February 9th, 2010 - James Elterman and Takata Time Attack, the 2008 Redline Time Attack Modified AWD Champion and 2009 runner-up, announced today a new partnership with Northern California based Subaru specialist LIC Motorsports to campaign a Time Attack car in the 2010 racing season.

The Takata Time Attack Impreza, which was made famous by a livery design contest in 2008 involving Microsoft's hit racing video game, Forza Motorsport 2, has been retired in favor of LIC Motorsport's Impreza. Through another livery design contest, this time utilizing Forza Motorsport 3, the LIC Motorsport Impreza will become Takata Time Attack Impreza Version 2. Rules and contest submissions can be viewed at the following links.
Rules: Forzamotorsport.net Forums - Takata Time Attack 2010 Livery Contest! Your design on a real Time Attack car.
Contest Submissions: Forzamotorsport.net Forums - Takata Time Attack 2010 Livery Contest Submission Thread

Takata Time Attack will field the new Takata Impreza in the Modified/Limited class at west coast Redline Time Attack and Super Lap Battle events where it will be piloted by James Elterman.

"Partnering with LIC Motorsports as opposed to campaigning my own car will finally give me the opportunity to focus on driving and being an excellent spokesperson for the companies that support us." said James Elterman, owner of Takata Time Attack. "I am pleased to have partnered with LIC because they have the same level of commitment and professionalism that I have, combined with the talent to be successful. Additionally it gives me the chance to extend my lasting relationship with Subarus in which I find great pleasure in driving."

Responsible for the build, preparation, and trackside support of Takata Time Attack are LIC Motorsport owner Adam Levy and manager Noah Levy.

"We are excited to show our true potential and challenge the best in the sport." said Noah Levy. "With the support of our sponsors, an experienced driver, and a potent racecar we hope to make a big impact on the circuit this year."

Ensuring the new Takata Impreza will compete at the top level are a valuable group of team sponsors.

Extending their relationship with Takata Time Attack and LIC Motorsports
Takata Racing Products: A global leader in seat belt and air bag technology, as well as the manufacturer of Takata Racing Harnesses.
Nitto Tire: Provider of Nitto NT-01 competition tires.
Wheeldude.com: Provider of wheels.
Deatsch Werks: Provider of high output fuel injectors.
SPS: Provider of specialty race equipment.

New partners for 2010
Cobb Tuning: Provider of COBB AccessPORT and tuning services.
JE Pistons: Provider of custom forged pistons.

The Takata Impreza Version 2 is scheduled to make its debut at the Redline Time Attack season opener at Buttonwillow Raceway in Buttonwillow, California at the end of March.

Takata Time Attack is owned and managed by James Elterman of Godspeed Motorsports Marketing LLC. For more information, visit TakataTimeAttack.com. LIC Motorsports is a Novato, California based garage specializing in Subaru maintenance and performance upgrades. More information at Home | LIC Motorsports - Subaru Specialist Serving Marin County, Sonoma County, and Norcal. Redline Time Attack is North America's premiere Time Attack racing series. In the sport of Time Attack, drivers compete to set the single fastest lap time on a road course. For more information visit Redline Time Attack NEWS

 

I have for sale our Alcon 340mm x 32mm 6 piston BBK. It was desgined on our 2004 STi and is a one off kit and the only one made.

The rotors are virtually new with only 6 Time Attack Events on them (they mic at 31.65mm remaining rotor. Worn out is when the half moons are missing, which = apprx 28mm).

We originally removed this kit b/c we thought it was causing too much front bias with our car/285 tires but we installed another kit (Brembo) which it did the same exact thing....again this is b/c of other issues not related to the brakes. Luckily we got sponsored from Brembo and we will continue to run their product.

Kit includes: 2 front calipers, 2 front rotors (Drilled for 5x100 or 5x114.3), 2 Caliper Bolts, 2 Bracket Bolts, 2 Brackets....*Brake Pads are needed*

Price- SOLD

Here are some pics:

 

LIC Motorsports custom products coming for 2010!

 

Fender Flares:

With the much anticipated wait for the Fender Flares off the LIC Motorsports Time Attack STi...the good news is they're close to production and are set to be released in the first Quarter of 2010!

When we first went about making these flares we knew they had to be sleek, durable, and ultimately do what we needed them to do; which was fit a unconventional wheel/tire combo.  We are pleased to announce that we have compromised nothing with these once one off flares and are set to bring them mainstream.

Fitment- 02-07 WRX/STi (Wagon/Sedan) and later will come 93-01 Impreza

 

Cooling System:

We have been working very hard to bring the issue of cooling problems to an end with the new age subaru's under track conditions.  Introducing a custom LIC Motorsports Radiator/Oil Cooler combo and one unlike you have ever seen before for a Subaru.  We have seeked the help of the pro's and will be utilizing NASCAR/INDY CAR technology.

Fitment- 02-07 WRX/STi, and later will come 08+ WRX/STi

 

Pistons:

We have been hard at work arranging pistons for our custom applications.  This is to include maintaining proper compression ratio when doing a 2.5L short block with 2.0L Heads (aka Hybrid setup).  We will let you know how this goes and project having our own LIC Motorsports pistons by end of first quarter of 2010 as well.

Fitment- 2.5L STi short block

 

Did you know LIC Motorsports is on Facebook?  Well just like the rest of the world, so is LIC.  We use facebook as a source to keep others informed of what's going on around the shop and to better stay connected in an era of social networking.  We show what we encounter from day to day and give helpful hints on where others went wrong (ideally so they don't encounter the same mistake).

We do not do shameless self promotion in order to get folks to buy anything, we're simply keeping you connected and who know's we all might learn a thing or two ;-)

 

 

We can be found at: LIC Motorsports on Facebook

Redline Time Attack Season Finals - Fontana, CA 11.15.2009

Coming off a very tiring week from Super Lap Battle, LIC Motorsports was 99% sure we weren't going to make it to the Redline Time Attack Season Finals. We came to this conclusion from being frustrated at our performance at Super Lap Battle 2009. Having spent the better part of a week dealing with the race car + traveling, we were burnt out to say the least. We got back from Super Lap on Thursday AM and began our work on customer's cars through Friday, of which we also decided we might as well take the long haul down to Southern California yet again and make an appearance even if we knew we weren't going to bring our best game to the table.

Being we had obligations through Friday evening with customers; we were left with only a few hours to setup the suspension for a high speed track like Cal Speedway. And true to form, nothing goes as planned and just drops in and fits (hence grinding on springs that have too much paint and not enough taper on them). We ended up leaving for Fontana, CA to late and left after 5pm on Saturday evening, which didn't get us arriving to our hotel until 3am on Sunday. We were already starting the day off badly. But only leaving ourselves to blame we struggled to push forward on our last race of the season, It would have been easier to call it quits but not wanting to let our sponsors down we continued onto race day.

We decided we needed to make an adjustment to our brake system as we were constantly getting lock up and way too much front bite (resulting in many flat spotted tires and lack of driver confidence). I was met bright and early in the AM with a rep from Race Technologies, to hand off our new 6 piston Monoblock 355mm Big Brake Kit. Even though we managed to miss the first practice session as we installed our new brake system, we at least were feeling better we gave our driver the best opportunity to do his best with what we had brought.

First session out we quickly realized we were over sprung on our coilover's...we had a few options, 1- continue to change things and hand the driver a different car each and every time or 2- just let him get use to the car and do the best he could. We decided it was best to let Russ get use to the car and work within what was given to him and what we had to work with. Russ's feedback on the brakes was encouraging and discouraging all at the same time. We quickly realized that we just spent a chunk of change for the brakes to operate almost darn near like the older brakes; which got us all thinking...luckily we now know what the braking issue(s) are, bad thing was there was nothing we could do to fix it at the track. With this information in hand Russ just had to make do with what he had and also attempt to stay in the top 5 (which was our goal for the weekend).

We fought our way to the second to last session and our current standing was 3rd place in class (only separated by 0.7 & 1.0 secs, the 1st and 2nd place cars were going to two Nissan GTR's, which are made for this high horsepower track). Going into the final session of the day, we were hopeful but skeptical we could clinch anything better than where we were. One small issue was the AMS car was on its way out. I knew we didn't have enough for those guys and reserved ourselves to 3rd or 4th place as a best case scenario.

Final round, as all the teams headed out to lay some final numbers...it was a stressful yet eventful time for everyone, and likewise it was a lot of fun to see everyone in good spirits and rooting everyone on as the day/season was coming to an end. I got to hang with the boys from GST Motorsports and reminisce of this past year and also to share a beer or two. The final session had now come to an end, of which I reserved my mindset to 4th place and felt if we at least accomplished it, we should be proud. Needless to say we did finish off the Redline Time Attack Finals in 4th place Modified AWD and obtained our goal for the first real season out for LIC Motorsports.

2009 Standings (From August to November):

2nd Place - Super Lap Battle Qualifier (Fontana, CA)
3rd Place - Redline Time Attack (Pahrump, NV)
1st Place - Subiefest 2009 (Willow Springs, CA)
4th Place - Super Lap Battle 2009 (Buttonwillow, CA)
4th Place - Redline Time Attack Finals (Fontana, CA)

 

LIC Motorsports would like to thank its 2009 sponsors:

Crawford Performance- supplying superior motor internals, turbo kit, and tuning
Deatschwerks- best injectors in the marketplace
Toyo Tires- supplying competitive tires
Wheeldude- making strong reliable/dependable wheels
ERP Suspension- supplying knowledge that one only learns from doing for a lifetime
M1 fabrication- making the best custom parts one could ask for
Rally Sport Direct- sticking with LIC from day one
Hectors Chop Shop- keeping the race car looking classy
Race Technologies- supplying great braking solutions

 

**************************************************** LIC Time Attack STi Specs ***************************************************
Model: 2004 STi
Weight: 2900 lbs. (Dry), 3210 (Loaded w/ fuel and driver)
WHP: 500
Torque: 400
Fuel: e85
Motor: Crawford Performance 2.5L S3L-IR (Assembly by LIC)
Turbo Kit: Crawford Performance GT35R w/ BIG FMIC
Fuel Supply: Crawford Performance Surge/AOS Tank, Fuel Rails
Tuning: Crawford Performance (ECUtek Reflash)
Injectors: Deatschwerks Top Feed 1200cc (Custom)
Drivetrain: ACT Clutch, Cusco LSD's (Front/Rear)
Suspension: Triple Adjustable JRZ (Custom), M1 Knuckles/Control Arms (Custom)
Brakes: Front Brembo 6 Piston 355mm BBK, Rear Brembo (stock)
Exterior: APR GT300 Wing, LIC Fender Flares/Splitter/Canards (Custom)
Wheels: Wheeldude.com Rota DPT 18x10 e35 (5x100/5x114.3)
Tires: Toyo Proxes R888 285/30ZR18
***************************************************************************************************************************************

Super Lap Battle - Buttonwillow, CA 11.11.2009

The weeks following the last event (Subiefest 2009) were filled with lots of ideas and major upgrade/changes. Wanting to push as hard as possible without compromising anything, LIC Motorsports put some plans underway to prep for the last two remaining events (Super Lap Battle and Redline Time Attack Finals). First event up was Super Lap Battle 2009; this is the super bowl of Time Attack, cars come from all around the country to show you what they got and continue the East Coast/West Coast question of whom makes/develops the best cars.

LIC Motorsports data has proven over the last few races that the car desperately needs to be lower to the ground all while obtaining proper geometry. Getting to this is not a simple or easy task. We started by contacting M1 Fabrication and Development in Southern California. The parts needed would be a bit complex but with a methodical plan and there racing/engineering experience, they were confident they could get us what we were looking for. The next phone call was made to ERP Suspension Engineering, these guys really know their stuff; with a background in Speed World Challenge and countless design and engineering dedicated to Porsche teams. The plan for custom control arms, custom knuckles, and custom JRZ Suspension was now underway...only catch was, we only had 3 weeks for design, execution, and delivery on these parts.

Continuing on with our daily routine of servicing our customer's needs and doing day to day operations, the race car took the back seat for a few long work weeks. At LIC Motorsports, we are all about our clientele, they are top priority and will remain...that is a constant and will never change.

While suspension bits were in the works, we focused our attention to our motor. Not wanting to "chance" anything or leaving it to "luck"; nothing is worse than working your tail off to only have a failure at the track and the embarrassment that I'm sure follows (we've never had this happen yet), the call was made to pull the motor and check bearings and freshen up the system while we are there. With motor out and everything looking good we decided to build it back with a new case to ensure many races to come (our original motor was a used case, remember LIC Motorsports builds these motors in house and is responsible for the blueprinting of it as we are the only Crawford dealer allowed to do this in house while maintaining the Crawford brand).

With time closing in on departure for Super Lap Battle it was evident we needed more time. The custom parts were taking a bit longer than expected due to machines going down and M1 having many customers needing product in the time frame we needed ours. The JRZ Suspension ended up at ERP when it was suppose to be dropped shipped direct to LIC. These items started chewing up precious time that we now didn't have the luxury of. This is where the fun and chaos begins.

Thursday- contacted our buddy to make adapter collars for our axles for the 04-to-05/5x100-to-5x114.3 hub conversion we just completed; we could have just bought 05 axles but didn't want to spend the extra $750 to do so, as plenty was going into this project. As well as adapter collars for our custom JRZ suspension (these were for our Cusco camber plates we run...for those that don't know, when you buy race coilovers they don't come complete. They are sold as struts only and you as the end user buy the springs of choice and rates, the camber plates, and necessary hardware).

Friday- our buddy worked through the night making those one off suspension bits and really doing LIC a favor and saved us some funds in doing so. I was expecting our custom control arms/knuckles by this time as well but they didn't arrive as they were not completed as of yet.

Saturday- was used for setting up the new coilovers and like most motorsports coilovers with external reservoirs; you need to find an area to make this happen. That sounds much easier than said, trust me. In addition, M1 had finished the parts we needed and to save on time had flown on a plane up to San Francisco Airport to hand deliver us our custom parts. This day was now blending into Sunday

Sunday- 9am I notified M1 that we ran into a fitment issue with one of the products and couldn't be made to work, I also expressed to them LIC Motorsports needed those parts to complete our suspension overhaul (the 5x100 to 5x114.3 requires us to run 05+ knuckles for our suspension, I had stock spares but the whole purpose behind the build was to lower our roll centers and get proper bump steer, and in addition it was noted that our ball joints were reaching the end of their life, so it was even more crucial we got these parts). Not wanting to risk everything and assuming it would just "work out" with these custom parts, we decided to set the car up with our stock components and finish prep for Super Lap as we were leaving the next day. Well suppose to be leaving the next day.

Monday- Exhaustion and delirium was setting in but we needed to push through to get moving, the idea was for a decent arrival time and catch up on some much needed rest before tomorrow's test day (Tuesday). Needless to say, it didn't work this way. We were functioning on very little and dragging worse than could have been expected but then again if we were of sound mind, we would of realized the 60+ hrs put in from Friday-to-Sunday shouldn't of come as any surprise. It was now 4am and still at the shop, we cleaned up and hit the road with no sleep.

Tuesday- we just arrived for testing @ Buttonwillow for Super Lap Battle. I notice 1- we arrived 2.5 hrs late, 2- there is a lot of high caliber teams here, and 3- I'm beyond tired and burnt out. Shortly after arriving I was met with a representative of M1 to once again hand deliver me my custom parts. It was now time for us to tear the car apart, install new components, and undo/redo all our corner weight/alignment specs. This killed the whole test day and lasted until about 9pm at night doing it trackside with the help of ERP as well. Finally grabbing a late dinner and getting to the hotel late as well, we then ran into the boys from UMS (Arizona based performance shop), these guys are awesome and I'm lucky to have met them in our dealings over the years. We were quickly greeted with some beers and the idea of crashing to sleep was just not a reality as of yet. We were having such a good time that our friendly neighbor was displeased with us and pounded on the wall so hard a picture fell off and broke over the bed I was hoping to sleep in. Needless to say we moved the festivities to UMS's room and a short while later it was finally sleepy time.............we had just been up for 42 hrs straight. Bad thing was, we needed to be up in 5 short hours again.

Race day was upon us and with zero testing we were hopeful but skeptical we could do something great. Our first test session out was loaded with traffic and we got no hot laps, even worse we got very little data in regards to the new suspension and what adjustments needed to be done. That quickly it was now onto the timed race sessions and there would be 3 of them. First timed session out we sent Russ out on our old flat spotted used tires, as we still needed more data and would use that info for the other 2 sessions. Russ was feeling decent about the car and its changes and all while driving under moderate power level, he laid down a 1:53.835, which was 10 secs faster than our time last year but the suspension still needed to be worked on (triple adjustable shocks make that a very complex thing to do and that's why testing is critical) because he was getting a big push in front (under steer). In between this next session we made a spring change and some more adjustments. During this session we slapped on our new set of Toyo R888 tires and thought for sure the car would go quicker but that didn't happen and it became a very frustrating thing to comprehend and deal with. Making irresponsible decisions we did yet another spring change and again messed with settings, and had the tires shaved at the last minute. Russ was still unable to better his first time out and we captured 4th place for Limited AWD.

The goal behind all this stuff is to make changes, test, adjust as needed, and test more. But on the flip side, I know we are not alone in thrashing just to make it all happen, this sport is also about heart and dedication. I feel we've made great headway in our quest to have a top competition Modified Time Attack car and at this event getting a 4th place amongst those top tier shops/teams is not all that bad and most of those guys have years of time on their setups. Our car has less than 4 months of development (in its current configuration) behind it and the future is very exciting to see how we will develop this car over the next few months.

 

 

LIC Motorsports Sponsors:

Crawford Performance
Deatschwerks
Toyo Tires
Wheeldude.com
ERP Suspension Engineering
M1 Fabrication & Development
Rally Sport Direct
Hectors Chop Shop

**************************************************** LIC Time Attack STi Specs ***************************************************
Model: 2004 STi
Weight: 2900 lbs. (Dry), 3210 (Loaded w/ fuel and driver)
WHP: 500
Torque: 400
Fuel: e85
Motor: Crawford Performance 2.5L S3L-IR (Assembly by LIC)
Turbo Kit: Crawford Performance GT35R w/ BIG FMIC
Fuel Supply: Crawford Performance Surge/AOS Tank, Fuel Rails
Tuning: Crawford Performance (ECUtek Reflash)
Injectors: Deatschwerks Top Feed 1200cc (Custom)
Drivetrain: ACT Clutch, Cusco LSD's (Front/Rear)
Suspension: Triple Adjustable JRZ (Custom), M1 Knuckles/Control Arms (Custom)
Brakes: Front Alcon 6 Piston 340mm BBK, Rear Brembo (stock)
Exterior: APR GT300 Wing, LIC Fender Flares/Splitter/Canards (Custom)
Wheels: Wheeldude.com Rota DPT 18x10 e35 (5x100/5x114.3)
Tires: Toyo Proxes R888 285/30ZR18
***************************************************************************************************************************************

We have for sale RS Conversion #1. That's right the original, the OG. This car weighs in at 2,850lbs as it sits, here are the specs:

Powertrain/Tuning:
-JDM v7 EJ20 STi Motor (under 40k miles on motor)
-ATP GT3071 Turbo
-Deatschwerks 850cc Injectors
-AVCS is wired up and working
-Spearco TMIC
-Bosal Up-Pipe
-Invidia Downpipe
-Stromung 3" Cat-Back Exhaust
-Apex'i AVCR
-Group-N Motor/Tranny Mounts
-APS 70mm CAI
-APS Turbo Inlet
-Custom Aluminum Radiator
-ECUtek tuned by Mike @ GST Motorsports (330whp/100 octane)

Suspension:
-Ohlins Flag Series Coilovers (GD), less than 500 miles on them
-Whiteline ALK
-Whiteline 24mm Front swaybar
-Whiteline 24-26 Rear swaybar
-Whiteline Adj. Lateral Links
-Whiteline Rear subframe bolts
-Whiteline Rear diff bushings
-Whiteline Bump Steer Correction Kit
-Noltec Steering Rack Bushings
-Helix Rear endlinks
-Superpro Trailing Arm Bushings
-Cusco V1 Brace
-Cusco Front tower bar
-Cusco Rear Camber plates
-04 STi Front Aluminum Control Arms

Drivetrain:
-04 Forester XT Transmission (4.44 final)
-ACT HD Clutch Kit
-Cusco 9lbs Lightweight Flywheel
-Stoptech BBK Front
-Stoptech BBK Rear
-Ferodo DS3000 Brake Pads (Front/Rear)
-04 STi BBS Silver 5x100 Wheels (stock tires)
-Custom Short Shifter

Interior/Exterior:
-Sparco EVO Driver Seat
-Sparco EVO L Passenger Seat
-Sparco Harnesses
-Sparco 330mm Steering Wheel
-Full Roll Cage (CR Fabrication)
-VIS CF Hood
-VIS CF Trunk
-JDM Tail lights
-Greddy Front Lip (not painted)
-JDM lightweight Bumper Beams (Front/Rear)
-v6 Front Bumper
-Clear Side Markers
-99/01 Headlights
-Full Carpet, Door Cards, Stereo, dash, etc...

Pics were take moments ago:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This car was purchased by Adam (Owner of LIC Motorsports) back in 2000. It has undergone many transformations, including one of the first JC Turbo kits, the first RS-WRX conversion, to a EDM STi setup, to the JDM STi conversion it is today. This car has been nothing more than great the whole time we've owned it. Over the last 2 years the car has just sat here, last year we installed the JDM motor and its never moved from where it is...we just don't have the time for it anymore and have been focusing on our STi race car.

Disclaimer: the car has a salvage title, as the back end rear and front end got wrecked in a accident back a few years ago. All was fixed and pics are HERE

Additional Items: Car is C.A.R.B. approved, it does need a retune, a bath, the driver seat has a tear in it (you can see in pic), and LIC stickers will be removed.

Price: SOLD

Subiefest 2009 - Willow Springs, Rosamond, CA 10.10.2009

The week preceding the event date LIC Motorsports made the call to not attend this event due to our 3rd place last Redline Time Attack event (our suspension was not up to task for an unlimited class event) and quite frankly not being in a position to afford another 3 sets of tires. Aside from the money factor being a big issue; we started to develop braking issues at the last event and we were now fighting our braking bias being way off. We were hesitant knowing that Willow Springs is a very fast track and brakes would play a crucial role. With the car on the back burner we focused on our daily operations and wrenching on customers cars.

About 5 days prior to the event I received a phone call from Mike Warfield at GST Motorsports to see if we would be attending this year's event. I mentioned my situation and predicament; his response was "come on mate, this is an all Subaru event and one that you should come show the LIC Motorsports car", I agreed with everything he was saying but addressed my lack of funds for tires and that our car would have to be in the Unlimited Class as opposed to the street class (Normally the LIC Motorsports car runs in a modified class and is setup as such), Mike said he had some take off/throw away Hankook C91's that I could have as they were just taking up space and awaiting disposal. Knowing I would be potentially racing others with the same tires and/or full slicks, I figured it was better than nothing.  I also made a call to the good folks at Wheeldude to acquire a few sets of Rota DPT 18x10 wheels as our tires were a bit stretched on the previous setup.

The major turning point for us is we never question our power train setup. This Crawford Performance motor/turbo package (Motor- S3L-IR and GT35R turbo kit) would now be on its 3rd outing and 3rd competitive race event. Often times when you hear about race cars all you hear about is rebuilding motors and having nothing but motor related issues, this has never been the case for LIC Motorsports. With this info in hand, we made the judgment call to enter and attend Subiefest 2009.

With a full schedule of customers and now needing to spend some attention on our race car; we knew our suspension was not up to par and our brakes were having issues but with no time to do drastic changes, we did a series of calculations to see what spring rates and settings to run (literally changing out the suspension setup 6 times and corner weighting/balancing the car over a 3 day period), trying to establish a neutral car is a very hard thing...especially when working with a suspension setup that has very little range of adjustability and realistically is out of range for the given situation. Needless to say we did what it took to make the necessary adjustments to attempt to do our best with what we have. Off to Subiefest we went.

We arrived on Friday at 4:30pm, which was 8 hrs late as we wanted to test all day Friday to establish a base for our suspension and make sure the adjustments we did worked but being as we took much longer to complete the car than anticipated; we ended up with no testing time...we just had to wait until Saturday for the event.

We arrived at the track bright and early Saturday AM to begin setting up for the event. We headed into the first practice session shortly after arriving and quickly determined that the suspension changes we made defiantly had the car pushing less than at Pahrump and was a bit more manageable now, we found it hard to get any decent/clean laps as the track was a mad house full of cars. The second practice session out we slapped on some Hankook C91's to get some data on them as we have never run an unlimited tire or in a unlimited event before; so we had zero knowledge of tire pressure range, optimal temps, or any real life data with our race car. Being as this is what we came for, we decided on precise numbers to obtain the pressure range we were looking for. While on track we still couldn't turn any decent laps and get data due to still a huge cluster of cars and the event organizers running street cars with race cars, it became a very frustrating process to fight through and we just wasted a set of tires. Onto the first timed session we went.

First timed session out we slapped on our other set of Hankook C91's to take a crack at laying down the fastest time we could for what we had to work with and temp outside. As Dr. Russ Warr (LIC Motorsports driver) was released behind the Harman Motive monster it was made very clear that there was yet even more miscommunication between event organizers and the guy working the grounds and keeping cars spaced far enough apart. As Russ and JC Meynet (Harman Motive/AQ Motorsports) took the cars easy to get some heat into the tires, there was a mad dash from other competitors cars to start gaining ground on these guys in an attempt to set the pace for what was already becoming a mess on track (this is not how traditionally Time Attack events are arranged). Needless to say as soon as JC and Russ turned turn 9, they headed into the straight full throttle to begin their timed laps; these next 2 laps are where most will turn the fastest lap times, literally you have one shot for these clean laps and they were both on it. As they made their way around the track and once again back around turn 9 as Russ headed down the straight at over 150 mph and into turn 1, the guy responsible for releasing cars in a proper manner released a car onto the track just as Russ was about to hit the corner; causing him to slam on the brakes, nearly avoiding going off track and barely avoiding making contact into the other car, and in addition this cost us our set of race tires, as they were now blistered. As you can imagine LIC Motorsports was beyond frustrated and made it very vocal to everyone who was listening and brought it to the attention of event organizers. In addition, that set of tires was the tires we were using to lay down our fastest lap and now that was all over. Onto another practice session we went.

The next practice session was upon us and at this point the LIC Motorsports crew was about to call it quits on the next time attack session as we were out of tires to compete in this unlimited event but we slapped back on our used Toyo R888's from Pahrump the week prior; these tires were nothing more than abused, flat spotted, and beyond their optimal range but we managed a 1:26.xxx in traffic again but we at least got some data...in addition our transponder only recorded one lap, so we had to adjust it and hope it worked for the second and final time attack session we would be attending, if we were to attend it at all.

At this point I approached Mike at GST Motorsports to see if he had anymore spare tires that he would donate to the cause. To our surprise he had one set and offered them up as he wouldn't be running them. We quickly had the tire shop mount/balance them and seeing as we had very little data from the previous use of the tires we had to take a stab at the proper tire pressures, all we had to go by was the notes we made on the limited use we had. We also quickly noticed upon inspection of the engine bay that our passenger side fan had rubbed on our silicone upper radiator hose causing a gash but not leaking yet. We scoured the vendor area for another hose but no luck, we even contemplated removing one off a Subaru but the call was made that it should be thick enough and should hold for 3-4 more laps; quick use of racers tape was to ensure an extra split second if it was needed.

The final time attack was upon us, as it got later in the day and temps creeped a bit higher up we decided that what we had was the best we could do for the day. The start of the final timed session had begun and the friendly reminder to staff about the fiasco prior had been taken care of. The first lap out was as to be expected and was used to warm up tires and get them ready for the flyer lap which would be the only lap to lay our best time. As the Harman Motive car came ripping through turn 9, I got a sinking feeling in my gut (anyone who has heard JC's car knows when he is laying it all on the line) but to our own credit as I heard our car turn the corner, I looked down at my stopwatch and got an overzealous feeling that we either A- just clinched 1st place or B- I hit the buttons wrong. I realized we might just have done what it takes to secure the Unlimited Class spot but not wanting to take credit prior to knowing the official time, we sat back and awaited the awards ceremony.

As the car show winners were read and the street class podiums were announced. As we stood there with the Crawford Performance team and GST Motorsports crew, it was onto the unlimited awards. In 3rd place with a time of 1:29.371 was Surgeline Tuning (Cobb affiliate shop), and in 2nd place with a time of 1:24.435; at this point I began to shake with anticipation I knew there was only 1 of 2 names that were about to be called, JC Meynet (Harman Motive/AQ Motorsports), with that it only left one team remaining- with a 1st place time of 1:22.591 going to driver Dr. Russ Warr of LIC Motorsports! We were beyond words and excitement doesn't accurately explain the joy we felt. Being surrounded and praised by these teams that helped made it happen, made it that much better. The real topper was at the end of the ceremony the organizer had to ask whose car even won the event; they've never even heard of LIC Motorsports.

None of this could have been possible without the support of our sponsors. The Crawford Performance power train package hands down has never even been a concern; for those who have followed us in these last few events have never heard us complain about power/tuning/motor related issues and quite simply put that's because there has been none. The guys over at Crawford have yet to let us down, from the very first conversation of what our goals were to fulfilling our needs on every level. Hats go off to the crew over at Crawford Performance for supplying us with this competitive setup and not letting us down on reliability of it as well. The wheeldude crew deserves credit for getting us our wheels in a timely manner and continuing to support a shop like LIC Motorsports. As for Deatschwerks, these guys provide the best fuel injectors anyone could ask for...which are downright consistently consistent.

The event was one that will forever live in our memories, as of this moment, at this point in time the LIC Motorsports time attack STi is honored to take the 1st place win this weekend and in addition is now tthe 2nd fastest Subaru ever at Willow Springs

LIC Motorsports Sponsors:

Crawford Performance
Deatschwerks
Toyo Tires
Wheeldude.com
Rally Sport Direct
Hectors Chop Shop

**************************************************** LIC Time Attack STi Specs ***************************************************
Model: 2004 STi
Weight: 2900 lbs. (Dry), 3185 (loaded w/ fuel and driver)
WHP: 500
Torque: 400
Fuel: e85
Motor: Crawford Performance 2.5L S3L-IR (assembly by LIC)
Turbo Kit: Crawford Performance GT35R w/ BIG FMIC
Fuel Supply: Crawford Performance Surge/AOS Tank, Fuel Rails
Tuning: Crawford Performance (ECUtek Reflash)
Injectors: Deatschwerks Top Feed 1200cc (custom)
Drivetrain: ACT Clutch, Cusco LSD's (Front/Rear)
Brakes: Front Alcon 6 Piston 340mm BBK, Rear Brembo (stock)
Exterior: APR GT300 Wing, LIC Custom Fender Flares, Splitter, and Canards
Wheels: Wheeldude.com Rota DPT 18x10 e35 (5x100/5x114.3)
Tires: Toyo Proxes R888 285/30ZR18
***************************************************************************************************************************************

More pics from the weekend:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redline Time Attack (Round 7) - Spring Mountain, Pahrump, NV 09.26-27.2009

As always, LIC Motorsports has been predictable about one thing...waiting to the last minute to make "critical decisions". The idea was tossed around about going to the Redline Time Attack event in Pahrump, NV but it was quickly shot down as the cost of the adventure would be too much for a little ole shop like LIC. But the story doesn't end there, it's just getting started, our time line will reflect on our chaos we put upon ourselves.

09.22.2009 (Tuesday) - A phone call was placed to Toyo Tires to attempt a crack at securing a sponsorship (Partial, full, anything). Spoke to a very nice gentleman and mentioned our story and asked for him not to base their decision on my words and me "asking for a free handout" which I was not. I was told immediately that they will not give me a full sponsorship as that's not how it's going to work. I requested that I send them some info on the car, and then a more educated decision can be made. Sometime later that day I was offered a deal, it was not exactly what I was hoping for but at this stage of competition it was a bit better than what I was getting before and I was happy a company to the likes of Toyo even offered us some assistance. I happily accepted and thanked Toyo for taking a leap on a no name company like LIC Motorsports.

09.23.2009 (Wednesday) - I received a call from Dr. Russ Warr (the driver whom drove the car at Cal Speedway in last month's Super Lap Battle qualifier) asking if we were going to the Redline event that following weekend. I explained to Russ that we couldn't go as we were not prepared nor could we afford it. After Russ explained to me that he was already going to be there and he could pilot both our car and the other one he already had a commitment to, we shifted our focus/adjusted our mindset and decided what the heck, it's worth a shot and nobody would be expecting us. There were a few major issues, its Wednesday mid-morning; I needed tires, e85 fuel, and to set up the car. Being we had no anticipation of going to this event I now had to adjust our very busy work schedule and start making phone calls and asking for favors to make this happen. First step was to call Toyo and ask them to send up a set of tires ASAP. Toyo worked their magic and assured me the set would be on our door step no later than Friday AM. As great as that was to hear it was pushing the envelope of when we would need to leave for the track.

09.24.2009 (Thursday) - At this point in time I realized that I over looked the fact that I needed 2 sets, I would need one set for practice on Saturday and a shaved set for race day Sunday. I was pretty bummed out I had missed this very important aspect. Needless to say I called Toyo up again and they were unsure they could make it happen in the tight time frame given. I even offered to pick them up at "Will Call" and I would deal with it when I got down to the track. Feeling pretty dumb I swallowed my pride and called upon AIM Tires (our previous tire sponsor) and asked if he could overnight them for me. The remainder of the day was filled with customer cars as I already made commitments to these folks and didn't feel it would be right to brush them off over our indecisiveness to attend a race.

09.25.2009 (Friday) - The tires from Toyo arrived right on time, only one hiccup we ordered 285/30/18's and according to the math we did based on Toyo's website it appeared we would gain an extra 0.40" of contact patch and the tire would be 1.0" shorter than before. When the tires arrived the width (unmounted) was darn near 1.25" wider than our old 275's (mounted); the freak out session had begun. I quickly started to question what I had just done to ourselves and the predicament I just put on us. The idea of running our used 275's and slapping on a new set of 255's here was tossed around. Before we took it any further we decided to mount one of the 285's and do a test fitment. To our surprise and happiness it all worked out and not only just worked it out...it fit better than the 275's, amazingly enough at this time AIM Tires called to tell me they received the other set of 285's and were starting to shave them.  We wrenched on the car all day long to adjust suspension springs, get more negative camber, do an alignment, and finalize everything else that needed attention prior to blasting off for Nevada. The bad news it was now 8pm at night, working on virtually no sleep our day had just begun...off to Pahrump Nevada we headed.

09.26.2009 (Saturday) - After 11 hrs of driving straight through the night we arrived just as the track was opening at 6:45am. The day was already going to be an interesting one...it was already over 75+ degrees and was scheduled to be 100+. We got our section all setup for the day and awaited the first session which was only a few short hours away.

1st Session out Russ was only able to turn 3 laps before he came in with a fuel pressure light displayed on our dash display as well as mentioning the car was pushing severely (under steer) in the front. We attempted to scan the ECU with our delta dash software (for those who know this, know what's about to come next) and low and behold, it's asking for an update. Our fantastic computer at this point is on the fritz as well.I began the hunt for a OBDII scanner and located one over at team Gillis Motorsports but unfortunately it wouldn't connect b/c it was a piece of junk (direct from Andrew Gillis' mouth) and I agreed with it. I continued on with the hunt for someone, anyone with a scanner but most if not all these guys at this level of competition are not running factory ECU's, so they don't really have a need for this style of tool. We were lucky enough to run into the tuner for Las Vegas Subaru (and tuner for the factor x car) who was able to scan our ECU and advise us we had a Fuel Pump Controller malfunction code. Being that we work on Subaru's all day and every day we could honestly say we have never seen this, this was the furthest from a common code we have ever come across.We cleared the code and sent Russ back on track to see if the issue was still present. Not to our surprise same issue, same code came back on

2nd Session rolls around and we were able to "borrow" our friend Josh's fuel pump controller off his 2005 STi (who came to watch us race from Las Vegas) to see if it would have any effect, although we were skeptical. As expected it had same effect as before and the session was now lost as we were not willing to push the car in this state as it could easily have a catastrophic effect. The remainder of the sessions and day were spent replacing our walbro in tank fuel pump, fuel filer, and Adam worked his magic to bypass the fuel pump controller all together. The main issue was we now lost all full days worth of testing and our time needed to dial our suspension in at this track. We now had to wait until tomorrow (which would have 2 practice sessions prior to the 2 time attack sessions) to see if our trouble shooting worked or if we were going to be in the same position as day before. Our 42 hr day(s) had finally come to an end, a warm bed was about to be had but it was 45 miles away in Las Vegas. We get to the hotel and Better than Ezra is playing out our back window (HOLY COW) this is so loud our window is shaking and drunks are all over the place...all I wanted was some R&R but not being able to sleep we hit the smorgasbord of a feast in the downstairs of the casino; why is it when you go to the desert like Las Vegas, they serve seafood all over...makes no sense to me, this is one of the furthest places from the ocean. But guess what I ate...you bet seafood!

09.27.2009 (Sunday) - Race Day is upon us and a measly 6 hrs of sleep really didn't do the body good, although the ¼ bottle of Pepto Bismol for my upset stomach did. We arrived at the track crossing fingers our fix was the actual fix. The previous day Crawford Performance had run into some issues with their race car and Russ was on track doing practice session one when the decision was made to let Tarzan Yamada  jump into the driver's seat and see if the car was truly fixed; this would give us the info we needed to know and in addition it would allow us to not chew up Russ's time in the other car if it was still not functional.

Tarzan's second lap out ended up with the car going off track in turn 1 but the car's fuel issue was fixed. Tarzan later commented that we had way too much brake in the front (we currently run a Alcon 6 piston 340mm kit) and power felt amazing but the car had a tremendous push, as Russ had mentioned as well. A messy car and quick driver change, Russ was back on the track to turn and burn some laps for data. The second lap out Russ hit fuel cut on the back stretch on a long sweeping right hander. Upon coming in the fuel was at 1/3 of a tank and the quick fix was to maintain ½ a tank at all times (we still run our factory fuel tank which is prone to fuel cut on hard right hand turns when under ¼ of a tank on the street but in extreme conditions such as track and more lateral G's this is much more exaggerated) down side to this is we are carrying even more weight on an already heavy car but it was what it was and we just had to maintain more fuel to avoid this issue at hand. Russ now being able to push it a bit harder and carry more speed was able to get us some feedback; he advised us that the car is under steering even more now; the temps were up, tires were getting greasy, and we needed to get more front bite and less rear. Russ pulled off a 2:37.028

2nd Practice Session out we were able to make some suspension adjustment at the advice of Crawford Performance. Feedback from Russ was he was a lot happier with the car as it was doing much better but given the circumstance of the push still being present, it was at least a bit more manageable now.Our range of adjustment for the suspension was virtually none existent at this point; its being driven beyond its intended purpose and at this power level you find those things out very quickly. There is a major reason most competitive racers run at min 3-4 way adjustable suspension as it's what is necessary to compete at the top tier level. Russ was able to close the gap by nearly 4 seconds from the previous practice and posting a 2:33.059. We were now into the time attack sessions; this is what we came for.

Time Attack Session #1- Feeling fairly decent coming off the last practice session, Russ was able to pull off a 2:32.xxx. We were starting to get faster and Russ requested if we were confident we could get some more front bite and less rear grip he felt we could gain quite a few seconds easily. Being nervous to make changes this late in the game we made the decision to do some more suspension adjustments in between the final session upcoming on us.

Time Attack Session #2 and Final- We made what we considered some major changes to the suspension to try and close the gap a bit more and get closer to the second place team (not necessarily beat them but at least be a bit closer) as we knew they would all step it up for final push to podium. Final time out Russ was able to close his previous time to a 2:30.215 bettering his time by nearly 2 more seconds and the kicker was he said the car was pushing horribly and the adjustments we just did made the car far worse than it was previously, at the end of the day it was just our luck...we should of left the car alone but we went against our instincts and attempted to get greedy. It didn't cost us a second place spot per say but it for sure robbed us of quite a few seconds and face value of being 4 secs off our next in line competitor. Our time was good enough to clinch 3rd place and our goal was still obtained.

 

Recap: All-in-All LIC Motorsports is feeling very strongly about our performance out at Redline this past weekend. We prepped the car, arranged tires, driver, accommodations, and were able to make it all happen within 48hrs of not being prepared to even go anywhere. I would like to thank our driver Dr. Russ Warr for consistently doing his best and working around our setup and overcoming every obstacle that was thrown at him, he is a true professional. The fact LIC was able to "Compete" against the prestigious teams/setups like AMS and Harman Motive is a very gratifying experience. We feel our car that is far less than each one of these teams is a statement that enthusiasts willing to run superior products/services can still compete at a competition level. Our organization is one that aligns ourselves with some of the best folks in the industry, these folks are one's whom sacrifice their own time, energy, and all for the benefit of the folks they're working with and sponsoring.

 

LIC Motorsports Sponsors:

Crawford Performance
Deatschwerks
Toyo Tires
Wheeldude.com
Rally Sport Direct
Hectors Chop Shop

 

****************************************************  LIC Time Attack STi Specs ***************************************************

Model: 2004 STi
Weight: 2900 lbs.
WHP: 500
Torque: 400
Fuel: e85
Motor: Crawford Performance 2.5L S3L-IR (assembly by LIC)
Turbo Kit: Crawford Performance GT35R w/ BIG FMIC
Fuel Supply: Crawford Performance Surge/AOS Tank, Fuel Rails
Tuning: Crawford Performance (ECUtek Reflash)
Injectors: Deatschwerks Top Feed 1200cc (custom)
Drivetrain: ACT Clutch, Cusco LSD's (Front/Rear)
Brakes: Front Alcon 6 Piston 340mm BBK, Rear Brembo (stock)
Exterior: APR GT300 Wing, LIC Custom Fender Flares, Splitter, and Canards
Wheels: Wheeldude.com Rota DPT 18x9.5 e35 (5x100/5x114.3)
Tires: Toyo Proxes R888 285/30ZR18

***************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Additional Pics from the weekend:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With Redline Time Attack and Super Lap Battle coming up in apprx 1.5 months, Toyo Tires has decided to jump on board with the boys over at LIC Motorsports for the remainder of the race year. This is a great opportunity for Toyo and LIC Motorsports to continue to push the tires that have always been run on the race car and add more exposure to the Toyo brand.

For those who don't know Toyo offers the most competitive 100 UTQG tire in the marketplace. The tire of choice is the Toyo R888; with competition stretching the limits of how wide they can go, LIC Motorsports was no exception to this as well. LIC spent the better part of 4 months coming up with a creative solution to fitting wider wheels and tires and still keep the integrity and aesthetics as well. The answer which one might think is as simple as putting "bigger wheels/tires" is far from that. The Subaru frame and its interferences pose a serious amount of troubleshooting and creative thinking to come up with an outcome like seen on the LIC Motorsports Time Attack car.

LIC Motorsports is proud to welcome aboard Toyo Tires and this new endeavor together as LIC pushes for end of year podium finishes.

www.toyotires.com