The four chunks of rubber keeping your car on the road and going where you want them to go...
Like everything else on the car that can be interchanged with good and even better parts, tires can be bought in various tread patterns, sizes, brands, and application types. For the performance enthusiast and serious circuit racers, there are the Sports and Racing tires, also commonly called Street Radials and S Tires.
Like Wheels tires also a coded jumble of numbers and letters to decipher to figure out what it is you are buying.
For example: 215/45ZR17 87W
215: The tread width of the tire
45: The height of the sidewall (side of the tire)
ZR: The construction quality of the tire. In this case, the tire is a Z-Rated Radial able to go to speeds beyond 240km/h without falling apart.
17: The size wheels the tire is compatible with.
87: The Load Index...
W: a repeat of the construction quality/speed durability.
If this description didn't really do it for you, go HERE for a better description + charts.
When looking around for sports tires in Japan, the well established brands are the first to come to mind first. Bridgestone/Potenza, Yokohama/Advan, Dulop/Direzza, Falken/Azenis, and Goodyear. However, with the high price for tires (Drifting especially), there is a growing market for cheaper alternatives from other parts of Asia. Federal, Nankang, Hankook, Achillies ATR, and others have been able to establish themselves as reliable brands, perhaps not quite being able to match the Japanese tire makers' quality, but are able to make up for that with pricing. Among Drag Racers, importing of American tires are common. Nitto, Hoosier, and Micky Thompson are common brand favorites among the list.
Depending on what you are using your car for, street/drag/drift/rally/circuit, there is a tire out there being made specifically to fit your needs.
Check out a couple examples HERE
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Coilovers/Suspension
The legs of your car. The suspension is as important as the engine to making your car a great driving machine. It is what keeps your car on the road and assists your steering to controlling the car when flying around turns and on the straights.
A single coilover is composed of the following:
-Upper Mount: The plate which bolts onto the frame of the car. Also adjusts camber for Strut type suspension.
-Spring: Supports the weight of the car. Springs come in all sizes and Spring Rates (measure of how hard a spring is. Normally shown in kgf/mm measurements.)
-Lower Seat: Holds up the bottom of the Spring. Height adjustment is made with the raising and lowering of the Lower Seat in Coilover Suspension kits that are not Fully Adjustable.
-Bracket Lock Seat: Instead of raising/lowering the Lower Seat in your standard suspension to raise/lower the ride height of your car, the Bracket Lock Seat does the job without having to worry about messing with the spring in Fully Adjustable Suspension Kits.
-Damper: A case filled with oil and gas. A piston floating within the Damper is pushed down and rises up, resulting in "dampening."
There are many types of Coilover Suspension kits out there to choose from for any and every application. From the circuit only kit for the GT race machine to the family friendly van, there is something for everyone.
Check Out examples of Coilover Suspension Here
A single coilover is composed of the following:
-Upper Mount: The plate which bolts onto the frame of the car. Also adjusts camber for Strut type suspension.
-Spring: Supports the weight of the car. Springs come in all sizes and Spring Rates (measure of how hard a spring is. Normally shown in kgf/mm measurements.)
-Lower Seat: Holds up the bottom of the Spring. Height adjustment is made with the raising and lowering of the Lower Seat in Coilover Suspension kits that are not Fully Adjustable.
-Bracket Lock Seat: Instead of raising/lowering the Lower Seat in your standard suspension to raise/lower the ride height of your car, the Bracket Lock Seat does the job without having to worry about messing with the spring in Fully Adjustable Suspension Kits.
-Damper: A case filled with oil and gas. A piston floating within the Damper is pushed down and rises up, resulting in "dampening."
There are many types of Coilover Suspension kits out there to choose from for any and every application. From the circuit only kit for the GT race machine to the family friendly van, there is something for everyone.
Check Out examples of Coilover Suspension Here
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Wheels and Rims
"If a car was a woman, the wheels would be her tits." Anonymous
Every tuned car has to sit on a decent set of wheels/rims. Like every other aspect of car tuning, there are a wide selection of wheels available at your disposal. Lightweight, Forged, Cast, One Piece, Two Piece, Three Piece, Chrome, Bronze, etc. mix and match and you get endless possibilities. I haven't even started to mention offsets! With makers like Rays Engineering, SSR, Work, Watanabe, and others, you are bound to find something that both you'll like. When purchasing wheels, there are obvious things you need to know.
The Size. How big are the wheels you want to purchase?
The Width. Width is normally labeled as J or JJ. Wider the wheel, the bigger/wider the tire you'll need to wrap'em in, meaning more money. On the good side though, increased traction, stability, and better looks when coupled with streched tires (wrapping big wheels with small tires)
The Offset. How far the wheel face (the part with the design) is from the center of the wheel. The closer the wheel face is to the outside, the higher the positive offset and vice versa for negative offset.
The Bolt Pattern (commonly labeled as P.C.D. or Pitch Circle Diameter). This is the specifications of the part of the wheels that goes onto your car's wheel hub bolts. The number of hub bolts and space between them determines the P.C.D. you need for your car.
As an example, 17 x 7.5J 5 114.3 +48 means:
17in wheel
7.5J wheel width
5-Lug with a 114.3 bolt pattern
+48 offset
Know the specifications of your wheels and also how wide of a wheel/rim or low of an offset you can put underneath your fenders before buying wheels/rims. That way you will be more satisfied with your ride instead of having the headache of not being able to fit crazy sizes or being mad because you bought too conservative an offset, thereby killing the overall look of your car.
Check Out examples of Wheels and Rims Here
Every tuned car has to sit on a decent set of wheels/rims. Like every other aspect of car tuning, there are a wide selection of wheels available at your disposal. Lightweight, Forged, Cast, One Piece, Two Piece, Three Piece, Chrome, Bronze, etc. mix and match and you get endless possibilities. I haven't even started to mention offsets! With makers like Rays Engineering, SSR, Work, Watanabe, and others, you are bound to find something that both you'll like. When purchasing wheels, there are obvious things you need to know.
The Size. How big are the wheels you want to purchase?
The Width. Width is normally labeled as J or JJ. Wider the wheel, the bigger/wider the tire you'll need to wrap'em in, meaning more money. On the good side though, increased traction, stability, and better looks when coupled with streched tires (wrapping big wheels with small tires)
The Offset. How far the wheel face (the part with the design) is from the center of the wheel. The closer the wheel face is to the outside, the higher the positive offset and vice versa for negative offset.
The Bolt Pattern (commonly labeled as P.C.D. or Pitch Circle Diameter). This is the specifications of the part of the wheels that goes onto your car's wheel hub bolts. The number of hub bolts and space between them determines the P.C.D. you need for your car.
As an example, 17 x 7.5J 5 114.3 +48 means:
17in wheel
7.5J wheel width
5-Lug with a 114.3 bolt pattern
+48 offset
Know the specifications of your wheels and also how wide of a wheel/rim or low of an offset you can put underneath your fenders before buying wheels/rims. That way you will be more satisfied with your ride instead of having the headache of not being able to fit crazy sizes or being mad because you bought too conservative an offset, thereby killing the overall look of your car.
Check Out examples of Wheels and Rims Here
Monday, January 5, 2009
Exhaust
Like the Front Pipe and Outlet Pipe, replacing your car's Stock OEM Exhaust or Muffler is a great basic upgrade to freeing up horsepower and getting a better sound out of your car.
Another great thing about the exhaust is that it counts as both a power upgrade and an exterior modification. The rear of your car will look more aggressive with the addition of the exhaust sticking out from underneath your rear bumper.
And now for the sound. The way your car will sound and feel will depend on which you choose out of the abundant exhaust out there. Exhaust pieces come in a wide variety of shapes and materials. The exhaust tip shape can come in the popular Canister-style, the quieter, uglier Oval-type, and the simple looking Straight-type. Then you have the Main Pipe which is connected to the catalyzer and runs towards the exhaust tip. Piping diameter will be larger than Stock to add power to the car while resonators aka pre-mufflers will also be welded in to reduce the overall sound coming from the exhaust...or not. Composition material commonly is Steel, Stainless Steel, Titanium, and if going custom, even Aluminum!
Those who want ear splitting sound, Full Straight Exhaust. For those who want a little bit of oomph in their ride minus the sound, there are exhausts packed with glass fiber wool and resonators to keep sound to a minimum.
Because I love my car's exhaust note, a full straight exhaust is for me. No muffler, no resonator. The uninterrupted, raw sound of an car is amazing to hear and reminds me every-time why I love cars.
Check Out examples of the Exhaust/Mufflers Here
Another great thing about the exhaust is that it counts as both a power upgrade and an exterior modification. The rear of your car will look more aggressive with the addition of the exhaust sticking out from underneath your rear bumper.
And now for the sound. The way your car will sound and feel will depend on which you choose out of the abundant exhaust out there. Exhaust pieces come in a wide variety of shapes and materials. The exhaust tip shape can come in the popular Canister-style, the quieter, uglier Oval-type, and the simple looking Straight-type. Then you have the Main Pipe which is connected to the catalyzer and runs towards the exhaust tip. Piping diameter will be larger than Stock to add power to the car while resonators aka pre-mufflers will also be welded in to reduce the overall sound coming from the exhaust...or not. Composition material commonly is Steel, Stainless Steel, Titanium, and if going custom, even Aluminum!
Those who want ear splitting sound, Full Straight Exhaust. For those who want a little bit of oomph in their ride minus the sound, there are exhausts packed with glass fiber wool and resonators to keep sound to a minimum.
Because I love my car's exhaust note, a full straight exhaust is for me. No muffler, no resonator. The uninterrupted, raw sound of an car is amazing to hear and reminds me every-time why I love cars.
Check Out examples of the Exhaust/Mufflers Here
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