Street Legal Performance (SLP), has come a long way over the years. Starting out in a tiny facility in Toms River, New Jersey by Ed Hamburger building performance parts for TPI-powered 3rd-gen F-bodies, it has steadily grown into the performance parts powerhouse that it is today.
That accomplishment wouldn’t have been possible without the combination of perseverance, excellent products and high-quality customer service. Oh, and a great staff who’s been some of the most personable and supportive of their customers
Most recently, they’ve sponsored Essa Autosport‘s 2013 Camaro RS/SS drift car, piloted by none other than 2013 Formula D Champion, Michael Essa. Over the last few weeks, he and his team have been working diligently turning a bone-stock Camaro into a full-on, competitive drift car for the Streets of Long Beach drift event, being held April 10-11, 2015.
We’ve first heard about all of this from SLP’s Facebook page, and after some quick digging, ran across Essa Motorsport’s website that covered the entire build from start to finish. Since it was very well put together, what we’ve decided to do was to present the build to you in the way Essa shared it with their followers.
“SLP – Street Legal Performace‘s amazing support of our program continues. Supporting us in being competitive in the power field, SLP sent a set of their long tube headers over to accompany their supercharger kit on top of the LS3 that will be going back in the car. We are going to need all the torque we can get to run the walls in Long Beach, and these parts are great additions to the build.”
“BMR Suspension has come aboard the program, providing the parts that will enable the Camaro to be driven to its full potential. Thanks to BMR, we have a full setup of rear adjustable control arms, rear subframe bushings, front and rear sway bars, and a very solid set of engine mounts. The suspension is going to be rock solid paired with Suspension Techniques coil overs.”
“Forgestar Wheels continues their support of our drift program. The Camaro will be running a pair of Forgestar CF5V 19×9 wheels with Yokohama Advan AD09R 245/40/19 tires in the front, and 19×10 CF5V wheels with Yokohama Advan AD08R 275/35/19 in the rear.”
“Clutch Masters is handling the task of sending the supercharged power to the rear with an 850 Series Twin Disc system custom set to our specs, activated by a Clutch Masters internal slave. Down the line, the stock rear subframe was modified to fit a Speedway quick change diff. The Clutch Masters setup should put all that power through the diff and result in plenty of tire smoke.
Long Beach is a brutal track. Our FD legal cage with NASCAR door bars will enable Mike Essa to feel comfortable to put on a show in the pilot’s seat. Safety is a big part of professional drifting, and our number one goal is to give our sponsors and fans the best performance possible, and go home at the end of the day.”
“Radium Engineering and Fuel Safe have come aboard to handle all of the supercharged LS3’s fuel needs. In a collaboration between the two companies, Radium’s Fuel Cell Surge Tank sits inside a Fuel Safe Flex Fuel Cell which is tucked into the rear of the car. Radium Engineering also sent over their competition oil catch can. The build quality of these components are top notch, and we look forward to putting them to task.
Donkey Power Injection sent over a set of their super high flow injectors capable of 1000whp, which we hope to be making in the near future with the help of IGNITE Racing Fuel. IGNITE is supplying us with with Ignite 114, which is a 114 octane ethanol/race gas blend that we have been using for years with great results!”
“ST Suspensions is supplying key suspension components, sending over a set of triple adjustable motorsport coilovers, and also supporting us with setup and tuning throughout the season. Having a suspension engineer advising us on shock setup is a huge benefit!
We needed a driveline that would handle the instant torque of the SLP supercharged LS3 going back to our sticky Yokohama Advan tires. The Driveshaft Shop filled that need, sending us a custom aluminum driveshaft and race axles capable of 1000+ hp. Essa has run The Driveshaft Shop products on all his drift cars for years, and they are so reliable that he ran them all year long with no failures. Driveline reliability played a huge role in winning the 2013 Formula Drift Championship.”
“AEM Performance Electronics is supporting us with their Infinity 8H ECU and sensors to control the fuel and spark going to the SLP Supercharged LS3.
We have a lot of work to do here at Essa Autosport. The SLP Camaro is looking like a solid, competitive machine, and we are already confident that this will be an impressive machine that will represent our sponsors and what they have done for us. Formula Drift – Streets of Long Beach is just 1 week away. We look forward to seeing our fans, old and new. Stop by our pit, check out the build, and cheer us on!”
“We at Essa Autosport would like to thank all of our sponsors who have continuously supported our drift program, and our new sponsors who came aboard this year. Without the amazing support, our build and potential would have never seen the beginning stages. Thank you SLP – Street Legal Performance, ST Suspensions, Yokohama Tire, Radium Engineering, CSF Radiators, AEM Electronics, Wilwood Disc Brakes, BMR Suspension, Clutch Masters, The Driveshaft Shop, Sparco USA, Brett King Design, Fuel Safe, Forgestar Performance Wheels, Donkey Power Injection, Ignite Racing Fuel, Rehv Clothing, Taper Pro USA, and Iconography Studios.”
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
