The Porsche 914 is an extremely adaptable sports car. Introduced in 1969 the model was produced till 1976. The mid engine two seater is a little automobile and really nimble. The only down side with the 914 is that it was slightly underpowered. I think this was performed to keep the 914 from cutting into the market share of the Porsche 911.

The engines available in the stock 914 during the run had been the 1.7L (flat-4), 1.8L (flat-4), 2.0L (flat-4), and 2.0L (flat-6). This is where the modification of the Porsche 914 begins. It is typical to rebuild one of the original stock engines and with the vast availability of Porsche aftermarket components and OEM parts you can make a extremely snappy 914 with acceptable horsepower increases. The enjoyment is in the installation of a much more productive Porsche 911 engine. The most well-liked engine change is the 2.7L, next on the list in recognition is the 3.0L, both generate superb horsepower and are very dependable. The king of the hill however is without a doubt the 3.6L which will give a Porsche 914 sufficient horsepower to drive just about anything off of the asphalt. When changing out the stock engine with one of the far more powerful Porsche 911 flat-6 engines it is necessary to install stiffening kits into the 914 simply because of the increase in torque and horsepower these engines deliver.

The next natural step in the modification of the Porsche 914 is the suspension. The stock 914 utilised a 4 lug bolt pattern for the wheels which doesn’t leave much room for change. The stock suspension ought to be upgraded to the 911 in the front for the 5 lug bolt pattern which is much more responsive and can be upgraded easier and carry bigger wheels and tires. Also the rear of the car needs to have 914-6 hubs installed and the trailing arms reinforced, this will also permit the use of 5 bolt pattern wheels. Changing to the 5 bolt pattern also allows you the choice of utilizing any of the Porsche fuchs wheels of the appropriate size.

Finally, the last of the Porsche 914 modifications is the body. With out taking away the original look of the 914 there are a selection of Porsche body kit available from fender kits in steel to fiber glass to Porsche 916 look alike kits. The ultimate Porsche body kit for the 914 is the 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS Coupe. Modifying the body of the Porsche 914 will totally change the dynamics of the vehicle. Everything from aerodynamics, to overall weight will produce a distinct feel in the car which is to be expected.

When thinking about Porsche Tuning, it is a personal thing. I have attempted in this short space to give you a image of just what can be carried out with the versatility of the Porsche 914. Mechanical adjustments to effect overall performance, suspension adjustments to improve stability and driveability and body modification to personalize the exterior of the vehicle. As for the interior that is where I cease. There is just to much that can be completed to make the interior space of the 914 a reflection of the owner.



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Modifying your car has been a popular pastime for many years. By modifying your car you are able to put your own unique personal touches on the vehicle to make it stand out from the rest. There are many cosmetic modifications that don’t make the car run any different, but then that’s not the point 90 percent of the time! More often car modification is done just to make your car look better or give it a more aggressive race like appearance. These types of modification are simple and will make your car stand out from the rest with very little work. As for the cost of car modifications, that is an altogether different story. Parts are freely available off the shelf from companies such as Spareco, Koni and Spax. For example you can buy Spax suspension, Janspeed exhausts, Momo rims and steering wheels, body kits, light alloy pedals, leather or led lit gear knobs, Corbeau race seats and even race harnesses.

Getting a new set of wheels for your vehicle is a popular choice. There are many alloy wheel styles to choose from. Another popular modification is having your windows tinted. Tinted windows can help keep the glare from the sun out and also makes it harder for others to see into the car. I.C.E or In Car Entertainment is vital to any car modification project. Enhancing your cars audio is extremely popular and the range of products and options available provide DIY car modifiers with a world of choices. Products to choose from include the popular iPod Car Adapter kits, USB, CD & MP3 Stereos and , multi CD changers, front and rear parking sensors  (some have video), plus the leads, tv screens and tools required to fit everything. Leading brands include: JVC, Dension, Panasonic, Connects2, Dashmount, Parrot, Alpine, Autoleads, Kenwood, Pioneer & Sony.

Today car navigation systems such as Motevo, TomTom, Garmin and Pioneer navigation systems are key ingredients when modifying a car. Even satellite or GPS Navigation systems come in hundreds of shapes and sizes. The main types of in-car navigation systems are in-dash mounted navigation systems, portable GPS systems, hand held systems, motorcycle and marine systems and finally the remote navigation systems where the GPS system is plugged in to your car radio for instance.  When buying a new GPS system its often better to opt for higher resolution screens as they make the map information easier to see. Large memory and a decent control chip make for smooth and efficient operating, the last thing you need is slow loading and in accurate positioning.  Most GPS systems have large touch screens, working with a stylus can be tricky so it does help and lastly pay particular attention to how visible and mobile you wish your model to be. If it’s a permanent fixture in your car then bigger models are great, but if you need to take it in doors after use, a smaller model may be the answer. Car security is a factor not only when modifying your vehicle but also when insuring a car with lots of expensive audio equipment in it. Phone you current car insurance company and find out what you can do before your insurance starts costing you more. They will no doubt also require an upgrade to your car security system and there are simply so many companies out there the likes of Viper, Tracker and Clifford. They all sell various systems such as standard car alarms, remote car start systems and GPS tracking systems. GPS stands for Global Positioning Systems. Professional fitment is recommended and car security shoppers should always insist on a certificate of fitment from the dealer fitting the car security system.

 

If you want to give your car a sporty look without spending a fortune you can have racing mesh fitted for the front bumper of your car. This looks good and can also improve the airflow around the engine compartment. “Eyebrow extensions” is another way to customise your car. These extensions are usually plastic and are fitted to your car’s head lamps. You can get these in a variety of colours and are relatively inexpensive. Car engine mapping is also relatively cheap to have done and performance gains can be substantial. It is recommended that you have engine mapping performed by competent, well known companies as they are best able to advise you of other crucial safety features you should improve when doing so. Up-rated brakes being one of them and more expensive tyres make for better high speed performance and traction to handle the additional engine power. Consider upgrading the oil  you use in your engine when you have this done and use an high quality performance air filter, fuel filter and also replace all perished water and oil hoses frequently, if you haven’t already done so. Engine mapping or chipping is basically re-programming your cars CPU and it is given new instructions on how to fuel your engine. The more power you ask for the more gas / petrol your mapping will request along with other parameters such as increasing the airflow to the engine by tricking the motor into thinking the air is colder, this produces more power. All this power comes at a cost though. Most cars that have upgraded their engine management systems do so for more power, not efficiency and in doing so use more fuel and rev higher too. Cam belts should be replaced more frequently and if you plan any engine modifications have a word with the manufacturers about what you plan to do.



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Today, the latest hobby on the road is Remote controlled cars and trucks that give you the experience of the road, race and tracks but without the traffic cops, speed limits and red lights. If you are the one driving the Remote controlled car or truck then you decide how fast you want to go.

There are a range of options you could choose from. Just as in the real world of automotive cars, the world of radio controlled cars also offers are range variety of new and futuristic concept cars, off road and on road cars, monster trucks, entry level buggy, nitro powered cars and mini cars.

The endless options are open to everyone and all sorts of people of all ages can operate RC trucks and cars. The choice rests entirely on your hands and on your preferences. And if you need any information, you can always depend on fellow enthusiasts to share their knowledge and expertise on the subject.

RC vehicles need the same amount of maintenance and upkeep as the real world vehicles and for the same reason too- to ensure that the vehicle remains in top condition and does not experience any failures.

Maintenance includes everything from powdering either through nitromethane based fuel or electricity, to replacing accessories and parts. You will have to have a stock of specific standard RC equipment required for maintenance.

Additionally, there is an assortment of accessories that you can purchase for your remote controlled car. Remote controlled car accessories will help you if you want your car to be aggressive and aesthetically pleasing or if you want to higher your level of road experience.

Here follows a list of common RC accessories that you should not forget to include in your RC car:

1. Starter boxes:

When a new vehicle is started, the engine needs to break in which could be a difficult process initially. With a starter box, this process is made simpler by eliminating the requirement to perform a pull start. It provides the boost required by the engine to break in and the car gets going in hardly any time.

2. Fuel:

Without fuel of course, the possibility of you going anywhere with the car is zero. The owner’s manual will recommend a specially formulated fuel kind for you, which varies from car to car.

And if you’re doing the refueling job yourself, you will probably require a fuel filler bottle. You can choose from number of sizes, with angled, long tips that prevent spills.

Additionally, rags and a fuel cleaner will prove handy in case of spills and drips.

3. Glow plugs:

Keep spare glow plugs in case your glow plug fails and spoils the fun. They can be easily changed along the course. The best idea would be to stash your box with a small kit which includes glow plug igniter, spare glow plugs, a charger and a glow plug wrench.

4. RC tools:

RC tools are specialized tools that keep the vehicle going. A magnetic balancer, temperature gauge, gear puller, glow plug wrench and tool pouch are standard tools included in an RC tool kit.

5. Air Filter Oil:

It is mandatory to replace the air filter at regular intervals. It is convenient if you carry a special air filter oil along with you which can improve the air filters function and increase the engines life.



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I know it probably seems that you’re in the home stretch when you’ve finally reached the loss mitigation department at your lender…but although you can celebrate finally getting past the customer service “guards,” unfortunately the journey has really just begun.

Once you begin the loan modification application process, your lender will typically want you to complete a slew of paperwork as part of the process to apply for a loan modification. One document almost all lenders will ask for is a “hardship letter” which details your financial circumstances, your reasons for needing a loan modification, and any other information relevant to your loan modification application.

So, what should go in a hardship letter? What should you leave out? Although there’s no magic formula for writing a great hardship letter, there are some things which you should be aware of when crafting your letter to help boost your chances of success.

1) Remember your audience: Your letter will be read by one of a ton of “loss mitigation specialists” who have the mind-numbing job of reading countless letters from the thousands and thousands of people just like you who are caught up in this financial disaster. Put yourself in their shoes and think what you’d like to see. Some key things here are to be polite, professional, and detailed…but also to-the-point. A one or at maximum two page letter should be plenty to describe your situation.

It should go without saying that copying a hardship letter from the internet (or another source) is a bad idea: though you can get ideas from other people’s letters, remember that the person reading your letter will likely have seen all the “popular” letters which are passed around on the web. In short, make your letter specific to your situation.

2) Include the important details: Your lender may have a specific set of topics they want you to cover, so make sure you carefully read their list and include all the details they ask for. It may also be a good idea to include the following:

- Your loan number

- Specific reason(s) for your hardship, such as: ARM reset, unemployment, illness, death of spouse/co-borrower, job relocation, business failure, military duty, medical bills, divorce, incarceration, marital separation.

- Your current payment status, and how many months you’re behind (or if you’re about to fall behind)

- In the event of ARM reset, your previous payment amount and your new payment amount.

3) Leave out the emotion: I know it can be very hard to do, but it’s important that your letter be emotionally neutral. This can take some real effort, and may require you to “put the letter down” and come back to review it a couple of times. Remember that if you “turn off” your reader you may do real harm to your chances…so try hard to come across in your writing as calm and collected, but serious.

4) Though it may sometimes be difficult to be polite, be sure to thank the reader for taking the time to review your circumstances. Also include contact information for yourself and/or your spouse, such as phone number, mailing addresses, etc. Though you’d think that lenders already have this information, it can’t hurt to make sure they have it in front of them again.

Armed with this information and your lender’s guidelines, you’re ready to start writing an excellent hardship letter! If you’re tired of fighting with your bank, or if your bank has turned you down despite your compelling hardship letter, you might want to consider getting professional mortgage modification assistance from a no-obligation professional.



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One of the best visual and performance modifications that you can make to your import vehicle is to lower it.

Lowering your car gives it that slammed, aggressive stance, and also helps improve its handling. This is due to the lower center of gravity and reduced suspension travel. You’ve probably given quite a bit of thought to lowering your import, and you might be ready to start looking around for the parts you’ll need to get the job done. This kind of mod does make some fairly serious changes when it comes to both your car’s driving characteristics and the durability of certain automotive components. When you do decide to lower your car, it is important to do things properly and not cut corners no matter how tempting it might be to save a few dollars.

There are a lot of suspension companies out there that offer quality lowering kits. Eibach, Koni, Bilstein and Tokico all sell products that will both slam your ride and also increase its performance. When lowering your car, there are two main components that you will have to replace: you are going to need to install shorter springs to decrease your cars ride height, and you’ll have to switch the shock absorbers to a model which can handle the new suspension travel.

Shorter springs are going to drop your car down to its new ride height, but its definitely a mistake to trim or cut standard springs in order to achieve the same effect. Stock springs are designed with a specific spring rate that allows them to respond to the movement of your car as it drives down the road. No matter what your buddies might have told you, by shortening these springs that rate is changed, and your car’s performance will become a nightmare.

Body roll will get out of control, and your suspension may react in an unpredictable manner over rough patches. No one wants to end up in the guard-rail because they followed the wrong advice. Lowering springs incorporate a performance-oriented spring rate that will enable your car to respond quicker and with more stiffness when it comes to handling.

Likewise, shock absorbers need to be upgraded in order to better deal with your newly-reduced suspension travel. Performance shock absorbers will be able to handle the stiffness of the new suspension, and while you might notice a drop in comfort, your car will not pitch up and down nearly as much as it would with a stock suspension setup when the road changes elevation.

You should keep in mind that changing the ride height and the handling aren’t the only things that a lowering kit will do to your car. For example, more extreme lowering can tilt the angle at which the tires contact the road. This is angle is called camber, and too much in either direction can be hazardous for your street-driven import, since it reduces the contact patch that your tires make with the pavement. If your camber is too extreme, you might have to install something called a camber plate in order to re-align the wheels so that they are oriented correctly. Your lowered suspension’s new stiffness can also put increased strain on parts such as bushings and end links, causing them to wear out faster. You can sometimes solve this problem by using polymer bushings instead of rubber.

Replacing a stock suspension with a high-performance lowering kit can be one of the best modifications that you’ll ever make to your import. Not only that, but these kits are often the same price as stock suspension components, making them hard to say no to when it comes time to update an older set of shocks and springs.



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For the past few years, Ford has produced vehicles that are more compatible for modification with body kits. If you want your Ford car to completely look different and look more attractive, pair up a Ford body kit with a car spoiler or new car rims. When choosing body kits, Ford car owners will never run out of choices because several body kits are available for the Ford F Series truck, Focus and Mustang.

Make Sure that You are Getting the Right Body Kit for Your Car

Body kits are manufactured specifically for each model. Make certain that the body kit you order matches the exact specifications of your vehicle. Altering a body kit to fit your vehicle is not advisable. Seize the value of your money by purchasing the correct body kit suited for your vehicle. Remember that quality and authentic body kits suit perfect on your Ford vehicle.



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The cheering crowds, the adrenaline rush and the mounting excitement say it all. Welcome to the world of RC car racing! RC cars are a fascinating hobby of many race car fans and many adults and children enjoy both on –road and off –road races. However, a lot of preparation goes into getting a RC car ready for the race.

First of all, select the tires for the RC racing car very wisely. Choose a tire that is suited to the road surface of the car race. You need to also select the best motor, size and maintenance suited to the race. Ferraris, Porsches and Lamborghinis are popular choices for on-road races, and they are capable of great speeds. These are specific racing cars and need to be run on a smooth track for the best performance. Trucks and buggies may not perform well in terms of speed but they can be used on any kind of racing track including the roughest terrain.

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It has been said that Canadians are “among the stupidest people in the world”. Recent car pricing, in view of a rising Canadian “Loonie Dollar” is somewhat out of whack. For the most part a Canadian dollar in February 2008 trades at par – that is an American dollar roughly equals a Canadian dollar all things being equal.

A Canadian shopping in the U.S.A. for a car and then bringing it in, (importing the car), through relatively standardized channels can save a wallop of cash. For example – an Acura MDX models starts at $ 40,000 in the US but $ 54,000 in Canada.

The humorous part so to speak is that this car is made and manufactured in Canada, even with all kinds of federal and provincial government support and informal subsidies. In effect all the poor, luckless Canadian is doing is repatriating the Canadian citizen back home.

Importing a car from the U.S. into Canada is a relatively simple matter and process. First the prospective buyer researches his car in a standard and normal sense. Next he or she should check with the Canadian Government agency to check and verify if the car, truck or S.U.V. vehicle that they wish to import is admissible. The website is easily found, in a standard manner, from the Canadian Government Department “The Registrar of Foreign Motor Vehicles “or Riv for short. The website can be found at www.riv.ca . Prominent on the front page of the Riv.ca website is “Importing a U.S. Vehicle into Canada Find out how.”

The Riv’s process states to check and verify: that your vehicle is admissible and can be modified to meet Canadian requirements by checking Transport Canada’s List of Vehicles Admissible from the United States. The Registrar of Imported Vehicles program regulates only vehicles originally manufactured for the U.S. market. Vehicles originally manufactured to standards other than the U.S. or Canada, are inadmissible into Canada under the current laws. The program regulates passenger cars, trucks, vans, jeeps, chassis cabs, trailers, motorcycles, off-road vehicles and snowmobiles less than 15 years old and buses manufactured after January 1, 1971.

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Selling a car has become easy thanks to the internet. Techniques for advertisement of a car have undergone a sea change. There are many avenues to promote and sell cars such as the traditional and the new technology like television and internet.

Internet has changed way the new car market and used car market functions.  The change has been noticed in the benefits noted by individual used car sellers.  Buyers/sellers help get a more independent platform.  There are still the traditional franchisees and dealers who will help sell a car. Multi-franchisee setup is also gaining ground nowadays with ideas like ‘Carnation’ floated by Jagadish Khattar, former chairman of Maruti Udyog limited.

The traditional approach involves a procedure where a customer walks into a car dealership, is attended to by a salesman and finalises the deal based on price quoted by the dealer.

In the new approach – shoppers get an opportunity to rear car review, see photos, experiment with desired colours and accessories and get price quotes all on the internet.

For used car seller internet proves to be a boon in disguise. Not only is the internet route fast, easy, but it is also aimed to save money.  Sellers can advertise on the internet that can help sell your car easily, than it was possible a few years ago.  But there are certain phrases that car buyers need to look out for while buying used cars. These phrases explain the differences in condition of the cars.

Mint : This usually means showroom condition. It also means that the car has very little flaws. It has been well maintained and has not been modified at all. There are no visible sign of wear and tear.  The new owner can take possession of the car, without any necessity to take it to a mechanic. All major equipments in the car are in excellent shape.

Excellent Condition: This means that the car has few flaws. Most of them are minor flaws which can be overlooked if needed. It can also mean that it has undergone modification which can be reversed if needed. There is no need for immediate repairs or changes.

Good Condition: This vehicle may have certain cosmetic flaws, but nothing that disturbs the structure and performance of the car. The vehicle has undergone all major servicing but minor services could have been left undone. In this case it is important to ask for all servicing receipts. The owner could have skipped a couple of maintenance schedule. However, there are no damages to major car equipments. The car could have structural modifications which enhances its looks. When cars are advertised in this category, the buyer should note that all car services are recent.

Fair Condition: This sign means that the car has definite noticeable flaws, including minor structural damages. The paint, lighting may have some visible flows that can be rectified. However, none of these will affect the reliability and performance of the car.  The servicing may have been erratic and there be structural changes on the car. However, minor servicing can get it back to shape.

As is where is basis: This signifies that the car could have undergone an accident or a permanent damage.  The car many not be in a running condition, but can be facelifted with some major servicing (which involves huge expenses).  Some major equipment is permanently damaged and may be required to be replaced.

For Parts: This type of vehicle is completely damaged and cannot be driven. The repairs would cost more than the resale value and hence it is put up for scrap. The two words convey that most parts, including vital equipments of the car are completely damaged and cannot be replaced.

These phrases are popular among car dealers, but many individuals may not be able to make the fine distinguish between these words.  The seller should not forget to mention important car details like year of manufacture, colour, distance covered, mileage and changes made to the original car.



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