This is how not to perform a crowd-pleasing burnout in your Mopar-tuned Dodge Charger V8.

Well come to think of it the crowd do seem rather entertained…

I recently followed a car on a motorway that was progressing at a pedestrian pace. This annoyed me as I was late for a dinner date (that didn’t go as well as I had hoped, but that’s a story for another day). When I eventually overtook the slow coach, in my hybrid long-term car, I noticed that it was low, belly-scrapingly low. So low, in fact, that the driver took to avoiding even the smallest debris on the road. And the wheels had a degree of camber that I last witnessed at a racetrack.

Missing the point

I couldn’t help think to myself that the owner got it all wrong. A low ride height results in a lower centre of gravity which improves handling. Excessive negative camber is required when cornering at speed to ensure more contact patch for the outer wheels when a car leans into a corner. These aspects, however, only hold true when you are travelling at speed not crawling along as slow as a caterpillar (pun completely intended).

Seemingly then this driver has missed the point completely. Yes, I know it was done in the name of individuality and that cars that are low tend to look better. But at what price? Lowering, in this instance, seems to have achieved the exact opposite of the original intent, going faster. Not only is this car confined to going slowly but the ride quality is also severely compromised.

Other misdirected mods

After I mused if this car had ever been on a racetrack, I started to wonder about other aspects of racecar necessity that have become road car tuning/styling fads but at the same time had the opposite effect of the original intent.

Carbon-fibre is used extensively in the motorsport world. The lightweight material is often left unpainted as this adds unnecessary mass. Road cars are covered in carbon-look stickers from trim pieces inside to entire bonnets and roofs, swathes of vinyl try to mimic a racecar’s appearance but instead make the car heavier.

What a drag

Spoilers and wings also adversely affect road cars. Given the choice racecar engineers would do away with these aero aids. But often regulations mean that this is the only method to achieving high aerodynamically generated grip levels.

Take a look at the new Pagani, Ferrari and McLaren aero aids are all under-the-skin because the engineers have free rein. Adding a large wing to your regular saloon or hatch invariably reduces top speed, adds wind noise, increases your fuel consumption and no doubt creates a level of downforce that you can’t feel/will never use on the road.

The list goes on, small mirrors, small diameter steering wheels, roll cages, free-flowing exhausts, pedal covers, when these mods are carried out on road cars they almost always are done so with no consideration for the intended purpose and leave the original car more compromised than when it left the factory.

Lou is watching

I am not for once second denying anyone the right to modify/tune/style their car, we all know that car customisation is part and parcel of the South Africa motoring landscape, in fact there is a very lucrative industry that has flourished around from it. What I am saying is think carefully before you cut three coils off your springs to scrape along at 30 km/h. And remember, keep it real…

Feel free to comment on the blog and rant at me on twitter: @BanzaiMatai

On a visit to the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2001, a number years before I became a motoring journalist, I took the opportunity to visit both the Mercedes-Benz and Porsche museums in Stuttgart; a short train trip from Frankfurt.

Back then both museums were tiny compared with the magnificent (and modern) buildings both manufacturers have in recent few years erected.

It was with much excitement that we visited the Mercedes-Benz Museum as part of last week’s trip to drive the new A45 AMG.

It’s a pity that we only had little over an hour to do the whole tour (preferably give yourself at least two hours) but should you ever find yourself on the tour you will leave a much more informed, educated and richer petrolhead.

Above you will find some of the highlights the museum offers.

Follow Wilhelm on Twitter.

Yes, there are more chops in this video than a Pick ‘n Pay family braai pack, but they’ve done stuff with a Fiat Abarth 500C like you wouldn’t believe.

The guys from stateside Youtube channel Dude Perfect have enlisted stunt drivers Roger Richman and Samuel Hubinette from LA Motorsports to do everything from turning the nippy little convertible into a moving target for a precisely hoofed American football to the perfect companion for catching a slogged baseball.

We dread to think how many retakes on a boiling runway and ricochets off baseball-capped skulls this must’ve taken but, jock-style midair body bumps aside, it’s quite something to behold…

Bruce seems to have underestimated the depth of a mud bath and gotten his Nissan Patrol properly stuck. Thankfully is mate Bruce also has a Nissan Patrol, owns a tow rope, and doesn’t believe in subtlety.

On the way to fetch a visiting friend from London last Sunday, I thought I’d stop in at the American SpeedFest, which took place at Brands Hatch on the 8^th and 9^th of June.

My first indication of the level of interest in the event came at the highway off-ramp for the track – a three kilometre traffic jam. I displayed my South African-ness and ‘accidentally’ stayed in the right-hand lane until a gap appeared at the last second. Not very British – they’re a lot better at queuing politely. I’ll try harder next time. Still, it took another half hour to get to the circuit (normally 5 minutes).

The American SpeedFest was billed as an All Things Americana Racing Weekend, down to “Elvis” singing the US national anthem, a huge display of Yankee classics, monster trucks crushing cars, hot dogs, cheese burgers and the headline act: four rounds of the official Euro NASCAR Series.

The Euro NASCARs are Chevy 6,0-litre V8 machines, boasting 450 hp (338 kW), big slicks, tubular frame chassis and fibreglass bodywork. They’re a full-fledged entry series to NASCAR USA, with prizes for the front runners including heavily subsidised racing in the main NASCAR series in the USA. Most of their racing is on well-known tracks across Europe including Monza and Le Mans, and an event on a specially built oval track at Tours in France. Given the commercial success of NASCAR in the USA, this series surely warrants consideration for aspiring professional racers.

There must be very little to compare to the harmonic depths of a field of 30 big V8s belting past bumper-to-bumper at full throttle. Unfortunately, the nannies insist on so much noise-muffling that I’ll have to wait until some other time for that experience. The Euro NASCARs sound good, but are sadly quiet.

The most successful aspect of the weekend was really the crowd. The main race featured an open grid walk – anyone and everyone was allowed down onto the starting grid to get close to the cars and drivers. The crowd response was enormous. Take a look at the pics. That on its own was really good to see, coming from the empty stands of Kyalami last time I raced in the southern half of planet speed.

I’m back at Brands Hatch this weekend to practise for our upcoming racing on the Indy Loop there, where we’re centre-stage for the British Mini Festival weekend of 22 and 23 June 2013. Paddock Hill Bend, here we come again!

Catch me on Facebook (Justin Taylor) and Twitter (@JustinTaylor316)

Regular YouTube contributor Marchettino captured this footage of a Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo losing control at 240km/h during a race at Misano, Italy.

It’s been an expensive month for the exclusive Super Trofeo series. Last week Red Bull Racing technical chief, Adrian Newey, crashed his Gallardo racing car on the warm-up lap for the Silverstone race.

Watch this Switzer Performance-tuned Nissan GT-R, producing 1300hp (969 kW), light up a quarter mile drag strip in just 8,61 seconds at 273 km/h.

Source: Carthrottle

Sony has released new details about Gran Turismo 6 at the PlayStation E3 Press Conference in Los Angeles.

Among the previously teased cars available, including the Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale, Ferrari Dino and KTM X-Bow are a selection of FIA GT3 race cars such as the Nissan DeltaWing, BMW Z4 GT3, and Audi R8 LMS ultra

The new Playstation game also boasts a new physics engine as well as improved tyre and suspension modeling for added realism.

The arrival of a new Porsche is a reason enough to sit up and take notice but when that new model is the race-bred GT3 then petrolheads of the world start to salivate. The PDK-only 991 generation GT3 pumps out over 350 kW and has such trickery as four-wheel steer and active engine mounts.

Friend of CAR magazine Chris Harris is well-known to the chaps from Zuffenhausen and they let him play with the new car on a mountain pass, all the while filming his thoughts for interested viewers.