MotorWerks Magazine - Volume 13, Issue 1

Ian Rae

EDITORIAL

West Coast USA Editor East Coast Editor

Social Media Director

Scottish Race Editor

European Editor

East Australia Editor

Time Attack Editor Columnist Columnist Columnist

Norman Nelson

Craig Nelson

Jesse Nelson

Glenn Alcock

Max Ronchetto

Mark Collingwood

Enrique McLeggon

James Houghton

Bradley Gravett

Damien Bradley

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographer Photographer Photographer Photographer Photographer Photographer Photographe r Photographer Photographer Photographer Photographer

Max Ronchetto

Norman Nelson

Mark Campbell

Craig Nelson

Kevin Ehrlich

John Scroeder

Alicyn Drew

Dito Milian

Tom Maxwell

Janis Rae

Sam Moore

NEWProducts

Forgeline introduces new wheels at PRI Show

Even though did not exhibit at the 2022 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, our engineering team at Forgeline has nevertheless worked VERY hard over the past few months to complete several brand new wheel designs. The first batch of seven designs has now been released, just before the 2022 SEMA Show (with another batch expected to debut at the 2022 PRI Show). We’re excited to present the brand new GB3C, ET3, RSR3, HL3, NW104, Z01, and RSR1 forged alloy wheels!

GB3C (Concave Series)

The Forgeline GB3C forged concave wheel was designed in collaboration with the renowned team at Goolsby Customs. It features a unique concave 12-spoke design with two alternating sets of spoke (six of each) with a deep scallop on the inside of the larger spokes and a flat reverse-lip outer. This wheel is available in both a deep concave profile (for the most striking appearance) and a shallow concave profile (to create a staggered look or to accommodate higher-offset applications). This is

a 3-piece wheel assembled with hidden stainlesssteel ARP fasteners and Heli-Coil inserts. The GB3C is a custom made-to-order three-piece wheel that is produced from forged 6061-T6 aluminum with heattreated rim-shells. And just like any Forgeline wheel, the GB3C is fully customizable in fitment and finish, including center lock application

ET3 (Heritage Series)

The Forgeline ET3 Heritage Series wheel pays homage to the slotted mag wheels that were popular in the 1960s & 1970s, but it has been reborn here as a modern 3-piece wheel with updated engineering and manufacturing technology. It features a deep concave design with five large slots to create a classic and clean style. The ET3 is built with true forged 6061-T6 aluminum centers, aircraft-quality ARP stainless steel fasteners, and heat-treated rim sections. The ET3 is available with a stepped lip outer in 17 and 18-inch fitments

RSR3 (Heritage Series)

The RSR3’s clean 5-spoke design is a tribute to the

original cast magnesium RSR Porsche wheels of the 1970s. But unlike the original, the Forgeline RSR3 is a modern custom made-to-order precision-machined forged aluminum version that combines the latest in advanced wheel technology, including modular three piece construction and I-beamed spokes to deliver strength, durability, and head-turning good looks. The RSR3 is engineered exclusively for center lock applications and can fit the Forgeline Flush-Loc Centerlock Conversion and all Porsche center lock systems. The RSR3 is available with a stepped lip outer in 17, 18, 19, and 20-inch fitments.

HL3 (Heritage Series)

The classic HL3 is a tribute to the original Halibrand wheels of the 1960s that famously carried the Ford GT40 to victory, at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. But unlike the original, the Forgeline HL3 is a modern 3-piece wheel that is manufactured from fully forged concave 6061-T6 aluminum centers using the latest engineering and manufacturing

NW104 (One Piece Monoblock Series)

The unique NW104 features complex design elements that command your attention from every angle. It begins with a deeply-contoured multidimensional lug center and continues with a set of ten tapered concave asymmetric spokes that are grouped together in opposing pairs. These elements combine to create a wheel that is both functional and visually captivating. The NW104 is machined from a single forging of 6061-T6 aluminum. It is currently available in 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22-inch diameters with a range of widths and offsets.

Z01 (One Piece Monoblock Series)

If you like the classic style and track-rated modern engineering of our Motorsport Series ZO1R wheel but prefer a subtler less aggressive appearance for your street-driven sports car, then the ZO1 is made for you! Though made from the same forgings and sharing the same 2100 lb. load rating as our raceready ZO1R, the ZO1 forgoes the ZO1R’s aggressive open-lug center area for a more traditional lug

center that accommodates our standard press-in aluminum center cap. The ZO1 features a classic split five-spoke design, concave profile, I-beamed spokes, and chamfered outer edge. The Forgeline ZO1 is a fully-forged one-piece monoblock wheel that utilizes manufacturing technology similar to our very successful GS1R wheel. Beyond just beautiful style, the ZO1 is engineered to allow plenty of room for caliper clearance and extreme brake fitment. It is currently available in 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22-inch diameters with a range of widths and offsets.

RSR1 (One Piece Monoblock Series)

The RSR1’s clean 5-spoke design is a tribute to the original cast magnesium RSR Porsche wheels of the 1970s. But unlike the original, the Forgeline RSR1 is a modern custom made-to-order precisionmachined forged aluminum version that combines the latest in advanced wheel technology, including one piece forged monoblock construction and I-beamed spokes to deliver head-turning good looks. The RSR1 is engineered exclusively for center lock applications and fits all Porsche center lock systems Forge Motorsport are proud to present a complete plug and play intercooler solution for the Peugeot 308 GTI. With reports of the IATS (inlet air temps) reaching dangerous levels on track days in the summer months resulting in the engines ECU pulling out timing to prevent detonation. This can cause damage to your vehicles engine thus resulting in a loss of power in the highly tuned 1.6 litre turbo charged power plant.

Forge Motorsport Peugeot 308 intercoolers fly off the shelves

Long known for bringing much needed parts to the aftermarket, Forge Motorsport hit another winner with their Peugeot 308 GTI intercooler (Part# FMINT30)

With no extra lag and a proven reduction in IATS this is a must have item for the Peugeot 308 GTI owner who is either using their car for fast road, track days, or competition use. Alternatively, if you

intend to modify your 308 GTI with either software (a performance Remap or engine ECU re calibration) the Forge Motorsport intercooler will aid to give the extra cooling and performance needed to ensure the engine stays reliable, safer, and runs cooler in the hot summer months.

Toyota GR Yaris Oil Cooler now available at Forge Motorsport.

Oil temperatures can climb to dangerous levels when on track or when driven hard in hotter climates. Rising oil temperatures will result in only one outcome, a reduction of sufficient lubrication of your engines internal components. The location of the car oil cooler radiator at the front of the vehicle’s radiator grill allows for superior air flow and during our development of this product, we have seen oil temperatures reduced significantly. Therefore, the FMOC12 is a must have product for the keen driver to protect their vehicle performance and longevity. This GR Yaris oil cooler kit is a complete bolt on package and in turn means it is also fully reversable if required. It is also supplied with a full set of comprehensive instructions. The FMOC12 has been developed with the same

engineering expertise from our direct involvement within the BTCC and Mini Challenge race series, where we have provided race proven cooling packages.

Ilya Krylov of RuskiWeldFab was in touch with us recently talking about his Renault Clio that is featured in this issue. He told us he has found a source for door latches in Europe that are a breeze to install compared to those available from the USA.

Designed to lock fiberglass doors, and polycarbonate windows in cars prepared more professionally for all kinds of motor-sports.

The system allows the latches to be opened and closed from both inside and outside the vehicle. The whole system is made by CNC bending, stainless steel material, in order to facilitate the installation, we will send each customer a pdf file with the location of the mounting holes. The system consists of: 2x main latches, 2x bent rod to be welded onto the frame (or safety cage), screws for mounting on the window, a .pdf template.

RuskiWeldFab now UK distributor for RCP door latches.

BimmerWorld Unveil Reinforced

Brake Caliper Guide Bushing Kit for most ATE brakes

Well known for being one of the top go to places for all sorts of BMW products, BimmerWorld just unveiled a new style of caliper guide bushing for most ATE BMW brake calipers. In the past the only option to stop the dreaded caliper flex was to upgrade to solid brass bushings which are perfect

perfect for brake overhauls or replacing worn and torn guides as needed.

Although not listed on the BW website as such, this bushing kit will also fit the R53 MINI. So if your brake pads are tapering and you want to do something about it, this kit is the fix without having to deal with additional maintenance of solid bushings.

for serious performance and race cars but the added maintenance required for road cars can put many drivers off.

The guys at BimmerWorld decided to look for

FUELAB unveils the QSST at the PRI Show

an alternative and came up with reinforced rubber bushing which bridges the gap between floppy stock and solid track bushings.

The big difference is these have a Nylon reinforcement inside that make the bushing a little stiffer but not as solid as our brass caliper bushings. Stiffer bushings keep the caliper aligned and have less deflection, which results in more consistent pad wear with less taper or uneven wear. These are

FUELAB Quick Service Surge Tank (QSST) is a Fuel Surge Tank designed to go into your standard 24-bolt fuel cell for ultimate surge protection and serviceability! It is particularly suitable for many motorsports such as autocross, drifting, hillclimbing or off-road use where fast changes in G-forces can allow air to be picked up by the main fuel pump. Our Fuel Surge Tank systems are designed to maintain a small amount of fuel to operate its own internal fuel pump(s) that can supply high fuel flow rates, while only needing a relatively low fuel flow rate from the QSST lift pump. Outfit this QSST with any combination of your favorite FUELAB fuel pump options to best suit your needs! We have a lot of options, with some able to provide enough flow for up to 1200 WHP on E85 with boost!

FEATURES:

• Quick Service Surge Tank for fast pump service

• Provides protection against fuel slosh from standard fuel cell pump hangers.

Fits the Industry Standard 24 Bolt fill plate bolt

Gasoline, Ethanol(E85), and Methanol compatible

Rollover flap protection

Brushed or Brushless Pump Options

Fuel Tank Vent with Rollover Protection

Gaskets and Hardware Included

• Stock with Empty Fill Neck Hole to give you the options of integral or remote fuel filler.

• Optional Remote Fuel Fill

• Optional Fuel Level Sensor

• Limited Lifetime Warranty!

What Makes The FUELAB System Better?

Our QSST (Quick Service Surge Tank) is exactly that. You can service your Surge Tank Pumps in

minutes. With only 10 bolts on top, you can pull the Surge Tank Pump Hanger out of the top of the cell and service your pumps quickly! Whereas most competitors require you to pull the entire 24 bolt plate, then remove the surge tank housing from the bottom to finally access your pumps. Our unit is compatible with Brushed and Brushless pumps for both the Lift Pump and the Surge Tank Pump(s), or a combination of the two using the same Base Plate. Our base plate comes standard in two enticing anodized colors, Titanium and Gold.

A FUELAB QSST Kit Inclues:

FUELAB QSST Base plate and Surge Tank

Fuel Tank Vent with Rollover Protection

Lift pump Hanger with pump mount

3-Terminal for option of Brushed or Brushless Lift Pump

Fuel Level Sender Blockoff Plate and Gasket

Open Fuel Filler Hole for Customization (Gasket

Included)

Empty Dual Pump Fuel Surge Tank Hanger (Fits Brushed or Brushless Pumps)

Corrugated fuel hose for lift pump into surge tank

Dont forget to add on your FUELAB Fuel Filler Kit, Fuel Level Sender, and your Fuel Cell Vent Kit!

KÖNIG “Neoform New for 2022

The Konig Neoform is a 5-spoke flow formed wheel

with motorsports inspired origins. Flow forming technology is a manufacturing process that results in a lighter weight and more durable wheel. Available in 17, 18, and 19 inch diameter. Widths range from 8-10.5. Although there is no 4-lug pattern option, the Neoform is available in 5 different 5-lug bolt patterns including: 5×100, 5×108, 5×112, 5×114.3, and 5×120. It is also available in A & B profiles. The A profile is a flatter face with more brake caliper clearance. The B profile is more concave with a more aggressive look. Available in a Matte Grey finish.

SPECS & QUICK FACTS:

Company: Konig Wheels

Wheel Model: Konig - Neoform

Sizes: 17x8, 17x9, 18x8.5, 18x9.5, 18x10.5, 19x8.5, 19x9.5, 19x10.5

Finish: Matte Grey

MSRP: N/A (Starting at $245)

- Flow Formed Wheel

- Offsets: 20mm – 43mm

- Large Brake Caliper Clearance

- Metal Pop-in Center Cap

- 10.5” has aggressive concave profile

KÖNIG “Heliogram” Also new for 2022

The Konig Heliogram is a split 5-spoke flow formed

wheel with motorsports inspired origins. The Heliogram features a knurled bead seat to avoid slippage between wheel and tire. Available in 15-19 inch diameter. Widths range from 7-12 inch width. Available in both 4-lug and 5-lug bolt patterns. The Heliogram is available in A & B profiles. The A profile is a flatter face with more brake caliper clearance. The B profile is more concave with a more aggressive look. The Heliogram is currently offered in a Matte Bronze & Titanium Metallic finish.

SPECS & QUICK FACTS:

Company: Konig Wheels

Wheel Model: Konig - Heliogram

Sizes: 15x7, 15x8, 15x9, 16x8, 17x8.5, 17x9, 18x8.5, 18x9.5, 18x10.5, 18x12, 19x9.5, 19x10,

Finishes: Titanium Metallic, Matte Bronze

MSRP: N/A (Starting at $365)

accepts OEM/aftermarket rear engine mounts plus OEM sway bar mounts. Subframe comes Powder

- Special Order Sizes Available

- Offsets: 15mm – 45mm

- Large Brake Caliper Clearance

- 10.5” and up has aggressive concave profile

KÖNIG Forged Coming in 2023

Konig Wheels USA announced at the SEMA Show that they will be producing some Forged wheels in

Unit 2 EG/DC Tubular Front Subframe Now Available

Made of light weight chromoly steel, our tubular subframes will take all the racing abuse you could possibly throw at it. Doing this while providing chassis and suspension rigidity plus shaving off

The subframe is designed to be used with both Power / Non power steering racks with the installation of our designated billet mounts. It also

The Nuke Performance CFC Unit includes a compact filler cap, but can also be paired with a separate fuel filler hose and cap for added convenience. Nuke Performance offers a high-quality, quick-lock remote filler cap that works well with the lightweight and flexible fuel filler hose. Using the included mounting accessories, it is simple to install a secure and easily accessible fueling solution with excellent quality and ease of use. Nuke Performance’s fuel filler hose is constructed of anti-static nylon and is significantly lighter than other commonly used hoses, weighing 80% less

Nuke Performance Filler Cap in 2023

Revshift Dual Mount Differential Bushing Kit for BMW F8X M4/M3/M2 now available

Revshift polyurethane differential bushings completely replace the oem rubber bushings on the BMW F80 / F82 / F83 / F87 - M4 / M3 / M2. This kit includes a second rear bushing and dual mount bracket that adds a mounting point to the subframe. These bushings securely mount the differential eliminating wheel hop and improving the vehicles handling capabilities. The two piece bushing design sandwiches the subframe locking everything in place. The bushings will not shift while driving like other one piece designs allow. The dual mount bracket was carefully designed for strength and a precise fit. This kit is entirely made at Revshift in the USA from our proprietary 95A polyurethane formula and CNC machined 6061-T6 billet aluminum.

Eliminates wheel hop

Improves handling

Will not wear out like oem bushings

Properly dampens the differential

Prevents differential from moving / twisting

Includes new class 10.9 bolts for the rear bushings

Revshift bushing lube and loctite included

Lifetime warranty

Sold as a complete set

The Weight Is Over! - Apex Wheels release

their new Forged Sprint™

plus a 1 year finish warranty. Exchanges are fast, easy, and hassle-free. Apex also has accidental coverage where curb rash or pothole damage on the street can require a new wheel? Make an oopsie at the track? We’ve all been there. APEX is proud to offer 50% off replacement wheels, no matter the damage Your Fastest Lap is Calling!

against defects in workmanship and materials,

As part of our Forged Sprint™ Line, the SM10RS was built to be extremely light while still offering a meaningful strength increase over our flow formed wheels. For those looking to shed as much weight as possible to improve lap times.

Our new forgings weigh as much as 120 pounds before machining. To form such a thick blank we require special equipment capable of 10,000 metric tons of pressure. This extreme pressure increases the strength of the aluminum by eliminating porosity and improving the grain structure. Many companies use 3rd-party blanks intended for non-motorsport wheels which can severely limit sizes, concavity, spoke design, and critical brake clearance. We designed our very own blank profiles from scratch to give us total control over the final product. Pre-order is now available.

LATESTNews

ROWE launches sustainably manufactured premium lubricants, coolants and fluids range into UK market

Premium oils and lubricants brand ROWE launched its high-end and sustainably manufactured product range into the UK market at January’s Autosport International Show, offering a new opportunity for stockists, garages, and end users.

The German oil brand is now distributed in the UK exclusively by Deutschesol, a newly formed company with ambitious plans including their eye-catching launch display at the Autosport International Show, at stand 2464.

ROWE will made its UK debut at the show, that took place at Birmingham’s NEC on 12th-15th January 2023, which complements the oil brand’s ‘racetrack to the road’ circuit-based research and development programme, where its motorsport products undergo extensive testing in extreme racing conditions through the ROWE RACING team.

Deutschesol has been formed by chief

executive officer, and former British Touring Car Champion Robb Gravett, and managing director Jeremy Aston-Phillips.

Jeremy Aston-Phillips said: “The launch of ROWE in the UK is an exciting opportunity for stockists and customers, providing a premium lubricant and associated fluids product range from a brand that maintains strong ethics within sustainability, as a responsible, independent, and family-owned business.”

Robb Gravett said: “Launching at Autosport International provided us with a perfect backdrop considering ROWE’s endurance racing activities, which includes class victories in the legendary Nürburgring 24 Hours and 24 Hours of Spa with it’s ROWE RACING team, enabling oil formula optimisation in demanding test environments.” ROWE’s state-of-the-art blending plant, located in Worms, Germany, broke ground in 2014 and showcases an uncompromising approach on maximising sustainability and product quality, which has led to several original equipment manufacturer (OEM) relationships.

The ROWE plant generates a significant

Master the Canadian Winters with Superior Engineering.

amount of its own electricity through an extensive, 4,000m2 photovoltaic system, and transfers waste heat from indoor manufacturing processes to be used for heating the building and offices.

The plant also features eight million litres of tank storage, 65 kilometres of dedicated pipework for each product preventing the need for a separate flushing network, and the capacity to fill 3,000 containers per hour.

The ROWE product line will be available in the UK for sectors including automotive and motorcycle, commercial vehicle, off-highway, marine, industrial, and agricultural as well as ROWE’s unique range of motorsport products.

ROWE customers can use the online oil finder tool to find the correct ROWE product for their vehicle. For more information, visit: https://www. rowe-oil.com/en/oil-guide.

The new ROWE UK website is currently being built and can be found at https://roweoiluk.com

News just in, we have secured an entry to the 2023 Isle of Wight Speed Trials on March 25th and 26th Can we retain the Fastest Man on the Island title?

BimmerWorld going up Market with

Just before Christmas BimmerWorld’s James Clay went online and announced, “We are excited to announce the next chapter in the BimmerWorld story, another expansion, but this time to a MUCH larger facility! Thats right, less than two years ago

we more than doubled our footprint at BimmerWorld in Virginia’s New River Valley and almost immediately out-grew it. Today we excited to announce earlier this year we purchased the future BimmerWorld headquarters just a few miles down the road here in Pulaski, Virginia and renovations to the former Wal-Mart are well underway.

Introducing the latest expansion project we’ve deemed “BimmerMart” because of its past life as a Wal-Mart. We have recently started renovations and updates will be flowing in throughout the next several months as we transform this empty shell into the latest and greatest BimmerWorld headquarters. A much larger warehouse, sales office, product development area, shipping/receiving department, and of course shop for the race team and all our in-house and customer projects and much more are coming for 2023 and we can’t wait to show you!

Every department and leg of the BimmerWorld company will continue to grow as needed to ensure we continue being the premier BMW parts and performance supplier in North America.

2022 Connaught Competition Engines BARC Speed Champion: Damien Bradley

Chicago, IL - GRIDLIFE announced today that its wheel-to-wheel GRIDLIFE Touring Cup (GLTC) racing series and a select group of TrackBattle Time Attack cars will join the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Road America, July 27-29th. GRIDLIFE is known for its passionate grassroots racing community, and festival-style music events popular with young motorsport fans. While GRIDLIFE has hosted its own weekends at Road America in the past, this would be the series’ first time in a support role for a major North American racing event.

GRIDLIFE Touring Cup (GLTC) is a wheel-towheel road racing series that features single-class competition with spectator-friendly 15-minute races. The series allows for a wide variety of makes and models to compete together with rules based on balancing horsepower and weight.

This means that a Mazda MX-5, Honda S2000, Chevrolet Corvette, Porsche Cayman, Honda Civic, and BMW M3 can all race together in the same class competitively in home-brewed vehicles. Spectators can often find a race-prepped version of the car they

drove to the track, making GLTC one of the most relatable road racing series in the country. Even a Honda Odyssey minivan and Chevrolet S-10 pickup have competed in GLTC. The series has gained a passionate following due to its accessibility for grassroots racers and its low accident rates. Drivers are reminded in every meeting:

The worst thing that can happen when you leave space for another driver is that you have a great race.

This principle of no-contact but competitive racing has led to large field sizes, often exceeding 50 cars. The last time Road America held a GRIDLIFE Touring Cup race was in 2021.

“After a year away because of a date clash with the track repave, we’re genuinely excited and honored to return to Road America and support one of the biggest weekends on the calendar with GRIDLIFE competition,” said GRIDLIFE Motorsports Director Adam Jabaay.

“Road America is one of the best facilities in the sport and I’m sure our drivers will be excited to use the fresh pavement to reset GRIDLIFE track

GRIDLIFE competitors will share the paddock with Porsche Carrera Cup and the NASCAR Xfinity Series; spectators are invited to the GRIDLIFE area to check out the various cars and meet the drivers.

Tickets will go on sale for drivers at a later date and will only be available to pre-licensed GLTC drivers and established TrackBattle Time Attack competitors.

Gridlife stalwart James Houghton is excited about heading back to Wisconsin and Road America. One a previous visit he was wheeling the Acura Integra Type R that he had just sold to the Northern Speed team. Houghton did them proud by laying down a time that became the record for a production based car around the famed circuit. Later this year he is looking for more success and this time it will be in front of a NASCAR crowd.

Houghton told us, “It’s going to be exciting for a couple reasons. One being when we built the car the GLTC finale was at Road America. So we tried to set it up to be fast there. After three years the car has changed quite a bit but I still think it’ll

Secondly I think everyone will be very excited to get to race in front of the huge field that NASCAR will bring that weekend. It’ll almost certainly going to be the biggest crowd GLTC series has ever raced

That’s right folks, Champion hillclimber Damien Bradley is joining the MWM team to bring you the ‘Hills are Alive’ column about the British Hillclimb Championships new Tin Top Challenge.

Tin Top Challenge Announced

The British Hillclimb Chaampionship Organising Team is excited to announce that, for the first time, a three event Tin Top Challenge will run alongside selected rounds of the BHC presented by Avon Tyres and BHC Cup presented by Classic Car Insurance Broker Footman James during the 2023 season.

The ten fastest eligible competitors from both the first and second timed class runs will qualify for the BHC Tin Top Top Ten run-off. The competitor with the fastest time in each run-off will score ten points with points down to one for tenth place.

The inaugural Tin Top Challenge will take place over three BHC event weekends during the 2023 season, starting at Harewood on 1st/2nd July. The second qualifying event will take place at

Shelsley Walsh on 12th /13th August with the final round being at Loton Park on 23rd/24th September. As eligible cars are based on those driving on UK roads, spectators will be able to recognise and relate to them. Expect to see Subarus, Audis and Mitsubishis with 800 plus horsepower battling it out, alongside special Minis, Porsches and many others for the fastest ‘Tin Top’ time. The winner of the BHC Tin Top Challenge will be the competitor with the highest total score from the six run-offs during the 2023 season and will be presented with their Award at the BHC Annual Awards Dinner in January.

BHC Championship Coordinator Tim Wilson said “I am delighted to see that a three event Tin Top Challenge will run alongside the BHC during the 2023 season. Spectators will see some of the

fastest saloon and sports cars battling for points at three iconic Hillclimb venues. I’m sure that it will be a great spectacle and will hopefully develop into something bigger in future years.”

When you find yourself stranded with a dead battery, you might feel tempted to jump start your vehicle. You can either do it from another vehicle, using jump cables, or by using a battery booster pack.

Even though this can get your vehicle back on the road again, you should be aware of the dangers that might follow. It can actually harm the complex electronics in the vehicle, leading to costly reparations and permanent damage to your battery.

In the modern vehicles today, there is over 200 ECUs (electronic control units) with various functions. They perform many different functions such as engine management, controlling of the air conditioning, lights, operation of parking sensors. The ECUs can be viewed as mini-computers in the vehicle and they have a level of about 16 volts. However, if you jump start your lead acid battery it will have a level of 20 volts, meaning that your battery will be shocked back to life. This rapid shift in voltage can easily break one of the valuable ECUs, costing you hundreds or thousands of dollars.

If you jump start a car, the battery booster pack, or if you are using jump leads, the battery on the connected vehicle, works like a power reserve to get your engine started again, briefly bypassing the dead battery. When your engine is running again and you disconnect the booster pack or jump leads, the alternator notices the empty battery and

reacts by opening the floodgates to fill it up. This huge amount of power generates a spike in voltage, causing damage to your vehicle.

Jump starting can also have a negative effect on your battery, as the alternator is charging up the battery with more current than it can handle. This causes the battery to heat up, bending the battery plates, leading to the shedding of active material (lead dioxide) and causing a build-up of debris in the bottom of the battery. The damage decreases the efficiency of the battery and will reduce its lifetime, which makes early replacement necessary. However, there is one smart and easy way to safe-start your vehicle if you have a dead battery. CTEK’s portable CS FREE has patented Adaptive Boost Technology which gets you going again in about 15 minutes.

This process won’t damage the vehicle’s electronics because the CS FREE softly refills the battery and lets you know when it is safe for you to start your car again. When you disconnect the CS FREE, your battery is going to be half full already, which means that the alternator only raises the charge a little bit to power up the battery.

The CS FREE is also a 4-in-1 unit. It is both an adaptive booster, a battery charger, a smart maintainer and a high-tech power bank. If you also use your CS FREE to regularly charge and maintain your battery, you can extend the battery life up to

three times.

Canadian YouTube channel Donslife reviewed the CS FREE and when talking specifically about the Adaptive Boost function Don said, “You might be asking yourself why I’d use something fancy like this when I already have a booster at home, or I could jump start it off somebody else’s vehicle, or I could jump start it off a donor. Well, those are all ways that you can get a car started but jump starting like that actually causes harm over time to your vehicle battery, and you are slowly killing your battery”.

One of the things that we found out when checking out data on the website was the availablity of a solar charger option which makes great sense when you have no electricity at hand. The CS FREE could be a real savior to those stuck in the cold in snowy Canada in the middle of nowhere.

You can find more information about the CS FREE, which is compatible with all types of 12V lead-acid battery as well as lithium (12V LiFePO4) batteries, on the Ctek website

rian Smith is a thirty-three year old Project Manager from Syracuse, NY. He currently competes in the Gridlife and Canadian Sport Compact Series in Canada and the USA.

“I’ve always been a fan of motorsports, he said. “I’m pretty sure my very first words as a baby was “Race Car” (Wooo compound words!) Despite the early love, I never really had a chance to do anything motorsports related until I was 17. My family isn’t into motorsports so I ended up going to drift events with my 2010 Scion XB on my own, in fact half the time I never really planned to go there, the Scion must have had a mind of it’s own. The drifters would use the inner course of an oval track down in Owego NY which was not that far away. Meanwhile myself and my fellow “enthusiasts” would engage in less-thanlegal races on the outer track. That’s where I learned how important tire temperature was, having a LSD, and how to position a car on a high speed circuit. Eventually this lead to me trying everything with the Scion including none performance stuff like audio systems and aesthetic changes!”

“As with many youngsters I outgrew the Scion and it’s lack of performance, which lead me to buying my MK7 GTI in 2015. It was a lovely car with great horsepower, wonderful handling, and cool but aggressive styling. I was planning to keep this car stock as it was right after I finished college. I had a friend ask me to try out a local autocross which I DID! I won my class at the second event, had an off, and my life changed! I decided it is time to do more track things.”

Brian’s move to the Golf GTI involved a trek to Long Island where he picked up this pearl black S model. It was fitted with the Performance Pack 340mm brakes and a LSD,

the Lighting Package and Plaid Seats. His first track day with the GTI in was in 2016 with an Instructor with AZP INstalls and he was hooked after that. It never occurred to him that one can just “go racing”. “I figured you would need massive sums of money or sponsors and entry would be barred to someone like me. Luckily that was not the case and I went on to form the team Easthood Racing, competing and winning Time Attack events in both the US and Canada and even setting lap records in the North East.”

2017- New York Safety Track- FWD Record

2018 Hoonigan Most Wanted Finalist

2019 CSCS Vice Champion

2020-Survived wave 1 of Covid

2021-Getaway Driver- Discovery Channel

One of the things that Brian told us about was how working with Rich and Aerofabb had been an awesome experience. “Rich got in contact with me early in 2018 about the possibility of creating a

proper Aero package for the GTI. VW was tearing apart the TCR world at the time and seeing the VW Golf GTI TCR in action is one of the main reasons I started using my GTI for motorsport. Inspiration was readily available especially with the FCP Euro team supporting Gridlife and running a pair of cars in the Pirelli World Challenge, cumulating in winning the 2019 SRO TC America Championship.”

“Rich is a mad scientist when it comes to fabrication and design. He has a wealth of knowledge in the aero/machining world. What started as a fun “what if” idea of making a TCResque kit for street cars turned into renders, prototypes, and lots of excitement in the VW Racers group. When the first wing prototype was ready for use at Fastivus, 2 years back it was a joyous occasion. Up until that point, I had been working with a prototype rear wing that was designed with lots of love and ambition.”

The new wing and rear diffuser has been such a game changer for us on track. It’s slippery

at high speed but also generates a tremendous amount of downforce when needed. Later this year the matching front splitter should be available and that is something Brian is very much looking forward to. The GTI is one of the best bangs for buck hatches out there to this day, and he really feels honored that Rich and his team trusted him enough to help bring a great idea through the stages to the end product you see on the car now. Seeing the products on VW’s around the globe brings a big smile to Brian’s face. It took lots of hard work and patience as working through the after effects of Covid had been a nightmare for production companies everywhere. Brian and team are so proud of being part of such

“Working with Apex Raceparts is a new partnership that started in 2021. Geirsen Kalhagen and I started working together shortly after filming

wrapped up on my part in the Discovery Channel show Getaway Driver. Apex saw a need from us

motorsport-hungry VW/Audi drivers for proper options in the track wheel category. The options have been slim for years and Apex released the SM-10 in the 18x9 and 17x9 sizes that fit perfectly with no mods needed for the wheels to fit. The hubcentric wheels will be fited with a meaty 265/35/18 up front and they have multiple widths so for a reverse stagger setup I have the 18x8.5 or smaller in the rear.”

“This year I’ll be running their 17x9 in CSCS competition this year. I’m really looking forward to it, one of the cool things about the SM-10 wheel is they fit over my ST-40 BBK with ease. No spacers are required. Apex really did their homework on clearances so drivers can use as much tire and brake as possible, so we can push the limits with confidence. They just released the VS-R5S which can get down to 16.9 lbs per wheel. Insane weight saving on a component that every car needs to go fast. Giersen and his team really go out of their way

to make sure each team they work with is getting the maximum out of their creations.”

One thing that makes Brian’s Golf a little different is that he has the ability to run traction control. “I started working with Stratified Auto out of Surrey, British Columbia in 2019,” he said before continuing, “After running into a few tricky races where I realized I would need professional help with the tune for the GTI I started looking for help on the Internet. I found Alex and his team are lovers of anything fast and their dedication to getting the tune right through rigorous testing is a welcome addition. One of the things that drew me to them was their ability to add a spark-based traction control system into the tune. Depending on the track conditions I can fine-tune how the TC system works. Which makes wet racing or otherwise treacherous conditions much easier to work with. One of my big concerns with tuning the GTI was ensuring we don’t make more power than the block can handle.

three seasons running in flat-out conditions and the engine is as happy as ever. Alex totally understood where I was coming from and it is safe to say they do a great job! I am super pleased with the reliability and performance”

Brian would like to thank all his team and sponsors, their support and assistance allows him to live his dream.

A big thank you to Vinny, Garret, John, and Rob at Liqui Moly. These guys have supported our small program since year one and I couldn’t be more grateful for their support and advice.

Kaylee and Mason @ Tire Streets.

Alex @ Stratified Auto for being such a knowledge resource on tuning the GTI.

Giersen at Apex Racing Parts for helping as VW/ AUDI drivers get quality wheels to push hard on. John, Felipe, and Jordan at USP Motorsports

Rich @ Aerofabb for really taking the time to listen to us on creating a great Aero System for the GTI. Couldn’t have asked for a better guy for the job. Nick & Paul @ Turbo Parts Canada . Simply the best in the biz for turbos and swell gents.

@easthoodracing @turbopartscanada

@uspmotorsports @tirestreets @apexraceparts @meledesignfirm @superpro_usa @aerofabb

@sabeltamerica @rouxhelmets @liquimoly. usa.canada @stratifiedauto @akeurowerx @ Superpro_usa @stoptech @hawkperformance @ blackautomotiveenthusiasts @iabedindustries @fortuneautousa @captainschaircoaching @waynedesignandsign @motorsporthardware

Team Manager -Kionna Morrison, Lead MechanicDevin Eppler , Teammate- Louizandre Dauphlin Media- Cameron Smith.

The Build List

2015 Volkswagen Golf GTI

TPC25 Hybrid Turbo

USP Motorsports Tearduct CAI

- Spulen Turbo Inlet

- Majesty Intercooler

- Spulen Turbo Outlet Pipe and Throttle Pipes

- Spulen V2 “Race” Catch Can

- VTT Charge Pipes

Suspension:

- Fortune Auto 510 Coilover

- H&R 26mm Rear Sway

- Super Pro Rear end links

- Super Pro Control Arms

Brakes:

- Stoptech ST-40 BBK

- Hawk DTC 70 Pads

- Stoptech Brakelines

- Endless RB650 FLuid

- Audi Rs3 Brake Ducts

Electrical:

- Braile 21lb Battery

- COBB

- DKM MR -Twin Disk Stage 5

- Racingline Motorsport Spec

- BFI Stg2 Trans/Eng Mounts

- Shorty’s shifter brackets

Diesel Geek Shift Kit

- USP Shift kit

- SS clutch lines

- Derlin Mount Bushings

- Derlin Cable Bushings

- Raceseng Circuit Series 150

Exhaust System:

Circuit Werks Turbo Back system

Spulen Turbo Muffler Delete

Fuel System:

- Autotech High Pressure Fuel

- Stratified AUto Tune

- Ecliptech p2 shift gauge

Aero / Body:

-Aerofabb Competition Series

Diffuser and Rear Wing

- Racebred Components Splitter

Interior/Safety:

- Studio RSR roll cage

- Sabelt 6 point

- 2.5lb Rennline Underseat Fire Extinguisher

Wheels / Tires:

- Apex SM-10 18X9 ET 42

FRONT 18X8.5 REAR

- Accelera 651 Sport

100&200tw 265/35/18

As I started editing and putting this article together I had to laugh to myself. I have already been working hard on Ilya Krylov’s article on the UK’s quickest Renault Clio and now I am working on Bill Pearson’s article on his V6 powered EG Honda Civic. What is so funny about that you may ask? Nothing really, but both of these hardcore racers have firmly embraced the Internet and YouTube in particular! Both have channels that include videos that can be included in what can only be called the ‘How To’ segment. – Ian Rae, Editor.

There was no history of motor sport at all in the Pearson family. But as a mad keen photographer I got addicted to the sport when a high school mate took me to a race meeting. That was it. I had a new religion and succeeded in becoming a highly regarded motor sport photographer, with work published regularly as colour covers, and placed into “The best photos of the Year”.

When I got married my wife had a completely worn out 1963 Mk1 Mini 850. I bought a wreck and did a complete nut & bolt rebuild, transferring everything over. That’s how I got started in mechanics. Well, my dad always bought me Meccano sets too when I was a kid. I joined a Mini Car Club, and from then on my family hacks always served two purposes. I graduated to a Mk1 VW Golf, swapped in a 2 litre, and started kicking butt. So in reply to Ian’s question to me about having a mentor the answer was no, but being self-motivated and highly goal driven as a Pearson – I didn’t need one. I have been racing an EG Honda hatchback in club

racing for nineteen years. It all started off with a completely standard 1994 1600cc VTEC model, which dominated its class in both local inter-club and State level competition from 2004, despite having an unmodified engine and automatic transmission. That amounted to 26 class wins from 30 starts in 2004, and 30 class wins from 36 in 2005 says it all. After three years I built and swapped in the first B20B “Frankenstein” 2 litre motor in Australia, which had 12.5:1 compression, and a 5 speed Integra manual gearbox with a 4-puck ceramic clutch. It was 100% reliable and only beaten once, when a rear hub failed going through the trees in a gravel rallysprint. The car was almost never beaten in its class in regular competition, and scored a number of second outright wins in strong fields that included turbo 4WD cars and potent off-road buggies. It was the most successful car in outright Newcastle, NSW inter-club competition.

Not content with that, I decided to swap in a 3 litre VTEC V6 from a Honda Accord. The B20B Frankenstein I had built and raced with great success was one of the best performing Honda B series engines ever! When I was looking for “what’s next?” the K Series motors were hard to find, and both demand and prices going through the roof. I saw several V6 Honda swaps online in America, and although they were mostly running in drag racing, I thought “Well there’s something no-one else has done in Oz.” It appealed to the nonconformist in me. I knew this rebuild would be my last, so I wanted it to be spectacular. Every time I raise that one-piece front end at the track or at car shows, the multitude of reactions it brings tells me I achieved that uniqueness I desired.

The conversion took me three years; admittedly a lot longer than I anticipated or wanted, mainly due to difficulties sourcing the manual transmission from overseas. The reason I had to go looking abroad was because there are no manual V6 Hondas ever imported to Australia. I could find lots of the ex 4 door USA V6 Acura (Integra) gearboxes on American wreckers’ yard web pages, but none would export it to me. Eventually I found a Canadian dismantler who was happy to put it on a pallet and a ship. That cost me A$3,500 by the time I paid shipping and import tax.

This was a totally scratch built swap, with no kit parts in it – the first & only one in Australiasia. All fiberglass panels and spoilers were self-made. It won the 2018 NSW Hillclimb Championship and NSW Khanacross Championship 2-3 litre class, along with countless class wins on both dirt and tar.

After 16 years the original car was retired from dirt racing, and I decided my fourth Civic phase would be a tar only build. A new shell was

purchased & extensively modified for the Sports Sedan class. I literally had the rule book on my bench so I could exploit every allowed modification to the max.

As a leader in original race car fiberglass sculpting in Eastern Australia, I cut out and replaced 49% of the floor with Kevlar, made 100m fiberglass rear fender flares, 100mm vented fiberglass front fenders/wings/guards, a one-piece fiberglass flip up front end, a 4kg Carbon Fibre passenger side door, a double layer foam filled impact resistant Kevlar driver’s door, homemade Lexan windows, and huge Carbon Fibre rear diffuser. To enable this to be as large as possible, I routed the exhaust out through the passenger door.

This where my Internet prowess that Ian mentioned steps in. How to make all these parts is shown in a step by step form in my video build series on my “Bill’s Build & Race” YouTube channel, which has over 350 videos and sixty thousand subscribers. You need to use the playlists to get to

the specific video that you are looking for!

I have to admit my first year with the V6 was not a good one. I incorrectly routed the lines to my remote oil cooler, not knowing its filter had a one-way valve in it. Scratch one engine at my first event! Luckily, I can buy whole Honda Accords as insurance write-offs for very little outlay, so off to the auctions I went. I also had trouble with my clutch. In swapping the powerplant over from my old general purpose EG shell, I had replaced the 16kg steel factory dual mass flywheel with a 4kg aluminium billet one from the USA. The increase in revs was incredible, but after three tear downs my

clutch specialist discovered the competition plate I’d been sent was made of the wrong material. After he rebuilt it for me all my clutch problems went away –but it had taken 6 months to solve it.

My windscreen banner “Bezerk Hillclimb Monzter” shows the type of racing for which I specifically designed and built this Honda Sports Sedan. Racing from a cold start means I have to run super soft, fast heat-up Avon slicks. Those incredibly sticky 17 x 10 inch tires would melt if I used them on a three lap super sprint.

Against very stiff competition I still managed to win the 2-3 litre NSW Hillclimb Championship

class in 2022, not because I was the fastest, but because my car was the most reliable. The beauty of the unmodified full Honda VTEC motor we have in the Civic is that you could drive it to the shops on the “granny” cam lobes, yet shove yourself back in the seat when the second lobe cuts in. Race it, put it in garage, take it out, race again, put in garage…and repeat, repeat, repeat!

I am now 74 years old, so the fearless generation behind me stops me winning as much as I used to. But I consider myself very lucky to just still be able to be out there racing and enjoying trying to catch up to a car that’s way faster than I am now. There is still nothing like competing in a unique, highly modified car that you have had a hand in every aspect of the build. This year I intend getting a second set of rubber for longer events, and a performance ECU to wind the VTEC cut in from 4,500 down to 2,500rpm. Doing this on my “Frankenstein”, and setting the injectors to run flat out, gave me a 30% increase in power, so I can’t wait to do that again. That’s one of the things about “just a guy in a shed, no budget racing” – you can only do a couple of big improvements each year. With the invention of the Internet and YouTube specifically I found a new medium that really interested me. I was a film cameraman and editor with Fox Movietone newsreels, before moving into videotape editing. I am a cameraman at the core of my being, so producing videos for the Internet, at a much higher quality than most just came naturally to me. I also love to teach and empower people, and what got me started was when I held a workshop tutorial for car fiberglass beginners. It was well attended, but I realized I could reach a far greater audience through YouTube. My last job had been in the sales and manufacture of fiberglass supplies, and by then I’d realized the industry was plagued (and still is), by many myths that deterred the home hobbyist from having a go. I made it my mission to debunk those false barriers and YouTube is my way of doing it.

The funny part of this whole story is how I got into fiberglass production for motorsport. I was a hunter who progressed into mounting his own trophies, and that’s how I got into fiberglassing. You need fiberglass moulds made to be able to produce the foam body mannikins, and a guy who had a backyard business making fiberglass dashboards for imported cars being converted from left to right hand drive showed me the basics. I didn’t fully

harness those fiberglassing skills for car racing until I was in my sixties. I needed heavily modified panels once I started building fully dedicated club race cars, and sculpting and manufacturing them from scratch for myself just came naturally to me. My plans for this year are just more of the same. I intend travelling all over the east coast of Australia to experience tracks I have never run on before. You’re only here once!

www.facebook.com/redlinefinerglassaustralia/ https://www.youtube.com/@BillsBuildandRace

The Build List

1979 Opel Kadett C GT/E

Engine:

- 2 Liter 16v C20XE Engine from an Opel Astra GSi

- Built by Minichberger Motorsport producing 287 hp

- Individual Throttle Bodies

- Dry sump oiling

- Custom made 76mm stainless steel exhaust with one muffler

- Custom made aluminum radiator with handmade and Volvo hoses

Drivetrain:

- OEM H pattern gearbox with straight cut gears

- Lightened flywheel

-75% limited slip differential

- Two axle ratios

Brakes:

- AP-Racing Caliper’s in Front

- Renault Clio calipers in Back

Suspension: - Original Double Wishbone

Construction with cut Mercedes springs from the junkyard in the front and back

- Adjustable Koni Yellow Dampers

Aero / Body:

- Completely gutted

- Weld in roll cage

- Hood and doors fiberglass

- Wheel arches, rear hatch, fendersfront light cover. spoilers and sideskirts carbon fibre.

- Macrolon windows all around (except front is normal security glass)

Interior/Safety:

- RRS Harness

- RRS Steering wheel

- Beltenick Racing

- Fire extinguisher

Electrical:

- MBE ECU

- 850cc injectorsWheels / Tires:

-

- 10x15 Mad-In Wheels all round

- Avon slick tires

- Avon wet tires

Words by Taylor Shead and Ian Rae, Images by

aylor Shead is a thirty-two year old mechanical engineer in the nuclear industry. While this may bring up thoughts of him glowing in the dark or maybe having seven toes on his right foot, the one thing that is guaranteed is that he has a heavy right foot. And he puts that foot to good use when he competes in his 2002 Toyota MR2 Spyder in the Appalachian Hillclimb Series.

Taylor states his influences in motorsport include friends from High School and with the advent of the Internet, the HillClimb Monsters YouTube channel. Video games also played their part, especially Richard Burns Rally and Colin McRae: Dirt 2. That really started pushing his competitive streak but that was before he had the financial means to step it up to the real thing. Along the years he has looked up to racers like Rod and Rhys Millen, Ari Vatanen, Morizo Kinoshita, Sebastian Vettel and Carroll Smith and they have been a huge influence.

Elaborating, Taylor told us, “As I got older I studied racecar engineering and volunteered for motorsports organizations prior to driving competitively. I participated in Formula SAE under the aero and engine teams in college and worked as a scrutineer for the FIA working WEC, WRX, Formula E and other events. I crewed for a WRL endurance

racing team Starr Motorsports and worked for a few rally and rallycross events. My first competitive event was a rallycross in 2020 and then I started hillclimbing in 2021, competing in the Appalachian Hillclimb Series – while also rallycrossing in North Texas Rallycross events. For 2021 the MR-S was nearly stock, but it is now modified and mostly retired from rallycross to focus on hillclimbing. I tried swapping suspensions between races and doing home alignments, but it was just not worth it. I have a second MR-S that will soon be dedicated to stage rally and rallycross.

Taylors Toyota MR-S was 100% stock when he started preparing it for hillclimbs. It was his daily driver since 2018 through 2021. It was bought it in San Diego on a whim without test driving it and drove it 21 hours to bring it back home to TX. It was even driven to New York for a summer job. Talyor noted, “I started building it under SCCA C-Street Prepared rules near the end of 2021 as this was the entry level class that my car would fit in hill-climbs. Now the series has re-classed and it fits into a class called Sport, modifications unchanged from Street Prepared.”

As with many racers interesting things happen along the way. Taylor said, “At the 2021 Pine Mountain Hillclimb we finished the car five hours or so before racing started. It was 3am the

night before and the 40th straight hour being awake including a 17 hour drive from TX to KY in the car –not trailered. Definitely not to be recommended, but wholly unforgettable. It wasn’t simple nuts and bolts either, we had the grinder and drill out fixing up a rollbar, the 5 point harness, and fire extinguisher. Big thanks to my dad and Eric of Backroads of Appalachia who helped us out that night. I took home the “Barely Made It” award that event. It was an awesome time. This was all thanks to a last minute entry and lead times on the parts I ordered. But I am sure many of you had similar experiences.” He went on telling us about *other* memorable events and it was, “When I took 2nd overall at a HooptieX rallycross type event where UTVs and other offroad machines were present. I finished 0.041 seconds from 1st which was taken by a Subaru. The MR-S at the time was open diff and on stock suspension. I was charging hard and cutting time. I ended up breaking my exhaust, dinging my oil pan, and breaking the front bumper and some headlight tabs. Halfway through the event they told us cones didn’t count and I came out of a corner wide and took two in the middle at a good 45 mph. I was hot lapping near the end and asking how much time I needed to cut off to take 1st. I got to a point when they told me I was in 1st so I thought I had taken FTD however they meant 1st in class. I was

later told they thought I was going to break the car to the point of not being able to drive home so they switched from telling me my overall position to my class position. What a let down! Glad I could drive it home, though. In the rallycross days the car was still driven to work occasionally. Rallycross dust killed the first engine after I discovered dust was being sucked through or around the OEM filter at the end of the 2021 season. During my first hillclimb I was so sleep deprived I forgot to latch the convertible top and on the first run up the hill it opened in the wind and scared the hell out of me.”

Going forward Taylor’s next step is an engine swap to a Toyota 1AR-FE which is a 2.7L 4 cylinder that is found in some Toyota SUVs. It is capable of 300hp in naturally aspirated form without touching the bottom end or fuel system, so that should be good for reliability. He will likely upgrade the brakes and change spring rates as well as getting wider wheels and Hoosier tires. Eventually it will get boosted and proper aero added. Baby steps, he says, Baby Steps!

His dream goal would be to longitudinally mount a Toyota 2GR-FE to a Porsche Cayman PDK but as that

will involve some excessive fabrication and electronic upgrades it is simply not worth it at this point in the build. Taylor admits even racing at this level is a huge commitment and he admits he could not do it without help.

“Allen Campbell is the best tech I could ask for,” he says. “He’s a Toyota dealer tech day by day and a damn good one at that. He is always ready to troubleshoot any problems and really allows me to do my best. He cares about me winning about as much as I do. I can’t express my appreciation enough. My wife Patty is a team member even though she doesn’t know it. She checks in on me when I am in the garage and takes care of the family of dogs and cats while I am out racing. I will bring her along some day when we can get a good pet-sitter lined up.”

Never one to sit still Taylor told us, “I will still be powered by an unopened 1ZZ but it will be tuned on Haltech Elite 1500 with new intake and exhaust setup, bored out throttle body, and we

The Build List

2002 Toyota MR2 Spyder

2005 1ZZ-FED with -Underdrive MWR alternator/water

- L ightweight VSP crank pulley,

- InoKinetic baffled oil pan

Drivetrain:

- MWR lightweight flywheel

- factory helical LSD

- RzR race short shifter

Brakes:

- OEM rotors/calipers

- G-Loc R8 pads

Suspension:

- Annex ClubSpec Pro coilovers (6F/8R kg/mm)

- Modified GKtech Nissan 240sx outer and VW Passat inner tie rods,

- Whiteline front ARB, no rear ARB

Exterior/Aero:

- Garage-made front splitter and rear spoiler,

- Antigravity Batteries 3-lb Li

- OEM untuned ECU

- OEM-style hardtop

Interior/Safety:

- Hard Dog 4-pt rollbar,

- Sparco Evo driver seat

- RaceQuip 5pt harness

- Floor mounted fire extinguisher

- MWR ram intake, - OEM manifold

Wheels/Tires:

- 15x9 Konig Countergram

square fitment

- 245-15 Falken RT660s

- 4-2-1 header and custom shorty

will be fabricating some chassis bracing, and making some aero updates.

As Taylor steps up his program in 2023 he would like to thank the following companies for their support. Stingwray Resto-Mod, Techno Toy Tuning, LMR Voertuigtechniek (@snelbaard on IG), G-LOC Brakes, Hawkeye Printing & Graphics and Trackdaytire.com.

‘Simply

talking Lots

talking Parking Lots and Parts!

After watching and shooting three rounds of the PADA Autoslalom series Powered by Hagerty I decided it was time for me to get back in the motorsport saddle so to speak. I dug out my Arai open face helmet proudly painted with a St. Andrews cross by noted helmet painter Joe Tanner of Rennat Helmet Design, Leaf Racewear gloves and race boots and set to preparing Project 3ThirtyFive for its first ever Autoslalom event.

First order of the day was to take the car to our friends at Adrena Garage in Oakville who are well known for being go to guys in Southern Ontario for a motorsport alignment. In this case we had decided to stick to the OEM specs as we would still be running our everyday Continental Extreme Contact Sport tires, on 19” Forgeline GS1 monoblock wheels. We had recently completed the installation of a Bilstein B12 Pro Kit featuring Eibach springs that lowered the car 25/40mm front/rear. Additionally, we added the M3 Control Arm Kit KIT-BMWMCAKIT from FCP Euro which adds approximately .75° of negative camber which helps reduce under steer and improves turn in response which is something

much required in AutoX.

Having not run the BMW for a while I took a flying run down to Picton Airfield for day one of the CASC Autoslalom championships to check everything out. Everything went well and upon arriving at what is now called Base 31 by the new owners I wandered around checking out cars and chatting to those racers I knew.

The championship course utilizes the three runways (a total of 7,500 feet) of Base 31 and is a lot longer than any of the parking lot courses I was previously used to. In fact, it is so long there is no track walk but a track drive. Steven Day the CASC Autoslalom Chair explained the shooting rules for me and suggested I join the track drive so I could see the course layout and get an idea of places to shoot safely. It was a good day out with lots of interesting cars running. You can check out our CASC Championship pictorial later in this issue.

So, getting back to the PADA event; It had been a long time since I Autocrossed competitively so I hit the computer to check out YouTube for any hints or ideas that might help me out on my return

to motorsport. Of course, the basics of Autox/ Autoslalom are pretty much the same wherever you go but as this was my first time running with the guys from PADA, I paid particular attention during the mandatory drivers meeting.

The one thing new to me was the run order. I have been used to taking a run and then cycling all the way thru the entry list before taking my next run. The PADA way was to separate the entries into three groups, with one group in their cars, the second group marshalling the third group was on standby. Now, each group got to cycle through and take three runs at the course. I found the course design was not as technical/difficult as those I had been used to. That is not to say it was bad, in fact it was the opposite, Colin Caissie’s design produced a flowing course with just the proper amount of speed to excite the competitor.

The first event was sorta good and bad. After my first three runs I was pretty happy and went to shoot my fellow competitors so I had images for the magazine article. But I cannot say the same about my next turn on track. I blasted away from the line and the 3 liter BMW almost immediately started misfiring. Did I hit the rpm limiter? I backed out of it and reapplied throttle; naw, it was still missing. I shortcut the track and returned to the pits where it had a real lumpy idle. Ok, how about a control-alt-delete, does that work on a BMW? After shutting it down and waiting a short time before firing it up the smooth idle had returned.

So I advanced down the grid until I was two cars from the line. Then it started misbehaving again, not problem I thought, just stop it again, restart and I should be good to go.

Nope, that did not work and even worse, you could not even hear the starter motor turning over. All I could do was roll the car forward to get it out of the way of those lining up for their turn. After much scratching of my head and some great assistance from Gerald Nembhard and Alex Ayih and their battery booster packs we finally got the car fired up and I decided it was best to load up and head on home.

Having thoroughly enjoyed my Autoslalom outing all attention turned to getting the car sorted for the next event. Luckily I had my Racepak CL2 datalogger hooked up to the car and I could see the battery voltage drop when I hit the higher revs. So it was off to our friends at Adrena Garage for a diagnosis and fix. There was definitely an issue with the electrical system but it turned out to be multiple issues. A weird noise had developed in the month prior to the event and it turned out to be the alternator

going bad, that in turn pooched the battery so all I could see was $$ signs popping up in the speech bubbles above Daryl’s head as he checked out the computer. His partner Alex had mentioned that ignition coils on the DI engines were very voltage sensitive and as I had never replaced any before I got them to install the coils I had sourced from our advertiser FCP Euro. Along with an oil and filter

change and we were done.

As usual the guys at Adrena looked after me and did their best to get me out for the next event. Unfortunately the supply issues that seem to be so prevalent these days put the kibosh on that idea, when it took longer to source the alternator than expected.

And so it was I showed up for the last round of the PADA series, and I have to make a note to myself; make sure my Forgeline Motorsports umbrella gets added to the AutoX must take list. Yeah, that’s right, Mother nature decided not to cooperate and was dropping dome H2O on us. But on a brighter note it sure made for some more fun. The rain intensity varied through the day, enabling all the competitors see how their car handled in a myriad of conditions. Running in these conditions gave the rookies a great driving experience especially if they took advantage of the ride along coaching option PADA provides.

So how did it go for me? Project 3ThirtyFive

performed flawlessly (thanks Adrena Garage) and I was happy to get more seat time than on my previous outing. As the day went on it got drier and drier and times were coming down every run. As I was doing double duty again I was not able to take advantage of the drier sessions. I was happy with knowing I would have finished higher up the leader board had I been able to take advantage of all the runs.

The advantage of getting more seat time is that you begin to understand more of what the car is doing which can lead to thinking about how Project 3ThirtyFive can be improved going into the next season where the PADA series is planning stepping it up more than a notch.

To that end I deduced I would do with having a bit more confidence in the brakes and doing something about the understeer that the e90 platform is famous for in an autocross environment. Check out the following 3ThirtyFive Updates to see what we are planning.

Buddy Club Limited Edition Seat from J-Spec Performance

We felt that it would be good to have a good seat to properly locate the driver for Autoslalom and to that end we talked to our friends at J-Spec Performance

Fellow racer Lap Li suggested the Buddy Club P1 Limited Edition Bucket Seat V.2 that has quality, safety and leading ergonomics built in. The experience gained through the development of professional motorsport has been used to create this high performance seat for road use. This seat offers excellent lateral support, firm comfortable hard wearing twill fabric with total safety at its heart. It features, Fibre reinforced plastic construction and has suede materials on key areas. High quality fibre material is used on the sitting surface of the seat with wool mat used on the back side surface for better air circulation. With its light weight design the seat only weighs 11

And most importantly it provides excellent body support for best driving position.

One of the things we found out about Project 3ThirtyFive was that even though it has huge front brake there were times when they lacked confidence as I braked after a flat out blast across the full parking lot. Currently the brakes are OEM with the exception of G-LOC Brakes GS1 road going pads and FCP Euro supplied Zimmermann 348mm x 30mm drilled rotors. These had worked rather well on the Grand Bend Motorplex track though the G-LOC guys do not recommend them for track use.

But rather than put it totally down to the brake pad as the G-Lock guys stated, I believe the issue is more a combination of things. To that end I decided to do a basic upgrade without going to the huge expense of a big brake kit.

The first order of the day was to get on to the Puskar brothers at G-LOC Brakes and order a set of R6 compound pads. G-LOC™ doesn’t recommend street driving on with R6 due to possible elevated levels of dust and noise so that will mean swapping the pads in and out for events.

Solid Brake Caliper Bushings from BimmerWorld

One of the issues you can get with ATE style brake calipers is that they can move around on the rubber caliper bushings leading to uneven pressure on the pads. You will see in our New Products section earlier in this issue that BimmerWorld has come up with a reinforced rubber bushing kit but unfortunately that is not an option for the 335i. I asked James Clay if they would be looking at providing these for the 335 down the road and he doubted it as there would not be as much demand and probably not worth the investment to develop the product.

So the only solution available was BimmerWrold’s solid caliper bushings made out of brass. I ordered them for the front and rear brakes but I have to remember to make sure they are moving freely when I change out the pads for an event. The other thing I will be interested in seeing

is how the bushings perform in a Canadian winter. I guess next year will answer that question.

Braided Brake Lines from BimmerWorld

The solid bushings were not the only thing I ordered up from BimmerWorld. The OEM rubber brake lines have long been known to be inferior to braided stainless steel lines can withstand the pressure associated with the brake system and don’t stretch. This makes for a longer lifespan than the OEM versions and more importantly when brakes are applied, they provide the driver with a firm and responsive pedal that inspires confidence whether on the track or road.

The BimmerWorld kit comes with six brake lines and heat resistant sleeves and is DOT approved so there is no issue running them on the road.

Millers Oils Racing Brake Fluid from Ultraray Motorsport

Of course both all of these updates would be no good without using a proper racing brake fluid. Our friends down the road at Ultraray Motorsports are

Eastern Canada dealers for Millers Oils and they set us up with Millers 300 Plus brake fluid. Jon Dunski even delivered our brake fluid to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for us. Jon explained “It is rated for 590°F minimum dry boiling point and 420°F typical wet boiling point, suited for extremely high dry boiling point brake fluid for motorsports applications. Exceeds the requirements of SAE J1703, SAE J1704 and FMVSS 116 DOT 4 for use in high performance and competition braking systems.

Whiteline Performance

Front & Rear Sway Bar Kit BMW 1 & 3 Series 2005-2012

Engineered to ‘Activate More Grip’, the Whiteline Performance BBK004 sway bar kit that is a packaged solution designed to improve performance and enhance the driving experience of on both the BMW 1 and 3 series cars form 2005-2012. Boasting a 27mm fixed front sway bar and 20mm fixed rear sway bar, the kit is completed with high quality sway bar links and mounting accessories that ensure optimum performance and ease of installation.

As mentioned previously I wanted to do something to reduce understeer when autocrossing. There were many solutions out there but I was most impressed with the Whiteline Performance kit Part # BBK004 which was for both the 1 and 3 Series cars and that was what I ordered up.

Ilya Krylov had one aim in life, to build the UK’s quickest Time Attack Renault Clio and best of all he shows the World how he does it on YouTube!

Now after an engine explosion at the end of 2022, is it the end for Novichok?

Words By Ian Rae and Ilya Krylov, images courtesy Ilya Krylov

Goodbye Novichok? says the title on our lead photo spread. We give a little explanation in the copy at the left of the page. car that at the end of it’s life? When 39-year-old expat Russian, Ilya Krylov and I started talking about an article everything was all rosy as they would say in ‘Old Blighty’. All the issues that Ilya had fought in 2021 had been he had a succesful year in the UK Time Attack Championship. That is when the proverbial muck hit the fan and broke loose with the Clio’s race built motor when a rod exited the block. But first let’s go back to the start of this story, it will make a bit more sense. Ilya now makes his home in London, England. Born in Moscow, Ilya moved to the UK in 1998 to study and never went home! He tells us he is a photographer, YouTuber and a fabricator. In fact, it was through YouTube I found out about Ilya and his badass Renault Clio Time Attack car. His main channel has over 12.4K subscribers and now goes by the moniker @RuskiWeldFab after he had to change it when the YouTube sheriffs deemed the previous name inappropriate. That being said, you can see t-shirts with the original handle appearing in new videos. Ilya cannot recall anyone being an influence on him as far as fast was concerned. He told us, “I believe it was myself. I do not think influenced me in any way. Maybe peer pressure and fear of I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint who exactly was the person In 2000 Ilya’s Aunt gave him a car for summer, it a 1500cc engine with a massive 75bhp. With its baby of the other drab Russian colours. Ilya explained, “I guess that’s where my love for cars started. A few of my old school friends were involved in the illegal street racing scene. So, I started going with them and sometimes raced in 1/4 mile drag races. We spent all summer making the car faster or so we thought! That idea didn’t really work out to well, but it was enjoyable. The next summer it was pretty much the same story, but this time we put in a slightly bigger engine. When winter came, we just changed our

page. But why are we talking about a article about the UK’s quickest Renault Clio put to bed and sorted, and and all hell

still fast cars or motorsport think there was anyone who has missing out, had a bit to do with it. But person that sent me down this road.”

it was that Russian favorite, a Lada with blue colour it stood out against some

venues and there was a lot of supermarket snow drifting.

The illegal car racing in Moscow carried on for number of years before suddenly dying out. The Lada had broken its 3rd engine and Ilya decided enough was enough and decided not to fix it. There was a huge gap of at least 5-6 years before he bought my first car in the UK, an Audi A4 which got him back into modifying cars. From there he moved on to an Audi RS4 and that lead to proper track days. 2016 was his first one and it is safe to say from there on he was hooked.

Then in 2017 he decided to buy a cheap track car. The Clio you see in this article was a £400 eBay find and as Ilya says, “Let’s just say it has progressed a little since then.”

The Clio was a non-runner totally standard car. Very tired on the inside as it had been sitting for 3-4 years neglected, in rain, shine and who knows maybe even a bit of snow. The shell was good with very minimal surface rust. The interior was absolutely trashed but Ilya didn’t care about that, as it all was to be ripped out. The exhaust was hanging in bits and the engine wasn’t running. After removing the exhaust completely, changing all the fluids and a few blows with a hammer to the starter motor and a fresh battery it started right up!

Now Ilya had a fully running Clio sport for around £400. Since then, he managed to locate the owner of the car before it was sold to the trader

that left it to rot for four years in a field. “He sent me few original pictures” said Ilya before going on, “The guy said it was a great car very reliable. I made him a promise to keep it ticking. A ticking time bomb,

The Clio is seen above in what Ilya calls his Mk1 form, with a low boost turbo setup. He is seen on the Donington Park GP Circuit on the 20th of

After running it in Mk 1 guise for 1 to 1.5 years he decided to go full postal and put together a forged engine with a VW gearbox.

You can see here the huge amounts of carbon/ kevlar that has been included in this build. This partly came about because of the non-availability of lightweight parts for the Clio and a WTF moment

Ilya had when the car fell off the lift and damaged a front wing (fender or guard). At that point he found out they were composite, and he had to repair the damage.

So, the self-styled photographer, YouTuber and fabricator gave himself another job and learned how to build composite panels. When you watch his YouTube channel you will see that his workshop is nothing exotic but has been modified to suit his needs. It was also at this point Ilya decided to record his journey to building the UK’s quickest Renault Clio 197 on YouTube and to date he reckons he has posted in the region of eightyseven videos dedicated to the build.

Now you can see Novichok proudly displayed on the rear of the car. You can also see it on the rear side windows of the Clio and before you start thinking like me, “When does that other guy drive?” N. Ovichok is not a person. Novichok is Russian for newcomer, novice, or newbie. But more sinisterly it is the name of Russian nerve agents that were developed in Russia and used to assassinate opponents of the regime.

I had to ask Ilya what it was all about? “It all started as a bit of banter with guys at the track.” he said. “The novice meaning is totally understandable, but the poison thing grew as the banter increased. That Clio is getting more and more toxic to other Clios they said! It really is a Novichok! In a way they were right as I got it to go quicker and quicker, but I did not like the negative connotation it had. But when they dared me to put it on the car, I was up for it, and we got a new reflective plate bought for the hatch. The drivers name above mine was just something that evolved as time went on.”

Now, back to the car build. Ilya is never one to stand still at anything he does. Whether it is in business or his hobby he always wants to improve both his personal or the car performance. Now we all know that car performance can be improved in two ways, either add more power or lose weight.

We never really got to discuss these things in detail when at school but the just of it was there in the mathematics books.

Racing with a budget in mine tends to make racers decide to do things themselves. In Ilya’s case it was learning how to make composite parts. Having seen some of the state of the art race cars built with composites he knew that having them made by professional companies was not in his plans, so the only option was to do it himself. And that is when his creative side came out and he decided to record the trials and tribulations

wight. “I know it seems odd,” said Ilya, “Especially considering we are talking about composite panels to reduce weight but the car had way more aero, and a bunch of other bits that added weight. I would hate to think what it would have weighed if we had not built the lightweight panels to offset the additions.”

Along the way it was decided the OEM Clio gearbox was a week point in the drivetrain, in fact Ilya joked that it has the nickname, ‘chocolate box’ and there was a real reason for that. The answer was to turn to VW and install their 02 M6 gearbox which was used in the Seat Leon and Audi TT and is a much stronger box.

of trying to build the UK’s quickest Clio on YouTube. Just like Australia’s Bill Pearson who is also in this issue, Ilya not only wanted to provide entertainment but also a self help platform for others wanting to do similar jobs. And as the channel progressed both these guys have used it as a great place to promote their partners and sponsors, which is something more raceteams should do.

The Clio in version 1 state weighed 927kg (2039lbs) and produced 231bhp. By the time version 2 rolled to a halt when the conrod escaped it was weighing in around 955kg, a gain of 28kg (61.6lbs) but the built motor by that time was producing 437bhp which more than compensated for the extra

As the need for speed got greater Krylov decided it was time for more power and in 2019 he went to an engine builder in Romania to have a fully built race engine put together. “It was so long ago I can’t even remember their name,” he said. “The engine did well up till our final outing of 2022 where it threw a rod. The car ran well and I won the Ten Of The Best event twice. TOTB is three epic events: Drag Racing, Handling Circuit and Top Speed Runs run at Elvington Airport near York. In 2021/2022 I took the wins in handling circuit part of the event. The Quick 60 Challenge is a sprint/hillclimb event at Mallory Park and I took another win there. In the British Time Attack Series I came 3rd last year in the Club Pro class..

The Build List

Renault Clio 172

Mk 2, Phase 2

430bhp on full boost

960kg race ready weight with out driver

Engine:

Renault F4R 720

- Wossner 8 pistons

- Pec h beam rods

- Iconel exhaust valves

- Nitrited Supertech intake valves

- Stock cams

- Catcams valve springs

- Racing crank bearings

- King Racing big end bearings

- New OEM crank studs

- ARP head studs

- F2000 Dry sump

- AH dry sump oil tank

- G25-550 Garrett turbocharger

- Bosch deca 850cc injectors

- RWF PROalloy 750mm intercooler

- Custom intake manifold

Drivetrain:

- VW 02m 6 speed gearbox

- M-FACTORY helical LSD

- Satchell engineering custom drive shafts

Electrics:

- DTA s60 PRO ecu

- RWF MOTORSPORT wiring harness

- DTA Nt dash

- Cartek PDP 16ch

- Cartek steering wheel controls

- Cartek GT Solid State Battery

Isolator

- Custom LED high output front lights

Cooling:

- Direnza custom radiator

- EWP130 water pump

- PAL 12” pull fan

Exhaust:

- RWF side winder exhaust manifold.

- RWF 2.5” stainless side exit exhaust

- Tial 44m wastegate

- 200cel sports cat

Brakes:

- AP racing 5000r calipers front

- Carbotech XP12 pads front

- PMS 2 piece 300mm disks front

- Stock caliper rear

- Brembo High carbon discs rear

- PBS pads rear

-Full stainless hoses inside the cabin

- Tilton pedal box

Fuel System:

- AH Custom Fuel Cell

- RWF Custom Fuel System

Suspension:

- PMS roll centre correction

- PMS tubular wishbones

- PMS strut bar

- RWF Clio MK3 EPAS steering

- BRT Quick rack

- PMS rear reinforced beam

- Full spherical bearings suspension

Interior/Safety:

Lifeline fire suppression system

- Racetech RT9119HRW Racing

Seat (6.6kg)

- OMP 6 point ultralight racing

Exterior/Aero:

- RWF kevlar roof, bonnet, wings, bumpers, tailgate.

- RWF/T89 DRS rear wing

1760mm wide

- RWF Flat floor

- RWF Kevlar quick release splitter,

- RWF kevlar Custom

Adjustable diffuser

Wheels:

- Ultralite UL12 and Rota Grid

- Nankang AR1 275/35/15

front, 245/40/15 rear

So that brings us full circle to the title of this article where we ask if it is the end for Novichok. When Ilya and I started talking about this article back in 2022 everything was happy on the Novichok V2.3 front, that is until that fateful day at Snetterton when all hell broke loose.

What started out as the question, “What am I going to do now?” turned into many questions. The many answers actually then turned into a major statement, and what was that statement? “Let’s start over,” shouted Ilya. He had decided that fixing the built engine was going to be very expensive. he also considered going with a VW or Honda motor. “I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted to do but I talked to people on both sides of the Atlantic about it and the general concensus was the Honda. Among others I talked to Canadian racer James Houghton who confirmed the K24 would be a great choice.

James has had lots of success in both Time Attack and Gridlife’s GLTC and agreed that the K24 could be a very effective solution.” So what else was involved in the Start Again plan? Nothing less than a new rolling chassis that would accomodate many of the composite part he had already built, but also make it even lighter! So watch for the Novichok V2.4 story coming to a magazine you all love to read!

Novi v2.4

I bet you never thought we would have some Novi V2.4 news so soon. So here is a teaser of Novichok, the ‘Next Generation, Novi V2.4’. The new chassis is built from T45 tubing by Gosling Racing and Independent Designs in Huntingdon. Ilya has been very hands on as he has set himself a really aggressive schedule to get the car built.

As you can see by the photo at the right he is not scared of getting his hands (gloves) dirty. He is still finding time to make YouTube videos as that is what his audience are expecting. He is working all sorts of hours to keep both the car and videos on schedule and even manages to talk to me on Facetime in the wee hours of the morning. In fact last Friday we had a chat going involving Japan, the UK and Canada. Who was in Japan you ask? None other than noted aero guru Andrew Brilliant. I had just sent him the video link of Ilya building the diffuser that Andrew designed for the Tegiwa NSX. Isn’t it getting exciting? Watch this space!

Words and Images by Ian Rae

Sean Duggan - HCS Class Winner

The Venue :

Base 31 is located in scenic Prince Edward County almost 40 km south of Belleville, ON. Originally known as CFB Picton it was created as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan where both British, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian crews were trained in bombing and gunnery for World War 2.

Three runways were built, intersecting to make a perfect triangle and it it these that the St Lawrence Automobile Club use for events till this day. More commonly known as the St. Lac Club, pronounced “Saint Lack”). The Club calls Kingston, Ontario, Canada home and is the motor sport group to join for any enthusiasts in South Eastern Ontario east of Toronto.

The site was decommissioned as a military base in 1969 and sold to former Mayor of Picton, H. J. McFarland who renamed renamed the facility Loch-Sloy Business Park. The Business park changed hands again in 1999 and evolved into the home to 75 tenants and is used for a wide range of business activities including commercial and industrial operations as well as a functioning space for makers, artists and galleries

New ownership took over the 70 acre property in December 2021 and PEC Community Partners renamed the site, Base 31. The facility continues to be used by Flying Clubs and has three event venues for concerts, festivals and such like.

The Event :

2022 was a landmark year for the Clubs - Ontario Region as far as Autoslalom CASC Autoslalom Director, Steven a new format for the CASC Regional championship being a 7-8 event series to one single weekend. Attendance in the series had been declining while attendance at the various CASC club series had been increasing. The single weekend format where no other CASC clubs are hosting events allows for all of the clubs to be represented in a true “best of Ontario” event and it resulted in a well run, well attended, successful weekend, which proved we had made the right decision.”

He went on, “Base 31 is not like the regular venues we run at, the open flowing course presents the right challenge for our Regional Championships.”

Martyn Danby - STR Class Winner

Our friend Martyn Danby had a great weekend at the regionals in his 2018 Mazda Miata. He happily told us, “Picton is always a fun event, even if you do leave out the good times had by all who camp out on site for the weekend. It isn’t like your typical arena parking lot event at all. Picton was actually the first event I ever competed in. One of the differences with the long runway style events, is you don’t end up with a forest of cones, so learning the course is usually pretty straight forward. With all the extra space it leaves alot more options for the drivers as well. Some parking lot courses are

so tight everyone has to stick to the same line... and it comes down to who can tiptoe through the fastest.

The speeds are much higher, as are the G-forces that are in play at Picton as well. I did well this year, winning the STR class title and taking 2nd overall, but the highlight for me, if I remember correctly was taking the FTD on day 2. It would have been great to beat Daniel Fryer for the overall top spot, but I think he or his BRZ need to be having an off-day for that to happen.

Regional Champion

The Picton Regional weekend was in this case, the first year of the new CASC-OR Regional Championship format, is always the highlight of the season for me, for many reasons. It’s held at one of the best and most unique venues in Ontario, it’s a great chance to hangout with good friends all weekend, right there on the Base 31 sit. There’s always great competition with competitors coming from all the Regional Clubs and it’s always a wellrun event, all of which make for a pretty special weekend.

I want to give huge thanks to St LAC for hosting the event, Steven Day for co-organizing and Lynda Day for controlling the event from under the timing tent. It’s a big undertaking and it all relies heavily on a coordinated team effort. Well done to all concerned!

From there, having things fall into place and managing to make my way home with some hardware in hand was just a bonus. I’m pretty competitive and of course love doing well at these events, but ultimately it’s the competition and a good, close battle that keeps me coming back for more. Luckily we have a lot of good drivers in the region so things will always be kept exciting from that respect.

Autocross is a funny thing, and I think it’s hugely underrated by so many. I have over 20 years of experience in many forms of motorsport but this is the one that has my heart and that I will always come back to. I love that it’s a different

challenge every time, I love the intensity and rush that comes with each run, I love the precision that’s involved and of course the fact that it’s just as much a social event as it is competition. Autocross at an airport then adds a whole other level again. It’s a blend of track speeds and autocross technicality creating some very exciting high speed elements and it lends itself so well to interpretation and

Daniel Fryer

freedom of line choice for the driver. There’s nothing else like it and it’s easily my favourite form of motorsport. If you haven’t tried autocross, and even better yet, autocross at an airport you’re definitely missing out. It’s looking like the 2023 Regional Championship weekend will be at another fantastic airport venue so I’m very much looking forward to that and the chance to defend the title.

2022 CASC-OR Regional Championship

Track Attack! . . .

Words by Ian Rae, Michael Hillo, Kountersteer Media.

Images by Aaron Sanchez, Rob Wilkinson, Cody Wilbur and Michael Hillo

Bakersfield, CA native Michael Hillo is known as ‘Stubz’ since he was in Middle school. The reason? Just a little thing like being missing a few bits of his fingers on his left hand, and his right hand and toes missing on his left foot. Most people would think that missing a few fingers would impact his ability to drive competitively or live a normal life but that couldn’t be further from the truth: “Missing a few fingers doesn’t affect me or anything I do, apart from not being able to flip people off from time to time,” he jokingly said. Michael was born that way and all through his childhood he was determined not to let it impact his life. “I was a normal kid,” he said, “I played soccer, basketball and baseball all the way

up to Junior High and then I stopped that to go BMX racing and also got serious about Paintball.”

Michael is 28 years old and currently manages the family’s Chevron gas station that is just across the road from the famed Famosa Dragway but it was never drag racing that took his interest. He grew up running around his father’s wrecking yard hearing tales of racing Datsun 510s on the famous Mulholland Drive. “We used to have a motorhome spot a the Autoclub Speedway in Fontana,” he said. “We did that till I was about fourteen, you can definitely say I got the ‘gearhead syndrome’ from him. He is all about classic Chevys, Bel Airs, Camaros and the like. He has about thirty

plus cars right now and I’m lagging behind with only fourteen,” said a laughing Hillo.

Michael attended car meets in the past (not these takeovers we see nowadays) and at a particular meet, his friend who was also there told him that he and a few others were going to attend a track day and that he should sign up. Michael had no idea that was even possible, so he signed up for the event which was being held at Streets of Willow which was just over an hour away from Bakersfield. Even though Michael had a car; an automatic Mitsubishi Lancer, it was not ‘track ready in any shape or form,’ nor was it built with the intention of being a performance car from the factory. Without

any real planning, he bought his first manual car, a 2008 Impreza WRX, during the week prior to the event and had learnt to drive it the day before the event. The track day went rather smoothly and Michael had a ton of fun and learnt a lot, and from there everything spiraled into what it is today. He competed in his first event with the very same 2008 Impreza WRX. The car had 500TW tires, brake pads that were built for regular street driving and he was using the stock brake fluid, not to mention that he quickly found out that his shocks were blown. The car wasn’t unsafe, it was just slow for the most part and looked hilarious with the amount of body roll it had. Michael vividly

remembers being stuck behind some dude wearing a sea captains’ uniform in a C6 Corvette, blasting music while driving every session, as well as walking around the paddock and seeing quite a few cool time attack cars in their respective paddock areas and was in awe after seeing all the builds. He was immediately inspired by the builds, and he wanted to get to that level. Since everyone were given transponders, he was able to see his friends’ lap times and being able to ‘compete’ with each other made the day rather fun!

The main reason he got deeper into Time Attack was because of his competitive nature. For

some reason, he loves the “underdog rises above” storyline and so the idea of taking a car that’s not as competitive and turning it into something that could trade blows with the powerhouses was very appealing to him. The challenge of rising up to the harder task and shocking everyone was worth so much more to him than just copying someone else’s build.

An important lesson is that Time Attack can be fun, whether your build is crazy or nearly stock. It’s more about finding what you want to do, good friends and great competition, rather than spending money to be the best. He also stated however that it

can turn into slippery slope pretty fast, and a lot of people tend to dive in without thinking, which is not the ideal way to approach it.

“Take a step back, look at your friends and the people around you, and do what makes you and them happy. You’ll have a much better time,”, Michael exclaimed.

While Michael thinks that the Time Attack format is cool, he grew bored of it and eventually decided to move on and compete in wheel-to-wheel racing. It was hard to chase that perfect lap: “Trying to piece together one perfect lap (with the hopes of having the perfect weather conditions, perfect tire temps, perfect track conditions and perfect driving) is very

strenuous, and if you’re not constantly changing the car, it gets a little repetitive.”

Transferring to wheel-to-wheel racing hasn’t been easy for him, in fact, it’s been quite the challenge. Michael had never had to push himself so much as a driver before; however, the feeling has been more than rewarding. It definitely has its ups and downs but he’s really enjoying every moment of it. He feels like this is what he’s been longing to do. “We all know that when we were all kids, when we thought of racing, we thought about racing against others, not a stopwatch and that’s why it’s so fulfilling,” he explained

The Underdog No Challenge Too Big!

Michael has never considered his missing fingers as a handicap! Now the big question is does he have custom driving gloves?

could do both drift and grip pretty well. Due to the high costs that’s usually associated with drifting, Michael went to more and more race and Time Attack-related events and before he knew it his Z was now a pretty good track car, however, that’s when he learnt that the chassis just couldn’t compete at the same level as the more popular options such as the BMW M3, Honda S2000 and the likes of Corvettes, but he was already too deeply committed. Plus, the concept of being the underdog was intriguing to him and so he continued with the development of the car, rather than selling the car and starting over with another platform. Michael states that it’s quite difficult to compete with the Z platform and it’s more of an uphill battle.

So how did Michael end up in a Nissan 350Z?

The truth is, the 350Z was never Michael’s car of choice. In fact, he had an EVO 9, which was one of his dream cars, and like a fool (his words, not mine) he sold it because he wanted to get into drifting.

Enter 350Z number one and he then realized that it

“It’s definitely an uphill battle, unlike other chassis there’s not many people pushing the chassis to new heights, the development and testing doesn’t exist so it’s a lot of trial and error. Its main downfall is its weight.”

The 350Z is a rather heavy car, especially for a coupe, and it is also quite expensive to get a lot of the weight out of the car as most of its panels such as the hood, trunk, fenders etc. are quite heavy and

lightweight replacements aren’t necessarily cheap. Even if you go to the extreme of removing as much weight as physically possible, you’ll still be heavier than most others. On the other hand, he finds it very rewarding to be able the solve problems and create solutions surrounding the car and seeing the results, plus it’s a very fun car to drive at the limit. Michael said he never felt uneasy behind the wheel, and it doesn’t take a lot of effort to drive the Z fast.

As stated before, the weight is one of the biggest challenges/ downfalls of the Z when building a competitive racecar, but another component is the availability of data or the lack thereof. There are forums with people who share setups etc. but unfortunately

that’s just stuff that have worked and not necessarily stuff that has been proven to be the best in terms of getting the most out of the 350Z. Figuring out spring rates and lengths, as well as alignment and brakes has been really difficult and he quickly learned that what everyone was suggesting wasn’t necessarily for him or anyone who intended on seriously competing with a 350Z and who are interesting in getting the maximum potential out of the car. In that regard, there just wasn’t enough data – no builds to copy off of, just trial and error. He is still developing the car up until this day, trying to improve the car’s competitiveness.

Even though the drawbacks of the car are pretty

The Build List

2008 Nissan 350Z

Electrics:

- Antigravity Battery

- Deatschwerks 330lph Fuel Pump

318whp/249tq max output

- 299whp/248tq in NASA ST4

- 239whp/248tq in GLTC trim

Tomei 272 Camshafts

- EPS Gallery Gaskets

- ATI Super Damper

- Greddy Baffled Oil Pan

- VHR Ported Lower/Upper Plenum+

- GTR OEM Injectors

- Ported GTR Throttle Bodies

- Custom 3” Intakes

- SpecialtyZ Tune

- GKTECH Swirl Pot

- Z1 Poly Motor Mounts

Radium FHST System

Cooling:

- KoyoRad Radiator

- KoyoRad 35-row Oil Cooler

Exhaust:

- Custom Single Exit Exhaust

- CircuitWerkz Resonated Y Pipe

- ISR Longtube Headers

Brakes:

- Bosch MK60 ABS

- Stoptech Trophy Brake Kit

- Carbotech XP20/12 Pads

- Goodridge SS Brake Lines

- Z1 Motorsports Master Cylinder Brace

- Motorsport Hardware Studs

- Jack Spania Racing Shifter

-Stainless Steel Insulated Clutch

- OSGiken Twin Disk Clutch

- ZSpeed HD CSC

- Wilwood Clutch Master Cylinder

- Z1 Poly Trans Mount

- Nismo GT Pro 1.5 Way LSD

- 4.08 Final Drive

- Nismo Finned Cover

- SPL Solid Bushings

- GKTECH Diff Brace

Suspension:

- Penske 8300DA built by Shaftworks

- Custom Billet Tophats by JEAdaptive

- Modified Z1 Front Upper Control Arms

- GKTECH Compression Arm

Bushings

- GKTECH FLCA Bushings

- GKTECH Outer Tie Rods

- GKTECH Inner Tie Rods

- GKTECH Rear Knuckle Bushings

- SPL Rear Toe Arms

- SPL Rear Camber Arms

- SPL Rear Traction Arms

- SPL End Links

- Hotchkiss Front Sway Bar

- Motordyne Rear Sway Bar

- 370z Rear Subframe

- SPL Subframe Bushings

- Energy Steering Rack Bushings

Exterior/Aero:

OE Nogaro Red Respray

PITWORK Livery by TheRaceStudio

Move Over Racing Bumper Quick Releases

Custom Hood

Custom Chassis Mounted Wing

Seibon Hatch

Battle Aero Splitter Mounts

Custom Splitter

GKTECH Mirrors

Lexan Front and Rear Windows

JDM Taillights

FIA Rain Light

Spinnaker Carbon Headlight

Blanks

Silhouette Performance Headlight

Brackets

much well-documented upon the car community at this point, Michael did discover quite a few strengths that the platform has. The parts are rather cheap, as well as the car can be had for significantly less in comparison to its competition and is also fairly reliable. “The VQ engine seems to go forever when you have it cooled and oiled it properly,” he stated. The chassis is also fairly strong, and the drivetrain

Custom Radiator Support

Street Faction Rear Crash Bar

Custom Front Crash Bar

UltraRacing Underbraces

Interior/Safety:

- Custom Gauge/Switch Panel

- Sparco Champion Wheel

- Racebred Heelplate

- Nismo Pedals

- NRG Quick Release & Short Hub

- KLFab 6 Point Cage

- Lifeline 6pt Harness

- Recaro Pro Racer Hans XL Seat

- Coolsuit System

Sparco Fire Suppression

Miscellaneous:

- Chasebays Power Steering

Reservoir

- Chasebays Power Steering AN Lines

- MR2 Electric Power Steering

Pump

- Custom Radiator Support

Wheels/Tires:

--ENDLESS FORGED F01

Wheels 18x10.5+22

is robust. It’s not in any need of reinforcements nor anything of that nature. The only real issue with car is that it tends to wear the front wheel bearings a lot.

This is Michael’s second Z car, although he has had many since, but it has stuck around the longest. It started as his everything car (daily, drift, track) back in 2016. It’s been through many phase;

it’s been a well sorted time attack car, a full on drift car, angle kit, hydro e brake, way too low, shiny 3 piece wheels and all, and then transformed into a

It’s had been relatively smooth sailing until this past year when Hillo snapped a camshaft in half and sent that motor to the scrap yard. The answer was to get a new to him engine with Tomei 272 camshafts. In the downtime he also fitted an MR2 electro-hydraulic power steering system, and most notably a set of Penske 8300DA shocks built by

Shaftworks USA. The previous engine “retired” from street duty around 80k miles and was about to cross 100k before the camshaft let go so Michael was not too disappointed.

Hillo acknowleges the help he gets from his sponsors and would like to thank True Performance Motorsport, Endless Forged Wheels, Motorsports Hardware, OnGrid, JMP Autowerkz, Specialty Z, Corner3 Motorsports and Alliance Racing

Words by Ian Rae, Images by Ian Rae and Annie Tong

It’s now March and motorsport has been in it’s winter hiatus in Ontario since October 2022. There is no doubt we get jealous when we read about the Super Lap Battle and GridLife Touring Cup heading to COTA in early March. That same weekend, March 11/12 is the traditional lead into the motorsport season for Canadian racers. The eBay Motors Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo is a three day event allowing racers to show their new projects or just get together with kindred spirits, but I guarantee the weather WILL be cooler than COTA.

When I sat down to create this article the idea was to produce a photo pictorial with lots of curb hopping photos to get our motorsport juices flowing and get excited about Canada’s premier Time Attack series, the Canadian Sport Compact Series returning to the tracks in late May when the Pirelli tires can hit the ground and rotate in anger. This article is a throwback to the first event of the 2019 series.

What makes that event so special? Other than I love shooting at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s Driver Development Track, nothing! The track’s undulating layout with curbs just waiting

D.D.T

to launch Ontario’s finest Time Attack cars is a dream for photographers, and it was after seeing a Facebook post about the series returning to the DDT in 2023 it was then I realized something really important! The series is celebrating 20 years in operation in 2023.

That’s right, twenty years! While racetracks like Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly

Mosport), celebrate 60 plus years of operation, race series tend to have much shorter lives. So for CSCS to reach the magical twenty year mark it was something I thought should be celebrated and this article had to be reformatted. Many of the photos are retained from my original layout purely because the embody the wild and wonderful motorsport that is regularly seen at CSCS events.

So how did CSCS come about? 2002 had seen Number One Parts Inc. (NOPI) announce a partnership with Universal Studios Consumer Products Group to launch the NOPI Fast and Furious Racing Series where the drag racing series was governed by the NOPI Drag Racing Association (NDRA). The Fast and Furious movie series was bringing a whole new demographic to motorsport, the younger generation who loved high revving four cylinders rather than traditional vee eights. The “Import scene” was exploding; everyone wanted everything “JDM”. It was this concept, coupled with a love, passion, and long history in motorsports, is what helped to lay the foundation for CSCS. Also, this new type of motorsport event included more than just racing, but embodied more of a lifestyle to be shared with friends.

Toronto Motorsports Park

Now one thing that was a constant since the early years was a young enthusiast named Chris Pereira. “I was just so excited as a sixteen yearold running around doing anything I could to help out, I just had a blast at CSCS events.” said Chris. In 2009 Chris would join the ownership group and today holds down the title of Director of Operations. His day job is President of C17 Media who are responsible for all the cool media and graphics that the CSCS requires for their day to day operations.

In the first Fast and Furious movie the Race Wars scene was shot at a San Bernadino airport where a blend of drag racing and car show is mixed with music and lots of pretty girls. And that is the format that the first few events were based on. “It may sound a bit cheesy,” Chris said, “But the Fast and Furious movies were our inspiration and looking back twenty years it seems to have worked ok.”

Congratulates the CSCS on your 20th Anniversary

Here’s to many more successful years!

The facilities at Toronto Motorsport Park allowed the Series to offer more to their fans. Unlike some tracks that incorporate their drag strip into a road course TMP has an adjacent multi-layout road course that can be run at the same time as the drag racing. “It made sense to make use of it seeing as it was there. So in late 2003 we tested the waters by running ‘Open Lapping’ at the last event of the year.” Pereira went on, “People seemed to like it but Time

Attack didn’t officially become part of the Series until 2007. In fact we actually introduced ‘Drifting’ on the road course before ‘Time Attack’ when it was unveiled to our fans in 2006. When I asked Chris about the past twenty years and the memorable moments he thought about it and then came back with the following. “Obviously the first event on June 1, 2003 at TMP. As the dragstrip was a huge focus of the series, our first night event and King of the Street race on July 24, 2004 was a huge success. On May 25, 2014 we ran our first event at the new Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (Mosport) DDT Track. Then on July 26, 2015 we ran the first Max Attack race which is an exciting concept where the racers are staged at different parts of the track and they race wheel to wheel to the checkered flag. Theoretically the handicapped start should allow them to all to cross the finish line at the same time but that never really happens. It gets real close sometimes and the fans love it.”

“2016 was a sad time for us. We tragically losing two key team members earlier in the year so we decided to hold a tribute event for them on Sept. 18, 2016. It is tough losing key people anytime but losing two friends that were a huge part of our success was tough to take. Of course everyone knows the impact that Covid-19 had on

James Hougthon and Chris Boersma are two hardcore racers that grew up running with the Canadian Sport Compact Series. Just as the CSCS improved their product through the years Houghton and Boersma did the same and along the way collected lots of silverware and CSCS Championships. Both ran the Honda/Acura brand and we all know how well regarded they are in motorsport. Heading South the intrepid pair could be seen pitted together under the K-Tuned canopy. It was only fitting that a Canadian company got behind the duo when they wanted to test their mettle against the best in the USA. And the K-Tuned Twins did not dissapoint and class records and wins fell the guys from Ontario. The Twins are a true credit to the CSCS series and how far both have come. In fact Chris Periera mentioned to me the other day that James used to show up at the car show back at the start with a Subaru. He has come a long way and he and Chris have been great ambassadors for the series along the way.

The K-Tuned Twins

DRIFT

DRIFT

Grand MotorplexBend

the World and the motorsport community. It was tough on everyone but Sept. 19, 2021 is a date we won’t forget as it was the first event back without Covid-19 Protocols.”

After reflecting on the Series successes I asked Chris about the future. “We would like to expand to new tracks.” he said before continuing. “ And continue to find new accessible ways to get competitor’s involved with motorsports. We want to support and provide a platform for businesses to grow within the motorsports industry. Everyone who is running in our series is doing the right thing by ‘Taking It To The Track’. It makes them better drivers and the public roads are safer for it!”

Throughout this interview, CSCS kept mentioning that “There are too many people to individually THANK, but to our dedicated “TEAM” that have been with us over these past 20 years – you are truly family and the BEST! Also, to our Competitors, Sponsors, Media, and loyal Fans, without your “SUPPORT”, we definitely would not have made it this far, and we are so, so, so, “GRATEFUL”, words alone cannot do it justice!

25 YEARS

Thanks for being there!

Grand Bend Motorplex

DRAG RACING

Stuart Wing ‘Hits the Hills!

My hillclimb photography started in 2015 at Classic Nostalgia. They look very different to what I take now but then I had a Nikon D40 which wasn’t a bad camera but nothing like I have now in terms of quality.

I went back a couple more times that year and you could say I become hooked and haven’t looked back since.

After posting pictures on Facebook from these events I was asked about applying for media access which I did and thankfully was successful with the application. This gave me greater access to get better , closer

pictures including what is still my favourite spot as the cars come into bottom esse with the Theme valley as its backdrop. Having this access allowed me then to get access to the other Midland hills of Prescott and Loton Park and If I decide to visit any other hills makes it easy for me to gain access based on the people who run the events knowing of me and seeing my work.

As well as photographing at hills in the UK I was in 2018 asked to go along with the UK team to the European Masters in Gubbio, Italy to be the official team photographer which for a fairly new photographer to the sport was a huge honour for

me and an amazing experience on a hill very different to the ones I’m used to in the UK but again was able to get media access to this event through the organisers at the FIA.

I was also invited to go to Braga, Portugal in 2021 to record the event which again was a huge honour but thankfully my experience in Italy really helped me plan this out to make sure I got the best out of what turned out to be another amazing weekend. There are a few more hills on the UK list to be completed but I have now photographed at Shelsley, Loton, Precott, Gurston Down, Harewood and last year I headed North of the border to

Doune, near Perth.

I normally take around 1800-2000 photos at every event I go to, so there is always plenty of editing after events and through the close season to keep me ticking over.

I get so much pleasure in seeing my pictures shared by drivers or car manufacturers and have also had quite a few images used in articles in magazines and I don’ t think the drivers understand how much it means to me when they make compliments about my pictures , it really makes it all worth while.

So this year I am looking to knock another UK hill of the list and continue to visit the regular hills and carry on taking pics , something I love so much!

The British Hillclimb scene has a huge diversity of cars running in it. From the Ferrari above to the Alfa 4C at the right to the RS1600 Escort below these are not only loved by their owners but driven with verve and that makes them entertaining. And from the photo above you can see the fans love them too!

EXIF Data

Camera: Nikon D500

Lens: 70-200 F2.8

Focal Length: 116mm

Exposure: 1/1000 sec

F-Stop: F 3.5

ISO: 100

Although we are primerily a tin-top magazine we appreciate the guys and gals that lay it on the line in single seaters in hillclimbs. Above is Scotsman Wallace Menzies who took his third British Championship in a row.

EXIF Data

Camera: Nikon D500

Lens: 70-200 F2.8

Focal Length: 200mm

Exposure: 1/320 sec

F-Stop: F 5.0

ISO: 200

Race Engineering, Chassis Development, Suspension Design & Tuning, Electronics Integration