1999 Nissan Silvia S15 - Drift Vs Drag

If this setup looks strange to street/drift car owners, it should. Strange Engineering is the name behind the brakes and drag launch suspension visible here. Drag suspensions allow a car to better hold traction, not break it-you'd never catch these coilovers on a drift car.

If this setup looks strange to street/drift car owners, it should. Strange Engineering is

Trends will come and go among the various sects of automotive enthusiasm, but straight-line acceleration will always be the most widely upheld statute for judging dominance, and the streets will always be the most easily accessible courtroom. Pat's S13 was stock bodied, primer-clad and street-driven, and he was covering his engine-building expenses by embarrassing Supras, blown V-8s and modified Ferraris on the streets. "Everyone raced me. No one was afraid of that car," he laughs, "It was too easy!" Working with Latrobe, PA-based Hybridynamics, Pat, Denis Howell and lead builder Jason Greenawalt tuned his S13 coupe to make 579 whp on stock internals-a record that Pat drove the car 1,200 miles to NOPI Nationals to set, and one that still stands to this day. "We hit 630 whp with it once, when its wastegate hose blew off on the dyno," Pat clarifies, "but I don't count that one."

As the car's reputation caught on, the decision was eventually made to form PRL Racing, and to prep the car for NHRA Sport RWD and NOPI's NDRA Turbo Sport competition. The following year saw Jason pilot the S13 to consistent 9.3-second passes, regularly beating every opponent save for one, and earning a Wally in Indianapolis in 2007. The only remaining competitor: Orlando-based Mazworx front-man Mark Mazurowski and his 9.2-second S14. "Our cars were breaking parts every round," Pat explains, "and we were getting bored only battling each other." He transferred his S13 to PA drag racer Levi Stanley, and got started building a Pro-class car.

At the time, post-merger NHRA/NDRA judging criteria favored Pro Mod racers who ran with four-cylinder engines. And in Pat's eyes, the best four-cylinder, RWD car in recent production was the Nissan S15 Silvia-one he knew could compete with turbo-six platforms with the right build. Former foe Mark was also looking to get behind the build of a Pro-class car, and agreed that once Pat tracked down a platform, he would volunteer chassis fabrication and tuning. It gets better: "The only legal, registered S15 I found in the state was a yellow show car that Nitrous Express built and gave away at SEMA in 2006," Pat explains. It seems the thought of cutting up a sissy show car was just too good for the crew to pass up.

In case you're thinking scrapping 90 percent of a show car to make a Pro-class dragger is a waste, don't. "The kid who won the car sold it almost immediately," explains Pat, "Everything on it was still brand new. We were able to part out what we didn't need and get most of our money back." It was like getting a legal, S15 chassis for free.

The conversion took six months, but testing and tuning took a bit longer. The crew did most of the tuning on-track-since they were maxing out their dyno-which meant dialing in the chassis had to come first; alignment problems at 180 mph aren't fun. Three months later, the car was running consistent 7.3-second passes and posting 185 mph trap speeds with room to grow. But then, the unthinkable: NOPI went bust, and the Pro Mod class-along with most of import drag racing-went with it.

They say timing is everything, and to few disciplines is that more applicable than drag racing, in the business side of it arguably as much as at the line. Battle of the Imports still holds events, but fields only one Pro class, meaning the 3/4-chassis S15 would have to run against full tube-frame, carbon-fiber-bodied, turbo-six dragsters. The big, privateer-organized events of the Northeast have thus-far stayed in the Northeast, "and they're mostly for Sport FWD," Pat points out. Import Face-off and the newly formed NSCRA hold events regularly, but sub-$500 payouts don't justify the team putting thousands of dollars on the line with each pass. "These days, the car rarely leaves the shop," Pat laments. It's a shame, too, because data-logging from later test sessions shows it capable of 6.8-second passes with a few tweaks-faster than any other class competitor. It's a glimmer of hope Mark's put a lot of faith into, lately. The day after our photoshoot of the S15, Pat sold it to Mark.

A twin-scroll Garrett 3071R turbo replaces the stock S15 unit, and produces a fat, drift-friendly 568 whp and 420 lb-ft of torque to the S15's wheels. And those red silicone hose tabs on the end of every T-bolt clamp are a very important detail if you work on a car that's allowed only minutes for repairs. Your forearms will thank you.

A twin-scroll Garrett 3071R turbo replaces the stock S15 unit, and produces a fat, drift-f

Behind The Build

'99 Nissan S15
Output 568 hp at 6,800 rpm; 420 lb-ft of torque at 6,200 rpm

Engine Crower Stage 2 camshafts, titanium connecting rods, pistons, piston rings, BC5209 crankshaft, valves, valve springs, titanium retainers; Pulsar GTi-R throttle body; Garrett 3071R turbocharger; Full Race manifold; A'pexi AVC-R boost controller, GT Spec exhaust w/Boso-modified downpipe, Power FC D-Jetro ECU; Denso fuel pump, 800cc/min injectors; HKS fuel rail; Sard fuel pressure regulator; Power Enterprise Ignition Amplifier; NGK Iridium spark plugs; Hose Techniques silicon hoses, T-bolt clamps; Baller titanium bolts; Griffin Thermal Products intercooler, dual-pass radiator, oil coolers (x2); Spal fans; Yashio Factory water pump pulley; Garage Boso water/air separator, power steering reservoir, oil/crank case breather system, oil pan, intercooler piping, 90mm head gasket, head studs

Drivetrain OS Giken twin-plate clutch, five-speed gear set, main shaft; R33 GT-R axles, differential gearing; Kaaz R200 two-way LSD

Suspension A'pexi N1 Evolution Drift Damper coilovers; control arms

Wheels/Tires Work XSA-03C wheels (18x10 front, 18x10 rear); Falken Azenis RT-615 tires (235/40-18 front, 275/30-18 rear)

Brakes R32 GT-R front rotors, calipers; R33 GT-R rear rotors/drums, calipers; Project Mu pads and hand-brake shoes

Exterior D-Max Type 1 body kit, LED taillights

Interior Custom DOM 1.5/.095-inch roll cage; Bride Zeta III driver's seat; Sparco steering wheel; A'pexi EL gauges and tachometer; JVC DVD/audio system; Yashio Factory shift knob; Flawless Rides carbon fiber pieces

Gratitude Garage Boso staff: Frank Siharath, Ross Petty, Dan Ruelas, Keigo Sato, Hamma, Richard Rabe, Bushman; Mario Lozano of TSR Fabrication; The McCully crew, uncle Jeremy Motes, Antonuts and everyone in Hawaii, Okinawa, S.F. Bay Area, and people all over the world down with the Boso lifestyle!

Name.
Garage Boso

Location.
Gardena, Ca

Occupation.
Tuning shop, race prep specialists

Quote.
"We came to Formula D to make people shit their pants."

'99 Nissan S15
Output 1,400 hp at 11,000 rpm; 750 lb-ft of torque at 8,600 rpm

Engine S13 SR20DET block, SR20VE cylinder head; CP 90mm 11:1 pistons, rings; Mazworx aluminum connecting rods, dry sump system, 90mm head gasket, 1/2-inch head studs, CNC cylinder-head porting, intake manifold, turbo manifold, downpipe and wastegate dump, fuel rail, tuning; Kelford cams; Darton sleeves; ATI race damper; Supertech Intake and incolnel exhaust valves, dual valve springs, titanium retainers; Tomei cam gears; Infiniti Q45 throttle body; Garrett GT4718R 1.39 A/R turbocharger, liquid-to-air intercooler core; Tial blow-off valve and 60mm wastegate; Honda CBR 1000 coil packs; NGK plugs; RC Engineering 160lb/hr injectors (x12); Motec M800 ECU, CDI ignition

Drivetrain G-Force 2000 sequential transmission; Strange axles, driveshaft, 9-inch rear end; Ram clutch

Suspension Strange Engineering drag launch suspension

Wheels/Tires American Racing wheels (15x3 front, 15x15 rear); Goodyear tires (23x5x15 Front Runners; 32x14.5x15 medium-comp slicks)

Brakes Strange Engineering brakes; Goodyear stainless braided brake lines

Exterior Pito Pimar one-piece fiberglass front end, doors; Dodge Viper green paint, applied by Buck's Autobody; Lexan glass replacement; Simpson parachute; Quartermax wheelie bars

Interior Quartermax carbon fiber wheel wells, transmission tunnel, seat; Mazworx tubework; Painless switchbox; Stroupe harness; Sparco steering wheel; Motec Sport display; Auto Meter shift light

Gratitude Mark Mazurowski and Mazworx, Jason Greenawalt, Pito Pimar, Buck's Autobody, SPC Motorsports, Denis and the Hybridynamics crew, Jonah, Eric, Fortune, Luke, and Carter

Behind The Build
Head to the message boards at
www.importtuner.com to chat about this feature vehicle

Name.
PRL Racing

Location.
Orlando, Fl

Occupation.
Living life at just under seven seconds at a time.

Quote.
"I love beating expensive cars with cheap cars."

By Luke Munnell

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