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All posts for the month February, 2013

Last August, we installed the street version of Alcon’s SuperKit for the GT-R and did some preliminary track testing at Atlanta Motorsports Park. The benefits of the kit were immediately apparent over the OEM brake system, but we wanted to test the kit on our local big track: the infamous Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA.

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So this time around, we installed the “Race” version of the Alcon Big Brake Kit. The Race version shares all the same features as the Street kit with only two differences. First, the Race Kit uses a fully floating rotor. A full floating rotor allows the rotor to move around considerably between the hat and the caliper and maximizes immediate pad engagement, reduces knock back, and results in incredible braking feel and consistency. The reason you don’t see more cars using fully floating rotors is they are make a good bit of rattling noises at low speeds and through small bumps during normal driving. Those looking for quite daily driving operation should stick to extremely capable street version of the kit. The Race Kit also features a nickel finished caliper and hat. Otherwise, the two kits are identical in all other ways.

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After Kerry installed one of the kits on a customer’s GT-R, he stayed late and installed another kit on my daily driven GT-R. As most of you know, my GT-R is a textbook definition of daily driver. Although it looks and drives like stock, the suspension wheels, tires, and brakes are optimized for aggressive track use and it’s seen several dozen track days so far. The OEM brakes perform very well, but when pushed to the limits things like pad knock back, lack of pedal feel, inconsistent release and so forth…all become issues that cost us tenths of seconds here and there. It all adds up.

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And of course, the Alcon Super Kit looks absolutely jaw dropping on the street. I caught myself staring on more than one occasion.

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With installation complete, it was time to brake the kit in at Road Atlanta. Although we were running the fairly mild and included Pagid Yellow RS29 pad I wanted to see how the kit behaved when hauling my GT-R down from 160mph into the braking zone of 10A at Road Atlanta. With the OEM braking system, I never really knew how the brakes would engage…not so with the Alcon Super Kit. Every time I pushed the pedal, the car immediately slowed and with a with excellent consistency. Knock back was completely eliminated, and replaced with consistent and linear pedal feel. The RS29 yellow pads did a pretty good job of slowing the car, but initial bite will be vastly improved once we move to a more aggressive pad. I’ve never liked the RS29 pad for cars above 3200lbs. It’s a great pad for Porsches, but not for the 4000lb + GT-R. We have custom made Carbotech XP12′s in production right now, and will be testing out some more compounds from Carbotech and Endless in the near future.

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Hope you enjoyed the review and photos, and let me know if you have any questions.

This weekend the Forged team made the short trip up to Road Atlanta for the event hosted by Tracks Unlimited/PBOC Motorsports Club. Despite the initially poor weather, the sun came out and made for a perfect track day on the course. The Tracks Unlimited/PBOC crew were highly organized and ensured all attendees were able to get the maximum amount of track time. The Forged Performance team enjoyed the opportunity to meet and interact with all drivers and crews at the event. Sharif had a chance to test out the new Alcon Brake Race kit at the track as well as a minor suspension adjustment. Sharif reported the new setup felt fantastic and delivered the stopping performance he has come to expect from Alcon. Look for a detailed review of the Alcon Race kit in the next few days. Enjoy our pictures! Check out our Facebook page to stay on top of upcoming events and we will see you at the next track day!

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It’s about that time of the year that we lock down and starting planning our annual NAGTROC/GT-R Owners track day at the historic Virginia International Raceway in Danville, VA. Every year, this event grows in size and scope, last hosting about 40 cars! Although we are finalizing the event details, we wanted to get the date out in front of everyone so you can save the date and start clearing your calendars.

Forged Performance/GT-R Life 5th Annual GT-R Owners Track Day
Date: Monday July 22, 2013 with the usual Meet-and-Greet on Sunday evening.

This year, our event will follow the NASA Mid Atlantic 3 day Weekend which means those looking for more track time can sign up for their Sunday HPDE. We consider the HPDE a “warm up” for the main event on Monday as 10-15 of our customers and friends will also be signing up for the Sunday track time. As in years past, our event is still open to all makes and models. We are doing our best to keep the event cost about the same as least year at $425, but there may be a small increase due to VIR raising their rental rates this year.
* NASA has stated they are not offering Sunday only registration. In order to get track time on Sunday, drivers will have to sign up for the weekend. (Sat/Sun)*

As mentioned, within a few days, we will have signup links on our website active with firm details of the event. Mark your calendars now for Monday July 22, 2013, and Sunday July 21st if you are planning to attend the NASA event.

To get your juices flowing, here is our video recap from last year.

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The 2014 GT-R Track Edition, recently revealed at the Chicago Auto Show

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Changes to the GT-R’s sophisticated 4-wheel independent suspension for the 2014 Track Edition include specialized Bilstein DampTronic gas pressure shock absorbers and higher spring rates. Much of the 2014 GT-R’s suspension development took place on the Nürburgring, one of the world’s most challenging racing circuits. The Track Edition damping force and handling benchmarks were further refined by GT-R development driver Toshio Suzuki. The Track Edition’s air guides for the front and rear brakes were also refined through rigorous track testing.

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The Track Edition’s performance enhancements were among a significant number of upgrades to the GT-R for the 2014 model year. The adoption of new fuel injectors enhanced the torque response in the 4,500 – 6,000 rpm range and improved throttle and acceleration feel at mid- and high-rpm ranges. The addition of an oil pan baffle helps to stabilize oil turbulence and oil pressure under high performance driving conditions. An aluminum nameplate is now added to each hand-assembled engine bearing the name of the specially trained “Takumi” craftsman who built that individual engine.

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