Grip Drift Motorsport Grip and Drift Blog

Filed under: Motorsports, Renault, Racing

On Sunday the Renault F1 team revealed its 2010 race car with a color scheme that hearkens back to the team's debut in the late 1970s. The yellow-and-black livery was the traditional pattern used by Renault on its Formula One and Le Mans sports cars before the company began taking on title sponsors.

Of course, the downside of the retro look is that the team still has not signed a title sponsor to replace insurance company ING, which called it quits last summer after the team was found guilty of having Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crash during a race in late 2008.

The automaker now owns only a minority stake in the team after having sold most of it to Genii Capital.

At the launch of the new racer, Renault also announced that Russian Vitaly Petrov will run alongside ex-Sauber driver Robert Kubica in the second car. Petrov is the first Russian to get a full-time F1 drive. A video and press release are included after the jump.

Gallery: 2010 Renault R30

[Source: Renault]Continue reading Renault F1 launches R30 with back to the future livery [w/video]

Renault F1 launches R30 with back to the future livery [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan's and Subaru's have shared the same suppliers for many of their parts. Sometimes little things, sometimes larger things. The first time I got into a WRX I noticed the window switches were the same as a Nissan Skyline GT-R R34.
The Nissan Skyline GT-R R32-R34 used an all wheel drive system called ATTESA. The ATTESA system was a wet clutch in the center differential that was locked up, or engaged though hydraulic pressure from the ATTESA pump. The ATTESA system uses the wheel speeds, TPS, and G-Sensor to vary the output pressure of the ATTESA pump. A few companies, and even some individuals have made ATTESA system controllers, that allow them to tune the ATTESA system to their liking. HKS has their ETC, Grid has a Dancer, Field had a toque split controller. Autospeed posted an article called “Godzilla Tamed”, with an explanation of what they disliked about the ATTESA system in the R32 GT-R and what they did to change it. So far I haven’t noticed any parts for the R35, but that may be changing soon.

NickTO from NAGTROC forums noticed that the R35 GT-R and the Subaru use the same EMCD – electro magnetic control device – produced by GKN Driveline. The center differential uses the same plug, and voltage outputs, but they have not tried a DCCD controller on an R35 GT-R as of yet.
Neetronics produces a center differential controller for the Subaru that should work for the R35 GT-R. Like many things in the aftermarket, some things should be left alone, but the ability to “tune” the center differential is something some drivers want to have.

Neetronics Diff Controller
New features of Version 1.9 Software
Our PDC-01 dccd controller has sold worldwide to many Subaru owners for all sorts of applications. Many of our users have communicated to us their setups and suggestions. We have worked over the last six months to implement as many of those suggestions as possible. As a result, below you will find a list of the resultant changes. We intend our dccd controller to be not only a controller but also a learning device. DCCDs are relatively new devices and as a result are still largely unknown. Some of our changes are meant to help more and more people to learn how can a dccd be better used.
Speed Based Duty Cycle Limiter
This enables the vehicle to vary in speed. As the speed increases if the dccd is too tight there may be a tendancy for the car to push (understeer) in corners especially on slippery surfaces. A duty cycle limiter can be set for every speed from 10Km/h to 160 Km/h.
Launch Mode
The launch mode we created, if enabled, monitors the vehicle speed and throttle position. When the vehicle comes to a complete stop for several seconds without moving while the driver pushes the throttle above “LTRG” the unit will enter launch mode. Once launch mode is active and while to vehicle is not moving (speed=0) the duty cycle output will be 15%. Since it is unknown how long the vehicle may be waiting to launch it was decided to output 15%. This is intended to prevent the dccd from seeing high duty cycles until it really needs to. A soon as any of the wheels start turning the Neetronics dccd will output the “LOVR” (launch over ride) duty cycle. The user can define what this duty cycle is but typically it will be a very high duty cycle to ensure that on hard launches that the centre diff will not slip at all. The “LOVR” will continue to be applied to the DCCD until the vehicle has exceeded the “LXSP” (Launch mode exit speed) which is also user definable.

Source : NAGTROC , GKN , and Neetronics DCCD

A 2010 Audi R8 4.2 V8 driven by CD ran a 12.610 @ 113.050 MPH at Milan Dragway.

View the timeslip on DragTimes.com

Staring, emotional, exciting, nail-biting, The highlights of the season 2009.

Regular readers will remember that we were fortunate enough to be able to pay a visit to Mine’s headquarters in Yokosuka, Japan recently. It was the Mine’s Meeting Event that we were invited along to to get the scoop on their latest parts including their amazing new dry carbon front bumper.

Some readers with long memories will also recall the brief update Mine’s released back in November 2009 about the first test day after completion of their very first Mine’s Complete Engine. It was great to read their excitement over the finished product which they had been planning, designing and building for quite some time. Moreover, I was intrigued to experience it for myself to see if the end result was as good as a sum of it’s parts. So lets step back to the beginning to talk about the Mine’s Complete Engine and what exactly it is.

To understand the complete engine you should first start with understanding the Mine’s tuning philosophy. Since day one, tuning has been about feeling for Mine’s, and one feeling above most others in particular – response. The ability to get up and go is valued above almost anything at Mine’s, and that includes raw horsepower numbers. So when tuning the VR38, a big displacement engine with small turbochargers attached, that is to say already quite perky, Mine’s have to go to extremes to improve. This is, in a nutshell, what they have done.

The engine is built from the ground up using lightweight components. The VR’s cast pistons are replaced with forged lightweight items sourced from Mahle. These are forged from aluminum silicon alloy and are coated to lower friction. These are also combined with lightweight pins to bring down the total piston assembly weight.

Next, the stock forged conrods are upgraded. For this task, Mine’s chose ultra-lightweight titanium I-beam conrods. Combine these with the lightweight piston assemblies and each cylinder is down 320grams of reciprocating mass, a saving of over 1.92kg (4.232lbs) spread out over the six cylinder VR38DETT engine.

Working our way up to the head now where the Mine’s Super Chamshaft Shore Pro are utilized. An ideal match for the turbos used, they help the engine breath better. You need to move a lot of air quickly to keep an engine like this happy so proper camshaft choice is crucial to the end result.

The Mine’s demo car is also obviously fitted with pretty much the entire Mine’s R35 GT-R catalog. We should touch on these modifications too to ensure everything is detailed properly.

Ensuring air can get to the engine to begin with is another big focus of the Mine’s complete engine. Painstaking attention has been paid at every stage and to get an full picture of what we mean. lets describe the intake airflow. Starting at the beginning; air enters the system at the standard airbox where it’s filtered with a Mine’s VX-Air filter. It moves along to the Mine’s Titanium Suction Pipe into the turbo compressor side where it’s compressed and forced into the Mine’s Titanium Intercooler Hard Pipe kit. Then it’s off to the intercoolers to be cooled and back out towards the engine again. It then travels via the OEM piping and hose setup properly reinforced to keep it from expanding or popping off by the Mine’s Induction Support and Clamp kit.

Finally, before it enters the intake plenum, it passes through the Mine’s High Flow throttle body which has been smoothed and tweaked in just the right ways to provide as little obstruction as possible.

Phew there’s a lot there but just about the only part Mine’s hasn’t improved in there is the turbochargers themselves, and we’ll get back to that later because we’ve some secrets to let you in on there.

Fuel delivery is just as important, so no chances are taken here either but in comparison the modifications seem simple and perhaps that is part of their beauty. The standard fuel pumps are upgraded with the Mine’s variety. They feed a set of twin upgraded Mine’s Fuel rails into six larger than standard 650cc fuel injectors. While these aren’t giant injectors, they are perfectly sized for the desired output.

Driving the whole thing at an electronic level is the Mine’s VX-ROM with Mine’s legendary tuning ability in full force under the hood.

So that’s how it’s put together, but how does it go? Well to say quick is putting it mildly. It’s a fair bit insane actually.

Shortly after our arrival at Mine’s workshop we had a chance to go for a spin in it. With Niikura-san behind the wheel we took off at a brisk pace out on to the freeway for a short thrash. I guess the first impression you really get is surprise, it’s also the look on your face when you’re told that the Mine’s GT-R is making around 650hp. 650hp shouldn’t be so instant, there should be some spool, some lag before the bulk of the power is delivered. Even if it’s imperceptible, surely it should be there? There just isn’t any time to think about that though as we quickly blow through another gear on our way out of town.

The real key to the Mine’s setup is the instantaneous usability of the power. That is what is most attractive and what would be addictive. The car seems connected more aggressively than ever before to the driver’s right foot. From low RPM in high gears, the GT-R already shines out as atypical for a turbo car but the Mine’s car redefines what is possible to do with the right selection of parts and know how.

So yes, the Mine’s engine in it’s current packaging in the Mine’s demo car is making about 650hp. It does not seem to stress the car at all and it feels like daily driver material when you’re not stabbing the throttle to experience the rush again. The transmission is mildly tweaked in this car with some one off coolers (two transmission coolers) and and a piston oil seal upgrade, the TCM is also upgraded with the latest code from Nissan but is otherwise quite standard.

So it can be well and truly concluded that Mine’s have reached their goal of a 600ps+ response master Nissan GT-R. We’d like to see it hit the track now to set and break some benchmark times. Mine’s current best lap with the Spec-X 6.0 kit at Fuji Speedway is 1:49.782 with Eiji Tarzan Yamada driving, we need to see what the new record will be and we’re assured that this test is coming soon.

So will that be all we see from Mine’s in terms of power modifications? Hardly! They’re already in serious development of a turbocharger upgrade that is set to easily crack 700hp while still maintaining the ultimate response of the standard setup. We’ll keep you posted there.

The Mine’s Complete Engine should be ready for sale in the early part of this year so look out for the announcement. Until then you can set your desktop to the top photo in this post to remind you to check back every so often…

Link: Mine’s Website (English)

View Entire Article: Mine’s Complete Engine for Nissan GT-R: First Impressions at GTRBlog.comOriginally appeared on and © GTRBlog.com. 2010. | Read comments.

NOTE: This post is from an outside source.

Filed under: Motorsports, Ford, Subaru

Travis Pastrana has no shortage of critics who claim the daredevil is skating on thin ice. Okay, that was a terrible segue into this year's Sno*Drift, the opening event in the Rally America Championship series, but yes, Pastrana and co-driver Christian Edstrom did skate to a fourth straight Sno*Drift victory on Saturday, trumping the second place team of Antoine L'Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard by more than a minute. Not too bad for a guy who just had surgery for a broken collar bone. Ken Block, sporting his trademark goatee and a new Ford Fiesta rally car, retired after just seven stages due to suspension failure.

Organized around the snowy gravel roads of Northern Lower Michigan, Sno*Drift 2010 wasn't so much with the snow thanks to a warm spell and thorough soaking of rain, followed by a quick dip into sub-zero temperatures-all within a week of race day. Roads turned into rivers of glare ice, and since studded tires aren't allowed in the series, automotive hilarity reminiscent of Snoopy on Ice was the order of the day. Just ask Pastrana's team mate Dave Mirra, who crossed the final mark literally dragging his Subie's front bumper and headlights thanks to a late-stage disagreement between himself, Sir Issac Newton, and a tree.

More to come on Pastrana, Block, and Rally America; in the meantime spy the Rally America gallery while we search Wikipedia for frost bite remedies and tips on removing champagne from blue jeans.

Gallery: Rally America SnoDrift 2010

Photos by Christopher Smith / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.Pastrana puts competition on ice at Rally America Sno*Drift originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember the custom-built 1970 Mustang that won top honors at the 2009 GT Awards during SEMA last November? It’s quite an impressive machine, and PS Forums user SWERV_GRIFFIN was on hand when a Polyphony Digital team visited by Grand Touring Garage to collect data about the car. He’s shared his impressions and hundreds of pictures of the car (here, here, here, and here) so we can see it before, during, and after its extensive makeover.

A local website has also posted a great article with more background information about the ‘Stang and Philip Koenen, the man who created it. The most interesting thing: he states the car will be “available for download”. Could we be looking at one of the first cars to be featured in a DLC pack…?

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet.

RALLY ITALYDirected by Stephane Benini

FIA GT3 championship rounds 1 and 2 from Silverstone, courtesy of Motorsport Mundial on Channel Five in the UK

The start of the 2010 GrandAm Season with the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in wet conditions, Scott Pruett with a great start!