Article below as originally printed in eurotuner January 2009 Issue
Eight cars from
some of the best
tuners battle it
out on the dyno,
drag strip and
road course in
the annual Eurotuner GP
Words and Photos
Greg Emmerson, Sam Du
Every year we invite a select group of the country's best tuners to compete in our annual Tuner GP. It's a chance for them to show you exactly what their cars are capable of. And by competing on the dyno and drag strip, you get a good idea of how much power their engines are producing. And on the road course you get to see what sort of package the tuners can put together.
We also separate the tuners into front-, rear- and all-wheel drive classes so you can compare each configuration. And by the end of the three-day event, you should have a pretty good idea of which package delivers the best all-round performance.
The 2008 eurotuner magazine Tuner Grand Prix (etGP08, as it's affectionately known) proved to be the most surprising in its six-year history, with breakdowns and no-shows giving us some unexpected winners.
For starters, this is the first time we've had RWD BMWs competing since the inaugural event. It's also only the second time Stasis Engineering hasn't won the track day and the second time an Audi hasn't taken overall honors. So be prepared to see some new faces going for gold.
So after the long wait, it's time to settle down with a coffee and enjoy the next 16 pages of the Tuner Grand Prix.
The GP
As you probably know, the GP isn't so much a competition as a battle for honor and respect. It's our opportunity to scrutinize specific products and packages to see if they meet the tuner's claims. So don't imagine the fastest and most powerful car always wins. Yes, the team with the highest numbers has something to brag about, but that's never the whole story.
Finally RWD was back in etGP and we enjoyed some celebratory burnouts!
Drag Test
WRD finally made its Mk4 GTI look good and run fast
Dyno Test
If there was a prize for best toys, Bahn Brenner won hands down
The GP isn't a head-to-head competition because many of the cars we invite can't be directly compared. Instead it's a tool for measuring the relative performance of various tuning options, where you can examine what the tuners are capable of on specific platforms.
Basically, etGP is a shop window where you can browse the various tuning conversions under the harshest conditions possible and draw your own conclusions about what will work for you and your car.
Control Tires Continental ContiSportContact 3
We've had the opportunity to test the ContiSportContact 3 on many occasions yet each time we're surprised at what it's capable of. In fact, this tire is almost as fast in the wet as it is in the dry, thanks to Conti's legendary wet weather expertise.
The ContiSportContact 3 was designed to meet the demands of powerful performance cars by providing shorter stopping distances, increased cornering grip and greater stability. However, these tires are used by several OEs so also have to provide good mileage, low noise and rolling resistance. As such, they represent a great choice for both wet and dry use on your modified Euro. Yet they're more than capable of withstanding tremendous abuse under the harshest of conditions, as dished out in our Tuner GP.
As a testament to their predictable nature, none of the competitors spun on the road course through problems of grip. The only cars that went of the track suffered mechanical problems. The stability of the tires meant teams could push the ContiSportContact 3 very hard and know how they would respond.
Similarly on the drag strip, all but the most powerful FWD teams (that would struggle for grip no matter what tires were used) found plenty of traction off the line. They were able to improve their times throughout the session despite the heat of the day and repeated runs.
The Format
ETGP is a test of speed, power and poise. We scrutinize the cars on the dyno for outright horsepower, the drag strip to reinforce those numbers, and the road course to see how the tuner's package of engine, brakes, suspension and tires perform under the sustained pressure.
This year we split the competitors into front-, rear- and all-wheel drive classes. It gave us the opportunity to reward the fastest cars with their own class wins because we can't imagine the day a GTI will ever beat an S4 on the dyno or strip; especially when you see the horsepower the Audis are now delivering!
Like every etGP the rule is there are no rules (except no nitrous injection into the engine). And because we saw several teams had a big advantage through tire choice in previous years, we again decided to level the playing field by supplying all the teams with Continental's ContiSportContact 3 tires. It's a great high-performance tire that stood up surprisingly well to the drag and track abuse (see sidebar).
The ContiSportContact 3 certainly provided a high level of grip and we want to thank Continental for its support of etGP because without them, GP wouldn't happen!
On the GT Pro dyno day, teams are allowed three pulls and can tune in between runs, so we always expect high numbers and are almost never disappointed.
The drag strip at the California Speedway is unrestricted in the number of runs a competitor can take. However, the speed of the cars caught the track officials by surprise and we were forced to run the 1/8th mile this year.
This decision undoubtedly worked against some of the more powerful FWD cars that were wheelspinning for almost the entire 1/8th mile, but everybody seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to search for traction.
Finally, the road course at Streets of Willow always provides the ultimate test of man and machine. This is the event every team wants to win and is the real indicator of overall car preparation. If you cut corners during the build, this is where we'll find out!
This is also where the gum-slapping stops and the boys sit down so the men can stand up. It's the highlight of etGP and this year the competition was closer than ever.
Video
If you enjoy etGP, don't forget to check out the video footage at www.eurotuner.com
You can find the latest etGP08 videos and team interviews, as well as footage from etGP07 under the "Videos" tab on the homepage. You'll find action from the track, dyno and drag strip crammed into some slickly edited videos.
What's more, Continental Tires had its own film crew there as well, and you'll find even more video from etGP08 at www.continentaltire.com
When a tuner brags about horsepower numbers, it's not uncommon for those numbers to be unrepeatable. Was the car tested properly? Were the numbers fudged? Many different factors mean it can be impossible to replicate the tuners claims. However, we set out to discover the truth about our eight brave etGP contestants based on our own independent dyno tests.
Once again, we sought the expertise of GT Pro Performance Tuning in Fullerton, CA since the tuner possesses a respected Dynojet 424X dyno capable of measuring up to 1500hp and 200mph.
The rules for the dyno competition are very simple. Each tuner is given three opportunities to record the best horsepower figure in a 45-minute session. You don't have to use all three runs and you can pause between pulls to cool the car or tamper with the tuning. Another rule is you can't use nitrous injection, although intercooler sprayers are allowed - something half the field took advantage of.
To assist the GT Pro staff, competitors were divided into RWD, FWD and AWD groups. The RWD guys arrived first. And with an ambient temperature of 80F, Madness Motorworks hit the dyno with its BMW 135i. Engine upgrades were limited to an intake, exhaust and software, but it spun the rollers to 359.13whp on its second run using 100-octane fuel.
George Mehallik of Madness Motorworks was very pleased as the car only recorded 350whp on the previous dyno.
The next rear-drive contestant was Groma Race Fabrications with its supercharged BMW E30 V8. It's first run was an impressive 425.67whp using 110-octane fuel. But with a slight oil leak from the motor, Groma retired early and didn't use its last two runs.
The FWD competitors came next, starting with Bahn Brenner Motorsport. Its Mk1 GTI 1.8T posted 305.64whp, which is almost double the Mk1 campaigned last year by Euro Sport Accessories. Its second run was 304.96whp, which confirmed the legitimacy of its power.
Two years ago, VW specialists Euro Sport Accessories brought a Ford Focus turbo under the guise of its FocusSport division. It made 401.2hp to the crank. Its new orange coupe ran slightly less with a pull of 388.81whp. The team followed its first run with a 386whp pull and retired. Using 104-octane gas, they also brought their own fans and sprayed the intercooler with water to cool the intake.
Kinetic Motorsport took the spotlight next and strapped its GTI 337 to the dyno. Shawn Van Neer from Kinetic, informed us he was only using 94-octane he brought from his home in Canada. On the first run, the tires were smoking the rollers and the tacho didn't give a reading, so no torque figures were recorded. However, the second pull resulted in glory as the Kinetic GTI threw down 558.36whp from its 1.8T. Another pull was done to back up the claim and 555whp flashed on the computer screen. So Kinetic took the accolade of most powerful FWD car in the competition, and one of the most powerful 1.8Ts we've ever seen in etGP!
034 Takes home the Top Dyno Award
Kenitic Puts down there Power
Returning for its second etGP was WRD's Mk5 GTI. This year they were able to bump power up from 256.82whp last year to 312.85whp thanks to an APR stage 3+ turbo kit. John Gardner from WRD told us there was more power to come but they were scrambling to download new software that morning.
With only the AWD cars left, we welcomed HPA Motorsport back to the event after missing last year. Its Mk4 R32 turbo featured a DSG transmission swap, so the dyno technique had to be different. Lead tech, Darren Scharfenberg slowly accelerated the car into fifth gear and downshifted into fourth to record the dyno run. On its first run they produced 412.60whp but later runs couldn't repeat it. And it was then Darren noticed a ruptured boost hose that probably explained the power loss.
Next was 034Motorsport. Still bitter after second place last year, its A4 VR6 turbo returned with more power under the hood. The best run last year was 645.51whp, but '08 was a different story. The first run netted an astonishing 802.99whp. With the entire audience in disbelief, Christian Miller of 034 spun the rollers again to an amazing 807.11whp!
Dennis Dickerson of GT Pro was kept busy strapping down the cars for the etGP
Groma made one pull after discovering an oil leak; making 425.67whp
Brian La Fuente of GT Pro ensured two high-powered fans would simulate real world driving.
GT Pro
We returned to GT Pro Performance Tuning Inc. for our dyno competition for the second consecutive year. With its roots in high-powered Japanese imports and many years of technical and dyno experience, the tuner once again provided accurate and trouble-free results.
The company's premises is an 11000sqft property in Fullerton, CA and houses a DynoJet 424x, and a 1500sq ft customer lounge with hardwood floors, leather sofas, video slots and stacks of magazines to fill your time. There's also a workshop where the staff performs custom engine builds, dyno tuning, audio and video installations as well as custom fabrication.
Formerly focused in imports, GT Pro is becoming a resource in Southern California for VW, Audi, BMW, Mercedes and exotic tuning. We found several BMW project cars on the premises, as well as GT Pro's Ferrari F360 project car. The company's new passion for Euros prompted the establishment of a new division called Boosted Bimmers, which offers forced induction kits for several BMW models. (www.gtpro.com, www.boostedbimmers.com, 714/447-1697)
This would easily steal the dyno trophy and put 034's A4 in the etGP record books for highest horsepower ever. We should also note, the ambient temperature was at 100.1F - the highest of the day - with a gasping 10% humidity, making the feat even more remarkable.
As a final note, EuroCode Tuning was scheduled to run last. As defending champions, they had some trouble on the dyno - blowing a MAF sensor on its Audi S4. Its third run produced 627.25whp, which was lower than last year's 651.73whp. After diagnosing several problems, the team sadly decided to withdraw. And as we'll see, if the car had been running right they might have claimed overall victory in etGP08.
George Mehallic from Madness Motorworks receiving his trophy for setting the fastest lap in the road course.
Without doubt, the road course is the favorite component of any etGP, and this year would be no different. Traditionally, it takes place on the last day of the event. However, this year it would move to the second day due to a scheduling conflict.
With the field already reduced by one S4, eight cars descended upon Streets of Willow to set the fastest lap. All competitors are given three 20-minute practice sessions throughout the morning to setup the cars. After lunch, each team gets three timed laps to set their best time. However, the heat of the day and heat of competition took its toll, as you'll discover.
Session 1
The cars were split into run groups that saw the VWs out first. The pace was set by WRD, even though they claimed the car was down on power and only running on three cylinders at times. However, a respectable 1:30.299 saw them 3sec faster than Kinetic, who were suffering from "too much boost", and 12sec faster than Bahn Brenner (BBM) who used ContiSportContact 2 tires rather than the newer CSC 3s because the size they wanted wasn't available.
The second run group was the two BMWs and Focus. However, Groma had slept in so the field was depleted. The Madness Motorworks 135i set the fastest time with a 1:29.580 even though they were making shock adjustments and getting used to the track. The FocusSport car was slipping around on the dusty track and was 3sec slower as a result.
Despite setting the fastest lap in practice, a misfire and a subsequent broken crank put 034 in second position
The Kenitic 337 was suffering from almost too much power
The Groma e30 finished fourth despite lots of oversteer
The Focus finished Sixth overall
Somebody from the third group was expected to win the event since it housed the powerful AWD cars. And 034Motorsport set the pace with an impressive 1:27.897. The team was enjoying the experience, having made significant changes to the car since last year, including a widebody to give them more rubber (see profile). However, the most devious alteration had occurred overnight, with the team swapping its huge GT4508R turbo used on the dyno for a smaller GT35R that would give better throttle response on the track.
The AWD HPA Motorsports R32 was 2sec slower but the team happily reported it was running without problems.
Session 2
In the second 20min practice session, WRD piled on the pressure, lapping in 1:28.131. This was the second fastest at the time and proved the team's suspension tuning was paying dividends. Kinetic had turned down its boost all the way and was looking to reduce it further. They had made up 1sec on WRD, while BBM had knocked 8sec off their previous time as they too retarded the boost on their 1.8T.
Unfortunately, the Rabbit blew a coolant hose, dropping water onto the tires and causing a spin. It halted the session while the car was recovered and John Betz from BBM thought his run of bad luck was continuing, having failed to complete an etGP with his supercharged Corrado in the past. However, the hose was soon replaced and the car was back on track.
The Madness 135i found more speed, dropping to 1:28.971 after some mild suspension tuning. The team reported the car was handling well and making the most of its power upgrades as well as the factory Brembo brakes.
The FocusSport coupe had knocked a further 1.5sec off its times and the team was happy with its progress, although they felt it would have been quicker without the heavy full stereo in the trunk!
Groma finally made an appearance and its 325i V8 ran a 1:32.858 but admitted they were trying to figure out the right settings and the tire pressures.
In the AWD class, 034 encountered a misfire and sat out the session in an attempt to cure it. Meanwhile, HPA recorded a 1:28.811, which was within fractions of a second of their first session time.
Session 3
Despite some very quick lap times, the engine problems on the WRD GTI persisted until the car pulled off the track amid a cloud of smoke. It turns out the misfire was worse than envisaged and resulted in a holed block that lead to an oil fire under the car. Again the session was halted while the car was recovered and sadly WRD's etGP was over.
WRD would have been the fastest FWD car had it not holed the block. Losing the rear bumper was the start of the bad luck.
With BBM working on the cooling system, only Kinetic made it out in the session. They were marginally slower as the heat of the day increased and the car continued to struggle for traction out of the slower corners.
However, the Madness 135i was running trouble-free and was even lifting an inside front tire coming out of some corners. They managed to reduce their lap time to 1:28.215 to show consistent improvements throughout the session.
Similarly, the FocusSport car was running faultlessly and the team dropped down to a 1:30.794 in the final practice session to show a steady improvement.
The Groma team was having fun playing with the cars oversteering out of the corners and lifting a front wheel but the supercharged V8 looked like it was a handful as they were unable to match earlier times.
In the AWD class, 034 was still working on its misfire and HPA was happy with the car but didn't improve on earlier times.
Crunch Time
After lunch, each team was invited to run its three timed laps to set their quickest times for the record. Madness Motorworks was first to the line in its 135i. The team had showed consistent form in its mildly-tuned 1-Series Coupe and on the first of its three timed laps they set a 1:28.171. This wasn't the fastest they'd done all day and they wondered if it would be enough. As it transpires, it was the fastest lap of the day by almost 0.5sec, giving the team the trophy for fastest lap at etGP08.
What's remarkable is just how composed the car had been throughout the day. The team had managed to install some effective modifications and overcome the car's weakness - its skinny front tires. They'd squeezed some wide rubber up front and even resolved the 135i's notorious oil temp problems that cause it to go into limp mode on the track. These clever mods and good driving by Brian Smith allowed the team to claim a surprise victory.
In second place, with a time of 1:28.662, was the very sick Audi from 034. Clearly the misfire hadn't been fully resolved, so it wasn't showing its expected dominance. After an overnight stripdown, the team discovered the crank had snapped, forcing them to retire from etGP08.
Third place went to HPA with a time of 1:28.834. It was the R32's fastest time of the day and everybody expected its AWD to be a real advantage. However, the car seemed to be understeering quite badly - a common problem with the nose-heavy R32.
In fourth was the Groma E30 with a time of 1:29.552. This was their fastest time of the day and more preparation might have seen further improvements, although oversteer seemed to be the biggest obstacle.
Fifth place went to Kinetic with a strong 1:30.507 - not their fastest time all day but respectable given the traction problems they faced with the ridiculous amount of power under the hood.
In sixth was the FocusSport coupe with a 1:30.932, marginally slower than their best practice time. This powerful front-drive turbo was also struggling against weight and traction issues but the team soldiered on and recorded a very respectable time.
Seventh place went to the BBM Rabbit with a 1:33.032 lap time - almost 1.5sec better than they'd done in practice. Despite its lightweight chassis, the Mk1 also had traction problems and development was interrupted by its coolant issues. But it's great to see the older cars still competing in the event and the team having so much fun.
As day three of etGP08 arrived, mechanical ailments had depleted the field to just six cars. We'd lost both Audis and a GTI, yet were left with an intriguing front-, rear- and all-wheel drive battle.
Four cars were tied in first place for overall honors. Whoever won the drag racing would be crowned etGP08 champion.
However, there was one more surprise in store. After seeing the first few cars run, the track owners wanted to close us down. Despite having 10sec S4s last year, they seemed unprepared for the speed of our competitors and would only allow us to use the 1/8th mile track.
Ordinarily, we'd set fire to their buildings and go into hiding for a week. But since we'd hauled the teams to the arse-end of nowhere, we were definitely compelled to see it through.
Inevitably, this would play into the hands of our only remaining AWD competitor and severely disadvantage the powerful FWD runners. Yet despite this, the teams rolled up their sleeves and set to work.
Since we know from previous experience the cars get slower as the day progressively gets hotter, we opened the track at 9am and closed it at 1pm. That gave them four hours to set their fastest times.
One of the first out of the box was HPA. It's R32 turbo tore up the track in 7.531sec. Confident in a job well done, the team retired to the shelter of our tent and never ran in anger again. With its AWD traction, nobody threatened the time, allowing the R32 to take top honors for the drag race and winning etGP08 overall.
The battle for second would be far closer. With the advantage of RWD, the two BMWs drew swords and began fencing. The first blow went to Madness Motorworks, who set a time of 8.506sec at 88.21mph.
It took Groma Fabrications awhile to dial in their 325i V8 but they soon hit 8.361 at 91.93mph and the battle was on. Within two runs they were down to 8.175sec at 93.16mph, but didn't get close again for over an hour.
In the meantime, the MM 135i was pounding the track, attempting to beat the E30. It appeared as if they couldn't close the final tenths of a second until they pulled off an 8.123 at 90.22mph.
The Groma E30 had been running all morning, the team beating on it mercilessly, but now they redoubled their efforts, hitting 8.119sec within a couple of runs.
The MM team couldn't believe it. They ran back for the 1-Series and got to work again. Try as they might, they couldn't improve on their time, and an 8.064 at 92.57mph from Groma sealed their fate.
With second place decided, it gave Groma enough points to take the award for best RWD car at etGP08, leaving MM to lick their wounds in third. This also meant the FWD cars would be vying for fourth, fifth and sixth places, as well as the title of best FWD.
As soon as the track opened, FocusSport and Bahn Brenner were leaving stripes of Conti rubber on the California Speedway. Kinetic joined them later in the morning but all three struggled with grip as their powerful turbo motors overcame the available grip.
They started in the low 10s and high 9s as each team discovered the best launch program for their set up. It quickly became apparent BBM should have entered their KTM motorbike after it ran 8.2sec in the morning! However, they persisted with the Rabbit and finally hit 9.119sec at 88.02mph. This looked good enough to win the FWD class, since both Kinetic and Focus Sport were hovering in the mid-9s all morning.
On the final run of the 2008 GP, Sean Van Neer from Kinetic set a 9.363 at 84.03mph and thought he hedged out the Focus. What he didn't know was that just moments before, the Ford had surprised everybody by running 8.860 at 89.89mph on its final run. Even the team couldn't explain how they'd knock off so much time but it gave them the honor of being the fastest FWD car at the drag strip. However, the overall FWD award for etGP08 went to Kinetic, thanks largely to its stunning dyno performance.
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