Turbo by Garrett GTX3582R Turbo
The Turbo by Garrett GTX3582R Turbocharger is the preeminent reason for our success on track. If there was one piece of the puzzle that is most critical to our success by itself it would have to be the turbocharger and Turbo by Garrett makes the best forced induction devices on the planet. The record speaks for themselves with Garrett being at the peak of nearly every form of motorsports in the world having teams in every professional series including the #44 SOHO Motorsports G35 in Global Time Attack. But before Garrett was a sponsor of ours we had already been using their products on our car and for good reason, it simply is the best turbocharger on the market.
The SOHO Motorsports single turbo kit we sell to the public and also run on our SOHO built Nissan VQ35DE RevUp engine utilizes the Turbo by Garrett GTX2582R Turbocharger with 1.01 V-Band housing. This turbo is the perfect size for our built 3.5 liter engine and has a tremendously consistent power band from 3200rpm all the way to 7800rpm. On our setup the turbo hits just as hard in the low rpm's as the high rpm's and never runs out of room even on our modest boost setting of 13 lbs at 550hp and 540tq. The power is consistent and throttle modulation is unbelievably crisp with almost absolutely no lag whatsoever, which is crucial for getting out of the turns as fast as possible. I will admit a lot of the turbo's successful performance comes from the SOHO Turbo Kit design and the awesome tune by Nik, but compared to results from other turbos we have seen and customer systems we have tuned, the Garrett series of turbos always out perform and leave us surprised at their amazing performance whether on the dyno, street or track. Check out Turbo by Garrett's interactive website that will easily show you which turbo application is best for your specific vehicle by clicking the link above.
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Hankook Ventus TD Tires
The consistency of the tire at its traction limit is unparalleled and is very responsive to the driver. It takes a good amount to get these unbelievably sticky tires to break loose but when they do it is easily manageable in any weather. After many track hours in every condition possible from pouring rain to damp to hot and dry and on multiple different road courses up and down the east coast the Hankook Ventus TD's are by far the fastest and most responsive 80 treadwear tire I have ever driven. Available in both a soft and a hard compound they offer grip like full racing slicks but in a package that is capable of being fast in any weather condition and class legal. In fact I remember laughing in the rain at NJMP when I was passing spinning Corvettes on slicks and Toyo's while I drove by like my Ventus TD's were on autopilot.
Not only is the tire consistent in its response to the driver but even the building tire pressures are very predictable and manageable. We usually start a session with 28 psi in the front and 26 in the rear and come back in at 31/30 (depending on the track) giving us multiple laps at the perfect pressure for each session. I will say that with all of the great things I have to say about the Hankook Ventus TD tire there is one issue I do have; available tire sizes. The sizing of these tires are very limited not only in diameter but in width as well, forcing us to actually run a smaller tire this season 285/30/18 front and 295/30/18 rear (down from 295/35/18 and 305/35/18 on Toyo's and Hoosiers). But even with the smaller tire we seem to have copious amounts of grip so not that big of a deal on our application but may be an issue for some. We look forward to continuing to run our Hankooks and hopefully add to the podium collection for the Ventus TD team. For more info visit the Hankook Ventus TD website and check back for updates to this review throughout the season.
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Competition Clutch Twin Disc
Competition Clutch is based in Atlanta, GA and being so close to us we have known them for a few years now and have grown a relationship with the guys over there over the years to the point where we even helped them test out a ceramic clutch for the new Evo on our shop SOHO Evo X in 2011 and even have one of their clutches on our SOHO Turbo 350Z. So when our Exedy Twin Disk Carbon clutch (installed a long time ago) finally reached its limit and could no longer handle the power of our VQ we logically called up the guys at Competition Clutch and asked them what they had for our application. Much to our surprise they informed us that they had actually just built a new Twin Disk Carbon Kevlar Clutch specifically for high horsepower G35's and 350Z's and they had one prototype version sitting on the shelf waiting for this moment. With Global Time Attack Road Atlanta literally a few days away they shipped the clutch to us asap.
When we got the clutch and took it apart to install on the #44 G35 our first thoughts were how pretty it is but most importantly the design on this thing was seemingly bullet proof. After a simple straightforward install and slapping our newest sponsor's decal on the car we were ready to test it out at one of the best road courses in America; Road Atlanta. This would be the perfect place to test out a clutch with 12 unique turns and many different high speed sectors followed by hard braking zones with quick downshifts we knew we would surely put it through its paces quickly.
Immediately on the first lap I was impressed by the clutch. It was unbelievably smooth and the pedal was no where near as stiff as one would think and very easy to find the sweet spot. The carbon kevlar twin disc design is smooth as butter but catches hard when you need it to giving you the best of both worlds. I have driven triple disc clutches that are no where near as smooth as the Competition Clutch Twin Carbon Kevlar Clutch and this one is no where near the price of its competitors. If you are in the market for a twin disc clutch for your G35 or 350Z this is the perfect setup no matter what your power level from 300 to 900 this clutch is amazing.
After many track days on this clutch in the 2013 season it is still just as perfect as the first day in the car, the more I drive it the more I love it. The engage point is still in the same consistent spot and the shifts are still perfectly crisp. Not only does Competition Clutch make amazing products but they are a great group of people and we are very happy to have them on our team and run their products in all of our cars.
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TurboSmart e-Boost 2
"e-Boost2 allows the user to control, monitor, map and compensate boost. But e-Boost2 is a lot more than just a boost controller – it can also control water spray, methanol or nitrous injection, manage shift/warning lights and read/monitor RPM. While e-Boost2 is fitted with a state-of-the art software, it has been designed to be easy and logical to use."
Most electronic boost controllers are well to be honest they are a pain in the ass. They never seem to do exactly what you want them to do and half the time the instructions are in Japanese.... yes I'm talking to you HKS! But any way with my rant done, I'm a simple fella who doesnt like bs and that is why the TurboSmart e-Boost 2 is in my opinion the best EBC on the market. With a stylish gauge plate and available in two sizes and colors the e-Boost 2 looks great in any vehicle. But more importantly its simple to use, works perfect every time and offers a myriad of different control functions that may be unnecessary for the average user but are a very nice feature for anyone looking to master a race tune.
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Mishimoto Racing Radiator
With the rebuild of the #44 G35 changing the front end a drastic amount with the tied in tubular front end we had to change a few things around to make things fit properly. One of those changes was kicking the turbo and down pipe over from the driver headlight about 6 inches inward to avoid a new down bar on the chassis. Unfortunately when we moved this over the current OEM replacement Mishimoto radiator we were running had to be swapped out for one 6 inches less in width. After doing the math and measuring twice we found an available universal radiator from our sponsor Mishimoto Automotive that not only was the perfect dimensions with the smaller width but also with its larger height and thickness actually gave us an increase of cooling capacity.
Once we had the radiator mounted with it getting as much air as possible and separating it from the hot intercooler air the care ran absolutely amazing and never had any overheating issues at all. The new radiator paired with the Mishimoto thermostat and Mishimoto coolant reservoir overheating is never a worry on the #44 G35 thanks to the great cooling components from Mishimoto Automotive.
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Computech Datamaxx LCD Dash
Computech Systems is a family run and operated company that specializes in racing electronics from digital dat displays to full can bus data acquisition systems to weather analyzation software to keep your race car tuned perfect at all times. The family that runs it just so happens to be my family. Created over 25 years ago by my father when he realized the need for and developed his own data acquisition systems for his blown alcohol dragster. It has since gone from a small garage company to a world renowned leader in racing electronics with a large presence in drag racing.
One of Computech's most popular products is RaceAir Weather Station, which gives precise weather measurements in a portable package which is crucial for proper tuning at the drag strip and is use by nearly all professional NHRA teams. We use the RaceAir to record all weather data along side the massive amounts of vehicle data we get from the other most popular Computech product; the DataMaxx. Featuring a beautiful LCD digital display with custom user defined settings the Computech DataMaxx is the epitome of data acquisition systems. With a custom can bus design the DataMaxx can handle an infinite number of channels (based on number of module add-on's) of nearly any type of sensor from digital to analog and they are easily calibrated and monitored via the included RaceBase software.
On our #44 SOHO Motorsports Time Attack G35 we use the Computech Datamaxx Digital Dash and Data Acquisition System along with various Computech sensors that allows us to see everything the car is doing on the LCD display and on the computer. We watch every aspect of the vehicle from throttle input to intake temperatures to individual wheel speed to brake pressures to shock travel to well you get the point, a lot of stuff! And here is the best part: all of that info is transferred unbelievably quickly via SD card to your computer. Its a simple as run, record, pop the SD card out and into the computer and there is all of your info neatly and nicely displayed in the provided software. It truly is the best data acquisition system on the market (bias aside) and is the also one of the best priced as well. For more info visit the Computech website.
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Haltech Platinum Pro ECU
I have been racing my G35 in some form or another for over 6 years and in that time I have gone through my fair share of ecu management products. When I first bought the car as a previous Subaru owner I bought a Cobb AccessPort but the capabilities were very limited. Once we originally built the car we had talked to UpRev about their Osiris and decided to use that with much success but even that was limited compared to some of the other options on the market. That's when the Haltech Platinum Pro Plug In ECU for Z33's was employed to control absolutely everything completely replacing the factory module.
Haltech is not only the best ecu management system for G35's and 350Z's but it also offers the most control out of any other product on the market. "Fully programmable ECU interfacing directly with all the standard Nissan sensors and on board computer systems. Taking control of all the essential engine management tasks such as fuel delivery, ignition timing, boost levels, camshaft positioning and correction maps, the Platinum Pro Plug-in 350Z (Z33) ECU even interfaces with the factory Nissan CAN bus for on-board diagnostics and troubleshooting." So far the Haltech has worked like a dream and is our favorite system to tune on at SOHO Motorsports not only on customer cars but our race car. For more info on the details and full list of features please visit the Haltech website.
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SPL Parts Pro offers multiple high quality suspension components that are above and beyond the many brands that clutter the market. Their unique approach to design and durability is something we absolutely love since we beat the heck out of our #44 Time Attack G35. SPL offers a full line of components for many vehicles including a full suite for G35's and 350's including control arms, end links, toe arms, camber links, traction links, tie rod ends and a full array of solid bushing for the entirety of the chassis.
Our #44 G35 is equipped with the entire SPL product line and is the reason our car is always aligned and dialed in perfect for race day. All of their products feature large spherical bearings for a high degree of rotation when needed along with a very beefy design meant to sustain even the worst track offs and incidents. Speaking off, when we wrecked the G35 in 2012 not a single SPL components broke which was astonishing for the intensity of the impact. Nearly every product they make when compared to some of their competitors is double the size and feature designs that are specific to SPL. And to make it even better I have had the pleasure of meeting the guys who runs SPL down in Texas at the 2012 Z Nationals and they are a great group of people that are truly passionate enthusiasts themselves. Check out the full line of SPL Parts Pro Suspension Components on their website and give us a call at SOHO Motorsports to order your parts today!
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Carbotech Brake Pads
