Monthly Archives: July 2008

That’s right, for the paltry sum of $12.99 you can measure your car or truck’s 0-60, lateral g forces, acceleration g forces, braking g forces, HP, TQ and much more.

Using the built in accelerometer housed in your iPhone or iPod Touch the Dynolicious Performance Meter makes this and more possible! Available from the iTunes app store!

Dyno from your iPhone

 

This program is really cool, and the virtual skid pad alone definitely makes it worth the price of entry. We’ve been playing with it around the office and will post some updates as soon as we put it in a car and get some numbers.

Also available is WordPress for iPhone and iPod Touch which this particular post was entirely created and published with.

Check out these and more on Apple’s Web Apps Site.

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We’d like to think so.. case in point..

It’s nice to know with new innovations in the automotive world, new technology, new products, pyretic gas prices, new anti-enthusiast laws, changing shifts in every industry, there are always the staples that never seem to change.

You might think I’m referring to such companies and products supplied by K&N, Eibach, AP Racing, Bilstein and many others.. but in this case.. not so much.

In this instance, I’m talking about the one and only Uncle Booger’s Bumper Dumper, the purveyor of the patented trailer hitch toilet, who has been around as long as I’ve been in the automotive industry. Crackpot? Genius? The debate has been open for years and years.. but the simple fact, they are around, and unchanged, and glorious in every way.. complete with the same website circa sometime in the late 90’s.. (be sure to click around.. even T-Shirts are available) and the telltale image that sells it all:

Uncle Booger's Bumper Dumper

There is something to be said about longevity in the automotive aftermarket world, and in the specific case of Mr. Uncle Booger, I for one salute you sir.. well done and congratulations..

And to plug another internet staple, let’s all not forget about our friends at Zombo.com.. and yes, if you wait long enough, even ZomboCom T-Shirts can be had.. WELCOME!

On Saturday July 26th the STILLEN team headed out to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA with the STILLEN Ford GT to do some testing on the infield road course during the Speed Ventures open track day. It was a great day and we learned a lot about the new parts and were able to test out the new Michelins, we were hoping would provide the additional traction needed for the beast.

Flame ON!

The car handled alright with the stock wood (I mean ummm….rubber?) After the first session we decided to throw on the new Michelin PS2’s. This is a nice tire and has quite a bit more grip. These tires are a little bit shorter and quite a bit wider (two inches to be exact.)


During the second session the car definitely liked the grippier Michelins but it was having a little trouble with oversteer. Steve reported that the car was loose getting into the corner and loose out of the corners. So, we brought the car back into the pits and lowered the Penske adjustable coil overs 1/4 of an inch in the rear. This made a huge improvement during the third and final session. Half way through the third session Steve brought the car in to make some rebound adjustments on the Penskes. By the end of the third session Steve was all smiles and is confident the car will be a solid competitor for the 2008 New Zealand Dunlop Targa Rally.

Some of the new goodies we were testing include:

New AP Racing Clutch- 30% smaller and lighter than factory, “rally-style” engagement. This means that the engagement is quicker than a normal clutch, but still needs to be able to handle street driving.

Front and Rear AP Racing 6 piston brake kits with the brake bias moved 2% to the rear brakes.

New Supercharger- Eaton TVS2300 blower

New Settings for the Penske Suspension – Of course this will more than likely be adjusted during the rally to accommodate for current conditions.

New Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires- These seem to be a great tire and we look forward to racing on them throughout the rally.

STILLEN Brake Pros is proud to introduce the AP Racing Front Big Brake Kit and AP Racing Rear Big Brake Kit for the 2001-2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. The front kit utilizes AP Racing 6-Piston Calipers, 14″x1.25″(355mm x 32mm) 2-Piece Cross Drilled & Slotted (or Slotted Only) Rotors and the rear kit uses AP Racing 4-Piston Calipers, 13″x1″(330mm x 25mm) 2-Piece Cross Drilled & Slotted (or Slotted Only) Rotors. Both kits include high performance Mintex Xtreme brake pads, stainless steel brake lines, and all necessary brackets and hardware. The factory parking brake is also retained with our rear kit.

STILLEN Big Brake Kit Mitsubishi Lance Evolution '01-'07AP Racing Big Brake Kit Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution '01-'07

These kits will CLEAR THE STOCK OE EVO MR 14-SPOKE BBS WHEELS!

The front kit is expected to begin shipping by Mid-September (update 9/16 – Now Shipping!). The rear kit should be following shortly thereafter.

When these kits are combined they are a perfect upgrade for anyone looking for additional braking performance for spirited driving and track days. The combination of 6-Piston and 4-Piston Calipers, two piece large diameter rotors, dramatically improved Brake Pads, and Stainless Steel lines will ensure a firm pedal, zero brake fade, and improved stopping distances.

Mintex Xtreme Brake Pads are very high performance street pads that can handle temperatures from cold to over 1300°F, and are linear and predictable under all conditions. These pads have excellent grip, but retain important features like lower brake dust, moderate wear rates, and are much more rotor-friendly compared to other high performance compounds.

AP6800 Front Big Brake Kit Specifications

  • AP Racing 6-Piston Calipers (Black or Red Calipers)
  • 14″ x 1.25″ (378mm x 26mm) 2-Piece Cross-Drilled & Slotted Rotors (or Slotted Only)
  • High Performance Mintex Xtreme Brake Pads
  • Stainless Steel Braided Brake Lines (DOT Compliant)
  • All necessary brackets, hardware and instructions are included
  • Fits 2001-2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution


AP6850
Rear Big Brake Kit Specifications

Nissan recently hosted their official Grand Opening and Dedication for their Corporate Headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee.  Nissan asked Steve Millen to be on hand for the festivities, including taking 25 lucky employees who had won an internal Nissan contest for a spirited ride in the new Nissan GT-R.

While at the event, Brian Sullivan from Fox Business sought out Steve to discuss the GT-R.  Check out the video of the interview below:

Yesterday Steve Millen was out in Los Angeles for the first delivery of the Nissan GT-R, and while out there Adam from StreetFire.net got a chance to interview Steve regarding the recent controversies surrounding the Road & Track and Car & Driver testing of the Nissan GT-R versus the Corvette Z06 and Porsche GT2, and various other topics.

Video of the StreetFire.net interview is below:

EDIT:  It would seem that this is again creating some buzz in related forums, listed below:

NAGTROC – Steve Millen Answers the Skeptics on the GT-R
NAGTROC – GT-R faster than 997 GT2 at Willow Springs
FerrariChat – GT-R beats 911 GT2 at Buttonwillow

At exactly 12:01am this morning on July 7, 2008, the first Nissan GT-R was delivered to the first consumer owner, and STILLEN was on hand at Universal Nissan in Los Angeles for this historic event.

Nissan asked Steve Millen to be on hand to present the vehicle, and deliver a specially painted replica helmet which included the date and details of the first GT-R delivery. And the first GT-R to be delivered is…..

A Black Obsidian Premium Model.

Video of the mini-event was captured from our friends at StreetFire.net:


First GTR sold in the USA

Check out some photos of the event below:

As you can imagine, this has created a lot of buzz, as people can’t wait to get their pre-ordered GT-R’s, as well as begin seeing these beasts on the road:

CNN Money
NAGTROC Forum Post
eGMCarTech
StreetFire.net Photos

For the rest of the specs be sure to visit our Nissan GT-R Tech Section

We recently had a G37 at the facility, and we were able to do some testing on the G37 Headers, Cat-Back Exhaust, and High-Flow Catalytic Converters on the same vehicle to compare versus stock.

PDF Dyno Sheets are available below:

STILLEN G37 Exhaust Dyno STILLEN G37 Headers Dyno STILLEN G37 High-Flow Cats Dyno

STILLEN G37 Cat-Back Stainless Steel Exhaust
Part #504400 – Dual Wall Straight Cut Tips
Part #504401 – Single Wall Slash Cut Tips
18 WHP Gain

STILLEN G37 High-Flow Catalytic Converters
Part #503436 – Metallic Converters (Pair)
14 WHP Gain

STILLEN G37 Stainless Steel Headers
Part #508387C – Ceramic Stainless 409
Part #508387S – Stainless 304
Part #508387N – Stainless 409
14 WHP Gain

These parts are all in stock and available for immediate shipping.  Pictures of these items are also below.

 

All items have been discontinued at this time, blog article remains for educational purposes.

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Infineon Road Course in Sonoma, California is one of the most challenging tracks on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit.  With 12 turns and high speed straightaways leading into 30 mile per hour corners these 3,000+ pound cars abuse their brakes to the limit.

Infineon Raceway Course

On June 22nd Kyle Busch put his AP Racing brakes to the ultimate test and came from 30th starting position to win the race.  This win moved him even further ahead as the points leader for the Nextel Cup Championship.

Immediately after getting out of the car the first company he thanked was AP Racing.  This is even more significant considering he did not thank his PAYING sponsors until after he thanked the manufacturer’s of a product his race team pays over $30,000 to use.  If AP Racing brakes can help Kyle Busch win in such a demanding environment, imagine what AP Racing street kits can do you for your car during the day to day grind.

Here is an excerpt of his victory speech from the Joe Gibbs Racing website:

“We unloaded here this weekend and we were absolutely horrible,” Busch said in his post-race press conference. “We were so bad we didn’t know what was going on. These guys worked their tails off and never gave up. We worked on it and worked on it – made changes to everything – and finally figured it out. I have to thank AP Brakes, MAC Tools, M&M’s, Snickers, Interstate Batteries, NOS Energy Drink and everybody that’s helped us here. For Toyota to win here at their home race, that’s pretty special, too.”

Track Photo Courtesy Wikipedia