G-Force Challenge

The G-Force Challenge--five magazines, 10 cars, three ultimate traction tests, all on one tire: the BFGoodrich G-Force KD performance tire. The Challenge, held at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, Calif., was an opportunity for the editors of the McMullen Argus Publishing International Performance Group to invite two representative street cars per magazine to test the new BFGoodrich rubber under realistic conditions. Import Tuner and sister publications Turbo, Sport Compact Car, european car and VW Trends headed out to the track double-fisted and ready for combat. The Challenge incorporated three specific stages: skid pad, slalom course and laps around the Streets of Willow circuit. This type of testing puts a vehicle in similar conditions to that of the street, providing real results relative to the true fundamentals of street driving. The rules going into the event stated all competing vehicles should be street-driven, registered and insured. The overall winner would be decided by adding together the vehicle's speed through the slalom to the figure reached on the skid pad, and then subtracting the vehicle's quickest lap time around the road course.

As you all know, the 2NR staff has been raised on a steady diet of quarter-mile performance and show-winning image. Emphasizing horsepower gains and appearances doesn't mean we've shunned the road-handling aspect of modified imports. We're the first to preach that pumping out horsepower is one thing, but power is just wasted unless you're putting it to the pavement. However, we generally pay little attention to racing around cones and when the G-Force Challenge was dropped in our laps, we were, to be perfectly honest, less than enthusiastic about an August day out in the desert. Furthermore, unforeseen circumstances saw the event and our end of the planning dumped on us just days beforehand. Nevertheless, we hustled, made some phone calls and put together a two-man 2NR platoon.

The rules also stated that each magazine could employ hired guns from professional racing ranks to pilot its representative vehicles. After some thought, 2NR opted to keep it real and, again, within the realistic realms of what we do. Robbie Montinola is a friend, reader and avid import enthusiast who cruises a clean, naturally-aspirated 1998 Integra Type-R decked out with a mild round of bolt-on mods. One of the main reasons we elected to keep Robbie in his Integra for the competition was the fact that the Acura was built with performance upgrades similar to those found in your (the readers) rides. Under the hood there was such simple stuff as a header, intake and exhaust, and in the corners APEXi N1 coilovers. Of course, the Integra was shod with G-Force KD rubber upon arrival at the track, but all in all Robbie's Type-R would give us a good idea of how well the average modified Honda would fare in such tests. We should also mention that Robbie is an aspiring race car driver who is currently racing in a nationwide open-wheel Skip Barber racing series. Nonetheless, the Type-R is his daily driver, and although it produces a respectable 190 hp at the wheels, Robbie had his work cut out for him going up against vehicles like 690-hp Supras.

Our other representative vehicle was the Subaru WRX owned by James Chen of Axis Sport Tuning. The Subaru came in stock condition except for a set of lowering springs and, of course, Axis rims wrapped in G-Force tires. We selected the Subaru because of its recent explosion onto the import scene and immediate popularity with aftermarket tuners and performance enthusiasts. The Axis Subaru's almost stock status would give us a real look at its performance capabilities in factory trim. As for the Subaru's driver? We decided to put a well-known import drag racing personality in the driving seat to see how he'd fare. Steph Papadakis definitely boasts the right credentials, having earned legendary status on the drag circuit and clocking plenty of time at several driving schools. Unfortunately, as we were later to learn, Steph went into competition with an almost impossible task, because no matter what skills he possessed, the almost-stock WRX was to be way out-classed by a field of dialed-in weekend warriors.

As for the competition, Turbo came in full force, bragging some big guns in the way of an SP Engineering-built duo of high-horsepower Toyota Supras. The first, owned by Ken Henderson, was a legit street car bringing almost 700 hp to the plate. The other Toyota powerhouse, owned by Nils Leufven, was driven to Willow Springs from Nevada and boasted big power similar to that of the other Turbo entry. Furthermore, both entries were to be piloted by Chris James, a California-bred racer about to embark on a career in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Team Turbo, it seemed, would be tough to beat.

Naturally, we expected the Sport Compact Car team to be strong. The SCC staff live and breathe both road course and rally racing, and are all exceptional drivers in their own right. The only hope the rest of us had was that the rules limited vehicles to true street machines, hopefully reducing SCC's edge. Unfortunately, those hopes were short-lived when the first of the entries, a Mazda RX-7, showed up on a trailer, sporting Hoosier slicks and a Pro Solo 2 National Champion title. To top it off, Rhys Millen showed up to take over driving responsibilities for the SCC team. That August day out in the desert was starting to look less and less like fun.

european car was all tarted up with a 400-hp RS Cosworth and a Porsche 914 equipped with a 911 engine. The Cosworth also showed up on a trailer, but probably more because of its rarity here in the States and an $80,000 price tag. The car was dope, and if the guy was willing to beat on it around Willow Springs for our benefit, I guess we can let the trailer slide.

The VW Trends duo both pulled in on trailers. It was starting to look like several people had either overlooked the so-called rules or we'd been given a different set from everyone else. To make it worse, both Bugs were strictly track cars; one at least maintained the factory uni-body, but the other was a full-tube-chassis version purpose-built for tackling road courses. We were starting to feel like Team 2NR was fucked. So much for playing by the rules!

When competition time came around, the sun was beating down and track temperatures soared to a blistering 142 degrees. Each vehicle was to get two shots at the skid pad, with time in between for owners to make any desired adjustments. This was the first stage and provided us with plenty of amusement on one hand, while producing some interesting facts on the other. SCC staff member Dave Coleman put all the vehicles through the paces around the pad, occasionally pushing some of them beyond their limits and supplying us with the aforementioned entertainment. The G-Force KD rubber seemed to handle the extreme heat and Coleman's borderline driving particularly well. Three of the vehicles managed to pull off over a g, with the SCC RX-7 coming out on top with 1.035gs. No surprises there, but the Supra of Nils Leufven and Team Turbo surprised many by busting out 1.009-g performance in exactly the same trim it was driven to the track in. This performance was obtained without any suspension tweaks, just the addition of the G-Force rubber. Robbie's Integra flew the flag for 2NR, pulling off a respectable .913.

The next leg saw us move on to the Streets of Willow road course. This was where the hired guns stepped in and gave us an opportunity to not only see how well the KD rubber performed, but also to see how well our "import enthusiasts" did against several big name racers. Once again, the Pro Solo RX-7 dominated, clicking off a quickest 1:05.1-min. lap. At this point we'd basically had enough of the Mazda and its unfair advantages and began concentrating on what the true street cars were doing. The RS Cosworth came to life on the track, laying down a 1:07.4, just a tad behind one of the Supras, which went around in 1:07.1. The VW Trends tube-chassis Bug produced a 108.2 and the other Toyota powerhouse chalked up a 1:08.3. We were really impressed with both 2NR's Type-R and the second weapon in the SCC camp, Frank Lim's Honda Del Sol. Both mildly-modified Hondas netted 1:08s, just fractions of a second behind the high-horsepower Supra and race-only VW. Our WRX managed a 1:10.5, a valiant effort on both car and driver's part considering the factory limitations.

Finally, we moved on to the slalom. SCC's Josh Jacquot got behind the wheel this time and proved his balls are made of solid brass by slinging each vehicle through the slalom at more than 70 mph. This particular part of the event is decided by the speed at which the vehicle can maneuver through the cones cleanly. Of course, the RX-7 set a blistering pace of 72.4 mph that no one could touch or even care about at this point. In close pursuit, however, was Nils' Team Turbo Supra, and the european car Porsche 914 locked at 71.7 mph. Robbie's Integra stepped up again, running an awesome 71.6 mph to take the third-fastest slot, just one tenth of a second off second place.

Upon completion of the final stage it was time to do the math and calculate who finished where. Of course, the RX-7 had things wrapped up from the get go and it came as little surprise when it locked up the clear win for SCC. Second place on the podium went to the tube-chassis Bug. No shock there either, although if we'd trailered in a tube chassis car you can bet your ass we'd have been standing on top of the podium. In third place was Leufven's Supra (the other powerhouse suffered a power steering failure and couldn't complete the event). european car did well throughout the event, eventually picking up fourth and fifth places with the 914 and Cosworth respectively. As for Team 2NR, Robbie's Integra finished strong to take seventh, and the ninth-placed WRX ended up just about where we expected considering the stingers bought in by the opposition.

All in all, we left Willow Springs surprised by how much we'd actually enjoyed the event. We'd learned a lot about the track testing techniques, the awesome new G-Force KD tire and, after stopping off to re-hydrate, even began contemplating participation in a new-found enthusiasm for racing around turns. There is already talk of a similar event in the future, which we are already looking forward to. Will we play by the rules again next time? We think you know us better than that. Next time, rest assured we'll play it their way!

We captured all of the sights, sounds and excitement of the BF Goodrich G-Force Challenge and bring them to you in a full-length video tape. You can order a copy for $19.95 + $3 S&H by calling (866) 601-5199, or visit the Import Tuner Store.