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Turbonutter

New EVO writer

Anyone who likes to read Chris Harris' ramblings will be pleased to know he'll be in EVO soon as a writer. They've got a new editor in the shape of Nick Trott as well.
Dr. Hfuhruhurr

Excellent, I'm glad he's not lost to the world of car mags. They should give him a monthly column.
Turbonutter

Dr. Hfuhruhurr wrote:
Excellent, I'm glad he's not lost to the world of car mags. They should give him a monthly column.


I enjoy reading the Monkey scribblings - I think he's not a bad presenter as well on the basis of the Autocar/DR vids.

Strikes me as properly interested in sporty motors as well  
Pkh72

This is good news.
Guitar Zero

Nick Trott started his career in Max Power I think

I was quite surprised to see he had got a proper job with " Car " magazine a few years back. I think his first piece was on a luxo barge group test - X350 vs ze Germans.

If you've ever seen the standards of journalism in Max Power, you would understand my surprise. The last copy of MP that I ever read had a " target practise " section that consisted of pictures of naked women with target markers covering their flapsicles - the idea being that you try to " land a wad " in the bullseye.
simonp

Talking of Max Pooer, I noticed one of its clones was moving away from the tits and boyracer zone and becoming a little more serious. I think it was Redline?

Good news about Mr Harris. evo now need to establish a decent website, rather than the Auto Express clone they have now, and get him doing vids again!
Turbonutter

simonp wrote:
Talking of Max Pooer, I noticed one of its clones was moving away from the tits and boyracer zone and becoming a little more serious. I think it was Redline?

Good news about Mr Harris. evo now need to establish a decent website, rather than the Auto Express clone they have now, and get him doing vids again!


It was indeed Redline mag Simon - they did some interesting timed laps with different tyres/suspension on a TT recently.
Also testing of 888s in the wet etc vs normal fast road tyres

They're getting back to be a more polished version of what Revs was like at the start
Twelfth Monkey

I found Harris laughably inconsistent in a good many areas.  Still enjoyable to read on most occasions, but not one whose views I'd take at face value.
simonp

Turbonutter wrote:
It was indeed Redline mag Simon - they did some interesting timed laps with different tyres/suspension on a TT recently.


That was the one I read (well, flicked through in the shop!). Could see myself getting the odd copy if it stays like that.
Turbonutter

simonp wrote:
Turbonutter wrote:
It was indeed Redline mag Simon - they did some interesting timed laps with different tyres/suspension on a TT recently.


That was the one I read (well, flicked through in the shop!). Could see myself getting the odd copy if it stays like that.


I know what you mean - they've covered some interesting modified cars recently as well ( modified in a good way ...not just glassfibre bodykits etc )
Nice Guy Eddie

Great news for Harris but what about Meadon and Jethro the original Evo bods? It looks like Harris has led them away to a failed venture and then taken there jobs. I like Harris alot but Meadons article on the Pikes Peak was the best piece I've ever read.
Dr. Hfuhruhurr

I can't imagine Meaden will be out of work for too long. Not just a great writer, but a great driver too - as Eddie says, great to have articles about a race by someone taking part - he also did a great piece on the Ring 24 Hours.
Turbonutter

Dr. Hfuhruhurr wrote:
I can't imagine Meaden will be out of work for too long. Not just a great writer, but a great driver too - as Eddie says, great to have articles about a race by someone taking part - he also did a great piece on the Ring 24 Hours.


Rumour is that Meaden might be coming back to EVO as well  
TimR

Not sure about Nick Trott.

He's still writing for CAR in the current mag.
His long-termer review on a BMW Z4 irritated me because in it he criticises the sport setting for dampers on his previous longtermer - an Audi TT diesel - saying it's like removing them altogether.
Funny how he never mentioned that when he had the car, which is one of my bugbears about motoring journos in general.

No mention of Jethro coming back to EVO?
Were bridges burned?
Turbonutter

TimR wrote:
Not sure about Nick Trott.

He's still writing for CAR in the current mag.
His long-termer review on a BMW Z4 irritated me because in it he criticises the sport setting for dampers on his previous longtermer - an Audi TT diesel - saying it's like removing them altogether.
Funny how he never mentioned that when he had the car, which is one of my bugbears about motoring journos in general.

No mention of Jethro coming back to EVO?
Were bridges burned?


Not heard anything about Mr Bovingdon at present - I'm sure they'll all find some scribbling to do somewhere though
Matt

I bought Redline today. If you like performance-related tuning, it's a good read. Pleasantly surprised.
Turbonutter

Matt wrote:
I bought Redline today. If you like performance-related tuning, it's a good read. Pleasantly surprised.


It's improved a lot hasn't it Matt? Do you remember the early days of Revs? When they had Dave Clark the GT driver as a tester?
DaveGibson

Turbonutter wrote:
..... Do you remember the early days of Revs? When they had Dave Clark ......  as a tester?

I thought he was a drummer? Presumably he wrote bits and pieces.
Matt

Turbonutter wrote:
Matt wrote:
I bought Redline today. If you like performance-related tuning, it's a good read. Pleasantly surprised.


It's improved a lot hasn't it Matt? Do you remember the early days of Revs? When they had Dave Clark the GT driver as a tester?


I only saw Revs once or twice, as I must have been about 14 or 15 back then and I was far too much of a car nerd for anything like that!
Turbonutter

Matt wrote:
Turbonutter wrote:
Matt wrote:
I bought Redline today. If you like performance-related tuning, it's a good read. Pleasantly surprised.


It's improved a lot hasn't it Matt? Do you remember the early days of Revs? When they had Dave Clark the GT driver as a tester?


I only saw Revs once or twice, as I must have been about 14 or 15 back then and I was far too much of a car nerd for anything like that!


That was the point .. it was a proper type of PPC mag back then - they used to rolling-road and performance test the secondhand motors they wrote about
simonp

I still have the cheap wallet somewhere that was a gift with one of the first issues (maybe even issue 1?)
Apex clipper

The first 'awareness' of Revs..was on a drag strip..Me being there...

Many moons and such.
Blarno

I've been in Revs twice! Met Dave Clark, too.

Revs wasn't a bad magazine, to be honest. I also read Redline at around the same time, both were massively better that Max Power or Fast Car and seemed to feature proper big power stuff, rather than all-show no-go shopping trolleys.
Apex clipper

Was there a magazine called MOTOR TREND...That featured main stream yank cars..? Or have I mixed the name up.

"Whatever"..it was called, I enjoyed the mag.##

I searched over the ongoing years at various newsagents, but never found it again.

Anyone...Please!
DaveGibson

There is a magazine called Motor Trend and, being American, it probably features yank cars.

www.motortrend.com
"him"

DaveGibson wrote:
There is a magazine called Motor Trend and, being American, it probably favours yank cars.

Fixed your post...
Matt

"him" wrote:
DaveGibson wrote:
There is a magazine called Motor Trend and, being American, it probably favors yank cars.


Fixed your post...


Fixed yours, too  
"him"

Matt wrote:
"him" wrote:
DaveGibson wrote:
There is a magazine called Motor Trend and, being American, it probably favors yank cars.


Fixed your post...


Fixed yours, too  

Pkh72

Apex clipper wrote:
Was there a magazine called MOTOR TREND...That featured main stream yank cars..? Or have I mixed the name up.

"Whatever"..it was called, I enjoyed the mag.##

I searched over the ongoing years at various newsagents, but never found it again.

Anyone...Please!


I bought a copy of Motor Trend whilst out in the states, it's still about and it's nice to get once in a while to see what the yanks get to enjoy/endure that we don't.

My local friendly newsagent gets me a copy of Car and Driver each month so if you wanted to get hold of Motor Trend i'm sure your local newsagents could get it for you.
Apex clipper

DaveGibson wrote:
There is a magazine called Motor Trend and, being American, it probably features yank cars.

www.motortrend.com


Thanks. I found it a refreshing change too the duplicated car mags over here.

They still didn't 'do bends' though.
Apex clipper

Stop bickering you two!

Center yourselves or pick your favorite.



 
simonp

Matt wrote:
I bought Redline today. If you like performance-related tuning, it's a good read. Pleasantly surprised.


I bought the latest copy of Redline recently to read during my teabreaks at work.

Nice format, but the research behind the writing is shockingly bad. I lost count of the amount of mistakes I counted in the Megane feature!
Gurney

Great new EVO issue 137. Seems the Panamera Turbo really is hamstrung by that air suspension, good news for the XFR and QP in this group test.

Oh and Fiat's MultiAir engine is the greatest advance in engine technology since Mercedes fitted fuel injection to Me109's.

And, I want/need an Artega.

In Orange.
Pkh72

My copy should theoretically be waiting for me when i get home, if the postie is working.
Scouse

Blarno wrote:
I've been in Revs twice! Met Dave Clark, too.

Revs wasn't a bad magazine, to be honest. I also read Redline at around the same time, both were massively better that Max Power or Fast Car and seemed to feature proper big power stuff, rather than all-show no-go shopping trolleys.


Fast Car was quite good back when I started to read it (which was before Max power was even launched). Got crap when they started to try an compete with Max Power.
Turbonutter

Gurney wrote:
Great new EVO issue 137. Seems the Panamera Turbo really is hamstrung by that air suspension, good news for the XFR and QP in this group test.

Oh and Fiat's MultiAir engine is the greatest advance in engine technology since Mercedes fitted fuel injection to Me109's.

And, I want/need an Artega.

In Orange.


See they've got Harris doing the videos already! PLus he managed to bag the GT3 RS story already  

Shed a bit of light on the  Mountune ST power figures as well

Like the Minis article also
Pkh72

Turbonutter wrote:
Gurney wrote:
Great new EVO issue 137. Seems the Panamera Turbo really is hamstrung by that air suspension, good news for the XFR and QP in this group test.

Oh and Fiat's MultiAir engine is the greatest advance in engine technology since Mercedes fitted fuel injection to Me109's.

And, I want/need an Artega.

In Orange.


See they've got Harris doing the videos already! PLus he managed to bag the GT3 RS story already  

Shed a bit of light on the  Mountune ST power figures as well

Like the Minis article also


I'll look at that with interest as mine is booked in for the wizzards wand on Thursday.
Turbonutter

Pkh72 wrote:
Turbonutter wrote:
Gurney wrote:
Great new EVO issue 137. Seems the Panamera Turbo really is hamstrung by that air suspension, good news for the XFR and QP in this group test.

Oh and Fiat's MultiAir engine is the greatest advance in engine technology since Mercedes fitted fuel injection to Me109's.

And, I want/need an Artega.

In Orange.


See they've got Harris doing the videos already! PLus he managed to bag the GT3 RS story already  

Shed a bit of light on the  Mountune ST power figures as well

Like the Minis article also


I'll look at that with interest as mine is booked in for the wizzards wand on Thursday.


You might get more POWAAAS!! than you expect from Dave  

Well, according to they dyno EVO tested their car on
Pkh72

Turbonutter wrote:
Pkh72 wrote:
Turbonutter wrote:
Gurney wrote:
Great new EVO issue 137. Seems the Panamera Turbo really is hamstrung by that air suspension, good news for the XFR and QP in this group test.

Oh and Fiat's MultiAir engine is the greatest advance in engine technology since Mercedes fitted fuel injection to Me109's.

And, I want/need an Artega.

In Orange.


See they've got Harris doing the videos already! PLus he managed to bag the GT3 RS story already  

Shed a bit of light on the  Mountune ST power figures as well

Like the Minis article also


I'll look at that with interest as mine is booked in for the wizzards wand on Thursday.


You might get more POWAAAS!! than you expect from Dave  

Well, according to they dyno EVO tested their car on


Cool, you never say no to more do you  
It does make you wonder whether Ford have turned the wick up a bit on Evo's with it being a press car.
TimR

Pkh72 wrote:


I'll look at that with interest as mine is booked in for the wizzards wand on Thursday.


You can get arrested for that.
Pkh72

TimR wrote:
Pkh72 wrote:


I'll look at that with interest as mine is booked in for the wizzards wand on Thursday.


You can get arrested for that.


You're obviously frequenting the wrong places.  
TimR

What can I say.

It's all Alan's fault.
Turbonutter

Pkh72 wrote:

Cool, you never say no to more do you  
It does make you wonder whether Ford have turned the wick up a bit on Evo's with it being a press car.


Well they didn't do the same to the Focus RS if that's the case ( which would be a bit short-sighted! ).

No, I just think that Mountune are very good at what they do...and maybe the engine was a good one to start with
Pkh72

Turbonutter wrote:
Pkh72 wrote:

Cool, you never say no to more do you  
It does make you wonder whether Ford have turned the wick up a bit on Evo's with it being a press car.


Well they didn't do the same to the Focus RS if that's the case ( which would be a bit short-sighted! ).

No, I just think that Mountune are very good at what they do...and maybe the engine was a good one to start with


The torque figure looks a little far fetched to me though, 236 lb ft to 384 lb ft is one hell of a jump.
How does that affect the drive train i wonder?

I'd be pleased to get similar figures with mine, don't get me wrong, but i am expecting something a little bit less TBH.
Pkh72

Just been looking on the Focus ST owners forum and a chap from Mountune posted this about Evo's figures -

I haven't seen the mag yet, but that result will be down to the rolling road... think about it, it's fantastic for us if it were that powerful and we'd probably sell even more kits than we are now, but our kit is the power it's been rated at by both us, and the TUV man that power tested it. You'll always get what you paid for with us, maybe a touch more, but that figure is way on the high side!

When we produce a calibration we do so on what's called a developer module which allows you complete access to the ECU and to adjust / monitor everything that's going on in your engine. The file we create from this is then industrialised through Ford so it can be released into a form that can be flashed onto standard ECU's by us and Ford's ETIS/IDS setup. Every time a file is industrialised like this it costs BIG money, so as I've explained to a few other people, spending approx £10k to upgrade a handful of press cars would be totally out of the question.

Further to that, I myself had one of the first press cars to be fitted with the Mountune kit in my previous capacity and that made 256bhp, 300lb/ft when I took it to a rolling road.

Bottom line, it's censored.gif good... regardless of what one dyno says compared to another, you've only got to look at the gushing praise for it on here from owners. ).gif


RS is supposed to be 325lb/ft standard - according to the first page it made 370lb/ft - I rest my case..
Guitar Zero

You can't trust rolling roads or the fuck sticks who operate them.

Frankie's magic R8 being the case in point.
"him"

The Zonda 'Cinque'  -  Chink-whey?  (Hands up who got that pronunciation right?)     Looks a little OTT, a Zonda F would be better I think.

The Porsche Panamera was disappointing overall, epic 0-60 time though, and I guess that will appeal to some?  Though the 60-150 time was only 0.6 secs faster than the Jag, so perhaps the 0-60 time was a priority with the engineers?  

I enjoyed the Mini article.

The Parr Cayman S performed well too...

Good to see Harris back in print too!
Turbonutter

"him" wrote:
I enjoyed the Mini article.



Me too!

Nice roads in that article - had a  few good drives up there
Clunes

The figures for the ST may well be down to the Rolling Road but I think both cars were tested on the same rollers (although not sure if it was the same time) which still shows how strong the Mountune setup is in comparison to the RS (more torque)

There are loads of people remapping the 2.5T in the ST and claiming approx 260Bhp and 295lb ft with a simple chip/remap e.g. Code Red, Bluefin, Dreamscience, AMD and so on for about £400 and the Mountune goes further so I wouldn't be surprised if the others are optimistic or Mountune conservative.

Clearly the main difference the Mountune brings has to be the intercooler upgrade which, even if it doesn't bring gains on the rolling road, should definitely ensure those figures are valid no matter what driving you are doing whereas many cars running new maps with the standard cooler probably get heat soak.

Please see if you can find out how seriously they are investigating the Mondeo 2.5T. I know the intercooler is not a direct fit and the ECU is different but would be interested to know if they are paying lip service to those asking or are actually thinking about bringing something to market.

Cheers,

O.
Dr. Hfuhruhurr

Clunes wrote:
There are loads of people remapping the 2.5T in the ST and claiming approx 260Bhp and 295lb ft with a simple chip/remap ...

Hardly surprising - Volvo having been getting much bigger outputs than the ST from that engine for years.
Pkh72

Clunes wrote:
The figures for the ST may well be down to the Rolling Road but I think both cars were tested on the same rollers (although not sure if it was the same time) which still shows how strong the Mountune setup is in comparison to the RS (more torque)

There are loads of people remapping the 2.5T in the ST and claiming approx 260Bhp and 295lb ft with a simple chip/remap e.g. Code Red, Bluefin, Dreamscience, AMD and so on for about £400 and the Mountune goes further so I wouldn't be surprised if the others are optimistic or Mountune conservative.

Clearly the main difference the Mountune brings has to be the intercooler upgrade which, even if it doesn't bring gains on the rolling road, should definitely ensure those figures are valid no matter what driving you are doing whereas many cars running new maps with the standard cooler probably get heat soak.

Please see if you can find out how seriously they are investigating the Mondeo 2.5T. I know the intercooler is not a direct fit and the ECU is different but would be interested to know if they are paying lip service to those asking or are actually thinking about bringing something to market.

Cheers,


O.



I'll try to remember to ask for you.

Off on a tangent - I have read that Mountune will be doing an upgrade for the Mk2 RS but this one won't be covered by the Ford warranty. I wonder if the RS's version of the engine is closer to it's limits, even with the changes they have made to it.
Clunes

So...

Did you get the Mountune kit fitted yet (it was today wasn't it?)

Hope it's going well and your out enjoying it to the full

O.
"him"

I heard it only made 4 more BHP, but 140 more torques...

(but only when it rains)
Dr. Hfuhruhurr

"him" wrote:
I heard it only made 4 more BHP, but 140 more torques...

(but only when it rains)

Sounds like the perfect engine for the new Not Noble.
Pkh72

Clunes wrote:
So...

Did you get the Mountune kit fitted yet (it was today wasn't it?)

Hope it's going well and your out enjoying it to the full

O.


I've just put a post in the Your Cars section.
It's everything i hoped it would be.

I asked about whether there were any rumblings about a kit for the Mondeo but the chap i spoke to (i think it was the gaffer and he appeared to know what he was talking about) said he hadn't heard of anything coming from Mountune so far.
He suggested trying something like a Dream Science remap, they have a good reputation but i have no knowledge of the Mondeo scene, as it were.
Gooner

Dr. Hfuhruhurr wrote:
Clunes wrote:
There are loads of people remapping the 2.5T in the ST and claiming approx 260Bhp and 295lb ft with a simple chip/remap ...

Hardly surprising - Volvo having been getting much bigger outputs than the ST from that engine for years.


And the Focus RS gets 300 out of it too don't forget.
Clunes

Very true - but not with a sub-£400 chip/remap

I am still running in my car and am happyto wait to see if Mountune offer an upgrade as I would prefer to spend £1k on them sorting the fundamental weakness (intercooler) and get the guaranteed performance and warranty it offers than half that on a chip about which little is known/proven.
Guitar Zero

http://www.fordmondeo.org/forum/s...818327/pid/1838135/post/last/m/1/

More than a few people are enquiring about Mountune conversions for Mondo - from the last reply it would appear it is officially on Mountune's radar.
Guitar Zero

http://www.pumaspeed.co.uk/showdetails.php?id=50

s-max uprated intercooler - I wonder if this will fit Mondeo ?
Clunes

I got a similar response from Mountune a few weeks ago (and posted the penultimate post on the thread you linked)

I'm happy to wait a bit - the car isn't even run in yet and I don't have that kinda money kicking about at the moment as most is being set aside for next years wedding/honeymoon etc but still v.interested to find out :)
Dr. Hfuhruhurr

Gurney wrote:
Great new EVO issue 137. Seems the Panamera Turbo really is hamstrung by that air suspension, good news for the XFR and QP in this group test.

Oh and Fiat's MultiAir engine is the greatest advance in engine technology since Mercedes fitted fuel injection to Me109's.

And, I want/need an Artega.

In Orange.

Just read this - interesting that their Panacotta/XFR/QP test comes to the exact opposite conclusion to Autocar's. My own experience of the Quattroporte is certainly closer to EVO's.

As to the Artega, you know how one detail can jar so much it spoils the rest of the car? For me, it's the generic automatic gear lever, that would look a  bit crap on a ten-year old Chevrolet Cavalier, so on an 80k supercar is completely awful and unacceptable. I know it's a VW part, but that's no excuse - VW should do better as well. Compare and contrast with the new BMW auto-selector, or the lovely old Mercedes one with the stepped gate.
Gurney

Dr. Hfuhruhurr wrote:
Gurney wrote:
Great new EVO issue 137. Seems the Panamera Turbo really is hamstrung by that air suspension, good news for the XFR and QP in this group test.

Oh and Fiat's MultiAir engine is the greatest advance in engine technology since Mercedes fitted fuel injection to Me109's.

And, I want/need an Artega.

In Orange.

Just read this - interesting that their Panacotta/XFR/QP test comes to the exact opposite conclusion to Autocar's. My own experience of the Quattroporte is certainly closer to EVO's.

As to the Artega, you know how one detail can jar so much it spoils the rest of the car? For me, it's the generic automatic gear lever, that would look a  bit crap on a ten-year old Chevrolet Cavalier, so on an 80k supercar is completely awful and unacceptable. I know it's a VW part, but that's no excuse - VW should do better as well. Compare and contrast with the new BMW auto-selector, or the lovely old Mercedes one with the stepped gate.


The Autocar QP test goes contrary to the Top Gear one too, I have never heard that the QP understeers in such a dramatic fashion in any test - ever.

Anyway, make mine a QP, with the QP's engine + MultiAir and the Pandemoniums interior, job done.

Re the Artega gearshift, well now you mention it i have to concede it does look naff. Like the new BMW shift, very F18 joystick.
Dr. Hfuhruhurr

Gurney wrote:
Like the new BMW shift, very F18 joystick.

Nice to use as well.
DaveGibson

Gurney wrote:
......    Like the new BMW shift, very F18 joystick.

Does it steer the car as well?
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