AE86 with 4AG 20V - Japanese Classic Car Don't you hate it when the first thing someone asks you about your car is "How much power does it have?" I really wish that someday, someone would come up and ask me instead, "How much does your car weigh?" Without getting too in-depth about technical power-weight ratio and its applications to various motorsports, it simply means that the lighter the car, the better. Said another way, it basically doesn't matter if you have 1000HP if the car weighs 10,000lbs. It's all about power to weight ratio in this game! Of course, many other factors come into play, depending on the type of racing you're doing too, but to a certain extent- higher horsepower combined with a lightweight chassis is usually the way to go. The AE86 is a code name for a 1985~87 Toyota Corolla GTS, which came in a front engine, rear wheel drive configuration. Because of this layout, the car became immensely popular for racing, typically in road racing, rally, and drifting. These cars are on their way to becoming classics (if they're not already) and sure enough,...

Hot Rodders and a stop watch you ask?  Ya, I'll get to that in a minute.  But first, let me introduce you to one of my favorite automotive competitions:  Time Attack or Superlap Battle.   These pictures were taken by the MotorMavens.com crew at Eastern Creek Raceway in Australia, as part of the World Time Attack Challenge, the first of its kind, pitting the best the world has to offer in Time Attack. What exactly is Time Attack?  It's simply taking your car around a road course as fast as you can and recording the fastest single lap time, hence the name Superlap.  There are various classes that your car might fit in.  Currently most of the vehicles that compete today are of the Japanese or European make.  Here's where the hot rodders with the stopwatches comes in.  Time Attack has almost zero muscle cars.  Wat up wit dat?  Here's the R-Magic prepared Mazda RX-7, one of the fastest Unlimited Time Attack cars in Japan.  Time Attack began in Japan in the late 1980's.  It was a chance for top Speed Shops (they're referred to as Tuning Shops, not Speed Shops, but...

So, its no secret that I dig Japanese cars.  I certainly have a special place in my automotive heart for the Honda Civic.  I've owned 2 and am looking for #3.  Why?  It's a Civic?  They're boring, cheap, small, chick cars with no power and are front wheel drive (FF = front engine, front wheel drive).  Well, lemme "splain"...Being a father of 4 with a mortgage, a retirement plan, food storage, swim lessons, youth baseball, basketball and soccer, 2.5 kids still in diapers...shall I go on?...then you now see the Civic's big advantage.  Cheap, reliable transportation.  For a car guy, the Honda Civic also offers a lightweight chassis (1992-00 Civics weigh 2200-2500lbs), amazing mpg (I've average 39mpg), double wishbone suspension at all 4 corners, ease of transplanting other more powerful Honda/Acura engines and likely THE biggest aftermarket, making the Civic is a great choice. For this post, I bring you one such Civic, a budget Time Attack machine owned by Tag Evanson of Arizona.  These pictures are from 2008 at GT Live at the Miller Motorsports Park.  Tag Evanson is from Arizona and made the trip up to Utah for...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqjKxDFEK98&feature=related[/youtube] Ok, one of my dream cars would have to be the Mitsubishi Evolution.  The example in this video, The SunCyber Evo, is going after the 1 lap record at Tsukuba, home of Time Attack!  Why do I share this video with you?  A few reasons, but one is a look at how the Japanese car builders and tuners do it up right.  They are serious techies! This is a purpose built car, but it does not compete in a race series.  It competes in Time Attack competitions, also called Lap Battles.  Most of these aero, suspension and engine parts can be bought off the shelf.  The Tsukuba track is for Japanese car nuts the top track in the world, right next to the Nurburgring in Germany.  Time Attack has started to catch on in the US and Europe in the last 2-3 years.  But, the Japanese are tops when taking a street car and making it go fast for 1 lap. Enjoy this video.  A second video can be seen, a part #2, where the car hits the track!  You can get a glimpse into the Japanese tuning world. ...