SP Rides: Hyped On Speed
BY MICHAEL KITCHENS
Name: Paco Anguiano
Age: 40
Occupation: Mechanic
Hobbies: Working on Cars
Year, Make, Model: 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport
Color: Admiral Blue Metallic with Red Stripes
Engine: Custom Tuning by Hawaii Performance Technology using HP Tuners 725WHP\665 Ft Lbs., Procharger Stage II “Tuner” Kit (Upgraded F1A Supercharger, race intercooler, race bypass valve, race balancer, black brackets and supercharger), MSD Atomic 103mm intake manifold, Katech Billet 103mm throttle body, Late model Racecraft C7 breather tank, Aquamist HFS4 10 Nozzle Direct-Port methanol injection, upgraded high pressure pump, high Volume Feed Line, custom fitted tank, Stainless Works Longtube Headers w\ Off-Road X-Pipe, 2017 Z06 high flow fuel injectors and high side pressure pump
Transmission: Circle D Specialties triple clutch billet torque converter and control module, Upgraded billet aluminum drive shaft
Exterior: SMG Hawaii Performance Technology window banner
Interior: Upgraded custom gauge console
Wheels, Brakes, Tires: 19/20-inch Carbon Black Cup Wheels, Brembo carbon ceramic brake System with 16-inch Rotors and six Piston Calipers, Nitto NT05-R Drag Radials 315/35/20
Paco Anguiano is no stranger to speed. As a kid, his introduction to the automotive world was riding dirt bikes and with maturity, his interests expanded to sport bikes. His first purchase happened to be a 2002 Yamaha, which he modified extensively while riding it exclusively on the mainland. As most riders will tell you, modified sport bikes are insanely fast.
Combine that speed with the hazardous and fairly congested roadways of Hawaii, and you might just have a recipe for disaster. While moving back and forth from New Mexico to Hawaii, Anguiano transitioned to four wheels and stepped into an ’88 MR2. Over time, he’d learn his skills building and modifying three of these small, boxy yet nimble cars. So much so, his last version was sporting 640HP — which is a bit insane. Obviously, Anguiano couldn’t get enough speed in his life, even on four wheels.
Hooked on speed, Anguiano eventually went through several more cars including a full carbon fiber bodied ’99 pro-charged C5 Vette. “It took a little time to get used to it, but I got hooked. It was so good,” shared Anguiano.
Fast forward to November 2016 and Anguiano found himself at the dealership to purchase a truck to pull his boat. While waiting for the paperwork to finish, the sultry, smooth lines of this 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport called to him like a siren song. A few moments later, the truck was still on the lot while Anguiano headed home in his brand-spankin’-new Vette. His wife was quite taken aback at the time.
To no surprise, his ride simply wasn’t fast enough. After running the C5, this ride just felt slow — comparatively. Thus, began the start of a monster build with only 500 miles broken in. The already gorgeous ride was equipped with all the bolt-ons including intake manifold, a 103mm throttle body, cold air intake and exhaust system, raising his power to about 475 to the wheels.
This was nice, but it still wasn’t enough for Anguiano. A call to his tuner resulted in a big-time upgrade with a bunch of boost added to really up his horsepower game. This included a Procharger Stage II “Tuner” kit that involved slapping on an upgraded F1A Supercharge along with upgrades to many of the components within the engine. To increase more power with pump gas, a trick Aquamist HFS4 10 nozzle direct-port methanol injection was thrown into the mix. A serious tune by Hawaii Performance Technology brought huge gains, resulting in a massive 725HP and 665 foot-pounds to the wheels!
With all this unbelievable horsepower, Anguiano felt it was necessary to increase his stopping power with a sweet set of Brembo carbon ceramic 16-inch rotors and six piston calipers. Combined with the Nitto NT05-R Drag Radials, this baby can hold back the power when it needs to.
To sum it all up, Anguiano does it for the high. Even at 40 years-of-age, this car makes him feel like a teenager. He stays out of trouble (ironically) by getting into trouble with his car. In the end though, this car still isn’t fast enough for him because 1,000HP is on the horizon. Just wow.
