Tuned In

With teams now pushing 100PSI of boost to hit power levels of 3200HP and more from existing setups, we’re excited to see what Bullet Race Engineerings new RB hybrid block can do.

Darren Palumbo is no stranger to Nissan RB26’s, RB30’s or Toyota 2JZ engines with Bullet Race Engineering having produced billet blocks for each many times over the years and using this knowledge the team has gone one step further to try and remove some of the weaknesses holding the RB back, specifically the crankshaft.

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On this week's episode of High Performance Academy's Tuned In podcast, long-time friend of HPA, Mike McGinnis, settles in for an hour's worth of high-quality, knowledge-filled tuning banter with our resident nerd Andre Simon.

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

Mike has been around the traps for a good few years now, and has become one of the world's top brains when it comes to both reflashing stock ECUs and aftermarket ECU tuning. Mike is currently occupied as chief calibration engineer for a top reflashing platform.

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Mike and Andre get deep into the weeds in this one, starting with Mike's development path and all its twists and turns, that got him to where he is today.  The pair also spend time trying to answer the often-asked question — should I reflash the stock ECU, or should I go standalone aftermarket? This is a big and complicated subject, and there's a whole lot of grey area, overlap, other factors to consider, but Mike and Andre do their best to clear it up. 

Along with a discussion about just how quickly the reflashing industry has progressed with what's possible now and much, much more, this episode is jam-packed with useful information for anyone interested in tuning.

On this episode of High Performance Academy's Tuned In podcast, we sit down with AWA Racing's team owner and race engineer, Andrew Wojteczko.

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Andrew has been in the circuit racing scene for many years and more recently stepped out from the driver's seat to dedicate himself to running and engineering his own team. AWA Racing currently competes in the IMSA GT4 class running a McLaren 570S GT4.

Andrew talks us through the ins and outs of the sport, as well as the lengths he needs to go to in order to get the absolute most out of a factory-built and very restricted race car. There is, as Andrew says, a lot to be said for how these tight restrictions tend to push engineers to become much more creative in the pursuit of speed. The important and often misunderstood role of bump stops when it comes to suspension tuning is also discussed in detail.

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This podcast is perfect ear fodder for those listeners who want to know exactly how racing at this higher level works and is perhaps looking to something useful to take away and use in their own race programs. 

If you have even a passing interest in fast Mitsubishis, you've probably heard of English Racing – few names hold as much weight when it comes to getting the absolute most out of the 4G63 and 4B11 engine platforms. In this episode of High Performance Academy's 'Tuned In' podcast, Andre is very much in his element as he sits down for a satisfyingly-nerdy chat with English Racing's Lucas English.

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Lucas has a huge amount of experience in the tuning world, and you'll find some absolute gems sprinkled throughout this episode – covering everything from the usefulness of billet blocks in a fast Mitsubishi, to what it takes to run a seven-second Evo, and settling the age old rivalry between 4G63 and 4B11 engines.

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While you might already have a decent idea about what's involved in getting an all-wheel-drive drag car off the line quickly, Andre and Lucas dive deep into the subject, delving into some of the fascinating strategies around throttle, boost, and clutch management that are needed when you're running at the very pointy end of the sport. This, and much, much more can be found in today's episode of HPA's Tuned In.

Have you ever caught yourself daydreaming about making your own bespoke engine — something completely new, that makes big power, and sounds like heaven. No? Maybe that's just us then. Either way, we were excited to sit down with this week's guest, as he's one of the few people out there that has taken the leap and turned his daydreams into reality.

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

Craig Williams is the brains behind the much-hyped Neutron Engines, and on this episode of High Performance Academy's 'Tuned In' podcast, the mechanical engineer sits down with Andre to dive into his fascinating world. Craig takes us through all the whats, whys, hows, and whens of his bespoke engine design, which is essentially two Honda K24s mated together to create a 750hp, 10,000rpm, flat-plane crank, 4.8 litre V8 in naturally aspirated form — with upwards of 1500hp possible when adding forced induction into the mix.

Learn more about Performance Engine Building by coming along to the next FREE lesson: hpcdmy.co/enginebuildingf

Craig also discusses how someone actually kicks off a major project like this,  starting with a blank piece of paper, through to designing in Fusion 360, to actually creating and prototyping every single part. There's plenty of technical nuggets to uncover here, so this episode is going to be perfect for any listeners with an interest in the internal workings of an engine, as well as how an engine is designed and the challenges that need to be overcome before being put into production.

In this fascinating episode of High Performance Academy's Tuned In podcast, we head off on a real tangent as America's Cup electrical engineer Peter Knight — a member of this year's winning Emirates Team New Zealand syndicate — drops by the studio to give us some insight into the high-stakes world of top-tier boat racing.

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While motorsport is more our speed, we were blown away by Peter's insight into this big-money racing arena. We take a look at the parallels between the two worlds when it comes to the wiring, data logging, and aerodynamics, as well as the big differences. How do you accurately measure velocity, for example, when the "track" you're racing on is moving and has a speed and direction of its own?

Peter also gives us a really interesting look into how these jaw-dropping hydrofoils actually work, and how the incredible speeds — up to three times the actual windspeed and magnitudes faster than the previous generation of Americas Cup's boats -—are achieved.

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To wrap up, Peter talks about how data can be used to improve the tactics and strategies when racing, as well as his own climb up through the ranks in the sailing world, dealing with sensitive electronics in some extremely challenging environments, and finally rebuilding and rewiring an entire boat overnight after a catastrophic near-sinking. 

All this and much more can be found inside this unique episode of High Performance Academy Tuned In podcast.

Plenty of people in the industry think that blowing up engines and destroying parts is an essential and unavoidable aspect of the learning process when it comes to tuning, but is that really the case? In this episode of High Performance Academy's Tuned In podcast, Andre sits down with Haltech's Scott Hilzinger to answer that question, and much, much more.

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

Sydney-based Hilzinger discusses his first DOS-based forays into tuning as a teenager, as well as leaving that stone age behind over the next 20 years through helping to build and develop Haltech ECUs into one of the best options out there in the market.

Scott and Andre also talk about life at the sharp end of the field when dealing with extremely high horsepower builds and the different strategies and considerations that need to be kept in mind once you start pushing 3000, 4000, and even 5000hp. At this level, it's not even so much about making the power, it's about managing that power to ensure the car makes it to the finish line in one piece.

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The pair also discuss the most common mistakes and questions that Scott always gets from his customers, as well as how you can avoid them with a little thought and commonsense.  Scott really knows his stuff – knowledge that's been hard-earned over 20 years spent tuning, developing, and building engine management technology with Haltech. 

Trial and error, wheels-up launches, and tuning in the stone age – all this and plenty more in this episode of High Performance Academy's Tuned In podcast with Australian tuning legend Scott Hilzinger. 

This week's High Performance Academy 'Tuned In' episode is all about big boost, big launches, and even bigger power figures as we sit down for an in-depth chat with T1 Race Development's Tony Palo.

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Self-taught and always learning by doing, T1 Race Development's Tony Palo is a long-time industry veteran that has spent years pushing the limits of just what's possible in the import drag racing scene. Over the last decade, Tony has narrowed his focus on the venerable Nissan R35 platform, and now runs some of the fastest GTRs in the world.  

In this episode, Tony talks to Andre about getting his start in the tuning world and his initial dealings with "fast" Hondas during a time when going quicker largely meant a process of trial and error. These days, things are a lot more precise, and the pair discuss the many advances that the industry has seen over the last decade that have allowed tuners like Tony to push the boundaries of just what's possible.

Learn more about Performance Engine Building by coming along to the next FREE lesson: hpcdmy.co/enginebuildingf

When it comes to R35s, Tony really knows his stuff — something that's immediately obvious as this episode progresses. Massive turbos, billet VR blocks, pushing way past 2500hp, and the lessons that have been learnt along the way are all discussed in detail. 

This week's instalment of Tuned In is all about life on the bleeding edge, and it's a wild ride.

What does a team need to do to take a complete open-wheeler rookie and prepare them for one of the world's most competitive race series? How does anyone even get a job working in a top-tier race series like IndyCar, and do Chevrolet or Honda even actually let teams make any changes to the engine tune?  Listen to this week's 'HPA Tuned In' podcast for answers to these questions and much, much more.

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

From humble beginnings at the bottom of the world, data engineer Malcolm Finch has quickly climbed up the ranks and now finds himself working as a data engineer for one of the world's premier motorsport outfits, Team Penske.

In this episode, Malcolm talks us through the world of IndyCar racing. We discuss the kind of testing and precision that's needed to win at famous circuits like Tallageda, Road Atlanta, and of course — the holy grail — Indianapolis. Malcolm explains how the three very different styles of track — oval, road course, and street — found in the IndyCar series are approached from a data engineer's perspective, as well as fuel strategies, what can and can't be changed on an IndyCar, and exactly how a big team like Team Penske operates throughout the season.

Interested in learning how to do your own wheel alignment for the track or street? Start with a free alignment & suspension 101 lesson now: hpcdmy.co/alignmentf

Malcolm also talks us through his rise in the industry from a university graduate in New Zealand to running one of Team Penske's incredible cars in the States. Seven-post rigs, weight-jacking, and wickers — it's all covered and explained. This podcast is going to drastically expand your knowledge base when it comes to high-level motorsport, data analysis, aerodynamics, and much more.

Obsidian Motorsport's Sander Marques is one of the smartest people we've ever met in the motorsport industry. In this week's HPA Tuned In podcast, the long-time tuner and MoTec guru sits down with Andre to talk about how he got to where he is now, what's changed through the years, as well as some of the mistakes he's made along the way.   

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

Sander provides some interesting insight into what you do and don't need to know to begin tuning from his perspective, and why having a good understanding of the mechanical side of a vehicle is so important if you want to become a good, well-rounded tuner. Sander also spends time discussing some of the cooler projects he's been involved with, in particular BBI Autosport's Pikes Peak class-winning twin-turbo Porsche 911 GT3  hill climb car, which was not only tuned remotely but also without a dyno.

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For the nerdier listeners, Sander and Andre also get deep into the ins and outs of MoTeC's powerful M1 Build software and discuss how properly understanding it can unlock huge potential for the switched-on tuner. VE tables, torque curves, and a whole lot of tuning geekery are the flavour of the day for this episode, so if that sounds like a bit of you, get settled in for a big healthy dump of knowledge from one of the best.