# Ultimate Street Car Challenge 2003



## Nismo Skyline (May 2, 2002)

I posted this story in the Skyline section already and am cross posting it here.

Here is Sean Morris' view of the event.

2003 marks the third year of the Ulimate Street Car Challenge held by 
Sport Compact Car Magazine. Some people say its the forth year , but the 
guys at SCC say "that was something different". The first year I 
entered Nick Wongs R32 , and Blackbird. Blackbird was voted in , but 
sold to Craig Lieberman prior to the event. Justin Sykes's R33 was ran 
at the first event. We did not do as well as we wanted the first year 
and got 7th place overall. Even though we were 2nd down the drag strip, 
and 0-60. The second year I entered Hiros R32. Hiro had problems with 
his car and Daniel Suh's R33 filled in. Finishing 2nd overall , by 5 
points was a little disappointing.

This year I entered Nick Wongs R32 again , and RB Motorings R34 GT-R. 
The R34 got sold prior to the event , the alternate car was Nicks R32. 
Nicks car came out to RB Motoring about 2 months prior to the event. It 
was already together and tuned. It had been setup for One Lap of America 
. The last time on the dyno the R32 made 608 rwhp and 477 ft/lbs of 
torque. This was in Chicago . Eric Hsu from XS Engineering and myself 
flew up to tune the car. Then last Septemeber I flew up to Chicago for a 
little test. We had a drag strip day at US41 Dragstrip in Indiana with 
Mid West F-Body , and Syclone /Typhoon guys. Then the next day was a 
test with Speedtrial ,USA at Gingerman Raceway in Michigan.

We were pretty happy with the drag strip results. First pass was a 
[email protected] . By the end of the day I had it down to [email protected] , and 
[email protected] mph back to back. Not too bad on Pirelli P-Zero Rossos.

Nicks R32 came out , and we started to work on the car. Doing general 
clean up of it. Underneath with Simple Green and scrubbing brushes for 
hours and hours. We had our long list of things we wanted to change. 
Extra parts to order , and what we were going to do to try and win the 
contest.

Some pictures of what we did and were working on can be found in our 
gallery. 

> http://rbmotoring.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=NicksR32



We did a couple of track days in Nicks R32. We had one up at 
Buttonwillow , and one test day at the Streets of Willow. We knew how 
testing was important to work out the bugs. And there were bugs . We 
caught part of the electrical harness on fire up at Buttonwillow. 
Luckily it didnt do any real damage . We had lots of electrical tape , 
and ended up spending a bit of time seperating wires and making sure 
they wouldnt short together anymore. Something good to consider is 
moving the harness that runs up the inside frame rail to the MAF meters 
. With the single turbo conversion , out on the track , even with heat 
wrapping we managed to catch it on fire

The next track day we had some wastegate issues. It actually turned out 
to be a gasket issue with the wastegate. We lost the gasket and that 
melted our plastic T to the bottom of the wastegate. With no signal 
going to the bottom of the wastegate , we kept hitting boost cut. With 
one hours sleep , I was having problems diagnosing it . So to cure that 
we ran steel braided lines and a metal T. In addition to that we 
replaced the gaskets. Taking the old wastegate on and off we ran into a 
problem , we cracked one of the mounting flanges. So we got a new wastegate.

Once we found out what cars were in the contest , we started to do 
research on what we were up against. Its funny how much information you 
can find out on the internet. We actually started a little file on the 
cars we were going to compete with in the contest. Several cars dropped 
out , and the list of 10 vehicles seemed to be a little fluid. Changing 
often. Even in the last few days several cars dropped out , and were 
filled in with last minute replacements. We stopped updating the gallery 
on Nicks car - well at least the gallery that everyone could see. Some 
of the last minute details , little things we were doing , we didnt want 
other people to see.

> http://rbmotoring.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album02



The final look of the car with the BBS LM's. The tires we were running . 
The exhuast setup we had. The final engine look. The heat shields. The 
355 front Brembos , the 345 rear Brembos.

In the last few weeks before the contest , we really started working on 
the car non stop. Getting the final details done on the car. There were 
things we wanted to do , but didnt get done. I really wanted to do a 
dragstrip test on the Hoosiers , just to see how they would hook , but 
one of those things we ran out of time on. I did get a change to do a 
couple 1.6 bar launches out in the alley beside our shop. Setting up and 
tweaking the HKS ETC. I ended up with about 25 % of torque to the front. 
Still getting a lot of wheel spin at the top of first on the BFGoodrich 
KD's.

The Saturday before the event we went to XS Engineering to retune the 
car. We were hoping , with more boost ,the exhaust cutout , and the 
methanol/water injection we would be around 650 hp to the wheels. We had 
to reset the fuel pressure , as the last time we tuned the car we didn't 
have a fuel pressure gage. We had a lot of issues with the methanol 
injection on the dyno . Lots of breaking up .We ended up tuning it , and 
then going back and trying to tune the methanol. 1.6 bar of boost - 570 
hp to the wheels. 1.6 bar of boost , +4 degrees of timing , methanol on 
, we made 555 hp. Tuned the methanol off , timing back to normal , and 
we made 570 hp again. The 1.6 was our tune for the road course. 
Methanol was out.

Next we went for the dyno/dragstrip tune. Cranked the boost up and did a 
pass. Boost was dropping a lot at the top. Peaking at 1.96 bar of boost 
, and then dropping down to about 1.45 bar by 8200 rpm. We tweaked the 
wastegate until we were almost all the way down. It just did not want to 
hold boost. We speculated that the exhaust housing was too small. We 
were meeting our original goals of good response , and 600 horsepower to 
the wheels. We ended up at 594 rwhp and 498 ft/lbs of torque . Not 
really where we wanted to be. We were looking for something more like 
650 - 670 rwhp. The torque was up from the last dyno , but the power was 
not where we wanted it. That was what the car made , and it was really 
too late to change anything major. Nick wanted to put nitrous on it. 
Normally I am all for nitrous , but in order to finish first , first you 
must finish. We debated a single fogger for another 50-75 horsepower . 
We debated the direct port. I was worried about how much fuel pump we 
had , and if we could support 750 -800 rwhp if we used a direct port 
setup. And I was worried about fuel and nitrous distribution on the 
stock intake manifold. Number 6 gets the most air and fuel.

I told Nick , after the USCC , we can throw as much nitrous like it as 
you like. Before the contest changing anything dramatic could mean 
teething issues. Every year before , with nitrous , the cars lost power. 
The 300ZX , and the Supra in the first and second year respectfully. 
Unless it was done right , and tested , its not worth it.

We knew the Supercharged Viper had made a corrected 887 rwhp and 870 
ft/lbs of torque. We really hated losing nearly 300 hp on the dyno.

The Tuesday before the event we did the photo shoot for Sport Compact 
Car in beautiful downtown Los Angeles. Not the nicest place on earth. 
Only a few crack whores , and drug dealers hanging around the photo 
shoot. Interesting to say the least.

The before contest dinner was Wednesday night at a diner out in 
Riverside ,CA . We showed up first and parked the GT-R. Did our 
interview for the video , and just hung out and waited for the other 
cars to show up. They were all out doing their photo shoots. Ours was 
done the previous day because we were located in LA. We also got the 
final 10 cars that were in. Fuzion Supra , Audi S4 , Axis Wheels 
Supercharged 350Z , Supercharged Viper , 1st gen Eclipse , 2nd gen 
Eclipse , BPU Supra , MR-2 , Ultima GT-R , and our Skyline GT-R. The 
dinner / DVD shoot finally got done about 11pm. The Viper still had not 
shown up , as it supposedly ran out of gas.

After the diner we went back to the warehouse to finish off a few 
things. We replaced the test cat we were using with a newer fresher cat. 
We finished up on the installation of the halon fire extinguishing 
system. Couple other little detail things. By the time we were done it 
was about 3:45 am. Just enough time to get home , lay down for about an 
hour , and get back to the shop. The next day / same day started at 8am 
at K & N in Riverside ,CA . A little over 1 hour drive from our shop in 
City of Industry.

The first days events are , Car Show , Grandma Test , Driveability , 
Emissions , Base Price , Horsepower , Power Delivery , Guru Panel 
(Engineering) . We were standing around waiting for something to 
happen.


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## Nismo Skyline (May 2, 2002)

Part 2 

They had dynoed the first Eclipse and it had made around 400 whp 
on K & N's AWD Dynojet. We decided that we wanted to go on the dyno and 
get it over and done with. We started packing the engine with ice , and 
spraying the IC and inlets down with water. Pulled the fuse for the AWD 
and went over and got it strapped down. Told everyone we were expecting 
600 hp to the wheels. Started the car up to warm up the driveline a 
little. We had already started the car to get the oil temps and water 
temps up prior to the dyno. I ran the car up though first gear , cruised 
a little in 2nd gear . Give the Redline Shockproof Heavy some time to 
get more viscous. 3rd gear....... Then put it in 4th gear . 3000 rpms I 
go wide open throttle. Car starts to come up slowly and then screams up 
to redline. Bang , bang , bang on the rev limiter at 8700 rpm. Clutch 
in , in netural. Make sure it doesnt stall , bliping the throttle on the 
way down.

I hear " 650 horsepower" . What ? Did he say 550 horsepower ? . Then I 
hear " 661 horsepower". By then I was a little confused. We had just 
dynoed 594 rhwp. I looked at the Apex Power FC Commander - 1.96 bar of 
boost. Hmm.... they ask if we want another pull . At first I say sure. 
Then Nick sticks his head in the car , Steve speaks up . Think about it 
again. Why push it ? We are really where we want to be. So I say no. 
Pull it off the dyno.

We still are in a little shock over how much power we made. 661.9 hp and 
586 ft/lbs of torque. Different dynos , different days. We were still 
happy. We ended up in 3rd place on the dyno. A T78 Supra , on nitrous 
made 671 rhwp. The Supercharged Viper made 820 rhwp. We did get 2nd in 
Power Delivery . Taking it out to 8700 rpms helps. 74 points in peak 
power , 74 points in power delivery.

Car Show we didnt do so well. Well Nicks car is not a car show car. 47 
points . Grandma 96 points , including the +1 bonus point for bringing 
Paul Walkers cousin. Driveability we did fairly well - about 4th . 
Emissions we end up 3rd . Guru Panel we end up 3rd also.

The MR-2 blew up on the dyno , and they went home.

Then after all the events are over it was a 72 mile drive up and down a 
5000 foot grade for fuel economy. Everyone else was still filling up , 
and we left first with our support truck in front with Nick driving. I 
was in the Skyline , and behind us was Matt in his BPU Supra. Even with 
1000cc injectors , 2 Nismo fuel pumps , and a close ratio 5 speed trans 
I managed to get 26.9 mpg. The Supra that was following me got 38.8 mpg. 
Thats like Geo Metro territory. And we even made a wrong turn and went 
about 2-3 miles wrong.

We took the Skyline and the Supra back to my storage lot and dropped 
them off for the night. Next morning we were meeting up at California 
Speedway at 8am. After the first day they said the Red Supra was in 1st. 
We were 6 points behind in 2nd place. The next morning we met up at the 
track , and a bit of a suprise. They had miscalculated some of the 
scores and the engineering and fuel economy had been figured. We were in 
first place by about 50 points. Then we were ahead by about 60 points.

Gave us a bit more confidence.The 2nd day was going to be our strong 
day. The first event was the skidpad , then the road course , the 0-60 
, the 1/4 mile , braking , then the gross display of horsepower. Out to 
the skidpad first . The Viper , the Ultima , the Skyline , the 350Z , 
and the 1st gen Eclipse. We pulled the fuse on the GT-R to make it RWD. 
Generally RWD cars are better on the skidpad than a RWD car. We were 
last around the circle and ended up with a 1.063 which put us in 4th 
place on the skidpad. Better than the 1.04 with Daniels car the year 
before. We think it may have had a little more in it , but we had a 100% 
full tank of gas. When we corner weighed the car we had about 6 gallons 
of gas in it.

Then out to the road course. We were out first on the road course with 
the 350Z. Steve was driving the GT-R , John Hotchkis was driving the 
350Z . They were out for 2 laps of lead and follow behind a 911. By the 
end of the first lap - the 350Z went past the 911.... a little early. 
The GT-R stayed behind . The end of the 2nd lap the GT-R pulled out and 
started chasing the 350Z down. The end of the next lap , Steve was up 
beside the 350Z. Then he did something we werent expecting . Into the 
1st turn he out broke the 350Z and passed him on the inside....

I was thinking. Doesnt Steve know this is practice ? Here he is dicing 
with John Hotchkis in a 350Z. I think Steve came to this realization 
and he backed off. By stopwatch Steve ended up with around a 1:19 lap. 
Something else happened and they had to cut the practice short. They 
ended up offering a extra few laps a little later. Steve had said that 
when he was dicing with the 350Z that he had noticed the oil temp at 133 
degrees C (271 degrees F). Checked knock , checked boost. Peak boost was 
1.7 bar . Peak knock was low enough . Water temp got up to 105 C which 
isnt bad

Steve did a few more laps and we came in to get ready to do the timed 
laps. The Audi goes out runs a 1:19 .The 350Z goes out and turns a 1:22 
but an intercooler pipe had come off. The Red Fuzion Supra goes out and 
runs a 1:24. Steve goes out in the GT-R. Takes off to go and warm the 
car up . Comes by flying on the first lap. GT-R though open exhaust , 
sounds so good. Screaming.... We wait in anticipation . The GT-R comes 
around , not sounding good , you can see it not under power. Then some 
clunking , a puddle . And drifting past the finish line. Steve takes a 
left turn into the pits. I can see oil and coolant pouring out from 
underneath the car.

Its done. I pull the hood pins , and pop the hood. Oil everywhere. its 
tossed a rod. We push the car out of the way. Have another quick look 
around. Its really done. Push it up into the garage. We put the jack 
under it . Still oil and coolant pouring out. Get a light and I can see 
a large chunk of the oil pan missing. The dipstick got left on the 
track. I see part of the rod on the under tray. Steve plucks another 
part of the rod out of the oil pan. We can see that it spun a bearing. I 
hold onto part of the rod cap. I still have it. Been carrying it around.

We got a time of 1:20.75 which is still in front of several of the cars 
, mostly noteably the 820 whp Viper which ran a 1:24. By then we were 
about 60 points in front of the 2nd place car. 4 events left. 110 points 
for each event - 25 points for the gross display of power. We wanted to 
push the car down the 1/4 mile to at least get the 10 points , but they 
wouldnt let us. We would have screwed up the curve. 

The quarter mile , 0-60 was a little more than disappointing. They were 
running out of time , mostly because the film crew takes too long to get 
setup each time. The Eclipses were already hurt by then. The 820 whp 
Viper ran a 12.4 and a 12.5 . The BPU Supra very nearly tagged the wall 
, got extremely loose. The Sliver Eclipse was dropping oil on the 
track. The engine cover was off the Ultima and it ran 12.2 ,12.1 making 
it the fastest thing down the 1/4. The 671 rwhp Supra ran a 13.6 and a 
13.4 .

Every year with the GT-R we have been about 100 hp down on the power and 
2nd quick 0-60 and 1/4 mile. This year we brought a GT-R that was at 
least 100 horsepower more than the car we brought the year before.

In October , even on a crappy track , on crappy tires I had gone 12.0 
@124 on low boost. On high boost first pass with wheel spin in 1st , and 
2nd it went [email protected] oh well . The car was already broken , and I 
was a little tweaked. I didnt get a chance to drive the car at high 
boost. Oh well , thats racing.


Thats about it...... we blew it up. We were in the lead , and we blew 
it up. 

-- 
Sean Morris
http://www.rbmotoring.com
http://www.mirageautosports.com
http://www.miragemotoring.com


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## 99.se.ltd (Jun 21, 2002)

great coverage man, thanks.
links aren't working for me tho


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## McLaren F1 2003 (Jan 2, 2003)

omg long


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