The EFR line of turbos was born out of an internal BorgWarner Turbo
Systems program labeled Advanced Aftermarket Products or AAP. So, the
first thing you might be wondering is what does a new product line of
high-performance turbochargers have to do with commercial applications?
Commercial/industrial turbo products have extreme requirements for
durability, reliability, and aerodynamic performance. Since modern
passenger car applications use turbos smaller than 55mm in turbine wheel
diameter, it's the aerodynamic development from the commercial side of
the business (i.e. everything larger) that feeds into what the
performance enthusiast wants and needs for big power production. Boost
pressures of 45-50 psi (3 bar+) are the norm, not the exception. Also
required is resistance to abusive thrust loads, high vibrations, and
robustness for a wide range of lubrication conditions. Additionally, our
commercial product validation standards are among the highest in the
engine boosting industry; all good things that also benefit the
performance enthusiast or racer.
Ok now that we know that lets talk about how a
factory catalytic converter robs our motor of Horse Power... Inside the factory
CAT there is a ceramic type material that if held with a light at one end the
light can barley pass through the membrane... this material is packed so tight
that it inhibits the flow of exhaust gas... and in turn reducing the amount of
exhaust your motor can expel. Remember a motor is able to make more HP if it
can breath air in and expel exhaust gas out.. This is what a forced induction
(Super & Turbocharged) motors are able to make more power than naturally
aspirated motors.
As many of you know the High Intensity Discharge or H.I.D.
headlight conversion has been a very popular modification that Kappa owners
perform. Way back in 2005 when I picked up my first 1K Solstice in West Virginia, I had the opportunity to drive it across
the country back to Arizona.
I knew that the headlights needed to be changed, having owned a BMW in the past
I wanted that same crystal clear view of the road in my Solstice. So I became
an HID expert of sorts, at the time there were only larger analog ballasts on
the market and this is ultimately what I used for my first HID conversion...
In
2006 when the first SKY's hit the market I had people in our local club asking
if I could convert there SKY's to HID's... This was the result of them driving
next to my Solstice at night and they could clearly see the difference on the
road my 6K's made. So I found a supplier for the kits and did my first HID
conversion a Saturn Sky....Low and behold I was in for a surprise, as you all
know all the Kappa's released from 2006 on the headlights were directly wired
into the BCM or Body Control Module. This is the module that controls how
bright your headlights are between the daytime or night time driving. So as
with many early adopters I killed that club members BCM... After performing a
"Post Mortem"of the BCM I learned that
the HID Ballasts pull a huge amount of power on startup and then level out after about 2 seconds.. This power surge is what killed the BCM.. So I
had to get my "Inner geek" on and develop a way to by-pass the BCM and make the
HID kits safe for use in our Kappa Roadsters. This is how the GM Roadster HID
kit became the "Safest" HID kit for the Kappa Market. Our kits include a
special harness that allows us to bypass the cars BCM and protect it from the
huge power surges that happen on start up. The GM Roadster HID Kits are not the
cheapest on the internet but over the years we have continued to upgrade our
kits as new technology comes to the market. Our kits today are the best they
have ever been, we feature new Digital Slim Ballast technology and a new
improved wiring harness that is 100% plug & play, no striping of wires and
the process is 100% reversible if you should ever want to go back to
stock.
We include either Solstice or SKY
specific install instructions which takes the guess work out of installing
these kits..
We have recently made a deal with a supplier that has
allowed us to lower the cost of our kits across the board and as an added bonus
throughout the month of November if you join or renew your GM Roadster Club
membership we will deduct your cost of a 1 year membership from the cost of the
HID Combo Kit! Put simply this means that if you renew your 1 year membership
at $45 we will deduct that $45 from the cost of the HID combo kit ($210), so you
only pay $165 to convert both your headlights and fog lights to HID! Want to
join for two years...no problem the $72 two year membership will not only entitle
you to a free GMR Ball cap but we'll still deduct $45 from your HID combo
purchase. It's the benefit of joining the National Club!
Please visit the GM Roadster Club members store to view the Solstice & SKY HID Kits!
Photos are fun...Photos are great! We all take pictures at the
various events we attend, but what if we could take videos and post them online
for everyone to see?
GM Roadster Club is helping to do just that!
We recently purchased 4 FLIP High Definition Camcorders that
Chapter leadership will have the opportunity to use to take HD quality video at
various club events around the country. The process is simple... send and email
to FLIP (at) gmroadster.com and we will make the arrangements to check out one
of these cameras to you...it arrives in the mail...You shoot fun videos at your
event and return the camera to us, we'll process the raw footage and post it up
on our GM Roadster Club YouTube page
which is set to go live next month... The
question is...Do you FLIP?
It’s not until you really start tearing a car apart that you
can truly appreciate the years of engineering that goes into getting it from an
idea to four wheels and a motor. The same goes for aftermarket… great ideas can
be born in the blink of an eye but it can take months or even years to see an
idea come to it’s full potential. Take for instance the 2.4L Solstice or SKY…
Many people throw a Cold Air Intake on the motor and give it a tune and call it
a day…But it’s “Gear Heads” like use that monitor these types of modifications
to really see what is going on with the motor and what’s happening inside… How
far can we really take this application… How long will it last before something
breaks? These are questions that we have been able to answer after years of
R&D, Tuning, Dyno Sessions, Etc.
For example we found
a few years ago that by tuning the LE5 motor and with a few bolt on parts we
are maxing out the capabilities of the “stock” fuel delivery system… So we
stepped back and said how do we solve this problem but with out re-inventing
the world??? In the end we were able to use off the shelf GM OE Parts that bolt
onto the motor in about 30 minutes, that combined with an ECM re-flash we were
able to solve the fuel delivery problem and that is how we created our Stage 2
Upgrade Package …
It’s innovations like this that keeps the cost of R&D
down and there for providing value to our club members.
We strongly encourage questions… If you have an idea or a thought…
Chances are we have already had the opportunity to make some real world
observations and we can give you great answers or advice… Our goal is to keep
you happy and in your Kappa!
To continue service to our community, your National Club has made arrangements to obtain Genuine GM Parts at a discounted cost. All parts ship from a regional hub and will be delivered in most case's in under a week.
This is a great benefit simply because:
•1)
1) You get factory replacement parts with out having to find a dealership who can help you.
•2)You no longer have to pay retail for Genuine GM parts.
•3)You are not limited to just Solstice & SKY parts, we have access to the entire GM Parts book.
•4)Discounts range from 10% - 50% off retail!
•5)Want to upgrade a stock part.
•6)Want to replace a worn / tired part...
•7)We will include a section in the members store with common parts, all other parts request will be handled on request.
Stay tuned...together we are building great things!!!!
Hello GM Roadster! As many of you know our club store has been closed for several months. The reason for this was quite simple, the production team put in place by myself fell apart and orders were taking far too long to deliver...So I felt it was necessary to simply close the store and re-visit the way it was operated... So for many months we have been looking at how to re-open the store and re-visit at how orders are received, processed, shipped, and supported all in a timely manor.. We are almost there! On August 1st the GM Roadster Member Store will re-open... This time with greater support on all items with quicker ship times. We have partnered up with a company that will hold inventory on many items so that in many cases your orders will ship with in days from the time it's placed. Our performance section will also be enhanced with new model years supported and again quicker delivery times...
The member store has always been a huge part of the national club community and it was ultimately closed because at one point it was doing more harm then good. But non-the less it's a component that has been greatly missed since it's closing... We had to make sure that if and when it's re-opened it is a valuable piece of your membership and this community... Stay tuned...August 1st is only a few weeks away...
Thank you for your patience while I was gone. I will process any pending applications as soon as possible. If you are unsure of your membership status, please feel free to contact me and I will check into it for you. Have a wonderful and safe summer filled with twisty roads and great drives...
I will be out of town and away from any computer access from May 25th until June 14th. Should you register or renew your membership during that time, please be advised that your membership will be processed/updated upon my return. Unfortunately, this is still done by hand and is not automatic. I appreciate your understanding. Happy Driving!!!
With this brand new year of 2011 we are about to see our GM Roadster Club head in a new direction. As many of you know,
this week Martin Scott will be stepping down from the leadership role of the
club and I will be taking over as the new Executive Director. We will be seeing many changes in the near
future, which I feel are necessary to bring about the most positive and
influential national car club we can have.
The first point that I would like to cover is to mention the
gratitude that I have for the founders of the club, Martin Scott, Phil Denette, and Rich
McComas.They are the reason that we
have a national club, which has been, and will continue to be vital to having a
strong community for all of us who love our cars and the friends that we have
made so much.As for Martin, I have
known him personally for many years and know of the enthusiasm that he has for
not only his own car, but the conviction that he holds to connecting us
all.It is due to him, with the help of
the community, that we have many of the regional clubs as well as many of the
innovative products that many of us have customized our vehicles with.Unfortunatly for us, but fortunatly for him,
his work has required that he moves on from a role of managing the day to day
activites of GM Roadster.With the
combination of his new position in New York as well as making family a
priority, he has decided to allow the club to change hands.I do know that he will still join us at
events, assist me in R&D of new products, and help guide me through this transitional
period.For this and for the previous 5
YEARS, I thank him.
Previously, the
majority of the work was handled by a very small group of people, this is not a
corporation!I know from the trials and
error with our new Scanning Brake Light Module, we were doing that on Martins
countertop in his kitchen!One of the
major goals from this point on is delegation.At the highest level, the club will be split in two.You
will have myself heading up the Clubs day to day business and you will
have Debbie Denette heading up the membership aspect...The websites
will be updated accordingly.
With regards to
the GM Roadster Store, I am having it shut down temporarily in the next
few days.My goal is to have a clear
division between the past and the future. Once I have resolved every issue that is
brought to my attention, the store will be rebuilt and restored.Please do not email or message me with a new
order request until this is completed as I feel that until we have done right
by our existing customers, I would not feel right expanding.
I understand
that there have been numerous issues regarding both membership and product but
please know that resolutions are my number one priority.I am not aware of every situation out
there.I am relying on you to let me
know what issues are pending or past and I will do my all to correct them.Please bear with me during this time of
transition.This will take some time and
understanding on everyone's part.I have
seen the stress that the overwhelming nature of this club can cause anytime
that I was asked to assist Martin and the others in the past and I look forward
to streamlining the entire process.
In closing,
thank you again to GM Roadster, Phil, and Rich for the position.Thank you Debbie for taking on the task of
Membership Support.Thanks to all of the
current and future Regional Directors, I will definitely need your
assistance.I appreciate the community
for standing by in these rough times, and those coming ahead. And finally thank
you to Martin for your years of service to the community, the products that you
have designed, and mostly passing on this opportunity to let me follow in your
footsteps.
Photos are fun...Photos are great! We all take pictures at the
various events we attend, but what if we could take videos and post them online
for everyone to see?
To continue service to our community, your National Club has made arrangements to obtain Genuine GM Parts at a discounted cost. All parts ship from a regional hub and will be delivered in most case's in under a week.
