Feature: Drift Monster

“The first time I was ever on a racetrack, I was three years old,” says Luis Martinez, owner of Luis Martinez Racing. “My dad got me into racing—I began racing in NHRA at 16 years of age, and worked my way up just like he did.” Luis started out in bracket drag racing, making his way to Top Sportsman. He never made it to the national level, but his love of cars has followed him throughout his career, which has dropped him off on our doorstep with this sweet 1997 Nissan 240SX.

“I picked this car up in 2006,” explains Luis. “I wanted to build a car that was show worthy, but also something that could be used for competition if need be.” What kind of competition, you ask? Formula drifting.

“Drifting cars are very similar to other competition vehicles, but one of the biggest things that separates them is the hydraulic handbrake,” says Luis. Another important aspect of any vehicle destined for drifting is a small turbo, offering quick spool and minimum lag. “You need all the power up front,” says Luis. “The turbo on this car could probably be a little smaller, which would help more, but at the time that was the decision I made.”

The T3/T4 Garret 60 trim .63AR turbo nestled within Luis's fully rebuilt 2.4-liter KA24DE, is a nice compromise between brute torque and minimal spool time. While a lot of builders will tell you the T3/T4 Garret is not good for anything over 500 horsepower, if you add a little race gas to the mix, you've got another story on your hands.

“My goal was 450, and we got a lot more than that,” comments Luis on the 578 horsepower and 386 ft-lbs torque the car made on the dyno. “It was a bit of a surprise—I didn't think I could get that big of a number, but we did it on race gas, so that helped us turn up the boost.”

While Luis is full aware of the spitting matches over which version of the 240SX is best (American S-14 vs. Japanese SR-20). He sided with the 2.4-liter American version on this particular venture. “I think both have their good and bad, just like anything else in the world,” says Luis. “I like the original engine, because if they are built right, they are pretty much bullet-proof torque monsters.”

As far as the secret to Luis' success goes, he attributes it to his determination and motto, Don't take any shortcuts. “I used to be that guy, and stuff would break,” says Luis. “If you want to do something, do it right the first time, and your pocket will appreciate it.”

Luis also recommends doing research before purchasing, and depend upon longstanding brand names for parts, rather than cheap, fly by the string of their mommy's apron stings, bargain, basement (mom and dad's basement) brands. “Support companies that have been around, like HKS,” says Luis. “Don't support flyby companies that just want to make a quick buck—these companies are hurting our industry.”

Luis is still not 100 percent sure his 240SX will be used for competition. It actually started out as a show car, having made the rounds with Pepsi a few years back. “The LM Racing S-14 was developed to be one of our demo cars, but might be developed into a track car for the 2011 season,” says Luis. The deciding factor will be sponsoring support and funding. “If we get more funding then we'll probably go with something newer and more advanced.”

This is not to say that his 1997 S-14 isn't up for the task, as he certainly received a lot of great support from sponsors throughout the cars six month build. “We needed a set of coilovers for the vehicle that were competition worthy, and Function & Form built us a set of custom one-offs,” says Luis. “Sparkplugs.com has also helped us out with some parts.”

Speaking of sponsorship support and those free handouts every tuner dream of, Luis had some advice for those looking for sponsorship of your own. “People think that getting sponsored, discounts, or parts for free are a good return on their investment with a company, but they aren't,” says Luis. “Putting a sticker on your car doesn't mean anything, there are a lot of cars with stickers on them driving around—companies want to know how you can help them build more sales.”

“Network, go to car shows, talk with the sales people and marketing people—you can't expect just to send an e-mail, because it doesn’t work that way,” suggests Luis. “Then you have to build a proposal, which my marketing agency, Luis Martinez Designs, can help with—it takes money to make money, so these services are not for free, but it's a fair price for what you get back.”

If the car does make it into this coming Formula Drift season, it won't be Luis behind the wheel. “Luis Martinez Racing will be making our debut with rookie driver, Brad Hettinger (owner of Groundwerks Garage), and the help of ScanGauge II as one of our premier sponsors,” says Luis.

“I've been out for a few years now, but I will be back in 2011,” exclaims Luis. Only instead of sliding around the corners, Luis will be going back to his own familiar haunting ground of screaming down the straight away at over 100 mph. His weapon of choice will be a 92' Ford Mustang notchback. “I don't have any exciting race stories to share today, but hopefully I'll be making some amazing stories in 2011.”

Thank you's
Luis would like to extend his thanks to several sponsors and partners who made this car possible, including Joey at Scanguage, Natasha at Sparkplugs.com, Preston at Function & Form, Danielle at Recaro, Mars at Death Machines, Shelley at Spec Clutch, Brad at Ground Works Garage, Andrew at Open Clutch, Brian at Pepsi, Grieg and Vanessa at AEM, and Geoffrey at Extreme Dimensions. Sorry if he missed anyone.

Update: Luis has confirmed that he will be using the S14 in Formula drifting this season. The only difference will be the 2.4-liter will be dropped in favor of V8 muscle. Ain't no substitute!

Good luck to the entire Luis Martinez racing team.