Peter Backhouse of Twin Cam Services Seaford Victoria has a business specializing in the 2.0L ‘Pinto’ engine for historic motorsport. Being one of only a handful of specialists in Australia and in the world, Peter is responsible for building, tuning and maintaining many Cosworth, Lotus-Ford and Pinto engines.

Bob Cracknell (The owner & Driver) acquired the rare car in Kansas USA and has performed a comprehensive rebuild with the classic racing circuit in mind. The Tiga is a lightweight at just 550Kg and is powered by the 2.0L Pinto engine, generating 145hp. The rare Tiga was produced by ‘Tiga Race Cars Ltd’, a British auto racing constructor and team founded in 1974 by two former Formula 1 drivers, Aussie Tim Schenken and Kiwi Howden Ganley.

Tiga constructed racing cars for various forms of open wheel racing and sports car racing, ranging from Formula Ford to the World Sportscar Championship. With good racing success nearly 400 chassis were sold by Tiga before the company folded in 1989.

Liqui Moly is proud to support Peter, Bob and the team in the Tiga Sports 2000 (pictured). The car competed at the Philip Island Classic on March 9th, 10th and 11th and also in the classic category at the Australian GP running on run Liqui Moly Race Tech 10W60 with MOS2 additive.

Engine:2000 cc RS2000 4 cylinder Ford Escort Engine
Bore: 90.8 mm
Stroke:71.0mm
Power:145HP @ 6500 RPM
Gearbox : Newlands 4 Speed straight cut gears
Top Speed: 250 Kim’s per hour

Over the last 22 years he and his sons used the car every day, covering a phenomenal one million kilometres in the process.

When the odometer clicked over 600,000km Fritz thought about selling the old ‘Benz, fearing some expensive problems. However, besides a new starter motor at 800,000km, an optional upgrade to dual-airbags and a new exhaust system, no major engine work has been undertaken.

Fritz claims he has only used Liqui-Moly motor oils and additives in his E300 Diesel Mercedes-Benz since the day he bought it as a new car back in 1989.

“There is only one reason why the car runs like brand new,” Fritz believes. “I only rely on the best possible quality. Matching my German-made car with the correct oil just makes sense,” says Fritz proudly.

Fritz loves his Mercedes and cared for it with regular servicing and maintenance. In terms of driving challenges, the car regularly towed a large tandem-axle caravan on family holidays. Even today, one millions kilometres later, the 113hp Merc’ can still climb hills in second gear with the caravan attached.

The 1,000,000km E300D can now be admired in the official Mercedes museum, “Meilenwerk”, in Stuttgart Germany. Considering his success with the ‘Benz, it’s probably no surprise that Fritz will be replacing the old E300D with a new model and you can bet he’ll be using Liqui-Moly oils & additives!

Liqui-Moly's German market share in motor oils.

Liqui-Moly reached an important milestone at the end of last year, for the first time in the history of the company, Liqui-Moly was the motor oil brand with the strongest sales in its domestic market of Germany. With a 29.9 percent aftermarket share, it displaced its long time rival Castrol to second place. “We have been pursuing this important goal for decades. This is a sensation for us”, the managing shareholder Ernst Prost was pleased to state. This success is crowned by a sales growth for 2011 of 19 percent to €343 million.

Ernst Prost, Managing Director of Liqui-Moly.

Only a few months ago, the readers of two major German automotive magazines chose Liqui-Moly as their most popular oil brand. Ernst Prost always believed that this popularity would also be expressed in sales, and that Liqui-Moly would one day control the largest share of motor oil sales in Germany. “My team and I always had our eye on this goal. But now that we’ve achieved it, it seems unbelievable. Our company, which is tiny in comparison to the oil multinationals, is at the forefront in Germany. I’m flabbergasted!”.

Despite the growth, Liqui-Moly is determined to continue exclusive production in Germany in order to ensure the best possible quality.

50-year old Franz heads the ‘LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler’ in the World Touring Car Championship, which had its most successful season in 2011 winning the team category for private drivers. For Daytona he is trading the cockpit of his BMW for that of a Porsche 997 GT3. The 997 is a racing version of the famous Porsche 911, which is powered by a modified engine that puts out 400hp. Engstler already has quite a few long distance races behind him, but this will be his first Daytona. The other drivers, David Murry, Gunter Schaldach and Joe Safina, are very familiar with the course.

A Liqui-Moly Porsche first started in Daytona in 1980. Achieving a lead of 33 laps after 24 hours, the team of manager Reinhold Joest won the race in Liqui-Moly’s Porsche 935. What in retrospect looked like an easy overall victory on the results list was in fact a lot of hard work and a very memorable victory for Liqui-Moly.

Next week’s 24 hour race will not only be a great opportunity to repeat the victory of 1980, but a good test for Liqui-Moly’s high quality products. Watch the race yourself LIVE on Foxtel’s SPEED (Channel 206) Sun, 29th Jan 2012 06:30am.

1. MADE IN GERMANY

2. THE LATEST CHEMISTRY
It’s the only way to meet the leading manufacturer’s specs, particularly when it comes to factory approvals. These days, the overall chemistry in lubricants and additives plays a very critical role in extracting the most power using the least amount fuel and emitting the lowest emissions.

3. LOVED BY ENTHUSIASTS
Our involvement with the automotive enthusiast community sets us apart from the other lubricant brands. When you love you car you become very fussy with what goes in it or on it. So Owner/Drivers use Liqui-Moly because they trust the brand to live up to our claims.

For iconic Australian racing car legend John Bowe it’s been a long time between championship wins in a car that he actually owned. Sure thing he’s won his fair share of titles in the past but in motorsport to do so as an ‘owner/driver’ is the ultimate achievement. In Johns words “..winning the Touring Car Masters title is such a terrific feeling for me.”

In a nail biting 2011 championship it came down to the last race where JB and his Mustang “Sally” managed to get home and clinch the title. With Liqui-Moly Additives and Lubricants on board JB and Sally won 12 races this year, they had 5 pole positions and won 4 rounds, a stellar effort. Here’s to a very successful year for JB, Sally and Liqui-Moly. Let’s hope 2012 brings a similar outcome.

Being a Burnout Master isn’t easy… but Gary Myers makes it look so simple! That’s because his technique is flawless. It’s been a big year for Gary and it all started At Summernats # 24 where Gary won the 2011 National Burnout Masters Championship. To be named the ’2011 National Burnout Master’ in this country means a lot but for this small town country boy from Narrandera it doesn’t stop there! In what’s been a very successful year at Summernats # 24 he also managed to achieve 1^st place in the ‘Go-To-Whoa’ with his Ford XA coupe and 3^rd place in the ‘Go-To-Whoa’ with his black Mustang coupe. In Gary’s owns words after his winning burnout “…I’ve never sat on 8,000 rpm’s for that long, that oil must be good!”

For all of the burnout videos and photos from Summernats # 25 visit BurnoutMasters.com

“Turbo diesel cars often demand a premium – at purchase and during servicing… So when does it make sense to go diesel? 

Buying a new car is an exciting process… But it can also be confusing and at time downright confronting. In this first of a new series on smart new car buying we examine the pros and cons of petrol versus diesel…

Every time petrol prices surge past $1.50 per litre, the rattle of diesel engines in suburban driveways becomes louder. Europe with its historically-high gasoline prices has for decades embraced the diesel-fuelled passenger car but many Australians remain sceptical.

Diesel is a lower-volatility fuel than petrol, requiring higher engine compression and special heaters within the combustion chamber for cold starting. Once operating, the heat within a diesel engine is sufficient to ignite metered injections of vaporised fuel.

Diesel engines used in light vehicles are typically smaller than 3.0-litres and circa-2011 are almost universally turbocharged to deliver higher levels of performance. Illustrating the advancements made in diesel technology, the winners of every Le Mans 24 Hour endurance race since 2006 have been diesel-powered. Modern diesels produce lower levels of carbon monoxide and are significantly more environmentally-friendly than the smoke belchers of old.

So what are the questions to consider before buying a diesel-engined ‘family’ vehicle:

Will it save money?
In the longer-term, yes. Diesels typically use 30 per cent less fuel than a comparable petrol engine. Their heavier construction and lower operating speeds promote longevity but they must be assiduously serviced using correct lubricants and with filter-change intervals strictly observed. Though diesel is more expensive that unleaded petrol in most Australian cities (and remote areas) it typically costs the same or less than the Premium Unleaded required in a growing proportion of modern petrol engine designs.

What about the noise and smell?
The ‘rattle’ generated by large diesel engines has been virtually eliminated in passenger-vehicle applications. When cold and near idle they will generate more noise than a petrol motor but at suburban or highway speeds, with some exceptions, the engine is virtually inaudible. Modern, car-based diesels have been developed to minimise smoke and odour and use maintenance-free filters to eliminate soot emissions. Any smoke or smell should disappear almost completely once the engine is at operating temperature.

Diesels are slow aren’t they?
Not any more, especially in passenger models. Europe has led the way in development of high-efficiency engines that deliver substantially greater low-speed torque than petrol engines and, when turbocharged, comparable power output. A Jaguar XF twin-turbo diesel accelerates from 0-100km/h in six seconds and more mainstream models like the Volkswagen Golf and Hyundai i30 deliver better overall performance than petrol versions.

Do diesel-engined cars cost more to buy?
As new vehicles, the diesel may cost 10-15 per cent more than a similarly-equipped petrol car. That said in some cases the premium is considerably less. Despite a belief to the contrary generally in Australia’s used car market, diesel vehicles currently depreciate at higher rates than petrol models. As the cost of petrol rises that situation is likely to change in favour of the ‘oil-burner’.”

Article and images by Carsales.com.au

Victoria’s and probably Australia’s biggest VW show was held on the Sunday the 6th of November at the Yarra Glen Race Course. The event had a solid turn out celebrating their 30th anniversary show and all things Volkswagen!

Run by the VW Club of Victoria ‘The Day Of the Volkswagen’ is an event that showcases more than 300 VW’s of all types. The club is Australia’s oldest and largest Volkswagen club. It was founded in 1954 and now boasts more than 400 members. Liqui-Moly & Meguiar’s were proud supporters of the event, exhibiting products and services from their trade stand and providing some prize packs. A big congrats to the VW Club of Victoria for putting on such a great event! Check out some pics from the event below.