A Lamborghini Aventador VS a Ferrari 458 Turbo...Dream Cars Head to Head

We all love a good race and we all love supercars, the only thing we love more is a modified supercar. Unlike a normal car with a turbo or super charger strapped to it supercars are purpose built machines that are for one thing only.....Speed! The trend of modifying a car is not just limited to Honda's with a fart can on the back of it....the need to make things fast spans all ages. Carroll Shelby is 90 and he is still supercharging mustangs and making cars that rival the Bugatti Veyron in top speed.

There are not many of us who can afford to even look at a Ferrari 458 much less think about adding a turbo system to it once we get it. Usually the people who can afford that kind of thing are not really in the mind set to do it. After all 1% of the population hold 99% of the wealth and that that does not leave the rest of us with much. Recently Underground Racing released a video of their twit turbo Ferrari 458 Vs a Lamborghini Aventador where both cars are sporting 700HP as a bit of promotional material.

The idea was to show the amazing speed of the 458 after adding the kit seeing as the Aventador can do 0 - 60 in less than 3 seconds. The final result of the race is pretty stunning since the Ferrari blows the doors off the Lambo. This may not be a fair comparison in so eye since this is a stock car vs a modified but in this case it is ok. The Lamborghini is designed to be as fast as possible so if you can out run it you are doing something right. Check out the video on youtube to see the results for yourself and not to mention get to drool over 2 beautiful supercars.

The International Superstars Racing Series

In 2004 the world saw the birth of the superstars racing series. This is a series that does not allow turbochargers or superchargers but is based all on big V8 engines. Not only V8 engines but GT cars that are 2 or four door with rear wheel drive. This year has seen something which not many believed could happen…Maserati has won with the Quattroporte.

It’s not a huge feet for any car to win a racing series but the cars that are here have always been the tops. Cars like the BMW M3 and Jaguar XFR are track built monsters made to crust the lap times and the opposition. The Quattroporte is more of a relaxed sports car but it has proven that it has what it takes.

The Quattroporte EVO is a widebody….very widebody version of the normal car that can be seen on the street and has been tuned to for the life at the track. This series is where GT car manufacturers can test and prove their “metal” as it is. The likes of BMW, Porsche, Audi and even Chrysler with the 300C they all put their best foot forward in this primarily Italian racing series. This series has been expanding its locations for the last few years and it has to be said when Road America is finished it would be nice to see it there. 

Buying a Car Modified by a Previous Owner

We all see cars that have been modified by their owners and now they are hitting the street with a for sale sign on it. Cars with a custom supercharger or turbocharger that has been installed to add power or lowered suspension to add that custom look. What may seem like a great buy at first can turn into a money pit and a huge headache.

There are plenty of tuner companies that sell tuned versions of cars like custom shops and other tuning houses but they all stand behind their work. What we are looking at is the tuned car that has been modified by someone in their garage and lets be honest not everyone does every install correctly. There are a few things to look for when purchasing a modified used car. The first step is to meet the previous owner, if they are a 50 year old man who is a car enthusiast and modified his BMW with all Dinan accessories you will probably be ok. Now on the other hand if the person selling the car is a 19 year old with a low budget and a thirst for speed than probably want to skip it.

Aftermarket performance parts are just like everything else and that is to say "ya get what ya pay for", cheap ebay parts are just that. Parts that have been built and tested with quality are more expensive not only because the look cool but the cost of building and testing them is high. Cheap parts are usually a low cost version of a quality part which means that materials are not as good and the build quality is lacking. Low build quality means reduced performance and shorter life of the part. The other factor to consider is the "cutting corners" of a cheap car build. Younger owners then to be do it yourselfers and they may not know how to do the installs correctly so all work down on a potential purchase will have to be looked over.

A modified car can be a great purchase especially if the car already has a bunch of modifications that are on the "To Do" list. It can be hard to resist the draw of a car that already has the parts you want. In the long run it may be better to pass and buy the basic car and add the parts yourself just cause you know it has been done right.

The Truth About Auto Parts

During auto repairs it is one of those times when all logic goes out the window. It doesn't matter if it be your wheel bearing assembly, wheel hub assembly or even the turbo we all get a little out of whack when our car is not working. Car repairs are usually not something we have planned on and they end up costing a lot more than we expect.

Nowadays the first place we head for finding auto parts is the internet but what seems like a good deal may not be so good in the long run. Dealerships make the statement "no aftermarket parts will work no matter what you do" this of course is a lie. There are plenty of good aftermarket parts that are great replacement parts from many companies out there. Many times the dealership themselves will be selling parts that are considered aftermarket. All auto parts have a failure rate associated with them...from new OEM and aftermarket to Remanufactured parts they all have risks. Every part has a certain % of the parts that will fail no matter who does the install. That said there are steps that can be taken to avoid failures not related to this percentage.

Having replacement parts installed properly is a huge factor in the life of the part. While your mechanic down the street may be a good guy and your friend you have known of many years, it does not mean he knows every repair. Over the past decade alone the technology in vehicles has gone from being so basic that a child could build them to the point that a rocket scientist would have to take a step back. While your mechanic may have been working on cars for 30 years think of what a 1981 Buick really has in common with a 2012 Mercedez Benz.

The quality of an installed part plays a huge impact on the life of the part but it is not the only factor. Most parts now are built in Asia including many OEM parts and a lot of people will say "that's cheap Chinese crap" but the truth is you can buy cheap or quality from anywhere. What a part buyer will need to pay attention to is the quality standards of the seller and the quality of the installer. If a turbo is installed incorrectly or all the prep work is not does not matter if the unit is the best that Borg Warner has to offer it will fail. DO the research and read the reviews of a part or a company, if they sell cheaply made parts then they wont be around long.

We All Know How to Merge...or Do We?

So many factors to count for what shall we do? That may be the way some of us are looking at merging into traffic. When it comes to merging it is still up to us to determine if it can be done safely, our car stereo or in-dash navigation screen cannot tell us how to do it. Because many of us rely on a nav system to get us anywhere, regular driving techniques have become a bit lax.

Merging is a important part of everyday driving an its one that many people are really really bad at doing. The idea is to seamlessly move from one lane to another in traffic and keep the flow of cars uninterrupted. It seems that many a driver believes that merging their vehicle is everyone else's problem. Just start moving over and everyone else should get out of their way. This is not true, you are the one who has to take responsibility for your driving.

When merging the main idea is to look using your mirrors and actually turning your head to make sure you can make the gap you are trying to enter. Driving along any freeway merging is needed when ever getting on the highway and usually when highways intersect not to mention anytime you want to pass. Merging is very common and one of the most used driving maneuvers that we use without thinking about it. So if we all use it so often why is it that day after day and night after night we sit in traffic for no reason? The answer is clear it bad drivers! Drivers who slam on the brakes after the merge, push their way on, other drivers who don't let people in or even worse the ones who speed up to block people from getting in. If all the drivers at an intersection were to allow one other driver to merge then the speed of a highway should only drop by a few miles an hour due to the fact that the merging car can meet the required speed with the on ramp. If it comes down to merging being the cause of many traffic jams...which it does, the "Smart guy" is the cause of many of them. This is the guy that sees a long line for an exit off the freeway and waits to the last second to cut over. They risk hitting the person who is already waiting in that line and also they slow down their lane by making people behind them panic break. It's a rude and obnoxious maneuver and it is also down right dangerous. To the driver who does this "you are not smarter than the rest of us, your just much more rude".

A drivers action on the road are going to dictate how the traffic flows on the freeway so think before you make your merge. If we all do it right, the drive will be smoother and nicer for all of us. If you are one of those people who thinks it is ok to cut the line of traffic, you should try it at the grocery store when waiting to check out and see what everyone around you has to say about that.

Use Common Sense on the Roads People!

The streets of america are a rough place...no I am not talking about growing up on the streets, I am talking about driving on them. Yeah maybe you need a new air suspension strut or air suspension compressor but that is not what makes them a rough place. What makes them bad is the other drivers, yes that means YOU and me and everyone else around. Every person has seen the news story when they end with "this horrible crash could have been avoided" but what does that really mean? what can we take away from that statement?

Cars and trucks are basically weapons on wheels, they are 3000+ lbs of unforgiving steel. People tend to forget the responsibility that goes along with driving a vehicle, the government regulates guns and driving for good reason. Sure we have all had that phone call or text come in while sitting in traffic and answered it while driving. There are signs on the road, ads in magazines and spots on TV telling us all not to text and drive. Texting and driving is as dangerous as drinking and driving but most drives just ignore the dangers.

Most phones nowadays have a feature called voice text which will take what you say and translate it to text that can be sent. The feature will also read texts back to you for added safety on the road. Phones are not the only issue when  people are behind the wheel, laziness and ignorance play a huge role in accidents as well. Law enforcement will tell us that speeding is the cause of accidents and in some ways that is true but on average it is not. Accidents are just that accidents cause by mis-judgments of a situation or just not paying attention. "I swear i didn't see him there!" but the truth is you didn't look and this happens all the time. It is time for us all to take responsibility for our actions behind the wheel and make the driving world a safer place to be.

In House Tuning Companies, are They Worth It?

Everyone knows the major players in the automotive world but what about their tuning houses? They make parts as small as a mass air flow sensor to a complete turbocharger or supercharger set up. A tuning house is a company that modifies vehicles for a specific purpose. An in-house tuning is a company that works with a specific brand exclusively such as AMG for Mercedes Benz.

Most of the time a few small upgrades are not a huge investment with a car but is it worth it to buy the completely reworked car or do the upgraded that are desired individually. There are many factors to consider when it comes to purchasing these kind of upgrades not the smallest of which is the money. A great example of this is the mighty Honda Civic which comes in lots of configurations the top of which is called the Mugen edition. Now Mugen is a company that specifically makes performance parts for Honda's and they make some great ones at that. On the other hand a fully loaded Civic SI would set a person back about 23 grand...pricey for a civic. It is not that bad for the performance that one can get compared to that of the base model Civic. The Mugen Civic though would set someone back close to 33 thousand dollars which is 10 grand for a body kit, special wheels, a paint job and not much else.

So where should the line be drawn, the fact of the matter is that for all the gear heads out there modifying their cars is a way of life, a costly one. Any serious modification will almost instantly void the warranty on a vehicle and there for lower the resale significantly. So for this we have in-house tuners, they are able to give the performance that we all want while still keeping things under warranty. Not to mention in California it will keep the emissions man off your back. So in the end the Mugen is a good deal but sometimes the ends don't seem to justify the means. There is a company called Brabus and they specialize in Mercedes benz, they are the ultimate expression of automotive crazy. For example  they will take a 2005 Mercedes SL600 and add $45K worth of modifications to it and consider it a lightly modified car. A few times a year they will sell a Merc that has close to a half a million dollars worth of modifications without even breaking a sweat. The amount of money that is spent to create a custom high end ride is truly insane but still it has to be said that their cars are some of the more stunning on the road today.

So is tuning worth it? in short...YES! ever penny is worth it if you are a motor head.

My Car is Having Tracking Problems

Driving a vehicle in traffic can be a stressful time, not only are there distractions and other drivers but if your vehicle is not driving straight it can be down right scary. Many people and mechanics will instantly blame the steering gearbox or steering rack but this may not always be the case.

If a vehicle is not driving straight when the steering wheel is at center there can be a huge number of reasons. Not only can the steering be out of alignment but the whole vehicle may be as well. This can be caused by an impact on the road with debris or maybe  pot hole. Sometimes even after a repair or a modification the alignment may be off from where it should be.

The reason that a vehicle will track incorrectly is because all 4 tires are no longer facing the same direction as they did originally. This can cause the vehicle to pull when driving or it can even cause a condition known as "catapillaring" which is when the direction of travel is not quite the same as the angel of the vehicle. There are some simple fixes for this condition but sometimes it is not so easy. If the issue was caused by a simple alignment issue it will take a mechanic about an hour to fix it. If there is something more than car may need some serious work to get back to proper operation.