Featured Cars, Street Legal K20 Elise
Jon Vo
Last 111, First Street Legal K20 Swap? (Part 3)

It’s been a while since we had an update on this car and a lot of people were starting to wonder what happened to it. Between the many obstacles to overcome, developing some custom parts, going back and forth on decisions, the owner of the car (and myself) having two having kids, this became a sideline project in the shop. Our usual chats shifted from the K20 swap to sharing our experiences raising two young children. Although progress was made slowly throughout, I wanted Part 3 to be the final part of the blog.

Last 111, First Street Legal K20 Swap? (Part 3)
Tom Tang
10:31.372 at the 102nd Running of the Pikes ...

The team arrived back in Colorado Springs on Saturday, June 15th and we were greeted at COS airport by some really cool window artwork promoting this year’s race. After leaving the airport, we immediately headed over to our home-away-from-home: Winslow BMW of Colorado Springs and we were met with another fun surprise; this year’s “Signature” car, a BMW Z3M coupe and “Parade of Champions” car, a new BMW i5 M60 electric performance sedan. The liveries for both cars were unique for the 102nd Running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Legendary PPIHC Hall Of Fame Inductee, Clint Vahsholtz, was this year’s driver of the “Parade of Champions” car; which meant that after the race on Sunday he would lead all of the competitors down from the summit of the mountain back to the start-line. It’s an incredible honor, and I can think of no one better for the job considering Clint has raced Pikes Peak 30 times. And out of those 30 times, he’s won his class 24 times and he was King of the Mountain in 2020. Wow!

10:31.372 at the 102nd Running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
Tom Tang
Pikes Peak: First Test Weekend At The Mountain

Following several successful planned test days at our home track of Sonoma Raceway in April and May, we finally arrived at the first Official Test Weekend ahead of the 102nd Running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC). This weekend took place on Saturday and Sunday June 1st-2nd, and as a rookie I was informed by the event-organizers that my performance across both days would be evaluated in order to make a final determination of my eligibility to race on June 23rd. No pressure or anything, but game on.

Pikes Peak: First Test Weekend At The Mountain
Featured Cars, Motorsports
Tom Tang
Pikes peak build: part 4

Over the 2023 winter holiday break is when things got really serious for our Pikes Peak car. We used the downtime to get a lot done, including a full rebuild of our Drexler rear diff.

Pikes peak build: part 4
Featured Cars, Trackspec Exige Project, Motorsports
Jon Vo
Trackspec's K24 Exige- Emtron ECU and AiM PDM32

It’s been over 3 years since I put the Honda K24 into our Lotus Exige and it was the first car that I made an engine harness for. Although the harness was reliable and never gave me any issues, I felt that my harness building skills have improved much since then. What I really wanted to do was get rid of all of the unused wiring and the mess under the dash.

Trackspec's K24 Exige- Emtron ECU and AiM PDM32
,

Last 111, First Street Legal K20 Swap? (Part 3)

,
Last 111, First Street Legal K20 Swap? (Part 3)

It’s been a while since we had an update on this car and a lot of people were starting to wonder what happened to it. Between the many obstacles to overcome, developing some custom parts, going back and forth on decisions, the owner of the car (and myself) having two having kids, this became a sideline project in the shop. Our usual chats shifted from the K20 swap to sharing our experiences raising two young children. Although progress was made slowly throughout, I wanted Part 3 to be the final part of the blog.

Restoring an Evora 400

Restoring an Evora 400

On a Saturday evening earlier this year, I stopped by the shop and unexpectedly saw an Evora in our parking lot that looked like it had been in an accident. I later received an email confirming this, and it had been towed in for an evaluation.

,

2024 Pikes Peak Documentary Short-Film

,

“Have fun. Don’t die. Finish. And then run a respectable time." -@tomchutang

These were the straightforward, and yet powerful goals Tom set for himself as he faced the 2024 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for the very first time. Join us for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes journey with Tom and his dedicated team as they tackle one of the most challenging and legendary races in the world with their Eibach powered, AiM Sports Data and JRZ Suspension equipped E46 BMW M3 on Toyo Tires, built by Trackspec Autosports.

10:31.372 at the 102nd Running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

10:31.372 at the 102nd Running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

The team arrived back in Colorado Springs on Saturday, June 15th and we were greeted at COS airport by some really cool window artwork promoting this year’s race. After leaving the airport, we immediately headed over to our home-away-from-home: Winslow BMW of Colorado Springs and we were met with another fun surprise; this year’s “Signature” car, a BMW Z3M coupe and “Parade of Champions” car, a new BMW i5 M60 electric performance sedan. The liveries for both cars were unique for the 102nd Running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Legendary PPIHC Hall Of Fame Inductee, Clint Vahsholtz, was this year’s driver of the “Parade of Champions” car; which meant that after the race on Sunday he would lead all of the competitors down from the summit of the mountain back to the start-line. It’s an incredible honor, and I can think of no one better for the job considering Clint has raced Pikes Peak 30 times. And out of those 30 times, he’s won his class 24 times and he was King of the Mountain in 2020. Wow!

Pikes Peak: First Test Weekend At The Mountain

Pikes Peak: First Test Weekend At The Mountain

Following several successful planned test days at our home track of Sonoma Raceway in April and May, we finally arrived at the first Official Test Weekend ahead of the 102nd Running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC). This weekend took place on Saturday and Sunday June 1st-2nd, and as a rookie I was informed by the event-organizers that my performance across both days would be evaluated in order to make a final determination of my eligibility to race on June 23rd. No pressure or anything, but game on.

, ,

Trackspec's K24 Exige- Emtron ECU and AiM PDM32

, ,
Trackspec's K24 Exige- Emtron ECU and AiM PDM32

It’s been over 3 years since I put the Honda K24 into our Lotus Exige and it was the first car that I made an engine harness for. Although the harness was reliable and never gave me any issues, I felt that my harness building skills have improved much since then. What I really wanted to do was get rid of all of the unused wiring and the mess under the dash.

Trackspec's K24 Exige- Brake Bias Cage

Trackspec's K24 Exige- Brake Bias Cage

About two years ago, we decided to run a 15/17” wheel stagger for more tire selection, and in doing so, we had to install smaller front calipers (More detail on that here). The Cup brakes that our S240 came with were too big for 15” wheels. We were able to get a few 15” wheels to fit over them, but it required running some large wheel spacers. The set up we decided on were the AP Radical front calipers and the OEM 2 Pot calipers in the rear. Since the changes, the brakes never felt as good as the stock set up. The larger calipers require more fluid volume, and with the stock master cylinder, that meant the pedal had more travel and felt softer. We also noticed more ABS “ice mode”, which could be related to the change in brake bias and front to rear tire diameter.

,

Pikes peak Build: Part 2

,
Pikes peak Build: Part 2

Picking up from where we left off in Part 1…over the past few weeks we have continued to work on ensuring our BMW E46 M3 survives the thin-air and increased cooling demands of Pikes Peak. I sourced a KSR hood vent (thanks Ken) which is the perfect size to serve as a ducted exit for the v-mounted intercooler. We also added an inlet to the driver side carbon fiber lens to feed the hungry Active Autowerke Rotrex C38 supercharger.

,

Pikes Peak Build: Part 1

,
Pikes Peak Build: Part 1

Back in March, we announced our plans to tackle one of the most difficult motorsport events in the world; the 102nd running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 2024. In preparation for this grueling challenge; which will test us as a team, me as a driver, and the car we build over a distance of 12.42 miles and around 156 turns on the way to a summit elevation of 14,115 feet, we decided to spend the next year taking our time to thoughtfully plan for a successful race to the clouds. While my mental-state and physical conditioning are equally important, for purposes of Part 1 let’s just focus on what most people care about more…the car!

hours

Monday through Friday
7am to 4pm