The last decade has experienced a dramatic change in the landscape and direction of the import performance industry. Exciting platforms packed with new technology have brought with them new challenges too. Gone are the days of chipped ECUs, easy horsepower from simple bolt-ons and piggyback electronics. Today, tuners have harnessed the power of factory ECUs, powerful stand-alone systems and custom tuning techniques. They’ve also dissected every relevant platform, remedied weaknesses and exploited strengths to take import performance to tremendous new heights. These import performance pioneers have persevered some of the most challenging times in the history of our industry.

Meet the Top Ten Tuners Of The Last Ten Years: From A To Z

Originally Published in Issue #119

The Ultimate Enthusiast

David Buschur
President, Buschur Racing, Inc.

David Buschur got his start in the import industry after the purchase of his 4G63-powered 1989 Eagle Talon. Soon after, David was under the hood piecing parts from paint spray guns (to increase boost pressure) and hacking together solutions (modified air box) to trick the engine into producing more power. He admits it was “barbaric” at first, but those beginning inklings of tuning inspired a passion for import tuning that continues to this day.

A decade ago, the Buschur legacy had already been established with numerous records and championship titles under his belt. However, due to the dissolution of the DSM partnership and discontinuation of the platforms, David suddenly found himself the five-star general without an army. A brief stint into the growing Subaru performance market proved unfruitful, so Buschur Racing continued to race and apply knowledge of his platform of choice to set records with various DSM platforms.

The lull lifted with the return of the 4G63 engine in the EVO VIII. Once again David immediately purchased one for personal use and began another cycle of testing and developing for the new platform. This led to another barrage of record-setting builds including the first EVO VIII in the 8’s and a top MPH record that held for over four years. While the drag strip had proven to be a boon for Buschur Racing, David’s personal interests in street-level performance and road racing allowed him to venture further away from the 1,320 and into parts previously unknown.

With the demise of the EVO platform, David feels as if he has come full circle. “We are right back where we were 10 years ago. Mitsubishi has their heads in their asses and are dropping AWD turbo cars from their lineup.” In this light, Buschur Racing’s extended foray into road racing and non-Mitsubishi platforms makes sense. “I do this out of the love of the cars. I am constantly bettering myself first and then those parts trickle down to the customer.” [pullquote]I’M AN ENTHUSIAST FIRST AND BUSINESS MAN SECOND. IT’S NOT THE MOST PROFITABLE ATTITUDE[/pullquote]The sentiment explains the current stable at Buschur Racing ranging from a road- race Eclipse to a Ford Explorer used to develop parts for the forthcoming ecoBoost-powered Focus ST. It also explains David’s penchant for turning away as many customers as he takes in. “I’m an enthusiast first and a businessman second. We don’t sell parts that don’t work or that aren’t needed. I don’t want to be treated like that and we won’t do it to someone else. It’s not the most profitable attitude but it is one I can live with.”

Where the future is concerned David states, “Affordable engine management solutions have advanced racing to not only make more power but to do it reliably. Well, it has for those of us who have the ability to actually tune them and not just copy other people’s hard work.” The prospect of high-performance direct-injected vehicles is also seen as both exciting and the next performance hurdle to clear as more vehicles come equipped with the technology. With a test-development engine already in house for a vehicle that hasn’t yet been released to the public, David is hard at work making a name for himself on the next enthusiast platform to pull
into the Buschur Racing garage.