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Greetings Saturn Enthusiasts!
Please enjoy the latest September SPS Updates…
Drive Your Own Car on a Real Road Course!
If you have always wanted to drive your car at speed on a real racetrack, then mark your calendar now for Saturday, October 28. SPS has rented the Putnam Park Road Course near Indianapolis, Indiana for a day of lapping practice and we invite any interested driver to attend.
The Putnam Park facility is a great track for lapping practice – since the course design offers an exciting ride with very few cement walls (or other vehicle-damaging obstacles.) And we will have a handful of experienced instructors on hand to assist beginners. We have also hired safety crews and corner workers for the day – so that drivers can focus on driving and having fun, not working. You just need to bring a safe, well-maintained car and a helmet.
The cost to attend the October 28 lapping day at Putnam is only $160 per driver. This allows up to eight hours of track usage – which should be enough for each driver to enjoy five 20-minute sessions. We have room for 25 participants, so make your reservations early by calling the customer service hotline.
We have also reserved a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Cloverleaf, Indiana. These rooms are held under the name "Saturn Performance" and will be billed at a special rate of only $60.00 per night (plus tax.) To make your reservations, please call the hotel at 765-795-5050. Be sure to mention that you need one of the rooms for the "Saturn Performance" group.
To learn more about the Putnam Park facility, visit their website at http://www.putnampark.com or read about a beginner’s first experience there.
Product News
For most enthusiasts, upgrading to the right brake pad will produce the single most noticeable improvement to brake pedal feel and perceived brake system performance. But in an aftermarket in which seemingly everyone claims to have a "great" brake pad, finding a Saturn pad with real tangible advantages has been difficult – until now! SPS Magnum brake pads, developed with the help of scR motorsports, are the ultimate brake pads – the best available anywhere! The Magnum’s exclusive Carbon Kevlar friction material provides excellent initial bite, a very high coefficient of friction, and very predictable behavior throughout a range of pedal pressures and temperatures. And it maintains it’s high friction coefficient and predictable behavior even at very high temperatures where lesser pads would fade and become inconsistent. Our Magnum pads also feature a ceramic lining between the friction material and the backing plate that significantly reduces heat transfer through the caliper’s piston and into the brake fluid – thus reducing the possibility of fluid boil and fluid vaporization. And each front pad includes two radial grooves machined into the friction block to allow pad expansion without cracking – thus preventing self-destruction during high-speed use. However, despite the racing orientation, the Magnum pads are extremely friendly to rotors. And the friction material is bonded – not riveted – to the backing plate! Both race and street compounds are available. For more details, please visit the braking products sections of our website.
The long-awaited Pro-Beam style headlight covers are finally available for the 97-00 Saturn coupes! These unique covers feature a carbon fiber pattern with 3 round clear lenses inset within the cover. The result is a custom look combined with excellent lighting performance. The GTS288PB headlight cover kits are in stock now and available for only $64.95 per set.
Thanks to popular demand, we are now offering the small SPS vinyl decals in the color white. The white decals are available now for 50 cents each using part number JMTBW.
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!
September Specials
High performance ignition wires from Magnecor are used throughout the world by leading race teams. Magnecor’s exceptional high-capacity 2.5mm metallic inductance EMI suppressed conductors and non-layered heat resistant silicone rubber jackets conduct full ignition output without interference to engine electronics. And their exceptional build quality assures perfect fit and long life. We are overstocked on 5136 and 5226 models only. All Magnecor wires are red. Get the MAG5136 wires for all SOHC models – normally $49.18 – for only $39.00 per set! Or choose the MAG5226 wires for all 91-95 DOHC (w/alum cam cover) – normally $69.13 – for only $59.00!
We are liquidating our inventory of all remaining Carbotech brake pads to make room for our new Magnum pads. All remaining sets must go! Supplies are limited. Choose from:
"F" Compound Front – part no. BRAKE007F – Only $79.00/set!
Kelate Metallic Rear – part no. BRAKE007R – Only $79.00/set!
"F" Compound Rear – part no. BRAKE010R – Only $79.00/set!
HPS Rear – part no. BRAKE011R – Only $79.00/set!
Panther Front – part no. CT507P – Only $99.00/set!
Panther Rear – part no. CT508P – Only $99.00/set!
Please visit the SPS web site (http://www.spswebpage.com) for more details!
SPS Racing
"What would you say if I told you that we just found a twenty-five percent horsepower increase for the racecar?" James asked me on a Sunday afternoon. "Umm…" I replied. "You installed a Venom 400?" "Very funny. We’ve had a loose injector harness for months. I just fixed it and the racecar is a whole new animal. I think that we are back in the thick of competitiveness."
Such is the story of the scR motorsports #34 ITA car. After months of unexplained stalling, rough idle, and slow throttle response, a loose wire turns out to be the simple source of lots of heartache. The bad news: man, do we feel dumb. The good news: all of a sudden our racecar is 25% faster!
To test the "new" powerplant, scR made a trip to Milan dragway on Wednesday, August 16. While straight line racing is unlikely to become the focus of scR at any time soon, a 15.6 second quarter mile pass at 90mph built confidence into our prospects for Waterford on the 19th.
And when the Waterford race finally happened, we were not disappointed. In fact, despite some brake problems during the qualifying session, James still managed a 1:20.0 lap time which was .3 seconds faster than any previous best effort. And while his qualifying position suffered thanks to the brake issue, the team knew that there was much speed still yet to be released.
During the afternoon race, scR finally released some of that speed. Starting in the 9th position in a field of 22, James had to somehow get past 3 RX-7s before he could challenge the 5 Honda CRXs that would lead the charge up front. But that didn’t take long once James figured out that he could out-brake the RX-7s on the back straight. By lap 6, he was clear of the Mazdas, but was facing a very large gap before he would catch the Hondas. With just a few laps to go, the #9 CRX attempted a ridiculous pass and put himself into the gravel trap at turn one - which propelled James into the 5th position. It wasn’t quite a podium finish, but with a best lap of 1:19.3, we were getting faster.
For the Sunday morning race, our SC2 enjoyed a much more favorable 5th place starting position – right behind some very fast CRXs, including two that finished in the top 5 at the ARRC and one that holds the Waterford track record. (Running with these guys wouldn’t be easy, but it would be fun.) For the first two laps, James and the Saturn held the pace against the Hondas and challenged the #63 CRX more than once for the 4th spot. Unfortunately, the CRXs are just enough faster to pull away, but not fast enough to run away. So the race ended where it started – with the scR Saturn in 5th place. But we had gotten faster yet again with 1:19.0 best lap.
For the afternoon race, the scR Saturn was forced to start in the 6th spot – with one RX-7 standing between James and the Hondas. Of course, James already knew that he could pass the Mazda on the back straight – which he promptly did. But the slight delay allowed the Hondas to create a sizable lead. However, with just one lap to go, the #9 and #55 CRXs were black flagged after banging into each other throughout the entire race. This, of course, catapulted James into 3rd place - which is exactly where he finished. So the weekend ended with a greatly treasured podium finish and yet another best lap of 1:18.5!
James and the scR team race again September 9-10 at Mid-Ohio. To see the latest scR newsletter, scR tech article or the 2000 schedule, visit the scR motorsports website at http://www.teamscr.com.
SPS’ own Roger Baker competed again in his Legends car on August 11 at the Kilkare speedway in Xenia, Ohio. Being Roger’s rookie season and the first ever attempt by the Baker Racing team to campaign a Legends car, the entire 2000 season has been a learning experience. But huge strides have been made throughout the season in terms of the racecar’s setup and preparation and also in terms of Roger’s driving skill. And much of that progress became evident at Kilkare as Roger proved that he can run with most of the more experienced and better-funded drivers.
In fact, the #51 Baker Racing car felt so fast after the first practice session that Roger opted to skip the second session altogether (as to avoid unnecessary wear and tear upon both the car and the driver.) And after an exciting heat (qualifying) race, Roger found himself in 3rd place – right behind his more experienced friend Mike, who has served as a benchmark all season.
Then during the feature race, one of the other cars suffered a mechanical failure that sprayed oil along the track surface. The resulting hazard put several of the leaders into the wall and delayed the race during a lengthy cleanup effort. But Roger escaped unscathed and charged his way into a 6th finish – again just behind his high school friend, Mike. It won’t be long before Mike follows Roger across the finish line for a change…
The Baker Racing Legends team will see action again on Saturday, September 9 at Columbus, Ohio.
Bryan Finally Gets Email
Last month, we welcomed Bryan Yearick as the newest member of the SPS team. Upon his arrival, he did not have an email account. And he will eventually enjoy a new account – once major upgrades to the SPS internet account and website are completed. In the meantime, you can email Bryan at
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SPS Events
The SPS schedule for 2000 is winding down. The scheduled venues are listed below:
SPS 2000 Schedule (tentative):
Sept 4: SPS closed for Labor Day holiday
Sept 9-10: scR at MidOhio
Sept 23-24: scR at MidOhio
Oct 7: Thundersport at MidOhio (Valvoline Runoffs)
Oct 28: SPS at Putnam Road Course
Nov 10-12: scR at Road Atlanta (ARRC)
Dec 2: SPS attending PRI Trade Show (Indianapolis)
If you have any questions about anything in this newsletter, please Contact Us.
To view previous editions of the newsletter, please visit the Newsletter Archive.
If you wish to add an email address to the list, please do so at http://spswebpage.com/email/addemail.html. If you need to remove an address from the list, please do so at http://spswebpage.com/email/del.html. Please do NOT notify us directly with your removal or addition requests!
Until next month, HAVE A GREAT SEPTEMBER! |
