PERFORMANCE AND RACING
EMMA’S REVVING IT UP IN RALLY SPORT Swan Ignition Coils is proud to be supporting Emma Smith’s Rallysport career From humble beginnings driving her first car – her grandfather’s hand-me-down Holden Barina – to today driving rally cars, Emma Smith has always had a passion for adrenaline and competition. Growing up competing in equestrian events, Emma’s interest in rally sport began when she attended a 2016 Australian Rally Championship event with her now husband, Ross. With Ross as her navigator Emma entered her first event in 2017, competing in the RAA Southern Rally driving a 1992 Ford Telstar Ghia TX5. Knowing that heading into the race as a novice with no experience wasn’t a good idea, along with Ross she decided to attend Rally School the morning after their wedding day. There was no immediate honeymoon to be, as the motorsport bug had truly bitten Emma. Her next venture was focusing on race team ‘Garage of Awesome’ which she now operates together with Ross. Part of their racing arsenal is a 1988 Nissan Skyline R31 which is used for off-road rallying with Emma as driver and a 1984 Nissan 300ZX Z31 used for tarmac rallying, with Emma as a navigator and Ross as driver.
Beyond what happens inside the car, Emma also assists mechanically and more specifically is responsible for tuning the 300ZX under the guidance of close friend Antus from PCM Hacking. Emma and Ross also run a professional IT consulting business under the same team name banner. With the race team taking form Emma put on the brakes when she fell pregnant with their son Charlie and for the 2018 rally season she played a support role, even taking Charlie with her on some race days. Upon her return to rallying, her first rally win as navigator came in 2019 in the Nissan 300ZX (which is powered by Swan Ignition Coils) at October’s Adelaide RallySprint. This win was followed with a remarkable podium (third) placing behind two much more powerful Porches at December’s Adelaide Rally, while she was also back in the driver’s seat of her Nissan Skyline doing a season of Khanacross and two intro rallies. Swan Ignition Coils says motorsport has surely opened the door to women, with Emma reporting that at all of the events she attends she is seeing
more and more women in all sorts of roles, from drivers to navigators, support crews, officials and the list goes on. With the balance equalling up, it is her belief that motorsport should not follow suite of other gender separated sports as there is no gender advantage in rally driving. It’s motorsport women like Emma that are helping to pave the way for the next generation as she encourages any young woman interested in the sport to join a junior development program, says Swan Ignition Coils. To follow Emma’s rally career on Facebook, svisit www.facebook.com/goaracing For more information about Swan Ignition Coils, visit www.acaparts.com.au or its Social Media Channels.
WHITELINE ADJUSTABLE SWAY BARS Engineered to ‘Activate More Grip’ Whiteline says it boasts a worldwide reputation as a leading manufacturer of replacement, enhancement and performance suspension components which deliver significant gains in vehicle balance, steering precision, grip levels and outright driving performance. It says the most notable of its products is the Whiteline range of Adjustable Sway Bars. Over the last 30 years, Whiteline has been producing sway bars for a large range of applications to suit popular performance and offroad vehicles. Whiteline Adjustable sway bars serve a multitude of purposes that go beyond traditional high performance and motorsport applications.
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Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine March 2020
With the growing shift in the Australian carpark, Whiteline says it has expanded its range to include a selection of 4x4 Adjustable Sway Bars to cater for the ever increasing 4x4 and dual cab segment. Whiteline 4x4 Adjustable Sway Bars are primarily designed to improve high speed stability and general road holding, especially when fully laden or towing large trailers such as boats and caravans. Engineered to “Activate More Grip”, Whiteline Adjustable Sway Bars are principally designed to reduce body roll or sway. Whiteline says larger diameter Adjustable Sway Bars offer a higher torsional resistance which in turn increases overall roll stiffness. The stiffer the bar, the more force required to move the left and right hand wheels relative to each other, essentially increasing the amount of force required to make the body roll – thereby increasing cornering grip and improving outright performance. Whiteline Adjustable Sway Bars offer from two up to four points of adjustment allowing, in some
cases, 10 distinct stiffness settings for precise handling bias adjustment. Bar size (stiffness) also allows for corrections to understeer or oversteer tendencies depending on vehicle type or how the vehicle is being used. Whiteline says its Adjustable Sway Bars give the driver the ability to dial in oversteer to increase vehicle rotation to help assist with initial turn in or create a more natural balance to allow for a more predictable driving experience which can be helpful for novice drivers. To see the full range of Whiteline Adjustable Sway Bars, head to www.whiteline.com.au or speak to the Whiteline sales team on 1300 882 355.