Tag Archives: Scion

Scion FR-S

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So it seems that the upcoming Scion FR-S (and Subaru BRZ, for that matter) are expected to be the most in-demand of sport compacts for next year. And you can bet with a front engine, rear wheel drive layout over a coupe body, it will be tons of fun. So much hype has been generated on the internet through various web magazines and blogs. Scion, in general, does very well in promoting their cars and tuners are quite eager to get their hands on it.

Check out this video from Speedhunters

Seems like Ken Gushi is already getting comfortable with this car! I look forward to seeing this at Formula D events!

Here’s a link to the vehicle specs

http://www.frs-scion.com/specs/?gclid=CJHAr4DS_6wCFWNLpgodiB7oSg

Will TEIN be making any suspension for this car? You bet! Well, once we get our hands on an FR-S, or BRZ, at least.

Subaru BRZ

If any of you readers get your hands on one and are close to our Downey, CA facility, feel free to contact us for R&D testing.

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.

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.

RedBull Soapbox Racer

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Over the past few weeks I have been helping to build a soapbox cart chassis. The project all started about 5 weeks ago when Import Tuner magazine decided it would be cool to enter into the 2011 Redbull Soapbox race in Downtown LA. Import Tuner mag wanted something that represented the import aftermarket car/parts industry and still be appealing to the masses. After some debate, it was decided, a Choro-Q or penny racer. It would be fun, not too serious and the dimensions fit the rules. I made the initial drawing to get the ball rolling.

Other than the Import Tuner mag and Source Interlink staff. Gary from Design Craft fabrication jumped on board to build a chassis and Troy of Five Axis was in to build a body.  Import Tuner convinced Dai Yoshihara to pilot the cart and I volunteered to help do whatever.

Most of the team members. From Left. Scott  of Import Tuner, Dai the Pro Driver, Me, Troy of Five Axis, Elliott of Source Interlink and Gary of Design Craft. There were a lot more people who helped and they are greatly appreciated.

The end result is a cool double A-arm chassis with push rod suspension, disc brakes and many man hours. The body is just as ridiculous. Scion FR-S concept turned cartoon racer.

The real Scion FR-S concept car at the New York auto show.

Choro-Q inspired FR-S next to chassis at Five Axis.

With everyone having CRAZY schedules we were able to test the chassis 2 nights before the event. Dai got to get behind the wheel 2 hrs before the event registration.

Testing right before the event. Dai had just flown in from Japan. He went from LAX straight to our test hill.

The event is more than a race. It compasses a 10’x10′ display at the event, a 30-second skit performed by the team members and of course the downhill race. The combined scores produce a winner. In case you did not already know – we did not win BUT I think we had the best looking soapbox racer ever built.

Our 10’x10′ booth display was comprised of stereotypical Japanese items.

Dai taking the banked turn right under the judges.

Right after the race all the people involved in this cart were talking about what improvements would be needed to win and what theme would be fun. The Redbull event was definitely a blast. Our cart probably had more money in it than any other but we worked just as hard to build it. In the end, it was fun and we would all definitely do it again.

Special thanks to Troy S., Elliott M., Carter J., Gary C. and Joey L. for the images.

The Little Engine That Could/Can/Will

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I seem to never get tired of this car. It’s proven to be quite a competitor in Rally America. In a sport largely dominated by high horsepower, all-wheel drive platforms, this little box has really held its own.

The team is relatively young in comparison to many competitors within the series, regardless of vehicle class. But their professionalism really stands out. We are more than happy to be a part of this team, as their suspension provider, as well as Philip Chase, our Marketing Director lending a helping hand as a Crew Chief.

And this team only seems to be getting better! Check out their up-to-date blog

http://rallyxd.com

As if running a rally team wasn’t enough, they make sure to update their blog with the latest information- rally events, vehicle development, as well as awesome in-car video clips and amazing rally footage.

Here’s one of my favorite pics of our suspension. I think it looks better with the dirt on it. How say you?

In case you’ve missed out on previous posts on this car, our HG damper kit was a custom setup, developed through our Specialized Damper Program which is also available to the public.

And with some newfound turbo power, they’ll sure to be hard to chase.

Testing at DirtFish Rally School in WA.

Ready for the Olympus Rally to start in Ocean Shores, WA. New driver Andrew Comrie-Picard (ACP) and co-driver Robbie Durant.

We wish the Scion rally team the best in their efforts in 2011! Oregon Trail Rally starts tomorrow at Portland International Speedway.

A lil FUN @ the office

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Thanks to Troy from Five Axis everyone at the office gets to have a little fun.

One of our Authorized Dealers, Five Axis, just happened to drop by to pick up some TEIN Product and had a little surprise. It seems that HPI Racing manufactures a RC car copy of the Scion xB with Five Axis lip kit and wheels. The original vehicle that Five Axis produced had our Basic Coilovers.

Everyone wanted to play with it the first day and I had opened it and unpack it. It felt like Christmas morning all over again. I was excited to actually take it out for a spin but unfortunately the AA batteries for the controller were not included and I could not find any in the office. 🙁 eeeerrr I had to wait one more day to have a little fun.

Thanks to our Marketing Manager we got batteries the next day (thanks Phil). Everyone got a chance to have a few laughs and enjoy the RC car.

I unfortunately did not have great control of the car and was accidentally crashing the poor car into poles and pallets in the warehouse, thankfully no damage was done to the vehicle. I will practice to get better handling the RC car. I think we are planning to make a time attack course in the warehouse or parking lot.

We had a good time with the car we even put it on a Dyno….lol, sort of.

Rally xD at SnoDrift 2011

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I just got back from the first round of Rally America – Sno*Drift. The event is held about 4 hours North of Detroit in Atlanta, MI. The area is beautiful and the people are friendly BUT the weather is really cold. Coming from sunny and warm Southern California means that I am used to 60 degree Winters with an occasional rain storm. 10-20 degree temps and wind chill put most of the California based team into survival mode.

2010 2WD Champions are back in a new Scion xD.

2010 Champion Driver, Chris Duplessis getting ready for battle.

2010 Champion Co-Driver, Catherine Woods who is usually is all smiles is in competition mode.

The xD was already in Detroit when the crew arrived to Michigan as it had been on display at the Detroit Auto Show the week prior. If you cannot tell this xD is not the same as the car that was run last year. This is a brand new xD which was built just before SEMA. It only had 50 miles on the odometer when the Rally started.

The brand new car needed a thorough tech inspection.

The engine remains almost stock with the only additions being a TRD drop in filter, aftermarket header and Greddy exhaust. The transmission has been upgraded with a Quaife differential which was installed only two days before the event. Coilovers are a custom application HG which have 2-way damping force adjustment. Light weight Volk CE28 wheels and BFG snow tires round out the performance mods. This new car is lighter with various carbon fiber body panels, lexan rear windows and chassis weight reduction. Seats, belts, steering wheel, in-car comm., helmets and driving suits are all Sparco. The guys at Design Craft Fabrication did a great job building the car and getting it ready for the event.

The rally started on Friday in the early afternoon. After the first 6 stages Chris and Catherine pulled out a solid lead in the 2WD class. There was only one service during day one in which the xD came back missing both light pods. Going into the night stages the service crew scrambled to get the recovered pods back onto the car but only 1 made it back on in the limited service time. The lights only lasted about 5mins until the relay blew out forcing Chris to drive with only the OEM lights. A flat tire on stage 7 put Chris and Catherine about 10mins behind the 2WD leader at the end of day one.

After day one the service crew repaired all damage, checked over the car and made preparations for day two. Luckily the folks at a nearby resort allowed the crew to use their heated garage.

On the start of day two Chris and Catherine were determined to make up the lost time and fight for the top podium spot. The next two services went smoothly and the only damage to the car was cosmetic. Chris’s skill on snow and ice served the team well as he was able to make up about 9mins. in 7 stages (truly amazing). There simply were not enough stage miles for the xD to make up all the lost time.

The Rally xD finished in 2nd place in the 2WD class which is a great finish considering this car had ZERO testing.

Great job Gordon Ting and the crew of the Rally xD.

Photos courtesy of Duane and Joey of the Octane Report. See more event coverage at the OctaneReport.com

SEMA 2010

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TEIN returned to SEMA this year after a one-year hiatus. Our booth was more focused on TEIN and SuperPro products.

A gamut of TEIN products were on display which included our new STREET BASIS damper (more info. on this in a future post).

TEIN coilovers were used on some high profile booth vehicles and on a few feature vehicles.

TEIN FEATURE VEHICLE

Abe Ko’s LS430 sitting on FLEX Sedan coilovers, special order from Japan. These coilovers feature a maximum drop of 4.5 inches. Coupled with the Platinum VIP Cup Kit this LS is literally on the ground. Full feature on this car and suspension system in a future post.

LEXUS BOOTH

0-60 Magazine GS450H Racer featuring custom Super Racing Coilovers and dual EDFC.

SCION BOOTH

Scion booth. 0-60 Magazine built Scion xD Rally v.3 using Specialized Damper.

Crawford 2011 Scion tC with Super Street coilovers. More on this car later as it will be running at Super Lap Battle on 11.10.10.

HONDA BOOTH

Honda Tuning Magazine built Honda CR-Z sitting on Mono FLEX coilovers.

Wraptivo Honda CR-Z with Super Street coilovers.

MACKIN BOOTH (RAYS WHEELS)




TEIN authorized dealer RallySport Direct built Subaru STI Sedan. One of the first modified STI sedans in the US. Featuring Mono FLEX coilovers and some aggressive TE37 SLs.

DC SPORTS BOOTH

DC Sports collaboration with Import Tuner Magazine. More on this car later as it will be at Super Lap Battle Finals with Tarzan Yamada behind the wheel.

There is no stop this week as we prepare to go to Super Lap Battle Finals at Buttonwillow Raceway. One of our engineers and a couple staff members will be out there supporting TEIN users.