Race Ramps: Portable Pit Stop

by Jonathan Lawson

Every car guy with a garage dreams of owning a lift, but not all of us have the room for one. Sure, there are small and even portable lift options that don’t require a ton of space, but for those times when you want full access to the underside of your car with the wheels supported, ramps are the ticket. Speaking from experience, however, I’ve never had much confidence in the plastic ramps you can pick up from chain stores, and those can cause a hassle when it comes to getting both ends of the car up, let alone the limited ground clearance they offer. Enter Race Ramps!

GarageLove: The New Generation of Racer

by Per Schroeder

“You can look at a Pinewood Derby Race in a variety of ways. You can make your project look cool, you can make it look like your favorite car or you can make it fast. Which do you want to do?”

“I want to win.”

Quick Chat: Heyward Wagner, Director of Experiential Programs for the SCCA

by Per Schroeder

Heyward Wagner has been tasked with helping the Sports Car Club of America grow and with that comes a pretty official, yet nebulous sounding title as the Director of Experiential Programs. Just who is he and what the heck does he do?

Quick Chat: Nasa Rally Sport's Anders Green

by Per Schroeder

If you ask anybody under thirty years of age about the sport of Rally, you’d be hard pressed to get an answer that’s doesn't include something about Ken Block.  Thanks to his not-quite-rally-and-not-quite-autocross online videos, he’s mashed the two most esoteric motorsports into something that doesn’t really exist, but is now “Rally” to the masses.

GarageLove How To: Tire Testing

by Per Schroeder

The neck-twisting grip that modern performance tires deliver was once the territory of just limited-production race compounds. Couple that delightful evolution with the rise of affordable data acquisition systems and more track-capable cars than ever before—and you just have to wonder—are we in the era where anyone can find the absolute best tire for their car? Can the hardcore enthusiast simply buy several sets of tires and figure out which brand works best for their car, track and driving style?

Project Car Dreams

Part 1: Finding Your Project

by Per Schroeder

For everyone that says that the hardest part about any project is the first step, I counter with this:  starting something is easy—it’s finishing the job that takes the most out of you.   Automotive restoration can be thought of as a metaphor for life.  There are lessons learned, problems solved—and layers of complexity that are often overlooked as we go from day to day, or task to task. 

Chasing the Dragon

by Per Schroeder

Sometimes the best roadtrips arise from happy accidents.  Maybe “accident” is the wrong word choice when talking about a drive in a car, but nonetheless, random happenings make for the best trips. One such bit of randomness got me on the best roads in the country with a set of tires that needed to be worn out before they were thrown away.

GarageLove: A Corner Station In My Backyard

by Per Schroeder

A friend of mine pointed out that that it was pretty funny that many of the houses he saw on his morning commute had a corner station in the backyard. Puzzled, I asked RJ what the heck he was talking about. "Gazebos—everyone has a prefabbed gazebo on their property it seems—that’s what a lot of race tracks use as worker stations."

GarageLove: Five Car Things Anyone Can Collect

by Per Schroeder

Thanks to collector auction craze and the inevitable glut of reality shows about it, the market for classic cars has become very volatile. Many enthusiasts have been priced out of the market as values of even the rattiest of project cars skyrocket. The early Porsche 911s are the latest beneficiary—victim—of this trend, with values increasing 50 to 100 percent within the last year.

Restoring the Sport Compact Generation

by Per Schroeder

I am wearing a Casio G-Shock watch that dates back to the late 1980s—it was one of the first models with a full stainless steel case under the thick plastic bezel. I recently purchased it online in a fit of nostalgia—it is a twin to the one that I had back in college. It’s a cheap way to relive my youth, but what’s really cool is that the watch has an aftermarket reproduction bezel. The originals are no longer available from Casio and some enterprising folks made new ones.

A Last Minute Letter to Mazda Engineers

by Per Schroeder

The global reveal of the upcoming 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata is scheduled for September 3, 2014.  The new ND-chassis has been promised to be lighter and more powerful than the current generation. Great—I can’t wait.  But I speak for all sports car enthusiasts when I say this: We're out there racing and wailing on these cars every weekend. Please don’t screw this car up for us.

Track and Traffic

by Per Schroeder

Can Experience on the Race Track Make You a Safer Driver in Real-World Traffic?

The Tire Rack Street Survival School uses many of the skills and techniques used in autocross to teach new drivers how to properly control their car. The physics of vehicle dynamics, and how they can be applied safely, has made Street Survival the Ivy League of young driver education. The program has made thousands of teens better drivers—and saved more than a few lives.

Garage Love: Speed-Dependent Wheel Vibrations

by Per Schroeder

Why would a car have a vibration at just one specific highway speed?  Why do my tires feel out of balance at 68mph?  We explore some reasons why this is a common occurrence.

Arrive and Drive

by Per Schroeder

Autocross is rather unique in the motorsports world, in that you can have different drivers competing in the same exact car at the same event. It’s a great test of how good of a driver you are against a real, live benchmark. Competitors can also share cars to save money, warm tires or just have fun. Co-driving an unfamiliar can teach you a lot about the sport and how to learn a new course quickly, but it also can be a great way to take a car for a test drive before you commit your cash to a project.  Learn from the experts on how to make the most of your co-drive and learn a new car quickly!

Garage Love: Please Don't Call It My ManCave

by Per Schroeder

I got a glimpse inside a garage that’s normally closed up tight along my route to work today. What first grabbed my eye was a new looking four-post lift stuffed on one side of a two-car garage.  An early fifties Ford was parked next to the lift, the flat-black paint and contrasting white and red pinstripes indicated that while the owner wasn’t on my sports-car loving team, they certainly played the same game. 

Garage Love: Five Things About Flipping Cars

by Per Schroeder

Before there were car dealers, there were horse traders. Find a horse, brush it down, put new shoes on its feet and send it on the way to a new owner. Repeat as often as necessary to make ends meet. Of course, there are a lot of shades of grey between horse thief and glue salesman.

Garage Love: Hyper-Miling is Not My Thing

by Per Schroeder

It takes a lot for me to admit that I’m not good at something. My inner-German just wants to attack, conquer and win at everything—work or play. I surreptitiously let my 5-year old win at Bey Blade and think to myself that I’m beating all of those other dads that are too competitive to let their sons gain confidence in life. I should probably talk to someone about this.

You're An Idiot If You Take That New Porsche To The Track

by Per Schroeder

No, seriously, I know it’ll lap the ‘Ring in 7:25, but did you know that bumper cover is $3500?

The latest iteration of the Porsche 911 GT3 has been described as “stripped of the frivolous and prepped for track duty.” Sounds like the perfectly thrilling choice for a car guy to take to the track, eh?

Not so fast, Chief.