I recently attended the North American launch of the VW Tiguan in Boulder, Colorado. The small, bipolar town splits its identity between Rocky Mountain beer commercial and Neo-Hippie college town. The picturesque, almost European landscape and twisting mountain roads are an ideal setting to launch a small SUV. I went on the European launch in Budapest several months ago and, as much I love Hungary, I think the U.S. launch was more fun. The main reason was the extra time I spent with the people from Volkswagen and the insight into their new outlook and North American strategy.

To achieve maximum power output from a free-flowing performance exhaust, it must be engineered as a complete system from manifold to mufflers. As preliminary measurements on the Audi RS4 and BMW E92 M3 in part one showed, each component has its own backpressure and temperature characteristics. These values must be taken into consideration during prototype development, as the new system will change these characteristics. Temperature data, although not as critical, is also utilized to account for material expansion and to minimize pressure changes.

To achieve maximum power output from a free-flowing performance exhaust, it must be engineered as a complete system from manifold to mufflers. As preliminary measurements on the Audi RS4 and BMW E92 M3 in part one showed, each component has its own backpressure and temperature characteristics. These values must be taken into consideration during prototype development, as the new system will change these characteristics. Temperature data, although not as critical, is also utilized to account for material expansion and to minimize pressure changes.

While the stock brakes on our long term MINI Cooper S were more than adequate for daily driving, we felt we could use a little extra stopping power for the canyon driving and occasional track use the car sees. We didn't want to go all the way with a big brake kit, as we wanted to stay with 17-inch wheels. We also wanted to see what we could do at minimal cost and effort.

Remember when you were a kid and had to get a haircut? They tried to get you in and out as fast as possible and the last thing they wanted was to dunk an already screaming kid's head into water, so proper hair washing was out. Dry hair is difficult to cut, so out came the spray bottle full of water. This uses a mechanical pump to force the water through a nozzle that atomizes the stream. It controls the amount of liquid applied, so things can be slightly wet instead of soaking. Those spray bottles are dampeners; the things in your car are dampers.

Supersprint has been designing and manufacturing high-quality performance exhaust systems in Mantova, Italy, since 1955. Its current line of aftermarket applications takes in over 30 manufacturers from Europe, Asia and North America. With this experience, the company has gained a great deal of expertise in full exhaust performance evaluations, ensuring additional power, quality sound and TV-approved status for all its street products. Small wonder why Supersprint is also the choice of many high-end European tuners for R&D consulting and the manufacturer of exclusive private label exhaust systems.

*Not all dynamometers are created equal. Sometimes it's easy to manipulate and alter numbers to suit someone's needs (or ego). For example, this 2006 Audi A3 (with about 4,000 miles on the odometer) was taken to a few different dynos and, in stock form, produced 164 hp on dyno A and 197 on dyno B, both in third gear. During another test, in fourth gear, it netted a little over 200 hp. Ultimately, the best thing when testing is to use the same dyno for all tests, the same gear, at the same temperature and with the same fuel quality. It's also important to make sure that the dyno's settings are always the same, since it's easy to make a few simple setting changes and show large gains without even altering the vehicle.

Steering Clear Of Torque
I have this friend; we'll call him Chad, since that's his name. I get e-mails from him on a weekly basis, sometimes daily, asking about some concept he just read about or idea he's come up with. He works in the financial industry, but has a mechanical mind. I look forward to his mails because when he asks how something works, he's looking for something like: "Well, a limited-slip differential has worm gears, so they'll move freely with light loads applied. But apply too much load, the gears bind and they no longer spin so easily, kinda like an adjustable pipe wrench..." He always gets it after analyzing a real example he has dealt with.

We've reached the conclusion of this enjoyably smooth garage project. Here's a brief update: I started with a car lift from American Automotive Products (ec, March '07) and followed it with a sick epoxy-urethane floor from Protective Flooring and Imagine That 360 (ec, May '07). Then it was furnished with all-aluminum cabinets from Moduline Garage (ec, Dec '07), giving the place real character. This time, I tackle the other section of the floor and add some extremely bright yet low-consumption lighting.

A few years ago, we tested all the basic bolt-ons in this E39 BMW M5, which included Evosport pulleys, a full engine-back Supersprint exhaust system and Powerchip/Evosport software. Because there wasn't a good intake system available at the time, we swapped a pair of performance drop-in filters. The car turned into a rocket and registered over 377 wheel-hp on a Dynojet 248C dyno.

Have you ever thought about everything? When I say everything, I mean all of it-dirt, trees, animals, people, planets, stars, galaxies-the entire thing all at once. I try sometimes, until I blow a cerebral gasket or fall asleep. I'm not sure why I do this. Maybe I'm trying to see what I've been missing all these years of not using drugs. It's a sort of meditation for me.

*The R56 MINI Cooper S is pretty quick from the factory, its 1.6-liter turbo four is rated at 172 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque, but it feels a little higher than that. We wanted to see what we could wring out with some basic bolt-on performance parts, so we called Alta MINI Performance to improve breathing first, then GIAC to turn up the boost a little.

Though well versed in supercharger applications, VFE has recently directed its considerable expertise toward the turbocharger arena. Designed as a true bolt-on system, the VFE RS/S program allows users to wring maximum performance from the 2.0T engine without replacing internal engine parts. Ultimately, the RS/S kit delivers factory-like performance, something akin to the high-horsepower skunkworks cars cruising through Wolfsburg.

Byte Me
Working for european car has allowed me to fulfill several boyhood dreams. I've piloted a Goodyear blimp, driven exotic cars through the Alps and, most recently, played Gran Turismo 5 Prologue with Kazunori Yamauchi, the father of Gran Turismo. That last one may not seem like that big a deal, but imagine a Catholic hanging out with the Pope.

When VW announced the specs of the MkV R32, cries for more power could be heard within minutes. The 3.2 liter six-cylinder is certainly no dog, but who doesn't want more power? Enthusiasts have become spoiled with huge power gains on forced induction engines, forgetting that tuning naturally aspirated engines is a far greater challenge. We test three new products on VW's newest creation. Keep in mind that the dyno is only half the story and can't represent driveability and other qualitative factors.

At one time, trial and error were 'good enough' for the average tuner. A design was dreamed up from some combination of inspiration, imagination and possibly some level of intoxication. The Gurney flap was conceived and fabricated in minutes. As the story goes, Dan Gurney had a conversation with an aerodynamicist one day and, without really doing any mathematical analysis, the new aerodynamic device now seen in just about all forms of racing was born. Just an idea put into practice

Almost 60 years ago, a French-made Ford Vedetta rolled off the assembly line as the first car equipped with a groundbreaking new suspension, invented by Earle S MacPherson. Since then, variations and evolutions of the MacPherson strut have been used on everything from Golfs to 911s, becoming the most common suspension for all types of cars. Originally designed as a way to emulate the performance of an unequal-length A-arm suspension in a smaller package, the current design is still similar to the original.

Previously on Extreme Garage Makeovers, I installed a 9000-pound capacity car lift from American Automotive Equipment, followed by a trick epoxy and urethane floor (on the shop side) from Protective Industrial Flooring and Imagine That 360 (ec, March and May 2007). The excitement levels remain pumped as I receive a huge order of Pro II aluminum cabinets from Moduline Garage.

The debut of the 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged, six-cylinder engine in the 2007 335i heralds a new generation of BMW turbos. It is now feasible to build a motor with the horsepower and torque of a V8, while still achieving the fuel economy of a standard six. It also means it's time to play. We tracked down a 335i sedan to put a few upgrades to the test.

All Things Being EqualA few months ago, a friend asked me to explain how equal length headers work and why they make more power. I explained scavenging effect and resonance tuning and how you have to decide on a specific powerband to tune for. I went through my half-hour lecture with elaborate gesturing and virtual diagrams in the air that made me resemble something between Bill Nye The Science Guy and an angry gorilla. The end of my momentous speech ended with my friend saying: "So, they just work."

Our long-term Jetta was the victim of a senseless act of '70s car-show copycat crime. We had a rather ferocious-looking dent in the top of the driver's side fender and a large butt-sized crater in the hood. No one on staff would 'fess up. And even though I've seen every episode of CSI (with a great whodunnit record), I was unable to deduce the perp.

This month, we focus on Volkswagen's 2.5-liter engine.We took a 2007 Rabbit 2.5 five-speed manual and started with the most popular and basic upgrades available. We added a chip, intake and exhaust, and looked to see how much horsepower and torque we could gain in the real world.

2007 Volkswagen GTI 2.0T
Baseline
Peak WHP: 181 hp @ 5400 rpm
Peak WTQ: 193 lb-ft @ 2700 rpm

RPM X 1000DYNORUN .004Max Power=214.3Max Torque=192.2

Pros
- 3.8-liter flat-six delivers fat torque curve at the low end, while being free revving at the high endSmooth as glass, well balanced and refined feel for comfortable cruising, yet urgent enough when driven in anger
- It's a 911, with proper headlights-what else needs to be said?