Okay, if you havent been hiding under a rock you have heard about the new v6 mustang. I for one LOVE the looks of the 2011, and started looking at specs for shits and giggles....Highlight for those below:

305HP /280TQ
3400~LBS
Six-speed manual
Standard LSD (optional 3.31 rear)
7000RPM
5.1 0-60 bone stock....outta a v6....

With the way prices crush on V6 mustangs to less than 10k within 4-5 years does anybody see this as an awesome new spec or even HPDE lapper in 5 years? And since we know Ford will build a bajillion v6s there should be plenty of engines, parts, and Ford Factory Support in terms of parts. This just reminded me a lot of a e36/e46 M3 in specs except ridiculously cheap. Plus....drool at this track-prepped one...........

It's a bit of a read but interesting if your into engine technology. Especially that developed by a legendary hot rodder and then right before going mainstream, squashed by GM.

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engin...index.html

Cliffs:

Quote:Smokey developed a 2.5L (151ci) Iron Duke four-cylinder Fiero engine that met all '80s emissions standards (with a carburetor and no computer), made 250 hp and 250 lb-ft of torque (compared with about 90 hp and 125 lb-ft stock), went 0 to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds (stock was 12 to 13 seconds), and managed to get as high as 51 mpg on the highway running 93-octane pump unleaded premium gas (the stocker got about 35 mpg on 87-octane)

To completely vaporize the fuel, Smokey used heat from the water in the engine's cooling system plus exhaust heat to progressively warm the system's induction flow to the required temperature. There was a heat exchanger under the carburetor that used hot engine coolant exiting the motor to warm the mixture to around 200 degrees. The air/fuel charge then flowed through a second-stage generator, an exhaust-driven turbine wrapped with exhaust-gas ducting.

The '80s vapor motor's A/F ratio was well over 20:1.

It was the "not invented here syndrome" rearing its ugly head again. How could a couple of gearhead hot rodders know more than all of Detroit's best engineering talent? By this time, Detroit was committed to the computer, fuel injection, and the catalytic converter. Traditional theory was to get rid of or manage heat; Smokey was channeling heat for improved performance, the exact opposite of conventional engineering science.

For example, a typical small-block Chevy runs reliably at a 1,750-degree F stabilized exhaust temperature. At 2,250 degrees, you're definitely in trouble from engine-destroying detonation. But Ralph says "if you can take it to 2,600 degrees F, you can control the burn rate of the hydrogen molecule in the fuel, the major radical in the gas that's causing detonation.

paraphrasing: How to get from 2250 to 2600 without melting the engine is the big unknown. It's believed that the cam design was the big secret to doing it.

"The time will come when engines will be fully accepted as a heat pump."

lol wut?

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Is this for real? It made me facepalm.

I guess it's about time to start a project thread. Well, After 8 months and numerous oil changes, and other work, i've finally had the funds to make some decent mods. I am going in 3 separate stages: The first has been completed which included a brand new set of tokico illuminas, ground control's, 27mm tanabe rear sway bar, energy suspension bushings, new ball joints, rear rotors, rear pads and a tanabe upper front strut bar (yet to be installed). I had planned on completely disassembling all of the components and having them sandblasted so i could paint them. This was purely for aesthetics and me knowing that everything suspension-wise would be pretty I had planned on getting a mega discount but the parts came back un-sandblasted and they were asking for 150 bucks. So i went to ace and grabbed some wire wheels and went to town. I didn't take as much time as i would have lied because by the time they came back un blasted i had about 3 days to move out of my apartment while also going to work for 8 hours. I got everything done and realized i had forgotten the stop washers in the shock/spring assembly, so i took just the shocks out, reassembled them and put them back on the car and adjusted the height to what i wanted. To wrap everything up I put on a set of 5zigen FN01R-c in matte black with 205/40r-16 Falken Azenis.
On with the pictures
the good side:

The side in progress:


You can kind of see the bottom of the tokico in this one:

And you can see the rear sway and ground control here:

So low...I might bring it up a little bit, but for right now it holds tight in turns so until i see negative effects it will probably stay that way:


The second stage of the build is going to be the bottom end build. The top end was rebuilt a couple months ago and so i have no worries there. The engine will be receiving .5mm oversized vitara pistons and custom i beam rods from FJDistributors. Also on the list is a new water pump, timing belt, all gaskets, new oil pan (someone....stripped my oil drain plug and it wasn't me), arp head studs, new bearings, paint, and all of the other little things (plugs, wires, vacuum hoses, etc.). I also have an 88 crx dx tranny with a competition clutch and ultra lightweight flywheel. During this The body work is also going to be done. My buddy is a licensed body tech and is fixing all the dents and rust and paint it satin black. I am also going to add some euro flair and do a boser hood. The engine bay is getting shaved and the wire harness tucked.

The final stage is the turbo and all accessories. Still unsure on a lot of these parts as I haven't bought any of them just yet. In the end though I'm looking for between 300 and 350 to the wheels. I am going to be running an electronic cutout for the best possible flow and so i can save money and use my current exhaust but re-fabbed. Once I move into a place with a garage I'll be getting steel mist gray painted on and add an edm carbon fiber rear spoiler. Also, as the funds arrive the first things to come will be a lsd and wilwood big brakes and rotors. Racing seats are also on the menu.

I will be signing up for this shortly as this is an amazing deal for NJMP. Trackdaze always has tons of tracktime as well as there is no racing/only HPDE. Join me so im not so lonely :lol: Below is the information...

This new event that we are adding to our schedule is going to be October 14th-15th on Lightning Raceway. Since the track management has offered us the facility at a special rate we are passing along the savings to you. The cost for the event will be $295 for BOTH Days, $165 for THURSDAY Only, or $185 for Friday Only. You will still get the same 2 hours of track time each day. As an additional incentive if you register before August 1st for BOTH Days you will get $20 off, making the price only $275!

For more information and to register for the event you can follow this link: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.trackdaze.com/index.php?option=com_registrationpro&view=event&Itemid=81&did=12&shw_attendees=1">https://www.trackdaze.com/index.php?option=com_registrationpro&view=event&Itemid=81&did=12&shw_attendees=1</a><!-- m -->

I am on a deadline and would like to get a 4 wheel alignment this Friday. I need to be able to specify exact alignment settings and then have the company do that. I just need to find a place who can do a decent job near the Annandale/Springfieldish area, and I need to be able to get my lowered car on the rack. Anyone have a suggestion? I want to leave my car there Thursday night, and pick it up after the close of business Friday.

Before you tell me to get out strings and do it myself, I have done that before but it's time consuming and I will likely be working on other things up until Thursday night and will be too burned out to do a good job.

What's up MM!? My name is Ryan Freeland, I'm a sophomore economics/finance double major and I'm living in Shenandoah next year.. some of you know me because Jake let me hang out with you all last year haha. But yeah, I bought a car over the summer and can't wait to get my MM bumper sticker. :wink:

So here she is..

2000 Honda Prelude
4-cylinder 2.2L VTEC
5-speed manual
124,000 miles
Mostly stock
License: VROOOMM

I've spent most of the summer doing small mods and routine maintenance.. Cleaned the EGR valve, fixed an oil leak on the VTEC solenoid, new set of O2 sensors, new gauge LEDs, and I've been slowly getting all the grease and grime off the engine bay. I also replaced all the stock speakers (it came with an aftermarket head unit) and I'm about to throw a 4-channel amp in to give them more headroom/power... As for performance mods, those will have to wait due to lack of cash money.. Long term I want to drop it a few inches and throw some new wheels on. She's due for a brake job before school, so that's the next priority.

I've never autocrossed before, but it looks like a blast so I'm looking forward to it. But without further ado...

Ferrari of Washington just got a 458 in and I was bored at work.
That combined with getting a fresh copy of photoshop turned into the 458 enzo...

I really want to buy it but I know that I won't get anything done if I do so I'm going to hold off for a little bit. But I do want to hear what other people think of it and get my vicarious fix.

I remember playing way too much Starcraft in college and I ended up uninstalling it. That was the last day I played Starcraft.

I went up to Lime Rock this Thur. through Sat. for the American Le Mans Grand Prix. I was really impressed with the track - I want to go up there at some point for an HPDE type event after this weekend. The track was a lot smaller than VIR and slightly smaller than Summit Main (~1.5 miles) but has a good amount of elevation change and a ton of technical corners (ALMS was running both optional corners). Anyways, on with the pics, there should be something here for everyone.