2004 EurotunerGP (etGP)

EurotunerGP? What's that? Glad you asked... It's our annual shootout between some of America's finest tuning companies, which are invited to take part in a series of trials and tribulations.

For the very first time, we decided to add a day at the dragstrip to our regular disciplines of dyno and road course. This was designed to give the contest an extra dimension. But it's not really a contest.

You see, the thing about the etGP is that it's uniquely uncompetitive. We're not actually pitting tuner against tuner. How could we? There were four-cylinder cars against six-cylinder, front-wheel drive against all-wheel drive, naturally aspirated against forced-induction, Mk1 Golfs against Audi S4s.

The etGP is an opportunity for tuners to get together and have a good time while showing off their ability and workmanship. We don't expect a Mk1 Golf to do well against an Audi RS4, but if it does, then all the better.

The aim of etGP is to show us what these cars are capable of. We are hoping that at least one of them will meet either your budget or tuning criteria. If you have only a few thousand dollars to spend on a car, there's something here for you. And you can make a direct comparison against modifications that might cost you $10,000 or more.

So don't simply look down the table and see that an Audi S4 is faster and more powerful than a Corrado, because that's a given. Instead, you should be using the etGP to see what difference a few dollars can make. Is a VR6 better than a 1.8T? Should you buy an Audi S4 or a Mercedes C32?

Our biggest regret is that we didn't manage to attract any BMWs to the event after the M3 that was slated to attend experienced problems just prior to the start date. We also lost a Porsche Turbo, which everybody was looking forward to running against. However, we've been assured these tuners will be ready in time for etGP05.

In the meantime, we've divided our coverage of the event into two sections. This month we're covering the power events - the dyno and drag racing. Next month, we'll bring you the results from the road circuit.

We've lumped the dyno and drag together because both disciplines should be directly related to a car's horsepower, which should correspond to its quarter-mile time. That doesn't fully account for the advantage of all-wheel-drive traction, but the cars finished pretty much where we expected.

Ultimate power was undoubtedly affected by ambient temperature, which hit about 90 degrees at the K&N dyno and 95 degrees the following day at the California Speedway. It was definitely a factor for the cars, particularly those with forced induction. That's a risk you take, though, in Southern California.

New for this year's etGP was the involvement of Dunlop Tires (see side panel). The company came on as the main sponsor in order to provide the competitors with a control tire. The idea was to try to create a level playing field, where every competitor would have the same high level of grip, thanks to a brand-new set of Dunlops that were supplied prior to the event. While several tuners did have their own tire allegiances, everybody was prepared to fit the new rubber, and we got positive feedback about the level of grip and durability - after all, some of these tires were put through 20 or 30 runs on the strip, with burnouts, then subjected to several hours on the road course, all in searing temperatures. Yet none appeared to suffer adversely from the abuse.

With the temptation of free tires, we know there are other tuners who'll want to be involved in future etGPs, and it's a shame the East Coast wasn't represented in greater numbers, although we were delighted to see TJM come over from New Hampshire and Momentum Motor Parts journey down from Vancouver, Canada. However, we're hoping to balance our West Coast bias by taking etGP to the other side of the country, possibly next year if there's enough demand...