Compact Cars
When it comes to performance, there is one steadfast rule: All the good air that goes into making horsepower must eventually find its way out. This means that adding all the cool camshafts, intake manifolds and even superchargers to help improve airflow into the motor will be useless (okay, maybe not useless, but certainly much less effective) if the motor is not able to rid itself of the exhaust. Cork up a serious performance motor and watch it struggle and gag on its own exhaust fumes.
We all know and love the Honda/Acura B-series motors—and for good reason. They have been and continue to be the mainstay of the sport compact performance market. Sure, the new K-series motors are making headway with more and more performance pieces and they look to succeed the B-series once the supply of used motors becomes available in the quantities (and pricing) currently enjoyed by the B-series. But for now, Civic, CRX and Integra engine swappers, not to mention the horde of those originally so equipped, have made the B16A, B18A/B, B18C and B18C5 the performance Honda motors of choice.
Previously, we detailed the buildup and dyno test of a 475hp turbo B16A (“Boosted B-Series,” p. 50). Designed for street use, the turbo B16A represented what could be accomplished by combining an efficient normally aspirated motor with the benefits of turbocharging. By taking an already healthy normally aspirated motor, we had a head start to producing big power once we upped the boost pressure with our Innovative T04E-46 turbo. But what is necessary to take power to the next level?
When the Datsun 240Z was introduced at the end of 1969, car enthusiasts around the world took note. After all, here was a car that put many of the long-established sports car favorites into a tailspin, both on the street and in several racing venues.
What can we say about VTEC Honda motors that hasn’t already been said thousands of times? Accolades have been bestowed upon the B-series Honda at an almost embarrassing rate—and we might add that all of its praise is well deserved. But we have already begun to turn our attention to the newer K-series motors, which by all accounts are even better motors than the B-series. They are sure to start a revolution of their own, but that is a discussion for a different day.
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show engulfs Fabulous Las Vegas annually. It brings together the biggest names in the automotive world to show off the latest and greatest, whether it’s new products, amazing custom builds, or the newest trends. TheAutoBuilder is excited to be in the thick of it all.
Tech presentation is something anyone can do to his or her existing Camaro, since it takes no special skill, yet the results are worthwhile. Those are the rewards of personalizing a cool Chevy, and it’s what drives us in the first place to tackle such jobs.
Have you ever noticed how some people can take their car to the strip and look as if they’ve raced all their lives, while others look totally out of control in the bleach box and during staging? More often than not, the driver with the calm, cool and collected approach seems to regularly trigger the win light. The reason for this smoothness isn’t completely initiated by the driver; in most instances, it is the correlation between man and machine.
There’s no denying the popularity of Camaros; they have been a rodding favorite since their initial release in 1967. The first-generation Camaro has always been an enthusiast car because it is small, lightweight and had a sports-car-design feel to it. Underneath, the early Camaros were based on a Nova platform and featured many good mechanical attributes. Right from the start, they became a popular choice for teenagers and young adults, and most of the performance enthusiasts wanted the SS model that came with a choice of a strong-running small- or big-block engine. Things haven’t changed much, because they are still a popular choice for enthusiasts to restore or modify.