Numbers
Dyno: Dyno Dynamics @ Pina Motorsports, WA
Tuner: Phil Grabow Element Tuning
Wheel HP: 700whp UNCORRECTED
Wheel TQ: 566wtq UNCORRECTED
Target Boost: 31 Psi
Target AFR: 11.5
Fuel: Q16 with Hydramist
Ambient Temp: 50
Elevation: 0

For some reason all the dyno plots this time around had the chop during spoolup on every car I tuned so maybe next time we need to adjust the ramp rate.

Car Info
Year: 2007
Engine Management: Element Tuning Hydra EMS
Turbo: GT35R 1.06 Twin Scroll
Intercooler: APS DR750
Meth Kit: Hydramist 80/20 water/methanol
Injectors: RC 1600cc, Bosch 044 Fuel Pump
Engine: World One — Element Tuning Rods, CP Pistons, +1mm valves, BC STG4 cams, stock block and bore.
Intake Manifold: Cosworth
Headers: ?
Uppipe: World One
Downpipe: World One
CBE: Invidia G200
Other: Element Tuning Competition Catch Can

Like clockwork this time the car tuned easily and without issues. First up was the pump gas and Hydramist which netted us 604 whp which is pretty nuts for a daily driver! Next we ran the new 1600cc injectors with Q16 and the Hydramist running 80% water and 20% methanol. Slowly turned up the boost, dialed in the AFR and a really easy 700 whp.

Thanks,
Phil Grabow
Element Tuning

More information and discussion can be found here:

Numbers
Dyno: Dyno Dynamics @ Pina Motorsports, WA
Tuner: Phil Grabow Element Tuning
Wheel HP: 532whp UNCORRECTED
Wheel TQ: 513wtq UNCORRECTED
Target Boost: 26 psi
Target AFR: 11.5
Fuel: E85 and 92 Octane pump gas
Ambient Temp: 50
Elevation: 0

Initially I tuned the car with DW 1000cc injectors but for E85 we stepped up to RC 1600cc with the base fuel pressure set to 50 psi but the regulator diaphragm failed so we had to replace the regulator with an Aeromotive A1000 (don’t waste your money on anything else!). We also swapped in a TurboSmart BOV to better manage peak boost pressure and not blow open.

Car Info
Year: 2007
Engine Management: Element Tuning Hydra EMS
Turbo: Element GT65 Bolt On
Intercooler: APS
Meth Kit: None
Injectors: RC 1600cc, Bosch 044 Fuel Pump, A1000 regulator
Engine: Element Tuning Rods, CP Pistons, Cosworth cams, stock block and bore.
Intake/Inlet: Magnus, APS
Headers: AMR
Uppipe: AMR
Downpipe: ?
CBE: Invidia
Other:

The Element GT65 Bolt-on really shined on E85 fuel especially given the car didn’t have anything done to the heads but a set of cams.

Thanks,
Phil Grabow
Element Tuning

More information and discussion can be found here:  http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1988414

by Scott Lear From the April 2010 issue

When it comes to our no-holds-barred Ultimate Track Car Challenge, the more cylinders, the better. Out of the 55 track-prepared beasts that entered the most recent competition, the top five finishers all had big V8 power. The next two spots went to six-cylinder racers—one with a turbo, the other with lots of revs and an exceedingly low curb weight. Squarely in eighth place overall, however, was a comparatively diminutive 2.5-liter four-banger.

The boxer engine in the nose of Phil Grabow’s 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI had less than a third of the displacement of some of the other cars. However, that didn’t prevent the Subaru from running at the sharp end of the pack with a 2:00.197 fast lap around Virginia International Raceway. A big turbo certainly helped, but power isn’t the only answer in the search for a quick time on track. In fact, due to heat issues, Phil’s Subaru was running in limp mode when it beat every other four-cylinder turbo at the event—as well as two Dodge Vipers and a full-race Ferrari F430 Challenge.

Tonight’s Card

Phil is the owner of Element Tuning, a performance shop based in Gaithersburg, Md. He started out on two muddy wheels, racing motocross for 10 years and achieving the Expert rank in that discipline before heading off to college.

Motocross was a bit rough on Phil, who owes a broken back, facial reconstructive surgery and seriously blown knees to his first passion. “To this day, I still miss that sport, but I haven’t ridden in 10 years,” he admits. “After graduating from George Mason University with a degree in marketing, I rode the dot-com boom into the ground,” he laughs. Armed with some money and a newly discovered love of cars, Phil decided to turn the passion into his job. “I worked with TurboXS for about three years helping to develop performance products and engine management solutions.”

In 2005 he struck out on his own and founded Element Tuning, a performance and racing parts company that focuses primarily on Subarus. Since the WRX’s stateside debut for 2002, a raft of enthusiasts have flocked to the brand’s six-star badge. The result has been plenty of tuner demand for go-fast goodies. Phil must have been paying attention when he got that marketing degree, because one of his first steps was to select a venue to showcase his new company’s talents with the Subaru platform. He decided that time attack was the way to go.

Footwork Drills

A race car is only as good as the driver at the wheel, so for their debut outing Element Tuning hired the services of professional driver Gary Sheehan. Element campaigned a 2002 Impreza WRX at the very first Super Lap Battle event in the U.S., held at California’s Buttonwillow Raceway.

“We finished a solid second place,” Phil recalls, “but realized that horsepower wasn’t everything. Gary was able to find 8 seconds a lap in the car by helping us dial in the chassis. At that point I knew how to make a powerful and reliable engine, but clearly no amount of power would match the gains we would see from developing the chassis. I could throw 100 horsepower at this thing and not pick up 4 seconds,” he explains. The time attack event also delivered the speed and competitive thrill that Phil once got from motocross. Rather than continue to let a hired gun have all the fun, Phil decided to secure his own time trial license. He figured there was no better way to learn the ropes of chassis development and test his company’s parts than to become a test pilot.

“My past racing experience with motorcycles accelerated my ability to drive fast,” reasons Phil, who qualified for his time trial license after just a few events. Better still, the Element Tuning team and sponsors realized that Phil was downright quick at the wheel of the Subaru. “There aren’t many company owners who not only tune their own engines but also personally race their cars, so I’m proud of this,” he admits. Before long, Phil’s lap times dropped below those of hired guns. He humbly attributes this to his familiarity with his Subaru. Whatever the case, in a competition format where the only thing that matters is the fastest lap, Phil was the man for the job.

Strapping on the Gloves

The 2002 WRX had done well at the Redline event, but soon Phil realized that the car had some shortcomings for unlimited-prep track use, particularly in the transmission and differential departments. “It had a dog box that we were breaking,” Phil recalls.

They wanted to install the six-speed gearbox and variable center differential from the STI. Rather than swap those components into the 2002, however, they decided to simply upgrade to a different car. A 2006 Impreza WRX STI fit the bill perfectly.

“The reason I didn’t do a 2007,” explains Phil, “was that they switched to a different ECU and taller gearing. We wanted the shorter gearing and the older ECU because we had a Hydra EMS [engine controller] for it.” Within 30 days of acquiring the STI, Phil had his new WRX at its first event, GT Live. The car was still wearing its temp tags.

The Lego-like interchangeability of Subaru components worked to their advantage, as Phil and his team simply transplanted the suspension and wheels from the old WRX. The engine, at the time sporting only an upgraded turbo, Hydra engine management, and some basic intake and exhaust bolt-ons, made a reliable 450 horsepower.

Come Fly with Us

“We eventually upgraded to a bigger turbo,” Phil says. “We raced on the stock engine for an entire year at 500 horsepower just to prove the point that these engines aren’t fragile—with the right engine management system and tuning, as long as it’s not detonating. Other shops were betting that we would blow up. We beat the big guys, and the engine never blew.”

Still, Phil knew that they were giving up horsepower to their time trial competition, so it was time to take the block apart—Element Tuning is a tuning shop that specializes in engines, after all. Their Big Valve head package, custom piston coatings, forged H-beam connecting rods and cooling upgrades were complemented by Cosworth cams and aftermarket pistons. Master tech Steve Simpson assembled all of these components.

Phil tuned the engine for a peak of about 620 horsepower. It’ll spin to 8500 rpm reliably, and the meat of the power is above 4200 revs. On hotter days, however, cooling issues require the wick to be dialed back a bit. (By the way, Element sells entire engines built to the same Pro Comp specification starting at $6457, while more streetable engines go for less.)

Naturally, power is only half of the power-to-weight equation. Phil also put the Subaru on a serious diet. Replacing the four doors with Seibon carbon fiber pieces was a big help; Phil reckons he saved 200 pounds between the doors and their glass. The hood and trunk are also Seibon carbon fiber pieces, and Phil replaced the heavy stock rear wing with an adjustable APR unit. The steel subframe was replaced with a lighter aluminum piece.

Having extra weight up top doesn’t help performance, and the stock STI had a surprising chunk of mass there. “On the ’06 cars, they have this weird little spoiler on the top of the rear window. That thing is made of steel; it was very heavy,” Phil laughs. “Frankly, everything else we do is adding weight—the brakes, bigger sway bars, the cage. You’re kind of fighting with that,” he says. Even with all the heavier race prep stuff, the Subaru now clocks just 2800 pounds on the scales.

Mental Conditioning

The realization that chassis tuning was the key to speed inspired Phil to learn more about the art of suspension setup. At first he was taking tire temps and checking tread wear, but he admits that he was still flying by the seat of his pants, pushing the car until he found a weakness.

“In motocross we’d revalve our own suspension,” he explains. “You had a lot more control than you have on these street-type performance suspensions.”

Phil went to JIC Magic—his sponsor at the time—and admitted that he needed some help. “He asked me for the corner weights, wrote down a bunch of gibberish, and said, ‘These are the rates we want.’” Phil decided to learn how to set up his own suspension, studying how travel, sag and pre-load impact performance. BC Racing came on board as his suspension sponsor—Phil is particularly pleased with their strut replacement program—and the lap times continued to come down. “We haven’t changed power in a long time,” Phil explains. Instead, he’s been finding speed in the car through improved grip and aerodynamics.

Because the Element Tuning Subaru is a time trial weapon, the setup is somewhat radical by road racing standards. It’s more like a high-stakes qualifying setup.

“With time attack, you don’t worry about the temperatures or the wear,” Phil explains. “You’re looking for maximum grip, the greatest contact patch.”

He started by increasing negative camber; “Burn up the insides to get your best time,” he says. “We’ve run three-quarters of an inch of toe-out, kind of a temporary fix,” he explains. “Guys in [Daytona] Prototypes told me they run an inch of toe-out for qualifying. Of course, it won’t last very long.”

However, he has learned that sometimes conventional wisdom isn’t the best answer: “In the search for the fastest possible lap times, you’ve got to be open to things that don’t make sense on paper.”

Heat Drills

If the Element Tuning Subaru has a weak spot, it’s heat. Time trial events usually consist of just a few flying laps, but in a powerful, grippy, turbocharged, all-wheel-drive car like Phil’s tuned STI, intense heat is always lurking around the corner. The more they turn up the boost and power, the quicker temperatures can enter the red zone and put the head gaskets in danger.

They’ve upgraded the obvious stuff, including a Koyo radiator filled with straight water and Red Line WaterWetter. Fortunately, time trial events give them a real-world way to test different solutions.

“One thing that’s really detrimental on Subarus is the hood scoop,” Phil says. “On one race we cut a big hole on the back of the scoop; we couldn’t believe how much it lowered the temps.”

As Phil explains, the scoop crams air into the engine bay and won’t let it out. “I think the next step is to do an actual duct system that goes in [the front] and then up and out the hood, so the whole radiator is ducted,” he adds.

Element Tuning tried a few aftermarket head gaskets but found that the OEM Subaru parts work best, as do the OEM crank and block. A sleeved engine, Phil says, will overheat badly. He also says that while the stock pistons aren’t unreliable, they won’t tolerate detonation over 400 horsepower. “You can make some mistakes with forged pistons,” he states.

Another heat problem area for the team car was the brakes. They’d been turning the gold-painted OEM Brembo calipers black, going through pads in a weekend. However, an interesting solution has yielded surprisingly effective results. To cram more air into the cooling ducts, Phil stole an idea used on Gary Sheehan’s US Touring Car Subaru: Use Cool Shirt electric blower motors to force more air through the system. “I was like, ‘That’s kind of silly,’” Phil laughs.

With nothing to lose, Phil decided to order a set of the small blowers and give them a try. “They seem like a super joke—3-inch in, 3-inch out—but they flow some serious velocity,” Phil says.

Turns out the little blowers were no laughing matter. “They were enough to knock me down a temperature range in the brake pads,” he exclaims. “I wish I had temperature data to back it up.”

Get Your Subaru on Track

Phil Grabow of Element Tuning knows how to make a Subaru go fast, both in the shop and behind the wheel. For evidence, take his top-10 finish at our 2009 Ultimate Track Car Challenge. He turned a 2:00.197 lap at Virginia International Raceway even though his engine was stuck in limp mode. Phil has some tips for others seeking to extract max on-track performance from their Subarus.

• Brakes: With the weight and power, it’s easy to overheat the brakes. Get proper race pads—think Hawk DTC60 or 70 or, my favorite, the HT14. Use one temperature range lower in the rear to keep things balanced. Add 3-inch brake ducts and blower motors if you can. I also like to use titanium backing plates to help keep the heat out of the calipers. If your Brembos have turned from gold to maroon or black, it’s time to upgrade.
• Tires: STIs are heavy, have all-wheel drive, and pack lots of power. These factors can cause the front tires to overheat, and most true street tires will chunk. Get real R-compound tires or a street-class race tire like the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec.
• Handling: Give your car as much camber as you can! The softer the suspension, the more you need. Upgrading the rear differential is what gets the car to rotate—we use a Cusco 1.5-way.
• Engine: Proper engine management and tuning for the track is mandatory for engine reliability. We’ve run an OEM engine with Hydra EMS at 500 wheel horsepower for an entire season. It can be done. Fuel starvation is a big issue on Subarus—even half a tank can starve. We have to run a surge tank. It’s mostly a right-hand issue.
• Oil: Don’t skimp here. A high-quality synthetic oil in a higher weight, like 15W50—or even a racing oil like Red Line 50W—is a great choice. As engine temps increase—we’ve seen them rise above 260 degrees—the oil thins out, reducing oil pressure. High-horsepower Subaru engines can fail when oil pressure drops below 70 psi at high rpm.
• Aerodynamics: That big wing really helps at high speed, so don’t take it off. You need downforce when breaking track records with your Subaru. If it looks ridiculous, it’s probably just right! Lower-horsepower Subarus will benefit from downforce aids that don’t create too much drag, like splitters and underbody paneling.

Numbers
Dyno: Dynojet Altered Atmosphere Gaithersburg, MD
Tuner: Phil Grabow Element Tuning
Wheel HP: 570whp UNCORRECTED
Wheel TQ: 492wtq UNCORRECTED
Baseline: 185 whp 08 WRX
Target Boost: 27 PSI
Target AFR: 11.8 AFR
Fuel: Sunoco 110 Octane with Hydramist (80% water)
Ambient Temp: 50
Elevation: 0

With a new engine I really didn’t want to run it too hard on the dyno so I stopped at 27 psi. I made quick work of the tuning with the Hydra 2.6 software and had all tweaked in as few WOT pulls as possible. In my previous dyno sessions the 1000cc fuel injectors were maxed out so this time around I bumped up the fuel pressure to 55 psi giving me about +20 more flow so I could have a little safety margin on the injector duty cycle. Maximum fuel injector duty cycle was 83% with the 1000cc, A1000 fuel pump, and 55 idle fuel pressure.

I totally forgot that I didn’t like the billet compressor wheel I ran late last year which netted me about 30 whp loss over our standard GT65 wheel (GT35R). With the higher compression and the BC STG 4 cams it looks like we gained back that loss however. The numbers are good for this dyno so I’m happy for now with the improvement.

Car Info
Year: 2006
Engine Management: Element Tuning Hydra EMS 2.6
Turbo: Element GT65 (testing new wheel)
Intercooler: Custom
Meth Kit: Hydramist 80/20 water/methanol
Injectors: UR 1000cc, Element Tuning Competition Surge Tank, Aeromotive A1000
Engine: Element Tuning Pro Comp: ET Rods, Manley 9.8:1 Pistons (custom ring pack), ET Big Valve Heads +1mm valves, BC STG4 cams, stock block and bore.
Intake Manifold: Subaru RS
Headers: Element
Uppipe: Element Tuning GT65
Downpipe: Element Tuning
CBE: Element Tuning
Other: Element Tuning Competition Catch Can

The BC ST4 cams required me to work on the AVCS mapping as compared to the Cosworth cams. I found that I had to carry the advance farther into the RPM range but in the end the Hydra EMS allowed me to get it exactly how I wanted it.

Having made some new changes to the car I wasn’t sure what the car would weigh in at so I had to have options available for HP so that I could stay in NASA TTU classification. At about 15.3 psi the car made 452 whp which should be low enough to keep me legal in that class.

Numbers
Dyno: Dyno Dynamics @ Pina Motorsports, WA
Tuner: Phil Grabow Element Tuning
Wheel HP: 624whp UNCORRECTED
Wheel TQ: 576wtq UNCORRECTED
Target Boost: 26? Psi (Fuel injector limited)
Target AFR: 11.5
Fuel: Q16/92 Octane pump gas mix with Hydramist
Ambient Temp: 50
Elevation: 0

Car Info
Year: 2007
Engine Management: Element Tuning Hydra EMS
Turbo: GT35R 1.06 Twin Scroll
Intercooler: APS DR750
Meth Kit: Hydramist 80/20 water/methanol
Injectors: DW 1000cc, Bosch 044 Fuel Pump
Engine: World One — Element Tuning Rods, CP Pistons, +1mm valves, BC STG4 cams, stock block and bore.
Intake Manifold: Cosworth
Headers: ?
Uppipe: World One
Downpipe: World One
CBE: Invidia G200
Other: Element Tuning Competition Catch Can

What a beautiful car and it did not disappoint on the dyno. We were limited on both pump and race case so we just made a quick tune on pump and Hydramist making 506 whp before running out of fuel injectors.

We switched to a Q16/Pump/Hydramist fuel combinations allowing me to tune up to 624 whp before running out of fuel injector. When we switch to larger 1600cc fuel injectors we should be able to get another 30 psi on pump gas and probably another 60 whp on race fuel.

More information and discussion can be found here:  http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1951971

Thanks,
Phil Grabow
Element Tuning

Numbers
Dyno: Dynojet, PA
Tuner: Sean M
Wheel HP: 597whp UNCORRECTED
Wheel TQ: 566wtq UNCORRECTED
Target Boost: 30 psi
Target AFR: 11.5-11.8
Fuel: E85
Ambient Temp: 40
Elevation: 0

Customer road tuned too boot!

Car Info
Year: 2007
Engine Management: Element Tuning Hydra 2.6 EMS
Turbo: Element Tuning GT65
Intercooler: TurboXS
Meth Kit: Hydramist 80/20 water/methonal (not used for E85)
Injectors: 2200cc, Bosch 044 Fuel Pump
Engine: Element Tuning Pro Comp, Element Tuning Rods, CP Pistons, Element Big Valve Heads (+1mm valves, Cosworth cams) stock block and bore.
Intake/Inlet: Element Tuning
Headers: ?
Uppipe: Element Tuning
Downpipe: Element Tuning
CBE: Greddy
Other: Element Tuning Competition Catch Can

The dyno fans were completely inadequate and I’m surprised the car made as much power as it did but he did have heating issues as a result. I’m sure with proper fans we could have seen as much as +30 HP.

Video of the STi on the dyno:

Click here for more photos and discussion: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1945159

Thanks,
Phil Grabow
Element Tuning

Numbers
Dyno: Dyno Dynamics @ Pina Motorsports, WA
Tuner: Phil Grabow Element Tuning
Wheel HP: 452whp UNCORRECTED
Wheel TQ: 482wtq UNCORRECTED
Target Boost: 22 psi
Target AFR: 11.1
Fuel: 92 Octane pump gas
Ambient Temp: 50
Elevation: 0

Initially we tuned the car at OEM fuel pressure but the DW 1000cc injectors were maxing out so we bumped the fuel pressure to 50 psi just to get the car tuned safely. The plan is to get some larger 1260cc injectors and the Hydramist system to turn things up.

Car Info
Year: 2007
Engine Management: Element Tuning Hydra EMS
Turbo: Element GT65 Bolt On
Intercooler: APS
Meth Kit: None
Injectors: 1000cc DW, Bosch 044 Fuel Pump
Engine: World One, Element Tuning Rods, CP Pistons, Cosworth Cams, Brian Crower Valves, Valve Springs and Retainers, stock block and bore.
Intake/Inlet: APS 70mm intake, APS 3 Inlet hose, Magnus Intake Manifold, (longrunner, jet hot coated)
Headers: Gruppe-S Exhaust Manifold (jet hot coated)
Uppipe: SBR Up-Pipe with 44mm Tial Ewg (jet hot coated)
Downpipe: Invidia Catless
CBE: Invidia
Other: Element Tuning Competition Catch Can, Unorothox Racing stock diameter pulley
set, Greddy Racing Radiator and Oil Cooler

I honestly couldn’t believe the power we hit with the Element GT65 Bolt-on especially given the car didn’t have anything done to the heads but a set of cams. I was tuning other cars this same day with rotated 35R kits and head work that were making the same power at this boost level. This car has had a rough past with bad tuning and engines but World One Performance sorted out the car so I could do my job. I was really happy for the customer this turned out so well.

With larger fuel injectors I think we could have turned up the boost a little (maybe 1-2 psi) for another 30 whp or so. With the Element Hydramist we should be able to add an additional 4 psi and get this car close to 500 whp on pump gas.

For more information and discussion, please see this thread: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1939275

Thanks,
Phil Grabow
Element Tuning

Dyno: Dyno Dynamics @ Pina Motorsports, WA
Tuner: Phil Grabow Element Tuning
Wheel HP: 668whp UNCORRECTED
Wheel TQ: 576wtq UNCORRECTED
Target Boost: 30 psi
Target AFR: 11.5
Fuel: Q16/92 Octane pump gas mix
Ambient Temp: 50
Elevation: 0

Year: 2005
Engine Management: Element Tuning Hydra EMS
Turbo: HTA GT35R 1.06 Twin Scroll
Intercooler: APS
Meth Kit: Hydramist 80/20 water/methanol
Injectors: 1260cc, Bosch 044 Fuel Pump
Engine: World One, Element Tuning Rods, CP Pistons, BC +1mm valves, Cosworth cams, stock block and bore.
Intake/Inlet: World One
Headers: Titek
Uppipe: World One
Downpipe: World One
CBE: Greddy Evo2
Other: Element Tuning Competition Catch Can

What else is there to say but WOW! I had tuned this car once before but we ran out of fuel and the clutch was slipping. Fast forward to a new Element Clutch Masters, larger fuel injectors, higher fuel pressure, and what do you know the FP diaphram fails. We fix it and climb to 668 whp on 50% Q16 and pump gas along with the Element Hydramist.

The car had a little more in it but given the problems with the FP regulator resulting in extended tuning time the owner felt that just about 670 whp was even too much for a road race car.

More info and discussion can be found here:  http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1931028

Thanks,
Phil Grabow
Element Tuning

There is just more excitement in the air! You can watch Time Attack, Mazda Formula Atlantic, Star Mazda, Playboy MX5 Cup, and even IMSA Lights. If you ever get a chance you should race one of these time attacks.

For the second year in a row, Element Tuning’s Mod class STi took the overall and Mod class win shaving almost 2 seconds off last year’s time running our new custom BC Racing ER series coilovers, GT Spec braces, and some new aero work.

I was really happy to pull the win off given we had transmission problems. Something happened in practice on day two and the transmission wouldn’t select 1st or 2nd gear, which really isn’t a big deal, but whatever caused that would sometimes prevent the transmission from shifting at all. I simply had to coast through a few corners with the clutch in until I could grab a gear.

Having already managed a 1:29 on R888 tires in “Mod” class I was comfortable the time would hold for the win. With a new front splitter installed and some under aero work this year I decided to try to reduce some drag on day 2 by removing the front canards and reducing the angle on the rear wing. Reducing the angle on the rear wing didn’t have any major drawbacks (it was looser but not hard to control) but removing the front canards removed front bite in the slower corners. The car felt slower to me but due to traffic in practice I couldn’t determine the real lap time.

With a transmission acting up and nothing to loose I asked if I could put some “Unlimited” tires on for an exhibition pass. I haven’t run these tires all year long as I just didn’t have enough seat time in the car to feel the need. Once I hit the front straight braking zone and then the first turn I couldn’t believe how much more grip I had and was going way too slow. LOL! Unfortunately the transmission was really acting up but I was able to muster up a 1:27.123. Even with the problems I really under drove the car to that time. I know 1:25s should be possible.

At the last minute on Sunday, 2008 Volkwagen TDI Cup driver John Shim had an interest in racing the Element Tuning 2008 WRX “Street” class car. Having set great qualifying results for NJ I knew he didn’t need to learn the track and could just focus on driving. Using up practice session one bedding in the brakes he was only able to get about 20 minutes in the car before the main event. Before the race John said he thought he could run the last turn flat out. I said, “I don’t think so. There’s no downforce on this car.” He didn’t listen and on the first time lap spun entering the front straight. LOL! Basically loosing a fast lap for both time lap one and timed lap 2 he only had one lap to put it together. Like Danny Sullivan at the Indy 500 John spun and won! He was able to muster a 1:39 taking the AWD “Street” class.

Unfortunately this transmission failure took me out being able to run the Redline Autobahn event but I’ll be ready for the Grassroots Motorsports Ultimate Track Car Challenge at VIR in July.

You can find a many more pictures and news here:

http://urbanracer.com/articles/anmviewer.asp?a=3847&z=1

For the chassis I have the Element Tuning custom BC Racing Coilovers setup really well, GT Spec chassis braces, 6 Gun Ball Joints and bump steer kit, front and rear sway bars, Brembo STi front calipers, Dunlop 245/45-18 Z star Spec tires, and rear camber adjustment kit. All I can say is this car’s lap time are a reflection of it’s grip and not the power. The new chassis is impressively stiff and has so much more grip than the previous chassis.

http://www.elementtuning.com/Videos/Element08WRXSummitRecord1.wmv

Power Mods:

Stock Engine
Element Hydra EMS 2.6
Element Hydramist
Element Header
Element Uppipe
Element GT52
Element Downpipe with 3″ High Flow Cat
06 STi intake manifold
06 STi TMIC
Modified Stock Injectors
TurboSmart BOV

Chassis:

Suspesion: Element Tuning Custom BC Racing
Braces: GT Spec
Ball Joint: 6 Gun Racing
Bump Steer: 6 Gun Racing
Wheels and Tires: TR Motorsport 18×8.5 Dunlop Z Star Spec 245/45-18
Brakes: Front STi Brembo, Pagid Yellow. Rear: OEM
Sway Bars: Front and rear still testing
Camber: Rear camper bushings

We limited the power on this car to 350-375 whp on pump gas and Hydramist and 375-400 whp on 100 octane and Hydramist since it does have a stock WRX 5 speed and clutch. No doubt the car is heavy since the only weight saving mods it has involved removing the junk in the trunk. LOL!

I now need to work on the brakes a little more along with more front aero work. I want to keep this a true street car so I’m limiting myself to what I’m willing to do but I think I can shave another second off the car without resorting to unbearable suspension or more power.

Simple effective mods!