Manyflow5

 Restricting the Options to Two: ‘Black and White’ Thinking In black and white thinking, or the false dichotomy to give it its slightly grand title, the arguer gives only two options when other alternatives are possible. For example, ‘If you want better hospitals for everyone, then you have to be prepared to raise taxes. If you don’t want to raise taxes, you can’t have better hospitals for everyone.’ Logical nonsense! Plenty of other options are possible between these two extremes. (Maybe money could be swapped from building roads . . . or new missiles.) Someone using this type of argument is proba- bly deliberately trying to obscure other available approaches. You may also spot another failure of logic in this example (like buses, fallacies often come in twos and threes) — mistaking correlation for causation (see the later section ‘Mistaking a Connection for a Cause: Correlation Confusion’). Better hospi- tals and higher taxes aren’t necessarily linked: ...

 Shopping Typical shell-type seats cost from $250 to $1,500 each, depending on -  Design -  Construction method -  Weight -  Certification by either • FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, which is French for International Federation of Automobiles) • TUV (Technischer Überwachungsverein, which is German for Technical Inspection Association) Neither sanctioning body’s approval is necessary for a safe, high-quality seat, but a manufacturer that goes through the expense and red tape of submitting a seat for approval with these organizations definitely has done its homework. Safe installation of aftermarket seats often requires use of model-specific slid- ers. Sliders are what connect the seat to the car, and allow the seat to slide forward and rearward in the cabin. A major consideration for many, especially those long-limbed folks, is helmet clearance. Different seat and slider combi- nations yield unique headroom. For this reason, some dedicated (and ta...

 Knowing When to Stop Perhaps the most important mistake novice enthusiasts make in modifying their cars is not recognizing when to step back and leave it alone. Modifications are a tricky business. They can bring out the very best in your car, and set it apart from the crowd in a good way, or they can bring out the very worst and make you the subject of ridicule. Even the best and most experienced car modders strike out once in a while, so if your last few mods have been home runs knocked straight out of the park, don’t feel pressure to swing and miss. Experience teaches that, with rare exceptions, the most impressive cars from both a performance and cosmetic standpoint came together over a long stretch of time. The 1992 E30 BMW M3 that looks so terrific today may have been in the works for over 12 years. Odds are that it did not come together in a flurry of activity in a couple months. Cars that are built quickly fail to pro- vide a sense of perspective on the overall project. Th...

 Free Advice As the old adage goes, free advice is worth what you pay for it. People edu- cate themselves and train to carry out expert modifications, and when they have become competent and recognized in this arena, tend to charge for their services either as tuners, crew chiefs, or build consultants. If someone offers you their advice on how to create the perfect fuel map, properly set up your suspension, or take out a stain on your hood with a Brillo pad and a jar of mayonnaise, they may know what they are talking about, or they may be certifiably insane — but one thing remains clear: They will not take liability for any harm you cause to your car or yourself. This point may seem fairly obvious, but too many people rely on free advice because it is free and available everywhere. Your mailman, your mom’s friend, and your local priest probably all have opinions on what would look/work great on your car. Are you going to listen to them? The funny thing is, if you are getting your i...

 Warranty Concerns Modifications that are easily reversible and undetectable are also of para- mount importance when it comes to maintaining your new car’s warranty. Let’s face it: Cars break. They are mechanical objects consisting of highly complex systems, some of which fail prematurely. If a new car dealer can find a way to void your warranty — even if in outright violation of the Magnuson- Moss Warranty Act — you better believe that it will. If a number of cars are suffering from, for example, a main bearing failure which would otherwise be covered under the manufacturer’s powertrain warranty, and your car happens to have a modified air intake — something that has noth- ing to do with the longevity of the main bearing — you better believe that your local dealership service center is not only going to deny the warranty coverage that would otherwise have applied to fixing your car, but is going to log a note in your file accessible by all dealers in your region (some can even do ...

 Plug and Play Perhaps the most exciting recent development in the world of standalone ECU replacements is the new breed of plug-and-play ECUs that come preloaded with base maps. Buy the least expensive system that meets your needs. If there’s a plug-and-play solution for your car (they don’t exist for every model), go with it. It drastically reduces the cost and time of installation and tuning. The Power FC and the AEM are basically competing products that do the same thing. Their technical specs might be slightly different, but they have roughly the same functionality at the same price point: -  Base maps. The AEM starts as a more open interface because you don’t have the locked-out sections that the Power FC has. The Power FC base maps, in my experience, tend to be more reliable. -  Handheld controller. The Power FC has from the very beginning come bundled with a commander unit. A company called Gauge Ware now offers a Commander-style display for the AEM EMS. -  P...

 Tuning for the real world Many tuners spend quite a bit of time going for a perfect power curve on the Dyno. The problem with this approach is that the Dyno is an artificial environment. If no time is invested in logging data on what the car is doing in the real world, you may end up with terrific full-throttle acceleration maps and horrible part-throttle maps (where you’ll likely be doing the majority of your driving). Tuning is a science, and a good tuner works with you to ensure that your car is set up to meet your goals: -  If your car is nothing but a straight-line drag racer, then the only time it ever goes any- where, the gas pedal is buried in the carpet, and part-throttle response may not matter much to you. -  If your tuner is accustomed to going for the gusto with wide-open throttle (WOT) tuning only, and your car is only driven at WOT a fraction of the time, then spend the extra time to ensure that the part-throttle response is tuned properly for your driving...

 Cams and Tuning With a well-matched set of camshafts and adjustable cam gears, a good tuner should be able to smooth the transition to boost and to play with the power delivery to allow some of the seamless acceleration to return. Cams achieve this goal by regulating airflow through the cylinder head. The big boost supercharger or turbocharger is trying to push an enormous volume of air through the engine. Even if every restriction in the intake and exhaust path has been eliminated, the bottleneck created by stock cams impacts the power delivery and makes for a shorter and peakier powerband. A set of performance camshafts (intake and exhaust, see Chapter 15 for further discussion) adds more valve lift and duration to your cylinder head. They allow you to run less boost with comparable results. The downsides are that they -  Take more labor than simply upping the boost -  Reduce your low-end power -  Mess with your idle (cams with a high duration and lift have a di...

 My big fat Japanese turbo When I first had a much larger turbo installed in my car (I had already replaced the stock turbo with a mild upgrade and decided I wanted to go big this time), the tuner and I were out on a long, straight, and desolate road with no one around for miles and no turns or bumps to worry about. Just us and a long stretch of pavement. Mounted directly in my field of vision on the steering column was a brightly lit boost gauge. My tuner turned to me and said, “Listen, David, I’ve got the datalog- ging equipment all set up, wideband and laptop are here in my lap, and I have the handheld con- troller for your ECU . . . I need you to do one thing: Drive in a straight line at full throttle and tell me what the peak boost reads on the boost gauge.” Sounds simple enough, right? After all, I had been driving turbo cars for years. How hard could it be to drive in a straight line and tell him what the dial right in front of my face reads? Turns out I couldn’t do it. Off ...

 Living with More Boost Whether you are running a factory turbocharged or supercharged car, or one that has a basic bolt-on kit, if your power cravings have taken you to the limits of your current setup, and you’re ready to take the plunge to a bigger turbocharger or supercharger, then read on. You have spent some time trying to run more boost on your current turbo or a smaller pulley on your supercharger, and you have come to the conclusion that you need/want more serious firepower to reach your goals. Before you take that next step into big boost, it is important that you appreciate the drivability tradeoffs that come with a much larger turbo/ blower: -  Most factory turbocharging and supercharging packages, and many after- market kits, strive to be seamless. As you apply throttle, the engine begins making power and the turbo or supercharger almost instantaneously jumps into action, aiding in acceleration. If your car is your daily driver, you’ll find yourself on boost wh...

 Turbocharger or supercharger? Supercharging and turbocharging suit different car builders and car designs: -  Installing a supercharger (if there’s space for it) is much easier than adding a turbo. There are fewer components, and the pack- aging (although bulky) is less complicated. It takes less time to install, and it’s also easier to remove the supercharger and return the car to factory stock condition if you want to either recertify the car for emis- sions or sell it. -  A turbocharger is more easily tuned and altered than a supercharger. With a simple boost controller, a turbocharger can gener- ate anywhere from just a few psi of boost to 30 psi or more (if the compressor is physi- cally capable of producing that much boost). Changing trim sizes (on the com- pressor wheel) on turbo compressors is inherently easier than on a supercharger. Many popular hybrid turbos offer easy mix- and-match, ready-to-go wheel trims and compressor size variations for common configurat...

 Forced induction When you add a turbocharger or a supercharger, you’re making more power by forcing more air from the atmosphere into your engine. Think of a turbocharger or supercharger as a fan that is blowing compressed air into your engine. The more air you give your engine, the more power your engine can give you (if you also add the right amount of fuel and spark). The extra air adds oxygen so you can burn more fuel. But if you want a reliable, drivable car with a turbocharger or a supercharger, you must make sure all of the parts of your entire car work together. The decision to use nitrous oxide may depend on how long you want to use the extra power: -  A turbocharged or supercharged car can run on the track at full power until the gas tank is empty. -  A nitrous oxide system has a limited boost time before you have to return to the mother ship and refill; when you’re out of nitrous oxide, your car is a 98-pound weakling again. You must consider whether all of th...

 Boost benefits performance enthusiasts in two key ways: -  Standard bolt-on modifications become a whole lot more effective. The open element air intake that added 2–4 whp (wheel horsepower — horsepower as measured at the wheels) is now adding 4–8 whp on top of what the turbo or supercharger is already providing. The exhaust that gave 6–7 whp is now providing 12–14 whp, and so on. -  Without any other modifications, boost in any of its guises is nearly impossible to beat for bang-for-the-buck. A bare-bones, low-dollar turbo system can easily provide more power (sometimes two to three times as much power) than all of the most expensive bolt-on parts combined. If you live at a high altitude, boost is even more effective. Outside air pres- sure is lower at higher elevations, so normally aspirated cars gasp for air. Turbocharged and supercharged cars can create their own atmospheric pressure, so they’re much less affected by high altitude. Of course, boost isn’t without its ...

 Less is more The 1995 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 was, in its day, and remains today, a technological tour de force. Equipped with a 3.0-liter V6 twin turbocharged engine pushing out 320 hp and 315 ft-lbs. of torque through an all-wheel-drive drive train fea- turing all-wheel steering, adjustable suspension, adjustable exhaust, and active aerodynamics, the VR-4 was Mitsubishi’s ultimate sports car. Yet a British sports car called the Lotus Elise absolutely demolishes the Mitsubishi in every aspect of performance with a paltry 1.8-liter nat- urally aspirated four-cylinder engine, putting out a comparatively meager 190 hp and 138 ft-lbs. of torque. How does the Lotus do it? Weight — or the lack thereof. Whereas the Mitsubishi tips the scales at nearly 3,800 pounds, the Lotus weighs in at a featherweight 1,975 pounds. Mass is the critical variable that allows a sub- 200 hp car to perform as though it is packing over 400 hp under the hood. The physics are straightforward: The lower the mas...

 Failing to heed this warning will result in a number of negative consequences: -  If you drop your car too low, there will not be enough adjustment for the alignment to be set back to where it needs to be. -  Shock absorbers will fail quickly because they won’t be able to cope with such a narrow and harsh range of compression and rebound stroke. -  Your car will suffer from ferocious bump steer (when the car jumps side- ways mid-corner as it encounters a bump or dip in the road) as your sus- pension bottoms out (literally runs out of available travel) and contacts the bump stops with every road imperfection and undulation. If the lower control arms have dropped past the horizontal, you have lowered your car too far. Raise it back up to restore the handling. If you have lowered your car too far, where the control arms are now past the horizontal, a set of roll center adjusters (aluminum spacers that mount at the bottom of the strut tube) help correct the suspension g...

 Controllability It makes sense that auto manufacturers usually design cars to understeer. After all, natural human instinct tells everyone to slow down when a car won’t go around a curve. This is appropriate for a car that understeers; but in a car that is inclined to oversteer, the driver must do the exact opposite. That is, if I have entered a corner far too fast, perhaps because the corner appeared to be more gradual upon entering and then become a much tighter bend than I had anticipated (this is known as a decreasing radius turn), then as the back end of the car swings out on me, I will lightly press the accelerator to transfer weight back onto the rear wheels of my rear-wheel drive car in order to regain traction and try to save the situation. For most people, pushing down the gas pedal when they have found themselves going too fast is counter- intuitive — yet it just might save the day in an oversteer situation. So understeer is better, then? Not quite. It is nearly impossi...

 Follow these rules for polishing: -  Work in a cool, dry environment away from direct sunlight. -  Apply the polish with a terry cloth applicator and remove it with either a 100-percent USA cotton Fieldcrest or Cannon brand towel or a quality microfiber towel. -  Use back and forth motions when polishing, not circular motions. Polish with a light touch. It is better to go through multiple passes than to muscle your way through it and mar the finish with too much pressure. You can polish a car by hand or with a special polisher: -  Hand polishing is what I recommend. It’s safer for the paint and more of a bonding experience than going at it with a machine. -  Machine polishing with a random orbit polisher may save some time in preparing your car’s finish for the final protective coating. (But why would you want to spend less time with your car?) A random orbit polisher (like those sold by Porter-Cable or through Griot’s Garage) is the only kind of power pol...

 You need the right supplies to give your car a good wash: -  To keep you car looking its best, use only a liquid car wash solution specifically made for cars. Dishwashing detergent strips the wax from your paint. It’s far too harsh to use regularly. If you must remove old wax from your car’s surface in preparation for a complete detail, use a degreasing dishwashing deter- gent like Dawn to strip the wax from the car’s paint. • Don’t use dishwashing detergent more than twice a year. • Only use dishwashing detergent immediately before waxing. • Never use automatic dishwasher soap. -  Use lamb’s wool mitts that trap dirt within the fibers and keep it away from the paint. I recommend using two buckets and two mitts: • One bucket and mitt for the grungiest parts, such as wheels and the lower rocker panels • One bucket and mitt for the upper part of the car If you intend to use a single bucket and mitt, make sure you wash from top to bottom — save the wheels and other dirty pa...

 Front add-ons Although much of the performance aftermarket seems to be visually fixated on the back of the car, with spoilers and wings being the leading indicators of performance (or at least a shallow pretense), managing airflow at the front of the car, either by reducing lift or creating downforce (negative lift), is just as important. As a rule, the more work the wing is doing in the back, the more attention you will want to pay to the front of the car to ensure that the car moves at speed. The front (which is where the steering input is generated), provides as much grip and feedback as the rear. Air dams The air dam is the front valence mounted underneath your car’s front bumper. If you have no idea what I’m describing, that’s okay. Nearly all modern cars have integrated air dams in which the lower-front valance and bumper skin are one seamless piece. Back in the mid-1980s and earlier, in the days of the exposed steel bumper, this was not the case. The air dam’s job is to man...

 The ubiquitous spoiler is the little flap or raised protrusion on the rear decklids of coupes and sedans, or on the upper edge of the rear gate on hatchbacks. Although the spoiler is often a cosmetic upgrade designed to tell the world that your car is “sporty,” it also has a very specific role in aerodynamics. Whether a spoiler is needed on your car is matter of -  How you use your car -  How your car was designed As the name implies, this device spoils the airflow over the top half of the car at the trailing edge of the car’s upper surface. The spoiler can keep airflow from tumbling and creating a swirling vortex behind the car. This is important for a couple of reasons — without a spoiler, swirling air behind the car can create both -  Drag (which can keep the car from moving forward as quickly as possi- ble). Drag is expressed as a numeric coefficient of wind resistance. -  Lift (which reduces the car’s grip on the road at speed) Manufacturers have been know...

 Design There are only a few hard and fast rules for adding graphics to your modi- fied car: -  Keep it classy. “Calvin” decals are just plain tacky. You’re better than that. Don’t do it. -  Keep it logical and truthful. • If your Volkswagen’s windshield banner reads, “Powered by VTEC,” please remove it (unless your VW has a Honda engine with variable cams). • If your Acura’s windshield banner reads, “Powered by Acura,” remove that, too. Acuras are powered by Honda. (Check under the hood and see which company’s name is on the engine.) -  Kanji stickers (Japanese characters) don’t fool anyone. For all you know (unless you happen to be able to read and speak Japanese), Kanji stickers say something you really don’t want on your car. The Japanese are guilty of the same faux pas as Americans. This English- language gem was a factory sticker on the Toyota MR2 in Japan: A Man In Dandism. New Rich And Sports. Mature Sporty Personal. More Innovation More Adult. A Man In Dand...

 The look Most often seen on luxury SUVs and big luxury sedans, the hip-hop set has a seemingly relentless appetite for rim diameters that have little practical value other than to make an impression . . . not that there’s anything wrong with that. If the wheel makes the car, then giant chromed wheels make the statement that you are, indeed, living larger. The spinning integrated hub sections are mesmerizing the first few times you see them at a traffic light, and they can make a run-of-the-mill Navigator, Escalade, or Hummer H2 stand out from every other SUV. To further round out the look, oversized dubs are installed to minimize the wheel gap between the outside edge of the tire and the fender, so the car looks like it’s just floating on these huge gleaming discs without any tires. The look is certainly not for everyone. You need a car with appropriate road presence to not look ridiculous (don’t try this with a Yugo). But if you have the SUV or luxury car and the inclination, big...

 Fishing for your brain If you needed convincing on the merits of serving fish to your child, this study may change your mind. When scientists looked at teenag- ers who ate fish more than once a week, they found that these stu- dents had a much higher IQ score than their peers who ate fish only once a week (see Chapters 6 and 7 for more on IQ tests). How do omega-3 fatty acids help your child’s brain? Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are polyunsaturated fatty acids of the omega-3 family. Your body can’t make these essential nutrients, so you must obtain them from the food you eat. DHA is a major building block of the brain, as well as the ner- vous system. A lack of omega-3 fatty acids leads to a range of cog- nitive problems in childhood, including learning difficulties, poor memory, and lack of concentration. Scientists are debating whether fish oil supplements can provide the same benefits. Some studies show that children who receive fish oils ...

 Competition seats Race seats from such companies as Recaro, Sparco, Bride, Momo, and Corbeau are available to replace most factory seats. Exactly how comfortable and use- able seats like these are for a daily-driven vehicle depends on your body type, personal preference, and the particular model seat you choose. Pure shell- style, non-reclining bucket seats might not be your best bet for a street-driven car, but function and performance can coexist. Recaro produces seats for fac- tory equipment for OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer) from Wolfsburg to Tokyo, as well as some of the finest race seats ever constructed. Design Racing seats are less adjustable than factory seats, but they significantly increase support, they can weigh as little as six or eight pounds each, and they can withstand much more impact force than factory-installed seats. Aftermarket seats are any seats other than those installed as factory equipment. They are available with or without adjustable recliners,...