Tuned In

After a week off for the new year's break, we're back and starting off 2022 strong with an interesting and very informative chat with HPA's wiring and motorsport electronics tutor, Zac Perston. 

Use ‘PODCAST75’ for $75 off your first HPA course here: https://hpcdmy.co/hpa-tuned-in

Although Zac currently spends most of his time working for a prestigious university here in New Zealand, he's also the brains behind all our motorsport wiring courses, and any time not spent at the university is used up working on fresh HPA lessons and helping out our members in the forums.

Unlike many in the industry, Zac received a tertiary education before getting involved in motorsport, and his perspective on education and whether you need a degree to work at a high level is an interesting one. It's perhaps this qualification that also got him the tick when going to work for Rodin Cars, a fascinating high-end hypercar and racecar facility in the South Island of New Zealand. Zac discusses the ups and downs of working in such an intense and demanding environment.

Want to learn more about motorsport wiring? Claim your spot to the next FREE lesson: hpcdmy.co/wiringlessonf

Andre and Zac also talk all things motorsport wiring — that means everything from PMUs,  to the dreaded 'MILspec' term that's so often thrown about these days,  and how much knowledge you actually need to start creating your own high-end, super reliable motorsport wiring systems. 

There's a lot here for anyone remotely interested in motorsport wiring here, and Zac, as always, is a fountain of knowledge and interesting insight in the field. 

Ever wondered what it would take to build a 10,500RPM, 500HP V8 motorcycle-based engine? Wonder no more as the RPE RP-V8 is just that.

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The 2.3L 4G63 in this EVO 6 can produce up to 590HP, but why is that not necessarily a good thing?

Benjamin Perry of Benchmark Solutions runs us through the Evolution Racing Spares EVO 6 which took out first place honours in the Clubsprint Class at the last World Time Attack Challenge. Running up to 590HP from 37 PSI (440KW at 2.5 Bar) the team actually turned down the boost from the Garrett GTX3576R GEN II in order to make suspension and driver changes in order to get a PB out of both around Sydney Motorsports Park.

Use ‘PODCAST75’ for $75 off your first HPA course here: https://hpcdmy.co/hpa-tuned-in

On this week's episode of High Performance Academy's Tuned In podcast, Andre is joined by race car fabricator extraordinaire Cody Loveland. Cody's name is probably best known for its association with the famous Pikes Peak hill climb race, held annually in Colorado, where he has campaigned various extremely quick vehicles over the last decade.

Use ‘PODCAST75’ for $75 off your first HPA course here: https://hpcdmy.co/hpa-tuned-in

Cody and Andre spend some time talking about the race itself, as well as Cody's best known machine, the incredible Enviate Hypercar. This 1000kg, twin-turbo LS-powered monster is bristling with extreme carbon fibre aero and runs in the unlimited class at Pikes Peak. The single-seater weapon benefits from some seriously cool engineering and input from Formula 1 engineers and aerodynamicists out of Europe.   

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Cody talks us through the inevitable ups and downs that come with running such an extreme vehicle in one of the most demanding races on the planet, as well as how he got to where he is today and what it takes to stay there. While your own involvement in motorsport might be as grassroots as it gets, there are plenty of lessons to be learnt by listening to Cody discuss the challenges and downright disasters he's faced, and how he and his team eventually overcame them. 

If you like to build your racecars instead of buying them, this is going to be an unmissable episode for you.  

Solder Vs Crimping, PDM feasibility, documentation, and Mil-Spec vs Autosport connectors, this interview has it all.

Cody Philips spared a bit of time for Andre and the team at TX2K to run through a large range of topics relating to his career, best practices when it comes to professional level motorsport wiring, materials and a few details on what he has done to his own 2000 odd horsepower, 7 second 2JZ powered JZA80 Supra.

Use ‘PODCAST75’ for $75 off your first HPA course here: https://hpcdmy.co/hpa-tuned-in

On this week's episode of High Performance Academy's Tuned In podcast, we've managed to pin down John from John Reed Racing. John isn't big on attention and prefers to let his work do the talking, so we're very thankful he's taken the time to speak with us.

Use ‘PODCAST75’ for $75 off your first HPA course here: https://hpcdmy.co/hpa-tuned-in

These days, its getting harder and harder to simply replace your factory ECU with an aftermarket standalone unit due to the complexity of modern automotive systems, and this is where John comes in. John is one of Motec's biggest and best developers of custom firmware packages for different vehicles, for the M1 platform — if you don't know what that is, then listen on because we'll be diving deep into the subject.

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John is also known for his work in many high profile builds, including the Underground Racing Lamborghini and Audi projects, as well as Ryan Tuerck's incredible Judd V10-powered A90 Toyota Supra. He breaks down what's involved in these mega builds, and goes into detail on tuning the absolutely ear-shattering V10 Judd motor — truly a bucket list job for any tuner.

In this Field Report direct from the pits at Pike's Peak, Andre sits down with David Rowe from EPS, also known as Electronic Performance Systems, to discuss the path to become a professional aftermarket tuner.

Considering that there are currently no university qualifications or industry-recognised standards to follow, this is a very important subject for a lot of people. 

Use ‘PODCAST75’ for $75 off your first HPA course here: https://hpcdmy.co/hpa-tuned-in

On this week's episode of High Performance Academy's 'Tuned In' podcast, we chase down the ever-busy Joel Vincze of Race Spec in New York to talk all things motorsport wiring.

Use ‘PODCAST75’ for $75 off your first HPA course here: https://hpcdmy.co/hpa-tuned-in

Joel spends his days building wiring harnesses for some of the fastest vehicles in the world, and is a long-time friend of HPA. When it comes to high-performance automotive wiring, Race Spec is one of the most trusted names in the business. In this revealing chat with Andre, Joel talks us through his self-taught rise in the industry and discusses how things like Instagram, hashtags, and buzzwords have rapidly changed the game — for better and for worse.

Want to learn more about motorsport wiring? Claim your spot to the next FREE lesson: hpcdmy.co/wiringlessonf

What exactly is 'milspec wiring'? Is concentric twisting a waste of time? Should you solder or crimp? Answers to these questions and many more can be found inside this week's episode of Tuned In featuring Race Spec's Joel Vincze. 

4G63 vs 4B11, best turbo back pressure ratio, and is the biggest turbo you can fit the best? Let's find out!

Use ‘PODCAST75’ for $75 off your first HPA course here: https://hpcdmy.co/hpa-tuned-in

Running 1170HP, 680 ft-lbs of torque and in excess of 53 PSI of boost, the English Racing Mitsubishi EVO X is pushing the boundaries and leading the pack to be the fastest Mitsubishi Evolution X in the world. Driver Myles Kerr discusses some of the challenges that come with pioneering a newer platform and where he sees the 4B11 being superior to the proven but now dated 4G63 power plant. Despite what a lot of people think, it does take more than just a healthy bank account to get this done 🤓

Although we like to think of ourselves as a fairly capable bunch, we're certainly not above fanboying over some of the incredible builds and the people behind them that can be found out there on the internet. One example is Josh Valman and his incredible Alfa Romeo unlimited hillclimb build, which can be found on Instagram at @motorsport_engineering.

Use ‘PODCAST75’ for $75 off your first HPA course here: https://hpcdmy.co/hpa-tuned-in

Josh and Andre sit down to talk about the absolutely insane Alfa build, which runs an 850hp twin-turbo Hayabusa V8 from Hartley Engines – the amount of actual Alfa parts can be counted on one hand, which gives you an idea for just how intense this car is.

Although Josh has no specific motorsport training – in fact, this is the first car he's ever built – he has an extensive engineering background that stretches back to his tween years when he was a contestant on the Battlebots TV show. This goes a long long way in explaining just why the Alfa build is so intensely built and well designed.

Want to learn more about motorsport wiring? Claim your spot to the next FREE lesson: hpcdmy.co/wiringlessonf

Andre and Josh also discuss the pros and cons of CAD and FEA, the importance of failure in the learning process, and much more. This would have to be one of our favourite episodes yet, so if you're interested in engineering and automotive design, as well as motorsport electronics and data, then this is the perfect episode for you.