POTN.com Blog

Are you one of those people who doesn’t always check what their doing? Picking up the diesel for your petrol car? Well I have some news for you…No more expensive repairs to be made with this new gadget of the year!

Making its first appearance at the London 2008 Motor Show last week. It had a great response from the viewers. Its so cool it can be fixed to the inside of your petrol cap door so that when you go for petrol its there waving at you! It can also be held in your hand. Its made for both petrol and diesel cars.

When you pull up at the petrol station still half asleep in the morning, the sensor on the fuel checker tells you if you have chosen the correct fuel by flashing red when incorrect and green when correct!

At the moment it is only available for the European fuel nozzles but soon to be making its way to the U.S, costing around $40. However, it begs the question: if you aren’t reading the signs at the fuel pumps, are you reading the signs on the road?

If theres one bonus to working late every now and again its that you get one of those awesome drives home that doesnt involve being stuck in a traffic jam and moving 2 miles in 2 hours.  I took a bit of a diversion that involved driving down a stretch of country road and it was just fantastic. Im lucky enough to be running some Spax Coilovers on my car and the feeling you get pushing on the corners makes driving home late a pleasure.

It got me thinking of the Top Gear episode where they visited the best roads in the world in supercars. There favourite was this one:

Wheres the best driving roads in the UK?

I dont want any of those roads full of speed cameras and sunday drivers, I want some where you can let loose and actually enjoy your car.

Better still add the google maps link of the journey, see others can give them a go. All you need to do is get the route on google maps, press the link button and copy the link. Add your comment to this blog and add the link…

Heres a nice little trip from POTN HQ:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&saddr=35+duncan+close+northampton&daddr=brixworth+northampton&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=52.281024,-0.90414&sspn=0.02594,0.077248&ie=UTF8&z=12

Id love to get your links.

Every got rid of a set of alloy wheels because the finish was so knackered that they looked a disgrace?

That’s what we were about to do with a set of corroded chrome rims. Chrome is notouriusly bad if you don’t take good care of it. Just take a look at the photo below.

But these are structually sound, good looking 20″ wheels. Could we really justify chucking them in the bin?

So we figured we’d call us the experts on wheel refurbishment at The Wheel Specialist to see what they could do.

Now, because of legal restrictions on handling the chemicals used in chrome coating it’s not possible to re-chrome wheels in the UK. Instead they suggested a silver powder coated finish. Since these are still a good looking set of wheels (minus the newly acquired textured finish) we figured the cost of refurb was justified, so away they went for a spot of TLC.

A week later and our knackered chrome dubs had been transformed into a fresh set of shiny silvers! Result.

I figured i’d hassle Natalie from The Wheel Specialist into telling me exactly how the hell they do this.

Each wheel is carefully shot-blasted by hand to remove previous layers of lacquer and paint to obtain a bare metal surface in preparation for coating. The wheels are then carefully prepped, sanded and damage repaired in preparation for the finish application.

The wheel is gently heated to remove any air from the alloy and a powder coat finish is applied. Powder coating is the most durable finish for your wheels, not only will they look fantastic but they will last for years to come, no flaking or peeling.

Finally a clear lacquer coat is applied over the first coating in the same manner, thus enhancing and protecting the alloy wheel.

Want to know exactly how good this process is? Then just a look at the photo below. That’s the same wheel as above, good job eh!

Have you ever had wheels refurbished? I want to know if your experience was as good as ours.

EBC Brakes have just launched the brand new V7 issue of their famous Greenstuff pads compound designed for street use with fully shimmed chamfered and slotted pad construction.

Its been specially designed for fast street use on cars up to 200bhp and to reduced dust and rotor damage.

The new EBC Greenstuff V7 compound includes additives to prevent rotor vibration and feature the EBC Brake-in coating for faster pad bed-in. For heavier cars and for any type of track use we strongly recommend considering the EBC Redstuff Ceramic grade or the EBC Yellowstuff and track combination formula.

Remember only at POTN can you be absolutely sure your getting the latest version.

Next up, EBC’s newest feature for Turbo Groove has gone TG3! Now reduced to 3 slot venting, it provides less air noise under heavy braking while still maintaining the many benefits of cooler running with the full width slot design. Another great feature of slotted discs is the way they maintain flat and parallel pad wear and avoid the record grooves or galling common with non-slotted discs. This improves pad contact and braking throughout the life of the disc and pad set.

Dimple drilling on the new TG3 avoids stress cracks and the proven gold anodized EBC finish provides great looks while preventing corrosion. All discs sets include left and right sport rotors.

The new mini-slot Ultimax discs are ideal for sports saloon and compacts which require sport braking with extra-low disc noise. The new ultimax series offer much quieter braking and feature a new special paint process to prevent corrosion.

Inovit have launched some new awesome wheels for 2008.

Here we have is the Inovit EVO alloy wheel. This is made in 18″ only but you get a wide range of colours to choose from such as White, Gunmetal with Polished lip, Bronze with Polished lip and Gloss Black with Polished lip.  If your one of those fussy modders then you cant go wrong with these options can you!

Next up we have the new Inovit Blade alloy wheel. Now this is made in both 15″ and 17″. It is available in 4 and 5 stud so it will fit most vehicles from a Honda Civic to a Ford Mondeo. I think this wheel is just stunning, with its Black Diamond Cut Surface, it will look smart on any car!

Last on the list is the Inovit Rotor. This is available in 18″ and 19″ in 5 stud only.

Like the Inovit Blade it is finished in Black with a Diamond Cut Surface. This is a truely gorgeous wheel and will look fantastic on your vehcile.  The combination of colour and long spokes help to give you that bigger looking rim!

Available to buy here at POTN.COM

We all love sitting down to watch Clarkson and his gang a Sunday night, but how about getting a fresh and funky update every day? I’ve been looking around and found Fast Lane Daily which is a car news show I think you’re really going to like. http://www.fastlanedaily.com/ is a webcast from New York which is guest presented each day and has a real new-wave edge to it.

Yep, news presented everyday on new car launches right through to all the modifying supercars. No need to wait for Sundays now!

Go and have a look when you’ve got a minute. Here’s some info on them (including how you can be a guest host) as well as how to submit your own reports or suggest some story ideas!

What do you think to it? Post below to have your say.

<object><embed src=”http://www.fastlanedaily.com/embed/player” width=”425″ height=”340″ allowScriptAccess=”always” FlashVars=”video_file=http://www.fastlanedaily.com/embed/play/latest” wmode=”transparent” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash”></embed></object>

The brand new Lenso D1R is now available to buy from POTN.COM

The Lenso D1R comes with more choices than a subway sandwich. Firstly, choose your preferred finish from Matte Black, Matte Black with a Red Lip, Dark Grey and White. Secondly, which width is right for you? 7, 8 or 9 inch?

Each set comes with a normal lip on the front and a much wider lip for the rear. Ideal for front wheel drive cars that want to create a staggered look, without slowing their car down.

It’s only available as a 17″ rim at the mo, but the 18″ version is on it’s way.

Oh yeah, did i mention it’s a lightweight wheel too? The 7 x 17″ is true feather weight, coming in at a mere 7.9kg!

So, if well made, lightweight, simply designed wheels are your thing. Then the Lenso D1R is for you.

White wheels are an absolute must if you want to create a clean, fresh look on your ride.

At POTN.COM we have some of the best designs of white wheels on the market, and to make your life easier, we’ve collected the lot and put them in the one place.

How will your ride look on white wheels?

I’ve gathered a few photos showing just how amazing white wheels look on different coloured cars.

What do you think? Are white wheels the best way to create a clean looking ride?

I spent last Saturday at JDM Allstars Drift Competition which was taken place at Wembley Stadium car park. I went with Miles from POTN in my non jap Peugeot 206! We arrived at about 10am and walked straight in as we had VIP tickets. The weather started off great, we met up with our supplier of Rota alloys as they had a stand at the show promoting all their drift series alloys. The cars that arrived at the show were awesome, from the Rockstar Toyota AE86 to the Drift Works Nissan 200SX S15.

The practice laps started at around 11am so we watched the drifting from our VIP area which was so cool! I got my camera straight out and the photos started, I must have taken around 50 throughout the day! Every car their was stunning, even though it was mainly held together with cable ties! They are not built to be pretty, just god damn fast!

By about lunchtime the rain started, but we didnt let it ruin the day! It was better in fact as the cars were skidding all over the track!

I thought I would let you enjoy some of the photos that I took during the day!

Drift Works PS13 ready to go out on track!

View from the pit lane of the stunning AE86 coming in from the track after practice.

Phil Morrison’s S15 showing us what he’s made of….check out all that smoke!

After the first lap on the track the R34 Skyline crashed into the wall on the first corner…look at that for some damage to repair!! Ooops!

350Z SVA Import turbo’d monster! This car has around 700 BHP, wouldn’t you just love to have a go in that!

For more photos of my drift day, check out my slideshow below!! It’s awesome!

Americans don’t know they have been born as far as the price of fuel goes. Most of us in the UK would kill for £2 a gallon. Despite this fact they have picked up on rising prices with  “Hyper-Miling”.

The Washington Post described it is as “A method of increasing your car’s gas mileage by making skillful changes in the way you drive, allowing you to save gas and thereby have an easier time withstanding the rising oil and gas prices.”

Whats sparking my imagination on this is that its not about driving slowly. Being a truly awesome HyperMiler takes as much skill as drifting and is probably a lot more dangerous when taken to the extreme.

Check out these links for how too guides and advanced techniques:

Waynes Gedes - King of the Hypermilers Interview

http://www.hypermiler.co.uk/

450 Tips

So if its getting close to the end of the month and your looking to save a few pennies on petrol:

1. Brakes are your enemy, friction and heat = wasted fuel
2. The “Scottish Overdrive” of putting your car into Neutral when your going downhill.
3. Tyre pressures up.
5. Fresh Spark Plugs
6. Draft a lorry down the motorway
7. Stiffen up your suspension so you can hit those corners without slowing down so much.

The most stupid tip ive found so far is ” Wearing an Ice Vest to keep cool to avoid using your Air Conditioning!”