Archives

All posts for the month August, 2011

As many of you know, Sharif flies out to the UAE on a regular basis to tune cars for our friends at TAM Auto Engineering and Hally Auto. He has tuned hundreds of GT-Rs over the last couple of years including several 800+ awhp GT-Rs. On his most recent trip he tuned a GT-R to 1022 awhp on C16 (dyno dynamics). This car is an absolute piece of art and features nothing but the nicest parts available. Words can not describe how fast this car accelerates. The most amazing part is the stocklike drivability. Idle and partial throttle are just as tame as a stock GTR. For more details check out the coverage at SpeedHunters!

1022HP R35 GT-R

Immigrations check at Dubai International Airport

Immigrations check at Dubai International Airport

It’s hard to believe this is my 4th trip to Dubai in as many months but with the glut of high performance GT-R’s in need of specialized tuning and troubleshooting in the UAE, things have been busier than ever. None of this would be possible, without having the trust and faith in the 16 fine individuals that make up Forged Performance that continue running general operations while I am away. Seemingly things run even smoother when I gone…haha!

Tam Shop1

Tam Auto Engineering and Hally Auto are the epicenter of many of the higher powered GT-R’s and track oriented cars in the UAE and Tam’s General Manager, Motaz, has been staying very busy and is always a gracious host whenever I am in town. He and his staff work through all hours of the night, literally, to make sure his clients are taken care of and we maximize my time here. Hally Auto Dubai is the exclusive distributor of all HKS products in the UAE, and Singh is a wonderfully helpful individual that help amass many of the parts we’ve installed in these GT-R’s.

Tuning in Dubai presents a number of unique challenges not the least of which is the extreme heat and humidity. Add to this that most “races” in Dubai consists of 2nd through 6th gear pulls to the rev limiter or top speed, whichever occurs first. It’s not uncommon to see impromptu races that reach 200mph as the drivers hammer through all 6 gears. So my tuning strategy must also take this into account. A 1000whp GT-R can see a 160mph-170mph 1/4 mile trap speed in contrast to the 200mph+ speeds we might see in Dubai with the engine injesting ambient air in the 120F-130F range.

On my previous trip to Dubai, we were held back by fuel pressure issues related to the type of lines used in the fuel system. AMS was quick to act, and provided us with the proper fuel upgrades just in time. Tam and his team customized and adapted the rest of the fuel system with uprated lines and secure fittings. With the fuel system completed, this trip would hopefully allow me to complete several big powered GT-R tunes with stable fuel pressure so critical at this power levels.

First car on the agenda was Ali’s. This has to be one of the top GT-R’s on the planet. The mod list is never ending and I could consume many pages simply enumerating the mods performed. Here are the basics just on the drivetrain side.

Greddy 4.0L Shortblock
Head Games Cylinder Heads with Ferrea oversized values and hardware
Jun Intake Ported TB
Greddy XL Intercooler
HKS 272 Cams…then switched to Kelford custom grind (much better)
ID2000 Injectors
AMS Fuel System with twin in tank Bosche 004′s
AMS/Dallas Performance Spec Alpha 10 Turbo Kit
Dodson 1st Gear Upgrade
Dodson Pro Max Cutch
Dodson supporting parts
Dodson FWD Clutches and Shaft
OSG Rear Differential/HKS Kansai Front Diff
Forged Performance One Mile calibration
VP C16 Race Fuel
Dyno Dynamics Dyno
TE37 Super Lap’s with Mickey Thompson ET Street’s

Carbon fiber and weight savings everywhere you look

Carbon fiber and weight savings everyone you look

After the first partial dyno pull, it was clear we had the fuel system issue completely solved. Rock stable pressure that rose and maintained 1:1 with boost pressure. A look of relief quickly appeared on everyone’s face as we knew some big numbers could be achieved.

Jun intake plenum adorns this 4.0L overbore VR38

Jun intake plenum adorns this 4.0L overbore VR38

Using Cobb Tuning’s Speed Density based calibration strategy, it’s remarkable that I can make a big turbo, and cammed GT-R with enormous 2200cc ID Injectors, start, run, and idle just like stock. Cobb’s tuning software is a dream for the professional engine calibrator and gives me real-time control over all key engine parameters I need to craft a perfect tune. Because I already had previous break-in and tuning time on this GT-R from the last trip, it didn’t take long to see 780whp on pump gas, followed shortly by 1022whp on C16 Race Fuel.

Photobucket

Ali and Khalifa studied the dyno chart closely and were all smiles! Ali in particular hates having his picture taken, but I was able to creep up and snap this while he wasn’t looking. Thank you Daddy. :)

Photobucket

The big question is how does it drive on the street? Words simply cannot describe what a 1000whp+ and lightened R35 GT-R with proper tires and a smooth open road feels like. The public roads in Dubai are as smooth as a Formula 1 track; not one crack or deformation in the pavement to be seen. Couple that with warm evening weather, still warm asphalt and tires and this monster can actually hook up fairly well from a roll. The surge of acceleration is violent, yet stable not unlike a nuclear reactor. Endless power and acceleration all the way to the 7900rpm rev limiter I prescribed. On my next visit, I will bring a V-Box, and several cameras so we can quantify just how fast this GT-R is.

And even more important than the power produced, is the fine people that I’ve come to call my friends. Motaz, Ali, Singh, Khalifa, Joker, and all the others extended hospitality that would befit a king. This is the culture of the Middle East, where guests are treated like family..even better than family! Always smiling, and happy to help us achieve our goals. And in the end, we have some very happy clients nearly 8000 miles away from Forged Performance. Thank you and see you all soon!

Sharif@Forged

Photobucket

This past Friday the Forged Performance motorsports team headed to Savannah GA to spend some time on Roebling Road. We loaded up or two car hauler with the Forged Performance 996 GT3, a client’s Nissan GT-R and made the four hour trip comfortably in our F-450 tow rig. After grabbing some dinner with friends we made our way back to the hotel to get some much needed rest for what what was sure to be a tiring but amazing weekend ahead. This particular event was held by Flat Out Motorsports, which is a fairly new company ran by two long time friends and customers of ours that specialize in giving people like us the track time we desperately crave. This was their first event at Roebling Raceway and the quality of cars participating were top notch and the groups had some very fast drivers. Lamborghini, Porsche, Nissan, Mercedes, and many others were well represented. With only 40 cars and 4 run groups everyone was able to see more than enough track time to satisfy there desire to go fast.

The Flat Out Motorsports event was professional and top notch all the way. It was hard to believe this was their first organized track day, as the level of organization, instruction, and safety would easily rival a more experienced track day organizer. Sharif was asked to lead the classroom instruction session before the novices hit the track. With laptop and power point presentation in hand, he has a unique ability for making complex driving theory really easy to understand and digest.

Roebling Road is an often overlooked track in our neck of the woods, but it’s high speeds and flowing corners provide a great opportunity to test and setup our cars…..and scare the crap out of passengers. :) Sharif even let Alex@Forged run a couple of sessions in the GT3 to get his feet wet in a “real” race car. Check back on our blog soon for more news on upcoming Flat Out Motorsports events. Word on the street, is that Sebring is locked in for 2012!

dsc_2615done

dsc_2613done

dsc_2650done

dsc_2640done

dsc_2658done

dsc_2686done

dsc_2830done

dsc_2829done

dsc_2806done

dsc_2862done

dsc_2935done

dsc_2924done

dsc_2933done

dsc_2943done

dsc_3519done

dsc_3654done

dsc_3636done

dsc_2629done

dsc_3559done

dsc_2694done

dsc_2697done

dsc_2702done

dsc_2888done

dsc_2882done

dsc_2897done

dsc_2869done

dsc_2874done

dsc_2911done

dsc_2908done

dsc_3515done

dsc_3475done

dsc_3546done

dsc_3526done

As most of you know I just started to get into more videography so I had the D7000 out for about half of the day Sunday getting some footage to practice with. Here is the video I tossed together this week, enjoy!

***Please watch in HD***

We recently had a M3 owner drop his beautiful sedan off to us at the shop for some performance orientated upgrades and track inspection. The goal was simple: upgrade the performance aspect of the car while making sure it was safe for the major abuse it will receive this weekend at Flat Out Motorsports Private Track Weekend at Roebling Road. For more information on this track event and future events like the Forged Performance Facebook Page.

This ///M came to our shop with the following parts ready to be installed:

• Ground Control Adjustable Springs
• Ground Control Adjustable Camber Plates
• Cobolt XR Series Brake Pads

In addition to these parts the car also received the Forged Performance Track Inspection which included:

• Brake Fluid Flush
• Corner Balancing
• Ride Height Adjustment
• Forged Performance Track Spec Alignment

dsc_2448done

dsc_2453done

dsc_2468done

dsc_2473done

dsc_2600done1

dsc_2612done1

Last night Sharif stayed late to finish the C16, high boost tune on a customers 3.9L twin turbo Nissan 350Z build. I stopped by the shop about 10pm to get some video footage of this street driven monster on the dyno. The car is equipped with a very impressive mod list and was solid as a rock pull after pull after pull. Sharif also did some road tuning today to make certain the driveability of the car was just as impressive, and from what I have been told the car actually gets traction in 2nd gear thanks to the suspension upgrades, tires, and the Forged Performance Spec Alignment.

This client gave us a practically clean slate 350Z all the way from Wisconsin. Originally, the car was brought to us to troubleshoot a smokey Turbonetics single turbo kit. After a thorough analysis we were given the green light to ditch the lower power single turbo option and go for a much more capable Greddy 20G Twin Turbo system, an FP Spec 3.9L Stroker Engine, FP Spec Big Valve Cylinder Heads, Cams, and every supporting mod necessary for big power. And just as important, we included the proper wheel, tire, brake, and suspension setup to make this a truly safe daily driver. It’s always a pleasure to be involved in builds of this scale and to watch the build gradually materialize.

As many of you know, Sharif has more experience tuning VQ/VR powered engines than just about anyone in the country. His attention to detail in mapping and dedication to perfecting a calibration is second to none. There are very few tuners in the country left that will even touch the HKS Fcon VPro standalone, but he is a master with it. With all the practice Sharif has been getting in Dubai lately, tuning in 100F+ weather has become second nature to him. And although we were all expecting strong numbers from this project, the results were an astonishing 764whp on our conservatively reading Dyno Dynamics dyno.