Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2016 i Fast Car

Imagine the most gigantic car show you’ve ever been to in Europe, times it by 10 and you’re getting somewhere close – the Speciality Equipment Market Association Show is simply huge. Now in its 48th year, the event takes over the entire Las Vegas Convention Centre, a ridiculously massive venue that the Americans will tell you is over 3.2 million square feet, whatever that actually means. All I know is that this place is brimming with every single type of modified motor. They’re all the absolute pinnacle of what can be done and every time you think you’ve seen the lot, you come across another colossal section. It’s absolutely bonkers, not to mention hard on the ol’ shoe leather. There’s just no way you can see everything in just four…

Las Vegas isn’t just amazing come SEMA time, it’s pretty bloody epic all year round. You don’t have to be a gambler to enjoy it either, there’s so much to see and do it’s the kind of place that will quite simply blow your mind. In a good way. The only way to fully appreciate the maddest city on the planet is to get over there and take a look yourself, even the most vivid imagination just doesn’t do it justice. So here’s our top tips to help you make the most of what could be the craziest holiday ever… Stay in Paradise What’s pretty weird is that the famous Las Vegas Strip isn’t actually in the city of Las Vegas at all. South Las Vegas Boulevard (to call it…

Claying, or clay-barring, has been around forever and is a vital part of the detailing process because just washing your motor will get rid of all the loose dirt but the really stubborn stuff like dead flies, tar and paint contamination will always hang on like a bastid. The idea is pretty simple, specialist clay is rubbed across the surface (in between the rinsing and drying stages), to lift off any leftover spot contamination without damaging the paint. And that’s just the mucky stuff you can actually see, clay removes fine particles too. The trouble is, as undeniably effective as it is, traditional claying takes a while and isn’t all that economical so that’s probably why various ‘polymedia’ items have been popular over the last year or so. Personally I’m…

With the Air Lift Performance kit perfectly installed under E92’s arches, it was time to head to Westbury Tyre & MoT Centre for a bit of wheel alignment. This is a must after fitting new suspension, unless you’ve got shares in Yokohama or aren’t bothered about your safety or car’s handling. Luckily my trusty garage down the road have a laser alignment machine to get all the BMW’s wheels pointing in the right direction. After positioning my ride height to my daily driving setting on the V2 management, technician Alastair had the alignment done in about 30 minutes. I was finally ready to drive the BMW in anger for the first time since the new suspension was fitted. Yabadabadoo! To celebrate this marvellous event I decided to go on a…

A couple of months ago we demonstrated how we grew in rubber up front. We then went to Mallory with much more confidence, even though the tight and twisty contours of this circuit were a pretty tall order for the beasty FC309. But we were more than ready for Donington Park with its swooping undulations, far more suited for a car with long legs! So, to be sure of our ability, we booked in for a day’s testing on the GP circuit the Thursday before, and a good job we did too, as a tear in the rear chassis became terminally apparent late in the day, which gave us the whole Friday to repair, courtesy of our man Ray from Meryworth Services, and the kind loan of Mr Pete Stevens’…

Initial G: “So you slackers are finally back from the US. Are you actually gonna do some work now?” Midge: “Er, I’m stuck on the top of a glacier at the minute mate, I’ll call you back… in a week.” Initial G: “Oh for fuck’s sake!” Midge: “Right, Hakkasan at the MGM after this shoot, you up for it? Jules: “Yeah, I’ve got my lucky pulling pants on. Watch out ladies!” Midge: “Er yeah, so I see. Pink with white spots, classy.” Text of the Month G , you might as well be speaking Japanese son! (Oops note the deliberate spelling mistake, should have been isotropic, not ‘isotope’– Initial G)…

Kitty Litter A nice hefty bag of kitty litter can be used for all sorts of things and not just when you get caught short on a road trip and medically need a shit (come on, that’s just wrong mate – Slim Jules). Some use it to add weight for better RWD traction in winter or even to grit the road when getting stuck in snow, I personally love this stuff for soaking up oil and coolant leaks on my Mum’s drive before she goes apeshit about the mess I’ve made. One of the classics though, is to whack a load in a sock to stop your windows steaming up. Unused cat litter soaks up moisture like a demon, so it’s a perfect hack if you’re leaving your car for…

SLIM JULES EDITOR “Vegas was awesome. I spent a lot of money on booze, gambling and strippers. The rest I wasted.” Sixteen years in publishing including a spell as a pap, IMIAL Level 2 Mechanic, Poppadom Eating World Championship runner up, Race National B Licence holder. jules.truss@kelseymedia.co.uk MIDGE CONTRIBUTING EDITOR “Excess luggage cost me a fortune. Still, my mum was pleased with her Elvis jumpsuit.” Uber-short serial Gumballer and monster truck driver, IMIAL Level 2 Mechanic, built 12 feature cars, five cover cars, five rally cars and has a degree in pottery. james.burr@kelseymedia.co.uk INITIAL G ART EDITOR “I’ve invested in gas and electricity to keep me warm – 25,000 older people die every winter.” Thirty years of design experience (he used to chisel stuff out of stone), champion archer and…

As you can probably tell from our huge SEMA report (Or the fact it took you a week to write it – Jules) we couldn’t possibly fit in every single product showcased at SEMA, because then all we’d have is something like your dream Argos catalogue. Instead we’ve picked a whole load of our favourites that we think could be just the job right here in the UK. Some of this stuff is so new they haven’t even sorted out the prices yet. Hold on to your hats… TYRE STICKERS, FROM £TBC It’s pretty ironic considering the quality of cars and amazing products on offer at SEMA that our hot tip for 2016 is one of the simplest and most cost effective products out there. These rubber tyre stickers were…

One minute you’re up, the next you come crashing right back down again… and I’m not talking about my recently-fitted Air Lift kit either. Nope, there I was just pondering installing the big ass injectors and high flow fuel pump I’ll need before I take the car for its final mapping session, when I discovered my TT had decided to do another oil change, on its own, all over my Mum’s drive. She wasn’t happy. The culprit was a split turbo oil return pipe and I can personally confirm that fitting the new one I found on eBay for a bargain 25-nicker was nothing short of a bastard. It’s definitely one of those jobs where a ramp, or at least some bendy arms like that bloke out of the Fantastic…

SEMA Special It’s the biggest event in our car culture calendar: the Specialty Equipment Market Association, or SEMA to its friends. And it’s an absolute beast of a show. Not just in its size, but also importance. It’s the show to be seen at for the industry, the place to launch new products, showcase technology and reveal demo cars that will inspire the scene for the foreseeable future. This year’s event was no different. It was huge, the biggest ever. And it has given us an insight into where the market is heading. Once again exotica ruled the way, with R8s, 458s, 964s and Aventadors all dressed in Liberty Walk and RAUH-Welt’s finest fenders. You might be thinking these cars are out of reach, and although that is the unfortunate…

NO RUBBER GASKETS It might be the first R8 V10 kit on the streets, but instead of simply riveting it on Sean’s team have blended it perfectly into the bodywork. They still had to cut out more than a couple of inches of metalwork first though. Ouch. This kit is yours for the small matter of 15-grand. Double ouch. www.theperformance.co RSV FORGED HOOPS You can’t just slap on any old set of hoops for SEMA. Luckily these crazy-spoked RSV Forged items were just the ticket to match the car’s awesome bodywork. These guys offer a whole collection of wicked designs available in just about any size or finish you can think of and they start at £790. If you’ve got a limited imagination they’ll even design ’em for you.www.rsvforged.com AIRREX…

IT’S A HYBRID! Just seeing the look on the faces of the huge V8-worshiping good ol’ boys at SEMA when they realised it has the engine out of a Mini, makes one of these worth every penny. At 105,000 quid that’s a lot of pennies though, even without the mods. And that’s if you can even get a place on the waiting list. You’d better get those orders in people. www.bmw.co.uk THERE’S HYBRID SUSPENSION TOO Obviously the key to making the whole look work is the suspension setup, but you don’t go wandering into any old shop and get an off the shelf kit for an i8. No, unfortunately for James, it’s a little more complicated than that. This custom setup was put together by the guys at Slammered-Inc and…

HAND MADE KIT There’s no bullshit with a car like this and that’s why RWB is still the daddy. Each kit has to be hand crafted and installed by the main man himself, or else it just isn’t RAUH-Welt. There’s no skool like the old skool and the thing about Akira Nakai is that he’s the Headmaster. www.rauh-welt.com MENTALLY PRECISE CHASSIS Got any JRZ and ERP stuff under there mate? Blimey. Actually the chassis package in general is a bit special on this motor – just take look at that monstrous spec! Once Nakai-san has done his thing on the body it’s all down to the owner to get the car up to spec – luckily Joey here is something of an aftermarket parts guru. www.cycgroupllc.com UBER RIMS Most people…

The British winter sucks. It’s not like other countries where you’re blessed with actual snow and frozen lakes to drift – you get rain, a bit more rain, and if you’re really lucky some of that extra cold rain. It’s at this time of year where most petrolheads take their cars off the road, ready to embark on a winter makeover for 2016. Unfortunately for me, I’ve only just finished building my RX-7… and the last thing I want to do right now is lock it away for months. But there’s a pretty good reason most people keep their ‘silly’ cars off the road during winter. Aside from the torrential rain, near-freezing temperatures and minimal daylight, the constant road gritting means every panel is going to take a salt-based beating…

COOL OFF We did wonder why the little fella had chosen to go on holiday in Reykjavik (where the temperature is about minus 7-degrees) just a day after getting back from ‘working’ in the Nevada desert. But it all becomes clear… UPGRADE Because he couldn’t find the time to go to Vegas, our Initial G decided to cheer himself up this month by shelling out on a spanking new 5K iMac with all the trimmings. To be fair it’s been a while since his last upgrade… TINY MAN, TINY BRAIN. It’s not often our illustrious Ed has such an epic moment of genius like this sweet ‘Move Over’ caption a couple of issues ago, did you spot it? Unfortunately, it is very often that Midge doesn’t get “what the fuck…

2300BHP LAMBO HURACAN Check out this crazy Underground Racing Lambo smashing the world-record for the standing half-mile. 2300bhp and 239mph? Christ alive! http://www.fastcar.co.uk/2015/11/17/2300bhp-lamborghinihuracan/ RECOIL 3 All that SEMA stuff has got us right into mental trophy truck stuff. Watching this insane video, you can see why. http://www.fastcar.co.uk/2015/11/10/bj-baldwins-recoil-3/ DRAG CIVIC CRASH It’s all in the title really. The parachute opens, this one clips the guard rail and then rolls at 150mph. Motorsport can be dangerous, kids! http://www.fastcar.co.uk/2015/11/11/drag-honda-civic-rolls-at-150mph/ CARS VS BOAT We absolutely love this clip. What happens when a Hydrostream Venom powerboat takes on a Supra and Evo 10? Awesomeness, that’s what! http://www.fastcar.co.uk/2015/11/04/powerboat-vs-cars-drag-race/ 7 BEST ON-BOARD VIDS Follow this link and you’ll find Glenda has sorted you out with seven of the best car videos ever. Sit down and strap in!…

Bentley is delighted to announce a premium partnership with The Jockey Club, founded in 1750 by the champions of British horse racing, whose patron is Her Majesty the Queen. Tally ho, what what and all that. DMC Moto in Stoke on Trent is the latest edition to the Ducati dealer network, expanding the number of Ducati dealers to 32 in the UK. Did someone say ‘sausage jockey’? The CEO of Marshall Motor Holdings Plc, Daksh Gupta, speaks exclusively to MotorTradeRadio.com about the group’s decision for making their biggest acquisition to date, his vision for the future and the challenges facing the industry. Remind me to tune in for that one, then. A new asset-backed investment opportunity has been launched, which offers tax-efficient access to investing in classic cars and classic…