COBB Tuning Blog

The COBB Tuning Motorsports Team is once again proving their “metal,” this time at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois. The COBB Tuning Motorsports GT-R and STI driven by Brian Lock and Cameron Benner, respectively, are both leading the field at the end of testing on Saturday. The GT-R posted a 1:29 in the Modified AWD class and the STI is sitting in first in the AWD Street Tire class with a 1:37.

After his win at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Cameron is looking a repeat here at Autobahn. “The car feels great,” said Cameron Benner, driver of the COBB Tuning Motorsports STI. “We made a few minimal bound and rebound settings to minimize oscillation, to keep the car settled mid-corner and at the exits and also to take advantage of the new OS Giken rear diff. The track is fun, it reminds me of Portland International Raceway, my ‘Alma Mater’. The track itself is rather slick as the track surface is very green, but once you get the hang of it, it’s really fun. It is deceivingly difficult to drive.”

Brian Lock, driver of the COBB Tuning Motorsports GT-R, who won overall at Auto Club Speedway, noted that there were a few issues to deal with in practice. “The car came out of the trailer with some alignment issues and we had to sort out our new wing,” said Brian. “As the day went on, we got our alignment sorted and our downforce and aero balanced and we made steady improvements all day. The car is very fast and ready for competition.”

Weather will play a big role in the weekend as two out of three advanced sessions were black flagged due to sever rain and thunderstorms. Both cars are running flawlessly and continue to set the standard for race preparation. The COBB Tuning Motorsports Team is ready to take on the competition on Sunday!

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Attention Redline Time Attack Racers. Need a little help in the cash flow department? Needing that little bump to keep your wallet from getting too light? COBB Tuning is here to help!

Mention COBB Tuning when you register for the Round 5 event at Autobahn Motorsports Country Club and get $25 off a 1-day entry or $50 off a 2-day entry to the next Redline Time Attack. To receive your Redline Time Attack registration discount, simply pick up the phone and call. Registering online? Just mention COBB Tuning at the event and get an equivalent refund!

Mention COBB Tuning and your 1-day entry is only $200 or a 2-day entry for $375. Those are killer deals! www.redlinetimeattack.com

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The COBB Tuning Motorsports team dominated Round 4 of the Redline Time Attack series at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, taking 1st in Super Modified AWD, 1st in Modified AWD, 1st in Street Tire AWD and capturing the Overall Event Win. The Super Session wheel-to-wheel race was an exciting inter-class battle and saw the Nissan GT-R win overall in Modified trim and the STI take the Street Tire class win. In addition to bringing home maximum points, Brian Lock set a new track record for a Modified Class car at Auto Club Speedway in the GT-R with a lap time of 1:43.072.

In a bid to appease the “Racing Gods,” the team showed up sporting COBB-blue hair-dos, but the success of the weekend was a direct result of the long hours and tireless effort put in by the talented and dedicated guys that make up the COBB Tuning Motorsports crew. The team took advantage of the month-long break between events and made significant changes to all three race cars in an effort to maximize performance and reliability, ultimately setting the team up to race hard for the remainder of the season.

The Nissan GT-R was treated to a complete engine rebuild with upgraded rods and pistons to better cope with the nearly 1,000 crank HP being produced. The Subaru STI went under the knife having a new custom safety cage fabricated from scratch and the transmission rebuilt while the Cosworth engine was sent home for a refresh and new Cosworth intake manifold added. The Nissan 370Z received a new set of rear springs to reduce excessive corner-exit oversteer. Finally, all three cars had OS Giken limited-slip differentials installed (GT-R front, STI & 370Z rear) to better get the AccessPORT tuned power down on the track where it belongs.

The extensive hours of hard-work paid off in spades as the team racked up its most successful weekend to date in the Redline Time Attack. Brian Lock in the Nissan GT-R screamed past the competition to take the Modified Class win and set a new track record of 1:43.072 in the process. After setting the new record, the GT-R visited pit lane to receive a new set of Yokohama A005 racing slicks before heading right back out on track to battle it out in the Super Modified class. The added grip of the Yokohama slicks dropped the GT-R’s lap time to a 1:39.730, fast enough to take the win in the Super Modified class and clinch the team’s second Overall event win!

photo courtesy of rpmgear.com

In the Street Tire AWD Class, Cameron Benner was on a mission to grab the 1st place position that had so far eluded him. The revitalized Subaru STI proved to be the perfect tool for the job as Cameron charged ahead the rest of the Street Class field, taking a decisive first win with a 3-second lead over his closest competitor!

photo courtesy of rpmgear.com

Gary Sheehan subbed in for an ill-feeling Trey Cobb to take on the Nissan 370Z driving duties. Although Gary was ineligible to compete in the Enthusiast Class, the event presented an opportunity to see how the suspension and driveline changes affected the performance of the little Z, and they proved to be quite effective. The COBB 370Z turned a time just 0.5 seconds shy of the Enthusiast RWD class winning lap in the final Time Attack session, and also revealed a few simple areas of improvement that, once addressed, should make it a serious class contender.

photo courtesy of rpmgear.com

The wheel-to-wheel Super Session turned out to be an exciting inter-class battle that once again showed that solid preparation, nerves of steel and blue hair will take the day. Brian Lock ran the Nissan GT-R in Modified trim with R-compound tires and gapped the field to take the overall win and much-needed Modified class championship points. Cameron Benner had a great drive in his Street Tire Class STI, battling with Modified class cars on the way to his class win and 4th place overall, adding to his impressive championship lead.

The Takata Time Attack/LIC Motorsports STI, had a strong showing this weekend, taking 2nd place in the Modified AWD Class with a 01:45.923 lap time and 2nd place in class in the Super Session . This car runs a COBB AccessPORT and was tuned at COBB Tuning Surgeline in Portland, Oregon. The LIC Motorsports team continues to show what quality preparation and great tuning can do as they consistently field the fastest Modified Class Subaru in the series and currently lead the Modified Class championship.

Jon Drenas showed what a lightly modified Mitsubishi EVO X can do by finishing in 2nd place in the AWD Street Class. Jon arrived at the track late in the event and laid down a 1:52.702 lap with almost no practice time in his HB Speed-tuned AccessPORT EVO X. Jon and his EVO X is a force to be reckoned with on the West Coast and has proven that you can drive your race car to the track, race it all weekend, and drive back home with a trophy in the passenger seat.

Chris Billedo drove his AccessPORT equipped Honda Civic Si to the sharp end of the Enthusiast FWD class with a solid 2nd place finish, continuing his streak of podium finishes and setting himself up for an impressive Redline Time Attack championship result.

The COBB Tuning Motorsports Team next heads to Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois for Round 5 on June 12th where they look to extend their East Coast Championship leads in the Modified and Street Tire classes.

[Show as slideshow]

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While perhaps not as exciting to the reader, the 370Z was drama free and reliable the entire weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This allowed me to continue to focus on improving as a driver and getting more comfortable in the car. Having other experienced and talented drivers as part of the team is also an enormous benefit as I can always pick their brains on what areas I should focus on improving or suggestions on a faster racing line.

The weekend started as the others have, arriving to yet another track I’ve never driven and spending the first session or two just trying to figure out where the course goes. The Las Vegas Motorsport Park track we were on was quite different from the last track I drove in New Jersey. The lush green run off areas and flowing lines of sight had been replaced with desert tans and browns, everywhere blurring the line between what was track and what was gravel. One portion of the track, that was actually one of the higher speed sections, had gravel run off that concluded with an industrial park. Only a chain link fence served as the last ditch attempt to keep you from becoming someone’s lobby ornament should you choose to do something silly in that corner. Fortunately, the gravel trap proved to be very effective at stopping cars, as a few people found out first hand. Thankfully, I was not one of them.

Overall the LVMS course proved to be enjoyable for me. I cannot wax and wane about how technical it was because, let’s face it, I’m a complete novice. Every track thus far has been technical and challenging for me. However, this was the first weekend that I actually felt some degree of enjoyment, or perhaps a better word is calmness, while on track. I felt less like I was trying to catch up to what the car was doing, and more on placing the car at its limits and feeling comfortable knowing how it would react. Having a predictable car to drive is a great way to build driver confidence, and the AST coilovers and Whiteline/Robispec front sway bar has contributed enormously to doing just that. Power delivery was also consistent and extremely smooth all weekend long as the AccessPORT Stage 2 maps continue to be evaluated and refined before their eventual public release. And while I’m enjoying the added power and torque out of corners, the stock rear LSD is not sharing in the same enthusiasm. It’s continuing to struggle to evenly distribute drive to the rear wheels out of corners. Perhaps that’ll be something we look to address for the future, though most room for improvement on track is still in the driver.

On Sunday, the day of the actual Time Attack, I was able to further drop my times during practice. The previous afternoon I had reviewed video with Brian Lock, comparing it to some laps he took in the car the same day, to help me see where I might gain some time. I also discussed some additional improvements with Billy Brooks, who has been lending his years of driving and setup expertise. The net sum was knocking a couple of seconds off my prior times down into the 1:59.x range. By the time the actual competition rounds started, track temps had climbed a bit and in my first session, I was a bit sloppy. I was sliding through a few sections more than before, not able to drive off the corners as aggressively as in the morning, and so on. Basically, I felt like I was over-driving the car, which in part was likely true but ultimately I wasn’t able to repeat my best times from morning practice.

For the second and final session of the day, the wind had picked up and track temperatures dropped. I went out again trying to consciously not over-drive the car and staying as smooth as possible with my inputs. In practice I’d learned that while I was completely comfortable sliding the car around and making exciting on-board video, my times were slower when I did so. Smooth and clean was proving to be faster, so I focused on just hitting my lines, braking points and not being too aggressive with throttle out of corners. Lap by lap I was able to drive down my lap times and ended up with a 2:00.9 result; a full second off my time from earlier in the day, but enough to secure a 3rd place finish and my first podium.

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Check out the latest video from Redline Time Attack and see exclusive interviews with COBB Tuning Motorsports drivers Brian Lock and Cameron Benner as well as new footage of the cars on track!

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With victory and champagne fresh in the minds of the COBB Tuning Motorsports team, Friday afternoon practice signaled the begining of a tough weekend for the team for Round 3 of the Redline Time Attack at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The GT-R of Brian Lock continued to have engine issues in Las Vegas, despite it’s miraculous 11th-hour victory in New Jersey.

An oil change following the Friday practice session revealed large quantities of bearing material, most likely caused by an oil starvation issue discovered during a track testing session earlier in the week. Knowing that complete engine failure was eminent should the car continue to compete, the team decided that caution was the better part of valor and parked the GT-R for the weekend.

Down but not out, Brian Lock and STI diver, Cameron Benner, will share Benner’s car for the remainder of the weekend with Cameron continuing to campaign in Street Class, and Brian looking to secure some points in the Modified Class.

COBB Tuning founder, Trey Cobb, continues to mature as a driver and has showed good speed at this tight and technical 2.2-mile Las Vegas track. Look for Trey near the top of the podium on Sunday!

For more photos from the weekend click HERE for the COBB Tuning Flickr page.

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As part of the festivities at the Redline Time Attack Series, Bonanni Motorsports will be showing their 370z showcar at all West Coast events. This car features a whole host of go fast parts, including the COBB Tuning AccessPORT! While the car will not be racing, it does show what can be achieved with Nissan’s sportscar on a reasonable, real-world budget.

“My goals with this car are to show the public what can be done with this platform with a real world budget,” said Mike Bonanni. “Although it will not actually be competing in time attack events due to my obligations as a driver for the Berk Technology race team, this car is still being built with fast lap times in mind. I have helped many companies develop and test new performance parts for the 370Z and plan to continue using this car to help pioneer the 370Z performance aftermarket so the everyday consumer can have access to proven effective parts like the COBB Tuning AccessPORT.”

See the Bonanni Motorsports 370z starting March 27th at the first round of the Redline Time Attack at Buttonwillow Raceway!

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At COBB Tuning, we love it when our customers and tuners use the tools we work so hard to create, to make big horsepower. We love it even more when it is a complex and difficult build. The Nissan gurus at Altered Atmosphere Motorsports have done just this, with a Twin Turbocharged 370Z tuned with a COBB Tuning AccessPORT. This car makes over 500whp all on the stock block!

The turbo kit is of AAM’s own design and manufacture utilizing twin Garrett turbochargers. Tuning was done via a COBB Tuning AccessPORT and AccessTUNER Pro, proving that COBB Tuning products are a great way to tune forced-induction Nissan applications. “We are equally impressed with the tuning capabilities of the Cobb AP for Nissan/Infiniti vehicles,” said Jon of Altered Atmosphere. “We’ve even built Nissan GT-Rs with upgraded turbochargers pushing upwards of 700AWHP, and tuned these cars using just the AP. It really is a fantastic tool for tuning the majority of the cars we work on here at the shop. Keep up the great work guys!”

Look for more big power builds from AAM in the near future as they continue to push the envelope of Nissan and Infiniti performance with tuning from the COBB Tuning AccessPORT!

Read about the buildup on my350Z.com

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