By Jehran Naidoo for Auto Rush
Durban racer Ryan Naidoo seems to be content racing in a league of his own in the 8 valve cohort.
A purist of sorts, Naidoo kept true to his ‘Golfie’ roots and stuck to the 8 valve power plant, an engine that most Golf drivers started racing with.
The head on U-flowed 8v engine built by Fast Car Performance, while the bottom end was done by Denzil’s Auto. It consists of a bottom end, stroked to 2,1L and a fully built race head.
A rod-shifting 020 with stock ratios energizes the wheels. The car’s also been fitted with a M-trac LSD and final drive.
The rear suspension’s been raised to push more weight over the front tires for better traction. A light weight race axel was added to strip weight from the rear end.
Hoosier skinny drag wheels were fitted out back with 24.5 inch slicks on 13J wheels provide traction.
An old and faithful Dicktator engine management system controls the 8v’s pulse, with Naidoo not looking to change that any time soon.
Kumaran Govender from Electro Boost in Durban tunes Naidoo’s dragster.
“I want to keep the car where it is now. I’m not really looking to upgrade. I would really like to get into the 11 second bracket with the car just like this. It’s hard, I know, but worth a try,” Naidoo told Auto Rush at Dezzi Raceway.
Consistency
Naidoo ran a best time of 12.2 seconds @175 km/h with a 1.7 second 60ft.
The car and driver showed their consistently, as he ran 12.2 on all four runs completed on the day.
His highest exit speed for the day was 177 km/h.
“I’m gonna’ put this 8v deep in the 11z for sure,” he said.
Auto Rush
