Pumping Iron – Sharkwerks adds more muscle to the GT3 RS

We love turbo cars. For quick and easy power, economy and power to weight ratio, there is nothing like them. However, for psychic levels of throttle response, sound and overall driving enjoyment, there is no replacement for a well-built naturally aspirated engine. A Porsche GT3RS in stock form is already one of the best naturally aspirated cars on the planet. Getting 415hp out of a streetable 3.6-liters a few years ago would have been nothing short of a miracle, even for a tuner. For it to come with a factory warranty was the work of dark forces.

Sharkwerks Tuning in Fremont California know that your average enthusiast has a very short memory. For those no longer impressed with a mere 415hp, they are offering a 3.9-liter conversion for GT3 and GT3 RS’s to take them to an astounding 500hp.

Frankfurt auto show 2009: the light of the charge brigade

Please make it stop. Ever since the Mercedes-Benz CLS, car makers have taken to chopping the rooflines of their sedans and calling them four-door coupes. Guys, they’re not coupes. By definition, coupes have two doors. What you’re making are sedans with varying degrees of rear head- and legroom that range from barely adequate to what’s-the-point.

At least it looks as if Americans won’t be sent into fits of pedantry by the Audi A5 Sportback, because as handsome as this four-door-plus-hatch version of Ingolstadt’s lovely A5 is, Audi of America isn’t too fired up about bringing it Stateside.

The 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo: pass the tissues

This may be difficult to write, because of drool on the keyboard, but here goes… the 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo has been revealed.

It features a new 3.8-liter flat six engine with direct fuel injection and variable turbine geometry (VTG) for its twin blowers, the combination being a Porsche first. Oh, and it has the same intake manifold as the GT2 which uses air expansion to cool hot intake charge. We all remember Boyle’s Law right?

So, when kitted out with the Sport Chrono Package and PDK, the numbers run like this: 500 hp (20 more than the previous model) and 516 lb-ft of torque (up from 501). Zero to 60 mph is dispatched in a mere 3.2 seconds and top speed is 194 mph.

Sharkwerks Techart Carrera S PDK – Measured Improvements

How do you make a good car better? Exercise restraint. The latest 911 Carrera S is already an amazing car. The addition of direct injection and a dual clutch semi-automatic gearbox has given the car a near ideal drive train. Improved suspension tuning and slightly better aero dynamics has lead to a platform that is just about unbeatable in the twisties. Sharkwerks tuning in Fremont California has managed to take the latest 911 and squeeze just a little bit extra out of it.

We are pounding down a deserted farm road in the middle of nowhere California. Locals have told us that the only time people use this road is just before sunrise and just after sunset. Who knew farm roads have rush hours? We have made a couple of observation runs back and forth, and we are forced to believe them, not a single person in sight. Pulling away from a stop, it is immediately apparent the extra torque this car has over the factory car. The thick torque curve shoves the car forward even in the mid-range. As the needle swings around the tach, the acceleration gets even more urgent. Right at redline, I slide the awkward steering wheel button that Porsche has bestowed on the PDK equipped cars. The shift bangs off into the next gear faster than I can comprehend and it begins again.

Kyosho Dnano Micro Radio Controlled Race Cars – Perfect For A Tabletop GP

When I was a kid, if you wanted automotive entertainment you were stuck with either sliding Hot Wheels around on plastic tracks or if you were super lucky, you had a slot car track. Slot car tracks were great, cars stuck running a single line that you could make go slower or faster. Yeah, no steering, no strategy, just faster or slower, it was the equivalent of an automotive true or false test.

Kids today have it better, as do immature adults. Kyosho, the company you remember from your teenage years for making sweet 1/10th scale RC cars, is now making fully functional 1/43rd scale RC cars. These aren’t those ten-dollar micro RC cars they sell in electronics stores that barely work. These are proportionally controlled hobby quality vehicles. You can turn a little or lot, you can accelerate hard or just cruise or anywhere in between for that matter. Dnano cars will be sold as complete kits with the controller and everything you need to race. Cars will also be sold separately as will the bodies that are collectible by themselves as models.

Geometry Lesson – Sharkwerk’s new suspension Components for 996 and 997 Porsches

Fremont CA: Sharkwerks Tuning in Conjunction with Road Sport Supply is now offering suspension upgrades for all 996 and 997 based 911s. Sharkwerk‘s products are designed to add adjustability to parts that are fixed length from the factory. Besides the adjustability, they also replace soft factory rubber or neoprene bushings with steel bearings that remove unwanted slop.

While factory bushings will distort under high loads, the spherical bearings will keep your alignment right where you set it. Since they are adjustable, you can set it however you want it. Do you require a crazy camber angle; want to dial in more kinematic toe? These parts will allow you to do that.