COBB Tuning Blog

This event was very special to me; it’s one of those moments that you will remember for the rest of your life. First of all I would like to thank everyone that has helped me get to where I am today. Without you guys I would have not been this successful. My weekend started on Saturday which is a practice day. Practice was great because I’ve been to the track already; I didn’t exactly have to spend my day learning the course like usual. I just had to concentrate on cleaning up my lines and where I could go faster. When I was last at Auto Club Speedway, I hit a 2:04 in my time attack session, I happened to beat that time with a passenger in my car so I knew for sure that my set up was a lot faster than the one I had in May.

Sunday is when times actually count. In racing not everything runs smoothly and anything can happen at any time. An hour before my first qualifying session we were bleeding my brakes and found out I had a cracked brake rotor. Thank god I didn’t go out on track with that or it would have been disaster. I happened to have a spare rotor but it was located 40 minutes away. It would take at least 2 hours to come back to the track, but during the 2 hours I happened to miss both qualifying sessions. I wasn’t too worried because for the championship all I had to do was complete a timed lap, but I didn’t want to just do a lap I wanted to take the gold home too with a 1st place.

When we got the brakes back together and the fluid bled we checked all the necessities and everything looked good. I then started driving the car around to bed in the brake pads into the new rotors. After that I had to wait around an hour for the first time attack session. The first time attack session came and I was actually nervous and excited. I couldn’t believe that I was a lap away from winning my first championship, but I really wanted to give it my all and try to take home a first place. I ran the time attack session and felt really good about my laps but they possibly could have been a little cleaner. My team was very excited for me because they also knew that I had to just complete a lap for the championship, but I guess they were also excited because the lap time I pulled put me in 1st place ahead of 2nd by 8 seconds. I couldn’t believe how things were going after all the drama we had with the brake rotors.

I ran a 2:01 for my first time attack session. Knowing that I had the championship locked in I decided to try to go for the class record which is a 1:59.5. For my second time attack session I really gave it my all. I pushed my little Civic harder than I ever had. I felt really good about my laps and hoped I beat it, when the time sheets came I ended up not beating it but was very close. I ran a 2:00:097; half a second away. I still was in first ahead of second by 6 seconds. I couldn’t believe how things were coming together for me this weekend.

The awards ceremony came and I was seriously excited and nervous. I ended up taking 1st place and the Enthusiast FWD Championship, but then they started announcing awards that I didn’t even know existed. They were announcing the Rookie of the Year award and I couldn’t believe they were calling my name. It was seriously an honor to win that award and would like to thank everyone that picked me to win it. I seriously had a perfect weekend, but this wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for all the people that have helped me. To all my sponsors, family and friends that have helped me get to were I am today; Thank you. This is seriously a moment I’ll remember for life.

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I had been looking forward to the Redline Time Attack finale at Auto Club Speedway ever since our departure from the track following round 4, nearly 6 months ago. I was looking ahead to this last event of the year with high hopes in mind; my goals for this event were to clinch the AWD Street Tire Class record, showcase the progress the car has made, and ultimately leave the 2010-year on a very high-note. The racing god’s had other things in mind. The first signs of derailment presented themselves in the form of a parts supply miscommunication that subsequently left us high and dry without any parts for our transmission rebuild. I accepted this, and went into the weekend knowing very well that we could have issues with the transmission

Auto Club Speedway is one of the few North American Road courses that I can honestly say I love. That being said, it is also one of the most taxing on the driver. Intense G’s through the oval compounded by speeds in excess of 160 mph definitely take a toll on nerves. When the crew noticed my feet propped out the passenger side window, as I was fast asleep, what they may have failed to recognize was that this was a driver who was truly in his element. It was 70 degrees out, the banking of the Auto Club Speedway wrapped around my napping spot; I was brushed by a slight breeze and hummed to sleep by the endearing repetition of the ubiquitous impact gun. I can guarantee you that when passing by, no one could tell that beneath the contentment of that napping driver, was the fiery excitement and utter-eagerness that every driver feels before their first on-track of the weekend.

Considering the wounded state of my transmission, I made the call to limit on-track practice to a 3-lap session late in the day Friday. On my out lap the car shakedown went well, I picked up my visual cues with relative ease and started jotting down mental notes on possible setup changes. However, just as I began to setup for turn 1, the engine chose that moment to let go and cast doubt on the rest of weekend as well as cover the windscreen with coolant.

Just as I prepared for the first corner coming off the banking and 150+mph, the coolant catch-can had apparently pressurized to its venting point, and subsequently released a deluge of water across the windscreen. For this split second, it was quite frankly like driving blind. It was merely only a second, or even a fraction there of, but at those speeds in that environment it seemed like an eternity. At the time I was still questioning the cause of the spray, but following a quick tow back to our pit the crew had made a swift assessment. Things were not good. Our calibrator Tim Bailey needn’t utter more than the word “blown”, a particularly sensitive word for us Subaru guys, and it was ever apparent that the head gasket had disintegrated. I was back to my hurried, anxious self as I started making calls to our contacts in the LA area. One of my sponsors, Subaru of Ontario came through in a big way.

My contact Julian, compiled a complete gasket set from their dealership inventory, even scrounging a few from some friendly customers of the dealership. He personally delivered them to the track at around 9:00 Friday evening, along with the service departments only engine hoist. Following the acquisition of the requisite gaskets, the decision to do an on-track rebuild wasn’t even a matter of discussion. The crew just buckled down and dug in, by 11:30 the Cosworth long block was out of the car resting on a used tire, the heads were off and ready to accept the new gaskets. We wrapped up the gasket overhaul by lunchtime on Saturday, and the car was together and running by 1:30. This was no team Joest turn-around time, but for just a group of three I was ecstatic with the team’s ability to get the car back on track in running shape. Following two more shakedown laps, the car wasn’t just running, it was haulin’ some serious tail! Logs showed consistent oil pressure and reasonable water temps. With our engine issues out of the way, I made the call again to park the car until Sunday practice – the thought of potential transmission issues still loomed in the back of my mind.

Due to some minor mechanical issues that arose, we didn’t end up making it out on track until the first Time Attack session on Sunday afternoon. This may have been a blessing in disguise granted what happened next. Despite swapping to LIC’s trans fluid (which drastically reduced grinding between 5^th and 6^th), the 4^th gear synchro really started to go. Even on the warm up lap, the car would refuse to find 4^th, and would only occasionally engage. I figured after a night of engine work, there was no way I was about to let a failing synchro put us at the back of the pack. We may have been out of the hunt for a track record, but I was determined to get one, if only one, flying lap out of that car.

I went for it, with the transmission squawking back with every shift. Gary Sheehan shared some words with me prior to the session, “So you don’t have fourth gear, eh, it’s your job to make it work.” 4^th gear held together for about ¾ of a lap, and just as I tracked out onto the oval and made the move from 3^rd to 4^th gear it was unmistakable that 4^th had finally checked out. Much to my chagrin, I quickly popped the car into 5^th and completed the one timed lap of the weekend, 1.50.6, and good enough for 4th.

The finale at Auto Club this past weekend marked a bittersweet end to a fantastic season for me, the car, as well as the COBB Tuning Team as a whole. While I fell short of my track record aspirations, this particular event was the only one where we didn’t podium. This is an achievement that I am very proud of, and is one that we as a team collectively earned. I would like to give thanks to all of my sponsors who made this year a reality: Velocity Carbon, AST Suspensions, Jongbloed Wheels, Adrenaline Racing, MSI, Subaru of Ontario, OS Giken, and LIC Motorsports. Additionally, I would like to express special thanks to COBB Tuning and the COBB Tuning Motorsports crew for their sponsorship and support that kept me on podium. To my car chief Brian Marsteller, the individual with whom I worked closest with every weekend to squeeze those last few tenths out of the car, I extend a sincere thank you. Thanks to everyone who has followed our Facebook feed, snagged a poster or two, or been involved with our efforts this year. See you guys next year!

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LIC Motorsports recently made it’s final track appearance of the year at Auto Club Speedway for the 2010 Redline Time Attack Finale.

The long and demanding season had taken a toll on many teams, evident in a below average competitor turnout. Only the best prepared teams remained to fight for the last remaining Season Championship points. The reliable LIC Motorsports prepared Takata Impreza was in top form and ready to finish the season with a good result.

“After making steady improvements to the car throughout the year, we were anxious to return to Auto Club Speedway to evaluate how much faster the improvements have made the car”, said Noah Levy. “We were pleased to see James set a personal best lap time during practice on Saturday, indicating that the car was clearly faster than before. Furthermore we were running our engine at a conservative power level, so we expected even faster times during competition. Our practice day was relatively uneventful as we only made minor setup changes to the car and James was very satisfied about the car’s behavior.”

During Sunday’s first Time Attack session James struggled with traffic yet was able to post a time worthy of 3rd in class behind two Nissan GTRs. The Nissan GTRs were clearly taking advantage of their long legs by generating incredible speed on the front straight. The second Time Attack session yielded no change in the order. As the sun began to set on Sunday evening, the event’s fastest cars took to the track one last time to compete in the 5 lap sprint race. James started in the second row for the rolling start and drove a smooth and uneventful race to finish in 2nd in Modified.

“Although we weren’t fast enough to take the win this weekend, I am excited that we were able to improve upon our best lap from last May by over 1.5 seconds. This was accomplished only with suspension, brake, and aero tuning. Power levels were identical. The car is easily the fastest, most confidence inspiring, and fun car I have ever driven. Without a doubt it is one of the fastest track Subarus in the world. It was a real pleasure and an honor to pilot the car this year and it is very exciting to experience the incredible progression it has made at the hands of the Levy brothers of LIC Motorsports.”

With the points tallied, the Takata / LIC Team claimed 2nd for the season in Redline Time Attack’s seven race West-Championship. Despite leading the Championship for the first 4 races of the season, Brian Lock piloting the Cobb Nissan GTR surpassed the Takata / LIC Team in points to win the Championship by a small margin.

Noah Levy, Adam Levy, and James Elterman would like to thank friends, family, and sponsors for support of the Takata Time Attack / LIC Motorsports 2010 racing season.

Sponsors: Takata Racing Products / LIC Motorsports / Nitto Tire / Seibon Carbon / Cobb Tuning / Hawk Performance / Wheeldude.com / Solo Performance / JE Pistons

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This last weekend saw the final round of the Redline Time Attack at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and with just 21 points separating our GT-R from the 2^nd place Takata Time Attack/LIC Motorsports STI with over 40 points up for grabs in this final race, it was still anyone’s ball game!

A lot of work and new parts development went into the car for final weekend of Redline Time Attack at Auto Club Speedway, all in anticipation for an attempt at the GT-R’s first Super Modified Class overall track record. The COBB crew has not been satisfied with just taking Modified class track records at every event the GT-R has finished, we all wanted to get an overall track record. This would be the second attempt at the Auto Club track record, the first attempt was foiled by poor track and weather conditions, and a malfunctioning AWD system. Unfortunately the second attempt fell just short.

Due to driving the GT-R hard in the rain the event before, where excessive load was applied to the AWD clutches, they were not gripping like they should have been this weekend causing the car to behave mostly RWD just like the first Auto Club Speedway event. Our transmission clutch packs were also in need of replacement and were on their way out all weekend, keeping our testing time down to a minimum. Major splitter problems were also hindering the team, but the amazing “team of the year” COBB crew worked tirelessly, rebuilding the splitter multiple times over the weekend due to contact with the ground through the high g loading of the oval.

On race day, we put all this behind us and went for it. First up was the Modified Class Record Assault. The Fontana Nissan GT-R had also obviously under gone some changes since we last saw it, as it was hot on our heels and challenging us for first place. Mike Cronin Jr. broke our previous track record by a few tenths in his GT-R, but luckily we broke it by more! We turned a 1:40.3 to beat our previous record by almost 3-seconds. We were extremely excited as we were only able to muster a 1:41 and change the day before in testing on our used up slicks. We then came in, tried to cool the car down as much as possible, bolted on the sticky Yokohama A005 slicks, and went out for the Super Modified Record Assault. We backed up our fastest mod time with our fastest ever super mod time of a 1:37.5, over a second faster than we have ever gone. It wasn’t all that we wanted; we had hoped to be in the 36′s. But with an ailing car, we’ll take it!

The drop in laptime was mostly attributed to our master tuner Tim Bailey. I told him Sunday morning, “Give me all you got!” He loaded up a map that ran more boost than we have run before, and the car performed flawlessly for back to back Record Assault sessions. It’s really been this kind of expertise that all the COBB crew has shown behind the scenes, that has allowed me to perform like I have on track. Dustin Harris, my car chief, gave me so much confidence going out on track every session. And with Eric Bizek, his right hand man, there was nothing those two could not fix throughout the year. The GT-R is a beast of a car, and it was tamed by the COBB crew.

With another track record, a season championship, and a surprise “Team of the Year” award going to COBB Tuning Motorsports, I am filled with pride, and also a little sadness that the season is over. The season brought all the COBB shops together all over the country, to achieve greatness this year, and it will be a season to remember for years to come.

 

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The COBB Tuning Motorsports Team finished out the 2010 Redline Time Attack season as champions! Brian Lock and the Nissan GT-R clinched the Modified AWD Class Championship and Cameron Benner in his 2006 Subaru STI captured the Street Tire AWD Class Championship. This marks a fantastic end to a first-year effort with COBB Tuning fielding a full-season two-car time attack team. The team pushed the envelope with these two AccessPORT powered cars and are very proud of the performance of the racecars as well as the performance of the team!

The Modified class championship came down to the final event with just 21 points separating the 1st place COBB Tuning team and the 2nd place Takata Time Attack/LIC Motosports STI. With 40 points up for grabs, a mechanical failure or driver error on this high speed track could mean disaster. Running a car as powerful and technically advanced as the GT-R, the specter of a mechanical DNF is never far from the team’s consciousness. Early weekend issues that were originally thought to be related to the very complex AWD system turned out to be related to a set of old tires, and once replaced, the car performed flawlessly from that point on and broke the Modified Class track record on the first lap of the Record Assault Sunday morning, securing first place. This would be the winning lap as neither 2nd place Mike Cronin Jr. in the Fontana Nissan GT-R or 3rd place James Elterman in the LIC STI could match that pace.

With the Modified Class win in the bag, the team jumped back into the pits for a quick tire change to Yokohama slicks in an effort to take the Super Modified class track record as well. Despite a blistering 1:37 lap time from the Nissan GT-R, it was not fast enough to defeat the Super Modified class champion GST Motorsports “L” Impreza, which set a new Super Modified track record with a 1:35.5 lap time. However, a second place podium in Super Modified AWD was certainly worth the team’s efforts.

Cameron Benner, who has finished on the podium at every single event this year came into this event with the Street Tire class championship already locked. Not content to rest on his laurels, Cameron was determined to take another class win as well as set a new class lap record. However, during Friday afternoon practice his engine overheated, spewing coolant onto the windshield during his third lap, a clear sign of a blown head gasket, which was confirmed in the paddock. But Time Attack is all about posting one fast lap and the team was determined to post it! They proceeded to pull the engine and do a track-side rebuild. Cameron also noted that his transmission was showing signs of serious problems as well, with a balky 4th gear engagement.

Undaunted, the team managed to have the engine pulled and completely apart on Friday evening and with new parts supplied by Subaru of Ontario Friday night, the team started the reassembly process Saturday morning and had the engine together and dropped in the car before lunch with Cameron heading back out on track Saturday afternoon. The tireless efforts of Danny Heng, Tim Bailey, Brandon Lumpkins and Eric Bizek saw the car back on track and showing good speed. With a freshly rebuilt engine, the STI was ready to take on Steve Ruiz in the StopTech EVO and COBB’s own Jon Drenas in yet another EVO, both of whom resurfaced for this final race and were both very fast earlier in the season.

Not wanting to push their luck on a failing transmission and a hastily refreshed engine, the team opted to sit out Sunday morning practice and go all out for the first timed sessions on Sunday afternoon. Sadly, the transmission would not hold out and 4th gear disappeared during Cameron’s out lap and he was forced to run without it. On a track like Auto Club with many fast straights, the loss of 4th gear proved to large a handicap and Cameron was only able to post a 1:50 lap time, putting him into 4th place. His only non-podium finish of the season, it was a bitter-sweet end to a championship winning season for the young driver.

The final act of the 2010 Redline Time Attack season had all the drama of the rest of the season with a close race to finish line and a champagne-soaked podium…

With only the wheel-to-wheel Super Session left in the weekend, the team decided to mount the Toyo RA-1 tires and run in the Modified Class in an effort to make the Modified Class victory complete. Brian and the GT-R were gridded next to the Super Modified 350Z of Mike Cronin Jr. running slicks and much less Lose Weight Exercise, compared to the very heavy GT-R on treaded R-compound tires. This would prove to be a fight of giant straight line horsepower versus high-grip in the tight infield bends of Auto Club Speedway.

As the green flag dropped on the field, Lock and Cronin Jr. rocketed away from the pack and would run the 5 laps almost nose to tail with the Fontana Nissan 350Z just inches off the COBB GT-R’s bumper, looking for the pass at every corner. However, the horsepower of the GT-R proved to be enough to hold the Z at bay for the overall Super Session win as well as collecting the final points needed to slam the lid closed on the Modified AWD Class.

As the sun set for the final time on the 2010 Redline Time Attack championship the team was able to smile with a sense of pride of accomplishing so much in such a short time with championship wins in both the Modified and Street Tire AWD classes.

Not only did the COBB Tuning drivers and racecars prove themselves on the track, the COBB Tuning crew distinguished themselves in the paddock. The COBB Tuning Motorsports team was presented with the final award of the season, the 2010 Redline Time Attack “Team of the Year” Award, for showing dedication to sportsmanship in the pits and towards their fellow teams and drivers.

COBB Tuning would like to thank the Redline Time Attack organization, our dedicated team of all-volunteer pit crew members, our sponsors, drivers, family members (both at the track and at home), our competitors for the friendly and fun paddock atmosphere and close competition and finally our customers and fans for your support during this 2010 season. Without all you, none of this would have been possible.

COBB Tuning – 2010 Redline Time Attack Modified Class and Street Tire AWD Class Champions!

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Join the COBB Tuning Motorsports Team for the final round of the Redline Time Attack series at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California this weekend. We are heading into the final event leading both the AWD Modified and AWD Street Tire Class Championships. The COBB Tuning Motorsports GT-R driven by Brian Lock will be looking to clinch both the AWD and Overall Modified Class Championship wins this weekend after a season of close racing and and overcoming a few mechanical issues with the monstrously powerful GT-R!

Cameron Benner in his AWD Street Tire Class 2006 Subaru STI currently has the AWD championship locked after a season of consistent podium finishes with several 1st place podiums to his credit. Cameron has finished in the top three in every event he has contested this year. Cameron is also gunning for the overall Street Tire Class to round out a very successful and winning season.

The AccessPORT powered GT-R will also be taking on the country’s top unlimited time attack cars cars this weekend by fitting a set of slicks to the GT-R and gunning for the Super Modified Class record at Auto Club Speedway. The team proved the speed of the GT-R earlier this year when they took first in the Super Modified Class at Round 4, which was also held at Auto Club Speedway.

Stop by the COBB Tuning Motorsports rig and hang out with the team and drivers, ask questions of our tuners, and get a close-up look at our racecars and our products. COBB Tuning will also have COBB Tuning apparel as well as AccessPORTs and other performance parts for sale at the COBB Tuning Motorsports trailer to help you get decked out in some cool threads and increase the performance of your ride!

The racing starts early Saturday morning November 13th with the main event and final timed sessions set for Sunday. Also, don’t miss the grand finale Super Session on Sunday evening. This will be one fast weekend. We will see you on the podium!

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Check out interviews and on track action with COBB Tuning Motorsports STI Driver, Cameron Benner, as he takes on the fastest Subarus at this year’s Subiefest! Cameron placed 2nd in the Street Mod class with his 2006 STI. Cameron and the team will be at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., this weekend for the final round of the Redline Time Attack!

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COBB Tuning is proud to announce the release of AccessTUNER Race end-user tuning software for AccessPORT equipped Nissan GT-Rs. The AccessPORT is the only hand-held OEM ECU flashing, managing and monitoring device available for the Nissan GT-R, and when combined with AccessTUNER Race software, the result is an unrivaled, self-tunable engine management system with all of the sophistication and drivability inherent in the factory ECU.

AccessTUNER Race rounds out the suite of COBB Tuning engine management products available for the Nissan GT-R. AccessTUNER Race provides the same powerful tuning capabilities as our AccessTUNER Pro software, used by professional tuners around the world to maximize the GT-R’s power output. AccessTUNER Race is designed to give racing teams and self-tuners the ability to modify or create map files for themselves. From making minor tweaks to a COBB Tuning base map for maximum performance all the way to authoring fully customized maps for major modification upgrades, AccessTUNER Race puts full tuning control in the hands of the end user.

AccessTUNER provides control of vital engine parameters to the user, such as; intake cam advance, wastegate duty cycle, fuel injector scalar, boost control tables, knock sensitivity, rev limiters, speed limiters and many more. Customizable data monitors let the user choose which channels are monitored to see how changes impact the behavior of the engine. The built-in data logging capability captures data from up to 30 channels across the entire rev-range, allowing detailed data analysis after a dynamometer test. 3-D graphical mapping gives the user a comprehensive view of engine behavior across three axis to evaluate where performance can be maximized. An integral dashboard shows the user-chosen gauges to be displayed during the tuning process.

Users can get a jump by loading any of the COBB Tuning Off-The-Shelf calibrations as a starting point. Modify calibrations with up to 9 different maps for On-The-Fly map switching. Configure the GT-R in-dash display to flash when a given knock threshold is reached. Set different boost pressures for each gear to help control traction in lower gears. Proportional gain boost control logic allows the user to set boost based on engine RPM. Work flow enhancements of Pass-Through tuning (allows the user to flash the map to the ECU through the in-line connected AccessPORT) and Fast-Flashing (30-40 second flashing time) greatly speeds up the tuning process. And with the new Auto-Updater feature, the latest software updates are a simple click away, eliminating the need to submit additional software requests.

AccessTUNER Race is supported by COBB Tuning GT-R experts via forums and email. GT-R enthusiast communities NAGTROC.org and COBB Tuning Forums will both feature tuning support provided by COBB Tuning GT-R developers and tuners, as well as allow community members to collaborate with each other. Direct COBB Tuning email support via the gtr.atr@cobbtuning.com email address puts users in touch with the appropriate COBB Tuning GT-R expert to best assist the user with their specific needs.

AccessTUNER Race is available for download for $695. To acquire the Access-TUNER Race software, visit the Nissan GT-R AccessTUNER Race Request Form. A COBB Tuning Representative will contact those that submit the form to complete the transaction. AccessTUNER Race software is built to function with a single AccessPORT, and once the software build is complete, a link will be emailed to the customer to download their unique version of the software within 24 hours of payment.

With the unmatched features and convenience of the AccessPORT, the addition of the powerful new AccessTUNER Race end-user tuning software, the global base of professional GT-R tuners using AccessTUNER Pro software and COBB Tuning’s industry leading customer support, it is easy to see why the COBB Tuning AccessPORT is the most popular engine management choice of Nissan GT-R enthusiasts. Access the potential of your Nissan GT-R today!

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The COBB Tuning Motorsports Team celebrates another victorious weekend as Brian Lock and the GT-R continue to secure 1st place in the championship and Cameron Benner finds another podium finish!

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