We are proud to announce success at NissFest 2015 with HG Performance. Our 910WHP Nissan GT-R and the full HGMS built GTR “Wicked GTR” take over Auto Club Speedway laying down the fastest time.
Track Prep
HG Performance’ participation at the NissFest 2015 Track Day involved a lot of track preparation. Our motorsports studio in Sorrento Valley has been extremely busy for the last couple of months. It’s only natural that you end up putting your own projects off to work on customer’s cars.
We had to get 2 GT-Rs ready for NissFest. One is our own HG Performance Nissan GT-R shop car and the other is the black racing-only GT-R that we’ve come to know as “Wicked GT-R.”
Tuning
Our own GT-R was due for a transmission build in order for the car to deal with the newfound 910WHP from the Delicious Tuning FlexFuel kit added on top of the other array of mods. The car had been driven here and there after Targa Trophy Megarun late Summer, but the latest tuning was only done recently.
Wheels and Other Additions
Wicked GT-R on the other hand was looking at a center exhaust install, new wheels and tires and a host of other drivetrain projects that our GT-R technical master John Wemigwans has been working on.
Blaise Fisk, our metal-wielding fabricator was busy all day prior to the event, measuring, measuring again, cutting the exhaust and welding together all the parts.
As with most “power-through” efforts, the project extended late into the night. The last set of test drives on both cars happened at some time past 10pm. Late maybe, but perfectly successful. Time for some sleep before 5AM comes around and the drive up to AAA Auto Club Speedway in Fontana California begins.
Track Day
At NissFest there was a car show, an autocross and the track day.
Being HGMS, we concentrated solely on the track day. The day was spent testing, measuring and making adjustments to tire pressures and suspension setup between every track session. Both cars were a success, but the Wicked GT-R shined. We ended up running what was not just the fastest Nissan GT-R at NissFest, but the fastest car of the entire field. The car performed. Something that validated the massive work put on by Team HG days prior to the event as well as the late night on Friday.
The HG Performance shop GT-R shined as well. It’s not the hardcore race car Wicked GT-R is, as it’s still a road car. However, with 910 wheel horsepower, it’s no slouch. Just ask the NissFest models Jessica Weaver (@jessicakes33) and Brittani Paige (@msbrittanipaige) who both got a ride along in the GT-R. There’s no question about it being one word: FAST.
Coming up, we’re going for stickier rubber for the HGMS GT-R. Let’s just say that the BFGoodrich g-Force Rivals we were running are great tires with lots of grip… just not quite enough for a car that’s a little shy of 1000HP. Some corners were an absolute drift session. Wicked GT-R on the other hand is on full race slicks. Not grip problems there.
All the fine photography in this article comes to you from: Daniel Schenkelberg Photography