Author: Frank

Bilstein is one of few suspension manufacturers known for their product superior performance worldwide. We’ve all heard of them. Their history of more than 140 years proves that they’re doing things right.

Bilstein wasn’t making shock absorbers when the company was founded. In fact they were making window fittings and jacks when they started their business. The Bilstein name became famous for its high quality automotive parts much later.

The Bilstein Company We Know Now

It wasn’t before the 1950s that Bilsteins engineers discovered the gas pressure shock absorber. This innovation in automotive technology changed everything. Since this innovation, constant R&D made Bilstein the number one choice for leading performance car manufacturers regarding suspension parts including well-known names such as Bugatti, Lamborghini and Porsche.

Car manufacturers that use Bilstein products in their production include Audi, BMW, Ford, Mercedes, Nissan, Opel, Subaru, Volkswagen… The list just goes on and on. Bilstein products are used in luxury sedans, SUVs, off-road vehicles and in motorsport which can only say that they look after every motoring segment out there and make high quality products for every purpose.

Street Performance with Bilstein

Many car enthusiasts choose Bilstein products when customizing their cars, no matter if its lowering their cars for performance or looks, preparing for off-road or just changing their stock parts for new ones. This is because there are shocks and kits for almost every car on the market, but also because of the quality and options this manufacturer offers to its customers with their products. In the past few years there is a growing interest for adjustable suspension systems in the tuning & styling community. Imagine that you have to take your wife and kids to your mother in-law, and there is a car event near you. You want to drop them off while maintaining the comfort of a normal ride height, but you were looking forward to going to the car event with your lowered car. This is possible with Bilsteins highly praised adjustable systems. Just turn the easily accessible knob and watch your car drop to a desired ride height in a matter of minutes. Problem solved and no need to call your mechanic to do it for you!

Product Testing On the Nurburgring

Bilstein took product testing to another level. We all know that information about a product you find on the internet or brochure can be different from the experience you have when you use that same product. Testing suspension parts on the world-famous Nurburgring in different types of situations ensures that the product will match its description from the brochure. When you think of it, is there any place better to test performance parts for cars then on a track? When products are tested as rigorously as this, you know that you will get the performance you were looking for.

Car tuning and styling is an expensive hobby and every guy or girl who has a customized car will tell you that. This isn’t a secret. The car itself is an investment, a big one. Then you have rims, tires, in car electronics, seats, headlights, insurance, services… This can take up a lot of cash. Not everyone has the financial ability to buy the most expensive and known brands so they look for alternatives that have the best price to quality ratio. One of the best alternatives suspension-wise is AP suspensions (AP Sportfahrwerke) that have products for lowering your car at a reasonable price.

Lowering up to 60mm

Stance is everything! Sometimes conventional lowering products just don’t cut it and the extra 5mm will make the difference you were looking for. AP sport suspension kits offer lowering up to 60mm, if you already don’t have some kind of sport suspension, while giving you a comfortable ride. Interest in AP suspension kits is bigger by the minute. This German suspension manufacturer has high-quality products that are TUV certified. No wonder they are the best selling chassis tuning brand in the UK.

Lowering options

Depending on what you want from your new suspension, there are several options for lowering you car with AP suspension. One of the options, which is currently the most popular one, are coilover kits which give you the possibility to lower your car in the TUV approved range. This product is extremely popular for those who have only one car and still want to drive at a factory height sometimes. Then there are sport suspension kits. With this setup, you can’t adjust the ride height but you get a sport suspension that will give you unbelievable grip around the corners. It’s designed for performance cars and enthusiasts that just love the low center of gravity while driving. You will lose some comfort with this, but your car will be agile and ready for the streets. The last option for lowering your car are AP lowering springs. You only change the springs while using your existing shock absorbers. With this setup, lowering is possible up to 40mm and it is recommended for visual effect only. You get better looks for your car, lower center of gravity and more grip in the corners. This is the most economical option for lowering your car. If you plan on driving your car on the track regularly, we recommend the coilovers or sport suspension kit.

When we talk about air filters, there is a brand that first comes to mind – K&N. This is not surprising at all because K&N filters are on the market for over 35 years and are highly praised by everyone who uses them. It is great to have a performance air filter you buy only once. This is achieved by K&N with their washable performance filters. You may think that you could skip a couple of filter changes and then you need to buy a new one… Well, not exactly. K&N gives a million mile warranty on their filters so you will probably change your car before you change your air filter again.

Why Are Air Filters So Important?

Every combustion engine uses a precise mixture of air and fuel to work properly and give its maximum performance. Air filters are essential because they keep away dirt from your engine, keeping it clean and protecting engine parts from failing because of debris while giving enough airflow for optimal performance. Conventional filters protect the engine from dirt, but restrict air flow which causes poor engine performance and bigger fuel consumption. The original K&N air filter gives you the best of both! Extreme filtration standards stop 98% of dirt going into the engine while giving great air flow boosting horse power and torque of your car. The moment you change your stock air filter with a K&N filter, you feel the difference in performance.

Disposable Air Filters VS K&N Filters

Although K&N filters are more expensive than regular replacement air filters, the math is clear. The K&N filters will last more than the car itself. You just need to wash it every 50.000km. On the other hand, it is recommended to change your regular air filter every 10.000km if you drive it on the road all the time. This fact is enough to prove that K&N filters are more practical than disposable ones, but when you add better fuel economy and better overall performance to the mix, there is nothing more to add to tell you what the right choice is.

More than 6.000 different products will ensure that you will find the filter you need, whether it’s an air filter, fuel or oil filter. If you want to get the best K&N experience and boost your power and torque, you can install K&N air intakes which are specifically designed for power gain. Most of these air intakes don’t require additional work on your car, just replace the factory parts with new K&N parts, and you are ready to go. Easy installation and a million mile warranty on parts ensures you have made the right choice by choosing K&N.

Matt Farah of YouTube channel /Drive makes a test drive in a Golf R tuned by HPA Canada.

The cost? 150,000 USD.

In the past couple of years, car wrapping has become extremely popular, not only with car enthusiasts, but with almost every car owner. No matter if you have a brand new or used car, wrapping has its benefits. Painting takes up a lot of time, usually two to three weeks and it’s a lot more expensive than wrapping. Here are 3 reasons you should choose wrapping your car over painting:

Fixing Old UV Damaged Paint and Giving Your Car a New Look

UV damaged paint usually means old car. Older car means a new paint job just isn’t worth the hassle. Preparation, paint, a few weeks later and a thinner wallet won’t get you a better resale value of your old car. At least this won’t raise the resale value as much as you invested doing it. On the other hand, wrapping can make your car look better, with less money spent and in a shorter period of time. No matter if you plan on reselling your car or not, wrapping is the way to go. Imagine your old car with boring paint becoming a two tone beauty in a few days, looking like new!

Keeping your factory paint in mint condition

Regarding resale value, original factory paint is highly desirable. Some car manufacturers just don’t offer the color you want your new car to be, so wrapping is the only reasonable thing to do. Imagine you finally decide to buy a new car, you go to the car dealer and find out you can only order your car in black or white. Would you look for another car just because it isn’t available in the color you want? Neither would I. Wrapping a new car is even easier than wrapping older cars because preparation lasts a lot less on a new car than on an old one. You choose a color or a combination of colors for your car and a few days later, your car is just the way you want it to be. If you decide to sell your car, just peel off the vinyl and your car will be looking as good as new!

Repairing Scratches and Other Paint/Vinyl Damage Can Be Done In Minutes

The list of things that can damage your paint job is huge, and it’s not that rare that a car can get scratched or damaged. With a regular paint job, you can try and mix up a paint that will be the same as the paint on the rest of the car, but the difference is usually visible. When using vinyl wrap, you can change the wrap on the damaged part of the car in one day. Just peel off the damaged vinyl and apply a new piece of the same vinyl. It’s that easy. If you are not comfortable with wrapping the car yourself, just leave it to a professional. It will still be cheaper than painting.

You bought a car, changed oil and filters, put some money aside and now you are ready to make some modifications to make it better and faster. Welcome to the club! Making your car better although it runs smoothly is normal and thousands of enthusiasts do it all over the world. Depending on what way you want to go, there are numerous mods for your car to look better and drive better. The basic mods include bigger wheels and lowering your car with Eibach springs. With these basic mods you make the car look better and drive better. These two mods completely change the way your car looks and drives.

Bigger wheels

The first thing every person notices are the wheels on a car. This is step one to make your car look better and it is the first thing you should change before you start modifying anything else. You’ve heard that bigger is better. This is not completely true, at least not in this case. Although bigger wheels look better on a car, keep in mind that you can make your car look worse by putting wheels that are too big. We recommend you upgrade your stock rims with aftermarket rims that are 1-2’’ bigger. New tires are also something you should consider because the tires from your stock rims won’t fit. When you get your new set of rims and tires, you can start browsing Eibach springs and kits.

Lowering your car with Eibach springs

If you decide to lower your car for aesthetic or performance reasons, you can look up Eibach springs. There are hundreds of brands, but you can’t go wrong with Eibach. They have lowering kits and springs for almost every model of every car on the market. The best thing is, you can choose what you want from your car. If you want full on racing suspension, there is the ERS-system, but if you want something a bit less than that, you can choose the PRO-KIT springs which are the most selling spring kit for car enthusiasts all over the world. Before you go ahead and buy your new Eibach kit, put your new wheels on the car and measure how much you want to lower your car. Springs will only let you to lower your car, without the possibility of adjusting the ride height, so be patient and make sure you get the measures right. On the other hand if you want total control of how high or low your car drives, take a look at Eibach’s coilover suspension systems. It is recommended to use Eibach springs and shocks so you could get the best results when you get on the road or track. If you use different brands of springs and shocks, you will lower your car, but you could have worse performance results than you had with stock parts. Many cars have Eibach suspension stock, but you should check anyway so you don’t lose control of your car on your first track day.