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Response

Some of this week's Letters to AutoSpeed!

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Big Booster

Have you checked out http://www.boosthead.com/home.php? They make an electric supercharger that can produce 20 psi of boost!

Bassam Alwan
USA

Looks good! Have any readers had any experiences with this product?

Everything's For Sale...

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Do you go to the shops and buy adverts? I'm currently subscribing to AutoSpeed and receiving feature length articles on Skylines and similar, which are for sale. Are you getting kickbacks from these articles when the cars do sell? There is another point that I must make - feature cars are becoming pretty redundant, although there have been a few very good examples lately (the twin-turbo Ford, XR6T ute and Suzuki Cappuccino). However, I must note the Ford TT was for sale. The feature cars, from my point of view, are the basic import method taken - bigger turbo(s), chip or A'PEXi Power FC, monster exhaust, bigger injectors, new clutch and advertise for sale. It's almost as bad as selling DVDs and then selling the reviews.


Ian Armstrong
Australia

Like it or not, many of the modified cars that we feature are for sale - it's the nature of the owners to finish the build-up and move on to something else. The fact that a car is for sale does not detract from the quality of a feature car at all. And, no, we do NOT receive kickbacks.Our feature car selection is based largely on the popularity of existing stories. DVD reviews... Well, the DVDs might not be your cuppa tea but there are a lot of readers who appreciate our tell-it-as-it-is reviews. See Double DVD Review as an example.

Before Paying...

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I find the article Airflow Meter Swaps looks interesting. But before I spend any money on it I'd like to know if it is going to have any useful information for a GM 3400 OHV V6 (Pontiac Grand Am GT) engine owner in the U.S. Could you please let me know?


WCA
USA

We don't give away info regarding story content. In this type of article, however, it's the themes and techniques that are as important as the sort of car we're looking at.

Which R32?

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I am looking at importing a car in the next few months and would like to get an opinion (or perhaps, an online comparison) on the R32 GTS-t and the R32 GTS4. I am looking for a car that handles great (on the road and the track and solidly in the wet), responds well to intake and exhaust modifications and is very controllable. If you could help me out with this, it'd be great.

Matt
Australia

Check out our stories at Pre-Owned Performance - Nissan Skyline R32 GTS t and Unknown Warrior - Skyline GTS4. If stability in the wet is at all a priority we'd be looking at the GTS4 - the GTS-t isn't a recognised drift machine for no reason... Basic intake and exhaust mods give good performance gains. The GTS4 is slightly slower, but such mods easily remedy that situation!

Missing Motors?

Regarding your segment on Mazda/Honda engines... great reading, but what happened to B18a and B18c Honda engines? These are some of the most famous Integra/Civic engines out there. Honda has only recently (in their last models) started using 2.0-litre engines in the Integras. What happened to the B18 series engines? Even the last photo shown is the B18 series. I'm not a mechanic, but am I the only Honda owner to notice this?

Paul Kennedy
Australia

The engine series is due for an update, depending how much demand there is from readers. What's the word, people - do you want a redo?

Surgery on ET

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I was just writing to say that I own a Nissan Pulsar ET 1984 model that has recently cracked its head. I just wanted to know how available the parts are nowadays. I have the workshop manual, but if you could please, please, please send me any info regarding the ET that you might have that could help me.

David Ferguson
Australia

We don't have any info on the head replacement process but we imagine there should be plenty of parts available. Gaskets etc should be available through Nissan dealerships and a head would be available from the wreckers. A web search that covers your local area would be the best approach.

Caterhams Coming?

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Have you guys considered doing any articles on Caterham Sevens and their Australian competitors? They are about the most driver-focussed vehicles you can drive on the road. It would be interesting to hear your honest opinions of them, and also to see how any Australian competitors stack up against the real thing.

Roger Canty
Australia

Yep, they're certainly the most driver-focussed... Have a look at Podium Pouncer and Surreal Sensation for a couple of similar vehicles. We do have more Caterham style cars on our list of things to do - has anyone got one available in Australia for a test?

Housing Hunter

I was wondering if you could tell me of any vendors who sell the turbocharger turbine housing in one of your technical articles - http://us1.webpublications.com.au/static/images/articles/i9/0914_18mg.jpg

Adam Read
Canada


That photo was originally taken for our feature car story - Let's Fli. The housing (which incorporates an external wastegate passage) is produced by Turbonetics - try your local dealer for cost and details.

Flame Me

I drive a Rover Mini and have put in a Rover 1293cc MG Metro turbo engine. It has a carburettor, electronic ignition inside the distributor, but no kind of ECU to control the timing. What I want to know is if there anyway I can get my car to spit flames out the exhaust? Is there any way that I can fit an anti-lag system to my car? If not, is there anyway you can think of that will help me on my quest to spit flames? I do a bit of hill climbing, sprinting and track days and I think this will help me get my car into one of the Mini magazines and, if you can help, YOU WILL BE THE FIRST to get pics and words of my car.


Gareth Owens
UK

Atmo race cars are often seen spitting flames - you just need the 'right' combination of fuel, air and ignition timing. In general, you need to dump in excess fuel and it's also common to set a lot of retard ignition timing under these decel conditions.

We have touched on anti-lag systems (specific to turbo engines) at Michael's Speed Zone  and Michael's Speed Zone l. Hope this helps in your quest for flames!

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