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Top 5 Flying Cars

If the movies are any indication of what’s to come, where in the hell are my flying cars?!?

For decades, Hollywood has teased audiences with hypnotic visions of an automotive future which has sadly yet to come true. It’s incredibly frustrating to walk into a movie theater and have your mind blown by fantastic images of flying cars only to come crashing back to reality on the ride home in your Ford Focus station wagon. Talk about a buzz kill.

Think about how awesome it would be to hop behind the wheel of one of these bad boys and fly to work. It would certainly make your morning commute a helluva lot more interesting, not to mention faster…unless you take the Magical School Bus, which would just be stupid.

1) Delorean from Back to the Future. “Where we’re going we don’t need roads.” Anybody that doesn’t think this is the coolest flying car since Chitty Chitty Bang Bang needs to drive 88mph and rethink their decision. Not only can the Delorean DMC-12 travel back in time (convenient for creating paradoxes and multiple sequels), but it also runs on garbage. Thanks Mr. Fusion!

2) Spinner from Blade Runner. While Blade Runner is heralded as the crowning achievement of sci-fi cinema, nobody ever mentions how badass the cars are. The Spinner police cruiser driven by Harrison Ford is pants-wettingly awesome. If you’ve got to bring the law to the lawless in a dystopian wasteland, you might as well do it in style. Get yourself a Spinner!

3) The Jetson’s Flying Pod-thingy. While I’m sure Flying Pod-thingy isn’t the technical term, the Jetson’s always had a pimp ride. Who wouldn’t want to fly around with smoking hot Jane riding shotgun and the ability to eject Elroy and Judy when the mood strikes? What I wouldn’t give for ejectable seats and a hot cartoon wife…

4) Taxi Cab from the Fifth Element. Leave it to the French to create a taxi cub that actually looks cool. This futuristic piece of cool comes courtesy of visionary French director Luc Besson from his crazy and overlooked Bruce Willis actioneer, The Fifth Element. Not only can it fly but the backseat once carried a half-naked Milla Jovovich (yummy!), which pretty much makes it the greatest car ever created.

5) The Mach 5 from Speed Racer. While the Mach 5 doesn’t technically fly, it’s able to flip around and drive up walls, which is close enough. Plus I have an unhealthy love of all things Speed Racer related and the only other flying car that I could think to include on the list is from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and that’s just not going to happen. So you get the Mach 5 instead. And honestly, in the long and storied history of Speed Racer, I’m sure at some point the Mach 5 has probably flown anyway. So there, take that haters!

November 17, 2008
Make Your Minivan Sexy: Mugen Body Kit For Honda Odyssey

A van with sex appeal? Yes, please.

You know, I’ve always thought the best bet was to go hang out in front of Walmart in my moms minivan to pick up chicks. I guess there isn’t much appeal to a fat guy with an Afro chilling in a rusty 1982 dodge caravan. It appears Honda tuner Mugen has noticed my pleas for help and produced something especially for guys like me.

Mugen has released the a shmexy body kit for the newly released 2009 Honda Odyssey. Some of you may think it sounds silly dressing up a minivan, but in my opinion it’s awesome.

Leaving the stock 203hp motor alone, Mugen focuses on the Odessey’s exterior. Modifications include a new grille, new front and rear fascia, sideskirts, baller 18″ wheels, slotted rotors, floor mats, sport exhaust and a new spoiler. Expect a price around $2,500. Not a bad price to pay for a badass grocery hauler.

November 14, 2008
What is Gymkhana?

Gymkhana

For those wondering, Gymkhana is basically a mixture of autocross and drifting, with other additional skillful maneuvers thrown in as well. Cones represent obstacles to navigate through. The “obstacles” involve many highly difficult driving maneuvers such as 360 spins, parking boxes, and figure eights…in other words my daily commute. For those of you talking trash about your epic driving skills in a parking lot, if you think you’ve got the guts, take it to a Gymkhana event and see how you stack up.

Ken Block took the Gymkhana idea a little further and created an insane course at El Toro air station in Orange County using everything around as an obstacle, including an aircraft hanger and a house. Vehicle of choice? 530AWHP Crawford tuned STi. Yep…that’ll do it. Four sets of tires well used in my opinion.

November 13, 2008
Acura NSX: The Everyday Supercar

The NSX.

First off, back to basics. We all know the Mid-engine NSX (“New Sportscar eXperimental”) was rare to begin with, and with a price of 85,000 greenbacks, it wasn’t exactly in everyone’s price range. The Acura NSX was set to be the everyday supercar.

The NSX had a cutting edge ultra-rigid and ultra-light aluminum monocoque chassis, aluminum suspension, titanium rods, forged pistons, and not only that but it had rock solid reliability as well. Although the price was a little steep, most consumers didn’t realize what the NSX was capable of.

With a suspension directly tuned by the legendary Ayrton Senna, and a high output Naturally aspirated V6, the NSX had a Ferrari rivaling performance for a much cheaper cost. While it already had scalpel-sharp handling and the instant power response you would find in an everyday supercar, Acura saw room for improvement.

The NSX-R

Along came a universal idea: take what’s already good and make it better. In 1992, Acura decided to roll out the NSX-R. While the NSX was intended to be a ultra high end sports car, engineers had to make some compromises to make it suitable for daily driving, taking away some performance edge.

The NSX-R cut out the slack. Starting out with a base NSX, the sound deadening, audio system and A/C were the first to go. The heavy leather seats were next, replaced by a carbon fiber Sparco racing seat. Next up were the stock rollers. Although not heavy to begin with, the stock wheels were replaced by aluminum Enkei wheels.

All of this weight reduction shaved 264lbs off of the NSX, bringing weight to a scant 2700lbs, however, this NSX wasn’t just stripped. Honda replaced the original springs and dampers with new ones with stiffer rates to reduce a common mid-engine problem of snap oversteer.

One of the last and most important things done was a final drive ratio change. With a higher final drive that meant the high revving V6 could stay in its powerband longer, at the expense of top speed. Production was limited to 482 examples, and was only produced for the Japanese market.

The Spoon NSX-R GT

The legendary Honda tuner Spoon decided to skip the already limited NSX, and take an even more limited NSX-R as its base. How do you make a car that has everyday supercar ability and TRULY make it special? Not too much is known about this car, as it is shrouded in secrecy, but one thing for sure is known. Forget that lowly 270hp, Spoon decided to take things to the next level and strap a large turbocharger to the motor to produce a rumored 420hp.

[Photo Credit to: Robert Kerian]

This NSX has been sighted at Twin Ring Motegi tearing up the track. The aggressive styling of the bodykit is sure to produce a huge amount of downforce. Spoon is rumored to be producing a copy of this car for consumers soon for a starting price of $150,000. Not a big price to pay for an everyday supercar, in my opinion.

November 12, 2008
The Next Big Thing: Honda J Series Motor Swap

A 3.2 liter Honda? Honda motor swaps have been done every which way, and now thanks to Hasport, there’s a new direction to go.

Hasport has just released their “j” series motor mounts for EGs and DCs (92-95 Civic/94-01 Integra/93-97 Del Sol). The J series motor is the same motor that powered most Acuras from 1998 and onwards. Hasport only recommends the J30A1, J32A1 and J32A2 as of right now. One thing to note, however, is the fact that you will need a 04-08 TL or 03-07 Accord 6-speed transmission. These powerplants are specifically as follows:

J30A1 from the 98-02 Accord V6 or 97-99 Acura CL3.0

The J30A1 displaces 3.0 liters and is a Single overhead cam with VTEC. The motor only weighs 250lbs and puts out 200hp and 195Ft/lbs. Due to a similar head design of the J32 motors used in the Acura CL and TL Type-S motors, these motors are a perfect candidate for a camshaft swap. Due to it being a lightweight V6, I’m sure if you threw this into a stripped EG hatch, it would fly.

J32A1 from the 99-03 Acura TL and 01-03 Acura CL

J32A2 from the 01-03 Acura CL Type S or 02-03 Acura TL Type S

The J32 displaces 3.2 Liters and is also a Single cam slammer with VTEC. Horsepower figures were bumped up to 225hp for the J32A1, and the J32A2 bumped up figures even more to 260hp and 232ft/lbs. This was achievable by having a more aggressive cam, freer flowing intake and exhaust, and an innovative intake manifold.

With the J-series motor mounts now being offered by Hasport, a whole new avenue of approach has been opened up for those looking to go in another direction than the everyday B16 and B18 swap. With the torque and horsepower being offered by these lightweight motors, I have a feeling you’ll see some nasty J series builds in the future. The popularity has not yet caught on strongly, so now’s the time to start looking for a motor.

November 11, 2008
World's Fastest Honda Civic for Sale on eBay

How many of you Honda guys WOULDN’T like to have the world’s fastest Honda Civic?

What if I also asked how much you would be willing to pay to HAVE that title.

That’s right folks, out of all the places in the world it could be, it’s for sale on eBay.

Officially the World’s Fastest Honda Civic, having run at over 225 miles per hour on the Bonneville salt flats, has now been offered up for sale. It’s your chance to own a piece of history. Whether you want the car for the ultra hardparking status, want to be super mad JDM Tyte, or actually want to use the vehicle for Bonneville Speed Week 2009, all of the status and glory can be yours for $22,000 USD (Currently).

The motor used to power the Civic is a 84mm Dart B18c Head and Block with a plethora of high quality parts. Highlights include a massive Turbonetics T72 turbo, 720cc RC Injectors, and a Hondata S300. In all honesty, the motor doesn’t appear to be too incredibly extreme when considering a title such as World’s Fastest Honda Civic.

I know you’re looking for the Power numbers, so I won’t disappoint. This motor produced an astounding 728HP and 503ft/lbs of torque at 29lbs. For reference, that is a ridiculous 369 Horsepower per liter and 182 Horsepower per cylinder. The salt flat records were run at 14lbs, which produces close to 517HP and 351ft/lbs to the WHEELS. I can only imagine the lag on a huge snail like a T72 must be ridiculous and when boost hits…better hold on to something.

Appearance-wise the exterior of the ’99 Si is fairly extreme. Built completely for the lowest drag coefficient possible, the front spoiler, belly pan, parachute mount, aluminum work, roll cage and rear wing have all been custom fabricated. The front-end is reminiscent of a snowplow rather than a sleek speed machine, but it apparently does the job.

Simply lowered on Eibach coilovers, it isn’t slammed to the ground like most would imagine it would be. Slowing this salt rocket down is a massive set of 13″ inch Baer Brakes in the rear, and STOCK brakes in the front. I imagine this is for weight transfer on slow down — wouldn’t want the rear end to come around on you at those speeds, would you?

All in all, for all the work and press, $20,000 dollars doesn’t sound that bad. It’s an easy way to own a piece of history that won’t be forgotten any time soon. Plus…who doesn’t want to say they own the fastest civic in the world?

November 10, 2008
National Speed Christmas List: Performance Parts for Subaru Owners

With Christmas time right around the corner, we here at National Speed have compiled a list of gift ideas specifically for Subaru owners.

Factory Top Mount got you down? Stock Blow off valve just not cutting it? Perhaps you’re looking for some coilovers to slam your car and go terrorize a road course. Whatever your fancy, the National Speed eStore has what you’re looking for.

Perrin Front Mount Intercooler

One problem with the EJ series motors is that the factory Top Mount Intercooler is inefficient with any aftermarket compressors. Don’t worry, we have what you’re looking for. We now carry a full line of Perrin products and one item in particular is the Perrin Front Mount Intercooler relocation kit. You can not only gain horsepower and torque from a more efficient design, but give your Subie an aggressive smile as well. These kits support up to 1000 Horsepower and offer less than a 1/4psi drop across the core at 20psi.

GT35R Kit

I know what you’re really looking for… How does 500 All Wheel Horse Power sound? Agency Power has released arguably the best GT35R kit for any WRX or STi, and we have it in stock. The Agency Power GT35R kit is designed to maximize performance for street, drag, or road racing. The oil and water cooled Garrett GT35R is a ball bearing turbo that has a .63a/r for a quick spool, and includes a 84 trim wheel. The kit includes all the necessary lines and hoses needed to fit the factory connections. Not only will this kit make huge power, but it is also compatible will all of the popular Front Mount and factory Top mount intercoolers.

StopTech Big Brake Kit

With all that AWD power, now you need something to stop all of it. Utilizing massive 380mm rotors and six pistons, the StopTech Big Brake Kit has enough power to stop a freight train. Not only will this give your Subaru ultimate hard parking status, but you will get vastly shorter stopping distances, better brake modulation, firmer brake pedal feel and less brake fade when you take it to the track. We have many different size brake kits to suit specifically what you need.

COBB Tuning Pads

If you aren’t willing to fork out the cash for a full Big Brake Kit, you can still gain braking force by upgrading to a set of COBB Tuning brake pads. Designed for street use, COBB Tuning Street Formula Brake Pads are the best balance of performance pad without excessive noise, brake dust, or rotor wear.

STIFFI

For you STi guys that still have the factory spoiler, want something to help that annoying vibration out? We now carry the very helpful Perrin “STIFFI” to eliminate wing flex. Add 4 or 5 to get that authentic WRC look! Plus…Who doesn’t want a STIFFI?

This holiday season, the National Speed eStore has you covered, check us out!

November 7, 2008
Bang for Your Buck: Cheap and Effective Performance Parts

Cheap and Effective. Sound good to you? It sure does to me. It’s all about getting power for cheap nowadays. I think it’s time to go over some inexpensive but effective mods you can make to your vehicle for your budget build.

Intake
It’s pretty hard to drink something through a coffee stirrer, isn’t it? That’s what your factory air intake is like to your motor. An aftermarket intake has a larger diameter pipe with a less restrictive path than factory, and with a freer breathing filter. Not only will an aftermarket intake reflect gains in the seat of the pants, but it will add a nice growl to your factory motor!

Exhaust

Another popular and effective mod is exhaust. Take that same coffee stirrer, flip it around, and blow into it. That’s your factory exhaust. With more air being introduced into your intake system, now you need a proper way to remove it. Stock exhaust is very restrictive and doesn’t allow all the air entering the intake system to exit effectively, thus causing excessive backpressure. Excessive backpressure chokes up your engine, not giving you all the power your motor is creating. A good way of eliminating all this unnecessary backpressure is to get an aftermarket exhaust system.

If you want to remain legal, you can find a good quality catback exhaust for your vehicle for pretty cheap. This is arguably the biggest improvement to sound you can make. (Or detriment, depending on the listener.)

Headers
Headers are the central part in between your Intake and Exhaust. Without proper flow in between these two items, there would be a bottleneck, which in turn, would choke you of your potential power. Headers, or an exhaust manifold as some call it, relieve your intake manifold of backpressure caused by an ineffective design. One header relieves one bank of exhaust ports, so that’s 1 header for the 4 banger guys and 2 for everyone with a few more cylinders

Tune
Now that you have your car breathing healthily, you need to have your ECU compensate for all this new airflow. Getting a tune is one of the most important things you can do to your car. Not only will a tune let your ECU know that much more air is entering the system, but your fuel and spark maps will be adjusted more aggressively to unlock all the power that you now added.

When looking for the best bang for the buck, these mods are vital to your build. While generally the most common, the importance of these mods is often overlooked. Any of these items would be a great addition to a Christmas list for any car enthusiast.

November 6, 2008
The Forgotten Gem: Chrysler Conquest

Low. Black. Popping. Crackling. Whistling. Half mechanic and half bionic, the Chrysler Conquest was a vehicle some revered in an almost mythical sense. The name itself struck a tone of confidence in an owner. Created by Mitsubishi, but being imported and sold under the Chrysler name, the Conquest is also often overlooked as one of the great Japanese sports coupes. Reactions range from confusion, to pure fright as the loud blowoff valve vents off pressure into the atmosphere. Quizzical looks and turned heads are produced anywhere you go as if the Conquest name has been completely forgotten.

Performance

Touting a powerful 2.6 liter turbocharged motor, sending power through a 5 speed transmission to the rear wheels through a factory Limited Slip Differential, the Chrysler Conquest was an overlooked gem. In 1988 the Conquest truly became a driver’s car. An optional handling package became available with staggered wheels, 8 inches wide in the front and 9 inches wide in the rear. Not only did that allow for better road gripping prowess but the package also included gas adjustable shocks. Just remember this is 1987 we’re talking about folks. Boost builds and hits like a hammer, pinning you into the seat until the next gear, and you can very easily find yourself overwhelmed and sideways in an instant.

Personal Opinion

I had the pleasure of riding in a mildly modified example and the results are impressive to say the least. Fitted with a small 16g turbocharger yet essentially stock, the car put down over 315ft/lbs to the wheels — that’s V8 territory! To put this into perspective, the stock vehicle makes just over 180 to the wheels. Driving one is a purely visceral experience as so many noises and sensations penetrate your brain. Due to some simple mechanical problems, you can find many Conquests in very good shape as the owners have simply abandoned fixing them and listed them for sale instead. Simply put, the Chrysler Conquest is a very affordable diamond in the rough for someone looking for cheap rear wheel drive fun.

November 5, 2008
National Speed Presents: 5 More Crazy Clips

Work got you down? Kick back and take a break with National Speed and enjoy these hilarious clips that the voices inside my head told me were funny. The voices also told me that the National Speed eStore is now open and that you should definitely check it out. All the cool kids are shopping there.

1) “I’m Walking Here!” This is an oldie but a goodie. Remember when your parents used to tell you to respect your elders? Here’s why.

2) Crazy Compilation. This won’t just rock your socks it will blow your feet clean off… I’ve been wanting to use that line for years. Sad but true.

3) Old Pranksters. I respect my elders for fear of them trying to kill me through vehicular homicide. Word to the wise: don’t piss this couple off.

4) Shop Crash. I’m not sure what’s worse, the fact that someone actually did this or that I have a best friend who’s done it twice before.

5) Ouch! This clip is astounding. Not only does the woman survive, but she gets up and walks away like it was nothing. Talk about lucky.

Got any clips to share? Leave us a comment and we’ll post it in a future blog. Keep those cameras rolling!

November 4, 2008