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TRINBAGO’s PREMIER UNDERGROUND
MOTION.LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE
July:August 2011 + Sept:October 2011 The prices are RECOMMENDED & do not reflect or include Shipping or Sales tax or Additional Charges: USD $3.50 | EC$10:00 | TT$20.00 | BDS $10.00. It’s only a rough guide people.
www.sixthspeed.com
EEN THE NEWS:
Mazda Mania | SixthSpeed + Shape Shop Fitness Program | Jet Ski Drag Racing TTUNDRA Official Launch | Autobody Works Chassis Alignment Machine Car Lovers Pitstop Opening and more
The Sixth EPIC RUNS:
You may be young and not know but one of the biggest title fights on the street took place between TITAN & SIGNAL and we look back on what happened and spill the beans
You can WIN LARGE in The Castrol Magnatec & Sixth Speed Hamper Giveaway.
Be the first to email, bbm or text “magantec molecule” to the Sixth
NEW LOOK FRESH CONTENT SAME ERRORS BETTER SIXTHSPEED
GRINDING GEARS:
Speed, Drag racing, Alcohol, Phone but how come nobody blames the Government rather Licensing Authority for the abysmal quality of drivers on the road these days.
SIXTHSPEED Driver Series:
Bringing it back to the street we are introducing the Driver Series in order to make you a better driver. Forget your regs. we have the TRUTH!
breaking Join the SIXTH BERRY UNDERGROUND: Scan the barcode OR type out 214837E7 to get in on the tuner revolution.
necks
Honda Civics are common like fowl egg but this made our blood run cold in highway traffic. Anytime that happens something is wrongfully right
INDEX. S I X T H
S P E E D
G R E A S E
I N D E X
P A R T N E R S :
the people mad enough to carry the magazine
UP IN THE NORTH:
Garvin’s Performance (POS) Miniciti (Valpark) Auto Image (Valpark) The Priveligio (Movietown)
-1.868.628-1278 -1.868.678-7430 -1.868.662-1201 -1.868.346-3700
Sheriff’s Auto Supplies (San Fernando) Specialist Muffler 2001 (Ste Madeline) Mileage Mack Ltd. (San Fernando) Kizuna Kraftt (Mon Repos) QWKWHP Co. Ltd. (Debe) Princestown Auto Supplies RONS Marketing (San Fernando) Torry Hosein (Gulf City Mall) Parts Solution (Princestown) Pink Noise Audio (Gasparillo) Maztune (Cocyea) Ryan Performance (La Romain)
-1.868.657-1687 -1.868.698-0009 -1.868.657-1704 -1.868.323-9323 -1.868.683-2551 -1.868.647-6878 -1.868.655-7633 -1.868.653-0778 -1.868.771-1478 -1.868.655-6922 -1.868.688-8679 -1.868.783-5064 -1.868.724-6493
DONG IN THE SOUTH:
T H E
S U M P . P A N
Well here it is, the 13 issue of Sixth Speed and it is the FRESHEST yet. Protocol mandates that we say sorry, but reality is that we have nothing to be sorry for - you folks asked us to step up our game and that’s just what we did. The wait was long and the trauma is regretted but with a new layout, more of the good stuff you want, less of the crap you don’t, crispier cars and the bring back bitterness that the Sixth is know for. We are BACK and not taking prisoners. In fact the only thing remaining the same is the spelling errors - gotta make sure allyuh reading and not just watching the pics. Now it’s been 6 months since the last issue and I must say that there has been alot happening; no race track, in fighting between the people who are supposed to be looking out for motorsport and the media doing their thing as usual to blame drag racing for young people dying - nothing new. However the good thing is that those true to the lifestyle have kept on doing your thing despite the setback thuse showing the idiots out there , they can’t stop us. Anyway, this is supposed to be short so, thanks for sticking it out with us and supporting us; with no you there is no Sixth Speed.
OVER IN THE EAST:
Street Concepts (Arima) Quickbits by Andy Clarke (Curepe)
RIGHT IN CENTRAL:
Tuner Imports (Charlieville) XR Performance (Cunupia) Custom Imports (Cunupia) Tip Top Marketing (McBean) Turbo Klub (Couva)
ACROSS IN TOBAGO:
JJ (Jelani Williams)
-1.868.683-6065 -1.868.645-7297 -1.868.665-6803 -1.868.735-1086 -1.868.788-2898 -1.868.679-8533 -1.868.636-5589 -1.868.772-4361
A D V E R T I S E R S :
M a r i s s a
the people who make the Sixth possible for you read.
sixthspeed.com w w w . s i x t h s p e e d . c o m
TUNE TECH R1 Built as a project to haul banana skin by TUNE TECH in San Fernando and ridden on the fly by Dominic Date, the LE R1 not only looks like it’s ready for battle but it moves battle ready as well. We have the skinnies and the down low on this underground monster that WILL DELIVER the hee-bees on anybody.
CAR COMMERCIALS THAT MAKE US WANT TO DO STUPIDITY! Press play and have a look at the 10+more best car commercials that will chain you up to do smilies! We tried to look hard for local stuff that toasted our souls but salt was our portion.
IT’s PURE, IT’s FRESH, IT’s SENSELESS! You WOULDN’T BELIEVE what comes out of people’s mouth when it comes to speed, motorsport and all things fast Read more on the things people say that makes us wonder and READ how we deal with them mad people.
555 Subaru Parts & Service (Performance Shop) Cariszone CarvTECH Performance (Performance Shop) Cleantec (Rims Shop) Custom Imports (Performance Shop) Cyber Evo (Performance Shop) HN Racing (Auto Garage) Imraj Brothers Muffler Kizuna Kraftt (Performance Shop) Motor City Limited QMI (ZMMA) Quickbits (Bike Performance Shop) QWKWHIP Co.Ltd. (Performance Shop) RC Tuning (Auto Garage) Ryan Performance (Performance Shop) Royal Purple Sheriff Auto Supplies (Performance Shop) Specialist Muffler 2001 (Muffler Works) Stage X Performance (D2 Suspension) Street Concepts (Performance Shop) Trump Auto Garage (Rotary Garage) Tuner Imports (Performance Shop) Tune Tech Performance (Bike Shop + Garage) Turbo Klub Performance (Performance Shop) WCIS Limited (Industrial Supplies) XR Performance (Performance Shop)
F O R M A L I T I E S : #9 Ramnarine Ave., St. Magaret’s Village Claxton Bay, T’dad W.I
1.868.476-3220 | mysixthspeed@gmail.com Editor in Chief: Marissa Wong Soo | Editorial Assist: Alex Ramirez, Brent Alleyne, Dwight Titus, C.T Bear, Kerwyn Johnson | Writers: Linzi Jeremiah, Jevon Emmanuel, 5FWD, Sastri Ramlal, Stacy Bridgelalsingh + Design & Layout: Sev7nth Interactive Media + the Accounting & Financial: Monique Jones
The Editorials:
We always encourage contibutions to the magazine, BUT as much as we endorse individual expression, we can’t publish everything; so we reserve the right to use submitted material and editorials as we see fit. All credit will be given where applicable to respective content contributors. Also the views expressed are those of the writers and NOT the magazine.
The Disclaimer:
As much as we here at Sixth Speed try our best to gurantee that the information in these pages are correct as can be, we cannot and will not be held responsible if you decide to try anything and things go wrong.Any damages to persons and property is not our fault; that burden of responsibility rest upon you shoulders. Don’t say we didn’t tell you pappy.
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TTUNDRA DRAG MEET
Rain may have put a damper but that didn’t stop what was one Mad event. Officially launching the organisation geared towards looking out for the better interest of DRAG RACERS; TTUNDRA (Trinidad & Tobago Unified Drag Racers Association) held their first ever meet at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Balmain Couva.
There was cloudy skies and small ting showers but men, women, chirren and the like came out in their numbers to breeze out and mingle amongst the most bestest collection of drag cars and bikes in one place outside an official drag event. If you were not there you missed out on witnessing Chris Juman’s full race Turbo Energy Drink 2JZ 1st gen with a turbo the size of the moon; Edoo’s full drag bike, Maztune’s rare GTX Mazda Familia alongside Kizuna Kraftt’s Mazdaspeed 3. Garage 4 represented Honda with no less than five samples of finery including the hatchlings; Def’s EK3 NA + Nitursted, Anthony Farah all in one EG and the Garage 4 monster build by Jason. Not to be out done was the presence of THREE rails (Misha
AH HEAR:
Truth, Lies and Allout boogangaran
Peter Laaquis clocked the scales at 700HP WHP on pump gas 22psi with a GT42 Sinister Audio is INFAMOUS It seems that long life isn’t guaranteed as a harden 3rd gen. prophet got ahead of himself & ended up splitting his staff Of Misery And boosted Regression in half. Signal To Boom is the order of the day as the sky touched the sea and cause a ripple effect that shake, rattled and had fishes rolling from a lean.
Luke, Michael Douglas and Rishi Kannick) that barked louder than a pot-hound on C16 and spat flames longer than a stretched market jockey. Burning ear from a mile away the roar from these things were insane, especially when a rev off ensued between Rishi and Michael Douglas in. Rishi lost badly. Xtreme Performance rocked with the ONLY boosted pickup and a SR20 B11 sunny; the rotors camp represented with a slew of 3rd gens under all manner of build including Randy’s “Trinidad & Tobago” 3rd gen that did 11’s in the heliport. There were many more examples of bestness not putting aside Sparky’s SR 120Y, A Subaru WRX with a Legacy twin turbo conversion, Speedy G Garage 2JZ Laurel and Presley’s never seen driven Signal R33 drag car. Despite the show, all was shined over by the Feint Launch. Yes folks men skewed the stadium with a controlled 1st in to 2nd launch and leading the charge was the infamous Jadgeo Seecharan “Mad Cow” who came with more tires than a clogged storm drain. Running staggered to enhance the activities on the day which also included bounce castle, hamper giveaways and a 120Y powered merry go round, the launches proved hyper hot as cars like Boost Factory 2JZ S14, Scorpion’s 2JZ Celica, Misha Luke in her rail, Flambeau, Aaron Dowrich, even Presley with his all orn R33 lit it up. Even the riders showed pace as Horsie channelled live a 2011 busa rear tires into chilli bibi on a show of bitterness. There was tonnes more so you HAD to be there. The lines we long, the hangout was crucial and by late evening the place was rammed; proving that rain is only stop cricket, and with the event closing off with a small parade of the car around the stadium it was no doubt that the people will be looking for the next installment.
SIXTHSPEED AWARDS: BEST PRESENTATION: Pampy and his Evolution 3: besides holding to the mantra that his car doesn’t drive in the rain, nobody walks with a checkered vinyl mat to park their car on. || LOUDEST MONSTER: Michael Douglas rail || SMOKEY BURN: Halfdef Hatch & HORSIE || MOST HYPED LAUNCH: Mad Cow || ODDEST VEHICLE: A white X6 SPONSORS: Stag, Mint Cars, M&P Cars, Pro Graphics, Royal Purple Lubricants, Schaffers Lubricants, GPS, Turbo Energy Drink, Kamm’s Marketing Well in case you didn’t know there are Miata’s in Trinidad & Tobago. Hardly seen but mind you ever present, this just happens to be a car that back in 2000, the Guinness World Records officially confirmed as the world’s best selling sports car. At that time Mazda had just hit the half-million mark for its tiny, fun-to-drive roadster. Formed recently, the Mazda MX-5 Miata crew consisting of about 7+ members for now had a fun run and cool down from south to north and ended at Grand Bazaar. Necks turned like a twist cap on a Coors light as the cars rolled through single file in the massive expanse of a “mall”. There were some smoke signals that went up in order to signal the arrival of the crew that represents one of the most underrated car in the old Trinbago. On point representing was Richard Supersad 98′ with his 2ng gen miata with a B6-ZE; Dev Loorkhoor and a sick like milk white 1990 modelista; Dennis Mc Lean with his 1992 and Kevin Henry; owner of 7381 Performance with his turbo dong missle.
THE MIATA DRIVE
After getting a poisonous sting by tailed desert predator, the Christian FC3S predecessor with a jersey painting to sell is going overseas to another owner as a result of improper framing. Next on the list of exotics to touching Trinidad in a few is a Mercedes SLS Gullwing that’s being imported by a excited Janitorial outridden Rasta in charge of keeping things uniform. Evo mania will take place as a blue 4 throat monster that is under the knife will soon be back with an allied apprentice giving the beast 1000HP minus the Nitrous for the street. After 2 blown 4G’s the SKF Evo X based in Miami did 8.25 Sacrilege will once again be the order of the day as Lalpat Beharry from Nai Rings will be driving a soon to be converted 3rd gen with a piston powered Mazda BPT engine. Get your coceyea brooms ready; we sense a sweeping of the competition. With 180 spread across the sand; devolution has taken place after a certain 4 corner ripper that was Stored in the Bay was sold after the owner was promised 700HP by a net woven with technology but only managed 400HP on race gas. Apparently a Half Def Elephant King who lives on trusted happiness delivered through the gas lines has levelled the playing field by taking Joy away from the stars and stretching the cress on a silver jersey from a sida SixthSpeed is Boss!
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The goodly people on the underground seem to have a lot on their chest and boy do they get it off.
CARNAL.LUST
Toyota Altezza 280T / ONLY 100
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Kids, this is one of those cars that t’was so damn good if she said jump, not only would you ask how high but whether or not to do it with clothes on. Built by Toms Co. Ltd. through Toyota Japan, the 280T was about brutality and uniqueness. In fact the car was so hot that all 100 sold out in a day after it was announced.
100 isn’t much; thus making this car harder to get than a clean toilet in the colonel after lunchtime. Built by Nobuhide Tachi, a former Toyota works driver and Kiyoshi Oiwa, who was into sales of performance accessories at a Toyota dealership with Team Netz (9 Netz Toyota dealers) the Altezza was bad like crab and sexy like a common fowl in a stew pot. Power came from the Beams 3SGE that has been worked over nice together with an IHI boost unit pumping out 8lbs of the freshest to tip over the scales of justice with 280HP. That’s 100HP more than what the stock 4 cylinder does – no 6 cylinder JZ swap here.Together with that you had a front-mount cooler, Tom’s TEC engine management system, Tom’s headgasket, Tom’s 6kg flywheel, revised 6 speed manual gearbox, limited slip differential, Tom’s Advox suspension, under braces and a one off polyurethane body kit. Oh we forgot to mention that Toyota fully endorsed the project and the car came with full factory warranty, what more you want!
TWO FACE:1995–1999 NISSAN FB14
[WE GOT:] a car that attracted thieves like sand fly to sweat. Unsupportive seats came standard and the sunroof was very optional. You did have crystal lights, AC, a 220 Speedo and an engine that was easy to get like rash in a latrine but mind you performance was a sick to stomach 115 hp & 110 ft•lbf in a 2500lb car. [THEY GOT:]a two door mover that reeks of joy and stains the road with zest named the Nissan Lucino in JDM or 200SX SER in USDM. USDM got the SE-R with a low-port SR20DE and 140HP, but the Japanese got the Lucino VR-Z that had the 1.6 SR16VE. With the same block as the SR20VE, the 16 came with VVL, shorter stroke, more aggressive camshaft and a rev range that delivered 173 to the floor; in addition to the engine, the Lucino also came with uprated suspension and brakes.
scents they should make into some kinda perfume/ colonge TOP10 Car 1. 0 Treadwear Tire Smoke from a coppasetic burnout. 2. NP Gasoline straight off the nozzle. 3. C16 in a barrel. 4. New Performance Parts Packaging. 5. Good Paint Thinners.
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6. Rich AFR from ah exhaust. 7. Money so that you don’t feel broken after buying parts. 8. New Car Interior, especially the trunk 9. Victory after rinsing somebody bad. 10. Defeat for the other guy.
The SIXTH EPIC Runs The Signal R34 vs Titan Supra: 2007
The Scenario: Mr. Presley; a skyline fanatic, had brought an original Signal R34, how he managed to keep it secret we don’t know. At that time the Titan 2JZ Supra rocked by Yancy Mohammed (SixthSpeed Issue 5) had set the fastest time on the track and was a beast; so it’s no doubt that God wanted to see a run. Big boy talk led to big boy walk and a one run and dun matchup was instigated. Lack of seat time to feel out the car had Signal beating the highway mere hours before the actual run between two giants in the racing world for some seat time. How people find out about that run we have no idea but it was madness. Police was beating about knowing the scene but a window open up. A line up; into a MONSTER titan burnout failed to intimidate the Signal. As hands drop, Titan was out the hole straighter that a pigeon on an electric fence; Signal had power, but all came out too fast and Presley smoked all 4 tires and was splitting ants sideways going up the road trying HARD to catch up. The blowout didn’t look good and the RB vs. 2J continued with Titan 1 and Signal 0. There was supposed to be rumour of a 20 grand rematch but that failed to pull off. The Bacchanal: Word was that the sexy, traction less Signal would have beaten the Titan had Presley gotten more practice and Titan not come out on slicks as opposed to the Signal street tires.
REMEMBER: when Big Tach was the order of the day and men rocked Autometer Monster Tack like fresh jockey shorts from the market. If you were into speed, that was one of the sure signs that you were into the lifestyle back in the day. Plus it was normal just to have the tach but you needed the shiftlight to blind you as well. Imagine being on the cross and seeing B14 automatic with shift light. It was sad!
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We at the sixth will always maintain that most of the cars on the road today are nonsense. Now don’t get us wrong is not that they don’t work well, is just that the lack substance . It one thing to get a set of car keys but imagine being flung the keys to a car that saw more of Trinidad history than a box of bun bun; and is so revered in certain circles, that mention of the name brings up stories of delight, decadence and detriment, all the while still having the potential to make men; who just plain fass, stop what they’re doing and say “Yes; Daiz car!” On a Tong business run in Licensing (Town for you Queen’s and Port of Spain for the foreigners). Indar Suchit somehow managed to end up in a car talk that led him to mentioning that he was looking for something to buy. It just so happed that a person who overheard the conversation (fass-ness again) had a brother who wanted to sell his urban gyrator. Even thought it took him six months to actually go back and see the car; when eyes were laid pan the goods in question; it was a classic case of see it; like it and buy it one time. Coincidentally it turned out that the person selling the car was Mc Shine from Diego Martin. A pilot by profession and an avid rally enthusiast, Mc Shine had for sale a bitterly modified Datsun (Not Nissan) 120Y built to
real Trinbagonian rally specs back then. Coupled with a fully built 1400CC engine, the 120 was sold as is with 45mm Mikuni’s, 4:1 LSD diff and a 3 stage full race cam that allowed the car to be dialed in from mild to wild and outright disgusting with little effort. Now the thing about buying a car like this is that it’s gonna get you in trouble one way or the other. In Indar’s case his dad; after seeing what he bought kicked him out the house (relax; it was only for a while). Now the melee wasn’t so much so the car but what the car was supposed to be for. You see the initial plan was supposed to get a regular car so that Indar could carry on the family business and that’s teaching people to drive – instead like any speed struck car man, he came home with something EXACTLY opposite to the norm. Anywho, after they patched things up, Indar no doubt represented and cemented the Suchit name in a big way. Starring out big time he was the ONLY person teaching people to drive in a full fledge race car; so imagine what kinda stories people who learned on this car had to tell. Minus the fogs, Mikuni’s and aggressive cam; the 120 kept the majority of its rally persona on the street, even the retro stripes and BWEE sticker on the side remained on the car from 1988 up until 2005, where things changed.
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TUNING T U N I N G
T E C H N I C A : 1 9
TECHNICA
THE REAL SKINNY on PROGRAMABLE ENGINE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS If you’re any kinda performance enthusiast there will always room for improvement and making more power. Typically the norm to many is raise boost, throw on some nitrous and the like and call it a day. But few ever really venture into one of the MOST misrepresented BUT critical topics in the tuning world – programmable EMS (engine management systems). This is no joke; in Trinidad and Tobago if you mention that you have “management” in your car you will either be looked upon as a God or as an idiot - depending on who you talk to. Speaking of which; we want you to use yours to erase ALL the nonsense you have ever heard about programmable EMS because we are going to start fresh out the box with.
FIRST THE WHAT:
The grassroots is that ALL forms of programmable EMS from piggy back to full standalone do basically the same thing and that’s to modify; give some or total control over certain or all ECU output parameters by manipulating signal inputs from the various engine or transmission sensors. Sometimes it’s a choice between spark (ignition) and fuel (A/F ratio); or in some case both can be modified depending on the unit in question. Now how each form of management performs and does what it does depends on the type of system and the design intent. There are some that have more levels of engine parameter control than others which ultimately mean they can essentially do more, thus making them suited for more advanced applications.
SO WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES?
When coming to programmable it is usually a choice of (4) flavours in the pack. CHIPPED ECU | ECU REPROGRAMMING or
EPROM BURNING | PIGGY BACK ECU and STANDALONE
CHIPPED ECU’s:
The chip (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory – EPROM) which holds the data concerning fuel and ignition maps is physically replaced with an aftermarket “upgraded” chip containing modified maps, limits or correction tables specifically intended to either a standard or modified engine and ancillary combination, and fuel type. Many upgraded chips besides adding a bit of fuel and ignition timing here and there, also tend to remove the speed cut and other limitations placed on the factory ECU. Now the good thing about chips are that they are cheap (you can buy them on the net) and can be soldered in by any competent electrician. The bad is that they are VERY specific and only take into account a limited amount of parameters that were programmed at a specific time with specific input data. Some Manufacturers chips cannot be replaced as easily as this suggests, for example; Nissan’s SR and CA engines used a hexadecimal machine language on the micro controllers, however the actual maps were distributed about on multiple chips, and not simply one of the EPROMs So in this case changing ONE chip will do NOTHING.
on assumptions. It’s more or less an overthe-counter one-size-suits-all item……think “Panadol” for pain over the counter.
REMAPPED ECU, ECU REPROGRAMMING or EPROM BURNING: are three
THE BRASS: Chipped ECU’s and (we
steps above chip replacement in that it involves rewriting the Read Only Memory (example the fuel and ignition data) on the ECU like you would the data on a re-writable CD. Yes you can do that with some ECU’s once you have the correct software that gives access to the relevant files. Now bang for buck you can’t go wrong since it’s non intrusive and there are power gains to be had, once tuning is done within the parameters of the stock ECU and the physical devices under control of the ECU (example injectors, Mass Flow Sensors and coils). Remember, all you’re doing is trying to optimize what’s already there. Now, in order to get the full monty from remapping, ideally the tuning should be done in REAL TIME on a dyno. That way, individual fuel and ignition tables can be identified and then PROPERLY mapped to give the very best results, especially taking into account load, engine characteristics, and environmental variances among other parameters. If your engine needs a little more fuel at a manifold load value of X and an engine rpm of Y, the programmer can move accordingly.
have used them) are really variable in terms of measurable performance. If you have a filter and an air freshener then by all means. BUT, with mass production of these things, gains maybe nominal at best since every car is different and the chip was programmed for a specific mechanical and fuel combination. The chip process isn’t custom to any particular application and is broad brushing based
No doubt this is a great way to go; however, there are some things you need to understand. One such is add ons – if the car didn’t have launch or nitrous control before; don’t expect it after. If the car is / was NA and you throw on a boost kit, trying to tune the NA ECU for boost is gonna be a waste of time (not because the fuel or ignition table cannot be calibrated, but because the
physical sensors such as the MAP or MAF would not have the “span and offset” to encompass the desired loads). Another snaff-foo is that you are limited with what you can do as some ECU’s only give you access to certain parts of the room depending on the car and the unit itself; unless of course, you get a CUSTOM designed ECU that takes into account your ECU parameters and allows you unparalleled access. Yes it exists for certain cars.
FOREIGN USED REMAPPED ECU’s: Now Trinbagonians have a nasty tendency to go in the bamboo and blindly buy used remapped ECU’s figuring that because it name Wolf, NISMO or TOMEI and it cheap it go wuk good and give gains. That’s like watching TV and seeing a man pick up a sweet hot ting because he wearing a real tight jeans…..so you buy one exactly like it and everybody laughing because it slack in front. ECU’s that come from outside are usually tuned to certain specifics based on OUTSIDE; not here. So unless your car has the EXACT parameters that the ECU is based on (injectors, initial timing, cams and so on), you’re just wasting time and in some cases run the risk of blowing your engine to bits. JDM ECU’s are tuned with 100 octane fuel in mind since that is what they get from their pumps. Octane like that allows you to run aggressive timing and advanced ignition with a reduced risk of detonation. In Trinbago our gas averages about 93 give or take so if you were to jack in that same ECU, full up with NP gas and pace out imagine what’s gonna happen. Considering that the parameters are vastly different and in some cases you have NO LIMITER, you WILL get smiles and then plenty tears after! Note this well; any foreign ECU that’s access locked, you don’t have full knowledge about or can’t be tuned taking into account YOUR specific variables is a chance at gains not worth taking.
THE BRASS: you get more options in terms of tuning and there are measurable gains to be had. Great for light to medium upgrades a, remapped ECU allows you to get a bit more without hacking your car. Better yet if it’s a custom ECU that was pre-fabbed specifically for your setup, this gives a better base platform for you to do improvements. The downside here is depending on the ECU you can be VERY limited in terms of tuning options and you can only get so much. Which brings into question what do you really want? And remember in order to get the goodness you NEED to go to a DYNO otherwise just fiddling with parameters is just a hit and miss affair.
PIGGY BACK ECU’s:
also known as interceptors; piggy backs (sound nasty doesn’t it) sit in series (some in parallel) with the OEM ECU and manipulates inputs coming from sensors; this twisting of data causes the ECU to thereby output different signals. To put it simply a piggy back basically fools the stock ECU into responding to values that are skewed – e.g say the measured air signal coming from the airflow/ map sensor is 10g/sec (grams per second). The piggy back will see that 10g/sec but tell the ECU 15. Seeing 15, the ECU, will add more fuel in order to compensate thus giving a richer mixture. Coming in relatively cheap, piggybacks is basically a poor man answer to some sort of engine management and like chip programming you don’t have to hack your car in order to get it up. Another plus is that they have advanced a long way and allow for more areas for manipulation of signals than before to a greater degree – before it used to be ONLY Air/Fuel manipulation, but now there are some that allow ignition alteration as well. However, because they work by merely confusing the standard ECU, there are some things they cannot do. This can and can’t do syndrome is further amplified by the type of piggy back ECU, as well as the parameters of the stock ECU. Another bugger is that depending on the ECU, the original in the car will override any adjustments made via the piggyback. Essentially the “brain” realises that there is something fishy and constantly tries to recalibrate itself to its original state. For example; your standard SR20 idle timing. If you did not “tell” the system you were going to change the idle timing, the system ignores all you’re doing and the next time you start the car it reverts back to OEM. Additionally; piggybacks make singular adjustments as opposed to holistic adjustments. All your maps are interlinked and adjustments are made based on cross referenced info. The ECU takes data from your maf/map among other sensors to determine how much air and make corrections to fuel. But on the backside your maf/map sensor is ALSO used to determine either load or system mass flow. Load or mass flow may be sued is used in the ignition timing advance or retard equation. This can have an effect of fooling the ECU into adding more ignition than what maybe considered safe. Yep kids, it’s the domino effect playing itself out here and you have just learned something new.
THE BRASS: Piggybacks; like programmable ECU’s, gives you the ability to make table corrections just in a different way and only up to a point. Draw a line; then put three notches above and three below – any corrections you intend to do gotta stay within those notches of you’ll run out of margin. And the further you go above that margin, the more risk you run. It might be true that you can go below stock, but you can still mess up ship. Just like programmables you don’t have to start from scratch (yay!) and with piggybacks like GReddy Emanage Ultimate, you’re now given the option to control ignition (double yay!). But you are still bordered by the parameters of the ECU in the end and whilst a piggyback is good
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If your are anytime of down home Trinbagonian stiff getting licks is a unquestionable part of living. When you are in the single digit years a bumbum softening comes usually as a result of doing undefendable, sagacious nonsense and getting caught. Now the thing about licks is that depending on the kind; it can be a FANTASTIC motivator to do better. Truth be told like a miracle worker in a brothel, if a workout is done just right there is NO DOUBT that your unheralded aspiration to greatness will be not only assured but expedited in the speediest of manners. Let’s take for instance Asif Mohammed. Besides having unquestionable features akin to Shahrukh Khan and a head of hair that will make a bottle of Axe hair gel perspire, Asif had the pre-occupational hazardous thought that his bone stock 225HP (190 if you check drivetrain loss) was fast. Yes we said the same thing, you are thinking now – but leave him nah. Anyways, within (3) months, the engine bearing had to be replaced after it decided to hand in its resignation papers; however, the crank who usually likes to walkout as well had minimal damage sustained to it – good news. During a regular break-in period Asif happened upon a retro Benz and a Fast & Furious reject with a wing and did what came natural; he pressed...... ......there was the Bang; with the Rattle coming after; into a Tow and Park Up for three months. During the park up period, Asif was in two minds about what to do; either repair the damaged block ORRRRR
attempt the first 2.5/ 2.0 hybrid conversion in Trinbago. After what seemed like an eternity of research since the project was already being done by Tomei out of the Far East and a few tuning houses in the USA, Asif decided to go balls out, with the first step being block consideration and what to do. Should I build it here or do I bring it in? Under advice from Anil at Anil’s Speed Shop; who himself wasn’t sure whether or not the concoction could take place, the thought of building the block locally was firebombed since there really was no machine shops capable of PROPERLY milling and assembling the EJ blocks to the right specs. Instead, Asif ordered a brand new USDM 2.5 STI block through Stage X Performance. Mounting up was a snap and with Anil on point, the 2.5 was tangerined with the 2.0 head, a stock STI turbo and top mount intercooler which was changed pretty quickly to a Hybrid Australia front mount cooler. As the build neared completion the next parry was whether or not this thing was tuneable; with ECUTEK fresh on the scene, the parameter mapping job was handed over to Jason Laing of APT Limited who did a cool job
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how fast you can blow through turns and corners, not to mention avoid incidents. Another thing is that undue aggression or inefficient use of mental energy makes you open to mistakes and therein do stupid things which can cost you dearly in many ways. On top of that driving like a meng makes you tired; which leads to fatigue and exhaustion, which leads to loss of concentration; which leads to slower motor movements and further more misjudgements on the people road.
Driving Naturally: if you are any kind of diver you’d realize that efficient driving happens unconsciously with minimum effort and is tailored to YOUR style and preference. It isn’t about conforming to some “standardized” notion of another person’s idea of what is correct since all situations are different and unique in their own right. When common sense comes head to head with the laws of the land, by nature’s definition sense takes forefront. It’s being human. Now before you read me wrong, by no means does this mean “doing what you feel, when you feel like”, it’s about knowing when, where and how to do your thing in the system. For example you have to be a morass to want to race somebody in bumper to bumper traffic all the while grabbing the shoulder. Effective drivers have an understanding of many things and as one you HAVE to adapt your behaviour to accommodate other uses, including those who are incompetent and unaware.
The ENJOYMENT Part:
Driving is alot of fun more so if the car is blessed under manual with power to spare. And considering how much time you spend behind the wheel, if you don’t enjoy it then you are really missing out on an experience that if you allow to get the better of you will put up in a binder. The reason that REAL driving is so amped is because it’s mind glowingly exciting, it requires skill and concentration, has a degree of complexity, it’s an act where you can gauge performance and you are in total control over your actions. If you’re not having fun something is wrong; change either your car or your attitude or both. Moving is one of those things where the more you put in the more you get out and there is a great deal of personal satisfaction when you not only get it right but do it better and push your limit. Behind the wheel when you are happy the people around you are happy and that’s not only the passengers, but other road users since you will extend consideration and courtesies to them as well.
What EFFECTIVE DRIVING is: not because you have never gotten into an accident does that necessarily mean you are a good driver, neither does it mean you are lucky. It just means that you have probably never been placed in a situation that required you to come correct. In fact; for all you know, you may have caused one due to bad overtake and just never bothered to look back because you mind was elsewhere. Effective driving and drivers have more than the ability to just pass a test or “obey the law”, they have the ability to think, quickly rationalize and come up with a
S I X T H
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I'm not going to be ah kid with $10 in meh hand waiting on the ice cream to get a sugar rush Matthew Downes
Q U O T E S :
The winner ain't the one with the fastest car, it's the one who refuses to lose. Dale Earnhardt
Henry Ford
performance solution that’s to the benefit of all those around. Effective driving is a habit that’s a way of life since it’s something that you’re going to do over and over again. The key is to develop proper habits consciously from the beginning so that’s it carries on in a natural way. You know the old saying if you do something good enough, long enough it becomes second nature - same thing applies to driving effectively. But the thing is getting a good foundation. If you don’t have a proper foundation and attempt to change your driving superficially WITHOUT addressing the fundamentals then the change won’t last long. Always remember garbage in is garbage out – if you were taught badly and given bad information then you driving will suck balls. Now, to change bad habits you have to open your mind and have a different view of driving. By properly analysing yourself and seeing where you went wrong or going wrong is only then you can apply proper techniques to deal with a matter. Bet you didn’t know: that driving properly will influence other areas of your life and here how in just some ways. Besides raising your self esteem, good driving makes you happy and if you’re happy then like we said the people around you will be happy. Good driving also relieves stress and doing it more efficient leaves you with more energy – god save the queen in you now done eat up some road under pace. There’s a list more but by know you shud get the idea of what and how driving properly and efficiently. NEXT ISSUE: The relationship structure between you, your car, the environment and driving. As well as how to develop and improve your driving performance across the board.
Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary that's what gets you.
Auto racing began 5 minutes after the second car was built.
Jeremy Clarkson
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ERICA JOBITY-DINOO Get more at the www.sixthspeed.com/tv
I am sorry but if my knees weren’t grease dong with coconut oil, I would no doubt kneel in your presence. Do you realize that in mospo locally, your name makes people faint and beat up in excitement? What’s the real deal on you and this driving thing, how did it all start off for you and don’t skimp on details. LOL! That’s a long story, let’s see, the love for the gears and driving fast driving was ALWAYS there since teenage years. I learned to drive on a Ford Anglair and after that initially came an Escort; my boyfriend’s (Michael Dinnoo), which I used to drive from Point Fortin to Point Lisas every morning. When I got married, my :IT Analyst|DRIFT Enthuasist|Nissan S14 husband needed a partner for; the Dunlop 1000, and after navigating for him in that high speed race, I never turned back after - it was straight into rallying with a Ford Lazer, PAL 3497 with an all female team. Wait! Drive? We heard about you and that escort from the underground; word was that you owned the people road with it what was it like driving that beat up beast? LOL! Hmmmmm, driving the escort was very challenging to say the least. First up in those days’s you never used to see women driving manual to begin with as it although that’s what you HAD to learn on. The first escort I used was more like a learning process, but soon after I got married we got another escort; a 2 door, which was the family vehicle to go to work. But just wanting to know to myself what the car could do made me happy to the point where, every morning I was anxious to just drive to work. There was nowhere I didn’t make that car fit and my husband (Michael Dinnoo) would get reports saying “MIKE! Your wife now make a three lane.” “MIKE! Your wife driving fast, she go kill sheself”. It went so until one day, I got home to see a mechanic friend Richie Figaro. Surprised, I asked him what he’s doing here and he said he came to strip down my car. The next morning I took a taxi work because I couldn’t see myself driving a car that was going anywhere.
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When you are young, you do things that the natural laws of science either for bragging rights or just plain old fun; like, throwing up a wheelie on a 3 speed chopper bicycle, while still changing gears with a half liter $1.50 glass bottle Pepsi in your hand and a mouth ram with rough tops. Graduate to a sport bike an you will realize that popping a fronter is NORMAL and actually not quite different from the chopper days. What isn’t NORMAL is a nitrous breathing; strapped to the barrack, lowered to the ground 1300CC dragon going through full gear sets down a track on one wheel. What’s even more UN-NORMAL is the kind of individual that rides such a thing and smiles. When Marzden was one the prowl to put together a nightmarish drag team; the goal was to reap chive from aside and put together a crew that had the matchsticks to go on an international level and cremate the competition; and we not just talking bikes here. Choosing the riding platform was easy – a stock 08’ busa will slice, dice and deliver; but without a good rider the bike’s ruthlessness is utterly wasted. After scouting; it was realized that the only man with the record, ability and leggo beast mentality was Horsie (-), who at that time was bikeless after getting rid of his ZX10 that used to have men skipping silly at Wallers. Bike on point, rider in check and team in place it was time to have fun. Stock like a fried channa ball in a pyrex dish, it was decided to see how far the bike could go raw before any modifications. The Busa started with a 10.2, which was then followed by a 10s pass on the ¼ down at Camden. After some minor adjustments and suspension tuning by Gas the guys had the ‘busa in 9’s with a 9.8s pass followed up with a best of 9.4. Needless to say that at 9.4 the bike ran its course and upgrades HAD to be made starting with a DYNOjet power commander and a 40 kick of the happy gas in dry form; next came a 4-1 Brocks alien head exhaust replacing the twins, lower kit with straps, launch control and gear ratio alterations.
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1. Take one hand and place it over your left eye. While looking straight ahead with your right eye, put up your index finger that you use to elect nonsense and move it in an arc starting from inline come front. You can also add in front to back variations and well as up to down. The better your Perry vision, the more you’ll be able to track your finger as it enters and moves through your field of vision; WITHOUT having to move your eye or turn your head. 2. For this one you need about 10-15 objects; doesn’t make a difference what it is. Randomly place the objects in a semi circle (that represents your field of view) and no you don’t have to literally draw it. Now have a seat and with your head straight make a note of ALL the objects you notice and what position (degree wise) they are in. The more you are aware of the better for you. OR go to sixthspeed.com/eyetest to get a list of online tests you can do at your PC
How to improve your Perry Vision?
If you did the test by now you should know how good OR bad, narrow or wide your Perry vision is. It’s now time to improve and therein better the use of what you’ve got. The aim of these exercises is to have you concentrate on your area of sight outside your central vision (central vision in case you didn’t know is line of sight or what’s in front of you straight ahead).
Exercise A: Left and right vision exercises. 1. Focus on a distant object all the while not taking your eyes off it e.g. a tree in the distance. Now concentrate and try take in as much as you can see from the corners of your eyes and note how far left and right you can see before the end of your vision line. Pratice to notice more and more through the corner of your eye, everyday on the same object/ scenery and you will eventuall broaden your later vision. 2. This one may be a bit annoying but have a friend start in front of you and walk slowly in a cirle behind you, all while looking straight ahead, being aware of the person until the person disappears from view and comes back into the picture again. 3. Another exercise is to hold your thumb at arm’s length. Focus on your thumb as you move it in circles, x’s and crosses closer to your eyes and then farther away. Each time, keep as much of the room in your field of vision as you can.
Exercise B: Up and down vision exercises. Tape an object or picture to the wall in your central field of vision, and at an arms length distance focus on whatever it is. Now take your thumb or an object and at various speeds pass them above and below your central vision all the while still looking forward. Your ONLY goal is to concentrate on the focus picture and it’s characteristics as well as track your thumb or objects as it enters and leaves you line of sight. After some practice, you should see a noticeable difference in your ability to see from your peripheral vision.
NOW NOTE THIS!:
If you begin to have headaches, stop your exercises and rest your eyes. There is no need to make these exercises painful and the workout adage “no pain no gain,” does not apply – because adage “who can’t hear go feel” will most certainly kick in!
Bottomline:
The more aware you become the better prepared you will be at wrecking the people’s system and that’s just common sense. When it comes to riding, saying that you didn’t see or haven’t noticed is utter dotishness. As a cut above the rest you are supposed to be control ALL the time. Out there is a jungle and the more you can see without turning your head, the sooner you can react to trouble. or take advantage of an opportunity long before it comes to your doorstep. Oh and before we forget Practice makes Perfect, so get to it and don’t stop till you get enough.
STREET SURVIVAL GUIDE It’s a jungle out there and motorists don’t consider riders as road user to, so this guide while short is meant to give you goodness to keep your skin unblemished, your body intact and your bike in one piece - relatively speaking of course.
Practice Scanning Always: It may sound pratical but a lot of riders don’t do it. Constantly scanning your ENTIRE environment while riding , from instruments to mirrors to the road ahead to blind spots to your left and right and rear keeps you aware, in touch and therefore better able to react. The more information you recieve from your built in sensors the better you will be at making a decision. Dwelling on one area too long; watching only behind or in front of you, for instance, is just begging for a lick down.
Watch drivers’ heads and mirrors: Most of the time, Trinbagonian drivers will usually tell you they are going to do dotishness before they actually do it. One quick way to identify the oblivious is watching the head movements of drivers through their windows and mirrors. This is a great way for you to anticipate sudden moves and organise to suit. Most drivers won’t pull jes so without first moving their heads one way or the other (even if they don’t check their mirrors).
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Scientific data has proven that one of the major problems with your run of the hen house; stock car nowadays is that there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING special about them. Everybody looks like everybody who looks like everybody else. So it should be of no surprise that for us for us to take stock of anything, there has to be something rightfully wrong about the mobile of mass anarchy. Kids this here is Stephan’s EK hatch and whilst there are not that many cars; much less Hondas out there that deserve a half ah glance, this EK hatch made us swing neck 180 degrees in traffic as it pulled mercilessly out of a side street on to the people highway and skinned the roadway NAKED. No joke; the last time our neck swung like that was when we pass a sign saying 6 big, ripe zabocah for $20.00 in the market. Don’t beat up, it went down champion with some salt and Crix.
Since idea inception 3 years ago Stephan had his mind made up on what he wanted; an underdog car that was good looking, reliable and had the potential to enter beast mode to not only tear up people like char sue kai fan Cobeau at the track; but deliver boo-too justice at lengths on the street. Bring in the EK that was parked up breezing in the garage and raise the curtain on Tola’s Engineering who was chosen to do the transformation. Grease proofing the baking pan with 25 years worth of experience, Tola’s has had his foot in building some of Trinbago’s most potent circuit Honda’s such as Franklyn Boodrams’s B powered CRX & EG8; Mark Singh’s Class B EG8; Gary Hunt’s Type R EK3 (don’t say it, the man was and still is a avid race enthusiast) and the bitter like gall boosted with no mercy, nitrous enriched EG8 civic owned Yuri Mulchansingh which was the first Civic to touch 12’s. Initially wanting to remain NA; which is a genetic trait of most Honda men, the first mod was centered on removing the stock whatever engine and splicing in a B16B Type R unit from a JDM EK9 Civic. With 185HP & 118lb*tq in a 2200lb shell the livery was amped up with CP pistons that raised the compression from 10.8 to 13.1; Eagle rods, GEN-V individual throttle body, AEM plug and play, MSD Ignition (6AL, Blaster II coil, plug wires), Ultra mean 295 deg. Toda C Spec Cams alongside Toda extractors and some more goodies.