House bills, Car bills...GAS?!!!

If you ask the everyday commuter what their biggest pet peeve is, it'll more than likely be the high gas prices that seemingly increase every time you even step into your cars. Like Katt Williams says in one of his stand up comedy routines: "We should not be making life changing decisions at the pump." Now it's sad that for the most part our hands are tied in terms of gas prices but to make our wallets happier, there are precautions we can take to reduce the gas that our cars guzzle.

1. Lose weight

Excess weight on and in your car increases the fuel consumption of your car. If you load up your car on a trip or something, it can cut into fuel economy by as much as 5%. So what can you do? For every 100 lbs you remove from your car, it's a 1-2 percent improvement in gas economy.

2. Tires

In a given month, tires lose about 1 lbs. of pressure. What this means is that the rolling resistance increases and your mileage decreases. So, make sure to check your air filter on a regular basis because a funky air filter can increase fuel consumption by as much as 10%!

3. 60 Is The Magic Number

Speeding is fun and thrilling, and it also can get you to where you need to go a lot faster...as well as get you a ticket =/. However, for every 5 MPH you take your car above 60 MPH, you're paying 6% more per gallon at the gas station. That's definitely not fun. Smooth out your throttle pressing and slow down a bit...you'll avoid trouble from the cops and trouble at the gas stations.

4. Apply Cleanser

Though some cars require the highest grade of gas, you're more likely than not going to aim for the cheapest gas you can get. However, you might be selling yourself short of many chemicals that clean out your fuel injectors. As a solution, apply a cleaner to your fuel injectors and this could improve gas mileage by up to 20%.

5. Check Engine...no really, check it when the light goes on!

The "Check Engine" light is probably the most ignored alert on the car. Sometimes, we'll attribute it to a busted bulb and that's why the alert is on or worse, we think that we can just "ride" it out. Let me warn you...if you blow your engine, your gas mileage is going to get about 10-20% worse.

The days of cheap gas are long gone so the best thing to do is to prepare ourselves and really try to minimize any excess weight we put on our cars. That way, we become happier 'cause our cars become happier, and vice versa.

- Rack of Lam

Iconel : Exotic Super Metal That You've Probably Never Heard Of!

Exotic Women, Exotic cars, Exotic watches, how about exotic super metals for MotorSports? Inconel a metal made by Special Metals Corporation from New York. How about a metal that is used for Industrial Turbine Compressors for electricity generation? Pretty impressive in my book actually. The beauty of Inconel is "passivation." When the Inconel metal heats it forms a protective layer that helps to strengthen it when heated. Inconel Manifolds are very diffcult to make, because they exhibit "work-hardening" which means after every weld they become harder. So if you are a sloppy welder you can turn you inconel beauty into a biscuit.


This beauty was developed for a plane.



Cast Inconel for VW 1.8T application.


Inconel gas turbine housing for power geneeration.

So if you want to make a custom manifold you have to visit Greg Dupree is located in the San Fernando Valley. He specialized in Z32 300ZX Manifolds, and they only cost $1865 for a manifold that will last you longer than your car itself.

GRANTURISMO - THE REAL ONE

Geneva first showcased this hand built Maserati GranTurismo last month at the New York Auto Show. This bad boy has a 4.2-Liter V8 engine that can produce up to 405 Horsepower and 339 lbs. of torque and can reach up to 177 mph. Uh I don

"More Than Meets The Eye Part 1"

Alot of you are no doubt Transformers fans. I am no exception. In lue of the upcomming Transformers live action movie coming out this summer, I wanted to give you more insight of some of my favorite autobots/decepticons.

Prowl(Cervo in Canada, Pantera in Italy) is the Autobots' military strategist and analyst. As a robot he is armed with a pair of shoulder-mounted cannons which fire wire-guided incendiary missiles, and a semi-automatic rifle that shoots pellets filled with a highly corrosive acid. Prowl's name has been reused throughout many reincarnations of the Transformers animated series and Marvel comics. His vehicle mode has been altered several times throughout the years. He was a 'Cybertonian car', a Formula 1 racer, a Cobra Firebat(Marvel Comics' G.I. Joe & Transformers mash up) and most recently an Acura RSX. For most of you however, remember Prowl as the Nissan Fairlady Z (Datsun 280ZX) Police Car. I know I do. The Datsun 280ZX is one of my favorite cars, especially in that brownish color(not the orange one) they came in, and that's why Prowl is one of my favorite Transformers.



The Prowl We All Love
The Prowl we all grew up with



Datsun 280ZX
Prowl in 280ZX mode.




The new look of Prowl by Dreamwave Productions.




~Ronski

Hustle the hustlers

Purchasing a car at a dealership can be a very frustrating push-and-pull process, especially for the newbie car buyer. Car salesmen also aren't exactly the ideal exemplars of honest and consummate sellers so it is wise to well-equip yourself with detailed knowledge of automobile purchasing as preparation to deal with these crafty and persuasive individuals.

Going back a couple of years ago, Rack of Lam was going through his G.E. courses in college and it is here that he took an economics class with a mole-looking professor (Okay, going back to 1st person perspective). I remember in one class, the professor went over things to consider as preventives for buying a lemon. As a caring fellow consumer, I thought I'd share with you with these insights so you too will not buy a lemon. Hopefully these tips will get you your car for a sweet deal.

1. TIMING IS EVERYTHING

The thing I seem to remember most from Mr. Moleman is the windows of time that is optimal for going car shopping. This usually occurs at the end of the month and 30 minutes before a closing day. In a rush to go home, the salespeople will cut a deal they wouldn't otherwise.


2. OWN THE LOAN

A large percentage of the time, the dealer will not be able to beat what you can find for yourself as far as loans go. This is, of course, unless the dealership is offering some kind of special financing. Either way, do your homework thoroughly and be very skeptical of the counter-offers that the salesmen shoot back because for the most part, they'll say what it takes to get you to sign on the line that is dotted (5 points for whoever can tell me what movie that's from). Sometimes, they'll tell you that your financing has been approved when it hasn't and you end up paying more than you intended. Another tactic they use is to lie about your credit score so make sure you know what your's is before going into number and figures.

3. CERTIFIED

The best deal to shoot for is a 2-year certified pre-owned car. It's the best bang for your buck because the car has only depreciated on average about 25% by the time it's left the lot but it still comes with its original warranty, which is about 3 more years of coverage for free. Only downfall: the new car smell has probably drifted away since.

4. SO MANY OPTIONS

I know everyone wants the DVD player, the PS3, monitors behind the headrests, navigation system, etc. but they're "options" for a reason; you don't have to have them. Mostly, it is the items that improve car performance that retain their value the best. By the time you've taken the car off the lot, these upgraded audio systems and other knick knacks are pretty much rendered worthless. Also, it's been said that an extended warranty is not needed but you should look into one if 1) your car is the first year's release of it's model or 2) if the car has undergone dramatic redesigns in that year. If you do decide to go with the extended warranty, make sure the contract covers wear and tear, has zero deductibles, and has exclusionary coverage. Another cautionary note: these extended warranties are pure profits for the salesman so you better believe he/she is going to try and squeeze every penny out of you.

Also, not as important but worth a mention for financial reasons, hybrid cars are not as better of an investment as you may think. They run about $3000 more then gas-powered cars on average, depreciate faster, and also cost a lot more to insure. So unless you're enviromentally-conscious, hold off on hybrids--for now. Who knows? If gas gets to be $129038129081098123312 a gallon (which it looks that way), then it might be a better investment.

Hopefully, these tips will save you from paying more than you should for your car. Don't get me wrong...you'll rarely come across a dealership that's going to try and sell you a piece of crap because it'll easily tarnish their reputation. I just don't want you to pay more than you have to, and heck, maybe even get a deal that'd make the salesman cringe a bit. It's good to be reminded that simply, your objective is to get the car for as cheap as you can and the seller's objective is to sell it to you for as much as they can. The worst feeling for a person is to get hustled, in car buying and in life. Good thing for you (and take it from me) the best defense for a hustle is the re-hustle.

-Rack of Lam

The Nash Metropolitan : One Cute Car Pee Wee Herman Would Appreciate

Many years ago, I was dating a go-go dancer, we had conversations about dream cars. Of course being a man, I mentioned I would like a Ferrari 250 Gt California, Ken and Mary Skyline, and a 1973 Toyota Corolla SR5. Talking to her about my dream cars was futile, she didn't know a god damn thing about cars. All she knew was that she liked the Nash Metropolitan. I was stumped. My long rants about my dream cars stopped, and I realized I didn't know everything about cars. I was dumb-founded, and I looked like a fool cause I had no idea what the Nash Metropolitan was. I was stumped, and that was that. But it didn't mean I didn't get to give her the "stump" later that today.

So here I present you the NASH Metropolitan, this cute little car was made from 1954-1962. In the midst of the automobile industry making larger and larger cars, NASH developed a small mini car amongst giants. It was more cost effective to mkae these cars overseas, and so Austin made these cars. (Austin being one of the manufacturers of the Mini)

THis car had a 1200-1500 OHV motor that belted outy 55 HP.

So research your cars and girls will come to you. Ha

Johnster

A RIDE 50 CENT WOULD APPRECIATE

Rolls Royce Motors Cars just recently announced to the public that the Phantom will be coming out in an armoured version. That

"HKS"

Alright. Alot of you geniuses surprise me by not knowing what or who makes some of the fancy products you spend your money on to finely tune you vehicle. We at thetunersource.com are here to provide you, the tuner fanatic, not just quality products, but some solid gold knowledge that will help you survive on the streets.

Honestly, I didn't know what HKS stood for a couple of years ago. Now I do; that's why I'm now here with thetunersource.com. For the rest of you here's a quick recap of HKS. HKS is a automotive accessory company that was formed/founded in 1973 by Hiroyuki Hasegawa(a former engineer for Yamaha) and Goichi Kitagawa in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka, Japan. The two were later joined-up with Sigma Automotive who provided the capital to start up the company. Altogether we get HKS. Oh snap son!!

There you go. Some knowledge for that ass. Learn something.

Learn Something

~Ronski

Girls Gone Wild: Topless German Beauties

Picture this: It's a warm, breezy summer afternoon in Los Angeles and you're blazing through the traffic with a big smile on your face 'cause well, it's the afternoon and you're not at work :) More importantly, however, is that you're in a beautiful 2007 BMW 3-series coupe. I mean, it looks, drives, and costs like a BMW, right? I did say you were in Los Angeles so imagine with the press of a button and 22 seconds later, the windows of your coupe drop and the top lifts off the body into three pieces, the trunk opens like a clamshell, and what was once the top of your car has been compacted into a sandwich and you are now driving a convertible.

Alright, so hardtop convertibles aren't a new concept. The reason why this particular BMW hardtop convertible is significant is because it is not found on the 6-series ragtop. Instead, it joins the ranks with such cars as the Mazda MX-5 and Volkswagen EOS in the more affordable end of the auto price spectrum. A 3-series is the best handling, best riding, and in my opinion, the best looking car in its class. Take the top off (that wasn't originally a raggedy ragtop)? I don't know about you but I'm getting weak in the knees. The hardtop convertible comes in the 328iC and (in my opinion the nicest car to come out within the last year) 335iC. Here are some specs:

Price: $43K-$47K
Engine: 3.0-liter inline-6/twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6
Power: 230/300 hp

So trust me, if it weren't for the fact that he's probably going to go to jail, Joe Francis would probably put this topless beauty in the newest series of his videos.

Ford Escort RS Cosworth

You probably always thought that the Ford Escort was a wimpy car. You're thoughts on this daily commuter are not completely untrure. It does suck except for the United States. The United Kingdom always has the best of the breed for cars in the world. The reason why the United Kingdom has great Ford models is because these models are built in the United Kingdom. The legacy of this Ford Escort RS Cosworth comes from the Mk1 and Mk2, these had Lotus built DOHC cam motors that mad monster power, 140 HP ina 1800 lb car




The Ford Cosworth RS came with a 280HP turbo motor made with a T3 turbo. This motor could easily push out over 400 HP. This ridiculous car was a Rally Champion and pretty much demolished the competition.




The car came with a monster wing and an insane body kit.

33RD ANNUAL TOYOTA GRAND PRIX in LBC!

"A Brand New School..."

Brand New School(BNS) is a commercial arts company with offices in Santa Monica, California & New York, New York. This company has been responsible for many of the commericials you and I see on a daily basis(unless you have TiVo). Their clients include Volkswagen, Toyota, Adidas & Coca-Cola. Most recently BNS was commissioned by BBDO Detroit to produce a commercial to promote their new Jeep Compass. I rarely see the commercial this spring/summer season, and I don't believe that it was ever in heavy rotation, but when I first saw it, I thought it was pretty creative. I thought it was even better when I found out in Digit magazine that the Jeep Compass commercial was created intirely in CG. I honestly thought that the Jeep in the commercial was real, but it's completely CG. Check out the commercial below. If you can, check out Brand New Scool's website(and their other commercial spots)...learn something.



Other Lickage:
www.brandnewschool.com
www.digitmag.co.uk

~Ronski

4-Door Honda Civic Mugen Edition!!!!!!

Honda's newly announced 4-Door Honda Civic Mugen Edition!!!!!

Get all the chicks...and their mothers...Mother Earth, that is :)

Electric/hybrid cars are usually vehicles that are sought after because of their ability to save or avoid gas. Now, when the first electric cars emerged, they weren't too big of a hit. Production costs for these cars were high and the inconvenience of constantly having to recharge the batteries didn't rub well on the consumers. So emerged the hybrid car. In addition to using chemical energy-stored electric batteries, the cars also use ICEs (internal combustion engines). Especially nowadays, these cars are sought after because you get 9120381290831208312 miles to a gallon (okay, a bit of a hyperbole) which lets you visit the god-awful gas stations every once in a blue moon. Though strides have been made through making hybrid versions of many cars, hybrids aren't really known for their style and design; you're not able to "get chicks" with a Prius, or whatever the car might be. "Who cares," says the common environmentalist. "As long as we're doing our part to save the earth." Point is, electric/hybrid cars just don't excite us. Well, I have good news for you...

I present the Tesla Roadster. Running on 100% electricity, this car will change the way anyone looks at a "non-gasoline" vehicle. Also improved is the Roadster's ability to get 250 miles on one single charge of its lithium ion batteries. You might be asking, "Yeah yeah yeah...it's a sexy looking beast and I'm sure it's expensive [about $92,000 US for the base model and around $100K for the fully equipped version] but can it move?" The car is able to go 0-60 in about 4 seconds and has a top speed of 130. Though not thoroughly impressive for a "super car," these are large strides that car makers are taking to present style and conservation capabilities to mobilists. Also, very indicative of an electric car is the low maintenance required for the car [try an average of $30K a year cost of maintenance for say a Ferrari or Lamborghini]. There are no oil changes needed and brake maintenance is hardly a problem because of the regenerative brake feature of the car. Plus, and probably most importantly, this car will have no problem getting you all the chicks.

Michael Schumacher : One of the Baddest Racing Guys

How about a sponsorship from Ferrari and being the highest paid athelete of all time. This is correct this funny looking German man from West Germany is the guy that has helped revolutionize F1 superstar atheletes.




He boasts the most championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, points earned, and most races won in a single season. Through this he has become the first Billionaire athelete in the world.

He came from humble begins of a home-made kart built by his brick-layer father at four years of age. At six he won his first championship. By 1987 he was the German Champion for Kart racing, and by 1990 he was the Formula Ford and Formula 3 Champion of Europe.

He was known as the Regenmeister, or Rain Master for his super tricky technique racing int he rain. But his technique of crashing into other drivers as well, is up for concern on his nobility as King of the Track.

Nonetheless he possesses excellent skill at kicking butt in F1. Think Kobe Bryant of the race world.

SONG OF THE DAY: OMD

Alright. So you know how I have a Scion XB and a fan of anything XB related. Well I found out through some rigorous recon work that a California-based company called AC Propulsion managed to convert the ever-so-popular Scion XB into a full on electric vehicle. Instead of calling it the XB, they term their project car into the,

Know Your Rights!!!!!!! California Exhaust Law!!!

California Vehicle Code Section 27151

27151. (a) No person shall modify the exhaust system of a motor
vehicle in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise emitted
by the motor of the vehicle so that the vehicle is not in compliance
with the provisions of Section 27150 or exceeds the noise limits
established for the type of vehicle in Article 2.5 (commencing with
Section 27200). No person shall operate a motor vehicle with an
exhaust system so modified.
(b) For the purposes of exhaust systems installed on motor
vehicles with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of less
than 6,000 pounds, other than motorcycles, a sound level of 95 dbA or
less, when tested in accordance with Society of Automotive Engineers
Standard J1169 May 1998, complies with this section. Motor vehicle
exhaust systems or parts thereof include, but are not limited to,
nonoriginal exhaust equipment.

In short this pretty much says that you can change your exhaust on any motor vehicle under 3 tons with an aftermarket exhaust as long as it does not exceed 95 decibels. There are exceptions that are stated in other codes, such as no "whistle-tips" which are tips that are added to make the pitch of the exhaust note higher. Also you cannot modify the catalytic converter in anyway. So remember guys, after the cat, under 95 dbA, then its all legal. Good luck and happy driving!

If I could, I would...

The BMW "M-series" cars have been synonymous as being vehicles balancing between a sports car and a luxury car. Nowadays, the M3, M5, and M6's can be found on the streets and are obvious standouts for their powerful engines and sleek designs. However, to get to 3, 5, or 6, there must've been a 1.

The BMW M1 was made available in 1978 and ended production in 1981. There were only 456 of these bad boys that were manufactured. The M1 (E26) was and is the only mid-engined BMW. Boasting a 3.5 liter, 6-cylinder in-line engine, the supercar was built for competition and a later street model was produced. The car outputs about 277-HP with a top speed of 162 MPH (although the turbocharged version for competitve racing were capable of outputting about 850-HP). Due to a lot of production problems, the M1 faced many sanctioning discrepancies that ultimately pulled it out of competition.This wasn't necessarily a problem as the car never really had much success. It was known mainly for its timeless design and great handling. As a result, most of the M1's that still exist can be found in museums or private collections, and though rare, on the streets.







-Rack of Lam