Unlim 500+ people: Dmitry Shabanov

Today we welcome Dmitry Shabanov — Unlim 500+ regular participant and multiple winner. He is also the owner of the fastest Porsche 911 Turbo in the world.

DT: Dmitry, tell us please, how did your interest in cars begin?

Dmitry: My interest in cars began a long time ago, when I was 13. At that time I had my first car — Moskvitch 2141. I used it for my driving lessons and I learned pretty fast because my teacher was a real expert in driving. In winter on Poklonnaya Gora (one of the highest spots in Moscow with the Victory Park situated there), when it was still under construction, we had a lot of ice practice and I was not only learning how to drive but also how to gain control over a skidding car. That was how it all began. Later I had a VAZ 2108. I started my tuning experiments on it — installing spoilers, primitive exhaust systems, etc. After that I switched to foreign cars. First I had a Honda Civic and then I bought a Mercedes-Benz E430 W210. With this car I started practicing tuning in a big way — changed the wheels, added Lorinser body kit, made chip tuning, changed the exhaust system, etc. Upgraded it up to 350 hp. I drove it for a while and then I wanted something bigger. So I bought Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG (W210 again). At that time my financial position was letting me go into car tuning seriously. In Ukraine I installed the Kleemann Kompressor Kit, “aggressive” camshafts, exhaust system and made other modifications. The car’s nominal horsepower reached 590 after the tuning. That was really fast for a car those days. The best quartermile time was 12.9 seconds at that moment which was a really good result for a rear-wheel drive car. But one year later there came the new Е55 AMG and the next generations of BMW M5 and M6 and it became difficult to tussle with them.

DT: Dmitry, is it true to say that you were a Mercedes-Benz enthusiast at that time? Those 2 last cars were Mercedes and you had your first serious tuning experience with them.

Dmitry: At that moment, yes. Mercedes used to be my favourite car model as I didn’t have a BMW or Porsche to compare it with. Many years later in spite of having BMW X6 M as a second car I still think that Mercedes produces great autos.

DT: Tell us please, how did your car racing hobby evolve? I suppose it all started, like it usually does, with street racing, but how did it continue?

Dmitry: My first races took place in Kurkino (a district located in the north-west part of Moscow) when I was driving Mercedes-Benz E430. Later they moved to “leningradka” (Leningradskoye Highway situated in Moscow) and there I was already behind the wheel of the Е55 AMG. But those were unofficial street races. The first races with timekeeping were held in Tushino (an airfield located in Tushino, in the northwest part of Moscow). It was here where I put on record the best time shown by my Е55 — 12.9 seconds. It’s safe to say that Moscow drag racing was born there. It all went just great in the beginning. You could come to the track 3–4 times a week and go driving without any problems. Different cars from all over Moscow were giving a try on that track and there was always someone to race with. But later Tushino started losing its popularity just because of its availability.

DT: Dmitry, let’s now pass on to the most interesting part of our conversation. Let’s talk about your Porsche 911 Turbo. To begin with, tell us please, how did it happen that you switched to Porsche while being a “three-rayed star” enthusiast?

Dmitry: During the time I was driving E55 AMG the drawback of the rear-wheel drive became obvious. It was very difficult to show any good results as at that time all competitions were held on asphalt tracks with no glue. It was clear that all-wheel drive was required to achieve 500–600 hp capacity. The model range of Mercedes was not offering anything powerful and all-wheel drive. I was even thinking about converting my E55 into AWD. But after the deep exploration of the question it stood out that such procedure is really complicated and costly. Also the car reached its power increase limit and all further modifications only gave some inconsiderable uprating but leading to the damage of some car units — torn compressor belts, compressor overheat, pulleys falling apart, etc. It became apparent that I needed to change the car and it was 2007 and they already had Porsche 911 Turbo 997 on the market. Stock car specifications looked fantastic — it was able to do nought to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds. It was decided to settle on this very car.

DT: I assume you started looking for tuning possibilities for your Porsche as soon as you purchased it?

Dmitry: Not exactly. I spent the first year without any tuning as the performance of a stock car was enough for all occasions. Right at that time Nissan GT-R R35 appeared and some of my friends acquired it. And it all became really interesting. We had a lot of races in the stock category having comparable results. In the autumn of 2008 HKS GT570 appeared — it was the first upgrade kit for GT-R. One of my friends with a GT-R ordered it immediately and was claiming to be the fastest on the track. This was when I started studying the Internet looking for solutions for my Porsche. It came together with my friend Mikhail becoming the distributer of Switzer Performance — the American tuning studio. I became his first client ordering Switzer R750. At first results did not look fantastic — quartermile in 10.4 seconds using fuel with an octane rating of 98. The stock car completed a quartermile in 11 seconds, so the difference was notable but not sufficient. After that we tried to use race fuel with higher octane number and that increased the car’s speed.

DT: Dmitry, as far as I understand, it all happened in the spring of 2009, just before the new stage of Unlim 500+?

Dmitry: Yes, that’s right, it all happened before the Unlim 500+ event. But during it none of the GT-R HKS570 could go faster than my car and I took the first place. An interesting struggle was only with Alexander (aka Petchy) on Ford GT1000 Heffner. Later our fellows’ GT-Rs were also equipped with Switzer P800 tuning packages which increased their capacity up to 800 hp and made the races more challenging. The performance of Switzer P800GT-R and my Porsche Switzer R750 was at the same level and the victory went over to the pilot whose driving was faultless. All in all I won 3 stages of Unlim 500+ driving my Porsche.

DT: As far as I know, you spent a few stages driving a 750 hp car but then you decided to go further. Tell us please, what modifications were applied to your Porsche afterwards?

Dmitry: The next step was applying another tuning package by Switzer, but this time it was R911. The maximum horsepower when using race fuel reached 900 hp. The package comprised new and modified GT30 turbos, injectors, boost controller and also a few units left from the R750 package. The car showed good results, I claimed one victory on the Unlim 500+ event. A bit later I took the first place in Moscow vs. Saint-Petersburg competition showing the best quartermile time. After that I took part in “Berlin Mile” and won silver for the second best 1 mile time. At this point transmission failed (laughing). But then the “arm race” among the Unlim 500+ participants began and I decided to add more power together with transmission improvements. Right at that time the new Garrett GTX3076R turbos appeared. During their replacement I reinforced the engine by changing the connecting rod and piston group. So all in all I reassembled and reinforced the automatic transmission, replaced the connecting rod and piston group and installed new GTX turbos.

DT: That’s an impressive list of modifications! But the competitors are on the watch as well. It’s not a secret that there are already at least 10 GT-Rs with more than 1000 hp. Dmitry, what is the current configuration of your car and what nominal horsepower does it have?

Dmitry: Right now I have the largest turbos available for Porsche — Garrett HTA 3586. Besides that I replaced the engine’s “brain box” and now everything is adjusted with the help of Syvecs. No other “hardware” changes. What nominal horsepower does it have? Let’s put it this way, I don’t need more than 1200 hp on the flywheel because if it gets higher problems with transmission and other strategic units come out. Such horsepower would be enough for Porsche to put in a strong performance as the RWD configuration allows making phenomenal starts — the car went nought to 100 km/h in less than 3 seconds.

DT: Dmitry, your car is of great interest to petrol-heads from all over the world. On one hand, they are attracted by the results your car had already shown during the Unlim 500+ stages and other competitions. On the other hand, it’s a unique project of upgrading a Porsche 911 Turbo up to 1000 hp. Tell us please, was it based only on your enthusiasm or maybe the “arms race” has also played its part?

Dmitry: I suppose it’s some kind of symbiosis between the enthusiasm and the competition. I love my car and I want it to be of high quality and very fast. Again the wish to get on the Unlim 500+ podium really keeps me going. I would like to note that this competition is of relative character because the Unlim regular members form one close-knit company regardless any car preferences. Though we are constantly preparing our cars for the victory, we often help each other in acquiring spare parts or in solving any technical questions. We see each other often, exchange news and boast about our achievements. The hobby grew into our lifestyle.

DT: Dmitry, thank you very much for your interesting story! Wishing victories to you and safety and power to your car!

Engine

3586 HTA turbos, Switzer intercoolers, Corillo & CP connecting rod and piston group, Protomotive manifolds, Syvecs ECU.

Fuel system
DT Custom, ID2000 injectors

Transmission

DT Custom

Other modifications
Vorsteiner body kit, Rotec Carbon seats, Forged 19 wheels, RSS suspension, Bilstein PSS10 shock-absorbers, Brembo Lightweight front brake pads. Carbon body parts: roof, hood, fenders, doors, bumpers.