moddedblog

Everybody knows that Jeeps were made right on the first try with the original MB and early CJ models with the high clearance flat fenders. Every since then, wheelers everywhere have been trying to duplicate the simple, yet functional style with their TJs and JKs. Now, Bushwacker has a solution for those wanting the flat fender look for their JKs without having to hack the front of a $30,000 Jeep to pieces. Enter the flat fender flares available for both the 2-door and 4-door models. Granted, these flares are not going to be as strong as a full steel replacement fender, but they are going to give you tons of clearance for flexing and steering with larger tires. Existing mounting holes are used for installation, so it should be a snap to do. I think these flares look great and they should hold up to a little abuse like the rest of Bushwacker’s lineup.

Courtesy of 1fastS4:

No real surprise or anything, just cool to see an already fast car being made even faster. Looking forward to seeing more videos and official numbers on this beast!

Being that I missed the original muscle car battle of the late sixties to the early seventies, I am paying very close attention to the new (And possibly last, thanks to upcoming emissions standards) battle royale between Detroit’s finest V8 cars. I was so excited to read Motor Trend’s  comparison back in June between the stock versions of the Camaro SS, Mustang GT, and Challenger R/T. These cars embody so much of what I love in a car: style, simplicity, raw power, and that oh-so-sexy V8 growl. I must have read that article ten times.

Then I got the mail the other day and nearly fell over when I saw the December cover. When words like “Hennessey”, “Shelby” and “SpeedFactory” grace the cover of a magazine, you know you’re in for a good read. In so many words, the Hennessey Camaro made a little less horsepower than the Shelby pony but whipped it on the track due mostly to a better handling package and stickier tires. The best news for everybody is that the claimed “650″ horsepower by Hennessey is in fact a gross understatement. On the dyno, the HPE650 made 612 at the wheels! Using a 15% drivetrain loss, this puts the Camaro at over 700 to the crank, well above the claimed amount. Sweet. Now Hennessey has their LS9-swapped HPE700 which has 645 rwhp…wait…only 33 more? I don’t know the package pricing, but I imagine that the HPE700 is much more expensive. I’d be anxious to see it go against an even more tuned GT500 and a 7.2L Challenger. We shall see.

You knew it was coming. VW/Audi master tuner APR has released stage I through II+ tuning options for the existing TTS and highly anticipated US Golf R. APR promises gains from 48HP and 35TQ with just the stage I software by itself to 54HP and 51TQ with the stage II+ software bundled with a high-flow cat and upgraded fuel pump. Now, all of these numbers are on 91 octane which is what most of us get access to on a daily basis. Once you throw some 100 octane into the mix, it gets interesting with numbers like 362 horses and 378 torque on tap at the crank with the II+ kit. Sounds like quite a bit of fun for the smaller VW/Audi models. I’m looking forward to the upcoming stage 3 kit; mostly because APR likes to tease us with a blank dyno graph with “500″ as the top mark for power. More updates coming as soon as I have them.

Finally, a long arm upgrade for the XJ that doesn’t set you back a grand! Rough Country has just released their new long arm upgrade for the 84-01 Cherokee that includes a crossmember, transfer case skid and some nicely done high-clearance arms. The kit is completely bolt-on to avoid any sketchy welding to the already thin XJ unibody and looks pretty stout. Best of all, the kit is available on its own (at an EXTREMELY reasonable $599) or as part of a 4.5″ or 6.5″ lift that are also priced at nearly half of what the competition has to offer. Props to you, Rough Country, for putting long arms in the reach of many more eager Cherokee owners. Pics coming soon!