The Honda S2000

The Starting Point There are many opinions on the topic of S2000 performance suspension upgrades ranging from mild to wild and encompassing a variety of different views and experiences. Let us first discuss the ability of the factory Honda S2K suspension. The S2000 suspension is a very competent and well designed suspension right from the factory. The factory S2000 suspension setup is a well rounded purposeful built compliant design for a wide array of street, sport, and mild racing duties.

The matchup of the S2000 suspension settings for the spring rates and dampening gives a confidently stable feeling to the driver, with a predictable balance for most situations encountered during street duty. Driver steering inputs are quickly converted through related suspension components into directional motion giving the S2000 that desirable quick steering feeling, with a reasonable amount road feedback subtle in less than bumpy situations. When it comes to wet road handling the S2000 suspension is also very capable and stable providing you do not get to aggressive with your choice of tires.

The Honda S2000 also has a well engineered braking setup consisting of four wheel disc brakes with 11" plus rotors at all four corners, assisted by vacuum assisted servos, giving a nice balance between the feel and assist of the system, and utilizing an ABS system and very good braking balance for an overall efficient braking system. The heart and soul of the Honda S2000 suspension and its ability to perform go beyond the bolt on items provided by the factory and their ability to perform, yes I am referring to the underpinnings of the car.

The new S2000 unique body and frame created by the Honda S2000 engineering team. The race inspired thought process behind the S2000 chassis created an extremely well balanced and incredibly rigid frame utilizing additional bracing and cross bracing, beefier cross members, complete with a four wheel double wishbone suspension, anti-roll bars, which allow for the hanging of the coil-over spring dampers (mono tube shocks), further the weight distribution achieved is at or near the optimum 50/50 ratio between the front and rear of the vehicle, truly racing balance from the S2000.Considering just the rigidity of the chassis design coupled with the weight balance and four wheel double wishbone suspension you know the Honda S2000 was designed, engineered, and born to be a thoroughbred in the performance world.

Some factors worth considering We took a very brief look at the research, development, and engineering that has gone into the creation of a truly capable handling production model sports car the Honda S2000. Given the capability of this car why would I want to change the suspension, or its components...there are many reasons one may consider upgrading their S2000 suspension components to high quality performance suspension components, we will contemplate a few of these reasons and the impact they may have on your Honda S2000 and it's suspension, and handling ability.

Let's start off with a common and very basic scenario: My S2000 looks cool, but my friends S2000 has performance springs, is an inch lower, and looks way cooler, I want to lower my S2000 but do not want to sacrifice my S2000 handling ability. In this scenario there are many opinions regarding lowering springs, and their effects on your S2000 suspension and handling performance. First you should consider the mileage, as the effective lifespan is likely 30K-40K miles, and beyond this range your springs have effectively lost their ability to perform at their original rates. Given this if your Honda S2000 is above 40K miles than by replacing your original springs with a spring owning a relative spring rate to the factory spring will actually improve handling, however remember every time you alter the weakest link you create a new weakest link.

Having said that if you replace your worn factory S2000 springs with a set of aftermarket performance springs with a 1" drop (no more) you can keep within the geometry limits of the remaining factory components and effectively lower, and improve upon your S2000 handling. Do remember though, that this will likely also shorten the lifespan of your factory dampers, and that the current wear on all your other suspension components, bushings, is not being addressed. Next let's look at a braking scenario: I race my S2000 in the local "Time Attacks" and am extremely hard on my Honda S2000 brakes, my factory rotors are warped, and I am looking to upgrade them as they need to be replaced anyways. In this scenario the owner is likely racing with the factory setup, and rightfully wants to upgrade the factory brakes.

It is not mentioned if the rest of the factory suspension is still intact but if it is, this may contribute to the reason why the owner is so hard on the brakes. If the dampers, control arms, and relative bushings are in optimum condition, and the alignment is properly setup, and functioning correctly than the brakes, are likely the only component in need of replacing, however if this is not the case then likely by upgrading the brakes the suspension will feel more controllable, but that will be due to the increased braking ability, not the complete ability of the suspension to function at its maximum capability, or to be tuned for changing environments, not enabling the full potential of the upgraded performance big brake kits ability to actually be experienced by the driver because of the lack of performance of the worn factory suspension.
Existing problems

• Said S2000 has worn and damaged braking components in need of replacement (highly dangerous)

• Appears this S2000 has a worn factory suspension, and will require suspension upgrades.

• Factory S2000 suspension components lack the adjustability desired for racing. Problem remedies

• This S2000 brakes are in need of replacement, and should be upgraded with quality race proven and capable performance brakes.

• When entering your S2000 in competitive motorsports the suspension requirements should be addressed along the the braking needs.

• Consider how upgrading your S2000 suspension will aid your racing requirements, and what components will give the desired effect if you are not going to upgrade your entire S2000 suspension.

• Look at the springs, and dampers (coil-overs) on your S2000 and your comfort , and technical prowess for adjusting basic or complex suspension components...more basic = less adjustable.

• Assess you current control arms, ball joints, tie rods, end links etc. then decide if these components need to be replaced and what level of adjustably would you prefer for your suspension.

• Consider the size of rims you have on your S2000 as to buy a big brake kit that will fit your wheels.

• When using adjustable suspension components on your S2000 for racing make a baseline spreadsheet after your suspension alignment has been set, then note the effects of the adjustments you make to your new performance suspension upgrades, and how your S2000 suspension reacts.

Now a drifting scenario: I have entered my Honda S2000 in a few drifting competitions at the beginner level but my suspension seems to be too compliant to unload the tires properly, or give me the feedback I require to compete (it hooks up too well). In this scenario the S2000 is being raced with the wrong suspension geometry in mind, the stock suspension is meant to be an all around performer, giving a high level of cornering ability, traction, and stability to the average driver, all while providing tolerable ride quality, thus providing a suspension that is not adjustable enough, or stiff enough to annihilate the tires at will. The Honda S2000 in question could probably be lowered, and would likely benefit from a more adjustable suspension with stiffer springs, to relay a more direct power output to the rear wheels, all while maintaining control during the overpowering of the tires.

To accomplish this, consider installing a set of aftermarket coilovers (likely the dual adjustable variety), matched with control arms, a big brake kit, and properly matched tires, should help to give the desired effect. With these changes to the suspension , of course the alignment should be properly setup, and a baseline achieved for future tuning of the newly capable installed performance suspension components.

Existing problems

• Lack of adjustably of factory S2000 suspension, not allowing the S2000 suspension to be tuned for drifting.

• S2000 suspension too soft for drifting, the S2000 suspension is working just not properly for desired environment. Problem remedies

• Consider the compliance of the existing S2000 suspension and focus on how to stiffen and adjust your S2000 suspension.

• Improve your S2000 suspension drifting ability by forcing the tires to the ground, while still having the rebound, dampening ability your S2000 suspension needs for control.

• Upgrade the brakes on your S2000 for the stopping power you will require with a drifting S2000

• Evaluate all suspension components for upgrading, from the basics of your S2000 suspension (springs) to the more intricate S2000 suspension components like dampers (coil-overs), and control arms.

• Install new springs, dampers, control arms and brakes(with associated components) onto your S2000 suspension, creating a highly tunable S2000 suspension and a drifting terror to be reckoned with.

• Proceed to enjoy the newly found ability of your Honda S2000 in any and all local competitions, or just cruising the local boulevards. In closing There are many usages for the Honda S2000 most of which were not covered but if you feel that there is room for improvement in your S2000 suspension than you should consider the array of performance suspension components available from suppliers like: BAER, EBC, Espelier, Goodrich, Hawk, K-Sport, Power Slot, Buddy Club, Mugen, ASR, Tanabe, Tokico for your S2000 suspension ability and needs, available at www.typerdrifting.com

The Bugatti Veyron

In 1998 Volkswagen decided to resurrect the famous Bugatti name, and announced that their first new car, called the Veyron, would be the fastest production road car ever with a top speed that would eclipse the mighty Mclaren F1. To achieve that aim took over seven years of testing and development, and resulted in a critically acclaimed car that would cost over one million dollars.

The Veyron is named after a French Bugatti racing driver from the 1930's who went on to win the 1939 Le Mans in a 57C Bugatti. However, whilst the name of the car was set firmly in the past, Bugatti would have to push the limits and boundaries of automotive technology to achieve their aims.

In order to reach its 253mph top speed the Veyron is powered by a 8.3 litre W16 engine, the W configuration is achieved by joining two separate V8's together at the crankshaft. The resulting engine has a quoted power output of 1001PS or 987bhp, although it is an open secret that the real output is more likely to be around 1035bhp.

To contain the 1250NM of torque that the engine produced, Bugatti turned to the specialised gearbox manufacturer Ricardo in Great Britain, who came up with a seven speed, twin clutch direct shift gearbox controlled by paddles behind the steering wheel. The seamless shift system allows the Veyron to reach sixty in just 2.4 seconds.

Having designed an engine and gearbox that could take them to their planned top speed Bugatti needed to make sure the Veyron had suitable brakes and tyres to cope with extraordinary forces it could produce. Michelin produced the run-flat road tyres capable of surviving the 253 mph top speed, whilst silicon carbide reinforced carbon brakes and a huge rear spoiler, which acts as an airbrake above 124 mph, ensured that the Veyron could reach a standstill from 249 mph in just 10 seconds.

Inside the Veyron it is easy to see why this supercar weighs over 1.8 tons. It contains all the refinement you would expect in a luxury saloon, including exquisite leather trim for the seats and surrounds and bespoke aluminium controls for the car lights and sound system. The owner also a receives a special top speed key, which retracts the rear spoiler, closes the front air vents and lowers the ride height to 6.5 cm in preparation for a high speed run.

Externally the Veyron looks very similar to the early concept car, however much of its shape and form has been driven by the need to achieve high speed stability and cooling. In fact the Veyron has an incredible 10 radiators, which provide cooling for everything from the engine and transmission through to the hydraulic fluid that is used to raise the rear spoiler.

In every way the Veyron sets new standards for the ultimate supercar, and in these tough economic times it may be quite a while until will see those performance figures bettered.

Jo Alexander writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote but should be considered professional content.

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History of the Pontiac Brand

You've probably seen the headline about GM getting ready to drop Pontiac. Big deal, right? To most people it's not important enough to warrant their attention, but if most people were to take a closer look they might stumble upon the significance of something like this.

In 1926 GM created Pontiac to accompany their Oakland brand of vehicles (much like GMC and Chevrolet today) and subsequently outsold Oakland which caused Oakland to be dropped by GM in 1932 (perhaps some foreshadowing). For the first part of Pontiac's life, up til the early 1950's that is, Pontiac cars were very quiet, well built cars, but not particularly fast. This problem was remedied in 1955 with the introduction of a 173 horsepower V8 which quickly boosted Pontiac's sales.

Pleasantly surprised with the results, Pontiac discontinued production of all 6 cylinder engines in full sized cars and had an all-V8-line of full sized cars until 1977 when GM when through a bout of corporate downsizing. A 6-cylinder engine was used in the Tempest model in 1966 as well as the Firebird.

Jump forward to the early '70s. This was the time when the era of the unrestricted motor was coming to an end. Furthering this idea was GM's regulation that all GM engines must be capable of using a lower-octane fuel, thus reducing compression ratios, fuel economy, and performance. It seemed like the classic American muscle car was on its deathbed - and it truly was. In 1974 laws were passed to regulate vehicle emissions and with gas prices on the rise, more economical engines took over.

But Pontiac was still around. It restyled its Grand Prix in 1973 along with introducing the Grand Am, a popular car until it's end in 2004.

However, Pontiac, like most GM cars, have lost quality and popularity in recent years. That's a good size of GM's current problems. Now days the only thing separating Pontiac from Buick and Chevrolet cars is the badging and some of the exterior body. And thus, due to sales and waning popularity, GM is ditching Pontiac to focus on its core group of vehicle brands: GMC, Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac.

Rest in peace, Pontiac.

To find Sioux City Pontiac dealers, or used cars Sioux City, shop at Siouxland Cars For Sale.com.

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The Isuzu Rodeo

I remember back in high school meeting with my friends at the local Sonic drive-in. We'd hang out and munch on some chili cheese tator tots while sipping down a cool forty-four ounces of cherry lime-aid. Sonic was open pretty late, so it was a good place to hang out until curfew. There was one night that I'll never forget; the day that my arch nemesis looked like a fool in front of everybody.

It was Friday night at about 8pm. Me and some classmates had a science project due the following Monday and we wanted to crank it out before ahead of time. We were assigned teams to work in, so the pairing was pretty random. Out of the six team members, I had two friends, two people I didn't really know that well and the stereo-typical high school football jock (read: total meat head). I had picked up my two friends in my Isuzu Rodeo and the Jock had picked up the other two team members. When he showed up, it was obvious he didn't want to be there. Looking back, who could blame him; he was more popular than us and we were doing school work on a Friday night, but the fact remained that the project needed to be done before Monday.

When he arrived, he immediately made fun of my ride. He commented how stupid my bumper guards looked and that the running boards looked like they were made of cardboard. I was used to his idiocracy, so I ignored his provocations. After about 30 minutes of working on the science project, it was apparent that the Jock was getting antsy and wasn't going to help. So I suggested that we meet again on Saturday morning to get more work done. The Jock immediately said we could get the work done on Sunday and that there was no way he could meet on Saturday. We still had a lot of work to do and I knew what he wasn't going to be doing anything on Saturday other than nursing a hang over, so I asked him what his plans were.

He immediately lost his temper, telling me not to question him. Wanting to not get pulverized by this guy, but not wanting to let him off the hook either, I said "Well we need your input on the project too, so when are you available to meet up?" The jock took this as an opportunity to escape the Friday night meeting and replied "I can meet on Sunday, you figure out a time and I'll call you on Sunday." Without another word being said he got in his truck, threw it into reverse and hit the accelerator. You know how teens can get a little amped up sometimes and get ahead of themselves? Well he really hit the pedal hard, squealed the tires and backed up into my Rodeo. He got out of his truck with an astonished look on his face.

My Rodeo didn't have so much as a scratch on it, thanks to my beefy bumper guard, but his Ford's bumper was bent in and pushed out of place. He had to call his parents about hitting my SUV and they grounded him for two weeks and ordered him to come home right then. With a big smile on my face, I said "So have you plans for Saturday changed, or should we still meet up on Sunday?"

My aftermarket parts not only saved my paint, but they also saved face. If you want to see if there are any aftermarket parts that fit your vehicle, check out these pages on bumper guardsrunning boards. and

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The Latest Aston Martin One-77

After numerous concept presentations, Aston Martin has finally presented the first fully completed one-77. New British super car presentation was held at the exclusive car show Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Italy. The concept car exterior design was already seen in pictures, but now it was possible to see the car interior.

There will be made only 77 Aston Martin One-77, and each car will cost at least 1,8 million dollars. Very soon they will make the first custom-made copy. All the small series production will be completed by the end of the next year. Moreover, as Aston Martin representatives have pointed out, each car will be made in close conjunction with its next owner, and the manufacturer will use its best efforts to be sure that none of 77 unique cars is coming into the so-called profiteers hands.

Like F1 racing car, the One-77 design is based on the ultra-light and highly resistant carbon fiber moncok (continuous body structure). At moncok there has been attached the four wheel double lever suspension and it is almost the same as it is on F1 racing car, where the vertical suspension is converted into horizontal. It is also the first time when a street car has received DSSV technology, which allows to adjust damping characteristics very precise whit out removing the suspension elements off the car.

The One-77 engine is also unique. Although it on Aston Martin popular 6.0-liter V12 engine's base, its capacity has increased to 7.3 liters, meanwhile the engine weight has been reduced by 25%. In the result the engine has more than 700 horse power. The car also has specially developed six-speed automatic gearbox.

Aston Martin One-77's maximum speed exceeds 200 miles per hour, while acceleration from 0-60 miles per hour will take around 3.5 seconds. For stopping the car it has carbon-ceramic composite brakes to minimize the brake fluid heat system.

Article by Raivis Check out more news and pictures at my blog. http://theautomotivenews.blogspot.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Raivis_Penezis

The Gemballa Tornado 750 GTS

To most of us a SUV and a fast sports car might seem as two completely different things, but the Porsche developing Cayenne Turbo has proved the contrary. But to go even further tuning atelier Gemballa tries to make the super car out of the German manufacturer SUV. Latest Gemballa preparation is limited, only 50 vehicles will be delivered to costumers from the upcoming series of Tornado 750 GTS.

Gemballa intention to make a SUV a real competitive super car once again is quite serious this time. It is so because at first their engineers are reducing the weight of the car. Tornado GTS 750 is about 250 kg lighter than the stock Cayenne Turbo. In addition, diet does not necessarily imply an ascetic sports interior - Tornado 750 GTS interior is a combination of sportingly elegant Alcantara leather and carbon fiber.

Another and very important factor in ensuring a decent super car dynamics is the engine. Gemballa professionals have increased its power to 750 hp, but the engine torque now reaches 1050Nm. After this Gemballa Tornado GTS 750 is able to accelerate to 60 miles per hour in 4.3 seconds, but its maximum speed is about 180 miles per hour.

Adjustable suspension, which is designed exclusively for this edition of Cayenne, allows it to adjust the clearance in range of 2.5 inches. Exterior has been changed by 22 inch wheels covered by 335/25 size tires. But for stopping the Tornado it carries huge brake discs (diameter: 420mm front and 380mm rear) with six-piston brake clamps.

And at the end there is another one thing. It is the factor that Gemballa Tornado GTS 750 brings the super car status - car price is around 500 thousand dollars.

Article by Raivis Check out more news and pictures at my blog. http://theautomotivenews.blogspot.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Raivis_Penezis

The Holden Torana GTR-X

When you see a picture of this car it is hard to say that it has been developed 40 years ago. Clean and straight lines are still the reason to consider Holden Torana GTR-X as a very beautiful car. And for us it is hard to imagine that a car like this have been developed in Australia.

In the middle of 1969. the Australian branch of General Motors engineering department was given a task of developing small series sports car that would be cheap enough in the production. Moreover, as the basis for this car is needed to be used existing components of the available models.

And so in 1969. The Holden Torana GTR-X was born. For the base of creation of this car was used the serial car GTR-Xu, which was derived from the Vauxhall Vivas model, which was very popular in Europe in sixties. The two seated Torana GTX-R was planned to be equipped with 3.0 liter six cylinder raw engine, which developed 160 horse power and 285 Nm high torque. Wheel power was transmitted to the rear wheels with a four-speed manual transmission.

In the tests Torana GTX-R was able to reach 210 km per hour. The 160 horsepower engine in those times was a very good achievement. But the most important character was the Torana GTX-R weight. It was 1043 kg (2300 pounds) only, which made it possible for this car to ensure comparable dynamic performance.

Car body was mostly made of fiberglass, and its design provided the unusual purity of lines for those times. Similarly the style was retained in interior where all required gages were placed in a simple design aluminum panel. In addition, the vehicle occurred some quite revolutionary solutions for sixties - ergonomic seating with high back and very good lateral aid, as well as a height adjustable steering wheel.

Torana GTX-R was already very close to get on the production line and there were built several models for pre-production tests and even had a video advertisement. But after all the company decided not to produce it. They were not convinced of the project's financial success.

Article by Raivis Check out more news and pictures at my blog. http://theautomotivenews.blogspot.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Raivis_Penezis