Rare footage IMHO

SuperTuner Challenge

Autoforiity Performance Engineering 1996 Porsche 911 stage 3 Turbo
Peter Farrell Supercars 1994 Mazda RX7 Turbo
Renntech Performance Tuning 2001 Mercedes Benz CLK 60 Supercharged
2000 Lingenfelter Chevrolet Corvette Stage 2 Twin Turbo
Factory 5 Racing Coupe
Chuck Mallett 1997 Chevrolet Corvette Supercharged

Tuned Beasts at it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zULiodQ6lD0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMYu5guc4WU

 

Lolz at failed MAF.
Oh its only $5 peice of plastic ... no its $220, its bosch

 

Interesting videos. The Renntech CLK goes on to fry its ECU on the track, the first car to drop out. A cautionary tale for those who belief that expensive mods always improve the breed.

 

Not sure if it's just rumor or not, but I heard that RennTech CLK cost almost as much as an SLR.

 

That would be a stretch, given the extravagent pricing of the SLR. But I'm sure all those mods would have cost more than the base car.

 

Had to stretch wayyy back in the vault to get this info:

Full Link:

http://www.rgpotter.com/gsamuels.htm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One Lap 2001
George Samuels Captures the Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat in 2001
May 20, 2001

THE JOY OF ONE LAP

We were two, weary men in the autumn of our lives, searching, as men have done through the long, long years, for the Joy.

And the Joy seemed to be in short supply this year. Many of the older, more experienced competitors shared with one another a vague dissatisfaction. Often, they said that this would be their last year. Over and over, I heard the question, "Why are we doing this?" I always responded, "For the joy of it." They looked at me as though I were some poor, idiot child that an unkind fate had left on their doorstep. Rick Potter, my co-driver, was particularly quick to give me that look. I understood what he-and they--felt. This year seemed different. The pressure to win was higher. The light-hearted foolishness was less. Life seemed to be reduced to some humdrum sum: a number totaling the worries and wounds. As we drove through many of the long dark nights, pondered, "How is it that we are come to this: that we cannot find the Joy?"

On Friday, May 4th, we had the great pleasure of seeing all the friends from last year, comparing notes and catching up with one another's doings. We added the required decals to our cars and ran them through tech inspection, then wandered through the parking lot looking to see what the New Year had brought us. There were wonders and delights. Dan Kary had returned with a wonder, a Renntech-built Mercedes with a reputed half-million dollar price tag. It had devices and techno-magic that most of us had never dreamed of, let alone actually possessed. Kary told us that it had produced 700 lb./ft. of torque at 2500 rpm on the dyno. It had a fully adjustable suspension that could be reconfigured on the fly from the driver's seat. It had aerodynamic devices that would have been more at home at Bonneville. It was an automotive technological shrine. Aaron Quine and Bill Hoskins, a pair of Lap Puppies, showed up with a delight, a Corvette GSR featuring the best of 1963 technology. It was a real, hairy-chested, *****-to-the-wall, we-are-not-constrained-by-common-sense sports car that delighted everyone with its sheer effrontery. No top, no windows, no creature comforts of any kind; it was just enough chassis to hold an engine and keep four wheels upright. I liked it.

 

.....another snippet from the same article:

Not a bad beginning--certainly not as bad as the vaunted Renntech ubervagen. In spite of having been clocked at 185 mph on the back straight (according to Brock Yates, Jr.), its techno-wonders had betrayed it. The paddle-shifter actuated transmission downshifted to first in the middle of turns with predictably unpleasant results. It was withdrawn from the event.

 

Interesting! This page shows the specs and a different price:




VEHICLE TYPE: rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe

PRICE AS TESTED: $186,937 (base price*: $178,437)

ENGINE TYPE: supercharged and intercooled SOHC 24-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads,
Bosch Motronic ME2.0 engine-control system with port fuel injection

MODIFICATIONS (all parts made by RENNtech except as noted): Engine and transmission:
custom crankshaft, pistons, and camshafts; upper engine-block reinforcement; Lysholm-type
twin-screw supercharger with water-to-air intercooler; carbon-fiberair-filter housing; external oil
cooler; tubular headers and exhaust, $59,000 Suspension: lower and stiffer springs, Koni
double-adjustable shock absorbers, modified rearsuspension subframe, Heim-joint toe-control
links, larger antiroll bars, $4000 Brakes: Tilton dual master cylinders and brake bias control,
Brembo rotors and calipers, $6690 Wheels and tires: MONOlite 1-piece spin-forged aluminum
wheels, 9.0 x 18-in front, 10.5 x 18-in rear; Pirelli P Zero C tires, 265/35ZR-18 front, 285/30ZR-18
rear, $5500 Body and interior: carbon-fiber front and rear fender flares, hood vent, front spoiler,
side skirts, and rear apron; Recaro seats; roll cage; Sparco fivepoint harnesses, $35,500

Displacement: 364 cu in, 5969cc
Power (SAE net): 510 bhp @ 5800 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 520 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm

TRANSMISSION: modified Mercedes-Benz 5-speed automatic

Front brakes: Brembo 14.0 x 1.26-in vented, cross-drilled discs; 4-piston calipers
Rear brakes: Brembo 12.0 x 1.26-in vented, cross-drilled discs; 4-piston calipers
Brake-pad material: carbon-metallic

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 105.9 in Length: 182.0 in
Curb weight: 3439 lb
Weight distribution, F/R: 58.2/41.8%


http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...clk60sc_page_7

 

Thanks, Chapster, as usual you are a font of knowledge!

510 HP and 520 TQ sounds low for a six litre version of our engine running 10 pounds of boost. But 700 pounds TQ quoted in the other article sounds too high - maybe we're talking about two different vehicles? I doubt the driver in the Car and Driver one would have been able to adjust the Koni suspension on the fly.

Anyway, whichever car(s), what a beast! On its consolation tracking it almost beat the RX-7;s lap time (albeit in better conditions) - and that Mazda beat the Corvette by 3 seconds, only losing the competition becuase the rules were rigged in favor of big power down the straight ... something which this CLK should have been able to deliver in spades.

So it could have, should have won the whole damn thing.

 

Appears to be the same car, since the owner was mentioned in both articles.

Incidentally, the article in post #6 is written about the One Lap event in May of that year - whereas the other article was about the Super Tuner Challenge.

According to the account at the One Lap event, the CLK60 was damaged when the car downshifted on track into first gear...I'm not a mechanic, but my guess is that the engine received significant damage.

How's this for a plausible scenario: The car in the first event made more power...and when the motor was repaired (rebuilt?) is was detuned somewhat...perhaps less boost?

Anyway....cool car....would love to have seen it in action.

 

If the downshift left a big enough hole in someone’s wallet, a decrease in power may have been considered.

In a best case scenario, an over rev’d engine has valve float, and one or more pistons hits the valves. That requires a valve job, maybe replace a valve or three, and someone to overlook the nicked piston. This can be repaired with the engine in the car. Medium damage, one or more rod bearings go, but the crank is still good. Pull the motor, new bearings, check the crank & rods, and maybe a valve job (they’re cheap, so why not?). Extreme damage is a broken rod, busted crank, and the block is trashed. The up side is there are a LOT of souvenirs (I’d like a busted rod on my desk at work). If the heads can be salvaged, a call to the parts counter for a 1130105905 and they ship a 55 shortblock - $6K ($4.5K w/discount). If they offer a 1130106702, smile and decline. That’s $75.7K worth of 55K long block. No discount can make this a happy time.

No idea what happens to the blower itself. Seems like there would have to be some damage when the revs dramatically exceed what the vendor says the unit can take. Anyone know?

 

This doesn't include the rods, pistons, and crank right? Just a bare shortblock?

Btw, if anyone wants to spend all that money on a CLK to go fast you can buy mine for less than half the price and I've never fried an ECU and I bet my car is faster lol

 

Anyway, whichever car(s), what a beast! On its consolation tracking it almost beat the RX-7;s lap time (albeit in better conditions) - and that Mazda beat the Corvette by 3 seconds, only losing the competition becuase the rules were rigged in favor of big power down the straight ... something which this CLK should have been able to deliver in spades.