|
Greetings Saturn Enthusiasts!
Please enjoy the latest April SPS Updates…
Make Your Reservation Now for the 1999 Performance Pilgrimage
Despite some unexpected delays, the 1999 Pilgrimage Reservation Form is now online and operational. As of April 9, we are officially accepting reservations for the 1999 Performance Pilgrimage to Spring Hill.
Make your reservation online by using the electronic form located at http://spswebpage.com/pilgrim-reg.html. Or print the electronic form to your printer, fill it out, and mail it to Pilgrimage, P.O. Box 75102, Dayton, OH 45475-1102.
Please remember, all Pilgrimage attendees must also be registered with Saturn Corp. to attend the Saturn Homecoming. And space for the Homecoming car show is limited to the first 75 cars.
Product News
The SPS 5mm hub spacers – designed in conjunction with scR motorsports - finally make it possible to add track width to the rear of any Saturn without using conventional wheel spacers. Each hub spacer mounts between the knuckle and the hub which adds 10mm of total track width without using any of the surface of the hub. This allows the hub spacer to be used on any Saturn – including those with rear disc brakes! Each kit includes two 5mm hub spacers and four 5mm caliper spacers. Each complete kit is available now using part number SPSHS01R for $44.95 each.
Our exclusive header installation kit greatly simplifies the installation of any aftermarket Saturn exhaust header or exhaust manifold. The original studs and fasteners from your old manifold are often corroded and stuck. This can cause installation headaches when studs break or pull out from the head. Our header installation kits include a complete set of new studs, new nuts, and a new exhaust manifold gasket to assist you with an "easy and painless" installation. (For all 91-98 DOHC Saturns.) Each complete kit is available now using part number SPSIK001 for $16.90 each.
Many more new products will be introduced very shortly. But although we are excited about the new items, we are trying very hard to use discretion about releasing new product information because sharing any information before solidifying all of the facts can inadvertently mislead customers, employees, and supporters. Please visit our web site often and watch for future updates. Many more exciting items are on the horizon!
Performance Concept Car Update
Coverage of the Performance Concept Car during the Chicago show is available at the Motor Trend website. Check it out at http://www.motortrend.com/autoshows/chicago/sat8_f.html.
April Specials
LUKS "metal-white" halogen replacement bulbs emit a hyper-white beam that looks like HID (high intensity discharge.) And the 80-watt low beams and 100-watt high beams ensure a very bright lighting upgrade! These bulbs are normally $24.95 each, but are on sale for April for only $19.95 each! (No warranty, no returns.)
Centerforce clutch units are exceptional because they provide additional holding power for higher torque and horsepower motors, yet maintain light pedal pressure similar to the stock clutch. Disk and pressure plates are included with each. The Centerforce 1 (CNTRFRC01,) is normally $229.00, but is on sale for April for only $209.00 each! The Dual Friction (CNTRFRCDF,) is normally $299.00, but is on sale for April for only $279.00 each!
We also still have a few leftover items and returned items on hand that we would love to sell fast. These items include:
1 MM42994 Front End Cover for all 93-95 SL2 and SW2 models – normally $109 – now only $89.00.
1 STRN962 95-96 SC carbon fiber dash kit – complete kit, never installed – only $199 for the kit.
1 set of Forgeline LS 16x8 forged polished aluminum wheels – never installed – only $399.00 each.
1 set of CATZ MSR Gold fog lamps – complete kit, never installed – only $240.93 for the set.
1 set of CATZ MSX Gold fog lamps – new wiring harness and bulbs, used lamps – only $186.39.
SCRT001 – scR motorports T-Shirts – now only $14.95 each – Save $5.00 each!!
Please visit the SPS web site (http://www.spswebpage.com) for more details!
SPS Racing
Thundersport Racing’s Mike Kramer won the SCCA’s National event at Road Atlanta on Easter Sunday, scoring his second victory in three starts. Competing in Showroom Stock C (SSC), Kramer qualified second in class at a speed of 82.471 miles per hour around the 2.54 mile Road Atlanta circuit. SSC pole sitter Ken Payson qualified just ahead at a speed of 82.510 miles per hour in a Nissan 200 SER.
Kramer edged Payson at the start of the 19-lap sprint and stretched his opportunity to a short lead. The two cars ran nose to tail for the first eight laps with Kramer’s Saturn firmly holding an advantage. With eight laps to go, a ’99 Honda Civic SI driven by John Schmitt of Marysville, OH slipped past Payson and closed on Kramer. Kramer and Schmitt swapped the lead three times over the next three laps. But Schmitt’s day ended when he slid through turn seven and tagged the outside retaining wall. Following Kramer to the finish line were; Payson in the Nissan, another Honda Civic driven by Bryan Johnson, and Jeff Wendell in a Dodge Neon.
"Road Atlanta is a good track for us," said Kramer. "The car was consistent and strong. We’re very happy with its performance and look forward to maintaining this momentum throughout the season."
In his initial outings of ’99, Kramer finished second at Roebling Road Raceway outside Savannah, GA in early March followed by a first-place finish on the oval/road course at The Lowes Motor Speedway - formerly the Charlotte Motor Speedway - on March 21.
A key to Kramer’s early success this year has been excellent qualifying runs netting good starting positions. He’s qualified at the front in all three races thus far, including starting from the SSC class pole at Charlotte. "Track position is so important when you start one of these sprints. The races are too short to pick-off cars one at a time. You’ve got to be at the front to have a shot at winning." Kramer says.
The next stop for ThunderSport Racing is the oval/road course at the Daytona International Speedway on May 2, 1999.
It has been an exciting past five weeks for scR motorsports - the team has recently expanded to a 2-car operation and added a second driver. For 1999, scR motorsports will be competing in two different categories, and will finally be able to make some serious horsepower. Hang on and enjoy the ride!
For starters, the white #34 SSC car has been SOLD to SPS founder and chief executive John Comeskey. However, the car will still be on the track racing under the scR banner and will be driven by Mark Rushbrook, a suspension guru from Delphi Chassis. Mark joins team scR after several years of karting, autocrossing, and scR pit crew experience. Initially, he will be using the car to earn his National Competition License and will be running several CENDIV Regional events in the process. His final schedule is yet to be announced.
The newest addition to the 1999 scR stable is an "oxidized red" 1992 Saturn SC2. In a previous life, the car served duty as an SSB car, running the National CENDIV series in the early 90's and was retired from race duty in 1995. The car came with a bolt-in roll cage, but short of the faded paint where the numbers used to be, the car cannot be identified as a racecar. In fact, after purchasing the car in Dayton, Ohio, it was driven 200 miles back to the scR team garage in Detroit.
The new car (from here-on referred to as the 'red' car) will sport the familiar number #34 on the doors, but that is about where the similarity with the white car will end. The red car will be prepared to run in the SCCA's Improved Touring Category, A Class, or "ITA." (IT is a class designed for 'old' Showroom Stock cars in which every car must be at LEAST 5 years old.)
Some have even said that, "IT is where Showroom Stock cars become real race cars" – since many modifications are allowed in IT that are forbidden in showroom stock. These include:
1. Removal of most interior components, including all seats and consoles
2. Use of any springs, struts, and sway bars - including coil-overs
3. Several external - and internal - engine modifications
4. Any 7" wheel of factory diameter
5. Tire sizes are unrestricted
6. Limited slip differentials and final drive ratios are unrestricted.
7. Minimum weight goes down by about 200 lbs.
In short, the red car will be 10% lighter, have tires 12% wider, will be sporting 25% more horsepower, and will have spring rates 50% higher than the white car. Combine this with a Torsen differential and the sound of open headers exiting the side of the car, and the fun factor grows exponentially! This will be a REAL racecar!
Currently, the car has been completely gutted, the suspension components are being selected, and the roll cage is being designed and fabricated. There remains a long way to go before the start of the season, but since IT runs year-round, scR can target a season start in mid-to-late July and still manage to run 10-14 races before the IT Runoffs at Road Atlanta in November.
Updates will be coming as the car’s build-up progresses. Please watch the 'SCHEDULE' page at the scR motorsports website (http://www.teamscr.com) for new 1999 target events.
SPS Events
The SPS schedule for 1999 is starting to fill up. But if you have suggestions for a 1999 event that you would like us to attend, please Contact Us.
SPS 1999 Schedule (tentative): April 21: Roger’s wife, Heidi, gives birth to their first child! (date subject to change.)
May 9: WOR Solo2 race at Dayton VA facility
June 2: SPC day at Gingerman
July 29: Caravan from Dayton, Ohio to Spring Hill, Tennessee
July 30-Aug 1: Saturn Homecoming/SPS Performance Pilgrimage in Spring Hill, TN
August 14: Kevin Svarda ties the knot with his fiancée, Susan!
Sept 17-19: Super Street Tour/NOPI Nationals
Oct 8-10: Valvoline Runoffs at Mid-Ohio
If you have any questions about anything in this newsletter, please Contact Us.
Until next month, HAVE A GREAT SPRING! |
