Posts Tagged ‘Honda’

Hybrids aren’t exactly known for being the sportiest vehicles on the road, but that doesn’t mean their owners don’t want to look as good as possible behind the wheel. As such, perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising that Japanese tuning companies are jumping on the gas-electric bandwagon almost as quickly as the automakers themselves.

Chief among those hybrid tuners is Tommy Kaira, which has released a slew of new bodykit bits, suspension upgrades and wheel options for both the 2010 Toyota Prius (which we saw teasers of previously) and Honda Insight. We’ll leave it up to you to decide if the add-ons add up to an improvement in the wedge-shaped hybrid hatchbacks. In any case, click here to see the whole kit and caboodle for the Prius and here for the Insight.

[Source: Tommy Kaira]

While the idea of a performance-tuned hybrid may have seemed nonsensical only a couple of years ago, as the earth-friendly vehicles become more mainstream, the sub-segment will undoubtedly grow to attract a fair share of our attention. Case in point: reports from overseas indicate that Mugen is seriously toying with the idea of creating a high-performance version of the upcoming Honda CR-Z.

The Honda tuner par excellence shares a close, even familial relationship with the factory, and it reportedly sees the electric motor in the hybrid drive as a sort of replacement for a turbocharger, offering a bit of low-end boost to small gasoline engines that are down on torque. The result could redefine the Japanese hot hatch as we know it.

[Source: Autocar]

It’s a Saturday night in the industrial park of a suburban city. Driver’s line the street’s sitting behind the wheel of small import cars, muscle cars and what ever gets their jollies going. Two cars pull into the street and line up as if at the drag strip. they rev their engines while staring each other down. Their feet positioned over the gas pedal, and their other on the clutch. They anxiously await the arm drop. When given, the car’s is dropped into gear, the throttle to the bricks and the two cars are quickly off, screeching their tires and sending up clouds of dust and quite possibly smoke. Does this sound like your Friday night?
Sounds like a plot from a fast and furious movie. It is – and it isn’t.
Cars and movies have teamed up for many memorable films over the years. Most recent, Fast and The Furious brought the high-powered cars of today’s street racing scene to the big screen. But, what many of today’s street racers will tell you is that it’s not all about taking risks there is more dangers to it.
As much as street racing seems to be dead, its still very much alive especially in New York City , Indianapolis and Florida.
Most illegal street racer’s have a code of ethic and rules they try to abide by: “Don’t race on heavily populated streets, be it day or night, especially if it’s a school zone; If you want to act cool in front of your friends, you shouldn’t be racing; If it’s not your car, you shouldn’t be racing it; Know your area…if you don’t know the road or the area, you are asking to play with fire; and, use common sense. Think before you go, and if you don’t think it’s safe, it’s probably not.”
These subjects can still be seen in many chat rooms and forums all over the Internet that are visited by both street and legal track racers. A lot of argumentation occurs but it don’t stop people from feeling the adrenaline rush of illegal street racing.
Remember that a car can kill you in any situation and that a real man lifts off the throttle in a dangerous situation. The racers are very set on racing alone. Most street racers refuse to have someone in their car. Most racers will say: “I know what I am doing is stupid, and I should be the only one to pay if something happens.”
They all agree on the rush they get from pushing their cars, and their luck, to the limit.
A lot of street racers will say they race because it’s a rush. A lot of them don’t do drugs or anything else, so racing is their high for that moment. It’s also a rush running from the cops.
A typical street racer is male or female aged 17-24 and most likely driving an import. Honda’s, Acura’s, DSM’s and all-wheel drive cars are definitely the car platforms of choice today. The money being spent to modify their cars is enough to pay a year or two of rent for a small family home. They’re definitely spending a lot of money on modifications for their cars. A lot of cars nowadays aren’t just going for the speed side of things but also the cosmetic side of things. The sky is the limit as to how much we spend on their cars, they will rack up school loan money, credit cards and selling their shirt literally off their backs to fund their racing addiction.
Race nights can sometimes attract crowds of up to 400 or 500 people in the bigger cities. The meets begin with an inspection, by drivers and onlookers, under the hoods of the cars. Popular meeting sites in Indianapolis include Gold’s Gym or Misc. south side performance shop parking lots. Many street racers like to use industrial parks and country roads. Most street racers but not all will say that racing on main streets is just asking for trouble. A lot of people view street racing as these juvenile kids who like to race in the middle of the city and endanger others. Like anything in the word, you have your idiots who will race anywhere. The rest of us go far out in the sticks to avoid hurting anyone and causing anyone harm.
There’s not one teenaged male who drives that hasn’t raced on the streets at one point or another. Police should sanction street racing on closed roads as a means to getting the racers off the streets may be a stretch, but police do recognize that a problem exists.
I am not against street racing and I am not for it . I have done my share but basically a lot of people should and are leaning towards taking it to the track. If a track in your area doesn’t have a open run/test-n-tune night then you should suggest one or find one somewhat near by that does. It could save your life, others lives, your car from being impounded or losing your license and more.

Hey guys,

As some of you may have noticed our site is going through a lot of changes to hopefully not only improve our look but the function of site. We will be releasing yet another more advanced and easier to use theme very soon. So keep your eyes peeled here (tunermaneuvermag.com). We would like to become your #1 source for the Midwest Automotive News. We will be covering a lot of new things including performance trucks, plenty of turbo action, new Honda features including Civics, Accords, Acura Integra’s, import and domestic cars, and much more. We also plan to do a lot more car show coverage not just the JDM inspired shows either. We hope to improve as your online car magazine and feed all your car needs. So keep your eyes glued here and even bookmark us if you’d like.

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Tuner Maneuver Magazine