The Hunt for Horses – Part 1

DTM, or Design Technik Motorsports is the performance arm of local motor shop Autotechnika. Headed by tuner Tommy Teng, DTM specializes in modifying European makes, mostly those hailing from Deutschland. Armed with up-to-date automotive technology and a pool of tuning capabilities thanks to its extensive partners here and abroad, DTM does one thing pretty clear: make that bloody car of yours go faster.

As far as European cars go, it’s hard to get any better than BMWs. The task becomes even harder when they come with an M-badge. For this installment of Autoindustriya’s Tuned, we take a look at DTM’s Project M6. Can DTM improve upon Bavarian greatness? Let’s find out…

The BMW M6 comes packed with what we all look for in a car. Power. Power. And more power! Who cares about leg room or trunk space when you’re baby’s motivated by the M-division built 5 liter V-10? This 40-valve dual overhead beast-of-an-engine spits out a hair-raising 507 hp and 520 lb-ft, enough muscle to propel such a heavy car from rest to 100 kmh in a brief 4.6 secs.

Customary with all aftermarket tuners, DTM saw obvious room for improvement. Since the owner of this Bimmer can’t seem to get enough of a good thing, DTM supplied the commodity it deals best… power!

Part 1 of project M6 is all about extracting more push from the V10 mill. Tommy of DTM gives a very succinct game plan, “We don’t want to mess around with what the factory intended this car to be, a luxury GT-cruiser. Our goal is to simply enhance what this car does best, and that’s hitting high velocities in as little time possible.”

In the hunt for greater horses, better breathing is essential. First on the go-fast list was a Gruppe-M Ram Air System. The pair of bigger lungs allows the 5.0 naturally-aspirated engine to draw huge gulps of oxygen upon every application of the throttle. It’s also designed to channel in cooler air that results to more explosive combustion. The Gruppe M intake kit is comprised of two conical air filters and proprietary carbon fiber housing for each piece. The carbon bits are beauties any racing fan will appreciate, as they sit so prominently in the engine bay. Pop that hood, flash the exotic looking hardware perched on both sides, and show onlookers that your machine’s packing some heat!

Caution to the DIYs out there, this job isn’t as simple as it looks. Contrary to the intake systems found in smaller engines, the M6′s procedure required the entire front bumper to be taken out. Only then could the stock pieces be swapped for the Gruppe M, as this kit also comes with larger plumbing all throughout. It was worth all the trouble though as the finished product just speaks for itself.

Inhale. Exhale. With more air coming in, naturally you want more air coming out. Step 2 in the modification process was revising the flow of spent gases. Eliminating unwanted backpressure is a sure way to gaining more performance, so a less restrictive exhaust system from Supersprint was procured. DTM went with the entire gamut the Italian brand offered consisting of the exhaust manifold, front pipe with a metallic catalytic converter on both sides, and center “X” pipes that lead to the dual round rear exhaust pipes. All this bent tubing doesn’t come cheap mind you, as the whole package racked up close to half a million in Philippine currency. Before you blurt out expletives, the exhaust system does showcase pretty extensive engineering. The headers alone look like the ones you see in Formula-1 with numerous bending pieces molding into a single chamber. Remember, we’re dealing with a 10 cylinder. “The manifold reminds me of something out of the Alien movie, it looks freakishly out of the ordinary. I wanted to hang it on my office wall like a piece of art,” expressed Tommy.

Getting all of the parts installed was quite a challenge as the tight confines beneath the engine meant a lot of precision was needed. When all was done though, the Supersprint exhaust endowed the M6 with a whole new set of vocals. It was like someone had pissed it off, and all of a sudden the Bimmer had an angrier tone. Racy but not obnoxious, the new exhaust lends the M6 with a sense of subdued aggression. You get the feeling a storm is bottled up somewhere, just waiting on that right foot to unleash it, but until it does, a calm baritone idle is enough hint of its might.

DTM is one of the few tuning houses locally that can tinker with a vehicle’s ECU, or what you would call the car’s electronic brain. Flash tuning is its forte, and the M6 had its circuitry reconfigured for more power. It’s wasn’t like normal projects though since squeezing that last bit of juice from an M-motor is truly a challenge in itself. M-engines have optimized tolerances already in stock form, which is testament to BMW’s standards. “This is probably the most difficult vehicle I’ve done so far,” shares Tommy who had to reach deep in his bag of tricks to further extend the gains out of the tuning. Though he doesn’t want to disclose specifics on what he exactly worked on (it’s a trade secret), part of what he adjusted involved improving the air-fuel mixture and the timing. Tommy claims that flash tuning by DTM allows you to enjoy results tailor-fit to your car, compared to an ECU program acquired from abroad. Things like fuel quality and ambient temperature specific to local conditions affect the engine’s performance, so gains claimed by the programmer abroad may not necessarily reflect gains once tested locally.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating as they say, and the results are hard to argue with. Project M6 was baseline dyno’d at 336 whp. With the Gruppe M intake installed, power went up to 352 hp at the wheels (increase of 16 whp). With the M6 enjoying the new Supersprint exhaust system and the Gruppe M intake, the dyno registered 375 whp ( a further increase of 25 whp). Finally with the flash tuning and the bolt-on parts completed, Project M6 pulled 396 whp (increase of 21 whp), for a total of 60 whp gained from a naturally aspirated M-engine.

Is this the culmination of the hunt for more horses? What’s next for Project M6? We never said forced induction was out of the question. Or perhaps some handling enhancements? Catch us next time for Part 2 of DTM’s Project M6…

Very much a part of today’s pop culture, the new MINI Cooper enjoys cult status among car fans and non-car fans alike. With the nostalgia for the cute little cruiser echoed by this modern iteration, the new MINI Cooper, much like the New Beetle, is living proof that classics can indeed be reinvented.

So popular is this new version that its appeal crosses genders, making it lovable not just for hardcore Cooper loyalists but also for casual motorists who simply want to look cool in it. Which begs me to ask the question, has the new MINI Cooper been relegated to new-age chick-car status? Can it be? Has this cunning two-door devolved into a modern day girlie ride?

One look at the MINI Cooper S GP puts all those questions to rest. Look at it. Take a minute. In fact, take two. Now you know what I mean? This is what the new MINI Cooper S should have looked like from day 1.

Purposeful. Muscular. Distinguished. The MINI Cooper S GP is not ashamed to look the part of the most powerful Cooper ever produced. The attention grabbing exterior is spearheaded by the handsome lightweight 18-inch wheels, finished in black to create some aesthetic contrast with the metallic blue-grey paint. As a limited edition model, the Cooper S GP only comes in this color. The ride height has been lowered by 10mm, rendering the sports-coupe with a very taut stance. The front bumper has been reworked for better visual impact and aerodynamics, with a black mesh insert and side slats thrown into the design. If the standard MINIi Cooper S seems to be smiling at a standstill, the GP on the other hand wears a mean scowl. Over at the rear, a touring car-esque wing gives it increased downforce at high speed, not to mention a true track toy persona.

The play on colors is also a huge attraction in this car, and one of the methods employed by MINI is installing red side mirrors into all of the 2000 units that came out of Oxford. The roof is also made different by painting it silver, and on the side, one can appreciate the model number of the unit as it is loudly embossed, affirming the car’s rarity.

But what really makes the MINI Cooper S GP special is the substance beneath the form. Under the bonnet is the same supercharged 1.6 inline-4 found in the garden variety Cooper S. However, the Brits (or is it the Germans since BMW was really behind this) squeezed more power from the motor by tinkering with the intercooler and the engine settings. What you get is a stouter mill that makes an advertised 218 hp at the flywheel, significantly more than the 170 hp on the normal variant. The added grunt is paired with a leaner body, as the GP is about 50 kg lighter than its portlier sibling. The pounds are shed mainly by tossing the rear seats, and in place is a rear strut bar that tightens up the chassis. The aforementioned rims also contribute to less pounds.

Being the specialist when it comes to European makes, Design Technik Motorsports (DTM), headed by Tommy Teng, worked on making the Cooper GP an even wilder animal. Baseline testing the MINI, Tommy found that in stock form, it made a healthy 167 hp and 151 lb-ft at the wheels (Remember, wheel hp figures are always lower than the manufacturer quoted flywheel numbers). Working first on the exhaust system, DTM glued in a handsome set of Supersprint pipes from the exhaust manifold, center pipe, and all the way to the racing muffler. Result? A car that sounds more at home in a track than in the street. The GP lets out a wild shriek when gunned, and really is not for the faint of heart. But if waking up the neighbors pleases you, look no further. Since the car makes use of a supercharger, making more power meant de-loading the blower with unnecessary stress. This is why a lighter supercharger pulley was installed. The mod yields a 15% decreased load on the charger, and when paired with DTM’s flash tuning program, allows the motor to unleash its true potential. With the new modifications in place, DTM’s work on the ECU optimizes the engine for improved real-world performance. The special John Cooper Works painted red calipers have been reinforced with the use of Hawk Performance brake pads, and steel braided brake lines allow fluid to be coursed uninterruptedly.

After all the wrenching was done, the Dynapack Dynamometer registered a notable increase of 28 hp and 23 lb-ft of torque at the wheels, with the official figures being 194 whp and 174 lb-ft respectively.

Puttering around town, it’s obvious the MINI Cooper GP, now with its improved repertoire, is unhappy being driven so politely. Entering a wider piece of road, we uncork the blown beauty and it rips at the tarmac angrily. MINI Coopers were never meant to wow with their muscle, but the GP defies that ethos and temps you to plant the throttle even deeper. It’s in the corners though where the GP is best enjoyed, as intimate connection between car and driver is exemplified. Non-existent body roll means you can lean faster and tighter into turns, perfect for timed laps in the track. What amazed me the most though wasn’t the go-kart like reflexes, as this was to be expected. Rather, it was the pliant ride that the GP returned, making it utterly livable for everyday motoring. No kidney shattering ride here folks. Now only if that muffler could drop the decibel count a bit…its just way too loud for everyday use.

The Mini Cooper GP. Exciting at its core, and even when tuned for higher thrills, remains a docile two-seater for Manila’s less than ideal roads. Too bad they only made a couple of thousand of these… since this is what every MINI Cooper S should be like!

A classic Mini gets a large dose of VTEC Power

The Classic Mini originally came with a 34 bhp, 848 cc engine which was increased to 997, 998, 1071 and 1275 cc that boosted its power output up to 55 bhp in stock form. While it may not sound much as compared to today’s subcompacts that pack in more power, but if you factor in the Mini’s power to weight ratio, this will prove just how nimble it really is. Engine-wise, while those stock performance figures may sound just fine to the purist. But in the tuner world where anything is possible for the sake of increased performance, there’s only one solution to gain maximum performance from the lightweight Mini. This can only be achieved by shoehorning a modern, high revving engine onto the tight confines of the Mini as our featured Mini built by Autoplus and Motor Pro attests to. This build is no walk in the park as it makes use of a specialized subframe conversion kit in order to accommodate a B-Series Honda engine onto its platform that’s also enhanced with goodies such as: race-oriented dual-pot disc brakes, wider wheels, and adjustable suspension. These mods are a must in order to achieve every-day reliability with a strong emphasis in terms of all-around performance.

Once the conversion kit arrived, Autoplus sportzentrium was given the task of putting it together. Aside from the subframe kit, the swap also necessitated a one piece, fiberglass, tilt front end because the hood and the front fenders must be stretched forward four inches to accommodate the Honda engine and radiator. The longer front end is not noticeable until you’re told it’s there, so it doesn’t alter the original looks of the Mini. The exterior is made even more muscular with the wider wheel arches, where Motor Pro autoclinique was tasked to massage the body as they sprayed it with an impeccable dark metallic blue paint finish set against a contrasting white colored roof using DuPont automotive refinishes.

The specialized conversion kit may be responsible for the swap, but it’s what’s nestled in between the subframe that truly makes this hybrid Mini a screamer. A stock B18 Honda already puts out a decent amount of power, but when you employ the services of renowned race engine builder/engineer Francisco “Pacho” Blanco, to blueprint/build the engine. Better make sure that your brakes and suspension are up to the task. The stout Honda bottom end was rebuilt using the stock pistons, crank, and rods together with aftermarket bearings and fasteners. High Performance cylinder head work is one of Mr. Blanco’s specialties, and this one features his Stage 2 porting job that’s accomplished with the aid of Autoplus’ Superflow flowbench that accurately measures the amount of airflow in each chamber. Orchestrating the Type-R valvetrain is a pair of Spoon camshafts with a 2-degree advance on the intake side and a 1-degree advance on the exhaust side to achieve a more favorable powerband according to Mr. Blanco. The rev limit is set at 9800rpm, while the VTEC kicks in at 5200 rpm. Together with the stock ECU, this mill has been dyno tuned by Francisco Blanco to put out 190 wheel horsepower. As is the case with all tuners, we all know that there’s plenty more where that came from. Most especially when your engine builder recently happened to motivate an Evo5 with 813 wheel horsepower and 623 lb-ft of torque that enabled it to post an unbelievable quarter-mile time of 9.6 seconds. Chances are that this Mini will just keep on getting faster and faster as it truly epitomizes the ultimate pocket rocket.

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Two doors. Two turbos. One awesome ride. This could very well be the devil in white.

Straight out of the box, the BMW 335i is a pretty capable vehicle sporting the German automaker’s newly designed powerplant. For those wondering, it’s really not a 3.5 liter as the model designation might suggest, but rather a 3.0 liter in-line six fitted with a pair of slugs. An all-new aluminum construction allowed for a higher compression ratio, which when coupled with the benefits of twin-turbocharging, yields easily accessible power throughout the rev range.

But stock can get boring at some point…so let the modifications begin!

With the car’s inherent crisp lines, the best way to further accentuate the coupe’s sexiness is to swap the original rollers for bigger shoes. Enter the impressive 20-inch DPE rims. Proving to be a popular choice for European-car owners, this brand exudes class and sportiness perfect for discerning enthusiasts. Measuring 20×8.5 up front and 20×10 in the back, the 5 spoke wheels are constructed out of forged aluminum ensuring lightness and strength. The eye-catching rims are wrapped in Falken 452 tires sized 245/30/20 (F) and 285/25/20 [R].

Going with a racy yet understated look, the car’s new appearance is miles apart from stock. Quickly noticeable is the use of carbon fiber, starting with the Vorsteiner Power Dome hood and lip spoiler. The kidney grille has also been blacked out to get that sporty touch. Over at the other side, the entire rear bumper was swapped with a new M-tech piece, while the rear diffuser was replaced with one made of carbon fiber. Completing the aesthetic make-over are little bits taken from its M3 brother, namely the side-mirrors and the ducktail lip spoiler in the back.

A car that’s all show without go? No sir. Unlike the slew of Bimmers with impressive looks but with anemic stock 1.8 liters, this one is quite different.

With a manufacturer rating of 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque, this car gains more muscle with an aftermarket intake kit from Gruppe M. Beneath the bonnet, the new intake looks pretty impressive with its carbon fiber housing. Helping expel spent gases better are the Supersprint downpipe and center pipe, which are truly effective mods since turbocharged mills react positively to less restrictive exhausts. Rounding out the exhaust upgrade is the Eisenmann muffler, with four pipes no less! A PROcede V2 piggyback unit alters the factory ECU settings for enhanced output. As a pre-cautionary tool, an HKS blow-off valve was thrown in to help prevent compressor surge.

This Bimmer can carve corners too. It’s kitted with KW variant 2 coilovers, designed to allow not only ride height adjustment but rebound damping as well. This makes it perfect for the occasional track sessions where the owner can simply dial a bit more firmness for sharper handling, then revert back to a softer ride for everyday use. To help handle the stress of white knuckle motoring, Hawk performance brake pads were employed to resist fade.

The fun doesn’t stop there though, as this 335i is also a drop-top. It’s got a three piece fixed roof that tucks in neatly in just 22 seconds. First to be done by BMW in this application, the fixed roof provides a stiffer chassis all together, not to mention a more silent cabin at speed. With the roof down, one can get a nice look at the red upholstery that’s a welcome change from the sea of black found in most BeeEms. Hamann bits have also been fitted inside such as in the handbrake and foot pedals.

Over-all, this tuning effort takes an already impressive vehicle and bumps up the testosterone level way up. It looks fast. It can go even faster. The only thing left is a wide open road to let this thing loose and hear that wonderful exhaust note gnarl!

When the Nissan 350Z was first introduced in 2002, it quickly became an instant hit. The combination of its striking good looks, adequate 3.5 liter V6 engine, and very competent chassis drew praises from the automotive world. With the demise of the inline six engines due to emissions, tuners also found a new market with the V6 engine of the 350Z.

This particular 350Z is a special 35th Anniversary Edition that Nissan built to commemorate the 35th Anniversary of the debut of the Datsun 240Z. It has a slightly more powerful engine than normal Z’s, with other changes mostly with aesthetics.

The owner of this yellow example certainly wasted no time in upgrading an already potent car. On the engine side, a Blitz exhaust manifold is partnered with an Espelir JGT500 exhaust system to produce a sound that rumbles at idle, but screams up top. Additional modifications to the VQ35 engine include Skunk 2 high rise plenum spacer, HKS oil cooler, ARC Titanium Radiator Cooling Plate, as well as a custom titanium airbox built by the people at Autoplus Sportzentrium in Mandaluyong.

The 350Z already has very good handling as attested to by different publications. But to make this Z handle even better, a set of Tein Type Flex coilovers was added. Since the car already came with Brembo brakes, only a set of Project Mu brake pads were added to make stopping distances a little bit shorter.

With an already gorgeous car, some aesthetic modifications were added including Mine’s Carbon Fiber front lip, Mine’s carbon fiber air inlet, Nismo carbon fiber B pillar garnish, as well as a menacing Esprit carbon fiber rear wing.

With the Z’s already wide stock body and RWD platform, nothing less but the biggest and lightest wheels will do. In this regard, a set of staggered 19 inch Volk Racing TE37 wheels were used; they measure 8.5 inches up front and 9.5 at the back. These are paired with 265/35R19 Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Front Tires and 285/30R19 Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Rear Tires.

On the street, the car rides like a dream. The suspension is firm but very compliant even in rough roads. It is on the track that this machine really stands out. Body roll is kept to a minimum while the torque of the engine ensures adequate power going out of corners, even in low rpms.

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Once regarded as an executive’s car, the Nissan Cefiro was a popular car in the early nineties when it was released. But now, the car is seen in a different light or in drift terms as a different approach angle. The once reserved and serious car is now being used as a project car for drifting because of its long wheelbase and rear wheel drive configuration.

Also in a different light is Atoy Llave of A-toy Bodykits who is more often known for his wild bodykit creations and extreme aesthetic modifications who is now into the performance scene as well. Being bitten by the drifting bug recently after he joined one of the drift clinics organized by the DMF Drift School, Llave has built his own drift car from a Nissan Cefiro.

However, a plain looking Cefiro would not be enough for him, so a custom widebody FRP aerodynamic bodykit and ground effects were added to the car to put the A-toy trademark on the car, while carbon-fiber aero mirrors and a carbon-fiber rear wing adds some contrast. Custom graphics made by Winner Graphics were also added to further enhance the car’s drift car appeal. The look is finished off with white ROTA P45Rs wrapped with Avon ZZ3 tires.

Under the hood is an RB25DET engine transplanted from a Nissan Skyline R32 GT-S. The intercooler from the R32 was also used and custom intake and exhaust pipes were done by Fremuff. Some additional parts are an HKS Super Mega Flow filter, Blitz blow-off valve and an Apex-i AFC Neo for instrumentation and minor fuel delivery tuning.

In the roadholding section, suspension is handled by a set of TEIN Type HA coilovers and a custom built rollcage. To further stiffen the chassis, it was also seam-welded by DMF. The brakes from the R32 were also transplanted to compensate for the engine’s extra power.

This is one mean car inside and out, and goes sideways. What more could you ask for?

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The Honda Civic is a very popular compact tuner car due to the abundance of performance and aesthetics goodies owners can buy for their cars. The most popular variant is the hatchback brought about by the release of the Type-R version, which boasts of an engine capable of 185ps out of a mere 1.6-liters. The hatch is even more sought after in the country because it was never released locally, and only a handful of units were imported through unofficial sources.

Dondie Mallari, was a die-hard Honda Civic Type-R fan, with no CTRs ever released in LHD, he had to resort to a JDM RHD (right-hand drive) unit for his project car. Mallari opted for the JDM theme for this project, which clearly shows inside and out starting with the Championship White paintjob. The front and rear end is clad with Airwalker aerodynamic FRP bumpers, grill and engine bonnet. The aerodynamic look is finished off with a pair of Spoon Sports aero side mirrors. The car rolls on Limited Edition Volk Racing TE-37s in Millenium Blue wrapped with Yokohama Advan Neova performance tires.

In the heart of the engine compartment is a naturally aspirated B16B Type-R engine bolted with a generous amount of bolt-on parts from Spoon, notably a stainless 4-2-1 exhaust manifold. An ARC intake chamber fed by a K&N filter handles intake duties, while a Fujitsubo exhaust system bolted to the end of the exhaust manifold finished off by a Spoon N1 Muffler.

The stiff stuff is handled by Spoon Sports Dampers with kg/mm coils complemented by a complete array of Spoon front and rear strut tower bars and lower arm bars, and finished off by Omnipower rear lower control arms. Braking duties are handled by front and rear Project µ slotted rotors and Integra Type-R calipers with Tanabe brake pads.

Inside the car, a pair of Recaro SR-3 seats with Sparco racing safety belts, Momo Fighter steering wheel, Spoon Sports Titanium Shift Knob and an assortment of EK9 parts can be found. An Apex-I V-AFC II sits in the middle of the dashboard for minor tuning and digital instrumentation.

This is one white hot hatch you’ll definitely see rolling in the streets and present in club meets and shows.

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The Porsche GT3 is the road going homologation of what is arguably Porsche’s most successful racecar. It is designed to be the perfect racecar for the street, combining decent road-going civility with excellent trackday dynamics.

This particular GT3 is of the body type 997, the newest body for Porsche’s Carrera line of sports cars. Unlike most Porsches seen on the streets though, this car has been extensively modified to extract even more performance.

The heart of the GT3 lies in its 3.6 liter dry sump flat-six engine producing 415hp with the ability to rev till 8000+ rpm. Extracting more power from this normally aspirated and highly strung engine is no simple task. This particular example has a fabspeed intake and a custom exhaust system fitted. The custom exhaust maximizes airflow out of the engine, but it also gives a more important benefit than simply extra horsepower, it is lighter by 40 lbs as compared to the stock exhaust. In a car that weights just close to 3,200 lbs and with the engine at the back, a 40lb. reduction is a big one.

There are also some aesthetic modifications that may not be immediately obvious, carbon mirrors, carbon rear wing, Rennline mats and pedals. The car rides on ultra exclusive 19 inch Volk Racing TE-37 wheels. The wheels and tires used now are lighter than the stock ones by 60lbs. This reduction in unsprung weight translates to quicker acceleration and better braking.

The result is a car that can easily do more than 300km/h as has been proven several times. Project Mu brake pads help to make sure that the car will stop when needed.

This particular 997 GT3 epitomizes the racing legacy of Porsche. By throwing in additional modifications to make the car quicker, stop faster, and handle better, the result is a car that’s, for lack of better words, bad ass. And let’s not forget how ferocious it looks…

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The 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback is an improvement from the standard version featuring a jazzy new body, a wider track for better road holding, a more diverse engine range and more options. The car was made immensely popular in 2000 when the remake of the movie Gone in Sixty Seconds starring Nicolas Cage featured a modified 1967 Shelby GT500 (Eleanor) as the main car in the movie.

Inspired by the 1973 movie Gone in Sixty Seconds by HB Halicki and the 2000 remake starring Nicolas Cage, Jan Kierulf set forth on a project to build his own version of Eleanor here in the Philippines. The painstaking project took the team almost a year to finish. The car was eventually entered in the 2006 Custom Car Show where it won several awards.

For the restoration and bodywork of the car, Kierulf brought the car to Alex Isip of Alex Car Restoration, an authority in auto restoration in the country. The original paint was blasted off and the some of the excess bodywork was cut out to accommodate the modified front end, custom side air scoops and wider body panels for the project. New custom headlights were installed and a 1967 Mercury Cougar tail light panel was also installed. The chassis was reinforced with Total Control subframe connectors; export brace and Monte Carlo bars.

To achieve the Eleanor inspired look, the body was sprayed with Du Pont Pepper Gray Metallic with Du Pont Black Metallic stripes. A functional SC Cobra style gas lid was also installed. Shelby emblems were also installed to complete the theme.

The old interior was restored and reupholstered with new leather. Modifications to the interior were Shelby rollbars, a Moto-Lita Shelby steering wheel, Automteter instrumentation, and a Shelby interior kit was installed. A Rockford Fosgate audio system was installed for in-car entertainment to keep with the American car theme.

A Ford 351 cubic-inch Windsor engine was chosen as the project’s powerplant. This was the engine used in the original Mach1 Eleanor of Halicki. It was then brought to Ben Lim, a popular tuner from back in the 80’s where American Muscle used to prowl the streets, was tasked to build the perfect engine. The engine received a healthy dose of machining work and performance upgrades.

The engine block was stroked increasing displacement to 377 cubic-inches. A new Trick Flow aluminum cylinder head with Trick Flow main girdle, Crane Roller camshafts and rocker ams was mated to stroked block to form the main power unit. A driver-side mounted Novi 1200 Paxton Supercharger was then installed to further increase power output. To add more air input a Mighty Demon 850cfm carburetor was installed while an Edelbrock Performer Manifold for the exhaust.

No bolt was left unturned as more parts were replaced. These included: Cloyes timing chain, Fluidamper balancer, Edelbrock aluminum water pump, March pulley system, Moroso oil pan, Holley fuel pump, Spin Tech side exhaust system with performance mufflers, MSD distributor and MSD ignition amplifier box. A Be Cool Aluminum Module Cooling System was installed to cool down this powerhouse.

The finished power unit was then mated to a Richmond 6-speed transmission with overdrive with a RAM clutch system, Lakewood pressure plate and bell housing, and McLeod hydraulic clutch system.

To keep this all on the ground, a Total Control front coilover system is mounted on the Total Control front suspension with Varishock. For the rear suspension, an air bar system from Air Ride Technologies with Shockwave air shocks was installed. This was all finished off with American Racing Shelby Cobra wheels wrapped with BF Goodrich G Force tires.

This is one Ford Mustang that has a lot of both show and go.

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The Nissan 200SX, or more popularly known as the Nissan Silvia, has gotten a bit of a surge in popularity over the past few years. The emergence of drifting, as well as the anime Initial D, has made the 200SX a legend. Here in the Philippines, 2nd hand units are commanding high prices despite the car being around 10 years old. Being a 2 door coupe and seeing as how Nissan Philippines only imported a limited number of units, making a Silvia stand out from the crowd should not be too difficult of a proposition.

The S14 Silvia you see here is the result of meticulous attention to detail. Starting life as a completely stock green unit, the car has transformed to a red hot coupe that is bound to turn heads. Since most units imported by Nissan were equipped with an Automatic Transmission, the first order of the day for this Silvia was a Manual Transmission conversion. With that taken care of, careful attention was paid to extracting the most power out of the already potent SR20DET. A Turbonetics T04E turbine is matched to a Greddy 24R Intercooler and Greddy E-manage to force feed the engine. A Sard fuel regulator and Sard 550cc high flow injectors take care of the fueling needs. Finally, a full 3-inch exhaust system with titanium Espelir muffler finishes off the engine work, yielding an astonishing 308 horsepower and 298 lb-ft of torque at the wheels.

Power is nothing without control, but in the case of the Silvia, people usually want to lose a bit of control by drifting. Tein Type HE Drift Spec Coilovers were installed on all four corners to better instigate oversteer. Tein, Nismo, and Greddy bars and braces add to the stiffness of the chassis. A Brembo brake system from a R34 Nissan Skyline GTR was installed at the front and coupled with Endless brake pads to ensure that if the going gets too tough, the brakes will always bite.

Arguably, the thing that sets this Silvia apart from most is the exterior. A full M Sports widebody kit including front and rear bumpers, front and rear oversized fenders contribute to the hulking stance of the car. M Sports carbon fiber front canards and diffuser adds to front downforce while a Sard carbon fiber GT Wing adds downforce to the rear. Finishing touches include M Sports carbon fiber hood and C-West GT style carbon fiber mirrors. A bright shade of red was painted over the car by the professionals from Alex Car Restoration. Finally, a set of rare and wide 18 x 9.5 Volk Racing CE28N wheels were mounted on the front while an even wider pair of 18 x 10.5 were mounted on the rear.

The interior is kept simple but all parts installed are of the highest quality. BRIDE ZETA II seats ensure that the driver and passenger are kept snuggly in place during wild oversteering maneuvers. A Nismo JTC Steering wheel and Nismo GT shift knob is utilized while Sard gauges ensure timely monitoring of engine vitals.

With a Silvia that looks and performs like this car, it’s no wonder that Nissan’s sports coupe is as popular as ever.

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