World's Quickest Diamond Star

9.571 @ 148.04 mphThe Honda versus Mitsubishi rivalry should heat up in 2000 as each camp has its own star list and fleet of 9-second sprinters. Sean Glazar of Fulton, Maryland is currently the fastest Quick-class Diamond Star with a 9.57-second pass under his belt in preparation for the IDRC/NHRA CSK International Finals Presented by Bosch race in Pomona, Calif. The car blasted a 9.70 right out of the box and perched itself atop the Quick XVI qualifying ladder.

Sean and his dad, Terry, own and run Extreme Motorsports, one of the premier Diamond Star tuning shops in the country. Brent Rau's 9.74-second Diamond Star (January 2000) is also campaigned out of the Extreme stable. A graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in economics, Sean uses a calculator as well as a wrench in his daily duties. We asked Sean what was most responsible for the quick improvement of the two cars in 1999. "We made a lot of progress this year," said Sean. "We went to Haltech fuel management and with our Dynojet chassis dyno, I was able to do all my tuning before the race." The dyno was installed in March and it wasn't too soon thereafter that the Extreme team started its tear.

Sean told us he has his work cut out for him during the off season. He has numerous "driveline issues" to resolve. "When running 10s, the driveline was not much of an issue; the car held together fairly well. Since the car has planted itself in the 9s a new set of problems have surfaced-and I expected them." Sean says he's tried all kinds of stress-relief tricks but the transfer case output shaft just can't take it from a metallurgical standpoint. He hopes to find an alternative material to construct a shaft from and fabricate other components that will be capable of absorbing the abuse.

While there are 750-plus angry horses pulling on the reins, there is plenty of abuse to go around. Sean handles all the engine building, transmission tweaking and tuning of the car. His 4G63 is stuffed with 8.5:1 compression Ross pistons designed to Extreme Motorsports specs, a stock crank and Crower connecting rods. Sean gave the head a mild porting, added heavy-duty valve guides and performed a competition valve job. A pair of Web Cam bumpsticks orchestrate valvetrain events while Unorthodox Racing adjustable cam gears give Sean the fine tuning ability needed to extract maximum power and ensure the power peaks at the correct place in the powerband. ARP head studs are assigned the monumental task of keeping the head secured to the block at 30psi.

Pressurization is generated by an Extreme Motorsports-spec Garrett hybrid turbo charger. The turbo sports secret spec'd housing A/Rs and wheel trims and is a key factor in the Diamond Star's speed. The intake charge is chilled by a front-mounted air-to-air intercooler prior to entering the turbo system's 3-inch intercooler ducting. When the car is really hooked up a Nitrous Express single-nozzle wet manifold nitrous system is squeezed into play from the line to the traps. The system is configured to add 100 horsepower to the party-that'll get it done.

On the fuel enrichment side we find an interesting mix of components. The fuel system utilizes two high-flow Bosch pumps that feed eight 550cc injectors which are driven by a Haltech E6S-8 engine management system. An Essex regulator controls the flow of race gas to a custom Extreme Motorsports fuel rail. Air is introduced to the combustion chamber by four individual throttle bodies, spark is zapped in by a single-coil-per-cylinder Extreme Motorsports ignition system where Magnecor wires and NGK plugs light off the mixture of C-16 and boost. Sean has gotten a lot of mileage out of his motor but still has a few tweaks in store for the powerplant during the cold Maryland winter.

Getting the power to the pavement is key but an all-wheel-drive car poses some unique challenges. If you do too good of a job, you'll break axles, transfer cases, transmissions etc. Koni coilovers that utilize Eibach ERS springs dictate the transfer of weight while a factory front sway bar and Suspension Techniques rear sway bar increase stability. The Talon claws at the track via M&H slicks. Sean runs 24.5x8.5x15 gumballs on Bogart Racing Dragonfly Star wheels. After tripping the lights in a tick under 150 mph the Diamond Star is brought to a halt with the stock braking system which has been enhanced with Power Stop rotors, Axxis Metal Master pads and stainless-steel brake lines (and a parachute if necessary).

The interior is all race with a 10-point NHRA-certified roll cage from Autofab Race Cars providing protection and adding to the car's rigidity. Piloting the 9-second screamer is an all Sparco affair-Sean is strapped into a Sparco racing bucket seat and guides the Talon down the track via a trick Sparco steering wheel. Instrumentation is handled by Auto Meter Phantom Series gauges while a Phoenix Fire Suppression System is on call to extinguish any flames should things go awry.

As the car's performance has progressed, so has its looks. Speedesign has concocted the distinctive scheme on Sean's Talon, giving the racer a single-digit aura to back up its single-digit timeslips. As mentioned earlier, it's going to be a busy winter for the crew at Extreme Motorsports. Instead of hibernating during the cold months, Sean and company will be reworking driveline parts in an effort to excise the demons. We wish them the best of luck and hope see the Talon racing on a nationwide basis in 2000.