Agency Power has released 3 new Nissan R35 GT-R products to its dealers today.  These parts include their new complete intercooler pipe kit, short ram intake, and titanium replacement tips.  All these parts have been tested on our demo GT-R as well as tested using our Mustang AWD dyno.  The combination of the intercooler pipes and intakes added an impressive 30awhp to the car!  These parts are now available for purchase through Vivid Racing on our Nissan GT-R Store Here.

When someone asks you about what is a good tuner car to buy used that is fast, handles well, and looks good, most think of the normal cars.  STI, EVO, Porsche, Nissan, etc…  But for Derek, this Cadillac CTS-V was his answer.  He picked up the V8 machine used which was equipped with some 20 inch wheels that were all blingy.  So Derek brought the car to Vivid Racing and we transformed his Cadillac CTS-V from an old man cruiser to a V6 bruiser!  We added the K&N cold air intake kit for increased horsepower and throttle response.  Next was a custom exhaust system to let the V8 rip.  Derek liked his wheels but did not want the chrome look anymore.  So our wheel reconditioning service went straight to work.  We dismounted the Pirelli tires and seperated the 3 piece wheels.  The outside hoops were powdercoated flat black and the centers were done in silver to match the car.  Since the wheel centers were now silver, the stock silver Brembo brakes were hard to see, and that CTSV logo just did not work for him.  We fired up the airbrush and went to work painting all the calipers a gloss red.  To give it the final touch, we added the Vivid Racing logo and then clear coated over it.  This is just another instance of true customization!

Check out other customer cars completed at Vivid Racing’s Arizona Service and Tuning Center Here.

We received this Porsche 996TT from one of our Used Car customers who wanted to step up the power for the new owner.  The goal for this vehicle was to maximize the stock turbos and gain as much reliable horsepower we could out of them.  First, we dynoed the car stock on our Mustang AWD Dyno.  This gives us a baseline to work from so we know where are mods are improving on the car.  What we look for is the delta to ensure the customer is getting what they want out of the mods.  Our baseline dyno test was at 364awhp and 375ft/lbs of torque.  Because of the change in our dyno settings, this is a baseline of about 30hp more then normal. 

Our first step was to flash the car with the Softronic software.  The ECU flash was done via the OBDII port and took about 1 hour to complete from start to finish.  Upon completion, we reran the car which it picked up good power, but the stock plugs could not handle the change.  With 30,000 miles on the stock plugs, it was time to change them out.  We added the Denso IK22 1 step colder plug to smooth out the power.  This plugs spark will prevent the car from breaking up with the increased boost.  This change required the exhaust to be removed.  So at this point we added the Agency Power Exhaust System.  The total install on this was about 5 hours.

Since the flash will alter the fuel and timing as well as raise the boost from about .7bar to 1.0bar, it is necessary to upgrade the stock Bosch diverter valves to a strong spring and piston design like the Agency Power units.  These valves do not leak boost at the higher rpms like the stock units.  To change these out takes about 1 hour.  Now with the basics in place, to allow the turbos to breathe better, we added the Agency Power Carbon Fiber Dual Flow Intake kit.  This kit replaces the stock air filter with a K&N unit as well as adds the addition of a second snorkel for increased air flow.  The more air that is present, the better the turbos will perform.  To swap intakes is about 1 hour.

Finally, because this car will be used for both street and track, we added the Greddy Profec B boost controller.  The boost controller allows you to set both a high and low boost.  This way if the customer wants to run 1.0bar on pump gas and 1.3bar on race gas, we can easily make the switch.  Since Softronic tunes off the factory knock and O2 sensors, there is no need for a race map as the ECU will adjust to the octane.  The boost controller also has a warning feature that if boost hits a preset limit, it will cut back by a % to save your engine…  how nice   Since you have to run lines through the interior into the engine compartment, a good installation is about 4 hours.

In the end, the car achieved a 100 horsepower gain which is on par with these modifications.  This is a good basic review of how to start off a bone stock Porsche 996TT and achieve good performance results.  Total installation time is about 12 hours.  With these mods, a base has been set for a modular upgrade to say the K24/18G turbos.

Enjoy!