Last month, Travis from Pikes Peak Racing approached Sharif for some parts and technical support in getting their Pike’s Peak GT-R ready for competition. Having heard of our success with the GT-R on track, they were looking to improve the handling of the GT-R and to help with setup and technical advising services. With American professional racing driver Randy Pobst as their hired gun, Sharif and the team were delighted to get involved with their effort. Have a look at Randy’s initial evaluation of the GT-R’s handling manners, and his reactions after installing a set of Forged Performance Sway bars. Having designed and developed our sway bars through rigorous track testing several year ago, we were confident we had the right solution for them. That said, it’s always rewarding to hear a very experience pro driver give us his unfiltered opinion of our products. Forward to the 9:40 to 10:15 mark for his impressions and improvements with the FP Spec Sway Bars. Unfortunately, one of his timed runs during the race, Randy entered a corner a little bit too hot and had an off track excursion. Despite the setback, the team will be back stronger than ever.
Motorsports Division
With the latest installation of the blockbuster movie franchise Furious 7, also know as FF7, premiering tomorrow, everyone at Forged is very excited. Last year, the stunt production team at FF7 asked Sharif to custom tune the studio’s three identical blue Nissan GT-R’s. With custom ECU programming, extra power and the elimination of most of the factory safety controls Hollywood stunt driver Jack Gill performed the amazing action sequences you will see featured this weekend. Over the course of the production and filming process, Sharif and the Forged team provided technical support and plenty of replacement parts. Have a look at this amazing behind the scenes video.
The Forged Performance team is pleased to announce that in their first attempt at Roll Racing, we took home the 1st Place Trophy in the very competitive Sport Class. Many of the vehicles in this class make 1000-1300whp. The racing required dozens of high speed passes throughout the two day contest and the FP 4.0L Twin GTX3582 Powered GT-R built entirely in house, ran flawlessly on a very conservative 30psi tune. Stayed for more pics, videos, and updates. Thank you our sponsors Extreme Turbo Systems, Dodson Motorsports, and Cobb Tuning for their generous support of this effort, and our future efforts.
The Forged Performance team celebrated the end of our official track day season with what is always the biggest track day of the year: Thanksgiving weekend with the Chin Motorsports at Road Atlanta. We played host to 14 GT-R’s and had a really great turnout of customers, friends, and family. As many of you know, Forged Performance a veritable fixture at Road Atlanta and we spend more days on this track than any other circuit in the country. It’s our home away from home and always delivers an exciting weekend for those that attend.
What is most rewarding as a company, is to see a dozen Forged prepared GT-R’s making hundreds of flawless laps without any issues whatsoever. The care and dedication that our technicians have for these cars is second to none, and we never forget that our customer’s lives are in our hands when these machines are pushed on a racing circuit. With speeds exceeding 160 mph, we take no chances when it comes to maintenance and safety and our drivers are rewarded with hours of safe and fast laps.
On Sunday afternoon, a surprise visitor showed up in the Forged paddock: Mike Skeen! Mike is a Forged’s professional test driver and coach and also races professionally in some of the top series in the nation. He couldn’t resist hoping in a couple of GT-R’s and making a few laps with some lucky customers. If you ever get the chance to ride with Mike Skeen…do it. It’s an eye opener for sure! In the photo below, Mike is murdering the OEM brake rotors on Jack Wong’s Alpha 9 GT-R:
As we wrap up 2014 we feel blessed and fortunate that continue to do the things we enjoy most and share these successes and learnings with our customers. We look forward to 2015.
Check out the entire photo collection from this event on Facebook:
Earlier this year, Scott sent us his GT-R for a full track makeover including JRZ coilovers, upgraded wheels, tires, sway bars, control arms and some bolt on power adders. After doing a number of track days and enjoying the car for almost a year, it was time to bring the car back to Forged for a few more upgrades.
Coinciding perfectly with our final track day this year at Road Atlanta, Scott will be joining about 10 of customers for a weekend of track fun to test out the new upgrades.
For this round, we installed a set of Cobra Misano Lux seats in black leather and suede. This seat features a super lightweight design, using a carbon fiber back and very aggressive shoulder and thigh bolstering. The seat also sits very low in the cabin which in addition to the extra safety that provides, it also gives the driver some extra clearance for his helmet. I can’t say enough good things about this seat. By supporting the driver, a properly installed seat like this gives the driver much better feel and control of the car. We also installed the 6 point add on to complete his Schroth Harnesses.
And naturally, no track day GT-R would be complete without a pair of AutoTecknic Carbon Fiber extended shift paddles. Once you drive a GT-R with these extended paddles, you will wonder you survived without them. A must have for all GT-R owners.