Modified Suzuki Kizashi sets an in-class speed record at Bonneville.
11-14-10, 05:54 PM
#1
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Modified Suzuki Kizashi sets an in-class speed record at Bonneville.
Besides the racing/speed accomplishment, of course, this is a touching story.
Road & Track's Sam Mitani, one of their regular testers/editors, got to meet Suzuki's Hirotaka Ono in Japan, who was responsible, more than any other company official, for the Kizashi's development (I reviewed a new Kizashi some time ago, and was generally impressed with it). Mr. Ono passed away from cancer shortly after meeting with Mitani
, and Sam wanted to do something with the Kizashi that would honor Mr. Ono's memory.
The rest of the story, here, speaks for itself.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/special-...eaking-kizashi
http://www.roadandtrack.com/special-...tart-to-finish
http://www.roadandtrack.com/racing/m...e-speed-locker
During the Speed Week 2010 held in August at the Bonneville Salt Flats, I showed up in a specially prepared Suzuki Kizashi to break the record for Blown Gas Coupes—cars with fixed roofs and turbocharged engines. The folks who usually show up at a Bonneville event weren’t accustomed to seeing a compact Japanese sedan among their hot rods and streamliners, so to say that we stuck out would be an understatement. That said, I’ve been through a similar experience before in 2007, when I ran a Honda Civic at Bonneville, reaching 170-something mph. Well, I was back to take care of unfinished business—to get into the exclusive 200-Mph Club.
So why was I there with a Suzuki Kizashi? The reason was entirely personal. The man behind the creation of the Kizashi was Hirotaka Ono, a senior operating officer of Suzuki Motor Corp., a man many people thought would become the next chairman of the company. I met him a number of times in Hamamatsu, Japan, where he welcomed me with open arms and waxed enthusiastic about the Kizashi concept car. Only a few months after our last meeting, he passed away, a victim of cancer. Apparently, he was sick when I last saw him, but he didn’t even mention this fact during our time together. The news was devastating, and I wanted to do something to show the world what a special car he left behind as his last project. My chance would come two years later, right after the production version of the Kizashi went on sale.
During a meal with Richard Holdener, a veteran of making small Japanese cars go fast, including the Civic I drove at Bonneville, we discussed the possibility of transforming the Kizashi into a land-speed car and possibly going after a record. As luck would have it, Holdener knew the record for that class was 202.301 mph.
“I’m sure we can make it go faster,” he said.
Transforming a compact family sedan into a car that would go 200-plus mph at Bonneville is no simple task. The process usually takes several months; however, Holdener’s company, Advanced Product Engineering, which also includes Tom Habrzyk and Scott Bailey, had just three months before Speed Week to accomplish this task. Already, the odds were stacked against us.
As soon as they took delivery of a stock Kizashi, the guys took the entire car apart, including the engine. Then came weeks of careful measuring and re-measuring, ordering numerous special parts that included pistons, connecting rods and a giant turbocharger. They were hoping to transform the 185-bhp Suzuki inline-4 into a fire-breathing turbocharged engine with 500-plus bhp. Habrzyk maintained that the original block and 6-speed transmission were more than strong enough to cope with the extra power.
Once the engine was returned under the hood and the specialized rollcage and parachute were installed, the car was put on a dynamometer. It produced 513 horsepower at the wheels, which meant it was pumping out about 560 bhp at the crank. The car was ready for the record attempt.
As usual, it was hot at the Bonneville Salt Flats, located a few miles from the Utah-Nevada border near a town called Wendover. Temperatures were in the 90s, but the heat was intensified by the reflective salt. The thing I was dreading was wearing the 4-layer Nomex racing suit required for runs over 175 mph. Imagine wearing the bomb suit in the movie, The Hurt Locker, and sitting in a tight cockpit with all the windows rolled up on a hot day.
The attendance at Speed Week seemed down compared to my last visit in 2007, probably the result of the bad economy. And most of the guys doing the driving were older guys, in their 50s or 60s. I surmised that maybe it was because most of these guys had already lived pretty full lives, so it was all or nothing time for many of them. As I waited, a crunched up streamliner was being towed back to the pits...the driver was carried to the hostpital. Not exactly something I wanted to see at this moment in time.
I sat in the Kizashi, all suited up waiting for my turn. The heat was getting intense, so I asked for ice and water that I immediately poured into my suit. This provided slight relief, but with my helmet on, claustrophobia was setting in. I felt quite nervous, but calm. As I took controlled breaths, I imagined every possible disastrous scenario, from a simple tire puncture to actually losing control and flipping over (I’ve seen this happen a number of times at Bonneville). There were two fire extinguishers in the car, one for the cabin and one for the engine compartment; I made sure I could reach the controls for both of them. Finally, the starter signaled me to go.
I slowly got on the throttle. The revs jumped like a Formula racer, hitting the rev limiter in an instant. I clumsily shifted to 2nd and worked my way to 5th with my right foot planted to the floor. I must have been nearing 200 mph when the car started veering left. Oh *^&*! I made the slightest adjustment with the steering wheel. Then the car started sliding way to the right, I made another slight correction. The view ahead was surreal. The salt surface was really slippery, as I could feel the tires lose traction at every upshift. One steering error would spell disaster. I was much more comfortable driving an exotic on the Autobahn at 200 mph than this fully-prepped car on this stuff. The red mile markers whizzing by in a blur were the only indicators of my speed against the bright white background. But I could feel how fast I was going, and I knew that one small error would spell disaster. I shifted to 6th and prayed for the 5-mile marker, my finish line, to appear. When it did, I pulled the chute and steered toward the escape road, where I immediately got out of the car and removed my helmet. I was drenched in sweat. Holdener and Habrzyk arrived in our tow truck a few minutes later, declaring that I hit 203.4 mph. A few minutes later, the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) confirmed it. Yes! I set the record…or so I had thought. I then remembered that we had to come back the next day and do it all over again. SCTA rules state that two runs, with an average speed higher than the existing record, are required to be considered a new record. So I had to do this all over again…
We were up at dawn the next morning. Upon getting to the start line, we experienced a setback—some scoundrel had sabotaged our car overnight in impound, removing part of the safety harness. But thanks to SCTA officials, they gave us time to go buy and install a new one. I quietly hoped that the big rat didn’t mess with the suspension or steering. I was concerned for my survival.
As I left the starting line, the car felt stronger than the day before, probably because of the cooler temperatures. The first four mile markers went by in a blur, and I felt the engine reach the top of the 6th gear before crossing the 5-mile marker. The car was absolutely flying, and I knew it. I pulled the chute and hoped for the best.
Holdener, Habrzyk and Bailey greeted me on the escape road with big smiles. “Two hundred and four miles an hour, we did it!” Holdener said.
The timing official confirmed our record. Our runs averaged to 203.720 mph, eclipsing the previous record by more than 1 mph. The little silver Kizashi had done it. My first thought was of Mr. Ono, who I imagined giving me a thumbs-up somewhere beyond the great sky, and perhaps, just perhaps, he helped us realize this goal despite the numerous obstacles we faced. His pet project is now in the record books.
Road & Track's Sam Mitani, one of their regular testers/editors, got to meet Suzuki's Hirotaka Ono in Japan, who was responsible, more than any other company official, for the Kizashi's development (I reviewed a new Kizashi some time ago, and was generally impressed with it). Mr. Ono passed away from cancer shortly after meeting with Mitani
, and Sam wanted to do something with the Kizashi that would honor Mr. Ono's memory. The rest of the story, here, speaks for itself.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/special-...eaking-kizashi
http://www.roadandtrack.com/special-...tart-to-finish
http://www.roadandtrack.com/racing/m...e-speed-locker
During the Speed Week 2010 held in August at the Bonneville Salt Flats, I showed up in a specially prepared Suzuki Kizashi to break the record for Blown Gas Coupes—cars with fixed roofs and turbocharged engines. The folks who usually show up at a Bonneville event weren’t accustomed to seeing a compact Japanese sedan among their hot rods and streamliners, so to say that we stuck out would be an understatement. That said, I’ve been through a similar experience before in 2007, when I ran a Honda Civic at Bonneville, reaching 170-something mph. Well, I was back to take care of unfinished business—to get into the exclusive 200-Mph Club.
So why was I there with a Suzuki Kizashi? The reason was entirely personal. The man behind the creation of the Kizashi was Hirotaka Ono, a senior operating officer of Suzuki Motor Corp., a man many people thought would become the next chairman of the company. I met him a number of times in Hamamatsu, Japan, where he welcomed me with open arms and waxed enthusiastic about the Kizashi concept car. Only a few months after our last meeting, he passed away, a victim of cancer. Apparently, he was sick when I last saw him, but he didn’t even mention this fact during our time together. The news was devastating, and I wanted to do something to show the world what a special car he left behind as his last project. My chance would come two years later, right after the production version of the Kizashi went on sale.
During a meal with Richard Holdener, a veteran of making small Japanese cars go fast, including the Civic I drove at Bonneville, we discussed the possibility of transforming the Kizashi into a land-speed car and possibly going after a record. As luck would have it, Holdener knew the record for that class was 202.301 mph.
“I’m sure we can make it go faster,” he said.
Transforming a compact family sedan into a car that would go 200-plus mph at Bonneville is no simple task. The process usually takes several months; however, Holdener’s company, Advanced Product Engineering, which also includes Tom Habrzyk and Scott Bailey, had just three months before Speed Week to accomplish this task. Already, the odds were stacked against us.
As soon as they took delivery of a stock Kizashi, the guys took the entire car apart, including the engine. Then came weeks of careful measuring and re-measuring, ordering numerous special parts that included pistons, connecting rods and a giant turbocharger. They were hoping to transform the 185-bhp Suzuki inline-4 into a fire-breathing turbocharged engine with 500-plus bhp. Habrzyk maintained that the original block and 6-speed transmission were more than strong enough to cope with the extra power.
Once the engine was returned under the hood and the specialized rollcage and parachute were installed, the car was put on a dynamometer. It produced 513 horsepower at the wheels, which meant it was pumping out about 560 bhp at the crank. The car was ready for the record attempt.
As usual, it was hot at the Bonneville Salt Flats, located a few miles from the Utah-Nevada border near a town called Wendover. Temperatures were in the 90s, but the heat was intensified by the reflective salt. The thing I was dreading was wearing the 4-layer Nomex racing suit required for runs over 175 mph. Imagine wearing the bomb suit in the movie, The Hurt Locker, and sitting in a tight cockpit with all the windows rolled up on a hot day.
The attendance at Speed Week seemed down compared to my last visit in 2007, probably the result of the bad economy. And most of the guys doing the driving were older guys, in their 50s or 60s. I surmised that maybe it was because most of these guys had already lived pretty full lives, so it was all or nothing time for many of them. As I waited, a crunched up streamliner was being towed back to the pits...the driver was carried to the hostpital. Not exactly something I wanted to see at this moment in time.
I sat in the Kizashi, all suited up waiting for my turn. The heat was getting intense, so I asked for ice and water that I immediately poured into my suit. This provided slight relief, but with my helmet on, claustrophobia was setting in. I felt quite nervous, but calm. As I took controlled breaths, I imagined every possible disastrous scenario, from a simple tire puncture to actually losing control and flipping over (I’ve seen this happen a number of times at Bonneville). There were two fire extinguishers in the car, one for the cabin and one for the engine compartment; I made sure I could reach the controls for both of them. Finally, the starter signaled me to go.
I slowly got on the throttle. The revs jumped like a Formula racer, hitting the rev limiter in an instant. I clumsily shifted to 2nd and worked my way to 5th with my right foot planted to the floor. I must have been nearing 200 mph when the car started veering left. Oh *^&*! I made the slightest adjustment with the steering wheel. Then the car started sliding way to the right, I made another slight correction. The view ahead was surreal. The salt surface was really slippery, as I could feel the tires lose traction at every upshift. One steering error would spell disaster. I was much more comfortable driving an exotic on the Autobahn at 200 mph than this fully-prepped car on this stuff. The red mile markers whizzing by in a blur were the only indicators of my speed against the bright white background. But I could feel how fast I was going, and I knew that one small error would spell disaster. I shifted to 6th and prayed for the 5-mile marker, my finish line, to appear. When it did, I pulled the chute and steered toward the escape road, where I immediately got out of the car and removed my helmet. I was drenched in sweat. Holdener and Habrzyk arrived in our tow truck a few minutes later, declaring that I hit 203.4 mph. A few minutes later, the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) confirmed it. Yes! I set the record…or so I had thought. I then remembered that we had to come back the next day and do it all over again. SCTA rules state that two runs, with an average speed higher than the existing record, are required to be considered a new record. So I had to do this all over again…
We were up at dawn the next morning. Upon getting to the start line, we experienced a setback—some scoundrel had sabotaged our car overnight in impound, removing part of the safety harness. But thanks to SCTA officials, they gave us time to go buy and install a new one. I quietly hoped that the big rat didn’t mess with the suspension or steering. I was concerned for my survival.
As I left the starting line, the car felt stronger than the day before, probably because of the cooler temperatures. The first four mile markers went by in a blur, and I felt the engine reach the top of the 6th gear before crossing the 5-mile marker. The car was absolutely flying, and I knew it. I pulled the chute and hoped for the best.
Holdener, Habrzyk and Bailey greeted me on the escape road with big smiles. “Two hundred and four miles an hour, we did it!” Holdener said.
The timing official confirmed our record. Our runs averaged to 203.720 mph, eclipsing the previous record by more than 1 mph. The little silver Kizashi had done it. My first thought was of Mr. Ono, who I imagined giving me a thumbs-up somewhere beyond the great sky, and perhaps, just perhaps, he helped us realize this goal despite the numerous obstacles we faced. His pet project is now in the record books.
11-15-10, 08:43 AM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Does anybody in CL own or lease a Kizashi? I haven't seen many of them around, even in the huge D.C. area. A chronic dealer-shortage in the American market, of course, doesn't help much.
11-15-10, 05:44 PM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
There's a few of them running around the D.C. area, but not many. Like the BMW X6 and Acura ZDX, it just hasn't caught on much. But, in the Kizashi's case, I think it's more of a matter of just a lack of dealerships and name-recognition than of silly styling/design like the X6 and ZDX...the Kizashi is certainly a competent and well-designed vehicle. And I'm starting to see more X6s in the area now, but very slowly.
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