As I look back at TX Mile 2012 I couldn’t be any happier. The car performed flawlessly. But acceleration is only one part of the equation makes up the 311RS. #00 needed to be pushed harder. The next test for the car was Modified Tuner Shootout – The annual gathering of the USA’s best tuned cars hand-picked by editors at Modified Magazine. This year, they chose to focus on Street cars whereas in the past it’s been primarily competition car-based. Being built as a street car, the 311RS was a prefect candidate.

Last year we visited TX Mile with my OB Evo X, you can see the video here:

The car hit 180mph without issue and would have gone much faster if the car wasn’t gear limited. I run a KAPS Group-N gear box in that car, and while it’s perfect on track, it’s not ideal for any sort of top speed run. But it was fun to run the car in full T/A-spec and see what it could do.

Right now ol Blue is getting prepped for a few events later this summer, so it wasn’t an option for the 2012 TX Mile. That meant it was the 311RS’ turn. We knew going in the car wasn’t going to break any records, but TX Mile would be the perfect opportunity to get the basic measurables for the car recorded.

Stats:
Top Speed – 163mph
0-60 – 3.9sec
1/4 mile 12.4 at 111mph
60-0 braking – 97ft

Most of these were recorded with a Cobb Accessport, and they were done on an air strip. Who knows how pin point accurate they really are, but they are a good sign. The car isn’t slow! For reference, a stock C6 Z06 runs 165mph in the mile. Overall it was really fun. TX Mile is laid back and you can enjoy the event without much pressure. There were some really fast cars there too…a Ford GT that went 257mph setting a new TX Mile record. Woah. Onto the pictures from the event.

I’m sitting here trying to comprehend what we have just done. A few days back, we held our 311RS Premiere at Oakley HQ. Yes, that Oakley. They allowed us to premiere the 311RS and our short film at their worldwide headquarters. I couldn’t have asked for a better location to premiere the 311RS Program. Really, Oakley’s HQ is awesome.
The line up for the night was as follows: Set up at 4pm, doors open at 7pm, Presentation at 8:30, followed by our short film premiere about 10 minutes later. Pretty straightforward plan for the evening, but that’s all it really needed to be. Simple, effective, and to the point. Set up went well, with plenty of people lending a hand and executing the our plan very efficiently. Hanging photos, banners, setting up the DJ booth, loading the alcohol into the bars, placing the cars & lighting them, etc.

With everything in place by 6:45pm, we were all set! I took one last walk around to see how it all came together. It was awesome to see everything you plan come together so well. We had Nate Hassler’s photos of the 311RS printed on huge 5ft x 4ft foam cores and had them hanging on the wall, this was my favorite part of our display. The photos were so crisp, the PhaseOne IQ180’s quality shined with these larger prints. We had one 8ft x 4ft image printed for all in attendance to sign, it was so cool. We got more than 350 signatures! It’s going on my garage wall for sure.

Onto the event. We invited all of our friends, family and industry connects, about 600 total were invited. The Oakley theatre held 400, and we wanted to ensure it was filled. I was surprised and flattered at the amount of people that showed up. We had done it! Time to call Terri. Oakley’s HQ was packed! Audible Coffee was brought on to DJ the event and they nailed it. My friend Kyle van Block runs www.audiblecoffee.com and has a very discerning taste in music, so it was no surprise he killed it.

The music, combined with Pabst Blue Ribbon and Peligroso tequila was a great recipe for the night. People were dancing, having conversations and enjoying all of the displays we had set up. Each partner I worked with on the 311RS was on display in their own Oakley display case. Girodisc supplied us with a set of rotors and pads for display, AMS provided their bolt-ons, Voltex had aero on display, JRZ suspension had a fresh set of RS1s for all to enjoy. Cusco and Carbonetic shared a display as they are part of the optional “Track Pack” that’s available for the 311RS.

Once we had everyone on our list accounted for, it was time to present the 311RS and premiere our film. We had to shut off the music to finally get everyone shuffled into the theatre. They wanted to keep drinking and dancing haha. I had a few moments with the team to discuss our plan of action. All was set, it was time to give the full rundown on the 311RS program!

I had prepared a brief presentation that would explain the 311RS Program, why it’s here, and where it’s headed. It was really cool to be up there presenting the program I had worked on for the past few years. It came together really well, and other than my cotton mouth, the presentation was a success.

The film was then introduced by Jonny, Colt, and myself. It had started out as a simple promotional film for the 311RS, but eventually turned into so much more. We had plenty of content sitting on the cutting room floor, we decided to turn the film into a much more in-depth documentary-style promo film. It ended up being about 15 minutes long, with each step along the way documented and explained. It’s cool, each section has it’s own feel and has a reason for being. I like how it turned out. The final film will be released online in the next month or so as we prepare and finalize our marketing program.

As the film finished, we got a really nice ovation from everyone in the theatre. It was reassuring! Thanks again to all that attended. After the film, we help a brief Q&A before heading back out into the lobby for more drinks and music. This is where it turned into a party! Kyle van Block and Jason “The Dolphin Waxer” cranked up the sound system and melted peoples faces for the next two hours. As things were winding down, I took time to thank everyone I could for coming out, it was such a cool feeling to see an event that you put on come to close after a very successful execution.

This was the first time I had ever thrown an event, and I don’t know if there could have been a larger stage to try my hand at hosting an event. Either way, it went extremely well and I am very thankful to all involved. From here, we are beginning our final phase of development with the 311RS Prototype, with events in TX, AZ and finally One Lap of America. I can’t wait to get this thing fully dialed and ready for production! If you’re interested in purchasing a 311RS, email info@311RS.com and we’ll take it from there!

Since November we’ve been quietly working to put together an event to launch the 311RS. And it’s almost here! Finally. We needed a unique location that had room for the cars, displays, and most importantly, could play our “Promo Film”. With help from etnies, I put the feelers out to some of our contacts to inquire about hosting our event. As luck would have it, the best possible location took us up on our idea – Oakley. Oakley’s HQ in California is exceedingly cool. I’m still pretty shocked that we secured this location haha.

Onto the event itself. This will be the first time the completed 311RS Prototype (#00) will be shown. In the photos that have been available online, you can get a good idea for what the car is.. It’s the details that have yet to be conveyed. Things like the E-Suede interior, detailed paint work, the overall presence of the car, etc..you just have to see the car live to really get a good feel for it. (note on E-Suede – I wanted to incorporate etnies into this program in a unique way, and with E-Suede being 3x more durable than typical suede/alcantara, it’s a perfect fit for the interior of the 311RS.)

Beyond the car, we’ll also be showcasing each supporting Partner of the 311RS Program. I think we’re going with militar y crate-style installations for each. I want a cool way to display their par ts, so we’ll have to come up with something. There will of course be drinks, food, girls, jokes, along with other things I’m sure.. We’re still sorting through all of the details.

The biggest selling point for Oakley’s HQ? It’s equipped with a 400 seat amphitheater. Oakley’s theatre is awesome. When I first walked in it blew me away..the sheer size of the theatre. As you enter, you’re surrounded by a huge semi-circle of seats. 400 of them, rising up 10 rows. It’s huge, that’s about all I can say haha.

We shot our “Promo Film” at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA in ear ly October. A lot of time was spent prepping and shooting the film, it really surprised me how difficult it is to orchestrate a 23 person film production. Many thanks to all that helped pull the shoot off, it’s really appreciated. Once we started working into the final stages of post production, it only felt right that we premiere it properly.

At this point there isn’t too much media available for the 311RS, but we’re working on it! That’s mainly because I’ve been completing the final phase of development on the car and tidying up the small details. But, the car is nearly completed. Our “real” photo shoot next week at Infineon, things are really star ting to take shape. I’ll keep things updated from here on out. Thanks all.

Finally, here is the info for the 311RS Event via our web flyer. I worked with the folks at Phenom Global to produce this clean flyer to announce our event. I’m pretty excited about this event, it’s at Oakley’s HQ! What?! Yea, it should be really cool. We’ll have the cars there, parts from each partner will be on display, there will be drinks and snacks, girls, oh, and a film premiere.

If you are in the area and would like to attend, please email info@311RS.com. There are limited spots available, so please be realistic when emailing.

It’s almost here! A few images have been shown online, some specifications have been laid out, but the time has (almost) come to reveal the full 311RS Program. Instead of launching the car at SEMA, it was decided that we’d hold our own event specifically tailored to the 311RS.

With some help from etnies, we were able to connect with Oakley. They gave us time to lay out what we would like to do and how they fit into the program. And as luck would have, it they were into it. But they weren’t just going to become a sponsor of the program, they were granting us access to their Worldwide Headquarters in California to host the 311RS Premiere. What?!

We are busy planning the event, but I wanted to get this info out there to you as soon as possible. The event will take place on March 8th, 2012 at Oakley Headquarters. Check the video below as a teaser, and expect more info to come very shortly.

Each year with everyone still hungover from SEMA, Super Lap Battle puts all of those fresh SEMA builds to the test just a few days after they debut. Super Lap the original Time Attack race here in the US, and it’s still the best. I’ve competed in each Super Lap since 2008, it’s the only event I’ve always made a point to hit. But before Super Lap, there was some business to be taken care of with the 311RS.

This year I was invited to compete in the Import Tuner AWD Shootout, the day before SLB, with the 311RS! I’ve competed in the Evo vs. STi event in the past, but with my blue car. This was the first time anyone in the industry had a chance to see the 311RS firsthand. With the car still in it’s track development phase, it was fun to get it out to a real competition to see where the car currently stood.

We had already wrapped our shoot at Infineon, so I knew how well the car felt on track, but the AWD Shootout would be the first opportunity to time the car around the track. The goal for the car from the start was to drive to the track and run a sub-2:00 laptime on Buttonwillow CW13 configuration. The sub-2:00 goal was chosen for the 311RS because it was not only realistic, but also because it would put the car in rarified air – The sub-2:00 club. Haha. But yes, that was the goal.

I mainly focused on the handling feel on the car. Buttonwillow is a pretty harsh track. The pavement is inconsistent and rough in spots, plus there’s the bumps… It’s bumpy. We had already driven the car across the country twice at this point, so it was nice to have the opportunity to run the 311RS on a rough track in the middle of it’s development process. On the street the car was phenomenal, very smooth and fast. The track was a good test to see if it was still aggressive enough, given how well it performs on the street.

On track, the 311RS is just perfect. That’s not me saying it to boast about the car, that’s just the best way for me to describe it. Again, it’s very smooth and fast, but so balanced. With only JRZ RS1’s for suspension modifications, it’s amazing that the car performs as it does. Rotating with ease, while still being safe (read: slight understeer at the edge), it goes to show all of the development work we put into the JRZ RS1’s have paid off. According to JRZ, the settings for the Evo X RS1’s are directly based off what we ran on my Evo X. Typically a Rear sway bar is installed as one of the first mods for an Evo, but I wanted to keep the 311RS as simplified as possible. The overall balance of the car on track is spot on, couldn’t be happier with that.

At this point, the car was still running the 275/35/18 spec Continental’s for the AWD Shootout. Enough of those, time to throw the NT05’s back on for Super Lap! Noticeably shaper, the NT05’s were a welcome addition to the car for the track. With the Continental’s, the fastest I could run was a 2:00.4. Not bad, but not good enough. I was hoping to run below 2:00 even on the Conti’s. But that gave me a chance to prove how quick the NT05’s really are. I only had one session with the 311RS for Super Lap, so I had to adjust the tire pressure mid-session before going all out on the NT05’s. Of note – these are the same NT05’s I’ve had on the car since the beginning. They’ve been across country twice, and had 12,000 miles on them at this point.

After making minor adjustments in the hot pits, I had time to throw down two laps. The first of the two being a 1:59.6 followed by an even quicker 1:58.8. Our goal of a sub-2:00 laptime was easily reached, as expected. Simple yet effective, the modification package on the 311RS makes for a very potent car. Another note – the tires on the car were nowhere near fresh. As mentioned above, they had more than 12,000 miles on them, reinforcing Nitto’s original aim of a very consistent tire.

There’s not much to say about my Blue Evo X at SLB.. It was all prepped and ready for a Super Lap Battle Limited Class record, but someone went out and missed a shift on the front straight. on the first hot lap of the day. What a bozo. A lot of hard work went into developing the current package on the car, it had a 1:45 in it. Running a 1:50 on my warm-up lap was a great sign of things to come. It’s really disappointing to make a mistake and ruin an event, especially because this was the first time in almost two seasons that the car was running 100%. Thanks to everyone who has supported the program, I will make sure to make it up to all of you.

In conclusion, the 311RS performed as expected – flawlessly. While the Gates311 Evo X gets abused by it’s owner.

We had been imagining, dreaming, planning and anything I between about this film shoot for so long. Jonny and Colt from Film Matters and I have worked on a few smaller scale films in the past, but this was film would be different. It was a our first chance to show what we we’re really capable of when it comes to producing a legitimate car-related film. We had all of the components necessary to produce the film; an interesting car, a dedicated film crew of 23 people (!!!), helicopters, RED cameras, a track, and a real budget.

Even with all of the components necessary, there were still some huge challenges. We had limited track time, a car that wouldn’t start (a certain Blue Evo X…), and some smaller logistical issues. Regardless, we pulled off quite the production! The film will be debuting at our 311RS Film Premiere event in early December. Details to follow once all is set in the proverbial stone.

At this point, the 311RS looked the part – Wheels, tires and suspension, check. 311RS livery, check. Now it was time for some AMS power! The choice to go with an AMS engine package was an easy one. We had developed and tested a majority of them on my Evo X, I knew they worked properly and we were confident that the package was more than capable of producing the right amount of power for the 311RS.

Keeping the engine internally stock was important to retaining the warranty, so we stuck with AMS bolt-ons. And that’s not a bad thing, the Evo X makes great power with simple breathing mods. With all of AMS’s bolt-on’s selected, just the details needed to be decided. For the initial 311RS prototype, I wanted to keep the car simple and effective. Polished piping was chosen. For the 11 production units, AMS and I have something special planned…but those parts will have to wait until the time comes.

Beyond just the engine parts, things like the lightweight front crossmember, shifter bushings and stiff engine mounts rounded out the AMS treatment on the 311RS. The tactile feel of the car is just as important as how it performs, it needs to feel good at the same time. With everything installed it was time to tune the package. Tuned for 91oct, the car made a very conservative 350whp and 350tq, which if it were to be rated at the crank would be 420bhp and 420tq. Good solid numbers. Off to Infineon to shoot the 311RS Promo film!

Painting the stripe on the car and wheels was by far the most nerve-racking part of this build. Jon Sibal and I worked together to create the 311RS livery earlier this year. I was pretty specific about how I wanted the livery to turn out and he nailed it, first try no less. The rendering was perfect. Even the color was on point.

The hard part was transferring it to the real car. It’s paint, so…you know…it’s kind of official once it’s done. I worked with DuPont for 2 days trying to match the color to Jon Sibal’s rendering. We ended up starting with Porsche’s Mexico Blue, then added satin white pearl and silver metallic to the mix. It turned out SO nice. In sun light, the color matches Jon’s rendering, but the cool part is in other lights the color changes shades from royal blue all the way to a nice Navy. It’s real cool, thanks to DuPont for the help.

With the car in the paint booth, the 311RS was about to be born. The last step was to install the large stencil decal onto the car. The curves on the Evo X body proved to be quite the b**** when trying to install the decal. The paint would leak through any crease or crevasse in the decal, so it had to be laid on just right. With some time, it worked out just fine though. Carl from Sears Imports painted both the wheels and the stripe in less than a day. It’s important to get things done quickly, especially when you have a film shoot in California less than a week away. So thank you for that Carl. My first view of the car is something I’ll remember for a long time. I rarely get excited, but seeing the 311RS in person for the first time was amazing. It was actually real! Spot on to Jon’s rendering no less.