LOLA THE ’ROLLA
> BRODIE VILLIS’S ANGRY NINE-SECOND COROLLA TOOK HOME OUR FOUR-BANGER AWARD AT DRAG CHALLENGE WEEKEND 2022
AMONG the monster bent-eights and force-fed sixes in the lanes at Drag Challenge Weekend this year, Brodie Villis’s little KE55 Corolla held its own thanks to two litres of turbocharged Nissan fury.
“I’ve owned the thing for around 15 years now, and when I got the car it was already engineered with the CA18 swap,” Brodie says. “It was pretty basic though, still using the Nissan five-speed manual – which I broke plenty of – and the standard diff.”
Drag Challenge Weekend ’22 wasn’t Brodie’s first crack at a DC event in LOLA 55, having successfully completed the gruelling 2017 five-day marathon and taking the same Quickest Four-cylinder/rotary award that he also managed to bank at this year’s DCW. Back then, the car rocked virtually the same set-up it does now, which is just a tad more serious than what was in the little machine when Brodie first got it.
The 1.8-litre, twin-cam CA18 Nissan fourpot was first revamped by Jason Ghiller from Tunnel Vision Turbocharging. A Spool stroker kit with new crank and rods and CP pistons was used to bump it up to 2.0 litres. The head is still standard and rocks a pair of Tomei 260 Poncams, topped by a sexy CPC intake manifold. “Keeping the CA was easy, as the car was already engineered with it, plus SRS sound like junk and are too expensive,” Brodie laughs.
Force-feeding the car a massive 40psi at DCW was a Garrett GTX 35/76 snail, with a Haltech PS1000 ECU controlling things and E85 the chosen fuel. The car has made a best of 290rwkw on the Pro Flow Fab & Dyno
BECAUSE I USE THE CAR ON THE STREET A FAIR BIT, I DIDN’T DO MUCH PREP FOR DCW AND PACKED BUGGER-ALL TOOLS
rollers through a Paul Rogers Powerglide, and that was despite wheelspin issues. Finishing off the driveline is a strengthened VL Borgwarner diff and four-link, which sits underneath a decent tub job that was needed to fit the 255 drag radials.
“It’s progressed a lot since I got it, but it’s
still my street car,” Brodie says. “I take it down to the shops and stuff like that for something to do; it’s still good for all that stuff.”
Drag Challenge Weekend ’22 was a bit of a nightmare for Brodie all the way up until Day Three, with the Corolla struggling to put down a decent number on the first two days. “It just kept blowing ’cooler pipes off,” he says. “It did it in the burnout a few times, and we spin the thing to 8000rpm, so it was also an issue in the top end of the track.”
Happily, Brodie finally found some luck late on the final day at Heathcote to run a fresh PB of 9.92@137mph, to big cheers from his family and friends. “Before that, it had run a best of 10.1, so to PB on the last day after those dramas was a sweet way to end the weekend,” he says.
Even though his times on the first two days put a solid dent in his standings in the Haltech Radial Blown class, the 9.9 still meant he won the Quickest Four-cylinder/rotary award, just like he did at DC 2017.
“The funny thing is that for this event I just decided to relax and enjoy it, so I took it really laid-back,” Brodie says. “Because I use it on the street a fair bit, I didn’t do much prep and packed bugger-all tools, and even though we had a few dramas, taking the pressure off made the event heaps more enjoyable.”
Right now, the Corolla’s engine is out as Brodie prepares it to go even quicker. “I told myself that [the new PB] would be it for the car, but now we’re trying for more power,” he laughs.
This time, George at Pro Flow Fab & Dyno is giving the little Nissan mill a tickle to prepare it for more torture and low nines. “We’re ceramiccoating the pistons and adding a crank and cam trigger kit for the ECU,” says Brodie. “We’re
I TOLD MYSELF THAT THE NEW PB WOULD BE IT FOR THE CAR, BUT NOW WE’RE TRYING FOR MORE POWER!
also upgrading the turbo to a Pulsar G35-1050, the idea being to run the same boost but make a lot more power.”
Brodie says the car should be back together in a few months, and he’s keen as a bean to get it back to another DC event. “I missed out on a spot for the five-day one this year, but I loved the weekend event, so I’ll definitely be in for anything next year,” he says. “I’ll swap the 255s for 235s and have a run in the Tuff Mounts 235 Blown class. I’d love to run low nines and finish in the Top 10 of a class at Drag Challenge.”