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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Tuners , Nissan Nissan's motorsports arm has been hard at work developing parts for the GT-R, and on August 20th, R35 owners in Japan will get their first taste of NISMO's efforts. Tuning packages - ranging from street to circuit kits - will be offered in either comprehensive combinations or ala carte, and will include wheels and tires, carbon fiber aero parts, exhaust systems, tweaked ECUs and upgraded cooling kits. All the parts have already undergone rigorous testing, primarily during NISMO/MOTUL's campaign of a race-prepped R35 GT-R in the Tokachi 24 hour endurance race . More details are due out in a few weeks, although there's no word on if or when these parts will be available in the U.S. Gallery: NISMO Tokachi 24-hour Nissan GT-R Gallery: In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Nissan GT-R [Source: GTRBlog ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Dodge 2006 Dodge Challenger Super Stock concept With a name like Challenger, Dodge's new muscle car had better put down some serious quarter-mile times or else be able to propel itself into outer space. Fortunately, Chrysler's performance parts division Mopar is preparing to do one (if not the other) when it unveils its new Drag Race Package for the Challenger at the annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Denver next week. While specific details on the package - which we previewed in our exclusive video last week - remain scarce before the official debut, the Challenger Drag Race Package marks the 70th anniversary of Mopar and forty years since the company's last factory-built drag-race package. Based on the Challenger SRT8, the Drag Race Package features a composite "Body-in-White" direct from the factory and a host of lightweight components, to say nothing of all the parts being deleted for drag-strip...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Tuners , Nissan Nissan's motorsports arm, NISMO, will bring a race-prepared GT-R to the Tokachi 24-hour race on July 20th and 21st equipped with NISMO tuning parts that will be available to consumers later this summer. The car is being prepped by both NISMO and MOTUL, the Japanese French specialty oil manufacturer, and the modified GT-R will benefit from a special blend of the brand's high-performance oil. The GT-R won't be packing additional ponies, with power still pegged at 480 PS (473 hp) and 434 lb.-ft. of torque. However, the curb weight of the racer has dropped from over 3,800 pounds to 3,527 pounds. Masami Kageyama (former Formula Nippon racer and SuperGT pilot) and Tetsuya Tanaka (2008 Super GT GT300 driver) will be handling the tuned GT-R around the track at Tokachi. The team's director, Taro Kumagai, points out that this is the first time a production-based GT-R has been raced, and that the aim of the campaign "is...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Tuners , Sports/GTs , Supercars , Dodge Click above to view Hennessey's Viper ACR upon delivery Gearheads across the country are crossing off days on the calendar until May 2 when One Lap of America returns. The annual event, for those unfamiliar, takes participants across the country on a Cannonball-style rally competing on racetracks and road courses scattered along the way. Dodge always makes a strong showing at One Lap, and the team at the company's SRT workshop planned on entering two vehicles this year: a Challenger and a Viper. Time and resources being limited however, Dodge SRT turned to noted Viper tuner John Hennessey to help prepare a brand spankin' new Viper ACR - unveiled just this past November in LA - for the event. To that end, Dodge sent the first Viper ACR off the assembly line to Hennessey, who is now undertaking the task of preparing the car for the race next week. With SRT chief Erich Heuschle driving the Challenger...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Tuners , Coupes , Scion , Toyota Click above for a huge high-res gallery of the RS*R Scion tC drift car. We've enjoyed our fair share of front-wheel-drive hijinks in empty parking lots with our right hand firmly grasping the e-brake, but in the end, tail-out antics are always more enjoyable behind the wheel of something with the proper wheels driven. "Proper," however, isn't the way we'd describe how Scion decided to go about campaigning a tC in this year's Formula Drift series. With backing from Toyota, the aftermarket firm RS*R converted a run-of-the-mill tC into a rear-wheel-drive monster utilizing a BEAMS-built 3S-GE engine and taking advantage of the Toyota Avensis/Caldina all-wheel-drive chassis on which the tC is built. RS*R ripped out the abysmal 2AZ-FE 2.4-liter four-pot from the stock car, fabbed up a series of new mounts to facilitate the transverse to longitudinal conversion and dropped in the 3S-GE after fitting...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Hatchbacks , Volvo Click above for a photo galllery of Skruffse's RWD C30 While Volvo's C30 has wily charms in its stock configuration, we could see how it'd be even more entertaining with the power being sent to the proper wheels. While we're talking revisions, a honkingly large turbocharger and external-reservoir dampers would be welcome additions, too. The race-ready ride height is dead sexy, and while it's a crazy thing to do to a perfectly good brand new Volvo, Sweden's Skruffse has carried out some beautiful fabrication work. The use is obviously racing of some sort, and with wide tires at all four corners we're surmising that it's something that involves turning, versus drag racing. Seeing this car's tow rig - a first-generation V70, it all comes together -- those willing to strip the C30 down like a stolen Pinto and rejigger the chassis are true Volvo nuts. We're pretty sure the warranty has been voided...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Driving ***UPDATE: Video link added*** Click image above for high-res gallery of festival pics When a friend mentioned that he was heading out to El Toro Marine Base for a day of tuner fun courtesy of GReddy, we decided to tag along and check it out for ourselves. The 2008 GReddy Garage Sale and Performance Festival ended up being a pretty fun event, one of countless such organized automotive activities going on around the country on any given weekend. Seeing as how this particular day of fun was sponsored by GReddy, we were eager to see if we could spot our beloved Five Axis Yaris Club , which featured several GReddy goodies, but alas, it was nowhere to be found. We did see a bunch of GReddy-tuned goodness though, including a couple of Z-cars like the one above that were sporting that trick new VQ35HR twin-turbo system we spotlighted at SEMA last year. If you look closely at our gallery, you'll also spot a different Yaris that tackled the autocross...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Tuners , Sports/GTs , Supercars , Nissan We've reported previously on both a club racer and a V-Spec version of the Nissan GT-R, and it's now apparent that they are both very different beasts. The V-Spec variant will be in the same mold as the previous versions offered, with Japan's Best Car citing a 220-pound diet, 30 more horsepower with upgraded binders and suspension components. The racing version, previously shown in spy shots , is equipped with a full roll cage, a significantly revised suspension and a nice set of Volk TE37s that are also featured in last week's Best Car article. When we'll be seeing either version is an open question, but we've got video of the production-based racer making the rounds and Best Car's spec scan after the jump . [Source: 2009gtr.com] Continue reading Gozilla goes on a diet: VIDEO of GT-R race car mule, V-Spec details surface Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Hatchbacks , Ferrari , FIAT Click to view in high resolution If you drove Formula One cars for a living, what would you drive in your spare time? Well, just about anything you want, given the multi-million-dollar contracts F1 drivers garner these days. F1 teams, however, routinely present their star drivers with their parent company's best rides. For example, while at McLaren, Fernando Alonso had to make room for his SLR by selling off his Renaultsport Megane . But Felipe Massa may have to get a (slightly) larger garage to fit the new custom Fiat 500 that Ferrari presented him in Monaco next to the Ferrari 599 he received previously. But after routinely squeezing into the tiny cockpit of a grand prix racing car, the comparatively vast space inside the tiny Fiat may actually be a step up. Naturally Ferrari wouldn't give its star driver just any ordinary 500. Massa's has been outfitted with a 120-hp 1.4-liter quattrovalvole four from Fiat...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Sports/GTs , Mitsubishi Like Germany and the Nurburgring, the United States is quickly seeing Buttonwillow Raceway's clock-wise configuration #13 become the circuit of choice for lap time bragging rights. While Buttonwillow does not have luxurious surrounding establishments or exceptional facilities, it does provide a variety of corners, is close to a major city (Los Angeles) and open year-round. Recently, media outlets Super Street and Eurotuner hosted their annual Super Lap Battle Finals (previously referred to as Time Attack). This event has helped to establish Buttonwillow track records as coveted titles. The winner of the event, fresh off a boat from Japan, was HKS's Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII dubbed the CT230R and driven by Nobuteru Taniguchi to a time of 1:43.523. The carbon beast not only bested the competition, but destroyed the event record of 1:48.906 held by Tarzan Yamada driving Sun Auto's Cyber Lancer Evolution and...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Etc. Consolidation of aftermarket brake manufacturers seems to be all the rage recently, with Centric consuming both PowerSlot and Stoptech, and now, Brembo has bought out all of Hayes Lemmerz's North American brake-components division. The Italian parts manufacturer dolled out a cool $58 million for both the Homer, Michigan and Apodaca, Mexico facilities, and in the process acquired the company's 250 employees. We're hoping that the deal bodes well for those of us looking to upgrade our current stoppers with beefy, red Brembo calipers. The full press release is posted after the jump. Continue reading Brembo buys up Hayes Lemmerz's North American brake facilities Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Tuners , Acura , Honda If you've spent any amount of timing tweaking the B16 in your EK hatch, you're probably all too familiar with Hondata. The firm specializes in providing easy-to-use, plug-and-play components...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Tuners , Etc. , Japan Because the first three were such highly regarded cinematic art, The Fast and The Furious franchise may expand to a fourth waste of film movie. Currently, the project is in development by...
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