2013 Acura ILX Endurance Racer

2013 Acura ILX Endurance Racer

2013 Acura ILX Endurance Racer Developed and organized via Team Honda Research-West, a competition version of the brand new 2013 Acura ILX may be unveiled the 2012 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas, prior to making its competition debut at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill patience race.

A pair of E1 magnificence Acura ILX sedans, organized to NASA U.S. Touring Car specifications, may be entered for the conventional 25-hour staying power race that yearly concludes the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) season at the tough three-mile Thunderhill road course north of Sacramento, California.

Team Honda Research-West (THR-W) is more often than not made up of Torrance, California-based totally associates from Honda R&D Americas, Inc., who work after-hours to showcase Honda and Acura merchandise at the track. The group received a couple of recent Acura ILX "frame in white" bare chassis in advance this yr from Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, LLC, the exceptional worldwide production source for the model. Additionally, a pair of "donor" vehicles from American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Become used to offer suspension, powertrain, indoors and electronic additives.

Once the chassis and donor motors had been delivered to the THR-W workshop, an in depth build program started that covered the use of as many OEM additives as viable, to hold serviceability and check outright sturdiness of Acura's latest sedan. In getting ready the automobiles for the grueling Thunderhill occasion, THR-W members centered their efforts much less on overall performance changes and extra on reducing car weight, to achieve the performance goals set by means of the group.

Safety system required through NASA included a full roll cage (designed by THR-W and built by using Solo Motorsports); Bride Gardis III race seat; OMP opposition steerage wheel; Schroth protection harness; Brockway Engineering D Gauge digital OBD2 gauge; and Braille lightweight battery. Changes to the exterior included a Baja Designs LED lights machine for lengthy winter night-strolling, a THR-W-designed front splitter and an APR GTC-200 rear spoiler.

Red Line oil lubricates the K24Z7 engine and 6-pace transmission. Cold air enters the engine thru an AEM intake, at the same time as DEI heat rejection merchandise assist keep the warmth underneath manipulate from exhaust gases flowing via the custom-built AEM/a hundred and twenty Racing exhaust. H&R suspension and Enkei RPF1 wheels outfitted with BF Goodrich R1 race tires whole the Acura ILX opposition package.

Honda Performance Development (HPD), answerable for Honda racing packages ranging from entry-degree classes to the IZOD IndyCar Series and World Endurance Championship, additionally contributed several racing-unique additives to the ILX task. These blanketed an HPD-lightened flywheel and racing seize package, restrained-slip differential, motor mounts, anti-roll bars and rear upper suspension control arms. All of those elements are available to racers via the HPD Honda Racing Line software.

The THR-W build group for the ILX includes some of engineers and researchers from Honda R&D Americas (HRA). The group is headed by means of Project Leader Calvin Liu, a Design Engineer in the Surface Development Department. John Whiteman, Manager of the Advanced Product Planning Department, is answerable for race approach and sponsorship. David Kirsch, Senior Engineer within the Information Technical Research Department, serves as Crew Chief and is responsible for the electrical device. Roy Richards, a coordinator inside the Energy and Environmental Research Group, is answerable for finances and procurement of components for the group.

Once the initial construct became entire, a trying out program that included a couple of shakedown runs at Buttonwillow Raceway in southern California, observed by using a more good sized run at Willow Springs International Raceway, turned into carried out to complete final preparations for Thunderhill.

The driving team for Thunderhill is headed by Matt Staal, Senior Planner, Advanced Product Planning, for HRA. Other contributors of the driver lineup consist of Project Leader Calvin Liu; Derek Ferretti, a Senior Modeler in the Styling Division at HRA; Sage Marie, Senior Manager of Public Relations at American Honda; Lee Niffenegger, a former SCCA National Champion and Senior Engineer in Business Development at HPD; Lawrence Hwang, Senior Stylist at HRA; Scott Nichol from Honda of Canada Manufacturing; Chad Gilsinger, a former SCCA National Champion and Senior Engineer at HRA in Ohio: and Brian Shanfeld, a former NASA National Champion, also from HRA in Ohio.