AUTOTUNE – STILL DOING US PROUD
Jun 25th
BUILD ONE OF THESE. YOU’LL LOVE IT!
Along with Tornado Sports Cars, the Taylors (Anthony and Carolyn) at Autotune are the longest-serving kitcar company still in the same ownership. These days, their son Richard is pretty much at the helm on a day-to-day basis but his parents are still at the ‘shop’ most days of the week.
A missive from Carolyn is always welcome and this week she wrote to me thus:
“I thought that since I have just come into work this week after a rather long but sunny holiday, I would like to announce to the world that we are here, More >
THESE SUDS ARE SUPER!
Jun 25th
Car care meisters, Autobright claim that their Super Suds shampoo wears a cherry fragrance, which in my view makes it elixir from the angels. However, unless I’m mistaken it is actually cherry bakewell and that moves it into a completely new level of attraction for me.
Back to the foam and the orange-hued liquid delivers a huge amount of foam which is great as is the dwell time of the product which clung onto to the surface of my RPX for nearly ten minutes. That car had lots of caked-on crud flung along its flanks and Super Suds got rid of most of More >
A GREAT ONE FOR KITCAR DRIVERS
Jun 25th
Poor road conditions, sharp objects cutting the tyre, valve stem or tyre bead leakage, high temperatures, and over-inflated tyres can all lead to a flat tyre. Therefore, it is important that motorists have a quick and easy fix to hand, which is why Ring Automotive has brought the RTK4 Flat Tyre Repair Kit to market.
The kit helps to get the driver back on the road within ten minutes and includes a 12V air compressor offering 0-90PSI /6.5BAR, and RTS450 Flat Tyre Sealant to place over a puncture when faced with a flat tyre.
The tyre sealant can also be purchased separately, More >
A NICE BIT OF URBAN DETAILING
Jun 25th
I love the brand name of this go-ahead little car care brand from East London. They really are the Urban Detailing company!
It all sounds a bit cottagey but don’t be fooled. They have a real following and their products are extremely good. Take their Urbanize Quick Detailer that I had the chance to try recently.
The first thing that grabs is the lovely purple colour although the explosion of bubblegum is the next thing that hits. It seems to be a thicker liquid than most quick detailers, a bit like the also excellent Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer, in fact.
I love the More >
NOT THAT SORT OF ROLL
Jun 25th
Gunson has just introduced a new waxed canvas, traditionally designed tool roll (part number 77166) that is both practical and stylish — and will look great on your workbench or rolled up in the boot of your kitcar. This is a sturdy tool roll, with strong stitching, and two flexible leather tie-straps to keep all your tools secure.
This is a good, usefully large tool roll that features fourteen pockets for spanners or screwdrivers (tools not included) and can also be used as a mat to stop the tools rolling away while you’re working.
It’s perfect for storing those essential tools needed More >
SHINY TYRES
Jun 25th
Tyre dressings are very much an area where personal taste comes into it. Some hate them. Full stop. Others like a satin, subtle finish while others love their tyres to look glossy.
That’s fine but sometimes you’ll find that those mega-glossy ones can end up flinging themselves all over the sides of your car. Avoid cheap and nasty tyre dressings is my advice.
I do like a gentle gloss finish. I take the view that if you’ve spent hours on your paintwork, glass and wheels then why let the side down with dull and faded tyres?
Here’s a great tyre product – a More >
KEEP COMFORTABLE
Jun 25th
Meaco has announced the launch of its latest fan, the low energy, low decibel, cordless MeacoFan 260c Air Circulator.
Weighing in at just 490g – less than half a bag of sugar – this cordless fan can go anywhere. Wherever you need reliable cooling, be it at home, at work, the gym or outside, the portability of the MeacoFan 260c makes it the perfect choice.
The lack of a cable means you have the freedom to use it wherever you want without having to worry about trailing wires or having to position it near a plug socket. Place it in any position to More >
SUMMER FRUITS. DON’T DRINK IT FOR GAWDSAKE!
Jun 25th
Another very under-rated car care brand Dark Matter produce some very good products.
Their Dark Berry shampoo unsurprisingly has a summer fruits aroma and a novelty two-tone red-purple effect almost like a car care tequila sunrise! Shake the bottle to mix and agitate the active ingredients.
There is a nice amount of suds and a great lubricity that means that it’s easy to apply using the two-bucket method and a decent wash mitt. The car’s paintwork was very slick to the touch and it left a soft feel on the surface.
I liked this one a lot.
1-litre costs a very reasonable £11 with More >
COST-EFFECTIVE TUNING
Jun 25th
As one of the aftermarket’s largest and most influential ECU calibrators, HP Tuners provides what it believes to be the most complete and cost-effective tuning and data acquisition solutions for enthusiasts and professional workshops.
The latest addition to this range of calibration options is the Remote Tuning Device (RTD) interface, a powerful OBD-II dongle that allows dealers, distributors and tuners to relay modified ECU software more easily to end-users.
* Read and flash with no need to modify or exchange the PCM/ECU
* Fastest flash time in the industry
* Option to lock the ECU recalibration or allow it to be shared
* Option to specify additional More >
‘GEM’ OF AN ENGINE
Jun 18th
Gemzoe Motorsport may be a new name in the kitcar world but MD, Dave Gemzoe has a very solid background in engine building having spent a period working for Mathwall.
In recent years he’s been building special Crossflows and the like mainly for use by Caterham customers looking for a bit of tuning or an engine transplant for their Sevens.
Dave has recently come up with an EcoBoost package that has been finding favour with Caterham owners although it can just as easily be used in other Lotus Seven-inspired sportscars.
Based on a 1.6-litre EcoBoost with an SCS Delta GDi4 ECU conducting operations power More >
