This is the handy work of my buddy Nick. I turned 36 a couple weeks ago and this was by b-day gift. What a dick. I guess that’s revenge for me. I’ve been making fun of him for 6 years now: I built him a 540whp pump gas S2000 back in 2003, he couldn’t handle the power and he sold it.
Grand Prize x1
DSPORT Magazine Tokyo Auto Salon Tour 2010 (one adult)
or
$1,500.00 CASH MONEY!
First Place Prize
TBD
Second Place Prize
TBD
Third Place Prize
TBD
How can you go wrong? Take the survey and get a shot at winning a trip to TAS 2010. I’m sure the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes should be good too as long as they aren’t some shitty ass made in China parts.
Michael Jackson RIP 6/25/2009
This post started out as kind of a joke with Ken, but after thinking about it for a while and listening to all the radio stations that were playing his music in tribute, I realized that it is a great loss to the music loving public. Yes, MJ got really strange in recent years, but it didn’t change the fact that he could write music, perform, and entertain the masses. My favorite MJ album has got to be 1979’s “Off the Wall”. I remember listening to the record at my Uncle Calvin’s (he works at Garrett now) house when I was a kid. I must have been 7 or 8 years old when I discovered it. I still have the original pressings of “Off the Wall” and “Thriller” on vinyl. If you like MJ’s music, put your homophobic fears aside and share your favorite song or album in the comments.
I do get quite a few questions regarding RB26 dry sump oiling. I have stopped answering them because I feel like a broken record sometimes and then most people freak out on the cost in the end anyway. PLEASE CALL HIGH OCTANE RACING IN AUSTRALIA @ +61 2 9368 4643 or email them at sales@hioctaneracing.com.au. At AU$8180 it isn’t cheap, but dry sumps are a lot of work to fabricate. Check out the High Octane Racing site for more details. CLICK HERE for a detailed PDF on the dry sump kit.
Ken sent me this pic. Somebody rolled up in a early 90’s Nissan IMSA GTP ZX-Turbo to Cars N’ Coffee last Saturday. And you wanted to bring your stock S2000 or stock EVO to Cars n’ Coffee?
Sometime late last year, I cruised by Toespeed Fabrication to meet up with Tod. Mario is the local 510 guru and master fabricator. If you can think of it, Mario can design it. Or if you can’t think of it and just want it done, give Mario a call if you have a budget (good fabrication isn’t cheap). If you’ve seen buff 510s around southern California like Tod’s, chances are Mario built it. In his shop was a wall with writing all over it. I dubbed it the “Wall of Wisdom”. I think Mario and his buddies wrote them over the years. Good stuff:
“The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten!”
“You don’t pay me for the work. You pay me for my experience!”
“It’s not that you planned to fail. It’s that you failed to plan!”
“When you enter here we stop being friends because it’s all business here at TSR [Toespeed Racing]!”
“It is better to have and not need it than to need it and not have it!”
Click on the image below to read them for yourself:
Here’s Mario gazing at the Wall of Wisom from a past Turbo Magazine article.
Here’s a cool Porsche video that Taro put up on Facebook. I like how it show’s Porsche’s heritage from start (crap air cooled VWs) to current (striped shirt wearing Boxter driving bros).
This is mostly for the track nerds since it is only in car video. This was at Round 2 of Redline Time Attack at Willow Springs (5/30/09) with Jonathan Bomarito at the wheel. You can see the car still has plenty left on the table with the suspension being as rough as it is. Also note that the engine is basically cruising. The car hasn’t run at max boost yet either, but it’s the best sound EVO I’ve heard to date. Andrew and Pat from Australia who work with DSPORT and their DVDs set the cameras up and did the quick editing. Look out for a full feature on the Sierra Sierra EVO in an upcoming DSPORT DVD.
Make sure to watch the very last 10 seconds of the video too.
Moto IQ is a new website that is the brain child of Mike Kojima and his posse of programmers, contributors, and friends. Moto IQ will be the go to place for no bullshit car related tech, info and entertainment. It promises “More Signal, Less Noise.” Moto IQ will also be the new home of Beyond the Dyno when Aaron gets back into town and finishes the transfer. I’m not sure what will happen to the current BTD yet, but in the near future however you got here will get you there.
Although right now Moto IQ appears to be Nissan-centric (thanks to Mike Kojima, Dave Coleman, and Sarah Forst) at the moment, there will also be no bullshit content on Subaru, Mitsubishi, more Nissans, and others. Mike promises to cover all the best builds, blogs, technologies, tests, and events. There is even a forum (necessary evil in today’s world I suppose) that will be moderated by people with true automotive R&D, racing, and engineering experience and not the SPEs (self proclaimed engineers), E-thugs, keyboard jockeys, and wannabe tuners like many of today’s forums.
For those of you who used to like the Turbo Magazine and Sport Compact Car Magazine of yesteryear, Moto IQ promises to be packed with information from contributors like Mike Kojima, Dave Coleman (you remember him I’m sure), Sarah Forst, Anne Sam, Mari Umekubo, Jeff Naeyaert, Aaron LaBeau, Charlie Barnes, and probably myself (if Mike allows profanity). Believe it or not, I’ve written magazine articles in the past actually, but you probably read them as “staff report” due to my employment with companies. Check out the Moto IQ About page for more details on the current staff.
I’m pretty excited about Moto IQ. I’ve known Mike Kojima for a long time now (since I was 18) and have been working closely with him for the past 6-7 years now and it’s good knowing that Moto IQ has solid management and direction. I’ve been working off and on with Dave Coleman already since he left SCC and started a newer better paying life at Mazda USA. I’ve met some of the staff too and they seem cool. Moto IQ’s design and layout is fresh and easy to use too. Check it out when you get the chance.
Actual Cosworth press release: www.cosworth.com.
The BBC did some TV coverage at Cosworth in Northampton (F1 is big money!): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8097494.stm
I copied this below from the autosport.com website:
—————————————————————————————————————————–
World championship leaders Brawn, plus former champions McLaren and Renault are among the teams that have been told to lift the conditions on their entry to the 2010 championship by June 19 or risk being left off the grid.
After days of intense speculation about which teams would comprise the make up for the 2010 championship, the FIA announced that of the current teams only Ferrari, Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Williams and Force India have been granted entries.
It means that Brawn, McLaren, Renault, BMW Sauber and Toyota have all been sidelined for now - pointing towards further frantic efforts to try and find a solution to the row over cost cuts.
In a statement issued by the FIA, it said: “These five teams have submitted conditional entries.The FIA has invited them to lift those conditions following further discussions to be concluded not later than close of business on Friday 19 June.”
The inclusion of Ferrari and the two Red Bull teams is also a bone of contention, with the outfits likely to claim that they could only be entered if the conditions attached to their applications to race were met.
The FIA, however, believes the teams committed several years ago when they signed deals with the governing body and Formula One Management tying themselves to the sport.
The list also confirmed that three new teams had been granted an entry - Campos Grand Prix, Manor Grand Prix and Team US F1.
Should any of the five current teams not make the cut, then the FIA is evaluating further entries being added.
AUTOSPORT understands there are three or four other teams who are close to being granted entries, and dialogue is still ongoing.
Campos Grand Prix is being run by former grand prix driver Adrian Campos, with Team US F1 headed by Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor.
AUTOSPORT understands the new Manor Grand Prix team is headed by F3 team boss John Booth and former grand prix team owner Nick Wirth.
Team, Constructor, Engine
Scuderia, Ferrari Marlboro, Ferrari
Scuderia, Toro Rosso, TBA
Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Racing, TBA
At&T Williams, Williams Toyota
Force India F1 Team, Force India, Mercedes
Campos Grand Prix, Campos, Cosworth
Manor Grand Prix, Manor, Cosworth
Team US F1, Team US F1, Cosworth
Vodafone, McLaren Mercedes*, McLaren Mercedes
BMW Sauber F1 Team*, BMW Sauber
Renault F1 Team*, Renault
Panasonic Toyota Racing*, Toyota
Brawn GP Formula One Team*, Brawn TBA
* These five teams have submitted conditional entries.The FIA has invited them to lift those conditions following further discussions to be concluded not later than close of business on Friday 19 June.
The maximum number of cars permitted to enter the 2010 Championship has been increased to 26, two being entered by each competitor. Pending completion of the discussions referred to above, further due diligence is currently taking place on other potential entries.
Turning is fun, but don’t forget going straight as fast as you can is fun too. The event is this Saturday so go mount those slicks ASAP. Click image to enlarge.
Old engines have always fascinated me. They are after all, the reason why things are they way they are today. To ignore history while advancing into the future would be dumb. Who better to learn from than our predecessors? It’s free knowledge. Anyhow, in Ian’s old office there was a small picture frame that had a picture in it of the piston and rod combinations of the engines that raced at Indy in what used to be CART/Champ Car World Series. Check out the rod lengths and bore sizes while they go from heavy to light in weight. All engines displaced 2.65L regardless of cylinders. As the engineers searched for more power, RPMs went up, strokes became shorter to control piston speeds, components became lighter, and on and on. American iron people will never admit it, but don’t forget in the racing world there is a replacement for displacement: RPM.
Here is the 4 cylinder Offy engine with it’s one piece block and head assembly with no head gasket to fail. The entire engine had to be built from the bottom side. I’ve only ever seen one of these in real life. Colin here at Cosworth helped build one before. He said they are a bitch to build. These engines were known to be pretty durable and saw as much as 1200bhp in qualifying. His friend told him that when they used to be on the dyno, the entire building would shake at 1200bhp because it was 300bhp per cylinder thumping on the dyno. I asked Colin what did they do for wastegates? He said, “They just sealed them up and tried to get as much boost as they could during qualifying.” Holy shit.
Here’s the Foyt 4 Cam Ford engine. I know nothing about it, but check out the headers coming out of the valley. It’s kind of cool looking with all the tubes.
Here is the venerable DFX which made up to 1000bhp+ and 11500rpm in qualifying. The DFX was derived from the DFV F1 engine in Europe, but was tweaked for Indy Car use here in the USA with the addition of a turbo. The DFX is one of the reasons why the Cosworth Torrance facility was started 30 years ago.
The next CART engine from Cosworth was the XB. It was much lighter in weight and saw as much as 14,000rpm. Sometimes the builders here tell me stories when the XB, XD, and XF were competitively raced against Honda, Mercedes, etc. They sounded like really exciting times of design, research and development, and testing. Engines were built specifically for extra power during qualifying (for the teams that had $$$) and for the 500 mile races. I wish I was around for all that. Who knows…maybe it just might come back one day.
This car was at XS on Saturday. Nice plate T.
Here’s a letter from the team owner of Sierra Sierra regarding their time attack EVO 8. There are details of up to now and the near future of the car.
“It’s been very busy since we got back from WSIR but thought I’d comment on where we are today and explain what is next.
Our results at WSIR, given the circumstances were okay, but obviously not anywhere close to where we would like to have been. But credit Billy Johnson and their team for an absolutely awesome win. They for sure sent us (as well as everyone else) the message on how difficult the FX Motorsports/Cricket NSX car and the Redline Time Attack series is going to be this year and then more specifically exactly how it is done. 
Coming to WSIR we had two previous test outings, both of which did not go well. At Buttonwillow our very first ever test (two days) day one we chased fuel pressure problems and day two engine cooling problems which ultimately resulted in a blown head gasket and an engine change. That also was the weekend of the RTA Buttonwillow event which netted missing the first event.
Second test outing and again at Buttonwillow with a new Cosworth motor. We struggled both days with engine oil temp problems due to the fact that we had placed the oil pump way too close to the downpipe coming out of the turbo. We really pounded that motor and I am so thankful that we had a Cosworth engine because I believe that any other engine would have given up. Thus “in Cosworth we trust”
At WSIR our plan was to test on Friday before the actual RTA event but on the first practice on out lap we had an over-rev of the engine of 11K which ended the day and required an engine change. We immediately contacted Cosworth (Friday afternoon), explained the situation at which they said that they could provide us with another motor no later then 11:59PM that night). I picked up the engine at 11:PM These folks know their business and it shows in every thing they do. We also found out later when the engine when checked at Cosworth that it did not show any damage from the over rev. Amazing.
Saturday we spent the entire day trying to prepare the car for a practice session but it was no to be, for one reason or another so we missed out on practice again, damn.
On Sunday the day of the event we missed the first on the practice again because of a problem that we did not fix completely on Saturday. So with two practice sessions left in the AM we were finally able to accomplish a first, completing 5 consecutive laps and try to get a base line our Hankook tires and oil temp.
Now the tire management aspect of Time Attack introduced itself and holy $hit it is another big change from where we have been (I am inclined to think that we have been living a very sheltered life until now). A special thanks to Hankook for their confidence and support in SSE. Without their involvement we’d really be lost in the forest.
Time Attack is so different from where we have been that I believe that we probably slipped into a full case of denial for the next two practice sessions. But with the help and support of Paul Jho from Hankook and Eric Hsu from Cosworth, we were able to finally grasp the concept and prepare for Race #1. The rest of the day has been pretty well documented.
Our reluctance to participate in the Super Session was based solely on the oil temp problem we were experiencing. We figured that at the end of two laps we would have been too hot to try for three laps and then ultimately screw it up for all of the other teams that were in that event. Going forward we will be in the event and we fully support the idea of making the Super Session results contribute toward the events (Unlimited) total points
By the time that we left WSIR we had a VERY long list of things that we need to change immediately and for sure before the next event. Some are going to be easy but the main ones are going to be very difficult at best. It has been said “if it was easy, everyone would be doing it” So we got to suck it up, stop whining and get busy.
Our “to do” list is probably very similar to the rest of the other Unlimited Teams.
• Temperatures’ - overall (for us it’s all about oil) and we think we have got a handle on it and will be resolved by the beginning of next week. But it is going to require a considerable amount of time and fabrication. Too bad, because we originally thought we had the hot set up (no pun intended), oh well live and learn.
• Front end geometry – or the lack of it. This front end suspension was designed to take the family to WalMart, pick up the groceries and head home. It sure as hell wasn’t intended to be out on a track north of 150mph, HP again well north of 500 and heavy, heavy G-loading. But it is the car we have chosen, so like I said suck it up and make it work. Update, we have located some of the best engineered suspension parts that we have ever come across for an Evo. The down side to this is that they have a three to four week lead time. So the clock is ticking (and we hope it is the three weeks instead of four) ;).
• Gear Box /Gearing – this is a big one because we are still running on a stock 5 speed Evo transmission and our gearing selection choices are VERY, VERY limited. A replacement transmission is difficult to find because there isn’t a lot of choices out there. They just aren’t as readily available and I believe it is partly because our HP is probably greater then the WRC applications. But we do have an interim plan, albeit complicated but it is better then no plan.
So that is where we are at as of today.
Because of what we learned at WSIR and the problems that we have we will not attend the next event @ Autobahn. This is unfortunate but given our DNA we will not attempt another event until we have resolved the above issues.”
Dennis Kottke
Sierra Sierra Enterprises
