I want to draw attention of those who don't know about HOT ROD magazine, or believe it is too "low class" to read. Take a good look. In many, many ways it is the most sophisticated of car magzines with the highest technical standards.

I read and really enjoy Car & Driver, Road & Track, Motor Trend, etc. , particularly their road tests and comparisons of cars, and I like the industry news they report.

But there is no where else I have ever seen the depth of analysis of engines, performance, and automotive technology, as the true car nut sees it, as in HOT ROD. I've seen in-depth articles on valve spring resonance and how to diagnose and cure it: I've never even heard of that in any of the other mags - value spring resonance, wow?

Whats more, in roughly every issue, HOT ROD takes some popular engine and goes through a series of real, no-BS tests: What does it really produce in stock form? What will simple mods (air box, headers) add? What kind of cam produces what kind of power and torque? What does a heads and cam kit produce?

The January issue is a really good example that members of this forum will want. On page 104, the article "LS1 Cookbook: Five Steps to 530 HP" they start with an LS1 crate engine (essentially the exact engine in a 1997-1999 Corvette, but here with a '98-2000 Camaro air box and exhaust), then test it with progressively more expensive sets of upgrades, until they gain 165+ additional HP. They report on exactly what parts they replaced, with what (part #s and everything) and show you the dyno curves. No room for doubt.
This is only typical. In past issues they tested major air box types, compared cams, talked about head porting etc. They looked at the same type of cookbook approach to the chrysler Hemi, the Chevy LT4, etc.

All in all, a good resource to keep in mind.

 

I lost all respect for HR Mag after they did their Subaru STi vs. Mustang report. They showed that the Impreza won in every event but still picked the Mustang as the better car. This article baffled me and I read it over about 10 times to see what I was missing. The only thing I missed was the writer had a mullet and no matter what was the better car he was going to pick the muscle car anyway. Was the worst article I have ever read and from that point I stopped reading the magazine.

 

I get almost all the car and bike mags every month. It seems there's always content i just can't support, but i have to agree that the build ups they have are very informative. And even though they may sometimes cater to one advertiser or another it makes them no less helpful in getting ideas, especially spec wise. Also look to GM High-Tech Performance, and though it's not a Vette mag; High Performance Pontiac(L-98-LS Series) also offers quite a bit of good info.

 

i get mopar muscle, but thats because ive been in it..

 

What kinda Mopar?

 

I remember it, and I guess I understood their perspective, which you have to realize colored their thinking: A magazine lke Car and Driver would compare the cars basically from a "I'm going to leave it stock and enjoy it" standpoint, but HR's whole point is to . . . well, hot rod, a car. From that perspective, the Mustang wasthe better hobby base: there is more low-cost potential for improvement in performance there and a much wider selection of aftermarket vendors and options. Also, there is just more to go at economical prices. Not to get into any type of head-knocking contest over this, but I have near seen, even in the Import Tuner Mag carticles, an STI that does in the mid 10s (high tens, and extreme cost, is the best I've seen in print, very low 12s the best I've seen in person). By contrast I know of a lot of only mildly modded Mustangs that are in the low 12s or high 11s and some that are in the low 10s and still very streetable. I don't necessarily agree that this makes the Mustang the better car, but I do see why it made it HR's choice.

 

Thanks for the advice Lee. I personally have never read Hot Rod Magazine. I was always under the impression that they only focused on older muscle cars, and although I have an interest in them at the age of 23 I have never owned one and didn't think any of the info in the mag. would pertain to me. Now that you have made this thread I think I will give Hot Rod a closer look, because I am not the most knowledgeable car guy, but I am definitely looking for every possibility to increase my knowledge about the workings of the engine.

 

They focus on everything: Ford, Mopar, GM, and foreign, old and new. Mostly American, though, and mostly V8s, although they have done some V6 and one neat four-cylinder Ford.

As to old engines, you learn a lotI've read really interesting articles about hot rodding the Ford flathead V8 of the 40s with Arden heads and even a modern Magnusen supercharger, which are fun!

Every issue has something for all ages of cars: articles on 70s muscle cars, reviews of LS2 and LS7 engines, and the new Hemi, etc.

One thing you learn is that "old muscle car" gets confusing as to meaning. Modern crate engines are based on muscle car engines of the 70s, b ut have better castings and new heads -- so for example, GM sells 502, 572, and 620 cubic inch V8s based on the old 454, but with better heads to produce up to 650 HP out of the crate. Further, you can buy every single part you need to build a brand new 1969 Camaro, all new, all improved (e.g., modern brakes) including an engine. another magazine to look for -- you will have to go to a big news stand or just luck out, is GM High Performance. They alternate issues focusing on either the older V8s (60,s 70s, modern 70s-basec crate engines) and the LS- series engines. they focus only on GM but not only on Corvettes or Camaros (i.e., they look at supercharged Buick Grand Nationals too - they are very very fast, by the way)

So much fun to have, so little time.

 

Car Craft also has some good tech articles from time to time, beside the ones I mentioned above. Always worth a quick glance at the newstand to see if anything pertaining to your ride has been written. Not to mention it's fun to see what the "competition" is doing too.

 

i have a 1983 dodge mirada that gets along ok for an old small block, running 87 octane...[8D]