Modified Magazine Dec-13

Save ’em for the Toolbox When I was 16 years old and had my first car, a ’90 Eagle Talon TSi, I could barely afford any modifications. And when I did, they were few and far between. Modifying a car is expensive, and working a minimum wage job meant that I had to save up for months before I could afford wheels or an exhaust system. I turned to cheap exterior mods as a way to enhance the look of my ride, decals being at the forefront. A decal (or sticker if you want to call it that) on each rear quarter-window and a front windshield banner did just the trick. You know the saying that stickers add 5 horsepower? Well when I got behind the wheel, it certainly felt…

Invasion of the E-Nannies Ido a lot of new car testing at the racetrack, and the more at-the-limit testing I do, the more I’ve come to realize that “Off” rarely means 100 percent off when it comes to electronic stability control (ESC) systems. I completely understand why carmakers don’t see the need to offer a true ESC Off option for their non-sporting models, but it did come as a genuine surprise when I learned that even in the Scion FR-S, a machine designed to go sideways as much as in a straight line, electronic “brake force distribution” (where the computer can apply some rear brake to stabilize and straighten the car’s trajectory if it thinks you’re about to spin off into a ditch) is still active even when you disable…

Ask just about any well-traveled American road racer what his Top 10 tracks in the country are, and Road America is likely to be on every list. And for good reason, because it’s not only patriotically named (even if it’s way up north in cheese country), it’s also one of the longest and fastest road courses in the country. It’s also a historic road course that’s hosted everything from SCCA club races all the way up to NASCAR and Indy Car, its design having stood the test of time by remaining entirely unchanged since opening in 1955. The history of Road America is a classic post-WWII tale of young war vets returning home with a need for speed, an auto industry hungry to capitalize on this, and a civil engineer…

More than just a pretty face… Or is it? After a six-year run, the second-generation Lexus IS has finally been retired, ushering in a brand-new model. Lexus has not always been, shall we say, a tour de force of style in the automotive world, so when the ’14 IS first showed its face to the public at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, the design was much bolder and more aggressive than expected. The exterior of the F Sport–equipped cars is not exactly subtle. The biggest things you’ll notice straightaway are the headlights with separated LED driving lights. It’s a bit odd at first, but the design grows on you. The whole front end is very nicely packaged, but unfortunately, it kind of falls off into nothingness along the…

NEWS, GOSSIP AND RUMORS—WE SORT IT OUT FOR YOU HERE. FR-S DROP-TOP, TURBO MODEL NIXED? We were encouraged by the vibe of Toyota’s GT86 Open Air Concept, but according to Automotive News, a report about Toyota’s long-term plans for new and existing model lineups indicates the rumored convertible and turbo models have been shelved because of high cost and low volume expectations. We would argue the high-cost argument because we see this as a quick engine swap. There is no engine development needed because a turbocharged version of the FA20 is already in service under the hood of the Forester XT. Further, the Toyota GT86 Open Air Concept is a near-production prototype, not a pie-in-the-sky dream—some shapely clay silhouette with a set of wheels stuck in it. The FR-S is…

We’re not sure why, but for whatever reason, Chicago isn’t often thought of as a hotbed of car culture. Windy? Yes. A great place to score a delicious deep-dish pizza? Absolutely. But home to some of the most highly modified street cars in the country? Probably not the first place that comes to mind. But thanks to Mike Braeuner and Nick dela Rosa, it’s pretty clear there’s a lot more going on in Chitown than Risky Devil drift sleds and Alpha Omega GT-Rs. Not too surprisingly, for both Evo Mike (Braeuner) and STI Nick (dela Rosa), their love affair with Japanese sport compacts started at an early age. According to Mike, “When I was young, my parents traveled a lot, so they would always leave me with a close family…