AEM Annihilates Land Speed Record
At the 2005 Bonneville Speedweek, AEM in their '01 Honda Civic raised the bar to Empire State heights with a record-shattering 195.818 mph pass. Destroked by resleeving a B16A to run in the 1.5L class, John Romeros (AEM's electronics engineer) was able to complete several 190+ mph runs which were shy of the 200 mark originally intended by the AEM effort. These mildly disappointing runs were good for not only axing the previous 148.146 mph record for the 1.5L forced-induction class but also crushed the existing 2.0L records as well. Not one to rest on their laurels, AEM plans to change their LSD and make minor adjustments to attempt 210 mph. Stay tuned.
Taking It Back
In surprise move designed to bring back the FWD versus RWD rivalries that once served as the hot ticket for performance compact drag racing, NHRA announced that its Pro FWD and Modified classes will be combined into one category for its '07 Xplod Sport Compact Series. While we may never relive moments like Steph Papadakis facing Craig Paisley, you can bet that the David versus Goliath matches will make their return as the must-see races at any event.
Greddy's Eastward Expansion
Are you GReddy for double vision? If so, GReddy is ready to double your servings by opening a GReddy Performance Products East in Old Bridge, NJ by December 2005 (as of press time). Just a stone's throw from Englishtown Raceway, their new 13,000 sq-ft warehouse will house a full sales and customer service department for all you Biggie Smalls fans. By operating two complete facilities, GReddy plans to provide a better experience with 7-11 convenience for their customers while hoping to quell the age-old West Coast-East Coast feud. Because as everyone knows, no one could flow like Tupac. Westside!
Classic Super Street
In February of '99 the world was a different place. 911 was a car or a phone number and spinners meant something else entirely. It's good to know that there are some constants in this crazy mixed up world of ours, because the February '99 issue of Super Street was the first to feature the mad keyboard stylings of one Mr. Jonathan (pre-JDM) Wong. The issue showed early shots of Craig Paisley's Supra, an interview with Abel Ibarra about his new RX-7, and our own little Jonny penned a story on Lisa Kubo's EG Civic when it was still blue. Even waaay back then it ran 10.63 @ 138.07 mph.
Also in the December '05 issue we listed the Time Factory's URL incorrectly; it should be www.thetimefactory.com. Now you can order those Super Street calendars.
We also listed the incorrect number for Strictly Foreign. It should be 610.391.9586.
Deephartment Of Korrectshuns
On page 52 of our December '05 issue in the article about Christian Rado's Pro FWD tC Nads incorrectly identified and quoted Eric Kozeluh as "Koz" and his twin brother Marc as "Grim" when in fact Eric is "Grim" and Marc is "Koz". When reached for comment all Nads could say is, "What do you expect, they're freakin' twins!" For more on the wonder, er, Turbo Twins, check out www.twinsturbo.com.
Koz is on the left and Grim is...wait a minute. Oh hell, we can't tell them apart.
In our January '06 issue in the story about the C-West S2000, Roel incorrectly credited Keiichi Tsuchiya with driving the car to a Tsukuba record when in actuality it was Eiji Yamada. Roel added further shame to the House of Concepcion when he listed the powerplant as a USDM 2.2 when it is really fitted with a JDM 2.0-liter mill. For that we fired him. We're just kidding, Roel was fired for reasons our attorneys won't allow us to discuss.
Toyo Wins SCCA Exclusivity
After conclusive SCCA testing, Toyo Tires' RA-1 model beat out rival manufacturers to be selected as the exclusive tire for the Club Racing Spec Miata class from 2006 to 2008.
A D.O.T. legal competition radial, the streetable RA-1 tires are a perfect match for the Miata division which is geared towards the weekend racer.