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WE Drive |<br />
Modern Day Hot Rodders–<br />
The “Tuners”<br />
By Mike LaLonde<br />
Photo by Mike LaLonde<br />
A<br />
common question among vehicle enthusiasts today is,<br />
“What will future motor hobbyists have to do to modify<br />
modern, complex vehicles?” Fear not, the hobby is alive<br />
with the current generation of car crazy, young drivers.<br />
Take Walt Regan and Travis Rohrich, local, 22-year-olds<br />
involved with tuning high performance vehicles since their early<br />
teens. “My first car was a ’95 Bonneville, which got me interested<br />
in the car hobby,” says Regan. “It wasn’t a high performance car,<br />
but it reminded me of my dads ’69 Bonneville convertible. That’s<br />
when it all started.” He continues, “The movie Fast and Furious<br />
kindled an interest too, and I took auto tech courses at Mandan<br />
High.”<br />
Regan has owned 13 vehicles, most given his special<br />
treatment of motor mods, along with suspension and exhaust<br />
tuning. Regan recently sold his ’92 Honda Civic, with an Acura<br />
motor, that peaked around 500-horsepower, up from the stock<br />
180-horsepower.<br />
“It got close to 30 mpg!” said Regan. “I totally went through the<br />
motor, beefed it up and worked with the ECU (Electronics Control<br />
Unit) to modify engine timing, fuel and air ratios. The final touch<br />
was turbocharging. We also use E-85 fuel, with its higher octane<br />
rating, as the fuel of choice.”<br />
Regan is just finishing BSC’s Power Plant Technology program,<br />
and has plans for his next vehicle. “My daily driver is a Dodge<br />
Neon, but my dream machine is a Cadillac CTSV with the GM<br />
LS3 motor, which is also used in the Corvette.” Regan is currently<br />
November 2009 continued on page 29<br />
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