Feature Interview Day 4 | SEMA SHOW
Jason Hunt
Pro FWD Driver
Crew Member on the MSP Racing / Lucas Oil Evolution VIII Build Team
AKA The only one that had ever seen an Evolution VIII
MM: As Honda and Supra guys, how did your team fare with the build off? Did you guys find the 4G63 technology foreign?
JH: Well, both teams were built around the fact that neither of them really work intensively with the Mitsubishi Evolution VIII. I am personally a Honda guy and Paul E and his brother are major Supra and 2JZ tuners. We definitely were able to work out the minor differences – but a car is a car and we just love playing with them.
MM: Can you give us a quick breakdown of the competition and how you were approached to be part of the team?
JH: Mike Meyers of NOPI and Yahoo! Custom Autos came out with this great idea to help promote the website. It’s the first time doing it and they are definitely coming back. Both teams were given identical cars and parts, including basic suspension upgrades, an AEM EMS to tune, upgraded turbo kit, injectors, a full body kit, roll bar, gauges, etc. We had 3 days (Tuesday – Thursday) to work on the cars from 8-5 with a one hour lunch break each day. Paul Efantis came up to me and asked if I’d like to be part of the team – without even hesitating I jumped onboard!
MM: What were your major roles in the buildup? Did you guys run into any major problems?
JH: I mostly focused on the clutch / transmission part and tuning of the AEM EMS system. This entire project was a major team effort however, we all helped each other out if an extra hand was needed. We didn’t run into any major problems, some minor ones including the power steering pulley and a release bearing. Thankfully Matco Tools supplied us with all the tools we needed to get the job done right.
MM: Any real time constraints or pressure during the build up? What were the prizes you guys were aiming for?
JH: There really wasn’t any pressure, as race teams we’ve gotten used to working hard in any given conditions. The first place winner was awarded $5,000.00 and the runner up was getting $2,500.00.
MM: Can you give us a basic summary of what happened with the dyno tuning and the racing? We heard it was monumental.
JH: (laughs) – Well we had the car complete and we did some tuning on the highway on the way to Dynojet’s facility. We drove it on the race gas and we had one hour of tuning and three runs for maximum power. Unfortunately we ran into a boost cut issue so we had to utilize a 75 shot of NX nitrous to help us out on the power. We reached 520whp at 19psi with the 75 shot. Rado’s team unfortunately edged us out with 550whp at around 30 something psi with nitrous on the intercooler. The race took place right in front of the Frontier with thousands of people gathered around to check it out at 2am. It was only about 500 feet long and we were putting on one hell of a show with the two step action. Funkmaster Flex flagged the race and we still think Rado left a tad too early! We had figured out the boost cut issue so we had the car ready to go at 30psi, and Paul Efantis felt he needed to his the nitrous to catch up to Rado’s head start. At the end of the first race, Paul E was telling me he had to turn on the wipers as coolant was just going everywhere when the headgasket blew. As he pulled around for a second run, we hit the two step and threw a rod straight out of the block. It was a bad way to lose, but the crowd loved it. Everyone was collecting parts from the car as souvenirs and it was just wild.
MM: Sounds like a ton of fun out there, any plans on doing this again?
JH: We are definitely trying to stage a rematch for a mile long race. It was without a doubt a ton of fun.