|
Greetings Saturn Enthusiasts!
Please enjoy the latest June SPS Updates…
Space Still Available for the 1999 Performance Pilgrimage to Spring Hill
Reservations are still being accepted for the 1999 second annual Performance Pilgrimage to Spring Hill, TN. This year’s event corresponds with the official Saturn Homecoming celebration being sponsored by Saturn Corporation.
This year’s Pilgrimage features an autocross held in conjunction with the SCCA and the world’s largest modified Saturn car show to be enjoyed by tens of thousands of Homecoming attendees. And all Pilgrimage and Homecoming attendees will enjoy the 1999 Homecoming festivities which include performances by Hootie and the Blowfish and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, parades, fireworks, an air show, fair rides, and plant tours – in addition to the awesome car show and SCCA race! Participants will also meet thousands of other Saturn owners as well as Saturn team members.
If you wish to participate in this year’s Pilgrimage, please remember two important points:
1. All must first register with Saturn for the official Homecoming participation.
2. Car-show participation is limited to the first 75 cars. (Currently, 40 cars have registered, leaving 35 available slots!)
If you have already registered for the Pilgrimage, you can expect to receive additional information in early July that will include directions, instructions, and special decals that will permit access to the car-show area.
If you have plans to join the caravan from Dayton to Spring Hill, then you will also enjoy a special decal made just for Caravan participants and a special discount off purchases made at the SPS warehouse during the morning of departure.
For more information on the Performance Pilgrimage, please visit the SPS website at http://www.spswebpage.com. Or to learn more about the Saturn Homecoming, please visit the Saturn Homecoming site at http://www.saturn.com/homecoming.
Product News
The 17.5mm rear anti-sway bar from SPS marks yet another breakthrough in SPS product development. Unlike any other Saturn sway bar, the SPS 17.5mm bar is a full 2.5mm larger than the stock bar – for a whopping 17% increase in diameter and an 85% increase in torsional stiffness! And it features an unprecedented 4-way adjustment for extra chassis tuning flexibility. This is the bar of choice for any serious road-racer! Includes bright yellow powdercoat finish. (For racing purposes only. Be sure to check with an SPS representative for help in calculating tire-lateral-load-transfer-distribution rates for your vehicle.) Available now for $124.00 each. See part number SWAY3SPS.
Stillen’s latest rotor combines the gas-venting advantages of a drilled rotor with the pad-cleaning advantages of a slotted rotor into one high performance upgrade. The Stillen combination rotors are both cross-drilled and slotted and feature Stillen’s gold cadmium coating for the ultimate in braking power and great looks. (Sold in pairs.) Available now for $199.00 per pair. See part number ST1000XS in the front and ST1001XS in the rear.
There is no easier way to improve the appearance of your engine compartment than the addition of a polished oil cap cover. STR’s polished covers have a classic, attractive appearance and fit easily over the stock oil cap using a single set-screw. Available now for all Saturn oil caps. Choose from "Whittier," carbon-fiber, or plain polished design. Available now for $39.95 each. See part numbers STR0100D, STR0100I, and STR0100W.
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!
June Specials
Be sure to upgrade your brakes before heading to the track this season! Our exceptional combination of Powerslot rotors and Carbotech pads contributes to a braking system that is perfect for any sport. Whether it’s autocross, road racing, drag racing, or just aggressive street driving, we’ve got you covered. Just mention the June Special when ordering and get Powerslot rotors and any set of Carbotech pads at 10% off!
Summer is Racing Season! So get out to the track and have fun with a set of R-compound racing tires! We have one set of brand new shaved BFG R1 racing tires in stock! And they’re on sale for June - mounted and balanced on new 15 inch Saturn steel wheels. Part number: STL/BFG15S, now Only $159.00 each! (Or choose to buy just tires for only $145.00 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 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 again on June 13 at Road Atlanta, making it his 4th national SSC win in a row!
Other than bearing some serious southern summer heat, most of the weekend was relatively effortless for the experienced Kramer and his team. After qualifying on the pole, Mike wisely tucked behind an SSB Miata and followed it to a runaway SSC victory ahead of several SSC Neons and a rare SSC Miata.
Kramer, the defending SCCA Southeast Division Champion, has tasted victory at Charlotte, Daytona, and twice at Road Atlanta. Kramer’s Saturn has three pole positions and one track record to add to the list of 1999 credits. Kramer is currently tied for the SCCA Southeast Division points lead with Sun City, Florida’s Ken Payson, who drives a Nissan 200 SER. Kramer needs another win to assure an invitation to the SCCA’s annual National Championship event called The Runoffs - the Super Bowl of amateur road racing in America - held each October at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Complex in Lexington, OH.
Kramer and the Thundersport team plan to earn this invitation and make it five class wins in a row at Memphis Motorsports Park this weekend.
Team scR newcomer Mark Rushbrook continues to win regional events in the Central Division, taking yet another set of double regional victories at Grattan Raceway on May 29-30. His latest pair of checkered flags marked 6 wins out of 6 starts! Not a bad way to start a racing career.
Although it may sound easy in retrospect, Saturday’s qualifying session proved to be very interesting. Traffic was fairly light and Mark was able to run several good laps, lowering his best time to 1:37.9. Later in the session he caught an ITS RX-7 in turn 5, passing him through turn 6, thinking that all was well - since he saw only a ‘white’ flag displayed at that corner station. (In SCCA club racing, a white flag means that there is a slow moving vehicle on the track ahead.) At the end of the session, the chief steward informed Mark that the pass was NOT okay - because a 2nd corner worker was also displaying a yellow flag at the same station. Oops…BIG mistake! Despite sincere apologies, Mark was penalized by having 6 seconds added to his qualifying time - dropping him from 7th on the grid to 17th in a field of 20 cars! Fortunately, the two other SSC cars were only a few rows ahead, so there was hope of catching them during the race.
When the green flag flew on Saturday afternoon, it became quickly apparent that starting at the back of the pack was not the best place to be! After several laps, Mark was still fighting his way through traffic to get to the other SSC cars. Eventually, he caught the Neon, passed him in the back section, and turned his attention to the Honda in front of him. After another 2 laps, Mark was in position and made the pass, under braking, into turn 10. The pass stuck, and Mark pulled away to a 5-second victory!
On Sunday morning, Mark made sure that his eyes were wide-open for any colored flags, during qualifying. He finished the session without any incidents, and found himself on the pole for SSC. At race time, the Honda was lined up directly behind the scR Saturn, so Mark anticipated some competition. The Honda filled Mark’s mirrors for a full lap before Mark started to slowly pull away. But by lap 5, Mark had created a 5-6 second lead. Despite some conservative driving (thanks to a mysterious mid-race SES light,) Mark managed to maintain a 6-second lead until the end of the race – which ended with yet another SSC victory.
With 6 wins out of 6 starts, Mark wondered if his success was really due to his driving skills – or perhaps a result of driving a very well prepared #34 SSC racecar. So to test his skills within a more intense environment, Mark entered his first national race at MidOhio on June 12-13. The scR team knew that the MidOhio event would present a challenge, as the event was not only Mark’s first national race, but his first time on the MidOhio track in anything but a go-kart!
Despite a slower practice session – the result of a rather steep learning curve – Mark improved by over 5 seconds per lap during qualifying. His final grid position was 8th out of 17 cars!
During the race, Mark battled fiercely with a new 160HP Civic SI and held his advantage until the very last lap. Ironically, both Mark and the Civic stopped racing one lap too soon and spent the last lap waiving to each other in a congratulatory gesture! By chance, the Civic entered the pit lane first, stealing the 8th position from Mark in the process. Mark’s final 9th place finish made the entire scR team proud and capped off a fun and exciting weekend of racing!
Mark races again at Nelson Ledges on June 19-20.
Preparation of the new scR ITA racecar continues at a frantic pace as James Walker sets his sights on a July debut. Construction of the roll-cage is complete and the engine has been removed and sent in for a "freshening." Updates about the car and the 1999 schedule will continue 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 Project SL2 still for Sale!
The gold 1996 SL2 project car is still for sale. Someone, please buy this car! It deserves a good home!
Factory options include manual transmission, A/C, cruise control, power windows, power locks, power mirror, keyless entry, sunroof, spoiler, cassette w/equalizer, co-ax speakers, and tan leather seats.
Modifications include 10.5:1 ported and polished head, 52mm throttle body, ceramic Powerstack, Hotshot headers, Borla 2-inch mandrel exhaust plumbing, Kayne Sport muffler, Magnecor wires, NGK plugs, Carrera dampers, H&R springs, front and rear SPS sway bars, strut tower brace, Stillen Metal Matrix brake pads, Carbotech rear shoes, CATZ XLO lamps, Schroth harness, 16-inch Forgeline LS rims, and Toyo 205/50/15 T1 tires.
The price of $10,000.00 includes an extra set of Saturn Teardrop II alloy wheels and Firestone Affinity 185/65/15 tires. Current mileage is around 52,000.
For more information, contact John Comeskey. Or visit the SPS web site at http://www.spswebpage.com.
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): July 3-4: scR motorsports and Checkerboard Autosports to race at MidOhio.
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 SUMMER! |
