News Concerning FastTimes, and You!

FastTimes News

November 22, 2007

Street legal legend Spiro Pappas debuted his new ride at the Chevy VetteFest in Rosemont, IL last week with resounding reviews. Shadowing most of the cars there was his new 'Evil Twin' '69 Camaro boasting a FastTimes 548 big block with Sonny's Semi-Hemi heads, and twin 91mm Precision turbos.
The car was purchased from a local racer, then completely gutted at the hands of Skinny Kid, and the flawless paint laid down by auto body artist Brent Jarvis. It is no longer anything like it used to be, yet it has been transformed to something like no other in the world of Super Street and outlaw ten-inch tire action!
Congratulations to Spiro on winning an award for his amazing ride!

World Automotive News

E85 or Ethanol-85 has become quite a craze lately in the automotive market. The media is very good at making you believe that this blended fuel is better all around than traditional gasoline. I guess it depends on who you are talking to, us (the performance oriented group) or them (non-performance oriented).
To us, it is not better. For those that do not know much about alcohol, here is a brief chemistry lesson. Ethanol has two carbon atoms per molecule, whereas traditional gasoline has eight (hence the 'oct-' in octane). We could go way into chemistry and physics on this debate, but I will keep it as simple as possible so that I do not speak way out of line and lead you the wrong way.
Basically, to make power we have to burn the carbon atoms (create heat energy) that are grouped together in each molecule of octane or ethanol. Now, in a numbers game, which is more? Yes, octane. So, in a nutshell you will need to burn more ethanol (four times as much? not 100% sure...) to create the same amount of heat energy as octane.
That being said, you WILL lose power, and you WILL lose gas mileage if you just switch to E85. Until they come up with something better, fossil fuels all the way!

Flat tappet cams are becoming less and less popular these days, and rightfully so. With the advent of the hydraulic roller, car manufacturers switching to hydraulic rollers, and the prices of such parts on the downtrend, it is becoming cheaper to afford a roller cam. The EPA is making it harder on those of you that want to own, or own a flat tappet-cammed engine now as well.
The EPA/Federal Government has mandated that certain additives be removed from oil to help protect the environment. Some of these additives are crucial to the life of a flat tappet camshaft, and versus the government, the automotive market loses. So what do you do? You can run other blends of oil to help prolong the life of your camshaft, such as Rotella T diesel oil. The government hasn't mandated that these oils be targeted, but I'm sure they are on the hit list. Your other option is to start saving up for a roller cam. Granted its not the cheapest alternative, but in the end, more power is always more fun!