Falken Tires recently posted a video of D-Mac practicing with his newly modified Sky which is now producing 800HP. The video speaks for itself.
You can see the dual EDFC controllers in the dash board which Darren adjusts at the 53 second mark.
TEIN has been a proud sponsor of the Falken Drift program since 2003. In 2010 we will be supporting 4 Falken Drift cars. More on this at a later date.
TEIN Engineer, R. Takizawa and I went to ButtonWillow raceway last Thursday, March 18th to test with the Evasive Motorsports CT9A. The EVO 9 will be running in this weekend’s Redline Time Attack at Buttonwillow Raceway in Buttonwillow, CA. Normally the Evasive EVO runs in the Limited or Modified class which is on R-Compound tires but for this event they will enter the Super-Modified Class wearing Yokohama slicks.
Mike of Evasive told us of his plans a few months ago so we revalved the dampers and suggested stiffer spring rates to match the grip of the slicks. Without having data on the tires our suggested spring rates and new valving were all calculated guesses. The actual track testing and driver feedback would let us know if the suspension needed minor or major adjustments (minor = damping force adjustments, major = revalving).
Pictured – Mike getting ready to go out for session 1.
In the first lap of the first session we witnessed Mike start a 25MPH parade lap and immediately knew something was wrong after the first few corners. Mike was getting a bad vibration over 25MPH on acceleration.
His support team comprised of Kel, Brad and Hugh quickly went to work to diagnose and fix the problem. The culprit was worn axle tripod housings. Without having spares axles the crew went to work on a fix and the car was vibration free a couple hours later. R. Takizawa did a quick alignment adjustment and the car was back on track.
Pictured – R. Takizawa adjusting front toe while Brad and Kel take a much needed break after a scramble to get rid of the vibration.
After Mike got a feel for the car and a few semi-open laps we were able to gather some suspension feedback. At first there was slight understeer at corner exit so a front damping force adjustment was made. The change worked a little too well and resulted in a slight oversteer. So TEIN Engineer R. Takizawa made another slight change in damping force. Overall the stiffer spring rates, damper revalving and small adjustments resulted in a car that was predictable and easy to control. More suspension tuning is definitely needed but at this point the car is ready to compete for the first time in the 2010 season. During the next testing phase we may try stiffer sway bar or slightly stiffer springs, alignment changes, and of course more damping force adjustments.
Pictured – In the hot pits. Mike driving, R. Takizawa making damping force changes, Brad checking tire pressures, Kel taking tire temps. and Hugh recording data.
A look at the Voltex front aero which keeps this EVO planted.
We wish Evasive Motorsports the best of luck at the Redline Time Attack.
TEIN Authorized dealer Sportcar Motion was just out testing their newest Time Attack machine, a US Integra Type R. Loi, Renzo, and the guys at SportCar Motion have been posting up pics of the build and TEIN is proud to be a vehicle sponsor. It has been modified to compete in the Redline Time Attack and Super Lap Battle series. SportCar Motion went with the TEIN SRC dampers which have worked well for them in the past. They are the same model used on the competition EG6 which still holds the lap record in SLB Limited FF class competition.
Power comes from a built K24/K20 NA motor and puts out ~300WHP.
Large canards, front splitter and Voltex wing keep the car planted.
Like any good competition team the SportCar Motion crew have been putting in many hours of testing time to dial in the car. We are looking forward to the coming season as we hope to help setup the suspension so drivers Tim Kuo and Renzo Marsano can break records.
Both SportCar Motion FF cars use Super Racing Coilovers straight out of the box. As the vehicle evolves we can change internal components to alter any area of the damping force curve to improve the suspension’s performance. This is a service we offer to all our sponsored teams and anyone using TEIN coilovers but only the sponsored teams get to try our new “secret” parts. 😉
Over the past 2 years the word Gymkhana has been made famous in the US by Ken Block in his two Subaru STIs. We think Ken is an awesome driver and his videos are incredibly entertaining. Both of Ken’s Gymkhana cars were prepared by TEIN Authorized Dealer – Crawford Performance and use custom valved TEIN SRC coilovers.
Our Japanese staff found some awesome videos from Japan of Gymkhana competition and driving technique. We found the videos to be interesting in terms of vehicle setup and driver skill. Check them out.
First Video. All Japan Gymkhana Championship multiple time champion Tetsuya Yamano in a DC5 showing some precision driving technique. He makes it look too easy.
Second Video. Amateur video taken of some of the AWD Gymkhana competitors. Check out the acceleration and tight radius of the spin turns. According to class rules the engines and turbos are pretty much stock. Most cars have about 400HP and tons of torque with a lot of emphasis on throttle response.
TEIN Japan has supported various drivers in the All Japan Gymkhana Championship from 1997 – current with Championships in various classes. Most of our supported drivers use our Gymkhana specific Type HT coilovers which are setup specifically for vehicle agility via spring rates and valving (Example – HT for DC2 has spring rates of 22kg front and 7kg rear).
Patrik Flodin took home the Production Car category win at Rally Sweden on Feb. 14th, 2010 using TEIN Gr.N coilovers. Flodin is currently driving a 2009 Subaru STI (GRB) which was prepared and maintained by TEIN Russia Authorized Dealer, Uspenskiy Rally Technica. This same car won the 2009 Russia Rally Championship with Flodin behind the wheel. TEIN has been a proud supporter of Patrik Flodin who has been using TEIN coilovers since 2006.
TEIN Gr.N coilovers have been used on Production Car – World Rally Championship (P-WRC) since 2005, and in the following series:
Russia Rally Championship, Finnish Rally Championship, All Japan Rally Championship, China Rally Championship, Rally America (including X-Games), British Rally Championship, All Japan Dirt Trial Championship, Norway Rally Championship, African Rally Championship, Asia Pacific Rally Championship, Polish Rally Championship, and many more localized events.
Gr.N coilover features:
• 3+1 – way damping force adjustment32-way High Speed Compression16-way Low Speed Compression16-way Rebound16-way Hydraulic Bump Stopper
• Inverted Mono Tube Construction for strut types (18mm piston dia.)
• Hydraulic Bump Stop is independently 16-way adjustable so traction is not affected
• Temperature Compensating Valve automatically adjusts damping force to counter act oil viscosity
• Micro Speed Valve allows for greater control of oil flow at low speed damping
• External Reservoir for great oil capacity and increased piston stroke
• Camber washer for knuckle bracket on strut type
Driver Robert Walker set a new Super Lap Battle Street FR record on Nov. 11, 2009 at Buttonwillow Raceway. Vehicle owner Ken Chitwood was thoroughly impressed with the 1:56.762 lap time which actually beat out all other competitors in the entire Street class (including the AWD). Even more impressive is that this 2006 Honda S2000 is NA powered and the engine does not have any major power adders. The quick lap times are a result of complete vehicle tuning which include TEIN Super Racing – Evasive Spec coilovers. Check out the in-car video.