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Motonishi Earns First Gumout Super Challenge Win At Tire Rack SCCA El Toro Pro Solo

Longtime top soloist Ken Motonishi had never made it past round eight in a Gumout Super Challenge at a Tire Rack SCCAProSolo event and wasn’t about to waste a chance to finally grab that elusive win this weekend at the El Toro Pro Solo in Irvine, Calif.

Motonishi qualified for the elimination-bracket Gumout Super Challenge as just the fourth-quickest driver in the 26-car Street Touring R class.

Once in, however, the work was hardly done. Motonishi’s OS Giken/A.R.E./bjoinfilms.com Mazda MX-5 was matched against Andy McKee’s Goodyear/A.R.E./Sias Tuning/7parts.com Mazda RX-7. Motonishi knew that McKee’s RX-7 would be much quicker on the second run once the tires were warmed, but was only able to carry a narrow lead after the first pair of runs. By his own accord, Motonishi drove his best lap of the event to keep the margin over McKee and motor on to Round Two. After dodging that bullet, Motonishi was able to settle in and run consistent laps to move through the field.

Motonishi disposed of Doug Rowse’s D Street Prepared-leading Hoosier/Evolution/Cortez BMW 330 in the second round and exorcised his round-of-eight demons with a win against Ryan Buetzer’s ChaseCam/Albin Bowling Supply Pontiac Solstice to move into the semi-finals.

Not ready to miss an opportunity, Motonishi locked down Morgan Trotter’s Road Tire C2 Motorsports/TheRacersStore.com Dodge SRT-4 in the round of four. In the opposite bracket, Steve Lau’s A Stock qualifying Porsche Cayman topped best-qualifying Street Modified’s Mike Simanyi (OS Giken/ABL Original Parts BMW M3) to square off with Motonishi in the championship round.

While Motonishi was landing the Gumout Super Challenge title, Simanyi bested Trotter for third place.

Christine Grice drove her top qualifying Berry Family Racing/Hoosier/OS Giken Mitsubishi Evo to the Ladies Challenge title over Nicole Nagler. Nagler was the top qualifier in Ladies Class 3, driving the Toyo Tires/ProParts USA Honda Civic past Kim Whitener to make the finals. Grice topped Round 1 Ladies Challenge winner Shelly Monfort in the semi-finals.

The Tire Rack ProSolo Series returns to action Memorial Day weekend in a tune-up for the finale at the Lincoln ProSolo at Lincoln Airpark and hosted by the Nebraska Region. The Tire Rack ProSolo event will take place Friday and Saturday, May 25-26, followed by a Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour event, May 27-28.

Information, including results, from the El Toro ProSolo is available here.

References:

SCCA Inc. http://www.scca.com/news/index.cfm?cid=51017

Tire Rack SCCA Tour Makes Waves in San Diego with Gumout Golf

The San Diego Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour event is one of the season favorites, combining the scenic location and Southern California sunshine with the Qualcomm Stadiumparking lot that is a solo event dream – elevation changes and enough space to lay out an excellent course.

Multi-time E Modified champion Jeff Kiesel designed this year’s layout, taking advantage of that space to design a fast, flowing course. The competition remained tight, with no class battle tighter than the H Stock competition, won by Barbara LeRoy-Boehme by just 0.159-second over Joseph Austin. LeRoy-Boehme, from San Diego, won the class in the C2 Mini Cooper.

The San Diego Super Tour was the first round of 2012 to host the Gumout Collegiate Shootout. The program pits area Formula SAE teams head-to-head behind the wheel of the Gumout “Use Your Motorhead” Project Volkswagen Golf, with each driver getting three runs on the course in San Diego. Elias Izpisua-Rodriguez, from USC, captured the first title over UC-San Diego’s Andrew Homan by 0.302-second, with Richard Mazur from Arizona State University in third.

Elsewhere in class competition, Josh Salvage grabbed the lead during Saturday’s runs in the FF Tech Mitsubishi Evo and held off day-two charges from co-driver Sean O’Boyle and Ken Motonishi to take his first-ever National Tour victory.

Twenty-five Stock Category drivers elected to participate in the indexed Road Tire classes in San Diego. New to the National Tour events in 2012, the Road Tire classes are split into simplified Road Tire FWD and Road Tire RWD classes, where Morgan Trotter took the FWD win in the Chula Vista Photo Dodge SRT-4 ACR that would typically have been classed in G Stock, while Stephen Hui’s Honda S2000 snagged the win in the class for rear-wheel drive cars.

Street Touring R, which is traditionally the largest class at a Tire Rack National Tour event, didn’t disappoint in sunny California. When the dust settled on the 32-car class, Jeff Cawthorne had posted a 0.782-second win in a Honda S2000. Jonathan Lugod’s A.R.E./C2 Motorsports Honda S2000 was second, followed by Bob Endicott’s King Motorsports Honda S2000.

The long history of Lotus was on display in Super Street Prepared at San Diego. While Jason Uyeda grabbed the win in a 2005 Lotus Elise by 0.274-second over a similar machine piloted by Jason Munchof, Ted Lewis was driving his 1965 Lotus Elan to third place – just 0.278-second behind Uyeda’s class win.

The Tire Rack Solo National Tour meets up in the Nebraska Region for the 2012 Lincoln National Tour Central States Championship on Memorial Day weekend, May 27-28, in a four-day event that also includes a Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo stop. The event held at the Lincoln Airpark in a preview for the season-ending Tire Rack SCCA National Championship event and is expected to attract competitors from across the country.

More information on the SCCA Solo programs is available at www.scca.com/solo.

References:

SCCA Inc. http://www.scca.com/events/news.cfm?eid=3597&cid=51001

VW Exhaust Project

With the racing season starting up we thought it was time to make some modifications to the Gumout VW Golf.  Brian Harmer an SCCA Rally/Solo Competition Manager shared his thoughts on the new exhaust modification.

My feel for the new exhaust is that it made the car a lot more fun to drive. I drove the car to the exhaust shop with the stock exhaust and it was very quiet. You could kind of hear the intake on it but no exhaust noise. With that little bit of noise it made it more challenging to rev match downshifts. When I first started the car with the new exhaust I did what most people do when they have a new exhaust on it and revved it up. Before I did that I was a little afraid that the setup we had talked about with the exhaust shop would either make it too loud and/or too raspy. The setup we went with was a 2.5” catback with mandrel bends, no resonator and one Magnaflow muffler. Revving it up for the first time I was eased when I heard a little bit more noise but not something that was ear bleeding. I also heard what I described as a typical German car exhaust noise. I think most will tell you that sound that I describe is a nice note that is welcomed by many. Driving the car with this new exhaust was a lot of fun. Being able to hear the car now just made it sportier. Rev matching downshifts were now a lot easier and just overall a hoot to drive. Power wise I didn’t really notice much. The biggest thing from this catback was the weight savings. The original catback had a “pre-muffler”, large resonator and a fairly large muffler. If I had to guess I would think the car lost about 40 pounds with this new setup.  I have to believe that with this new exhaust it will be more fun and maybe even a little bit easier to drive being able to hear what is going on with the engine.

Here are some photos from the modification.

Fuel Additives Reality vs. Fiction

Have you ever stood in front of the fuel additive section at your local auto parts store and found yourself perplexed? It is a bit overwhelming trying to determine what each product does, what’s in them and if the claims are legit. A lot of times you are trying to fix a fuel system related issue but don’t know what is causing the root problem and tearing the engine apart doesn’t necessarily fit into your weekend plans. The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, so let’s take a look at the fuel additive category and break it down into easy to digest bites:

Types of fuel additives

Typically there are 4 types of cleaning related fuel additives: gas treatments, fuel injector cleaners, fuel system cleaners, and multi-system cleaners. There may be different variants of these types, but for the most part all fuel additives fall into one of these categories.

Gas treatments are typically the lowest priced fuel additive, but they also offer the fewest product benefits.

Fuel Injector Cleaners are the next step up and offer the largest variety of choices, but most tend to offer similar benefits. These products will offer more advantages than a gas treatment.

Fuel System Cleaners are the top shelf option in fuel additives; they have more robust formulations, additional claims and benefits compared to gas treats and fuel injector cleaners, and a premium price to go with them.

Multi-system cleaners include products that claim to work in the crankcase and the fuel system. Pour them in and they do it all. If it were only that easy…we’ll discuss this in detail later on.

So how do these fuel additives solve the poor combustion problems?

As mentioned before, detergents and other additives are put into fuel additives to clean fuel system parts and sometimes lubricate the upper cylinder.

Gas treatments tend to have PIB or PIBA based detergents and the dose rate is typically very low. They do a decent job of removing water and some may keep new deposits from forming on fuel system parts (also known as the “keep clean” effect), but they don’t remove existing deposits.

Fuel Injector/Carb Cleaners also have PIB or more likely PIBA detergents with a higher dose rate. The more of the nitrogen based additive in the formulation means:

• more cleaning power to remove existing deposits,
• more parts are cleaned,
• an increased length of time the “keep clean” effect lasts,
• it will clean up the parts in one tank full
• longer times between application

If the directions state to use the product every fill up, the detergent is going to be weaker and the additive dose rate lower compared to those that say to use it every oil change, 3000+ miles or 10 fill ups.

Most truly effective fuel system cleaners utilize PEA based detergents and offer the best cleaning power of any of the fuel additives on the market. Not only do they clean better than PIB or PIBA, they can clean more fuel system parts. It takes an extremely powerful detergent to remove the pressure cooked deposits found on cylinder heads, piston tops and combustion chamber walls, and PEA can do this. In direct injection systems it will also clean up the injectors and keep them clean. Gumout has a few items in their portfolio including Regane, High Mileage Regane and All in One Complete Fuel treatments. Chevron Techron pour in fuel additives also have this type of detergent. Check out the various manufacturers’ websites, MSDS and Technical bulletins and you may find what types of additives they use in their formula.

There are other additives besides detergents that help the efficacy of the product. Among these are dispersants, lubricants and friction modifiers. If any of these products also have an upper cylinder lubricant in the formula, make sure it is not mineral oil based. This type of lubricant can actually cause new deposits to form because it is cooked onto surfaces before it can do any actual lubricating. Plus, you will get increased tail pipe smoke because the oil is being burned up and sent out in the exhaust – same effect as oil blow by caused by worn cylinder rings. However, if the product has a friction modifier, it can actually reduce friction in the upper cylinder, resulting in improved combustion, lower heat and reduced wear. Gumout’s All in One complete fuel system cleaner has this typed of additive.

Lastly, there are a few products on the market called multi-system cleaners. They claim to solve a multitude of problems in the fuel system and oil crankcase; however, each of these delivery system can have separate issues that require specific types of additives and detergents to fix the problems. Often times these additives do not interact well and can cause more issues than solve them. Some of these brands will say that you can see them work because more smoke will come out your exhaust pipe meaning the deposits are being burned off, but in reality they have introduced a mineral oil into the combustion chamber causing the smoke and actually creating new deposits. Also, many of these additives will actually dilute the motor oil lessening its overall effectiveness. As much as we’d all like to have one product to solve all of our oil and fuel related problems, reality is that modern engines require built for purpose additives to address many of the issues that arise in the fuel system and oil crankcase.

So to recap, there are different types of fuel additives on the market and you will have to determine what kind is the best fit for you based on the issues you are having.  Fuel additives, as a whole, can help most of these problems, but only if they have formulations that will actually do what the label says they will do. The key thing to remember is that it takes a powerful detergent to reach all areas of the fuel system, and as new engine technologies advance, the more important it will be to use a complete fuel system cleaner. Lastly, make sure you pay attention to the amount of gallons that are treated and how long the product will last; you may think paying ten bucks for an additive is crazy, but you could end up spending a lot more than that if the product doesn’t fit your needs.

Cleaner parts = better performance.

Finding the Cheapest Gas Prices: There’s an app for that!

Gas prices, they are a climbing. Unfortunately we can’t do anything to actually lower the damage to your wallet when you’re at the pump, but what we can do is help you find the cheapest prices in town (wherever that may be)!

Check out this list of some of the best smart phone applications available to help you track down the lowest prices when you need to fill up:

 
Apple iPhone:

• Gas Buddy:  Find the cheapest gas on the go – for free! In one click, locate gas stations near you and see their current gas prices. Never overpay for gas again. Online link: Gas Buddy

• Local Gas Prices: Compare the best rates for gas any time of the day – for free! A true money saver for any traveler. Online link: Local Gas Prices

• Gas Cash-Ometer: Something you may not want to know but you can benefit from is knowing how much to budget each year for gas. Sounds crazy but if gas is one of you largest purchases each month it may be good to know what you can expect to spend right? Online link: Gas Cash-Ometer

• iGasUp:  Find the closest gas stations around, get the cheapest prices, and directions to the gas stations!  Find it in the app store on your iPhone!

 
Android & Windows Phone:

• Gas Buddy: Find the cheapest gas on the go – for free! In one click, locate gas stations near you and see their current gas prices. Never overpay for gas again. Online link: Gas Buddy

• Cheap Gas Finder by Murphy USA: Access real-time gas prices for Murphy USA and Murphy Express stations near you, and even compare the prices of gas to nearby competitor gas stations. Keep saving money with downloadable coupons. Online link: Murphy USA

• Cheap Gas: This one is pretty self-explanatory…it helps you find the cheapest prices but only in the USA. Online link: Cheap Gas

A Motorhead’s Dream: Learn How to be a Race Car Driver – Day 3

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been chronicling the experience of our friend, Graham Stone, as he takes the wheel into his own hands at the Skip Barber Racing School. 

As promised, Graham is back for his final week to give us an inside view of his last adrenaline filled day on the track: 

“As before, the day alternated between time spent learning techniques and safety from Don and his team in the classroom, then putting the learnings into practice on the race track.  The first class this morning was on passing followed by an exercise driving fast into the 90 degree left turn at the end of the back straight with cones simulating a car on the right side. The idea was to show the braking needed to pass a car on the inside at a sharp turn, and the extra braking and car control needed to turn the car when the radius of the turn was made smaller (remember 15GR=MPH^2).  Another adrenaline inducing moment the first few times, but practice and comments received at the stop box improved speed and confidence around the corners.

 Next was a short class on double file and single file starts and restarts, then we were on the track again. Two double file rolling starts and one single file start behind a pace car followed by track laps and comments at the stop box.  The excitement of starting in a pack increased the adrenalin surge, as one must now look out for the cars around, drive in a predictable line AND remember to change gear when the RPM hits the rev limiter.  Ask me how I learned this?!

 After lunch and a short discussion on passing etiquette, we were back on the track for laps with passing allowed on the three straight parts of the course. Three sessions with increasing speeds until we were allowed unlimited revs and speed on the third session. Maximum speed I attained was 104 mph on the long straight, but there were others faster than I – I have an in-car video to prove both the 104 mph and the cars passing me at the beginning of the back straight.

 We all graduated from the class and are now eligible to continue our quest towards obtaining an SCCA license to drive in a race.  This class allows us to obtain a regional SCCA license to compete in local and regional races.  Further classes to build more skills are required to obtain a national SCCA license.

This was an amazing experience.  The Skip Barber instructors are professional and very competent.  Their knowledge and guidance helped build confidence, speed and my competence.  While I now know not to quit my day job and pursue the career of a professional race car driver, I enjoyed the experience so much that I will be back to take additional classes to improve my track management, cornering and braking techniques to gain increased speed, and one day next year I will enter my first race in a Skip Barber MX-5.  The dream lives on – in modified form.”

Click here for a behind the wheel video of Graham’s experience!

Here’s a collection of Graham’s photos.

A Motorhead’s Dream: Learn How to be a Race Car Driver – Day 2

Last week our friend Graham Stone took us behind the wheel during his first day at Skip Barber Racing School.  As we learned last week, day 1 was mostly spent off-track learning the ins-and-outs of racing . 

As promised, Graham is back again this week to give us an inside view of his experience – which gets a bit more high speed: 

“This was the second day of the three day school and we spent a lot of time on the track.  After a short discussion in the classroom we went out on the track with instructions to change gear at 5,500 rpm and keep top speeds below 75 mph.  Don, Kyle and Grayson positioned themselves around the track and on each lap we stopped in the middle of the main straight and received an analysis, by radio, of our track abilities from one or all of the three instructors.  There were three sessions of this with each session increasing the change gear rpm and the allowable top speed.  I was getting more comfortable in the car and slowly finding the correct line around the corners that results in the shortest time and highest speeds.

After lunch we had a lecture on braking and then were back on the track to practice high speed braking at the hairpin at the end of the back straight and braking in the turn.  At this stage in our learning the stop box was positioned so the maximum speed we could reach approaching the corner was around 80 mph in 4^th gear.  We were instructed to brake late and hard and change to 3^rd gear, trail the brake into the start of the first right angle turn, then accelerate hard out of the turn and through the apex of the next right angle turn and change into fourth as you crest the hill heading towards the start-finish line.  I swallowed hard to put my heart back into place, and drove around the track to the stop box to get comments on my performance before repeating the exercise.  

A classroom session followed to analyze what we learned in braking and to spend time discussing driving in the rain and driving at new tracks before we went back onto the track for a final session of the day to perfect techniques.  Kyle gave us a demonstration of the flags used to control the race, discussing what each flag means and the action a driver must take when he sees the flag.  Once again the stop box was in operation along the back straight with the instructors placed around the track.

Day 2 was another excellent day. Very enjoyable, very instructional. The instructors were very competent, the Skip Barber organization is very professional.”

Here are a couple photos from Graham’s second day .  Check back next week for details on Day 3 and a video of his driving experience!

A Motorhead’s Dream: Learn How to be a Race Car Driver

We all do it.  We sit in front of the TV watching the races or stand on the sidelines of the race track secretly wishing we knew how to drive like that.  Well, the SCCA has a solution and it’s called the Skip Barber Racing School.  The racing school owns and operates five prestigious open-wheel and Mazda MX-5, equal-car racing championships – four for amateur drivers and one for professional competitors. 

We were lucky enough to have our friend, Graham Stone behind the wheel at the school and he shared his experience with us.  Here is what Graham had to say about Day 1:

“Friday morning was cold and bright.  The sun rose in the east and gradually burnt off the previous night’s frost as I drove north from Atlanta on the I-85 to the outskirts of the small town of Braselton and a race track built in the rolling hills.  I arrived at the race track at 7:45 am and easily found the Skip Barber building. Parked on the road outside the building were six Mazda MX-5 sports car and twenty open-wheel Mazda formula cars.  I was at the right place.

After checking in, signing the requisite waivers and being fitted for a helmet and a driving suit, the six of us in the MX-5 school were taken by bus to the press center next to the track where we were introduced to our instructors – Don Kurtschall, Grayson Upchurch and Kyle Shields. All three of the instructors were veteran racers, who not only know how to race, but have actually done it many times. Don was the lead teacher.

We spent the first three hours in class learning about race car driving, what is the best line around a corner and making sure we understood the equation 15 GR = (mph)^2. Which translates to the square root of 15 x (gravity) g force x radius of a bend = max mph you can go round a curve.  For example, at 1 g side force on a 100 ft radius curve, the maximum speed is 38 mph.

Don has been driving race cars for more than 30 years and has been teaching people to drive race cars for 20 years.  He knows how to explain the theory behind driving a race care fast around the circuit, what to do and what not to do, and as we were to see later, he can demonstrate the techniques on the race course in a race tuned Mazda Speed 3.  After the lesson and pep talk we got into the cars for our first ride – driving in third gear around cones at the highest possible speed to feel the sensation of a car drifting.

After a break for lunch we were back in the cars practicing heel and toe shifting on a long straightaway in the second pit area. The drill was to accelerate hard until reaching the cones, then downshift from 4th to 3rd to 2nd keeping our foot on the brake and blipping the accelerator with your heel to equalize rear wheel speeds.

Then we were finally on the race track, driving the MX-5′s in groups of two following one of the instructors, emulating his line and speed.  Each of the sessions was followed by a discussion about what was being done right and what was wrong, then at the end of the day we were sent out on the track with instructions to change gear at 5,000 rpm and keep top speed at 70 mph.

An amazing day, my first time driving a race car. It was an exhilarating adrenalin inducing experience that takes time to understand. After the first day, I made progress, but there were others in the class with previous experience who were faster than I. Tomorrow will be another exciting day as I build competence and speed.”

Here are some photos from Graham’s first day as a “race car driver”.  Check back next week for details on Day 2!

Use Your Motorhead Before Winter Hits!

Now that racing season is over, we’re hard at work getting the Golf ready for next year. Here’s a few ways you can get your own ride ready for the off-season:

• Check your anti-freeze.  The best ratio of anti-freeze to water is 50/50.  The number one cause of engine-related breakdowns is cooling system failure.
• Replace your windshield wiper blades twice a year.  Fill the windshield washer reservoir with freeze resistant wiper fluid and an extra gallon in the trunk.
• Check your battery.  If your battery is more than 3 years old, have a technician test it.  Make sure the battery terminal ends are corrosion-free.
• Check your tire pressure.  Check the pressure while the tires are cold, and set the pressure to the car manufacturer’s recommendations for your specific tires.
• Look at the tread depth on your tires.  Put a penny headfirst between the threads.  If you can see the top of Lincoln’s hair, its time to replace the tire.
• Check your spare tire.  Make sure it has the proper pressure and thread and all the appropriate tire-changing equipment is in the vehicle.
• Check that your lights, heater, and defroster are working properly.
• Check all rubber hoses and belts to ensure they are not damaged.
• Have your car’s brake system checked if you haven’t done so in the past six months.

No doubt, driving in the winter can be very dangerous and unpredictable.  However, if you follow these tips and use your Motorhead, you should be in top form when it’s time to hit the track again in the spring.

Gumout & Jotech Motorsports – A Match Made in GTR Heaven

Jotech Motorsports is a specialized and experienced high-performance auto shop. With more than 50 wins on the drag racing circuit, they’ve been delivering proven performance on and off the track for the last decade. Consistency, hard work and dedication is in their blood.

As Jotech specializes in automotive aftermarket high-performance upgrades and modifications, it made sense for Gumout to become a part of their sponsor family.  Last week, we teamed up with Jotech and Black Magic Car Care at SEMA 2011 and presented this little beauty Jotech likes to call the Lambo Green Gumout GT-R.  Without further adieu, Motorheads, here she is for your viewing pleasure:

The Gumout Lambo Green GTR at SEMA

Up close and personal with the Gumout/Jotech Lambo Green GTR

Lambo Green GTR at SEMA

The view from behind

For more information about this car check out the Jotech site here: http://jotechracing.com/newspost/lambo-green-gt-r-now-stage-4/