Welcome to the first installment of “Ask AutoGuide!” a brand-new weekly feature where we help you find the right new car or truck. Think of it as internet community service, our way of giving back to the loyal people who share so much with us. Best of all the advice comes from the heart since it’s not court-ordered and we don’t have to check in with a parole officer.
Despite reaching new heights in 2012, EV sales still puttered along at a slower pace than some automakers originally guessed.
Tesla just launched its network of “Superchargers,” speeding up one of the most important aspects of its EVs, but it might not be what you think.
Fans of the raging Roush-modified Ford vehicles will be pleased to know the performance tuner has another fire-breather on the way soon — the 2013 Roush Stage 3 Mustang.
When it goes on sale this month, the package won’t beat the legendary Shelby GT500, but it will boosts performance to 565 hp and 505 lb-ft of torque — well beyond the Boss 302.
Stacking the Mustang up to that level is no easy task. Roush achieves the venerable feat by installing a supercharger capable of high speeds to deliver significantly increased power.
Roush is to Ford what steroids are to athletics. While their modified vehicles are certainly less than common on the road, we usually see them materialize as Mustangs. That wont be true this time.
Instead, Roush Performance is going to work on the 5.0- and 6.2-liter V8 F-150 trucks. Customers have the option to buy a non-calibrated kit, or a pre-tuned version according to Roush specifications. Both kits take advantage of new Eaton rotors that reduce noise, increase air flow and consequently offer greater power potential.
The kit includes the supercharger, of course, as well as a cold air intake, 100mm mass air flow tube, a twin 60mm throttle body and a bigger intercooler. The tuner version of the kit is available now for the 5.0-liter model, while the Roush spec version will be available in early February. Properly installed, the kit is expected to boost your truck between 140 and 175 hp for a total 500 to 525 ponies.
Try fitting that kit with the 6.2-liter and you jump up to a whopping 700 hp. The tuner kit fitted to that model, however, won’t be available until a week from now and the tuned version in April.
Dont forget to read the sticker before you label this one a “buy,” as these kits will set you back $6,199 to $6,499 before the cost of installation. As with any serious engine modifications, make sure you talk to a qualified mechanic before tinkering. For example, these kits don’t come with new fuel injectors, something you’ll need before installation. A Roush salesman said during a phone call that they aren’t including injectors in the tuner kit because people often prefer to choose their own.
They can include injectors with the kit for the 5.0-liter engine but don’t currently offer injectors for the 6.2-liter engine. When the tuned version ships, they say it will include everything necessary for complete installation.
Don’t have the V8, or just uncomfortable with engine surgery? It’s ok, there’s no need to feel left out of the fun. You can still bolt on a roush cold air intake to any F-150 and all models for between $340 and $400. High performance exhausts are also available on all models save the 3.7-liter V6.
A new continuously-variable transmission, a supercharged 2.5L four-cylinder engine and an front-drive hybrid system should all arrive on the new Nissan Altima for 2013, helping Nissan stay competitive in an increasingly tough segment.
The hybrid drivetrain will be similar to that used on the Infiniti M Hybrid, but adapted for front-wheel drive vehicles. The new hybrid system will work in concert with the new CVT gearbox, which is expected to bring a 10 percent fuel economy boost to any vehicle, regardless of whether it’s equipped with a hybrid system or not.
Finally, Nissan’s venerable 2.5L 4-cylinder engine will get a supercharger, though power figures were not released.
[Source: Automotive News]
With the rise of turbochargers as a “green” technology, the lifespan of superchargers looked numbers as their popularity decreased, with the belt driven forced induction systems appearing only on high-end V6 and V8 powered sports cars. While superchargers delivery power in a smooth, linear manner, their cost, complexity and noise has relegated them to near extinction.
An interview with Automotive News, featuring Eaton’s Ken Davis, President of their vehicle group, suggests otherwise. Davis remarked that their new line of superchargers are gaining favor with automakers, among them Nissan and Volkswagen. Audi’s 3.0L V6 engines already use superchargers, as well as some of Volkswagen’s small displacement 4-cylinder engines not sold in North America. Volkswagen could use superchargers across a broader number of engines, but we’re stumped as to what applications the new Eaton blowers could have with Nissan products.
Davis also notes that Chinese OEM Chery has been using greater numbers of superchargers. Their QQ small car is equipped with a blower, and given the vast amount of vehicles sold in China, Davis’ claims of doubling supercharger sales in 5 years doesn’t look so outlandish anymore.
[Source: Automotive News]
The hybrid engine that first appeared in the Lotus Evora 414E concept is supposedly attracting interest from 3 major manufacturers, according, according to a Lotus official.
Chief project engineer Lee Jeffcoat told Inside Line that there is interest from “several OEMS in 5,000-10,000 units annually, for a potential annual output of 30,000 engines,” as well as smaller companies looking for 1,000 engines per year.
Among the unique features on the engine are an intake manifold pipes cast into the block, a vestige from the original prototype that used a combined head and block. The engine is capable of forced induction, but a supercharger apparently provides greater results. The engine can be packaged in nearly any configuration, and displacement has grown from 1.2L to 1.3L and now makes 47 horsepower, or 67 with the aide of a supercharger.
[Source: Inside Line]
Volkswagen‘s famous 1.4L twincharged engine, which uses both a supercharged and turbocharger to squeeze 170 horsepower from 1.4L, could be axed shortly due to its costliness and mechanical complexity.
While the engine has garnered substantial praise from both consumers and the motoring press, Volkswagen engineers say that current turbocharging technology can achieve the same power and fuel economy benefits without the complexity and expense of a twincharger setup.
[Source: Autocar]
With only 352 days to go before the Chevrolet Camaro Z28 goes into production, you still have ample time to take up chewing tobacco and get acquainted with the music of Whitesnake.
The information comes from a dealer who just attended a national dealer meeting where Chevrolet officials described the product in detail. The name “Z28″ was never officially mentioned, and the car was instead called the “HP Edition”. Equipment for the car in question includes a supercharged 6.2L V8, magnetic shock absorbers, massive tires front and rear (285 width up front and 330 in the rear) and some cosmetic alterations to the bodywork.
[Source: Camaro5]
Lingenfelter is up to its old tricks again, this time pumping out 670-hp and 565 ft-lbs of torque from the Corvette’s LS3 powerplant. The bulk of the power comes from an Edelbrock E-Force Supercharger in combination with Lingenfelter’s CNC-ported LS3 heads and their recently developed GT9 ZR1 supercharger camshaft.
One of the main selling points of the kit is that you can retain the factory hood on the setup so as to not give away what’s lurking in the engine bay. The package can be had at $13,845.00 and comes with Lingenfelter’s 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty.
In addition to the Edelbrock intercooled supercharger kit and Lingenfelter heads and camshaft, you’ll also receive new injectors, thermostat, Kenne Bell Boost-a-pump fuel pump, voltage booster, professional installation and dyno tuning (if Lingenfelter installs it). A pre-scheduled appointment is required and Lingenfelter will need about two weeks to take your Chevy Corvette to all new heights.
Official press release and an informational video is available after the break.
Ford and Roush go together like peanut butter and jelly. You can have one without another, but it’s just not the same. Ford’s new 2011 Mustang 5.0 has already been getting tons of acclaim and now Roush will be taking it to a whole new level in performance. For a retail price of $5,999.00, your 2011 Mustang can have upwards of 550-hp and 470 ft-lbs of torque!
The Roushcharger Tuner Kit (part # 421140) is based on the popular TVS2300 Roushcharger and comes with a 90mm pulley that puts out approximate seven pounds of boost. To ensure the forced inducted 5.0L stays healthy, 47 lb fuel injectors, high-flow fuel rails, high-flow Roush air land and a twin 60mm throttle body are also included in the kit.
And those wondering about reliability and warranty, Roush offers a 90-day parts warranty but notes that it will not maintain the factory Ford warranty. Those willing to wait until fall, Roush will be releasing a kit that will come with full tuning and warranty.
Official press release available after the break.
Now here’s a Corvette that we can see ourselves in. Howard Tanner of Redline Motorsports teamed up with Dan Carlton of DeNooyer Performance to unleash the HTR-GS640/SC. We’re not quite sure why they’d make it such a mouthful to say rather than just calling it a really badass Corvette, but really, the name is about the only complaint we have.
The foundation for the HTR-GS640/SC is a Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport that has been overhauled from bumper to bumper to become a true automotive enthusiast’s sports car. Under the hood is an Edelbrock E-Force supercharger equipped with long intake runners to provide major low-end torque. In the head are new valvesprings and retainers to support the new cam. Bolt-ons include a Borla exhaust system and MGW short-throw shifter.
The price tag is set at $82,000 which isn’t bad at all considering the performance you’re getting rivals a ZR1. And the best part of it all is that DeNooyer Performance will warranty the car for three years or 36,000 miles. So if you’re interested, give DeNooyer a call – they’ll even take trade-ins and offer financing. Score!
[Source: AutoBlog]
When it comes to Ford Mustang performance and forced induction, superchargers are definitely at the top of the list. There’s just nothing better than accentuating the natural torque of a V8 than pairing it up with a brilliantly designed supercharger. Ford Racing wasted no time on the 2011 Ford Mustang’s 5.0L V8 TiVCT motor and has just announced a twin-screw supercharger setup for the vehicle.
The supercharger is a 2.3L twin-screw setup and helps the Mustang put down 624-hp and 536 ft-lbs of torque. That is a very nice increase from the factory 412-hp and 390 ft-lbs of torque. “Superchargers are the ultimate in power upgrades for Mustang enthusiasts,” George Goddu, Ford Racing Performance Group Manager said.
Those looking for a nice increase without the overpowering 600+ figure can opt for a 525-hp kit with a 12 month, 12,000 mile warranty. And in addition to the mid-level 624-hp kit is a tuner kit for racing and extreme enthusiasts. No horsepower figures were released for that kit, but we’re guessing it’s pretty extreme.
Costs range from $6,499 for black to $8,099 for polished chrome. Naturally Ford Racing didn’t release what the supercharger does in terms of hampering mpg, but they were nice enough to share that the kit adds 47 lbs to the car. We’re going to guess that’s not exactly noticeable with the globs of horsepower that comes with it.
[Source: Car Tech Blog]
With the Honda CR-Z just hitting dealerships, plenty of excitement is brewing with all the aftermarket goodies that have already been designed and developed over in Japan. HKS has been producing high quality products for a variety of Japanese vehicles for decades and now they’re focusing on their line of GT Superchargers. And what better way to make the news than to manufacture a supercharger for the upcoming Honda CR-Z hybrid?
Currently HKS’s supercharged CR-Z makes around 170-hp, which is more than respectable for a hybrid. How it affects gas mileage, we’re not sure, since no numbers have been released. But given that it’s all in its infancy, we can expect tuners both in Japan and America to really take advantage of HKS’s GT Supercharger to push power beyond 200 while maintaining mpg when power isn’t needed.
Check out the video of the CR-Z on the dyno after the break. It’s clearly in a fast forward frame rate, but you still get the idea.
Video available after the break.
[Source: Luxury4Play]
Nobody likes taxes, but just like a fat refund check, Chinese taxes on displacement mean that the 2011 Porsche Cayenne V6 will ditch the 3.6L V6 that is available in other world markets, and instead get the 3.0L Supercharged V6 available on the Cayenne Hybrid and the Audi S4.
China taxes vehicles with a displacement between 3000 cc and 4000 cc at about 40 percent of their value. However the 3.0L motor actually puts out 2995, putting it in the lower 25 percent bracket, while also delivering more power and better fuel economy figures.
At this point, you’re probably wondering why Porsche doesn’t do the same thing for every other market. The truth is, the Supercharged Cayenne would probably eat into sales of the pricier (and more profitable) Cayenne S. With the majority of Cayenne buyers likely indifferent to what’s under the hood, and the eco-conscious types directed towards the Hybrid, the blown Cayenne V6 looks like it’s destined to become a model we can covet from afar for the rest of our days.
[Source: Left Lane News]
Volkswagen fanatics looking for two-wheeled transportation, your motorcycle has arrived. Long dormant motorcycle brand Horex is being revived by a group of German industrialists, and the new bikes will be powered by a VR6 engine, long a staple of VW’s Golf and Jetta lineup.
Rather than the familiar 2.8L or 3.2L VR6 used by VW, Horex designed a bespoke unit displacing 1.2L. Coupled with a supercharger, the unit makes an awesome 200 horsepower at 8500 rpm.
In light of Volkswagen’s move to small displacement, forced induction engines, the Horex VR6 would be an interesting addition to some of their smaller cars, although the seemingly peaky power delivery may not be appropriate for anything but high performance driving. Nonetheless, as gearheads we’re automatically attracted to these sorts of novelty powerplants and are hoping to see more in the future.
[Source: Motorcycle.com]
Just in case a standard run-of-the-mill BMW E92 M3 wasn’t good enough for you, G-Power has announced a pair of BMW E92 M3 Clubsport Models available to the general public. And by general we mean those with plenty of expendable income.
Both vehicles have the same performance modifications, netting 600-hp and 430 ft-lbs of torque which is a significant increase from the factory 420-hp and 295 ft-lbs. The bulk of the power comes from G-Power’s SK II CS supercharger system. It’s quite obvious whenever you pair a V8 motor, especially one as efficiently built as BMW’s, with forced induction major power gains are on the horizon. Other modifications that both models share are lightweight wheels and Clubsport coilover system.
But the differences basically stop there. The GT2 S, which is clearly the more expensive of the two at a little over $170,000, is actually a turnkey racecar. G-Power’s GT2 S is BMW’s answer to Porsche’s GT3 RS. Giving it the race-inspired look and performance is a GT2-inspired carbon fiber body kit. The front seats are swapped out for lightweight carbon buckets and the rear seat is removed altogether, naturally.
If the GT2 S is just a little too rich for your blood (we can’t blame you), then the Tornado CS is a set of modifications available at the low, low price of $13,300. The price tag is actually not that bad considering you will receive the supercharger setup, new intakes, titanium exhaust, installation and tuning. On the outside a subtle trunk lip spoiler and rear diffuser are included. The same seats in the GT2 S are also available with the package, and it’s all up to you on whether or not you want that rear seat.
GLLERY: G-Power BMW E92 M3 Clubsport
[Source: CarScoop]
An American V8 engine has few rivals when it comes to the noise it makes. The only real rival that can match its bombastic rumble is a piston engined fighter plane from WWII. When a supercharger is added on to one of these motors, the resulting noise is especially sinister, due to the mating of the eight-cylinder rumble and the banshee-like wail of the big blower.
The hottest versions of Chevrolet’s Camaro SS and Dodge’s Challenger SRT-8 use naturally aspirated engines to pump out around 422 and 425 horsepower respectively. Ford’s most powerful Mustang, the Shleby GT500, needed to annihilate those figures, and the Blue Oval’s engineers decided to strap a supercharger to an already sizable 5.4L twin-cam V8. The result is 540 horsepower, and you can hear everyone of those ponies featured in this glorious video shot by Ford, showing the 2011 Shelby ‘Stang ripping up and down a closed course, doing what can only be called “acceleration runs.” If you can, turn up your speakers and revel in the glory that is a Ford V8 at full song.
[Source: Autoblog]
Sure the new Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro seem to be hogging up a lot of the spotlight, but let’s not forget about the new-body Dodge Challenger. We ran across this 9-second Dodge Challenger SRT8 on Jon Sibal’s Blog, with Jon recently taking an interest in the car due to a Challenger build he’s currently working on. This one really caught our eye, hitting the track with 9-second time slips and finding its way home the same way it came – without a trailer.
Mr. Norm’s Garage has a tradition of building a series of “legends” cars for the Challenger with each one having its own focus for a theme. This Legend X Challenger was to be a quarter-mile bruiser without sacrificing any of the daily driving amenities we all crave. Starting with the 6.1L HEMI engine, Mr. Norm’s Garage went to work overhauling it with a 2.8H Kennel Bell twin-screw supercharger, Dana rear-end, mini tubes to accept 13-inch slicks, 426 HEMI heads, cams, etc. Basically a complete overhaul of the powerplant and the vehicle from bumper to bumper to be a heavy-horsepower straight-line bullet, all tuned by MPH.
And a bullet it is, pushing out over 1,100-hp and tripping the lights at the end of the quarter mile at 9.574 @ 143.46mph. This was last year at the 2009 Mopar Nationals and as far as we know it still holds the record as the fastest modern Challenger and fastest LX platform (300C, Challenger, Charger) car. It will be interesting to see how well this Challenger does on its next time out on the track. Perhaps 8s isn’t too far away for this legend!
Check out the video of the 9-second pass after the jump:
GALLERY: Mr. Norm’s Legend X Challenger
[Source: Jon Sibal's Blog]
BMW Tuner G-Power has just announced that during recent testing at the Papenburg test track in Germany, its 750hp twin-supercharged HURRICANE RS M5 set a new WORLD RECORD for the fastest sedan.
With a stop speed of 367.5 km/h (228.4 mph) the Hurricane eclipsed the Mercedes CLS-based Brabus Rocket, which set a speed of 365.7 km/h (227.2 mph).
The Hurricane RS is a slightly more powerful version of the standard production Hurricane with 750hp versus 730hhp. The gain was made by raising boost pressure in both ASA superchargers from 10.1 lbs to 11.6 lbs.
According to G-Power CEO and engineer Christian Stöber, the
Hurricane is capable of topping its own record as boost can be raised as high as 14.5 lbs. “We are curious if this will be necessary…” reads the end of the company’s press release, a definite challenge to the boys at Brabus.
While this new record is certain to help G-Power sell more vehicles, most likely in places like Dubai, the speed record won’t be possible in the production cars because they will not be equipped with the gearing necessary to do so. Brabus does, however, offer the Rocket to customers with longer gears. Regardless, unless those customers own their own airstrip, 220-plus mph speed runs are unlikely.
Official press release after the jump:
Continue Reading…
After releasing a mild yet incredible aero kit (called the Razor) for the Audi R8 last year, PPI Design has now unleashed the Razor GTR, a full carbon body R8. Plus, thanks to a supercharger it now makes 580hp – up significantly from the stock 420. Torque also gets a boost with 442 ft-lbs now available at 6200 rpm.
Through the Razor’s extensive body modifications PPI managed to shave off 551 lbs of weight. Carbon fiber has been used for the front and rear bumpers, wider fenders, side skirts and hood. The rear engine cover panels have also been replaced with carbon fiber ram-air intake ducts and the rear glass has been swapped out for a lighter Makrolon cover.
Additional weight savings are due to the use of DyMag carbon/magnesium wheels.
The reduction in weight and addition of horsepower make for an impressive increase in performance. PPI claims the Razor GTR can hit 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds and blast on to a top speed of 206 mph!
Full press release after the jump:
Continue Reading…
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