Hankook Tires held a press conference at SEMA today to announce their sponsorships for the upcoming 2010 motorsports season. During the conference Hankook renewed their comittment to maintaining their existing sponsorships while adding on a cash contingency program to support grassroots motorsport teams using their products.

The mic was then passed to Eddie Kim from Dynamic Autosports who detailed their own plans for the Formula Drift season 2010. They have decided to take the AWD Nissan GT-R supercar and make a drifter out of it.

Dynamic Autosports will convert the GT-R to rear wheel drive and will make heavy use of Seibon dry carbon body parts to lighten the car up.

Rumour is that the car will not initially run the VR38DETT engine however and a single turbocharged VQ35 may find it’s way under the hood of the R35 chassis while the team develops the VR38 package. The VQ will not be stock size though and fans can expect to see it displace around 4.0 – 4.1 litres.

The transmission will also be switched out and relocated up front. A G-Force transmission will replace the GR6.

As said, the plan to use the VQ is not set in stone and Dynamic Autosports may indeed use the VR38 engine. If this happens, it certainly wont be stock either and they are already developing a 4.1 – 4.4 litre stroker kit for it.

Engine swaps like these are not surprising, spare parts availability and the existing experience base with the VQ motor are going to give them a leg up in the first years of drifting.

リンク: Dynamic Autosports ウェブサイト
リンク: Hankook Tires ウェブサイト
リンク: Hankook Tires Press Release
画像: Copyright (C) GTRBlog.com

GT-R ニュースヘッドライン, SEMA, モーターショー, モータースポーツ dynamic autosports, gt-r, gtr, hankook, nissan, r35, Seibon

Well we already saw that the Password:JDM front fender project is completed but now we can release the photos of the fenders fitted up on the Password:JDM demo car that’s finally back together.

In these photos we see the final version of the fender along with the “sharks tooth” additions to the front bumper to make the whole deal line up properly. You can see it does away with the side markers also.

I got to visit Password:JDM HQ in Pico Rivera, Los Angeles last week to see how the fenders are made. The whole process is fascinating from concept to clay model to welded prototype to mold and finally to their carbon fibre production line. One thing I understood from my time there was that the guys don’t tolerate product that isn’t perfect. Quality control is key to their great reputation.

The wheels fitted to the GT-R are part of the new Mono da Forza range by Savini wheels which should start shipping this December. The right side are SM2 in Yellow/Black combintation. Custom finishes are also available and all in sizes of 18 – 22 inches. On the left side, we have the SM3 style wheel in Red/Black, again custom finishes are available in sizes of 18 – 22 inches. SM2 and SM3 are both 1 piece forged wheels.

リンク: Password:JDM ウェブサイト
リンク: Savini Wheels ウェブサイト

Password JDM, SEMA, パーツ, モーターショー gt-r, gtr, nissan, Password JDM, pwjdm, r35, savini

Over at the 3T booth in South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center you can witness a litteral leap forward in terms of serious body styling for the Nissan GT-R. The team at AIT have spent the last 5 – 6 months developing the very first full dry carbon widebody for the R35 GT-R. The results is something special too as they manage to significantly widen up the body without sacrificing the aggressive good looks of the GT-R’s body.

While still in prototype form, you can see already how this kit will help on the track. Firstly you can fit some monster wheels and tires under these beefed up fenders. We’re talking 12″ FRONTS and 13″ rears. Right now, the car is running 335 wide tires all round on the street and drives beautifully according to the owner. I guess this owes a lot to the fact that you get to ditch the runflats.

The main components of the kit are the front bumper, front lip, front fenders, side skirts, rear quarters, rear bumper and rear underspoiler. Also from AIT is a trunk lid and hood but I’ll need to confirm if these are in the kit itself or seperate items.

When available, AIT plan to make the kit affordable, which is a breath of fresh air. That being said final pricing is not yet confirmed so I wont comment on the $ number I’ve heard, save to say, I think it’s a very fair sum.

リンク: AIT Racing ウェブサイト

SEMA, パーツ, モーターショー ait, carbon, dry carbon, gt-r, gtr, nissan, r35, widebody

SEMA 2009 is kicking off in just two days time and today was the day to load the cars into the hall for the North American GT-R Owners Club’s representation. In the NAGTROC booth are a variety of GT-Rs from the full race specification GOTO:Racing car to the attention drawing and unique Royal T Blue GT-R.

We helped some of the guys detail and check in today and snapped a few photos along the way.

We spotted and heard about a few more GT-Rs at other booths already so we’ll be updating tomorrow or Tuesday with more.

SEMA, モーターショー bayside blue, blue, gt-r, gtr, nissan, r35, SEMA

SEMA 2009 is almost upon us and it appears that a few Nissan GT-Rs are being prepared to be tricked out for the show. In about a month’s time we’ll be in Las Vegas for the annual event that runs from the 3rd to the 6th of November.

I will be there and so will the North American GTR Owner’s Club (NAGTROC) who will be hosting their own booth in the North Hall Lobby showing Nissan GT-Rs in varying states of tune from members and sponsors alike.

Speaking of NAGTROC, the guys have organized a special rate for suites at the super luxurious Palazzo Hotel at just $229/night. If you are attending SEMA or want to get in on this exclusive deal contact bookings at 866-263-3001 with group code VNAGT. You must book by MONDAY 5PM PDT 12th October. Then for your included SEMA pass contact me or Chuck @ NAGTROC.org via email.

NAGTROC and GTRBlog will be getting together for a meetup (or a few meetups actually!) to eat, drink and talk GT-Rs so feel free to get in on this as well by posting a comment below or just stay tuned for the details of the meet place and time.

It’s going to be a great SEMA this year with quite a few surprises in store so start planning your attendance now.

Password:JDM have started their plans. As you can see here their finished dry carbon wide front fenders are fitted and their demo GT-R is off to the paint shop for a respray. These front guards are easily wide enough to swallow 315 wide Toyo Proxes R888s at the front so you can kiss understeer goodbye.

Pricing and availability information to come as we hear it…

リンク: NAGTROC ウェブサイト
リンク: SEMA Show ウェブサイト
リンク: Password:JDM ウェブサイト

Password JDM, SEMA, パーツ, モーターショー aero, carbon fibre, dry carbon, fenders, gt-r, gtr, guards, nissan, Password JDM, r35, SEMA, widebody