JPR AutoSports

Some Good news – Some Bad news

A beautiful day last Saturday and EFI was out in force as we had a few cars on the track. After Poconos RobiSpec had come out as well to install some stiffer front springs and so Saturday was a chance to dial in the suspension tuning.

I’ll keep this short and simple and will post up more details soon:

We won the NASA NE TT for TTS on Saturday, August 6th – that’s the good news but later in the afternoon I slid off the track and touched the wall. This wasn’t a particularly big event, and off track excursions do occur, but it was an unfortunate surprise. The suspension was damaged (as well as the front and rear fender) and so, without the right parts, we were done for the weekend and a disappointing end to the day. EFI Logics is all over it and the car is getting sorted and repaired quickly. More soon and thanks for your support.

NASA NE next event is up in the Poconos on July 15-17th. We are busy getting ready for the three day event and are excited to see everyone up there, especially presuming the weather is a bit warmer than on our last visit. The track configuration should be different too as we are running a combination of the North and South courses. It’s a great track that takes some getting used to as the transitions to from the Triangle to the infield can be rough and a little tricky. Turn 1 to the infield has a new concrete patch that, if taken at the wrong spot, can render the car briefly airborne near the apex. Move the car left 3 feet and you are fine but taken close in and it’s, well, more exciting…

EFI Logics has the car and are working to get it prepped with fresh oil, brake fluid, pads, rotors and tune. They are one of the few NASA Tech shops and, knowing the rules, can sign off on the car’s build and safety. They’ll tune the car again with the new cam setup to bring it right in line with the TTS requirements for power to weight ratio. We are not expecting a big difference in raw HP or torque numbers from last year (still just over 440 NASA adjusted whp), as the TTS limits haven’t changed, but Chris will manage the power curve to make sure the car is as tractable and smooth as possible.

A fresh set of the venerable Goodyear Eagle RS tires for the dry and a new set of rains and we are ready for whatever Mother Nature brings. If we are lucky we will have a few surprises for the car thanks to Jack Laverty’s counsel on race car aerodynamics. More to come soon.

The track is closer than you think so please head up on any of the three days. It will be a great time so don’t miss out and be sure to let us know when you arrive. See you there!

Check out our new gallery of pictures!! Not only have we posted up more pictures of the car and events but they are now much easier to access and more organized. Have a look and tell us what you think.

When Chris of EFI Logics first indicated he wanted the car at Wicked Big Meet 2011 in Stafford Springs I didn’t know what to think. “It’s a Subaru show, right?“ I asked. I couldn’t imagine they would have been too happy with the Evo X in their midst. Chris reiterated they were a significant sponsor of the event and would have a large display and having the Evo there would be valuable. I agreed, but having never been, didn’t know what to think.

Saturday dawned warm and bright and it was clear the weather was going to be perfect for this event. I drove the trailer up to Stafford Springs and, as I got closer, noticed a decided shift in cars. No more American, no Porsche, nothing Bavarian, only a sea of Subarus moving down the freeway. I was excited and nervous, not sure what they would think of the heretical Evo X in their midst.

Chris was right; EFI Logics was center stage with a number of tents and displays of their cars, including the Evo X, right in the middle, surrounded by well prepared and pristine 400-500hp Subaru muscle. Equally impressive was the attention that Chris and the EFI team generated. They are very well known and very well respected. It was really something to watch, literally, hundreds of event participants, other vendors, and event staff acknowledge the EFI group. I was proud to wear the shirt.

The car received a ton of attention and was regularly surrounded by participants looking at the motor, cage work, tires, you name it all with lots of questions and comments. I had thought the Subaru owners would be biased against the Evo but this certainly wasn’t the case. Each of the EFI cars garnered attention and close scrutiny and everyone was great. Comments across the board were extremely positive and it was clear the EFI fan base was to grow even larger.

Later that afternoon I had the opportunity to get the Evo on the short track there at Stafford Springs and while it was not ideal, I had a great time offering some ride-alongs to event goers EFI had partnered with the event sponsor and NASA NE and had several modified street cars on the track. Notably, EFI’s other dedicated race car was out there as well. This is an incredible piece of hardware, light and extremely fast in Devin’s very capable hands. In a few of my warm up laps I had a chance to chase Devin a bit and despite having some extra hp was challenged to stay with him on the narrow little track.

While we weren’t operating at 10/10ths it was great to get some laps in with passengers. They all seemed to really enjoy themselves and got a quick flavor for being in a race car. I’ll admit, I had a great time and can’t thank Chris and EFI Logics enough for including me.

Here’s a nice post by one of my passengers with some excellent pictures from the track.

http://ivyleagueeast.com/2011/06/19/efi-logics-at-wicked-big-meet-2k11/

Despite some early weather reports that looked like rain the day was warm and sunny. Almost too warm, by noon it was well into the 80′s and humid. The day, ultimately, turned out to be a mix of good and bad. Some good was that we had two fast sessions in which the car ran very well and provided some good info on set up and performance. EFI Logic’s tuning and setup continues to be rock solid and very fast. This was our first trip to Lime Rock this season and we are still very much in set up mode. Despite that we produced a couple of :59.6 laps, which are not bad but a full second off of last year’s best laps. Top speed on the straight was 136, which is a few mph faster then we’ve seen; the new cams produced some very good power right up to 7500. The Goodyear RS tires are spectacular and produced a ton of grip, though some rubbing needed to be managed and inhibited a more aggressive attack of the track.

Unfortunately, toward the end of the second session, the serpentine belt slipped and was ripped in half. The alternator, water pump and power steering went to Mexico, all at once and so things were a little scary for a moment. Recovered, the car was pitted and our day complete. Another great NASA NE event. Some new pictures, here’s one from the day.

This is a great track in a beautiful setting and so we are excited about the upcoming NASA track event. This is not a TT and so we’ll use it to get some additional data on the car and try to sort out the front tire/ fender rubbing issue. Please let us know if you can get out there for the day as it would be GREAT to see you there!

The car is getting VERY close to completion and we are scheduled to head to the Poconos Long Course on Saturday for some testing with PCA. Should be fun, thoguht he weather is iffy. Let us know right away if you can come out to see the car in action. EFI Logics has spent a ton of time dialing in the suspension, cams and tune so it should be interesting to see the difference.