Forged

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The LONG awaited Volk TE37 Ultra has finally arrived. This is the latest iteration of the legendary TE37 racing wheel, and at last in a proper 20X10 and 20X12 size for the Nissan GT-R. Supplies are extremely limited and unless you preorder it is unlikely you will get a set from the first batch. We have two sets unspoken for, so call us now to place your preorder. We have one set available in Matte Blue Gunmetal and one set in anodized Bronze. Price for either complete set is $4758 shipped! Call us for LOWEST price at 770-792-0202 and press 1 for the sales department.

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The fastest professional racers start in karts:

Sharif presenting to the students

As many of you know, Forged Performance sponsors the ProCup Karting Ultimate Race Camp and every Friday afternoon, a handful of the Forged team makes their way down to Andretti’s Entertainment and Karting Center to speak with the youngest and newest motorsports enthusiasts. This time, I brought Amy and Brittany with me as we gave these bright young stars a look into the high performance automotive aftermarket world.

Starting at a young age in a low powered kart is one of the fastest methods of accelerating a drivers learning curve.  History illustrates that many of the fastest and most prolific professional race car drivers, such as Louis Hamilton and Michael Schumaker, began their careers at a very young age in go-karts.  The karts featured at Andrettis are serious machines and demand respect, focus, and attention. Reaching speeds of 35mph and pulling 2-3g’s of lateral acceleration means the driver must be precise and deliberate in their inputs.

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Generally, a Georgia State Driver license is required to operate the karts, but during the kids karting programs the rule is relaxed and the kids spend a mix of time in the classroom, and on track led by Chris McCoy and his team of instructors. They are some of the most experienced karters in the business, and they are there to impart their wisdom and knowledge to the kids and most importantly, they make sure everyone stays safe and has a good time! Stressing the importance of safety, team work, and good friendly competition the kids spend a good deal of time on track using the skills they are taught in the classroom. Racing fundamentals, such as learning the “line”, being smooth and fast, trail braking, and the difference between early and late apexes are all thoroughly discussed while put into practice behind the wheel of the karts!

We also brought the Forged/Catesby FP800R GT-R that that competes every year in the One Lap of America event. It’s a fully street legal car on street tires, but turns lap times that rival most race cars on slicks!

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After our presentation, we were treated to an hour’s worth of racing against some of the fastest kids at Andrettis. They have been trained well, and I got schooled by more than one of them!

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Bobby is one of the fastest kids and consistently beats most of the adults. He is giving a few pointers on the new track configuration

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I would like to personally thank the staff and management at Andretti’s and ProCup Karting for putting some a valuable and important program for kids and allowing Forged Performance to be a part of their program.

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For more pictures, check out our photo gallery of the event:

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The first event of OLOA 2012 is the challenging wet skid pad. With Tire Rack’s sprinkler system coating the skid pad with a uniformly deep layer of water, each competitor took their turn driving their cars around the circle.

It’s amazing what you can pack into a GT-R!

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Although the GT-R can usually hold it’s own on the wet skid pad, the top spot has traditionally been the domain of lighter and more nimble cars. But this year, to everyone’s surprise, the first place spot was in fact, taken by a GT-R, but one that was shod with massive 335 Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires at all four coners! Incredible…many of us had wondered if the larger square setup vs. the 315′s we run, would be good in the wet. Todd and Tyson tested out this theory, which resulted in the overall win by a HUGE margin. Congratulations to them.

PSS 335 Sqaure was FAST on the wet skid pad.
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We went into the wet skidpad expecting to finish towards the front of the group and we did. Catesby wheeled the car to a very respectable 6th place finish and reported the car felt superb.

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A few more competitors take their shot at the wet skid pad. Smooth, steady balance is the key to a good run.

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So with the first event under our belt, we hoped in the GT-R and made the 15 minute drive to the banked oval. Neither of us knew what to expect and we simply wanted to get through it in one piece and move onto the meat and potatoes portions of One Lap of America.

Catesby put on quite a show, to say the least. Launching the car at 4500rpm, the Forged Performance GT-R launched itself into the first turn and stuck like glue. The first lap around the ovall was abosolutely text-book. With tires warm, the second and final lap started even better than the first. On the exit of turn one he was absolutely flying off the corner…maybe a flying a bit too much. Tracking out to within a few inches of the concrete wheel he hauls it down again at the start of turn two. Hard on the brakes, the car slides 45 degrees sideways with Catesby expertly and miraculously keeping it off the wall for the second time. At this point, knowing that the lap would probably be a throw away he layed into the throttle again and drifted the car towards the wall AGAIN on the exit and again keeps it less than a foot away from the concrete wall.

As the crowd erupts in applauds, Catesby takes a bow and exits the track giving us all a big thumbs up. It wasn’t fast but damn it looks good. A quick check of the timing and scoring showed he still managed to pull of a 2nd place overall despite being sideways for half of the second lap.

Autobahn updates coming next..we are here at this beautiful facility. This is where our new aero improvements will really shine.

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Catesby's Forged Performance Prepared GT-R
Catesby Jones, driver and owner of the Forged Performance prepared GT-R takes home a second place trophy at the annual 2010 Motor Trend One Lap of America race. This 8 day grueling event is a legendary test of both man and machine. The teams are required to compete on just one set of tires, and must drive to each of the designated tracks all over the eastern half of the USA. No tow rigs or support vehicles allowed. Catesby’s GT-R left our facility with just 1100 miles on the odometer, and it now has 6300 miles on the clock!

The car is now back at Forged Performance headquarters for a thorough inspection and once-over. Next year, Catseby has big plans for his GT-R and will gunning for the number one spot!

Forged Performance continues to lead in many facets of professional and amatuer motorsports and many of the strategies and techniques we employ on race vehicles are also utilized in our street builds.

Photoshoot with Super Street

Photoshoot with Super Street

Forged Performance played host to Super Street for an in house photoshoot on Monday. Throughout the day we had several of Super Street’s finest models parade through the shop. Although it proved to be more distracting than normal, nobody seemed to complain. At the end of the day the matte black 350z owned by one of our customers also made it into some pictures. Look to see Forged Performance to be on a few pages of upcoming issues of Super Street!