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Monthly Archives: August 2017

  1. Defending the King - 2017 Honda Civic Type R Direct Fit Catch Can R&D Part 3 - Blow-By Verified

    Defending the King - 2017 Honda Civic Type R Direct Fit Catch Can R&D Part 3 - Blow-By Verified

    Mishimoto 2017+ Honda Civic Type R Direct Fit Catch Can PreSale

    No matter the manufacturer, the term "sports car" seems to have a special relationship with the color red. Something about this vibrant hue has become synonymous with a vehicle's performance characteristics. This is a trend that Honda seems to have taken to heart. If you look back to all the fast Hondas that rolled out of the factory, at the very least they're adorned with Honda's scarlet badge on the front grille. Regardless of what angle you look at the FK8, the accenting splashes of red stand out like a coat of arms. From the pinstripes lining the bumpers to the encapsulating red bucket seats and pop of the Type R's engine bay centerpiece, the cover, there's an indication that the CTR belongs to a certain class of car.

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  2. Makin' Our Camaro Purr - Axleback R&D: A Rumblin', Tumblin' Alternative

    Makin' Our Camaro Purr - Axleback R&D: A Rumblin', Tumblin' Alternative

    With the recent release of our Pro Cat-Back Exhaust for the 2016+ Chevy Camaro 2.0T, we have one more variation for you to check out - the Race Axleback.  While it may look like a step down from our Catback, I must say that this exhaust couldn't be any more aggressive.

    Even though the cat-back is a full exhaust, it does have two muffling units towards the rear of the system (straight piping from the downpipe would be unbearably loud). This Race Axleback is essentially a full-on straight pipe for the rear section. From the mid-section of the factory exhaust all the way to the end of the rear bumper, there will be absolutely nothing impeding flow or sound, so it turns this mild 2.0T LTG into something completely different. I won't hold anything back here. There was little attempt to tame the sound coming from this exhaust design. This exhaust will crackle, drone, pop, and make surrounding ears curious. See for yourself in our comparison video below!

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  3. Piping Hot - Exhaust R&D, Part 6: Pure, Unadulterated, Awesomeness

    Piping Hot - Exhaust R&D, Part 6: Pure, Unadulterated, Awesomeness

    The last piece of this puzzle has finally fallen into place. Finishing off our offerings for the 2016+ Chevy Camaro SS exhaust systems lands us here with our Race Axleback. The SS has an unmistakable sound, and it's a sound we don't want to stray far away from - we only want to enhance it in the most robust way possible, and I feel that the engineers have done just that.

    I'll make this simple - this exhaust is mean.

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    It's a mix of a modern sounding V8 with the raspy aggressive tone of a certain 1970's-era machine that was made of steel, had belt-buckle seat belts and a bad attitude. When this car starts up, it will give unassuming bystanders a jump - I've seen it happen at gas stations when I got to drive it. There are no fancy tricks here, just a raw, unrestricted, unfiltered

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  4. Got Trucks, Got Jeeps (VOL 2.) - Catch Can R&D Part 2: Gunk In The System

    Got Trucks, Got Jeeps (VOL 2.) - Catch Can R&D Part 2: Gunk In The System

    Our engineering department has made some great strides in completing this catch can design as they have reached the final R&D stages. Overall strength and can rigidity were primary design goals for the kit, as we are aware of the rough and tough off-road lives many of these Wranglers live. We want to be sure that once you install this can on your car, it will stay put, no matter what rigorous environment you take your JK Wrangler through.

    Bracketry starts with precise design and component fabrication. Our engineers had to be sure that our bracket would effortlessly hold our 2oz catch cans without any damage-inducing stress. In our last update, we left off with some of the cool tech we planned to use. The first tool we used was our FARO Design ScanArm.

    Scanning the area where the bracket</body> " width="600" height="400">
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  5. Heavy Breathing - 2017+ Honda Civic Type R Performance Intake R&D, Part 2 - Design and Prototype Fabrication

    Heavy Breathing - 2017+ Honda Civic Type R Performance Intake R&D, Part 2 - Design and Prototype Fabrication

    Intakes are typically the first modification that any automotive enthusiast would recommend in the name of quick power gains. It's really no surprise either. If you take a look at any modern vehicle on the road today, including the Civic Type R, stock intakes are full of silencers, restriction points, and accordion-style hoses. Those are three things that I know every gearhead doesn't want, and in fact it's quite the opposite when looking to add some power, so we've been researching solutions to get rid of them.

    The top view of the airbox once it's removed from the car. The slim width of the box might lead to some creative solutions once we get into designing our box.

    To start, let's briefly revisit our stock air intake

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  6. A Cooler for Atlas - Transmission Cooler R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    A Cooler for Atlas - Transmission Cooler R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    This 2003-2009 Dodge Ram 5.9L/6.7L Cummins Transmission Cooler is now available! Click here to check it out!

    To be completely honest, I've never owned a truck. Apart from Dakar rally trucks, I prefer subtlety and agility over brute force and utility.  I've also never owned a grizzly bear, but I still respect them.  Without trucks, our economy would come to a halt, nothing would ever get built, and my subtle and agile car would be wasting away in the salty air of Baltimore's port, if it even made it that far.

    It may not seem like it when you compare live axles and leaf springs to modern multi-link suspension systems and torque vectoring rear-diffs, but trucks are an impressive feat of engineering. They are capable of completing Herculean amounts of work, and must be robust enough to harness massive amounts of power, without disintegrating along the way.  In the case of the 3rd generation Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500, the 5.9L or 6.7L Cummins engines

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  7. Defending the King - 2017 Honda Civic Type R Direct Fit Catch Can R&D Part 2 - Prototype

    Defending the King - 2017 Honda Civic Type R Direct Fit Catch Can R&D Part 2 - Prototype

    Engine blow-by is something that affects just about every engine on the road. Though plenty of manufacturers have made leaps and bounds in filtering blow-by from the intake, finding clever ways to keep the carbon deposits from building up on intake valves, blow-by remains an issue. This should come as no surprise if you've spent any time on our blog. Just about every type of car and truck that has made its way into our R&D facility, ranging from BMWs to F-150s, and even the 1.5T found in the base Civics, have all produced varying levels of the murky stuff. The K20C1 is likely to be no exception to this trend. That leaves it up to us at Mishimoto to make sure none of the contaminates in the crankcase gasses make it to your valves.

    Our Championship White loaner on the Dynojet</body> " width="578" height="600">
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