At the Detroit Auto Show in 2001, Nissan unveiled the long-awaited Z-car replacement: Concept Z. The stunning coupe was a show favorite, blend- ing modern styling with the iconic nameplate.More importantly, Nissan's CEO, Carlos Ghosn, announced that the car had been green lighted for production. In 2002, after a six-year hiatus from the U.S. market, the fifth-generation Z-car debuted wearing the 350Z badge.

We know what you're thinking and no we're not talking about a VIP pass at a hot club. We're talking about processes that can help you make power, make stuff last longer, improve reliability, and reduce or eliminate parts breakage. We're talking about stuff like Isotropic polishing, shot peening, Cryogenic treatment, and WPC. What the hell is this stuff? Are these medical tricks to help you live longer? No, they won't make you live one bit longer. Will these treatments give you gobs of power? Well not usually but they can help you make power and give you a lot more consistently high power over the life of an engine. Are these treatments expensive? Usually not, plus they provide quite a bit of good for very little cost.

Spal Usa
Fan Controller
SPAL PWM is a programmable controller that varies cooling fan speed based on engine temperature. It's been enhanced with several new features that extend fan life, provide better performance, and offer more convenience. The FAN-PWM-V3 now incorporates "over current" protection, "smart soft start" (reduced inrush while still protecting from stalled/stuck fans), onboard diagnostics with error code reporting, a "status OK" light (easier to identify wiring issues that confirm that the unit is operating), a 16-bit microcontroller (increased accuracy and functionality), and three selectable default settings (SPAL USA FAN-PWM-TS sensor required). The controller is compatible with both 12- and 24-volt systems with corresponding 12- or 24-volt fans (only 12-volt was previously available). It also accommodates a larger fan speed range (lower "low" speed) and allows for smoother transitions to higher speeds (fan ramps up/down without turning on/off). Additionally, it comes with a premium-grade harness (GXL wire and full automotive OEM spec wiring).
SPAL USA / www.spalusa.com

In 1982, HKS Japan released a small, rather unusual- looking box, referred to as a turbo timer to the consumer market. The HKS turbo timer was the first commercialized timer specifically designed for auto- mobiles and sold to the general public in Japan. This simple yet effective electronic gizmo, which consisted of a gray box with four push buttons, was designed to keep the car at idle for a pre-specified period. With a simple push of the button and a shutoff of the ignition, the timer would begin a time-sequenced countdown before finally shutting the engine off as a means to initiate engine cooldown and keep fresh oil streaming through the turbo's center-bearing cartridge to prevent premature wear or damage. As technological advancements in the automotive industry have grown over the years, the HKS turbo timer has also evolved. HKS released a ninth generation turbo timer design, offering a sleeker, more-advanced product that promises to set a new standard in high-performance electronics.

At first glance, the Aeromotive Fuel Pump Speed Controller (FPSC) looks like a simple black box filled with LEDs, screws, and resistors, but you'll be surprised to know that it's so much more. This state-of-the-art electric fuel pump control module was recently released by Aeromotive as the second-generation controller, replacing the previous model that serviced the race community for a stellar eight years. The new FPSC was designed to provide the end user with ease of programming, plus its use of pulse modulation reduces pump speed without harming the motor and ultimately its function in order to allow large, high-flow fuel pumps to be street driven by minimizing fuel heating that can rob a vehicle of horsepower and performance. "The motivation for the FPSC redesign was primarily to enhance operation and the user interface, while reducing size and weight," Brett Clow says, Aeromotive engineer. "Additional desired benefits included reduced build time and costs, along with enhanced serviceability."

The C-West S2000 first gained noto- riety in November 2005 when the dry- carbon Honda was freshly shipped in a container from Japan just a few days before its U.S. race debut. With minimal changes performed on the vehicle's suspension, the car was quickly whisked off to Buttonwillow Speedway as it prepared to wage war in the Super Street and eurotuner Time Attack (Super Lap Battle). The S2000 competed in the Unlimited FR Class and was driven by Eiji "Tarzan" Yamada, using of all things a stock JDM 2.0L motor. The naturally aspirated S2000 ran an amazing 1:53.147 time and was named the Unlimited FR Champion that year. The win was a bittersweet victory for C-West and its S2000 because the car was immediately taken back to the U.S. facility, never to be seen again, sitting in storage for the next two and a half years.

Over the past few months we have been busy tuning Project Evo's engine, brakes, and suspension. This month we focused on some of the minor but important details that every performance car needs.

Total tuning is a philosophy that involves putting parts together that will work well as a whole to net the maximum performance intended. The ultimate goal of our KA24DE build is to yield extreme power yet keep it within a reasonable realm of reliability. With the completion of our long-block assembly, we ensured that we had a strong core for our KA24DE. Next, we will go over the external engine accessories and parts to seal up our motor, preparing for its installation into our donor vehicle.

RB26DETT 1,000-Plus Horsepower Block WorkOver the past five months, seven teams have waged a war in building the ultimate engine in a head-to-head battle. The challenge was based upon a points system (190 points total) consisting of the highest possible numbers in each category. Horsepower and torque (30 points), power under the curve (30 points), 30-minute drive cycle (100 points), and build quality (30 points). The Castrol Syntec Top Shop Challenge set the stage for eurotuner, Import Tuner, Lowrider, Modified, Sport Compact Car, Super Street, and Turbo & High-Tech Performance magazines to join forces with a tuner/engine builder while selecting an engine of their choice to build and compete. The highest combined points total will be declared the winner; this isn't a dyno competition based only on monster horsepower. Each team will build an engine to deliver horsepower and torque figures upon horsepower per liter. Larger displacement engines, like theNissan VQ35DE (3.5L), are known to develop bigger power figures but will be at a numerical disadvantage compared to the smaller-litered engines, like the Nissan SR20DET (2.0L).

Since its introduction to the U.S. in 2002, the Subaru Impreza WRX has been one of the most popular tuner cars in the country. With a four-cylinder turbocharged engine, all-wheel-drive drivetrain, ample interior space, and a sub-$25,000 price tag, it's easy to see why the WRX became a popular choice among performance enthusiasts.

Here is a sneak peek on the '09 Bergenholtz Racing Mazda RX-8, which is currently being built for dual purpose usage. The BR-8 will be competing in drift and time attack events across the nation in 2009. Turbo & High-Tech Performance magazine will be following this build from the delivery of the chassis until the finished product as we anticipate watching this machine tear up Formula D tracks across the nation. After speaking with Ron Bergenhotz, the mastermind behind this BR-8 project, we were amazed with the practical approach this team is taking to overcome obstacles that a normal drift car runs on the track.

With all the performance advantages the Evo has to offer a motorsports enthusiast, it's easy to overlook some of the flaws inherited into the design of the vehicle. Take for example the Evo's factory fuel system, specifically the design of the fuel tank and pickup unit. Numerous road racers who own and have tracked their Evos have found a serious fuel starvation issue associated with the pump's pickup when taking hard turns or experiencing excessive g's, with less than an eighth of a tank of gas. This fuel starvation issue is not only catastrophic to your engine but also becomes deadly to a driver's wellbeing when a vehicle is coming out of Turn 8 at Big Willow in excess of 140 mph and suddenly the fuel cuts out, causing the engine to hiccup. That hesitation can cause the rear tires to slide out from under you as you lose control and barrel toward the retaining walls.

Cam installation stories have been done over and over again in high-performance automobile publications. Many times, however, proper valve timing is never really stressed. Quality cam manufacturers always include a cam card with their cams. More often than not, this goes into the trash with the shipping package. It's been a pretty long road, but our Project 750hp KA24DET has finally gotten to the point to receive the head. We haven't touched the head since it got back from Port Flow. In this installment, again with Naoto of NPD, we'll go through the assembly of the head, installation of the cams, and degreeing of the cam timing to finally finish up our long-block assembly.

AccessPort Tuning: Jon Buenas

Baseline
Pros
The newly designed '08 Subaru Impreza STI, powered by the infamous 2.5L boxer engine is rated at a factory 305 hp and 290 lb-ft of torque. The '08 model continues the Subaru legacy as its rally proven symmetrical all-wheel-drive system and turbocharged powerplant have been a successfully lethal combination in the world of automotive performance.

Password:JDM
Dry Carbon-Fiber S2000 Driveshaft
Password:JDM's dry carbon S2000 driveshaft was designed and tested to withstand 1,500-plus lb-ft of torque. This is the ultrahigh-performance driveshaft that every serious enthusiast has been waiting for. It reduces rotational mass by replacing the metal center tube of a conventional driveshaft with an ultralight dry carbon-fiber mandrel formed section, which is half the weight of the tube and about 10 times stronger. What this means is that you can finally put to rest the chances of a driveshaft failure and increase performance at the same time by reducing the rotational mass of the crucial component of the drivetrain. The Password: JDM dry carbon driveshaft is available for either AP1 or AP2 S2000s.

Squiggly lines, distance plots, time plots, frequency plots, histograms, X-Y plots, 3-D plots, constants, math, and many other tools are the way we make sense out of data collected. In the last article we discussed the tools for collecting data, sensors, wiring looms, loggers, and dash displays. In this installment we will discuss what we can do with this data using EFI Technology's analysis software.

Evasive Motorsports, located in SoCal, has gained worldwide notoriety among the Evo community.Their crew is often found tearing up the Buttonwil-low and Willow Springs tracks in their Super Lap Battle record-holding Limited class all-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Evo IX. Weighing in at 3,300 pounds with driver Robert Walker behind the helms, the Evasive Evo made a special appearance at this year's Long Beach Grand Prix to run in a two-day exhibition session. During one of those exhibition runs, the splitter tore off the vehicle, sheering the oil filter and cracking the oil sandwich plate. The Evo continued to boost for a few more seconds until every last drop of oil poured out from its innards, causing the engine to seize and abruptly end its weekend run.

The automotive community was in anticipation after Acura announced the release of a new turbocharged SUV known as the RDX in August of 2006. The RDX, deemed as Acura's first turbocharged gasoline engine, uses a 2.3L K23A1 that powers its all-wheel-drive platform to a tune of 240 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. A top-mount intercooler similar to the Subaru WRX offers ambient airflow through a trick ducting system that draws air through the factory grille to keep temperatures optimal. Developed under the K-series family, the 2.3L engine was engineered with a lower compression ratio of 8.8:1 to cater to the new boost-friendly setup.

A As the saying goes, "The journey is more important than the destination." There have definitely been loads of events up to this point but we can finally say we're at the halfway point of our build. This month, again with Naoto Negishi from NPD, we'll finally put the bottom end of our 750hp KA24DET together and discuss how we prepped our components.

Data acquisition is employed in almost every type of modern-day racing vehicle. The question is why? What are the advantages, disadvantages, and misconceptions of this technological mess of wires and circuits? In this segment we'll discuss components and hardware (the logger itself, sensors, dash displays, and harnessing).

Hosetechniques' GT-R Hose
Hot off the mandrels, HoseTechniques kicks off its new 44-Series premium-grade silicone radiator hose line (four-ply/4mm wall) with upper and lower radiator hoses for the new '09 Nissan GT-R (R35). Radiator hoses are available in SuperBlack, SuperBlue, or SuperRed from the manufacturer.
HoseTechniques /www.hosetechniques.com

AFE's New Stage 2
Intake For The '02-'-06 MINI Cooper S
Advanced Flow Engineering (AFE), an industry leader in performance intakes, filters, manifolds, and exhaust systems, released its Stage 2 air intake system for the '02 to '06 Mini Cooper S with a supercharged 1.6L four-cylinder motor, PN 54-10572 and 51-10572.

When undertaking an engine build of this level, there is always some sort of hurdle. Add into the equation the use of newly developed parts and you'll definitely find surprises. In this installment, we initially planned on featuring the balance and assembly of the block, but we ran into some problems of our own. However, it would be an injustice to you, as the reader, to make every job seem like a cakewalk (like certain TV shows that start with Horsepower). Due to the tight schedule of our build, we wanted to give you the reality of our problems and what we did to get through them. Blueprinting and building engines isn't an easy undertaking and should never be taken lightly. In this installment we are going to go over the importance of pre-fitting components and balancing the rotational mass of the engine assembly.

We last left project SR20 headless as we finished up the bottom end. If the bottom end can be considered the legs of an engine, the head is the heart and lungs. Building a good bottom end is the foundation of a hard-running motor. Power, however, is made in the head and races are won by how well the head works. While the cylinder head is the most expensive part of any engine build, we're still looking toward keeping our low budget approach, using methods that have DIY potential.