The GM Performance Parts GTO Racing team continued their string of recent solid performances during the first day of qualifying for the Fram Autolite Nationals in Sonoma, California. Along with Warren Johnson, the team opened  their qualifying effort with two good runs. In the afternoon, Johnson had the tenth-quickest time. By taking advantage of the cooler conditions in their evening attempt, he got in the sixth position with his 6.648-second, 207.05 mph.

Still not contended with his performance, he turned his attention towards Saturday twin time trials, looking for ways to further improve his standing.

“We had two completely different tuning scenarios today, with the corrected altitude going from 2179 feet in the afternoon session to about 1200 tonight, which is a huge change. Still, it wasn’t a bad opening day overall, and our GM Performance Parts GTO is giving us some room to start dialing it in.

“We have an entirely different tune-up in it right now, so I definitely think we have room for improvement. If the forecast for tomorrow proves to be right, the morning session could be the best of the weekend. However, before making any decisions, we’ll wait and see what we have to work with in the morning, and take if from there. ”

A vehicle, especially a sports car, cannot stand alone with just the fast and the furious wonders. If a car is brutally fast, it has to be geared with an equally powerful suspension system. This six-speed Mazda MX-5 has been geared with a performance parts to beef up the suspension – the Bilstein shock absorbers.

For race cars such as the Mazda MX-5, a high-performing suspension is a must. Just imagine what the combination of the sky-rocketing speed and off-road terrain can do to a vehicle. With the car on full throttle, the driver may lose control over it and unfortunate accidents may occur. Performance parts like the stiffer Bilstein shock absorbers, which were installed at the front portion of the four-wheel drive, boost the suspension of the Mazda MX-5. Aside from easier maneuvering or directional stability control was also made easier with these performance parts.

Optimum performance will sure be achieved by the Mazda MX-5 after being geared with these quality performance parts.

Warren Johnson of team GM Performance Parts Pontiac Racing gained his momentum as he left behind the seventh position to take the lead in the Shuck’s Auto Supply Nationals in Seattle. Johnson bagged two spots in the Championship standings, taking him further to the Countdown to the Championship.

The race day was halted with suspense as the rainy weather went on. But the Johnson-led crew tried to make most of the opportunity presented. In the first round against Richie Stevens, WJ was awarded the automatic win when his opponent left the starting line prematurely, with Johnson punctuating the win with the third quickest pass of the session at 6.675-seconds with a top speed of 206.39 mph.

Johnson’s assignment grew even tougher in the second round, as he would square off against rival Allen Johnson without the benefit of lane choice, as his opponent had bettered his opening effort by four thousandths of a second. However he still missed the time despite his solid 6.680-second, 205.94 mph run.

“Our cars were only separated by a few thousandths in the first round, so I wanted to make sure and cut a good light against AJ,” Johnson said in an interview. “Unfortunately, I came up four thousandths short. Still, we’re not totally displeased with our performance this weekend. With only one crack at qualifying, we started seventh, and our GM Performance Parts GTO was among the quickest cars in both rounds today. In fact, in the second round, we were only twelve thousandths off the quickest time.”

Things are still looking up for WJ and his team, and as he awaits the final stretch of the race, the fans have been supportive as well.

A powerful engine with sky-rocketing horsepower and torque cannot stand alone. One of the performance parts that has to be included with this kind of energized engine is an equally powerful suspension system. Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) knows this, thus its road race car MX-5 Miata has been upgraded to become even more competitive.

To survive in the race wars, sports cars, like MX-5 Miata, have to be continuously upgraded with performance parts to become a cut above the rest and to perform even better. To achieve this, MNAO has equipped its most-loved race car MX-5 Miata with the Motor Sports-Racing (MS-R) package. The upgrade package is for the specific purpose of enhancing the on-track performance of the already high performing MX-5 Miata.

Patterned after the SV model MX-5, the MS-R package comes with powerful suspension parts like the Koni shock absorbers and front shock-tower brace . Not only that, the MX-5 Miata will also be geared with an underbody chassis bracing, 17-inch alloy wheels, racing specific front and rear sway bars, springs, and a rear lip spoiler.

“We wanted to give racing enthusiasts the opportunity to outfit their Mazda MX-5s with track-tested performance parts to ensure they have a competitive package when they hit the grid,” said Steve Sanders, manager, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development.

Since the two-seater sports car’s debut in 1990, MX-5 Miata has been one of the most successful models, thanks to its quality performance parts. The sports car boasts of multiple national championship titles under its belt.

JBA introduced the first complete exhaust packages for the 2005 Ford Mustang, including new long tube headers, smog legal Cat4ward headers, H-pipes and after-cat exhaust systems. Crowds in the 2004 SEMA show were in awe as they witnessed the new line of JBA Headers Performance Parts. These new headers take full advantage of the redesigned chassis and new engine of the 2005 Mustang.

The header features a 3/8″ thick laser-cut flanges, Mandrel-bent 409 stainless steel primary tubes, JBA Sealing dome, premium quality hardware and gaskets, Bolt-on installation and an Optional ceramic coating with thermal barrier.

The trick “D” port aluminum heads on the 4.6L 3v can breathe easier through JBA’s 1.625″ mandrel-bent stainless steel primaries freeing up massive amounts of horsepower and torque. JBA’s one-piece .375″ CNC laser-cut flanges make a tight and durable seal for trouble-free performance. The pipes terminate in a 9″ long collector that houses JBA’s patented Firecone merge device for enhanced scavenging of exhaust gases. These headers fit perfectly inside the frame with no loss in ground clearance.

 Flowmaster’s new Super 44™ muffler with its 4.00-inch X 9.50-inch case promises more advantages than the original 40 Series™ with its deep tone that comes with improved flow path radius, optimum internal flow and sound control engineering. These new advantages are all achieved by utilizing Flowmaster’s Delta Flow® technology.

The Super 44™ is a product of Flowmaster’s two-year research and development to build a compact, super-high performance street muffler that met all of the important Flowmaster performance standards.

The Super 44™ is the most aggressive, deepest sounding and maximum performing four-inch case street muffler Flowmaster has ever built.

These American-Made, all black mufflers fit a wider range of vehicles while exceeding OEM build–quality specifications. They are designed for use on street cars, race cars and sport trucks when builders need Flowmaster’s dynamic sound, torque and horsepower improvements in a smaller, high performance muffler.

People learn at a very young age that everyone has five senses – hearing, seeing, touching, smelling, and tasting. Just as much as people need these senses in order to function well, todays vehicles were also installed with sensors in the engine. These sensors must be regularly checked and maintained in proper condition as only through this will owners and their vehicles maximize fuel economy and ensure a smooth running operation.

Bryan Gregory of Advance Auto Parts (AAP), director of consumer education said, “Pay attention to your check engine light and your vehicle’s sensors or you could pay the price.”

He added that, “Sensors monitor air-fuel mixture, engine temperature, air-flow, wheel speed and more, so essentially they are telling your vehicle’s computer what to do. If your sensors fail, your engine may experience poor mileage and performance, and in severe cases you engine may fail altogether.”

Usually, a ‘check engine’ light will illuminate to let owners know that there is a problem. Any advance auto parts store will scan the OBD or On-Board Diagnostic port of the vehicle at no charge and print out the fault code to help the owner determine what the next steps will be.

These sensors are usually the most difficult part of the process of replacement. For instance for oxygen sensors, the replacement process could be simplified by using a specially designed O2 sensor socket that accommodates the sensor writing. A Haynes Repair Manual specific to the vehicle could prove to be really helpful in the replacement of this part.

Gibson proudly presents its latest innovation on car exhausts, the Superflow high performance CFT Performance Mufflers. This latest addition to Gibson’s line of mufflers offers a one of a kind internal angular design that creates a venturi effect. With this, the exhaust gases converge to even out and synchronize exhaust pulses while chambers create pressure to help draw exhaust gases out at an increased velocity. Its strategic directional louvered tuning ports guide exhaust gases into resonance chambers to create a deep husky exhaust tone.

GIBSON Performance Superflow Mufflers CFT – Convergent Flow Technology- has a solid louvered design requires no baffles to become brittle and no packing to deteriorate the quality of sound it makes even as time goes by. This technology has been tested and is responsible for getting the most out of the exhaust flow, having a powerful sounding exhaust tone, and ultimately the advantage when it comes to performance that you’re sure to get from a Gibson muffler.

This new line of Superflow Mufflers from Gibson offers an extensive range of universal muffler sizes to fit most vehicles available on the market. It is highly recommended to be used for early and late model performance street vehicles and also, for vehicles with dual exhaust.

The Superflow Muffler is an exhaust system not only capable of bringing about optimum performance and a powerful sound, it is also a system that continues to produce constant effects after being used for miles and miles. This gives your car amazing running edge on the road. Unlike many muffler products on the market today that are made with utilizing packing material or thin baffles placed inside the muffler casing, Superflow Mufflers are guaranteed to be made from the best materials available. This is the reason why ordinary mufflers sound good when brand new and as its packing begins to loose density and baffles become brittle after moderate use, it begins to sound as something in dire need of replacement. With time, ordinary mufflers’ internal elements start to fall apart, and increased reverberating sound may be heard inside the vehicle. Hence, a damaged exhaust sound heard on the street.

The angular induction structure engineered into the Superflow muffler performance part is the secret to the inimitable Gibson sound. The unique structure also serves as the foundation of Gibson’s Convergent Flow Technology. Integrated Tuning Ports are strategically stamped evenly on all sides of the chamber. These ports act as tuning instruments straining unsolicited noise as the high velocity gas flows through the angled convergent chamber. As a result, a pure deep exhaust sound is emitted for which Gibson systems are famous for.

The Superflow Mufflers are available in high quality, aluminized T-304 stainless steel. GIBSON Performance mufflers are manufactured in the U.S.A. and are geared with a lifetime limited warranty. Its Patented CFT assures to deliver optimum performance and a deep powerful sound. It has a solid internal fully-welded construction and allows reversible installation for varying tuning qualifications and ranges up to 21+ H.P. as tested on a 6.0L, Pontiac GTO.

CHILTON products have set the standard reference for Do-It-Yourself automotive enthusiasts and professionals for more than 80 years. In lieu of our now fast-paced and electronically-driven world, repair manuals from Chilton can now be carried along in your notebooks. With this, Chilton is able to take do-it-yourself repairs into the 21st century. The new product—Chilton CD-ROM Repair Information carries with it the culmination result of many years of gathering and documenting repair instructions that people from Chilton worked on. It is very handy and is definitely a space-saver. It also frees the owner of having to worry where the repair manual is after a considerable length of time not using it. The answer is simple: it’s in your computer.

This coming August, the newest addition to Chilton Consumer Total Car Care Reference CD-ROMs will be released in the market. The latest repair manual, now on DVD-ROM, is designed to replace individual vehicle repair manuals for enthusiasts when it comes to do-it-yourself repairs. The Chilton Total Car Care Import Vehicles DVD is able to cover a wide range of 2000-2005 import cars, vans, light trucks and SUVs. The owner will be provided with a standard code that will give him access to information for the vehicle he chose—similar to having an individual manual. The manual’s being in DVD format makes it an ideal lasting reference tool. It allows you to conveniently view the information that you need on your computer. You can even opt to print it out, and yet print another copy in case the print-out got all messed-up while doing the necessary fixings in your car.

The people behind Chilton car repair manuals have been at this for a long time. They got the means to know your car and truck. From bound manuals, CDs are now the new Chilton medium. With this release from Chilton repair manuals, the brand is able to illustrate that they know our times as well. As for your computer system requirements: PC 486 or higher, with 8MB RAM (Pentium 166, with 16 MB RAM recommended), Windows 95/98 or Windows NT Workstation 4.0 or later, 6 MB disk space, CD-ROM, SVGA monitor or better, 800 X 600 screen resolution plus high color display, 600 DPI Printer (Laser printer recommended for schematics). The disk contains the most accurate and up-to-date do-it-yourself repair information for your vehicle. It also includes detailed step-by-step instruction, thousands of repair procedures, photos and illustrations, wiring diagrams, vacuum diagrams, troubleshooting, maintenance and specifications charts.

Unlike professional repair manual written with the technician or mechanic in mind, a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) manual is written for non-mechanics. With the consumer in mind, writers and publishers alike make every effort to deliver the information in a format that is easy to understand. The lay-out is well-thought of with lots of actual photos and illustrations to give pictures of the step-by-step procedures in order for the readers to be informed on what to do when performance parts fail to work. All repair procedures are supported by detailed specifications, exploded views and photographs.

A name trusted when it comes to American racing, Edelbrock proves that it is still the best bet when it comes to intake manifolds. Recently, the recognized racer Chuck Samuels incorporated Edelbrock intake manifolds in gearing up and putting together racing engines. Samuels won the Super Street competition in 1995 and 1997, his state-of-the-art Pro Street ‘98 S-10 blistered the quarter-mile at 6.77 at 206 mph and was able to set the record in 1999 with the first twin-turbo entry his batch saw. Shortly after that, Samuel linked up with Kevin Marsh and their team topped 200 mph with a new LX.

Samuels has been gearing racing engines for quite some time now. Being a racer himself, he knows what works and not for race cars. Racers and auto-lovers from the heads-up, bracket and street performance competition come to him to have their car geared with outstanding engine internals.

According to Samuels, choosing an intake manifold for the engines was easy. He uses an Edelbrock small-block unit. The entire valve job and porting results of both the heads and intake were provided with the intricate attention of the renown racer Samuel himself. He prefers to put together racing engines without any help from the CNC-porting techniques.

Edelbrock performance parts have a number of styles available in aluminum intake manifolds in order to suit different applications. Each style has particular traits that make it ideal for the application it was designed for. To make sure of quality, every manifold is cast at the ultramodern Edelbrock Aluminum Foundry and machined on computerized machining centers. Years of experimenting in designs and series of pertinent testing in the field of induction technology have given the Edelbrock team edge in this area. This is also the way in which the company earned insights as to which characteristics work best and under what circumstances. If you’re building something for daily use, a high-performance street auto perhaps, or even a race car, there’s an Edelbrock intake manifold that can supply your car power exactly where it is needed.

Throttle Performers are ideal for passenger cars, trucks, 4×4s, tow vehicles and RVs. There are EGR and non-EGR versions available for most domestic V8 and some V6 engines. Performer manifolds for fuel injected engines are street legal stock replacements for Ford and GM. Performer manifolds are dual-plane, low-rise intake manifolds with a 180° firing order and patented design that can’t be found in other brands. As for more power in high-performance fuel-injected Fords, Edelbrock has four different intakes to offer, which includes the exhilarating Performer 5.0 RPM II in Ford Small-Block Fuel Injection. Performer RPMs are dual-plane, high-rise intakes with 180° firing order to produce incredible top-end horsepower while retaining good throttle response. Edelbrock’s Performer RPM gives you the max in street performance.

Edelbrock Intake Manifolds are now available in four finishes: the New Endurashine Finish resists discoloration from heat; Permastar Chrome Finish is guaranteed that it will not oxidize, fade or suffer from discolorations like that of traditional chrome plating; the Polished Finish is made from buffed aluminum for a brilliant shine; and the As-Cast Finish has a natural satin smooth polish.