Our good friend Justin Uy is here today to show us that customizing our cars by adding color to our brakes, as well as our lights (headlights, tail lights, fog lights, etc.), is not something that involves rocket science. It’s actually very simple, and can be done DIY-style by just about anyone capable of shaking a rattle and pressing the nozzle on a spray can. I’ll leave it to Justin to share his insights. Take it away bro…

When people upgrade and upsize their wheels, most of the time the brakes become more visible. For most cars, brake calipers, rotors and drums come from the factory unpainted and over time, gets coated with brake dust, grime and rust. Here at CustomPinoyRides, that is just unacceptable. Luckily there is a solution readily available here in the Philippines today.

Since brakes can get really hot, VHT (which stands for VERY HIGH TEMPERATURE) has developed a special spray paint for brake calipers that can withstand up to 900°F (482°C). The process is really simple and takes around an hour with the right equipment. The result is a really clean brake caliper that stands out even if the car is in motion.

Among other VHT products, VHT Niteshades is also a great way to customize headlights and tail lights for a more aggressive look. The smoked effect is done by spraying on a light coat of VHT Niteshades on the headlight assembly which results in a clean glass-like finish. Not to worry, your brake lights and signal lights will still illuminate in red and amber. No bubbles, melting due to heat, or chipping paint to worry about. We can’t wait to see more black cars in town sporting the “vader look”.

Mazda 6 with blacked-out headlights painted with VHT Niteshades.

Before and After:

Tail lights on a Honda Jazz. Before and after, painted with VHT Niteshades.

We’re really excited for other DIY projects we can do with VHT. Check out their website – www.vhtpaint.com – for a complete list of available specialty paints and available colors. For all of you DIY custom junkies out there, you can call the VHT Manila hotline: 643-3781, or text: 0916-270-5535.

Related Stuff:
- Read more of our How-To’s and DIY’s here.

The term “Xenon Headlight” is actually is a misnomer. There are several types of HID lamps, and those without xenon follow this sequence when turned on: A sudden bright flash of light, followed by the lamp turning dim, then slowly becomes bright as it reaches its normal operating condition. The xenon gas is only used to speed up this process and provide instant light upon ignition of the lamp.

Upon purchasing HID’s, there are a multitude of Kelvin Temperatures to choose from, usually starting from 3000K, all the way up to 12000K or even higher. Be wary of this as it is a common misconception that the higher the Kelvin Temperature, the brighter the light. This is NOT TRUE.

Video from McTheLipen on YouTube

This article is basically for you to find out how to to not experience what you’re about to see on the next video. This is some scary $#!+…

How many of you have had the dilemma of doing so many modifications to our favorite track machine until it reaches a point that you can’t drive it on the street anymore and would end up having to tow it? Well if you’re on that path to building your first “pure track car and trailer queen”, please remember that building a trailer, loading it up, and towing it is no simple task that you should take for granted. Otherwise, you might be risking your own life, and the life of your precious track car.

I hope that the articles below will shed some light on this matter and will give you a lot of glorious days on the track, and worry-free drives getting to and from it.
- Building Your Own Race Car Trailer Part 1
- Building Your Own Race Car Trailer Part 2
- How To Load and Tow a Trailer (Techniques on Loading, Driving, Handling Trailer Sway, etc.)

Related:
- See more How-To’s here at CustomPinoyRides.com

My favorite saying in photography is “Walk Three Steps Forward, and Shoot Four Times As Much”. Well, that’s what I did to capture the perfect cover shot for CustomPinoyRides.com for the month of December 2010.

Atoy Llave and the rest of Atoy Customs, together with Rockstar Energy Drink, dropped by during our recent and totally successful CustomPinoyRides GYMKHANA DAZE held at The Kings Playground last 28-Nov-2010. And of course, it was the perfect time to do a photo session! Burning rubber like there’s no tomorrow, Atoy Llave took the Rocktar Drift Car out for a spin through our Gymkhana Track layout, and also did some fantastic burnout sessions to top it all off.

Check out the rest of the photos, and of course, how it led to the cover shot…

Richard Gopez of Tomato Garage, after taking a shot of Rockstar Energy Drink, has the guts to stop the drift car from moving forward, hence the brunout. LOL!

Ah yes! Nothing like the sound of tires being obliterated.

Getting closer to the perfect shot…

Boom! That’s the money shot right there! Hence, our December 2010 Cover Shot.

We’d like to thank Rockstar for giving away free energy drinks during our GYMKHANA DAZE event. Cheers! Hope you like the photos!

Pictures by Edward “Hazardboy” de la Rosa

Check this out! Flaming exhaust and red hot brakes, driving a Honda Civic couldn’t get as manly as this.

But I’m feeling a bit nerdy today and would want to get into the technical side of the aerodynamics of this car based on what we could visually see. I would like to hear your comments on what I have to say below. Maybe this will satisfy our curiousity.

First of all, we all see that this Civic features a rear spoiler, as well as a diffuser under the rear bumper. And we all know that this provides downforce to improve cornering ability.

Second, it is pretty obvious that on this car, the exhaust terminates underneath, instead of somewhere under the rear bumper. The shorter exhaust pipe, the higher the resonant frequency. The opposite goes for longer exhaust pipes. This also means that higher-revving engines would benefit the most from shorter exhaust pipes. And since this is a Honda, it is safe to say it has a high-revving engine.

Now, aerodynamicists have always known that injecting the exhaust into the rear diffuser enhances the downforce effect, because the fast-moving exhaust gases aid in quickly evacuating air from the underside, causing the pressure underneath the car to drops even more, which in turn creates more downforce. This is known as Bernoulli’s Principle. The only downside to this is that the amount of downforce becomes dependent on engine speed.

But if the exhaust gases start to come in from underneath the car, such as on this ride? How do you think this will affect the downforce? It is a fact that an increase in temperature also increases the air pressure. So by reducing the pressure underneath the car, it also reduces the downforce.

However, the exhaust gases can also increase the velocity of air flowing underneath the car, as it is angled towards the rear. So this time, it pushes more air towards the diffuser, enhancing it downforce effect.

So by running it in this setup, does it increase downforce or decrease it? Your thoughts?

Also, check out the rest of the photos of this awesome ride…

For as long as we can remember, we’ve been trying to preach the PROPER use of the JDM Tilting Plate Holder. But so long as we still keep seeing these things being incorrectly installed on vehicles during car shows, events, and even on the streets, we will continue to show you how to properly use these things.

Remember what we’ve said in our previous post (The PROPER use of the JDM Tilting Plate Holder) <-- Also read that post to get a clear idea of the purpose of this mod:

Note that it is installed incorrectly and against its purpose if it cannot swivel upwards and tuck either under the bumper or inside the air dam. Usually, the movement is restricted by the stock air dam blocked by the plastic grille. Forcing the issue by installing it despite the restriction is so NOT COOL.

Also, using this with the glass or plastic plate number covers will just make it so heavy that it cannot tilt backwards. It is again against its purpose. NOT COOL.

Read on to see the rest of the photos of CORRECTLY INSTALLED JDM TILTING PLATE HOLDERS.

Pictured above is the DC Skyline Drift Car by A-Toy Body Kits.

Below is the car pictured on our October 2010 cover – the Nissan Skyfiro (Cefiro body, R33 Skyline front and rear) by A-Toy Body Kits.

Raymond Ronquillo’s R33 Nissan Skyline, which we’ve also featured on a previous article (Raymond Ronquillo’s Nissan Skyline R33 Drift Car).

Heck, even CustomPinoyRides.com AUTO GURO Kevin Carlos has this correctly installed in his Nissan S14 Silvia. Here’s a shot of the tilting plate holder in action at speed on the highway going to Clark International Speedway.

So there you have it. PLEASE be good Samaritans and share this with your friends. Do them a favor. Keep it cool, don’t be a ricer. Sport the JDM Tilting Plate Holder the proper way. Peace!

They say that when it comes to bumpers and side skirts, a true Drifter will prolong the life of his beloved panels for as long as it is humanly possible to do so. Hence, a true Drifter uses Zipties to repair damaged body kits.

All you need are the following:

1. Lots of Zipties
2. A Drill, with the drillbit diameter large enough to fit a Ziptie through
3. Pieces of damaged body kit
4. Jigsaw Puzzle-building patience

Watch the video to find out how it’s done in detail…

Source:
http://www.phatsliggity.com/

Its been a while back since I have done this engine type. Looking back at this experience, I have come to the conclusion that this is very much like the V8′s I have worked with all these years sans the other half, and I have a 4 cylinder!

This 2TG comes with a 2-valve full “Hemispherical Chamber”. This is the same as the Chrysler 392-426 Hemi Head V-8.

This particular Cylinder Head design was the scourge of Top Fuel Engines from the 1960′s to now with just a little change in the Hemi design.

Besides Top Fuel dominance of this design, it was also the scourge of the “Stock & Super Stock” NHRA racing. This gives this design considerable potential that if an individual decides to Supercharge or use High Compression ratios, this can Embarrass a lot of our new High Tech Engines…

From my conversation with Engine builders from here in the US to the Phillippines, one thing comes absolutely clear to me…

The 2TG’s that are being built to run on the streets do not have enough “COMPRESSION”. It is at a disadvantage if run with anything lower than 12.5:1.

When this is built for the streets, compression ratios of 9.5:1 or 10.5:1 is usually used. At this compression ratios it is at a distinct disadvantage as i explained in the previous articles about chambers.

This Hemi Chamber design is lacking a “Swirl” component in the ports flow characteristic, this design lacks response in the low-mid RPMs. However as soon as higher engine speeds is attained this is where it shines….

When a Hemi headed engine is boosted by a Supercharger or a Turbo, now it is at its Best! This is due to the “Straight Crossover design of the Intake Valves”, which is directly in front of the Exhaust valve. This design, at High RPMs, is a tremendous advantage as the gases don’t have to make a 90-degree turn from intake to exhaust port.

I also noticed that when individuals put a stroker crank, they run the same rods that are far too short to start with.

Now when you add this much more stroke, the Rod/Stroke ratio becomes really bad. Cylinder wall side loading and internal reciprocating drag goes up… Result = Engine failure if you’re making serious power. If you’re not, then you’re probably lucky, but not for long…

For any “High-revving 4-cylinder engine”, keep the stroke smaller than the bore size.

The net effect is an engine that has a lot more bottom-end torque than previously. However, top-end RPM will be lower than before if the same induction and camshaft is not improved or upgraded.

If the induction and camshaft is upgraded to the next level, your RPM capability will still be limited by the bad stroke and rod combination.

However I noticed that these engines exhibit a lot of RPM potential.

The engine does not respond very well to changes easily as it could have, if it had the proper compression ratio as it was designed to be run with.

That being the case, if High Compressions past 12.5 is attained, this will be much more responsive to changes in cam, carburetors, and ignition improvements.

What does it need to be a serious Engine? I would keep the stock stroke, run the longest connecting rod possible and move the piston pin as high as possible to get the rod length!

And give it a lot of compression and run race gas. The result – A killer 4-cylinder!

In this video, Subaru Rally Car driver Chris Atkinson demonstrates the nitty-gritty stuff about everything on the inside of the Subaru Impreza Rally Car.

From switches and controls to center of gravity and safety, this video has got it covered.

Very informative if you ask me. And will be worth watching if you’re very much into attention to detail about tuning your own ride. You may learn a thing or two from this video. Enjoy!

COMBUSTION CHAMBER MODIFICATIONS:

1. Install oversize valves if the engine has a bigger bore size. Installing bigger valves with stock bore size will just pinch and shroud intake flow around the valves closest to the cylinder wall.
2. Exhaust valves should be unshrouded as much but not as much as the intake valves.
3. Match the combustion chamber sides to the cylinder wall with out making it bigger than you have to!
4. Keep the combustion chamber CCs. at a minimum. A smaller combustion chamber yields more compression for a given piston.
5. Polish the chamber so it prevents the build-up of carbon and reflects heat back to the piston! ( Heat is Power).
6. If you have to choose between an open and a close chamber here is the difference: An open chamber will probably flow more on the flow bench. If you want to raise flow benches buy this heads! A closed chamber will probably flow less but has a much effective chamber and ‘BURN’ characteristics . Also requires less dome to achieve the same compression ratio! (more power with a flat top and smaller chamber)
7. The Valve affects the flow! The Valve Margin also plays into the mix. A thin margin creates a hot spot on its radius and screws up the flow off the valve and seats.

CASE IN POINT: When all is said and done with your ‘tricked’ heads make sure you pay attention on this! If your best power was achieve with 36-38 degrees of ignition timing before you modified the heads! And now you went faster but your timing requirements ended at 42-44 degrees you are in trouble! You have lost COMBUSTION EFFICIENCY and the added timing requires the engine to work against itself and its called NEGATIVE TORQUE! The engine has to work against the added 2 to 6 degrees more of crank angle at the time of ignition… If your new combo required less ignition timing to make more power, buy your engine builder a big SAN MIGUEL and give him your favorite Princess!!! LOL

NOTE: PRO-STOCK engines and NASCAR powerplants requiring 28 degrees of IGNITION TOTAL TIMING is an indication of an effective combustion chamber design! This is achievable by the combination of swirl and tumble flow in to the port, as well as some combustion chamber induced swirl. also a non-intrusive effective dome. The best piston is a flat top. When combined with high compression due to a compact chamber….

4 VALVE:

1. 4 valve breathes well but its drawback is its reduced flame propagation. Due to the absence of Quench! (some import heads have a quench pad and this is desirable in a normally aspirated engine or one with nitrous oxide).
2. On some 4V heads, the tumble situation of the heads reduces- instead of enhancing the flame front! This can be corrected but requires machining the heads and utilizing a custom piston with an extended quench pad. This is most beneficial on normally aspirated engines….

Questions? send us a message and we can post it or keep it confidential… Thanks Ben Alameda