Projects Archives

Strut tower failures are a known issue on the 991 generations GT3s and the same-era GT4s. They typically occur from a sharp impact such as curbing at the track. I’m…

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Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 28 – JRi Coilovers from Ultimate Performance Speed Shop

Posted on May 4, 2025May 6, 2025
byBilly Johnson

We upgraded the suspension on our FD with a set of double-adjustable monotube JRi Motorsports dampers from Ultimate Performance Speed Shop. Ultimate Performance Speed Shop designs, builds, and supports JRi…

Project Civic Racecar Waits for Tech Inspection

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Project EF Civic Racecar: Witchcraft & Wizardry

Posted on April 28, 2025
byDave Zipf

We already documented that on our first shakedown, we found a massive oil leak. Our second shakedown went better as we were at least able to complete two whole days…

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Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 27 – Fabricating the Exhaust with Vibrant Performance and SP Mufflers

Posted on April 14, 2025April 27, 2025
byBilly Johnson

Now that our turbo system is mounted, we started fabricating a 4” downpipe with recirculated wastegates and a 3.5” exhaust system for our FD RX-7 using SP Mufflers and Vibrant…

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Cayman T

Project 718 Cayman T: Part 13- How to Install a Numeric Shifter

Posted on April 6, 2025April 13, 2025
byKhiem Dinh

As I mentioned in Part 1, the factory shifter in the 718 Cayman T is not as good as the factory Honda S2000 shifter; I rated the GT4 shifter, which…

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Project AE86 Restoring the Rear End

Posted on March 16, 2025
byMike Kojima

The rear end of our AE86 was showing its age. It was really rusty and crusted over from almost 40 years of neglect. We were really worried that the axle…

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Project AE86, Repairing the Chassis

Posted on March 9, 2025
byMike Kojima

One of the pitfalls of buying a car sight unseen is that sometimes the car may be worse in areas than you were hoping. This was true with our project…

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Project Viper: Part 17 – Replacing the Weak Plastic Power Steering Pulley!

Posted on February 23, 2025February 24, 2025
byBilly Johnson

If you have a Gen 1-2 Viper with the original plastic Power Steering Pulley, you are on borrowed time and need to upgrade to a Billet Power Steering Pulley ASAP! …

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WATCH: BEEFING UP the AE86 Drivetrain!

Posted on February 14, 2025February 14, 2025
byJeff Naeyaert

One of the weakest links in the AE86 Corolla is the drivetrain, but we’ve got a bunch of parts to fix that! Guess what? We sell parts and MotoIQ…

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Project AE86, Updating the Drivetrain with SQ Engineering and Battle Garage

Posted on February 9, 2025February 14, 2025
byMike Kojima

The T50 transmission in our AE86 was making some whining noises and had stiff and crunchy shifting. Being 40 years old, it probably needed some rebuilding. The trouble is T50…

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Project NSX: Part 22 – DBW Intake Manifold

Posted on February 2, 2025February 2, 2025
byBilly Johnson

Now that our Drive-By-Wire pedal and Motec ECU are installed, we turned our attention to simplifying and adapting an 80mm Ford Mustang DBW throttle body to the original intake manifold.…

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WATCH: Maximizing BMW E39 M5 CARB Legal Power!

Posted on January 31, 2025
byJeff Naeyaert

In today’s video with the help of Dinan we’re eeking the last bits of California smog legal power out of our project BMW E39 M5! Guess what? We sell…

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Project AE86 Upgrading the Brake with Techno Toy Tuning

Posted on January 26, 2025February 14, 2025
byMike Kojima

For its time the AE86 had class-leading brakes. This meant it had 4-wheel disc, the front with ventilated disc brakes in an era where some cars still came with 4-wheel…

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Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 26 – BorgWarner EFR Turbo System and TurboSmart WG

Posted on January 20, 2025March 5, 2025
byBilly Johnson

We are going to back-to-back test Borg Warner’s EFR 8374 and EFR 9180 turbos on our Bridge and Semi Peripheral Ported 13B REW engine. The twinscroll turbo will be mounted…

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Cayman T

Project 718 Cayman T: Part 12 – E-Motion Suspension Components and Track Update

Posted on January 12, 2025January 18, 2025
byKhiem Dinh

The stock suspension of the 718 Cayman does not have enough adjustment range for serious road course track work. You can’t get enough negative camber in order to prevent destroying…

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Project NSX: Part 21 – Foundry 3 K-Coil Swap

Posted on January 5, 2025
byBilly Johnson

With forced induction on the horizon, we upgrade the spark energy for our C30A engine with the Foundry 3 K-Coil Swap Kit. The Foundry 3 K-Coil Swap Kit is a…

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WATCH: Project AE86 – Chassis Strengthening Modifications!

Posted on January 3, 2025February 14, 2025
byJeff Naeyaert

The AE86 Corolla chassis is pretty weak from the factory.. In Part 3 of our series we’re fixing that! Guess what? We sell parts and MotoIQ merchandise! Now you…

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Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 25 – JP3 Motorsports RX8 A/C Upgrade

Posted on December 22, 2024December 28, 2024
byBilly Johnson

We upgrade the stock FD RX-7’s subpar A/C system with JP3 Motorsport’s A/C line kit that adapts the newer, more efficient, and more effective RX-8 A/C compressor and condenser to…

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Project EF Civic Racecar: Dusting off the Cobwebs

Posted on December 15, 2024
byDave Zipf

In our last installment we introduced you to our newest racecar, a 1991 Honda Civic CX that had been turned into a racecar for SCCA Improved Touring class racing. When…

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Cayman T

Project 718 Cayman T: Part 11 – DSC Sport V3 Controller

Posted on December 8, 2024
byKhiem Dinh

The Porsche SPASM suspension comes with electronically adjustable dampers. From the factory, you get Normal and Sport modes with Sport mode being much stiffer, of course. But why settle for…

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WATCH: Project AE86 – Killer Suspension Upgrades!

Posted on December 6, 2024February 14, 2025
byJeff Naeyaert

In this video we’re starting on some serious suspension upgrades for the AE86 Corolla project! Guess what? We sell parts and MotoIQ merchandise! Now you can buy all the…

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Project AE86, More Suspension with Techno Toy Tuning!

Posted on December 1, 2024February 14, 2025
byMike Kojima

In this installment of Project AE86, we continue with our suspension mods brought to you by Techno Toy Tuning or T3. As we said in our first installment T3 makes…

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Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 24 – Engine and Transmission Install

Posted on November 17, 2024
byBilly Johnson

After 2 years, we finally install our built 13B REW engine and Nissan CD009 transmission with the Fisch Racing Tech transmission adapter system. This has been a long time coming…

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Project Cappuccino: Installing an AOS

Posted on November 10, 2024
byDave Zipf

Catch cans and air/oil separators are needed for any performance car, but especially turbocharged cars. We were seeing so much oil in our intercooler piping we thought our turbocharger seals…

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Tired of Replacing Your Tundra’s Rear Brake Pads all the Time? We Install Fig’s Engineering’s Rear Big Brake Kit!

Posted on November 3, 2024November 3, 2024
byMike Kojima

If you own a 2009 to 2021 Toyota Tundra, you are probably aware of the rapid rear brake pad wear, especially if you go offroad or have higher power like…

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Introducing Project AE86 Starting on the Front Suspension With Techno Toy Tuning and Whiteline

Posted on October 27, 2024February 14, 2025
byMike Kojima

Way back in 1985, I was in my last year of school. I was working at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) as my going through college job and I was going…

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Cayman T

Project 718 Cayman T: Part 10 – RaggDoll Motorsport RENNEN Turbo Upgrade and Compressor Inlet

Posted on October 20, 2024December 7, 2024
byKhiem Dinh

The 4-banger turbo 718s haven’t gotten much love from the aftermarket because they are just the lowly 4-cylinder engines instead of the all-mighty 6-cylinders in the Porsche lineup. Those of…

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Project Cappuccino: Nuts & Bolts Are Wheely Cool

Posted on October 13, 2024
byDave Zipf

While doing some routine maintenance on our Suzuki Cappuccino, we noticed that the wheel nuts were not always spinning on and off smoothly. Some nuts would stick slightly as we…

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Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 23 – Heatshield Products HP StickyShield

Posted on October 3, 2024
byBilly Johnson

Rotaries produce a ton of heat. We keep cabin temperatures down by covering our transmission tunnel with Sticky™ Shield from Heatshield Products. Thermal management is a major challenge for rotary…

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Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 22 – DC Power Alternator, Raceonly Pulleys, FFE Hall Trigger Kit

Posted on September 29, 2024October 31, 2024
byBilly Johnson

We upgrade the electrical system of our car with a high output alternator from DC Power, improved the look of our engine bay with a set of Raceonly Pulleys, and…

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Project FD RX7 Restomod: Part 21 – Suspension Refresh with SuperPro USA polyurethane bushings.

Posted on September 8, 2024September 17, 2024
byBilly Johnson

We freshened up our FD’s30-year old, worn out suspension bushings with SuperPro USA polyurethane bushings and replaced the clunking old pillow ball bushings in the rear suspension. We also vapor…

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Project Cappuccino: Upgrading the Suspension

Posted on September 3, 2024
byDave Zipf

While our Cappuccino has been a lot of fun to fling around on back roads, there are some serious shortcomings in the suspension department. The lowering springs (or Down Suspension…