1st Gen Supra vs FT-1 Concept
Since I love the traditional long nose, short rear sports car design, this speaks to me 🙂 Price wise will be through the roof no doubt, but from a design standpoint, it’s pretty slick. So many interesting elements on the concept. Time will tell if it makes it to a driveway, and how far it deviates from what you see here.
Picture courtesy of http://www.carrevsdaily.com
We’ve been offering the Powergrid endlinks for the 350Z and G35 for years. Google it, you’ll find out what everyone else already knows. That if you want the best endlink on the market, you found ’em. Well, we’re now carrying them for your Porsche as well.
This is why they are important, what they do, and why you want ’em:
The endlinks connect your swaybar to your the rest of your suspension. As the swaybar moves during a turn (or technically, resists moving), the endlinks job is to keep the bar parallel to the ground. Whether you have stock swaybars or aftermarket, the harder you push your car, the more prone your stock links are towards snapping, or breaking. Many modern day cars use links that are made of cheap stamped steel, and many are even plastic! They are designed to be used with softer stock spring rates, and less grippy tires than true enthusiasts tend to use. As you increase the grip of the car, the endlink is placed under greater strain to control that swaybar. The same holds true when you’re fitting larger diameter, and adjustable swaybars. These stiffer bars place greater load on the endlink and those stock endlinks were never designed with that force in mind. The second thing to consider is when fitting lowering springs or aftermarket coilovers. As you adjust the height of your car, you can often cause your swaybar to change position. That means during the compression stroke of the suspension, the stock swaybar can be limited in its movement (aka binding), which vastly reduces the ability of the bar to do it’s job. For those with coilovers, this becomes even more important if you’re looking to cornerweight your car. Having an adjustable endlink such as this allows you to adjust swaybar preload, and that translates into more effective cornerbalancing results and more effective swaybar tuning.
Applications – tons! If you’ve got a performance car, we probably have an application for you.
Porsche:
BMW: E30 (M3), E24, E28, E34, E39, E46 M3, E90, E60
Acura TSX
Audi TT
Cadillac CTS
Cadillac XLR
Corvette
Cobalt
Dodge Charger
Infiniti G35
Mini Cooper
Mazda 3, 6, Miata
Mazdaspeed 3 and 6
Mazda RX8
Nissan 350Z
Porsche 911, Boxster and Cayman
Scion TC
Toyota Supra
Toyota Celica
Toyota Corolla
VW GTI
VW Eos
VW Jetta
And we’re always looking to add more! These endlinks aren’t cheap to buy because they aren’t cheap to make. They use genuine THK components (THK is an OEM automotive supplier to tons of manufacturers). They don’t use hardware store heim joints like so many others out there. Those start out great and in short order tend to get very noisy as they are exposed to the elements, and accumulate dirt, sand, moisture, salt, etc. These endinks are different. They offer the articulation (ability for the endlink head to rotate, thus keeping the swaybar in the correct position), but are fully sealed. Never will require any maintenance – no grease, no cleaning, nothing!
HKS has just introduced their new Titanium Racing lineup for several cars. These systems all feature large diameter stainless piping mated to a lightweight Titanium Muffler. These are designed for maximum flow, minimum weight and great affordability.
Current applications are as follows:
Evo VII-Evo IX
WRX/STi (2002-2007)
Toyota Supra (1993-1998)
We have a few available now so contact us for details
Saw these on 6speedonline courtesy of their owner “Streetking” (He also owns the 550 Maranello in the Fikse Wheel Post). Gorgeous cars…
We just picked up Adam’s car from RPM North tonight. We had a couple of adjustment made to the suspension system (including installation of the Moonface Racing Roll Center Adjusters) and we had his car corner balanced and aligned. The guys over at RPM North did a great job and we’d like to thank them for their hard work
I managed to snap some pics while I was there.
I saw these pictures of this Supra from the JDM Theory 2008 Japanese Festival and all I could think to myself is wow that car is very clean, especially for a car that has to be at least 10 years old. I’m not a big Supra fan but I have to say i love the way that this car looks aggressive and clean at the same time. This is the exact look I hope to achieve when my Z is done. This Supra is a fine example of how to keep an aged body style looking fresh.
Picture Sources:
Club Lexus Forum, My350z
Thought I’d post up pictures of Ray’s 2001 Lexus GS300. Ray is a new customer of ours from a new local board that we have recently begun sponsoring (www.tristatevip.com). Ray is a big fan of the VIP look but don’t sleep on him, he’s got some go under the hood.
The build is still a work in progress but so far hes running an XSPower Turbo Kit, Tein SS coilovers, Staggered 20″ Maya STM wheels, a Custom magnaflow exhaust and a Supra TT BBK. I know hes got some more things in the works for the very near future. You really can’t be mad at the wheel flushness that is synonymous with the VIP look.
Close your eyes and try to remember the year 1997. Our business was growing at an alarming rate and all we could dream of was an OEM Auto industry that cared about the performance minded enthusiast.
The once-kings of Japanese performance cars had all been dethroned. The 300ZX and RX-7 were both already discontinued in the US and the Supra followed a year later. Despite stellar performance and sex appeal, they had all suffered from bloated price tags and lackluster sales. Moreover, they had become a faint shadow of each of the cars that paved their way. The early Z’s, RX-7’s and Celica-Supras had followed simple tried-and-true recipes for the sports car enthusiast; combine an eager engine with a sporty suspension and wrap it in a sexy affordable package. Sadly, by the late 1980’s, Nissan, Mazda and Toyota had created a war to see who could cram the most complicated technology under the hoods of their flagship sports cars. Ultimately, it led to their demise.
Ok, so it’s 1997 and the Japanese sports car is only attainable as a used model. That is until Acura announced that the Integra Type R would hit US shores. The 195 hp 2600 lb Type R was fast, raw, high-tech and affordable! The automotive press RAVED about it’s performance and other auto-makers took note. Soon enough, budget performance cars were released year after year and I think we all have to give the Type R some credit for the much needed spark that set our industry aflame for the next decade…
1998: Subaru came through with the Impreza 2.5RS. The mini-WRX was loaded with potential and Subaru geeks around the country united in parking lots and message boards. Soon ater, the car virtually exploded with popularity as Gran Turismo and Colin Mcrae Rally became enormous video games. We all drooled for a WRX.
1999: Toyota introduced a revised Celica. Co-developed by Yamaha, the high revving 180hp motor seemed to directly target the Integra Type R.
2001: Ford brought us the SVT Focus.
2002: Nissan gave us a revised Sentra SE-R (Spec V). Acura re-badged the Integra as the RSX and the world was introduced to the now legendary K-series motor. Oh, and Subaru finally sent us the famed WRX!
2003: A big year. Mitsubishi, hot on the heels of the Subaru’s success with the WRX, brought the EVO to the US. Nissan finally released a new Z car with the 350Z. Even Dodge joined the party with the powerful and insanely affordable Neon SRT-4.
2004: Subaru countered with the WRX STI and Mazda brought back the Rotary engine with the Renesis powered RX-8.
2006: Acura drops the RSX from it’s lineup, but bolts in all the go-fast goodies into the revised Civic SI.
2007: Mazda provides again with the brutally powerful Mazdaspeed 3. And Honda took everything that made their redesigned Civic SI a winner and put it all in the worlds first Civic SI Sedan!
Back to reality – it’s 2008 and us auto enthusiasts seem to be living in a new golden age. There is a sizable menu of performance cars to choose from in the range of $20k -$25k. How much longer will it last?
There are already signs that the trend may be shifting again. Subaru and Mitsubishi continue to fight it out as horsepower ratings and price tags grow. The EVO and STI price tags start around $35K. Even Nissan is rolling out the first Skyline GTR in the US but you have to pay to play and $70K is Porsche territory.
Are our beloved budget hot rods destined to become too fat and too pricey? Will we have to endure another cycle of bland offerings from the companies we all love again? Time will tell. For now, I think we should all bow respectfully to the USDM Type R and it’s B18C5 motor. The little engine that could…
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Kwame
Z1 Performance
Jonathan
Corner Balance 