My Time With Ray & Black Halo Racing

Hey there everyone! I've made it back from the best vacation I've had in a very long time (just took me a while to put everything together). I got to spend a little over a week in Arizona at Charles R. (Ray) Hill's place. Ray is the owner of Black Halo Racing, who produces some top notch parts for the RX-8. Being someone that I personally look up to, and being a sponsor of mine, I got to spend time with him, meet the team, check out their upcoming shop, and learn quite a bit about how things are done behind the scenes.

I had a few specific goals in mind for this trip that I was fortunate enough to accomplish during my stay. One goal I was aiming for was to get the new prototype header build underway so we could get a final product rolling out the door before the start of next season. Another goal was to see how Ray does the magic he does with Black Halo and get any advice based off that as I can. Lastly was just a few other small things I'll mention in the following, as well as just needing a vacation.
I've broken the trip up by days and posted them on their respective day it happened, so you'll need to either scroll down to November 26th, or click the links below. One long post would just be too long with all the comments and pictures I have.

Day 1 - Touch Down
Day 2 - Fuel Pump Install
Day 3 - Relaxing Again
Day 4 - Back to Work
Day 5 - The Shops
Day 6 - Exhaust Work
Day 7 - Getting Down to my Business
Day 8 - Touge Run
Day 9 - Camelback Trail with a Side Of Cars
Day 10 - Reflection

Knight Sports Article

Happy New Years everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates, but don't worry, expect to see a lot of positive changes soon; both to the blog and an upcoming project car. In the meantime, check out this really cool article on my favorite Japanese rotary tuners, Knight Sports.

This article was done by ImportTuner and has some really nice photos of the Knight Sports RX-8 that won 1st place in the Macau 2009 GP. Page 2 has all the build information, which I thought was very informative to see all the different things they had done. Building a race car really is a lot more then just gutting a car, putting in a rollcage, and a few bolt ons; and they show that in their work here I believe.

Their RX-8 was a big inspiration for me on my build for my own RX-8. How they handle their research, testing different parts, fabrication, designing functional parts, their clean and sleek look, etc. Just a well balanced, full package deal when you look at their parts and designs, much like Black Halo Racing's approach to products. I look forward to seeing any changes they plan on making to their car come 2011. Maybe going back to a Renesis engine, but adding a nice twin-scroll turbo? Perhaps starting with a series II platform and doing some changes from the ground-up? I guess we'll have to wait and see, so stay tuned.