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VTEC, otherwise known as Variable valve Timing and lift Electronical Control, has become a byword for Honda high-performance shenanigans since its introduction in 1989. But how does it add the magical horsepower to tiny naturally aspirated petrol engines (LIKE THIS ONE IN THE NEW EPISODE HERE)?  The good news is there is zero witchcraft involved. Probably. VTEC is essentially a system that allows an engine to switch between two different camshaft profiles; one for highly efficient, smooth street driving, and one for manic, set-fire-to-your-underpants high-performance. In The Olden Days before naturally aspirated engines could alter their valvetrain geometry to improve...

The recent addition of a spicy little EK Honda Civic to the MCM garage has ignited a debate about whether the boys should stick with the mystery B16A that came with the orange-utan hatch, or go for a modern K-swap. The latest episode (CLICK THIS LINK) sees the lads start working on the B16A, so I figured I'd take you on a little trip to the Back In The Day Times to learn why the naturally-aspirated 1590cc four-banger is worth fixing... While K-swaps have taken over the Honda world in the last 15 years, some 20 years ago the VTEC-equipped double-overhead...

Learning about cars is one of the most fun, but also a scary part, of getting into the car hobby. For years the first-series NA MX-5 were considered the perfect entry point to learning rear-drive (RWD) handling dynamics, while Honda Civics are still one of the best front-drive (FWD) platforms you can get hold of (not like that, MOOG).   As the boys point out in the latest video (check out the new episode HERE) the ease of working on 1990s Hondas is made so much better thanks to the excellent engineering base of the cars themselves (making them easy to work on), the...

We've all seen those mega-cheap half-done project cars for sale on the internet, tempting us with the supposed glory that will come... if you just whack an engine back in the car, finish the paint job and fit some trim. The truth is, buying someone else's unfinished project car is a more difficult task than herding goats over a high-wire while teaching a monkey how to do a drum solo. As Marty and MOOG found out this week when they bought their new project car (WATCH THE NEW EP HERE) the budget path to automotive radness is often not the bargain cakewalk...

"Crikey!" is normally the first words out of someone who has driven the 6.2km-long Mount Panorama road circuit at race speed. If you've SEEN THE LATEST EPISODE you'll have seen MOOG's eyes go dinner plate-wide as he hot-laps his Lotus Exige S240 around the famously terrifying circuit. So why does it make so much poo come out of grown-up humans? One serious factor is the elevation: like at Spa, Nurburgring or Laguna Seca, Bathurst is a mixed bag of massive elevation changes as racers literally climb and then fall down the side of a seriously steep bit of western NSW....