Above: Jason Oefelein meets with Andrew Coomes and his father to discuss the plans for the 2012 season.

The 2012 season will be Andrew’s rookie year in the Formula Drift Series. With stepping up to the next level of drifting, we want to ensure his car improves as he does.

Above: AJC’s PSI built 6.6L LS2 powered Rocket Bunny S13.

Along with the off season run thru of the motor, we will work on extracting more power from the LS2. The increased power will help Andrew keep pace with the more powerful cars of many of the Formula D drivers.

Above: Inspecting the LS2.

We will also be using this time to improve upon the current suspension setup and use it to develop new parts. We have a good amount of work to do before the start of next season. Check back here for more updates.

Here is some information from Radium Engineering’s website:

A fuel surge tank (FST) is designed to prevent fuel starvation to the engine on vehicles with inadequate fuel tank baffling. Mounted internal (or external) to the surge tank is the FST fuel pump(s) that feeds the fuel rail. The volume of fuel inside the surge tank acts as a buffer to always keep the FST pump supplied with fuel. This volume is maintained by the main fuel tank’s pump as well as the fuel returning from the fuel pressure regulator. Excess fuel is returned back to the vehicle’s main fuel tank. The fuel surge tank can be mounted near the main fuel tank or in the engine bay, but preferrably away from excessive heat, moving parts such as suspension components, and clear from common collision areas.

Here are a few applications where we have used a Radium Engineering fuel surge tank.

Above: Surge Tank setup on Andrew Coomes’ LS2 powered Nissan S13.

Above: Dual pump surge tank setup in the trunk of Kyle Pollard’s Formula Drift Tomei 2.2L SR powered Nissan S13.

Both of these cars are used in drift competitions. These tanks are perfect for drifting applications because the fuel in a fuel cell moves around a lot with the forces of sliding a car at speeds exceeding 100mph. The sudden shifts, often at high rpms, put a lot of strain on a fuel system. Fuel cells are baffled but these surge tanks give extra insurance that the fuel will be able to get to the engine when needed.

Radium Engineering, offers various fuel surge tank setups, which include pumpless single and dual pickups, Walboro single and dual pumps, Aeromotive single and dual pumps, and Bosch single and dual pumps. For Kyle Pollard’s drift car, we used a dual Bosch 044 setup. The fuel system only required a single Bosch 044 because of another inline pump so the second Bosch 044 acts as a spare. If one pump fails on the track, a few leads are switched and the car is ready to go.

Feel free to come down and talk to us about your application. We usually have several Radium Engineering components around the shop in case you want to see one in person.

Above: Andrew Coomes in his LS2 powered Rocket Bunny S13

Above: Kyle Pollard in his Tomei 2.2L SR powered S13

Both drivers currently have their Formula Drift licenses. The 2011 season was Kyle Pollard’s rookie year and he was only able to attend the last couple events. The 2012 season will be Andrew Coomes’ rookie season after being rewarded his license after the Evergreen Pro-Am Championship this year.

Above: Andrew Coomes will be drifting his 6.6L LS2 powered PSI built Rocket Bunny S13 in the 2012 Formula D Season.

Here is a video that Loren Haleston, of LorenInHD, made this cool slo-mo video of Kyle Pollard drifting around PARC.

We will be posting up more coverage of the event as it becomes available online.

Andrew Coomes will be further preparing his car for the upcoming Formula Drift season. Kyle Pollard put the S13 into storage for the off season. We will be looking forward to continuing our support for both of these drivers and their two different S13′s.

Above: Kyle Pollard, licensed Formula Drift driver speeding through PARC in his Tomei S13 at the November event.

We were well represented at PARC with the appearance by Kyle Pollard in his PSI livery Tomei 2.2L SR powered S13.

During the past few days, we have been busy getting Kyle’s car and our other sponsored Formula D driver’s car. That other driver is Andrew Coomes, who recently got his Formula D license from last years Evergreen ProAm series.

Above: Andrew drifting his PSI built LS2 powered Rocket Bunny S13.

Andrew will be bringing down his LS2 powered Rocket Bunny S13 to take on PARC. This will be his first time drifting the track.

Above: Rocket Bunny S13 on the four post getting prepped for PARC.

We will leave you with this video for the November event at PARC by Jared Cooper, of Hybrid Industries.

If you are in the area or just like drifting, come down to Pat’s Acres to watch some great drifting.  We will be out there supporting our drivers and we hope you will be too.  See you there.

The hatch has been put on and all glass is in. The fuel cell is and mounted.

The heart of the Rocket Bunny LS240 is in. The 6.6L LS2 is in but still needs to be plumbed and wired.

Fabrication still continues on the front of the car.

Work will be continuing late into the night as the deadline approaches quickly.

So far, the work has been focused on getting the new chassis ready.

The rear fenders needed to be cut and rolled to fit the larger Falken Azenis tires.

After cutting the fenders, the outer fender was rolled up over the inner fender. This allowed for the fenders to be rolled after for additional clearance.

The front was also modified in preparation for larger tires and increased steering angle.

The trunk floor was cut out to make room for the fuel cell and other fuel system components.

Alex welded in new trunk floor.

The entire car was stripped and prepped for paint.

Once painted, it will be a few long days and nights to get the LS2 back in and running. There is a lot of work to do but it will be all worth it when Andrew Coomes is drifting the LS240 along the bank at Evergreen.

At Evergreen ProAm Round 3, incidents occurred that resulted in Andrew Coomes needing a new shell. Currently ranked first, Coomes needs to have a new car built and ready to go for the next round. With only a month to the next ProAm event, a new shell was sourced and the swap began.

Another 240 hatch was sourced to allow for an easier transfer of all components.

Peter Taylor, a Evergreen Grassroots drifter, came down to help his friend with stripping down the new shell.

The KA24DE was removed to make way for the 6.6L LS2 V8.

While the new shell was being stripped down, the LS2 needed to be removed from the old shell. The Rocket Bunny kit was removed and the car was gutted.

The old shell stripped down.

Erick Sackhoff and Alex cutting out part of the floor.

The top of the old shell was removed to cut the roll cage out.

All the parts from the old shell were removed to be transferred to the new shell.

Work is continuing at a feverish pace to get the new car built and tested before Evergreen ProAm round 4.

Justin Pawlak coming off the bank in AJC’s PSI built LS2 powered S13 at Extreme Night.

Pawlak was there to help Coomes step his game up to the next level. Pawlak is currently ranked first in Formula Drift and has a lot of incite to share with Coomes.

Pawlak talking to Coomes about his last run.  Coomes kept improving throughout the day.

Pawlak watched Coomes drift the track and provided feedback between each run.

Pawlak and Jason Oefelein watching Coomes drift the bank.

With each run, Coomes continued to improve.

Come out and support Coomes and the other ProAm drifters at Round 3 this weekend, which is also Formula D Round 5.

We would like to thank Brad from Samuel Hubinette Racing helping by changing some tires for Coomes. We shared the track with Samuel Hubinette Racing’s Dodge Viper and Challenger.

Dean Kearny drifting SHR’s Dodge Viper.

Also, while we were at the track, Ryan Davis, of Yaer Productions, put together this skit for Coomes and his preparation for Round 3.

Andrew Coomes preps for Seattle Formula D at Evergreen Speedway – YAER Productions from Ryan Davis on Vimeo.

Before any of the racing or drifting, all the cars were lined up for the spectators to get a closer look at the cars and talk to the drivers.

Andrew Coomes talking to a competitor in the Stinger 8 Series.

Justin Pawlak was signing autographs for fans.

The Falken Tire Mustang Justin normally drives was still on its way to Evergreen Speedway, so Andrew Coomes let me drift his LS240. We built the LS240, which is a S13 240SX with a 6.6L LS2 V8.

Drift cars for the drift exhibition.

Justin Pawlak and Roland Gallagher drifting off the bank.

There was also a rollover contest.

Don’t forget next weekend is Formula Drift at Evergreen Speedway. Check out Justin Pawlak drifting his Falken Tire Mustang and Andrew Coomes drifting his LS2 powered 240.

On hand will be several Formula D drifters, Justin Pawlak, Walker Wilkerson, Roland Gallagher, and Ian Fournier, and a couple of Pro Am drivers, Victor Moore and Chris Jeanneret.

Justin Pawlak is currently ranked number 1 in points.

Justin won’t be driving his Falken Tire Mustang because it will still be on its way.

Justin will however be driving Andrew Coomes’ PSI built LS2 powered 240SX.

Andrew is sacrificing his opportunity to drift in this exhibition so Justin can use his car. Drifting Coomes’ LS240 will not be new for Justin. Last time he was up here visiting us, he drove Andrew’s car at PGP.

If you are up in Washington on Saturday, head to Evergreen Speedway for a night of racing and drifting.  Event starts around 5pm, see you there.