Just as the last words left his mouth, the loudspeaker blared some incoherent rambling and instructed Norris and his competitors to stage for qualifying. He quickly hopped into the car and fired up the newly transplanted SR20DET, as Nakadate and I made our way to the grandstand for a better view of the action.
Norris looks to be calm and collected, grabbing hold of the Ikeya Formula short shifter, waiting his turn. The clutch pedal is slowly engaged and placed into first gear, while the revs are kept at a steady 3,800 rpm. Norris peers through his Sparco helmet for a quick final check on the Autometer gauges as he awaits the signal to begin his run. A wave of the green flag and in one swift motion, the Sileighty lunges forward as the RPS carbon six-puck clutch delivers 289 lb-ft of torque to the Kaaz solid 2-way limited slip differential, laying a consistent 50 foot line of molten rubber. Entering the first corner, Norris stabs the throttle and manhandles the steering wheel to set the vehicle up for sideways entry through the j-turn as the rear 245/40/18 inch Yokohama ES100 tires spin in a hail of smoke. In less than 30 seconds, Norris completes his run as Nakadate and I both head back to the pits hoping to get a status on the vehicle and the all important driver feedback.
Just as we approached the Kaaz tent, the door was popped open as Norris was unlatching the Sparco harness and shoehorning his way out of the Sparco Evo seat. He quickly climbed out from under the Autometer 6-point roll cage drenched in sweat but with a look of content. A quick meeting with both Nakadate and Kaaz Chief Technician Saji Weerasinghe revealed the car was in need of some minor suspension adjustments before the next round. Weerasinghe quickly began his routine maintenance by removing the front 17x9 5zigen Fn01RC rims; exposing the 4-piston caliper Rotora big brakes and Porterfield's custom stainless brake lines. Being the nosey journalist, I stuck my head into the wheel well to further inspect the Sileighty's suspension. Upon conclusion, I notice the most obvious change from the Nissan factory was the A'PEXi N1 coilovers interlocked between a set of Swift springs. An intricate combination of Tein tie rods, JIC tension rods, Suspension Technique sway bars and JIC control arms vastly improve the handling characteristics when sliding through the track. In order to eliminate unwanted suspension movement, Kaaz discarded the 13-year-old bushings with a fresh set of Energy Suspension bushings. All four corners utilize Peak Performance's 5-lug hubs setup, replacing the factory 4-lug bolt pattern. Additional chassis stiffeners include a front and rear A'PEXi tower bar and Nismo front brace.