the shifter TO the same spot he pulled it FROM in the previous shifts! Which would mean he had the car in reverse during those stunts! Shenanigans! Shennnnnannnigannnns!

But the buying public isn’t as nerdy as I, and they’ll be captivated by the always-concerned face of National Treasure (Or as I call it, generic-brand rip-off of Indiana Jones), making this a success, and keeping ol’ furrowed brow out of the poor house.

Source: Autoblog

TUNED: Long-time coming- Turbo BRZ from Crawford

Zack K — Mon, 13 May 2013 20:30:57 +0000

By Zack Klapman

The Subaru BRZ/FR-S. The instant-celebrities of Autowood. The build-up was huge and they didn’t disappoint. All of TST loves them: 3 of us would by one, if any funds were available.

The stock car’s 200HP sounds weak, but the car is still an absolute blast. It’s quick enough, and it does everything else so well, you let that go. It’s the best dad in the world, despite his Asperger syndrome. What if a company could fix that genetic defect? I’m not talking about Subaru; their BRZ STI vaccine is still years away. We need a cure now. So we went to legendary Subie tuner, Crawford. They build Ken Block’s first Gymkhana car, have won plenty of time attacks and tuner shootouts, and will sell you a build badass race motor for all your Impreza needs. Who better to stick a turbo on a BRZ?

We have showcased a turbo FR-S before: the VCMC Scion, but that car had “only” 350HP, but it was a race car with a wider stance and super sticky tires. This is a street car, and the air was cooler. The result is quite ridiculous: 400+HP + <2,800lbs = fast. But the number that really struck me is this: 500ft-lbs of torque. Moving a car this light, it promised to be a spectacle. Jump to watch.

Source: /DRIVE NETWORK

Follow on Twitter: @thesmokingtire @drive @zackklapman

Help! Protect the Podcast!

Zack K — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:49:29 +0000

By Zack Klapman

“When they came for the knitting podcast, I said nothing. When they came for that other podcast I don’t listen to, I said nothing. And then they came for TST, and it was too late.” (Or something like that.)

Many of you are fans of our podcast, drinking our ramblings through your ear holes weekly. We love making it, and you guys have all been great about supporting it, reviewing it on iTunes, and (most importantly) sharing it with friends. Podcasts are a great medium to be in, whether as a listener or a broadcaster. The same way the digital camera and YouTube took away the power of TV and opened the door so anyone can make a show/movie/cat video, podcasts are doing the same in regards to audio. I subscribe to about 12 different podcasts, which cater to my interests in science, cars, comedy, music, and even sex. You can find a podcast on any subject your heart desires, and there’s no censorship, no FCC, no rules about how long to talk about each subject, no pitch meeting to sell your idea to a station. Hell, you could go here, and start a podcast about what shoes you’re wearing.

BUT, there are some assholes trying to shut it down.

A company called Personal Audio is what we refer to as a “patent troll“. Basically, they are suing podcasters over a very loosely defined patent they’ve never actually implemented. Companies like this file a patent, sit on it forever, and when they see a business that kinda sorta uses a part of what they sorta patented but never used, they sue. If you invented the spoon, they’d find a way to sue you for creating a hand-held object.

Adam Carolla has had to deal with this, but luckily for him, he has the money to fight. Most other podcasts don’t, which is why we are supporting a new piece of legislation called the Shield Act.

The organization eff.org is helping build the support for the bill. Here’s how they describe the situation:

“The SHIELD Act (H.R. 845), introduced into the House by Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), is the first bill of its kind to target nasty patent trolls.

Patent trolls are entities that don’t create anything themselves, but instead buy up patents and use them offensively. Making broad claims of infringement based on patents of questionable validity is the troll’s favorite move. Most defendants choose to settle because patent litigation is risky and expensive—and trolls offer settlement amounts that, although still incredibly burdensome, are far cheaper than a lawsuit. Businesses who are targeted—including cafés running Wi-Fi and podcasters—lose both time and money, and innovation suffers.

The SHIELD Act spears patent trolls’ incentives right through the heart: if a patent troll sues someone, they better believe that the defendant actually infringes a valid patent. If not, the troll could be on the hook for the winning party’s full litigation costs, which often stretch into the millions of dollars.

This “fee shifting” system would empower innovators to fight back, while discouraging trolls from threatening lawsuits to start.”

If you feel inclined, please go to eff.org and fill out the automated letter, which will be sent to your local legislator. We aren’t trying to start a divisive political movement, play politics, support/denounce a Change movement, or anything like that (It’s actually being introduced by a Republican AND Democrat, together. I know, right?!). We feel this is something that everyone can get behind, and as fans of the work we do, something you guys might be willing to help with. If you don’t feel comfortable with it, no worries, we’re still friends.

If you want to help keep podcasts alive, and more importantly, prevent ANY kind of patent trolling in the future, go to the link, fill out the quick info, and hit send. Thank you.

Stop Patent Trolls

Video: Here’s How We Film Cars

Matt — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:04:17 +0000

So many of you ask so frequently about equipment and how we get the shots that we get when out filming cars, so we decided to film a mini-behind the scenes video to share with you some (but not all) of the gear we use. Happy Friday!

[VIDEO] One Take: Cadillac ATS 3.6 Review

Zack K — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:12:43 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Reading a spec sheet or a press release is like reading the cover page on a 1,000-page bill. For example, “Attracts new wildlife to the area, using green technology and curbing existing environmental threats to the area.” Sounds good right? But turn the pages and you will learn it really means: Attracting fire-breathing dragons (for tourist reasons) by capturing wild boar and hanging them from their tails on various bridges and high-rise apartment buildings.

Stats, specs, press releases, optimism oozes out of them like grease from a sizzling burger. Read the press copy about a Tata and you will think it is as smart and virile as a 22 year-old Italian physicist.

Take the Cadillac ATS: On paper it has leather, paddle shifter, an potent V6 engine, and perfect 50/50 weight distribution. It has breakthrough tech, good looks, and a chassis by the geniuses at GM. Good characteristics to have in a car. Most people will read those specs and interpret them in the best light possible, “I liked the leather in that vintage Ferrari I saw once> so I like leather> this has leather>this car is good.”

But the truth always lies in a drive. How do all the pieces work together? Which pieces work as advertised, which fall behind, and do any outperform our expectations. The Cadillac ATS is a perfect example of this, and really, really surprised us. Jump for the video to see the where, how, and why.

Source: The Smoking Tire on YouTube

[video] This X Games Detroit Bid is saaahweet

Zack K — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:02:59 +0000

By Zack Klapman

We love the X Games. Football, baseball, basketball? They get the same attention Donald Trump gives to a 7-11 clerk. These are not our kind of sport. Packs of compact cars sliding through city streets. Guys hurling themselves over 80-foot jumps on bicycles, skateboards, dirt bikes. Psychos of physics and dexterity kick-flipping onto-or off of- metal tubes. These are the sports enjoyed by TST. The misfits of competition are our friends. If we had bigger balls, we’d be one of them.

For the last few years, the summer X Games has been held on the ~~beautiful~~ streets of Los Angeles. But all good things must come to an end, so for 2014 the X Games will be held somewhere else. “Where” is the question. The X Games people are probably pitching it to several cities, but after this video illustrating the bid for Detroit, it has our vote. A city with history, industry, strong people. A place badly in need of a pick-me-up, and the money this event brings in.

This bid video, featuring rallying, skateboarding, BMW air and dirt bike shenanigans, reminded me of what the X Games came out of. Airing down an 11-stair in front of a city building, security guards probably scrambling to kick you out. Turning a crumbled building into a kicker. Locals pulling their own dirt bikes out and stunting down the highway. Donuts in a parking lot, drifting around municipal art. Just kicking around the city looking for obstacles, turning your environment into a playground. That’s where the X Games began. Before there were wooden BMW parks, before Gymkhana was a word, before double-backflips off perfect metal ramps, there were just people trying to have fun, using the world around them. It’s the soul of the X Games, and no place has soul like Motown. Jump to watch the video.

Source: X Games Detroit via Nino Cutraro

Our VCMC Scion gets it’s Drift Comp on [video]

Zack K — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:10:23 +0000

By Zack Klapman

If you don’t know who Team VCMC is, they’re the crazy people who trailored their turbo-charged, sticky tired and giant-wing-ed Scion FR-S 1,454 miles down to Chuckwalla, just to let Matt test it on TUNED. Then, the same night we wrapped, they jumped in the truck to drive alllll the way back up. Who doesn’t love Canadians?!

While standing in the pits watching Matt fly past Lemons cars (they were testing), team driver Richard Basford explained that they built this car to compete in the Scion Tuner Challenge. (Go to the VCMC team page to read about the car, the challenges of Gymkhana, and more.)

The Tuner Challenge consists of 11 challenges: Auto-X, Driving Skills, Gymkhana, Drifting, Ice Racing, Media Challenge, Time Attack, Drag Racing, Endurance, Show & Shine, and lastly, the People’s Choice (you can vote here). If you’re curious about Richard’s qualifications, he’s a national Auto-X champion, 2003 Canadian Nationals C-Stock Champion, 2003 Rookie of the Year, and 2011 VCMC Competitor of the Year. Oh, and he competes in drifting and gymkhana. Because of this, I have recently hired the drop-outs from Face Off to make me a Richard Basford disguise, so I can steal his life.

Only 3 teams compete, including one team- Team Swag- manned by former Canadian Touring driver-turned- pro drifter Dany “Babu” Bernie. Tough competition, but it’s a good year for the VCMC boys.

The video below is of the drifting event (which happened before they put the turbo on). The course was a mix of tight transitions and big sweepers, challenging the drivers trying to ride the wall as close as possible before whipping back around a tight clipping point. Check out the brave camera man in the pic above. Wonder if he knows that plastic barrier can withstand a car like tissue paper blocking a baseball? People are predicting “Babu” to win this one, because he’s a pro, but in a competition, you never know… Jump to watch.

In case you missed Matt’s test of the turbo Scion FR-S, here it is:

Source: Team VCMC

(VIDEO) TUNED is BACK: 1985 Porsche 911 “Project Nasty”

Zack K — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:23:30 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Today, the majority of tuner press is given to cars with massive power. BRABUS this, G-Power that. 4-digit power numbers get the same reaction as you give someone who tells you they bought a pool table “Oh? Nice.” We’re guilty of it too, with many of our previous videos looking like a runway shootout.

But what would you want in your garage? What if you were Joey Seely, of BBi Autosport, and you’ve seen and driven every Porsche under the sun? What if you were a person who is around standing mile cars all the time? Who has his hands wrist-deep in 997 turbo-upgrades every day? What would you build when the novelty of huge un-usable power has grown stale?

You build a 1985 Porsche 911 that weighs 2,300lb, has 275WHP, and is as raw as a deer splattering on a truck’s grill. This car is timeless, offering a compilation of sensations and noises that lift it above the quest for speed, and it is one of our favorite cars of ever. Jump to watch.

Thanks to Joey Seely of BBi Autosport for loaning us his car.

(VIDEO) Rotary Drifting vs Helicopter

Zack K — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:08:19 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Here we are, kicking our asses trying raise our video game, and then Red Bull has to come in and lift the bar with a weather balloon. Is that a helicopter insanely close to a guard rail? Of course it is. Did they shut down New Zealand’s 47-turn, 6.5 mile Crown Range so that rotary-power fiend and professional drifter “Mad Mike” Whiddett could noisily slide his 750HP RX-7, laying strips of black stuff and ripping at 143MPH through hay fields? Of course they did. Does it look like more fun than you or I will ever get to have in our lives? You know the answer.

Jump to watch yet another bag of amazing video from (what I consider) the best action sports video team in the world.

FULL DESCRIPTION:

“The Crown Range, New Zealand. 47 corners, 1076 metres elevation, 10.4km long. The country’s highest paved roadway. For a moment in time it belongs to one man, Mike Whiddett. The moment will become, the drive of a lifetime.

The former state highway cuts a path between Queenstown and Wanaka. It is a short cut, which has long been a route for travellers. The first track dates back to the early gold rush days. The road now is still one of the most demanding and technical drives of the country.

The drive for Mike Whiddett will be challenging and faster than most. For the first time in NZ motorsport history, the road has been closed across three sections for a unique filming opportunity. The New Zealand-based international drift driver has a chance to push his bespoke quad-rotor rotary engine car to new limits on a completely clear road. The road closure signs are rolled out; it is time for Mad Mike to Conquer the Crown.

On paper, the first section of the road appears to be the trickiest. Seven consecutive hairpin turns on a near-vertical mountainside climb give the Switchbacks their name. The second section is all about speed. Whiddett pulls sixth gear along the Crown Terrace and winds the Mazda RX7′s 750 horsepower engine out to its redline. He hits 232km/h before slowing, fleetingly pulling on the handbrake to lock the rear wheels before stomping back on the accelerator. The tyres erupt back into a spinning frenzy; black marks the bitumen. This is drifting nirvana in its purest form.

The run up to the Crown Summit is a fusion of high, medium and low speed bends, created to attack sideways. With barriers flanking the road at one side and exposed banks at the other, it mimics the mountain touge roads that the Japanese forefathers of the sport originally, and illicitly, ran by moonlight. The margin for error is slim here, but Whiddett never backs off as the final forty-seventh corner passes by in a blur.

“I think drifters have an innate ability to slip from reality when driving up a road like the Crown Range in normal circumstances. We imagine drifting through the turns, the gear changes, the footwork, the hand brake and of course stomping on the gas. So for me, having the opportunity to get behind the wheel of my machine, push it to the limit and conquer the Crown is a dream turned into a reality,” says Whiddett.

The Crown: conquered.”

Source: Red Bull

Drifting the SLS Electric (video)

Zack K — Fri, 03 May 2013 21:29:32 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Electric cars have split the automotive fan base. Some people think electric cars are inevitable, some think an alternative fuel will ultimately take over, and some people think they are super-weak-Obama-sauce-ghey-TTV8ftmfw. If you still believe electric cars can only be boring pills like a Prius, you have had your head in the sand for the last few years. My I introduce the 918 Spyder (hybrid), the Audi e-tron, the EV West M3, and now, the Mercedes SLS Electric.

Yes, the first electric cars were boring, but the world’s car makers know that boring doesn’t sell. AMG sells cars that are exciting and dynamic, and now they have an electric car. It won’t have the famous AMG sound (and sound is a big part of a car’s allure and sex appeal), but they that all the other qualities are there. Qualities like 740HP, and 1000 Nm of torque.

All well and good on paper, but Chris Harris had to go find out if an electric super car is a super car, or just a Prius in a sexy dress. Jump to watch.

Follow everyone on Twitter:

@thesmokingtire @zackklapman @harrismonkey @drive

The vibe in a SNT Motorsports car is “violence”

Zack K — Fri, 03 May 2013 20:13:47 +0000

By Zack Klapman

We power towards the chicane. The front tire hits the curbing, lifting the right side of the car off the ground, while the world explodes behind us, and with that, I am laughing and clapping like a chimpanzee.

I’m sitting on a plane, flying from Phoenix to Texas. We just finished filming Corey Hosford’s 800HP drift car for /TUNED, and we’re now on our way to film at Hennessey. My body feels totally depleted. The “why” is that, after shooting all of yesterday, we went out to the bars with Corey and Dustin Millard (Corey’s best friend, hetero life-mate, and employee of Corey’s sponsor K-Sport).

They do this shit all the time. ALL the time, cameras or not.

No one has more fun than these dudes, no one.

Example: We’re standing at the classiest bar around, The Tilted Kilt: Hooters for the wannabe Irish. Dustin is wearing (along with a t-shirt bearing his face and airbrushed canvas shoes) a fanny pack. It’s leather, and has a built-in bottle holder. A mesh one, like you’d find on the side of a backpack, except this one is almost hanging between his legs, holding a cold bottle of Coors Light. It’s a modern codpiece and he is standing in a way that presents it aggressively to any passersby.

Tonight those passersby are the waitresses. Some of the girls working there understand the game of their job, handling drunk come-ons with a fake smile and a real eye-roll, hopefully paying for school to get the fuck on with life. And some think this job is super cool. As they walk by past us their eyes stare at the door to their destination (the kitchen) like refugees running to an Embassy. They stride like the T1000 with tits, their eyes saying”Please-don’t-hit-on-me-please-don’t-hit-on-me-holy-shit-these-guys-are-losers.”

“Guess who made thiry-one thousand dollars last year? Yup. This guy. NBD.”

Dustin Millard, ladies and gentlemen.

“I started the Twinkie company. Built it up, sold it early, boom, out, 15 grand.”

We ended up at a Scottsdale bar where Dustin and Corey have carte blanche and the keys to open bar kingdom. Double Grey Goose? Free! Shots? Free! Champagne with said bar’s owner, after shots? Free! And like that, it’s on. Dance battle Dustin on an empty floor, a smattering of girls (some of whom are shake-your-head-to-see-if-you’re-dreaming hot, partial thanks to Maybelliene and saline) blankly watching? Hell yes!

Puke upon exiting the minivan at the hotel…. unfortunately.

But here I sit awake, because, earlier today, I went for a ride around a Bondurant road course in a 650hp SNT Motorsports stock car driven by Chris Cook. He is professional Nations Sprint Cup driver and the instructor for SNT. He teaches people how to race stock cars. Legit, full-out, this-is-not-a-drill NASCAR-caliber cars. Those 3 fast laps, 4 hours ago, have set my adrenaline feed on “Continual” mode. I AM AWAKE.

The how.

We’re standing around the track, bullshitting about our night. Matt and Thad have looked better. We have 4 hours before we need to leave for the airport with nothing to do. Right now, everyone seems really content with the activity “stay still”.

Miraculously, I feel pretty good. How? I vaguely remember drinking a lot of hotel water from the faucet, gross but necessary. I remember waking up at 8am, my body screaming at my brain “Liquids and nutrients immediately or we die.” I shuffled to a gas station for nourishment like Tom Hanks killing food for survival in Castaway. It worked. No headache even. Weird.

We lean against the pit wall. Shade is our friend.

Then we hear a car start, a loud one. It’s an SNT race car, idling before testing. Such noise. I have my disdain my NASCAR racing, but it’s about the circles and select fans. I have no beef with a loud car that goes 200MPH. It’s that exhaust note every race car shares, be it rally, F1, or NASCAR; It’s the sound of purpose. “I am a race car, that’s it. No commuting, no “track day”. I am top shelf, big trailer, sponsors, step aside children.”

“Where’s he going to drive it?” I ask.

“On the road course, right here” says Corey.

“Huh.” I reply.

Chris pulls out of the pit and it sounds like the car’s open exhaust was filled with munitions, nowexploding with each rev. He hits the gas and roars out of sight. We’re standing at a K-rail along the straight, at the end of a long, sweeping left-hander. We hear the noise coming back. The car flies up a hill with a crazy, angry, incessant roar. At the top of the hill is a small chicane. Chris clips the curbing with the right tires, and the stiffness and speed of the car becomes evident.

“Uh, those wheels just came off the ground a little.”

He comes around the corner floating on the rear tires, truly balanced right at the limit of traction. Behind him I see his tires are laying even strips of dark rubber. Want to know the racing line? Follow those two new black marks. I expressed my amazement with a lot of “Adult language.” Over and over he rounded the corner, the car loudly fidgeting like a robotic greyhound dragging its master.

A few laps later he pulled back in. Corey, ever the good host, said, “Want to for a ride in it?” Matt and Thad understandably said “negative”. (Hungover? How about a ride in a race car? Yeah! Let’s put you in a paint mixer and put it by a speaker at a Metallica concert.)

But I felt ok, so HELL to the YES.

The preliminaries were expected: put on helmet, climb in window, put on harness. When a car has a net for a window, it won’t have a 3-point seat belt.

The inside is all race car, because this is a race car. Chris Cook runs SNT Motorsport, which offers everything from ride-a-longs to professional-level racing schools. Anyone from dreaming newbs to established racers come to Chris to experience and perfect their skills. And I was about to see how much finesse and skill is involved in taming one of these caverns of noise. Chris jumps in the car and starts it.

The vibe in the car is “violence”.

Vi-o-lence. My eyes get wide and I start to laugh. Loud? Duh. How loud? Put on a monster truck jam, turn the volume all the way up and glue your ear to the speaker. It’s very raw, but you can tell that the engine is made of the lightest and slickest stuff around. The exhaust doesn’t just echo in the cabin, it is the cabin. You sit in that soup of noise, so thick and constant you are breathing it.

This was taken BEFORE we set off.

I watch Chris blip the throttle, the engine responding instantly, like hitting a piano key. “Ready?” Thumbs up and we’re away.

The second we’re past the pits, he hits the gas and I am a leaf on a tidal wave. The noise increases like you un-muted Metallica, there’s barely any squat, just go. My eyes double in size and I realize I am in for a fucking ride.

First big corner is a sweeping left and I watch Chris’ feet (you can learn something from any pro, at any moment). He modulates the gas with his toe with subtlety and deftness I didn’t know was possible, especially while going around a corner at speed. I’m pushed hard to the outside, and then I see the turn, the uphill right from earlier. We power towards the chicane with explosive acceleration, and i have no idea what’s over the hill. He arcs right, the front tire hits the curbing, lifting the right side of the car off the ground, while the world explodes behind us, and with that, I am laughing and clapping like a chimpanzee.

(Little confession: in situations like this I can turn into a kid. I have made engine noises while riding in race cars. Yes I know they have their own engine sound.)

We round the left-hander, sliding onto the straight. The feeling inside the car while it tracks out, laying black behind us, is amazing; simultaneous loss of traction and forward propulsion. Afterwards, Chris would say the tires were shot and I was experiencing “No grip.” I did not get that impression at the time. Looking back on it, it was sliding more than other track cars, but I just assumed it was how the car was set up. And I just love cars slipping, playing at the edge, so to me, it was perfect.

We go around again, and he’s going faster. Around the left again, we’re exiting the corner with constant wiggles and corrections, the pit K-rail gets closer closer closercloser, there’s MattTomThadCoreyDustin RAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYEEOWWWwwwwwwwwww and they’re behind us as we fly toward the downhill curves.

Approaching a medium left, I firmly believe we will fly off the track. We are going too fast. This person next to me hath fucked up. I look ahead to see what we’ll flip into: tires and a lot of sand. We’ll live, but no way this has the kind of grip to make thi-oh my godddddddd! It sticks, and well.

Again, Chris toes the gas like he’s gently waking a lion. He is human traction control. Imperceptible adjustments so tiny and perfect you wouldn’t notice if you weren’t looking. I’m clapping like a chimp again, and my voice is getting hoarse from laughing so hard. I’m ready for the jicane (jump+chicane) this time, and clench my fists and shout “Yahhhhh!!” as we hit it; like Stephen, the ‘mad’ Irishman from Braveheart who enjoyed battle a little too much. Go go go go go! Corners, drifts, light braking; all his inputs are done smoother than me putting on pants.

In 3 laps, it’s over. My voice is wrecked, my heart is pounding. I feel like I just got out of a mosh pit at Pennywise; that cocktail of euphoria and adrenaline that causes people to talk extra loud for the next hour, to anyone, about what they did.

“Here’s your boarding pass Mr. Klapman.”

“Thanks, cool. Dude, I rode in this race car earlier, and it was NUTS!”

I exit the car and stare at it in wonder. It was, no joke, one of the most memorable experiences of my entire life.

Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

I have -and will continue- to talk a lot of shit about NASCAR, because I hate the tracks and 400 laps.

But the cars? Incredible. Fantastic. Great. On our quest for visceral experiences and excitement they give it all: Sound, speed, handling, wow factor. They’re not limited to circles; I’ve seen these cars run at the Mojave Mile and win the Silver State Classic (217MPH anyone?). Sometimes we forget they are race cars, and are capable of doing a lot more than turning left. They’re don’t have the electronic wizardry of an F1 car, but isn’t wizardry why people shit on the GT-R, and why the value of old Porsches is jumping? The SNT Motorsport car is the automotive equivalent of the purest heroin. In fact, just riding in that car was more fun than driving half the cars I did last year.

If you can, I highly, highly suggest you experience one of these cars, one way or another. The prices range from $200 for ride-a-long, $750 for the “Driving Experience”, $1,500 for a 20 lap class teaching core racing skill, to $9,000 for the full-day Advanced Stock Car Program (for licensed racers only). (To put this in perspective, a full day of the Cadillac V-Series Academy at Spring Mountain costs about $1,500 bucks, and these SNT cars cost a lot more to run and maintain.)

Check out SNT Motorsports here.

Big thanks to Chris, Dustin and Corey for showing me there’s other activities in AZ besides “Catch the brown guy”.

Hooniverse Podcast #9 with TST’s Zack Klapman

Zack K — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:42:11 +0000

If you’re a fan of our own podcast, then you have heard the voice of Hooniverse headmaster, Jeff Glucker, many, many, many, many….many times. He has his own podcast now. Each episode is about 45 minutes and follows a structure, covering new cars, old cars, garage projects, and current press cars.

It’s usually co-hosted by departed TST slave, Blake Z. Rong. But Blake was out of town doing something super cool that real journalists get to do, like test the softness of mink underwear while riding in an Audi driven by Jesus. So, The Hooniverse podcast graciously invited TST’s resident sarcasm farmer, Zack Klapman, to fill Blake’s shoes for the day. Zack just got back from the WAJ Media Days, hosted at Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca. That means he got to drive a ton of cars (including the new Viper, Jeep SRT8, and Camaro 1LE) around one of the world’s greatest tracks.

You can download it in all the popular electronic forms right here.

Follow everyone on Twitter, it saves whales:

@thesmokingtire @zackklapman @TheHooniverse

Award-worthy Snow Driving Porn (video)

Zack K — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:02:33 +0000

By Zack Klapman

I miss the snow. Anytime the clouds gently mist onto Los Angeles streets like an old man coughing, I think back to watching snow fall like a mesmerized 6 year old. I wasn’t excited the way a skier is stoked that there could be freshy freshies brah, no I was hoping it would snow enough to the cover parking lots. Drifting through powder in a lot or on a back road is one of my favorite things in the world. More than snowboarding, great food, or hand jobs.

Because I live in a place where the weather got stuck buffering, I have to live vicariously through the snow shenanigans of others – know what let’s just call it porn. I watch snow porn. There I said it. Feels good to say it out loud…

Since it’s porn to me, I can say I give this clip of professional mountain biker Guido Tschugg sliding his Evo gets a 4 tissue rating. Shot and edited very well by Mario Feil, and aided by an RC helicopter, the shots of Guido arcing across untouched roads and snowy plains is just awesome. It’s an incredible vantage point we rarely see. Jump to watch.

EVO – Guido Tschugg from Mario Feil on Vimeo.

Source: Mario Feil

TST Podcast episode #68: Pro drifter Kyle Mohan

Zack K — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:32:12 +0000

Pro drifter Kyle Mohan and motorsports manager Efrain Olivares join us to talk about golf accidents, drinking at Road Atlanta, ridiculously powerful rotary engines, the Toyata Pro/Celebrity race at Long Beach, hovercrafts and old Ford SHOs.

Jump to download the podcast.

iTunes, RSS and raw MP3 are all right here.

So, You Want to Race Cheap Cars. Which Series Do You Choose?

Matt — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:00:01 +0000

I’m not really the patriotic type, but for all the Euro-centric automotive action that manages to find its way into media headlines, for all the ranting and raving on forums, bitching how “Europe gets all the best cars,” America is possibly the best place on Earth to be a gearhead. Our fuel is (relatively) cheap, we have more miles of roads than anywhere else in the world as well as the freedom to drive thousands of miles completely uninterrupted, through every state in the Union . It’s also the best place on Earth to be a budget racer, as we have not one but two racing series dedicated to shitboxes.

Now, all racing is expensive. Even if you don’t include the car, racing is expensive. You have to get to the track, which is almost certainly in the middle of nowhere, get hotels, eat, pay for fuel, tires, and at least $1,000 worth of personal safety equipment. It’s not exactly the same thing as buying a basketball and a pair of sneakers, but the 24 Hours of Lemons and the ChumpCar World Series are the two least expensive forms of road-course based motorsports you can do. I’ve raced in three 24 Hours of Lemons races and judged one, and now, after completing my first ChumpCar race (thanks to the kind folks at Optima Batteries and FM3 Marketing), am hear to tell you the differences between the two.

In order to better organize the comparison, as well as my own thoughts, I’ve broken it down into categories; the things I look for in a cheap racing series.

Full Disclosure: As title sponsor for the ChumpCar World Series, Optima funds a race car as well as

provides reconditioned Optima Batteries for every car in the series. They wanted me to write about their car

and the series so bad, they offered me a seat in the race car, free of charge. I paid my own way to Wisconsin.

The Cars

The rules governing entering a car into either series are very similar: The car must be worth $500 or less and must pass tech inspection. That means a full roll cage, professional-grade racing seat and harnesses, a fire suppression system, emergency cutoff switches, and battery tie downs. Safety equipment, wheels, and tires have an unlimited budget for both racing series. This stuff can add up very quickly, so if you’re not creative with how you source your gear, your $500 race car can (and often does) turn into a $5,000 race car.

In the 24 Hours of Lemons (hereafter referred to as just Lemons), each car is scrutinized by safety inspectors as well as the traditional “BS Inspection,” where, under assumption everyone is cheating their $500 valuation, competitors are encouraged to bribe judges with booze and random automotive memorabilia in exchange for leaving off a few penalty laps. ChumpCar’s inspection process is similar, minus the bribery, and they offer a list of “accepted $500 cars,” which, when raced stock, will automatically be approved. Neither our automatic, non-turbo 1993 Nissan 300ZX nor the 1999 Honda Civic SI with B16 swap were assigned penalty laps when we raced them at Lemons, but the Optima Batteries/FM3 1985 Mustang GT was assigned 2 penalty laps at Road America. Some super-cheaters, such as a 2004 Pontiac GTO I’ve seen on track, are assigned hundreds, thousands, or, to prove a point, millions of penalty laps at Lemons, or, in the case of ChumpCar, are entered into an “Exhibition Class,” consisting of cars that are crap, but not quite crap enough to race against our proper shitboxes. In either case, if you bring a car that’s just too damn fast, they will find a way to keep you from winning. If you’re good enough at convincing the marshalls that your car is slow, you may have a shot.

Having a terrible interior helps.

The biggest difference between the cars at Lemons and ChumpCar is that in Lemons, creativity is encouraged and rewarded. People turn cars into anything. I’ve seen race cars that look like boats, campers, planes, trucks moving in reverse, and more. The crazier the theme, the more likely you are to win an award for such a theme. In ChumpCar, for the most part, the cars look like cars. Sure, there are plenty of tacky spoilers, faux body kits, and kammback tails, but at my first ChumpCar race at Road America, all the cars looked like cars.

In both series, BMW’s seriously dominate. All three Lemons races I’ve raced in were won by BMW’s, as well as the one Chump race. I wouldn’t be surprised if the rise of these two series has driven up the value of used E30′s and six-cylinder E36′s by at least 30-40%. Even our modified, V8 powered Mustang didn’t stand a chance against the BMW’s. Lemons has a specific anti-E30 penalty; automatically assigning penalty laps just for showing up with one. ChumpCar doesn’t, which is why some refer to it as “spec-E30″ racing.

The biggest difference is that Lemons actively encourages people to bring the worst cars possible. There is a section of “wanted cars” on their web site, and none of those cars are anything I’d like to compete in. But Lemons’ highest prize is the Index of Effluency, for doing the best in the worst possible car. In ChumpCar, oddballs, engine swaps, and bizarre engineering solutions are encouraged, but ultimately, people bring cars they want to win a race, not just to loaf around the track for 24 hours and claim a prize for bringing something particularly awful.

Honestly, ChumpCar’s trophies are better too.

The Tracks

Both series’ offer a huge amount of races per year, spread all throughout the country. The tracks range from world famous speedways like Daytona and Charlotte, to renowned road courses like Sebring, VIR, and Road Atlanta, to smaller tracks like Altamont and Thunderhill. I’ve spoken at length about racing Lemons at Reno-Fernley, Chuckwalla, and Sonoma Raceway, and, although they were all fun, nothing compared to my first ChumpCar race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Road America has nearly everything I look for in a race track. It’s long at 4+ miles, fast, with three straightaways, and has long sweepers, tight hairpins, and plenty of elevation change. It also has one thing that I’m not looking for at a race track: snow. Yes, I know it’s Wisconsin in April, but when you show up to tech and there is snow accumulating on your spoiler, that’s probably not good.

This is not a good sign from the race gods.

Both Lemons and ChumpCar use some great race tracks, as well as some not-so-great ones, but the biggest difference between the two is how the tracks are actually handled. Lemons allows an obscene number of cars on track at once, whereas ChumpCar has a 37.5 cars-per-mile limit, in order to keep things better under control. At “Sears Pointless,” the Lemons race in which we recently partook, there were 177 cars on the starting grid! That’s 177 cars for 2.52 miles of racing, compared to 75 cars in ChumpCar for 4.05 miles of racing. The difference is astonishing, and which you prefer depends on a few factors:

Do you like racing in traffic? Do you have a ridiculously fast car that can get through traffic quickly? Can your car (and your drivers) panic stop safely in case you come over a crest and cars are dead stop on track in front of you? Will you be OK with not being able to “set a good lap time” because you will probably never see a complete lap without a caution flag? If you answered ‘YES’ to all these questions, you are ready for your first Lemons race. The traffic is crazy; caution flags sometimes bring that traffic to a standstill. If you’re not in a fast car you can expect huge packs of cars to come up on you from the rear with great frequency.

Chump car isn’t like that. With fewer than half the number of cars on the track and (in this case) nearly twice the racing surface to cover, I never forgot I was wheel-to-wheel racing, but I was still able to set good lap times, see myself improving as I learned the car and the circuit, and neither passing nor being passed was as much of a “hold on and pray” event as it can be in Lemons. Even when there was a caution flag in ChumpCar, I never saw myself going slower than 60-70% of racing pace. The bottom line is that Lemons is a bit crazier, but ChumpCar leaves more room to drive fast and tick off laps at a pace that feels more “race car driver,” and less “405 Traffic.”

And make sure your pit area doesn’t look too nice.

The Racing

Now that we’ve established there’s more room to race because of the comparatively fewer cars in ChumpCar, lets talk about the kind of driving that you can expect from shitbox racing. It’s not an exact science, but in either series you can expect everything from professional racing drivers to people who have never even been on a track before, and everything in between. When I was a judge at Lemons last year I doled out my famous “butter churn” punishment to a driver that had won the Indy 500. I also kicked a team out completely when one driver put four-wheels-off three times in 20 minutes.

Behold, the rare sight of a Lemons car actually hitting an apex.

Likewise, in Lemons, the sheer volume of cars on the track means that, at any given moment, cars could be going three-wide into a corner. Even the tightest corners in a Lemons race have three distinct lines through them. Not realizing which lane you’re in or what’s going on around you, and not paying attention to your mirrors is what will cause accidents here. I use both examples not to be discouraging, but simply as words of caution: experienced drivers are just as dangerous as inexperienced drivers when behind the wheel of a car they truly don’t care about. It’s easy to misjudge a corner if you’re used to driving your Porsche track car and you now find yourself behind the wheel of a 1992 Ford Escort held together by JB Weld. And of course, if you’ve never raced wheel-to-wheel before, may as well start in that 1992 Ford Escort, where a little racing incident wouldn’t be a bank-breaker.

ChumpCar, just because there’s a lot more space to get comfortable with the track, with the car, with the racing line, tends to have fewer traffic-related collisions. In Lemons, a lot of contact happens because there is just nowhere else to go. In ChumpCar it’s much easier to stay out of the way of faster cars, and on average, both the cars and the drivers are faster in ChumpCar than in Lemons.

The scene on the front straight as I set my fastest lap of the race.

In terms of the structure of the races themselves, they are largely identical. A few minutes before the scheduled start of the race, cars will begin warmup laps, and at some point, the green flags will go up and racing commences, uninterrupted, until sundown, then repeated the next day. Lemons treats these two days of racing as a single race, just broken in half. ChumpCar treats them as two separate races, so if your car breaks on Day 1, you still have a chance of being on podium for Day 2, which came in very handy when our Mustang blew a head gasket. The guys spent 10 hours working on the car in order to get it back to racing shape the next day, and we started with a fresh lap counter, rather than starting 6 hours down. Occasionally, races will be “true” 24 Hour format, which sounds intense, though I haven’t yet had the pleasure of trying it.

The Index of Effluency-winning Tangiers Cadillac Biarritz team.

The Scene

In the interest of impartiality, it must be said that my first experience with the ChumpCar scene happened at Road America, in Wisconsin, in April. That meant I never saw one degree above 35F the whole weekend, and with the wind chill, it got as low as 20 for part of the second race. At the other end of the spectrum, I’ve raced at Chuckwalla, in the California desert, where temperatures crept over 100 degrees F.

Lemons is definitely more of a “scene,” half Mardi-Gras and half racing. The decorated cars, themes, the costumes, the incredibly high odds of seeing men in drag, and the heroic fixes happening in the paddock while drunk at 3AM are the kind of things that make Lemons enjoyable. It’s a crazy scene, and with all the entries allowed, the paddock is overflowing and more. RV’s, workshops, and race cars are piled in as tightly as can be, and it can be overwhelming.

ChumpCar, without its crazy costumes and race cars that look like parade floats, is much more mellow in the paddocks. It looks like any other amateur race. People are friendly, resources are shared with teams in need, and heroic fixes certainly do happen throughout the evening, but it doesn’t feel as much like a party on a pirate ship. At Road America, the cold weather pushed most of the drinking to the bar, anyway.

Team Captain Jimi Day gets his hands dirty reassembling the Mustang’s valvetrain after our blown head gasket.

Which do I prefer?

Naturally, the choice of which series to compete in is up to you. Lemons is certainly the bigger spectacle with the catchier name. If you want to bring the family to a spectator sport, that is probably the series for you. If you want to use shitbox racing as a way to become a good racer, to learn new tracks, to set good lap times, and don’t particularly care about having to put on a dress to save a few penalty laps, you may want to try ChumpCar first. Ideally, if you’re going to go through the trouble of building a car, you should probably build one that’s eligible for both series, just in case.

I will say that, for either series, you should find the fastest, most reliable car you can find. Our Honda was fantastic in Lemons, because the damn thing just didn’t break. I wasn’t there to wrench, I was there to drive, and this car has survived three endurances races with nothing more than oil changes, brake pads, and tires. The Optima/FM3 Mustang was certainly faster, but blew a head gasket on day 1 and we broke the panhard bar twice on day 2. We ended up finishing 27th out of 75on day 2, and, had that bar not broken, would have easily been top 10. Having a fast car, though, made a huge difference in how much fun I was having. It’s nice to place well because your car is reliable and kept running, but it’s even better to place well because your car is fast and your drivers can handle it. Getting passed all the time sucks.

So, whichever series fits your personality, that’s what you should do. If you don’t want to build your own car, each series has professional team operators who will sell you a seat in one of their race cars for a reasonable price, and both series offer spectating options if you want to check it out in person first. Either way, save up some cash, because racing beaters isn’t just addictive, it’s my new favorite pastime, and even at the most basic level, that stuff adds up.

Special thanks to the team at Optima Batteries and FM3 Marketing for having me:

Jimi Day – Driver / Team Manager

Brian Davis – Driver / Crew Chief

Randy Johnson – Driver / Fabricator

Al Radonski – Mechanic

Alex Frank -Mechanic

Mike Kepler – Optima Product Specialist / Transporter

Cam Douglass – Optima Batteries (whose exact title I forget, but he collects 1970′s vans and that’s awesome)

And of course, a shoutout to the sponsors of the Optima Batteries #97 ChumpCar Mustang

Optima Batteries

FM3 Performance Marketing

BF Goodrich

Encore Mustang Parts Warehouse

RideTech

West Bend Dyno Tuning

Video: Cadillac’s CUE Has Some Issues

Matt — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:39:24 +0000

We’ll be posting our full video review of the Cadillac ATS later this week, but here’s a little preview of what we’ve dealt with regarding Cadillac’s CUE Infotainment system. Now, although the ATS has some wonderful qualities, CUE is certainly not one of them. And if they want to be serious about attracting younger buyers, they need to realize that we spend half our day looking iPhones, the best, most fluid touchscreen devices money can buy. CUE’s interface is clunky by comparison, but that isn’t really the big problem, as most in-car systems are clunky compared to an Apple product.

The big problem is that the touch-sensitive buttons just don’t work all that well, as I shall demonstrate as I attempt to lower the volume of some awful pop music in this video.

Video: Matt and Rob Play Bumper Cars in Downtown San Francisco

Matt — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:28:37 +0000

There is no better pastime, in my humble opinion, than selecting a couple otherwise worthless cars and sending them off to their deaths in a dignified fashion: at the reckless hands of the Super Speeders. In this clip from Super Speeders 6, Matt and Rob buy a couple nearly-dead beaters in San Francisco. We head to Lombard St, the steepest, windiest street in the US, for a little challenge. Can the Pinto make it down the hill using only a 40-year old parking brake? Let’s find out.

Video: Lexus IS350 F-Sport Raw Canyon Run Footage

Matt — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:20:14 +0000

Since so many people continue to comment on our choice of road for the Lexus IS350 F-Sport review (which, by the way is the same road from the BMW 1M, VF Engineering Gallardo and M3, and the Stasis Audi R8 videos), we thought we’d add a little bonus video of some raw nose camera footage of just how technical certain sections of that road really are.

Whaddaya want today, Sir? 91, E-85, or E. Coli?

Zack K — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:43:54 +0000

“Want to try the new stuff, Mr. Stevens? It’s made from the stuff that gave all those spinach-eaters in CA the runs a few years ago.”

By Zack Klapman

A very, very, very smart person has genetically modified the E. coli bacteria – the evil bugger normally known for showing up in your spinach and sending Charmin’s stock soaring- to produce commercial-grade, usable, unleaded gasoline, according to NewScientist.com. Biofuels have been a cool idea for awhile, but the fuel produced wasn’t perfect, causing corrosion in the long-term. That’s been fixed, and my mind is exploding.

“Until now, biofuels have been made up of hydrocarbon chains of the wrong size and shape to be truly compatible with most modern engines – they’ll work, but only inefficiently, and over time they will corrode the engine.”

Obviously, manufacturers don’t want to redesign every engine they have. But John Love, a brainiac from the University of Exeter (one of the leading research schools in the UK) has found a way to make biofuel that’s just like what comes out of the pump. He spliced genes from camphor trees, soil bacteria, and blue-green algae, shoved all that into E. Coli‘s mouth (Yes, I’m sure that’s how it works) and out comes 91 octane. Say it with me in 3…2…..1….

“WHAT?!?!” Exactly. Let me say this out loud and see if I can comprehend it: Some guy figured out that a smoothie of dirt, tree, and algae DNA could be glued together and added to the DNA of one of the most malicious organisms you could have the misfortune of finding in your grocery bag, and it produces gasoline. Dirt + tree + algae + poop monster= carbon-neutral fuel. You know, I considered myself somewhat intelligent, but if this is the bar of what real brain power is, then I am basically uncooked pasta that fell under the fridge.

I say we give a standing ovation to this guy. The cars don’t have to change, way less environmental impact compared to oil drilling (theoretically), and he thinks there’s a way to make the bacteria produce fuel by eating cow manure (instead of glucose). That basically means you could pour this stuff onto a cow pie and POOF: gasoline. The technology behind the iPhone is impressive, but this kind of science truly boggles the mind.

Source: NewScientist.com

Video: 2014 Lexus IS350 F-Sport Review – One Take

Matt — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:28:30 +0000

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen an all-new Lexus IS, and we’re honestly excited for the new design direction and all-new interior of the model, and couldn’t wait to find out how it would drive when pushed on one of Southern California’s most technical and dangerous roads.

TST Podcast #67 – Too Easy

Matt — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:42:42 +0000

Hooniverse’s Jeff Glucker joins us on this episode of The Smoking Tire podcast. Despite being short-handed this week, there was much to share, from Glucker’s weekends with a Lamborghini Aventador and an Aston Martin Vanquish, to Matt’s weekends with a shitbox Honda Civic and a shitbox Fox-body Mustang. We also talk Airstream’ing it to Coachella, the Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid vs Jetta TDI, and why you probably shouldn’t plasti-dip your balls.

Download the podcast on iTunes

Download the MP3 on ShoutEngine

And while you’re at it, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

What do You Want to Know About the 2013 Holden Commodore SS Sportwagon?

Matt — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:37:50 +0000

It’s a motoring journalist’s dream, and for an American motoring journalist, something of a unicorn. A V8, rear wheel drive, manual transmission, right hand drive, station wagon. This, to someone who writes about cars for a living, is the perfect car. And for an entire week, Australian correspondent Joel Strickland’s got one. For our audience down under, this is probably nothing special, but for the Americans, this is a car you’ve probably never even seen in person, let alone driven. So, here’s your chance: ask Joel what you’d like to know about the 2013 Holden Commodore SS Sportwagon and he’ll answer your questions in his review.

The sound of a NA 3.9L ROTARY making 813WHP makes children cry

Zack K — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:25:23 +0000

By Zack Klapman

When professional drifter “Mad Mike” Whiddett competed in a 4-rotor powered RX-8 (Nicknamed “BADBUL“), the world stood up in awe. His car’s sound is legendary, and comes up in 42% of all rotary conversations, following the normal topics of efficiency, reliability, and design. When Mike’s car went around a track, it vibrated the grandstands loose. The company that built it, Pulse Performance Race Engineering, had built what I would call the most interesting engine in all of professional drifting. And now, they have raised the bar again.

6 rotors. Six. Glued together to form a 3.9L wonder that is topped with beautiful blue throttle bodies. The power is very impressive: 813WHP, no turbos. Just 6 pieces of triangular metal being spun in a circle by perfectly-timed fire. That kind of power from any NA motor is impressive, but this is a motor no one has ever seen before. A customer brought them the idea, and they made it happen. But that is not what grabbed my attention.

It was the sound.

I’ve never heard an engine that sounds like this. At idle it sounds like a V8 in a pro-street drag car. Some of that may be due to the mics, but it’s deeper than I expected. It lopes and explodes. Each breathe sounds abrupt, shoved out of the way by the one behind it. A kennel full of Pit Bulls barking in perfect succession. But touch the throttle, and the sound is transformed, changing form with every inch of pedal travel, into an avalanche of surgical saws. There’s a tightness to the motor, a closeness if you will. I feel like you can hear the proximity of each rotor spinning. If you were camping, and heard this sound, you would believe a family of rednecks was about to saw you in half, and you would piss yourself.

The car is meant to be a street-legal dragster, massively tubbed in back and caged (Check out the build pics here). Street-legal maybe, street-friendly? Doubt it. Watch it go around the road course; a touch of throttle makes it twitch like a crackhead, something you see in any drag car with tires like this. But it doesn’t matter how it handles a corner. It looks great, it’s cool, a classic shape wrapped around 21st century ingenuity. It separates itself from the LS fever that is sweeping the world, something I admire, and it will probably remain unique for all time. And that is a priceless attribute.

DYNO RUN

ENGINE PORN and DYNO

On the track. A pro drag car, on a road course. The sound of his car on-throttle will be stolen by Hollywood for the next horror movie.

Source: PPRE

The Best Daily Driver is a Recce car

Zack K — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:35:06 +0000

Photo courtesy of Rally24.com. Go there. It’s awesome.

By Zack Klapman

Recce (pron.: /ˈ r ɛ k iː /) may refer to:

Reconnaissance, military scouting

The best daily driver isn’t a fancy Mercedes, an efficient hybrid or a floaty Lincoln; it’s a WRC recce car. Allow me to explain…

True to their name, recce cars are used for to check out a rally stage before the race. Racing may have begun as a casual bit of fun between gentlemen in cars, but on the second day, it got serious. The same motivation that created traction control, improved tire compounds, and developed diffs with clutches, created the recce car. Leave no stone unturned, and you won’t be caught off-guard. Teams will send a recce car through a stage to double-check the course notes, and mark any changes in conditions. Maybe a new rut has formed, a wash dried up (or formed), or there’s a drunken rally fan lying face down at the apex of turn 28; the recce car is the proofreader of a rally race, looking for typos, all in the name of helping the driver go as fast as possible, as safely as possible.

As it is with “pre-runners” in desert racing, a recce car has to be capable of driving the course, and not at a snail’s pace. If a WRC car will be going around a corner at 56MPH, a recce car can’t report how the conditions felt at 7MPH. It needs to be fast. And they are.

This particular car is based on the Toyota Celica GT4 ST205, an AWD coupe powered by a turbo-charged 4-banger that was basically built only for homologation reasons. That means 2,500 cars, in this case, 2,500 badasses packed with WRC goodness:

From Wikipedia: ” The 2500 units homologation cars built to allow Toyota to enter the GT-Four as a Group A car in the World Rally Championship also sported extras such as all of the plumbing required to activate an anti-lag system, a water spray bar and pump for the front intercooler, a basic water injection system, a small hood-mounted spoiler aft of the windscreen washers (also standard fit on all UK cars) and an extender rear spoiler mounted on risers.”

“Look honey, this Toyota is pretty nice. AWD means it’ll keep the kids safe in winter, it looks good, plus anti-lag. We’ve always talked about how nice that would be for making left turns on yellow.”

So it’s a race-ish car, big deal, there’s a million of them. Why is this the best daily driver? Several reasons. First, this car would be quite fast. Second, it’s filled with race car bits, and you know how the hoes love race car bits. And by hoes, I mean dudes like us. But the 3rd reason, the most important reason, the very idea that caused Mad Scientist Thaddeus to find this car: suspension.

I don’t know where you live, but many of the roads in Los Angeles have the unfinished quality of you average kid’s model airplane. “Hey Billy, aren’t you going to make those two pieces of freeway fit a little better?” “No, I don’t wanna do that anymore. I’m go outside.”

In L.A. there are pot holes inches deep. Slabs of concrete are as smooth and flush and a compound fracture. Even when they do “fix” a pot hole, they shove so much asphalt in the hole, it’s like a scoop of ice cream sitting on a donut. What was a hole is now a jump. It’s shameful. It makes shakes your car (and your brain) an alarming amount. it makes our city look like Bosnia. I swear, cardiovascular surgeons probably recommend patients leave the city for fear the roads will shake a stent loose.

The recce car (theoretically) solves all that. On a dirt stage, these cars are hitting jumps and bumps resembling an Irish battlefield, all the while trying to keep the tires planted and the car composed, so they can soak up the abuse. And they’re meant to carry the crew, and teams want their crew happy, not broken, which means comfort. So the suspension might be even softer than that in the race car. Pothole? Where? I didn’t feel anything. If this car is meant to handle the punishment of the great outdoors at full throttle, it can handle urban sprawl. And anti-lag is a great way to express anger at the driver too busy texting to notice the light has turned green.

rrrrrrrrRRAPBAPBAPBAPBAPBAPBAPBAP

“Move it, Yaris!!”

Source: Rally24.com

Podcast #66 with Nick Hogan

Zack K — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:50:42 +0000

Photo source: Sneaker Files

Our guest this week is Nick Hogan. If you don’t know who Nick is, you either avoid the !E Channel, pro wrestling, or both. His dad is the famous wrestler, known best for being made up of only tan leatherette and sinew. Nick may have been brought into the lime light by reality TV, but we don’t care about that, because we’re not 14 year-old girls who just can’t wait to see where a famous family goes to lunch.

Nick is here because he’s into cars; Really into cars. Foreign, domestic, drifting, exotics, engines, mods, design, all of it. He grew up around his dad’s Vipers and muscle cars, is nuts about JDM, and daily drives a supercharged 3rd gen Viper coupe. He’s drifted in Formula D, NOPI, and XDC, even driving professionally for Dodge. Say what you want about any part of Nick’s life, but he’s a chill guy, and I guarantee you could could sit and bullshit with him for hours about all 4-wheeled creatures.

Jump to get the download link.

Editor’s note: For some of our fans, the elephant in the room was the horrifying car accident Nick was involved in, in 2007. Some people ranted, some turned off the player, and some urged us to ask about it. We felt that Nick has probably said everything he needs to say about that event, somewhere in the last 6 years. He talked about it on TV, it’s all over the internet, so if that’s what you want to hear about, you can find it. We just didn’t feel the need to dredge it up.)

Click here to go to ShoutEngine and get the podcast in iTunes, RSS or Raw MP3.

Sam Hubinette and ACP testing their Dodge Challenger and Dodge Viper. (These are Formula D-worthy cars, at the very small, very tight, Adam’s Motorsport Park. Check out Matt drifting an FR-S on the same track).

Tapping the wall at Irwindale

Nick’s very fast, very loud (ask our neighbors) Viper GTS

You can read about Viper Engineer Martin Morse’ horrible and unfortunate crash here.

Password JDM Exhaust for R35 GTR, with all the sound and carbon-reducing abilities of a Coke can – Page here.

Chris Cook flips his Viper

Hulk Hogan’s 1968 Dodge Charger

Nick’s wide-body Challenger and blackity-black Mercedes.

Panoz Esperante

Panoz Esperante road car

Photo courtesy of wallpapersget.com

Nick’s crash at the NOPI meet

Nick drifting Sam Hubinette’s Viper

The Ben Sopra GTR bodykit

Brian Scotto’s RWB Porsche

Juke R? Meh. Murci-powered Fiat 500

Zack K — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:29:32 +0000

By Zack Klapman

THIS is fabrication.

I hope that one day I can just weld, I dunno, a door hinge or something. Maybe in my old age I’ll get crazy and form some fenders-no I won’t. What am I saying, that will take a thousand hours, and mine would turn out like your 3rd grader’s art project. (No, that’s not what a house looks like. It’s all crooked, and it’s purple. Idiot.).

But this Dr. Frankenstein can probably create oxygen out of coffee grounds. This made my eyes go wide. An original Fiat 500-the tiny, now-rickety car, that was made to act as a small seating room that occasionally moved- with the engine and drive-train from a LAMBBORGHINI MURCIELAGO inside it.

This is engineering madness. It’s the Manhattan project of Italian mashups. It’s also better-looking than the Juke-R.

Jump for the video, which includes a detailed photo slideshow and video of it driving on the track. As Thad put it, “Looks twitchy.” Well, I would expect a throw pillow powered by a V-12 to require alertness. Jump to watch.

Follow me on Twitter: @thesmokingtire @zackklapman

Everything You Wanted to Know About The 2014 Lexus IS350 F-Sport

Matt — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:33:25 +0000

Last week, we took delivery of a 2014 Lexus IS350 F-Sport prototype. Since the car wouldn’t be out for a couple more months, we wanted to take the opportunity to ask you, the fans, what you wanted to know about the car, and we would answer your questions here. Of course, there is also a full video review of the car coming shortly, but we exist because we want to share what we think you want to know, so here goes. Hit the jump to find out everything you wanted to know about the new Lexus IS.

Q: With all its competitors having forced-induction engines, how is the V6? Does it feel underpowered?

Good place to start. First off, not all competitors have forced induction. The Audi A4 does have a normally-aspirated V6 in its range, as does the Mercedes C-Class, Acura TL, Infiniti G37, and, come to think of it, only the Audi S4 and BMW 3-series offer Forced induction engine options. First off, the engine is more or less carried over in the new IS350 from the last one. It’s a 3.5L V6 with 306 HP and 277 lb/ft of torque, and it has about 3,700 lbs to lug around. The IS doesn’t feel underpowered, it’s fun to rev, makes a decent sound thanks to some creative intake plumbing, and the new IS350 feels about as nimble as the old IS250, which is a very good thing. Overall, the package is very balanced. While yes, I’d love it if the IS350 came with a TT Inline Six like the old Supra, I don’t think that’s realistic for a “mid-range” model. It needs a bit more exhaust note for a little more aggressive sound, but otherwise is well matched to the chassis. If it slides in under the S4 and 335i in terms of price, I’d say it’s hit the nail on the head.

Q: Over the years, when I’ve driven the IS vs BMWs and Audis, the IS has come across as the safe sport sedan that won’t get you in too much trouble. It looks good and is quite comfy, but it doesn’t inspire me. And every time I price the IS to the spec that I’d like, the IS comes out costing a lot more than a comparable 3 Series. The last F-Sport I priced came to just under $60k vs. just a tad over $52k of the BMW. For $60k, I could buy a fully loaded S4. While the protoype IS looks aggressive, will the performance with all the F-Sport options be enough to keep up with a much cheaper 3 series, or an equivalent S4?

Unfortunately, the new IS pricing chart hasn’t been released yet, so I really don’t know what it will cost. The last-generation IS350 we tested came out to $48,000 with options, which we thought was a good deal for the time. I don’t know what you’d have to do to an IS to hit $60,000, but I wouldn’t do any of that. $60,000 is way too much for any car in this class, including the BMW 335i and Audi S4, both of which are faster than the IS350 as far as I could tell. Honestly, as tested, our car, to me, feels like about $52,000. And if they price it about there, I think it will do well. While true, it’s not particularly “inspiring” when driven at around-town speeds, like the GS350 F-Sport we recently tested, the IS gets better the harder you push it, and was more fun in the canyons than the BMW 335i I recently drove.

Q: The problem with Lexus and most asian cars is a lack of soul. I think you know what I mean by that. So my question is… does it have soul?

… Almost. The Chassis is dialed in nicely, the brakes and suspension work great, and it’s really close to finding a soul, it just needs a more aggressive exhaust note and it’s there.

Q: Not necessarily about the car that you have but will they be making a 4 cylinder turbo model with the F-sport package to compete with the 328i, c250 etc…

Also, something you will probably touch on but the suspension on the generation one is. was too stiff, and then generation two was too soft; does this package give the happy medium for the enthusiast who will use it as their daily driver?

To answer your first question, I don’t know. Toyota has been a bit late in general to the forced induction game, and so far, I think the IS250 will have the same engine as before, the smaller six. As for the suspension, I think they have found a wonderful happy medium between sporty and comfort in daily driving situations. I think too many companies today over-stiffen their cars to give the impression of sportiness, but in reality, that extra stiffness, while it does reduce body roll, rarely improves handling to the point where the trade in ride quality is worth it. The IS was comfortable for a week of daily driving on crappy LA roads, and was a lot of fun out in the canyons.

Q: Is the back seat roomier than the previous model? He about the driver cockpit, I’m 6’2″, 200lbs and felt cramped in the driver seat of he previous model. Should I be holding out for this one or is it the same size?

The biggest improvement to the new IS over the old model is the interior. The new front seats are incredible. I hated the seats in the last one, they had too much lumbar, too much side bolster, not enough shoulder support, and were too chunky, taking up valuable rear seat room. The new seats are worlds better, some of the most comfortable I’ve sat in, and with the thinner seat backs, there’s much more rear legroom as well. I’m 6’3″ and I can fit in the back seat of the IS no problem. If you’re in the market, you should go sit in one for yourself, but the difference from last generation to this generation is remarkable.

Q: How’s the interior in comparison to its competition?

The seats in all the cars in the class (Especially the optional Recaros in the Audi’s and the M-Sport seats in the 3-series) are all excellent, and in terms of comfort and quality, they all get top marks, less the C-Class, in which you have to go AMG to get the good seats. As I said in the last comment though, the new IS has excellent seats. The IS’s interior is also probably the most “styled” of the group, making BMW and Audi look very conservative by comparison. It’s a bold move for Lexus, and one that will undoubtedly be a bit polarizing, but the interior uses some good materials, some tricky tech, and has a rich, bright screen (though I still hate the mouse).

Q: Does this car share any hardware and/or driving feel with the big brother IS-F? I’m a huge fan of the IS-F and heard Lexus will be canceling the car following the completion of the 2013 MY. Any idea what the company has planned as a follow up? Does the car drive and feel as good as it looks from the outside, is Lexus now a true compeditor to the Europeans in the segment now?

I highly doubt Lexus would not make an IS-F out of the new version, though I have heard no news. Our tester had the new version of the IS-F’s adjustable suspension, as well as the 8-speed gearbox (also improved here) and variable geometry steering. The sound it makes on the power is reminiscent of the IS-F, but with two few cylinders, and Lexus has learned the importance of rev-matching downshifts, which is great. I think this car is a valid and strong competitor to the Europeans, especially if you’re looking to buy a car rather than lease it.

Q: Since the “F-Sport” model is geared toward the person who cares about style and performance, what are the first modifications you would make to this car if you were to buy one?

I’d add an aftermarket exhaust, not too loud but a bit louder than stock, a good sticky set of max performance summer tires, tint the windows, and call it a day.

Q: What is the fuel economy when whipping? I’m not concerned what its like when my wife is driving. What’s it like when I’m pretending its a sports car.

I drove the new IS about 800 miles in 7 days. During that time, I got 18 mpg in full-on urban light-to-light driving and averaged about 11 mpg when whipping. That sounds terrible, but compared to other cars (CTS-V got 3 mpg when whipping), it’s actually pretty good. You have to wind the hell out of the V6 to make it go, but it makes a nice sound on the way and delivers power evenly above like 3,000 RPM.

Q: Does the gearbox work as well as Porsche’s PTK (** It’s PDK) transmission? And does the “sport” button do anything, or is it all in the head of the driver to justify the price increase?

Though this is one of the best torque-converter based automatic transmissions available anywhere, no, it’s not as good as a true dual-clutch. There’s no launch control function, and it doesn’t shift quite as fast as the Porsche PDK does. That PDK, by the way, is probably the best transmission money can buy at any price right now. Yes, the sport button does things. It livens up the throttle response, tightens up the steering, and sets the suspension to max performance mode. It works. The key when driving the IS fast is to disable the traction and stability control completely, as they are both very invasive and the car is super easy to control without them.

Q: How does it compare to a BMW 3 series in terms of driving pleasure or is it closer to a Mercedes C-Class in terms of refinement ? Over the years I know the IS is really reliable and comfortable but it just lacks the fun factor from the Germans. I do like the IS-F though.

I think it’s better to drive than a 335i, which I didn’t like very much. I also am not a huge fan of the non-AMG C-Class. Assuming it comes out to around $52,000, it’s a better performance value than a 335i, and faster than a 328i, which I did like very much. It has its own style, that straddles the line in between C-Class comfort and 3-series performance, and if it undercuts the 335i’s price, then it’s a winner.

Q: Does it feel like a miniature version of the LS F Sport you drove? Is it better than the 3 series you and Dan Neil whipped through the canyons?

It’s obviously better in the canyons than the LS F-Sport is, but both were equally nice to drive. One was just heavier than the other. Yes, I liked it better than the 335i that I drove with Dan.

Thanks for your questions, the video will be up soon!

Podcast #65: ALMS Racer Duncan Ende – Eyeball Food

Zack K — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 04:25:03 +0000

Hopefully last week you listened to our podcast with professional ALMS and World Challenge driver, Duncan Ende. We talked about driving, racing, many cars, and a woman painted like a circus clown. Well, here’s some multi-media eye food to go along with it, because who doesn’t prefer a book with pictures? Ever hear someone say, “Gee do I miss the days before nude photography. I sure prefer a good, old-fashioned 1,000-word description of a woman.” ? Didn’t think so. Pics and videos (of the GMG R8 testing in raw carbon, among others) after the jump.

If you haven’t, grab the podcast via iTunes, RSS, or Raw MP3, at ShoutEngine.

Duncan’s GMG Audi R8 ALMS GT

Source: Drivezines

Still in the raw, before livery….(slobber)

In-car shot during testing with Alex Welch

BMW 335d, how we long to own you.

Three Rivers Race (Circuit Trois-Revieres) – Wiki

“Mimi” from “The Drew Carey Show”

Cobra donuts

Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Wiki

Photo source: GPStPete.com

Photo source: DuncanEnde.com

TST Podcast #65 – Powered by Spite

Matt — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 17:18:17 +0000

This week on The Smoking Tire podcast, we’re joined by ALMS and World Challenge Driver Duncan Ende, who, incidentally, moved right up the street from TST Headquarters. We talk about what it’s going to be like racing under ALMS and Grand Am’s new combined series, the best tracks in the country for racing and spectating, and answer many of your questions from our Live YouTube Stream. Download it after the jump.

Download the Podcast on iTunes

Download the MP3

YouTube Live Stream Link

Classic Toyota ad Remix: A funny way to be terrified [video]

Zack K — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:26:21 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Funny is funny. I believe there’s no subject that can’t be talked about or joked about, as long as it’s done properly. For example: rape jokes were the “new black” of 2012. That’s a dark, horrible subject, and a lot of the jokes people made/make flat-out suck. A dark subject handled poorly smells of desperation and an attempt at shock-value. But in the right hands (Louis CK), something that is usually a source of sadness or fear can be flipped on its head.

Same with terrorism and war. Terrorism by itself: not funny. But, for example, say someone were to take the audio of an old Toyota TV truck ad, and lay it over news footage of various militias driving Toyota trucks with machine guns mounted to them? Hilarious. Jump to watch.

“All subjects are suitable for humour – while some individuals may not appreciate jokes about death, rape, or jewish mothers (I believe that the one which ends “Just call me Sitting Shiva” should go in the Top 100 Jokes of All Time), we have the right to object to or not laugh at that which we don’t find funny. We do not, however, have the right to tell others what they may not laugh at.” – Tony James, London, UK

Source: WreckedandSalvage

We wish the “Eleanor” Auction Well

Zack K — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:44:25 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Eleanor, the 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 from Gone in 60 Seconds that goes by “Eleanor”, will be going up for auction in mid-May. It’s easily one of the most iconic cars in movie history, from one of the most popular car films ever made; You could argue that Gone in 60 Seconds is my generation’s Bullitt (though a strong argument can be made for Ronin too). The movie was packed with car porn of all races and shapes, so it was a visual buffet for people like you and me.

But this car, the Shelby GT500, re-designed by Chip Foose and the team at Cinema Vehicle Services, floored me. When the movie came out, I was driving my 1965 Pontiac Le Mans, and completely fixated on classic cars. So the attraction was already there. But when it rolled onto screen, it stuck in my brain like the first time I saw Pamela Anderson run in slow motion. It has been one of my favorite cars ever since. Not “favorite” the way I dream of a car collection 30-deep. If I could only own 1 old car, just 1, this would be it.

If I could acquire a litter of classic cars it would include at least a Cobra (replica probably), ’68 Camaro, ’56 Chevy Bel Air, ’67 GTO, ’41 Willys, ’33 Ford, a rat rod of some kind, an old Caddy or Continental, and a Mustang GT350. I will work hard to get all these cars (and then watch as gas dries up).

But it might be smarter, and cheaper, to just buy one of these. You’d think that dropping from 9 cars to 1 would leave me wanting, unsatisfied, missing something. But not with one of these.

I had the honor of filming a Eleanor clone for BIG MUSCLE, and my reaction was exactly the same: awestruck. The shape and lines are perfect; better than an original GT500. The GT500 shape is cool in its own right, a strong shape the advertises speed and power. But this is cleaner, sleeker, more agile-looking, gently modernized the perfect amount. It simultaneously carries the air of a pony car and the long muscle of something like a Chevelle. It had smart suspension, modern brakes, and classic wheels with sticky tires, so it will actually turn and stop. And I tell you, the sound that came out of those side pipes…is perfection. Lopey, echo-y, big-block Ford perfection. I smiled the entire day of filming, and I haven’t stared at anything so hard since 9th grade, when I bought mirrored sunglasses and spent 3 hours on a bus, seated across from Lily, a girl who appeared to have stolen all the blossoming hormones of 3 girls, combined them, and inject them just below her shoulders. I absolutely, unequivocally love this car. It is everything good that I seek in a classic car, with all the imperfections removed.

And now the real “Eleanor” is up for sale. The car we filmed cost in the low 6-figures to build and it drove perfectly. Not Porsche 911 Turbo perfect; the feeling and sensations of old muscle had not been smothered by modern technology like they were in this Chevelle. It still felt old. There were creaks, vinyl squeaks, NOISE, the door mechanisms sounded mechanical. It’s possible-and this all theoretical of course- that the car I rode in is a better car than the original “Eleanor”. Our subject car was built by a speed shop to be a track-capable daily driver, refined along the way by a customer who is an SCCA racer.

“Eleanor” was built for a movie and sometimes (keyword: sometimes) corners are cut.

But it is still the Eleanor. The GT500. The movie car of my generation (if you say the words “Orange Supra” I will kill you.). This car is the original, the inspiration, the parent of the car I spent the day with. Columbus might not be as good a guy as Buzz Adlrin, but without the Pinta there’d be no Apollo 11. Because of that, offer thanks and bows to this car and the people that created it. Whoever buys it (for a sh*tload of money) may not have the best-driving GT500 around, but they will have an icon that is responsible for inspiring the movement of cutting into what many considered sacred metal. It’s not sacrilege if you do it right.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:

A true movie star will make its way down Mecum’s signature red carpet this May in Indianapolis. Known by most simply as “Eleanor,” the modified 1967 Ford Mustang from Touchstone Pictures’ “Gone in 60 Seconds” will cross the block as Lot S135 at Dana Mecum’s 26th Original Spring Classic auction this May 14-19. This collector car icon piloted in the movie by retired master car thief Memphis Raines, played by Nicholas Cage, is the real McCoy. Several cars were built to handle various duties in the filming of “Gone,” but this is serial number 7R02C179710, the “Hero” car driven by Cage during filming and the model used in movie close-ups, posters and promotional materials.

Built by Cinema Vehicle Services with the help of master designer Chip Foose, the body pieces of Eleanor were mocked up on a Mustang using clay and wood. Molds were then made to produce a new fiberglass front end filled with high-powered PIAA driving lights, new fender flares, side skirts and scoops, hood and trunk lid. To give the car big-screen performance, it was treated to a 351/400 HP Ford crate engine, which shares room with a front subframe body brace by Total Control Products, LLC. This progenitor of the Eleanor revolution is relatively untouched inside with the exception of an Autometer Sport Comp Monster tach, fire extinguisher, Go-Baby-Go shift knob button for Line Lock and a switch for activating a nitrous injection system.

“Eleanor has become one of the most widely recognized movie star muscle cars in the world, so when the decision was made to offer the ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’ Hero car for sale, Mecum’s Spring Classic auction in Indianapolis seemed like the perfect venue,” commented Ray Claridge, owner of Cinema Vehicle Services. Set to be offered directly from the builder on Saturday, May 18 at the original, best and largest muscle car auction, this is truly the car that started it all.

Thirty-two hours of the Indianapolis auction will be broadcast live on Discovery’s Velocity Network with the entire auction streaming live on Mecum’s website at www.mecum.com. Mecum’s Indy auction is open to buyers, sellers and spectators. Gates open at 8 a.m. each day and general admission can be purchased at the door for $20 per person; children 12 and younger will be admitted at no cost. For more information on the auction or to register as a bidder, visit www.mecum.com or call (262) 275-5050.

Source: Mustang Forums

Video: Range Rover Evoque – On and Off-Road Test

Matt — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:49:47 +0000

The Range Rover Evoque is the smallest Range Rover ever. It’s also the first Range Rover since 1993 to not come with an air suspension. It’s also the first Range Rover to feature “design input” from a pop singer who, despite her considerable beauty, almost certainly has never driven more than ten feet off the tarmac. Nevertheless, the Evoque is the single best looking crossover that money can buy, so it piqued our interest. We spent a week with one, on and off the road. Here’s what we found out.

The fine for tourists speeding is butt rape? [video]

Zack K — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:02:53 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Ah, tourism. That time when you embark into the world to seek something new, to explore a land that isn’t your own, to embed yourself in another culture, and maybe, just maybe, come back having learned more about the world. I spent 2 weeks in Perguia, Italy, and learned that happiness doesn’t require WiFi as prevalent as oxygen, 80 kinds of deliverable cuisine, and stores that sell everything you’d need to build an entire civilization. The people of Tibet may show you life doesn’t have to be complicated to be good, Stonehenge will make you feel inadequate for not doing more with modern technology, and in America, you will learn that speeding on a straight highway near Barstow, CA is a crime our people deem worthy of butt rape.

Yes, butt rape. Actual butt rape, not figurative financial butt rape. Real butt rape. Jump to see what we’re talking about.

So let’s recap: German tourist is pulled over for going 98MPH in a 70 zone, cop doesn’t write ticket, tells tourist-with strong conviction, indicating fact- that further infractions will result in incarceration, where angry peni will be forcibly put into his pretzel ring. Ah, the justice system.

28 over is a strong breach of posted signs, but realistically, the danger of that speed depends on many factors: traffic density, vehicle of choice (a rental), wind, surface conditions, etc. I’ll keep the rant against our speed limits short, but the gist is that a competent driver (read: better than us) who spent $2000 and 25-45 hours receiving professional instruction, driving a modern car on a fairly straight highway (I-15), shouldn’t be threatened with the same punishment Denzel Washington threatened those cracked-out rapists in Training Day.

Is that the thought we want to leave a visitor with? German’s aren’t known for their senses of humor, and exaggerations are a crime there. Never mind that he’s from a country where speeding (in certain places) is not called “speeding”, it’s called “driving”. I know there’s a lot of Germany where 98MPH is illegal, but I doubt even Germany-sheize films, Rammstein, and all- will tell a stopped motorist to knock it off or else they’ll get their lunch re-packed. Fine, he was speeding, it’s illegal. Write him a ticket. Sure, he might fly home and never pay it, but he’ll probably slow down.

Ah but I’m probably all wrong. After all, it’s not over-reactions like this that foreigners find odd and offensive; it’s all that delicious, delectable, creamy-inside-crunchy-outside freedom.

What Do You Want to Know About the 2014 Lexus IS350?

Matt — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 22:41:33 +0000

This week, we’ve got the new Lexus IS350 F-Sport Prototype in the garage. I literally haven’t driven it a single mile yet, but I’m going to be putting as many miles as possible on it this week since I’m particularly excited about Lexus’s new direction. For years, Lexus has always been the conservative choice, and they have developed a following as such, but I wanted some excitement from the brand. So far, we’ve gotten excitement from the GS350 F-Sport, and now, with this new IS, they certainly haven’t held much back in the exterior department. So, as we put miles on the new IS (and make a film with it, of course), we would like to keep in mind exactly what our viewers want to know. So, what do you want to know about the new Lexus IS? Leave a comment using our new and much more convenient commenting system.

Snowy forest road + Supra = Better than skiing

Zack K — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:00:27 +0000

By Zack Klapman

“Want to see a big-power Supra in the snow?” Do I want to see Christina Hendricks slap Paris Hilton with her boob? Uh, yeah! Normal adults prefer FWD or AWD for snow commutes, because they’re safe and not as prone to tetherball-like oversteer with a misbehaving right foot (or an SUV they think has Divine-Intervnetion Traction Control). But if you’re a drifter, driving a Supra on the snow is probably like driving the same car on asphalt but with plastic tires. But if you’re a professional drifter, which Kenneth Moen is (dope kitchen sinks btw, Ken), then it’s just a normal day of driving, served chilled.

Obviously he will be sideways through all of this snow-covered lakeside road, blasting out a trail of snow dust that looks like a Cape Canaveral Launch, but I was particularly impressed by some of the speeds he carried into corners. I’m sure he’s got some super-knobby tires with marmot claws glued on, but look for one section where comes in really hot, and then goes on through. I thought he was going tree-skiing for sure. I’d say “Don’t try this at home”, but if it snowed here I’d be trying this at home all day.

Jump to watch the sno-rifto.

Produced by: Espen Wilhelmsen

Video: Everyday Driver Compares E90 M3, 1M Coupe, and Boss 302

Matt — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 21:41:28 +0000

We love the guys at Everyday Driver. Todd and Paul have a genuine enthusiasm for cars, and have made many sacrifices in their lives in order to continue producing the videos that cater to the “real” drivers in all of us. Face it, we’re not all Chris Harris, we’re not all Jeremy Clarkson, and how well a car drifts on an airfield really shouldn’t be in our top priorities when buying a car. Todd and Paul know that, and they know what the everyday driver wants from their cars. In this video, they compare the benchmark E90 M3 to its little (and in our opinion, better) 1 Series M Coupe and one of the best cars Ford has ever made, the Boss 302 Mustang. It’s a great comparison test, so check it out and support Everyday Driver.

Mustang Boss 302 & BMW 1M Coupe Review (M3 Fighters) – Everyday Driver from Everyday Driver on Vimeo.

This Incredible Video is what DTM is about

Zack K — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:03:32 +0000

Houston, er, Stuttgart? We have contact.

By Zack Klapman

We consider ourselves connoisseurs of automotive video. We try to give you videos that are either extremely exciting, extremely well-done, or both. (And occasionally really funny). Today is the best of the first two; a Beluga Caviar held in the Faberge egg. We give you, “The DTM Orchestra”.

The video description nails it: this is a musical journey through the entire 2012 DTM season. It is incredibly well shot, cutting away to a real, live orchestra. It’s a philharmonic music video with race cars. A celebration of sound and speed that will be hard to match. The budget for this video must be to me what seeing the Mars rover is to a kid in a soap box. This whittles all of DTM racing down to its very best: the tech, the teams, the cars, pit burnouts, position changes, victory, and defeat. All of that is timed with the orchestra, and the result leaves me awed as to what can be done with automotive video.

Make the jump to watch.

Source: WIGEMEDIA

Liters? We measure this 2,150hp engine in gallons.

Zack K — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 22:19:36 +0000

By Zack Klapman

You measure your engine in liters? That’s cute, I remember those days, I do mine in gallons now, 4 in this case. Yeah, gallons. That’s… 1,000 cu. in. in your language. Horsepower? About 2,150, I think torque is 1,500. All motor. Yeah, it’s not bad. Piston size? I dunno, my ruler wasn’t big enough to measure them, so I used hands, you know, how they used to measure the height of a horse? The connecting rods are actually I-beams from that dismantled bridge, and the crank used to be a locomotive drive-shaft.

What car is it going in? Ha! I don’t even know yet, I can’t get it out of my shop! Could be a pro drag car, or maybe something nutty like an old Jag, or maybe I’ll just provide all the electricity for Vegas for a while. Wanna hear it? Yeah, just put on these ear muffs and- yeah, they’re from a WWII tank operator; Big, I know. So put them on, then get in your car…yeah, in your car…go ahead. Right, then just drive 3 miles down that road. Text me when you’re ready, and I’ll fire it up.

Jump for specs and price on this motor that redefines the term “beastly”.

•Sonny’s Fully in-house CNC ported Hemispherical Cylinder Heads
•Sonny’s/CN Billet Block with raised cam
•Bryant billet crank
•GRP Billet Aluminum rods
•SAR/BME custom pistons
•Sonny’s/Isky 1.095 special keyed roller lifters
•Tool steel taper-wall pins
•Total Seal rings
•Manley titanium valves & PSI valve springs
•SAR/ Jesel/T&D rocker system
•Trends one piece pushrods

•Jesel cam belt drive
•Autoverde Dry Sump oiling system
•ATI balancer
•MSD cranktrigger ignition
•SAR Special Sheet Metal Intake with (4) Accufab Throttle Bodies
•SAR/ Big Stuff EFI with Run Map, and 16 Injectors
SAR Billet valve covers
•Mezier hi-torque starter
•Fuel lines, and Fuel Rails with regulator

PRICE: $109,800

Source: Sonny’s Racing Engines

BINGO: Chrysler considering 300 diesel

Zack K — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 21:53:43 +0000

By Zack Klapman

A journalist celebrating a diesel car? Get out! That’s like saying penguins like ice and fish. I know that diesel engines currently cost significantly more than those that burn gas, and as highly-efficient turbo-charged engines become more common, diesel’s monopoly on low-end torque and good MPG is shrinking.

Despite all that, I still think that diesel engines are great, and perfect for large luxury cars; Cruisers, commuters, even GT cars. The engine in the Mercedes E350 Bluetec fit that car perfectly, because it gave you the torque of a V8, without the fuel bill. It’s not just about numbers, it’s about a feeling. A V6 powered S-Class is plenty fast, but it doesn’t feel “S-class enough” does it? You don’t want to feel like your engine is straining. These cars are about ease. Your life is hectic, the car should be comfortable, transporting you effortlessly. Our X5 diesel had 400 ft-lbs of torque, and 400 torques makes you feel like a baller sleeping inside a down pillow.

That’s why I think a diesel engine suits a Chrysler 300 so well. It’s a cruiser for sure. It’s called “the poor man’s Bentley”, not “The poor man’s Elise.” I think a low-revving, oil-burning thump would feel just right in that car. The Fusion does well with its 1.6L Ecoboost, but the sensation from it isn’t perfectly matched the way the interior and exterior are.

Source: World Car Fans

The worst Miata ever?

Zack K — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:06:09 +0000

By Zack Klapman

If Napolean Dynamite built a car, this would be it: A 1990 Mazda Miata with a 1997 BMW Z3 bodykit (including 4-lug wheels!), and a GMC V6 engine. A carbureted V6 engine.

If you look at the parts list it’s obvious the owner (Let’s assume it’s a guy, women aren’t this stupid.) put a ton of work into this thing: Camaro transmission back to a RX-7 rear end, the engine swap, and dem sick-ass side pipes. I wish he’d put the effort into something else. Anything else. He could have built something tasteful, maybe gone to night school, or even just made a really good PB and J sandwich. All would be better uses of time.

If I had F.U. money, I’d buy this and drop it into a volcano. I’d film it in HD, have it edited by whoever did Saw-to build suspense and terror-and then send it to the seller. At the very end of the video, after the car has sank into the molten lava, catching fire and melting upon itself as it sinks, returning back to the earth as an apology for a horrible use of raw materials, as the man is yelling “How could he do that to my cahr?!!?”, spinning, pacing, stewing, clenching his fists… a man and a dog would appear on screen. It’s just them against an all-white background, silent. The man lifts his finger, stares down the dog, and says “NO!”

FIN

Jump for more pics of the monstrosity. Note the F-body Camaro-ish tail, and of course, side pipes. Because what engine goes with side pipes better than a 3.1L V6.

Source: Ebay

TST Podcast #64: Lemons, kidnapper locks, and the importance of gauges

Zack K — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:31:56 +0000

It should be noted this was our first time setting up a live video feed, and we recorded about 20 minutes of that, including some testing. That will be done ahead of time from now on, so bear with us, or just fast forward to about 15 minutes in.

We are fresh off of Infineon/Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, where Matt, Tom, Zack, and JF raced in the 24 Hours of Lemons dubbed “Sears Pointless” . If you don’t know what Lemons is, basically it’s a bunch of car nerds racing cars worth only $500, for around 8 hours per day. It sounds like a joke, and some of the cars definitely are, but some of the teams are serious, and sneak in some serious hardware; A V8-powered car with a dog box transmission is worth a bit more.

We, however, stayed true to the spirit of Lemons, and drove a 2000 Honda Civic Si (w/o the Si motor) that looked like it had been used for down time in a junk yard. We give you all the details in the podcast, including why we didn’t pass tech, our scramble to get on course, and how we went from “Let’s just go up and have fun.” to “Ok, minimize fuel stops and save tires!” in about an hour.

We also talk about the new Cadillac CTS, argue about interiors, discuss our ride in the new G63 AMG, luxury sports sedans, and show you how you can protect your shoes while driving. (Jump for a visual of that last one.)

Head over to our Shout Engine page to download the podcast in all its forms.

Oh it’s real. It’s all too real.

Watch the Hennessy Venom GT become the Fastest Production Car (*that you can buy)

Zack K — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:06:43 +0000

By Zack Klapman

I can hear you already, “Nu uh! The Veyron SS went 267.8MPH, which is faster than the uber-slow Venom‘s 265.7MPH!” FTW, omg, lolls, all that crap.

Well you’re right, the Veyron SS has gone faster than the Venom GT, BUT, when Bugatti hands you the keys to your slug-shaped transporter, it will be “…electronically limited to 415 km/h (258 mph) to protect the tyres from disintegrating.” (Wikipedia) So, although the Veyron has achieved a higher speed (with a lot more room than the Venom’s 2 miles), those of silver spoon and diamond cock ring won’t be able to take one all the way.

Not so with Venom, which is passed to you with no restrictions; keep your OEM paws off my gas pedal. What would you expect from Texas other than de-regulation? I’ll defend John too; if someone sold me on a car that does X, and then gives me one that isn’t allowed/can’t do X, I’d be a bit pissed. Yeah, I know few people will go 268, and I understand VW has to protect itself legally, but it feels a little like marrying Christina Hendricks and then, on your wedding day, she says she only wears full-length dashikis. (Plus, watching the video, I’d say it’s obvious that with more room, the Venom will walk past 268MPH. The Venom GT gets to 186MPH a full second ahead of the Veyron SS, and it doesn’t let up.)

And thus, due to some bureaucratic tape and legal jargon, the Hennessey Venom GT is the fastest production car in the world. Jump to watch how fast it gets there.

Veyron http://youtu.be/aUpF_pTWbp8

Source: Hennessey via YouTube

Bet your exams never included muddy jumps in a 911 [video]

Zack K — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:30:20 +0000

During moments of big counter-steer, the Lexan window can be a poor substitute for an oh shit handle.

By Zack Klapman

In my exam for Fine Art 1001 I had to draw a naked guy who looked like he would have been the sound manager for The Grateful Dead. This guy (Richard Tuthill, who built Chris Harris’ green Porsche)’s test is sliding and jumping his vintage Porsche rally car around Africa, to make sure the dampers are good for an upcoming rally. Big air? Check. Long drifts in mud? Check. Constant steering corrections? Check. Grey balls? None (I think). Sounds better than my test.

Jump to watch one of the best Porsche 911 videos on the internet: a vintage Porsche rally car testing its suspension, shot on a modern camera. Bingo.

Richard Tuthills runs Tuthills Porsche, where they restore and modify classic Porsches, and build rally cars. The son of a former rally driver, he is the head of the company, tests all the cars himself, and teaches an ice driving rally school for 911 cars every year; Clearly, his life has taken some unfortunate turns.*

For more, check out a short interview 10 Questions with Richard Tuthill

Source: YouTube

*Sarcasm, of course.

Hooniverse explains Why Old Cars, even slow ones, Are Great [video]

Zack K — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:48:46 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Familiar readers know I love old cars. I grew up riding (sometimes uncomfortably) to school in my dad’s 1972 Volvo P1800ES, and going skiing in his 1979 International Scout (I was born in 1982, so these were considered “old”.) I was in a hot rod club in high school, ran out of a classic repair shop, and my first car was a 1965 Pontiac Le Mans.

So when Jeff Glucker asked if I would film a review of his friend Tom’s 1969 Pontiac Firebird, “Yes.” was chambered in my brain as soon as I heard “…69 Pontia-”. Spend the day with an old car? Absolutely. This is not a pro-touring ’69 Firebird, not even close. The engine is stock, and looks it (I had forgotten what a stock non-Barrett Jackson engine looked like. Dirty.). The interior is a bit rough, the windows wiggle. You think the transmission in your Taurus shifts slowly? You can book a flight between gears in this thing. Slow, sloppy, brittle, and one of the best film days to memory, because of whatever it is that makes these cars so touching, so fun, so interesting.

That intangible quality is what Jeff tries to find and explain; Why old cars rule. And I think he does a pretty good job. Jump to watch.

Source: The Hooniverse

New video from Frazer Spowart (w/video, duh)

Zack K — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:23:30 +0000

By Zack Klapman

No one paints a better picture of the person a car than our friend, Frazer Spowart. We first met Frazer while filming a kid drifting under a semi-truck for /DRIVE, but you might know him as the man behind the web series “Cars I See“. Those videos featured the owners of various classic cars (a BMW 2002, Porsche 930), bringing you their stories of buying, owning, maintaining, and driving, coveted cars that many of us have probably owned in Matchbox form.

Now Frazer is producing similar videos for Petrolicious. Don’t go into these expecting big drifts and Italian burnouts; these videos are as much about the people as the cars. If i read that, I’d think it sounded a bit boring, but the key to why I like these so much is that Frazer finds people that truly love their cars, and helps convey the precisely why. The cars aren’t just an investment or treated like a coffee table book. They don’t trailer them around, and some owners -like Joe Frazer, owner of the collection above – aren’t afraid to sell a car in order to get something new.

We (TST) get the chance drive a large variety of cars, and that’s a true gift. To buy 4 cars, and keep them forever, passing up the chance to drive many others, would be a life wasted. Variety is the spice of life, Joe Frazar knows it (he’s owned a claimed 100+ cars), and after you watch Frazer Spowart’s video, you’ll be itching to get on CraigsList, looking for the next thing. Jump to watch.

Source: Petrolicious

Why is there a Lego Stig on Matt’s head? (video)

Zack K — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:38:58 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Timmy: “Why is there a Lego Stig stuck to the back of Matt’s head?”

Me: “I don’t know, Timmy. Like you, I missed the AMMONYC launch party in NYC. It was this past Thursday at the Manhattan Car Club. That’s right! That cool building with all the old cars that people can drive around NY. It’s like a golf club but more fun, and they let you wear t-shirts. Like a time share without talking to old people at a pool. So AMMO teamed up with Jalopnik and had a party.

Why did they have a party for car soap? Hahaha, you crack me up Timster. Ooh! Don’t say that to Larry. Remember how angry he got when dad asked if it was ok to wash a new Porsche with a bar of Irish Spring? I know, buddy, it was scary, but Larry replaced the window, and brought us a new dog, so let’s try to forget.

Anyway, his company is doing really well. People really like all the cool how-to videos, remember them? Where he shows you how to make your car look amazing?! So he’s celebrating, and all the writers were in New York for the car show anyway… I don’t care what Blake said, we’re not called “journalists”. We save that for the people that go to sandy places and stand near explosions….right, like Anderson Cooper before he became Sally Jessy Raphael. Anyway, Larry invited them all to go there to hang out around some really cool cars! Some lucky fans even got to go. Whaddya think buddy, pretty cool right? Why didn’t daddy get to go? Because daddy needs to save money for a power steering pump.”

Timmy: “Didn’t you say you spent money on the sleepover with that lady?”

Me: “Hey, who wants ice cream?!”

Make the jump for a video of the party. Check out the sweet matte blue Porsche, more stickers (on a girl), and try to find all the DRIVE peeps that are there. Find them all and you can stay up 10 minutes after bedtime.

Congratulations to Larry for his success. He works his ass off on the videos, all in the name of helping you learn how to make your car look as good as possible. Do him proud, he’ll be checking your work.

Source: AMMO NYC

Check out AMMO’s excellent channel of How-To videos, hosted by his gloriousness, Larry, here. They help keep your car so fresh and so clean clean.

Jaguar XKR-S GT: Missing the one thing it needs.

Zack K — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:27:06 +0000

By Zack Klapman

It’s the new, track-tastic Jaguar XKR-S GT. A car with a name that would kick ass in scrabble, if only it had a vowel. The GT stands for “Grandiosely Typical”. I say typical because to me, Jaguar has been sucked into the trends of the internet; carbon fiber everywhere, the uniform of a true racer.

Power is still 550HP, but 0-60 drops .3 seconds to 3.9. That wing (found in the Porsche RS dumpsters, and ruining an otherwise beautiful car.) does generate 380lbs of down force, at a completely street-able 185MPH. In Jaguar’s defense, there are 923 corners on racetracks around the world that permit that kind of speed. That is a lie. (The snark is strong today, apologies.) Anyway, I’m sure the new carbon ceramic brakes stop you like a naked Kat Denning at a crosswalk, the canards up front surely help stability, and the hood vents help extract heat.

But Jaguar hasn’t upgraded the one crucial piece of the puzzle, the one chink in the XKR-S’ armor: the transmission. I’m not just talking about the fact it’s the same 6-speed automatic that has been around for years ( A GT3 RS might be covered in carbon buttresses, but it has a PDK; a transmission equivalent to a love child between Stephen Hawking and The Flash). No, I’m talking about the lack of any mention of a cooling upgrade in the XKR-S GT. That’s unfortunate, because the last XKR-S I drove around a race track had to take a breather after every 3-lap session. The transmission cannot handle serious track use for extended periods of time. The brakes can withstand heat, but I don’t know if you can drive long enough to generate any.

I love Jaguars. I loved the XF. I would daily drive an XKR over many other premium coupes, just because it’s beautiful, rare-ish, and a hoot to drive. But I’m a little disappointed that they rammed out a special edition, using cliche brush strokes. Hopefully I’m wrong. Maybe those hood extractors solve the transmission problem, and this will be a supermodel in track shoes.

The Smoking Tire Podcast is Now LIVE on YouTube!

Matt — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 03:42:31 +0000

**The Live Stream has ended, but the video is there forever! Watch it now, before the audio download is available.

It’s more fun to do it on ice: Video from the Canadian Rally Championship

Zack K — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 21:40:51 +0000

By Zack Klapman

If you don’t know who Andrew Comrie-Picard (or “ACP” as we all call him) is, you should. He’s the driver that did that front-flip in an Evo 8 at X Games 14 (watch here). He’s a rally driver, stunt driver, auto writer, and a Consulting Producer for Top Gear USA; basically all the fun things you and I wish we were. He left a job as a lawyer to do this, which earns him extra points. He lives in CA, drives a 930 Porsche, and drinks like a champ.

Like many racing drivers, he has other jobs on the side, but they are always related to cars. This particular example is the video he produced for the Canadian Rally Championship, specifically the Rallye Perce-Neige Maniwaki 2WD. I don’t know what those words mean. Probably something like, “Pierce Brosnan flag girl for icing roads on 2WD.”

The video is short, set to good music, and shows a variety of FWD and RWD cars blasting down seriously slippery roads. I’ve driven quite fast on a snowy highway before, but there wasn’t a “yump” in the middle of it. Their balls may be frozen solid, but they’re still big. Jump to see how the Great White North does driving, then listen to the podcast with ACP!

Follow on Twitter: @thesmokingtire @zackklapman

Video: Carbon Revolution’s CR-9 Single-Piece Carbon Wheel Track Test

Matt — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:18:16 +0000

We’ve been hearing about Carbon Fiber wheels for a while now. First, there were the Dymag’s with their Carbon barrels. Then, people began assembling wheels themselves (such as the three-piece wheels on Matt’s Corvette where the outer piece is Carbon). But these are a first: Carbon Revolution’s one-piece Carbon Fiber wheels. They are beautiful, simple, and light, and according to the manufacturer, strong enough to pass Germany’s TUV standards, known for being some of the toughest in the world. On a Porsche GT3, switching the stock wheels to these carbon wheels will cut 45 lbs of unsprung weight from the car. So when they invited us to Willow Springs to test them out for ourselves, we couldn’t resist. Hit the jump for the video.

Sebring through a driver’s eyes. [video]

Zack K — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:23:21 +0000

By Zack Klapman

I really like this video of Tommy Milner testing his Corvette C6.R before Sebring. With a helmet cam giving you a first-person shooter view, you go with him as he walks through pit lane, talks to his crew, and (most importantly for us viewers) run nighttime testing. It’s a part of racing we rarely see. We always see them talk about their sponsors, the track conditions, their sponsors, how they prepped the car, thank the sponsor, humbly explain they’re just going to go out and do their best, take a sip of their sponsored beverage, and that’s it.

But this video, shot by DRIVE, has a very honest, exposed, almost vulnerable feel to it. Tommy walks the pit, waving, bumping fists, joking around. I always assumed these guys had the face of Darth Vader on before taking out such a serious car, especially at night. But, apparently, they are real human beings. You ride with Tommy as he goes out, runs some laps, comes in, asks for changes to the car, and repeats the process. And, because it’s not during the race, you (the viewer) aren’t trying to keep track of who’s in what position, what lap it is, and which camera the TV producer switched to. It just feels like you’re Tommy, and that’s pretty damn cool. Jump to watch.

Source: DRIVE Network

TST Podcast #62 – “LaPodcast”

Zack K — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:32:45 +0000

Happy Weds lady and gentlemen. It’s the Smoking Tire Podcast. When we recorded this, the Geneva Auto Show was in full swing (including the release of ~~That~~ That Ferrari), Matt had just finished off-roading the Range Rover Evoque, and Zack was back from a snowy trip in the BMW X1. We also tell you why MP4-12C windows sometimes commit sepukku, and argue about the good and bad of hybrid performance cars. Jump, download, maintain sanity.

http://shoutengine.com/TheSmokingTire/

[video] 736HP + FWD=Whoooooaaaaaa!

Zack K — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 02:06:47 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Does 679 sound like a good number of horsepower to put through the front wheels of a car? Does 50 sound like a good number of PSI to put through a 2.0-liter motor? Would the safest car to put both of those into be a Mk1 VW Golf? No, no, and no. Asking the front tires to simultaneously put down power and steer is a bad idea with the MazdaSpeed 3′s modest 263HP. Germany’s Boba Motoring has tripled that number, and put it in a car that has the weight and aerodynamic stability of a bouncy castle. Its wheels are as far apart as an elephant standing on a globe. Yikes.

Judging by the smoke above, it would probably run a 1/4 mile in minutes (calm down, it’s a joke), and driving it on a road course would be as scary as flying an F-22 at a Red Bull air race. “Oh dear, I hit the afterburner and now I’m burrowing into the ocean floor.”

But…

…when the drive gets it into 4th gear on the highway, the world behind this car ceases to exist. Watch the rear-shot camera to see how fast other cars disappear. This car is silly, and crazy, and I don’t know where you drive it, or for how long it would stay together. But good god, when it hits boost in 4th, it, is, gone. Jump to watch.

Morality Bites: Bits of Ryan Dunn’s Car For Sale?

Zack K — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:34:33 +0000

By Zack Klapman

My initial reaction to receiving an email titled “Pieces of Ryan Dunn’s Porsche on CraigsList” was, “That’s really messed up.” I assumed someone had scrounged the tarmac of tragedy in the interest of making a quick buck. An assumption that is the product of our celebrity-obsessed times. Sad that the sensationalist acts of many can cause me to be such a cynical ass.

So I clicked on the post. To my surprise, it read like the story of a true fan; he just wanted some stuff to remember a Jackass legend with. He went out there and picked up tiny bits of plastic, put them in a box, and put them under the bed; The same way a kid might get a kick out of having one of A Rod’s discarded sweat bands, even though it’s one of thousands. It didn’t quite sound like a greedy troll had swept up the highway and for a quick Ebay auction.

But I still can’t give him a full pass, because he’s still selling the parts. Reading the text I understand, but seeing that price makes me sour. I know that no one gives anything away anymore, so why not try, but asking $300 for shredded Porsche feels too opportunistic.

And, if “weird stuff” really is happening as a result of having those parts (not that I believe in that Ghost Hunters shit), I can’t think of something to piss off a ghost more than trying to sell the “haunted” artifact.

Sunday Matinee: Matt Does Carolla’s Car Cast and Brings Out the Corvette (Video and Audio)

Matt — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 18:48:33 +0000

Last week, I had the privilege of making a return appearance on Adam Carolla and “Motorator” Matt D’Andria’s “Car Cast.” We talked about the values of collector cars, why a new Lamborghini costs $4 million, vintage racing, the 24 Hours of Lemons, and basically made fun of each other for an hour. Then we went outside where I gave Adam and Matt a tour of my 1998 Corvette, along with a few revs in case your hearing works too well. Hit the jump for the video and to download the 45 minute audio podcast.

First, you’ll want to download the podcast audio here. Or listen to it in a web browser here.

And then check out the tour of my C5 Corvette here.

Video: Do “CamberTires” Actually Work?

Matt — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:43:28 +0000

As long as I can remember, (and in fact for far longer than I can remember), tires have been the same general shape and size. Sure, as tire technology has improved, manufacturers have offered larger wheel sizes with lower sidewall profiles, but a tire has pretty much always been a cylinder that works most effectively when a car is going straight. This allows the tire to rest evenly on its sidewalls, which for all time have been the same size.

Enter the Optima Sports “CamberTire,” a tire that is not shaped like a cylinder, but rather like a cone. Its outer diameter is larger than the inner diameter, meaning it has either 2, 3, or 4 degrees of integrated camber (depending on the model), allowing you to run lots of camber in a track or street car without any of the normal side effects of camber, such as increased inner tire wear. It looks a bit silly on the car, but Optima Sports and its founder John Scott promises that his invention will revolutionize the way tires are designed. According to them, the CamberTires offer increased lateral grip, improved braking, steering feel, and efficiency. They say the tires also wear more evenly than standard tires, even while drifting, and provide increased ride quality and fuel efficiency. That’s all nice, but the question is, do they work? We took two Mitsubishi Evo’s to the Hyundai Proving Grounds to find out. Video after the jump.

[video] Making a Car Chase out of Cardboard

Zack K — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:15:26 +0000

By Zack Klapman

We’ve all seen enough car chases that we each create a half-decent one, right? People like us could tell you what it takes to make a good car chase better than we could how one brushes their teeth. Couple cars, some high-speed stuff, some power slides, some stuff to run into, the two subject cars seeming equally matched, until one stumbles, and then it can miraculously catch back up… That’s basically it, especially in older movies, before CGI and the X-Games. The best example is Bullitt, which makes serious magic out of a few jumps and some double-clutch shifting.

Using that logic, the pictures above should make a lot of sense. The top is a screen grab from a YouTube video titled “Car Chase Cliches” a montage of those typical car chase moments: crashes, slides, jumps, knocking over trash cans in alleys, etc. Look at the top frame. What are the cars doing? Crashing into some unlucky tables and fruit stands; a moment of destruction to act as a bridge between high-speed sequences. Now look at the lower part of the picture, and you’ll see RC cars, crashing into….some unlucky tables and chairs. See, some genius called FinalCutKing noticed the repetitive nature of a cinematic car chase, and figured he could re-create it using some RC cars, cardboard buildings, and various miniatures. He created a cityscape that is damn accurate; construction, tables, cones, alleys, trees, the works. Then, he shot a car chase, perfectly. When you watch the video, you’ll be amazed at how many times you’ll think, “I’ve seen that shot in a movie.” It’s really incredible, and very well done. Jump to watch the video, and then, to compare, watch the montage of film car chases. Very, very cool.

Source: YouTube

Review: Mazda CX-5 Touring

Matt — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:26:30 +0000

By Ben Aghajanian

As loyal readers know, I’m not a huge fan of crossovers. However, there are exceptions to every rule. Upshift has previously tested a Volvo XC60 and a Ford Escape V6, and come away impressed in both instances. The Volvo provides moves that would not be out of place in a (big) sport sedan, and the Escape does a darn good impression of a small, body-on-frame SUV, when it comes to the solid ride, low NVH, and towing ability.

Mazda’s ads claim that the crossover is a “product of compromise” but that they “have the technology to save it.” Does the CX-5 measure up to these claims?

I drove a CX-5 Touring AWD at Bass Mazda in Sheffield Lake, Ohio, last weekend. It was not loaded (that’s the Grand Touring model), but it was well-equipped with a power driver’s seat, sunroof, a crisp in-dash LCD touch screen, 17-inch alloy wheels, and steering wheel audio controls among the amenities.

Mazda’s new Skyactiv® technology has been getting a lot of press among car enthusiasts and the industry as a whole. Instead of going the hybrid route that other manufacturers have chosen, Mazda decided to take established engineering (including the internal combustion engine) up a few notches. They have lightened the structure, and built new engines and transmissions from the ground up. They’ve reduced friction in the powertrain, resulting in an engine that’s 15% more efficient, a transmission that’s 7% more efficient, and a manual (surprise!) with the shortest throws in its class. Mazda also uses ultra-high tensile steel in the body, which is an industry first.

My home Mazda dealer sits on a large piece of property. So what did they do? The entrance road to the dealer is a twisting, turning ribbon of concrete about ½ a mile long. Genius. Pulling out of the dealer, I was pleased that the CX-5 has some usable low-end torque, under 2,500rpm or so. This is impressive given that the engine is only a 2.0 liter. Short story: this thing can handle. It straight up embarrasses everything else in the class. Taking tight turns on the access road at 35-40mph, the CX-5 is planted, poised, and confident. I heard little to no tire squeal. The steering is brilliant—very direct with little play, but not heavy at all. It feels similar to a BMW in this regard.

Then, I guided the CX-5 toward the highway. The 2.0 liter Skyactiv-G (G stands for gas; Mazda also makes a Skyactiv-D diesel engine) moves it without too much fuss. There isn’t a ton of power, but there is enough to keep up with traffic without any issues. The 6-speed manu-matic helps in this regard. The engine doesn’t seem to get bogged down at low RPMs, and it doesn’t rev too high on the highway with the generous overdrive. Going 75mph, the revs were under 2,500 rpm. Wind noise is low on the highway, with just a little around the A-pillars and roof area. Road noise was commendably low. It has a stable highway ride, which is often an issue in small crossovers.

The Mazda also delivers in the interior department, with logical controls and nice materials. The seats are very good. They have solid bolstering and support, especially for the lower back. It’s nice that you can get cloth seats with a well-equipped model. They are grippy and provide a just-right level of cushioning. Likewise, the dashboard is well laid out. The gauges are white-on-black and very easy to read at a glance. An exterior thermometer readout, and range calculator/average MPG display are included in the instrument cluster. Likewise, the radio and HVAC controls have intuitive knobs and buttons. (Remember, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it). Even though this is a well-equipped trim level, they didn’t make auto climate control standard—a good move, in my opinion. My daily driver has it, and after more than 2.5 years with it, I still don’t see the advantages that it offers. The radio/nav is a combination of buttons and a touch screen. Buttons control the most important functions, such as volume and tuning, and the screen is used for secondary controls. It’s clear and reacts quickly to touch commands. The stereo is a Bose® unit that has 9 speakers and sounds strong, from the brief time that I had it on.

The driving position is also very good. I’ve driven some cars where I frequently have to adjust the seat and the steering wheel to get comfortable. With the CX-5, I barely moved anything. You don’t have to reach when turning the three-spoke steering wheel, or lean forward at all. The wheel itself sits at an ergonomically friendly angle, and is a nice size, with grippy leather and notches at 10 and 2.

More evidence that the engineers had their thinking caps on when designing the CX-5 is the way the rear seats fold. The lever is in the cargo area, and involved a simple pull. More importantly, the middle rear seat (the entire seat—not a pass-through) folds independently of the two outboard seats. This is especially handy if you’re carrying skis or snowboards, long pieces of wood, defenseman lacrosse sticks, etc. The folding feature gives the CX-5 a leg-up on the competition when it comes to cargo versatility.

What didn’t I like about the CX-5? Very few things. One of those is the rather large rear blind spots, which are an unfortunate and unsafe product of modern car design. You have to do a little guesswork when moving into the left lane, or making a left turn. It’s less of an issue turning right, due to the better angle. Also, it’s not exactly powerful, but it gets the job done. And, a 2.5 liter 4 cylinder and a diesel are on the way, which should be good for people that can either sacrifice a couple mpgs with the 2.5 or know that diesels are awesome and efficient (like Europeans, everyone that’s been buying VW TDIs for years, and me).

The CX-5 does what the rest of the segment doesn’t—it delivers great handling, yet best-in-the-entire-industry-among-SUVs gas mileage of up to 26mpg city, 35mpg highway. It also features thoughtful and useful design, inside and out. Unless you need more power—which is coming soon—it is hands-down equal to or better than anything else in its class.

Review: BMW C600 Sport

Matt — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:30:37 +0000

For just a second, imagine you’re a motorcycle enthusiast. For some of you, this won’t be very difficult, and for others it may be a stretch. You love the feeling of being on two wheels, the freedom it provides, the escape from the stress of your day; no phones ringing in your ears, no kids screaming at you, no over-demanding customers to deal with. When you ride, it’s just you, a machine with a seat on it, the wind in your face and the hum of your engine. Who needs a shrink, when you have a motorcycle, right?

What type of motorcycle were you thinking of when you read that above statement? Was it a superbike like the Aprilia RSV4? How about an adventure bike you could ride around the world like the BMW R1200GS? Was it a loud-as-hell, straight-piped Harley? I’m guessing that most of you have thought of bikes that on some level fall into one of those categories. How about a scooter, though? Not so much? Well I’m going to go out on a limb, and probably ostracize myself from the motorcycle community in the process by saying it, but I like scooters. A lot. And for the last two weeks, I’ve been laughed at for not only riding the BMW C600 Sport, a scooter, to work, to car shows, and through the canyons, but also enjoying the hell out of it. Hit the jump to find out what it is about BMW’s first maxi-scooter that tickles my fancy.

Having had several thousand miles of experience on BMW motorcycles, I know a BMW bike when I see one. The quality of these bikes is unbelievably good in comparison to other makes, even more so than in their cars. The switchgear, gauge cluster, materials, and ease of use are all excellent. It’s full of luxury touches too, from the two-helmet storage under the seat, the “dashboard” storage compartments for my garage door opener, and multi-stage heated seat (with independent controls for front and rear) and handgrips. There are gauges for exterior temperature, fuel range, tire pressure monitoring, oil level, and of course the requisite speedometer and tach. Out front, there’s an adjustable windshield to keep drivers of all heights free from fighting the wind at speed.

And speed there will be, because (despite the slightly confusing nomenclature), it’s got a 650cc engine making 60 horsepower and 49 lb/ft, sent to the rear wheel via CVT transmission and centrifugal clutch. That’s TRIPLE the horsepower of a Vespa 300 GTS Super Sport, their fastest model. Given that the C600 Sport only has to move 522 lbs, it has, give or take a tenth, the same power to weight ratio as a 2013 Ford Mustang GT (8.7 lbs/hp). It will run a low 13-second quarter mile on its way to an unbelievable 109 mph top speed. Remember, we’re talking about a scooter here. My first year on two wheels was spent on top of a 50cc Vespa that would maybe do 50 mph downhill. I would have never thought a vehicle could offer that level of practicality with entry-level sportbike performance on top.

Like other motorcycles, the C600 Sport makes urban commuting fun, especially in a place like Los Angeles where lane splitting is safe and legal. Take, for instance, my standard morning commute from my home in Playa del Rey, CA to my office at Gotham Dream Cars in West LA, a distance of 6.8 miles. In a car, in morning rush hour traffic, this takes anywhere from 27 to 38 minutes (welcome to LA, people). During my two weeks with the C600, I averaged a commute time of 10 to 14 minutes, without breaking any laws, and while returning nearly 50 mpg. The instant torque combination of the large displacement engine and the CVT transmission makes pulling away from traffic at a light as simple as twisting the throttle, and while there’s gobs of power, it never feels like the C600 is going to get away from you. The suspension and oversized (for a scooter) 15” wheels soak up LA’s awful tarmac like a fine luxury car, with a good balance of suspension travel (4.5”) vs. weight. And though 522 lbs is rather heavy for a non-touring bike, it only feels its weight in the tightest of corners, which can be found in the hills of Malibu.

Yes, I took the C600 Sport canyon carving. Yes, pretty much everyone laughed to themselves at my expense as I cruised by the Rock Store. And yes, a crazy person on a Panigale passed me on the way up the Snake. But the final, and most important “yes” is that yes, I enjoyed the hell out of that Sunday, and surprised a few people along the way. The C600 Sport has some real performance chops to it, which a fleet of about ten Harleys learned as I cruised by them down Encinal Canyon. Thanks to the CVT, it’s always in the right gear pulling out of a corner. Thanks to the 10.6” 2-piston ABS brakes, it can scrub speed safely and quickly. I even got it a little sideways during a particularly scary “rock-avoidance” maneuver, and the C600 really does have the handling abilities you’d expect from something with a much shorter wheelbase or a lighter weight.

So while the C600 Sport really does straddle the gap between motorcycle and scooter, between fun and practicality, between performance and ease of use, very well, there is one thing that will keep me from purchasing such a machine: the price. The C600 Sport is seriously expensive for a scooter, at $9,500, enough to buy a used scooter and a used sport/city motorcycle, each of which is better at specific tasks than the C600 Sport. A Vespa 125cc is lighter, smaller, more maneuverable around the city, and more efficient, and a 600 cc Sport Bike offers more grip and more performance for the dollar. Plus, you don’t feel nearly as silly riding either of those around. Nevertheless, if you need one bike to do it all and aren’t particularly image conscious, you should definitely stop by a BMW Motorrad dealer and take one for a ride. Hopefully, you’d end up as surprised as I did.

BMW Motorrad provided the motorcycle, insurance, and a tank of fuel for this review. Photos courtesy BMW.

Wanted: Cop (car) gone Rogue

Zack K — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:57:30 +0000

By Zack Klapman

For sale: bag of awesome shaped like a 1995 Chevy Caprice police car.

Price: $4999.

Notes: 190k miles on original engine . Clean title in hand . Registered until October of 2013. Comes with push bar and spotlight, and a plastic backseat so your passengers can poop their pants and clean it up quickly (yeah, they clean it up. It’s their fault that last apex caused loss of bowel control, not yours.)

As you know from our love of The Battle Wagon, we’re a fan of old LT1-powered Caprices. This one is just way harder, faster stronger. Who wouldn’t want to own an old cop car? People get out of your way, they last forever, they’re big, comfortable, parts practically grow out of the ground. The only real problem I ever saw with a Crown Vic was 1. Automatic Trans. 2. Too slow. This guy fixed all that, and now you have a pro-touring muscle car wearing a police uniform.

Parts? Uh, yeah, it’s got parts… Jump for more info and pics on this bad boy.

BAM!

—Suspension—
1.5 inch Herb Adams Rear Sway Bar
1.25 inch Front Sway Bar out of an Early 70′s Camaro Z28 (aka F-Body Bar)
Energy Suspension Polyurethane Bushings on Front Sway
Bilstein Shocks
Stock 1996 Impala Springs (Lower)
Global West Front Control Arms w/ Del A Lum Bushings
Aftermarket Rear Lower Control Arms w/ Del A Lum Bushings
All Ball Joints, Idler Arm, Pitman Arm, Tie Rods, Front End Steering Replaced about 1k Miles Ago
Springs and Sways replaced about 25k Ago, Rest of Suspension work about 1k Ago

—Engine/Drivetrain—
T-56 Chevy/GM from 1995 Z28 Camaro, Complete Rebuild and Install 1k Miles Ago
LT4 Clutch with All GM Parts including Master and Slave Cylinder
Custom Aluminum Driveshaft from Denny’s Driveshaft (Installed with Transmission)
Eaton Posi/LSD w/ 4.56:1 Ratio (Installed with Transmission)
Custom Programmed ECU from PCM for Less (Bryan Herter)
New Battery (Jan 2012 w/ 100 month Warranty)
RAISS Ram Air Intake System (w/ CARB Sticker)
Clear Image Tri-Y Headers (w/ CARB Sticker)
Clear Image High Flow Catalytic Converters
AC System just had Hoses replaced and Refilled
Water Pump, Radiator, and EGR Valve Replaced 25k Ago
Taylor SpiroPro 8mm Plug Wires
Flowmaster Catback Exhaust System
Stock heads
Stock cam

—Other—
BF Goodrich Radial T/A Tires 295/50/15 (About 80% Tread Remaining)
Custom Wide Rear Police Rims for Wider Tires 15×10
Performance Brake Pads (25k Ago)
Stainless Brake Lines
Hurst Billet Plus Shifter
95 Z28 Camaro Clutch Pedal w/ Billet Aluminum Adapter
New Windshield
GM Deck out of S10 Pickup with CD Player (Plugged in with No Modifications)
Aftermarket Speakers
Fuel Gauge Accuracy Fix Modification
Taillight/Headlight Flashers
Custom Fuel Pump Cutoff
Tail Lights from 1991 Caprice
Rear Sequential Blinkers
1989 Mercury Tracer Power Front Seats (Matching Blue, More Comfort)
Civilian Trunk Liner and Rear Seat

This would be a sick daily driver. Police car durability, surrounding drivers fear you, capable on a road course or a drag strip, makes noise, does burnouts, pushes lesser beings out of the way, then shines the spotlight of disdain on them. Worth it? Easily.

Source: CraigsList

This is why you Wear Gear

Zack K — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:54:12 +0000

By Zack Klapman

This was a scene we passed two days ago, March 11th, 2013. Driving North on the 405, up ahead we saw 3 Highway Patrol cars in the middle of the freeway, stopped. “Whoa, what’s going on here?” Thaddeus chimes in. It’s not normal to see the freeway at full stop, and it usually means a gun fight, or a really, really bad car accident.

But as we approached, we saw no cars. No two truck. No anything, really, except…oh shit.

The tell-tale bulging white sheet on a highway; something rarely seen but all too recognizable. As we got closer we could see that next to it sat a helmet. A protruding leg was clad in a tennis shoe, the bare skin indicating the rider was wearing shorts; unfortunately a common sight in fair weather areas.

If you ride a motorcycle, wear you’re fucking gear. We don’t know the details of this crash, maybe the guy was going 160MPH on his front wheel while playing air guitar. It’s possible even Iron Man’s suit couldn’t have prevented this fatality. Leathers won’t prevent a broken neck, or do much to lessen the impact of someone’s bumper, but you never know. Riders, I know, I remember the excuses: “It’s warm out.” “I’m not going far.” “I can’t afford leathers.” “I’m going to see my girl and they make my balls gross.” None of that is a good enough reason.

Maybe this makes me seem old, or like a nerd, or like the mother of the world, telling everyone to put on a rain coat because it’s cold outside, but the point is that bikes are super dangerous even wearing leathers. Alpinestars doesn’t make an anti-Peterbilt jacket, but the back protectors, knee pads, and everything else could just save your life. Think of it like the Butterfly effect: leathers might slow your slide, lessening (or even stopping) how hard you hit that wall/pole/cliff. When I crashed my bike, I cracked my skull through my helmet. I broke ribs through the padding in my jacket. Hurt? Yeah, very. But without those two things I’d be dead, no question.

If it’s hot out, buy a textile jacket. Buy reinforced jeans that don’t vaporize after sliding only 3 feet (like your 501s will). Wear a back protector, so at least you can pick out the rocks in your skin yourself, because you won’t be paralyzed. And if you really need more convincing, girls (or whoever you’re trying to bone) notice moto jackets, and they like them. Get some leathers. You wouldn’t go swimming with Great Whites wearing only a mask because “I’m claustrophobic in metal cages.” would you?

TST Podcast #61, with the Zero F*cks RX-7′s master, Corbin Goodwin

Zack K — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:42:58 +0000

This is Corbin Goodwin, the boy wonder that built the now-legendary RX-7 rat rod. Matt drove it on /TUNED, and the response to the video was that of Bieber getting caught exiting his 458 with no panties on. Explosive. Viral. Celebrated. People loved the car, and the attitude behind its creator. This car is as interesting to drive as it looks. For example, in the picture above, Corbin is describing how his car sometimes gets starved for fuel in left-hand turns. The gas gauge is an ohms reader, the engagement point of the clutch is literally 1 inch, and there’s play in the steering wheel.

And now we get to talk about how this car came to be, Corbin’s past cars (it’s a long list that anyone would be pretty jealous of), and what his next project is. This was a great episode with a great guest, and we’re so amped to see how Corbin’s next project goes.

Click here to download the podcast (iTunes, RSS, or raw mp3), and make the jump to see what the hell we were talking about.

http://shoutengine.com/TheSmokingTire/

Corbin’s 1979 rolls silver shadow II

Camber tires

S600

Oops…

Saiga shotgun

Old school Rolls Royce rally car

Rolls Royce Grass Drifting

Town Country SRT-4

Read the full story over at Jalopnik

2.5 aluminum 4 by Nick Arias (link)

Stratus Gallardo (Read the post about it here)

@thesmokingtire @zackklapman @shoutengine @hayesdata

Death of the True Sports Car

Zack K — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 18:21:49 +0000

By Alex Ristovic and Eric Plasencia

You are Jenson Button and you are driving your McLaren MP4 12C at a track day in Silverstone. As you slam on the brakes to turn into a tight corner, a hyper advanced computer commands all hands on deck to perform their duties like Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise. Raise the air-brake, moderate brake pressure on the inside wheels, rev match upon downshifting, load the second clutch for the next gear change, and on and on.

Should you be riding shotgun, watching Jenson, you’d never know the slew of activity going on behind the scenes. All a person would notice is the mind-numbing grip and plummeting lap times. How does that make you feel? The thought that surely comes to mind is “wow this car is fast!” Notice how you don’t immediately credit the maestro for his performance. Is the McLaren, along with the horde of other advanced supercars of today, truly a sports car? How can there be a sport without a player? Supercars have progressively advanced more and more, which in turn requires less and less driver input. They are taking the “sport” out of “sports cars.”

Let’s take a look at the word “sport.” You go hunting to take down a large buck for your mantle. Why do you do this? You hunt for sport of course. Otherwise, your wife could take a trip down to a local taxidermist and buy a pretty mount that includes its own lag screws! Your McLaren is just like your wife and the taxidermist. You aren’t out there hunting for a lap time and lateral G’s. Your car just went out there and got them for you. It wasn’t the driver who feathered the brakes to optimize exit speed, nor did he heel-toe for a seamless downshift. It was a British wizard in a lab coat back in Woking who did that for you. How sportsmanlike do you feel now?

I’m not some grandfather stuck in the good old days. I love tech as much as the next nerd. When it comes to sports, however, I value skill above all else. It is skill that gives you goose bumps. The way Ayrton Senna danced his car on the edge of its capabilities one handed as he heel-toe’d his way through the cobbled roads of Monte Carlo was truly heroic. I’m not quite sure I can get that feeling anymore with the degree of tech that backs up the drivers today. Ask any one of them and they will tell you Senna was the greatest driver ever; not Schumacher, who holds nearly every record in the book. With that reasoning, we can say with absolute certainty that nobody will ever be as good as Ayrton.

Auto makers are going faster and faster with every year, but how excited can you be anymore? We are just notching belts at this point. Top speed and times around the green hell are just numbers on a screen at this point. The progress isn’t as shocking today, it’s expected. The science is quickly outpacing the drivers. Racing drivers were once rocket men like Chuck Yeager who tested their mettle to cross into the unknown. This fear and majesty is long gone as cars can dial in lap times with the flip of a manettino switch. If you can just phone in the win, is it really a sports car?

Alex Ristovic and Eric Plasencia are writers at The Heavy Foot.com, and occasional contributors here at The Smoking Tire.

How to Make your LS-powered RX-7 SMOG legal

Zack K — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:12:00 +0000

Photo courtesy of MotoIQ.com

By Zack Klapman

My favorite website, MotoIQ, has been detailing their LS-powered RX-7 build for many moons, and they’re almost done. The engine is in, it runs, it drives. “What’s left? Let’s go drifting!!” Slow down, Brian Spilner. See, they want to be able to drive this car on the street, legally. That means registration, which means smog. We’ve talked a little about these laws on the podcast, but our advice was based on this site, far from comprehensive. What we’d read is you can swap in a more modern engine, as long as it retained its stock emissions equipment, and was from the same class of car (sports car to sports car, sedan to sedan, etc. You can’t put a Veyron motor in a minivan.)

Overly-simplified is our name.

But MotoIQ is actually going through that process, and they’re experience pointed out a lot of unknowns. Discrepancies with the BAR referee, how valuable an EO sticker is, and (shocking) how misinformed government employees can be. If you’re thinking about swapping a motor, or are curious as to why these guys wasted hours, at multiple idiotic locations, only to have it all certified in a matter of minutes by one ~~lenient~~ smart technician, jump to their post.

Source: MotoIQ

SkyNet Alert: Bored Subarus are Starting themselves.

Zack K — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:53:12 +0000

I’M BORRRRRRED!

By Zack Klapman

Subaru has issued a recall for 2010-13 Outback and Legacy, 2012-13 Imprezas, and 2013 XV Crosstreks. Not all of them, just ones fitted with a Audiovox remote engine starter. I’ll give you one guess what the problem is….

Yup, they’re starting by themselves- ZOMG THE MACHINES ARE SELF-AWARE. RUN! RUNNNNNNN!!!!

Basically, if you have this add-on accessory, and you drop the key fob, it can cause a short of some kind, giving your car a mind of its own. Some cars just start, run for 15 minutes, and then turn off, something a smart PR person would call, “Maintaining itself by performing a self-lubricating circulation.”

Other cars start, stop, and re-start, until the battery dies (“It’s just cycling the battery.”); A form of automotive seppuku. Should a car start itself in a garage, ~~weaker~~ humans could asphyxiate due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Subaru, you want to put a really cool spin on this? Just say that your cars are so athletic, energetic, and perfect for adventure, that if you don’t take them out enough, they’ll just leave without you. Like a Husky that’s cooped up in an apartment. You’re welcome.

Source: Automotive.com

Listen Up! …to the Hooniverse Podcast

Zack K — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:52:18 +0000

By Zack Klapman

The Hooniverse podcast is back. Fans of our friends over there will remember the podcast from a few years back, but this one is a bit different. Hosted by Hooniverse warlord Jeff Glucker and former serf Blake Rong, it’s a quick, 40 minute show about the entire, uh, hooniverse. Jeff keeps the show moving through various topics-news, concepts, test drives, project cars, etc.- with guests stopping by to add their opinions. If the TST Podcast was a 4-11 course meal, with dishes being created on the fly, the Hooniverse podcast is a smoothly-ran pre-fixe. Readers of the Hooniverse, used to seeing a range of topics (from new concepts, to the exotic bling machine, to some obscure brown hatchback only made in Thailand) will not be disappointed.

Jeff and Blake give you a great insight into the travels and opportunities that come the way of auto writers. But don’t think it’s just 2 dry braggarts telling you how great the shrimp in Austria was. I’m a producer on the show, and have to stifle gut-busting laughter every time we record. Click the link below, and check out the inaugural episode of the new, improved Hooniverse Podcast.

http://shoutengine.com/Hooniverse/

Source: Hooniverse

The 2014 Jeep Cherokee gives us Deja Vu

Zack K — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 20:51:54 +0000

By Zack Klapman

The new 2014 Jeep Cherokee reminds me of something…. The curvy hood, strange eyes, Piranha-like mouth…Where have I seen this….

Oh yeah…

TST Podcast #60 with Rob Ferretti

Zack K — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 19:41:52 +0000

Photo courtesy of FloridaArrests.org.

This week on the podcast it’s Rob Ferretti of Super Speeders and Gotham Dream Cars ! He joins us to talk about leprosy, exotic cars, broken motors, scooters, Ferrari radios, electric cars and supercharging vs. turbocharging. Of course, any conversation with Rob can’t be had without talking about speeding tickets, so he and Matt discuss their lifetime body counts.

Rob also live-streamed the podcast, so you can watch the video after the jump, if you have a spare 103 minutes.

Note: Our podcast is now being hosted by ShoutEngine.com. What that means for you is an easier user and download experience, no matter if you want the RSS, raw mp3, or iTunes link. All 3 are provided right on our podcast homepage, along with descriptions, the length of episode, and the file size. Make the jump, click the link, and you’re all set.

http://shoutengine.com/TheSmokingTire/

To watch Rob and Matt chop up a Volvo, race to get tickets, and crash into each other in San Francisco, click the Super Speeders banner ad on the right.

Bentley Skis make you the Baller-est in the lift line.

Zack K — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:04:24 +0000

By Zack Klapman

So you bought a new Bentley. You’re proud of it, love it, love how it drives, makes you feel, and what it tells the world. But oh no! You’re going skiing, and no one will know about your hot wheels! Should you just tell everyone in the lift line? No, that will take too long, and seem desperate. A Bentley medallion? Too Flava Flav. What is the well-to-do extrovert that exists on the validation of strangers to do?

Easy, buy these $10,000 skis, made for Bentley by zai AG. The X pattern is a structural steel spring, which is supposed to mirror the X pattern of a Bentley grill (because your fellow moguloids will know that). “Similarly to a Bentley, the ski is based upon a pureness of design and hand craftsmanship that will meet the technical demands of the most avid skier.”

$10k? Well, I assume they have AWD, Bluetooth, and Traction Control, so maybe they’re worth it. But they’re making 100 pairs, so you should buy all of them, lest you run into someone else on the same sticks.

Video: Truck Driver is a Moron, Nearly Kills Motorcyclist. Updated

Matt — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:30:47 +0000

I like driving fast and making videos as much as the next guy (probably more, even), but there is something that I absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances while driving the beautiful canyon roads that California has to offer. I never, ever cross the double yellow line unless I have either a) a very long straightaway with lots of visibility, or b) spotters with radios in constant communication with what is happening with oncoming traffic. This video, taken by two morons in a truck, shows you exactly why you should never cross the double line in a corner. While attempting to film some downhill skateboarders, they come literally inches from killing someone on a motorcycle. Watch in horror and take this as a lesson of what never to do in a car. **Updated with Motorcyclist’s POV camera as well**

And now, the motorcyclist’s point of view:

And, if you do choose to film downhill skateboarders in the canyons, absolutely get their permission first and follow their instructions as to what is a safe following distance, like this:

Choose your (Snow) Weapon: Merc 300D

Zack K — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:55:53 +0000

By Zack Klapman

I’m currently in Colorado, the kingdom of Subaru. At every turn, people from hoons to families of 2.5 to “highly medicated” prospective pro snowboarders, have chosen a Subie for their reliable, all-weather transportation. A thicker money clip drives people to SUVs or Audis, but either way, most people are driving something made within the last 15 years. But not this person, who I have named, Fritz Powderlein.

Fritz drives a Mercedes W116 300D; Powered by a straight-5 diesel turbo, it’s a classic shape, from some of Mercedes’ best years. In good condition these cars still fetch a fair price, and one of the more reliable cars of the time. Usually when I see one of these I’m hit in the face with the smell of french fries, because they’re popular for biodiesel conversions.

Fritz is no hippy though. Fritz spent his money on knobby snow tires and a ski rack that holds more skis than the car can people. The car was clean, the body was straight, and is an oil burning time capsule. Usually RWD is the worst choice for snow (even with snow tires), but since this car weighs 80 tons, I’m sure there’s enough grip. Fritz is smart, has some style, and knows a good car. I love new cars, but on a snowy morning, getting in this car must be an occasion. A dash made of more than just hard plastic, bench seats, and a soundtrack that is loud enough to start an avalanche. Classic cool.

Follow on Twitter: @thesmokingtire

2300lb Porsche, 705HP LS7. Oh boy. (video)

Zack K — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:08:44 +0000

By Zack Klapman

This Porsche 930 owner installed a LS7 himself. Can’t think of a better platform, considering the 930′s unwavering stability, no matter what you do with the throttle.

The LS motor is lighter than the stock motor, and fits in there with surprising room to spare. He has more room around his header bolts than several cars I’ve owned. Check out the trick NACA ducts on the rear windows, and the beautiful red and black gauges. It sounds a lot like a 427 Cobra, weighs about as much (2,300lbs), and feels (key word, “feels”) safer, thanks to the roof. It wouldn’t be my engine choice for this car, but the install looks clean, and I’m sure it goes like stink.

Make the jump for a walk around video, and a pull away.

Source: Rick Perry (no, not that one)

Skills Test: Have a Conversation at 280km/H [video]

Zack K — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:59:01 +0000

By Zack Klapman

During a race, a professional racing driver is not white-knuckled and wide-eyed, but calm and relaxed. Every time I watch F1, I’m amazed by how calmly the drivers will radio their team, discussing the car, the tires, or strategy. They sound as bored as a man discussing his wife’s choice of center pieces for their wedding.

Recently, professional Grand Am driver Craig Stanton came on the podcast, and talked about how he adjusts his sway bars 3-4 times per lap, when racing on Daytona. While many of us have equine-sized spikes of adrenaline, professionals have the pulse of a hibernating bear. Smart decisions are made when you’re focused but relaxed. Smooth is fast.

This is perfectly demonstrated in this 1993 clip of legendary Australian racing driver Peter Brock. In the clip, he is interviewed by Allan Moffat, on live television, while going about 180MPH. He even makes jokes while downshifting. Incredible. Maybe I’ll get there one day, instead of the heart palpitations I have now. Jump to watch.

Source: YouTube

@thesmokingtire @zackklapman

Is This the World’s Worst Lamborghini Replica?

Matt — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:13:26 +0000

I was having a discussion with the lovely Ms. Amber Blonigan of GI Motorsport last night about how fun it would be to have a real demolition derby with some 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo’s, and Ferrari 360′s, both of which would be immense fun to destroy. This led to a conversation about replica exotics, which led to an Ebay Search, which led to a discussion on how the owners and builders of replica exotics are delusional in thinking their fakery is worth actual dollars. I myself tried to buy a replica Ferrari a year or so back specifically for the point of finding out which was more flammable, a real Ferrari or a Fake one, and was dumbfounded at the kind of money people wanted. $25,000 and more for a fake Ferrari? Hell, you can buy a real Ferrari for that kind of money. Which brings me to this miracle of modern engineering.

There are so many things wrong with this abomination, I don’t even know where to start. Oh wait, yes I do: It’s built on a 1996 Dodge Stratus. What would make someone think that a Stratus would be a perfect donor car for a Lamborghini? They even left the engine in the front, creating the most awkward looking front end in the history of cars. But the fact that it’s on a Stratus isn’t the worst part. The worst part is that, as of this writing, this shitbox has 39 FUCKING BIDS! The car will sell for at least the current bidding price of $9,350, which is just under four times what I recently paid for my dearly departed, V12, bulletproof Mercedes S600.

The seller says this car was built by some movie studio to use as a “background prop,” but for all the movie executives out there, please take my advice: rather than throwing your money down the toilet, please hit me up through Gotham Dream Cars and rent one of my real Lamborghini’s for a fraction of whatever this cost to build.

Get your vomit bags ready and hit the jump for the single most shameful gallery we’ve ever posted, then tell us what the worst part of this car is.

And if you are dumb enough to drop ten large on this deathtrap, find it on Ebay Here.

Video: SLS GT AMG Track Review – One Take

Matt — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:02:59 +0000

When I first drove the SLS AMG back in 2011, I found it strikingly beautiful, well appointed, and fast, but also it sort of felt just like a prettier Mercedes SL. It was soft, the transmission didn’t like to cooperate in Manual mode, and it just wasn’t all that responsive or exciting to drive. Enter the SLS GT. It’s faster, sharper, and more driver-focused than the outgoing model, and Matt takes a few laps around the Streets of Willow Springs to see if the new SLS GT has the chops to be a true super GT. Video after the jump.

Podcast #59 with Everyday Driver’s Todd & Paul

Zack K — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:15:53 +0000

Podcast #59 with Todd Deeken and Paul Schmucker of Everyday Driver. Everyday Driver reviews normal cars with the same quality and attention we give to things with 4-digit horsepower. Their videos are shot well, and Paul and Todd are actually capable of having personalities while moving, something that is rare in this business.

They sat down and we talked about everything and anything. The Fiat 500, C7 Corvette, Guinness Records, CKY, reliability of high-end cars, that Tesla snaffoo in NY, Porsches, big diesel trucks, changing tranny fluid, and the 1M vs. M3 vs. Boss 302. Jump to download.

iTunes: http://www.itunes.com/podcast?id=496797178

RSS: http://www.hayesdata.com/download/the_smoking_tire/The-Smoking-Tire.xml

MP3: http://www.hayesdata.com/download/the_smoking_tire/Smoking%20Podcast%20059.mp3

www.EveryDaydriver.com

What do YOU think – The GTA Spano

Zack K — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 15:45:40 +0000

By Zack Klapman

Two teasers (along with possible specs, below) have been released of the upcoming Spanish supercar, the GTA Spano. It will be on display during hte 2013 Geneva Auto Show, but for now, let’s talk about how it looks. We want to know what you think. Post your thoughts.

Production run: 99

Power: 900HP, 737ft-lbs torque.

~~Theoretical~~ Performance: 0-60 in 2.9s. Top speed of 217MPH.

Materials: Carbon fiber, titanium, and kevlar. So it’s bullet proof (Please don’t test that).

Frankly, who cars about theoretical performance. Every car like this is fast as fuck, makes big power, and hits 60 faster than is necessary. Unless it can go to the moon, or decimate a Zonda or Koneigsegg by minutes, what grabs people is looks. Let’s talk about it.

Source: World Car Fans

The Douche is strong with this one.

Zack K — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 21:01:57 +0000

By Zack Klapman

You might know the Nissan LEAF was voted the 2011 Car of the Year at the 2011 New York Auto Show. We didn’t (or we forgot). It was chosen out of 39 cars, with the top 3 (Leaf, Audi A8, and BMW 5-series) fighting to death at the end.

The world moved on, people went to work, babies were born, people died.

But this person keeps the flame alive. Maybe this sticker was affixed at the dealer, maybe it came in the glove box. We don’t know. But shouting at the world “MY CAR WAS THE BEST THING EVER! LOOKIT! LOOKIT!” is a little obnoxious. Especially in LA. Maybe if we were in Montana, it’d be ok. The cowboy owner (because that pairing is sure to exist. Right.) would say “Fuck taking it off, I have cattle to shoot and skin.” Valid excuse.

But in this city, where celebrities drive Prii just to say they do, this is no error. This isn’t laziness. This is vehicular narcissism. I think South Park summed it up best:

This is the New BMW M3 (spotted and HEARD)

Zack K — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:45:20 +0000

By Zack Klapman

I was late to work today, and for very good reason: I was behind a test mule for the next BMW M3.

I’d read all the speculative news: the new engine is a 3.0 I-6 with twin-turbos, producing around 450hp. The E92 V8 sounded great, something I’ve never really said about BMW inlines. In the past they sounded good for what they were, and I gave them a pass because of what they powered, but if I had a CD of exhaust notes, the E36 is one I’d skip.

But this car sounds mean. Raspy, tight, and loud. Like, “Will it sound like that stock?” and “Won’t snobby businessmen find it offensive?” loud. Hopefully it does. More pics after the jump.

The transmission was definitely a quick-shifting DCT, and the engineer was having fun with it. Shifts were super fast, super smooth, and the acceleration seemed free of lag. Performance wise, I don’t think anyone will miss the outgoing V8. This should have way more torque too. And then there’s that wonderful turbo trait called “tuning”. You won’t need a supercharger to raise the power in this. I bet a good tune will get you near 500HP.

Quad exhaust tips remain, and hopefully stay. Not because I think quad exhaust is the MFW, but I wouldn’t want my M3′s ass looking like a 335′s.

I love how the taillights look like a furrowed brow. “Oh, you want to keep up after this light? Ok. Sure, Miata man.”

At a light, I got a closer look. Holy fender flares Batman. This will be one good looking car.

~~Planted~~ “spy shots” from the ‘Ring are cool, and theoretical specs make for light bathroom reading, but seeing a car on public streets is where the real impressions are made. I only follow it for a few minutes, but I can tell the next M3 will make lots of us very, very happy. I can’t wait for the press cars

I mean, it’s faster than a stock NA Miata, so that’s something.

Re-Tired: Testing Michelin’s Newest All-Season Tire

Matt — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:46:56 +0000

This test comes to us from Contributor Roger Garbow, who attended the NOLA test while Matt

was in Utah driving Range Rovers.

Based upon how many cars are being driven with bald rubber in SoCal and Florida, it is apparent quite a few drivers don’t give a crap about their tires. However, for those of us who actually care about our connection to the road, these are really good times.

When I was growing up in the New England, drivers put snow tires on their cars for the winter months. But, only on the drive wheels. Which seems pretty stupid now. In high school, my underpowered front-wheel drive shitbox would exhibit some real interesting oversteer due to the difference in grip from front to back. It didn’t take me long to realize snows on all four corners made more sense.

The majority of modern cars come with all-season tires as standard equipment as tire manufacturers — and car salesmen — are falling over themselves trying to convince consumers the all-season tire is all one needs for year-round use. Sure, and those Ferragamo loafers will be awesome for shoveling the walk. In my experience, A/S tires are a compromise in every driving condition. Like many of my fellow car guys living in the Northeast, I run ultra high performance summer tires until December, and then swap on the dedicated snows. Which works great in theory.

A few weeks before Thanksgiving, we had an early season and totally under-forecasted snowstorm. I was 30 miles from home when I hit the snow with a drive that would normally have taken me under 40 minutes. It took three hours. The road conditions were horrendous. Cars and trucks and even a school bus were off the road. And, I was on my fairly worn summer tires. Which were freaking useless. Summer tires become bricks at low temps and the remaining tread I had was not playing well with the packed snow and ice. I gingerly worked my way along and eventually made it to the base of my hill. But, not before nailing a boulder on a narrow side street I chose in my attempt to avoid the carmageddon on the main roads. Well, that sucked, but after last year’s mild winter, I played the odds of not putting the snows on too early. And I lost.

Michelin recently invited me to a test of an all-new tire, the Pilot Sport A/S 3. The A/S 3 will be on the market by summer and Michelin is promising new levels of performance in an all-season tire. The PS A/S 3 is major upgrade from Michelin’s current Pilot Sport A/S performance tire. You can see the difference immediately as the new tread pattern looks much like Michelin’s seriously grippy Pilot Super Sport. For wet performance the tread is asymmetrical with strategically placed sipes while the compound contains a high level of silica like Michelin’s race tires. The rubber also contains Michelin’s Helio compound with sunflower oil – sounds tasty – to keep the tire flexible at low temps. In spite of all this technical stuff and based upon my past all-season tire experiences, I went to the test with considerable levels of skepticism.

One thing I did know – Michelin is damn good at putting on an event and this tire test was no exception. Following a night of partying and good food in the French Quarter, Michelin took us to the new NOLA Motorsports Park outside of New Orleans and set up four distinct test areas where we could flog their tires and a bunch of competitor’s rubber as well.

After some hot laps with pro-drivers in a variety of Michelin-shod exotics, we hit the first test area, which featured the dry road course and a half dozen Cadillac CTS sedans. While I was slightly disappointed these weren’t the Caddy Vs, the standard CTS still has decent handling characteristics. The PS A/S 3 competitors were other UHP A/S tires, all W speed rated: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric All Season, Pirelli P Zero Nero A/S, and Continental ExtremeContact DWS. The Goodyear which is also an all-new tire, felt very solid and predictable. Not bad overall. The DWS did not have as much grip as the Eagle and did not communicate very well either. And the Pirelli just felt loose, both in the lack of sidewall stiffness and overall grip. The Michelin seriously surprised me with its responsiveness both in initial turn-in and in the transitions. The tire communicated what it was doing both physically and audibly and the grip levels felt like some of the best summer UHP tires I’ve driven on. Round one easily went to Michelin.

Next up was a dry autocross course and as we rounded the clubhouse I saw the cars: 6-speed Subaru WRX STis. This would be fun. The real twist here was the competition. In what I thought was a pretty ballsy move, Michelin pitted the A/S 3 against its competitor’s Max Performance Summer Y rated tires, not their all-season rubber. These included the Continental ExtremeContact DW, Pirelli P-Zero and Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position.

An autocross course can quickly expose a tire’s weaknesses. Each of the summer tires showed a distinct personality with different levels of communication, both in feel and sound. As expected, all the tires had good grip but the breakaway differed significantly between the brands. The DW, which is the tire I run on my own Audi, is fairly predictable, but the ultimate grip was a little bit behind that of the Potenza. The Michelin was the big eye-opener with overall grip and predictability as good or better than the others. And when the tire reached its limit, it was the easiest to get back. Surprisingly, with the A/S 3 I was able to carry the most speed through the course. Plus, the Michelin showed little sign of the abuse we were giving it with no visible chunking or wear. I was starting to become a believer. The margin was closer, but I gave this one to the PS A/S 3 as well.

Now it was time for dry and wet braking exercises with the PS A/S 3 up against three UHP all season tires. All season tires are supposed to shine in the wet so my expectations were high. The cars of choice this time were RWD Infiniti G37 Sedans with all season tire competitors: Yokohama AVID ENVigor, Bridgestone Potenza G019 Grid and Goodyear Eagle GT. On NOLA’s long straight, the object was to accelerate up to 65mph – easy to do in the 328HP G37 with a little spin from the tires on upshifts – level off and then stand on the brakes while a windshield mounted GPS unit logged the 60-0 time. In the dry, I set the best time of all the participants over the two-day test with 109.3 feet on the Michelin shod car, which is better than Infiniti’s own stated number for the car. So, I had bragging rights for braking. Swell. The other tires were 6-12 feet longer in the dry. Farther down the straight, sprinklers were dumping water on the track. After getting back up to 65, I again jumped on the brakes. The grip was seriously impressive with stop times averaging only about 10 feet longer than in the dry. Here again, the other tires were an additional 8-12 feet longer than the Michelin. Three for three for the A/S 3.

Finally we hit the wet autocross. The fleet for this area consisted of FWD Audi A4s. The competitive tires were Bridgestone Potenza RE970 AS Pole Position, Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric AS and Continental Extreme Contact DWS. As good as they were in the dry, here the Michelins really shined. It seriously felt as if the Michelin-shod car was on dry pavement compared to the others. The grip was outstanding while the other three tires exhibited a variety of undesirable characteristics from understeer at initial turn-in to oversteer at the limit. I’m sorry to report a few cones may have been sacrificed during this test. Of the competitors, the Potenza was the most predictable, but the speeds I could carry were way down from the Michelin. The PS A/S 3 was far superior to the other three in the wet. Four out of four for the A/S 3.

Time to digress: The one downer of this last section was the choice of cars. I love Audis, but the A4s we drove were fitted with Audi’s Multitronic® CVT, which is quite possibly the worst transmission I have ever experienced. The VAG 2.0 FSI Turbo is a great engine, but mated to this slushbox, you would never know it. It was difficult getting the boost up and trying to accelerate out of the corners was frustrating at best. This version of the A4 is a rare misstep from the folks in Ingolstadt. Or, the product planners at Audi NA.

Back to the tire. The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 won every section over some very good competition. For me it’s a game-changer. This tire is not a substitute for a dedicated snow tire if you live in the snow belt, but unless your are doing track days every weekend, it might be the perfect three-season tire for your daily driver. I know it will be for me. If only I can wait until August.

A committed car and motorcycle enthusiast since crashing his first hand-built go-kart at eight, Roger Garbow is the founder of Full Throttle Marketing and the automotive editor for the Morris Media Group.

Podcast #58 with Grand Am driver Craig Stanton

Zack K — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:25:51 +0000

From the Rolex 24 at Daytona

Photo courtesy of CraigStanton.com.

Podcast #58 with frighteningly energetic professional Grand Am Porsche driver, Craig Stanton! We’ve known Craig for many years. Tom has filmed him at numerous races and Porsche events, and he recently taught Matt and Zack how to get the 991 Carrera 4S around Fontana raceway.

Craig is great guy, who built his own racing career from the ground up. He tells us about how he did it, how to go fast, and why he rock climbs while playing video games.

Due to an absolutely hectic week, pics and videos will be added later.

iTunes: http://www.itunes.com/podcast?id=496797178

RSS: http://www.hayesdata.com/download/the_smoking_tire/The-Smoking-Tire.xml

MP3: http://www.hayesdata.com/download/the_smoking_tire/Smoking%20Podcast%20058.mp3

The Issue of (EV) Range is 100 Years Old

Zack K — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:50:30 +0000

Historically accurate.

Photo courtesy of the National Automobile Museum. Not the dinosaurs, the car.

By Zack Klapman

Electric cars are trying to find their way into our garages, but people are still hesitant. Most of that fear is due to uncertainties about range, and the lack of rapid charging stations (essentially substitutes for gas stations).

Seeing cars like the LEAF and Model S roll down the street makes it seem like we are truly at the forefront of technological evolution. This must be the pinnacle of our evolution of mobility, so it makes sense that the issues of charging stations are difficult to solve. New problems are always harder to solve than old ones. Except this is not a new problem. It’s about 100 years old.

I knew there had been electric cars at the turn of the 20th Century, but I always assumed they were nothing more than city runabouts. In my mind, traveling across a state in 1912, in an electric car, would require a fresh battery, and then a few horses to pull it the rest of the way.

But as the brilliant Ronnie Schreiber explained in an excellent article for The Truth About Cars, there were plans to build charging stations along major roadways. I found the parallels to today fascinating. Jump over there and give it a fast read. We call this, “learning about history”. It’s a “vintage” activity, like checkers, so it’s cool.

Source: The Truth About Cars

@thesmokingtire @TheTruthAboutCars @zackklapman

4 Hours! Buy Bob Bondurant’s Drifted Lunch Tray!

Matt — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 03:22:49 +0000

The Ebay auction for Bod Bondurant’s burnt lunch tray ends in 4 hours. It’s a piece of history that will never be sold again. People bid on pieces of race car headlights, and this is a helluva lot cooler.

Two weeks ago, we showed you a video of the first time FIA Champion and 24 Hours of LeMans winner Bob Bondurant ever slid a car on lunch trays. And at 79 years old, it will probably be the last time he ever slides on lunch trays too.

Well we got Bob to sign his lunch tray and we’re offering it on Ebay to someone who wants probably the rarest bit of Bob Bondurant memorabilia ever. There are only two of these trays, and one of them will live forever at TST headquarters. The other we have selfishly listed on Ebay and are selling in order to raise money for The Smoking Tire foundation, with 100% of the proceeds going directly into our production budget. Want to own a piece of Bondurant history? Check out the auction here.

Reader Submission: Mercedes SL550 Review

Matt — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:04:31 +0000

Here at The Smoking Tire, we encourage new writers to develop their skills and submit their work

in an attempt to foster the next generation of automotive journalists. This review comes from TST

reader Chris Schwagerl.

The SL-Class by Mercedes-Benz has always been the definitive luxury GT car. It has set itself as the benchmark for all other luxury two-seater roadsters since it’s first iteration in 1954 in coupe form only, as the 300SL Coupe. Since then, the car has evolved as the leader in technology and luxury for all other luxury roadsters that followed, especially from 1990 to the present. Though technology has changed during each generation of the SL-Class, the styling has remained mostly the same since the early 1990s model, the R129. However, for the 2013 model-year, Mercedes has made it’s most drastic styling changes to its SL-Class in the past 20 years, not to mention that they’ve added a variety of technological changes as well. Has Mercedes ruined a traditionally classic-looking car with unique styling and technology, or have the changes paid off for this heavyweight cruiser? Let’s find out.

If you’re in the market for a high-end luxury roadster, then styling is probably very important to you. The 2013 Mercedes SL550, at first glance, may seem a bit off, with those enormously bulbous headlights, upright grille, and dramatic side-skirts. These elements certainly threw me off initially when I saw the videos of the car last year filmed at the Detroit Auto Show. I thought the car had gone away from Mercedes’ traditional styling of the SL and gone for something that is trying to look like no other sports car on the road. They certainly have succeeded in this area. The 2013 SL550 has serious presence. Whether you love it or hate it, this car will not go un-noticed. Upon synthesizing this analogy, I realized that the new “bolder” styling was implemented because it helps Mercedes re-invent their standard-setter. I feel that this was a very smart move for Mercedes, as there is now a lot of new competition in the segment, like the F12 BMW 6-Series.

This car may look strange to people who have only seen pictures of it, but upon seeing it in person, this car looks really cool. A large part of this coolness is produced by the matte-grey paint job (a $1200 option), which helps onlookers better see the lines and width of the car. I spotted a metallic white example of this car in East Hampton town the other week and its’ lines were certainly not as noticeable. Matte-finishes truly do this car’s aggressively unique styling justice. I predict that most people will have a different view of the SL upon witnessing it in person. Instead of saying, “Damn, they ruined the SL,” people will say, “Wow, is that the new SL?” Personally I value cars that look different. For example, several automotive journalists credited the BMW Z4 as an “ugly” car. However, the unconventional creases and curves in that car’s body gave the car character. BMW in general has toned down the styling of most of their models tremendously in the past two to four years. Now, Mercedes seems to be doing just the opposite; making their cars more interesting than ever before.

Moreover, Mercedes has introduced several technological innovations to further place the SL ahead of its predecessors and indeed its competition. The primary technological advancement made in my opinion might actually seem very basic to most people; the SL550s’ chassis and body construction. Unlike ever before, both the body and chassis of the SL550 are 90% aluminum. It is 300 pounds lighter than the equivalent body and chassis combo from the 2011 model year. The car, in many ways, is more beautiful on the inside than the outside. Engine-wise, the SL550 has leaped forward. Gone is the naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V8 engine that has resided in various Benzes for the past 5 years. Now there is a 4.6-liter V8 with twin turbos that produces 429 horsepower and 519 pound-feet of torque. That is huge. 0 to 60 mph now takes just 4 seconds flat and the quarter mile comes in just 12.5 seconds at 114 mph. These numbers are not far off those of the new F13 BMW M6 convertible, which has 120 more horsepower than the SL550. Remarkable. Makes you wonder why anyone would need to step up to an AMG version of this car.

In addition to the engine and construction innovations of the SL550, there is now a standard windshield-washer fluid spray system that is integrated into the wipers, eliminating that annoying, blinding spray function typical of most modern cars. Also available is a new, photo chromatic sunroof build into the retractable hardtop. This technology was first seen in the ultra-luxurious Mercedes Maybach as early as 2003, finally it has trickled down into the SL550 as a $2500 option, though it does not open or tilt independent of the hardtop though. Other accoutrements include an upgraded Bang and Olufsen stereo with 900 watts of total output with 12 speakers, a keyless entry system, active ventilated seats, rear view camera, and “AIRSCARF;” a device that blows hot air onto the occupants necks on cooler days.

Performance options are more scarce on the SL550 (Mercedes has to save some things for the AMG versions of the SL), but there is a special $4090 option called Active Body Control (ABC) that helps provide a sports car demeanor during hard cornering. Does it transform the SL into a sports car? No. However, the system does help this 4100-pound luxury cruiser corner like one. Mercedes advertises ABC as “the most advanced suspension in production.” It is comprised of a network of sensors hooked up to hydraulic shock absorbers that stiffen up in random configurations to counteract any imperfections transmitted from the road to the chassis. This technology does not only increase sportiness when driven hard in “SPORT” mode, but it also helps eliminate most vibrations transmitted into the cabin when in “COMFORT” mode. Both of these settings are selectable through a toggle switch located in the center console that comes with the ABC suspension. Very cool.

I believe that with all of these new and improved elements of the 2013 SL-Class, Mercedes will have reinvented the benchmark of the luxury roadster segment. The SL550 doesn’t do the job of a great sports car, it accomplishes something much more impressive than that. It is extremely comfortable, fast, and most of all luxurious. The SL550 is a car that will surprise you when you drive it. It looks like it will be very fast, and it is, but it is also very comfortable, and turns very well, and stops even better. Setting up the SL550 with all of it’s driver-modes and buttons what an effortless and exciting activity it really is. This is just how the SL550 is. Select “sport mode” on the Active Body Control, “manual-mode” in the transmission and keep the car below fourth gear to exploit all of the engines wonderful torque. That’s what high-end modern sports/GT cars are like; set up all the equipment with a keen eye, just like skiing and then GO. I personally believe that the SL is the best roadster currently for sale. If the SL550 is what the “standard” car is, I can’t wait to drive the AMG versions.

ALERT: Podcast Server Kidnapped

Zack K — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:18:28 +0000

If you’re unsuccessfully trying to download the podcast, it’s because our server crashed this morning. Have no fear, Dr. Hayes is on it. We’ll let you know when it’s back.

Watch a MINI do a Huge Backflip

Zack K — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:32:40 +0000

A MINI Countryman JCW, driven by French rally driver Guerlain Chicherit, banged out the world’s first successful backflip in a car. In a car. Someone did a back, flip, in, a, car. This is insane.

Crazy, cool, whatever you think, it’s definitely not pointless. The technology and science gathered during said flip will absolutely trickle down to future commuter cars.*

Jump to watch. This is nuts.

* denotes sarcasm

Source: World Car Fans

Mud and Drifting in your Ferrari Enzo (video)

Zack K — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:48:05 +0000

I love this video because no one drives their Ferrari like this, and that’s a sad fact. Think about the fun you’ve had in a car. A lot of that fun happened when you tossed care aside and just ran around like a 2nd grader at recess. Fun doesn’t happen while you’re concerned about rock chips, mud, or getting the windows wet. Fun happens when you get a little reckless, take mom’s car t a muddy lot, or see just how fast you can drive a minivan through a puddle (record thus far: 90MPH).

The owner of this Enzo aims for puddles, slides around in the mud, and treats his car like it’s a used Jeep Cherokee, without doing any real damage to it. So many people buy an exotic, and then, due to the cost, rarity, fragility, and cost of repairs, never have as much fun with it as they could. Sliding a Miata around in the rain is fun. Know what’s better? Using a Ferrari instead. It takes big balls, or a big bank account, to throw a super exotic around like this, but god damn I bet it’s fun. What an experience. Kudos, sir. Jump to watch.

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