Underneath the Skin of the Legendary CyberEVO

Underneath the Skin of the Legendary CyberEVO

by Eric Hsu

As with the other times I've broken down cars in detail, most of what you'll read here are facts, but some of what you read here is speculation. In this particular case I've gathered facts and other information from speaking to Tarzan, the CyberEVO's driver, Ian, CEO of Superlap Australia, the guys at Haltech Australia (where Takizawa did some touch up tuning on their chassis dyno) and others close to the CyberEVO team. If you read something here and feel that you know better, feel free to pop what you've heard in the comments below. Just try not to sound like a know it all smartass because nobody likes a smartass. Jeff took hours to take these pictures and I'm taking hours to write about them so give us a break. Plus don't forget that MotoIQ isn't charging you jack so I hope nobody has a false sense of entitlement.

In general, the CyberEVO team is pretty hush hush and doesn't like to talk about their car in too much detail. In fact, I'm rather surprised they let Jeff take as many pictures as he did. I'm sure they were wondering why the hell this white dude was taking soooo many pictures. Being Japanese they were probably too polite to tell him to GTFO. Anyhow, Jeff did take over 600 images of the CyberEVO over three days time at WTAC 2011 between bottles of wine and beer. He was bitching that the hard stuff was too expensive in Australia (it is!).

A lot of changes are happening on the Cyber team with the most evident being that Voltex and Unlimited Works, the shop that builds and maintains the CyberEVO, will no longer be a part of the team. Depending on who you talk to there are different stories, but the one I've heard is that Takizawa-san's Sierra Sierra nitrous contest at WTAC 2011 was the straw that broke the camel's back. Up until then there were some disagreements and arguments, but contesting the nitrous sealed the deal. It caused a ripple that split the Cyber team up much like a rock band breaks up because personalities don't mesh and everybody might think they play an instrument better than the next guy. Whatever the case, I've heard that the Cyber team will return with the CyberEVO one last time for WTAC 2012 with Garage HRS replacing Unlimited Works and C-West replacing Voltex. If Garage HRS sounds familiar, that's because they used to build and maintain the CyberEVO before Unlimited Works did. Tarzan remains the driver and Takizawa remains the owner and engine tuner. Beyond 2012, keep your eyes open for the new CyberGT-R. 

Whatever the future holds, let's take a look at the recent past. Jeff took these pictures at WTAC 2011 when Tarzan in the CyberEVO just barely beat Dave in the Sierra Sierra EVO by 0.389 seconds. While everybody, including myself on occasion, bitches that the CyberEVO isn't safe for the speeds that it's capable of, Takizawa-san took the concept of a Time Attack car to the max. It is a purpose built car that didn't cost a fortune to build and is extremely good at what it does. Sure, there has been CyberEVOs since the EVO 5 so it has taken a long time to get the current CyberEVO to where it is today. Everything is just good enough for one lap. Simplicity and weight are the keys to its success. Just like a band needs the right people to sound good and write a hit, the Cyber team in 2010 and 2011 had all the right partners to be the fastest Time Attack car in the world.

The CyberEVO uses some version of the A'PEXi Isamu RX-6 turbo upgrade with a an ultra lightweight IHI RX-6 turbo, thin wall stainless steel exhaust manifold, and an Apex water cooled 50mm wastegate. To give you an idea of how light they are, Honda used two of them on their F1 twin turbo V6 back in the mid 80's. I've worked with IHI RX-6s a lot and I think they weigh right around 11 lbs (5 kgs) a piece. For comparison, a Garrett GT35R weighs around 16 lbs and a motorsport grade Garrett TR30R weighs 12 lbs. There are four compressor wheels available in the RX-6 family ranging from 400-650hp, but surprisingly the CyberEVO's RX-6 isn't one of the larger compressors. Since IHI recently stopped production of the RX-6, I believe a guy by the name of Sagami in Japan now builds the CyberEVO's RX-6s. 

The CyberEVO's transmission uses a stock casing, but is built with a 5 speed PPG straight cut dog gear set. For some reason, there are all kinds of racing gear set/box manufacturers and ECUs that come from Australia. I've used PPG gearsets in the past also. They make good stuff.

The CyberEVO uses a Tomei 2.2L engine with an EVO IX MIVEC cylinder head. The EVO IX head benefits from better combustion chamber cooling and of course the variable cam. Tarzan generally prefers response and a flat torque band over big, high revving horsepower so MIVEC suits his driving style with better low RPM power.