EVO and Eclipse Turbo Parts and Performance

Posts tagged “Nissan

Pirelli World Challenge Round 1 and 2 at COTA with Carl Rydquist

 

The Pirelli World Challenge race weekend was 4 days in Texas at the Circuit of the Americas, but it seems like it went this fast :-P

RRE went along to help service for Carl Rydquist and the CA Sport Nissan Team at Circuit of the Americas in Austin Texas with the #34 CA Sport Champion Spark Plugs Team Nissan 370Z Nismo ready to rock and hoping for a podium finish. Austin offered perfect weather conditions and large crowds of fans came out to enjoy the Pirelli World Challenge season opener.

 

After the dust had settled, Carl Rydquist came home with a 3rd place podium from a truly nail-biting race 1 and a pole position for race 2.

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“I almost can’t believe it” says Carl. “I wanted and waited so long to get a shot to race in the Pirelli World Challenge and thanks to the amazing CA Sport Team Nissan and my crew guys from Road Race Engineering I found myself in a fierce three car battle for the Touring Car win. I ended up 2 seconds behind CA Sport regular driver Vesko Kozarov who ended up winning after 40 minutes of hard racing in the other team car [#3], and given this is my first race with the team and at the spectacular Circuit of the Americas that 3rd place pretty much feels like a win!”


Carl Rydquist set the fastest laptime of all drivers in race 1 which qualified him for the pole position for race 2. He set off in the lead from a standing start in front of Vesko Kozarov and second place finisher from race 1, Toby Grahovec, however after 11 laps of nail-biting action among the front-running cars he was forced to retire the car with a power steering fluid leak. Vesko Kozarov went onto claim 3rd behind Toby Grahovec and Nick Wittmer, adding to the tally of trophies for CA Sport Team Nissan.

Carl Says about Saturday:

On Saturday I started from pole position and did my first standing start with the #34 CA Sport Nissan 370Z Nismo.

This video shows the start and the first few laps from Saturday’s race. It went pretty well until an unexpected oil leak forced me to retire the car just before halfway into the race. You may notice that the Touring Car class is pretty evenly matched, but it all varies a bit during the different stages of these 40 minute races depending on how hard you push and when you push, how your car is setup and if you run clear or if you are involved in constant battles. Also differences in engine power curves and gearing between the different cars have an impact in different areas of a track.

All in all this was a great last minute race deal that came together. It became a valuable learning experience to get to know Circuit of the Americas, the Pirelli World Challenge, the strengths and weaknesses of the Nismo 370Z and the competition, and most of all how these 40 minute races develop and how the Pirelli racing tires need to be run in order to be in the battle for a win at the end.

lap times
“The second race began really well” adds Carl. “Toby and Nick’s cars eventually showed a lot more pace than in race 1 though but another podium seemed to be within reach pretty far in to the race and it is a bummer to miss out on championship points so early in the season, but in total there were too many positives to be anything but grateful. I am really happy for the CA Sport Team Nissan to get such a great start of the season and I am excited for the future!”


CBS Sports will air the races on TV on Thu March 17 at 8PM ET, with re-air March 17 9PM ET and March 19 12.30 ET.
The livestream from the races is available for encore viewing at MotorTrend OnDemand.

Next up on the Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car competition schedule is Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, ON co-headlining with the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series as part of the Victoria Day Speedfest, on May 19-22, 2016.

One lap qualifying ride along with Carl:

Carl Rydquist’s next event on the competition schedule is a 3-hour twilight endurance race with the Prototype Development Groups’ Factory Five Racing GTM at Willow Springs International Raceway, CA, on Friday night March 11th, 2016.
Car: CA Sport Nissan 370Z
Race: Pirelli World Challenge at Circuit of the Americas 2016 Round 1 and 2
Driver: Carl Rydquist
Team & Sponsors: CA Sport / Road Race Engineering / Champion Spark Plugs, Pettit Kohn Ingrassia & Lutz / APR Performance, OS Giken / Stance / ADVAN GT / MOTUL


Coco Zurita 2015 Quick Recap

THIS is why we hang out with Coco Zurita! A quick recap of all the fun we had with Coco in 2015.

 


Carl Rydquist 2014 Formula D Season Wrap Up

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COMING TOGETHER IS A BEGINNING.

KEEPING TOGETHER IS PROGRESS. WORKING TOGETHER IS SUCCESS. IN 2014 WE WON OUR FIRST PROFESSIONAL DRIFTING PODIUM IN FORMULA DRIFT PRO2.

HERE’S TO RACING FOR MORE TROPHIES IN 2015!!

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Mean Machine. Pre-Season testing with the new Garrett GTX 4088R installed as well as the new C&R Racing NASCAR dogbox, at Willow Springs Oval.

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Giving tribute to my friend Paul Walker by supporting his charity organization Reach Out World Wide, I ran the ROWW crest on the hood all season, and #ROWW on the quarter panels of my 350Z V8 Turbo.

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Long Beach was one of the best times of the season. Full of fans and friends, and I was excited that the car had become really quick compared to 2013. We also gave a lot of interviews and created a great video from the event.

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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


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]


Larry Chen’s SR20 Swap

Andrew Escarcega shot some video of Matt helping out Dave Karey prep Larry’s Z car for paint under the hood.


JOON “Gentle” MAENG

MotoIQ just posted a great interview with JOON MAENG.

http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/2085/driver-profiles-joon-maeng.aspx

Before getting in to that however, I have to say, all that stuff you hear about Joon is true.  I got the chance recently to hang out with Joon over the weekend at Redline Time Attack when RRE was out supporting his S13 for the event July 2-3 at Big Willow.  Joon and I shared a hotel room, so we hung out a bit on and off the track.  After careful study of Mr. Maeng, I have to say, he is just as cool as the media describes him as.  The guy has a magnetic personality and he is just golden to be around even when his car was overheating in the 112 degree heat (that translates to something like 10000000 degrees on the track).  Joon took the whole weekend in stride, the ups the downs and even me, snoring while he was trying to get some sleep.  It was a great weekend and I hope to get the chance to hang out with the RRE crew and Joon again soon!!

Also, The fact that Joon is the first Korean American pro drifter is no joke in the Korean community.  Koreans take stuff like that seriously and the community is behind this guy with their love and support!!  There is a minidoc on this here:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/TAalvOrqnLY[/youtube]

….enough said…  Here is the interview.  Don’t forget to check out MotoIQ!!  Their site is worth at least a day wasted in the office at your cubicle monitor!!  ALSO, I changed ALL the pictures on here, so the MotoIQ story will have pics. of Joon in his beastly RX-8.

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Redline Time Attack – July 2-3 2011

RRE was out at RTA dynoing cars and supporting Joon Maeng but that doesn’t mean we didn’t have time to dust a couple Subies in our Ralliart!!

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Modified Magazine – AEM Intake & MagnaFlow Cat-back – Nissan 370 Z

AEM ETI Air Intakes & MagnaFlow Cat-back Exhaust System

Allowing our 370Z Nismo to breathe better in seek of more horsepower
From the May, 2011 issue of Modified Mag

Pretty much everything has been said about intake and exhaust systems by now. By replacing the factory-equipped units, one hopes to increase airflow and decrease exhaust backpressure, allowing the engine to churn out some extra ponies for your enjoyment.

Sounds simple enough, and it usually is. However, some cars, such as the Nissan 370Z, are extremely finicky when airflow is altered, especially around the MAF sensor area. The ECU doesn’t like different readings, and the usual result is less horsepower than you started with.

AEM has gone to great lengths to remedy this problem by introducing electronic tuning to its intake systems. A black box is connected to the MAF sensor and ensures that the ECU still sees the airflow counts that are within factory calibration, while the larger AEM intake tubes provide more airflow into the engine, resulting in more power. It’s a great and, best of all, safe solution for adding intakes to your 370Z.

The Nismo Z already comes with a great flowing exhaust system, but MagnaFlow set out to add more power and sound with its stainless steel dual 2.5-inch exhaust system. Using all mandrel-bent piping and a high-flow muffler, MagnaFlow’s exhaust system will wake up your Z from its sedate-sounding stock exhaust sound to a much more lively note.

Results

With our Nismo Z in stock form, it belted out a solid 303 whp and 249 ft-lbs of torque on Road Race Engineering’s dynapack dyno. On went the MagnaFlow exhaust system, which is a very straightforward and simple install.

Read more: http://www.modified.com/tech/modp-1105-aem-intake-mangnaflow-exhaust-system/index.html#ixzz1aKwiEbvy


Joon Maeng – Extreme Drift in Panama – Feb 2011

Our  favorite Formula D driver Joon Maeng got invited to the Extreme Drift demonstration in Panama. Joon, Lod and Art here prepped the 240 here at the shop back in early January for the long trip. Formula D shipped the cars down there by ship in containers. The drifting demo was in the main downtown plaza. Here are a couple videos. Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Mi1j_nCwY[/youtube]

Joon got caught in a Nissan/Mazda sandwich:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mobLRAsp2DU[/youtube]

Here are some pictures from Joon’s blog http://www.joonmaeng.com/2011/02/

 

 

 

 


Joon Maeng – Formula D – Portland International Raceway

The S-Empire/RRE Nissan S13.5 ran with Formula D at Portland International Raceway from July 25th-27th.  Joon ran with Chris Forsberg, Tony Angelo, and  JR Gittens. On Saturday Joon gave a ride along to one of the P.I.R. staff and she had a good feedback. It was a successful event!

Joon will be attending the Formula Drift Monterrey Mexico Competition next with the S13.5 on August  22nd-23rd. We are upgrading the turbo and getting prepared to have a powerful and reliable drift car for the Formula Drift Mexico event. The S13.5 will be loading in the F.D. Rig on August 13th.