Element Tuning

With the Hydra EMS just finished days before the event we filled the FRS/BRZ up with E85 installed some street tires and were off to battle test and punish the Hydra powered FRS.

It’s been a really long time since I raced anything but a true slick tire so it took a couple sessions to get used to the huge slip angles I was getting with the Hankook RS-3s. Still pretty amazing grip from these 275s!

Our custom valved BC Suspension with Hydra EMS power had us leading our class. I absolutely punished this car and this tune to make sure I could use this E85 road race map as a base map for our customers.

Camber looking good! It looks like it could use a touch more negative on the front but honestly front grip wasn’t the issue. The rear of this car is just too light without the muffler and junk in the trunk. We’ll need to work on this with aero.

We ended up wining our class by a little over 4 seconds to another FRS so it was good to compare how the Hydra EMS, BC Suspension, and exhaust compared to the other cars mods.

Meister watches for the winners

Thanks,
Phil Grabow

For a limited time, purchase an Element Tuning Hydra EMS and get a free upgrade worth $490 to Flex Fuel (E85) an CAN Bus capability.  This enables Hydra users to install a GM Flex Fuel Sensor, tune for E85 and for Pump fuel and have their Hydra EMS automatically detect ethanol content  if two fuels are mixed.  The Hydra will then automatically compensate adjust the fuel, timing and boost maps for the difference in ethanol content.

Lap records set around exclusive Monticello during Whelen US TimeTrial Championship.

Philip Grabow set a new Whelen USTTC track lap record at Monticello. © NARRA

What can I say but amazing for 155 whp! We didn’t plan on racing our FRS this weekend for the Whelen USTT Championship but with our STi down and out we decided to make lemonade!

With the FRS there just to show off I couldn’t think of a better way to fully test this car than to throw it into battle against much more serious hardware. With everyone on race tires we stuffed our STi Rota DPT race wheels and tires on there and gave it a go.

Dual view in car video from the Whelen USTT Championship round at NJ Motorsports Thunderbolt.

With such little power going up against some heavy weights we didn’t win anything but huge respect from everyone that saw this car on the track. I’m not sure I every got a totally clean lap due to getting passed into turn 1 but I managed a 1:40.07 at NJ Thunderbolt. For 155 hp and a 3000 lbs race weight, that’s really good. I’m confident a 1:39 was what I could have done but the old race tires were just about corded so I couldn’t really give it another shot in hopes of some clear track.

I had a couple strange issues related to the power steering and when I spun out once the car wouldn’t restart for awhile. Under heavy braking and turning (Turn 11) is was as if the power steering failed. I’m not sure if the race tires had too much grip under braking for the power steering or there’s some funny VSC (it was all off) that doesn’t like you trail braking.

Had a blast and can’t wait to fully build this car up into a potent Time Attack race car. We should have our prototype Hydra EMS computer in about a week and hopefully our custom valved BC Suspension in 3 weeks.

Thanks,
Phil Grabow

And so a new chapter begins for Element Tuning as we take on the FRS and BRZ. We aren’t known for building slow cars and well the FRS/BRZ is a slow car but most of us know that going in. What it has is an exceptional chassis and great driving dynamics.

As a racer I’m really looking forward to taking this car to a whole new level of grip and HP. We’ll be relying again on BC Racing to custom valve our new suspension so we can take this car to the highest level of racing just like our STi.

On the HP front we’ll be developing the Hydra EMS stand-alone engine management system along with an Element Tuning Pro Comp engine build. We need to tear this thing down and start working with manufacturers as soon as possible so we can build the motor to handle the turbo system we have in store.

I hope everyone is as excited as we are to build a sick race car out of this chassis!

For now some 18×8 SSRs with 225/40-18 Toyos we had laying around the shop. Definitely a conservative fit and I see plenty more room in there to go wider.

Philip Grabow set the fastest time of the weekend

The state motto might be ‘Virginia is for lovers’, but over the past weekend, surely it was for lovers of all high-end and high performance sports cars, as Virginia International Raceway (Alton, VA) played host to rounds 9 and 10 of the 2011 Whelen US TimeTrial Championship.

Sunday also saw George Whelen match his father’s Saturday performance to take the top step of the GT-Unlimited class podium- his first ever win in the US GT Championship’s premier class.

The weekend was expected to be a battle between two different breeds of horsepower- that of boost four-cylinder turbos and big American made cubic-inches. However, a surge of late entries not only gave the VIR rounds of the Whelen USTTC a record number of competitors, but another type of contender. Exotic European thoroughbreds joined the large contingent of American muscle and fast-fours that usually make up the Whelen USTTC ranks, and they certainly made their presence felt.

The bright orange Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera of Jim Booth wowed spectators and competitors alike as the V-10 screamed around the challenging 3.37 mile VIR circuit.
Booth dominated both days of competition in the TT-1 class, posting a 2:06.77 on Saturday before turning up the heat on Sunday to set a 2:04.172.
Interestingly, Booth also participated in his V10 Viper on Sunday but could only manage a 2:05.666, confirming the Lamborghini’s superior price tag over the Viper is indeed warranted.
Booth’s nearest rival was Doug Wind. Given that Wind’s weapon- a Modern Performance tuned turbo Dodge SRT-4- couldn’t be further from the Lamborghini in every way, shape and form, it was impressive that his times were only just over a second slower around one of the longest and fastest tracks in North America.
And while Wind could only manage second place on both Saturday and Sunday, he stamped his authority- albeit only by two tenths on Sunday- on TT-1 championship rival George MacDonald (Viper Competition Coupe), who finished third both days.

George MacDonald finished third both days in TT-1.

And while the strong points haul extended Wind’s TT-1 championship lead, MacDonald has now fallen behind Tanya Mazyk (Dodge Viper) who, all season, has been quietly building a solid points tally.
European might also proved too strong for the turbo fours and American muscle in the TT-2 class.
Alex Reznikov set a blistering 2:04.164 pace on Saturday afternoon in his black Porsche 997 GT3- a time that beat that of Booth’s Lamborghini on Saturday.
It was too much for David Tenney’s Dodge Neon SRT-4, who finished second, and Tim Jelle’s Dodge Viper GTS, who was third fastest in class on Saturday.

Reznikov didn’t match his Saturday pace on Sunday, however it was still enough to fend off the competition. Jelle, however, found nearly two seconds to close the gap, leapfrogging Tenney to take Sunday’s second placed trophy. Tenney finished third.

The SpeedSouth Corvette of David Leonard won Sunday’s TT-Unlimited competition. © NARRA

Again though, the fastest times of the weekend came from the TT-Unlimited class.
Philip Grabow and team from Element Tuning again threw down the gauntlet to the nation’s top tuning houses. On Saturday their heavily modified Subaru STi was the only car on Saturday to break the 2 minute mark, setting a 1:58.890. The fast-four was a staggering 6.5 seconds faster than the V10 might of TT-U championship points leader Carl Kafarowski’s Dodge Viper ACR, who set a 2:05.682- his personal best of the weekend. John Weigel, in another Viper ACR, finished third.

However all was not lost for American muscle, as a new contender entered TT-Unlimited for Sunday.
The Leonard brothers David and Tom, from SpeedSouth Active Power Racing, had brought their Corvette all the way from Pelham, Alabama to compete in the Whelen USTTC’s sister series, the US GT Championship. After blowing a transmission on Friday evening, their weekend looked bleak. However, the hard work of sourcing and overnighting a new transaxle to the circuit, and installing it with their backs in the Virginia dirt, paid off. Not only did they score two podiums in the USGTC, but they took the time-trial series by storm.
With brother Tom racing,

SpeedSouth’s Leonard brothers pose with their Whelen USTTC and USGTC trophies from VIR. © NARRA

David took the helm of the Corvette in the time-trial competition on Sunday morning. In a salute to the might of cubic-inches he ran over one second faster than Grabow’s Subaru, to set a 1:57.643. The time not only meant SpeedSouth was the new top-dog in town but would also take home the first place trophy in Sunday’s TT-U competition.

With over-heating and electrical issues plaguing Grabow’s Subaru, he had to settle for second place, while Carl Kafarowski took the third step of the podium.
And while by 4pm the competition runs had come to a close, Element Tuning had not given up in their quest to extract more from the STi. With the issues fixed, but on a far from perfect heat-soaked afternoon track, Grabow went out for the final session. While slightly bitter-sweet, Grabow showed what the Subaru was capable of, running a staggering 1:55.996- nearly two seconds faster than Leonard’s Corvette.

So while SpeedSouth’s cubic-inches may have taken home the trophy, one could argue the boosted four-cylinder of Element Tuning’s Subaru still reigns supreme in the Whelen USTTC.
All the action from the weekend was captured using GoPro cameras by the Internal Production Group and will be broadcast later this year on GoRacingTV.com, hosted by motorsport television personality Tom Hnatiw. The battle of the countries best engine tuners, and some of the world’s fastest cars in the Whelen US TimeTrial Championship will continue next month at Motorsport Park Hastings, Nebraska as part of the 2011 Super Sports Car Weekend.

Event images, commentary and results can be found at facebook.com/NARRAonline .