Blog
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National Speed Official Apexi and Power Excel Dealer
Wilmington, NC February 23, 2009 — National Speed, a premiere automotive shop featuring high performance parts, is now an official Apexi and Power Excel Dealer.
Apexi was founded in Japan in 1992, and has grown from a small tuning parts manufacturer to a multi-industry international powerhouse.
National Speed is proud to be the only Apexi and Power Excel dealers in the Carolina’s, as well as most of the east coast. Not only is this an exclusive badge of honor, but it also enables National Speed to deliver the ultimate performance parts experience to their customers.
“We now have factory support directly from Japan,” says Jack Harris, National Speed’s Manager. “We can procure special JDM only Power FC’s and parts for our customers, and have the ability to tune customer cars with the official Apexi Dealer software instead of using the customer version.”
With over 95,000 products available at discount pricing, as well as being an official Apexi and Power Excel dealer, National Speed has every automotive demographic covered.
For more information about National Speed, check out their expansive array of performance parts and their premiere performance shop.
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Top 5 Car Chases You've Never Seen
Everyone on the planet has seen Steve McQueen careen down the streets of San Francisco in Bullitt or marveled at the vehicular insanity on display in the Jason Bourne movies. It’s amazing stuff to be sure, but it’s also pretty boring at this point. If you’ve seen one car chase you’ve seen them all…or have you?
To Live and Die in L.A. This is an undiscovered gem from the mid 80’s. William Friedkin, the director of The French Connection and The Exorcist, brings you the most realistic, nail-biting car chase of all time. Filmed at actual speed with no visual effects (as opposed to the hyper-stylized, CG nonsense of the Fast and Furious franchise), the car chase in To Live and Die in L.A. grabs you by the balls and doesn’t let go until you’re blue in the face. Don’t let the cheesy 80’s vibe scare you, this is a crackerjack car chase, and a great movie to boot.
The Way of the Gun. You can consider this one the anti-chase. A nasty, criminally underscene crime caper from the screenwriter of The Usual Suspects, the chase in Christopher McQuarrie’s Way Of the Gun takes everything you’ve seen before and throws it out the window. Like speed. This is the slowest car chase you’ll ever see, and it’s absolutely brilliant. I defy you to watch this sequence and not slap your forehead in disgust at not having thought of this before. From a tactical standpoint it’s absolutely brilliant and shouldn’t be spoiled in a blog. You’ll just have to see it for yourself.
Death Proof. Leave it to the demented brain of Quentin Tarantino to create the craziest car chase you’ve never seen. Unfortunately for Tarantino fans, Death Proof bombed at the time of release and no one but the hardest of the hardcore paid any attention to it. Shame as it’s easily the most insane stunt work ever put to film. Don’t believe me? When was the last time you saw a girl strapped to the hood of a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T while driving 135mph? I rest my case…
The Seven Ups. You’ve never heard of this one. Nobody has. It’s only just recently been released to DVD and the world is a better place for it. Admittedly, it’s not a particularly great movie. It’s a standard cop flick from 1973 starring Roy Scheider. What the movie lacks in…everything…the car chase more than makes up for. It’s absolutely badass, memorable for the giant ass beating that Scheider’s 1973 Pontiac Ventura Sprint Coupe endures.
Die Hard With a Vengeance. The whole movie is practically a race against the clock, and the taxi cab chase through Central Park is a sight to behold. Featuring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, Die Hard With a Vengeance throws in everything but the kitchen sink. Granted, out of all the chases on this list, you’ve most likely seen this one…However, nobody ever holds it in high regard compared to other car chases, which is kind of shocking when you consider the amount of vehicular carnage involved.What’s your favorite car chase of all time? Leave us a comment below and let us know. We promise not to laugh at you…maybe.
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Baller F-Sport Products for the Lexus GS and IS Vert
F-Sport has finally expanded it’s already ridiculously awesome product line to include the Lexus GS, IS C and the IS AWD models. The F-Sport line (parts derived or inspired by the Lexus IS-F) has only encompassed the IS250 and IS350 line, but now you can have all of the previously exclusive and ballertastic parts on your GS as well.
F-Sport has always done a really good job of making performance based products such as a Carbon Big Brake Kit, Forged alloy wheels (in 18 and 19″ flavors), Sway Bars, Intake, and Exhaust. The line for the GS/IS/C carries over.
Speaking of the IS Convertible, have you seen it? Dear God, that’s one of the only convertibles I would ever drive. Few companies can pull off a convertible like Lexus can, and they haven’t failed this time, that’s for sure. Convertibles are usually reserved for females, effeminate guys, or the retired. I’ll take any stereotype that comes along with it in this thing. Lexus gets two thumbs up from me.
Of course, all F-Sport products carry a 12-month warranty, which is a huge incentive for getting F-Sport parts instead of some other aftermarket manufacturers parts. You really can have your cake and eat it too, Lexus owners.
Check out all the F-sport Products Here: Lexus USA F-Sport.
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Dyno Charts Now Available
We’ve updated the Dyno/Tuning section of the National Speed website to now include dynocharts from some of the cars we’ve tuned. This is just a small selection of the dyno charts that we have available. There’s plenty more to come.
We just wanted to give you a preview of the upcoming feast…kind of like how you when you go to Sam’s or CostCo and sample all of their food without actually buying anything. God bless the wholesale discount warehouses.
Hope you enjoy, and if you have any questions about our Dyno/tuning services leave us a comment below or contact National Speed at 910.332.5906.
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More Than Meets the Eye
In case you’ve been living under a rock, or missed the 30 second teaser that aired during the Superbowl, Transformers 2 is going to own you. Judging by the latest trailer, the sequel doesn’t look to disappoint — it’s bigger, louder, and will eat your babies if you don’t watch it.
Pay careful attention during the trailer for glimpses of the Corvette Stingray Concept, the return of the new Chevy Camaro, and the Chevy Volt — rumor has it that Chevy paid a pretty penny to have the Volt make an appearance.
While the first Transformers was definitely a blast, this one looks to have upped the ante in every way possible, and even if the incredibly stupid Volt is in the flick, maybe there’s more to it than meets the eye…
Sorry, couldn’t resist that one.
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V8 Powered Lotus Extrema
This is quite possibly the most entertaining deathtrap ever created. Can you imagine 638HP in a 2,138lb package? That’s around 3.3lbs per horsepower. To put that into comparison the Bugatti Veyron has a P/W ratio of 4.1lbs. UK Garage decided to give the Lotus Exige a “little” boost in power.
Based on the Lotus Exige chassis, UK Garage widened and stretched it to make more room for tires and a couple interesting powerplant choices. First off, the 190HP 2ZZ-GE in the original Exige was no powerhouse, but the Exige only weighed 2015lbs, so it didn’t need much to get moving along.Power to weight ratio for this vehicle was key, and handling is similar to a gocart on steroids.
UK Garage didn’t think that 190HP was enough so they have an option of a GM-sourced Turbo 2.8l pushing out 350HP and weighing in at just 1800lbs. 350 horsepower, only 1800lbs to move around and 5.1lbs per horsepower? Now we’re talking. That’s better power/weight than a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640. That not enough motor for you? How about 360HP, 450, 500, 520? 520 still not enough?
Alrighty, well how about the big dog. UK Garage offers the 638HP Supercharged LS9 from the ZR1. With 638 Horses and only 2138lbs to move around, this is definitely a package that would make Neil Armstrong go [Ho-Lee-Chit.] UK Garage claims the LS9 Powered model will scoot to 60 in under 3 seconds and 100mph in under 7 seconds. That’s on your way to a top speed of 200mph.
I’ll let you sink that information in for a moment…okay. Along with all the motor choices UK Garage offers a few options. They include: Manual or Sequential transmission, along with an Ohlins suspension, four-piston AP racing brakes and rollcage.
Prices start at €66,000 [Euros] or $86,000 for a base model ready to roll out the door. God knows what pricing jumps to after you load one up with an LS9 and other goodies. Either way, if you want the quickest, funnest trip to the grave, here’s your vehicle. This thing will catapault you into hyperspace in no time.
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The SHO is GO!
The new 2010 SHO is finally revealed. With 365 force-fed ponies, paddle shifters and the aid of All-wheel-drive, the new Ford Taurus SHO is sure to excite…Ford guys with families need to have their fun too, right?
Using the 3.5 Ecoboost motor, the SHO delivers V6 fuel economy with V8 performance. While the car is pretty heavy, 365 Horsepower is no joke. All of that power is routed through a 6 speed automatic with selectshift.
That means that the usual slushbox won’t be too much of a tragedy, as up and downshifting can be controlled via paddle shifters. The selectshift tranny automatically revmatches on downshifts and will hold whichever gear you select even if you’re bouncing off the rev limiter.
Moving on to the Interior, it’s been updated quite a bit. The seats are leather trimmed and two-tone with Suede inserts. The dash and door panels are made out of bits of brushed aluminum, and SHO badges adorn the floormats and dash panel. No longer a bland and unappealing interior, inside the Taurus SHO is a nice place to be.
Base price for the Taurus SHO will be $37,995 when it goes up for sale during this summer. Even with a big price tag, you have to consider what you’re getting with that. High performance luxury doesn’t come cheap nowadays, and the SHO is a performance bargain when compared to it’s competitors. Ford is making a good choice reintroducing the SHO to the market, so let’s see how this plays out.
