Go For A Spin
Designed to appeal to gearheads and general motoring enthusiasts, the Mikado ring by Porsche Design features a unique bearing-like outer ring with moveable polished stainless steel rods. The inner ring is shaped with contoured edges for maximum comfort. $370
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Product Spotlight
Macht Schnell Anodized Battery Tray There's no arguing that street cars just keep getting heavier. So if you like to hit the track with your also-street-driven vehicle and enjoy seeing ever-increasing returns on your lap times, one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to do so is by reducing weight. Short of tearing out your back seat, there are a couple key areas you can look at to quickly shed mass and improve ETs.inline_mediumwraptextright31020048/tech/epcp_0911_macht_schnell_anodized_battery_tray_boston_acoustics_more_gearepcp_0911_01_z+battery_tray+battery.jpgTrue

The Vossen VVS-083 wheel features monoblock construction with a machined finish and a deep stainless steel or black lip. This one-piece wheel offers a multi-piece look without the multi-piece expense. All Vossen wheels offer tire pressure sensor capability and will clear most aftermarket brake upgrades. Each is backed by a two-year manufacturer's warranty.Applications: Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Range Rover, Porsche

Basic Bolt-Ons
Vehicle Data
Engine: S85 5.0-liter V10, dohc, 40-valve
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Mileage: 6,000
Current modifications: Forgestar wheels

Product Spotlight
Gopro Motorsports Hero Wide
A few months back, I came across the GoPro Motorsports Hero Wide digital photo and video camera on the pages of this very magazine. It was one of the many cool items featured in a special "Gotta Have Gadgets" section from last year's SEMA show. After pondering a rather intriguing description, I popped on to the company website to learn a bit more about it.

All tires are black. Except this one from Yokohama is also green. And orange. Where a typical contemporary race tire would be 100 percent synthetic (including synthetic rubber), Yokohama's new environmentally friendly slick, dubbed the Advan ENV-R1, uses 15 percent natural materials. So that includes natural rubber and orange oil.

Squeeze maximum track-ready handling out of your 335i with a Hotchkis Sport Sway Bar Package. Engineered to eliminate understeer and reduce body roll, they can help dramatically increase traction during cornering, provide a more responsive steering feel and maximize tire contact patch adhesion when accelerating out of turns. The package features a 95 percent stiffer 32mm front bar and a 105 percent stiffer 16mm rear sway bar as well as front and rear adjustable end links. The links are easily adjustable which is critical when corner-weighting your BMW. Front links use quiet operating heavy duty ball joints; the rears feature quiet operating heavy duty ball joints and high articulation rod ends. $495.95
Hotchkis Sport Suspension
888.735.6425
www.hotchkis.net

Had your eye on the V8 M3, but with the economy in its state of duress, you're not sure what the future may bring? Here's a low cost alternative worth looking into. With depreciation and the state of our auto sales, it is now possible to locate and purchase a previously-owned E46 M3 in excellent condition for under $20K. If you take that lower cost E46 M3 and add VF Engineering's Streetsport bolt-on supercharger kit you can boost the 3.2-liter engine horsepower output to the same levels as the new E92 M3 V8. This will allow you to get the performance you desire at half the price.

Imagine that your brand-new Porsche Cayman S, with only a handful of delivery miles on the clock, now sits in bits and pieces all over the shop floor. Its factory-fresh 3.4-liter, 295-hp engine has been carefully removed and placed in a crate for shipment to a new owner, an anonymous Porsche racer on the other side of the continent.

Parasitic power loss from driving engine accessories like the water pump, power steering, alternator and air conditioning on your E90/E92 M3 can be remedied with a lightweight crankshaft pulley from Evosport. The Evosport Power Pulley System uses a custom-engineered pulley machined from T-6061 billet aluminum designed not to alter factory harmonics or dampening. The upgrade includes the necessary replacement belts and hardware. It is easily reversible should the need arise and includes a three-year warranty covering the part's craftsmanship. $395

Vehicle Data
2007 BMW 335i Coupe
Mileage: 36,873
Engine: 3.0-liter I6, turbocharged and intercooled
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Testing octane: 91

Factory boosted engines like those from Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche and VW constantly retard ignition timing under full throttle to battle hot intake air temperatures and poor fuel quality alike, all in efforts to reduce detonation. Whatever the cause of detonation, these issues have made water and methanol injection systems highly desirable in high performance boosted applications. First, methanol has an effective octane rating of 107--enough said. Second, the fine mist of water mixed into the system uses heat to evaporate, bringing down the intake charge temperature--thus, combustion temps--further reducing engine detonation. This allows the ECU to keep ignition timing optimal for peak performance.

Product Spotlight
YokohamaADVAN Neova AD08
Every once in a while we'll get a tuner car sent to us for testing that the builder thought needed a bit of an edge. They want to impress us with the car's handling, its ability to put down power, its face altering brakes. For some reason they think we won't notice the car is on race tires. We always look at tires. If we didn't, we'd likely wad the car up driving in the wet.

In the past when Volkswagen would release a revision of an existing engine (like the changes it made to the 1.8T family), those changes would be few and so minor that they would not affect the compatibility of aftermarket upgrades; most would carry over with maybe a few minor tweaks. With the release of 2008's 2.0 TFSI, VW broke its decade-long tradition and completely re-engineered and redesigned the 2005 2.0T FSI in its entirety. Note the distinction between the two engines involves either a space between TFSI letters or no space. The 2.0T version 2.0 sent the aftermarket scrambling, because now the only engine upgrades that would still fit are cat-back exhausts. It took a few years for tuners to get a handle on the 2.0T FSI after dealing with the 1.8T, so hopefully with the new 2.0 TFSI, the learning curve will be smaller. As always, the first mods for a new engine include the usual suspects--chip, intake, and exhaust--so this where we will begin.

When it comes to power tuning, everyone has an opinion on how to squeeze more from an engine. Opinions vary, but we can all agree on one thing: Excessive heat can cripple performance. Concerning turbocharged engines, we're often asked what's the best way to combat excessive heat--upgrading the intercooler or installing a methanol injection system. We decided to test both to see which was more effective.

Armorpoxy
Armorclad epoxy floor finishMy garage floor is relatively new at about 7 years old, but cracks have begun to form, winter salt drippings have begun to pit in places, and there's evidence of many past car projects marring the concrete surface. I decided that it was time to look into a way to stop or reverse these processes. After looking at the full spectrum of floor protection systems, from extra-large mats and small tiles to various floor surface paints and epoxies, I concluded that a do-it-yourself, industrial-quality epoxy surface was the most practical solution, the main reasons being 1) durability and longevity, 2) high-quality appearance, 3) ease of maintenance, and 4) a relatively low price point.

I don't know many people like me. I can stare at the underside of a car for hours on end. For me, a car up on a lift is like Monday Night Football on a 60-inch HD flatscreen for most other guys. I recently toured the Audi assembly line in Ingolstadt, Germany, and as you can imagine, I was transfixed. The only thing better than a well-designed steel unibody are the aluminum components Audi hangs off of them. I'm still trying to figure out how I can turn one of the cast aluminum suspension arms from the front of an S3 into jewelry.

Traffic all-go-rhythm
I do the drive back and forth from Orange County, Calif., to Las Vegas far too often. Both my wife and I have family there, the annual SEMA show is there, and for some reason, car and tire manufacturers seem to love taking journalists to the most distracting place on Earth. For me, the drive there usually starts around 6 a.m. It generally takes about three and a half hours with little to no traffic. This often includes a quick stop in Lenwood or Baker for refreshments and gawking at the world's tallest thermometer. I have intentionally left out any mention of distance so as to not incriminate myself for any speeds I may or may not average during the trip.

Vehicle Data
Audi A4 2.0T
Mileage: 16,750
Engine: 2.0-liter I4, dohc, 16-valve, turbocharged and intercooled, direct injection
Transmission: Five-speed automatic
Testing octane: 95

Each year SEMA's halls overflow with shiny chrome and the smell of rubber. But in one corner of the North Hall, it's all about electronic gadgets designed to enhance your driving experience. Navigation devices and Bluetooth kits ruled the convention, but there were other interesting items to be seen, like in-car Internet and vehicle recording devices. Behold, our picks for the hottest gadgets from SEMA 2008. -Brook Howell

Abstract
We test G-Tech's new EGS system on a number of cars and find out it is more than just another car toy. Testing methods, results and discussion follow.

Product Spotlight
Quick Connect Parrot Bluetooth Retrofit Kit
*Recent mandatory hands-free cell phone laws in several states have left drivers scrambling for ways to comply. While doing my own research I stumbled across a website (www.parrotsafedriving.com) dedicated to informing drivers about hands-free options and the states where legislation has already been passed. The site gives detailed state-by-state information about types of offenses, restrictions, and fines that can be assessed.

Taking The Stairs
I live in what's called a "ground-level apartment". For some reason my "ground-level apartment" has a flight of stairs leading up to the front door. This usually isn't a problem, especially since stairs are equivalent to 18 calories - twice a day, say 300 days a year that's, 10,800 extra calories burned a year. Not bad. It becomes more of a problem when groceries or laundry is involved. I drudge through the routine every week. Hamper with strap slung across my back, magnetic swipey card in one hand, giant value sized bottles of detergent and softener in the other. I would skip the softener all together, but the wife is convinced socks just aren't as lovingly embracing without it.

Notes
The problem with the DSG transmission is that no matter what the ECU rev limiter is set to, it will automatically shift at 6600 rpm, effectively limiting the amount of peak horsepower that can be achieved. If the vehicle was equipped with a six-speed manual we would have continued to see gains all the way to 7000 rpm, with a peak of 294 whp @ 6500 rpm on 91 octane.

Volkswagen's R32 is a great car. It's got a feeling of solidness that makes you want to rub the steering wheel and pat the shift knob, just sit there and appreciate the cabin's elegance.