There’s something in the air in Colorado, and it’s not smoke clouds. We’re talking about the impeccable tuning culture of Coloradans. During DSPORT’s latest visit to the Centennial State, for the IDRC’s Street Tuner Mayhem event at Bandimere Speedway, we quickly took notice of hundreds of high quality modified imports. […]
Read MoreExhaust 101: Moving Up By Moving Out
Turbo exhaust manifolds, headers, downpipes and cat-back exhaust systems are all designed to increase performance by improving the exhaust flow out of the engine. On “all-motor” applications, the proper header and cat-back exhaust can reduce pumping loss, increase scavenging and improve cylinder filling to maximize volumetric efficiency, torque and power. […]
Read More1,188 HP RB30 Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R
RB26 or 2JZ? Which is the best six-cylinder import performance engine of all time? Nissan fans will tell you about the legendary breathing ability of the RB cylinder head and the incredible 10,000-plus RPM potential of its short-stroke design. Toyota 2JZ fans brag about the displacement advantage that the longer-stoke […]
Read MoreIntake Manifold 101: Ensuring the Cylinders are Working Their Best
Every cylinder in your engine is a member of the same team. The goal of this team is to make maximum power. When every member of the team is putting forth an equal effort, the engine runs smoother, stronger and more reliably than ever before. When one or more cylinders […]
Read MoreJotech Racing’s 948whp E85 Nissan R35 GT-R Daily Driver
Leave well enough alone.” For tuners, this is nearly impossible, especially when working with high performance vehicles. The temptation to modify turns seemingly innocent bolt ons into full-tilt engine builds. Just ask Jotech Racing’s Kenny Tran. Tran has built many high-horsepower cars for professional drag racing in addition to Japanese […]
Read More715 whp Daily-Driven Street/Strip Acura Integra
There was a time when a turbo Integra was the epitome of import performance. A GS-R with a bolt-on DRAG kit would deliver about 300 horsepower to the wheels which was enough to smoke the tires at will. Sawing off Corvettes and 5.0s at a time when import performance wasn’t […]
Read MoreThe Automotive Valvetrain and How It Works
“Nobody gets in or out unless I say so,” said the camshaft to the valves. The valves represent the doors into and out of the cylinders of the engine. How wide these doors are opened, for how long they’re open and when they open and close are all dictated by […]
Read MoreThe Science Behind Modern Performance Engine Bearings | Simple Complexity
They look simple enough. They are just half circles of thin metal usually sporting a semi-dull finish. Nowadays, some even sport a coating. In reality, those simple-looking engine bearings are the result of complex sciences and manufacturing processes. Understanding the function, the history and the ways of optimizing the performance […]
Read MoreDaily-Driven 451 WHP Mitsubishi EVO IX
“I love it when a plan comes together!” Hannibal Smith states it best and Brian Nguyen couldn’t agree more. Brian, a UCR accounting graduate, analyzes every angle before embarking on his projects. When he purchased his second EVO IX, this 2006 SE, he had several objectives in mind. He wanted […]
Read MoreCylinder Head 101: Getting the Chambers and Ports In Shape
Like the cylinder block, the cylinder head is also responsible for holding a number of other components, namely the valvetrain. The valve guides, valve seats, valves, valve springs, valve retainers, valve locks, buckets, followers, lash caps and camshafts are all fitted to the cylinder head. In addition to this responsibility, […]
Read More1,036 WHP 2JZ Powered Lexus IS300
Raw power is certainly addictive. Some people thrive on it, while others rely on it. Take Allen Stilkey as an example. The married father of six has professionally arm wrestled around the world for a decade. Even though Allen has chosen to get away from arm wrestling to spend more […]
Read More560WHP Track Carving Single Turbo Toyota Supra
The thought of lofty horsepower figures come to mind whenever the words “Toyota Supra” are mentioned. The recipe is simple: a built bottom end, a giant turbo and a capable fuel system can easily push the power of the 2JZ-GTE into the 1,000-plus whp range. However those 1,000-plus whp engines […]
Read More535 whp R32 Skyline Rules The Concrete Jungle
The Nissan Skyline GT-R was engineered with one purpose in mind, to take out the competition in the world of motorsports. In 1989, the R32 was the first Skyline to wear the GT-R nameplate since its semi-retirement in 1973. The return of the R32 Skyline GT-R resulted in domination of […]
Read MoreStreet & Strip Subaru STI | 457 WHP 10-Second Daily Driver
For some people, heads-up drag racing is the ultimate proof of automotive prowess. For Ben Hochman, the desire to own a Subaru and the need to drag-race were both satisfied when he purchased an Impreza 2.5RS while still in high school. A few bolt-ons and a few hundred bottles of […]
Read MoreEngine Fasteners 101: Keeping It All Together
The power potential of an engine platform increases as you increase the redline potential of the engine. However, one would assume that doubling the engine RPM doubles the load on all of the reciprocating components. In fact, the actual relationship between engine speed and load is as follows. The load […]
Read More