COBB goes to the Modified Tuner Shootout

[Justin]

Convinced we had a good timed run to get us back into contention, we settled back to camp to get the car ready for the drag racing portion of the event. Seeing as this is one of the more stockish cars we have raced, prep work was minimal at best. We simply put the OEM Dunlops back on. We did so because we were not sure of the rolling diameter of the Volk/Toyo combo would hurt us or not, plus we were not sure if we would have to much grip and break something since we have not ever drag raced this car before. Looking back, we all wanted to see what the Volk/Toyo combo would have done. Its certainly a lot lighter than the stock wheel/tire set up.

GST was getting serious and the crew removed the rear wing for Gary Sheehan:


Not to be outdone, we rolled up with.....the gold wheels back on!


After Billy had a few practice runs, Dave jumped in to hose down the twin intercoolers to make sure we were doing what we could to keep the car happy!


Billy was using the OEM launch control feature that the GT-R has. After a few toggle switches, the car sets into launch control mode. From here on out all Billy has to do is keep his right foot planted to the floor, and make sure he flips the flappy paddle with his right hand at the correct moments to keep from bouncing off the rev limiter.

[Justin]

It seems this car does what it does, and it does it very well. No matter how Billy drove the car for the drag race, it was pretty much the same outcome every time. Left lane or Right lane, change up the shift points a little here and there, the GT-R is all about consistency. This is all she had in her, and we were not disappointed.





We did our best at the drag racing and we were satisfied with the results. This should still keep us in contention for a top finish. The Final event was a few hours away, the Time Attack. They would get a few hours of practice in daylight before having to wait for it to get dark before the timed session would begin. The GT-R was parked so it could rest, while we decided to try to catch some of the others and see how they faired in the 1/4 mile.

Some of the others were pretty fast....thats most likely why Dave looked like this:

[Justin]

We decided to take advantage of the HPDE event that was also going on. Billy has driven this course once or twice before, but Eric needed to learn the fast lines. We tossed of Time Trial decals on the cars and sent them on their way. Eric learns track layouts quickly, which is a good thing because Billy says the backside of this track does not have a whole lot of light. Both of them will have to take a few turns from memory in order to stay fast.





After a few sessions they were content that they could both secure a few fast lap times. Eric is trying to qualify for the Super Lap Battle and Billy is pulling double duty trying to also qualify and still stay focused for the Modified Tuner Shootout. They both park the cars and rest up. It will be dark soon and then the timed sessions are a go!



Time Attack at night, on this track, is quite scary. They are letting cars go 20 seconds apart, with no more than three on track at one time. Billy gets in some of his fastest lap times yet, but its not without drama. Unfortunately there is not much more I can say without giving to much away. Modified Magazine ask me not to say to much, but I still think this gives a pretty good overview of what happened throughout the weekend.

Our MazdaSpeed3 saw great success in the hands of Eric. He is really beginning to show his driving skills and will only get faster as time goes on.

We look forward to seeing everyone again at the GT Live event at Miller Motorsports Park this June 28 and 29.

[animedork2075]

Way to leave us hanging. I love these threads. When does the article come out, so I can actually read your story?

[Justin]

Way to leave us hanging. I love these threads. When does the article come out, so I can actually read your story?

I am not sure when the article will come out actually, but I will keep updating until I give you a decent over view of the weekend. Sorry I cannot post to many of the final details, but they should be available soon!

[gambino]

that look on Daves face is priceless!

[Justin]

Here is a quick video we made of our R35 on the dyno before we left for Phoenix...

http://forums.cobbtuning.com/videos/GTRdyno.mov

We are currently editing video we took during the event. Please stay tuned!