Category Archives: Cars

Cars

Every Generation Jeep Cherokee, Ranked Worst To Best

Leave a comment

To construct the first-generation SJ Cherokee, AMC kind of eradicated the Wagoneer’s C-pillar and rear doorways, and prolonged the facet glass within the rear cargo space. For its first two years, the one engine choices within the Cherokee had been a 258 cubic inch I6 and the stalwart 360 cubic inch V8. A 401 cubic inch choice was added in 1976, and the next 12 months, Cherokee consumers may additionally drive dwelling a four-door mannequin. Choosing the Chief trim from 1976 on gave consumers a wider observe and wider fenders to suit outsized tires. A Golden Eagle Cherokee was issued in 1979, and a Golden Hawk version in 1980. 

They each included massive chicken decals on the hood, however the Golden Eagle additionally had the Chief’s wider axles plus denim upholstery. Through 1979, the full-time Quadra-Trac four-wheel drive system with a Borg-Warner 1339 limited-slip switch case was an choice. In 1980, the 1339 was swapped out for a New Process 207 case, however the Quadra-Trac identify and badge remained. The entrance and rear driveshafts may very well be locked with a vacuum swap within the cabin, however many house owners have put in kits to transform Quadra-Trac Cherokees to part-time four-wheel drive. The gas-guzzling SJ did not final lengthy sufficient to see gasoline injection, though aftermarket kits can be found from the likes of Holley and Howell to treatment this.

[Featured image by Mr.choppers via Wikimedia Commons|Cropped and scaled|CC-By 3.0]

Cars

Here’s What The Eco Mode In Your Car Actually Does

Leave a comment

If you have determined to check out your automobile’s eco mode, you may be questioning when you must use it. Given that your automobile will function with lowered energy in eco mode, it really works greatest once you will not have to speed up quickly, equivalent to in congested suburban streets or slow-moving visitors. Eco mode excels in metropolis driving, the place stop-and-go visitors is widespread. Since eco mode reduces the throttle response and shifts gears at decrease RPMs, it might probably allow you to save gasoline in city areas the place the transmission usually has to work nonstop.

You may need to think about using eco mode when happening a protracted journey the place you will be driving at average speeds (between 30 and 60 mph), equivalent to freeway driving with cruise management. In these conditions, eco mode can enhance gasoline effectivity by protecting the engine working at decrease RPMs, which conserves gasoline over lengthy distances​.

There are additionally occasions once you’ll need to keep away from placing your automobile in eco mode as a result of it might do extra hurt than good. Eco mode is not your best option for high-speed freeway driving, the place you would possibly have to speed up rapidly to overhaul a automobile or merge with visitors. The lowered energy output can harm your automobile’s efficiency in these conditions. You additionally will not need to use eco mode if you’ll be towing or going up steep inclines as a result of the lowered torque and energy may not present the required efficiency to deal with these situations safely. 

Cars

Mopar 340 Vs. 360: Which Is The Better Engine?

Leave a comment

The Mopar 340 has its origins with the earlier 318 V8 engine within the LA household. This was already a reasonably good engine, however Mopar wished to make a excessive efficiency model of it. To do that, the corporate took the three.906 bore of the 318 and elevated it to 4.04 inches, however the designers didn’t alter the stroke in any respect, permitting for a larger engine displacement. Mopar additionally understood that there could be a heavier burden positioned on the engine as a result of its efficiency capabilities, so it changed the forged iron crankshaft with a metal one.

The consequence was a relatively spectacular engine that might generate as much as 275 horsepower and 340 pound-feet of torque — or at the very least that’s what was marketed, as Hot Rod noticed these numbers enhance to 320 horsepower and 368 pound-feet of torque. These outcomes made the engine fairly a pleasant selection for road racers or anybody wanting a light-weight, highly effective automobile. 

You would discover the 340 V8 in a number of of the muscle and pony vehicles after its introduction in 1968, together with the Dodge Charger and Plymouth Road Runner; and two years later, Mopar would put out a Six Pack model of the 340, which was unique to the Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda. As was the case with so many excessive efficiency V8 engines of the time, it grew to become considerably hampered by the emissions laws and oil embargo through the Nineteen Seventies, seeing it section out of manufacturing relatively rapidly. However, this has made it fairly the product on the resale market that you’ll definitely be paying a number of thousand {dollars} to get.

[Featured image by Bidgee via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 2.5 AU]

Cars

What Year BMW M3 Has The S58 Engine & How Much Horsepower Does It Produce?

Leave a comment

When BMW launched the all-new M3 G80 in 2021, it got here with the S58 3.0-liter inline-six with two mono-scroll turbochargers, double Vanos camshaft timing, and Valvetronic variable valve timing. The S58 engine debuted in 2019 for the F97/F98 BMW X3 M and X4 M earlier than making it to the G80/G81 M3 and M4 two years later.

The S58 in commonplace guise makes 473 horsepower and 405 lb-ft of torque, the latter accessible from 2,650 to six,130 rpm. Meanwhile, Competition variants just like the M3 Competition xDrive have 510 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque at 2,750 to five,500 rpm. Notably, the BMW M3 G80 is the primary in its lineage to return with an non-compulsory all-wheel drivetrain.

The BMW S58 is a technical masterpiece with a light-weight solid crankshaft, a 3D-printed cylinder head core, high-precision gas injection, and a twin chamber oil sump that ensures dependable lubrication in excessive driving environments. The BMW M3 G80 continues to be in manufacturing as of 2024. Another M automotive that makes use of the S58 engine is the second-gen BMW M2 with a 453-horsepower model of the twin-turbo inline-six.

Cars

6 Of The Best Cars Ever Built With Rotary Engines

Leave a comment

Mazda solely made one rotary-powered front-wheel drive automobile, the Luce R130. The Luce (Italian for “light”) was a luxurious coupe designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who additionally created the Volkswagen Golf, Lotus Esprit, Ducati 860 GT/GTS, and BMW M1. Fewer than 1,000  models had been constructed in the course of the Luce’s transient run from 1969 by way of 1972, and solely round 200 are thought to nonetheless exist. The 13A twin-rotor rotary engine within the Luce displaced 1.3 liters, placing out 124 horsepower and 127 pound-feet of torque. It was by no means utilized in one other automobile.

The Luce’s 13A was topped by a Hitachi-Stromberg four-barrel carburetor. So outfitted, the Luce may go from 0 to 60 mph in 8.3 seconds and hit a high velocity of 119 mph. It was solely offered in Japan and had a sticker value of 1.75 million yen. Accounting for inflation and foreign money conversion, that equates to round $40,000 at the moment.  

[Featured image by Charles01 via Wikimedia Commons|Cropped and scaled|CC-BY-SA 3.0]

Cars, News

2025 Ram 1500 RHO Is A $70k Raptor Roaster, But It’s Not A TRX Replacement

Leave a comment

As far as off-roading is worried, it would not make lots of sense for Ram to make a truck with properly north of 500 horsepower if it could not deal with itself within the wild. For suspension, it wears Bilstein Black Hawk shocks and an 11.8-inch floor clearance while you go for 35-inch tires. It sports activities a Dana 60 rear axle and a Borg-Warner switch case for the entire rock crawling followers on the market.

Ram

The entrance grille has additionally been redesigned for higher air movement, and the RHO options a lot of particular badges and decals so everybody can know what sort of truck you’ve. Most North American Stellantis products that have been unveiled recently don’t fall into the “subtle and restrained” class, and the Ram 1500 RHO is not any completely different. 

It’s large, goofy, and quick, as any efficiency truck ought to be. With that efficiency, after all, comes a excessive price ticket: It’s slated to price $69,995 and be accessible in the course of the third quarter of this 12 months. If it makes you’re feeling any higher, Ram says it is a relative worth at $129.60 per horsepower. So that is good.

Cars

Everything You Need To Know About Scout Motors

Leave a comment

For years, Scout autos have been solely accessible to collectors and fans, as International Harvester reorganized as Navistar, specializing in business vehicles and promoting off its agricultural pursuits. But as TechCrunch reports, Volkswagen has acquired Navistar, and with it, the Scout model, saying plans to launch a line of EV autos primarily based on it. The funding contains plans for a pickup and an SUV by 2026. The design particulars are a bit obscure at this level, as evidenced by the silhouette-like imagery on Scout’s website. But it is clear that as Harvester did a long time in the past, Volkswagen intends to make inroads into an off-road promote it has little presence in, utilizing the model that helped create that market.

There are plans for a manufacturing facility in Blythewood, South Carolina, with hopes to introduce the electrical pickup later this yr, and an SUV quickly after. How a lot these autos resemble the unique iconic Scouts stays to be seen. Scout Motors CEO Scott Keogh has hinted that the autos won’t resemble fashionable EVs. “The car will stand up right,” he said to The Verge, “It’s not a jelly bean.” The unique home windows can be saved, the overhang can be tight, and far of the previous graphics and logos can be retained. Keogh hopes the automobile won’t let the expertise inherent in EVs isolate the driving force from the surface world with superior software program, which can imply precise door handles, and as he termed it, “chunky buttons.”

Cars

What Engine Is In The Dodge Scat Pack & Just How Fast It Can Be

Leave a comment

Whether on the racetrack or freeway, the Scat Pack contains a few of Dodge’s strongest vehicles. However, energy does not essentially correlate with pace. If that have been the case, we might see much more heavy-duty engines competing. So, how briskly can the Scat Pack automobiles go then?

Naturally, you must be fairly quick to make it into the Dodge Scat Pack. The iconic grouping of Chargers and Challengers can all run 1 / 4 of a mile in 14 seconds or much less, so the barrier for entry is fairly excessive. The 2023 Dodge Charger Scat Pack has a prime pace of 175 mph and may go from zero to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds, giving it ample time to finish the Scat Pack’s initiation. The Charger Scat Pack Widebody accomplished the usual automotive check in the identical time, reaching zero to 60 in 4.3 seconds. The Hellcat, Hellcat Redeye Widebody, and the Widebody Jailbreak all ran sooner instances, however the Scat Pack continues to be one of many quickest Chargers available on the market.

Similarly, the Dodge Challenger Scat Pack is not the quickest that cash should purchase, nevertheless it holds its personal among the many automobile’s different speedy trims. The 2023 Dodge Challenger tops at 203 mph, with the Scat Pack and Widebody finishing zero to 60 in 4.2 seconds, barely sooner than the Charger, with solely the Hellcat and Super Stock trims clocking sooner instances.

Cars

Transmission Jack Adapters: Everything You Need To Know Before You Buy

Leave a comment

Most transmission jack adapters have the identical primary building, with a base plate, 4 retaining/help tangs on the corners, and a security chain to assist stop drops. Many have adjustable sliders so you’ll be able to pinch the tangs tight to your transmission, and most have plates that may be tilted and locked into place utilizing knobs, bolts, or wing nuts. Before buying a transmission jack adapter, decide the load of the load you may be supporting with it and ensure the adapter you purchase and the jack you are utilizing have at the very least that a lot capability. For instance, GM’s TH400 transmission weighs 135 kilos dry, and the Mopar Torqueflite 727 is available in at about 161 kilos.

Transmission jack adapters vary in value from about $50 to $300 and are available capacities of as much as 1,100 kilos. The $295 adapter from 911 Motorsports has an ideal 5 out of 5 score from all three consumers who left critiques and a capability of 800 kilos. The highest-rated transmission jack adapter we may discover at a extra inexpensive value level was the one from Performance Tool that sells for $88.48 at Walmart. This adapter has a mean score of 4.4 out of 5 stars and a most capability of 1,100 kilos. 

Cars

What’s The Difference Between A Shelby Mustang And A Regular Mustang?

Leave a comment

The Shelby Mustang started manufacturing in January 1965, because the Shelby GT350. It was the brainchild of the acclaimed Carroll Shelby, who by this time triumphed within the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959 and created his model, Shelby American, in 1962. The firm developed the formidable racing machine the Cobra, which might snatch victory on the World Manufacturers’ GT Championship months after the GT350 arrived. With the racing legend’s cachet behind it and GT within the identify, the Shelby Mustang made a transparent assertion: this mannequin was supposed to be quick — very quick.

The common Ford Mustang had definitely had few points establishing itself when it arrived the earlier yr. A household four-seater providing as much as 271 hp in its 289 efficiency guise for June 1964 (leaps and bounds above the unique base Mustang’s 101 hp), it was a mix of practicality and energy that may go on to ring a bell certainly. 

With the may of mid-Nineteen Sixties TV commercials behind it, CBS News stories, 263,434 drivers would snap up the car earlier than the yr was out. Nevertheless, as any firm will inform you, there’s all the time extra money to be made. To that finish, in line with the company, Shelby was approached by Ford Division General Manager Lee Iacocca to assist develop a brand new kind of Mustang: A real efficiency mannequin.