AE Performance

Not every race goes according to plan….

Before we even started on our journey to Vegas, our shop truck broke down.  Luckily one of AE’s biggest supporters let us borrow their supercharged Hummer H2 to tow the trailer.  The only downfall is that it averaged only 2.3 MPG & we had to fill up 4 times on the way to Vegas!  But at least we arrived in style!

Carl Rydquist in the AE Performance Porsche 996 took top honors in the Modified RWD class by two seconds with a 1:45.967. Jeremy Renshaw in the AFI Turbo Honda S2000 would come in 2^nd with a 1:47.919 while Ryan Novak in the AQ Motorsports Honda S2000 took home the 3^rd place trophy with a 1:50.001.

We were able to sort out the problems on the 335 from the last Time Attack.  The car seemed like it was running great; it put down a lap time in the sub 1:50’s on its first hot lap of the day until the oil temperature raised too high, putting the car in limp mode.  After making some changes and moving the oil cooler to a better location, we were able to complete 2 hot laps before the car would go into limp mode.  Then we noticed one of the turbo’s was leaking oil and there was smoke coming out of the left tailpipe.  We then found out that we had a blown turbo taking us out of the race.

Paul Dentice in the 370z was putting down blistering fast lap times in the low 1:50’s on day one leaving the rest of the field far behind. It looked like the win was in the bag until there was an unexpected incident on the track that took the car out of commission for the time attack.

While shaking down Paul Walker’s M3 with its new suspension set up the clutch decided to not work anymore taking the car out for the weekend. The car looked promising running under 1:50 lap times on the first day.

Getting ready for the POC race next week, our customer decided to get some extra seat time in his Porsche Spec Boxster for a shake down. With only 170hp to the wheels Roger managed to run a 1:50 flat.

Even with all the obstacles this weekend held for AE, the team was in good spirits and was always able to keep smiling.

Since almost all the cars were having problems we decided to end the weekend by taking a trip to Pole Position in Las Vegas so we could have a real race.

Nate Dogg takes first place in the AE Pole Position Battle putting everyone to shame.

Paul Dentice takes second place.

And Richie Taylor takes third place.

Look out for the next Time Attack at AE’s home track California Speedway!!

AE Redline Time Attack Franchise Team

Below are some photos of the AE Franchise Team.  We have been slaving away to ensure our last minutes changes will be ready for the next Time Attack on April 25 in Vegas.  There are a few more mods to accomplish before the next race that will improve lap times.  Check back this week to see our work in progress on the M3, 335, and 370Z!

AE Storms onto the Podium at round 1 of the 2010 Time Attack Series

After a long week of preparing the cars for the time attack, it was time to head to the track. The crew at AE packed up and was on the road by 8pm friday night. After a quick stop for dinner at Denny’s, we finally made  it to the hotel at around 1am.

Day 1

After a “delicious continental breakfast” at the Best Western, the AE crew was back on the road and headed for the track. After setting up our booth, it was back to work on the cars to get them ready for practice.

Time to sticker up the cars with the new sponsors for Redline, and the new driver numbers for the doors.

After finishing the stickers it was time to get the cars over to tech inspection. Redline instituted some new rules this year that were difficult to pass. One of the new rules being that the ride height can be no lower then 3 1/2 inches from any component in either the Enthusiast or Street class…. LAME! This rule was almost impossible with the 370z and M3. We had to raise the coilovers on the 370z to maximum height. As you can see in the pictures, the wheel gap is enormous. On the m3 we had to take off the front under tray because it hung down too low with the stock suspension. The tech inspector took a 3 1/2 inch metal beam and ran it under both cars to make sure they meet the minimum  ride height rule. Both cars just made it!!

The other rule in the street class is that the rear wing must fit within a 68.5” x 15.5” tech inspection box as installed on the vehicle including all components. We had to make a few adjustments but were able to pass on the second attempt. We would like to give a big thanks to KC at APR for all the development and support for the aero on both the M3 and 335. www.APRperformance.com

After finishing tech inspection, it was time to get ready for the first practice session of the day. This track is new to both Paul Dentice and Paul Walker, who were very eager to get out there. They  jumped in their cars immediately to get in as much practice time as possible to learn the new track.

Off to the track! As Both Paul Walker and Paul Dentice get to learn the track, they start to drop their lap times dramatically.

The AE Performance 335 was having mechanical problems putting the car into limp mode after half a lap.  It will be ready, however, for the next race at Las Vegas Speedway, so keep your eye out for this car.

New to the team, the AE sponsored 996 turbo driven by pro driver Carl Rydquist, was looking really good in practice putting down lap times in the 1:55 to 1:56 range. This car will be competing along side AE Performance in the RWD Modified class in all the west coast events this season. A big thanks to Paul Jho and Hankook Tires for providing AE Performance with the Hankook RS-3’s for all of the cars. Carl was able to put down these lap times on the Hankook RS-3’s, a street tire, versus the other cars in this class who all run R compound tires.

Day 2

It’s day two at Buttonwillow which means it’s race day. Time to get serious, or as we say here at AE “it’s time to put on the game face”. The AE crew has a brief drivers meeting with the guys at Hankook to go over new tire strategies for the day.

Unable to make Friday and Saturday practice, Mauricio “Emcee” Calderon is there bright and early with his AE sponsored Mitsubishi Evo trying to get in as much practice time as possible before the event. Sidelined by braking issues after the first round, Mauricio was still able to pull out sixth place in Street Class AWD with a 2:03.088.

AE’s crew chief Casey Adamo was able to drop 2 seconds off both Paul Walker’s and Paul Dentice’s lap times. This was possible by making small changes to the cars’ tire pressures and trying new lines through a couple different turns on the track. Casey was able to keep track of each drivers split times, in order to see which racing line would be fastest through each sector of the track.

AE’s new tech Dave Brown caught blowing kisses to the Redline ladies. Dave also did a great job keeping the cars in perfect racing condition at all times during the event.

Paul Dentice grids up for the first session in the the RWD Enthusiast class.

Paul holds on to the fastest lap for the first session.

Paul Walker goes out second for AE in the RWD street class. This class is highly competitive and has many fast cars this year.  AE Performance picked up the M3 just 13 days before heading out to this event (see: http://blog.aeperformance.com/?p=707). Despite only having time for some weight reduction, Brembo brakes and the rear wing, Paul did a great job fighting off the other cars and posted a very respectable time of 2:07. The M3 is going straight back to AE for further modification and will be ready for the next race.

AE brought home the glory with 1st and 2nd place wins for the first Time Attack of the season. Paul Dentice takes home the win for AE Performance, once again, running a 2:02.338 setting the new track record for the class. A big thanks to Mark Mendoza and OS Giken who provided the differentials for both the 370z and 335i without which this would not have been possible. This year, the Enthusiast class has shown itself to be extremely competitive.  There are many experienced drivers and more than a few fast cars.  To ensure another win for next time, AE will continue to modify the Z and shave off time.  Continue to check the blog for updates on the Z.

Carl Rydquist, was honored with 2nd place in Modified class in his 996 Porsche Turbo running a 1:56.738.  He left most of the competition behind him and plans to ensure a 1st place win for next time by bringing the car back to AE to make a few changes to the set up on the car.