Automotive Thinker - Discussing the finer points of automobiles

Trump Administration To Roll Back Draconain Obama CAFE Standards

April 3, 2018 | Author: John Milmont

Back in 2012, I wrote and article about how absurd Obama’s 54.5 mpg CAFE regulations were. You can see that article, which is still relevant, here. One of the things I mentioned in that article was how Jimmy Carter did a similar thing back in the 70’s but thankfully was repealed by the Regan administration. History seems to repeating itself because news came today that the Trump EPA is rolling back the totally insane Obama era plan.

Flowmaster Pro Series Muffler Review

March 19, 2018 | Author: John Milmont

A while back I received this Flowmaster Pro Series muffler as a promotional item from Autoanything.com. I have been sitting on the muffler for quite some time when after an alignment shop somehow managed to damage my exhaust, I had the perfect excuse to install it. I can now finally report back on this interesting muffler design.

Installed on my 3rd gen Firebird. It fits in the factory location designed for a oval muffler.

The best deal in track-day tires?

October 12, 2017 | Author: John Milmont

Because this sport is so expensive, I’m always looking for the best deals to get me on the track cheaply – and I just might have just stumbled upon the perfect tire for track days.

Is it possible to make modern power with a gen 1 small block chevy?

March 14, 2017 | Author: John Milmont

The small block chevy is the iconic hotrodders engine. Its been around since 1955 and is even still made new today for the aftermarket. Without too much trouble, 400hp out of one of these engines isn’t hard to achieve. But in this modern age where we see 350hp out of NA V6’s and now turbo 4 cylinders with that level of output, 400hp doesn’t really sound or feel all that special. Is it possible for the hotrodders mainstay to compete with modern engines?

My current state of affairs

Setting the correct pinion angle

September 22, 2016 | Author: John Milmont

When you open a shop manual for setting pinion angles or look it up online, generally, they give a specification for what it should be for your car. But, if your car has been modified, which it most likely is because you’re reading this, the pinion angle listed probably wont work.

My car was designed for a T5 transmission which was substantially smaller than the T56 I now run. I might have been able to get the correct driveline angles if I ran my car at the factory ride height, but since my car is lowered, the large size of the T56 limited how high I could raise the transmission to correct the angle at the front U-joint. The solution was to make an extension over the trans tunnel to allow it to be raised.
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Flowmaster Pro Series Muffler

March 21, 2016 | Author: John Milmont

Some time ago, I ran across an interesting muffler design from Flowmaster. The design used two perforated sheet metal cones mounted point to point inside the muffler case. Back then, the muffler was called the “Hush Power” series; but now they are calling it the “Pro Series” line. Strangely, They also have a smaller pipe diameter version called the DBX series; I’m not sure why they name those differently.

Notes on tuning an EFI system

September 23, 2015 | Author: John Milmont

The other night I answered some questions on a forum about tuning an EFI system. I thought I did a pretty good job in my response so I posted it here.

Latest track day

June 30, 2015 | Author: John Milmont

I must say these are the worst cars and the level of development to get the car to this level is obscene. There is faster 3rd gen F-bodies, but those cars are not practical on the street at all, while mine still does ok.

Not the fastest car in the world, but I think shocking for what the car is. The car was on NT05 street tires.

Why Paul Walker was important.

April 10, 2015 | Author: John Milmont

With the new Fast and Furious 7 movie in theaters now, I have seen a lot of traffic to my post about Paul Walkers tragic accident. His accident received a lot of attention when it happened and has been renewed with the new movie. I have seen some comments about the level of attention his passing has received; many wondering, even understanding how tragic it was, why it was such a big deal or questioning if it’s being blown out of proportion. Let me tell you why I think Paul Walker was important, and why his death has effected so many.

GM needs to stop using roots superchargers.

March 27, 2015 | Author: John Milmont

The roots supercharger has its place, but many hard-core track enthusiasts who have bought the new Z06 are finding that they have severe limitations. Read more »