Rams Eye The Track Guy

Last year, I picked up a 2009 Lancer Ralliart to do a long term test with it as a dual duty track/daily. One of the first things I knew I was going to do was put a decent set of tires on it. The car came without OEM wheels which was actually good because I didn't have to hesitate about getting a good set of aftermarket wheels to support going wider. Thankfully, my friends at YST Auto Halifax  set me up with a great set of Superspeed RF03RR wheels. The Wheels I had never even heard of Superspeed but I trusted the good folk at YST Auto who mentioned some customer cars running on track with them. These wheels are rotary forged which is basically a prerequisite to be taken seriously in this market populated by companies like TSW and Fast Wheels. The wheels looked like a high quality, well finished wheel and each had a "QC" check sticker on. Just for appearances? Maybe, but I found no defects. The wheels seemed easy to balance (didn't need many weights) and at 18.1 lb. f...

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 ...

If you've been following me, it's no secret by now that I recently got a sponsored set of Pedders eXtreme xA Coilovers to test, thanks to American Muscle. I have been wanting to do something about the stock suspension on my 2012 Boss 302 for a while but budget didn't allow. When the opportunity came knocking, I couldn't be happier. The kit includes coilovers only up front to replace the stock struts but maintains the separate "divorced" damper (shock/shock absorber) and spring setup in the back, a common solution for plenty of entry level/budget coil over options as well as more established brands like KW and Eibach until you get to their flagship or race kits. Even the Maximum Motorsport (MM) JRi coilover kit - a package that is far from a budget or mild street option - retains the divorced spring/damper mounting. While a true coilover setup in the back would be better, it would be more expensive and at this price point, I think the money is better spent on ...

There are no shortage of automotive journalists praising neutral handling balance, sliding a car half way around a track, and condemning understeer as the enemy of speed. It's not just journalists, either. Forums for all sorts of cars are filled with people who hate understeer and try their best at exorcising every last understeering demon out of their cars. But is understeer actually that bad? Drifting vs Hot Laps Everyone seems to categorize the three distinct traits at the limit - "understeer", "neutral", and "oversteer" - this way: Understeer is bad. Neutral is good. Oversteer is slow but fun. And since most people don't get to drive a multitude of different cars, let alone push them to their limits, most opinions are formed based on professional reviews. That's fine in general, but there is a distinction between "fun" and "fast". Drifting is a lot of fun, yet everyone knows that drifting is not the fastest way a...

Ever wonder how a 3.5 litre EcoBoost might fair against the 5.0 litre V8 in the Mustang? Of course you have. Ever since Ford dropped it in the F150 (and perhaps well before), everyone has been wondering how it would perform. There are basically two camps; those who think it would be awesome because of tuneability and power potential and those who think it means the death of the V8 in the Mustang. If you are in the latter group, we seem to be good so far with continuous upgrades to the 5.0 litre Coyote and the brand new Shelby GT500 which still uses a supercharged V8 as it has been for over a decade and multiple iterations. But what if... Well, it seems we are closer than ever to finding out the answer to that question. American Trucks recently got together two crew cab, short box, 4x4 F150's but one has the 5.0 litre V8 and the other has the 3.5 litre EcoBoost V6. There has been a few comparisons between 5.0 litre and 3.5 litre EB F150's, but this seems to be the most di...