Category Archives: Motorsports

Super Lap Battle Final 2011

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Time attack season has began from couple weeks ago.

Temperature is getting cool down but still see the sun during the day, there should be a no negative effect for the engines and all of the time attack vehicles.

We went to Super Lap Battle Final at Buttonwillow Raceway for our supported vehicles for 2 days.

Luckily both 2 days were good weather.

and some of the vehicles break their own record.

One of the our support vehicle Crawford Perfomance’s STi driven by Tarzan Yamada

This vehicle outputs 800+hp…

and beauty of the function.

And also, Crawford Performance brought 2 Scion tC.

2 cars from Evasive Motorsports.

Their Evo marked 1:49.124 and got 1st place in Limited AWD class.

And S2000 marked 1:57.887 and got 1st place in Street FR class.

Congratulations to Evasive!

Our ex-marketing manager Philip Chase’s Evo marked 1:57.735 which is his record and 1st place in Street AWD class!

TEIN damper on Philip Chase’s Evo

And another winner with TEIN damper vehicle is Sportscar Motion DC2R.

This car marked 1:54.789 and winner for Limited FF Class.

This clean JDM converted Civic Si is one of my favorite vehicle at Super Lap Battle .

The driver Renzo Marsano break his own record today with TEIN damper!

Another TEIN user vehicle APM Racing’s RSX.

 

This is another well track prepped S2000.

Driver maked 1:59.066 with TEIN Super Racing damper.

It was very busy 2 days but we are glad that most of our support driver break and got 1st place in this event.

 

Formula D Rd. 7 at House of Drift

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This past weekend turned out to be one of the biggest and best turnouts for the Formula D series for 2011. As with past Formula D events, the Irwindale, CA event is a special one- It’s the last event for the year! So most spectators expect teams and drivers to go all out, because they know that for the driver, going home with the win is a big deal.

This year’s finale for Formula D was a sold out event. Again, there are normally some high expectations for this round. And, anyone who was following the series points knows how tight a race for season championship it really was. Drivers such as Justin “JTP” Pawlak, Daijiro Yoshihara, Chris Forsberg, and Darren “D-Mac” McNamara looked to be all in contention for the championship. Talk about keeping competition tight!

But this year, the event win goes to Tyler McQuarrie in the Falken 350z. A big congratulations to him, as well as to the crew at Autosport Dynamics (ASD) who prep and maintain his car. These guys are truly a hardworking team!

Photo courtesy of Formula D

Also, another big congratulations goes out to Daijiro Yoshihara for his season championship! Everyone who’s followed Formula D since its infancy knows that “Dai” has been there from the beginning. After putting in over 8 years into this, I’m sure the title of “champion” makes it all worthwhile. Our hats off to him and the Falken/Discount Tire S13 team!

Photo courtesy of Formula D

Let’s all look forward to an even better season for 2012!

Full Scale RC Car?

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So Nismo decides to build a Nissan Leaf Racecar…. Hmmmm. I’m not too sure what to think of it. However, with the increased sales in Hybrid Electric vehicles, I suppose it’s something to look forward to.

But, how does it sit with some of you petrol heads? How does the whirr of an electric motor compare to a good ‘ole piston, or even a rotary engine?

To me, it’s clearly not the same. There’s nothing like the experience of seeing a piston engine powered car speeding down the racetrack. Even the sounds of a car going through gears leaves a heavy imprint in my mind of how a car is supposed to work. What’s with the whirring sound of an electric motor that seems to grow exponentially? It’s really not the same at all.

At least it’s good to know that Motorsports, in any form, isn’t dying out. The fact is many of us still find lots of joy behind the wheel of our own car, racing or not. What difference does it make if the sound of the motor isn’t the same? Probably very little.

TEIN seems to be very well prepared in providing suspension kits for all types of enthusiasts. We’ve received many inquiries recently specifically for Nissan Leaf suspension, which TEIN Japan already has available (Street Basis dampers, part# GSK32-11AS2). We’ve had suspension for the 3rd generation Toyota Prius and the Honda CR-Z for some time now. So maybe we’re on the right track in understanding that “Green Cars” are here to stay.

Speaking of Electric Powered Race Cars, seems that Toyota has put one out on the Nordschleife. End result- ONE QUICK LAP TIME!

The Car That Does It All

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Recently the Sparco Rally xD finished the New England Forest Rally (2nd in the 2wd class, and 10th place overall) also bringing this season of Rally America to an end.

This car has been covered many times on our blog, but each coverage brings with it different situations the car and crew has gone through, and one amazing constant.
That constant being how well this little car performs day in and day out.

(Watch the video and be amazed)

To be honest, when I first heard that an xD had been chosen as a rally car and that we would be making Specialized Dampers for the vehicle, I laughed inside (and a little bit outloud) all the while thinking that they must be dreaming.

Considering all the high end, rally bred cars there were in the market, “why go with an xD? Tein already has a plethora of offroad geared products for those other cars.” were my thoughts.

But seeing the “dream” car, with the help of the amazing team behind it, perform time and time again, against all odds, was truly a sight to see.

After every race the dampers would be taken off of the vehicle and brought in for inspection.

Seeing the video will show you how much of a beating the car takes (cracked downpipes, bent skidplate, oil leaks), here is a glimpse of the carnage the dampers go through as well.
(The powdercoating on the dampers has been sandblasted off to the bare metal and this is spite of the shields placed on the rear H-beam of the car.)

Look forward to another seasons of rallying next year.

China Touring Car Championship

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While watching Speed TV one day, I caught a glimpse of their segment from Mobil 1 The Grid and they featured the China Touring Car Championship (CTCC).

As a kid, I remember watching the short-lived North American Touring Car Championship on ESPN, with racers such as Randy Pobst and Peter Cunningham as contenders. The high strung 4 cylinder engines, super low ride heights, 19″ wheels, and subtle but quite functional body kits looked and sounded awesome.

There were also the cars of the Japanese Touring Car Championships! They looked even better!

Honda AccordWRXPrimeraOpel Vectra

Needless to say, the CTCC quickly drew my interests. And I know that TEIN supports a few vehicles in both of their categories (1600cc and 2000cc).

Check out this link from www.grid1.tv

As for cars we sponsor, the Ford Focus looks to be one of the most competitive platforms. But we also sponsor a Honda Accord and Hyundai i30 and KIA Forte.

 

Overall, this looks to be a very exciting series of motorsports. I’m actually a fan of Touring Cars as they best represent production vehicles available to the public. Some of these setups are quite unique. But again, since they bare a strong resemblance to what we drive, it’s much more interesting to me. Not that I don’t appreciate open wheel race cars and such. It’s just that the Touring Car series has a different appeal.

It may not have the following like Formula 1, WRC (also production car based, but with a super high budget), or even Nascar, but it sure has a special place for people like some of us who appreciate seeing production vehicles on the racetrack. Fortunately in North America, we still get to watch Touring Cars. Speed TV shows the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, and there’s still a U.S. Touring Car series.

Now, if only they can bring back Touring Estate race cars…

Cyber EVO-LUTION

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World Time Attack is on my mind. Excited to see if the Cyber Evo can retain the title of fastest time attack car in the world. Other blogs and online news sources have been posting images and information on some of the contenders and I have been reading it all. It looks like the competition will be fierce this year.

Personally I have to cheer for the Cyber EVO. Besides the fact that it runs TEIN coilovers it has so much history. I can remember watching Option video of Nomuken visiting Dr. Takizawa’s office to check out the car. At the time and still now, I think it is awesome that a privateer can compete against manufacturers, well-known tuners and race teams.

Here are some pics I found of the car over the years. You can see the EVOLUTION of the car especially in the aero department.

A visit to the dentist’s office.

 

2008 – From the C-West aero to full Voltex

2009 – More development

2010 – At WTAC

2011 – Testing at Fuji in preparation for WATC 2011.

In my book the Cyber EVO is still the best looking Time Attack EVO of all time.

However the technical advancements in the competitors is amazing. Sierra Sierra has made improvements throughout the car which Eric Hsu explains on MotoIQ. There are new cars from Australia with some CRAZY aero mods as well.

I look forward to seeing all the event coverage.

GO CYBER EVO !!!!!!!

Photos taken from various websites including: speedhunters, tomei’s blog, Super Street magazine, Voltex, Dino Carbonare,

Stephan Verdier at X Games 17

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This weekend Stephan Verdier will be driving his STi in X Games 17 in Rally and Rallycross competition.

Tune in to ESPN or ESPN3.com on Saturday from 1-3PM PST for Rally and 2-4PM PST on Sunday for RallyCross action.

Stephan’s car has undergone changes in preparation for X Games which includes a brand new Tarmac spec Gr.N damper. Our in-house engineer, Katsuma Nakai, has been on-hand to help setup and tune the suspension for the new X-Games street course. Stephan should be a force to be reckoned with. He has been  considered an underdog all year long as he is one of a few teams/ drivers which is not factory backed (big budget). Yet his Crawford powered STi can compete right alongside the factory Fords, Subarus and Hyundais. Stephan has been competing all year in the Global Rally Cross and currently sits 4th in the overall standings behind Foust, Gronholm and Jernberg.

Root for Stephan this weekend, we will be.

A little over a month ago Stephan drove the Zenkai Motorsports STi at Pikes Peak Hillclimb. He is featured in a video just released by Motul. The Zenkai STI is powered by a Crawford built motor and utilizes Super Racing coilovers.

Stephan unfortunately crashed about 2/3 rds up the hill. The heavy winds and road surface conditions change by the minute making Pikes Peak one of the most dangerous hill climbs in the world. We are glad Stephan walked away unscathed.

The calm before the storm

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:a quiet period just before a period of great activity or excitement.

The World Time Attack Challenge held at Eastern Creek, Sydney Australia is meeting in less than 11 days. This years event is making big noise with the Pro Class line up.


Prep’d Motorsports Lotus Exige

Pan Speeds Mazda RX-7

Garage Revolutions RX-7

Sierra Sierra Enterprises Evo (2010 2nd place winner) Recently broke the Buttonwillow time attack record

Cyber Evo (2010 1st place winner). With a new engine, lighter chassis and more aero, the Cyber Evo is returning to keep the title.

As much as we are cheering for the TEIN sponsored Cyber Evo, this year all Pro Class teams are stepping their game up including 2 R35 900+ horsepower GTR’s.

Check out the World Time Attack Challenge website for more information.

All photos from World Time Attack website.

FINAL ROUND of 2011 Rally America

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This past weekend was the final round (Rd. 6) of the 2011 Rally America series. TEIN sponsored Sparco Rally xD made the trip out to Maine for the New England Forest Rally. Andrew-Comrie Picard and Jeremy Wimpey returned as driver/ co-driver. The winning combo last drove the car at round 4 in Oregon to the 2WD class win.

At NEFR the newly improved xD faced a plethora of Ford Fiestas including 2010 2WD Chris Duplessis (who drove the xD last year), 2009 2WD Champion Dillon Van Way in another Fiesta and 2011 2WD Champion Wyatt Knox in a MazdaSpeed 3.

Since Oregon the xD has undergone major modifications mainly in the power department. Greddy tore down the motor and installed Carrillo forged rods and pistons to beef up the 1.8L. The fuel system was upgraded as well which netted a significant power gain. The 1.8L Scion xD now produces 200 WHP, up 35 WHP from the last outing. Not big by HP number but if you look at percentages that is a big difference.

Greddy engineers working on the 2ZR-FE.

Carrillo components help beef up the short block. Power is still left at a conservative 200WHP.

The HG suspension worked perfectly over the rough terrain and various sized jumps.

NEFR was a real test for the car and newly modified engine as it has some long stages, three 16 mile stages and one 19 mile stage. The crew tells me the motor ran flawlessly but there were other issues to deal with at every service. Loss of 3rd gear, a slipping clutch, damaged exhaust system, cracked wheel, punctured tires…

The crew working hard during service to inspect and repair the xD.

Some of the chassis modifications that Design Craft made prior to NEFR also paid off. This tubular brace was added to the underbelly of the car for added reinforcement against all the offroad abuse. Even with this, the oil pan took a hit. Without this who knows what would have happened to the oil pan.

At the end of the 2 day rally, the Rally xD finished second in class and sixth overall. OVERALL. Meaning against 4WD turbo STIs, EVOs and WRXs.

Left to Right – Kenji from Greddy, fabricators Gary, Len and Ben from Design Craft, Co-driver Jeremy W., Driver ACP, Team Manager Gordon, and Jason.

Look for a video soon.

Ken Block’s Gymkhana World Tour

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By now many of you all know who Ken Block is. After all, Mr. Block’s Gymkhana videos (1,2, & 3) have all had more than 10,000,000 views each. And, why not? How much hooligan antics going on in those videos? Likewise, there’s quite a bit of talent that Mr. Block showcases. He truly knows how to handle those cars.

Now that his videos are globally known, he has just announced a Gymkhana World Tour, and one stop will be Dodger Stadium on July 23rd! Awesome! Two things I love- Dodgers stadium and wacky motorsports!

Below is the press release as posted on Autoblog

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/11/dates-for-ken-blocks-gymkhana-world-tour-announced/

We were very fortunate to have our own Super Racing coilovers grace the Gymkhana 1 (GDF-E STI) and 2 (GRF STI) vehicles. And ever since his Gymkhana Grid, a few of our sponsored drivers have joined in on the festivities. One such car was the Zenkai Motorsports/Crawford Performance built GRF Subaru STI. We are definitely glad to see how much of an impact Mr. Block has put into this motorsport. I hope to make this upcoming event, being that it is so close to home. Get ready for some fun, boys and girls!

GO KEN BLOCK!! AND GO DODGERS!!!!

P.S.- Does Ken Block get any sleep?! With him being involved in WRC, being a family man, and now promoting a gymkhana world tour, where the heck does he find the energy to do all of this?! Straight up hero status!

Go Dodgers.

In case you haven’t seen the vids, or have been living under a rock (JUST KIDDING!), here are his previous gymkhana videos.

Ken Block Gymkhana 1

Ken Block Gymkhana 2

Ken Block Gymkhana 3