Well, it's December, and that means it's time to practice our acting skills. We must feign delight when our grandmas give us that Cliff Huxtable sweater, pretend that our moms' special fruitcake recipe really is good and make our girlfriends believe we actually care about what they want for the holidays. Forget what the greeting card companies and Oprah say, the holidays are all about receiving.
In addition to a still hard-to-find Nintendo Wii, we want you to send us your tech questions this holiday season. Are you wondering why your new turbo kit is shooting oil right out your exhaust? Curious as to why your friend's stock Evo handles better than your Tercel with cut springs? Write these queries-plus a few good ones-down and send them to: Super Street magazine c/o Technical Support, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048. Silicon Valley types can use their iPhones to send electronic mails to us at tech@superstreetonline.com.
The best question of the month will get one of our many fabulous prizes. This month Justin Fields from Falkville, AL gets a set of lowering springs from Eibach (www.eibach.com).
Questions Of The Month
Q Hey Super Street, I currently own a '04 350Z. I am considering buying a built 3.7VQ motor with upgraded head package. What ECU adjustments would need to be made to make this run correctly? Also, would a turbo kit made for a factory setup work, or, would I need a custom kit? Thanks for the great magazine.Justin FieldsFalkville, AL
A We would say that depending on your mods to the heads, you more than likely could install a pre-made kit from one of the good manufacturers. In this situation a stand-alone engine management system would be the best for your needs because, even as you change your setup, you can tune and maximize your potential at each level. Fuel tuning is key in all aftermarket turbo setups, so make sure that you get a good EMS and an even better tuner. Do your homework on the tuner as well. Keep in mind that even a turbo kit designed for the factory car is still a custom kit and will require a few other mods like bigger injectors and metal head gaskets to stay reliable and give you optimum service. If you are building your engine now and plan to go turbo you might want to think about making the compression a little lower by having a slightly thicker than OEM head gasket.
QI have been looking into getting clear radiator hoses for my '92 Civic, but I can't seem to find any kits online. I have seen some cheap ways to do it, but I'm unsure if the tubing used can handle the temps. Is there any place to find the hoses?Julian LaurentBoston, MA
A Julian: search engines are your friend-if you type in the right key words. We couldn't find a specific kit for the EG Civic, but we did come across a number of custom hose manufacturers that make kits for hot rods, and those should do the job fine! Many of the clear hoses made for hot rods can more than handle the heat and pressure of your car. A bonus is that you may even decide to get a motor swap later, and if you use hot rod style hoses, you can re-use them on your next set up!