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2018 Toyota Corolla LE First Drive - Full of Soul

I had a rental car the other day for a little trip. The car was a 2018 Toyota Corolla LE. My experience with this car is one that I had to share. You see, people say this car is an appliance, it is soulless, it just gets the job done, etc. I never thought I'd say this, but I hugely disagree. It is not fair to the Corolla and does not give the car enough credit. This car is not an appliance, it is far from it. It is absolutely full of soul.. UN fortunately, that soul is a demented, evil, mean, avenging spirit. Appliances are happy to hum along doing their jobs. The soul in this car hates cars, driving, and everything that has to do with either. I think it must have been killed by a car thousands of years ago and has been plotting its revenge on the automobile since then. I know, there were no cars thousands of years ago. But maybe someone from the future traveled back in time and ran them over. Their soul must have lingered on. It sounds a little far fetched.. But I'll ask y...

2018 Camaro SS 1LE vs 2018 Mustang GT Perf. Pack - A Closer Look

Get your pitchforks sharpened and your torches lit up. There is a new Camaro vs Mustang comparison test and one of them walks the other. This time, it is the most recent comparison test between a 2018 Camaro SS 1LE and a 2018 Mustang GT posted by Motor Trend a few weeks ago. The results are the stuff of classic and long lasting brand rivalry so let's dive straight in. There is so much I want to talk about that it was difficult to pick where to start. Power seems to be the simplest and it's the one most are interested in so I'll start with that.       2018 Camaro SS 1LE       2018 Mustang GT Perf. Pack 0-30 mph 1.8 s 1.9 s 0-40 mph 2.5 s 2.6 s 0-50 mph 3.2 s 3.5 s 0-60 mph 4.1 s 4.4 s 0-70 mph 5.1 s 5.4 s 0-80 mph 6.5 s 6.7 s 0-90 mph 7.9 s 8.1 s 0-100 mph 9.4 s 9.7 s P...






Does An Aftermarket Grille Really Increase Airflow?
I put a Saleen S281 grille to the test to answer that question.

Stock Suspension S197 Mustang With Square 305/30/19's
What you need to fit a proper size square tire setup.

How Limited Slip Diffs Make You Faster on Track
What you need to know about how they put power down and pros and cons.

Can Telemetry Explain Schumacher's Talent?
A comparison between Schumacher's and then team mate Herbert's data.






Cayman GT4 Track Review
The first Cayman with proper (911-challenging) power.

Is an EcoBoost Mustang any good on Track?
Two days at the track in a Mustang short 4 cylinders.

2016 BMW M4 DCT Track Review
It's quick (properly quick). But is it fun?

Can a stock Golf Diesel handle a Track Day?
Not your every day track beater.




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All Mainstream AWD and 4WD Systems Compared and Explained

Mitsubishi Evo X GSR at Atlantic Motorsport Park - Kevin Doubleday  © If you live in Canada or the US, you'll find that plenty of people hold sacred the terms '4x4' and '4WD' to describe a 'true 4x4', where you have a butch transfer case with a low speed, perhaps a body on frame chassis, and ideally a solid axle or two. I'm not sure how that translates to the rest of the world. My extensive research into the motoring industry in Europe (which exclusively consists of watching Top Gear and The Grand Tour...) concluded that most people across the pond simply refer to any vehicle that is capable of sending any power to all four wheels as a 4WD vehicle, further muddying the waters. Where I grew up, 4x4 was more or less synonymous with 'Jeep' so that's not much help either. However, despite all various systems attempting to do the same sort of thing - distribute power between all four wheels instead of two - not all systems are created equal,...

Michelin Pilot Super Sports vs Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 - Street Review

I've been a huge fan of Michelin PSS tires and exclusively bought them for the Mustang over the last four years. So how did I end up here? This year, I was hugely interested in trying an "R-comp" tire. I had my eyes set on Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R's for two simple reasons: price and reputation. Although not a true "R-comp" tire on paper, it performs like one by the account of every single test and review I've read (down to wear rates...). They seem like they're easily the most affordable (from a big brand) R-comp tire and combine that with a reputation for having tons of grip, it was an easy top contender. I had my concerns, though. For one, I'm told and have read that they are an autox tire, not really designed for high speed, pressure, and temps associated with open track. For another, the Mustang is a heavy car (as far as track cars are concerned) being roughly 3,800 lb. (including driver), which will amplify the unwanted open track load...

Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2's vs Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R's

I never thought I'd ever run Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2's on my 2012 Boss 302. The cost is astronomical and they are supposed to last the least of anything comparable. So how did I end up with (nearly) fresh Sport Cup 2's? A complete fluke. I came across a lightly used set with only a few hundred miles and no track time; 305/30/19 takeoffs from a GT Performance Pack Level 2 (GT PPL2). I knew my 71R's were getting very worn before the season started and likely wouldn't last the whole season, even this short one. The price was far better than a new set of RE-71R's, a little more than half, and local Time Attack rules (Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs) recently made 180 and 200 TW tires equivalent, meaning no PAX or PIP point penalty for going with 180 TW tire like the Pilot Sport Cup 2's. I have been very curious about how PSC2's compare to RE 71R's but I stayed away due to their being painfully expensive and, up to last year, their 180 TW rating would ...

Limited Slip Differentials - The Basics

I'm finishing up a comparison post (link to introduction: Intro: Focus RS vs Golf R vs WRX STI vs Evo X ) and, throughout the post, I realized that I have to go off topic a lot to talk about how each type of differential changes the way the car drives. As a result, I thought I'd write a separate post to go into more detail before I post the comparison to keep it more focused on the cars and avoid veering off topic too much. By saying "Limited Slip Differentials" in the title, I am including torque vectoring diffs because, although current conventional terminology treats them differently, a torque vectoring differential is, in essence, a very sophisticated limited slip diff (LSD) that can be manipulated to actively help the car handle better. And while none of the cars in the comparison use open (without help from the brakes) or non-gear mechanical LSD’s, I’ll briefly discuss them so that the post is more inclusive. I’ll only focus on using power to help the...