NOW We are talking : 533hp Bisimoto Honda CR-Z, lubricated by TORCO

TOVA's advertiser and product testing sponsor COSMIC Elite, sole distributor of top of the range TORCO lubricants and racing fuels for Malaysia forwarded me the following information about Bisimoto on their 533hp Honda CR-Z.

Bisimoto 533HP Sport Hybrid CR-Z was at last year's LA Auto Show which ran from 19th till 28th of November, 2010. This automotive event is an annual auto show held at the Los Angeles Convention Center around the end of each year and is an international exhibition and also endorsed by the Greater Los Angeles New Car Dealers Association. It is open to the public for ten days each year, filling 347,000 square feet of exhibit space. The Bisimoto CRZ was on location in the Kentia hall, beneath the South exhibit hall.

Bisimoto Engineering is a premier automotive design, engineering, testing and manufacturing firm geared towards high performance and off road vehicles in the United States of America. At the helm of this prestigious organization is the founder and chief Engineer, ‘Bisi Ezerioha. With multiple degrees in Pure, Applied and Natural sciences, and Chemical Engineering, ‘Bisi Ezerioha is one of the most successful and sought after automotive tuners in the sport compact market. Accolades under the belt of Bisimoto Engineering include, but are not limited to, building and designing the fastest FWD naturally aspirated vehicle (151.3mph in a quarter mile), world’s fastest and quickest SOHC Honda, most powerful fwd street vehicle (724whp Civic wagon), multiple 1000whp Honda Twin cam race cars, and designer of exhaust manifolds for the world’s quickest and fastest H22, F22, D-series, and B-series Hondas.

In 2010, Bisimoto Engineering was approached by American Honda to partner with them to build a 2011 Honda CR-Z for the world renowned SEMA and LA Auto show conventions. This vehicle would also showcase the sport-hybrid nature of the CR-Z, and its ability for easy and amazing customization. It was an easy choice for Honda, as Bisimoto Engineering is known, worldwide, for awe-inspiring street, show and race vehicles. Without fear of the unknown, Bisimoto has always been on the cutting edge of automotive technology. The 2011 Honda CR-Z was no exception with a 533+ hp turbo charged hybrid LEA1 powerplant, which retains the drivability, reliability and eco-friendly nature of the original 1.5 Litre engine.

TOVA's opinion: Bisimoto's approach is unique because unlike tuners in Japan, a number of tuners from the U.S. do not seem to want to work with either the L-Series engine or with Honda's IMA system. Most focused on the swapping of Honda's K20A engine into the CR-Z chasis, a task which involves some degree of modification to the engine bay's structure. It seems the general consensus of the L-Series engine and especially the IMA implementation is one of low regards and that since it has always been tuned by Honda for fuel economy, that there is little potential for performance from the LSeries or the IMA. From this point of view, Bisimoto's approach was unique amongst the U.S. based tuners of the CR-Z.

During the two month period prior to the launch of the CR-Z in the US, Bisimoto Engineering was instrumental in developing over twenty-two (22) new parts for the 2011 Honda CR-Z, including, but not limited to Bisimoto level 2.4 camshafts, Bisimoto Pro springs and titanium retainers, Bisimoto custom 9.5:1 forged pistons, Bisimoto-spec LEA1 rods, Bisimoto heat shielding intake gaskets, custom intake manifold, stainless steel and inconel valves, turbo kit and custom spec Turbonetics turbo, intercooler, and controls. The engineers at Bisimoto also performed a wonderful feat with the incorporation of an AEM Series 2 engine management system into the factory hybrid ECM. This allowed ‘Bisi full control of all fuel and ignition parameters, while retaining all hybrid functions in the new vehicle. With 533 crank horsepower, the Bisimoto 2011 CR-Z is hailed by automotive critics and the media as the most powerful hybrid in the world.

To protect the heart of the new CR-Z, Bisimoto elected the use of Torco Oils and lubricants. From custom OE builds, to high end exotic and race car projects, Bisimoto trusts and uses Torco products exclusively. As a top notch engineering and design firm, Bisimoto vehicles demand the utmost in reliable and powerful technology: Torco assembly lubricants, MTF gearbox oil and SR-5 full synthetic oils allows team Bisimoto Engineering to continue to build and protect award winning, record breaking and awe inspiring automotive creations. The protection of the CR-Z gearbox, by the Torco MTF, in such harsh street and racing environments, has been unparallel, and serves not only this new creation, but is used in all Bisimoto Engineering race and hot street cars. In the Bisimoto stable, the lower HP vehicles rely on the SR-1 line of lubricants, and the high stress, high HP engines employ the top of the line SR-5 motor oils. Viewed as a performance part, Torco oils also supply huge horsepower gains in addition to incomparable engine protection, based on in-house testing on the Bisimoto Dynapack dynamometer note: this is documented on the Bisimoto forum. The aforementioned statement is one of the reasons that Bisimoto Engineering race engines last for over two seasons before the need for a refresh.

TOVA's note : the photos in this article are provided by Cosmic-Elite, the TORCO distributor for this region.