A1 A4
Daniel Harman's Santorin Blue Mica 1999 Audi A4 quattro is an absolute stunner.
Daniel set out in late '98 in search of a new car that was priced between US$18-22,000 - and it had to be fast. A BMW M3 was at the top of the list, but the price asked for even used ones was way too much, so he had to consider all the options. Then he got eager on the Integra GS-R, but "the jerks at the Acura dealer didn't help me overlook the dated styling, lack of space and lack of torque". So that was scratched, and eventually he went back to considering a German manufacturer - Audi. Not initially impressed with its 0-60 mph time of 8.4 seconds, he decided to take an A4 turbo for a test drive, along with a 3 series BMW. Again, the BMW was just out of budget, but after taking the Audi for a second drive, he could see himself in no other car. He separated with US$23,600 (a little more than he had hoped), and there was going to be no mods other than a decent stereo.
But after reading about a chipped Passat 1.8T, it wasn't long before the quattro received some new maps. And then one thing led to another, and a few months and couple thousand bucks later he had a wonderful M3 killer - "US$30,000 for a used car... MY ARSE!!".
To get the show accelerating hard in a straight line, the car has been fitted out with a Neuspeed KO4 turbo upgrade, ram-air filter and a LLtek/Brullen exhaust to give it a great note as well as some more kilowatts.
On the outside, this A4 is a sensation. It's got a fantastic set of 17 inch Borbet Type Ts (wearing 225/45 Bridgestone S-02 Pole Position tyres), Bosch clear corner lights, InPro clear side blinkers and a Kamei sport grille with rings. One of those wheels, incidentally, has already been bent on one of the ragged roads of Washington - the pothole capital.
A more aggressive stance is delivered thanks to Neuspeed race-tuned Bilstein shocks and struts equipped with Neuspeed race springs. Neuspeed/Goodridge 6 piece stainless steel brake lines, Mintex red-box pads and Motul Superblue fluid ensure there's a stopping ability that matches the engine's urge.
On top of the standard A4's interior luxuries, Daniel's car has an Escort 7500 Radar/Laser detector with remote, Lltek shift knob and a kick-arse audio system. This comprises a Becker Grand Prix CD head unit, Becker 6 stack CD, two Infinity 42.1 multi-element speakers, two Infinity 50.1cs component speakers, Infinity Perfect 10 sub and an Infinity 255a amp.
After the recent upgrades to the exhaust and brakes, the car "makes noise and stops on a dime", and Daniel's very content. The only area that still needs slight attention is the stereo system. Not getting everything he wanted first time around, Daniel will add more earth-trembling bass and also a Becker Traffic Pro navigation system. To attain that extra bass, a custom bandpass box will be made up from plexiglass and ported through the rear deck of the car. Contained within this box will be two Infinity Perfect 10 woofers and for kicks, they'll be lit by a red florescent light. Power will be provided by two of JBL's new digital amps.
Daniel's also decided he wants a bodykit and new headlights when the US winter ends. Most likely, this will be a Projectzwo kit and a set of European projection headlamps.
Go dribble over this electric looking Audi some more at http://a4q.tripod.com/.
Black Beauty
Like most kids in the US, Dave Barabas grew up loving Corvettes - until finally, at the age of 30, he bought one during the summer of '94. He originally had his eye on a car that was purchased by a body shop guy at a local Chev dealer. It was an Admiral Blue convertible that was bought as a "surprise". One that the body shop guy's wife didn't particularly like... So Dave intended to buy it from him at a fairly keen price - until, inevitably, the wife started to fall in love with the car. Still gee'd up ready to own a 'Vette, it was lucky that a guy Dave knew pointed him in the direction of a beautiful six speed LT1 that was loaded with everything - sport seats, CD player and two roofs. He bought it almost immediately.
But after a year at the helm, a mere 300 hp wasn't enough. Dave started talking to a guy in the Atlanta area, Bob Wicker, who had similar urges. Bob ended up getting some go-fast gear from Doug Rippie and had a nearby workshop called MTI (Motorsport Technologies Inc) install it - plus a few more enhancements while they were at it. Then, having signed up for a driving school at Road Atlanta, Dave witnessed how quick Bob's car now was - so that sold him on doing up his own. His first purchase was a set of Hawk brake pads to use at the school - but after that he had to get more, more, more!
The first round was to have the engine bored and stroked to 6.3 litres, the fitment an all-new valve train, Vortech blower, cold air intake, pistons, headers and an exhaust (with Borla mufflers). The result was a total of 450hp and a new redline of 6800 rpm! That sure made the 'Vette feel a lot better! And at the drag strip, it pulled a 12.44 at just over 115 mph - on street tyres and little drag racing experience.
Next came the wheels, brakes and shocks. Dave signed up for a pair of huge 6-piston Wilwood calipers and 13 inch slotted rotors, and decided he wanted different wheels at the same time. Just as well, because the brakes wouldn't have fitted otherwise! Even so, MTI still had to make brackets for the brakes and reduce the rear track by 9/16 inch on each side to fit those 17x11 rear rims. The improvement was worth it though - "from any mph to zero it's like hitting a wall"... To improve handling precision, a set of Carrera dampers went in as well, and with more rubber hitting the ground (275's front and 315's rear), he returned to Road Atlanta. He absolutely ate everything else up on the straights, but the street tyres were no match for the slick-clad racers. Still, that wonderful engine gave excellent torque at all revs and loved to spin.
Next up in Summer '96, Dave bought a van, trailer and a set of slicks - he got really serious! But later that year saw a major setback - we'll let the photo speak for itself... By Christmas '96 all was well again, and more power was the order of the day (see the graph below). Again, more traction was needed so a set of Forgeline RS (18x12 and 18x10) rims wearing Goodyear Eagle slicks are used on the track, with Michelin MXX3s on the street.
See this amazing 200+ mph machine for yourself here.
Civic a Si-lum
Dan Watt drives a 1995 1.6 litre VTEC Honda Civic Si. But it's not your average Si sir. As well as featuring the standard dual airbags, four wheel discs, double wishbone suspension, 22mm front 'bar, manual gearbox and power 'roof, it has a truck-load of mods. Leased in July 1995, it was in January 1996 when the first wave of changes hit - a set of Eibach springs and a Borla turbo rear muffler, 2¼ inch cat-back pipe and a Bonzai 4 inch tip with changeable 'glass matting. A set of Magnecore 8.5mm leads went on as well.
Then came a Weapon R foam filter and a generic air intake pipe. The ignition system got a serving with a Crane Cams Hi-6 CDI and PS-91 coil, and an Autometer monster tach also found itself mounted on the dash. The next burst included a change to a K&N filter, Beru Silverstone spark plugs and a set of Nology Hotwires to replace the Magnecores. The interior got treated to a Honda centre arm rest and audio console, and about that time on went a DC Sports 4>2>1 ceramic coated exhaust manifold for more power. The outside light show was upgraded with Denji projector lamps and Honda sport factory fog lights. At about the same time came a DC Sport oil cap, power door locks, Momo Shadow shift knob, wide angle rear view mirror, OBX side marker lamps and a Xenon front bumper. The car's level of grip was bumped up too with 205/55 14 Yoko AVSs, and a custom decal job increased its presence.
As the suspension was an early priority, 1996 saw a better suspension set-up using adjustable Koni shocks, Neuspeed race springs and a DC Sports carbon fibre strut brace. Further to this came a VTEC indicator, a carbon fibre tip (that later fell off!), and the painting of the rocker cover with red wrinkle paint for a unique look. The wheels were also replaced by 15 inch CID Special Edition rims and 195/45ZR AVSs (which required slight guard rolling).
In 1998, came the introduction of a Wings West RS series front spoiler, Wings West upper hatch wing, a line of Catz lights and under dash neon lighting. The engine went the next step further with a Field controller for fuel and VTEC, and a Bullfrog head package including a matched intake manifold, larger throttle body, cam, extensive head work and re-mapped ECU. And to make the most of this an AEM cold air intake was also fitted.
But with all that extra power, in mid December '98 the gearbox started to whine and a mysterious knocking noise also developed inside the motor. The latter was ignored until early '99, when it was diagnosed with stuffed rod bearings.The answer has been a set of 9.1:1 SRP pistons that arrived in July, just before a set of Crower rods and Autometer Phantom series gauges. Oh, and a used gearbox was bolted up to get rid of that whine.
Onboard the Civic has a substantial security system and a stereo with a Sony XR-U800 head unit and CDX-91 stacker, Blaupunkt 4x40W RMS amp, Alpine speakers and a JL Audio sub. A wise investment was a Valentine1 radar locator, which by all accounts seems to be saving Dan a lot of money!
If you've taken in all that, http://www.wabe.net/silum/ is the place with padded walls where you can check it out in detail!
Blown Mr Two
Mike Gruber of Washington has owned this 1988 Mk 1 Toyota Supercharged MR2 since April 1992. Before that, he'd owned two of the atmo-inducted early MR2s, and over this time he's come to the conclusion that any version of the MR2 is the best sports car available for the money. "They're affordable, excellent handling cars that are fast enough to be entertaining".
During the last American winter, Mike did a little renovation work on the red car. This was brought about by the failure of the original clutch after a fairly hard 112,000 miles. And while the engine and transaxle were out of the car, he decided to replace the clutch, water pump, all engine water and vacuum lines, all gaskets, and everything else that was easy to get at. But what's really exciting was the installation of a Quaife Torsen-style LSD, aluminum flywheel, and a pair of WEB #101 grind camshafts.
These cams were dialed-in using JUN adjustable cam gears - which came in handy when Mike was tuning the engine to be tractable enough for street use. The result is an engine only slightly down on torque below 2500-or-so revs when compared to the stock engine, but with vastly improved top end pull and a broader powerband. Other improvements include an HKS supercharger pulley (for more boost), TRD headers, ceramic-coated MR2PP stainless steel exhaust and a SuperTrapp tip. Oh, and that standard clutch was replaced by a TRD Kevlar item.
As it currently is "the motor is still perfectly acceptable for street usage, and has plenty of low end grunt for autocross".
Suspension-wise, the competition-ready Toyota go-kart features TRD linear rate "race" springs, GAB 4 position adjustable shocks and ST adjustable swaybars. Rolling stock for street use are 15 inch Fittipaldis with 205/50 Kuhmo V700 Victoracers, while autocrossing duties call for a set of 13 inch Duralight wheels clad in 225/50 Hoosier RS302s. Helping to slow the little ball of fun is a set of Ferodo FDB308 pads controlled by a front-to-rear proportioning valve. But Mike's also made his own larger brake pedal that's suitable for left-foot braking.
Inside there's a Sparco racing seat, Momo Corse steering wheel, Jon Oellrich short shift kit, Ken Farrel leather shift boot and a TRW Sabelt 6 point quick release harness to keep Mike safe. Driven on most days (including several cross-country trips) Mike figures that the car is probably good for another ten trouble-free years of motoring. So he intends never to sell it - but stranger things have happened! Future plans include a water/air intercooler and either a Cusco or Blitz pulley for a little more boost pressure. Then it'll be the perfect boosted Mister!
The car can be seen in all its glory here.
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