The Monsters Are Coming!

Get ready- the Monsters are coming!  We're proud to be working with the Sacramento International Auto Show for the third time.  This year, we're going to make our part of the show a tribute to the awesome cars of Japan from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  Mazda RX7s, Toyota Supras, Celicas, and Corollas, Honda Civics, Datsuns and Nissans of all types... we're going to try to pack in as much JDM radness as you can handle!

If you or a friend have a clean Japanese ride you'd like to bring out, send a message our way.  Space is limited, but we're gonna try to fill the place with a mix of rides spanning all of the best that Japan had to offer!

The Sacramento Auto Show raises money for children's charities and education, including Shriner's Hospital, Make-A-Wish, and Ronald McDonald House.  To date they've donated over $2 million!  We're happy to contribute to this show by bringing as many people as possible through the doors- we hope to see you there!

New Products - Just In Time For Show Season!

Show season is underway, but if you're like us there's always SOMETHING that still needs to be done to your ride!

Fortunately for us, some of the biggest names in the industry are dropping new products to keep you looking and performing better than the competition!

Click HERE to check out the NEW Viair 485C!

First off, Viair just dropped their new Gen2 air compressor: the 485C.  

Better performance, higher duty cycle, quieter and cooler operation- all in the same footprint of the older 444 and 480 models!

These compressors are available in a Platinum or Stealth Black finish, and are in stock and shipping now!

Click HERE to check out the NEW Accuair VX4!

Accuair showed off their new VX4 manifold valve at SEMA last year, and now it's in stock and available!

I made a quick YouTube video last month showing off some of the new features on this valve, so I won't make you read that again here.  The big news is that these are ready to ship now!

Click HERE to check out our selection of FLO Airride tanks!

Finally, FLO Airride tanks are in full production, and we've got several sizes and styles in stock and ready to ship!  These tanks feature a modular billet design with adjustable mounting brackets and plenty of ports to work with your installation.

Of course, we're still going to carry all of the same parts we have in the past, but if you're the type that has to have the latest and greatest, we've got you covered! Visit us at www.twistedimages.com to see these and all of our other products!

See you at the next show!

Greg's Mini Cooper JCW - Everything Looks Better On Bags!

If you've never driven a 1st or 2nd generation Mini Cooper S or John Cooper Works edition, you're missing out.  These cars come from the factory with a bunch of power, a manual transmission with an excellent feel, capable brakes, and a stiff chassis that inspires confidence when you chuck it into a corner.  They've gotten pretty affordable, too- low mileage R56 Cooper S models can be had for under $10k!

As fun as they are, though, there's one thing about them that keeps them from being a perfect daily-driver.  The ride is just too stiff!  Drive one for a day, especially if it's still on run-flat tires, and you'll be sore the next day!

Our customer Greg brought his John Cooper Works model to us with this exact complaint- the car was super fun to drive, but it usually sat in the garage in favor of more comfortable cars for day-to-day use.  Fortunately for him, Air Lift Performance has front and rear strut kits that essentially bolt right in, and the difference in comfort is unbelievable.

We installed the Air Lift front and rear struts, along with their 3P pressure-based digital management system, and rounded out the air suspension with a powder coated Seamless aluminum tank and dual Viair 480C air compressors.  Everything fits neatly in the hatch - he didn't need to carry anything back there, anyway!

Greg's Mini isn't all show and no go- he's got a bunch of aftermarket parts on that little engine to back up the looks!  A larger turbo and intercooler, cold air intake, heat shield, and front and rear strut braces and sway bars make this little car a rocket!  The stock John Cooper Works brakes work perfectly in conjunction with the 18" Volk Racing wheels and sticky tires.  Overall, he's built a car that's eager to dive into any corner, but is still tame enough to take out for a calm drive around town.

If we've convinced you to go out and grab a Mini Cooper of your own, be sure to contact us to help you sort out the suspension!  Visit www.twistedimages.com and check out all of the options we have, and feel free to message us directly with any questions!

Hydraulic Handbrake Kits - A Quick Guide

We offer so many different styles of hydraulic brake kits, it can be tough to know which one is right for your application. I'll try to cover the basics here to help guide you on the right path towards getting sideways!

First off, what the heck IS a hydraulic handbrake? Sometimes called a staging brake or drift brake, these are hand-operated levers that are used in conjunction with your car's braking system to lock up an axle. In the drifting world, you'll be pulling the handle to lock up the rear wheels to help control a slide. In the drag racing world, you'll be locking up the axle so you can pre-load the suspension before launching off the line.

The first option we'll cover is the bracket. Twisted Images brakes come in either a "Forward" or "Reverse" mounting style. In both cases, you'll be pulling back on the handle to lock up the brakes- the different mounts just position the master cylinder differently. The Forward Swing bracket puts the master behind the shifter on the transmission tunnel, and the Reverse Swing bracket puts it up under the dash or center console. The leverage effect is the same for either bracket, so it's just a matter of where you prefer to have your master cylinder and lines mounted.

Forward-swing brake kit

Reverse-swing brake kit

Next up, let's talk about the master cylinder. We only use Wilwood brake master cylinders with our kit, because brakes are too important to trust to no-name copies! They're available in two styles- "Reservoir" and "Pass Through".
The pass-through master cylinder is designed to work with your stock braking system- when the handbrake isn't in use, your stock brakes work just like they normally would, but when you pull the lever fluid is pushed to lock up the brakes on demand.

Wilwood pass-through master cylinder

The reservoir master cylinder is for applications with dual calipers mounted at each wheel- your normal braking system operates one set of calipers, and the hand brake is used to operate another dedicated pair.
Obviously, the pass-through setup is a lot cheaper and easier to set up overall, since you don't need an extra pair of brake calipers and custom mounts or knuckles to mount them. But the pass-through setup does come with a quirk. When you have the handle pulled, your regular foot brake is interrupted for that axle, so it takes some practice getting used to using them together. Since the reservoir style master is its own stand-alone system, it and your regular foot brakes will always feel the same when you go to use them. The pass-through master cylinder can have a reservoir added to it later if you end up adding a dual caliper system to your car, so you're not stuck if you decide to upgrade later.

Okay, you know how you want your brake mounted, and you know which style master to put on there. Now, we need to figure out what size master cylinder you need! Most stock rear brakes are going to work best with a 5/8" master cylinder- the bore size is a good match to small rear calipers. There are a few exceptions that will use a 3/4" master on stock brakes, and a lot of aftermarket brake kits will use the 3/4" cylinder as well, so we've made a chart to help you make the right choice:

Nissan
240SX	89-98	5/8"
300ZX (Z31)	84-89	5/8"
300ZX (Z32)	90-96	3/4"
350Z (Z33)	03-09	5/8"
350Z (WITH BREMBO/TRACK EDITION)	03-09	3/4"
370Z (Z34)	09-17	5/8"
370Z (WITH NISMO PACKAGE/2 PISTON CALIPERS)	09-17	3/4"
Ford
Mustang	94-14	5/8"
Crown Victoria	ALL	5/8"
Chevrolet
Camaro	98-02	5/8"
BMW
E30	ALL	5/8"
E36	ALL	5/8"
Toyota/Lexus
Corolla AE86	ALL	5/8"
Supra (EXCEPT MKIV TWIN TURBO)	ALL	5/8"
Supra (MKIV TWIN TURBO)	93-98	3/4"
FR-S / GT86	ALL	5/8"
Lexus IS	ALL	5/8"
Lexus GS	ALL	5/8"
Lexus SC	ALL	5/8"
Don't see your car here? Message us!

Finally, you just have to choose the handle you want! They're both aluminum, they're both the same length, so this is purely a cosmetic decision for you to make. The slotted billet handle looks great by itself, and the round one has a 7/8" diameter to fit BMX grips if you want to make it easier to grab. Once you've decided on the handle, you're ready to order!

Of course, if you still have questions we're here to help- just send a message our way!

Accuair's NEW VX4 Valve Manifold

Accuair recently started shipping their new valve manifold, and it's definitely an improvement over the already awesome VU4. This short video covers some of the features and details of the VX4- you can read more about it HERE!

Datsun 510 Front Air Suspension

We have had a bunch of people asking about installing air suspension on their Datsun 510s. Since everything looks better sitting as low as possible, we've come up with a kit to directly fit the 510 front and rear suspension!

 Here we'll be taking a look at the front strut assembly, and outlining the process to install our air struts onto the 510's knuckles.

 Start out with a pair of bare strut housings. You can use either factory 510 struts, or any of the stock upgrades out there. In this case we're using 280zx struts that our customer supplied:

We removed the strut cartridges, hubs, and brake backing plates, then taped over the bearing surfaces to protect them from damage.

Mark the strut tube 2" up from where it meets the cast knuckle.  This is where you'll be cutting the old strut off.

Cut the tube as straight as possible at that 2" mark.  Use a file or grinder to remove any burrs from the outside of the cut, and then remove all of the dirt and paint from the tube and the base of the knuckle.

Your knuckles should look like this- bare metal, ready to start their new life in your low Datsun.

The threaded strut tubes included in our kit have some plating on the bottom portion.  Grind that coating off in preparation for welding.  We also like to add a hole for a rosette weld just for added strength.

We tig welded this set, but a mig welder is fine as well- it just doesn't make things look as pretty.

With both sides welded up and cooled, grease the threads inside the strut tube and carefully thread the air struts inside of them.  If anything gets tight before the strut is fully bottomed out inside the housing, STOP and back the struts out to prevent damage to the threads!

Your completed strut assemblies should look like this- ready to bolt directly into your 510's front suspension.  We recommend the addition of bump-steer spacers and tension rods with a spherical end to allow for bind-free movement throughout the suspension's range.

If you adjust your camber, check for air bag clearance inside the spring pocket- modification may be required to the sheetmetal of the strut tower if you add excessive negative camber!

You can find these struts on our store: http://www.twistedimages.com/68-72-Datsun-510-Front-Air-Strut-Kit_p_1297.html

'59 Impala Freshly Bagged

One of our local customers brought his '59 Impala to us this week for a simple air suspension installation.  We used Air Lift's 3P system, with a polished aluminum 5 gallon tank and dual Viair 444C compressors.  The car is going to the upholstery shop from here for a new interior and a trunk build-out, so we kept everything simple with a carpeted panel under the package tray to mount all of the components.

The suspension was set up with our bolt-on mounting brackets and Air Lift Dominator air bags at all four corners.  The owner is installing a set of 13" wire wheels with smaller whitewalls, so it should lay flat on the ground when those are swapped over.

It's always a treat working on a clean classic car, and this Impala was in fantastic original condition- not a single bolt was frozen or broken, and there was almost no rust to be found anywhere.  I can't wait to see it again after the next round of modifications!