Tag Archives: Super Lap Battle

Super Lap Battle Finals 2010

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So SLB 2010 is over. TEIN engineer, R&D assistant and myself spent 2 days at Buttonwillow Raceway helping our sponsored vehicles. This year there was a smaller field but I think the level of competition and caliber of car was high.

Now on to the cars that we sponsor.

EVASIVE MOTORSPORTS

EVO 9 – Limited AWD
Driven by Mike C. co-owner of Evasive. Mike and the Evasive crew chased down minor gremlins throughout the event and never really got a chance to set a clean hot lap. Super Racing coilover with special 3-way rears. Best Time 1:51

Civic Si – Street FF
Also driven by Mike C. Testing out his newly modded engine and some aggressive suspension settings on his customized Mono FLEX dampers. Look for this next year after Evasive gets more testing done. We think it is capable of sub 2 min. lap times in the Street class. This year Best Lap 2:02

S2000 – Street FR (Evasive Sponsored)
Owned and driven by Tim Kuo. Very quick lap times considering the amount of modifications (almost stock NA motor) and no crazy body mods. Super Racing suspension and specifically chosen menu of mods. Best Time 2:02

CR-Z – Hybrid Class (Honda Tuning Magazine)
Also driven by Tim K. Very light mods since the car is so new to the US. Running our US spec. Mono FLEX coilovers and Falken 615K. Best Time 2:18.

Crawford Performance


2011 Scion tC – Limited FF
Driven by new up and comer, Michelle A. Quirt put this car together in just 2 weeks. Right now the car sports only a few light modifications. Running our proto-type Super Street coilovers. Best Time 2:14.

DC Sports


S2000 – Street FR
Owned by Mr. Will Law and driven by Tarzan. This project vehicle (see the build in Import Tuner magazine) needs more testing. This was the first time the car has seen the track since being modded. Modified Mono FLEX coilovers which Tarzan praised for making the car easy to control. Ran 2:02 – 2:03 in practice but had some gremlins come race day.

GMR Racing


S2000 – Unlimited FR (bumped from Limited due to mods)
Driven by Casey Dennis. GMR just recently installed the Super Racing coilovers. I am sure this car will go faster as they get it dialed in. Best Time 1:58

Have to mention that Sierra Sierra Enterprises broke the all time record with a 1:41.046. Watching the EVO carry speed and accelerate out of each corner was amazing.

Tim’s S2000 photo from Speedhunters.com

Revalving dampers for competition

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Scott Tsuneishi, senior editor for Import Tuner magazine is here today. He is taking photos and collecting data as we revalve a set of Mono FLEX dampers for a street/track Honda S2000. This particular S2000 is being built to display at SEMA in the DC Sports booth and then compete in the 2010 Super Lap Battle Finals at Buttonwillow Raceway on Nov. 10th.

Scott taking pics of R&D Assistant Jon who is hard at work

This vehicle build features C-West body kit, i-VTEC upgrade from Design Craft, DC sports exhaust and a plethora of other high quality parts. Evasive Motorsports is helping with aero and tuning so you know this car will be quick around the 2.6 mile course. Target time is 1:57 on street tires.

Jon performing the actual revalving

R&D Manager Mr Takizawa reviewing the damping force graphs for the newly revalved shocks

We will be doing our part to make sure the suspension is competitive at the track and comfortable enough for daily driving.

Check out future issues of Import Tuner magazine for the complete story and to see how this project S2000 does at the track.

Super Lap Battle Video w/ Janelle Ha

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Mr. Super Lap Battle just sent me this video from SLB – Las Vegas. This was an exhibition type event which was invitation only. The event featured a few of the top contenders in various classes plus new comer Zenkai Motorsports. TEIN was well represented as Crawford, Evasive, SportCar Motion and Zenkai are all using TEIN coilovers.

Check out the video which features Janelle Ha.

Future Import Tuner magazine feature

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Luke Munnell of Import Tuner magazine was at TEIN yesterday shooting the Lexus ISF for a future feature. The ISF is an Import Tuner project car which TEIN USA sponsors. We have helped with the build and maintenance ever since the beginning of this project. The car was displayed at SEMA, CES and has competed at Super Lap Battle finals. It is the only newer body style IS to compete in SLB that I can remember. Tanner Foust drove the car to a 2:02 in the 2008 finals. I think the car can definitely break 2 minutes with the current NOS setup, wider tires and some aero upgrades.

Although Luke’s title is Technical Editor for Import Tuner magazine he along with all the editors do multiple tasks. One of Luke’s favs seems to be shooting feature vehicles.

Setting up the lights for one of many pics. Each shot takes at least 10-15mins to setup and then constant tweaking until everything is perfect.

Our warehouse is not ideal due to sky lights, tons of reflections, etc… so the right lighting is key to getting a good clean shot.

With everything in place it is time to shoot.

Luke will come back to shoot the exterior pics at one of his secret locations. Nah jk, just a spot nearby that he found on the way to TEIN. Pickup Import Tuner to see the full feature.

A Look Back at the TEIN Yaris

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Back in 2006 TEIN modified a Toyota Yaris 3-dr as a track toy. We knew going into it that it would not have a lot of power or handle like a sports car but it was something anybody could have fun in.

Started off with a detailed build plan and an awesome rendering made by Dennis Caco of AutoCannon.

Totally stock Yaris in all its glory. 1.5L 103 Flywheel HP, 92 WHP.

No way to add lots of power so we reduced weight.

Burnout front bumper and side skirts from KS Auto, Japan. Pond Premium rear wing and rear lip also from Japan. Bodywork and paint completed by Autowerks Body & Paint in El Monte, CA.

Stripped interior. Roll cage and custom seat bracket by Rothschild Fabrication in Riverside, CA.

K&N Intake for when the car ran NA (106WHP). Custom modified Greddy SuperCharger with Power Enterprise CamCon II for when it ran with forced induction (119WHP at 5lbs). Other under the hood mods included complete oil cooler system, Koyo radiator, KAAZ 1.5-way differential, ACT clutch, DC Sports Header and custom Vibrant exhaust.

All put together. Using BASIC coilovers which were converted to Super Street with EDFC (option is available to any customer) with 14kg fronts and 12 kg rears. Enkei 17×7 RP03 wheels and 215/40/17 Falken Azenis rubber. Mr. Andy Hope drove the car to a 2:08.091 at Super Lap Battle 2008. Good enough for 3rd in class. Not bad for a car with 119WHP, rear drum brakes, full glass and about 25MPG.

Matching support vehicle. v8 Sequoia equipped with 4 Bride seats, DEFI meters, JBA headers, MagnaFlow exhaust, K&N Intake, 20″ Enkei with Falken rubber and a sliding rear platform housing tools, jack, spare wheels, fuel jugs, etc…

Super Lap Battle Exhibition in Vegas

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This past weekend I took a trip to Las Vegas, NV for Super Lap Battle exhibition race. Competitors included a couple of the top contenders from each class.

TEIN was well represented with 4 of the 9 cars running Super Racing coilovers. This was an invite only exhibition race held along with XDC drift and Remix car show. There were a good amount of drift competitors, spectators, show cars, and vendors during the one day event held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 2.39 mile road course consisted of a good mix of high and low speed corners.

I was out there to support our sponsored vehicles and check out the action. TEIN sponsored vehicles included:

Crawford Performance STi in Unlimited AWD

Evasive Motorsports EVO 9 in Limited AWD

SportCar Motion Civic in Limited FF

and new comer Zenkai Motorsports STI in Street AWD

Each of the cars are using Super Racing Coilovers. Crawford and Evasive are both using custom valved setups with increased spring rates. SportCar Motion and Zenkai are using off the shelf kits with higher spring rates (spring rate based on vehicle setup and tire choice). With more testing and feedback we can revalve the off the shelf kits if needed which is a service made available to all TEIN users.

N1 Racing parts on a street driven Civic Si Sedan

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Mike of Evasive Motorsports has successfully been using our Mono FLEX coilovers on his street/ track Civic Si Sedan. The car has finished well in the last few events (class win at Super Lap Battle Finals 2009 and class win at Redline TA 2010 Rd.1) and Mike wants to keep it that way. Mike already added a larger diameter sway bar and a revalve but still wanted more vehicle rotation. So Mike and our engineer agreed the next step was to try some parts from our N1 race kit.

The parts arrived last Friday and Mike brought the car in a few days ago for us to install the parts and perform the needed revalve to make it all work.

The N1 kit is used on many cars competing in Japan’s Civic One-Make race series. Normally these cars use spring rates of 20kg front and 26kg rear. Modifications are very limited to keep the racing tight.

We ONLY used a few of the parts from an N1 kit:

N1 pillowball rear spring seat, Special 20kg rears springs, N1 HAS (Height Adjustment System)

The N1 pillowball rear spring seats are NICE (you can see that the top section can pivot). The spring can now better match the travel radius of the lower control arm and allows the use of a straight spring which are readily available in various sizes and rates. Normally a barrel shaped spring is used for more spring stroke but alternate spring rates are not available.

To make this all work we needed to change the stroke and damping force of the rears dampers. Then in order to balance the car front to rear we increased the front spring rate to 16kg, shortened the stroke, and increased the damping force.

The end result is very aggressive spring rates, short suspension travel and race car like handling. When we took the car out for a test drive on local roads and highways the ride was surprisingly smooth. A passenger would never guess that the car has such high spring rates. The car is firm but not bouncy. It absorbs the bumps well and settles quickly for optimal grip.

A few more pics of the Civic Type-Rs TEIN sponsors in Japan. These cars look so good with just livery and being slammed.

Import Tuner Magazine with Lana Lopez

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Be on the lookout for the June issue of Import Tuner magazine which features the Import Tuner project 370Z and cover model Lana Lopez. Chief editor Carter Jung finished up the photography at TEIN USA and the pics were awesome. Import Tuner is also putting together a video featuring an interview with Lana, check for that at www.importtuner.com

Co-cover car is the 370Z which Tyler McQuarrie drove at the Super Lap Battle finals to a third place finish in the Street FR class. An outstanding result considering this was the first time the 370Z had ever been on the track since the twin Turbo kit, TEIN Mono Flex coilovers,  Project Mu BBK, Volk TE-37, Sunline Racing aero amongst a host of other parts were added to the car.

Tyler McQuarrie on the way to running a 1:59.829 at ButtonWillow Raceway Config #13.

One of the many pit crew members for the 370Z – TEIN Engineer, Ryoh Takizawa.

You can read the full article on the 370Z build and tuning in the latest issue of Import Tuner magazine.

SportCar Motion ITR

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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. 😉

Past TEIN USA Demo Cars

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Was looking through some older pictures on our server and found these. Some of the modifications may be considered out-of-date but at the time these cars were built this was the trend.

2004 Scion xB – built in 2004, debuted at SEMA 2004.  Featured TEIN’s Hybrid Wagon Dampers which allows for ride height adjustment from the cockpit. Greddy turbo kit, custom metal widebody, Bride seats front and rear, custom dash, Racing Hart wheels, and complete Lightning Audio setup. Was sold a couple times, last seen with new a paint job and many of the goodies removed.

1999 Nissan Silvia S15 – initially built in 2005, debuted at SEMA 2005, and went on to continually be modified/ revised/ re-tuned until 2007. 650WHP, RB28DETT (stroked), V-mount, OS Giken 6-speed sequential transmission, TEIN Super Racing coilovers, C-West widebody, stitch welded, crazy roll cage, too much to list. Now owned by a private party in California.

2006 Honda Civic Si Coupe – built in 2005, debuted at SEMA 2005. Custom metal widebody, custom turbo setup, custom red suede interior, TEIN Mono FLEX coilovers, Enkei RPF1 Type RC wheels, etc… Stolen while on the HIN tour and later recovered completely stripped.

2006 Volkswagen Golf GTI mk. V – built in 2006, debuted at SEMA 2006. Featured TEIN Euro Dampers, BRS widebody, host of Seibon Carbon parts, APR Turbo upgrade, JE pistons, Carrillo rods, Bride Gias Carbon Kevlar seats, custom Rothschild Fabrication roll bar, dual composite NX nitrous kit, and custom AutoArt VX wheels. Sold to a used car dealership, not sure where this car ended up.

2007 Toyota Yaris 3-dr – Built in 2006, debuted at SEMA 2006 and competed at Super Lap Battle Finals 2007 (driver Andy Hope pushed this car to a 2:08.091). Burnout bodykit from Japan, custom painted graphics, Super Charger kit, KAAZ LSD, Custom Rothschild Fabrication roll cage, Bride Bucket, Defi Meters, and custom spec TEIN Super Street coilovers. Currently sitting inside one of Toyota’s warehouses.

more past demo cars to be revisited in the future…