Tag Archives: Mustang

Vaughn Gittin Jr. Holds on to Formula Drift #1 Spot

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As the final race for the Formula Drift season approaches, we should be prepping ourselves for one great season finale!

As it currently stands, Vaughn Gittin Jr. holds first place with a 25.5 points lead over second place Daigo Saito. And just 44.75 points back sits Rhys Millen, the winner of this past weekend’s Formula Drift in Las Vegas. I find myself growing more and more white hairs on my head than ever before just thinking about how many close battles there are in competition, whatever the sport. And Formula Drift is no different. This has been one of the best seasons so far. Just a little stressful to watch, I suppose!

As aforementioned, Rhys Millen in the Red Bull Hyundai Genesis Coupe, took the win this past weekend. Remaining podium spots were filled with Fredric Aasbo in the Team Need For Speed Scion tC and Vaughn Gittin Jr. in his Monster Falken Mustang.

Great work, Vaughn! We look forward to catching another exciting race at the season closer!

Pics sourced from Speedhunters.com

Back to Back Wins for Vaughn Gittin Jr.!!!

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Needless to say, we are very happy to see Mr. Gittin grace the Formula D podium once again! THAT’S TWO IN A ROW!!! Great work, Vaughn. And great job, Autosport Dynamics.

Obivously, we think that pairing is one of the best on the Formula D grid. We’re very fortunate to have our association with both Autosport Dynamics and Vaughn Gittin Jr., as well as Justin Pawlak- part of the Falken Tires-backed drivers using a custom set of our very own Super Racing dampers!

It’s been a series of ups and downs for the Falken boys. As you can imagine, the field is getting tougher, setups getting crazier, and the amount of dedication to handle the horsepower levels this generation of Formula D puts out (average of about 600 hp) getting more demanding than ever, and you’ll know that these guys don’t have it so easy. That being said, it is great to see how level the playing field is. It makes for an exciting race season, and it also gives fans the opportunity to see their favorite drivers take some of the top spots of the podium. I’ll tell you this- it’s much more exciting than seeing one driver continually win, event after event. Kinda like watching Sebastien Loeb win WRC events, or even Michael Schumacher win his 7 Formula One championship titles. No offense to those guys. They are awesome! Quite obviously, it’s every race team and driver’s intention to bring home the victories. But it just.gets.so.boring……

Seeing different drivers take the top steps just lets you know that everyone has a chance at winning, and that’s how evenly matched the teams are becoming year after year.

But, to be honest, I’d like to see Vaughn’s car take win after win. For one, his Mustang is rad. 2) the Mustang has more than a few hints of green (my favorite color), 3) it’s backed by Monster Energy drinks (an energy drink that tastes awesome), and 4) his car number is 25 (one of my favorite/lucky numbers)!!! It’s like this car is meant to be mine one day!!!! Yeah right. I’m sure Vaughn would never part from this car. It’s too nice to give away! Oh, let’s not forget that Vaughn is clearly a great driver. We can’t leave that last element out of the winning equation.

Also, it’s a lot of fun getting to work with the Autosport Dynamics (ASD) guys in getting the Falken Mustangs set up. They’ve been a group that is easy to work with. They clearly know what they’re doing, and they have an outstanding record in motorsports.

So with The Wall and Evergreen Speedway 2012 in the books, Vaughn and his crew look towards another great victory at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

As this Formula D season gets close to closing out, we wish the best for both Vaughn and Justin, as well as the crew at Autosport Dynamics. They’ve made another year even more exciting than the last. Best of luck for this season! Let’s see the last two races as podium finishes!

Pics sourced from Formula D (www.formulad.com) and Speedhunters (www.speedhunters.com)

Monster Falken 2012 Mustang

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Working here at TEIN USA, I’m usually getting picked on because I would rather drive American muscle vs. a Japanese import. Now don’t get me wrong, Japanese import vehicles are reliable cars that can be tuned to perfection. But I’m more of a supercharged, convertible Roush Mustang with a Dual Flowmaster exhaust system type of guy. The 2012 Monster energy/ Falken Tire sponsored Mustang is a very good example of what I’m talking about. It has a roaring 800 horsepower 6.7-liter V8 engine. It also sports a set of Azenis RT615K tires and HRE Wheels Competition Series C21. I bet you guys are wondering, “OK, it’s a beast of a car, but what does it have to do with TEIN”, right? Well of course I wouldn’t be blogging about this beauty just because of its performance tuning and RTR body kit if it did not sport our TEIN 2-way adjustable coil overs with dual EDFC custom made to maneuver this pony 🙂

 

 

Falken Tires’ New Commercials!

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Falken has made a new commercial for 2012 focusing on their participation in AMA and ALMS. But they also put in some nice clips of their Formula D cars in action!

Falken has built up a nice history in motorsports Stateside over the past few years, making a mark not only in drifting, but in American Le Mans and the aforementioned AMA. They don’t seem to be slowing down their pace, either.

As some of you may know, we get to work side by side with Falken’s drift car builders Autosport Dynamics. I can say, with certainty, that Falken is fully vested in making competitive vehicles with the sole purpose of winning. I’m sure this directly translates into developing a great product readily available to the consumer. We are more than glad to get to work with such a company in their Formula D program.

When you have time, check out their website, they have a great page detailing their motorsports side and some information on their drivers and their cars. Not to mention, some great info on their ALMS Porsche GT3 RSR car. OH MY…..

Sleepy Time Car Show

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Usually when we prepare for a car show, we do an early drop off, set up and then return later or possibly the next day for the actual event. Let me tell you, I’ve been to a number of these kind of events but never to a Cars & Coffee event which is held in Irvine, CA simply because of the early check in and show time. I’m talking about arriving before 8 am and finishing around 11 am on a Saturday (sorry but I need my beauty sleep).

Here’s a few shots a friend took while I washed the car the night before.






Morning of the show

Just a few Lotus Elise

A beastly Camaro

K20a Ariel Atom

Big Body Bentley

Classic Ford GT

And the best car at the show.. This bug

Hmm what motor could this be?

Oh Snap! 13b Rotary!

Peep that custom fuel cut off

Overall it was cool show to check out. I don’t think I will be attending another anytime soon… or maybe once I pick up my Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

Congratulations To Falken For Their WIN!

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Congratulations to Falken  Tire for there Formula Drift Round 3 Podium Sweep in Palm Beach, FL.

Falken Tire Podium Sweep

 

Justin Pawlak takes the Victory and the Lead in the Championship.

Congratulations also go to Vaughn Gittin Jr. for his Second Place finish and Darren McNamara for taking 3rd.

All of the Falken Tire vehicles prepared by ASD run custom TEIN coilovers. Some kits are from our normal offerings while others are custom. Each kit is then tailored to the ASD chassis setup and driver.

Tyler in his Falken Tire Nissan 350Z vs. Jeff Jones

 

Mustang (JTP) vs. Mustang (JR)

 

Falken (JTP) vs Falken (D-Mac)

 

Congratulations to all the drivers. The event looked like a lot of fun in the sun.

Photos taken from: www.speedhunters.com

Formula D Rd.1

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Only our engineer attended Friday’s practice and qualify. A few of us here in the office watched qualifying from live stream on various websites. We were disappointed that not all our sponsored vehicles qualified for the event but I guess that is how it goes. Part of what makes it exciting to watch. “Any Given Sunday.”

After Friday’s Qualify
DMac qualified the highest amongst TEIN users in 6th position.

Tyler McQuarrie qualified two spots behind in 8th.

JTP got the 11th spot.

Charles Ng qualified 20th.

2010 Champion Vaughn Gittin Jr unfortunately did not qualify. Hopefully JR tears it up at Rd. 2 in Atlanta.

Found another competitor, Guthrie on TEIN Super Racing coilovers. Guthrie unfortunately did not qualify but his FD3S looks pretty buff. Might remember this car from HERE.

Saturday’s Main Event
The weather was awesome with clear skies and a nice cool ocean breeze. Spectators filled all the stands around the track and between rounds there was plenty to see. Full vendor area, race pits, car show and of course food.

The stands were packed with spectators.

The vendor area had both products and vehicles on display.

Found a twin turbo Mustang from HESS Motorsports which we sponsor in the Exedy booth.

Lots of high quality cars on display for the FATLACE show.

Cruising through the car show area I found Abe K.’s Lexus on display. He is rocking FLEX Sedan coilovers and a Platnium VIP cup kit.

I was fortunate to get a VIP wristband from a friend at NOS who had a hospitality tent and their own section of bleachers. Here is the view from their bleachers.

CONGRATULATIONS to JTP, Falken Tire and ASD. TEIN Coilovers for the WIN!

Some photos taken from Formula D and ASD.

Autosport Dynamics Inc.

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To those of you who follow the drifting scene, particularly the Formula D series that has been receiving nationwide and international coverage, many of you may already be familiar with the Falken and Monster Energy Falken Tire livery. We are very fortunate to be the suspension suppliers for quite a few of their vehicles, such as their Saturn Sky driven Darren Macnamara, Nissan 350z driven by Tyler Mcquarrie, and the Ford Mustang’s of Justin Pawlak and Vaughn Gittin Jr.

Ever since Falken’s entry into Formula D, they’ve been placing themselves quite high among most contenders in this series, claiming many 1st place victories, as well as a championship title. But their full-fledged attack came about with the enlistment of Autosport Dynamics, Inc. (ASD) who handle all the vehicle builds for the aforementioned cars, as well as all vehicle maintenance.

Mind you, Autosport Dynamics expertise goes well beyond their experience with Formula D. They’ve also had their hands in NASCAR, SCORE, F1, SCCA, NASA, and British F3.  That’s quite a resume for a company that started in the 1980’s. And, these services aren’t limited to teams, either. Yes, they offer their services to the public!

Check them out on their site

http://www.autosportdynamics.com/about.html

They also keep a great up-to-date blog on the Formula D series, filled with pictures and videos from both races and test sessions. Pretty cool.

http://www.thejackstand.com/

Vaughn Gittin Jr. in the Monster Energy Falken Tire Mustang

Darren Macnamara in the Saturn Sky

Falken Team Video

2011 Falken Formula Drift Test from Falken Tire on Vimeo.

And, as if that wasn’t enough to keep their hands full, they operate a retail site, www.asdmotorsports.com

Geez. All work and no play makes Autosport Dynamics a,,,,, wait, their work is THEIR play! Forget it.

TEIN Mustang GT Up For SALE – SOLD

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Our 2005 Ford Mustang GT is now up for sale. This Mustang was built with a mixture of Japanese, European and American parts – the best from around the world. And for this reason it does not look or sound like a typical Mustang you might see on the street, at the track or at a show.

Roush billet grill and ProCharger intercooler peeking through the lower grill.

Aggressive stance with FLEX fully adjustable coilovers, Volk GTF with gunmetal center and polished lip wheels, paint matched 3D Carbon Lip Kit and Wilwood BBK 6-piston front and 2-piston rear.

Sparco seats, Momo steering wheel, Clarion DVD/Navigation head unit, DEFI gauges and of course EDFC.

ProCharger supercharger with intercooler, JBA longtube headers, JE pistons, Eagle rods, ARP fasteners, painted valve covers and TONS of polished parts.

The short block has just been upgraded with a JE pistons, Eagle rods, ARP hardware and a new crankshaft. As of right now the newly built motor has about 10 miles on it. Here is the complete specification sheet:

Volk Racing Forged GTF 2pcs. wheels, light weight and incredibly strong. Wrapped in Continental rubber, 255 up front and 275 in the rear.

Seibon carbon fiber vented hood and trunk. Black roof done in vinyl decal so it can be easily removed.

 

If anyone is interested in purchasing this vehicle please contact Philip@tein.com.

SOLD

NEW ATI PRODUCTS

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HEY EVERYONE!!!

Check out these NEW GAUGE PODS by ATI recently released!!!

This is the New Vent Pod for the 2010 Mustangs, it is angled so that the Owner can see the gauge properly. This owner has the TEIN EDFC as well must be rockin’ the Flex Dampers .

Check out the Dodge Challenger Vent Pod.  It will look great on the Challengers.

Look at this Good looking Vent Pod for the Dodge Charger.

Take a look at the 2009+ Mini Coopers Vent Pods they sure make the Cluster stand out  more.

Check out the Gauge Pod for the Nissan 370z without Navigation System. The Gauges are angled so that the owner can read the gauges properly.

This is how it will be installed on the Nissan 370z.  Check out Dampachi just chilling on the windshield.

Reminder: All Vent Pods are inserts they do not come with the outer housing. The housing is actually the OEM piece an would have to be re-used.