Project Cappuccino: DIY Lithium Battery Installation
One of the easiest, simplest upgrades an owner of any sportscar can make is to upgrade the battery from a fat, heavy lead acid battery, to a light and compact…
Posts by author
Dave Zipf
88 posts
Project Cappuccino: Testing the Kei Sport USA PNP ECU
The 25 year laws in the US have had a funny effect on JDM cars: the value of Skyline GT-Rs has shot through the roof and so many owners want…
Project Cappuccino: A Wee Bit O’ Power
Project Cappuccino is wonderful: The combination of light, well-balanced chassis, responsive turbocharged engine, and inoffensive body with convertible roof make for the ultimate toy. It’s an incredibly fun car and…
Project Cappuccino: Clutches, Oil Leaks, and Kei Car Oddities
Last summer we noticed a whining noise coming from Project Cappuccino while sitting at stop lights. The moment we put the clutch in to grab a gear, that noise went…
Squirrel Power: Making a Minibear Part 2
Our 1982 Suzuki FA50 is a pretty fun little machine. It turns heads and is a great little around-town runabout, perfect for parts store runs and other short errands. However,…
Project Cappuccino: A Terrifying Problem
Do you know what sound you never want to hear coming from your engine? Banshee screams. Anything that sounds like the squeal of an unholy demon spawn coming from your…
Dan Wheldon: Ten Years Later
Sunday October 16, 2011 was always going to be a historic day for IndyCar. 2011 was both an experimental and transitional year for America’s premier open wheel racing series: New…
Project Cappuccino: Modern Tires, Ancient Car
Our 1992 Suzuki Cappuccino has been an absolute performance bargain. Poking around under the skin, we’ve found a number of smart aftermarket upgrades under the car. The previous owner of…
Project Cappuccino: Better Braking with Project Mu
One of the biggest goals with our 1992 Suzuki Cappuccino is to improve on the fun factor of our tiny little Kei roadster: preserving a balance of stopping, handling, and…
Project Cappuccino: Blitz DTT and Wrapping Up The Interior
While taking apart most of the entire interior to diagnose and repair a wiring short, we realized there were a few items we should install to improve our Cappuccino. So…
Project Cappuccino: Witchcraft and Wizardry
To most home mechanics, wiring is pure witchcraft. Voltage, amperage, DC vs AC, resistance, impedance, high vs low side switching, relaying, analog vs digital…all engineers get a crash course in…
Taco Con Carnes: Adding More Meat to a 2017 Tacoma
Taco Con Carnes: Adding More Meat to a 2017 Tacoma by: David Zipf The midsize truck segment is incredibly hot right now. The rebirth of this segment started in…
The Last Hoosier Hundred
We’ve already covered the official IndyCar sanctioned events that lead up to the Indianapolis 500, but if you instead look at the USAC calendar, you’ll find out that there’s a…
Event Coverage: 2019 Indianapolis 500
The Month of May is always an especially crazy period for the NTT Data IndyCar Series: two races at the same track in three weeks, with two weeks of practice,…
Event Coverage: 2019 IndyCar Grand Prix
It’s our fifth Month of May! Of course that means we’re back at the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, covering the month’s events. As always, we’ll be starting with the…
Coast to Coast in Five Days (in a Suzuki Cappuccino): Part 2
Welcome back to Part 2 of our epic Summer roadtrip! If you missed Part 1, you can go read it here. The quick and dirty summary is this: we sold…
Coast to Coast in Five Days (in a Suzuki Cappuccino): Part 1
If you’re a fan of our Project VehiCross, you might remember that around 2 years ago, we installed a towing hitch for the sole purpose of towing a 240SX to…
Project VehiCross Goes Gambling
Project VehiCross Goes Gambling by: David Zipf Photo Credits: David Zipf & Jon Bradley Regular MotoIQ readers will be very familiar with the 24 Hours of Lemons. Hell, most car…
Curly’s Corner: 2018 Canadian & French Grand Prixs
Welcome back to our post-race breakdown of Formula 1! MotoIQ is bringing you its own particular nerdtastic take on the latest news and developments in F1. Impress your neighbors, stun…
Project Vehicross Part 9: Beefing Up the Brakes
Project Vehicross Part 9: Beefing Up the Brakes by: David Zipf I’m not going to bullshit here: The Isuzu VehiCross’s brakes suck. They are by far the worst part…
Curly’s Corner: A Nerd’s Eye on Formula 1 – Spain & Monaco Grand Prix
Curly’s Corner: A Nerd’s Eye on Formula 1 Spanish & Monaco Grand Prix by: David Zipf Welcome back to our post-race breakdown of Formula 1! MotoIQ is bringing you its own particular…
Event Coverage: 2018 Indianapolis 500 in Photos
Longtime readers should know by now that I have a love affair with the Indy 500. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: the Indianapolis 500 is the race…
Event Coverage: 2018 IndyCar Grand Prix
Event Coverage: 2018 IndyCar Grand Prix By David Zipf It’s May! And that means MotoIQ is back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, covering the IndyCar Grand Prix and the Indy…
Curly’s Corner: A Nerd’s Eye on Formula 1 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Curly’s Corner: 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix By David Zipf Welcome back to our post-race breakdown of Formula 1! MotoIQ is bringing you its own particular nerdtastic take on the latest…
Curly’s Corner: A Nerd’s Eye on Formula 1 – Bahrain & Chinese Grands Prix
Curly’s Corner: 2018 Bahrain & Chinese Grands Prix by David Zipf Welcome back to our post-race breakdown of Formula 1! MotoIQ is bringing you its own particular nerdtastic take on…
Curly’s Corner: A Nerd’s Eye on Formula 1 – Australian Grand Prix
Curly's Corner: A Nerd's Eye on Formula 1 – Australian Grand Prix by David Zipf It’s been five months since we got to talk Formula 1…and quite frankly, that’s five…
Squirrel Power: Making a Minibear Part 1
Squirrel Power: Making a Minibear Part 1 by David Zipf It’s been a while since we talked about our little Suzuki FA50 runabout. You’d be forgiven for thinking it had been abandoned…
Doodlebug of Doom Part 2: Taming The Beast
Doodlebug of Doom Part 2: Taming The Beast by David Zipf I have a confession to make about the Doodlebug of Doom. Between resurrecting it and…well now…I’ve rode it exactly once. This thing is…
Nerd’s Eye View: The Cars of PRI
Nerd’s Eye View: The Cars of PRI by David Zipf PRI is full of cool and new speed parts, which the rest of the MotoIQ team is showing you. But for…
Curly’s Corner: A Nerd’s Eye on Formula 1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Curly's Corner: A Nerd's Eye on Formula 1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by David Zipf Welcome back to our post-race breakdown of Formula 1! In case you missed it, MotoIQ…
Project Vehicross Part 8: Pinion Angle 101
Project Vehicross Part 8: Pinion Angle 101 by David Zipf It’s been awhile since we’ve done anything with our funky Isuzu project. There’s a simple reason for that: I was planning…
Curly’s Corner: A Nerd’s Eye on Formula 1 – Brazilian Grand Prix
Curly's Corner: A Nerd's Eye on Formula 1 – Brazilian Grand Prix by David Zipf Welcome back to our post-race breakdown of Formula 1! In case you missed it, MotoIQ will…