locosteelersfan

here too. I also got the 80 page slide show for screensaver
from NCM.com

sunsetz28
There hasn't been an issue in 2 months
you should be getting one soon I'd bet.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

I'll keep my TSP

Jim McIlvaine

It's funny you should mention that Benjamin, because I've watched something similar happen on message boards between "cheerleaders" and companies. The cheerleaders get a sweet deal from a company and promise to pump them up to all their friends on the net (while conveniently forgetting to mention their side deal). Meanwhile, they're having all kinds of problems with the company that they don't mention on the message board, for fear of ruining their deal, while everyone reading their posts are left in the dark. If something blows up or doesn't work as well as we hoped it would, we may still say a nice thing or two, but we won't hide the end results- The Sooper Tooner Shop's sprinkler system was put to the test and performed flawlessly when our car blew up on their dyno

I give Tony a great deal of credit for making it known that the moderators of LS1Tech.com get excellent hook-ups from his advertisers that aren't available to normal people. Not every site operator is as honest and open about those relationships, which can leave some members oblivious to the possibility that someone is plugging a part or service because they got a killer deal.

As for the Reader's Rides (Street Heat), I hope you are referring to the writing style and not the cars themselves If the writing style is stale, what changes would you like to see?

Most of the cars we test are either General Motors fleet cars or our own. As for "Shop car" features, I will assume you are referring to cars owned by people who also own speed shops, like the Camaros from Speed Inc. or SLP. We do feature such cars occasionally, but they are clearly in the minority. If your definition of a shop car is broader, where do you cut it off? Anyone who has ever had work done at a shop? Anyone who has ever bought parts for their car from a shop? We wish there were more Jordon Mussers and Joe Plunkets out there, but they're tough to find.

Nine Ball

iTrader: (38)

Hey Jim, thanks for dropping by. I actually saw the pre-release lid article over at MTI, and thought it was a funny idea, but also a good one at the same time. We've been saying "a lid is a lid" for the past few years now, and I think this article does a good job of summing that point up. Not many others would be willing to take the time to gather all the popular lids, dyno test them, and track test them. You guys did a good job.

Now, when you gonna come to Texas and shoot this 35th? Heads/cam/headers going on this week

Tony

unit213

I'd like to add that even though I have an '03 Cobra now I still have a subscription to GMHTP. It's the best GM based mag out IMO.

jaberwaki

hell yes i would like to metion the readers ride section....
street heat...
are you kidding me???
looking at the march 04 issue...
in the back in street heat lets see your killer line up...

a stock lt1 z28 ... mods= k&n filter.. thats a mod?
a V6 firebird .... mods k&n and corsa... most of us did that on day one...
1 decent one.. sunset z28 ... 370 hp... (i am ok with this)
and another stock z28 ... mods gears... wow...

thats HEAT!???!!!
please.
those can all be found in our newbie section..
one of you write ups is on a twin turbo set up that keeps breaking and is now broken..
you were AMAZED by the 10 sec c5r from slp... you do know we have stock internal cars in the 10's here right?
and built cars here running 9's n/a
spaying to 8's...
where are they in your rag?

i wanna see mikeys car from rapid
i wanna see joe overtons bad *** 9 sec n/a lt1...
dog on with your resorces you cant find some IMPRESSIVE cars???

well here you go...
see top dogs list here... its a good start...

jaberwaki

oh yeh how bout a afr head write up when they come out next month...
not 2 years from now.

Jim McIlvaine

I think I need to explain how Street Heat works jaberwaki. People who read our magazine take photographs of their cars, they put them in an envelope and mail them to us (hence the generic term, Reader's Rides). We read their letters and look at their pictures and as long as the picture isn't blurry or out of focus, we put them in the magazine. I've been writing the column for about three years now and as far as I know, everyone who has mailed in a picture has made it into the magazine, regardless of how modified or stock their car may be. We can't write about cars we can't see, so feel free to send us a picture of your ride and we'll be glad to put it under the microscope for our readers to judge. If it amazes Rick enough, he may call you up to do a full feature.

Several members from this site have had their cars featured in Street Heat recently, including Steven Rupp, Cedric Mosley and Jim Previs. In fact, I've come on here before and asked members from this site to send us pictures of their cars and more are currently in the pipeline. I believe PSJ also promised to give away LS1tech.com decals to anyone who got their car in Street Heat, so if your car (or truck) has been featured and you haven't received your sticker yet, drop him a line

I wrote the story on the SLP car and I just glanced through it again and didn't notice where I said I was "AMAZED" by it's 10-second runs. That car is by no means the fastest in the country, but it is well-built and I think it's nice to see how some companies develop their products through real-world testing and not just modifying someone else's widget without proving it's effectiveness on the track.

We love featuring 8 and 9-second cars, but unfortunately, they are the most likely to break as well. I've lost count of the number of times we've wanted to shoot cars, but they weren't available because they weren't running. I'm still patiently waiting for the day the Colonel's car will be available and I'm praying Jorge's 9-second Impala will be ready when I get down to Florida next month, as this will be about the third time we've tried to connect with him. Obviously, our magazine stresses performance, but that doesn't start and end with dragstrip numbers. That is certainly an important element, but we won't ignore cars that are run on road courses or autocross tracks either.

Even with a focus on performance, we still get people who try to convince us to feature their car, based on their car's potential and a room full of car show trophies. I'm sorry you don't think the SLP car or Brad's car are all that impressive, but don't give up hope. As soon as we can get all the tech information from the cars that participated in our most recent shootout, we'll be able to run them in the magazine and I think you'll see some familiar faces.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

I want to submit my car, but it's looks like every other black Z28/V6 out there. I'll at least wait until I get my wheels before sending you guys a pic. At least it runs good

Another thing about the lid shoot out, and other shootouts...

Some people who are into our cars probably don't even know how to sign up for a message board. They might not know anymore than the guy at Pep Boys does. Just something to take into consideration...

Tranzor

Personally, I think it's cool that GMHTP prints the readers' car pics that get sent to them... even if a car doesn't have as much in the way of mods as another person's doesn't mean they're any less of an enthusiast.

samz28

deflate tires to 25psi , other guys lid on, run.
infalte tires to 50psi , put their lid on, 5 minutes to do both for cooldown.

there's your 8hp

If you were selling lids you'd probably do anything necessary to eek out a questionable amount of hp that could be contributed to something as silly as heatsoak.

True product makers would provide length dyno comparisons, say 20 runs on theirs versus anothers, and tons of efi live logs, wide band logs, etc. that prove their product is superior.

It's not like a company that can afford to make a nice mold and hussle it, can't afford a few hours on wideband dyno to make a real comparison with EFILIVE data and perhaps a few-non-partisan witnesses to prevent people from haxoring the data.

granitemonkey

Wades ARE car was in Chevy high peformance.

BADSZ28

iTrader: (39)

I think GMHTP is a great for what they cover. Sure a little behind on the T part but there is a lot of info there. I don't subscribe anymore because it is way too expensive for only 6 issues a YEAR. For there price I can get Chevy and Super Chevy with 12 issues apeice.

Benjamin Russick

iTrader: (1)

Jim-Thanks for the unexpected response to my posting here. It is good that you guys are in tune to what is being bantered around in these message boards. Let me clarify some points and if you want, you can reply here or respond via a private e-mail.
May I preface that I really do enjoy your magazine and will be renewing once I get settled in my new home. As a prior 3rdGen and GN owner, I find the articles on those vehicles great reading and they are prodding me towards the purchase of another one of each. I also like the "budget" work-ups like Blue Thunder that are actually realistic installs for a "shade-tree" mechanic like myself that doesn't have a chassis dyno or sheet metal fabrication shop at their disposal. The photos are of great quality and the essay tone is generally light-hearted which makes for a fun read (such as in the bathroom, as alluded to by other posters).
However, I have some opinions which are not meant to be mean-spirited, but just the ramblings of a guy who has been in the auto enthusiast game for a while now:
While I am sure that as a business you value your sponsors and advertisers, a few words of criticism might actually be beneficial to get them back on the straight and narrow. I have way more respect for someone that will say "This product sucked and this is why it sucked!" than someone that will gloss it over with vanilla only to have the consumer find out the product did indeed suck and never trust that individual/publication again.
Another thing that I absolutely cannot stand is the "over-the-top" writing style of a certain author. Using a thesaurus is one thing, but using cryptic, obsolete verbiage that prohibits enjoyment of the article just for the sake of trying to come across as intelligent is indeed another. It kind of makes me think this particular author is compensating for something...
Lastly, I realize that most everyone in the car performance business (including some of the "consumers") has an agenda. I am not so blind as to see through a friend of Bob's Nuclear Dyno-Tune Shop spouting about Bob's great product/service. Nor do I miss how certain shop's dyno numbers can be inflated by the use of balsa wood driveshafts, 1.73 gearing and a heavy sprinkling of parts only obtainable from NASA to make their "basic cam package" produce 600rwhp. What I am saying is be fair and thorough and let the results do the talking. I appluaded when you guys panned the fitment of SLPs 3rdGen headers! That kind of wake up call in a major magazine can only challenge companies to design better products!
As for "Street Heat"...that used to be one of my favorite sections of the mag when the cars were interesting (such as the 12 second 1997 WS6 with 222,000 miles on it, or even the tweaked Beretta GT that was battling into the 15s). I guess you can only present what you are offered, but I like looking at cars that are more than ordinary. It gives me ideas and makes me go "Sweet!" instead of "Oh, great another LS1 with a lid and cat-back..."
Sorry to be so long-winded. I just want your magazine to succeed so that I am not stuck reading Motor Trend while in the john the morning after "Beer and Burrito Night".
Regards and thanks! Ben

Benjamin Russick

iTrader: (1)

By the way, I will still be in Florida next month, so if you want to see a battle-scarred, street-run, 2000 Z28 with a heads/cam/nitrous package... If you are having a track day down here, let me know and I will run her until I break something (probably the rear).

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

That's funny... I think the same thing when I read those articles.

locosteelersfan

GMHTP has stated on several accounts
that MAFs are pretty much useless and
you may actually lose power.
Meanwhile SLP and GMS advertise regularly
if not several times in each issue.
I'm not buying the conspiracy theory

There's a simple answer, if you don't like it
don't buy it. Personally I'd rather have less
issues of my target marker than a lot more
of say Car Craft.

Benjamin Russick

iTrader: (1)

loco: I am not saying that the mag is garbage, nor am I saying that they are "sleeping with" some of the sponsors...I just stated my opinions. I don't know if anyone remembers "Cars Illustrated", but that was a benchmark magazine for me and it failed, so maybe GMHTP shouldn't listen to me...

Jim McIlvaine

Benjamin, you've asked us to say products "suck," but both you and locosteelersfan have cited instances where we have pointed out a product's shortcomings. I'm really not sure the substance of the story will get through to any additional readers by using words like "suck" and we would hope that we can accurately convey our message without needing little barfing faces, angry-faced machine gunners or the written equivalent. There are some issues like fitment and ease of installation that we will have to elaborate on, but whenever possible, we'd like to let the numbers do the talking. I guess we'll have to live with upsetting a few readers, if they still decide to buy a product after we compliment it's build quality, but question it's ease of installation and lack of performance gains.

As for Street Heat, I can do more than present what is offered and I have made many attempts to do so. That includes carrying around business cards with me at every event I attend and encouraging people with non-fourth gens to send us a letter. I have also started specific threads on several different message boards, including ClubGP.com, TurboBuick.com, SyTy.net and ImpalaSSforum.com, asking people for more variety in our mailbox, but the response was minimal. Most people end up like DMNSPD, wanting to send pictures, but waiting for the next mod (which is a process that never ends). I have intentionally avoided making this plea on any fourth gen boards/F-body boards, although I have made occasional mention in threads started by other people that end up on that topic.

Even with those efforts, F-bodies still outnumber all other cars in our Street Heat mail combined, by a ratio of 6:1. 80% of those cars are fourth gens. We realize fourth gens are our bread and butter, but my ultimate goal would be to run two fourth gens and two non-fourth gens in every column.

ram-it

Jim,

I get the magazine every month. I still have issues from when you had that blue oval stuff in there too. I think a comparison between headers, cams, heads would be a grand slam. Look how many people still ask the questions in here about which one is better not to mention the people that swap brands after finding someone who had great success with a new item. Another idea would be to go out to some of the hot cruise spots in the country and photograph/write about what goes on. We all talk about it here but to see it in your mag would be like we are there. Just some thoughts.