Rams Eye The Track Guy

Lexus LFA had an engine co-developed and built by Yamaha. It arrived preassembled to Lexus to bolt in the LFA. Toyota 86 has an engine from Subaru, with the only exception (I believe) is the direct injection system. It turns out that the Supra will, again, follow in the current Toyota tradition of not developing sports car engines, because it will source them all from BMW. I have read previously that the Supra will use the straight six, turbo engines from BMW (the current version is the B58). It now turns out that the Supra will also offer 4 cylinder entry level engine options from, you guessed it, BMW. The 4 cylinder, turbo B48 engine makes 255 hp and 295 lb-ft torque in the 3-series, although it will make slightly more in the Supra, according to an internal document from transmission manufacturer ZF.  The document shows that the very popular ZF 8HP eight speed auto will be paired with the BMW B48 4 cyl turbo in the Supra, where it will make 262 hp, slightly more than t

As a very competitive person and self-proclaimed track rat, I care about performance numbers and lap times.. probably a little too much. Now, I always take manufacturer Nürburgring lap times with a grain of salt, but that has never stopped me from absolutely loving seeing different manufacturers go at it or being fascinated by new (seemingly impossible) "production" lap records. The most recent record breaking run comes from Lamborghini, with its highest performing Aventador yet; the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ. The lap time? 6:44.97, over 2 seconds (2.28) quicker than the last record holder, the 911 GT2 RS with a lap time of 6:47.25, which held the record for almost a year. The Aventador LP 770 (770 metric hp) Superveloce Jota (SVJ), makes 759 hp vs 730 hp in the standard Aventador - the LP 740 (740 metric hp), or 739 hp in the previous top-dog Aventador, the LP 750 SV. Other improvements include lighter weight bringing curb weight down to approx. 3,362 lb. according to L

F1 cars. BMW M3/M4. BMW M5. McLaren. Audi RS5. Those are just a few examples of cars whose noises lay victims in the path of turbocharging. But, they say the future is turbocharging. Or the present, really, if you look at how many cars already are turbo, some even base and optional engines. There are a lot of technical pros and cons to turbocharging, which I won't get into here. but one of the biggest subjective downsides is the noise. Some dismiss it, if the specs and the numbers are good. Some prefer all the whine, whooshing, and hissing. Some, however, mourn the death of N/A noise. Everyone who is even slightly familiar with what I like in cars knows I'm in the last group, and it turns out to be a special group because Ferrari engineers and/or their customers are in the group as well, because Ferrari is patenting a technology that makes turbo engines sound better. The system is a hybrid (no pun intended) between an electric supercharger and a traditional turbo. An el

Photos by: Graham MacNeil & Kevin Doubleday Imagine a world where only two cars exist and have ever existed; the BMW M4 and the Toyota Corolla . Assuming cost isn't a factor, just about every car buyer who has even a remote interest in high performance driving would take the M4. There would be no complaints about how it well goes, stops, or turns, how it handles, or even how it sounds. All those aspects are better in the M4; miles better, in fact. Next to a Corolla, an M4 is a super car, and a darn good one. But replace the Corolla with another car in this imaginary world, say a Lamborghini Huracan for an instance, and all of a sudden, an M4 becomes pedestrian. Perspective could make or break a car, even a good one. And that, perhaps, is the biggest contributing factor in the impression that the M4 left on me. I haven't driven any Huracans, unfortunately. But on the same day I drove this BMW M4, I drove an E46 Dinan S1 M3 and a Cayman GT4 . Comparisons to the GT4

A couple of weeks ago, I posted my first impressions of Michelin's PSS vs Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires. I've run PSS's for several years on the Boss, but I'm trying the Indy 500's for the first time. In short, I was worried about the narrower tires (I was running 285/35/18 PSS but could only find the Indy 500 in 275/35/18) and tread squirm, but I was happy with them up to that point just driving on the street. I had the chance to drive on them for three track days now. So what were they like? After my first session, they made an impression that basically persisted for the rest of track sessions on them. Phenomenal, unmatched value. Now, if value is something that stands out above all else, it typically means the compromise between qualities you want and those you don't is less than ideal, but the value is attractive. This is no different. I'll start with the bad, which really boil down to two: ultimate grip and grip longevity. Grip is noticeably l

I've been a huge fan of Michelin PSS tires and exclusively bought them for the Mustang over the last four years. So how did I end up here? This year, I was hugely interested in trying an "R-comp" tire. I had my eyes set on Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R's for two simple reasons: price and reputation. Although not a true "R-comp" tire on paper, it performs like one by the account of every single test and review I've read (down to wear rates...). They seem like they're easily the most affordable (from a big brand) R-comp tire and combine that with a reputation for having tons of grip, it was an easy top contender. I had my concerns, though. For one, I'm told and have read that they are an autox tire, not really designed for high speed, pressure, and temps associated with open track. For another, the Mustang is a heavy car (as far as track cars are concerned) being roughly 3,800 lb. (including driver), which will amplify the unwanted open track load

I had a rental car the other day for a little trip. The car was a 2018 Toyota Corolla LE. My experience with this car is one that I had to share. You see, people say this car is an appliance, it is soulless, it just gets the job done, etc. I never thought I'd say this, but I hugely disagree. It is not fair to the Corolla and does not give the car enough credit. This car is not an appliance, it is far from it. It is absolutely full of soul.. UN fortunately, that soul is a demented, evil, mean, avenging spirit. Appliances are happy to hum along doing their jobs. The soul in this car hates cars, driving, and everything that has to do with either. I think it must have been killed by a car thousands of years ago and has been plotting its revenge on the automobile since then. I know, there were no cars thousands of years ago. But maybe someone from the future traveled back in time and ran them over. Their soul must have lingered on. It sounds a little far fetched.. But I'll ask y

Get your pitchforks sharpened and your torches lit up. There is a new Camaro vs Mustang comparison test and one of them walks the other. This time, it is the most recent comparison test between a 2018 Camaro SS 1LE and a 2018 Mustang GT posted by Motor Trend a few weeks ago. The results are the stuff of classic and long lasting brand rivalry so let's dive straight in. There is so much I want to talk about that it was difficult to pick where to start. Power seems to be the simplest and it's the one most are interested in so I'll start with that.       2018 Camaro SS 1LE       2018 Mustang GT Perf. Pack 0-30 mph 1.8 s 1.9 s 0-40 mph 2.5 s 2.6 s 0-50 mph 3.2 s 3.5 s 0-60 mph 4.1 s 4.4 s 0-70 mph 5.1 s 5.4 s 0-80 mph 6.5 s 6.7 s 0-90 mph 7.9 s 8.1 s 0-100 mph 9.4 s 9.7 s Passing, 45-65 mph