Williamwhitec's Blog

Cosmetics

williamwhitec — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:49:02 +0000

The aftermarket for the tuner car scene is wide open. You can modify the body of your car to look like a totally different car. You can complete dress your car up for show and the track. There are wide body kits that have to be molded to the body of your car that can cost thousands of dollars to small things like LED lights. Tuners take pride in their performance but they know there car has to have a certain look for them to be happy with the finished product. Often times you never are content with the way that your car looks so you want to switch things up every week. You might start out going for a straight out show car but then you want to get that JDM street racer look with a simple body kit.

To me aesthetic is as important as performance. To some of my friends I tuned my car backwards since I did the outside and now I am working on the motor. They think that a tuner always starts motor first but I like to dispute that by saying I have to drive my car everywhere so I want it to look the way it to look presentable before I can even worry about what it going to perform like. The top tuners always put the same amount of effort in the exterior as the performance. There are like Veil side and Skunk who take an entire car and create their own interpretation of the car that represents them as a tuner. Thanks for reading my blog and I would appreciate picture comments also.

williamwhitec — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:18:25 +0000

sick Nissan 280zx

There are two beautiful worlds to the tuner scene in America that get there equal respect from each other and that is the new and the old generations. The 1980s brought quite a few cars that still have very attractive lines to this day such as the 1986-1992 Mazda Rx-7 also known as the second generation RX-7. This generation Rx-7 has made a large impression on the drifting car scene. The second generation Honda CR-x made from 1988-1991 is also a very popular car for most beginners in the tuner industry since they are cheap and easy to come by. The old Nissan 300z series is a great car to start with especially with the twin-turbo. The Datsun z280/z240 (1969-1978) is a very impressive car and there have been some excellent tuners who have taken this car to many different levels. Most of the Datsuns will require a lot of extra work to restore them before you tune them. They are difficult to find in descent condition, for sale that is. You will either need a complete motor rebuild or an engine swap simply because of the age of the vehicle and the miles that have been racked up on it. There are also a few cars that have stayed around from the very early nineties like the Toyota supra, The Honda NSX, and the Nissan 240sx/Silvia that are still heavy hitters in the tuner world. Please leave your comments on what you’ve seen out of these older generation cars that still are seen at the car shows.

Why Street Race?

williamwhitec — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 03:01:59 +0000

The number of street racing is one of the most risky activities that car tuners decide to take part in. The adrenaline rush that you get when you are racing down the interstate is hard to compare to any other experience while driving. There are many races on the internet of cars on highways racing. Even though it seems like a really manly thing and you feel like you have to defend your manhood by beating the driver next to you in a race, it just is not the smartest thing and is usually not well thought out. This is a stupid thing to do since there are places where you can go and race legally. The drag strip is an excellent place to show how fast your car is because there are no obstacles to navigate and you are not endangering any of the other drivers on the road. The track has boundaries so you do not risk personally injuries in case of a crash. Whereas on the street you risk running off the roads, veering off into incoming traffic, running other drivers off the road or causing them to wreck, and getting a large ticket and possibly serving time in jail time. I have street raced before and it was exciting. I am not trying to be one of those people who goes around saying do the right thing. Here is a video that shows some good races from the strip. Be safe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwSEqqvoM90&feature=related

Hatch Attack

williamwhitec — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:55:22 +0000

Hatchback tuning is an interesting section of the tuner scene only because hatches usually do not attract a large consumer crowd. The hatch tuning scene has blown up over the last 10 years but the major car companies have been making sporty hatches like we know them now for the last 50 years. They have stayed under the radar of most consumers. The Mini from the British Motor Company was one of the earliest sport hatchbacks. During the 90′s there was some big power made in the hatchback class. The Ford Escort from the factory tuner Cosworth was the king of the hatches of the 90′s. The Cosworth’s 227 horsepower stock trim was amazing for the time but what was more amazing is where the tuners were taking the power those days. The Cosworth was seeing in excess of 1000hp out of it 4-cylinder. Many of the hatches of the 80’s still have a major presence in the tuner scene like the Honda CR-X and Honda Civic Wagon. Now, the hatchback class has many new entries such as the Mazdaspeed 3, Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf and Scirocco, Subaru WRX STI, and the Dodge Caliber. Tuners have taken these cars to new level trying to one-up on the competition. Whether it is on the street or on the in organized racing the hatches are getting more and more respect. The Subaru WRX STI hatch has been leaps and bounds above almost every hatch for the past decade making 300hp from its turbo charged 2.2 liter motor. Thanks for reading my blog. Please comment and tell me if I missed any hatches that should have been mentioned.

The Honda VTEC

williamwhitec — Sun, 31 May 2009 01:41:42 +0000

tuned i-Vtec

Honda is a leader on the tuner car scene even though they are recognized for making reliable economy cars. Although these cars are not known for their great performance, they have an excellent engine that gives them a lot of potential to be a very quick car. The motor is called the vtec (variable valve timing and lift electronic control). Honda developed this incredible work of engineering in the early 80’s. This engine allows the car to create most of it power at the upper end of it rev range which is at 9000rpm! This is necessary because the engine is so small and can’t make sufficient low-end torque. Honda has made a variety of vtec motors that are in different types of vehicles from the compact SUV called the CR-V to Honda top of the line sports car the NSX. The DOHC (dual over head cam) vtec four-cylinder is the most recognized known as the B16 and the B18. The engine blocks are very sturdy and can handle any power adders that you so choose. This makes it a favorite for Honda tuners. Many other companies have produced their own version of the variable valve timing system like the Mitsubishi’s MIVEC but none are as recognized as Hondas five time engine of the year award winner. The four cylinder competition is very steep but there are few that make 100hp/liter naturally aspirated. I feel like this is the best 4-cylinder motor. The Subaru’s 4-cylinder is also very revolutionary. Please feel free to leave comments and tell whether you think there are better designs out there. Thanks!

Tuners R’ User

williamwhitec — Sat, 23 May 2009 21:26:39 +0000

I have been a frequent on youtube.com watching different domestic and import car videos. I also have used youtube to post videos of my own car. There are millions of post of import cars that have been tuned and there owners have spent money and time customizing them to their preference. There are those that are more designed to be flamboyant to those that are purpose built racers, and there are also those that chose to keep their car’s appearance stock on the outside but modify the engine and they are known as the “sleeper s.” Typically those import cars that are very flamboyant are from Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, or Nissan are referred to as a ‘ricer’. When users comment on the videos there are they usually comments to ask the owner about certain things that have been done to the car or maybe their own personal experience that is relevant to the video. Those who leave comments on the videos and they refer to a car as “ricer” are giving that term a negative connotation meaning the owner car has made an unsuccessful attempt by going above and beyond the necessary means to make a very cheap Asian car to appear as a much more expensive or faster car. I have a Honda Civic that has been modified mostly for aesthetics. I have not yet been referred to as a “ricer,” but I can’t help but to be slightly irritated by these comments. There must be a fine line between what constitutes a ricer and what comprises a “good looking” car by most audiences. Please leave a comments can will explain what instantly makes a car a “ricer.” Check this video out that was posted about ricers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRQK5G6yKvM&feature=related