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Greetings Saturn Enthusiasts!
Please enjoy the latest April SPS Updates…
New Headers Behind Schedule
Our first shipment of the new DT3301 DOHC exhaust manifold was originally scheduled to arrive in late March. However, we have been informed that production is behind schedule. The revised delivery estimate is the first week of May. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment that this may cause to those who have placed early orders. However, we are confident that the results will be worth the wait.
The DT3301 is specifically tuned and tested to provide 3-4% gains in low and mid-range power and torque between 2000-6500rpm. Other important features include a coated primary section (for proper management of exhaust temperatures and great looks,) stainless steel downpipe with integral flexpipe (for durability and corrosion protection,) aerospace-style flanges (for strong, leak-proof, gasketless connections,) oxygen content signal from all four-cylinders, and world-class manufacturing quality. And very importantly, the DT3301 also maintains and utilizes the stock lower manifold support to reduce strain upon the primary tubes (and thus eliminate the possibility of cracking.) The DT3301 is designed to fit all 94-98 DOHC Saturns. Orders are being accepted now. Please see http://spswebpage.com/products/exhaust.html for more information.
Product News
Last month, we introduced the Clutch Masters Stage One and Stage Four clutches. Since then, we have been overwhelmed with interest in the Stage Two and Stage Three models. As a result, we are now stocking the Stage Two and Stage Three in addition to the Stage One and Stage Four.
Clutch Masters Stage Two Performance Clutch Kit has a similar maximum holding capacity as the Stage One but uses a stronger friction disc design for longer life under extreme conditions. It is recommended for most cars that have been modified with "bolt-on" performance parts, forced induction, or small nitrous oxide kits (up to 50-shot.) Kit includes pressure plate, friction disc, throw-out bearing, and alignment tool. The Clutch Masters Stage Two Performance Clutch Kit for all 91-99 cars is part number CM04115HDKV for $457.08.
Clutch Masters Stage Three Performance Clutch Kit adds additional holding power and is recommended for most cars that have been modified with internal engine work and/or larger nitrous oxide kits (up to 100-shot.) Kit includes pressure plate, friction disc, throw-out bearing, and alignment tool. The Clutch Masters Stage Three Performance Clutch Kit for all 91-99 cars is part number CM04115HDTZ for $457.08.
Replacing the stock 50mm throttle body with a larger unit from SPS is a vital step toward improving the Saturn engine’s breathing ability. The extra 8% capacity of our 52mm performance throttle body allows more air into the engine, allowing it to take full advantage of intake, exhaust, headers, and other modifications. Dyno testing on modified DOHCs has yielded up to 14 HP! This throttle is now available for 2000+ SOHC "S" cars. The 52mm Performance Throttle Body for 2000+ SOHC models is part number THR0005 for $139.00. Also requires refundable $139.00 core deposit. (Use with the SAT21006079 gasket.)
So you’d like to know what it feels like from the driver’s perspective to race door-to-door on some of America’s premier tracks, but you’re not quite ready to build your own racecar? The "home movies" video series from scR motorsports is the answer! These CDs and VHS tapes contain over 90 minutes of real in-car racing video with full audio. You will see qualifying and/or race action from Grattan, Waterford, and Watkins Glen. Plus, you will see the exciting scR victory at Mid-Ohio and action from the ARRC at Road Atlanta. The CD even includes a bonus clip from one of the testing sessions of the vintage VSCDA Trans-Am car. Choose from the CD version, part number SCRCDR00A, for $14.95 or the VHS version, part number SCRVHS00B, for $19.95.
Our newest awesome vinyl window banners are made of a special reflective vinyl that looks normal during the day but illuminates with reflected light at night! (Note: reflective vinyl should not be applied to painted surfaces since it is more brittle than conventional race vinyl and may require scraping to remove.) Choose from the reflective "SPS Performance" in blue (part number SPSWB03L-R,) red (part number SPSWB03R-R,) or pearl white (part number SPSWB03W-R.) All colors are just $24.95 each.
Many more new products will be introduced very shortly. But although we are excited about the new items, we must 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!
April Specials
Dramatic improvements in power for SOHC Saturns can be achieved by replacing the restrictive factory exhaust manifold with a free-flowing race-proven exhaust header. Hotshot headers are made with 16-gauge tubing and 3/8-inch precision cut flanges for flow efficiency, stock locations for smog and oxygen sensor fittings, and ceramic coatings that ensure efficient temperatures, great looks, and long life. Covered by a 12 month limited warranty. Hotshot SOHC HS-2009C headers are normally $349.00 each but are on sale for April for just $314.10! Save 10%!
Aside from tire upgrades, anti-sway bars are the best way to improve handling on any car! An anti-sway bar acts as a torsion bar to tie both sides of the car together – which means that body roll cannot occur unless the sway bar twists. By installing larger bars in the rear – which are harder to twist - body roll is reduced and the handling balance is improved for less understeer. It might sound simple, but our rear bars will dramatically improve the cornering and handling abilities of your Saturn! Our SWAY1SPS simply replaces the stock 15.0mm factory unit but uses a larger 16.0mm diameter in order to increase rigidity, reduce body roll, and improve handling. Can be used with stock bushings. The SWAY1SPS is normally $99.00 but is on sale for April for just $89.10! Save 10%!
We also have three damaged items that are available as of this writing for immediate liquidation. These include one PWRSTK03 chrome Powerstack kit for the 2000+ DOHC (damaged during transit, contains small dent at the throttle end, chrome is beginning to flake off, filter is slightly damaged) one K&N RU-2820 filter (used for display purposes, some pleats are slightly bent,) and one PWSTB02 billet strut tower brace (scratched during transit.) Get any or all for 50% off retail - $99.50 for the PWRSTK03, $19.50 for the RU-2820, and $94.50 for the PWSTB02. First come, first served.
Please visit the SPS web site (http://www.spswebpage.com) for more details!
SPS Racing
Although the scR motorsports official 2001 season does not begin until May 27, the team is currently racing to make some big changes to the scR website. Problems with the current host have led to a string of technical difficulties. Currently, you may have noticed that the online video section is not functional. Please rest assured that any lost features will be restored as soon as possible. Arrangements are being made now to move the site to a new host location. For now, you may view the wounded site at http://www.teamscr.com.
Still pumped-up from last month’s overall win and brilliant rain performance at the Carolina Motorsports Park, Mike Kramer and his Thundersport Racing team aimed to make it two class wins in-a-row at Roebling Road Raceway on March 11. The false grid for the Showroom Stock race group was crowded with nineteen cars total, including those driven by Southeast Division regulars, Stan Wilson and Bill Allen, along with the Central Division’s fast guy, John Fernandez.
Kramer qualified his Texaco Havoline and SPS sponsored SC2 on the Showroom Stock C (SSC) pole with a lap clocked at just over 84 miles per hour around the 2.02-mile Roebling Road circuit. He started on the outside of the front row beside Phil Croyle’s SSB Mazda Miata.
"Phil and I agreed that whoever won the drag race into the first turn would lead the first lap. I was lucky, got a good clean jump and beat him to the first turn," said Kramer. So Mike led the first lap. Then as the field entered the fast right hand entrance of turn 1, he left a seam open for Croyle to slip past under heavy breaking. As Kramer recalls, "I tucked under Phil’s bumper and watched in the rear view mirror as the rest of the SSB and SSC field flogged each other lap after lap. It was a great point of view, one that we don’t often get to enjoy, but we sure do welcome!"
The uncontested two-car train of Croyle and Kramer managed to pull away from the rest of the field throughout the duration of the race.
"I ran a couple of very fast laps at the beginning of the race, but then backed out of it a little to try to conserve the brakes and tires. This place can eat them both up, and you need them at the end if you hope to win here. Our Kumhos stayed sticky and healthy throughout the day and SPS’s new Magnum Gold brake pads were perfect. As a result we won our 2nd race in a row, set a new track record and moved into SEDIV points lead."
In contrast to the relatively "easy" win at Roebling Road, the Thundersport Racing guys had to overcome a crowded racetrack, unwarranted contact, and real adversity to win their 3rd SCCA National race in-a-row at Road Atlanta on April 1.
The Showroom Stock race group was combined with GT4, GT5, E Production, F Production, G Production, and H Production racecars, for a total of 44 cars in all. This made for crowded practice and qualifying sessions – and for a very busy race. Nevertheless, for the third race in-a-row, the Thundersport Saturn, driven by Mike Kramer, captured the SSC pole position with a qualifying lap of just over 83 miles per hour. Kramer would start on the inside of the Showroom Stock race group’s 2nd row. To alleviate congestion at the start of the race, SCCA officials instituted a split start. All GT and Production cars would start together, and the showroom stock cars would get the green flag some 20 seconds later.
As the green flag waved, Kramer tucked behind the SSB Mazda Miatas of Phil Croyle and Tim Evans to make the dash to the sweeping uphill right-hander of Road Atlanta’s first turn. In the middle of the corner, another SSC competitor slammed into the left rear of Kramer’s Texaco Havoline and SPS sponsored SC2 and stayed there for several seconds. The result was a tire donut, a hole burned through the polymer of the driver’s side door, another hole burned into the same side’s rocker panel, significant cosmetic damage (including the complete removal of an SPS Racing decal on the left corner of the rear fascia,) and one very angry racecar driver.
"I was really angry. The red mist seemed to fill that guy’s helmet, as it does most of the time. I was very lucky to have gotten free of the entanglement and maintain my position," said Kramer. Fortunately, Kramer’s lead actually increased slightly until a full-course caution came out on the third lap – the result of a Production car that had stopped on the racecourse near the entrance of the pit lane.
Two laps later, the entire 44-car field was restarted. During the restart, the carnage began again for the showroom stock group as they entered the chicane of turn #10. As the lead group of cars approached the apex of turn #11, another SSC competitor was unable to control his racecar and slammed into Phil Croyle’s Miata, forcing Croyle into the right side of Kramer’s Saturn. Croyle and Kramer were subsequently pushed off the racetrack, and both lost many positions.
"The red mist strikes again! Both Phil and I were leading our respective classes, and then all of a sudden, we’re in the back! We both had a tremendous challenge in front of us," exclaims Kramer.
However, the challenge was made a little easier when three laps later, Tim Evans drove his Miata off course in turn 1, and the race track went yellow for the second time. The pace car soon came out again, and the entire 40-plus car field bunched up for a second time.
The green flag waved again as the showroom stock race group entered the turn #10 chicane - a bad place for a restart.
Meanwhile, Thundersport crew chief, Tom Brandlehner, stayed in constant radio communication with Kramer. "Tom kept giving me the intervals, he kept telling me we could catch ‘em. We kept sneaking up on the SSC leaders. It helped a lot that the Honda and the other Saturn were racing each other real hard, blocking and impeding each other’s progress. I was able to drive up on them, and finally got by," describes Kramer.
Kramer took the lead for good on the 17th lap, and the checkered flag fell one lap later. He had a little better than a one-second lead at the finish. The win at Road Atlanta gives Kramer an eight-point lead over Stan Wilson in the division’s championship points battle.
Says Kramer, "It was a great win and it was a great team effort. The car performed flawlessly. And even though it was battered and bruised early in the show, it ran fast and true. Tom and John Brandlehner prepped a car that was fast all weekend, and then they worked the radio and guided me to the win. This is their checkered flag!"
Tech Tip: Gap Spark Plugs Properly for Best Performance
The job of the spark plug is pretty simple: convert electrical energy that has traveled through the spark plug wire into a spark that is directed into the combustion chamber. This spark is relied upon to catalyze the exothermic chemical reaction known as internal combustion that makes power within the motor. (For more details of internal combustion, please see the April 1999 tech article, Making More Power.) Power does not come from the spark itself, but rather from the energy released during the resulting chemical reaction known as combustion. Yet without an effective spark, we have no chemical reaction – and hence no power.
A spark plug creates its spark by forcing the electrical current to jump a gap between the plug’s center electrode and ground electrode – thus creating an arc. But the distance between the electrodes – also known as "the gap" – is very important. If the size of this gap is too little, then the resulting spark may be too small and may not reach far enough into the fuel and air mixture to ignite the mixture. However, if the size of the gap is too large, then there may not be enough energy within the electrical current to push across the gap and create an arc. An ideal gap, therefore, is a distance between the electrodes that extends sufficiently into the fuel and air mixture while not diluting the strength of the spark.
In most cases, we recommend adhering to the factory-specified gap – which is .040 inches in the 1.9L of the ‘S’ car (both SOHC and DOHC) and the 3.0L of the ‘L’ car and .045 inches in the 2.2L of the ‘L’ car. (Please note that 1996 models were introduced with a .060 inch gap, but this was later revised to .040 inch through a technical service bulletin.) However, we have used gaps on 91-98 DOHC models as large .060 inch in combination with Nology wires and Silverstone spark plugs with excellent results.
To gap a spark plug, you need a "spark plug gapping tool" which will measure the distance of the gap and, in most cases, provide a prying tool for moving the ground electrode away from the center electrode. When gapping spark plugs, you must use extra caution to protect the center electrode. Any force that moves or distorts the center electrode will negatively affect the performance of the spark plug.
SPS Events
SPS 2001 Schedule (tentative):
May 5: SPS attending "Aftermarket East" tradeshow, Columbus, OH
May 28: SPS closed for Memorial Day Holiday
July 1: scR at Mid-Ohio
July 4: SPS closed for Independence Day Holiday
July 29: scR at Mid-Ohio
Oct 7: scR at Mid-Ohio
If you have any questions about anything in this newsletter, please Contact Us.
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Until next month, HAVE A GREAT SPRING! |
