Our MK4 GTI Gets Better Rollover Protection And Chassis Stiffness Thanks To An Autopower Roll Bar, But Is It Right For Your Car?
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RennTechnik Motorsport SpeedMount MSRP: $139 Pertinent Info: If you happen to be anything like me, you love the use of your backseat—not to mention that putting a bulky rollcage in a car you use daily can be awkward, to say the least. Until recently, th
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Sometimes the raw fury that the 2.0L 8v New Beetle is, just isn’t enough. Even with substantial mods, the 2.0L could use a good kick to get going, but short of a turbo or a supercharger setup, there aren’t many ways available to obtain large hors
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In today’s tuner aftermarket of ad gimmicks and wordplay, it’s difficult to know what will and will not give you horsepower increases. In most cases, tuners and racers will tell you that you can’t obtain horsepower from spark, a spark is a s
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You can never stress enough the importance of upgrading your brakes when doing performance modifications. The sad fact is, most brake upgrades require a substantial dollar investment and usually get brushed off for other modifications. The thing most people do
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Heat is the enemy of power. You know that, right? Heat robs density from an engine’s incoming air, diluting the impact of combustion, which ultimately costs horsepower. Heat is bad, mmmkay? To make power, you want air, lots and lots of cool dense air, mix
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It’s ironic when you think about it—you’re spending a grip of money on brake upgrades in the hopes that you’ll decrease the amount of time you spend using them. Unfortunately, many people don’t even put that much thought into the bra
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If you have absolutely no quibbles with the way Volkswagen tunes the engines in its GTIs, then you probably could care less about how horrible the suspension is. If, however, you’re always looking for a little better performance—whether it be bet
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Look at the pricings of the current VW, Audi, and BMW cars. They’re pretty damn high and seem to be tailored to those guys that made their money on the Internet and got out before it started to nosedive. An ’01 VW GTI VR6 has a $22,900 base price, an
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Projektzwo Jetta 4 Front Grille MSRP: $259 Pertinent Info: Although we had 1552 Design install the grille, anyone could do it. The hardest part of the install is trimming the wire mesh to match the projektzwo grille and even that was child’s play. Th
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If you’ve built a killer motor for your car, or if you drag race or autocross, you probably already know that a beefy clutch is necessary to handle all the stress that increased torque and harsh driving conditions place on your driveline. But let
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The sheer girth of the Audi S4 is enough to make any driving enthusiast cringe. Audi, however, makes up for the 1.85-ton curb weight by equipping the car with a motor and drivetrain that can propel it from a dead stop to 60 mph in a mere 5.9 seconds. Corne
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For VW fanatics of years past, the GTI was the pinnacle of Volkswagen performance and technology. However, with mainstream integration of VW’s product, the original vision of the GTI has been lost, turning the GTI into little more than a trim package. G
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Despite popular belief, being enclosed in a metal box does not preclude you from injury, especially if your box is hit by another multi-ton metal box. Judging by the way some people drive, quite a few drivers seem to think that the metal box they are encased i
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Audi’s TT is probably one of the most radically designed cars to ever go from concept to showroom floor. Looking as though it is straight out of a sci-fi movie, the car garners a “love it, or leave it” attitude. Its design turns heads, even if
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Autocrossing isn’t for everyone—but everyone is invited. In case you’re unfamiliar, autocrossing is a test of vehicle control in which a driver’s skill is pitted against the clock on a closed course consisting of cones. The course is usuall
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The S4 is a venomous car—a proverbial “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” With the mild-mannered outward appearance of a slightly lowered A4 sporting 17-inch wheels and a deeper front bumper, only those that can decipher the subtle badging know wha
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Few factory cars can claim better acceleration times with an automatic trans- mission. Those that can are priced in the six-figure range, well out of the reach of most people. Pricing, however, isn’t the only problem with these cars. Another larger pro
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Massive fender gap is a sin, but in some horrific oversight it was absent from the Ten Commandments. Fortunately, BMW designed the E-46 with minimal fender gap, allowing some people to throw wheels and tires on and be relatively content. Faced with increas
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Want a MAX Power sticker for your M3 Coupe? We’ve got 50 or so extras that will tastefully adorn your rear window if you send us a photo and description of your car for the MRydes section in MAX Power magazine. Send the goods and a self-addressed stamped
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Way back in the days of the Golf III, the VR6 was the engine of choice among performance freaks. With an ample amount of power from the factory and plenty of aftermarket parts that could help the engine pump out more, it’s easy to see why. Then came the G
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Acceleration is limited by a car’s slowest part. That said, many people turn to the aid of short shifters to reduce throw times and increase the rate of acceleration, as stock shifters generally have long throws. The reason for the stock transmission
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Oettinger is a well-respected name in Volkswagen tuning. Having been involved in VW tuning since the introduction of the original Beetle, it is no surprise that the company is considered by many to be the end all when it comes to VW. In Germany, parts are
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Squeezing. It’s the easiest way to pump power out of any engine. Squeezing. It’s slang for using nitrous oxide to enhance the performance of an engine. Squeezing. We’d all love to be able to do it but are too worried about what we believe to be
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It’s time to bite the bullet and purchase a better car. We know the feeling. At any given time, there is at least one MAX staffer ready to forego his present ride for something newer, quicker, more refined, and explicitly German. An excellent reason for d
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