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VEGAS IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA Cruising to Sin City in extreme style in this sexy Lexus LC 500. Check out more from our Targa Trophy adventure on P. 14. Photo: Carlos Uriostegui
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7
HOLE SHOT
CUTTING THE FAT LOSING WEIGHT NEVER FELT, AND LOOKED, SO GOOD
Two years ago, I had the pleasure of visitng Mike Perez in Pennsylvania, where he showed me around his Nissan 240SX. Known by many people as the “DeathKart,” it was far from your typical S13 with its body panels, interior, and anything else that wasn’t needed to make it run, removed. And without tacking on much additional weight, Mike attached bits of scrap metal and shaped custom tubing to create a unique Mad Max–like drift machine. By ditching virtually everything that makes up a car, minus the powertrain and chassis, he improved his power-to-weight ratio iiMike Perez’s DeathKart featured Volume 21, Issue 1. dramatically and the already stout 550hp 1JZ swap accelerated and burnt through tires like something with an extra couple hundred horsepower. The DeathKart was easily one of my favorite builds of the year, where boundaries were broken, new ideas tried, and brute performance maximized.
Editorial Content Director Matt Rodriguez Editor Sam Du Managing Editor Michelle McCarthy Online Editor Bob Hernandez Staff Editor Jofel Tolosa Production Editor Josh Ching Art Direction & Design Art Director Bernice Guevarra Contributors Aaron Bonk, Chad Burdette, Jonathan DeHate, Gabriel Flores, Cade Garrett, Alex Grant, David Ishikawa, Arlen Liverman, Ryan Lugo, Danny Nguyen, Sinh Nguyen, Rocky Pacifico, JC Pepino, Danh Phan, Alastair Ritchie, Josh Rivera, Carlos Uriostegui, Micah Wright The Super Street Network on the Web www.europeancarweb.com www.superstreetonline.com Advertising General Manager Rudy Rivas Associate General Manager Willie Yee Advertising Operations Manager Monica Hernandez Advertising Coordinator Lorraine McCraw Sales Assistant Yvette Frost WEST Los Angeles: 831 S. Douglas St., El Segundo, CA 90245; 310/531-9900 Irvine: 1821 E. Dyer Rd., Ste. #150, Santa Ana, CA 92705; 949/705-3100 EAST New York: 261 Madison Ave., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016; 212/915-4000 NORTH Detroit: 4327 Delemere Court, Royal Oak, MI 48073 248/594-5999
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This month, I’m very stoked to introduce a pair of project cars in which cutting the fat has done power-to-weight wonders, just like the DeathKart. Exoskeleton (exo) cars aren’t anything revolutionary; they’re basically open-wheel road cars where the wheels stick outside the main body and the body is typically made up of steel, aluminum, or carbon tubing. They are as bare bones as you can get—an oversized go-kart if you will. You’re probably already familiar with exos like the Ariel Atom or KTM X-Bow, but Alabama-based Krowrx has shown us on P. 48 that you can pretty much take any car and transform it into an exo car. I won’t spoil anymore of the story here, but the experimentation and out-of-the-box thinking of Krowrx and guys like Mike Perez are a testament that our scene is always evolving and you don’t always have to follow the trends. For some, flashy paint jobs, expensive body kits, and JDM parts make them happy. But there’s a growing number of enthusiasts who enjoy the thrill of driving fast, who are hungry to be different, and who aren’t afraid of chopping up perfectly good cars.
Sam Du Editor-in-Chief 8 SUPERSTREETONLINE.COM
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The most powerful Civic ever has arrived. 306 hp.* Triple outlet exhaust. 3-Mode Drive System. The Civic Type R. The ultimate expression of Honda performance.
*306 hp @ 6500 rpm (SAE net). Civic Type R Touring Shown. Š2017 American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
CONTENTS
FEATURES 16 YUICHI SEKI’S ’94 NISSAN 180SX 24 MICKS MOTORSPORT’S ’04 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION 28 DOME PADUNGCHEWIT’S ’71 NISSAN SKYLINE GT-R 34 WILL TETRO’S ’88 MAZDA RX-7 40 SCOTT GIRONDO’S ’82 PORSCHE 911 48 THE XTEGRA & M-EXO-5 56 HENG THAMMARAT’S ’74 M34 MILITARY JEEP 74 CRISTIAN TYRELL’S ’88 MAZDA RX-7 76 YOSHIKAZU NARUKO’S ’69 DATSUN BLUEBIRD
PERFORMANCE 54 PIONEER ELECTRONICS JAPAN TOUR 70 BUILT ENGINES EXPLAINED 64 MODIFIED CIVIC BUILD: PART 3
EVENTS
DEPARTMENTS
14 22 32 46
8 12 62 68 82
TARGA TROPHY JAPANESE CLASSIC CAR SHOW TOUGE CALIFORNIA EIBACH MEET MIDWEST
HOLE SHOT USUAL SUSPECTS ETC. FIRST DRIVE: POLARIS SLINGSHOT HAPPY ENDING
SUPER STREET (ISSN #1093-071X), JANUARY 2018 VOL. 22, NO. 1 Copyright © 2017 by TEN: The Enthusiast Network Magazines, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Published monthly by TEN: The Enthusiast Network, LLC., 261 Madison Avenue, 6th floor, New York, NY 10016. Periodicals Postage Paid at New York, NY and at additional mailing offices. Subscription rates for 1 year (12 issues): U.S., APO, FPO and U.S. Possessions $22.97, Canada $34.97, foreign orders $46.97 (including surface mail postage). Payment in advance, U.S. funds only. For a change of address, six weeks’ notice is required. E-mail superstreet@emailcustomerservice.com, call 800/456-6426 or 386/447-6385 (Intl) or write to Super Street, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. Please include name, address and phone number on any inquiries. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission. Printed in the U.S.A. This book is purchased with the understanding that the information presented is from varied sources for which there can be no warranty or responsibility by the Publisher as to accuracy or completeness. Postmaster: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 707.4.12.5); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: send address corrections to Super Street, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235.
USUAL SUSPECTS
>WHAT WE DID THIS MONTH FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM TO SEE WHAT SHENANIGANS WE’RE UP TO SAM DU Editor-in-Chief, @duspeed 11/17/17 LIVE! Lamborghini Super Trofeo - Europe, Imola Auto Mundial Motorsport Mundial Porsche Carrera Cup Australia, Bathurst
11/20/17 Mobil 1 The Grid 11/21/17 Dirt Every Day, Episode 71 Not today, bae. @sugarfina
Where we’re going, we don’t need four wheels. @polarisslingshot
Lucky day, bae. @sugarfina
11/22/17 GP Confidential, Post Brazil + Preview Abu Dhabi 11/23/17 HOT ROD Garage, Episode 59
WILLIE YEE Associate GM, @willpwr 11/24/17 LIVE! Virgin Australia Supercars, Newcastle 500 Auto Mundial Motorsport Mundial Roadkill, Episode 72 Trans Am Racing Series, Circuit of the Americas
11/27/17 LIVE! MOTOR TREND Awards, Los Angeles, CA 11/29/17 FIM Freestyle MX World Championship, Shenzhen, China Thanks again, James.
Off to b-ball practice.
Grilling with @jade350z.
12/01/17 Auto Mundial Motorsport Mundial Porsche Carrera Cup Australia, Gold Coast
BOB HERNANDEZ Online Editor, @editorbobdc5
12/04/17 Engine Masters, Episode 29 Mobil 1 The Grid
12/05/17 SKUSA SuperNationals, Las Vegas 12/06/17 FIM Freestyle MX World Championship, Sofia, Bulgaria GP Confidential, Post Abu Dhabi + Post Season Modified, Episode 7 Classic Toyota Corona in the wild—nice.
@raddandrift thinks he works here now... #youdontworkhere
Bavarian Pizza Works #stayhungry 12/07/17 Put Up or Shut Up, Episode 7
JOFEL TOLOSA Staff Editor, @jofeltolosa 12/08/17 Auto Mundial Motorsport Mundial
12/09/17 LIVE! Intercontinental Challenge Series, Sepang 12/11/17 Real Road Racing, Macau Grand Prix Ultimate Adventure Week
Bella workin’ it!
This Skyline R32 GT-S is a blast to drive. Thanks, @onestoppaintshop!
Don’t be surprised if this goes missing. @jadatoys
12/12/17 SKUSA SuperNationals, Las Vegas Ultimate Adventure Week
DANNY NGUYEN Photographer, @jdmzipties 12/13/17 Head 2 Head, Episode 97 Ultimate Adventure Week
12/14/17 Roadkill Garage, Episode 25
Current favorite: half elote, half al pastor pizza from Rose City Pizza.
12 SUPERSTREETONLINE.COM
Got fresh whoopie pies from a stand that uses the honor system for payment.
Glamping in Big Bear.
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T E E SW T A E R RET A GETAWAY TO VEGAS WITH ONE OF THE ONLY MODIFIED LEXUS LCS IN THE WORLD WORDS Sam Du PHOTOS Sam Du, Gabriel Flores Last Valentine’s Day we fell in love... No, not with that one Instagram model we constantly stalk, but with Lexus’ latest coupe known as the LC 500. Its sleek and sexy design makes it look more contemporary than anything else on the road today. Power is on point, too, thanks to its muscular 471hp 5.0L V-8— similar to what’s in the RC F and GS F. But with a starting MSRP of $92,000, there aren’t many of us who can afford one (help us, we’re poor!). Luckily for us, every once in a while, we get to play Cinderella and drive cool cars we can't afford like this LC on the annual Targa Trophy rally from L.A. to Las Vegas.
Our good friend Gordon Ting of Lexus Tuned has a fine résumé of Lexus project cars under his belt, from a 2JZ-powered IS that we drove on Gumball 3000 to one of the first Rocket Bunny RCs. His LC is equipped with an Artisan Spirits lip kit and Volk Racing G27 Progressive Model wheels—not the long laundry list of mods we’re accustomed to, but it still looks pretty damn sweet. With Formula DRIFT champion Dai Yoshihara and myself sharing driving duties on the 400-mile rally, you can imagine we enjoyed every minute behind the wheel. Eventually, our fairy tale had to come to an end and the keys returned to Gordon. The next time you’ll see this LC will be at SEMA, where Gordon tells us it’ll be wider and louder. Guess we have something to look forward to drive next year. Right, Gordon? Wink wink.
iiShameless superstreetgarage.com plug.
iiThe finish line at Top Golf Las Vegas. What Lambo and R8?
14 SUPERSTREETONLINE.COM
Connect: targatrophy.com
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18 YEARS LATER, YUICHI SEKI STILL HAS ONE OF THE SEXIEST S-CHASSIS BUILDS IN JAPAN
16 SUPERSTREETONLINE.COM
WORDS & PHOTOS David Ishikawa In ’98, the cauldron was lit at the opening ceremony of the 18th Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. The world was glued to their television sets for two weeks, however, for one Nagano native, figure skating and curling just didn’t quite get him excited. This young man, Yuichi Seki, declined watching downhill skiing to go out and purchase a new project car, a car that would become an integral part of his life for much longer than he would have ever predicted. Yuichi had been looking for a new car to drift in the mountains surrounding his hometown. Already familiar with the Nissan S-chassis
having owned an S13 before, he knew he couldn’t go wrong with the more curvaceous 180SX. With its sleek lines and retractable headlights, the 180 met his requirements of “looking cool” and “being turbo.” This particular car has been with Yuichi for more than 18 years. Over that period, the car has gone through several iterations, which include being “built for drift,” however, its most recent configuration is a Time Attack machine. Thanks to a full Garage Mak aero package in addition to wide fenders and a GT wing, the S13 definitely looks the part, too. Everyone wonders if Yuichi actually runs on the track and the answer is,
17
TUNING MENU
’94 NISSAN 180SX (S13)
OWNER YUICHI SEKI HOMETOWN NAGANO, JAPAN OCCUPATION OWNER OF SE KI MOTORSPORTS POWER 582 hp ENGINE Tomei 2.2L stroker kit; Rising connecting rods; NAPREC High Response kit; Trust TD06-25G turbo kit, oil cooler, surge tank, star head bolt; Blitz intercooler; Koyo Copper Core Sports radiator; Infinity 90mm throttle body; NISMO metal head gasket; reinforced valvesprings DRIVETRAIN HKS six-speed H-pattern dogbox; NISMO Super Copper Mix clutch, flywheel; 4.1 final gear; Tomei two-way limitedslip differential ENGINE MANAGEMENT A’PEXi Power FC; Blitz SBC boost controller; HKS turbo timer FOOTWORK & CHASSIS HKS Hipermax D’NOB Spec coilovers; Ikeya Formula tie rods, upper arms; KTS tie rod ends; Kazama Auto tension rods, automation traction rods; Garage Mak knuckles; Cusco toe control arms; URAS Pineapple urethane subframe spacers BRAKES R33 GT-R four-piston front calipers WHEELS & TIRES 17x9.5” front, 18x10” rear Work Meister S1R wheels in matte black with anodized bronzed barrels; 235/40R17 front, 255/35R18 rear Toyo Proxes R1R tires EXTERIOR Garage Mak Revolution bumpers, 55mm front and rear fenders; Se ki Motorsports under panel, side fins INTERIOR MOMO steering wheel; Works Bell Rapfix II quick release; Bride seats, floor mats; Schroth 3” belts; Cusco nine-point rollbar, rear triangle bar pillar bar; carbon-fiber dashboard; Defi 52mm gauges; Pivot shift lamp
“Yes!” Together with his friends from Fun Ride Sharing, he regularly attends lapping days at Tsukuba Circuit. With 582 hp propelling him around a 1.27mile-long course, Yuichi has made a personal best time of 1:06. For comparison’s sake, cars like the R34 Skyline GT-R, Porsche 997 Carrera and BMW E90 M3 have clocked the same times as Yuichi. He points out that his car was set up for drift when he ran his fastest lap and is confident that with a bit of suspension tuning, he can shave off a few seconds. While not a Time Attack record breaker by any means, Yuichi has received several car show awards he’s proud of, including Best Nissan at the ’14 and ’15 Offset Kings shows put on by Fatlace. His proudest achievement, however, is appearing on the Work Wheels website as the main featured vehicle showing off a staggered set of Meister S1Rs, the wheels still on the car today. Other nice touches that shouldn’t
18 SUPERSTREETONLINE.COM
be left out include the execution of the cockpit. The carbon-fiber dash is a thing of beauty and serves as a platform for a plethora of gauges. The center console leads us to an unassuming gear lever, which is in fact attached to a quickshifting HKS six-speed dogbox. Committing to a project car for as long as Yuichi has to his 180SX is a rarity. A lot can happen in 18 years, for example different jobs and countless family obligations. Yuichi admits he doesn’t have as much time as he used to when he was younger to do car-related activities, but he still attends events and meets up with his car buddies when he can. He’s even started a small business called Se ki Motorsports that makes car-related T-shirts, stickers, and even some aero parts.
Like many car people, when asked if he has any other hobbies besides cars, Yuichi gives a bit of chuckle and says there’s nothing besides cars. Guess we shouldn’t ask him if he wants to watch the next Winter Olympic Games...
20 SUPERSTREETONLINE.COM
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iiIt was hard to miss this bright orange Datsun 240Z with its rather sizeable turbo, dedicated to pushing air into an LS1 swap, sitting well above the hood line. Recently reworked and painted by SOS Customz, it caught everyone’s attention. ii
iiThis ’72 Datsun 510 built by Gilbert Susana uses an SR20DET that’s been plucked out of an S14 and fitted with a GTX3071R turbo to give this vintage car a modern-day kick.
CLASSIC & FANTASTIC
iiHands down one of our favorite cars was Dennis Kiyan’s ’77 Toyota Celica from Team Wild Cards. It’s powered by a BEAMS engine and rocks the new and ultra-sexy Work Equip 40 wheels.
QUEEN MARY ONCE AGAIN HOSTS THE JAPANESE CLASSIC CAR SHOW WORDS & PHOTOS Rodrez, Jofel Tolosa For the past 13 years, the Japanese Classic Car Show Association has gathered a collection of import favorites, from the storied Z-car lineage to the somewhat obscure—at least to those not in the know—in order to hold a celebration of sorts. The gathering, dubbed JCCS, seems to grow every year not only in car show participation, but in general fandom, and ’17 marks one of the heaviest crowds we’ve ever competed with for photo ops. The once-barren front lot that served as little more than an open walkway with a few cars scattered about as you headed for the grassy show area is now jampacked with display cars, vendors, and an estimated 6,000 visitors. Those vendors helped make up the 60 total booths and that first taste of classic import flavor you encounter is but a portion of the 320 total registered vehicles crammed into the Queen Mary Events Park waterfront. A slight change this year added the popular Street Neo Classics (’80s/’90s-era favorites) but capped registration at just 20 cars as the influx of classic vehicles and vendors filled almost every inch of the venue. We have attended several previous JCCS events, so some of the changes over the past few shows are apparent. Many of the builds now rely on authentic,
22 SUPERSTREETONLINE.COM
iiWe’ve got a soft spot for Datsun’s little ’70s-era pickups, and these two examples stopped us in our tracks. Jose Tarin’s 521 is what some might refer to as a sleeper with its unassuming khaki paint and stake rack hovering over the bed. Pop the hood, however, and you’re greeted by a 3SGE BEAMS swap. Under the hood of Jason Taylor’s Datsun 1600 is an SR20 swap that looks right at home, along with some custom hard lines and an aluminum radiator.
iiYou might remember Ginash George’s ’72 Nissan Skyline GT-X featured earlier this year. Since then, he’s ditched the original L20A for a naturally aspirated RB25 swap that JDM Legends is still in the process of buttoning up.
often hard-to-find wheels, sometimes re-barreled and customized to complete a specific look. In addition, the engine bay detail and overall cleanup are at an all-time high with some going as far as reworking their firewall, tucking everything in sight, and eliminating anything not deemed as critical. It’s a far cry from the days when an old-school car owner bolted on a set of wheels and flairs and called it a day. In recent years, some of the automakers have joined in to support the event and show off a few of their classic collections. The likes of Honda, Mazda,
Toyota, and Nissan sported oversized booths packed with various models from their early days that included passenger cars, motorcycles, and championshipwinning race cars. With the momentum building year after year and this show likely to have the best reception yet, we can’t wait to see what ’18 brings.
CONNECT: japaneseclassiccarshow.com
iiThe first things we noticed about this RA21 Toyota Celica were the pristine paint and the low stance, but when we looked a little closer, we noted the serious rear rubber. The hood was popped to reveal a beautiful bay sporting a 1JZ swap and a bit of custom chassis work.
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MUSCLE 8 V A T U H S WAY TO UNNATURAL AMOUNT T C E F R E P E H T WITH AN IS P U Y U G R CA OF BOOST
to deliver it on a y need to be able of power, but the nts Ritchie r ou tai am as ge Al al. hu OS leg need be street ant PHOT d in a e divided by and they have to WORDS Alex Gr to be turned aroun in Australia is on road-like surface, ther, this car had mestic V-8 the tuner scene do fur ., strong, s en lly U.S rsu ev e rea ve te th is e an rts ota lik po at Co A bit Upping the induction im cement. all: “Competition A clash of forced lacement for displa it to the event at esn’t put me off—I ke do rep t ma no tha to cylinder count. t re’s “Bu nth . the t mo us lack of ael tells that old saying tha ainst the best ht way to cure a else like it,” Mich muscle cars and and competing ag found just the rig there’s nowhere were capable of, dadi reckons he’s we go for as at to s wh wa ow r. sh ne aim to e But Michael Bagh his cor it. Th wanted d he’s out to fight de me want to do scene, then an ma the at ty— of aci d wh is en cap .” e nt ess 8s engin aceme in the busin for a time in the just outside h-boost, low-displ ssible and to aim Australia. Based of boost to get the If you’re on the hig much power as po a serious amount no introduction in go-to s an y’s ed me ne ntr t uld cou tha wo s the me know it with the gly, thi one of u’d rt— isin yo rpr spo t Michael is a na su tor tha t Un Mo No cks y’s quickest cars. who’s worried “Mick” behind Mi ntr y gu cou a comes from t ce the no g pa ’s t on he fas am Sydney, he’s the ally —and Evo up sly quick imports 1,400 bhp of this car’s unnatur of iou all : d ser int see po for and mounted in the ps lle t se ho bu gri , Ca the works ical parts. hood down t. ckaged in behind out from limits of mechan d titanium exhaus 5 turbo neatly pa an X4 it’s fitted to, rolled GT old car about pushing the nif ge g hu ma dra b 5 the Fa S1 re le run t SR20, and the d pipework of a Pu and crammed 0-mph quarter-mi ck gle 20 thi a tan m of the e 0m n Australia’s fastes lin 10 ee , rt ler tw sta be intercoo ers and onto the the y is the Plazaman behind these shutt t shouting about e half measures. The only giveawa sleeper, but it’s no be a specialty, ese guys don’t tak no t Th gh It’s o. mi er. ag rs g mp ge bu lon an so the r-b d not fou r. hin he ed be eit , arg in ch ath bo In rne . de avily tur e behind ing a challenge performance un Hard-wearing, he here, so the engin weapons-grade project from becom n the wer is a specialty p Michael’s own ged billet steel re challenging tha for r-figure horsepo a mo fou th ch wi ble mu but that didn’t sto lia e kit Re er com the to strok mile events don’t weekend held on s impressive. A Nit Australia, quarterly, spectator-free that turbo is no les re don’t only ttle—an invite-on he Ba s ag car Dr ick D Qu DV e y. Motiv field’s runwa Cootamundra Air rough asphalt of
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crank, Manley rods, and high-compression CP pistons takes the 4G63 up to 2.2L, while, up top, AJE Engineering ported the head and readied it for 1mm larger valves, run off Kelford cams. It’s capable of violent straight-line pace, and there’s a custommade surge tank behind the headlight to keep the eight injectors supplied with fuel at full throttle, each one fixed into a billet Plazaman intake manifold and controlled by an in-house map on the Haltech ECU. So far, so good: “We ran it at between 950 and 1,000 bhp for the Cootamundra quarter-mile, then 1,150 bhp at the
wheels once we’d tested it a few times,” Michael explains. “It will bog down if you don’t have enough rpm, but we’ve had it over 155 mph during testing, so we’re happy with how it’s performing.” Not to mention the right bits to put that power to the tires. The oversized gear shifter links up to a five-speed Samsonas sequential transmission up front, its longer gears making better use of the larger-capacity engine it’s bolted up to. Taking no chances with reliability, double-tempered Driveshaft Shop shafts with a billet inner mean there’s no weak point when the front and rear limited-
"It’s no sleeper, but it’s not shouting about the weaponsgrade performance underneath, either."
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TUNING MENU
’04 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION
OWNER MICHAEL BAGHDADI HOMETOWN SYDNEY, NSW, AUSTRALIA OCCUPATION OWNER, MICKS MOTORSPORT ENGINE 2.2L 4G63; Nitto forged billet steel stroker crank; Manley rods; 10.5:1 CP pistons; custom Kelford 290° cams with 12.5mm lift; ported AJE head; Supertech valvesprings, 1mm oversize valves; Pure Fab custom exhaust manifold; Garrett GTX45 turbo; 3.5” titanium exhaust; Plazaman intercooler, billet intake, throttle; Micks Motorsport pipework, surge tank, braided lines; 2,400cc Siemens injectors; Kinsler mechanical pump; Turbosmart dual 40mm wastegates, 50mm blow-off valve; cut-off switch in rear bumper DRIVETRAIN five-speed Samsonas sequential gearbox with 4:1 final drive; NPC pressure plate, twin-plate clutch, billet flywheel; Driveshaft Shop Level 5 driveshafts; RS rear plate differential ENGINE MANAGEMENT Haltech Elite 2500 FOOTWORK & CHASSIS GReddy coilovers, King Springs BRAKES Brembo four-piston front and rear calipers; RDA front and rear rotors; EBC RedStuff pads WHEELS & TIRES 17x9” RAYS Volk CE28N wheels; 245/45R17 Mickey Thompson Street tires EXTERIOR bone stock INTERIOR MOMO steering wheel; Sparco Pro2000 GRP Tech seats; Haltech Racepak dash; Micks Motorsport rollcage THANKS YOU Haltech ECU, Fabre, Plazaman, Kelford Cams, NPC Clutches, AJE Engineering, Juice Polishes, Lambspeed Racing, Evolution Racing Spares, Samomas, Renu Automotive, Turbosmart, Pure Fab
slip differentials are grabbing at the road surface, while the NPC twin-plate clutch gets the unenviable task of linking the rampant four-banger with the rest of the driveline. It’s only part of the package, though. Competing at Cootamundra limits cars to road-legal tires, so there’s no ultra-soft drag rubber tucked under the Mitsubishi’s four corners. Instead, the forged 17-inch RAYS wheels are wrapped in DOT-marked Mickey Thompson strip-ready tires, which means the Evo can be driven from the workshop to the start line without taking a second set of rims. GReddy adjustable coilovers with solid top mounts mean final adjustments can be made trackside. “The cool thing with this car is it looks standard,” says Michael, nodding to the open driver-side window. “The ’cage is built so all the boys can jump in, and we can use it like a normal road car. It isn’t difficult to drive normally, either; you could drive it every day with no problems, then take it to the track on weekends and surprise a lot of people with it.” Of course, it’s not just transmission whine that you’d notice inside. The standard instruments are gone, and there’s no audio gear to be found—a more useful Racepak cluster gives a more detailed view of what’s happening on the other side of the bulkhead than anything Mitsubishi ever fitted at the factory. And while there’s room for a full set of passengers, the parachute—not required
for Cootamundra—and a large bottle of nitrous bolted into the ’cage in the rear probably dent its ability to swallow luggage. Right out of the box, Michael’s Evo was the second fastest four-cylinder, four-wheel-drive car at its first Motive DVD Drag Battle, with a trap speed up among the fastest GT-Rs. It’s been devastatingly quick in Australia’s growing roll racing scene, too, winning the Flying 500 at last year’s World Time Attack Challenge in Sydney. A ballistic 158 mph at 9.4 seconds, despite grip issues leaving it snatching at the surface. A learning process then? “We’re going to fit a billet block and looking to push the boost up to 78 psi with a 100-bhp nitrous shot, which should give us 1,380 bhp,” Michael smiles. “Then we’ll be back next year to show what this can really do.” This may be enough to make even the hardened enthusiasts of big-capacity engines sit up and take notice. Micks Motorsport may have made a career out of pushing the limits of boosted fourcylinder engines, but the plans under way for this car’s return to the strip suggest this Sydney-based workshop isn’t done yet.
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DOME PADUNGCHEWIT OF THAILAND REVEALS HIS RESTOMODDED HAKOSUKA TO THE WORLD WORDS Rocky Pacifico PHOTOS Chad Burdette The term “restomod” is thrown around so much nowadays that it’s almost lost its meaning. But it’s such a great term as it explains the ultimate automotive troll. Take a vintage, multi-wheeled transport device and throw all the technology updates at it, within a tasteful manner, to achieve an ultimately more usable vehicle. Most of the time when you restomod, the vehicle can be measured by what’s under the hood. Take, for example, this pristine Hakosuka Nissan Skyline GT-R built by Dome Padungchewit. Where normally a 160hp, 2.0L inline-six S20 engine would be sitting, you’re instead greeted by something a bit more modern with a rather familiar face. She’s got six cylinders, six individual throttle plates, two cams, and a lofty rev limit—the pinnacle of Nissan’s straight-six catalog: the RB26DETT. You’ll observe this screamer has been stripped of her normal twin metal lungs. How dare you?! Most will share our first reaction; however, we plead with you to consider the following three facts. First, the C10 body style was only rear-wheel drive. Second, along with the fact that the car
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STRAIGHT TO THE DOME 29
weighed close to 2,500 pounds with no traction or stability nannies, you really need to keep your goals in check. Third, this RB’s displacement has been enlarged to 2.9 liters to help with that bottom-end shove that the now naturally aspirated powerplant might have missed. The other part of this project car’s equation is quite ideal. It’s purpose-built and no frills, however, you get the sense that this is a well-developed plan. The factory vintage racing seats and rollcage with Takata harnesses explain the car’s intent that it’s ready for the Bira Circuit. Look at all four corners and they’re set up just like the rest of the car, with Watanabe wheels bound by custom-valved TEIN coilovers. Quintessential. By this time, we can assume you’ve noticed how tidy the entire build is. You might even ask yourself where this stunner hails from. The Hakosuka comes from the
TUNING MENU ’71 NISSAN SKYLINE GT-R (KGC10)
OWNER DOME PADUNGCHEWIT HOMETOWN BANGKOK, THAILAND OCCUPATION LAWYER ENGINE RB26DETT swap converted to a naturally aspirated configuration; 2.9L stroker kit; NISMO fuel pump ENGINE MANAGEMENT A’PEXi ECU, Power FC Commander FOOTWORK & CHASSIS custom TEIN coilovers; urethane bushings WHEELS & TIRES 15x10” front, 15x12” rear RS Watanabe magnesium wheels; 205/50R15 front, 225/50R15 rear Toyo R888R tires EXTERIOR frame off restoration; KPGC10 competition overfenders INTERIOR KPGC10 competition race seats, rollcage; steering wheel; NISMO shift knob; Takata Race seatbelts
country of the 200 percent importation tax, Thailand. While talent and skills can be recognized worldwide, the citizens of Thailand have it that much harder. It’s forced the entire country to develop skills in place of throwing a few part numbers into a search engine and whipping out their credit card of choice. We can only hope to see more of this car, but we just learned it’s already changed hands from its original builder, Dome. Hakos are becoming harder and harder to come by, and while this car is still stationed in Thailand, its automotive greatness will be an even hotter commodity in a few years, yet still worthy of its “restomod” title.
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TOUGE CALIFORNIA RALLY
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF THE ROTARY WITH A HISTORIC CAR RALLY THROUGH THE BACK ROADS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WORDS Danny Nguyen PHOTOS Danny Nguyen, Mazda North America While it’s a little disheartenting that a RX-7 successor might not be around the corner anytime soon, the folks at Mazda USA still have much love for the Wankel. So to celebrate the manufacturer’s 50th anniverary of the rotary engine, they invited us to drive a ’95 FD RX-7, an ’88 FC RX-7 Turbo II, a ’92 Eunos Cosmo, and a ’78 Rotary Pickup from their heritage collection on a 200-mile road rally across Southern California. How could we possibly say no?! We tagged along on Touge California, a vintage car rally hosted by Japanese Nostalgic Car magazine. This year marked the third annual running and gathered close to 30 pre-’80s Japanese classics from manufacturers that included not just Mazda, but also Toyota and Nissan. It was truly an amazing experience to drive the RX-7 Turbo II and FD—both icons, not just in my heart but for the enthusiast community as a whole. The best car to drive from the collection was the rotary pickup with its uber-long shifter throw and massive free-play in the steering wheel—what you’d expect from
an old truck. There wasn’t anything I could do to wipe the smile off my face! The comfort and power delivery of the right-handdrive Cosmo came in a close second, since I was able to get behind the wheel of that during the twistiest touge stage of the rally. Thank you, Mazda USA, for letting us celebrate 50 years of the rotary’s legacy with you, and cheers to many more years of success and innovation to come!
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iiWith long stretches between gas station sightings, this ’73 Toyota Corolla TE27 and ’78 Mazda Rotary pickup made sure they filled up.
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1,100HP AFTERTHOUGHT
WHEN ALL YOU WANTED WAS A DAILY, BUT HORSEPOWER IS LIFE WORDS Aaron Bonk PHOTOS Jonathan Dehate You go out and get yourself a ’97 Accord LX with an intake when you go looking for some sort of alternative to driving that truck of yours around full-time. Will Tetro, he goes out and builds an 1,100hp RX-7 for that. Will isn’t exactly the superhero you think he is, though, mobbing to work and back in an ’88 Mazda with roughly eight times the power it’s supposed to have. “Honestly, this car was never supposed to be brought to this level,” he says, dashing whatever image you may have already formed of full-throttle passes home from the grocery store with a ham on the passenger seat. The truth? It all happened as an afterthought. Will’s always liked Mazda’s sports car platform—his mom owned a first-generation model before he was born, and he later bought an FD body. So when a friend offered to sell him the missing link to the RX-7 trifecta, he was all over it. His wanting to make the car something special, though, that was a product of how unique the chassis is. “One of the main reasons I built the FC was because it’s different,” he says. “I’m not saying the FC is anything rare, but you don’t see a lot of them anymore.”
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But an FC-bodied RX-7 with one of Chevy’s LS V-8s underneath the hood, that indeed might be rare. Scrapping the rotary for that box of reciprocating bits started with 403 ci worth of Chevrolet originally destined for Will’s latermodel RX-7 and ended with a transmission meant for a Nissan and a rear end taken from a Ford. You think getting the major pieces from four different carmakers to play nicely with one another was the hard part, and you’d be right. But it wasn’t the worst of it. “I wanted it to have every creature comfort
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the car [originally] had plus a reliable but stout drivetrain,” he says. “Fitting the twin-turbo LS with AC, power steering, a heater, and traction control, they all had their fair share of challenges to overcome.” But you stopped paying attention right after the words “twin-turbo LS.” A 76mm Turbonetics turbo branching off of each side of a small-block will do that to you, but don’t let any of that get in between you and the rest of what Will’s come up with. Like the carbon-fiber rear wing cooked up by the
people at Coast Chassis Design—the same guys who built the FC’s rollbar—and who turned out the aero piece from a modified version originally designed for a Pro Mod drag car. There’s a theme going on here, and it doesn’t have much to do with anything other than going in a straight line—and quickly. It’s a part of Will’s heritage, drag racing is, and you’ll know it by the 800hp, fourth-generation-era Mustang Mach 1 he’d owned before getting his first non-domestic, an LS-powered S13. Even the FD RX-7 he still has remains dragstrip-bound. “I want to start running more standing half-mile events,” Will says about what he plans on doing with the FC and alluding to its 200-mph potential. Trap speeds like those won’t come without their share of broken parts, but Will’s current FC recipe says all of that ought to be kept to a minimum. A recipe that includes things like an 8.8-inch Ford rear end with its independent suspension that’ll help keep things from getting squirrelly and that sits across from a gearbox nabbed from a 350Z. It’s a far cry from everything originally attached to that naturally aspirated 13B that wasn’t even good for 150 hp—and it’s worth it, even if it does mean Will having to sort everything out among four different nameplates. Not that that’s anything new for Will, though. When he’s not figuring out how to make Nissan parts get along with mid-’80s Mazdas and Chevy engines, he’s turning wrenches at his family’s classic car restoration shop where the company turns out frameoff, concourse restorations along with the occasional hot rod buildup. “I spent every day that I wasn’t in school at the shop,” he says about his formative years. Spend a few minutes looking at his FC and that becomes obvious. Will’s project car history doesn’t seem to follow any boundaries. “Naturally, being brought up around American muscle cars, I was drawn to modified V8s,” he says. But friends directed his interest toward things like 240SXs and RX-7s, but only for him to combine both genres by way of small-blocks stuffed into almost every single one of them. It’s not as though Will’s got anything against things like SR20DETs or 13B-REWs, it’s just that, for him,
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the LS makes a whole lot more sense. “Honestly, I don’t have much experience with rotary engines besides general maintenance,” he says. “When I bought my FD, it came with multiple plastic bins of what was once a complete 13B-REW that had blown coolant seals and was completely disassembled. Not knowing much about them and coming from a hot rodding background, I ripped the soul out, as some purists say, and put an LS in it.” And which is exactly what he went on to do with that FC of his, too.
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Will never planned on having an 1,100hp FC RX-7 with a Chevy V-8 under its hood. Nobody really does. “It was just [supposed] to be a fun daily driver,” he says. “I’ve always liked the platform and I had a decent amount of parts left [over] from the different stages my FD went through.” Planned or not, there are few better ways to go about decommissioning an otherwise perfectly fine daily driver—especially when it ends up making about eight times more power than what you really need.
TUNING MENU ’88 MAZDA RX-7 SE
OWNER WILL TETRO HOMETOWN ROCKLEDGE, FL OCCUPATION AUTOMOTIVE RESTORATION MECHANIC POWER 1,100 hp ENGINE Chevrolet LS engine; CP pistons; Callies connecting rods and crankshaft; ARP rod bolts and hardware; Melling oil pump; Trick Flow Specialties GenX 255 cylinder heads; custom Bullet Cams turbo camshaft and link bar lifters; Comp Cams timing chain and push rods; Turbonetics 76mm turbos (2); Precision wastegates (2); TiAL blow-off valves (2); custom Aeromotive in-tank fuel pumps (2); Daytona Sensors SmartSpark coils ENGINE MANAGEMENT AMP EFI MS3Pro DRIVETRAIN Nissan 350Z transmission; custom SPEC twin-disc clutch; Driveshaft Shop driveshaft; Ford 8.8 rear end; CBF Performance billet shifter FOOTWORK & CHASSIS BC Racing coilovers; custom polyurethane front bushings; Parts Shop Max rear links and solid bushings BRAKES Aerospace Components billet brakes WHEELS & TIRES 18x10.5” front, 18x12” rear BC Forged Modular LE10 wheels; 285/30R18 front, 315/30R18 rear Toyo Proxes R888 tires EXTERIOR Shine Auto Spec-RE aero kit; Hotline Performance 50mm front and rear fenders; ViS Racing carbonfiber hood; custom Coast Chassis Design carbon-fiber rear wing; Arizona LEDs S5 taillights; APR carbon-fiber front splitter; House of Kolor black pearl paint INTERIOR Bride seats; Willans harnesses; Coast Chassis Design roll bar; Renown USA steering wheel; Speedhut gauges; custom carbonfiber gauge cluster, gauge pods, center console, glovebox
FULLY SYSTEM BALANCED, READY TO INSTALL
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NO JOKE WHEN THE IDEA OF A HONDA-POWERED 911 ISN’T FUNNY ANYMORE
WORDS Aaron Bonk PHOTOS Arlen Liverman Scott Girondo has pretty much got it right: What offspring of the ’80s didn’t grow up wanting a 911? And what offspring of the ’80s didn’t wind up in some sort of modified Honda? Unless you were preoccupied with that puffy sticker collection of yours or had your sights set on becoming a professional keyboard player, these were your goals. For decades, the two objectives remained inconsistent with one another, though. Own a Porsche and you’d likely snub anything with a B-series in it. Own a Civic, do something like turbocharge it, and you’d likely take joy in embarrassing something like that 911. The two worlds remained separate—as logic said they should—and then people like Scott came along and messed it all up.
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Scott likes messing up your status quo—those preconceived parameters that you think every 911 and Civic hatchback ought to fall into. You have to if you want to go ahead and do something like take an ’80s-era 911 and stick a mid-’00s Acura engine into it. Which is exactly what Scott did, that is, after he yanked the small-block Chevy from the Porsche’s hind end. You’ve got to go back in time nearly 20 years if you really want to know how all of this came to be. It was then when Scott took an interest in things like lowered Civics with windshield banners and clear corner lights—Porsche posters still on his wall, mind you—and ultimately landed in a CRX and, after a while, a couple of Evos. “I didn’t even know what it was at the time,” he says about the lowered and boosted Honda hatchback he’d often see at the skate shop and that warmed him up to those sort of small-car FWD performers. But the 911, that was always a pipe dream. “I’ve always wanted one, [but] the fact of the matter is I could never really afford one,” the husband and dad of three says. “And even if I could, I’m not sure that’s what I would’ve even bought—the pricing on them is crazy.” It’d take a seemingly impossible deal on a 930-chassis Porsche Craigslist find along with the monumental coincidence of somebody wanting to buy his 500hp Time Attack Evo VIII that wasn’t even officially for sale for all of this happen for Scott. And happen, it did. “Timing is everything, and I stumbled [across] an ad for a V-8-swapped ’82 911 about an hour away from me,” he says. “The next morning, I get a phone call about the Evo.” Let’s be honest for a minute. This 911 wasn’t anything like those posters on Scott’s childhood bedroom walls depicted. It was a roach, he’ll tell you before calling it out for its knock-off racing seats, golf-club-handle shifter knob, and the iron-block Chevy engine that would’ve been bad enough on its own were it not for the fact that it stopped running altogether after that first drive home. “You get what you pay for,” he admits. “Two hours after buying it, it’s getting pushed into my garage, and that night I told myself that this car would never let me down again.”
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And for three years, it didn’t. It couldn’t, because that’s how long it took Scott to sort through the melted-up wiring harnesses, send it off to paint, convert its torsion bar suspension to bits from the GT3, and come up with the idea to stick a RSX engine out back. It was the perfect idea, except for two things Scott is very up front about: He had “zero Porsche knowledge and zero K-series knowledge.” Knowledge of Porsche minutia and K20 factoids might make you popular with teens on some corner of the Internet, but practical experience with countless turbocharged Hondas and the wherewithal to do things like build up a competitive, track-bound Evo are the sort of things that matter. But first, Scott had to let his internal emo get the best of him. “The wiring took its toll [on me]. I hated the [Chevy engine]; I hated the interior. I kinda hated the car,” he says. And so for eight months, nothing happened. The K-series swap that led to 468 hp out back and did things like introduce Hondata engine management and Bride seats to Stuttgart started off as a joke. “I was joking with my buddy Nick about putting a K-series in it,” Scott says about the events that followed that eight-month hiatus. “Neither one of us [had] ever done a K swap, so that was like fuel to the fire.” Soon after, that small-block was chucked and the two spent all summer long figuring out how exactly Honda’s K-series ought to make its way inside of a 911. It turns out that the whole engine part wasn’t so bad. The car’s wiring, all of which Scott redid himself and sleeved in Raychem as well as the fabrication and suspension conversion, those were the hard parts. “This was the most challenging thing for me. I
TUNING MENU
’82 PORSCHE 911
OWNER SCOTT GIRONDO, AKA SCOTTY G HOMETOWN NORRISTOWN, PA OCCUPATION BIMBO BAKERIES INDEPENDENT OPERATOR ENGINE Honda K20A2 engine transplant; custom engine mounts, intercooler and piping, radiator, AN fittings and lines; Garrett GTX 3076 turbocharger; Sheepey Built exhaust manifold; Meziere water pump; Radium Engineering dual fuel pumps, surge tank, fuel pressure regulator DRIVETRAIN late-model 911 transmission; Porsche transmission mounts; Kennedy Engineered Products transmission adapter ENGINE MANAGEMENT Hondata K-Pro; Rywire engine wiring harness FOOTWORK & CHASSIS Elephant Racing GT3 front suspension; ASP independent rear suspension, front and rear sway bars; Bilstein coilovers; Rennline adjustable camber plates BRAKES Rebel Racing two-piece rotors; Cayman S calipers and pads WHEELS & TIRES 17x9” front and 17x13” rear HRE 540 wheels; 245/40R17 front, 315/35R17 rear Toyo Proxes R888 tires EXTERIOR custom aluminum side skirts, Lexan ducts; custom Infiniti Q45 projector lights; modified 930 rear tail, 993 rear wing INTERIOR Bride seats; OMP six-point harnesses; Vertex/ Fatlace steering wheel; Rennline quick release hub, pedals, floor and dash panels; custom rollcage and aluminum panels; Hargett shifter; Defi Link gauges THANKS YOU my awesome wife, who doesn’t restrict any of my car projects and who’s been supporting me for years
never did this type of wiring before,” he says. “And converting from torsion bars to coilovers wasn’t the easiest of jobs.” “I told myself that night,” Scott says about that Chevy engine failure early on, “that this car will never let me down again.” And it hasn’t. Post-conversion, it fired up quickly and with few gremlins, and today he drives it regularly, although he does admit to the Porsche’s track-car demeanor: “It is indeed right on the line of being just a track car, and exactly what I built it for.” But for Scott, that’s entirely OK. “This project taught me a lot— mostly patience,” he says. “Many thought I’d never finish it and that it was a joke, and that kept me determined.”
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EIBACH MEET MIDWEST THE HONDA CELEBRATION SPREADS TO OHIO WORDS Rodrez PHOTOS Josh Rivera When Ryan Hoegner, Eibach’s business development manager, decided to throw a Honda-only get-together at Eibach headquarters in the heart of Corona, California, 13 years ago, he probably wasn’t thinking about the monumental growth that would come after that first effort. And he certainly wasn’t thinking about expansion, but that’s exactly what’s happened. Having built on the success of the wildly popular Eibach Meet at home, Hoegner traveled east in ’17, setting up a successful Florida event in April. Last September, he took a trip to the Honda Heritage Center in Marysville, Ohio, with more than 2,000 of his
closest friends. That total, split by 325 display vehicles and more than 1,700 visitors throughout the day, quickly proved the Eibach Meet as a brand has some legs. In addition to the stellar turnout, a handful of vendors joined in on the first-ever Midwest gathering, including Falken Tire, which continued its role as title sponsor, and Downstar Inc., which has attended just about every iteration of the Eibach Meet. The appreciation from the locals was apparent, and the need for an event in the region brought fans from all over the eastern seaboard, as well as Arizona and even California. The big question is, what’s next for the Eibach Meet, which seems to be approaching series status? The traditional May event in SoCal is set in stone, but the staff has also hinted that something new will be happening as soon as this magazine hits newsstands.
iiMugen’s classic bronze MF10 won’t be going out of style during our lifetime, and this trio of ’90s heroes is all the proof you need.
iiDaniel Stoicescu's 487-whp Civic Si as featured in Vol. 21, No. 12.
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iiThe new Civic Type R continues to pop up regularly at various events.
iiJ’s Racing head honcho Hisaaki Murakami even made an appearance.
iiWill fifth- and sixth-gen Civics be looked at like these ultra-clean Z600s in 20 years?
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INSIDE OUT THE EXO CAR, AND WHY CHOPPING UP PERFECTLY GOOD INTEGRAS AND MIATAS IS A GOOD THING WORDS Aaron Bonk PHOTOS Cade Garrett, Sinh Nguyen The closest you’ve ever come to knowing anything about an exoskeleton car was the time you dropped your blueberry Cronut on an Ariel Atom’s K-series at that one Saturday-morning’s Cars and Coffee. But before you hotfooted yourself back toward that settlement of Civics and 240s you came from, you noticed one very important thing: exo cars like that Atom are defined by those visible frames of theirs.
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THE EXO CAR AND WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW That inside-out arrangement of the exo car’s frame is its most obvious characteristic, but it isn’t its only distinction. Here, an exo car’s wheel’s are positioned outside of the frame or uni-body, not unlike what you’d find on an open-wheeled race car. And its structure is a cross between that race car and just about every body-on-frame sedan on the 405 Freeway. Here, a pair of ladder-shaped bars span longitudinally along each side of the car, encapsulating its occupants and making sure things like doors no longer fit. Most of the time a more conventional rollcage ties into all of that and with everything you’d expect, like a main hoop, a harness bar, and tubes that connect to the shock towers at each end. Everything else is fair game, though, including engine and transmission arrangements and fuel and cooling systems that can be as simple or as complex as you make them.
KROWRX Knowing what exactly an exo car is and knowing that you want one doesn’t mean you’re qualified to execute any of that. And you wanting to turn your Honda into one as opposed to plopping down $65K for an Atom only makes things harder. It starts with knowing where and how
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ARE THEY LEGAL?
The answer is yes, no, and it depends on where you live. Every exo build leaves Krowrx’s garage with working headlights and taillights— something all states require, but other parameters aren’t as straightforward. Those Lexan windshields that Krowrx typically uses, for instance, aren’t acceptable glass replacements in all 50 states. And those side mirrors that Krowrx usually omits, your motor vehicle department may have a problem with. Structurally, though, those bureaucrats won’t have much to quibble over. “It’s just the upper half of the body that’s been removed,” JD reminds us, “so it doesn’t change much structurally.” If anything, the ’cage work says it’s a whole lot stronger than anything you’ll have started with.
TUNING MENU XTEGRA
OWNER KROWRX HOMETOWN BIRMINGHAM, AL OCCUPATION DAT EXO LIFE ENGINE & DRIVETRAIN Acura Integra B18B1 engine and transmission; custom intake; PLM tri-Y exhaust manifold; VMS Racing crankshaft pulley; ARP head studs; TTR oil catch can; Krowrxmodified engine wiring harness; Walbro 255-lph fuel pump; Mishimoto radiator; custom radiator piping; custom Jim Beam flask radiator overflow tank; Exedy Stage 2 clutch; Fidanza lightweight flywheel; Quaife limited-slip differential FOOTWORK & CHASSIS TCT coilovers; Arospeed front upper control arms; Blackworks adjustable rear camber arms; Godspeed Project rear lower control arms BRAKES drilled and slotted rotors WHEELS & TIRES 15x10” GP Racing wheels; 225/45R15 Nitto NT01 tires EXTERIOR custom Krowrx front splitter and rear wing and brackets INTERIOR Kirkey seats; G-Force four-point harnesses; Lion Racing steering wheel; NRG Innovations quick-release steering wheel hub and adapter THANKS YOU All of our family and friends for supporting us on this venture and pushing us to do better and better; my wife Diona Durham for putting up with me and my crazy ideas; Michael’s wife, Cacie Zuk, for supporting us as a company by answering our calls and setting up potential builds; Matt Crumpton for the very first customer-paid job
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much to cut from the original uni-body and ends with fabricating a series of tubes that won’t compromise anybody’s well-being. Or you can just have somebody like Krowrx do the whole thing for you, the Birmingham, Alabama-based firm that’s been hacking up cars like perfectly good Integras and Miatas for more than two years now. “I was tired of trying to get everything so clean,” Krowrx co-founder JD Durham says about his RX-8 that led to all of this. “I wanted something different so I gave it a shot, and it turns out that it was a hit.” And by “hit” he means he and his business partners—Michael Zuk, Wesley Boozer, and Colby Redman—have got customers lined up willing to pay money to have their roofs lopped off and their windscreens tossed aside. “We want everyone to be able to enjoy one,” JD says about the open-air experience, not to mention the absurd power-to-weight ratios ditching all of that metal can lead to. “They’re a blast a drive, and you can use any car to do this.”
weights about 1,400 pounds now, roughly half its original weight. The low curb weight means the engine didn’t have to be extensively modified to make the car scoot. “It feels like it’s making 300 hp now,” JD says, even though it isn’t. A high-flow header is one of the engine’s few modifications that might actually contribute to any power gains. And that’s OK, because the Xtegra is just as much about the driving experience than anything else. At least that’s what JD points out. “It’s like riding a motorcycle with that open-air feeling—the freedom you get driving one of these is just amazing.”
THE XTEGRA Find yourself a third-generation Integra with its original powertrain and body panels with matching VINs all around and your first bright idea wouldn’t be to tear into it with a reciprocating saw and a plasma cutter. That’s because you’re not Krowrx, who doesn’t lose sight of the bigger picture and who isn’t afraid of lopping up a perfectly good Honda while doing so. “It was a straight-bodied car and we cut it up,” JD says as he laughs about it, going on to point out that the whole thing
BUILDING THE EXO CAR
According to JD, the whole thing starts with a properly running car. Any car. “If you want to sell any of its parts,” JD says about some of the things you’ll no longer need and that’ll help allocate funds toward the build, like those bumpers and doors, “do that first.” Before the saws are pulled out, though, JD and his team want to have a talk with you. “We want to sit down and discuss your theme as far as the ’cage goes,” he says. Structurally, the rollcages don’t change a whole lot; they’re all based upon NHRA or NASA rulebooks, for example, but are typically customized. “We take care of the safety aspects first,” he says, “and then we integrate your design.” Following fabrication, suspension upgrades are made, if any, and depending on the application, updates to the engine can be made, too. Once it’s been painted, which is also done in-house, the keys are handed back to the customer. According to JD, the whole process takes between four to six weeks and can run between $4,000 to $6,000.
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THE M-EXO-5 In two years’ time, Krowrx has transcended from chopping down and building up its own cars like its RX-8 and the Xtegra to taking on all manner of projects for its clients. Projects like Sinh Nguyen’s M-EXO-5, a Miata-based exo car that was in many ways a first for JD and company. “There’s a lot more meat at the frame supports,” he says about the difference between chopping up a convertible like the Miata as opposed to an Integra. Differences that mean several more hours spent cutting, trimming, and shaving. Like the Xtegra, the M-EXO-5 remains surprisingly stock. Its engine hasn’t been opened up, its transmission’s only been pulled aside for a grabbier clutch and a lighter flywheel, and nonMazda suspension bits are limited to its Bilstein dampers and MSM springs. “We had to analyze the mounting points, and we tried to follow all of the car’s original body lines,” JD says about the structural aesthetics, going on to point out that all cuts were made above the car’s pinch welds in order to preserve as much integrity of the chassis as possible. “This all started with my RX-8. I just got into it and really enjoyed tearing stuff apart,” JD says. “It was one of the cleanest RX-8s I’d ever seen. It was a clean, crisp car, and I just said ‘screw it,’ and started taking things apart.”
TUNING MENU M-EXO-5
OWNER SINH NGUYEN HOMETOWN SCOTTSBORO, AL OCCUPATION IT SPECIALIST, SOFTWARE DEVELOPER ENGINE & DRIVETRAIN Mazda Miata BP-Z3 and transmission; custom valve cover coating; Flyin’ Miata Level 2 clutch and lightweight flywheel FOOTWORK & CHASSIS Bilstein HD shocks; MSM springs WHEELS & TIRES 15x8” MST Time Attack wheels; 205/50R15 Nitto Neo Gen tires EXTERIOR APR-style side mirrors; custom windshield; custom projector LED headlight pods; custom LED taillights INTERIOR Sparco Sprint seats; Takata Drift II harnesses; Sparco Monza L575 steering wheel; NRG Innovations quick-release hub and adapter
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performance
CAR AUDIO IS FAR FROM DEAD
PIONEER ELECTRONICS REMINDS US TO ENJOY THE MUSIC WE LOVE WORDS Sam Du PHOTOS Sam Du, Pioneer Electronics
something completely new for the both of us! I’ve been traveling to Japan regularly since I started as an editor, but where the Pioneer factory is located in Tendo, even residents I knew in Japan had no idea where I was headed. The facility is a three-hour train ride north of Tokyo, and there isn’t much reason to live there unless you’re harvesting rice or working for Pioneer. Almost like a small college campus, the Tohoku facility was founded in ’66 and is comprised of multiple buildings that includes their evaluation rooms, high-end speaker manufacturing and sales offices. There’s a lot that goes on at Pioneer from factory automation, LED displays, and DJ equipment, but speakers are the core of its business. We’re a bit familiar with their aftermarket division but half of the audio components they manufacture are for OEMs. They supply the likes of Lexus, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Subaru and GM. And when it comes to the aftermarket stuff, there’s a whole lot more to Pioneer than what you can read about on their website. One of the first things I noticed about their employees is that they simply are passionate about audio, similar to how we’re passionate about well-built cars. They’re truly immersed in listening and enjoying music and achieving the best sound possible. I later found out they also use singer Bruno Mars for their sound checks so I give props for that. The next thing I didn’t know about Pioneer is that there’s a bigger demand for high quality audio in Japan. Pioneer has
iiQuality is rarely compromised when it's handmade by certified experts.
Back in the day, you didn’t have a “fully built” project car unless there was a pair of subwoofers in your trunk, tweeters hanging from your A-pillars, and enough amplifiers wired up to power a concert. Dig up old magazines and you’ll notice we used to highlight I.C.E. (in-car entertainment) upgrades with every feature car. Mobile electronics were a big deal back then, however, times have changed. Today, engine, chassis, wheel, and tire upgrades are still as popular as before, and we’ve seen the rise of widebody conversions and air suspension, but what happened to audio?! The future might seem bleak for aftermarket audio companies, but there are still a massive number of cars out there with subpar systems; in fact, it’s where some manufacturers cut corners to save costs and weight. And unless you want to fork out thousands for an audio package from the dealer, you’re most likely sacrificing too much when it comes to your music. I know for myself, I spend at least two hours a day in traffic, so having quality beats is important to me. So while we might not be in an age when people are throwing their allowances at flip-up TV screens and custom sub enclosures anymore, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about the tunes coming from your doors. And when it comes to upgrading, you want to make sure you’re still getting what’s best for your dollar. Pioneer Electronics has been a trusted brand in our scene for decades, and the company invited me on a private tour to show it’s still making high-quality and relevant parts that should be on every enthusiasts' radar.
PRIVATE PIONEER TOUR Pioneer has been a brand that’s stuck around longer than other electronics companies; however, many of us don’t know exactly what makes it tick. Last August, I was invited to check out one of Pioneer’s main facilities in the Tohoku region of Japan, where the majority of its speaker development takes place. The company hasn’t welcomed much U.S. media before, and I’ve never been on an audio tour before. This was going to be
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iiOne of many evaluation rooms, this area tests the speakers in the heat and cold.
Connect: pioneerelectronics.com
two different brands that cater to these audio aficionados— Carrozzeria and TAD. Carrozzeria is the upper echelon car audio brand and much of the technology developed here trickles down to other Pioneer products. Carrozzeria isn’t offered stateside as there just isn’t a market to support car audio that ranges into the thousands of dollars. Although, after the demonstrations I was given, I think we’re definitely missing out! It gets even better with TAD, Pioneer’s premier home audio brand. Here, there are no compromises to quality as everything is handmade and the finest materials are used. In fact, there are only three women who are certified to build TAD products, which I saw first hand. And a pair of speakers can go up to $70K! Crazy? Yes! But in Japan, there are people out there who are willing to pay for the best, much like how we are willing to dish out money for rare wheels or pricey body kits. Now while Carrozzeria and TAD might have the ingredients and craftsmanship to warrant high price tags, it doesn’t mean the rest of the Pioneer lineup sacrifices a lot by any means. Pioneer treats its speakers the way a tire company would treat its high-performance rubber, or an oil company would treat its best grade oil. Speakers are engineered to accomplish the ideal weight, dampening, size, balance and materials possible. What I was most impressed in was all the testing a speaker goes through. In the Tohoku facility, there are evaluation rooms that test speakers in the extreme hot and cold, how they stand iiThis TAD home audio speaker costs more than your entire garage.
THE Z SERIES
Higher-end range designed for Hi-Res audio recordings (more data, better than CD quality). Features a better cone symmetry, extended frequency range, and 29mm aluminum allows a balanced dome tweeter for better sound quality at high frequencies, less distortion all-around, and a shallow body for easier mounting. Dual layer cone construction also makes it one of the strongest speakers in its segment. With the new Z series, you’re basically getting a speaker that’s 2-3x better than what’s available in the market today for the same cost! Speakers range from $300 to $400.
THE D SERIES
A more budget friendly range of speakers offering balanced sound and deeper bass. Features a 26mm polyester soft dome tweeter and compact swivel design for ease of mounting, plus the speaker cone is made up of aramid fiber interlaced injection molded polypropylene – basically a fancy way of saying that the speaker is more rigid which helps handle more power with greater control of the woofer. Speakers range from $200 to $260.
up against vibrations, UV light and different humidity as well. Before a speaker goes into production it’s literally tested up to 1,000 hours! The sound quality is also tested in million dollar testing facilities such as the anechoic chambers and reverberation rooms. No doubt, the biggest takeaway from my visit was seeing these machines and quality checks in action. Whether it’s a high-end or affordable speaker from Pioneer, they go through the same reliability, strength and sound tests.
iiThe first Pioneer speaker, born 1937.
NEXT GENERATION SPEAKERS
iiWe also had a chance to listen to the Z and D series speakers in a listening room. So clear!
So at the end of my tour, it was time to sit back, relax and listen to some music. Pioneer had me hop in a Nissan Versa Note and Subaru XV–very stock on the outside and cars you wouldn’t imagine to have an audio upgrade. But from what I gathered, these are exactly the type of cars where folks in Japan will invest in better audio. They spend so much time in their cars that it’s worth it for them to have premium sounds, despite having an ordinary-looking commuter car. I sat in the Subaru first equipped with the Z series gear which included the TSZ65CH 6.5” two-way components ($400.00 MSRP) and TS-Z10LS4 10” single 4 ohm voice coil sub ($350.00 MSRP). I was truly shocked to hear how loud the system got. At near ear bleeding volumes, the sound remained balanced and crisp–not too heavy on the bass and not too pitchy on the trebles. If you weren’t a trained audiophile, you would think you’re sitting in a luxury European car with a Harmon Kardon or Mark Levinson upgrade. I headed over to Versa next to see how the more affordable D series speakers would stack up. The Versa was outfitted with the TS-D65C 6.5” two-way components ($240.00 MSRP) and TS-D10D4 10” dual 4 ohm voice coil sub ($240.00 MSRP), more than a hundred dollars cheaper compared to the Z series. I felt this system was more my steez. While the voices and instruments weren’t as crisp, the volume was loud and bass was bumpin’ which suited my hip hop and EDM preferences. And for the lower price, it just seemed more up my alley and what I would be willing to pay for better sound. There will be five different models that’ll be available in the Z series and nine for the D. These are the most premium sounds to launch in the U.S. in Pioneer's history. They aren’t at the level of some of the competition sound systems I’ve listened to before, but they are geared for the guys that have an appreciation for music. Pioneer realizes the majority of car enthusiasts probably aren’t going to spend thousands of dollars on subwoofers and amps the way the scene was back in the day, but they don’t want you to forget about music, which is ultimately the passion they have. Ted Cardenas, VP of Marketing Pioneer USA summed it up best, “Sound is much more than just data; music inspires everyone one of us and is indeed something most of us cannot live without. Pioneer is passionate about music and sound, and this passion is exhibited in each product we create. We don’t just want you to listen to your music, we want you to hear more.”
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TUNING MENU ’74 M34 MILITARY JEEP
This Jeep’s owner fondly recalls being a boy and chasing G.I. Jeeps down rutted country roads, waving to American soldiers with wild abandon alongside the rest of his friends. As the boy slowly became a man, he developed a devotion to publications like Hot Rod and any other American subscription he could get his mitts on. Commonly referred to as Mr. Heng, he’s a man who has developed a taste for the extreme over the years. And while wealth and supercar speed are now at his disposal in vast amounts, there remains something undeniably appealing about this rod that draws him to it like a moth to the flame every time he sees it. According to our sources, this build began when Mr. Heng attended a USDM car meet in Bangkok a while back, when he suddenly became hypnotized by a Jeep similar to this one. After gazing at its wild lines for a prolonged period of time, Mr. Heng encountered the vehicle’s creator, a vibrant individual who is commonly referred to as Hawaii Joe, owner of a local retro speed shop called Hawaii Rod. Hawaii Joe is precisely the kind of character one might expect
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from someone rocking such a title, too. Everybody knows him. Sporting Hawaiian shirts every chance he gets, flower lei necklaces, flip-flops, and snazzy hats when the mood strikes him, Hawaii Joe is without question a crucial part of car life in Thailand and arguably a large part of Asia. Just a few weeks after meeting this colorful character, a written contract was set in place and Joe went to work whipping up a custom Jeep for Mr. Heng. But contrary to common belief, not everything is inexpensive or easy to obtain in Thailand, and most cars cost close to triple that of what we pay in America. All the frame fabrication and fun military touches needed to be thought out and found, and things like the paint scheme and various other mechanical aspects of the machine needed to be solidified. Once the two men had settled on a tubular “space frame” design and a theme was agreed upon, the option of stuffing a Toyota 1UZ-FE V-8 in the vehicle came to the forefront, a notion that was quickly approved.
OWNER HENG THAMMARAT HOMETOWN BANGKOK, THAILAND OCCUPATION AUTO EXTREMIST ENGINE 4.0L Toyota 1UZ-FE V-8 swap; custom individual throttle bodies, header, exhaust DRIVETRAIN Toyota 1UZ automatic transmission swap; Land Cruiser driveshaft cut down 30 cm ENGINE MANAGEMENT Dynatek ECU FOOTWORK & CHASSIS custom “space frame” chassis, coilover suspension BRAKES custom brakes using Nissan Cefiro parts; stainless lines WHEELS & TIRES 16x12.5” front, 16x10.5” rear Cragar D Window wheels; Maxxis Buckshot Mudder front, Trepador rear tires EXTERIOR body cut in half and stretched 50 cm; top chopped 3 inches; ’51 Pontiac taillights INTERIOR U.S. Army UH-1 “Huey” helicopter seats; safety harnesses; metallic red steering wheel; roof canvas from military jeep; custom grenade shifter
• • • • •
Racing Gold Metallic
Dark Bronze Premium
Racing Hyper Bronze
Racing Gloss Black
Machining & Racing Hyper Black
Machining & Racing Hyper Black
Racing Titanium Blue & Ring
Racing Gloss Black
However, before Mr. Heng could hand over the proverbial keys to his “Iron Rat” hot rod, he had to first procure a chassis. Being that a ’74 M38 military-spec Jeep holds a premium almost anywhere, and the aforementioned cost of car buying in Thailand still rings true, the build was getting incredibly expensive right out of the gate. Fortunately for Mr. Heng, finances and connections are rarely in short supply, and before long a donor Jeep was sourced and Hawaii Joe’s team went to work. Boiled down to the basics, this is a tubular frame, stretched, chopped, and reassembled Thai-spec G.I. Jeep from the ’70s that’s been thoroughly slathered in hot rod know-how. Hacked in half and stretched to fit what Thai petrolheads call a “space frame,” the rod quickly became home to more one-off modifications than previously predicted, not just for show, but out of necessity. Six short months later, the rod was on the final leg of the assembly process, and its owner couldn’t be more excited. For Mr. Heng, a man who owns an 800-whp ETS twinturbo Gallardo Superleggera, a 1,400whp Alpha 16 R35 GT-R, a V12-swapped E39 BMW M5, and numerous other dream machines, changing things up a bit and driving a slammed hot
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rod Jeep is just good old-fashioned fun. Obstacles and expenses aside, this Iron Rat remains one of the most cherished possessions in Mr. Heng’s already overflowing garage. He doesn’t give a damn that it doesn’t make huge amounts of power, either. All he wants to do is take his Jeep rod to car shows, cruise the streets of Bangkok, and make people point and stare, something that can easily be done in a machine of this stature. If I were a shrink of some sort, I would suggest that Mr. Heng has flipped the psychological scales on its head. He’s a man who has found a way in which he can own a wild rendition of a fond memory, and instead of being one of those little Thai kids chasing after a band of Army Jeeps, he is now the one behind the wheel. It isn’t just kids who go cross-eyed when they see this thing, either. People of all ages and creeds will follow the Iron Rat around when Mr. Heng takes it for a spin, snapping pictures with great gusto and screaming at him from afar. Pedestrians will literally stop and cheer when they see this beast roll down the road, which is more than most of us can say when we take our rides out for a romp, and is exactly why it was built in the first place.
etc.
The latest parts and noteworthy buzz you should know about
NEW PRODUCTS MEGUIAR’S D166 ULTRA POLISHING WAX The less money you spend on car care, the better, right? Which is exactly what Meguiar’s is trying to do with its latest all-in-one wax. It’s not just a cleaner wax but can also help with defect removal. Made up of a blend of carnauba wax, synthetic polymers, and silicones, the Ultra Polishing Wax is very easy to wipe off and removes all the stuff you don’t want to see in your paint like swirls, oxidation, blemishes, scratches, and water spots. From $17.99 meguiars.com
BLITZ DAMPER ZZ-R Improve the look and feel of your vehicle with Blitz’s Damper ZZ-R coilovers. With 32-way damping tuning and ride height adjustment, your vehicle’s performance is greatly enhanced. Adjustable pillowball upper mounts are available on select applications. $800-$1,500 blitzna.com
PARK SMART TIRE SAVER RAMP If you have a project car that is taking longer than expected, these Tire Saver Ramps by Park Smart might be what you need to help prevent flat spots from forming on your tires during long-term storage. Made of solid PVC, the ramps won’t crush, crack, or slip. The ribbed design prevents the ramps from sliding on the floor while also providing traction for the tire. Available in 10” and 15” widths. $30.95 autocareproducts.com
KNIGHT RACER NISSAN R35 GT-R CARBON-FIBER SPOILER
SPOCOM ANAHEIM
The ’17 Nissan GT-R NISMO represents the pinnacle of a track-focused production car. Owners of non-NISMO GT-Rs can now strive for a similar look with the introduction of Knight Racer’s carbon-fiber “NISMO Spec” spoiler. The wing uses styling cues from NISMO’s design from the ribbed outer winglets down to the integrated LED brake light in the lower fin. $2,592 knightracer.com
MCLEOD MOVING
PHOTO Jofel Tolosa It’s hard not to get excited for SpoCom’s annual visit to Anaheim, California. You might be thinking that if you’ve already been to a few of Southern California car shows, why go to another one? Sure, you see the usual suspects, but the truth is, you might discover some cars that have been tucked away for a long time, but maybe with some luck, you’ll come across a build you’ve never seen before, which was exactly the case last July for the 11th annual Anaheim Super Show. Auto Fashion brought out a fresh Mode Parfume Lexus GS300 with all the right touches, including a supercharged setup. For the full gallery, visit superstreetonline.com. Connect: spocomusa.com
HYPE STREET Rockin' our Super Street gear? Post your photo on Instagram with the hashtag #superstreetgarage for a chance to see your pretty face published. And don’t forget to head over to superstreetgarage.com for the latest styles!
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@johnnytran.jpg
@amborillo
McLeod Racing, one of the leading global suppliers of clutch kits, clutch components, flywheel bellhousings, and other driveline products, is moving operations to a new facility near Anaheim, California. The new 25,000-squarefoot building will house offices and manufacturing operations. McLeod’s moving plans are to be seamless, so customers will continue to get their orders shipped on time and without delay. Once settled in the larger facility, McLeod will be able to better accommodate customers with more products stocked and ready to ship and in addition, will advance their established leadership in high-performance driveline components. Connect: mcleodracing.com
SUPER STREET SHOUTOUT We’re looking over our Instagram feed for cool rides with the hashtag #superstreetme. Hashtag a photo of your car and you might find yourself in the next issue. @s2k.dave
@flp.drm
@jdm.fc3s
@jmechen
Coming in hot!
That’s one aggressive FR-S.
Puppy is for attention.
Can’t forget the classics.
7TH HEAVEN PHOTO David Ishikawa On the seventh day of the seventh month of ’17, more than 60 Mazda owners (mostly RX-7s) figured it would be the most ideal time to celebrate the 7th annual Mazda Fest. That’s a lot of sevens! The festival was held at Tsukuba Circuit and featured a full day of competitive Time Attack as well as drifting. Mazda Fest has become an event that should be on the bucket list of every Mazda aficionado. If you still don’t believe us, be sure to take a look at our full gallery at superstreetonline.com.
STAY FIT
It may be hard to believe, but out of all the cars in the Honda lineup, the Fit has stayed the truest to Honda's essence. It checks all the boxes—it’s affordable (starts at $16,190 MSRP), efficient (36/29 highway/ city mpg), and fun to drive. The model we’re interested in most (and you should be, too) is the Fit Sport. The Sport comes with a six-speed manual and features all sorts of cool aero splitters in the front and rear as well as a black interior with orange stitching. But it gets even better once you opt for the Honda Factory Performance (HFP) accessory package that comes with red floor mats, titanium shift knob, and aluminum pedals, which subtly elevate the interior to something that looks suspiciously similar to oldschool Type Rs. The HFP package also comes with springs that are 10 mm lower and make the Fit Sport more nimble around corners.
CELEBRATING 100 PHOTO Luke Munnell 2017 marked Mitsubishi’s 100th anniversary as a carmaker. Yes, an entire century! It also marked the 12th annual Mitsubishi Owner’s Day event held at its U.S. headquarters in Cypress, California, which saw a turnout of 1,300 cars. Hooray! We’d like to give a shoutout to the “most dedicated fan,” Frank Eck, who traveled all the way from Middleburg, Florida. Also noteworthy mentions were Arvin Padiernos and his ’11 Evo X who “People’s Choice” award winner (you might also remember him from last year’s Show Car Shootout). Cheers to another hundred years, Mitsubishi! And please bring back the Evo! You can find photos of the winners and more at superstreetonline.com.
performance
THE MODIFIED CIVIC BUILD PART III: LEG DAY AT EIBACH SPRINGS WORDS & PHOTOS Rodrez After the first two rounds of upgrades on our Project Civic Sport, we found some very solid gains in the power department as the wheel horsepower was up by almost 40, and torque checked in at just under 60 additional pounds. Promising figures when you consider that none of the emissions equipment was touched, and the changes were DIY-friendly and remain completely reversible. The next phase of the build required a trip east to Corona, California, to meet with our friends at Eibach Springs who were already well into the development of some new suspension goods for the 10th-gen. Civic family. Eibach recently celebrated a milestone, having reached the 30-year mark in the U.S., however, its history goes back well over 60 years. You know them for manufacturing some of the highest quality suspension components in the world, but what you might not know is that most of what Eibach offers in the U.S. is conceived, rigorously tested, and produced at its Corona facility. Prior to us bringing in our Civic project, Eibach had already spent weeks measuring, test fitting, and performing R&D on a coilover kit for a hatchback Sport the company had secured as a test vehicle. By the time we arrived to start filming, the crew had a shiny-new prototype ready to go. Installing springs and shocks or coilovers isn’t very difficult, especially with the Civic line, however, this model requires a little extra effort. When lowering the 10th-gen. non-Si or Type R model, you’re going to be adding quite a bit of negative camber automatically. One way to fight this and avoid wearing through tires way too quickly is to add an adjustable rear upper control arm, like those produced by Eibach for SPC. To get them on, you’ll need to drop the rear subframe, so if you’re doing the install at home, you might want call in that favor your friend owes you so you’ll have a second set of hands for the assist. Now about that suspension kit. As always, Eibach was at the very front of the line in terms of developing suspension options for new Civic as it was released and already offers its Pro Kit and Sportline spring options. With our project, Eibach wanted to create a coilover system under the Pro-Street-S series, which, in our Civic’s case, is based on a 46mm mono-tube piston design wrapped up in zinc-coated steel for corrosion resistance. We can’t get into specific details on how the corrosion testing went down or which competitors were included in the comparison, but suffice to say that Eibach has the utmost confidence due to a ridiculous number of hours invested
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performance
in torturous testing that goes well beyond industry standard. Down the road, after years of track and street abuse, if you’re looking for a rebuild, you won’t have to ship your coilovers to another country because Eibach takes care of that in-house, right at their Corona facility. And just like all of the coilovers that leave the premises upon purchase, shock dyno testing is performed so your kit is perfectly matched. Built specifically for non-Si/non-Type R model Civics, the new kit used for our project is height adjustable but doesn’t offer damper changes. Mark Krumme, Eibach’s head of marketing, told us the decision for damper adjustment isn’t final just yet, and that there may be another option available when these coilovers hit the market toward the end of 2017. Krumme also reminded us that the Pro-Street-S is essentially modular, allowing the end user plenty of spring rate options to choose from via Eibach’s ERS race spring line up. So if you want something a little stiffer or a little mellower, Eibach has you covered. In addition, the top hats allow for some additional camber adjustment to dial in your ideal settings. Beyond the rear subframe hurdle, installation is very straight forward with the 10th gen., and once we had everything buttoned up, it was time to add some new rolling stock…but you’ll have to wait until next time to see that as we inch closer to completion on our Project Civic Sport.
CONNECT: Eibach Springs eibach.com 66 SUPERSTREETONLINE.COM
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FIRST DRIVE: 2018 POLARIS SLINGSHOT
WHERE WE’RE GOING, WE DON’T NEED FOUR WHEELS!
THAT NEW CAR SMELL ’18 POLARIS SLINGSHOT
THE STICKER PRICING S model starts at MSRP $19,999 ENGINE 2.4L DOHC 16-valve inline-four THE POWER 173 hp; 166 lb-ft of torque SCALE TIPPING 1,749 lb. LAYOUT front engine, rear-wheel drive TRANSMISSION five-speed manual BRAKES 298mm rotors WHEELS & TIRES 17x7” front, 18x9.5” rear cast wheels; 205/50R17 front, 265/35R18 rear tires; (SLR LE model: 18x7.5” front, 20x11” rear wheels; 225/45R18 front, 305/30R18 rear tires) THE COMPETITION none DEEP THOUGHTS If you already have a stable of project cars and daily drivers, the Slingshot is something different to add to your collection. It’s fun as hell to toss around and grabs attention like no other.
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WORDS Sam Du PHOTOS Sam Du, Polaris
WHO IS POLARIS You might have heard the name, but more than likely you haven’t driven something the company has built unless you’re a powersports guy. Polaris has been around since the ’50s and is known for things like ATVs, Side-by-Sides, motorcycles, and military-spec UTVs. Perhaps its biggest claim to fame though was the idea of a snowmobile, some 60 years ago. Everyone knows what that is, right? Well, the half-sled, half-machine kind of caught on and today Polaris is knocking on our doors again with something innovative that driving enthusiasts and thrill seekers like you and I might be able to appreciate. Meet the Slingshot.
WHAT IS THE SLINGSHOT OK, so you're thinking to yourself the three-wheeled Slingshot is nothing new, and you're absolutely right. They've been on the road since '14, but what you probably don't know is that by the end of ’17, 40 states will classify it as an autocycle, which means you simply need a valid driver’s license to get behind the wheel. Nine states still consider it a motorcycle; however Polaris is lobbying hard to change that. And in the 50th state of Hawaii, the Slingshot will be deemed street legal in early ’18. We should also note that in whatever state you are, the Slingshot follows your local motorcycle helmet laws. So now that you know it’s legit, the next juicy bit you need to know about is how it all works. Under the hood is a 2.4L DOHC four-cylinder GM engine (similar to what’s in a Chevy Malibu) that’s good for 173 hp and 166 lb-ft of torque. Power is transferred to the rear wheel via a carbon-fiber reinforced belt, and you control the tranny via a five-speed manual gearbox (no automatics available yet). Anyone will know that’s not a lot of power, but remember you don’t have 50 percent of what makes a car to weigh you down. A 1,749-pound curb weight indicates a favorable power-to-weight ratio, not as hell-bent as a 1,000cc motorcycle, but more than likely better than your 240SX or Miata at home.
HOW DOES IT RIDE, DRIVE I’m not a motorcycle guy, and I wasn’t quite sure how close it would resemble being on two wheels. But once I left the parking lot, piloting the Slingshot was as easy as hopping into a go-kart or Side-by-Side for the first time, but a tad heavier. You really don’t even feel or know it’s on three wheels. The way it’s set up, with its small size and light weight, makes it feel balanced and you just want to throw it around every corner. The acceleration and gearshifts are solid and effortless. I put it through some heavy abuse on the back roads of Malibu Canyon and had an absolute blast. If you’re a major critic, there are flaws—like its slightly uncomfortable steering wheel, lack of initial braking, and it could use a bit more top-end power. But honestly, I wasn’t really worried about any of that because I was soaking in the open-air element of the Slingshot, feeling the wind, hearing the engine, and having a shit-ton of fun.
FEATURES ARE PLENTIFUL There are four trim levels offered for the Slingshot for the ’18 model year, and they range from wider 305-series tires to Sparco seats and accessories, turn-by-turn navigation, rearview cam, hardtop, 10-way adjustable Bilstein shocks, and a 200-watt Rockford Fosgate stereo. You can price a new Slingshot all the way up to $31K for the SLR Limited Edition model, but the one that gives the best bang for the buck is the baseline S model. Here, you get a Slingshot that retains the same powertrain as the topof-the-line model for a more sticker-friendly $20K. Sure, it won’t have all the bells and whistles, but we discovered there’s a huge aftermarket available that includes upgraded suspension and even turbo and supercharger kits.
WOULD WE BUY ONE That is the question... The haters will tell you it’s not fast enough and it looks weird. Slingshots also do get a bad rep with people turning them into extras for Lil Wayne music videos (i.e., chrome wheels, neon lights, and obnoxious stereos). But... if it’s fun and something new you seek, that won’t break the piggy bank, the Slingshot could be your next toy. It doesn’t matter if you’re a motorcycle guy, JDM guy, V-8 guy, or truck guy, the Slingshot is a whole new ball game, and who knows, maybe it’ll be like the snowmobile 50 years from now. You never know. Well, Polaris might...
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DEFINING "FULLY BUILT" INDUSTRY EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON WHAT EXACTLY THE AGE-OLD TERM MEANS WORDS Aaron Bonk PHOTOS Aaron Bonk, LA Sleeve, Tomei You know you want a fully built engine. Only problem is you’re not exactly sure what that fully built engine ought to be made up of. The guy with the slicks on the front of his Civic tells you it’s got something to do with all sorts of expensive moving bits above that oil pan. The guy with the Supra says it’s also got something to do with how big that turbo is and what sort of ECU you’ve got. And the guy with the skinny jeans vaping says it most definitely has something to do with you having a color-coordinated valve cover. Historically, the term’s been used to describe the degree to which an engine’s been strengthened by way of stronger internal components. And historically, it’s got nothing to do with horsepower, turbos, or even colorcoordinated valve covers. Today, though, for some, the term isn’t just limited to strength. For some, it represents power output; for others, whether or not certain key engine bits that have no bearing on durability have been replaced or modified; and still for others, whether or not that valve cover matches those lug nuts. The interpretations are many, which means you listening to what a few industry experts think it means might do you some good. Follow along as five engine pros shed light on what exactly a fully built engine is and whether or not the term’s even relevant anymore.
iiCast-aluminum pistons are typically the first to fail when it comes to bottom-end catastrophes, which means that no matter your definition of a fully built engine, it ought to include pistons that are forged.
iiThe fully built definition starts to get a bit foggy when you start talking cylinder heads. Some say it includes porting, some say it’s only got to do with things that’ll make that engine more durable, like stainless steel valves, for example.
iiLow-budget pistons or those from some obscure Chinese parts peddler might seem like a good idea while browsing eBay but will never measure up to the sort of quality and durability you’ll get from, say, a company like Tomei.
WHAT THEY SAY IT MEANS The definition of a fully built engine is subjective, if anything, but it almost always comes down to one thing: making everything
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iiHistorically, the term “fully built” has been used to describe the degree to which an engine’s been strengthened by way of stronger internals, and according to Ron Bergenholtz of Bergenholtz Racing, typically consists of forged pistons and rods, more durable head studs or bolts, and a heavy-duty valvetrain.
iiHardware like head studs or bolts as well as main caps and their fasteners also have to be included in the fully built definition. After all, a forged connecting rod is only as strong as the bolts that hold it together.
iiWhen it comes to cylinder liners and aftermarket sleeves, whether or not they’re part of the definition is up for debate. In Honda-land, where the factory cylinders start coming apart somewhere around the 400hp range, they’re a part of the equation. For engines like Toyota’s 2JZ or Nissan’s RB, though, perhaps not so much.
stronger. Unless you’re the guy with the tight pants, this’ll almost always consist of forged pistons and rods that are beefier than the cast factory ones, ductile-iron cylinders that won’t
crack under high pressure, valvetrain capable of lofty engine speeds, hardware that can hold it all together, and the machining that’ll make everything happy.
iiA properly built engine goes beyond parts selection. Knowing what that engine will be used for is critical to the sort of bearing clearances and piston ring endgaps you ought to use.
William Au-Yeung, PZ Tuning: “A fully built engine [should be] equipped with forged pistons and rods, a sleeved or billet block, and a ported head with upgraded valvetrain optimized for its intended usage.” At least that’s what Au-Yeung says it ought to include, whose Honda Civic Si currently holds the record for North America’s fastest FWD Time Attack car and who might know a thing or two about assembling a bottom end that’ll last. “The rotating assembly should be fully balanced,” he goes on to say about the machining process, “with upgraded fasteners appropriate for the target power level.” Ron Bergenholtz, Bergenholtz Racing: “Fully built is actually an erroneous term that was developed, in my opinion, as race car lingo—so the owner of the vehicle [could] feel like he possesses some great motor that others might be fearful of,” says Bergenholtz, who’s mapped out and assembled countless record-setting engines destined for everything from drag racing to drifting. As far as hard parts goes, Bergenholtz echoes Au-Yeung’s sentiments, pointing out the same sort of upgrades that shouldn’t be overlooked. Eiji Mihara, Tomei Powered USA: “It has to be precision built from the ground up with no compromises,” Mihara says. “One of the most important factors for us is the preparation work. Resurfacing, porting and polishing, and boring are all just as important as parts [selection].” Other intangibles that Mihara says you shouldn’t forget about are things like the environment the engine’s put together in. “It’s all carried out in a temperature-controlled environment, [which] is crucial for ensuring the correct clearances are achieved.” You could have the best parts around, but without a clean space to put it all together, none of that’ll even matter. Ken Rodcharoen, Ken’s Race Engines: But not everybody’s on board with the terminology. “I absolutely hate this term with a passion, as some can describe a piston-and-rod setup with stock sleeves as a fully built engine,” Rodcharoen says, who’s known for building big-power, racewinning drag racing engines, mostly of the Honda variety. Hate the term or not, Rodcharoen has still got an answer for you: “A ported cylinder head, aftermarket valvetrain, aftermarket camshafts, [along with a] cylinder block that will be sleeved with forged pistons, rods and using a billet crankshaft with race bearings.” That’s how, if he’s got to, Rodcharoen defines the fully built engine.
END GOALS Just because you think you know what a fully
iiProper planning and a detailed assembly are also just as important as you paying for those forged bits. You might have the fanciest pistons around, but if nobody bothers with things like giving them the right amount of clearance within those cylinders, none of that’ll matter.
built engine is, though, there are still all sorts of ways you can screw things up. Minimize those screwups by knowing exactly what you want from that engine and what it’ll ultimately be used for before doing anything else. Ron Bergenholtz, Bergenholtz Racing: “Application is everything,” Bergenholtz says, who points out that what works for drifting probably won’t work for drag racing. “The motor must be modified for the intended environment.” Oftentimes, the differences lie in the right combination of parts. “It’s all about all [of] the components working in harmony [for that] genre of racing,” he says. “There’s never one or two parts that make it a done deal.” Ken Rodcharoen, Ken’s Race Engines: Rodcharoen concurs. “I always ask my customers what application they’ll be using their engines for,” he says. “I have my clearances I use for street, road race and Time Attack, and drag.” Clearances that, when applied to the wrong sort of conditions, could result in premature engine wear or even catastrophic failure. Typically, builders like Rodcharoen might apply looser clearances when it comes to things like main and rod bearings for drag racing engines that don’t have to endure the same sort of long-term abuse that, say, an engine bound for the 24 Hours of Thunderhill might face. William Au-Yeung, PZ Tuning: Au-Yeung isn’t convinced the rules ought to be so hard and fast, though. “On the entry-level end of the spectrum,
a well-designed engine can strike a great balance between multiple disciplines, so if the intended goal is to have some fun at all different events, you could definitely build an engine with that as the target,” he points out. “However, on the upper end of the spectrum, especially [with] competitors who are chasing every last tenth, or even thousandth of a second, then the answer is, quite simply, no.” Which means he’s back to agreeing with Bergenholtz and Rodcharoen. “There are numerous ways in which an engine can be optimized for a specific usage, so knowing how to optimize an engine for the type of racing will definitely lead to a competitive advantage.” Dave Metchkoff, LA Sleeve: On the manufacturing and machining level, your end goals matter just as much. Metchkoff—whose family-owned business, LA Sleeve, has been manufacturing and installing heavy duty cylinders since ’45—says knowing what that engine will be used for is critical to you ending up with the right sleeves. “The engine build always drives our recommendations for sleeve kits,” he points out. Eiji Mihara, Tomei Powered USA: You won’t be surprised to hear that the people at Tomei don’t disagree with anything you’ve read so far. “Knowing the intended use of the engine beforehand is an absolute must,” Mihara says. “Parts choice, head and block modifications, clearances—they all differ depending on how the engine will be used.”
iiThere is no fine line between what’s considered fully built and what’s not. Half of our experts say it ought to include things like cylinder head porting and combustion chamber shaping, both of which have no bearing on engine strength but’ll certainly affect horsepower.
iiNobody disagrees on whether or not proper machining ought to take place. Any time an engine’s been torn apart, its block and head should be resurfaced, among other things, depending on the circumstances.
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performance BUILT WITH PURPOSE Drag: “Drag engines use more heavy-duty components, like thick-wall wristpins, custom pistons, and high-tension piston rings,” Rodcharoen says when comparing those sorts of internals to something you might find on a street-based engine. Aluminum connecting rods are also prevalent as are bearing clearances that tend to be slightly looser, he says, both of which won’t bode well for engines that have to endure more than a quick burst down the strip.
“Street and road race [engines] are basically identical,” Metchkoff says, “but we steer our customers to the ProCool closed decks for most drag-only motors.” Circuit: “In Time Attack, we all want [an] engine that can do it all: make massive horsepower like a drag motor, combine that with the driveability of a road racing engine, and throw in the reliability [of] a street car,” AuYeung says. “Striking the correct balance is the
trick, though, as each of these has its strong and weak points.” “Endurance and road race engines will be using steel connecting rods rather than aluminum and will be using lightweight components,” Rodcharoen adds. “Clearances will also be on the tight end.” Drift: According to Bergenholtz, when it comes to putting something together with drifting in mind, it’s all about the powerband. “Powerband, the location of that powerband, and how broad that powerband is, is in my opinion, the pinnacle of what dictates the components as well as characteristics of those components,” he says.
THE RIGHT PARTS FROM THE START You already know the general consensus says to upgrade those pistons, rods, and cylinders as well as most of the moving bits up top, but there are still two ways things can go terribly wrong for you: picking inferior parts or going overkill. “Cheaper, obscure manufacturers often compromise on quality control and precision engineering,” Mihara says. “Buying these parts will save you money at the checkout, but often lead to engine problems and/or compatibility issues soon after.” “We’ve found most customers feel they need big, bad, bulky, closed-deck sleeves in their blocks because they ‘appear stronger,’” Metchkoff says about spending money where it doesn’t need to be spent. “Yes, our ProCool ProCross Amphibian closed-deck sleeves are stronger, but [they’re] total overkill on 90 percent of street [engines].”
THE CONSENSUS iiThere are worse mistakes you can make, but going overkill on parts you don’t need will never be a good thing. Yes, solid-deck cylinder liners are just about the strongest modification you can make to a short-block. And no, your 220hp K-series doesn’t need it. LA Sleeve’s Dave Metchkoff goes on to say that even a fully built and sleeved engine isn’t foolproof. “A sleeved motor is meant to survive short-term abuse,” he says. “In the long run, [its] fiercest enemy is the soft aluminum engine block. Through thousands of heat cycles, some blocks simply soften and sleeves can drop a few thousandths of an inch. Once dropped, the head gaskets simply cannot hold coolant.”
Based on the experts, we can pretty much conclude that the fully built engine you’re considering won’t have anything to do with what color hardware it’s got. It also won’t have anything to do with how much power it’s making or anything that’s going on outside of that block and head. To be sure, the fully built engine has to do with just one thing, and that’s how strong it is. Down below, forged pistons and connecting rods as well as ductile-iron sleeves are must-haves. Up top, things that’ll keep you from coming apart at 9,000 rpm are just as important, like stiffer valvesprings and more durable valves. And as far as machining goes, things like honing, decking, and balancing are more non-negotiables. The votes are split, however, on whether or not things like cylinder head porting or aftermarket camshafts ought to be included in the definition since neither have anything to do with how strong that engine is. The one thing we can all agree on, though, is that none of this has anything to do with that color-coordinated valve cover of yours.
CONNECT: iiYou can throw all the expensively forged parts you want at the engine of yours, but if you don’t know what you’re doing when it comes time to assemble it, your definition of fully built might take on a whole new meaning.
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Ken’s Race Engines kensraceengines.com LA Sleeve lasleeve.com PZ Tuning pztuning.ca Tomei Powered USA tomeiusa.com
buyer's guide
Engine and Drivetrain
SIRUDA PERFORMANCE GASKETS CALLIES CONNECTING RODS By utilizing the strongest bolt, toughest pin bushing and specialty 4330V steel; Callies has produced a connecting rod that is gram for gram superior to anything available. These 5.590” long rods weigh in at 635 g. and utilize a .866” wrist pin. Ultra 2JZ rods are fastened with 3/8” diameter ARP Multi Phase 3.5 bolts. MSRP: $1,719.00 callies.com
With several decades of professional manufacturing experience, Siruda performance gaskets provide superior sealing technology for high performance turbocharged engines. Head gaskets now available for popular applications such as SR20, RB26, EJ20/EJ25/EJ257, 1JZ/2JZ, 4G63/4B11 and more! High-performance manifold/ turbo gaskets also available for select applications. MSRP: $8.00-220.00 sirudausa.com
LA SLEEVE HONDA B18 RACE READY SLEEVE KIT OS GIKEN CLUTCH This twin plate clutch kit for the KA24DE features two dampened 215mm full-face bronze metallic disks. It has the capacity to hold torque ratings upwards of 700 ft lbs. This clutch is ideal for drift or time attack applications that require the capacity and reliability. MSRP: $1,710.00 osgiken.net
Honda B18 Race Ready Performance Sleeve Kit, manufactured from specially formulated centrifugally spun-cast ductile iron. Bores from 81mm to 86mm. 74lbs possible, rated for 920hp. The amphibious design provides a cross cooling effect to ensure normal use for the street and consistency on the drag strip. Moly2000 is wear and shock-resistant, ensuring a stable bore surface, lubricity and ring seal. MSRP: $419.00 lasleeve.com
SPEC CLUTCH SPEC, Inc introduces a line of performance clutches for the Honda Civic Type R with the K20C1 engine. These clutch kits are available in 7 different single disc stages, supporting power levels and drivability requirements up to 420 ft-lbs torque in a street unit and 510 ft-lbs for track environments where drivability is less of a concern. Direct bolt-in installation is a feature of all SPEC clutch kits. Consult a SPEC representative to determine which stage best benefits your modification level. MSRP: $579.00-719.00 specclutch.com
ARP HARDWARE Reliability “Insurance” for your engine and drivetrain. Most vehicles are assembled using TTY (Torque To Yield) fasteners. They are yielded by design, and not intended to handle extra loads —or be re-used. Replace them with premium grade ARP fasteners, which provide an extra margin of safety. Available in a variety of materials and tensile strengths to let you push performance to the limit. MSRP: Varies by application arp-bolts.com
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MAZDA RX-7 SEEKS TO ACHIEVE ITS “FINAL FORM” WORDS Danny Nguyen PHOTOS Danh Phan
Since the age of 14, Cristian Tyrell has been fending for and finding himself. He lived back and forth between Houston, Texas, and Portland, Oregon, and skateboarding was his constant, four-wheeled passion until a buddy he skated with pulled up to the skatepark in a modified Honda Civic. “Hell yeah! A dope skater with a dope whip! I wanna be that guy!” That was the point where just being interested in cars turned into something that was going to change the course of his life. Done with Portland and ready to make Houston home, Cristian bought a Kia Sephia for $300 and drove it the whole way with nothing more than a backpack stuffed with clothes and his skateboard. He settled in working at Whole Foods Market and found himself looking more in depth at cars. Cristian picked up an ’81 Toyota Corolla and started toying with it—running the streets in a car most people guessed was a Starlet or Charger. “It wasn’t until I was at a gas station and this Puerto Rican guy looked at my car and said, ‘Hey, nice Corolla. You know what we do in PR with those? We throw rotaries in them.’ This is when I got the rotary bug.” Diving deep, he learned all he could about rotaries—known for being smooth and efficient but petrol-thirsty and lacking torque when compared to traditional piston engines. The Corolla was ditched to make way for an ’88 Mazda RX-7 GXL, and in the one year he owned it, he learned the ins and outs of the naturally aspirated rear-wheeled liftback. Parting ways with the FC after totalling it, he was set on getting another one, but this time, the turbo model. With some luck,
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he found a gem in a 10th Anniversary edition based on the Turbo II model. It was driven hard until the motor blew, and Cristian attempted to rebuild it but eventually let the experts at Rotary Performance in Garland, Texas, build a Frankenstein out of three different engines he supplied. The result: a street-ported stage 4 turbocharged 13B that makes close to 300 whp and still runs like a champ. “Performance first, aesthetics later.” The next order of business was to transform the bumper-missing, plasti-dipped turd into more than a reliable eyesore. It was during this stage of the build that he got to know the guys behind Final Form USA—a unique Japanese parts distributor and importer based in Houston. With proper guidance and knowledge from these local experts, he outfitted the FC with Volk Racing TE37SL wheels wrapped in Falken RT615K+ tires and also installed a list of Powered by MAX suspension components. Finer details like RE Amemiya-style bodywork, Car Shop GLOW LED taillights, LED headlights, and a fresh coat of white paint completed the exterior makeover. As a driver who enjoys drifting in his car, he feels at home sitting in the Mazda RX-8 seat with a Nardi rally steering wheel at his reach and an array of gauges in sight inside the cabin. Since February, Cristian’s FC has remained in this beautiful state, but he’s set a goal to get more aggressive with a widebody kit and also retune the car to squeeze additional power. Unfortunately, as we all know, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston hard with torrential rain, leading to devastating flooding that also affected Cristian as his apartment was completely underwater and his daily driver was ruined. Miraculously, his RX-7 was somehow spared from disaster. Staying positive with a great crew throwing nothing but support his way while he rebuilds his home and his life, Cristian still has his eyes set on completing his vision for his car and its final form. “I won’t give up now as I have already put too much effort into this car. This is my passion and I mean to see it through.” Respect.
TUNING MENU
’88 MAZDA 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION RX-7
OWNER CRISTIAN TYRELL HOMETOWN HOUSTON, TX OCCUPATION ASSOCIATE TEAM LEADER AT WHOLE FOODS MARKET POWER 290 whp ENGINE street-ported 13B engine by Rotary Performance; BNR Supercars stage-4 turbocharger; A’PEXi twin-chamber blow-off valve, GT-spec exhaust; GReddy frontmounted intercooler; Koyo radiator; Pineapple Racing oil pan; Walbro 255-lph fuel pump; Aeromotive Trick Flow fuel pressure regulator; 1,680cc secondary injectors; custom trailing ignition system, straight midpipe, engine and chassis wire harness tuck; HKS Super Mega Flow air filter; relocated fuse box, coil packs; Banzai Racing FD3S to Series 4 jumper harness; FD3S intake temperature sensor; custom LRB Speed cooling plate; Black Magic 160 e-fan DRIVETRAIN ACT six-puck clutch; stainless steel braided clutch line ENGINE MANAGEMENT A’PEXi Power FC FOOTWORK & CHASSIS Powered by MAX coilovers, upper pillow ball mounts, adjustable camber plates, solid subframe mounts, solid differential mounts; solid aluminum motor mounts BRAKES FD3S 4-piston brake calipers; StopTech brake pads; stainless steel braided brake lines WHEELS 18.5x9.5” +22 front, 18x10.5” +15 rear Volk Racing TE37SL wheels TIRES 225/40R18 front, 245/40R18 rear Falken Azenis RT615K+ tires EXTERIOR Car Shop GLOW LED taillights; Rize Japan carbon-fiber front canards; RE-Amemiya-style FC2000 front bumper, side sill extensions, carbon-fiber pro rear diffuser, side vortex generators, center air diverter; lexan headlight covers; 35mm OEM-style widebody front fenders; OEM Series 5 body moldings, rear bumper; LED headlights, turn signals INTERIOR Nardi 330mm deep corn rally steering wheel; NRG short hub, quick release; Blitz boost gauge; Innovate AFR gauge; Banzai Racing PFC commander holder; OEM RX-8 seats THANKS YOU First and foremost, my girlfriend, Jolene, for the motivation and believing my dream was achievable; David Do, the man behind Final Form USA, for being a great friend and mentor and helping me transform the turd with his guidance and knowledge; good friend Ken Suzuki; the Final Form crew, Clay, Khiem, Andy, John for having my back and supporting me throughout the build process; and huge shoutout to Falken Tire, Nick, and Rich for all the love they’ve shown
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EARLY BLUEBIRD SPECIAL THERE’S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO RISE AND GRIND WORDS Micah Wright PHOTOS JC Pepino One of the greatest joys of aftermarket automotive ownership is buying a fully built chassis, and not having to do shit to it because the previous owner did such an immaculate job of piecing together everything. Unfortunately, over here in America, that doesn’t always happen, and the majority of the features that land on our desk include phrases like, “Then I spent a bazillion hours fixing the previous owner’s mistakes…” But over in Japan, people typically tend to hold themselves and their craftsmanship to a higher standard, and after a dozen years of consistent visits, I can attest that crappy builds are few and far between in the Land of the Rising Sun. While there certainly are still some “questionable” modifications to be found, the level of detail and quality of work instilled within a custom car over there is typically top notch, giving further reason for you to salivate over today’s feature. Shop owner Yoshikazu Naruko never expected that someday he would own something as batty as the custom Datsun here beneath all those gossamer sakura blossoms. His garage, Tire Shop Accel, has been an automotive staple in Kyoto since ’01, and is by no means a tuning powerhouse like more renowned shops. But what began as a super-small spot prioritizing tire sales, oil changes, and basic car maintenance quickly turned into a local hot spot for community-based hangouts and late-night wrench sessions. Since most of his customers are lifelong friends (many of whom work on their own cars), everything from microscopic Kei cars with sewing machine engines to hulking Detroit imports can be found on deck any given day of the week here. As for Naruko-san’s prized purchase, he tells us that he procured his squeaky-clean Datsun five years ago after a friend pointed it out to him. The shop owner immediately found himself smitten over the concept and the exclusiveness embodied within owning an SR20-powered 510. Once a sale price had been agreed upon, all Naruko-san had to do was fork over some Yen and then go pick up the little Champagne Supernova. Since the car was located in the Kyoto area, he didn’t have to change the license plate or deal with transporting the sedan from one prefecture to the next, either. And because the Bluebird had already been finely tuned, it was ready to roll the minute Naruko-san took possession of the keys—a selling point that helped seal the deal for the detailoriented shop owner. Looking at the grand scheme of things, a ’69 Datsun 510 Bluebird with Work Equip 40 wheels and an SR20 swap is not a common sight, regardless of whether you are stateside or in Japan. Toss in the fact that it features a rear-mounted cooling setup, some slick one-off interior goodies, and enough periodcorrect flare to make even Jay Leno pop his pants and you’ve got one badass build straight out of the box! According to Naruko-san, the previous owner built the vehicle for drag racing, a surprising move considering this is a motorsport that remains widely unpopular with Japanese enthusiasts. From what we can gather, the previous owner started modifying the iconic 510 sedan back in ’08, before
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calling it quits three years later after the SR powertrain, one-off exhaust, and new cooling system were swapped in. The previous owner supposedly spent an inordinate amount of time fine-tuning the cooling system in the rear in order to accommodate the largest intercooler possible. This decision came after a few high-temp passes produced a plethora of overheating issues, causing the entire build to be put on hold over fear of the engine grenading, or worse yet…a car fire. But after some seriously devout fabrication time (along with a fair deal of geometry and physics refamiliarization), the old
’Bird was able to fly once more, and to this day it is primarily used as a daily by the shop owner. Naruko-san has also grown quite fond of taking the car to Kyusha gatherings (vintage car events) and looks forward to driving it on track once a year alongside swaths of 510s in Hamanako and Okayama. Much like the car itself, future plans are pretty to the point with this one. Despite the paint being in near-perfect condition, a respray is more than likely in the cards, along with a fresh muffler setup and some minor cosmetic work. Fortunately for Naruko-san, the Bluebird’s previous owner did such a stunning
IT’S A NUMBERS GAME The single Kanji toward the top of Naruko-san’s license plate is “kyo,” which is the first of the two characters needed to spell out the word “Kyoto.” As for the single numerical “5,” that designates vintage status in Japan. This combination is extremely rare due to its originality and is something you don’t see very often considering that the Japanese government switched over to using plates with full area names and three digits in 1971.
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back in the day
TUNING MENU
’69 DATSUN BLUEBIRD (P510)
OWNER YOSHIKAZU NARUKO HOMETOWN KYOTO, JAPAN OCCUPATION SHOP OWNER AT TIRE SHOP ACCEL ENGINE SR20DET swap; TRUST intake manifold, spark plugs, intercooler, blow-off valve; NIMSO R33 GT-R fuel pump; SARD 550cc injectors; IHI Power Turbine; HKS air filter; custom exhaust manifold, exhaust and muffler; Setrab 16-row oil cooler with TRUST relocation kit; Run Max silicone intercooler couplers; modified Koyo radiator; Wako 4CR oil can catch tank; aftermarket engine damper DRIVETRAIN 71B transmission; OS Giken twin-plate clutch; aftermarket flywheel; NISMO two-way limited-slip differential ENGINE MANAGEMENT A’PEXi Power FC; GReddy Profec B Spec II boost controller FOOTWORK & CHASSIS spot-welded chassis; TRD shocks; 12kg/mm front, 8kg/mm rear Swift springs; Cusco front strut bar; S14 lower control arms BRAKES S130 OEM front calipers; Dixcel rotors and pads; stainless lines WHEELS & TIRES 15x7.5” -9 front, 15x9” -6 rear Work Equip 40 wheels with Brut Silver centers and black anodized lips; 195/45R15 Dunlop tires EXTERIOR BRE-type front lip; Champagne gold paint; rolled and pulled fenders; aftermarket hoodpins; custom tow hook INTERIOR vintage OEM Datsun steering wheel; Recaro reclining seats; Sabelt seatbelts; Pivot tachometer, shift light, boost meter; custom billiard ball shift knob, carbon-fiber panels; aftermarket switch panel and kill switch
job of modifying and manicuring the chassis that downtime spent on fixing miscues are sure to remain minimal at best. Clean and quiet 510 on the outside, mean S13 on the inside, Naruko-san’s 300hp Bluebird flies through gears and eats up street tires like they are night crawlers. Classic plates, classic performance engineering ingenuity, and one classic chassis all make this one of the slickest Datsun builds in recent memory. So keep on flying that old Bluebird, Naruko-san, because the rising sun is up in the sky and it’s time to rise and grind!
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Photo: David Isihikawa
A 1JZ-swapped, drift-ready Toyota Mark II themed off of the Barricade character in the movie Transformers. Pretty badass, and you’ll see more of it in the next issue!
TO PUNISH AND ENSLAVE
happy ending
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