Stephan Verdier at X Games 17

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Philip C.

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.

ALREADY HAVE CARBING ITEMS, CHECK THESE OUT!!!!

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Sergio M.

ALREADY HAVE A SHIFT KNOB INSTALLED ON YOUR 5 OR 6 SPEED AND WANT A NEW CHANGE. IF YOUR A CUSTOMER LOOKING INTO GETTING A NEW SHIFT KNOB.

CHECK OUT THESE SHIFT KNOBS FIRST!

Aluminum or Duracon construction.

Knurled surface finish to prevent slip

Five color variations to best match your cockpit color

Size 30mm Dia 85mm high Colors: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Aqua Blue, Black

Different tread pitch for easy install, all you have to do is screw it in like an OEM shift knob.

M10x1.25

NISSAN/MITSUBISHI/MAZDA/ISUZU

M10x1.5

HONDA

M12x1.25

TOYOTA/DAIHATSU/SUBARU/SUZUKI/(NISSAN)

The calm before the storm

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Jonathan L.

: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

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Philip C.

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.

Fujitsubo Exhaust SUPER SALE

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Philip C.

Looking for a high quality exhaust at a great price. Look no further. We are having a SUPER SALE on Fujitsubo exhausts. BIG SAVINGS. Prices include shipping. Visit the TEIN online shop for pricing and availability by clicking HERE.

All applications were developed and test fitted on US model vehicles. Fujitsubo exhausts feature full stainless steel construction, mandrel bent piping and are all made in Japan under strict quality control.

3D modeling in CAD

More 3D modeling in CAD helps ensure each product is kept to Fujitsubo’s high quality standards.

Part of the Fujitsubo development process. Fujitsubo is an exhaust specialist, therefore 100% of their time is spent developing, testing and manufacturing exhaust systems.

After the exhaust completes development on the in-house dyno, the car is put through real world testing and sound tests.

RM01A – round canister style muffler. You can see the high quality material (SUS304), welds and canister.

Thick SS flanges, beautiful weld and even a gusset for added rigidity.

Donut type flange and gasket. Press molded flanges and quality hardware.

LegalisR for 370Z. Exhaust layout is similar to stock providing optimal ground clearance.

Visit the Fujitsubo homepage for more information

Check out the videos to see the quality of construction, perfect fitment and quiet tone. Most applications have an average decibel reading in the high 80’s.

Ken Block’s Gymkhana World Tour

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Paul P.

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

Sunday was a Funday

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Philip C.

This is not one of our normal posts but these are some of the staff at TEIN USA – West.

The staff here at TEIN USA try to have a Summer BBQ at least once a year. Yesterday was our out of the office funday. There was grilling, eating, 3 on 3 basketball, kids running around and more eating.

Our Operations asst. manager, Paul, hosted and served as grill master.

Our BBQ included current and ex-staff members. I think everyone was most impressed by the diversity in food which included:
Korean short ribs, Ribeye steak, Pork Belly, Asian style BBQ chicken, Portuguese sausage, Ceviche, 2 kinds of Enchiladas, assorted rice balls, Chicken Adobo, Lumpia, Pancit, mixed green salad, Japanese cucumber salad, homemade guacamole, spinach Empanadas, baked donuts, assorted fresh fruits, and multi-layer cake.

Air Marc. He’s from Hawaii so he does everything in slippers.

Brian, also with slippers. It was like 90 degrees so flipflops were the footwear of choice.

Our accountant, Hirayoshi playing some catch. Both these guys are from Japan where American football is not a popular sport. I think this was the first time Hirayoshi had thrown a football.