Originally Posted by Beater79TA

We like to joke that we're the original Pro Touring thirdgen. Our first major event in the genre was in 2010 at El Toro, CA at an event called Run to the Coast. We thought it was a big year for us because we went to 3 out of state events between California and Nevada that year. Looking back and comparing it to 2019, 2010 was nothing. For most of the last 10 years, outside of some rare ventures into SCCA, we didn't see many thirdgens running the events. That changed when the DSE-Z hit the scene and made the cars a lot more popular for this type of driving. 2019 saw the car run events in 13 states across 50 days logging 520 autocross laps, 35 road course sessions, and approximately 1500 track miles in 7 months of continuous travel with the majority of the maintenance being done in track and hotel parking lots during that cycle.

Some of the recent highlights:

Being on display at SEMA 2019 as a participant in the Optima Ultimate Streetcar Invitational.
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Spending a couple weeks on display inside Summit Racing in Atlanta between events. I didn't even know this was an option until the manager asked if we wanted to leave it there while we competed the backup car at LSFest West.
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Sharing the podium with 3 of the big name drivers and top cars of Pro Touring at the Northeast Musclecar Challenge. Brian in his Camaro, Dustin in the DSE Corvette, Roger in the UMI Camaro, and our GTA.
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Paint is the GM torch red. It was shot in 2018 and will need to be done again soon. Track days are fun, but they are rough on the paint. The hood has a custom airbrushed hood bird that blends the decal lines used on the early thirdgens and the artistry of the 2nd gens.
The most noticeable exterior modification is the installation of a carbon fiber Mecham Aerowing (visible in the SEMA photo). It took a few months to produce but it came out better and lighter than expected.

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Inside the bumper cover is the oil cooler and Accusump sourced from Improved Racing along with the oil cooler adapter plate to attach it all to the engine. The engine is a 418 stroker based on a LS3 block running CNC ported heads and featuring some intake art by the same artist who did the hood.

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Cooling is provided by a custom unit from Ron Davis Racing running dual Spal high output fans. Cam is a baby 227/239 unit at 600 lift and the setup generates 500 rwhp and 500 lb/ft of torque. The car is complete with steering upgrades from Turn One Steering including a 10:1 ratio gearbox and a custom PS pump tailored to the weight transfer characteristics of the car in 1.8G cornering maneuvers. The car, despite originally being a 700R4 equipped car has been converted to a manual and runs a Centerforce DYAD clutch, a Quicktime bellhousing, and a upgraded T56 Magnum. And we even have working AC on the car.

The exhaust uses the Stainless Works 1 7/8 headers to a full custom y pipe and tail section. The section after the axle uses a 3 bolt flange to allow us to change the muffler package to suit the noise restrictions of various tracks. We switch between a pair of Black Widow Widowmaker 10s when there are no restrictions and a Magnaflow with 2 Dynomax race bullets for tracks that need to be done quietly.

The suspension is all UMI. You can even order an identical setup by calling and asking for the DragonladyGTA kit. Several years ago, we partnered with UMI and became the official test vehicle to punish the products being built for the corner carving thirdgen market. If you're wondering who put the parts through thousands of laps and hundreds of miles of on track testing, this is the car. The front suspension includes, the road race k member, tubular lower control arms, front weight jacks with 1100 lb springs, set #1 of the double adjustable road race valved UMI/AFCO front struts, and the caster camber plates. We retained the 1LE/WS6 swaybars. Front brakes are Wilwood 6 piston units on 14 inch rotors with fluid fed to them via a Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve.

Down the center of the car we have the UMI outer SFCs and the Alston inners to beef up the chassis. The tubular torque arm is also a UMI piece. The driveshaft is a 3 inch chromoly unit built to fit by a local driveshaft shop. Additional chassis stiffening is provided by a 6 point cage.

The rear of the car includes a Moser 12 bolt with a TruTrac differential, 3.42 gears, and 33 spline axles. The rear brakes are Wilwood 4 piston on 13 inch rotors. Rear suspension is a UMI Watts link, adjustable LCAs, relocation brackets, and single adjustable UMI/AFCO coilovers with 400 lb springs.

Fuel system is a 4th gen plastic tank with an Aeromotive 340 fuel pump and upgraded wiring from the alternator all the way to the pump.

The wheels are Forgeline GW3Rs in 18x10.5 running 315/30/`8 BFG Rivals on all 4 corners.

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Florian the Unicorn is the official team mascot and can be found in the passenger seat at many events. He is usually a gentleman and allows the seat to be used by passengers at many events.

The interior of the car has a protouring style cage with the low door bars for easy entry and exit. The current seats are Corbeau CR1s (soon to be replaced by Recaros) running Crowe Racing 6 pt harnesses. The shifter is Rainbow Dash from My Little Ponies. The gauges are Intellitronix digital units designed to replace the factory analog gauges. The vehicle includes a full stereo setup including a subwoofer box and amp in the hatch well area and satellite radio. That plus the AC comes in handy when the car is on the cruise portions of the larger events.

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What the photos and specs don't provide is the "why do we do this to ourselves" answer. And the honest answer to that is, to do it to spend time with friends and try to bring a few more people into the sport. 5 years ago we started participating in the BFG Share the Ride program where spectators were allowed to ride along with a select set of drivers on the autocross. Sign the waiver, join the line, strap in, and scream your way through a lap. About 3000 passengers later, we're still in that row of cars. Most of the time you never see the passenger again. Sometimes you see them a bit later, bringing their own car from the show and shine area to the start line to try it themselves. The other more recent event series is a small invitation only group of drivers being organized to provide some PTSD therapy to veterans. Medical science has determined that motorsports is actually an effective form of therapy for PTSD and a small series has been organized to bring drivers, cars, and veterans together to let them take a few rides and enjoy the day. The only trophy is smiles and a chance to give back.

And, finally, because it's really hard to miss the row of decals along the bottom of the car, a thank you to all the companies who have contributed their expertise to making the car what it is today. Improved Racing, Turn One, UMI, Texas Speed, AFR, Holley, Wilwood, Forgeline, Centerforce, FiTech, SilverSport Transmissions, Hawks Motorsports, and BFG. And a thank you to some of the other companies that make ProTouring events possible, Detroit Speed, Baer Brake, No Limit Engineering, Bowler Transmissions, Summit Racing, and Motorstate Distributing.

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A final shot of the car pulling 1.8 G through the corner.

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