Autoblog

• Weds creates a 6.1-pound full carbon fiber wheel
  

  Filed under: Aftermarket, Tech, Tokyo Auto Salon

  
  
  Weds Sports, a Japanese wheel-maker, has created a full carbon fiber wheel -- rims, spokes, hub, everything -- that weighs 2.76 kg. Coming out to about 6.1 pounds, that's about half the weight of the Dymag carbon fiber wheel with a magnesium rim that you'll find on a Callaway Corvette, and just over a pound more than Dymag's all-carbon race-specific front wheel for a motorcycle.
  
  According to a rough translation of Weds' literature, they use a dry carbon fiber process that makes the wheels strong enough for... well, we're not really sure. While the rims look absolutely ace, we can't...
  



• Futuremark designs new concept dash for Audi
  

  Filed under: Gadgets, Tech, Audi

  
  
  This is the kind of computerized world we can get behind -- not the kind that drives for you whether you like it or not, but the one that allows you to do your human thing even better. Futuremark has created a concept instrument and dash cluster for Audi that is rendered entirely in 3D graphics. In the Nissan GT-R, you can change the center console screen to show or highlight the gauges you want. With Futuremark's dashboard, you can create any kind of dashboard layout, color scheme, gauge look... you name it... that you want.
  
  Using its Open GL ES engine (that's...
  



• Microsoft getting into the car WiFi biz
  

  Filed under: Tech

  The Internet has been invading every aspect of our lives, but until recently most of us have gone without a connection to the World Wide Web inside our cars. That's changing with third party companies and OEMs beginning to offer 3G WiFi solutions for automobiles, and Microsoft says it's working on an even better idea. The Seattle-based software giant is working with the Universities of Massachusetts and Washington to develop a more reliable WiFi experience that enables the reception of multiple signals simultaneously to cut back on choppy service.
  
  Microsoft's WiFi solution would leverage fledgling municipal wireless infrastructures to bring the Internet to your car. The...
  



• We knew it! Heated seats boil your boys
  

  Filed under: Etc., Safety, Tech

  
  
  Heated seats can be just what the doctor ordered in the middle of winter, but if you're trying to pass on your car-loving gene pool, you may be better off freezing. Scientists studying male fertility have discovered that the proliferation of heated seats raises the temperature of your junk by a full degree Fahrenheit verses sitting in the car without artificially warmed seats. That's enough to cut your chances of reproducing, and it makes us strategically point a fan at close range just thinking about it. Even without electronically warmed seat bottoms,...
  



• Pirelli bringing 'chipped' tire to market in 2010
  

  Filed under: Aftermarket, Etc., Safety, Tech

  
  
  Pirelli has announced a further innovation in the ongoing quest to remove the driving from driving. Sensors have been stashed in tires already for the hasty implementation of TPMS, but Pirelli has taken it a step further, putting a sensor package on the tire carcass itself. One implementation of the "Cyber Tire" is the "Lean," which harnesses power from the vibrations of the vehicle and beams information including tire pressure, temperature, and load to the vehicle's computer.
  
  Cyber Tire Lean is setting things rolling for the eventual trotting out of full-blown Cyber Tire, which will be built into the tire....
  



• The most obnoxiously tuned Toyota Prius... Ever
  

  Filed under: Aftermarket, Gadgets, Tuners, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Tech, Toyota, Lifestyle

  
  Click above to view video after the jump
  
  We truly do appreciate the custom-car scene, in all of its various guises. There is, however, a problem with the custom Prius you see above and in the video embedded after the break. Generally speaking, the goal of modifying a car is to either A) make it go faster or B) make it look better.
  
  When Classe Gustafson, Elvis Häggbom and Kenny Kyrk from Sweden had finished spending $184,000 customizing a Toyota Prius, they had accomplished neither. This Prius-trocity,...
  



• Forget the Branding: Nokia's new 8800 Carbon Arte
  

  Filed under: Gadgets, Tech, Toys

  

  Automotive-themed cell phones are nothing new. We've reported on mobiles branded by Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche... even Fiat and HUMMER. But some phones don't need a licensing agreement and a flashy little badge to appeal to automotive enthusiasts.

  Take, for example, the new Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte. Based on the already-slick-in-its-own-right 8800 series, the Carbon Arte edition is constructed of the same stuff you're likely to find in the most desirable of supercars: carbon fiber, titanium, stainless steel and polished glass. The sleek mobile packs 3G connectivity, a 3.2-megapixel camera, 4 gigs of memory and a new "turn to mute" feature that...
  




• Cobb Tuning gives the GT-R a serious bump in power
  

  Filed under: Aftermarket, Gadgets, Tuners, Coupes, Sports/GTs, Tech, Supercars, Nissan

  Cobb Tuning has re-engineered its AccessPort control unit for the new R35 Nissan GT-R. For those of you lucky enough to own a GT-R and not content with its performance out of the box, the $995 AccessPort will reflash the ECU to any one of six different tuning levels.
  
  There are three levels each for Stage 1 and Stage 2. Stage 1 can get you up to 63 additional ponies and 70 lb.-ft. of additional twist, while Stage 2 can boost the numbers by 70 and 90 respectively. The...
  



• Lies, damn lies and HP ratings: C&D dynos five Nissan GT-Rs
  

  Filed under: Tech, Supercars, Nissan

  
  
  From the beginning, the Nissan GT-R's performance figures seemed too good to be true. Weighing in at over 3,800 pounds and packing a claimed 480 hp, the 3.5-second sprint to 60 and 11.8-second quarter-mile time just didn't add up. And then the tests began...
  
  Buff books and online outlets began publishing 0-60 runs between 3.2 and 3.4 seconds, and quarter-mile times began dropping quicker than a co-ed's IQ on a nitrous binge. CARandDRIVER.com discovered a similar discrepancy between five different GT-Rs and finally decided to get some time on...
  



• VIDEO: AeroMotions downforce splitting rear spoiler in action
  

  Filed under: Tech, Videos

  
  Click above to view video of the AeroMotrions wing in action
  
  Earlier this week we introduced you to the AeroMotionsdownforce splitting rear spoiler, a wing that's split in two and uses an onboard computer to selectively adjust the pitch of each wing section to provide the maximum amount of traction for any given situation. At the time all we had was a single picture from the spoiler's debut at an autocrossing event in California, but the company has since released video of said autocrossing showing the wing in action. Watching the video after the jump, you can clearly see how this thing...