Fact or Fiction

The Claim:

Voltage stabilizers can increase power and torque.

The website quotes:

This month, we put four of the market's most popular voltage stabilizers to the test. Not to be confused with grounding systems that supplement a car's OE battery and chassis grounds, voltage stabilizers-sometimes called "condensers" attach directly to a car's battery at the positive and negative terminals, and purport to regulate the flow of electricity running from a car's battery to its electrical components, smoothing idle, improving output from headlights and audio equipment, increasing battery life, and improving combustion efficiency for increased power/torque and decrease emissions.

The first thing to remember is that a car's battery acts like a big voltage stabilizer already. Electricity generated from the alternator is sent to the battery and electrical devices as needed. During periods of low electrical draw (headlights, audio, A/C off, for example), excess electricity generated by the alternator charges the battery rather than passing through the system. But when the demand of a car's electrical system outweighs what the alternator can generate (during low idle, and/or high electrical draw, for example), electricity is discharged from the battery in the amounts needed to pick up the slack. The problem is that a traditional lead-acid battery can't switch from charge to discharge rapidly enough to quell small scale voltage fluctuations or electrical "noise" that can adversely affect a car's electrical components. The more advanced (expensive) batteries and electrical systems of newer cars can do near perfect job of stabilizing rouge current, but in any event say the makers of voltage stabilizer kits there's a lot to be gained by adding an aftermarket system of capacitors to the mix.

Our testing commenced with us strapping Elliot "Mr. Super Lap" Moran's new (for him) KA24DE powered '95 240SX to the rollers of City of Industry, CA based SP engineering's Dynojet dyno, and performing several Third gear full throttle pulls, first as a baseline with no voltage system installed, then again with each of the four contenders in place.

Raizin Pivot

First up was the Raizin Pivot, whose Japanese based manufacturer boasts the confidence to construct the product with transparent casing. Its design is simple: four capacitors to charge and discharge rogue electrical current faster than a car battery, some small gauge positive and negative wiring, two replaceable fuses, and an LED to signify correct installation.

Buddy Club's Racing Spec Condenser

Next up was Buddy Club's Racing Spec Condenser. From what we could see through the window in its casing, it's constructed much like the Raizin, but with larger capacitors and the addition of supplemental grounding straps.

Sun Auto's Hyper Voltage System (Hot InaZma)

Our third and final Japanese contender was Sun Auto's venerable Hyper Voltage System, one of the first such kits on the market. It featured stainless covered copper wiring larger than any of the systems, and a fully sealed module great for keeping contaminants out, but not so great for serviceability or seeing how it works. Still, it returned the best peak numbers of the bunch.

Mystery Stabilizer

Our "mystery stabilizer" (so named because it was donated for testing with no labeling of any sort), was the last to go under the microscope. Its aluminum heat sink body is common to several brands, as is its Home Depot-esque black and red wiring. We won't speculate which brand we think it to be.

The Verdict:

Each stabilizers brought slight increase to power and torque throughout the rev range, and with the exception of the Raizin that lost a fraction of a horse up top, each system bumped up peak power and torque. But the amount by which power and torque increased 0.5 and 1.5 lb ft of torque, on average is low enough to be considered standard variance in back to back testing a 15 year old car with an impressive history of check engine lights. Still, based on the all around performance of the Sun Auto unit and the low end performance of the Buddy Club piece, and the fact that Elliot swears the Sun Auto unit actually makes his scratched, yellow headlights brighter, we have to concede that these things might be of some benefit after all.

Text courtesy by Luke Munnell

Photography courtesy by Luke Munnel, Scott Tsuneishi

Courtesy from www.importtuner.com

Read more:

Voltage Stabilizers Can Increase Power And Torque - Fact Or Fiction

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Its Alive

Top Tips For Improving Performance

Muscle cars came from the factory with a high level of performance. However, to those not content with factory performance, one can improve their muscle car's performance. More power can be coaxed from the engine and/or that power can be harnessed and put into forward motion more efficiently. Either approach will increase your car's potential.

9 WAYS TO INCREASE ENGINE POWER

Engine power can be increased by good tuning of the fuel mixture, proper ignition timing for the engine and fuel combination you will use, properly adjusted plugs of the correct heat range, a good dual exhaust system, a clean and efficient air intake system to the carb, proper operating carb, and good engine condition. If the engine is to be overhauled, do it exactly like the shop manuals specify. Relatively minor changes in cam selection, fuel mixture, ignition timing and advance, rear end gear ratio, compression ratios, and carb type can provide some performance increase without substantially degrading driveability. However, large changes to any part of this balanced setup will almost always cause a loss in actual measured performance. The advantages to this approach include reasonable cost, noticeably better performance in normal driving, and measurably quicker times at the drag strip.

1. INCREASE DISPLACEMENT

More displacement means more power because you can burn more gas during each revolution of the engine. You can increase displacement by making the cylinders bigger. As displacement is a function of an engine's bore and stroke, one can either increase the bore (widening the cylinder chamber) or increase the stroke or both. Increasing the bore is usually easier and cheaper.

2. INCREASE THE COMPRESSION RATIO

Increasing the compression ratio produces more power by creating a larger "explosion." However, the more you compress the air/fuel mixture, the more likely it is to spontaneously burst into flame (prior to the spark plug igniting it). The use of higher octane gasolines prevent this early combustion.

3. STUFF MORE AIR INTO EACH CYLINDER

Increasing the amount of air (and therefore fuel) into a cylinder of a given size, increases the amount of power from the cylinder (in the same way that you would by increasing the size of the cylinder). Turbo chargers and super chargers pressurize the incoming air to effectively cram more air into a cylinder.

4. COOL THE INCOMING AIR

Compressing air raises its temperature. You would like to have the coolest air possible in the cylinder because the hotter the air is the less it will expand when combustion takes place. The most common method is to draw cooler air from outside of the engine compartment, usually through the use of hood scoops. Therefore, "Ram Air" systems generally are design to draw in cooler outside air, rather than truly "ramming" the air into the engine. In addition, many turbo charged and super charged cars have an intercooler which is a special radiator through which the compressed air passes to cool it off before it enters the cylinder.

5. LET AIR COME IN MORE EASILY

As a piston moves down in the intake stroke, air resistance can rob power from the engine. Air resistance can be lessened dramatically by putting two intake valves in each cylinder. Some newer cars are also using polished intake manifolds to eliminate air resistance there. Bigger air filters or more efficient air filters (such as K&N Filters) can also improve air flow.

6. LET EXHAUST EXIT MORE EASILY

If air resistance makes it hard for exhaust to exit a cylinder, it robs the engine of power. Air resistance can be lessened by adding a second exhaust valve to each cylinder (a car with 2 intake and 2 exhaust values has 4 valves per cylinder, which improves performance). If the exhaust pipe is too small or the muffler has a lot of air resistance then this can cause back-pressure which has the same effect. High-performance exhaust systems use headers, big tail pipes and free-flowing mufflers to eliminate back-pressure in the exhaust system. Dual Exhaust systems improve the flow of exhaust by having two exhaust pipes instead of one.

7. MAKE EVERYTHING LIGHTER

Lightweight engine parts help the engine perform better. Most engine parts are made of iron - which is cheap but heavy. Switching to Aluminum parts is a bit more expensive, but can reduce engine weight by up to 100 lbs. In addition to losing weight in the best place (up front and up high), lightweight engine parts results in a more efficient engine. For example, aluminum pistons are more efficient because each time a piston changes direction it uses up energy to stop the travel in one direction and start it in another. The lighter the piston, the less energy it takes.

8. INJECT THE FUEL

Fuel injection allows very precise metering of fuel to each cylinder. This improves performance and fuel economy.

9. KEEP IT IN TUNE

Even the most powerful engine will not perform if it is not properly tuned. Tuning an engine is an art and involves fine-tuning the carbs, distributor, timing belts, and other engine internals to achieve the best performance over the RPM band.

6 WAYS TO INCREASE PERFORMANCE 

Increasing power is just one side of the coin. Optimizing the use of that power is the other. Here are some tips to best utilize that power.

1. LEARN HOW TO DRIVE CORRECTLY

No modification to your engine or car will result in a greater performance improvement than training your self how to drive correctly. Whether it is on the drag strip or through a road course, driver skill is the most important factor between winning and losing. So practice and constantly try to improve.

2. LOSE WEIGHT

Vehicle weight hurts all areas of performance: acceleration, top speed, and handling. Replacing heavy pieces with lighter pieces or removing some pieces all together will greatly improve vehicle performance. For every 100 lbs. of weight loss, your quarter mile time will drop by 0.1 seconds.

3. INCREASE TRACTION

For maximum acceleration, traction is key. Larger diameter and wider wheels and tires will improve traction and greatly improve your launch times and thus quarter mile times. For drag strip runs, consider drag slicks to maximize traction.

4. REAR END

Also consider the rear end for maximizing traction. Adjust your suspension to ensure that the weight transfer upon launch cleanly puts the weight over the rear tires. Also, adding a differential (especially a locking one) will defintely help your launch. Performance differentials are usually in the 3.90 to 4.11:1 range.

5. BETTER AERODYNAMICS

The aerodynamics of the vehicle only comes into play at high speeds. However, for truly fast cars, the right combination of functional spoilers (front and rear), and underbody modifications that reduce the car's drag coefficient and increase the downforce on the rear of the car will help. Note that on most street cars (going less than 125 mph +), most body pieces just add weight and increase aerodynamic drag, thereby slowing your car.

6. BETTER BRAKES

Don't forget stopping your car. Replace your tired drum brakes with disc brakes and/or install performance brake pads. Never skimp on your brakes - they could save your life.

COMMON MISTAKES

Unfortunately, the usual approach to increased power consisting of installing a larger cam, race manifold and carb, big tube headers, etc., will always degrade low end power, and if you are really lucky, some increase of power may occur at the upper RPM range. Unfortunately, to utilize it, you would then have to run your engine to top RPM in every gear, because low-end power will always be lost with such changes. The engine will no longer idle properly, will waste fuel, probably overheat, and generally be difficult to drive in city driving.

Also note that there is no mention of light weight rods, light weight or other types of trick pistons, super mega ignition systems, huge headers, big cams, race intake manifolds, 1000 CFM carburetors, align boring, porting or even hardened valve seats! These kinds of changes or modifications might help the performance and reliability of high RPM race engines, but are not necessary and will not help performance on stock type engines operated in the factory designed RPM range.

Remember, if you add something that doesn't improve performance, all it is adding is weight and cost. 95% of body pieces fall into this category.

Courtesy from MuscleCarClub.com

Car Wrapping

Need quotation? Full Wrap? Partial Wrap? Please Kindly bring your car / laptops / ipads etc etc to our showroom for our technicians to evaluate your car & give you an instant quote and at the same time view our color selection, ask any questions and many others. We look forward in serving you soon. Please also check out our website www.ifoildesign.com for all the projects that we've done as well as other useful info.

Car Wrapping is a seriously new technology which was started in Germany for the past 10 years ago and now the technology is available here in Brunei. It takes up to 7 days to wrap a car depending on sizes as well as wrap materials. To find out more about prices etc. please kindly read the following below:-

Our foil starts from $1600 for Clear Protection (for new cars or newly used cars) - Depending on size of car etc etc. (Usage of Clear Protection wraps up to 3 years - insha Allah) This simple yet effective clear protection wrap protects your car from scratches, abrasions and most importantly stone chips.

We also carry 'High Speed Protection' wraps (Price from $2800) for those discerning super fast car owners eg. Porsche 911s, Ferraris, Lamborghini's and many others. Here, our High Speed protection wraps can last up to 7 years and durability intact. This too, protects your car from scratches, abrasions, stone chips etc etc.

Our 'Intermediate' wrap starts from $1800. Here we only give limited warranty on workmanship but no warranty on materials (3 to 4 years materials usage - good for those who wants to keep changing colors). Available colors are limitless from Matte to Glossy to Carbon Fibre.

Our top of the range 'Premium' wrap starts from $3800 inclusive of 2 years material warranty & 1 year workmanship warranty (8 to 10 years material usage). This involves 1 or even up to 2 layers of wrap to have that 'satin' finish but still have the Matte look. Color ranges from Matte, Glossy, Carbon Fibre and many others.

We also have speciality wrap/foils such as aligator skin, camouflage, glitter foils as well as chrome.Chrome is the most expensive & most time consuming to install (2 weeks maximum) as it involves 3 layers of wraps hence pricing starts from $15k (chrome silver, chrome red, chrome blue, chrome pink, chrome purple, chrome orange etc etc).

Above all, no matter which wraps you choose, at the end of the day, you still keep your car's original color should you wish to remove your wrap by us anytime. Their just 'wraps' and not to be confused with 'paints'.

All of our wraps are JPD approved, please enquire for more info.Discounts will be given upon confirmation/bookings, Insha Allah.

Our address : Unit 12, Simpang 624, Kg Madewa, Jln Tutong (Just behind Escapade Sushi Restaurant)

Call : 8750550 (Monday - Saturday / 9am - 7pm) or email idesignconceptbrunei@gmail.com

Text & Photo courtesy from www.iFoilDesign.com

iDesign Concept

Who we are?

iDesign Concept Sdn Bhd specializes in vehicle wraps and graphics at the highest quality services in the most time efficient, cost efficient manner possible.

At iDesign Concept Sdn Bhd, we wrap cars and almost any vehicle that's on 4 wheels. Our mission is simple, to provide our customers with the most effective, smart and creative vehicle wraps and graphics available anywhere in the world with prices that anyone can afford and to match.

Our quality is, Insha Allah, second to none and our commitment to meet the needs of all our customers is our top priority.

Car wrapping is a seriously new technology that was started in Germany 10 years ago and now the technology is available here in Brunei Darussalam.

We provide 3 types of wraps : Premium, Intermediate & Clear Protection. All of the above serve their purpose to keep your car's original color from fading, protecting the original color from scratches, abrasions, stone chips, weathering and many others. Our fully removable car wraps gives your car a completely new look while keeping the old one. You can revert to the original paint finish or apply another wrap at our shop anytime. All colors are available in stock or to order at anytime & any design.

The best thing about this cool technology is that, Alhamdulillah 'it is Road Legal'.

For enquiry and more details visit the official website www.iFoilDesign.com or you can find us on Facebook iDesign Concept Brunei

Text & Photo courtesy from www.iFoilDesign.com

PIVOT Mega Raizin Voltage Stabilizer

It’s a simple product that just hooks onto the battery terminals. I’m very happy and satisfied with this product effectiveness and helps in increasing better torque engine’s pulling power.

Do you have proof of a dyno test run on this product?

In my personal opinion, the best dyno is to test this product effectiveness in your own car and feel the difference. Everyone has their own expectations on the improvements and gains after installing an aftermarket device but of course there were also a couple of who felt that the increase in power wasn’t sufficient or had not met their expectations.

How do you know this product really work?

Seriously, those who have tested this device will know that it works and I say this, if you don’t feel the improvement in power from the moment the device is installed, and then you won’t feel it in other coming years. If you do feel the power improvement then you will be able to see and feel the effectiveness in better torque engine's pulling power, and fuel savings. It is up to you to believe or otherwise.

You need to be more very observant about your engine’s performance, before and after fitting this product. I believe there are two categories of drivers who will not be able to feel the difference of this product. Firstly, those who are expecting a huge increases in horsepower and secondly, the one who doesn't monitor of their car’s performance hence they wouldn't know the difference even after installing this product.

What kind of performance and efficiency you can expect from this product?

This product stating no loss in battery life or in performance and possibility giving a 100% performance better; more stable supply of voltage to all electronic devices, giving better gas mileage, and improved throttle response, torque, and audio quality.

At first, you too overjoyed at new extra power to your car engine and your legs start to feel heavier on the gas pedal. After feeling the joy of having better accelerating power and at that moment you realize when you really do not save fuel.

However, once you feel satisfied with the effectiveness of this product and you start get back to your normal driving style, and you start to see its effectiveness in fuel economy.

Knowledge: Spark Plug

Typically the heat range for NGK Spark Plugs varies from 2 – 11. This number indicates the thermal characteristics of a spark plug, or how ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ a spark plug is. The term hot/cold is commonly used to describe whether a spark plug heats up easily (hot) or whether it provides resistance to heating up (cold). Generally, low power engines such as lawn mowers don’t produce a large amount of heat, hence use a low heat range (or hot) spark plug such as a 4 heat range. This means the spark plug will heat up easily and reach its optimal operating temperature. High performance engines on the other hand produce a large amount of heat, hence a high heat range (or cold) spark plug such as a 10 heat range needs to be used to resist the heat developed by the engine.

Several factors influence the heat range of a spark plug, although typically the insulator nose design provides an indication of the heat range of a spark plug.

When a spark plug absorbs heat produced from combustion, the heat is transferred through the centre electrode and insulator nose to the metal shell, which then transfers the heat into the engine casing and circulating coolant.

A low heat range (or hot) spark plug typically has a long thin insulator nose which will heat up easily however will not dissipate readily to the metal shell (above left). Conversely, a high heat range (or cold) spark plug has a short thick insulator nose which will dissipate heat much easier (above right).

When the heat rating is too high:

The spark plug temperature remains too low and causes deposits to build up on the firing end; the deposits offer an electrical leakage path that gives rise to loss of sparks.

When the heat rating is too low:

The spark plug temperature rises too high and induces abnormal combustion (pre-ignition): this leads to melting of the spark plug electrodes as well as piston seizure and erosion.

NGK Spark Plugs pioneered the use of a copper cored electrode in 1958, which enables a spark plug to heat up quickly and also dissipate heat quickly giving an ultra wide heat range. It is essential to use a spark plug that fits a specific engine and its conditions of use.

As spark plugs are positioned in the head of an engine, their analysis can give a good indication of how your engine is operating.

You wanna know more?

Log on to

NGK Spark Plug

New Stuff

a new stuff for SCP10... Hmm can't really wait.

Promo Package For Toyota Yaris

Yesss! its a package deal for Toyota Yaris Only

D1 Throttle Controller* + Aftermarket Header* + Nitto Exhaust*

For Only

$600

Interested ?

Call Up
K&F Performance
8757221 or 8765259

* All Parts are a Plug and Play,no modification or welding required.

Cleaning?

after 2 month of not cleaning the engine bay,maybe i should get my stuff and do some cleaning

Hanging out

FireStorm Booster KIA KOUP 2.0 (A)

FireStorm Ignition Coil Booster fitted on KIA KOUP 2.0 (A), driven and use almost a week for the review. You can feel an immediate responses of your car when fitted but all cars are not made equal. It doesn't necessarily mean your car not responding as you wanted and probably caused by other technical reasons.

FireStorm Booster fitted on KIA KOUP 2.0

I don't have the data to prove it and of course, numbers can tell a variety of tales and I understand everyone have different priorities.

What does it do? Saves fuel, improved acceleration response, gear changes felt smoother and faster... obviously it is true what has been stated.

From my own perspective, on normal driving fuel average 8-12 l/100km without FireStorm fitted but with FireStorm fitted, on normal driving fuel average 6-8 l/100km. Another test done on my computer laptop diagnostic program in real time or instant fuel consumption, at constantly driving at 80-100km/h shows averagely 5-7 l/100km.

Bit of good news amongst all the gloom & doom. Please go ahead and try for yourself. For enquiry and more details Speed Master Racing on Facebook

FireStorm Ignition Coil Booster

FireStorm Ignition Coil Booster

Upgrade the power of your Ignition Coil with this add-on device and feel an immediate power improvement during acceleration.

The 5x stronger spark promotes complete combustion of the air-fuel mixture resulting in extra power squeezed out from the same amount of fuel burnt. Unburnt petrol smell is also eliminated, even on vehicles without a catalytic converter.

Saves fuel with lesser kickdowns and gear changes which cause higher engine RPM and wastes more fuel. Automatic transmission gear shifting is faster and smoother due to the power increase thoughout the entire RPM band.

Shifting quicker into higher gears results in lower RPM, which in turn, saves more fuel. Climbs hills with lesser effort on the accelerator pedal.

Works on all vehicles which run on petrol. The FireStorm Ignition Coil Booster can be fitted in both automobiles and motorbikes.

Easily plugs into the distributor fuse socket without the need to cut any wires or cable harness.

This is not a scam or cheating product. It does work. Comes with 1 year warranty. For enquiry Speed Master Racing on Facebook