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Normally when buying a vehicle you look for the very best deal, as well as perhaps performance or economy. So, when Tony Bryan from Fort Lauderdale, FL acquired this ’04 Jetta 2.0L from your dealership, he was in the mindset from the average commuter.the online forums, Tony soon saw light at the conclusion of the commuter tunnel. He started like most of us often do, performing classic novice tuner mods, such as tinted headlights, too much use of LEDs, criminally dark tinted windows and, of course, a box wheel stance.

Before reaching his ultimate vision, his road to VW tuning fame would have to climb the ladder. So he sourced some 17″””” AMG wheels, which he and his girlfriend hand-polished to some showroom finish. Tony then set the car down on air and soon onlookers had to double-take at his Jetta. Tony had a new mission to keep pushing the envelope whilst keeping people interested.

After years of several parts combinations, including a full plaid interior, Tony’s current vision is a meticulously lowered beauty. Debuted during this year’s SoWo 7, Tony showcased his Lipstick Red leather interior, which had been lovingly upholstered by trusted friend, Vincent from Auto Accessories & Seat Covers of Hollywood, FL.

Together with the unique Stain Blue wrap, and polished 18×8.5″””” 18 (f) and 18×10″””” 30 (r) CCW Classic wheels, you simplyand a 4Motion lip helped to incorporate the subtle details that pull the auto together.

When a car reaches this level, family members are usually enlisted and Tony had his girlfriend help him rip out your interior, while his mother helped upholster pieces of the interior.

That’s one family we wouldn’t mind showing a project car. You never know, we could even be treated into a fantastic home-cooked meal afterward. Did we mention his girlfriend also helped study the wheel wells for the perfect offset?

Take a good look at Tony’s creation and it’s tough to think he still has an obsession with reaching the next step. Future plans include painting the car, so we’ll probably have to revisit it the new year.

When you’re dwelling in a city and space is limited, like New York, or San Francisco, you have to be very careful about what kind of car you drive. If you go for the bigger is better sort of idea, you will find yourself very often in a situation where you are limited about what you can do simply because of the size of your car. You’ll find a great space near the restaurant but be unable to squeeze your SUV in there. Or you’ll get a luxury car and then be worried about getting it scratched by parking in the all-too-cozy parking lot of the Trader Joe’s. When you’re a modern urban professional, you have a lot of things to consider in a car, and so here are some that fit the needs of style and comfort and also a size that makes sense for city living.

Fiat

The Fiat is new to the States and we’re so thankful that it’s here. This Italian bugger is a great car because it’s fast and furious and at the same time tiny. Some tiny cars, like the SMRT car, are so laughably awful looking that there’s no reason anyone in their right mind would ever drive them. But a Fiat has some sex appeal despite being small, and on top of that, you can fit a dozen or so of them in a traditional parking space. You’ll be finding spots where you never thought there would be one before. You can’t go wrong with a Fiat.

Nissan Juke

If you’re looking for a car with a unique shape and style that also combines interior roominess with smaller outside shape, then look at the Juke. You may not easily be able to picture what it looks like because you don’t seem them all that often. And that’s too bad, because the Juke is actually a great car, one that should increase in popularity soon. Check out the Juke at Nissan Cerritos and give it a test ride, and you will be surprised with how sporty it is, while also being easy to park and zip around the busy streets in. You’ll have luxury and comfort and peace of mind. Look at them online if you’d like: www.downtownnissan.com.

Honda Fit

You can’t go wrong with the Honda Fit. It’s got everything including the reliability of a Honda. It’s sporty and zippy and also easy to load with groceries or whatever kind of gear you use for your weekend hobbies. They also look cool, unlike a lot of the hatchback competitors. You won’t have to park around the corner when you drive a Fit, you can roll right up, toss the keys to the valet, and hold your head high as you walk into the overpriced night spot. These things will likely last you 200,000 miles or so if you maintain them. They’re really a great car for the urban professional.

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Are you able to remember once you were with no car for several days, maybe a week? Can you remember how that felt? How difficult it was actually? Now try to imagine not seeing it for more than 16 months though it was in another country!

That’s what happened when this 2004 R32 took a trip in Canada with the R&D staff at HPA Motorsports. Admittedly, it was actually being used to develop a supercharger for this already revved-up VW, so owner Scott Wood suffered for ain five/04 and left it stock until the lease expired. He returned it to the dealer to find a replacement but nothing really put a smile on his face like the R32. So, he returned 2 weeks later and bought it back. Have you ever been the second and first owner of your car? Funny thing is, he’s even the fourth owner…

Once he bought it back, the modifications began with all the suspension. He installed and ordered European R32 suspension, which lowered it and improved the handling. He followed it up with BBS RC wheels coming from a GTI 337 Edition.

08 2004 volkswagen r32 vortech liquid cooled intake manifold

13 2004 volkswagen r32 MFD G Mk4 in dash nav

07 2004 volkswagen r32 vortech centrifugal supercharger

Next, listed was a navigation update but didn’t want the locked-down US version, so he sourced a unit from the Lithuanian VW dealership along with online help installing it.

Should you don’t understand the exhaust note of an R32 and Scott decided to amplify his by using a cat-back Borla exhaust system, You’re not much of a true VW enthusiast. “”The ideas filled in the exhaust cut-outs better,”” he told us.

A revamp of the E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet was inevitable once the 2014 E-Class Sedan received its mid-cycle facelift. As a result, both the two-door models wear the four-door’s larger grille, along with headlights that dispense with the earlier “four-eyed” look in favor of two rows of LED on either side. The gaping air intakes on each side of the front license plate also bring a sportier attitude to the handsome new appearance.

Although they’re card-carrying members of the E-Class family, the Coupe and Cabrio have almost no exterior parts in common with the sedan. The styling is sleeker, the windshields more raked, and optional 19″ wheels fill their wells with purpose. They also have a shorter wheelbase: 108.7″ compared with 113.2”.

For MY14, North American drivers will see the E350 and E550 in both hard- and soft-top form. The former packs a 3.5-liter V6 under its elongated hood, with 302hp and 273 lb-ft, which is sent to the rear wheels through a seven-speed transmission (the Coupe also comes with optional 4Matic all-wheel drive). The E550 brings a V8 snarl, developing 408hp and 443 lb-ft from 4.6 liters of turbocharged displacement.

Even though the E550 can reach triple-digit speeds in a ridiculously short time, it’s the E350’s output that will meet the demands of most drivers. The smaller engine also results in a lighter front-end, sharpening the steering and giving the nose a crisper turn-in to corners.

Select “Sport” mode for the two-stage adjustable suspension and things become even crisper. And yet “Comfort” never relinquishes body control, it simply soaks up irritating surface imperfections better. Think of them as two complementary flavors of the same dish.

Amidst its power and style, the E-Class is becoming legendary for its inventory of safety equipment. Front-facing stereoscopic cameras and various radar sensors around the car report to a central “brain” that constantly assesses road conditions, driver alertness and behavior of other road users. It’s then able to decide whether to brake a wheel or two, or four, to help you avoid a collision. It will also flash a warning light on the dash or in the side mirrors to alert you to what it perceives as a potential problem.

2014 mercedes benz e class coupe cabriolet front fascia
2014 mercedes benz e class coupe cabriolet v6 DOHC 24v direct injection
2014 mercedes benz e class coupe cabriolet rolling shot

We reviewed several accident avoidance systems in our earlier E-Class Sedan reviews (EC 6/13 & 7/13), and Mercedes-Benz claims the Cabrio is the safest in its class as a result of the equipment that includes standard Collision Prevention Assist, Attention Assist and 11 airbags to put it beyond dispute.

If there’s a gripe, it’s that the large camera unit is set behind the rearview mirror and takes up lots of real estate. The rakishly sloped A-pillars already hamper visibility to an extent, and the two together mean you’ll sometimes crane your neck to see pedestrians or traffic lights properly.

However, the E-Class Coupe is a fine machine. There’s even a decent amount of space in the back for passengers. Getting into the rear quarters might present a challenge, but it’s not terrible.

The Cabriolet also seats four and is possibly the most interesting car of the two. The fabric roof has several layers to keep noise and weather out. It can be operated at speeds of up to 25mph and takes about 25sec to operate.

At the top of the windshield is an (optional) retractable flap called Aircap. It deflects wind over the car, not just over the front seats. There’s also a small deflector between the rear seats, which means you can conduct a conversation with the top down at freeway speeds.

The front seats house of one the Cabrio’s most popular options: Airscarf. Hot air blows from the vent in the seat at neck level. With the added comfort of heated lower cushions, the car can easily be driven with the top down even on winter days.

The E550 Coupe will probably tempt hardcore drivers. It’s a great choice and we recommend a test drive. But think for a second: since the decision has already been made to buy a two-door E-Class, why not go all the way and have the fun of the Cabrio? And although the E350’s engine is potent enough, those who don’t mind waiting until next year could get a new 333hp E400 Coupe or Cabriolet, which will replace the E350 versions as a 2015 model.

2014 mercedes benz e class coupe cabriolet rolling shot
2014 mercedes benz e class coupe cabriolet center console interior
2014 mercedes benz e class coupe cabriolet airscarf option

2014 Mercedes-Benz E350 Coupe

Layout Longitudinal front engine, rear-wheel drive (optional E350 Coupe 4Matic)

Engine 3498cc V6 DOHC 24v, direct injection

Drivetrain seven-speed automatic, shift paddles

Suspension multi-link f&r, Agility Control, electro-mechanical, speed-sensitive steering

Brakes 12.7″ discs f, 11.8″ r

Wheels & Tires 17×7.5″”, 235/45 R17

Performance

Peak power 302hp at 6500rpm

Peak torque 273 lb-ft at 3500-5250rpm

0-60mph 6.1sec

Top Speed 130mph

Weight 3619 lb

Economy 20/28/23mpg (city/highway/combined)

MSRP from $52120

The main function of any car is to get from point A to point B relatively quickly and in comfort. A car can keep you warm in winter, cool in summer and dry when the heavens open . . . but apart from that they can actually be pretty uncomfortable, particularly if you are embarking on a long journey and may need to pull over for a power nap en route. It is possible however, to increase the comfort of your car simply and cheaply, with just a few additions.

Rugs and cushions – everybody should carry a rug or blanket in the car for a little added warmth and comfort when necessary. It can also help to have a couple of cushions strategically placed on the back seat. Not only will these help to increase the comfort of your passengers but also give you something soft and comfy to lay your head on if you need to pull over for a power nap. Carrying a blanket or rug is also a great survival strategy in case of accidents and break-downs.

Air fresheners – might not actually help to keep you warmer or give you somewhere cozy to lay your head, but they can help to improve the whole ambiance of your car’s interior. This is increasingly important for people who spend a lot of time traveling around in their cars. There are so many different types of fragrance to choose from, it should be easy to find one which you like.
A comfortable temperature – this is one of the most important things which you can change to increase or decrease the comfort of your car on a long journey. Drivers should try to keep the car a little on the cooler side to stop them from becoming tired and sleepy, and any passengers can snuggle down with the blanket and cushions on the back seat if necessary.
Seat covers – are not only a great way to personalize the interior of your car and protect your upholstery from stains and signs of wear and tear, they can also help to increase your comfort. Some seat covers are designed to give the driver a massage if they are sitting in the driving position for a prolonged period of time, some are warm and furry to increase comfort and others are designed to be moisture wicking and prevent you from getting too hot and sticky when the temperatures rise.

Snacks and drinks – can also help to turn a lengthy driving ordeal into a more pleasant and comfortable experience. Choose things which can be easily eaten using only one hand and won’t make too much mess on your seat covers. It is also a good idea to have non-perishable snacks or at least those with a relatively long sell by date so that you don’t have to worry about changing them all of the time. Just a couple of energy bars in the glove box can make a big difference. You should also have plenty of drinking water handy; if you become dehydrated it can make you sleepy and disorientated which is not safe, particularly when you are driving.
Tunes – a few of your favorite tunes playing can help to make the road trip fly by, particularly if you have a good sing-a-long.

At the Nissan dealership Los Angeles they’ve got a great selection of new and pre owned comfortable motors, but you can make them even more comfortable by following just a few of these tips. Check out the choices at metronissanredlands.com and see which ones take your fancy.

The first The Fast along with the Furious film made building a 10-second car seem pretty straightforward: Do some illegal street racing, wear a dirty tank top, have a backyard barbecue then an all-nighter in the garage, and bada bing bada boom, 10-second car complete. If you’re aiming to do it without having a Hollywood bankroll, but if you’ve ever actually tried to go this fast in the quarter-mile, you know it’s not that simple, especially.

For Fernando Martinez and his Florida-based shop, Ostar Motorsports, the objective wasn’t only to build a fast car with limited funds, though that’s certainly an ambition many of us can relate to. He also needed a store car to help you promote his company and carve out a niche within the ultracompetitive realm of high-performance tuning. Little did he understand that these humble beginnings would lead to one hell of the drag racing adventure as well as awas really a kid, having grown up using a gearhead for any father. I remember my dad tinkering with his ’69 Charger 440, and I was amazed at how powerful the engine sounded. It was music to my ears, and it was then that my passion for cars really took flight. I joined the military after high school and bought my first car, a ’91 Honda CRX. From there I moved on to your ’99 Civic Si or even a ’98 Eclipse GST. This list goes on and on from an Integra Type R to an SC300 with a 2JZ swap.

Using a car resume like that, it shouldn’t surprise you too much that in 2007, Fernando decided to open his own performance shop using a partner. Unfortunately, that partnership didn’t exercise, so he had to start from scratch in 2009, founding Ostar Motorsports being a home-based, business online. As Fernando told us, After I started Ostar, I had a little left to get a car to help promote the business. By little money, I mean $5K, which really limited my choices. So I considered to myself, What type of car can I make fast with little money? And that’s once i decided a DSM will be perfect.

While browsing the web for a suitable candidate, he came across this ’91 Eclipse GSX just a few hours drive from Orlando. I called my good friend and DSM guru Armando Miro and told him about my find, as Fernando explained. He said he knew the auto and that it must be a good buy to have some fun with. So, we ended up making the trip, and when I saw the auto, I knew it would be coming home with me. It had been a perfect fit for what money I had as well as the goals we had under considerationAs you’d expect for a cheerful and cheap 1g Eclipse, it was equipped with an internally stock engine, so the initial build was kept simple, resulting in 400 whp. We hit the track every weekend, and the car performed like a champ. So we went with a 67mm turbo and a few supporting mods that, in your eyes, were overkill for that stock motor but would work on the car once we had enough money to build the base end, even though pretty soon 400 whp just wasn’t enough. We ended up tuning the car with this new setup and we went for broke. The car made 650 whp, and at that point, we did not think it might hold up long, but we took our chances and hit the track anyway. We went from 10.9 to 10.5 to 10. in a matter of months. This was super exciting for people like us, and the car was a huge success at each and every track event we would visit. People throughout the net loved the car and what we were doing. Would you have thought that a stock bottom DSM would be able to take so much punishment and keep going and going? Fernando says.

Astonished by the e and reliability.t.’s they’d achieved so far, Fernando and Armando Danny Garcia, and Manual Aponte (CMB Tuning) decided they should just keep pushing the envelope to see where it took them. This is the time they realized they might even have a shot at beating the stock-block DSM record they kept reading about in the forums. According to Fernando, We ended up hitting some bumps in the road, but luckily we had some good friends like Mike Rizzotti and John Shepherd who helped us sort out a misfire which had haunted us for months so we could finally hit the 9-second range and take the record for fastest stock bottom 4G63. Not Fernando and his team, although a lot of crews would have kicked back, cracked open a few beers, and let the Internet glory roll in: After breaking the record, we thought, Why stop now? So we pushed the car even harder and managed to extract a whopping 755 whp. We went straight back to the track and been able to run a 9.22 at 154 mph. What a night! We could not believe what we should had just done. It had been such feeling of accomplishment which i cannot even explain it in words. Not much longer after that, I made the decision to take a different route for your next season, and since we accomplished beating the record, we finally decided for that new season to actually build an engine, and that is precisely what is currently in the works.

Look for Ostar’s record-setting Eclipse around this year’s DSM/Evo Shootout as well as Imports versus Domestics in Maryland, the 2 events Fernando and his team have targeted once their new high-compression 42R one thousand-plus-whp engine is ready for battle. The big boys of the DSM drag world better bring their A-game to stay in front of the stock-block rock stars from Ostar if their history so far is any indication.

1991 mitsubishi eclipse GSX JMF drag intake manifold

1991 mitsubishi eclipse GSX volk racing wheels

1991 mitsubishi eclipse GSX AEM wide oil and band pressure gauges

Specs & Details

’91 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX

Engine 2.0L 4G63T inline-4

Engine Modifications OEM Mitsu MLS head stock and gasket short-block; Ostar Motorsports Stage 3 head package w/ Kiggly beehive spring and retainer kit and HLA, and Supertech nitrided valve set, valveguides, and valve seals; Forced Performance FP4r camshafts; JMF drag intake manifold and fueltrunk and hood; graphics by Adil

Interior Gato Performance rollcage and parachute bar; Kirkey aluminum race seat; Racequip 5-point harness; Auto Meter shift light; AEM wide-band and oil pressure gauges

Numbers 755 whp and 577 wtq on a bottom end; 9.22 at 154 mph

Special Thanks My team: Armando Miro, Daniel Garcia (gazoo), and Manuel Aponte; Erin and Kevin at Kiggly Racing; Robert at Forced Performance; Jeff and Billy at CW Pence Machine Shop; Fuel Injector Clinic; Gato and Javi at Gato Performance; BC Racing USA; Jay Racing; John Shepherd at Sheptrans.com; Adil Graphics; Torque Solution

There’s no shortage of bespoke carmakers and auto stylists on the market who’ve created a name for themselves by thoroughly reimagining perfectly good sports cars. In America, there’s the Hennessey Venom GT, which is based on a Lotus Exige but stretched to fit a V8 and restyled to have an even more menacing and exotic appearance. And in Japan there’s popular Mazda RX restylist RE Amemiya, that has produced numerous types of thoroughly reinvented RX-7s, including the futuristic Genki 7 concept.

When an individual enthusiast takes on a design project as extensive or ambitious, but that’s exactly what Jeff Hoffman has done with his radically restyled ’91 Acura NSX, even though it’s a far rarer thing. This is not your usual bolt-ons and body kit build–far from it. The most diehard of NSX fans will almost certainly miss several of the finer details at first, but because Jeff’s restyling of his NSX is so thorough and so cleanly executed.

Your journey from teenage auto enthusiast to founding father of Carbon 6 Composites, helping to make custom parts for the NSX community, started in the late ’90s when the tuner market exploded in to the mainstream. As Jeff explained, I went from doing high-end audio systems to focusing much more about the performance side when i got older. I always wanted something different than all the others, so although I was really more of a German car guy at first, I had the ability to drive a friend’s NSX, and I was hooked when I got behind the wheel. On paper, the factory NSX numbers are nothing to write home about, but the response and feel of the car are the best. You will discover a reason businesses like McLaren looked to the NSX for inspiration. There is a purity about it that a great many have been inspired by.

After that fateful testdrive, Jeff immediately started looking for an NSX of his own and came across this ’91 in bone-stock condition and with just 54K around the odometer. It wasn’t colour he wanted, but it was too clean to pass up. And so much like that, Jeff was the proud new owner of arguably the most important car they have ever built, a true exotic sports car with daily driver reliability as well as a price tag that didn’t require One-Percenter status. As Jeff told us, Originally, I purchased a little ‘parts drunk’ in the first version of the project and lost direction. I think sometimes when you start at ‘A’, as soon as you get to ‘Z’ mod ‘A’ doesn’t make sense anymore. That’s when I realized I would need to make most of theis very what delivered Carbon 6 Composites in 2003, which included recruiting a few friends who were also interested in the auto performance aftermarket, one a high design engineer for a military company, another a tailor and upholsterer with 3 decades of experience, and a third who had vendor relationships from the tuner market. According to Jeff, I wanted a JGTC-inspired (Super GT) track toy but with a more modern look. The automobile is now a development platform for some of the parts we make, and it also generally spends more time around the street than at the track, but I still get a chance to stretch its legs every once in a while. With the monster brakes along with the new mono-ball suspension setup we make, it’s an extremely capable track toy, without a doubt. If my ability to drive were just like the car.”, now only”

The exterior is, naturally, the part of Jeff’s NSX that makes the most significant impact, and for good reason. A number of you may be thinking, Hey, is a Sorcery kit? and you wouldn’t be all wrong. Some off-the-shelf parts are already used, including a Route-KS hood and Sorcery front bumpers, front fenders, and rockers, but Jeff completely redesigned the rear part of the car.

One of the most radical change was getting rid of the factory B-factory and pillar engine hatch and in their place employing a 6-window design, including rear side glass and a totally redesigned and contoured engine hatch. The trunk has been blended into fit the brand new lines of your hatch, and also the more pronounced sloping belt line also gives this utterly unique NSX a far more raked and aggressive profile. The sideview mirrors can be a special limited production part (only 12 sets made) that Carbon 6 produced specifically for this project, along with theas it feeds the engine’s ScienceOfSpeed individual throttle-body intake system and helps keep intake air temperatures down. There’s several clever routed and hidden internal ducting that directs air from the other external intakes scoops towards the radiator, brake ducts, and side-mounted oil cooler. It’s this level detail that truly takes Jeff’s NSX up a notch from show car to fully functional track day weapon ‘NSX GTR’ license plate worthiness.

, although there’s a lot more to Jeff’s reinterpretation of your NSX than immediately meets the eye Under that redesigned rear hatch is an internally stock but totally refreshed C30A (by Jeff himself) V6 designed with the aforementioned ITBs, custom stainless headers, as well as a Sorcery GT exhaust system. The ITB system doesn’t add the maximum amount of horsepower as a turbo or supercharger, but it really does bring the torque curve into a more usable rpm range, and it also delivers incredible throttle response, Jeff says.

The brake and suspension system modifications are far more extensive than the engine tuning, including a seriously cool variable ride height system from Umbrella Auto Design that mounts on top of the JIC dampers and Swift springs and allows Jeff to raise the ride height as much as 3 inches, even while driving. The endlinks and tie rods are also updated to mono-ball Heim joints for increased stability under lateral load, and the factory brakes replaced with custom, full-floating, 14-inch front and rear rotors along with Brembo six-piston monoblock calipers off a Porsche Cayenne up front and four-piston Brembos in the rear from the front of anyThe inside of Jeff’s NSX has been thoroughly overhauled from top to bottom, together with a seamlessly integrated audio and navigation system from a late-model Acura RDX. As Jeff puts it, I guess I really liked the notion of ‘What would Honda do? ‘. The steering wheel has stirred up a lot of debate, and yes, it’s out of a Civic. In this instance, it just works. They all looked ‘aftermarket.’ The size of the Civic wheel and the cabability to integrate the controls to the RDX audio, navigation, and Bluetooth system made it an ideal fit. Tough to argue with Jeff’s reasoning or the final result, though i have had some different aftermarket wheels.

The rest of the interior has been painstakingly wrapped in Alcantara leather and brushed-aluminum trim. Being a dealer for Ultrasuede and Alcantara myself, I have seen many interiors. I wanted a thing that was race inspired but comfortable. My good friend Steve (a tailor by trade for longer than 30 years) helped me to get the interior just the way I wanted. He’s a real pro, Jeff says. Even the NSX-R replica seats and Civic steering wheel have been wrapped for a fully integrated supercar-spec interior treatment.

Spend time to take it all in, and it’s impossible not to be utterly gob-smacked by the extent to which this 24-year-old Japanese classic has been transformed into an entirely modern supercar. According to Jeff, My passion and interest has always been composites. I couldn’t have done it without my partner Kevin at Carbon 6 Composites, or Tom at RP Motorsports, the best wheel guru [who helped Jeff nail down the perfect staggered fitment around the Advan RS wheels], although this NSX was destined to be my ultimate, no-compromise development project. As much act as I’ve done myself, it would be nothing with no skill and knowledge of my close friends that are also section of the NSX community.

It can be really difficult to keep your cool in the car when the temperatures start to soar, so think about the problems associated with smaller children, particularly those who are still at the age of rear facing car seats. Residents of Orange County know how unbearably hot it can get at the height of summer, so here are a few tips to help everyone keep their cool.
Here are a few things to remember:
Keep The Car Cool
• Sunshades – there are plenty of removable sun shades around these days which can help to keep the interior of the car cooler and more comfortable for everybody. The reflective sunshades can make a big difference on both the windshield and the rear window when parked. It also helps if you remember to park your car in the shade whenever possible.

• Window Tinting – is another great way to keep the interior of your car cool in the hottest months. There are some types of window tint which is designed to block out UV rays too.
• Remember not to use anything on the windows which inhibits your views while driving . . . it’s one thing to block out the sunlight but can be positively dangerous if you block out any part of the view entirely.
Cooling Down The Car Seat
• One fabulous way to cool down the baby seat is to use a removable cooler for your car seat. These are a superb idea and are really quite simple – a removable ice pack can be placed in the freezer and placed onto the car seat to keep it cool . . . don’t forget to take it out when you put your child into the seat though, they are not designed to be sat upon.

• Sunshades – are another simple but extremely effective way of keeping babies and smaller children cool when they are traveling in the car. Many infant carriers have sun shades attached so make sure that they are left in the upright position while they are in the car. This can help to block out some of the sunshine from the side windows.
Cooling Down Your Child
• The old ways are still the best, and one of the most effective ways of cooling down a hot child is by using cool water. Sponge down your child with cool water before they get into the car . . . all parts of exposed skin can be wet, you can even wet their hair and some of their clothes in extreme cases.
• Spray bottles are another fabulous method of cooling down during the hottest temperatures. Many older children will enjoy hanging onto a spray bottle filled with cooling liquid or perhaps even a small fan which they can use to keep themselves cool. Make sure that your child is old enough to be responsible with anything of this sort . . . if they try chewing on the blades of the fan it could cause a choking hazard.

Whatever the weather they’ve got some truly fabulous motors for sale at orange county fiat. If you do decide to take a test drive in the heat of the summer remember to try and keep your little ones cool although many of these modern motors will have air conditioning . . . the perfect solution at the end of the day.
Check out the choices at www.ocfiat.com and see which take your fancy. There are so many great vehicles to choose from you’re bound to get hot under the collar.

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Kobayashi-san, the owner of the time-attack-oriented GT-R, has done what every car enthusiast on the market dreams of doing-building their dream project car. He has actually done it, making sure that every single detail is the greatest it could possibly be,. That’s what probably differentiates him from you and me. The result is undoubtedly one of the best BCNR33’s ever created. This car impressed us to no end whenever we dropped by the Do-Luck HQ in Yokohama to check out and also a chat with Ito-san, Do-Luck’s president, founder, as well as the man entrusted to finely tune the Skyline’s engine management.

Kobayashi is really only interested in a very important factor, and that’s achieving the fastest time possible at Fuji Speedway. Like many time-attack guys, his passion has unavoidably converted into obsession. As an alternative to let his obsession span out over a lot of years he addressed the whole car in one fell swoop. Mind you, it has been a long time from the making. Things tend to take a long time when you tackle every single area of the job yourself. Then again, as they say, “If you want a job done well, do it yourself! ” Owning your own machine shop sort of offers you an advantage-gross understatement, we know-but getting the means is half the position. It was the underside from the car we checked out first as Ito kindly use it on one of his lifts and raised it. We have probably never spent so much time admiring the underside of a car as much as we did with this R33. As you can see from your pictures, it is possible to sort of realize why. First, up was the chassis. Kobayashi stripped the car right down to its bare shell, taking his time to remove all unnecessary ancillaries and sound deadening before you go wild with all the spot welder. Strategic regions of the unibody were re-welded to help increase stiffness, followed by one of the more serious rollcages we have seen on a JDM car-admittedly an area the Japanese are always a bit behind on. The thick-gauge pipes were welded set up and gusseted to the pillars for extra bracing but it’s the actual titanium crossbars that close the ’cage across the door openings that caught our attention. Titanium is never really used in rollcage fabrication due to its softness, but Kobayashi wanted to add a touch of uniqueness to his car. Plus, he likes titanium, so that are we to evaluate. With the shell stiffened up and completed, it was the suspension that he or she turned his attention to next-as well as an area we appreciated while underneath the car. According to track, available grip, and satisfaction, all links were redesigned and custom fabricated, adding adjustability so the geometry may be finely tuned. Billet aluminum roll center adjusters were also area of the complex modifications, a critical detail for any serious suspension upgrade. Custom valved and set up Aragosta adjustable dampers followed, mated both front and rear to 18kg/mm Swift springs. These are still not fully dialed in; the automobile has only really had one shakedown test at Fuji Speedway since being assembled, so spring rates are something that might change. Braking was an area on which virtually no compromise is made; Kobayashi, like anyone who has ever driven at Fuji, knows all to well exactly what a hard test this challenging track is designed for brakes so he went with the best out there. Sitting on custom billet and anodized brackets that he or she designed and machined are a set of Super GT-sourced AP Racing calipers, six-pots fore and four-pots aft. They also only accept thick endurance pads, although these forged monoblock beasts are not only extremely light. The rotors, too, were custom made, 390 mm in the beginning and smaller 356 mm at the rear, featuring exactly the same sort of curved slotting while you often see on GT500 and GT300 racers. The main one-off details continue with the brake cooling ducts and even a custom billet oil filter relocation bracket that moves the filter canister into an easier-to-reach location. This takes us towards theresponsive and explosive lower to mid-rpm range, Fuji is a bit different. The faster layout means that engines can be manufactured to more extreme specifications, which happens to be precisely what Kobayashi did. Selecting the right of the best, he began to assemble his N1-based motor yourself, after first honing and boring out the block to just accept the larger diameter of the HKS forged pistons that make up the two.8L stroker kit he chose. This comes with H-section connecting rods and a fully counter-balanced billet crankshaft that pretty much produces the bulletproof bottom end you have to have on a car that gets driven for the max on a regular basis. The capacity increase to the oil sump guarantees that enough oil is always present to be picked up and circulated, helping eliminate oil starvation when the car pulls big g’s through the corners or under heavy breaking. Up top, Kobayashi ported and polished the exhaust and intake tracks to clean up casting imperfections and boost overall breathing. Valve gear upgrades followed with Tomei titanium retainers and Trust springs, all topped off with HKS 272-degree camshafts and adjustable cam gears. Supplying the big volume of compressed air is the Trust T88 single turbo conversion, which sits atop of the Trust headers, all controlled trough an HKS external wastegate currently full of a 1.5-bar spring. Seeing his skill at working with titanium, Kobayashi fabricated a big-bore 100mm front pipe and complete exhaust system to dump spent gases efficiently and without any sort of restriction. One look in the engine bay reveals other one-off touches that only this sort of passionately and accurately built engine would incorporate. Things like the titanium heat baffling on the T88’s “hot side” and even the special coating to the turbo itself, done as a heat insulator and also to boost airflow, are such items. One touch we liked was the polished intake pipe, which arches outward to fit the large diameter of the Blitz mesh cone filter it’s connected to. This joins more custom piping needed to mount the HKS intercooler in place, which all connects towards the Trust intake plenum. Sard’s latest generation of multi-hole high-pressure injectors, most commonly utilized on the R35’s VR38, were selected for his or her accuracy and response rate. Due to their shorter length as well as other design, they required a custom fuel rail, something that Kobayashi whipped up on his CNC machine. These 750cc/min squirters are kept topped off by a pair of Nismo fuel pumps and are all controlled by the custom-mapped F-Con V Pro ECU. Here is where Ito of Do-Luck started in, putting in some serious time on the dyno to not only maximize power and torque, but in addition make the whole setup very responsive. Easily allowing the engine to churn out a healthy 750 hp, despite the fact that only a low boost setting has been dialed in for now, limited to 1.5 bar. Aside from the fact that the motor can and will be running more boost eventually, Kobayashi was able to lap Fuji at 1: 47.92, which puts him comparable to the sort of times big-name tuners are achieving. With the cooling sorted out because of the custom radiator and oil cooler, it was the driveline that wasattempting to shave off precious tenths at the track, so dumping the stock five-speed box in favor of a six-speed Hollinger sequential was an easy decision-one we, too, would have adopted a “money is no object” build similar to this. The smaller and lighter box was fitted with an OS Giken triple-plate clutch and held in place with a custom crossmember that has been fixed onto the chassis on a pair of hard Teflon bushes. Even a carbon propeller shaft was fitted, shedding a lot of rotational mass and therefore boosting pickup and throttle response for your true race car feel. Along with the Nismo front and ATS rear LSDs, the final drive was also shortened to create full use of the handpicked gearbox ratios within the Hollinger. Kobayashi approached Hasemi Motorsport for help on the look of the car, a detail that like the rest of this R33 was completely driven by function as an alternative to form. That’s why the N1 bumper up front sports a large integrated front spoiler/splitter section that extends and swoops upward around the corners of the bumper itself. A set of canards is likewise added however the real downforce is generated through the dry carbon diffuser, which is so rigid and well braced underneath the car that it’s able to support the weight of an average Japanese guy standing on it. More custom carbon parts follow with the aero side and hood skirts and, of course, the rather massive Super GT rear wing. To help heat escape from your engine bay, an air outlet, similar to the Nismo R34 Z-tune’s, was worked into the top corners of the front fenders, putting the finishing touch as to what is one purposeful-looking GT-R!

1996 nissan skyline GT R R33 custom roll center adjusters

1996 nissan skyline GT R R33 aragosta adjustable coilovers

1996 nissan skyline GT R R33 greddy T88 turbocharger

It’s not before you open the driver-side door that you simply realize the doors are carbon fiber too, again helping shave more weight from the car and at the same time making the entry procedure into the tight cockpit that much more special. Spartan is the simplest way to describe the interior, which has been kept quite simple with the addition of a couple of modules in some places, like the air/fuel readouts on the carbon center console, the HKS EVC boost controller or the HKS lap timer, which still proudly displays the time of that particular first lap attack at Fuji. Kobayashi sits on a carbon-Kevlar-shelled Bride bucked and steers the car through the OMP race steering wheel, shifting sequentially with the gears through a custom gear lever and shift knob.

Once Ito turns the boost Kobayashi has the potential to rival the quickest tuner GT-Rs at Fuji Speedway, cars like the ATTKD R34 along with the Auto Gallery Yokohama R32. This very unique R33 is one Skyline we will be keeping our eyes on throughout 2013!