Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2018 i Fast Car

Over the past three decades, Japanese car culture has widely been celebrated in UK magazines and rightly so. Whether it be Gran Turismo, Wangan runs, Best Motoring videos or the infamous Midnight Club, Japan has forever been a topic of much interest and conversation. Here in the UK car scene, the Japanese are also well known for their tuning prowess and ability to create innovative products that will transform your in-car entertainment experience. For the past 10-years, Kenwood Electronics has lead the way with a whole host of multimedia products that have demolished the competition. And now they’ve completely redesigned their Volkswagen Scirocco demo car for 2018 and it’s absolutely blinding. How did this second lease of life all come about, then? “Cars are all about relationships, so we wanted…

Cars, it goes without saying, are for driving. Sure, there’s a lot to be said for the low-and-lazy cruise through town to let everyone see the effort you’ve put into your pride and joy. And of course we’re very much on board with the show scene, allowing everyone to get up close and personal with those intricate details that your beloved build is filled with. But for the sheer visceral thrill of human being and internal combustion in perfect harmony, all you need is one good road and a little time to enjoy it. Of course, it doesn’t really matter what car you drive. If you set your alarm for 5am and head out onto to your favourite roads while no-one’s around, dominating every apex as the sun comes up…

HKS LEGAMAX FK8 CIVIC TYPE-R EXHAUST, £1,200 This is what happens when a trio of legends in the Japanese car world collide. I’m talking of course about Honda, who make the ballistic new FK8 Type-R, HKS, who expertly craft this dribble-worthy work of stainless steel perfection, and Sumo Power who make sure we can get our mitts on one here in the UK. So, what’s so special? Well, apart from the rather epic-looking titanium tips, this premium LEGAMAX exhaust uses 75mm diameter pipe and a straighter design for a 50 percent increase in flow over standard. This helps the turbo run more smoothly across the rev range, increases engine output and can support mods producing up to 540bhp of grunt. Oh yeah, did I mention it’s from HKS too? Kudos…

Tamiya R/C Porsche Turbo RSR Type 934, From £215 How’s this for off-the-fecking-scale cool? Let’s get one thing straight. This is no toy. It’s just too good to give to little Timmy to smash into Grandma’s ankles. This is an R/C car for us diehard petrolheads, to build with love and then place on the mantelpiece next to the family portrait. Back in the late 1970s (When Initial G was 45 years old – Jules) the Porsche 934 dominated its racing class and was the subject of Tamiya’s first R/C model kit. In 1977 they releases a limited edition in black. Fast-forward 41 years and they’ve done it again. Albeit with a modern-day TA02SW chassis which provides shaft-driven 4WD and independent double wishbone suspension. It’s a proper piece of kit…

There’s a shed load of applications for tools like this. I can say this with absolute certainty, because I have a similar item in my workshop (that was way more expensive and not even as good), and I use it all the time. The truth is you don’t have to be some sort of amateur gynaecologist or spend your life checking out cylinder bores like an F1 engineer to see the benefit of having one of these. Here in the real world, inspection cameras are ideal for accessing any hard-to-reach part of the car without having to mess about removing under trays, wheels and the like. What with the adjustable-brightness LED light on the camera and all the accessories that can be fitted on the end, it makes the soul-destroying…

So last month we told you that you didn’t need to be rich to go fast. And guess what? Nothing has changed. There’s another 10 tuning tricks in this feature, ranging from the ridiculously simple to slightly more hardcore. But one thing they all have in common is that they won’t cost you more than 45 quid and a bit of elbow grease. So without further ado, here’s part two… ELIMINATE BOOST LEAKS APPROXIMATE COST FROM £45 While you might not see it or hear it, most cars, especially tuned ones, tend to have boost leaks. Often quite a few of them. Even if your engine is still seeing its maximum boost level, any boost leaks will reduce response, power and reliability, so it’s well worth the effort. Your first…

In six issues time we’ll be 400 issues old. In magazine terms, that basically means we’re bloody awesome. They say self-praise is no praise, but what the heck. We’re extremely proud to be the only multi-marque modified car magazine left. To celebrate we’re going to be doing lots of crazy things in the build up to the landmark issue. One of which will be putting on a gigantic 400-car display at TRAX – our biggest ever. If you’ve got a cool car and fancy being apart of this gathering, ping me an email (jules.truss@kelseymedia.co.uk) and if your car is deemed worthy we will get back to you with the details. Or if you’re really lucky you might find one of our Save The Date invites slapped on your windscreen at…

“It’s a jaw-dropper even at a standstill. And when those five-foot flames appear…” The cult of the supercar is something that’s enchanted and beguiled petrolheads for generations. And there’s no manufacturer more deeply intertwined with the genre than Lamborghini; indeed, the term supercar was invented for a Lamborghini. When the Miura arrived in 1966, people were astonished. In a world where cars were sensible, boxy and pedestrian, seeing a Miura was akin to witnessing a spaceship landing in the high street. No one had ever seen a car that looked so outrageous before, and the performance was similarly otherworldly.OK, the Miura had a tendency to catch fire when the carbs spit fuel onto the hot manifolds, and the nose would lift at any speed over 100mph, which meant you’d lose…

Car events and meets are frequent in Brisbane, Australia. Every week niche meets take place, whether it be a one-marque track day or a casual, everyone’s welcome cars and coffee. There’s something going on every weekend. Away from all of the events and meets, there is a car community known as Downshift. The group was established in the late noughties when a bunch of friends felt the Australian scene was dipping. Today they are Queensland’s largest and most active community of car enthusiasts with shows and track days taking place regularly. Their aim is to give car enthusiasts a place to come together in a relaxed, safe environment, and bring every corner of the car scene together in one place. This in turn brings a better reputation, but more importantly,…

We’re all familiar with those so-called predictions made by that slightly unnerving Nostradamus dood hundreds of years ago. Fans who have read between the lines of his work claim that he’s successfully foreseen everything from natural disasters through to world wars in his extensive collection of writing. And while it’s unfortunately probably nothing more than coincidences dragged into the public eye by those with a particularly strong passion for conspiracy theories, we’ve recently stumbled upon what appears to be a real-life version of this strange phenomenon in action, in the form of Jared’s trailblazing Mazda RX-7 here. You see, our Devon-based paint technician seems to have a knack of performing modifications to his beloved long-term project car that eerily always seem to become the next global trend a few years…

Any professional mechanic will tell you that fixing cars is 10 percent hitting the spanners and 90 percent arsing about trying to find the problem. Now I’m not saying that’s the only reason inspection cameras have become a must-have time-saver for garages, but it’s got to be up there. In fact, this type of tool has been a professional staple for well over a decade now. But it’s only in the last few years that we’ve seen prices drop enough for them to be viable in the home market too. Inevitably this has seen them become one of the most popular products out there, and it’s pretty easy to see why. I tested one of the first home-use items available way back in 2004, and it still holds its own…

It seems like the 21st century is nothing but a string of continual updates as we aim to permanently better our lives. And while many of these version 2.0s turn out to be nothing more than silly marketing ploys, the second incarnation of Jemima Cox’s VW Polo here is well and truly the real deal. It’s proving to be one of the biggest transformations since Optimus Prime turned into a pickup truck. And most amazingly of all, it almost didn’t happen before she met the love of her life… If you’re particularly eagle-eyed, you might recognise Jemima’s car from its first feature on these very pages back in 2014. But for those that don’t, let’s get you up-to-speed. The once-red, 9N3-shaped hatch initially belonged to our young owner’s grandmother, who…

Yes, you have read that right. The words Tesla, R32 Skyline and drift car in the same sentence. Am I mad? Quite possibly. In fact make that definitely. So the big question is can a Skyline R32 powered by a performance Tesla drive/ motor unit go sideways? Let’s hope so, because if not this will be a whole lot of work for nothing. But in the words of Elon Musk, the bossman of Tesla and the crazy guy that strapped an electric car to a space rocket and sent it into orbit: “The first step is to establish that something is possible. Then probability will occur.” So who is the crazy bastid behind this build and these words? Well, my name is Chris Hazell and maybe you can remember the…

EMMET O’LEARY’S VW PASSAT FC says : For Ireland-based Emmet here, it seems like owning a killer VW show car was written in the stars a long time ago. “I’ve always wanted a head-turning VW, ever since I was younger and used to button-bash my PlayStation controller while playing car games,” he admits with a grin. Now a fully-fledged Skoda mechanic and having built up quite a knowledge base on VAG machines in the last few years, he’s finally living his dream in the form of this tidy white Passat! Currently featuring a subtle-yet-impressive list of tasty mods that gives it that edge at shows and meets, it’s clear Emmet couldn’t be happier with the results. The most obvious changes revolve around that static drop on some Stance Plus Street…

Special Features: How To Build Your Own Drift Car Top 25 Japanese Icons Plus: Product tests, Posters, Fast Projects, and loads more Engine Swapped Eastern Legends Four iconic Japanese engines powering four iconic Japanese cars, but there’s a twist… Supra-powered Evo S2000-powered RX-7 Skyline-powered Subaru MX-5-powered Hilux Wild Card: Carbon Copies! Not one, but two carbon R32 GT-Rs! #395 On Sale Friday 27 April **Subject to change because we’re off to G’s 70th birthday party (FFS! – G)…

The Audi TT is a modern icon, demonstrating across its various generations that compact, svelte sports cars can combine everyday practicality with genuine driver thrills. It’s no wonder they sell in massive numbers. And no wonder every other manufacturer wants a slice of that juicy pie. The RCZ was Peugeot’s attempt to cash in, and it was a thoroughly decent effort. If you squint at the rear haunches it even looks like a TT. But it’s also got that gorgeous double-bubble glass roof. And you know how good Peugeot are at hot hatches? They shoved all of that poise and drama right into the RCZ. Ignore the diesel version (pointless thing) and low-power nat-asp 1.6, and you’ve got two hot turbos to choose from: the THP200 is basically the 200bhp…

There are certain cars that are characterised by being all-motor from the factory. The Ford Mustang 5.0, the Honda S2000, the Porsche 911 GT3, the AE86 Toyota Corolla – machines whose engines are so fabulously skilful in naturally aspirated guise, they feel no need for forced induction. Of course, the old saying that less is more is entirely down to personal taste. If less is more, imagine how much more you’d have if you followed the ‘more is even more’ route. Yeah? There’s no point messing about, power is power. Strapping turbos to these unsuspecting engines will make colourful and emotive things happen. No matter what people tell you, more is more. That’s what the word means. The Nissan 370Z is one of those traditionally all-motor creations that we so…

CARMATS4U ELITE RANGE From £150 It has to be said, we’ve seen some pretty bloody posh car mats in our time, but this new Elite range from custom carpet meisters, Carmats4U, really does take the biscuit. In fact, even the OEM mats from the likes of Range Rover and Bentley don’t seem quite as plush as these buggers. And we don’t have to tell you how much all the main dealers love to pull your trousers on price either, even for the simplest tailored items. What’s really special here though, isn’t just the fact that they’re clearly more opulent than Elton John’s bath mat. No, it’s that you can customise every element of your tailor-made and hand-finished set on their interactive website. It’s like having one-offs made by a specialist…

Sealey 40th Anniversary Gear, £POA When you hit any major milestone, it makes sense to celebrate in style. That’s why, for our 30th birthday issue last year, you’ll remember Jules and myself got inked to mark the occasion (And yours still isn’t as good as mine – Jules). Anyway, what with UK tool firm Sealey being even older than us, to celebrate four decades in the business they’re taking 200 of their most popular products and offering up to 55 percent off the prices, right up until the end of April. Pretty bloody generous of them I think you’ll agree. But what are these multi-coloured delights all about? Well, they’ve also brought in a brand-new run of exclusively-priced, limited edition 40th Anniversary products including a four-tonne rocket jack, axle stands…

Crack open the carry case and the first thing you notice is that there’s no screen on the device (Well duh – Jules). But, don’t worry. That’s the whole point. The idea here is this camera utilises the rather expensive one you’ve already got in your pocket. And why not? If you’re already packing a modern smartphone, one that will display high-definition footage much better than any screen they’re likely to put on any product under 500 quid, why should you pay the premium? So there’s a little mount to clip your phone on the back too. But what’s even better is that this camera will connect wirelessly to any iOS or Android device (via Wi-Fi and the free pp) within 10 metres. This means you can also use a…

6th May Japfest Silverstone Circuit, Towcester Distance from FC Towers: 79 miles www.japfest.co.uk Why go? It’s in just a few weeks and it’s the biggest Japanese car show anywhere in Europe. To be honest, any other event would have trouble pulling in all these top-quality imports, even if it was actually in Japan! Check out: As with any of the home-grown events, it’s hard for us to talk generally because it all depends on where you’re coming from. On the bright side though, the UK is littered with some of the world’s finest driving roads, so you’re bound to be able to detour to at least one. Now, Jap cars are probably your thing here (nice one Columbo – Jules). So, unless you want to go all Mid Night Club…

I was actually on the hunt for a new Fiesta when I spotted this car. I remember sitting in it and thinking ‘Meh, it’s a Twingo’,” apprentice electrician Josh here happily admits. It’s a reaction we wouldn’t be surprised many of you out there to share if you crossed paths with one of Renault’s infamous superminis, either. So just how did our south Wales-based owner end up not only snapping up that very car, but also transforming it into one of the finest modified examples the world over? As we found out, it’s a fascinating tale of choosing to be different and using a ton of creative vision. “I was lucky enough to have a one-litre Saxo as my first car – you know the really rubbish one with the…

We feel sure that by now the word is out on the street – the Doorslammers is back at Santa Pod Raceway, and in an all-new modern format. Now not all readers will be familiar with the original Doorslammers event and format held in the 1970s and ’80s at Santa Pod. But the reborn and revamped Doorslammers will appeal to all the modern-day street racers and owners of quick street cars… especially Japanese and European modified cars. Santa Pod has just completed the total resurfacing of the whole quarter-mile race track. The drag strip now boasts a state of the art, all-concrete racing surface, which we hope is going to produce even faster times than previously obtained on the old asphalt track. Once the racers and track crew learn the…