We all know hybrid cars aren't made for speed, but rather fuel economy, right? Well, yes. While that is their main purpose, hybrid cars are getting more and more advanced, even to the point of manufactures starting to enter hybrid cars into races and doing pretty well! One of the first hybrid cars to come out with some fun potential is the Honda CRZ. It has everything from intake, exhaust and body kits available to even people planning superchargers and turbos.

So as we get more and more customers coming to us asking how they can make their hybrid more fun to drive, we thought it would be fun to put together a list of which are the slowest and which are the fastest hybrid cars, listed from fastest to slowest.

We'll add to this list as more hybrids come out, but we think this is a fun list.

Note: We did not include electric only cars.

So what is the fastest hybrid? The award goes to the 2011 BMW ActiveHybrid 7. Very impressive 0-60 time of only 4.6 seconds! The slowest award goes to the 2001 Toyota Prius, which walked to 60 mph in an incredibly slow 12.9 seconds.

We are interested to see if anyone has a modified hybrid and can share what their 0-60 or quarter mile time is, and what modifications they did.

Every manufacture wants to dominate the Nurburgring, and Toyota is no different. This weekend, the Nurburgring 24 hours endurance race, it's 40th annual, is going to be the proving grounds for Toyota and their Scion FR-S along with a Lexus LF-A thrown in for good measure.

The cars will be fully race prepped and ready for battle against some of the best manufactures in the world. The great news is that Toyota says everything they learn during the 24 hours endurance race is going to translate directly into future Scion FR-S projects and tuning.

We look forward to seeing how the cars perform in the endurance race, and wish the team luck.

When looking for performance parts for your car or truck, it's often times difficult to understand what the difference is between certain parts if you are new to the performance and aftermarket scene or simply haven't heard of what the difference would be between two parts that might not have interested you in the past. A common question we get is "What is the difference between a catback exhaust and an axleback exhaust and which one is better?".

What is a catback exhaust?
A catback exhaust is an exhaust that begins at the end of your catalytic converter and goes all the way back to your rear bumper. For short, people call a catalytic converter a "cat", and this exhaust is a cat-back, so it goes from the cat to the back of your car or truck. A full catback exhaust includes the intermediate pipe, muffler and exhaust tip. For some cars or trucks that have extremely restrictive exhausts, it would make sense to replace to get a performance catback exhaust to free up your exhaust, so your engine can breathe better and make more power. Not all cars or trucks need a catback exhaust, and we'll explain more below.

What is an axleback exhaust
A catback exhaust starts from the catalytic converter back, but an axleback starts from the area of the rear axles back to your rear bumper. It doesn't include an intermediate pipe, this is why the axleback exhaust is typically more expensive. For front wheel drive cars that do not have a rear axle, it starts near the area where your axles would be, which is right in between your rear tires. For cars that are rear wheel drive, this would be the area where your rear axles are. Both a catback and an axleback include the muffler with tip.

So which do you recommend? A full catback or an axleback?
Usually a catback creates more power over an axleback. This is because you are replacing more restrictive exhaust with a catback than you are with an axleback. For some cars, there is only an option of an axleback. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. If the only option is an axleback, it will save you money over a catback, plus some cars have pretty decent size piping from the factory so there is no benefit to replacing more of your exhaust than is necessary. If your exhaust is already good flowing for your performance needs from the factory (minus adding a power adder such as nitrous, a turbo or a supercharger), then an axleback would be perfect. It would give you the sound you like plus remove the restrictive factory muffler. If your car has the option for both, we would recommend for you to plan if you will be adding more power adders such as a short ram intake or cold air intake, then we would go for the catback exhaust. If you are just looking to upgrade your ugly factory muffler with something sporty and that sounds good and save a few hundred bucks, you can't go wrong with an axleback. On the other hand, some aftermarket companies only produce an axleback for a car, because they believe the extra cost is worth the added power.

If you care about noise, an axleback is usually quieter as well, since you keep your factory resonator (which is located on the mid pipe or intermediate pipe) if your car has one stock.

What's the difference between mandrel bent exhaust and press bent exhaust?
A mandrel bent exhaust means the bends in the exhaust are smooth and do not neck down. A press bent exhaust has "dents" in the bends which causes a disruption in flow and isn't good for producing power. Many older cars have press bent exhausts, so a performance unit would give you a good boost in power.

What size piping is good for an exhaust?
This really depends on what you are going after, and what size your factory exhaust is. For example, for a turbo car, we recommend a 3" exhaust for max flow. For a non turbo, we would recommend a 2.3" to 2.5" exhaust depending on the size of your engine. For max flow, we would go with a 2.5" exhaust, but bigger if you are going to have a fully built engine, or some engine work such as porting or cams. Typically aftermarket companies take your stock engine size into account and create an exhaust size that will work best for you.

I put on an aftermarket exhaust and now my car feels slower, what's going on?
Depending on the car or truck, some people feel as though their car is slower or has lost power. Generally this is not the case. For an otherwise stock or slightly modified car, it might feel like some power has been lost because your power curve has been adjusted upwards. If you still have a stock catalytic converter, you won't notice it as much, but since your power curve has changed, you will need to get used to the new power delivery. After a few days, you will begin to appreciate the added power.

Do I need to get my car tuned after getting an exhaust installed?
Usually no, but if you have a turbo or supercharged car, then yes. On an otherwise stock or slightly modified car, the exhaust will not throw off the air/fuel mixture enough that the factory computer can't compensate. As you drive your car, the ECU will adjust for the added exhaust flow, and your car will run smooth and you will have full power benefits.

Why do people have angled exhausts? Is this just a style trend?
The angled exhaust trend started in Japan with drifters, but has caught on everywhere. The reason the exhaust is angled is to keep the exhaust piping as straight as possible. The less amount of bends, the more power you will make due to less restriction. The goal is to give your exhaust an easy way to escape.

My car has a dual exhaust. Do aftermarket exhausts also have dual mufflers?
If your car has a stock dual exhaust setup, most aftermarket exhausts will also be dual. However, some specifically say single muffler and the reason is to keep weight down. Since a dual setup requires two mufflers and an extra pipe, it's also less expensive to go with a single setup. This is a personal choice, and usually more hardcore people go for the single setup when their cars are dual stock to save as much weight as possible.

Do these come with silencers?
Depending on the design and size of the mufflers, not all exhausts come with silencers. A silencer hurts power by adding in a big restriction, and most aftermarket exhaust companies would rather you run it without a silencer.

Why are some exhausts so loud and some are so quiet?
Loud usually means power! If the exhaust is quiet, it's usually a muffler that is restrictive. A loud exhaust means it's very low restriction and the muffler doesn't do much to "muffle" the exhaust. This isn't always the case, some quiet exhausts produce as much power as loud exhausts, but every case is different. Generally speaking, a louder exhaust simply gives you more exhaust flow.

How can I keep my exhaust from being raspy or sound like a "bumble bee"
Usually an exhaust can get rid of it's "edge" or raspy sound with a resonator. A resonator is designed to ease the exhaust flow, adding a little bit of restriction, but many times removing the rasp or "bumble bee" sound many exhausts experience. Usually quieter exhausts do not have this problem since they have a resonator built in.

Which exhausts do you recommend?
Here are a few of the ones we recommend:

APEXi
COBB Tuning
DNA Motoring
GReddy
HKS
Invidia
Magnaflow
Megan Racing Axle Back
Megan Racing Drift Spec
Tanabe
Vibrant
Yonaka

We hope that you find our exhaust information useful. If you have any questions or anything to add, please do not hesitate to add your comments below. Enjoy!

Step aside Prius, there is a new fuel economy leader in town... the VW Passat TDI Diesel! This 2012 VW Passat TDI traveled an incredible 1626.1 miles on a single tank of fuel!

John and Helen Taylor are the proud owners of this VW Passat TDI SE that is equipped with a 6 speed manual transmission. They drove across 9 US states and beat the previous Passat 1.6 BlueMotion diesel record of 1526 miles.

Volkswagen is set to prove that their TDI diesel technology is superior and less expensive to maintain and repair than hybrids such as the Toyota Prius or Honda Civic. With records like this, the hybrid folks will have their work cut out of them to prove their technology is superior to save fuel.

John and Helen decided to try and break the record on May 3rd, and drove from Houston, TX to Sterling, VA in 3 days, driving 14 hours a day.

Their 2012 Passat TDI Diesel is powered by a 2.0L diesel engine that makes 140 horsepower and 236 ft lbs of torque. The EPA estimates this car to have a MPG fuel economy rating of 43 mpg. The Taylors proved they were able to have 84.1 miles per gallon. This would give the car a 19.3 gallon tank. I wonder if they drove it until it stopped.

We look forward to the fuel economy records to be broken with existing technology that just keeps getting better.

Not too long ago, Nissan released a concept, called the Nissan Juke R. This was based on a standard Nissan Juke, but had the engine and all wheel drive driveline of the Nissan GT-R. While we thought the concept was absolutely awesome, we never expected this to actually come to fruition - until today! Nissan announced on 5/3 that they will make a very limited run available of this car on a build-to-order basis.

If you thought the concept was awesome, the production Juke-R will blow your mind. How does 545 horsepower, and the improved driveline and chassis of the new 2012 Nissan GT-R sound? We think it sounds pretty sweet! The original concept drew so much attention, that people in Dubai were offering Nissan money on the spot to buy the Juke R... and that one only had 485 horsepower. Nissan already has 3 offers from high profile Dubai citizens and decided it's time to release these to more people.

545 horsepower from a "bone stock" Nissan Juke is pretty awesome. Image the possibilities when you add some performance modifications... even something as simple as a Hallman Boost Controller can add 50 horsepower. Add to that an intake and exhaust, and you'll have a 650 hp Nissan Juke, easily!

The Nissan Juke-R is living proof that when people speak up, good things happen. Enthusiasts need to let the manufactures know when there is a concept or a model that they want to see. The manufactures listen!

Interested in buying one? You can email juke-r@nissan.co.uk We don't have a price, but expect it to be over $100K.

The Nissan 350Z is a great platform. Out of the box it's a good road car with excellent characteristics and prime for the aftermarket. But this Nissan 350Z is a bit different. Under the hood lies a performance punch by way of a supercharger. Output of the 3.5L V6 rises to 405 horsepower to give the 350Z a solid performance upgrade. This car includes a full tuning package by German tuner, Senner Tuning and fits both the coupe and convertible 350Z.

This 350Z has plenty of aftermarket goodies such as an Invidia Gemini 350Z exhaust and custom ecu programming to safely push this car to 405hp. A fully adjustable coilover kit and 20" wheels give it a strong stance. The car has 20 inch wheels and sits low.

The weight of this car holds it back. Compare these numbers with the 505 horsepower Z06, and you will see the Z06 has run quicker and faster times. Check out the video here:

Don't get me wrong. I love this car, and would love to have one. But GM can produce even better numbers with a lower weight chassis. Then again, this car isn't designed for just drag racing. The suspension and chassis on this car is very capable and supports the power nicely. In fact, the chassis is so good, it resists twist from the incredible torque even when pushing power past 750whp. The car is designed to be an all around winner, with awesome brakes as well. Bone stock the car is very capable around a track and would do even better with a good set of race tires.

It's hard to think of a Camaro and not think of a straight line Mustang killer, but now the Camaro is more. Forget the Mustang Boss... is the Camaro ZL1 now America's M3?

The Scion FR-S is generating a lot of buzz, and everyone is eager to get their hands on this rear wheel drive platform to start exploring the tuning potential. The Scion FR-S will come out later this year as a 2013 model, and there are aftermarket companies already making parts for it such as Five Axis and this body kit.

Five Axis (Five:AD) is going to release this FR-S body kit through Scion dealerships, so people can order it as an add on when buying their car. This allows them to add in the price of the body kit into the price of the vehicle so they can finance it all together. The full body kit offered at the dealerships will include a front spoiler, side skirts, wider rear valance and an optional boot lip spoiler.

If you want to get even more aggressive, Five Axis will offer 19 inch wheels and lowering springs to lower the car and fill the wheel gaps on the body kit.

Fixe Axis released a video showcasing their body kit to give you a 360 view of what it will look like in production. Check it out:

I think this looks awesome, and can't wait to see some on the road!

His desire to have a Pro Touring Camaro wasn't always his dream. He bought the car to restore it initially, and after getting bit by the mod bug after visiting a bunch of car shows, he was hooked. 648 wheel horsepower and 650 torque later, this thing rips! The engine only has light mods to produce it's 648 wheel horsepower (800 at the crank!), and is as streetable and driveable as your stock Civic.

Check out a video produce by Drive:

This style Camaro has always been one that people admire and can't wait to get their hands on to modify. You'd think you've seen it all with these, but then there's Bob Hall who does things a little differently, and everyone remembers why this platform is so flexible and attractive to enthusiasts.

Minus the roll cage, racing seats, and the beautiful exhaust note, the car looks relatively tame. You'll notice the small Cadillac V badge on the hood which gives away what's lurking. A well placed carbon fiber rear trunk spoiler fits in nicely. Understated, classy and hauls ass. The car has no squeaks or rattles and drives incredibly smooth.

What more can you ask for?

I have seen some negative camber in my life, but never anything this extreme. The owner of this Toyota Celica takes negative camber to new heights. In the video above, you can see just how extreme this camber is. I don't know what size wheels those are, but they are literally surrounded by incredibly thin tires that look like they don't serve much purpose.

In some parts of the video, the rear wheels look like they are touching the fenders. I wonder what kind of suspension he's running to achieve this type of negative camber. I think suggesting a camber kit is out of the question