Trevor and Erin Branden’s GT-R Returns to PFI Speed for Disassembly and Diagnosis – Can They Fix It in Time for Appearances at Sick Summer and Rocky Mountain Race Week?
After several appearances at Rocky Mountain Race Week (RMRW), Trevor and Erin Branden were ready for the next level on their drag-and-drive proven 2010 GT-R.
So the car went to PFI Speed during the winter for a host of upgrades, including a 7.50-legal roll cage to allow Trevor to finally ditch the 8.50-elapsed time limit on his combo. The fuel system also got some upgrades, and the GT-R got some weight reduction as well.
Participating in Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive for the first time this year, Trevor and Brent Leivestad got the Motec standalone ECU engine management system tuned up, and were slowly making their way to the 7-second zone. But then disaster struck at the end of a run at Gainesville Raceway.
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The GT-R had been making progress after struggling early on. “Race day one in Orlando we had to hand in a 10.0, and was our only pass of the day,” said Trevor. “We were fighting communication issues, and after hours of troubleshooting and phoning and messaging, we determined we needed to re-install and re-calibrate the steering clock but did not have the means to do it. We left the track and headed to the hotel in Bradenton arriving at 2 a.m.”
Tuesday morning they were put together with Cicio Performance in Clearwater, Florida, and they got everything communicating correctly. A resulting 8.23 at 169 mph pass moved Trevor to the top five in the Sick Week Freaks class, and the chances of a 7-second blast seemed realistic.
Day three at Gainesville Raceway brought Trevor to the lanes with renewed hopes, and an 8.16 at 167 mph would be the best run of Treavor and Erin’s week thus far.
But some white smoke at the end of the run signaled the end of the GT-R’s Sick Week fun. The car went on the trailer, and a few weeks later the car was back at PFI Speed for a diagnose and fix, since Trevor is registered for not only Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks, but also RMRW 1.0 in June!
See what PFI Speed found out in the video below:
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Trevor Branden.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com