No doubt, my girlfriend and dog (!) are not feeling well, I would have liked to come check it out.

I'm quite a bit north of you guys, but its pouring up here in Anthem. Is the weather still holding out for you guys? I hope so!

 

How was today?

 

It rained all day here, and I'm about 30 miles north of firebird. Right now it's nice and cool, the rain has stopped. So hopefully they can salvage the rest of the night.

 

My friend went to the event today! He got some pics of your GTR!

 

Making the 28 hrs trip now back to ATL. We did the autocross in a monsoonal rain...it was full hydroplane city out there. Fortunately, it dried up for the drag race and autocross, for the most part.

I will have a full update once I get back, but we'll be on the cover of the magazine. THANKS guys!

 

I don't want to jump to conclusions/assumptions, but it seems like the GTR would fair well in that type of weather.

 

We need results The G had an invite as well, but just couldn't get back from China in time, damn work

I haven't been able to touch base with Geoff or Don but Full-Race was supposed to do their usual slap a Full-Race twin scroll kit on a STI street car and come out to play too...

 

but you are only getting a taste of what RA gets all the time with the invites philthy


lulz

 

i know... funny how it works out huh.... i figured it was going to be warm after it had all week earlier... with was pretty shitty up here too... i am quite a bit north than PHX... more north west, about 80 mins from vegas

 

Glad to hear it all worked out. I'm definitely interested in hearing all about it when you get back.

 

What city are you in? I don't know why but I thought you were in Tempe or Chandler for some reason.

 

Where do I begin!? We just returned from the Modified Magazine Tuner Shootout in Phoenix, AZ. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience for me. It's not often, that we get the opportunity to compete against 12 of the top tuners in the country, across all of the major motorsports disciplines: Dyno, Autocross, 1/4 mile, and Time Attack.

Let me start by saying, that we've been asked to maintain an information blackout until the article is published. You will find a 10 page article in the August issue of Modified Magazine, which hits the stands in July. That said, lets get started with a quick recap, and my reflections on this terrific event.

The competition began at UMS Tuning with the dyno power test. This year, they used an area under the curve, calculation, which bodes well for the GT-R's strong and wide powerband. We ended up putting down 556whp/632trq on their DynoPak hub dyno.



The following morning, we headed over to Firebird International Raceway for the Autocross. We were greeted by this...1 inch of standing water and pouring rains.


Will Taylor took the controls for the autocross, since he had 1 more autocross under his belt than myself...and I had zero under my belt. We slapped on the OEM All-Weather Dunlop run-flats, and gave it a go. He had his hands full, but we still made a very respectable showing, and we gave the much lighter and nimbler cars a good run for their money.




By the time the 1/4 mile test rolled around, the track was pretty dry, but still a bit slippery. We were supposed to be given 3 attempts, but after a competitor lost their rear glass at the 1/8th mark, the track was shut down for 15 mins for cleanup. There was some drama at this event, and a misstep on our part, so we didn't do as wells as hoped. Turned out we ran too little tire pressure in the Hoosiers, and the tire was actually spinning around on the wheel, causing an AWD clutch malfunction/limp mode. By the time we figured it out, we were not allowed that 3rd run we were promised.



Despite the setback in the 1/4 mile test, we were still hanging on for contention, and still well positioned for the very important Time Trial. Competition in the Time Trial would be fierce. This is where most of the teams usually shine. Our competitors were running mostly race prepped AWD machines, with significant weight advantages over the GT-R. They were all being piloted by some very accomplished professional race car drivers as well. We knew that nothing would be left on the table, once this event was done.

Due to the weather issues, there was very little practice available for the teams to learn the track. This was my first time on Firebird International Raceway, and I had about 5 hot laps of practice, during which, I put down a bunch of 1:05's which would have actually been the 1st place laptime from last year. Oh, but , did I forget to mention that the Time Attack would be held at night!!?? :helpsmilie:

So with ZERO night practice, I hit the track knowing that I had just 3 hot laps to put in my best time. I roll out into the track and matted the throttle as I cycle through the gears, and barreled down the front straight. I approach 150mph, and grab the brakes for turn 1. Not bad at all....what was all this talk about some of the turns being shrouded in complete darkness??!!....so I gather the car up, find my line ,and start laying into the throttle. Exiting turn 2, at 100mph, I am greeting by: COMPLETE DARKNESS!!! Turn 3 was completely dark, so I basically grab the brakes, make a quick prayer, and turn in....fortunately stayed on track, and continued through turn 4, although slightly off-line. With each lap, I dropped an entire second, as I tried to acclimate myself to the blindness of turn 2. If turn 2 isn't nailed, it will seriously affect your speeds through turns 3 and 4 as well, so it's critical to get this right. Although my times were not quite as fast as our day-time practice, we put down some competitive times. Most of the teams were within 1 second of each.



Although I can't reveal our final placement, or how the other teams did, we performed very well overall, and look forward to competing in the event next year. I will tell you, that you should find us on the front cover...that's the only hint you get. And considering that all we had were off the shelf bolt-ons, and some nerdy shop owner pushing the pedals, I am pleased with our results.



I wanted to recognize Will Taylor (Underpressure) for his performance during the autocross, and setting up the car, and his uncanny ability at cross-country driving. The man is a rockstar of night-time driving...seriously. :irock: We thought Texas would never end.

I also wanted to recognize all the other top teams that competed, including GST Motorsports, Yimi-Sport/Full Race, Factor X, Science of Speed, Hassport, Crawford Performance, and all of the others. Part of this experience is speaking with a talking shop with our competitors, and hopefully learning a few things from one another. There was a sense of great competitive spirit, but also a shared sense of community and helping one another. I wish them continued success as well. :cheers:

One thing I learned, is that victory favors the insanely well prepared.

 

t/a @ night ! in a gt-r ! you got some bawls dude !

 

Great write-up! Too bad the weather dumped on you guys. I was in Phoenix that Thursday and Friday morning, and it was warm and dry then.

So... cover shot = win?

 

I guess I can hold off on the leaderboard , but POST SOME MORE PICS!! haha

 

Edit...I fail for not reading. Welcome back, and grats

 

lol @ the "nerdy shop owner" comment.

great job, sharif

 

Nice write up Sharif...!

Based on the weather conditions and the competition, I would guess the results were as follows, GST 1st, Full-Race 2nd and Forged 3rd... The FWD and RWD cars couldn't stand a fighting chance in those conditions...

 

Sharif,

Apparently it was you who brought the rain, as it hadn't rained here for 50+ days. I actually was in the dark that you were coming (PM me next time) or I would have made an appearance. With the bad weather, I figured it to be dubious at best that the show would go on... Family in town from the mid-west for Easter didn't do much to to help my laziness either. Hope you were able to enjoy yourself none the less. Cheers.

Darrren

 

congrats sharif on a great showing!! im callin it.....top 3 fo sho!!!