"How about a sneak peek of what's under the hood?" I ask Nakadate. He obliges while saying, "I have a cool story on this engine that you'll be sure to appreciate." I sneer and respond. "What Ray? You've got a fully built motor in here that produces a shitload of horsepower after 4500 rpm?" He laughs with a remark. "No, quite the opposite. We fully rebuilt this engine using all stock components except for the set of Tomei 256 intake/exhaust camshafts, a custom turbo and Autronic fuel management. We were able to put down 400 wheel hp and 385 lb-ft of torque." I shuffled closer to Nakadate hoping he would reveal some secrets. I reply, "Damn, that's pretty impressive but how's the boost? Most SR20's experience so much boost lag, the power band is like an on and off switch."
Weerasinghe peers from out of the fender towards Nakadate with a smile. "I'd have to really attribute the power and reliability of this car in thanks to Justin Izumi of Izumi Racecraft. Using an Izumi spec T28 turbo with a custom housing and internal wastegate, Justin was able to give us the necessary midrange power band and turbo response needed when drifting on the track. Peak performance is obtained at 1.6 bar of boost. At low settings (1.2 bar) the car produces 320hp and is great for street driving and road racing, which I take on numerous occasions. Of course, the Autronic fuel management system played an important role which was also tuned by Justin."
I couldn't believe it my ears. The car was extracting 400 wheel hp in reliable fashion while Norris was bouncing off the rev limiter all day long. I was caught in a daze, contemplating how enticing it would be to own an SR-powered 240, when I come reality. "So what else you've got in this Sileighty, Ray?" I ask.
"The turbo is mated to a Megan turbo manifold while the downpipe is an HKS unit. We're currently using a GReddy front mount intercooler with custom GReddy piping and a Blitz blowoff to circulate the excess pressure into the atmosphere. On the fuel side, we used a Walbro 255 lph pump and a set of 740cc Nismo injectors. Igniting this mixture is a combination of a MSD's DIS4 ignition box and MSD coil. To keep the oil temp in proper operating temps a Setrab 12-row oil cooler sits within the left corner of the bumper. Its funny but this car used to be my daily driver but now it's a full time company drift car," Nakadate said.
As we continued to shoot the shit, the loudspeaker once again called for the drivers to stage up to ensure the next round battle. Unfortunately, Norris failed to qualify to the next round. But with added seat time and more familiarity with the Sileighty, the sky is the limit for Kaaz and their newly sanctioned driver.
As for the Sileighty, Kaaz plans to perform some off-season revision on the suspension, a new roll cage, custom fuel cell, and a set of adjustable lower front arms to obtain more camber. We look forward to seeing this Sileighty become one serious competitor for the 2006 season.