Tags Posts tagged with "GT-R"

GT-R

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Well today was eventful.  There were eight stages in total, one of which was canceled due to a problem with crowd control (good call by the organizers!).  We were able to get some great video footage of the car coming through two stages as well as photography through Stage 8.

STILLEN GT-R at the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Rally courtesy of Warwick Patterson / Formulaphoto.com
Photo courtesy Warwick Patterson / Formulaphoto.com

Stage 8 is insane!  This stage takes place in the middle of a housing district.  Imagine the largest neighborhood in your area.  Now block of the roads and run a train of rally cars through it.  It was incredible.  Mike and Steve did a great job through here and really hustled hard.  Unfortunately they caught the Subaru early in the stage and weren’t able to get by because the roads were so tight.

Catching the Subaru and the subsequent delay by not being able to get by meant that the guys missed the goal time by 6 seconds.  Which means we incurred a 6 second penalty.  Kind of bogus really considering they were by far the fastest car through the stage and even beat the unlimited cars.  But, that’s the way their scoring/timing works here so Mike and Steve will just have to push hard the rest of the week and hope some other competitors make some mistakes.  I’m hoping to have further explanation of the timing tomorrow night when I can borrow one of Mike Monticello’s route books which clearly list the goal time of each stage for each type of vehicle.

STILLEN GT-R at the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Rally courtesy of Marc Urbano / Road & Track
Photo courtesy Marc Urbano / Road & Track

There were a couple of notables on the day.  First off, one of the Subaru’s from the UK had a pretty eventful day.  They had a pretty big off and rolled the car a couple of times before going end over end.  The Driver and Co-Driver are fine and the only injury was a broken wrist.  Steve told us at dinner that the Co-Driver was a great guy and he’d like to send his best wishes for a speedy recovery!

STILLEN GT-R Steve Millen and Mike Monticello mean business at the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Rally courtesy of Warwick Patterson / Formulaphoto.com
Photo courtesy Warwick Patterson / Formulaphoto.com

The car is doing very well.  Mark and Joe did a great job last night and their patch/seal/fix has held up.  We were hoping to get the new CV boot tonight but it won’t be arriving until tomorrow.  Their repair work last night worked extremely well and there was not a drop of axle grease lost all day.  They were able to catch the last part of Stage 8 and got a great video of the STILLEN GT-R chasing the Subaru across the finish line with glowing red rotors and flames shooting out of the exhaust.  These guy’s worked extremely hard last night and did an amazing job.  They were awake again early this morning with only a few hours of sleep and worked hard all day servicing and preparing the car.

I focused on video today so I wasn’t able to get a lot of photographs but I hope you like the ones that I was able to get.  As soon as we return home we will get the video process rolling and start putting some of the films up there.  The guys from Road & Track have been able to get some videos up and they look great.  I wish I had their knowledge when it came to this stuff.  EDIT: Road & Track just sent the link to today’s video: Targa Racing Day 2

Targa Newfoundland 2009 Landscape

I would like to really quickly say that I have never had the desire to come to Canada.  No good reason really, just never had the urge.  Maybe it’s because it’s just another part of North America, maybe because it’s not some exotic foreign country, I really don’t know.  But, my opinion has now changed.  This country (well, the island I’m seeing) is amazing.  Beautiful country side and amazing views.  It is a pleasure being here and we are all having a great time.  The people of this country are fantastic.  Extremely friendly and hospitable.  They always seem to be smiling and offering a helping hand.

Last night we were told that the overnight parking garage would be closing at midnight.  We weren’t bothered at all the entire time and around 1:15 a.m. a very kind gentleman came by and introduced himself as the guard for the night.  He said that he saw a few teams struggling to make the midnight cut off so he had just gone for a walk and let us all work.  He just wanted to come by and have a chat about the car.  We saw him here again this evening and he was just as friendly and happy to see that the car had made it through the day’s events.

Here are some more photos from today:

Please Note: The reason I am including the pictures of the wrecked Subaru is not for jokes or for the horror factor.  I am doing it to prove a point.  Motorsports are dangerous.  There are risks involved.  But this car was properly prepared.  The roll cage, without question saved their lives.  I inspected the damage afterward and the body was crumpled in around the cage but the cage did not move at all.  Also, the only injury in this huge wreck was simply a broken wrist.  That’s nothing in the grand scheme of things.

See All of the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Coverage:

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Well, we have mostly good news and some bad news. Good news is we are getting some awesome video footage and I can’t wait to bring it home.  Steve has been doing a great job operating our in-car video system so we should be able to get some great footage.

STILLEN GT-R in transit to Gander after Monday's rally stages.

Photo courtesy of Marc Urbano – Road & Track

The guys from Road & Track and I spent the day getting deep into some of the stages and getting video footage as well as photos.  I will send some of the photos tonight but the video footage will have to wait until I get home.  For those of you who know me, I’m not the best when it comes to modern technology.

STILLEN GT-R turning hard during rally stage.

More good news!  Steve and Mike are doing great!  Steve has reported that he is feeling comfortable with Mike and the calls he is making which means they can push hard!  They came roaring through Stage 2 with some very impressive times and so far have no penalties.

STILLEN GT-R at Targa Newfoundland getting sideways.

My earlier blog post which explained the scoring system used here in Newfoundland left out one key part.  I forgot to mention that it doesn’t matter how fast you go through the stage (without exceeding the 135 KPH average speed limit) as long as you  arrive under the “goal time.”  Then you basically score a 0 (zero). Points or penalties are added to your score if you take longer to complete the stage than your goal time allows.  The good news, Steve and Mike have said that they are well under the goal time for each stage so far. [EDIT: Confirmed from Targa Newfoundland Results – Tied for 1st with other competitors running a perfect day with no time penalties: Targa Newfoundland Results] This is a good sign for the week and we’re hoping they keep up the great work!

Even more good news! Team Subaru is back. After a pretty hard accident during the first lap of the two lap prologue stage they have rebuilt the car and they’re ready to finish out the week. Good luck guys! We’ll have a beer ready for you on Friday night at the Keg!

Subaru Impreza STi at Targa Newfoundland that crashed during prologue and rebuilt to race.

 

Here’s a video courtesy of Road & Track featuring Mike Monticello and Steve Millen talking about the day, and some footage of the car in action. Be sure to head to Road & Track for all of the ongoing footage.

Now for the not so good news.  When we were working on the car yesterday we found a small, pin-hole sized leak in the driver’s side CV boot.  What does that mean?  Well, that means that the grease has been slowly coming out.  To remedy the problem Mark Ungles (our long-time Targa rally technician) and Joe Nagy (Senior Technician for Nissan North America based at Nissan’s “proving grounds.”)  needed to be resourceful.  They had to apply some RTV silicone around the boot in hopes it would hold.  More good news!  IT’S WORKED SO FAR!  We have been working very hard to get some new boots in today and more good news!  They came in!  So the guys stripped apart the front end and started to prepare for the swap.  Now the bad news, the boot we received is the wrong one!  Fortunately they didn’t want to take any risks so when they took apart the original boot they were very careful.  They have cleaned everything up and tried again with the RTV in hopes that it can get us through until we can get another new boot which is looking like Wednesday night.

The plugged boot got Steve and Mike through the day today, let’s hope it holds up tomorrow and Wednesday.

I took a lot of photos today while I was traveling with the Road & Track guys and I hope you enjoy them.  By the way, while we were traveling we were able to get into some of the stages early and run through them a little bit before they closed the roads in hopes of finding some good viewing areas.  We were able to get through Stage 2, which is the hardest stage of the day, and I must say… the rally organizers and competitors are NUTS!!!  I was driving the Nissan Murano at safe, city speeds and I could not believe the roads we were going through!  You have to see the in car video footage, these stages are seriously intense!

Well, I’m off for the night.  It’s a little after 12am and the boys are still working on the car.  I’m down here with them but more for morale support, food and parts runner than actually working on the car.

Hope you enjoy the updates, I’m trying to update our Twitter account as much as possible but cell service is pretty spotty up here so there are no guarantees!

See All of the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Coverage:

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Day 2 of the 2009 Targa Rally featured a two stage prologue, which the GT-R was able to run one of the stages, and things look really good.

STILLEN GT-R starting prologue stage 2009 Targa Newfoundland Rally

2:05pm NDT (9:35am PST)

Standing in a field in Newfoundland with the STILLEN Sweepstakes winner Seth and his cousin Glenn. A Suburu went off bad in a Prologue Stage.

Here’s Seth and Glenn later on in the day with the STILLEN GT-R:

STILLEN Sweepstakes Winners at the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Rally

3:02pm NDT (10:32am PST)

Steve and Mike just crossed the line after Stage 2 of the Prologue.. all went well.

4:10pm NDT (11:40am PST)

Well the first day has gone very well.  Today was just prologue which had the official release at “the keg”, the local popular steakhouse on the wharf.  All of the cars were sent to Flatrock where they ran the Prologue Stages 1 and 2.  Unfortunately the Subaru of North America rally car had a big off and rolled.  Time will tell if we see them back this week.

There are some pretty awesome cars out here.  Everything from old Novas and Camaros to Mini Coopers and Porsches.  The people here are extremely friendly and very nice.  Everyone is very excited about the GT-R and were getting a lot of good reactions.

Today I spent the day with the Road and Track guys and tomorrow I’ll be with them again.  I have gotten some pretty cool footage so far and I hope to get more soon.

STILLEN GT-R starting prologue stage 2009 Targa Newfoundland Rally

Because today didn’t count the guys were taking it pretty easy.  But Steve has reported that the GT-R reached 196 kph pretty easily.  This should be a fun week!!!

Pictures from throughout the day:

See All of the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Coverage:

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2:14pm NDT (9:44am PST)
First day is going well.  We were hoping to come down yesterday to do some final touches on the car but unfortunately our flights got messed up and we did not get in until six or six thirty.  No worries though!

STILLEN GT-R Being Prepped for Tech at the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Rally

Oneill Motors has been great to us and let us come in early to perform our nut and bolt check.  Special thanks to Brian and Dave for all their help!!!

Next we will be taking the GT-R over to tech.

Tonight I will be sending a full explanation of a top secret part of the car.  Coilovers!!!

Check back soon for more info and pictures.

5:05pm NDT (11:35am PST)
Video of Steve Millen discussing the changes needed to the STILLEN GT-R after reviewing some of the roads on the rally.

Changes have been made, and the car is leaving the shop.

10:15pm NDT (4:45pm PST)

Well we’re here in our hotel room after another long day.  The nut and bolt check and ride height adjustments went great.  After that we went to tech inspection and put the car into the overnight parking.

Earlier in the day I mentioned a new product that we will be offering for the GT-R.  Well that new product is the Penske/STILLEN R35 GT-R Coilover System brought to you by STILLEN.  After months of development and testing we are very proud to be able to bring these to the public.  They are adjustable on both rebound and compression as well as offer complete height adjustability.  We have a lot more technical details on the shocks which will be released shortly.

Penske came to STILLEN in early 2009 after three years of collaboration on the STILLEN Ford GT Supercar campaigned in numerous events including Targa New Zealand.  They knew that we would have big plans and wanted to be a part of it.  Penske manufactures shocks for Formula One, Indy and NASCAR race teams.

Thank you very much to the guys at Penske and Eibach race springs for their assistance in the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Rally!

Our only concern is the weather. You can clearly see that the weather is rolling in:

Concerns of weather at Targa Newfoundland 2009

Here’s a couple of shots of other vehicles ready to compete in this years Targa event:

Targa Newfoundland 2009 Mustang

Targa Newfoundland 2009 Subaru WRX STi

Targa Newfoundland 2009 Camaro

Targa Newfoundland 2009 Porsche GT3 RS

EDIT: 9/13/09 – Added Photos From the Day

See All of the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Coverage:

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Well, the car is ready to go.  Steve flew out a few days early to get the STILLEN GT-R across the border and all the spare parts into the service van.  Mark (Lead Mechanic) and I (Kyle Millen) are in the airport waiting for our flight to Toronto where we will board our second flight into St. John’s.

STILLEN Crew Headed to Targa Newfoundland

We’re all excited and looking forward to a great week. I will be posting information, updates, and hopefully video interviews throughout the next week. I will also be posting comments to the STILLEN Twitter account, I encourage you to follow along there as well for daily updates.

STILLEN Crew Headed to Targa Newfoundland

I’d like to take a minute to explain the Targa Newfoundland Rally format.  As you may know, “Targa” is a tarmac rally that takes place on public roads that are closed only for the few hours necessary to complete these stages.  They let the cars go at the start line and each car must travel through the stage as fast as possible (while obeying some rules*) and the fastest car wins.

Targa Newfoundland
Here’s where it’s a little different at Targa Newfoundland.  Targa Newfoundland sets a goal time for each stage that varies depending on which class you’re in.  So basically, before the driver/co-driver team get to the stage they have an approximate “goal time” of what they should be able to make in that stage.  If you exceed that goal time, then you take a “penalty” of time added to your overall.  So, if you arrive to a stage with a 7:00 minute goal time, and you complete the stage in 6:55 then you did a good job.  If you complete the stage in 7:05 then you take a five second time penalty.

This is where it gets REALLY unusual/tricky.  Each class has a different goal time.  The fastest (modern) cars might be expected to complete a stage in 7:00 while some of the other cars will get around 8:00-8:30 minutes depending on the class.  So basically, if Steve and Mike cross the finish line at 7:05 through a stage, and another car in a slower class crosses the finish line in 8:00 flat…The slower car wins the stage.

The idea behind this timing format is to give all of the competitor’s an “equal” opportunity to win.  The  challenge for us, is that a modern car has never won this race before.  There are a lot of great competitors and fantastic drivers, for example (Andrew Comrie-Picard), who take their modern rally cars to this event but they’ve never been able to bring home a win.  We hope to be the first modern team to win the event!

Previous vehicles that have won this event:

  • 2002 – 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback
  • 2003 – 1972 BMW Bavaria
  • 2004 – 1972 BMW Bavaria
  • 2005 – 1972 BMW Bavaria
  • 2006 – 1979 Porsche 911
  • 2007 – 1969 BMW 2002
  • 2008 – 1969 BMW 2002

This is going to be a fun week and we look forward to doing our best.  The car is running great, the team is very optimistic and we’re going to push hard for a great result!

*Rules – There are two speed rules for the entire event.  There is a top speed for each stage of 200 KPH (kilometers per hour) this is a safety thing and is a great idea.  There is an average overall rally top speed of 135 KPH per stage, this is an F.I.A. rule.  Another good rule and good idea for safety.

See All of the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Coverage:

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Well, the STILLEN GT-R has made it across the country, and is currently settled in Maine, awaiting Steve Millen‘s arrival to drive it the rest of the way into Newfoundland for the Targa Rally.  The FedEx Transporter delivered as promised, and everything arrived safe and sound, and ready for action.

We thought this would be a perfect time to introduce you to the STILLEN GT-R as it exists prepped for the Targa Newfoundland, with the full rally preparation finished.  We also played with some of the testing footage, and as you’ll see below, this transformed GT-R is something to see.

After months of tearing down, shaving weight, developing new products, building and testing the GT-R, Steve Millen deemed it worthy and on the transporter it went. The Targa Rally introduces some very unqiue requirements of a car, it’s not the normal smooth racetrack most race cars are set up for.  The Targa events are extremely demanding, covering city roads, vast landscapes, and varying road conditions (imagine the roads in your town).  Pot holes, dips, asphalt issues, gravel, sand, water, mud.. all common throughout the course.

All of these obstacles require a very balanced car, capable of dealing with anything, and a driver experienced enough to push it beyond its limits.  Meet the STILLEN R35 Nissan GT-R as prepped for the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Rally:

STILLEN GT-R Targa Race Car

Performance Numbers (As Set Up For 2009 Targa Rally)

  • Horsepower: ~620 @ 15psi (91 Octane Pump Gas)
  • 0-60mph: 2.9 seconds **
  • 1/4 Mile: 11.0 seconds at 127.9mph **
  • 0-130mph: 11.4 seconds **
  • Lateral Grip: 1.1G+ **
    ** (as tested by Road & Track)

STILLEN GT-R Performance Parts

  • STILLEN Downpipes
  • STILLEN Secondary Cat-Delete Y-Pipe
  • STILLEN Race Exhaust w/Center Rear Exit
  • STILLEN Intake System w/K&N Filters
  • Turbosmart e-Boost Street 2-Stage Electronic Boost Controller
  • Turbosmart Dual Port Blow Off Valves
  • COBB Tuning AccessPORT
  • Dodson Motorsports Transmission Cooler
  • Red Line High Performance Synthetic Motor Oil – 0W40
  • Red Line High Performance Synthetic Gear Oil – 75W140
  • Red Line WaterWetter

STILLEN GT-R Suspension Parts

STILLEN GT-R Brakes / Tires

STILLEN GT-R Interior Parts

  • STILLEN Designed & Built Custom Chromoly Roll Cage
  • STILLEN Designed & Built Custom Seat Frames
  • Status Racing Seats
  • Status Racing Harnesses
  • Monit Rally Computers
  • ChaseCam On-Board Video Camera System
  • Nordskog GPS Speedometer (KPH)

STILLEN GT-R Exterior Parts

Additional Photos:

See All of the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Coverage:

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Steve Millen and the R&D crew here at STILLEN are at full throttle wrapping up the build of the STILLEN GT-R, and Road & Track has been continuing their great video coverage of the build and testing.

These three videos bring the total to 16 videos surrounding the STILLEN GT-R and the build for the Targa Newfoundland Rally which is in mid-September and quickly approaching.

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On Saturday we opened up the parking lot and the doors to STILLEN as a place for guys at NICO to come down and throw a BBQ meet.  We were really impressed at the number of attendees, and the quality of the vehicles that showed up!

NICO Meet July 19 2009

This was also the first time anyone has seen (and heard!) the STILLEN GT-R in a public setting, and the build is getting much closer to being finished in preparation for the upcoming Targa Newfoundland Rally in September.

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Testing is under full swing for the STILLEN Nissan GT-R as preparation continues for the Targa Newfoundland Rally.

Road & Track is finalizing some video of the testing and some of the products being installed, and was nice enough to forward some teaser footage..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZtThZWrjgI[/youtube]


See all of the videos at the Road & Track site.. new videos being added constantly.

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Road & Track Magazine has practically been living at STILLEN documenting the build on the STILLEN GT-R.  We’re in the final stages of the build, with the BASF paint recently finished, Password:JDM dry carbon goodies, suspension, AP Racing carbon ceramic brakes and final installation beginning, including track testing in preparation for the 2009 Targa Newfoundland Rally.

Road & Track have released three new videos, one covering the GT-R in the paint booth, one highlighting the ultra lightweight Password:JDM dry carbon parts and some other upgrades, and the most recent with Steve Millen discussing the current suspension upgrades being done to the car.

Road & Track Video: STILLEN R35 GT-R Suspension Upgrades

Road & Track Video: STILLEN R35 GT-R In The Paint Booth

Road & Track Video: STILLEN R35 GT-R Lightweight Body Components and Intake System

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