Wil's in a REAL magazine

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civicious

Buck Futter
VIP
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*drops mic*
 
Well, appears to be a successful venture into shop advertising.
Nicely done.
 
we can't have 'death threats' be titles of posts man... even if joking. google frowns upon that
 
what, that? thats not a magazine. thats one of those paper things that you only touch when your phone gets crap service at the dr office.
a real magazine is online. you still havnt made it to the upper level yet, obviously.

needs more rust.
 
This is awesome. Do you have an extra copy I can grab? Or do I need to hit up the Barnes and Ignoble tomorrow and pick one up?
 
I don't have any extras, unfortunately - and I'd recommend against purchasing this magazine, hah.

I'm a little pissed off, someone at the magazine re-edited the article and changed a few facts for some un-fucking-known reason...they changed the PPIHC finish line elevation from 14,110 (which is correct) to 14,115, and modified the paragraph about us building the engine to say another shop built the engine...they also changed the manufacturer of our safety equipment (Ultra-Shield) to RaceQuip. NO idea why, the writer (David Do) is a Houston local, and we're currently trying to figure out who the fuck at the magazine changed things around.

I'll upload high-res photos of the article when I get to the shop, but here's the article that was proofed, approved, and submitted to the magazine:

"King of the Mountain"


Bimmer magazine features many different types of BMW’s, from super low “stanced” street sweepers to fully tuned street machines to downright nasty race cars, but few tuners can say they knowingly are building a car that they are willing to risk their own life in. Motorsports in America comes in many different forms, but it's the second oldest event in the country that racer Bill Caswell dubbed as “The
most dangerous place I've ever raced.”

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, also known as “The Race To The Clouds”, is a 156 turn course that spans over 12 miles and climbs from it’s 9,390 foot start above sea level to a staggering 14,110 foot finish point on top of a mountain in Colorado Springs. In a single race, a racer may have to endure extreme temperature changes such as sleet, hail, wind, thunderstorms, fog and even snow on the hill; so in short, not only does the car have to survive these absurd changes, so must the driver.

Lucky for Wil Kitchens, he’s already had a taste of the hill climb experience in a two-wheeled variation, an Aprilia motorcycle in summer of 2012. Kitchens has been racing motorcycles for several years and in 2011 he decided to give the Hill Climb a shot.. Wil states, “I ended up with my Aprilia SXV450 almost by accident, and while it was about as reliable as a condom made out of tissue paper, when it did manage to run it sure was a hoot to ride.” From this race Wil knew he’d be back, but this time with four wheels.

“While in the bar at the host hotel for the 2013 Hill Climb, I found a beat-up worn-out E36 M3 on Craigslist back in Houston, and immediately made arrangements for my friend that owns a wrecker to go pick it up.” That beat-up four door E36 was scooped up for less than $600 due to it being stripped and coming with a salvage title. The M3 shell was hauled to Wil’s performance shop, IDB Racing in Houston, TX. The idea behind the build for the car was to make it stand out from other competitors by incorporating very aggressive styling, working on a tight budget, and racing the hell out of it - so it had to be especially functional

Building a racecar to compete on the most grueling course in America on a budget is not something many are willing to undertake, but IDB Racing did so by acquiring a few key sponsors and making the best of what they had. Having a proper suspension at the Peak is imperative, and Ground Control was able to provide just that with their race coilovers, lower control arms, sway bars, camber plates, and various bearings throughout the underside of the car. Since there were a few suspension items that GC did not make, Wil sourced either aluminum or spherical bearing units to fully freshen up the chassis, making the M3 more of a world-class performer.

To power the M3 shell is a US-spec S52B32 engine, rebuilt and tuned to make as much reliable horsepower as possible for 2014’s race season. Wil says, “If we run into some extra money before the race this year (otherwise the 'normal' plan for next year) I'll be doing major internal work and a big turbo, and try and make 800.”

To address the issue of styling, Kitchens contacted Sarto Racing of Japan for some help in that department. Sarto- also known for it’s widely popular Rocket Bunny TRA Kyoto 6666 Customs aero kits for popular Japanese kits including the Nissan Silvia, Toyota GT-86, R35 GT-R and FD RX-7, also makes a widebody aero kit for the two-door E36. Sarto agreed to send IDB Racing one of two widebody kits
in America for the racecar. Originally designed for a non-M series E36 coupe, the kit was reworked to fit onto the car and the rear doors on the sedan were forever permanently closed. The trademark 6666 customs style fender flares look absolutely outrageous on the M3 and combined with the Harrison Motorsport front splitter and Titanic sized Brooks Motorsport Composites carbon fiber rear spoiler, Wil’s original dream of standing out from the rest is most definitely realized.

The E36 is what you would expect out of a racecar that’s using a stock motor. “It doesn't have a whole heck of a lot of power, so it's really hard to out-drive the car, but It's like driving a video game. When we first took it out to the track, we left the wing off so that we could get a sort of 'baseline' as to how the car handled without aero, and the only issue we really had was keeping the rear planted - it wanted to step out under throttle. Once we got the wing and the underbody aero panels on, the car was PLANTED. It's crazy video game-esque.”

This year was the 92nd running of the "Race To The Clouds," and thanks to modern technology and Liquid Image’s five Ego cameras mounted to this Pikes Peak climber, we had the chance to watch Wil Kitchens race from our computer screens and tablets as he fought to become the King of the Mountain. Wil and IDB Racing trailered the purpose-built BMW M3 1,000 miles from Texas to Colorado to conquer the Time Attack 1 class. Kitchens stated, "We started the week off great, and after the first day of practice our times put us 6th place in class, with plenty of room to improve. We came back the next day for qualifying ready to drop our times, but hit a damp spot in the pavement in the early-morning hours and put the car off the track, damaging the vehicle's aerodynamic package beyond repair. We were able to get the car back together and back on track for the rest of practice during the week, albeit at a major disadvantage as the vehicle handled substantially poorer sans the aerodynamics."

When it rains, it pours as the engine cooling ductwork was also damaged along with the aero. Crew chief Ryan Warren stated "Wil got off to a great start on the lower section, but before he reached the Glen Cove checkpoint the car was beginning to overheat badly - two-thirds of the way up the course we recorded coolant temperatures as high as 137 degrees Celsius (278*F), and the car barely made enough power to make it all the way up the mountain. We finished the race though, and we weren't last!" Kitchens somehow miraculously piloted the E36 to the finish line in a total time of 12:10.435, placing him 14th in the Time Attack 1 class and 78th overall out of 130. Ryan Warren was optimistic and finished with, "Despite finishing much further back in the field than we intended to, we were able to acquire a great deal of information that will help us come back next year in much better form!"
 
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