Insight Motorsports Dry Sump Systems

We are excited to say that we have two new dry sump systems available. The first is designed for the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. The second is a “generic”, but more extreme race kit.

The Insight Motorsports engineering team has been busy developing a range of high end products for the performance Evo market.  Over the past 18 months we have been actively working on a dry sump system which we feel will be the most complete and highest quality system on the market.  Our system incorporates a CNC billet plate which takes the place of the original oil pump and includes upgraded oil passages for improved flow.

The test version of our system saw action at Superlap 2009 at Oran Park the Tilton Interiors/InsightMotorsports Evo 9 RS, with blistering results. Since then, we have made many improvements and the kits have undergone rigorous in-house testing.

For starters, the new kit has engineering to bypass the original oil pump drive and strengthened pulley support for the timing belt idler.

Furthermore, the Peterson 3 stage pump has been upgraded to a new R4 4 stage pump. This will be used by a second Tilton Interiors/Insight Motorsports Evo 9, which has yet to race. Many of you would have seen the first TI/IM white Evo 9, which has been quite successful, with wins under its belt at Oran Park and Eastern Creek. The second TI/IM silver Evo 9 is a step up again. We are going to need some nicknames for these two. At the moment, it is just New Evo and Old Evo, which is a bit harsh towards Old Evo considering that she is the same model as New Evo.

If a 4 stage pump is not enough, we can offer a 6 stage pump which will be used as a part of an all out race kit. Scott Kuhner will be fitting this to his famous Datsun Stanza. Scott already has a sub 9 second pass under his belt at the helm of the Stanza and will hopefully be returning to Sydney International Dragway very soon. Scott has promised me some pictures of the build of his Stanza. I will get them up here very soon.

The kit includes:

• Dry sump pump, screw type – 4 stage Peterson R4 for Evo or 6 stage for race kit 
• Front oil pump bypass plate and balance shaft elimination – CNC machined billet aluminium 
• Sump pan with internal pan scavenge cross over – CNC machined billet aluminium 
• Windage tray 
• ATI race harmonic balancer and spline drive - same as original design 
• Replacement oil pump idler and bearing assembly. 
• All associated fittings and oil filter fitting and adapters.

Check it out here.

New Dyno Room Almost Finished!

It is almost finished! After more than a year of design and consultation and months of building, our new, purpose-built dyno room is almost complete

We are still working on the finishing touches. You can see from the photos that we still have some materials to install. Nonetheless, the room is already in a functional state. It is so functional in fact that the pressure differential (i.e. suction) generated slams the door shut. There is no handle on the door as yet. We just use a piece of aluminium held in place by the suction of the airflow through the room. And we have not even sealed up the doors properly yet.

Even at this early stage, the reduction in noise volume from the outside is unbelievable. We can work upstairs in relative peace and have phone conversations without trying to fit in words between power runs. Our neighbours are even saying hello to us again. The new dyno room is making a massive difference to our workplace. It was worth the wait and the effort.

The room still employs our trusted Dyno Dynamics 4WD dynamometer. However, it differs from a traditional setup in that it does not need a separate fan installed in front of the car. Such fans, no matter how big, have never come close to matching real world airflow. In our dyno room, air is pulled back from behind the car instead, making the room function like a mini-wind tunnel. The airflow is so good that we believe that this could be used for some simple aerodynamic testing, such as wool tuft testing and intake temperature testing.

The metal duct you see is the exhaust fan, which is about 1.5m in diameter. Insight Motorsports Director Scott Kuhner, in typical Scott style, wanted even bigger. However, he would have needed to get the power from the street upgraded for the whole factory complex! The size of the fan is really put into perspective when you see the size of the “small” fan it replaced, which is actually quite big! Compare it to the car tyre in the photo below.

Why go to all this trouble? Because that is what our customers expect. The increased airflow will allow us to more accurately reproduce road conditions. It will also mean that we will spend less time waiting for cars to cool down between power runs or dealing with overheating problems.

We believe that this is now one of the best dyno facilities in Sydney. It is the perfect environment for Scott Kuhner, one of Sydney’s most reputable tuners, to work his craft. Scott has a great deal of experience tuning race cars. These facilities will no doubt help us to assist more racers in setting up their cars and achieving their goals.

Stay tuned, I will endeavour to get some videos of the dyno room in action up here as soon as possible!

R35 GT-R is invited to the speed region of the limit...

Do you know what that means? Apparently, it means 800ps in Japanese. At least, that is what HKS promises with its GT800 kit for the R35 GT-R.

Given HKS’ excellent reputation and proven record developing products, we have faith that 800ps (more or less 800 hp) is a realistic figure for the GT800 kit. HKS does a lot of testing before releasing its products. Nonetheless, we will be conducting testing of our own so that you can be confident in the results.

The GT800 kit employs the GT II Turbine with “Symmetry Twin Turbo Layout”, designed and manufactured in-house at HKS exclusively for this kit. A special, heat resistant exhaust manifold was also developed to prevent problems due to excessive heat.

The GT800 kit does not include some key upgraded parts – notably fuel pumps, injectors, boost controller, engine internals or engine management. Through our own in-house development, we will find a solution for each of these key components – possibly through the HKS catalogue, but just as likely from our other trusted suppliers such as ViPEC or some new Insight Motorsports parts.

We will be offering this kit for our customers. Furthermore, we will be testing it on our test R35 GT-R using our in-house dyno as well as at Sydney International Dragway. Obviously, this level of improvement will require some modifications. So, we will keep you informed. Whatever works for us will be made available to our customers!

According to HKS, the R35 GT-R “goes to the ultimate speed range” with this kit; I suppose that means that 800-odd horses under the bonnet of an R35 GT-R should be a lot of fun! We will see!