There are two kinds of performance mods. Ones that genuinely improve your car’s performance, and ones that are an absolute waste of time. If you’re on a budget, and want to economise, be wise to your purchases and don’t go for these rather pointless add-ons for your ride. 5 Exhaust tip Ask yourself this. Are you just getting this so you can rev your car in the streets and make people believe they’re hearing a V12 Lamborghini engine? If your answer is yes, then please think twice. Firstly, your Peugeot’s never going to sound like a Lambo. So instead of wasting your time and money on an exhaust tip, save longer, work harder, and ACTUALLY get yourself a sports car (maybe consider a used one, here's a guide for that). To be fair, there are some genuine dual exhaust systems with a whole range of benefits from increased gas mileage and horsepower, to cooler engine temperature that more than make up for the obnoxious farty sound. So if you are going to get fartsy, then at the very least do some research and try to make sure you’re getting something that also improves your car’s performance and doesn’t just make…
If Trevor Jones’ iconic soundtrack from the Last of the Mohicans came to mind, consider yourself a legend. It’s exactly those feels we have right about now as we sing an ode to the mighty V12 engine, who’s apparently on the way out of the automotive world and into what existential superstructure exists beyond fenders and benders. So long, ol' friend Alas, our 12-cylinder pal's hanging up the pistons while on a high, a sentiment comparable, perhaps, to the Bulls’ sixth championship. Could they have gone for the seventh? Sure. But management thought otherwise, and pulled the plug on one of basketball’s greatest ever teams. What makes a V12 so revered? It is without a doubt that this special feat of engineering will go down as one of the greatest ever innovations in automotive history. And there are plenty of reasons why. First, let’s think about the structure of the V12. Here we have 2 V6 engines arranged around a common crankshaft, and considering the V6 enjoys perfect balance, both primary and secondary, it’s only natural that the V12 will be twice as smooth. No wonder luxury car manufacturers signed the V12 up long before it was recognised for its…
THIS (in all of Doug Demuro’s glory) is the NSX. And it is among the best cars Honda has ever made. It is especially important because Honda hired the services of a formula one champion – the one and only Ayrton Senna, to help them build it. It was a time when Honda was a serious Formula One contender – building some of the finest cars on the track. But unlike Ferraris and Lotus, their production models did not do justice to what Honda was capable of. Honda had something to prove to the people and a road legal track star was much needed. Enter NSX: Honda’s foray into the world of supercars (it continues to be the only supercar they make to this day). The NSX formula Sleek supercar design. Light. Place the engine between the axles. V6 VTEC poooowwwwaaaaah, baby! VTEC yo! Simple enough, right? The NSX was the world’s first mass-produced car to wear an all aluminium body that did wonders in keeping that weight down. The aluminium 3.0L V6 engine featured the much honda-boy loved Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control, called VTEC yo! This engine made a healthy-for-the-time, 270hp. While most true sportscars never…
Elon Musk is on a roll. First, his became the most valuable car manufacturer in the world a couple of weeks ago, supplanting Toyota on the way to the top. And now, he’s here to save the day once more, giving customers the chance to get his basic Autopilot feature as an in-app purchase for a reasonable $2,000 until July 1. So what the hell is Autopilot? In a nutshell, it’s an advanced driver assistance system built to enhance safety and convenience on the drive. It’s supposed to reduce your overall workload as a driver (only Elon thinks driving’s work), so you can sit back and absorb another audio book instead. That's just lazy right there To be fair, it’s got 8 external cameras, a radar, 12 ultrasonic sensors and a powerful onboard computer. If you got all this in your ride, you definitely can't make the excuse of missing exits or not changing lanes in time. Amateurs. Full Self-Driving Capability (FSD) Okay, so maybe you’ve been listening to those audiobooks and come across Deepak Chopra’s law of least effort (smh). There’s an answer for that too. You can go one above the Autopilot feature and benefit from Autopilot 2.0,…
It’s inevitable. The petrol and diesel engines are on their way out and that means bye bye manual transmission. Well, if you’re going to cheat on your gearbox, might as well do it with a hot new EV. Yes, Ford’s lifted the hood on the 2021 Mustang Mach-E, and gotta say, it does seem to have gotten a few things right. Retaining the original look and feel With the 2021 Mach-E, Ford still want you to feel like you’re driving a muscle car. It may have similar styling cues to the OG, but where mechanics are concerned, they’ve got nothing in common. Gotta admit, it does look cool especially in red If only you could ignore the fact that it’s wholly powered by electricity, right? Not for the purists no, you’re probably yelling blasphemy at your screens and curling up in your GT350, but for the wider ‘greener’ public, this may be a reasonable alternative. Something to call home about One aspect that’s got us sitting up is a nifty little feature that Ford have called the Intelligent Range (minus fifty points for originality), which essentially monitors electricity consumption in real time. Ah, such sophistication The engineers took the concept…
It’s a battle that probably dates back to when Fred Flintstone ran himself into the ground in a cross-plank no wheel drive, but it’s an important one nonetheless. What's the FP (Fredpower)? In a time where petrol and diesel engines are being phased out to make way for hybrid and electrics, it’s important to highlight the pros and cons while gear boxes still feature in the hot rods of the hey day. What's the difference? Petrolheads, you may skip this section, or make yourself a cup of tea while we briefly explain the difference between manual and automatic transmission. The former involves shifting gears, well, manually through a deft combination of clutch and gear stick. The latter, meanwhile, requires no such effort, as the car will automatically change gears in response to the speed you’re driving at. This means you can hold your ten to two for an eternity, but more on that later. In the blue corner: Manual There are three core components in the manual transmission system. You've got the clutch, which sits between the gear box and the engine. Now, the gearbox, usually bolted to the rear of your engine, offers a selection of between four to…
I’m going to start-off by saying that I’ll never buy a spanking new car again – no, not even for that new car smell. I’m going to make a case for and against buying a new car, because there are two kinds of people – ones that want good cars for a bargain; and ones that want their butts to be the first to be matched to the newly assigned chassis number. Who should buy a used car? The first kind, of course. They either can’t afford a new car, or can’t resist a bargain dipped in chocolate for a must-have that would otherwise cost an arm and a leg. He said it... Buying a used car opens a whole lot of options for a buyer. A new car depreciates pretty heavily the minute you roll it out of the showroom. When buying used, you do not have to deal with that depreciation – some poor soul, of the second kind, has already taken care of that for you. Buying used also gives you the opportunity to buy your dream car for a great and affordable price. Be it Fords, Hondas, Porsches, Ferraris, BMWs or Mercedes, you can always find…
Take a leap, play the lottery, lift your hands up and say screw it! Especially if you've been miserly over the years in an attempt to get a new car. Why don't you take the bus and put that hard earned $40,000 into a wee version of the mighty Rolls-Royce Cullinan instead? Wait, wait, before you protest, let me show you why. Going the extra mile Each of these dazzling collectables takes 450 hours to put together and the detail is second to none with this 1:8 eye catching showpiece featuring over 1000 individual components. Not so wee after all. Wee or not so wee that is the question It really is a testament to Rolls' SUV success, coming off a record breaking year for the Cullinan in sales. Own the actual car? You can customise your mini, with over 40,000 colours to choose from and a number of finishes for a truly personalised experience. It also comes with a meter long display case so you can show it off in your homestead (if you're paying that much, it better be the centrepiece). Admit it, you thought it was the actual car, right? Unprecedented detail This really is a toy…
Ah those random car stories. We’ve all got them ready to share around the campfire, huddling beneath thick blankets and roasting marshmallows on twigs. But this is the COVID era, and that means you’ve probably not gone camping since the turn of the year. Never fear, Mikaniki are always here to lift up your day with hot rod tales of misfiring exhaust pipes and stalling on the highway with three iguanas and a hitchhiker named Jack. Want to feature on this thread? Send your piece over to content@mikaniki.com, with a picture if possible :) Here are a few stories to get us started: Ka Boom I was visiting a friend of mine in Nairobi, Kenya and on the day I arrived, he picked me up in his silver automatic 2010 Impreza, fitted out with a giant ass subwoofer that sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. Because we all want to feel the bass on A Milli We headed out to the mall, as one would do in any foreign country, and here's the thing. Out there, they have police checks for every car before you enter the parking. Oh boy. The guards flashed their lights into the cabin, did a once…
It’s been 50 years since the emergence of arguably the world’s first luxury SUV. And boy has the Range Rover come a long way since her mid-sized, two-door days. Origins It all started in the 60s, when Charles Spencer King, then spearheading Land Rover’s building efforts, bought a Bronco, believing the long-travel coil spring suspension a necessary component in marrying luxury car comfort with Land Rover’s proven off-road prowess. King also believed that the car needed a permanent four-wheel drive transmission for adequate handling and to absorb the power needed for the car to remain competitive with its US counterparts. Further West in the US of A, companies like Ford and International Harvester were already making leaps and bounds towards a proto SUV that would be so much more than an off-roader. And Jeep seemed to push the envelope further with their Wagoneer, which did what Ford and Harvester attempted, but with more power. More than just an offroader Feeling the need to give their British buddies a leg up on the competish, Jeep’s USA President sent King and co a Land Rover Series II 88, fitted with an advanced small block all-aluminium Buick V8 engine, the missing piece to…