While Puerto Rico might be small compared to other countries, it is the epicenter of performance cars in the Caribbean. Over the past 6 years AMS has

built a solid relationship with Predator Performance and they were one of the first companies to install our ALPHA GT-R packages when first released. Predator has a reputation for orchestrating top quality builds and their work with the ALPHA GT-R’s is no different!

1 mile and ½ mile events have been gaining popularity all over the world. In Puerto Rico they use a runway at the Rafael Hernandez Airport to host the “PR ½ Mile Event”.

Since its inception the event has been dominated by the ALPHA equipped GT-R’s built by Predator Performance. The field is packed with very quick, high-end, high-performance cars including Porsches, Ferraris, Corvettes and even a twin turbo Gallardo. The entrees for this third event were no different and it was no surprise that the ALPHA GT-R’s came out on top yet again and by a huge margin! As you can see from the listing below the GT-R’s were running the show. Every highlighted entry is a car built by Predator Performance.

Winning the entire event was an ALPHA 10 GT-R owned by Jose I Carro running 179.99mph in just a ½ mile!! This monster was built by Predator Performance and custom tuned by AMS tuner Chris Black.

The runner up was Edgardo Melendez in his fully built ALPHA 9 GT-R running a very impressive 178.57mph in the ½ mile.

Coming in third was another ALPHA 10 GT-R owned by Ubaldo Santago. Ubaldo currently holds the record for Puerto Rico’s quickest GT-R with a 9.63@150mph. A broken drive shaft early on in the event ended his day leaving him with a best run of 177.44mph.

Overall the event was a HUGE success! You’ll be happy to know that the local airport has agreed to 6 more ½ mile events in 2012!

Here are some more pictures from the event:

TT Gallardo

Carlos’ ALPHA 9 GT-R

It’s hard to believe such a small island is home to so many GT-R’s

Predator Performance would like to thank their sponsors for their continued support:

AMS Performance
TS Promotions
Outback Steakhouse
PR Wheels Magazine
Sunoco Racing Fuels
ZFO Photo Designs
Graphic Printing
Aros y Gomas
SneakyRacing.com

http://www.predator-performance.com/
http://www.alphagtr.com

Imagine pressing your clutch pedal at a stop light and it just sticks to the floor.  You’re stuck sitting in traffic and can’t move. A broken stock clutch master cylinder is an embarrassing and dangerous situation that you will probably face if you have an aftermarket clutch installed. To prevent a failure like this from happening, the AMS EVO X Clutch Master Cylinder Upgrade Kit is a must for your Evolution X!

Your Rock-Solid Solution To A Big Problem

The plastic clutch master cylinder on the 2008+ Evolution X has been known to fail when an aftermarket clutch is used.  The increased clamping force provided by aftermarket clutches puts an increased strain on the hydraulic clutch system causing the factory master cylinder to split open and lose pressure – leaving you stranded.  By adapting the factory steel unit from an EVO VIII/IX, we are able to prevent a failure associated with increased fluid pressure from aftermarket clutch kits and spirited driving.

Engineered For Perfect Fitment & Ease Of Installation

Like all AMS products, we set out to create the best solution possible. AMS Engineers utilized AutoCAD and a CMM arm to precisely measure the factory EVO X master cylinder and firewall itself in order to machine a counter-bored adapter plate that fits flawlessly.  In addition, we made a system that installs easily and includes all necessary hardware as well as detailed installation instructions.

Built To Last For The Life Of Your Car

Our engineers looked at all aspects of our Upgrade Kit to improve longevity and ensure this is the last clutch master cylinder you will ever buy for your Evolution X.  The adapter bracket is anodized to prevent corrosion and we chose to incorporate a steel ball-cup link for strength and durability.  The design also uses a nylon coated, stainless braided, Teflon hydraulic line for maximum reliability and abrasion resistance. Our engineers paid close attention to every detail, even incorporating a sealing foam ring to keep moisture and dirt out of the passenger compartment.

The AMS EVO X Clutch Master Cylinder Kit comes fully assembled with an OEM EVO VIII/IX clutch master cylinder. The kit is also available without a clutch master cylinder for customers who wish to source their own.

Features

• Aluminum adapter plate with gold anodized finish.
• Sealing Foam Ring to keep out moisture and dirt.
• Sealing area is counter-bored to fit snug against the firewall.
• Stainless Steel-braided Teflon hydraulic line. Nylon coated to prevent abrasion
• Steel Ball-cup link for added durability
• Available with or without EVO VIII/IX Clutch Master Cylinder
• Unrivaled fit and finish
• Includes all necessary hardware
• Detailed installation instructions

Applications

• Mitsubishi Evolution X (GSR/USDM)

Click Here for More Information

Over the past year we’ve been developing our in-house European ECU tuning capabilities. While there are a lot of companies offering ‘tunes’ for European cars, only a handful actually develop their own tunes from scratch. Most companies just resell generic tuning files and have no experience or knowledge of how to calibrate an engine. AMS has been tuning cars on the dyno, at the track, and at rally stages for well over 10 years now. The knowledge we’ve gained from in depth stand alone ECU engine tuning and also what we’ve learned from our own engine development programs now gets translated in our new line of European tuning. A great example of this is tuning philosophy shows in the recent tune we did for a 2004 Bentley Continental GT.

The car came to us completely stock and after a few baseline pulls made 437WHP on our Dynojet all wheel drive dyno. After pulling the factory file off it we began the tuning process. We change a good amount of parameters in the ECU including timing, fuel, boost levels, rev limits, speed limits, cam timing and others. We tune these parameters and log after every change to make sure that we get the most accurate tune possible.

After our Archetype ECU calibration the car gained around 110WHP and over 110 ft/lbs of torque in some areas, more than any other tune we’ve seen available for the Continental GT! There was room for more power but we built in a buffer of safety in case of poor fuel quality, extreme temperatures, or other outside influences. Overall the car picked up a healthy amount of power across the entire RPM range with no sacrifice to drive ability or reliability.

Stock HP: 552 hp
Archetype Tune : 680 hp

Stock Torque: 479 ft-lbs
Archetype Tune: 580 ft-lbs

Recently, there have been a couple of poor attempts at copying our AMS cast widemouth design. A lot of honest people are being duped by receiving a seemingly lower cost item, but in the end could pay even more in replacements and labor time.

It’s for this reason that we wanted to shed some light on the positive attributes of our pipe vs. the competition.

This post only pertains to the downpipes pictured. We are sure there are other quality units out there, but these two are copies (albeit bad ones) of the AMS piece. We are only comparing one of the competitors units because the two non-AMS copies are identical to each other.

We understand that at $469.95, our downpipe is one of the most expensive on the market…. We have also proven that it’s the best made and most well designed through our rigorous testing and results.

The largest and most obvious difference in our pipe vs. the copy pipe is the fact that our pieces are 100% cast as they join to the flex section. Both AMS ends are cast because it provides unmatched performance, reliability and strength. Could we have cut down on costs by making it like the copy pipe? Sure, but we would be cutting corners resulting in a poorly designed pipe providing inferior results. We pride ourselves on providing the best product possible to our customers!

Now let’s take a peek at the Internals…

The first thing we’ll look at is the bellmouth section as it mates to the flex section. Our AMS bellmouth is one entire cast piece to not only provide strength, but more importantly ensure cleaner and smoother transitions for the exhaust gasses to follow. The taper we designed allows the gasses to cool and accelerate as they enter the flex section.

The competition took an inferior approach. Rather than spending the extra costs to completely cast the bellmouth section, they decided to slip a pipe into the mouth and weld it to keep costs down. This was a bad choice as they added another weld which greatly compromises strength on a part that has to endure extreme heat and stress. The biggest issue is the fact that the welded pipe protrudes ½” past the opening of the bell mouth. This in turn creates a nice deep groove around the circumference of the pipe that catches exhaust flow and results in greatly unwanted turbulence, back pressure and heat. The lip is so deep, it holds over a 1/2 cup of water!!!

Let’s move downstream to the exit of the pipe. The AMS unit utilizes a full-cast lower section to provide the ultimate exhaust flow and strength that we talked about earlier.

The competition again took an inferior approach. They decided that stainless steel tubing was the best route to keep costs down and avoid casting. This could have been a viable solution, but they threw in another curve ball for exhaust flow… They left the O2 bungs sticking up into the exhaust stream! Now the exhaust gas is fighting the massive lip up before the flex and has to move over more raised areas after the fact, creating even more turbulence and heat!

Next we’ll take a close look at the bosses / bungs on the two downpipes. AMS engineers designed a prototype heat shield to be used with our downpipe. This product never came to fruition as we discovered a shield was not necessary. We did however keep it in our casting in case we wanted to utilize it at a later time or if heat ever became an issue. As of right now, those bungs are not functional on the AMS unit at all.

The competition somehow decided they needed to take the same exact approach as the AMS pipe for the bungs! The issue is that they copied a feature for a part that doesn’t even exist! They copied our EXACT BUNG PLACMENT! We’re guessing they just assumed it was a functional feature and it wasn’t expensive to incorporate. Another possibility is they assumed it was for the factory shield and never realized it because they never even tested their product. Or maybe… JUST MAYBE, they planned on copying our heat shield if that ever made its way to the market. I guess we’ll never know….

The last point we want to make is the labor/installation side of things; this is a topic many do not consider when purchasing a product. Anyone who has installed an EVO X downpipe can tell you it’s not something you want to do twice. I’m sure many of you have heard the phrase, “Do it right, or do it twice”

We can tell you with absolute confidence; our parts are designed to perform the absolute best for the life of your vehicle!

In closing, yes our downpipe has a price premium over some of these competitor versions. As we’ve explained above, there is a reason for it: We spend more and invest more making our piece so it works the absolute best, makes the most power and is worry free for the life of the car!

We know that money in this day and age can be tight for anyone. All we ask is that you really look at the big picture before making a purchase. A few dollars saved now can turn into hundreds lost down the road doing things right the SECOND time.

To read more about our widemouth downpipe please view our site and click the link following:

http://www.amsperformance.com/cart/A…-Downpipe.html

Thank you and as always feel free to give us a call you have any questions.

A little while ago Leo contacted AMS to upgrade his bolt on turbo stock engine GT-R to an ALPHA 10 Package.  Leo's car has been in several online videos advertised as an ALPHA 9 but in actuality he was running a turbo smaller then we use for our ALPHA 9 kit. None the less it was time for an upgrade and he went BIG!

In addition to our FULL ALPHA 10 package Leo wanted a little bump in power. Rather than pulling the trigger on an ALPHA 12 he added our ported throttle bodies and our prototype intake manifold. The results were AWESOME! In fact it's the highest HP ALPHA 10 TO DATE!!!!

Specifications

• AMS Alpha 10 Turbo System
• Balanced and Blueprinted VR38 AMS Race Engine
• AMS GT-R Ferrea Cylinder Head Component Package
• AMS Alpha Series Custom Camshafts
• AMS Alpha 10 Transmission by Sheptrans. Upgraded with Dodson and PPG components
• Alpha Race Downpipes
• Customer supplied midpipe
• Customer supplied 90mm exhuast
• AMS Front Mount Intercooler Upgrade
• AMS 76mm High-Flow Intercooler Piping
• HKS SSQV Blow Off Valves
• AMS Alpha Induction Intake Piping
• K&N Air Filters
• AMS Map Sensor Upgrade
• AMS Spec. Upgraded Fuel Injectors
• AMS Alpha Series fuel system upgrades
• Cobb AccessPORT tuning system
• Alpha coolant expansion tank
• Alpha ported Throttle bodies
• Alpha prototype intake manifold

Peak power was 1059 wheel horsepower on MS109E
Peak power was 832 wheel horsepower on 93 octane pump gas

Peak boost on race gas 30 psi
Peak boost on pump gas 23psi

We had an issue with the RPM pickup on the dyno so I was unable to get a Tq reading on the 1059whp run. I did however post up another lower boost graph for reference.

Leo we hope your ALPHA 10 GT-R is everything you have hoped for and more. Thank you for the opportunity and ENJOY!

We got an email this morning from Des Sellmeijer Cheif Editor at www.gtspirit.com congratulating us on being their 2011 “Tuning car of The Year”.

There were five awards given in total that can be viewed here.

Thanks to everyone that voted!

Recently AMS was contacted by Tomei to ask permission to distribute our products in Japan.  Coming from such a great tuner we were honored for the opportunity.  Now thanks to Garage G-Force (http://www.gf-eng.co.jp/) you can now source AMS and ALPHA GT-R parts in Japan.

Here are some images from the Tokyo Auto Salon where AMS products were on display

AMS EVO X V-band turbo kit pictured

Our redesigned cast exhaust manifold features 2” runners (15% larger than our original design) to reduce exhaust restriction. The cast head flange accommodates larger exhaust ports found on our AMS CNC-ported Cylinder Head as well as other aftermarket cylinder heads. Exhaust gas exits the turbo through a massive 3” cast 02 housing and 3” downpipe.

This kit is available with either a recirculated or dump-to-atmosphere wastegate setup. A turbo support bracket is also included to relieve the stress of vibration and shock to your turbo under normal to extreme driving conditions.

Compatible with

• TiAL MV-R 44mm Wastegate
• Precision Turbo V-Band Turbocharger (2.063” diameter)

Includes

• AMS Turbo Exhaust Manifold
• AMS Stainless Steel O2 Housing w/ Recirculated Wastegate  (optional dump-to-atmosphere available)
• AMS Stainless Steel 3” Downpipe w/ Flex Section and O2 Bung
• Turbo Support Bracket

Click here or visit one of our authorized AMS dealers for more information on this product.

Just before Christmas we made the leap into what will be our next platform. There were a lot of options available to us but at the end of the day the most attractive looked to be the new Mercedes 5.5L Twin turbo line.

With gobs of displacement and two turbos hanging off of it the potential for big power is massive.

One of the big developments at AMS over the late 2011 season was our tuning department. Our tuners Chris Black and Mitch McKee spent some time overseas training on new software and tools needed for our tuning department. Hundreds of hours were spent in house decoding ECU files and maps to unlock new avenues in ECU tuning here at AMS. With this new knowledge and tool set we are now able to tune just about every european ECU in house here at AMS. These new abilities will prove invaluable in our development of the Mercedes performance packages.

Our 10 years of forced induction part manufacature and tuning knowledge can now be applied to this exciting new platform.

So stay tuned as AMS develops some new performance packages for the new Mercedes models carrying the new 5.5L Twin turbo powerplant.

AMS recently had a good friend and customer of ours ask us to look into some performance upgrades for his V10 R8 to help shrink the gap between his ALPHA 10 GT-R. The first stage was to measure stock HP and to do a custom AMS tune.

Thankfully we had just invested a great deal of time and money so we can do in house custom ECU tuning on just about every European car on the market.

The results on a totally stock car were impressive to say the least!

A 66whp gain and almost 40ft lbs of torque! Again this is nothing more than a custom AMS tune on a bone stock Audi R8 V10

Stock WHP: 465.75
Stock Tq to the wheels: 361.38

Stock with AMS Custom Tune: 531.29 whp
Stock with AMS Custom Tune: 398.44 Ft lbs or Torque!

This service is now available for any R8 Owner.

Stay tuned for more updates