NYCE1s.Com NYC Dyno Shootout
Undiscouraged by import drag racing's irresolute future, East Coast builders and racers continue to take higher strides toward creating rewarding outlets for their endeavors, with grassroots-organized functions like last year's Airwerks Outlaw Sport FWD Shootout, Englishtown Raceway's annual "Slam"- and "Nationals"-branded events, and various impromptu, unsanctioned drag racing bouts thrown down each night on city streets throughout the northeast.
Headlining 411 this month is NYCE1s.com's Power Up Series Dyno Tour, most recently held at NYC's Tha Garage, in St. Albans, NY. Supporters MB Racing and Team GMPT handled pre-event car show duties, while last-year's champ Caesar and the V Race Works crew shelled $500 to Jose Devares of Hi-Boost, who won their all-motor K-series Honda challenge with 308 whp in his street-driven '93 hatch, and Gardella Racing handed over a cool $1,500 to CLM Motorsports, who topped-out the T4 Turbo Kings challenge by rolling out 883 whp in "The Hulk"--their turbo, B-series EG monster. Even spectators had a chance to win a G by estimating closest to the power number rolled out by each class's winning competitor. Check out NYCE1s for future locations and dates.
www.NYCE1s.com
Hintakeover
San Mateo, CA
Austin, TX
On tour for another year is Hot Import Nights, and new renditions of the same high-caliber built rides, models, music, moto-x demos and everything else you've come to expect from everyone's favorite import/sport-compact lifestyle show series. Only this year, new management has decided to add more drift demos, open-to-the-public Auto Barrel Racing, and even some Formula D Pro Am competition, among more stuff we like. Hit up ImportTuner.com for complete coverage of each show as it goes down.
HotImportNights.com
Tricks Of The Trade
For a healthy and well-running car, a vehicle must freely inhale and exhale. This theory is simple, yet often overlooked in the world of automotive performance. If a routine smog check prompts an OB2 "converter code" failure, there's a good chance that your catalytic converter needs to be replaced. Remove the unit, and inspect the internal honeycomb layers to ensure there are no cracks, melted debris, or distortion. Depending on the type of catalyst material used, poorly maintained engines dumping raw fuel or oil into the cat, or vehicles that are running excessively lean air/fuel ratios will cause the honeycombs to melt, plugging up your vehicle's ability to breathe. The best part: if your car is less than seven years old or has less than 70,000 miles on the odometer (whichever came first), it's covered by a federal warranty that ensures your catalytic converter will be replaced for free.
38,597
The amount of man-hours spent setting up, tearing down, and maintaining the Long Beach Grand Prix racetrack this year...or about 18.5 years of 40-hour work weeks, for one person.