COMPUTER GAMES

SCOTTY SHOWS US THE INS AND OUTS OF INSTALLING A HALTECH NEXUS R5 INTO OUR DRAG CHALLENGESPEC, TWIN-TURBO VS COMMODORE UTE

- SCOTT TAYLOR

SURE, things were great 30 years ago when you could pick up a cool piece of Aussie muscle for a few grand, throw some performance parts at it and have some fun on the street or strip. But most of those cars really weren't that quick by today's standards, and the very few properly swift machines at the pointy end of the sport were crafted by legends achieving goals the rest of us could only dream about.

Fast-forward to today and we've got genuine street cars making 2000hp and beyond and if you're not making at least 1000hp at the tyres, are you even trying? Even average folk like you and me can build a quick car these days, and that's largely thanks to the advances in engine management systems.

So, when we went looking for some trick engine management for our latest build - a twin-turbo, 427ci VS Commodore ute to take on Street Machine Drag Challenge - we looked no further than Haltech's latest and greatest piece of high-tech wizardry, the Nexus R5.

The Haltech Nexus R5 doesn't just have all the bells and whistles, it's a whole orchestra ready to crank out tunes that will power your project into a new dimension of performance. It's not just an engine management system, it's a whole vehicle control unit (VCU) that can manage every aspect of your car's engine, transmission and power distribution needs.

And you don't have to pay extra to unlock all its special abilities. When you buy a Haltech Nexus in either R3 or R5 spec, it's ready to go, with all features unlocked. If you're running an LS, you can even order a pre-terminated loom for your R5, so you'll be ready to party in no time.

That's not to say there won't be a little work involved in getting it all set up, but anyone with a general idea about how electrons travel across copper wires should be able to sort it out. Simply put, if you can wire up a relay, you can wire up a Haltech Nexus - at least enough to get the car to your chosen tuner so they can work their magic.