By Ryan Porter

IN-N-OUT Editor

Yesterday Speedhunters blogged about a sick looking Golf, which we chatted about at the office all day.  There were arguments for and against the stretched tire look. My vote is for it!  If I could pull it off on my smart I would be rockin’ an uber-stretched wheel, but in the meantime I’m just a wall-flower to the whole stretched movement.

Anyways, after talking about it so much yesterday I decided that I needed to know more about how it’s done. So after a little bit of magic with the google I found out that this stretched tire thing isn’t safe at all. The main idea is to stretch a tire three to six inches beyond the width of wheel it was designed for according to a tire size calculator. Beyond that, I don’t think there is much to it.  Now, check out how it’s done by these apparent noobs in a video after the jump. Do not try this at home!

Continue reading "Stretching Tires 101" »

Anyone who has been in smart car can tell you that the 3-cylinder engine sounds almost like a diesel. At first it’s cute, and yeah it sounds like a car from The Jetsons, but after a while I wanted a car that was quiet. Sean from SoundDomain suggested I look into sound deadening the interior to cut down on the vibrations caused by the loud 3-cylinder engine, and to cut down on the noise making it into the car through the plastic door skins.

To start the project off we loaded up on a number of products from Second Skin Automotive Insulation. Everything from Damplifier Pro, Spectrum Sludge, Luxury Liner Pro, OverKill Pro, and Heat Wave. At the beginning of this project I didn’t know what a single one of these things was meant for, but after reading some simple tutorials and throwing on some work clothes, I was ready to go. I decided to start with deadening the floorpan and trunk/engine area. Check out my ride page to see how my Diamplifier Pro install went.

I recently had my diesel Escort in for some injection-pump tuning and the windshield got smashed. Fortunately, the guys at the shop were pretty cool about paying for it after I showed them the pics that proved it was unmarred when I left it with them. So today, the glass people they referred me to came and replaced my windshield free of charge. I’ve never done a windshield myself, but the very talented Scott of Professional Auto Glass made it look dead-easy, and did a very polished job in under half an hour. Highlights included learning how to pop the windshield frame clips with the special tool (I’ll have to get me one of those for when I throw paint) and the motorized caulking gun that laid down the big bead of silicone. Fun! There’s nothing like having a new windshield, too. All those accumulated pits and chips that you barely notice? You never realize how much they compromise your visibility until you get a new one. See some install pics after the jump.

Continue reading "Beautiful: A New Windshield For My Diesel" »

When the sun starts to set, Spring Break Nationals really starts to shine. The NiteGlow Competition is a cool twist to the car show scene and offers a truly unique view of competitors’ show cars not usually available at your typical car show. This MKII Supra was one of the more subtle examples we shot, sporting a multicolor LED underbody kit that transitioned between purple, blue, and red. The collection of show cars on display were dressed in LEDs, Neon, strobes – even a full police lite bar on Crown Vic cruiser! Check out CarDomain events section for full coverage.

Well, according to the weather report on my handy iPhone, Seattle has snow, sleet, and rain in the forecast for tomorrow and the entire weekend…. Good thing I’m heading to Daytona, Florida tomorrow for Spring Break Nationals! SBN is one of the largest and most anticipated car audio events of the year, and we’ll be bringing you coverage of the event all weekend long. That’s right, more bad ass cars, bikinis, sun, and custom car stereo systems than you can shake a stick at! Keep checking back!
For more details on the show hop over to the Spring Break Nationals website!

In my last blog I was trying to find out how many of the rest of you "like ‘em low" like I do. In the pursuit of making my current car sit a little prettier, I stumbled across something that’s supposed to make the job a lot easier. A new product from Air Ride Technologies called the "Air Pod" is basically a bolt on air-bag easy button. The "Air Pod" comes complete with a compressor, 5 or 3 gallon air tank, pre-plumbed connections, and pre-wired solenoids, making this unit as plug-and-play as it gets. Just four air line connections to the bags themselves are all the plumbing that’s necessary, taking a possible week-long job and turning it into a casual weekend project. Now all I have to do is wait for my economic stimulus check to get here and I’ll be in business!

• They keep the good news coming: Six new JL Audio W3V3 subwoofer systems are now available. The 10" FlatWedge box caught my eye – less than 5" deep, but packs a JL W3V3 woofer!
• Bassform’s "Does Your Box Rock" Challenge at the Spring Break Nationals in Daytona is ON. Competitors will showcase their vehicle-specific custom fiberglass enclosures for a chance at cash prizes. Bassforms locked down a great line-up of judges, we’ve got the list.
• Gotta Zune? Play any good games on it lately? You will be soon!

• Aliph, makers of the cool Jawbone Bluetooth headset, released details on three limited edition Jawbones designed by the the device’s creator. Sweet Talk, Dirty Talk, and Trash Talk are pretty simple, but I appreciate that they don’t have that modern "Matrix" styling a lot of manufacturers have taken on. The trucker lady emblem is my favorite. Do ya dig?
• CarDomain member e34zoui’s e34 5-Series BMW is off the charts. I was surfing through the Top A/V Installs on CarDomain when I came across this kitted-up starch white BMW beauty queen. He’s completely reworked the interior: kick panels, custom consoles, a complete A/V system, carPC… And the quality is straight-up outstanding.
• Don’t forget!! If you live in the Vancouver, BC area, Varad is searching for a booth car for the Lordco Trade Show! You get a slew of free gear and your car featured in the blog! Get all the details!
• Speaking of contests– Sirius is taking entries for a free trip to the Winter Music Conference in Miami with guest host Paul Van Dyk! If you’re an electronic music music junkie like myself, this is a killer opportunity!
• Audiojunkies got the scoop on some new amplifiers from Italian amplifier manufacturer Tec. The sleek and simple design will look awesome flush-mounted or on full display!

• Ben was reminiscing about the good ‘ol days and flashed a few pics about his first car audio system. It was a pretty impressive system for day: two 12" Pyle subs, an Autotek amp, Boston Speakers and a Panasonic head unit. Mine system was in an 87 Civic Si: a single JBL 8" woofer, Pioneer amp,  Blaupunkt speakers and Sony CD player. We’ve all come a long way since then…. Do you remember your first system?
• Home audiophiles come up with some pretty crazy stuff to stretch out every last dB of sounds quality from their systems. Some even resort to using video RCA cables rather than audio RCAs, assuming the lower resistance allows for better flow of the audio signal. Is this a good idea for a car audio system?
• CarDomain member OneCrazy95Civic has been modifying his Civic for a few years now. Once he was "satisfied" with his first award-winning design, he ripped it all apart and has been building out an even crazier all new design. The system list is enough to put almost any system to shame, and the install… Well, you just have to check out the videos. Seriously.
• Throwing down a paint job on a project using rattle can leave a lot to be desired when it comes to accuracy and precision. Unless you really enjoy sanding, you should check out Alsa’s Killer Cans.

• The Alpine Imprint RLS will always be one of the most amazing demo cars ever produced. But before the Imprint made it’s impression on car audio history, the Alpine crew built the Sinister Six. What started out as an innocent $84,000 BMW 645ci ended up a jaw dropping, road raging, Sinister sports coupe. And SoundDomain has two videos  from Alpine following the crew through the amazing build.
• It interesting what you can find in life if you just look a little bit closer…. SoundDomain’s new guestblogger, Ben, writes about the hidden easter eggs found on circuit boards. Who’da guessed engineers had a sense of humor?
• Car manufacturers aren’t the only ones getting hit by Chinese knock-offs; even car audio manufacturers have to step into the ring. Check out the pics of this bogus Alpine amplifier found out in the wild. Would you have spotted it?
• Our main man Steve Meade is back and shaking up a ruckus at Taco Bell. Watch what happens when the two drive thru guys ask for a sample of the Tahoe’s beefy beats. Notice the bills in Taco Dude #2′s hand when Steve gives the magic knob a twist… The looks on their faces are pretty priceless too: from excitement to satisfaction to shock & awe. It’s always a good time with Steve.
• Bored? Add Bluetooth to your 5G iPod.
• We’ve also got a video of CarDomain member Jamminwagon plugging in and jammin’ out on his electric car through his Dodge Magnum’s sound ssytem. Boy’s got some skills, car’s got some beats!
• Scosche built out a pretty crazy demo car for SEMA 2006: a bright orange FJ Cruiser stuffed with EFX gear: eight 12" woofers, twelve amplifiers, seven monitors (including a 32"monitor in the rear door!), twenty speakers, three batteries, and over 9000 watts of power!