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Damen Jefferies' K&N Trophy Truck Competes in Three Consecutive Desert Races

10.05.2010

Damen Jefferies' Number 22 Trophy Truck

Competing in three major desert races in three weeks would stand as a herculean task for many racers - not so for H-Town, California resident Damen Jefferies.

K&N Filters, Lucas Oil, Black Ice Energy sponsored Trophy Truck

"With the races being a week apart it doesn't take much of a toll. It actually keeps me sharp getting that much seat time," remarked Jefferies."

"Now racing the 'Nevada 2000', that was a different story. In the year 2000 we ran that race, a six-day, 300 mile-per-day race in July, in the hot Nevada desert. It was exhausting; I had to pay close attention to hydration in that one."

And by exhausting we can only imagine Jefferies means it was like racing over the face of the sun. Off-road racers are a hardy bunch by definition to say the very least. It's all about facing challenges and overcoming them. If you need to duct tape your differential in position, hold a broken shifter in one hand, an unhinged door with the other, and steer with your forehead for the last 30 miles of a race - you do it. There's no whining in off-road racing.

Jefferies has been racing off-road since 1992 and you can bet he's overcome his share obstacles in that time. Competing in three consecutive events only adds more material to the final Damen Jefferies Racing story tally. The first race for the number 22 Trophy Truck was at the 24th annual SCORE San Felipe 250 held in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico.

"The rain over the winter months really took its toll on the desert down there. A lot of the sand has been washed out of the canyons leaving basketball sized rocks exposed for us to maneuver through," reflected Jefferies. At mile eight, visibility choked by dust, the team of Damen and Casey hit a rock that flattened the left rear tire. They had to change the tire themselves using the truck's onboard tools and jack system. Casey Jefferies is the lead mechanic and co-pilot of the number 22 truck.

Shortly after, having caught back up to 19th position, the shock absorbers began to fail and the team had to make the difficult decision to call it a day before they did terminal damage to the truck. The shocks got so hot the stickers melted off, so damaged by the heat that they could no longer hold the back end of the truck up. "It was a rough day!" said Jefferies. And by rough he means brutal.

The next weekend Jefferies participated in the MORE 250 held in Barstow, California, teaming up with Shelby Reid in a Class-1 unlimited car this time. The race was comprised of nine 28-mile laps. As though being reward for surviving the weekend before, the off-road gods presented the team of Shelby and Jefferies with a smooth sailing race this time. The team took the overall win by 15 minutes and 7 seconds.

"The dust got real bad as we had to pass the lap traffic," explained Jefferies. "But, I'd like to thank K&N for a great air filter, it is amazing the dirt and dust the filter keeps out of the engine. Thanks to the filter we rarely have to tear down the engines anymore."

The very next weekend the team was off to the General Tires Mint 400, held just north of Las Vegas, Nevada. The Mint 400 is a race that Jefferies looks forward to every year. This year the team raced with good friend Rob Bruce. Over 70 teams took their shot at the pole position, the K&N Trophy Truck placed 13th.

27 Trophy Trucks took the green flag on Saturday morning. The K&N Trophy Truck completed the first silt laden, rough and rocky lap in fourth position, running trouble free. On lap two however the team experienced the first of five flat tires. The truck ran good for the entire 416 miles, zero mechanical issues, finishing 8th out of 27 trucks, but all those flats took their toll.

"We are happy with 8th place. The flat tires really killed us though. This is an issue that has to be looked at," declared Jefferies. "Once again our K&N filter preformed its best, the truck plowed through knee-deep silt where the visibility was almost zero and the air filter allowed no dust or dirt into our motor. Our motor is still so strong, it feels like it never raced thanks to our K&N filter," explained Jefferies at the finish line.

The next race for the number 22 K&N Filters, Lucas Oil, Black Ice Energy sponsored Trophy Truck is the SCORE Baja 500 in Ensenada, B.C. Mexico on June 5th.

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

2010 Ford Mustang 4.0L V6 Engine Gets More Power With The Addition Of A K&N Intake System

07.05.2010

Ford Mustang owners are generally passionate about their car and its performance. 2010 Ford Mustang owners who have the 4.0L V6 can enhance their engine’s power with the installation of a K&N high-flow intake system. K&N offers a high performance air intake system that guarantees your 4.0L V6 Mustang will pick up extra power.

K&N's 69-3525TS High-Flow Intake System for 2010 Ford Mustang 4.0L V6 models.

Silver powder coated aluminum intake tube increases under-hood appeal.

K&N intake system 69-3525TS replaces your factory air filter and air intake housing with a custom intake tube and an oversized High-Flow Air Filter™ (RC-4381). This conical shaped chrome top air filter captures harmful particles, provides a large surface area and high air flow. RC-4381 can go up to 100,000 miles, depending on driving conditions, before it needs service.

K&N part number 69-3525TS includes a silver powder coated mandrel-bent aluminum intake tube. Our powder coated aluminum intake tubes offer power and a stylish appearance. This kit also includes a black powder coated metal heat shield to help isolate cooler air from the warm air inside your Mustang's engine bay.

K&N dyno tested the 69-3525TS air intake on the 2010 Ford Mustang with a 4.0L V6 engine. Dyno tests show an increase of 5.16 horsepower at 4,700 rpm. A K&N cold air intake system will provide your Mustang with outstanding engine protection and a power increase you can feel.

Dyno chart for a 2010 Ford Mustang 4.0L V6 engine.

Customized 2010 Ford Mustang with a 4.0L V6 engine.

In addition, K&N offers a Drycharger® filter wrap that can be used in conjunction with part number 69-3525TS. Drycharger® filter wraps are made from a durable polyester material containing uniform micron openings which will stop small dirt particles and repel water; yet add little restriction to the airflow of your filter. Available in a variety of colors, K&N Drycharger® filter wraps can be color coordinated with your car’s finish or your favorite race team.

Installation of 69-3525TS can typically be done in 90 minutes or less using common hand tools. K&N provides detailed instructions that are designed to guide you through the installation process.

This 2010 Ford Mustang air intake system is designed to last the life of your car. 69-3525TS comes with the K&N Million Mile Limited Warranty® and offers an easy bolt-on performance increase for your Ford Mustang.

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

2009-2016 Nissan 370Z and 2008-2013 Infiniti G37 Gain Estimated 14 HP with K&N Air Intake System

07.05.2010

For years sports car enthusiasts have flocked to Nissan dealerships to get their hands on the infamous line of Z-cars. Since its introduction in 1969, the Nissan series of Z-cars has sold almost 2 million units and holds the record for best selling sports car series of all time.

K&N's 69-7078TS High-Flow Intake System for Nissan 370Z and Infiniti G37 3.7L V6 models.

Dual silver powder coated aluminum intake tubes increase under-hood appeal.

For many reasons the Z was forced into hiatus during the late 1990’s. When it resurfaced in late 2002 it wasn’t alone. Nissan Motors, who also builds luxury vehicles branded as Infiniti, created a line of Infiniti cars based on the Z platform. The now legendary G coupe and sedan were born out of this relationship.

The 2009 to 2016 Nissan 370z and 2008 through 2013 Infiniti G37 are well-engineered machines. However, K&N engineers are constantly in pursuit of more power. After looking under the hood, K&N engineers knew that with their expertise these cars were capable of more. Much consideration was put into the design of part number 69-7078TS for the 2009-2016 Nissan 370Z and 2008-2013 Infiniti G37 models with a 3.7L V6 engine.

The stock intake tract uses a dual intake set up fed by dual air boxes and air filters. K&N intake 69-7078TS replaces the stock pieces with twin powder coated mandrel-bent aluminum intake tubes and dual K&N High-Flow Air Filters™ for improved air delivery. 69-7078TS incorporates two unique heat shields isolating the dual air filters from the warm air under the hood. This intake system provides improved performance and attractive silver powder coated aluminum Intake tubes to match the color of the engine bay.

Dyno chart for a 2009 Nissan 370Z 3.7L V6 engine.

The result of this hard work and enthusiasm for performance is estimated at over 14 horsepower at the wheels. K&N’s Research and Development Department tested a 2009 Nissan 370Z with a 3.7L V6 engine on our in-house dynamometer. Results showed horsepower increases throughout the RPM range with a shocking peak horsepower gain of an estimated 14.2 horsepower @ 5,600 RPM! Equally impressive is the estimated 13.34 lb-ft of torque this car picked up at 5,600 RPM.

2009 Infiniti G37 Coupe.

This air intake system uses two conical shaped, High-Flow Air Filters. RU-4960XD captures harmful particles, flows more air, and provides long service life. This K&N air filter performs for up to 100,000 miles before service is required, depending on driving conditions.

In addition, K&N offers a RX-4990DK Drycharger® filter wrap that can be used in conjunction with part number 69-7078TS. Drycharger® filter wraps are durable pre-filters that are designed to filter large dirt particles and thus extend the time before the main air filter needs to be cleaned. These wraps can also repel water but add little restriction to the airflow of your filter. The wraps specifically designed for this intake filter are available in black, blue, red, and yellow.

69-7078TS is a complete system which takes about 90 minutes or less to install with common hand tools. It uses stock mounting points, requires no drilling, and is covered by the K&N Million Mile Limited Warranty®.

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

Jeremy Teasley Wins Both Top Fuel and Supersport Class at AMA's MTC Elmer Trett Nationals

07.05.2010

Teasley was able to nail his first Pro-Street win with sharp lights and a 7.40 in the final

This was the 19th Annual MTC Elmer Trett Nationals, named in honor of Elmer Trett, considered to be the father of the modern Top Fuel bike (Trett still holds the 1/8 mile speed record of 190.43 mph).

Teasley managed to switch between the nitrous bike and his nearly stock Supersport ZX14 to win that class as well

This year's running proved to be a landmark event for Kawasaki, 19 year-old rider Jeremy Teasley, the power-adder nitrous oxide, builder/tuner Coby Adams of Adams Performance, and bike owner Roger Starrette. Some have referred to it as "a shot of nitrous heard 'round the world."

Not Kawasaki, nor a nitrous bike, has won the Pro-Street race (presented by Orient Express Racing) since the class added an inch of ground clearance and changed names from Streetbike Shootout. Coincidentally, the last win for a nitrous bike was with an old-school Suzuki GSXR, also built by Adams.

"I think it's pretty awesome," said Adams. "I really didn't think we were gonna win a race this year. I thought we'd be mid-pack, hanging in there and going a couple rounds. But winning is pretty cool."

The rare pro-class double victory was good for Kawasaki, bike owner Roger Starrette, Adam Performance and Jeremy Teasley

What everyone in the class found in Friday testing at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia, was a green racetrack. An unseasoned surface is typical for the early April event in northern Georgia, and openly hostile to the 550 horsepower turbo bikes, especially in the back half of the track where turbo power really shines. Nitrous bikes, with a slider clutch and a little extra wheelbase, have the advantage down low. So in a class that is preparing for a 6 Second Club, Teasley was able to nail his first Pro-Street win with sharp lights and a 7.40 in the final.

The team blew up the A motor on Teasley's nitrous bike in the second round of qualifying on Saturday, settling for seventh place in the order, but getting the new bullet in and taking an eighth mile shut-off pass in Q3. "We didn't know what broke the other one, so we just wanted to play it safe with the back-up motor," remarked crew chief Garron Miller.

"The rules have always been there for nitrous bikes, and I'm surprised no one's taken advantage of it before," said bike owner Roger Starrette. "It's not like we ran away with it, but I knew we'd be competitive, but not this quick. The bike was good, but not great, and Jeremy did his job."

"That was just a back-up Real Street motor that we put in after the other one blew. There's nothing special about it. Coby built it, but it doesn't have all the Coby tricks. It doesn't have the Pro Street head, isn't making the horsepower the Pro Street motor is. In typical Coby fashion, though, we just sprayed it a little more. What better combination is there than Coby Adams, nitrous and a lightweight pilot," added Starrette.

Making Teasley's accomplishment all the more remarkable was the constant switch between the violent nitrous bike and his nearly stock Supersport ZX14, also built and tuned by Adams. But the cool, calm and collected Teasley also won the Supersport Class (presented by Dragbikelive.com) earning for him a rare pro-class double. Both of the winning bikes run K&N oil and air filters.

Crew chief Miller summed it up saying "It's good for Kawasaki, good for Roger Starrette and Adams Performance, and good for Jeremy Teasley."

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

NHRA Pro Stock Victory for Warren Johnson at Gateway International Raceway

06.05.2010

Warren Johnson wins NHRA Pro Stock at Gateway International Raceway

One of the most prolific Pro Stock drivers and innovators in all of NHRA history, K&N's Warren Johnson had been pining for a much needed win after several years absence from the event championship podium.

Warren Johnsons' 2009 Pontiac GXP

Although never to be taken lightly, Johnson, "The Professor", has had more than his team's fair share of disappointments over the last several seasons from not qualifying to bowing out in early rounds.

Like many other teams, Johnson spends countless hours on R&D and testing and one could not help to think that with not achieving the payoff from all the efforts, it could become quite discouraging after a certain amount of time.

During the most recent NHRA event held at Gateway International Raceway, just outside St. Louis, Johnson's K&N clad 2009 Pontiac GXP didn't seem all that happy during the first few sessions of qualifying.

"It was a case that we shook the tires pretty violently on the first run. We just missed reading the track and the air conditions," explained Johnson. "The humidity was so high that these naturally aspirated engines just won't make any power when you have that much water in the air."

"It's like driving through a swamp," he added.

As Johnson made his way through the qualifying sessions, the Sugar Hill, Georgia resident managed to make a little more headway each and every pass down the track.

"We just slowly kept tuning it up and it went a sixty-eight during the final session," continued Johnson. "We were getting a handle on it. It took us a little longer than we wanted it to."

Johnson's 6.684 effort would not necessarily get him exactly where he wanted to be on the ladder for race day, but a twelfth position was much better than that of just two event prior when Johnson missed making the field.

The Professor's first round match up for the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals would pit him against number five qualifier, Ron Krisher, with Johnson prevailing on holeshot win.

"You know it wasn't really a case of a holeshot," chuckles Johnson. "It was just that Ronnie was inordinately late. But I won, that's all that matters and it just kind of opened the door for the rest of the flood."

The "flood" Johnson is referring to proves exactly why you can't run races on paper and have to let the chips fall where they may as the track.

Second round Johnson paired up against Alan Johnson, who doesn't seem to have the best history competing at the St. Louis facility.

"Alan went out and shook the tires violently against me and they've had a track history of that when the get aggressive of having to almost abort a lot of runs because of tire shake," said Johnson.

"That track was a little (pauses) different," he continued. "It was hard to get a real good read on it, if you noticed the fuel cars performances were real erratic. Basically every category out there was not running what the weather conditions said we should run. We all should have been running high fifty's and real low sixty's consistently, but it just wasn't there. With theses Pro Stock cars, we live on the edge of the razorblade all the time. It's not like the fuel cars where we can basically bring their horsepower with them, where were have a fixed amount of power that we have to try to maximize that on every run."

"When you are that close to the edge, sometimes you just step over and we've all done it," he added.

While numbers were down for the most part for the entire Pro Stock class, Warren's were consistent, and consistently getting him from A to B under full power.

"I learned that lesion a long time ago," he explained. "I would rather give up a hundredth or two for consistency. If you have a very consistent car, people worry about that more than a car that is real fast on one or two runs. A lot of times that plays into your hand and apparently that happened this weekend."

Johnson moved on to the semi-finals to meet up with fellow K&N competitor and event poll-sitter Mike Edwards, who had about six hundredths of a second on him during the previous round.

Johnson would get an almost stunning single into the final, his first in almost two seasons, when Edwards GXP could not be fired, even after crew chief Terry Adams frantically worked on what looked like the carburetors for several moments before giving the signal they wouldn't be making the call.

The Pro Stock final would be another single for Johnson, when Jeg Coughlin's car failed to barely make it past the beams after launching.

"The Professor" sailed to the winner's circle for the first time since the 2006 Phoenix event, both ending a long dry spell and putting a huge grin on the multi-time NHRA World Champion's face.

"I've always looked at it as "a win is a win is a win", there's no such thing as a bad win or a good loss," he said.

"It's been a while and you start questioning your methods," he said of the length of time since the last win. "Not your equipment or the personnel that you have working with you or anything like that, just your methods when it's been that long between wins."

"It just shores it up that we are going in the right direction and we are not there yet. We've got about three or four hundredths performance that we have to pick up, on a constant basis. Once, we do that we'll be in fine shape."

Johnson and his K&N Engineering team get a weekend off to not only enjoy the win, but also to get back to work at their shop just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, also the location for the next NHRA event.

"I have to thank K&N for sticking with us for the rather tenuous time over the last few seasons," noted Johnson. "It's companies like K&N that really make all of this worth while, this win is more for them than it is for us."

The next event on the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle tour is the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, May 14-16 at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia.

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.