What a weekend hanging out in Indiana with the Shift Sector team! This is the second SS event we sponsored and raced at and it certainly didn't disappoint.
While we only brought 5 cars to this particular event it was certainly not without its highs. The venue itself was very awesome, almost as awesome as the staff at the airport. Everyone was very helpful and understanding. From the airport workers to the hired local security, they really could not have been any more friendly or helpful.
The runway itself actually surprised me, I watched the first few runs and noticed a bit of dust rolling up behind the cars. I honestly was concerned that we were going to be fighting traction issues with the two higher HP GT-Rs we had brought but after the first pass I was happy to be very wrong. In fact as the first day rolled on we kept throwing more and more down low which the track accommodated graciously.
I will say that if you are going to this event looking for some nightlife or local cuisine.. stay home! LOL The town of Marion definitely leaves something to be desired when it comes to entertainment. There is a Texas Roadhouse opening soon however…. so I’m pretty excited for next year 🙂
As I said we only brought 5 cars total to the event, one of them being the 991 Turbo S that we have been building. As for the GT-Rs we brought Spachman’s Pro1900, a freshly finished ELITE “U” we just finished which is some prototype turbos we have been working on recently. (No they aren’t called the ELITE U I just don’t know what to name them yet 🙂 ) We also brought a Pro1700 we just finished tuning and an ELITE Plus build we delivered about a month ago to round out the field.
Spachman’s car is about to undergo a couple small changes but this event it was the same exact setup it’s been for almost two years and over a dozen events. He however did miss out on the Pikes Peak half mile due to some family obligations so we were excited to have him back in the seat! Unfortunately his first pass was his only pass. While he flew through the traps indicating 221mph he broke the AMS upgraded spring plate that we had installed in the car after World Cup. It was nice to find out that the issue was a very small one, however it was equally annoying that it took him out of the event for the entirety of the weekend. We will be updating the spring plate to the new ETS unit before the next event along with a couple other small changes.
Our Pro1700 customer we had just finished upgrading from Cobb and tuning on Motec the day before as well. He is a local Atlanta customer and is one of our favorite dudes to hang out with. Always joking, enjoying the crew, and always upbeat. His weekend goal was a realistic 215mph, which I told him was something that could be achieved depending on conditions. Saturday we fought some issues with intercooler couplers since he bought the car with an older AMS intercooler. Most of you know that system uses the factory rubber lowers which are really hard to keep happy at 40+psi of boost. He did go 208 Saturday and I believe 212 as well but every other pass the team was under the car wrenching to ensure he could go back out and enjoy the event. Sunday morning we got to the track a little early and came up with a solution for him. He ran 215mph the very first pass on Sunday! There was only one little problem…. he asked “is there more left?” Taylor looked at me and I gave him the little nod… he says “There is if you want it” 🙂 In true TSM customer fashion Skinny (the customers’ nickname) decided not to turn it up and call it a day……. NOT!!! 😂 Taylor pulled the log and went over the run… found where he could sprinkle a little go fast dust and sent Skinny back out! The result? 218.23mph!!!
