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…)
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
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.
Thursday practice gave Joon a feel of the track with the s13, Joon was “Balls Out” this weekend in so many ways!
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
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.
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:
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.
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…)
Joon Maeng – Formula D Long Beach
On Friday afternoon at the Formula D opening event at Long Beach here in Southern California Joon qualified 21st to make it into the show on Saturday.
On Saturday morning after the morning practice and warm up session we heard some odd ticking noises from the valve cover area. On further inspection we found that the LS7 had a broken valve spring. :-/ Joon was not able to get into the top 16 for the main event.
Kevin @ Nexus Visuals is Joon’s videographer and he put together this video of the weekend:
Click here for more pics from David Karey @ AM Drift and the RRE crew: (more…)
Joon Maeng Formula D Press Day
Joon’s first runs giving rides to the media and tearing up the streets at Long Beach’s Formula D Press Day in the Lucas Oil/RRE LS13.
Joon Maeng @ FD Tech Day
Joon passed the Lucas Oil RRE LS13 through tech inspection this last weekend for the runup to the 2013 Formula D season. Here are some pics from the tech day and an interview with wreckedmagazine.com.
Coco Zurita and the Death of a GoPro
We were hanging with Coco Zurita @ the Extremespeed AWD Challenge @ Streets of Willow Springs. Coco was doing some filming with videographer Dylan Pfohl. We put a Go Pro Hero camera on the rear bumper looking at the rear suspension. Things were mostly safe and out of the way, just forgot about the front tires firing rocks back at the camera :-P
Watch the tire move about the rim, even half way up the rim. Also note how much the rear differential moves in its soft rubber mounts. How much the hydraulic piping for the AYC clutches jumps around near the rear sway bar.
About half way into the video the rocks start to take their toll. The outer case and lens gets messed up, finally getting blown away completely. Then the camera lens starts taking direct fire.
Joon Maeng- FormulaD Las Vegas- Lucas Oil RRE LS13 Premiere [updated]
Joon Maeng debuted his new LS2 powered S13 at the Las Vegas Formula D this weekend. We just finished building the new car over the last month and a half. Joon lost his ride in the Nitto Tire RX8 with Ron Bergenholz just before the Seattle Formula D round.
Joon had a S13 bare shell in the wings waiting and all the guys at RRE chipped in with some serious long all nighters to get the new car built and running.
Lucas Oil and American Real TV have always been a personal sponsor of Joon. They both are really helping to get Joon to the last two races of the FD championship this year.
The S13 is wrapped with one side as Lucas Oil
And the other as American Real TV.
After being let go from Bergenholtz Racing, Joon Maeng decided to continue as a privateer in the Lucas Oil/Nitto Tires V8 S13 240SX. This car was a plain 240SX body shell that was built into the LS2 V8 beast you see here in just over a month and a half.
Nitto Tire, Sam’s Auto Land, Parts Shop Max, Feal Suspension, Westech Performance, ACT and many, many other companies stepped in to help Joon make this happen.
With some final suspension adjustments Joon qualified 12th Friday night with a clean 82 point run. With the new course layout it was a night of big upsets.
RRE mechanic Lod Tongkul is Joon’s crew chief and RRE fabricator Art Thavilyati (more…)
LEET Roll Cage Build – Part 3 – Prep and Paint
We last left off on this roll cage build with finishing all the welding. Now it is time for the cleanup, prep and paint.
All unnecessary seam sealer and sound deadening gets removed to lighten things as possible. We trimmed off any brackets and tabs. Most small holes get covered and smoothed over with metal tape for a cleaner look.
All the bare steel on the roll cage and welds needed to be cleaned and prepped with a light acid wash.
Everything gets masked off nicely. The floor gets cleaned and roughed up with sandpaper and a Scotchbrite. Blow all the (more…)
LEET Roll Cage Build – Part 2
Here are the next round of pics building Ben’s full roll cage. The last article had the car getting stripped and interior cleaned. The main hoop and basic bars getting bent and tacked into place.
We had dropped the roll cage down off the foot plates to be able to weld all around the tubes up in the roof area. With the upper bars now welded all the way around, the roll cage goes back up on the floor plates and the floor plates get welded in place.
The b-pillars are closed back in now that they have been lightened.
The door bars are taking shape. The driver’s side has the bars extending deep into the door “NASCAR Style”
The passenger side is a lighter more simple “X” design (more…)
LEET Roll Cage Build – Part 1
With all the 600 whp mods Ben has lately, he felt it was time to step up the safety from a bolt-in Autopower 4 point roll bar to a full cage. Here is the transformation:
The first step was to gut the interior. Everything that could be unbolted was unbolted. The dash comes out, carpet, seats, door panels, headliner, wiring and more.
Bryce was enlisted to help. Anything with a Phillips head screw was his responsibility.
Next is to clean and strip any caulking and paint or undercoating where the base plates will get welded into the chassis. We used 1.75″ diameter .120 wall (more…)
Jack Gets a Magazine Cover (Sort of)
I picked up the newest issue of Modified Magazine last week and I was looking at the cover. Checking out the CBRD EVO they had there and wait, what? Hey! RRE’s favorite up and coming drifter Jack Reynolds got his 240 (with a Dart V8) pictured at the bottom! We have been helping Jack as much as we can. He is a great kid and he slides that beast with no fear. Modified Mag has a nice series of articles this month about how to get into drifting and time trials. Congratulations Jack!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMWwbNSp8J4[/youtube]
Matt Dennison – North American Festival of Speed
Congratulations to RRE’s Matt Dennison for his 1st place in AWD Street class at the North American Festival of Speed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend!
Full race coverage @ UrbanRacer.com
S-AWD
1st Place Car# 23 Matt Dennison S-AWD 1:25.319 Sunday
Heat Protection
Back over the last month we have been tweaking on Ben’s new track car. Remember the pretty red EVO RS on the cover of DSport? That one. With the big manly Borg-Warner EFR Series turbo and loopty-loo manifold hanging out there baking everything for 30 minutes at a time on the road course, some protection from all that heat was in order.
How things looked a month ago:
Ben started with moving the radiator hose away from the manifold. Then we connected the water cooling ports to the twin Tial wastegates to keep the diaphragms cool. We had to re-configure the water pipe and thermostat housing to try to keep the hose routing clean and tee fittings under control. The boost and coolant hoses had to be heat sleeved.
My favorite part is the heat shield that Lod came up with to get the manifold heat up and out of the engine compartment. It is a simple bolt on piece of sheetmetal with some reflective insulation on it. It directs the heat up and out the hood vent before it can bake anything else under the hood. This chopped pic shows it in relation to the hood vent.
The car is getting prepped for Superlap Battle November 8-9 @ Buttonwillow Raceway.
EVO 6 Custom Fresh Air Box
We got a beautiful EVO 6 Group N rally car here in the shop that was abused at the hands of a scooby shop. Scooby owners must tolerate a different level of abuse since the other shop thought all the work on this poor car was completely normal and up to par :-P
The cold air intake was more of a street cleaner intake. It was about 2″ lower than anything else under the car. That is it hanging under the radiator support.
On the EVO 4-7 the intake is further back and the battery behind the headlamp. That is why they had the little NACA duct in the hood on the left side. So we fabbed up a 4″ inlet that ran from the side there to the GT35R turbo.
Prototype air box with the 4″ by 9″ AEM Dryflow filter:
It also draws air in from the fender well as well as from the hood vent. After the mockup Matt fabbed the final part from sheetmetal.
Jen Imai’s Suzuki – Looks Like a Championship Year
Jen got her Suzuki Swift all patched up after the roll at the Gorman Ridge Rally last month. The car headed out of here and off to Arizona last Thursday.
She finished 2nd place in Performance Stock for the Friday night rally. On Saturday she had to deal with a blown rear strut but here competition for the championship John Black in the Ford Ranger had more problems. She ended up with 1st place in P-Stock on Saturday and enough points to get the Performance Stock California Rally Series Championship. Congratulations Jen!
Ben’s EVO RS Hits the Cover of DSport
The full feature of the car isn’t on line, you gotta get yourself to the store and buy the November issue of DSPort when it hits the newstand! In the meantime, the RRE RalliArt is in the current October Issue. This is the EVO we tuned with the new Borg Warner turbo with the crazy spoolup.
More pics and partial article in DSport’s website.
