2013 Modified StreetCar Shootout – The Rules, The Cars, The Big Tease
By Wes Dumalski and Sarah Forst
Like all good stories, this one starts on the airplane while in line for the shitter. I hear a voice come up behind me “my GOD this woman won’t shut the hell up”… I turn to find the animated Bill Caswell and we begin bantering about this woman on the plane who had been talking about absolutely nothing at all for 2 hours. I am on this plane (3 planes and 5 hours later) and talking to Bill Caswell because I had nonrefundable plane tickets and figured I could still defrost in Arizona, cover the UMS tuning time attack event, and find some good feature cars. As luck would have it two complete car nuts are on the same plane heading to the same place to do the same damn thing: be geeks.
In my conversation with Bill I learn that he is driving the Crawford BRZ for some sort of “car challenge”. Apparently it involves a dyno competition, an autocross, a time attack, and a drag race to find the Ultimate StreetCar. Basically, this is my long winded way of saying I had a plane ticket to wing it and apparently there would be something to do!
For the last 5 years Modified Magazine has been hosting the StreetCar Shootout to give privateer’s and shops a chance to earn the title of the fastest StreetCar. The event’s title sponsor is Continental Tire and they provided the sticky stuff for all the cars in this event. Every car is required to run the Continental Extreme Contact DW; this tire is labeled as a high performance summer tire with a tread wear rating of 340 and is designed to level the grip playing field.
The Modified Shootout is broken down in to 3 classes based on the drive wheels with 15 teams competing. They crown a FWD, RWD, AWD and Overall Champion based on the results taken from 4 different event categories.
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| White on white track competition is not a crime! |
The Rules:
Your car must be equipped with:
- OEM windscreen and windows (Lexan or other lightweight glass replacements not permitted).
- OEM fuel tank (fuel cells not permitted) and unleaded or e85 fuel.
- OEM lighting (headlights, turn signals, and taillights must all be functional, as is required on a street legal vehicle)
- A full interior from the front seats forward (aftermarket seats and harnesses permitted. Roll bars and roll cages may be added, but interior trim can only be modified to the extent required to fit these safety items). HVAC and stereo/nav system removal permitted.
- A full exhaust system (no cut-outs or bypasses permitted), including a functional catalytic converter) and muffler.
You may put any driver you want in your car and there is no requirement for the same driver to pilot the vehicle during the 3 timed events. You can, therefore, opt to have a drag racer do the 1/4-mile runs and then swap in a Time Attack driver for that portion of the event. You may also choose to have different drivers pilot your car during the same event (ie. you can have more than one driver make a pass during the drag runs, but your team will still be limited to 3 passes total).
You may change the aero, suspension, brake and ECU settings of your vehicle between events in any manner you wish. You can, for example, choose to remove the rear wing for the 1/4-mile runs and put it back on for the Time Attack. Similarly, you can run a high boost map on the dyno and then run a lower boost map for the autocross or time attack events..
You are permitted to repair your vehicle between events, but you cannot change major mechanical parts between events unless it's a necessary repair to complete the competition (you can fix stuff that breaks, but we don't want teams switching turbos, rear ends, or other major mechanical components between events because we feel that places too much stress on the teams).
Continental will be providing the street tires for this event and you will be provided with one set for the entire event.
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The Crawford Performance BRZ was piloted by Bill Caswell whom we made friends with on the plane ride. The car uses Brembo 6 piston calipers (f)t and 4 piston versions in the rear, Tein suspension, and Work Wheels. |
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The Crawford car is motivated by a twin scroll and Crawford optimized turbo setup to produce 450whp. The bult motor uses JE pistons and crawford spec rods with the Drivetrain being supplemented by an Exedy clutch and components from the Driveshaft Shop. Notice the bracket off the idler pulley to support the weight of the turbo? Hardly appears like a prototype kit but you can rest assured when this is final production it will kick serious ass! Quirt took us for a ride in this car and the power delivery is quite amazing. Like many of the BRZ/FR-S cars, some gremlins kept the car from making full power on the road course. Thankfully, it was dead reliable all weekend long. |
