Lowrider: Hey, Lowrider: It's an engine building contest, not car-hopping. Yeah--engine...you know--the heavy, outdated chunk of iron in front of your cars, hidden beneath all the chrome, that causes your fuel gauge to fall to "E" even at idle? No? Well here's an idea anyway: Why don't you take the biggest, stupidest old-school V-8 you can find, like a 427 Chevy, and try to get it to make more power-per-liter than we're going to. You'll be looking at about 1,540 hp naturally aspirated or 3,000 with a blower. Can't do it? Well at least you can airbrush some moonlit wolves on the valve covers and go out strong!
Turbo: Here's where things get good. Turbo magazine and SP Engineering are teaming up to build a 3.0L 2JZGTE. We're not sure what numbers they're looking for, but putting down at least 1,300 turbocharged hp will keep them in the game. They've got more cylinders, and more displacement...but also a shorter redline. 2JZs revving 10.5K? Pleeeease...that's SR territory, kid! Higher revs = more powerband FTW!
Modified: They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And we're inclined to believe it--especially after seeing Modified follow us down the turbo-four route, albeit with a 4G63 a la AMS in Chicago. EVO specialists above and beyond all, AMS is no stranger to the T-4 platform, or to building 4G63s that put down over 1,000 whp in street trim. The 4G63 and SR20 are rivals for good reason--both are more than capable of producing record power. Still, let's consider what counts; the SR20DET comes from Nissan, the 4G63 from Mitsubishi. We've got the GT-R and Skyline behind us. Mitsu has the AMC Eagle. The SR20DET is the result of meticulous Japanese engineering and craftsmanship, the 4G63, a long partnership with Daimler Chrysler. Rallying? We've got the Wangan and Touge! Drifting? Nah...all ours! What does all this mean? Well, it...oh shit! Time's up.
Until nest month, make sure to visit the official Castrol Syntec Top Shop Challenge website and cast your vote according to how badly you think we're going to kick ass! We promise--you won't be disappointed. Foremen, Tuners: G-Dimension, City of Industry, California
These guys have been in the game since the beginning. Literally. Owners James and Leon Chang lay claim to doing the first stateside SR swap ever, over 13 years ago. These are the guys who built Jack Tsai's 460whp RB-swapped S14 240 that appeared in the November, 2007 issue of 2NR, and they're currently wrenching together a 800+whp, 2.4L SR20-powered S13 drag car. When it comes to calling shots and tuning, these guys got it covered.
Headgames: Mazworx, Orlando, Florida
Titleholders to the all-time high horsepower SR20DET record of XXX hp, building quadruple-digit SRs is what these guys do for a living. Mazworx is fielding three SR20-powered S-chassis drag cars in this year's NOPI series, including their newest addition, PRL Racing's XXXXwhp, 7.41-second S15 killer. The best part is they're building an SR20VE head for us, to XXXXwhp spec; wanna talk flow? Slim Shady ain't got nothing on this beast.
Building Blocks: Speed-O-Motive, West Covina, CA
With over 60 years' experience building engines, Speed-O-Motive is widely known as SoCal's go-to guys for any major project. On their plate at the moment is an RB25DET build commissioned by the Drifting.com crew, an RB26DETT for an upcoming RB Motoring project, and oh yeah...our nuclear-warhead resistant SR20DET bottom-end. What do you get when you combine in-house CNC capabilities, digital balancing and DTS Engine-dyno fine-tuning with over six decades of gearhead knowledge? We can't wait to see!