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Dr Alex EVO 6 – Chuckwalla POC Time Attack

We took the Varis Widebody EVO 6 to Chuckwalla for the POC Time Attack. It was Dr Alex’s first time running at Chuckwalla and also the first full track day in anger with the wide body and wide wheels and Stoptech Trophy brakes. The first time out on low boost he was running just over 2:00 lap times the first day.

line_up

With the brakes giving full confidence and the power set on “Kill” (450 tq/500 whp) instead of “Tickle” (370tq/450 whp) the car really came alive.

pits

Lap times dropped to a low of 1:56 flat by the time the Time Attack sessions rolled around. The 1:56 flat was good for the 4th fastest time of the weekend against some seriously beautiful looking and sounding German machinery.


Dr Alex’s EVO 6 – Brake Test Day at ACS

We took the Dr Alex EVO 6 with the new Varis widebody to a Speed Ventures track day at Auto Club Speedway this last weekend to dial in the Stoptech Trophy Brakes a bit. This is the first full run with the car with the Muellerized Ohlins, 18×11 Volk SSL wheels and Hankook tires. The car has the OBP Motorsports pedal box with tandem master cylinders and cockpit adjustable front to rear brake bias.

John Mueller (Muellerized…) was just minding his own business under orders doing some shake down runs and a beautiful Porsche Cup Car was right there in front of him. Go for a lap with John on the low boost setting. In the video all you hear is the Porsche revving and shifting. I wish EVOs would sound that good going just as fast :-)


EVO X – Custom Competition 3.5″ MAF And Intake

AEM and AMS both make an EVO X  intake with larger than stock 3″ cross section MAF housings. The larger MAF housing can mess up the fuel trims and when tuned need some fine tuning of the MAF Scaling tables.  But they can help get the last couple HP out of the stock turbo and are a necessity for upgraded turbos. But take the 3″ intake up to 3.5″ and the upgraded turbo really comes alive. We are talking another 20-25 whp up top.

Here are some pics of a custom made 3.5″ MAF housing and cold air intake for an EVO X. ETS makes a nice ready made kit that we’ll often use. But sometimes the best stuff is custom made.  We used a 3.5″ aluminum U-Bend to build the intake pipe and MAF housing and welded on a billet machined AMF sensor mounting plate.

An AEM Dryflow filter with a built in velocity stack 6″ diameter by 9″ long is as large as can be fitted. We also made a full heat shield that incorporated the stock fresh air ducting.

 


Show-n-Shine @ Nitto Tire – Auto Enthusiast Day

A cold and rainy day couldn’t stop us from having fun at the Nitto Tire Auto Enthusiast Day held at the California Speedway this weekend. Warm clothes, great music by Jarod De Anda (Voice of FD) helped us to keep our spirits up make the best of the weather :-) . It was great to support all our friends (rain or shine). RRE model Ashley Clark braved the wind and cold to help us out.

We had Roy’s Godzilla GTR, Coco Zurita’s EVO X, Matt Dennison’s EVO 9 all on display. Also From Rob Tallini’s RRM next door we had the Fiat Abarth for people to check out and of course the RRM Jeep Rubicon on hand incase the weather got out of control!


RRE EVO 6 Varis Widebody at SEMA 2013

Here is a nice video about the details of Dr Alex’s EVO 6 Varis Wide Body SEMA project that we had in the Zeitronix display at SEMA 2013 in Las Vegas. Next up for the car is some track shakedown over the winter months.

Video and editing by Drew @ www.thirstyfilm.com

2000 Mitsubishi Evolution 6 GSR

Exterior
• Carbon Wide Body, Hood, Trunk Lid and Wing by Varis Japan
• Volk Racing Wheels TE-37 Super Lap 18X11+22
• Hankook Ventus C71 Racing Slicks

Interior
• Cobra Sebring and Suzuka Race Seats
• Schroth Race Belts
• OMP Steering Wheel
• Stack Race Dash
• Zeitronix ZT-2 Wideband
• Zeitronix ZR-1 AFR — Boost Display
• Zeitronix ECA-2 Ethanol Content Analyzer
• Zeitronix Ethanol Content Gauge
• Zeitronix Flex Fuel Sensor
• Safety Devices 10 Point Roll Cage

Engine
Mitsubishi 4G63 600 whp/500 ftlbs Tq @ 25 psi
• Road Race Engineering 2.3 Stroker
• Turbo by Garret GT3582-R
• Tial 44 MM Waste Gate
• Road Race Engineering Front Mount Intercooler and Piping
• Road Race Engineering 4′ Intake
• AEM Infinity ECU – Full Flex Fuel – Tune by Sam @ RRE
• ACT Xtreme Single Disc Clutch

Brakes and Suspension
• Muellerized… Öhlins Road and Track Coil Over Suspension
• Stoptech 6 Piston Front — 4 Piston Rear Trophy Big Brake Kit


Coco – Live Fast Video

We’ve been helping out Chilean BMX racer/freestylist and X Games star Coco Zurita for a couple years now since we found him with some melted brake pads at California Speedway with his EVO X. He and his car have been steadily getting faster and faster over the last couple years since them. Coco’s good friend JC Pieri shot some cool video blending his two passions. His EVO and his bike riding into a movie short. This was shot over two days here at RRE, Downtown LA and at Woodward West where Coco mentors and trains. Enjoy!


Dr Alex’s EVO 6 Varis Widebody Project – At SEMA 2013

We were fortunate enough to have Dr. Alex’s Evo featured in the Zeitronix booth at SEMA this week.  We’re grateful for their support, and we were happy to provide them with this cool car.  While we didn’t get to show off what the car could do this week, it’s a very capable set up, running 600 horsepower and 500 foot-pounds of torque.

Here’s a quick run down on what it takes to get a build this capable going:

  • Varis Carbon Fiber Widebody Kit
  • Volk Racing TE37 Superlap 18x11s
  • Hankook Ventus C71 tires
  • Turbo by Garrett GT3582R
  • RRE 2.3L Stroker
  • RRE front mount intercooler
  • Zeitronix wideband and ethanol content analyzer
  • Jack’s 5 Speed Transmission
  • ACT Extreme single disk clutch
  • Muellerized Road and Track Coilovers
  • Stoptech Trophy Brakes
  • Whiteline Bushings

The car looks great in a booth, but we can’t wait to see what it can do on the track.


Matt Dennison – Track Shakedown

Little recap from this past Saturday at Willow Springs Big Track during Global Time Attack

This event was mainly to showcase all the new parts installed and gain beneficial data for this up coming Super Lab Battle. Times weren’t nearly as important compared to how the motor, aero, suspension and other testing parts performed.

The weather was perfect and the attendance of cars impressed. For this event GTA teamed up with Shift-S3ctor which is known for there airstrip racing and the high dollar cars they bring in… With a few notables as a gnarly Porsche Cup car and a track prepped Benz C63, a corvette ZR1 and several decently modded GT-R’s… and then of course all the rag tag GTA track cars we have all come to love…

If you haven’t been to a GTA event, then you you’ve been missing out. As the camaraderie and the friendships you gain are unforgettable. Let alone some of the cars that come out are the fastest in the business of time attack.

As for me, it was an eventful day. This was the first outing with the new Jacks Transmission 2.3 motor and trans, the newly added aero, Robi’s suspension bits, testing unreleased brake components and a slew of other newly added parts. With all I knew I was going into the day with problems sure to come up…

The first problem to arise was the catch can setup, as the current setup as a simple one which proved inoperable. As oil spewed all over the the left side of the engine bay and flowed underneath the chassis. I did over fill the crankcase slightly, so that could have been a leading cause. But once I rigged up (2) separate catches it resolved the excessive blow by.

The second problem was with the undertray not having enough support in the center of it. That resulted in a gaping rub-hole in the center of the undertray.

The next was suspension needs a little more fine tuning, as the RobiSpec hard bearing kit proved to work as designed or I just need to man up and steer the car right…

All in the the car stayed cool all day long with both the water and oil staying below 220 degrees.

The RRE Scot Gray tune performed flawlessly, with no hint of knock or missing a beat.

The test brakes never boiled fluid as I tried my hardest to.

The Jacks Transmission 2.3 motor and trans showed there track worthiness…

To end, I know what needs to be done and hope to complete it all in time for November

God Bless,
-Matt

 


Road Race Engineering Collaboration Announced for 2014 Formula Drift Racing Season

After a solid performance in their debut Formula Drift season Berk Technology and Rydquist Racing announces their partnership with industry veteran Road Race Engineering in Santa Fe Springs CA.  Road Race Engineering brings over 20 years of experience from a variety of motorsport disciplines including Pro Rally, time attack, drifting, hill climb and drag racing.  The partnership will help further deepen the field of talent in the up and coming Rydquist Racing Formula Drift Program.

Originally hailing from Gothenburg Sweden, driver Carl Rydquist built his career in European GT car racing and has made appearances and wins in some of the world’s most famous racing events including the 24hrs of Nurburgring, 25hrs of Thunderhill, and the Zandvoort 500.  Rydquist has his sights set on making a big impact on US soil going sideways with Formula Drift.

“Our Top 32 finish at Irwindale was due on large part to the support we have with Road Race Engineering.  Their decades of experience really shines through on and off the track and we couldn’t have asked for a better match.”  Carl Rydquist – Driver/Team Owner – Rydquist Racing.

“Road Race Engineering is excited to represent our partners in 2014 on the Formula Drift circuit and show the world what our capabilities are on the race track.  This also gives us the opportunity to show our clientele how deep our experience is with different engine packages ranging from small displacement import motors to big displacement domestic V8’s.”  Rossy Welch – Marketing Director, Road Race Engineering.

Rossy Welch looks to further establish their organization as one of the premier Southern California facilities that produces some of the best professional level race cars as well as well rounded street driven performance vehicles.

Road Race Engineering’s president Mike Welch looks to apply his 25 years of motorsports experience to the Rydquist Racing and Berk Technology effort.   Welch is very enthusiastic about the newly forged partnership as the team evolves into an ever family of long time partners in the performance industry.

“It’s a perfect match up with Carl Rydquist and Bryan Berk as they already work closely with some of Road Race Engineering’s already long standing partners.  For over a decade we’ve been very close to their partners ACT Clutch, AEM, Hankook Tire, Turbo by Garrett, and KW Suspension.  Not only do we get to work together on projects using our in house Dynapak dyno, we are now able to get behind this joint effort in Formula Drift.”  Mike Welch – President, Road Race Engineering.

The partnership between Berk Technology and Rydquist spans three years and has proven to be a potent combination.  The pair looks to continue their formula for success in Formula Drift in 2014.

“We’re very fortunate to team up with such a solid organization.  Road Race Engineering brings a lot of energy and talent to the program and after the Irwindale finals I can say that we are already off to a fantastic start.  We are a sophomore team and we can only move straight up the ladder from here.  2014 already looks like it’s going to be a fantastic year for Berk Technology and our partners.”  Bryan Min – President, Berk Technology


Joon Maeng Formula D – Round 6 – San Antonio, Texas

We are just back from the 6th round of the 2013 Formula D championship in Texas. We were supporting Joon Maeng in his Lucas Oil – MAV TV RRE LS-13. Joon’s car just went through a round of serious weight reduction by Nate. He tried centralizing the weight in the rear a little more and well as a second round of weight reduction on the front end.

The light weight and revised suspension that Nate built made the car incredible. Joon said that the car is a serious championship contender as it sits now after dialing it in throughout the year.

This is the first year of  running at Texas World Speedway for the Formula D series. Everyone was a little off, quite a few upsets in qualifying had everyone surprised. \Yet it was cool seeing several smaller privateers get into the top 32. Joon qualified decent at 26th place with a 79 point run, but luck put him up against this year’s points leader Michael Essa. Tough first round for sure and Joon didn’t get to move on to the top 16.

We were also helping out with the Rydquist Racing – Berk Technologies LS-1 powered 350Z. Carl gave qualifying his best shot but didn’t make it into the top 32. It was his first run with the LS-1 engine. For Round 7 in Irwindale Carl is going to add some NAWZ for a little more power to finish up the season. It will be Turbo LS-1 for 2014!

 

More pics and story (more…)


RRE License Plate Frame Saves the Day :-)

Customer Story of the Year:

Almost had a speeding ticket… but that RRE license plate holder saved me! :) I was driving my EVO on my way to San Diego early in the morning and it was still pitch black. I didn’t know I was being followed by a patrol officer.

The highway was clear so I was driving around the 90’s trying to make it to work early. So there he was out of nowhere and asked me to pullover and get off the road. (I was like s**t!… please don’t get a ticket before deployment…)

Officer: “You know why I pulled you over?”

Me: “No Sir”

Officer:  “I was pacing your car and you were going about 90+”

Me: “I didn’t realize I was going fast Sir… but I was driving very safe with the flow of traffic” (getting nervous and still hoping to not get a ticket)

Officer:  “I see that you have a Road Race Engineering license plate cover… what do you have done in your car?”

Me: “Just an intake, and exhaust” (asking myself are the rest of my mods illegal?) (even more nervous now)

Officer:  “How much power you pushing?”

Me:  “Just only about 330ish”  (thinking to myself, I shouldn’t tell him I’m pushing 390… because I’ll sell myself out)

Officer:  “Didn’t they tune your car in the dyno?  Who tuned your car? Was it Mike? Scot? Sam?

Me: (speechless) (thinking to myself what the f****! Am I in trouble now!?)

Officer: “I used to have a DSM and RRE is my shop ”

Me:  “Oh wow! That’s awesome!”

Officer:  “When are you going back to RRE?  Tell Sam and the crew that I said hello” “Drive Safe!”

Me: (just happy and thinking what the f**** just happened… this cop is awesome!)

My car is currently in a storage now and I will bring it in after I get back from deployment.

Thank you Mike!

 


Matt Dennison – RRE GTA Time Attack EVO IX

Matt is getting ready for the last events of this year here in So Cal. He just went through a full rebuild (2.3 motor, trans) and is putting the final touches on his setup. More info on Matt and his car here: TimeattackUSA

Video and Editing by Drew @ Thirstyfilm


Mitch from MP Tuning Tunes the Rydquist Racing – Berk Technologies FD 350z @ RRE

Mitch Pederson from MP Tuning was here on the RRE Dynapack dyno tuning on our friend’s Rydquist Racing-Berk Technology Formula D 350z with it’s fresh LS swap. Fun stuff!

AEM Series 2 standalone ECU
Champion Spark Plugs
ACT clutch system
Fiveo Injectors

One of the pulls the factory LS water neck fitting popped out making a bit if a geyser :-P Go General Motors! Sealed back up and cleaned up the mess and back to tuning in 15 minutes. Now we know they randomly do that.

From Brian Berk:

The OEM GM steel water neck is “press fit” and worked its way out of the water pump in spectacular fashion. The neck is probably 3-4 thou smaller than the orifice and is only held in by a 50-60 thou wide bead of thread locker. I welded on an aluminum neck after this little mishap.

They went out testing and the car is currently running great. Getting ready for Round 6 of the Formula D championship at Texas Motor Speedway September 13-14.

www.mptuning.comcarlrydquist.comberktechnologies.com

Video by Drew @ Thirstyfilm


Joon Maeng – PAS Magazine Feature Article

Joon Maeng’s LS-13 got a nice feature article in PAS Magazine this month. Nice story and background on the car with all the tech specs. Read the full article here: Like Car, Like Driver

WRITTEN BY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW JENNINGS | PAS Mag August 2013

There’s two sides of every coin for a reason

Joon “Gentle” Maeng may look like just another young driver on the Formula Drift circuit, but don’t let his appearance fool you. He has been through many ups and downs, and a number of cars too. This year brings a new beginning and a fresh start for the South Korean. His personal Lucas Oil / Mav TV sponsorships were renewed, and he is now joined by Nexen Tires to take on the competition, managing his own program with the help of Road Race Engineering. Reliability is key to success in the unforgiving world of drifting, and his latest Nissan S13 chassis has been conceived from the ground up with that in mind.

To play with the big boys, a basic four-cylinder engine wouldn’t cut it. Maeng’s team knew this and went a different direction, swapping a Brodix 8.2-liter LSX V8 into the front of the sport coupe and tuning it to put out a whopping 800 horsepower and 750 lb-ft of torque. The power is managed through a dog box transmission and ACT clutch and flywheel, transferring into a brand new Weir Performance rear end.

Read the Full Article Here on pasmag.com 


Joon Maeng Formula D Round 5 – Evergreen Speedway – Monroe, WA

Round 5 of the Formula Drift Championship took place at Evergreen Speedway located just outside of Seattle Washington.

ontrack-smoke_rear

Thursday practice gave Joon a feel of the track with the s13, Joon was “Balls Out” this weekend in so many ways!

ontrack-grandstands

Friday qualifying was very crucial Joon laid down a 73.5 in his first run, which would get him in the top 32 , Joon was aggressive in run 2 with an 85 point run under his belt, Joon qualified 21st which would put him against Conrad Grunewald who drives the Hankook tire Camaro ss

ontrack-joon_slide

In Joon”s chase run, he would keep good proximity on the bank but straighten in the “Power Alley” due to e-brake issues, giving Conrad Grunewald a huge advantage

 

Joon’s lead run was clean and aggressive. Conrad had multiple mistakes but it was not enough to give Joon the win, Conrad would move on to the top 16.

11-joons_kids

The crew had fun however.


Dr. Alex’s EVO 6 SEMA Varis Widebody Project – Getting Started!

Here are some pics of the work that we are getting started on here. Varis carbon wide body kit, Stoptech Trophy Brakes need some bigger wheels so that means we’ll need a wider body and chassis clearance. The interior will get new seats and a full detailing. The car already hit the dyno for a retune after the motor was all broken in.

Before Pic (remember this skinny little plain EVO 6 so you can compare it to the finished monster)

All stripped down.

Initial fitting of the body work, Here it is on 9.5″ Volk RE-30s. The eventual wheels will be Volk TE-37 Super Lap 18″ x 11″

little stock brakes and the Rally Ohlins will be replaced later with Stoptech Trophy big brake kit and Muellerized Ohlins Road and Track coil overs.

Full Photo Gallery:


JTP Stops by to use the RRE Dynapack

Justin Pawlak had an Eclipse back in the day and we have always watched his rise through the ranks in Formula D to the top. He now has a full ride with team Falken driving the signature teal/blue Falken Mustang. John Mueller of Muellerized.com is now his spotter and is in charge of his suspension program too.

Justin just got his personal turbo FC RX7 together and stopped by RRE to tune it on the dyno. AMDrift.com’s Dave Karey came by to shoot it and do a little write up on the day. Check it out here.


Dr Alex – EVO 6 Track Shake Down

We took Dr Alex’s EVO 6 to Auto Club Speedway for some shake down runs now that it is tuned with the AEM Infinity ECU and running on E-85. There was a Porsche Club Festival of Speed that he had some friends running at so we chose that weekend. Dr Alex was also able to make some runs with his 997 Turbo. By the end of the day we had the EVO running faster lap times than the 997.

Here is a quick video from Andrew @ ThirstyFilm

To run full 30-40 sessions at higher hp on E-85 we upped the fuel cell from a 12 gallon cell to a Aeromotive 20 gallon aluminum cell with their built in pump and pick up box assy. New -8 fuel lines front to rear, AEM fuel rail and RC Engineering 1600 cc injectors finished out the fuel system for big power and consistent fuel supply.

Next on the schedule is to tear apart the body to install the Varis Widebody kit. Then wider wheels with Hoosier race slicks and Stoptech Trophy brakes. We’ll most likely change out the Ohlins rally suspension for Ohlins track suspension.


Dr Alex – EVO 6 AEM Infinity ECU E-85 Tune

The EVO 6, being an ex-rally car came with an Autronic SM2 ECU. While excellent for rally car engine management, we needed more for an all out track car running E-85. The car currently runs an RRE 2.3 with a Garrett GT35R turbo. The Infinity ECU allows up to 12 maps, virtually unlimited logging and incredible ease of tuning. Using the Zeitronix ECA Ethanol Content Analyzer the Infinity ECU also allows for full flex fuel operation.

Sam and Gus wired up a plug in ECU adapter harness starting with a Boomslang patch harness. With the Infinity ECU initial startup is easy. You just enter the vehicle crank sensor type and injector type and it fires right up.

Setup for some easy track shake down runs, the car made 420 whp running wastegate boost with full torque and boost hitting at 4,100 rpm. With the boost set higher to 23-20 psi the motor hits 450 torque and 480 whp. More than enough power for now to rip loose the Hoosier R6s anywhere he wants.

 


Summer Project

Our summer project. Dr. Alex’s EVO 6

+ Varis Wide body Kit

+ AEM’s new Infinity ECU

= Win

It started with a quest for bigger brakes. Bigger brakes need bigger wheels. Bigger wheels need a wider body. Then of course with all the brakes, tire and aero he’ll need more power! This stuff is all a slippery slope to going broke :-) What a country we live in! We’ll keep updated with pics throughout the project.


EVO X Timing Chain Follow Up

We previously went over the EVO x’s 4B11 timing chain stretch woes here. On a good day when everything is working correctly the ECU uses the cam position sensors along with the crank angle sensors to calculate the stretch of the timing chain. When it all works like it’s supposed to, the dash warning system shows a big triangle warning sign so you can get things checked out.

All too often this system fails the owner. We have had cars with the timing chain well within spec get various timing chain and  (more…)


Coco Zurita – Sweet Pics

Coco Zurita is one of the top ranked big air freestyle BMX racers in the world, aspiring time attack driver in his EVO 8… but also seems to be quite the photographer! We did a few upgrades and repairs to his EVO while Coco was at the X-Games in Brazil. He picked up the car when he got back from Brazil and got these pics towing home to Tehachapi.

Side of the highway:

Also pics from Coco’s Most Awesome Amazon Adventure:

Check the gallery for more pics: (more…)


It All Comes Down To Time

Not enough, too much, life is about quality time. Chrono is Greek for “time”. Jin’s 2013 EVO X GSR tends to shorten the time it takes to get from Point A to Point B. He has simple mods, AEM CARB legal intake and a RRE Stealth cat back exhaust. The GSR is running a safe track tune at 290 whp on the RRE AWD Dynapack dyno.


RRE 4G Eclipse Competition GS Headers (2006-2014) Install Pics and Tips

RRE 4G GS 4cyl Headers $475 plus $40 shipping within the lower 48 states:

We make 4G Eclipse headers. We are never quite sure if everyone is headed to China to get their parts or if they prefer American made parts still. While quality parts can be made in China for a decent price, quality control over workmanship and materials is always a concern. Locally we have much more control over everything.

Here is a batch that just finished up. TIG welded stainless Steel throughout. We did an install and took some step by step pictures.

gs-welds

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