When the clutch is depressed, you can simply mash the gas pedal to the floor and the Hi-6 will hold the engine to your pre-set launch rpm. With the throttle wide open, the turbo starts to spool, building a few pounds of boost along the way. When the clutch is released, the rev limit reverts to the normal rev limit of the engine. We also used Crane's TRC-2 timing controller as an anti-lag system. When the clutch is depressed, the spark is retarded up to an adjustable 20 degrees. This increases the exhaust gas temperature and helps spool the turbo or keeps the turbo spooled during shifts. The engine pops and backfires, but that's normal.
In fact, if you listen, most modern turbocharged rally, Indy and hill climb cars will also do this as they use similar systems to help improve response and reduce turbo lag. Our Crane ignition system will also allow safe full throttle upshifts with very little turbo lag. When experimenting with other cars, we found this can take as much as two to three tenths off of the quarter-mile time.
With the Hi-6 and the LX92 coil using the Aquamist water injection, 17 psi was reached on a cool day on 91-octane pump gas before detonation became a problem. The boost could still be turned higher because no misfire was present, but since the engine was stock, we didn't press our luck any further with pump gas. The normal daily running boost pressure was reduced to 14 psi.
To see just how much power Project SE-R was really producing, we took a short trip to R&D Dyno, the tuning shop of the stars, to see what our little car could do. On 91-octane pump gas, at 17 psi the car spun the Dynojet rollers to the tune of 304.4 hp and 290 lb/ft of torque-not bad for a stock motor. Three hundred hp in a 2,400-pound car is a lot of fun, almost too much fun. Almost any street machine you come up against is no match for our little giant killer.
To see what our little SR20DE could put out with a little help from some decent fuel, we added a tank full of VP C16 racing fuel to the mix and turned the wick up on our PRofec-B to 22 psi. Our bone-stock SR20DE responded by cranking out 379.7 hp and 352.7 lbs/ft of torque. This from a bolt-on street turbo kit on a basically stock engine.
This is enough power to easily punt Project SE-R into the 12s with slicks in full street trim. Project SE-R: The terror of the road course.
Stay tuned. In the next installments of Project SE-Revisited, we'll put together braking and suspension systems. With this much power, these areas of the car are woefully lacking and need serious work to keep the car a well-balanced machine.