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Acura Integra Type R

The Integra Type-R you see in front of you is a beautiful car. This type-r is not heavily modified it’s everything a 1997 Type-R should be – immaculately preserved with a few additional tweaks in all the right places. This is definitely one of the cleanest ITR specimens i have come across with. Lucky enough for all of us, we can see it here on tunedTECH.ca

Discuss in our Forums and see more pics!.

Lexus LF-A prototype returns to 24-hr Nurburgring Race

Lexus has revealed it’ll bring the LF-A sports car back to the Nurburgring 24-hour endurance race in Nurburg, Germany. The LF-A is still considered a prototype model with a very uncertain future. We’ve seen the car around but have no word on whether or not Lexus plans on taking it to production in the future.

The LF-A will compete in the Division 2 SP8 class under the auspices of the GAZOO Racing team. It comes with a 4.8 liter V10 churning out more than 500 hp coupled to a sequential manual gearbox with a body made of carbon fiber reinforced polymer. For the race, it has been fitted with a roll cage and a race-grade fuel tank and also comes with aerodynamic additions such as a spoiler to better let it roll around the track. Other than that, this Lexus is being kept hungry to one day munch on public roads. At least, that is what Lexus is hinting at here. The 24-hour Nürburgring race takes place from the 21st to the 24th of May.

Toyota New Prius expected 40,000 preorders

An article in Japanese news paper, Nikkei, is reporting that Toyota’s expecting to receive 40,000 preorder requests for its new 2010 Prius hybrid in Japan alone. Compare that number to this one: 73,100 Prius hybrids were sold in all of 2008.

The competition, Honda, should be surprised it moved 18,000 Insight hybrids in Japan within the first month. They had originally expected to sell just 5,000.

The competition between the two automakers is getting so fierce that Toyota recently announced the 2010 Prius will be priced at around 2.05 million yen ($20,750), which is just about the same as the mid-level Insight.

Toyota revelead the Japanese domestic market Land Cruiser

Toyota has revelead the Japanese domestic market (JDM) Land Cruiser will be available with a new engine and transmission transplant starting May 6, 2009. The newly-developed 4.6-liter V8 Dual VVT-i gasoline engine produces 318-horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 460Nm or 339.3-lbs/ft of maximum torque at 3,400 rpm. Compare that to the previous 4.7-liter V8’s 288HP and 445Nm or 328-lb/ft respectively. The 4.6L V8 comes with an also new 6-speed automatic transmission that replaces the previous 5-speed auto.

I suspect it’ll only be a matter of time before announces the upgraded engine in markets like Australia and Europe that currently get the same 4.7-liter V8 engine as the Japanese-spec model.

The JDM Land Cruiser will also see the introduction of a new ZX trim level.

Minicars made by Honda, Toyota Equals Death Trap or Gas Savings?

Small or Minicar Equals Death Trap or Gas Savings? How about both. Recent frontal crash tests of Minicars made by Toyota, Honda and Daimler AG performed poorly. The test was conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris and Smart ForTwo collapsed in the impact of the test conducted. The test consisted of a frontal off-set crash head-on into one of the car makes sister mid-sized cars at about 40 miles per hour. Even with the protection of the airbags the study reviled a considerable amount of injuries to the head and legs of occupants in the smaller car.

Even though you save on gas money you may ultimately put yourself at a greater risk for injury in this type of crash. Spokes persons and management of all three automakers explained that this is a very rare occurrence of an accident in the real world only accounting for less than 1% of crashes. Some may beg to differ with the stats and argue the case that size matters.

Size does matter. It is rather obvious when you put the laws of physics in play especially (God forbid) matching one of these small cars up against a big SUV in an accident.

The 2009 Toyota Yaris gets fuel economy of 29 mpg in the city and 35 on the highway and meets all safety standards and regulations.

The 2009 Honda Fit gets 28 mpg in the city and 35 on the highway and meets all safety standards and regulations.

The Smart ForTwo gets 33 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway and also meets all safety standards and regulations.

So whats the big idea? I will show you by allowing you to watch the video below.

BMW Upgraded Maintenance Coverage Plan offered

With the slumping economy most of the car makers are thinking of creative ways to bring in some customers which naturally yields some sales. While many American brands are offering job-loss protection plans BMW is giving their customers the option to purchase an upgraded-extended maintenance program for a total of 6 years or 100,000 miles on a BMW that is 4 years old or newer.

So what is the catch? The price of course! This is no free option here. You will have to dish out between $1,395 to $2,995, depending on the model and year, for the extended maintenance plan. Don’t worry, it is well worth it if you plan on keeping your Bavarian ultimate driving machine. I wonder what other companies including Audi will do. Would you purchase the plan considering it will take care of all of the items covered in the 50,000 mile factory maintenance plan which is standard?

Beware all Buyer’s

Warning “If this is illegal, how come they are selling it at the store?” This question is common in response to corrective action taken after inspecting an illegally equipped vehicle at the roadside. In some cases the question is asked in an attempt to deflect responsibility, and in others it is asked out of genuine good faith.

About two thirds of a page was devoted to vehicle dress up items in the sale flyer of one of our local automotive businesses last week. A number of items shown are not legal to install or use on vehicles operated on B.C. highways. Nowhere in the advertising was any indication that these items were for off road use only or that the purchaser should check the law before making the purchase.

Section 222 of the Motor Vehicle Act is meant to provide some protection for the consumer. It is an offence for the business to sell or offer to sell equipment for a motor vehicle or trailer that is contrary to the law. By doing so, the business opens itself up to the possibility of charges and to civil liability should the equipment cause a problem.

Whenever I hear the question asked at the start of this column, I always suggest to the person that they go back to the business with a copy of this section. They may try to return the item and demand that their money be returned to them. If they were truly ignorant of the legality of the equipment, they may also consider civil action against the vendor to recover damages.

GT3RS Green EVO X 2008

We get some up close photos of one of our Sponsor Vivid Racing

When the Lancer Evolution first hit stateside automotive enthusiasts were ecstatic. Many of us were dying for Mitsubishi’s road warrior to come over to America and Canada, having seen plenty of its previous generations on DVDs and international publications. Fast forward a few years and the EVO X is now prowling the streets of America and the aftermarket has embraced the infamous platform.

Now we here at tunedTECH.ca are no strangers to Vivid Racing and their project vehicles. Running one of the most finely established companies in the industry and helping revolutionize the market, Vivid Racing has always been a valuable sponsor to us. We were extremely excited to get these photos of their EVO X project to present to our readers. We also would like to take the time in taking so long in putting up this feature. Vivid Racing had actually submitted these exclusive photos to us prior to the car’s debut at SEMA. We’ve unfortunately been extremely busy with some new and exciting features for our readers and we hope to break ground with it soon. So for those that are reading this, that’s the scoop on us… but now back to the feature car at hand!

Whenever a new vehicle hits the market, can almost guarantee Vivid Racing will be one of the first on hand going straight to changing it up. This time around, just like their previous Subaru project, it was just in time for SEMA. Purchased brand new with all the options in the factory red color, Vivid Racing worked in conjunction with Agency Power to tear the entire vehicle apart with less than 1,000 miles on the odometer. At the core of its modifications is a GT35R Twin Scroll turbo kit, completely transforming this EVO X right off the bat. As a development car for Agency Power, several products including a dual cat-back exhaust, complete cold air intake system, upper intercooler pipes, silicone blow-off valve hoses and radiator hoses, blow-off valve and even a shorty antenna were on the car just in time for SEMA.

For those that were fortunate to attend SEMA, or shuffled through our extensive coverage, you would have noticed that the EVO X was a far cry from the factory red by the time it hit the show floor. Repainted BASF Porsche GT3RS green, the car represented Toyo Tires well. The hooda nd the roof were refinished in a gloss black, and APR adorned the trunk with a carbon fiber Time Attack rear wing. Making over 600hp on race gas and 500hp on pump fuel, this EVO X is extremely reliable, very strong and purpose built.

We won’t bore you with all of the details other than what’s already been mentioned. We all know the photos is what you guys came for! We are extremely excited to see what Vivid Racing has up their sleeves next.

Performance Modifications:

Exterior:
· BASF Paint Porsche GT3RS Green
· Valdi Sport Test & Service Complete Front Bumper, Side Skirts, Rear Bumper Aero Kit
· APR GTC500 Carbon Fiber Rear Spoiler
· Smoked Tail Lights and Brake Lights

Engine:
· Agency Power Twin Scroll GT35R Turbo kit with twin Tial Wastegate
· Agency Power Cold Air Intake Kit
· Agency Power Top Intercooler Pipe Kit
· Agency Power Front Mount Intercooler
· Agency Power Lower Motor Mount
· Agency Power Modified Stock Injectors
· Agency Power Lightweight Billet Crank Pulley
· Agency Power Black Silicone Radiator Hoses
· Agency Power Black 50/50 Blow Off Valve
· Agency Power Black Blow Off Valve Silicone Hoses
· Monster Sport 1.3bar Radiator Cap
· Agency Power Dual 3inch Catback Exhaust with Titanium Tips
· Agency Power 3 inch Downpipe
· Kelford Camshafts Intake 268 and Exhaust 274
· Walbro Custom Made Fuel Pump

Suspension:
· Agency Power Billet Aluminum Rear Adjustable Control Arms
· JIC Magic FL-TAR Race Coilovers

Brakes:
· Rotora 6piston 355×32mm Front Big Brake Kit Paint Matched – Includes 2pc Slotted Rotors, Steel Braided Brake Lines, and Performance Street Brake Pads
· Rotora 4piston 355×32mm Rear Big Brake Kit Paint Matched – Includes 2pc Slotted Rotors, Steel Braided Brake Lines, and Performance Street Brake Pads
· Motul Synthetic Brake Fluid

Wheels/Tires:
· AME TM-02 1pc Forged Racing Wheels 18×9.5
· Toyo Tires R1R 265/35/18
· Muteki Black Closed End Lug Nuts

Electronics:
· ECUTek ECU Tuning by Vivid Racing
· Greddy Profec B SpecII Silver Boost Controller
· Revolution Electronic 52mm Gauges with Vivid Racing Logo – Boost, EGT, Water Temp
· Custom Carbon Fiber Gauge Pod

Transmission:
· Agency Power Short Throw Shifter
· Clutch Masters Stage 3 Clutch Kit Fiber Tough Backing
· Clutch Masters Light Weight Flywheel

Interior –
· Status Laguna GT Black Cloth Seats with Paint Match FPR Backs – Seats include Status side mounts and adjustable Wedge Engineering Seat Brackets.

K Sportline Kia Rondo

Naturally the three letters of JDM has been burnt into our minds as Japanese-inspired tuning. Clean, purpose built vehicles without extravagant body kits and modifications. But over the years JDM has changed much like the sport compact scene as a whole. USDM has even been tossed around now with popular vehicles like the Dodge Neon SRT-4 and even Cobalts and Solstices.

What’s interesting however is how low the Korean vehicles have been laying. Sure everyone expects a Kia or a Hyundai to just be a budget car to take you from point A to point B, but there’s no denying that there are avid fans out there of the brands. The Tiburon was fairly popular amongst the tuning crowd, and with the new Genesis coming out from Hyundai and Kia’s Soul and Rondo, the next few years are going to be very interesting.

ShowOpt teamed up with Kia Motors America to build a one-of-a-kind Rondo for SEMA 2008. Taking advantage of the opportunity, ShowOpt decided to brand it as a KSportline vehicle, developing and manufacturing new parts for this upcoming “KDM” tuning trend. The result? Well, we’ll leave that up to you guys – but we knew it was something worth sharing. The changes that this sport compact industry is going through right now are going to make or break what we’ll be seeing in a matter of a few years once the economy turns back around. There’s no denying that Korean-made vehicles are being customized and now that it’s about to his mainstream, we’re keeping our eyes glued.

Exterior:
House of Kolors Kandy Cobalt Blue, Ksportline Front Fascia, Ksportline Rear Valance, Ksportline Side Skirts, Ksportline Rear Roof Spoiler, Ksportline Rear Hatch Wing, Ksportline Eyelids, Ksportline Side Mirrors w/ LED Signals, Ksportline Hood Protector

Wheels/Tires:
Enkei Racing RPF01 F&R 18×7.5 All Around, Falken F452 Tires 215/35/18 All Around

Chassis/Suspension:
Ksportline Front Strut Bar, JDM UA Air Suspension x4, JDM UA Air Compressors, JDM UA Air Tanks x2, JDM UA Air Lines, JDM UA Air Switches, JDM UA Air Remote, Ksportline Custom 6 Point Roll Cage

Interior:
SitchCraft Carbon Style Head Liner, StitchCraft Carbon Style Pillars, StitchCraft Carbon Style Rear Hatch Section, StitchCraft Carbon Style Door Panels, NRG Racing Leather Steering Wheel, NRG Racing Carbon Steering Wheel Ring, NRG Racing Quick Release Steering Wheel Hub, NRG Racing Carbon Bucket Seats, NRG Racing Seat Brackets & Sliders, Creative Audio Custom Carpet Wrap, NRG Racing 4 Point Harnesses, NRG Racing Carbon/Titanium Pedals, NRG Racing Carbon Shift Knob, Ksportline Custom Painted Dash & Door Trims, GlowShift Gauge Pod, GlowShift Oil Temp Gauge, GlowShift EGT Gauge, GlowShift Water Temp Gauge

I.C.E.:
Nintendo Wii Video Game Console, SoundStream VIR7355N Head Unit w/ Navigation, SoundStream TSQ 10” Subwoofers x4, SoundStream TRC Amps x4, SoundStream SC8CA Capacitors x2, SoundStream Speaker Components x2, SoundStream TRX1000D 17” Drop Down Monitor, Creative Audio Custom Fiberglass

Engine:
Ksportline Intake Piping, Ksportline Spec GReddy Airinx Air Filter, NRG Radiator Cap, NRG Titanium Exhaust, NRG Ground Wires, NRG Voltage Kit

Sponsors:
KIA Motors America, GLOWSHIFT Gauges, SoundStream Electronics, House of Kolors, Enkei Wheels, Falken Tires, Universal Air, NR-G Innovation

Shoutouts:
AutoFashion, Creative Audio & Motorsports, DTM AutoBody, StitchCraft World Famous Interior, TWS (The Wheel Supply)

Bad Parking

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