5 minute read
The Need For Speed at Tino
ANTONIO SENA
VISHAL SHENOY | DHRUV KERAI writer | writer
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Senior Antonio Sena embraces his Italian heritage through his car: a 2014 Fiat 500 Abarth. On the weekends, Sena can be spotted at Bay Area “Cars and Coffee” events or local car meets.
Sena earned the funds to purchase his car by working for his uncle in San Diego this past summer. Said Sena, “We were building airplane parts and construction […] I was there for about a month.”
Sena’s passion for cars stems from his family of gearheads. Said Sena, “Both of my parents had sports cars when I was young. I also have other family members, like my uncles and grandparents, who were all into cars. That certainly helped.”
Sena’s favorite part about the Abarth is its manual transmission. Said Sena, “I [initially] wanted an older Japanese car […] but I really just wanted a manual car because it is a lot more fun than an automatic.” His current dream car is an FD Mazda RX-7, one of the most celebrated JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) cars ever released. “It is so cool that the car was made in the early 1990s and looks like a car that would be made today,” added Sena.
Said Sena, “Most of [the car]
is stock. I have a weighted shifter in it, which makes shifting a lot easier. I also have a roof rack because I go surfing.”
In the future, Sena plans to continue modifying his car. “I would like to build it as a daily but also a car I can take to the mountains,” said Sena.
“I would like to do coilovers to lower the car and have better turning performance and add an intake to it. I would love to do a lot with the car, but it’s expensive,” Sena said. A common problem that most car enthusiasts in high school face is affording modifications. Sena plans to pay for modifications by securing a job, adding that he plans on applying for different jobs and working over the summer.
The Bay Area car community is inclusive to high schoolers. Said Sena, “Sometimes people meet up behind T4. Those people really helped me when I was first getting into cars, just planning out builds and mods for the car.”
For CHS students interested in engaging with car culture, Sena recommends following Instagram pages such as @bayareacarmeets to learn about local events. Said Sena, “If you meet [car enthusiasts], they will tell you everything you need to know to get started ”
RICKY HERNANDEZ
SOHA ROY news editor
Cupertino High School Senior Ricardo “Ricky” Hernandez can be caught cruising his red 1994 Chevy Silverado around Main Street and Stevens Creek. Hernandez has maintained an interest in improving his truck and spends time customizing it to his liking. He funds this passion by taking up private gigs with his band.
Once Hernandez acquires parts for modification, he spends roughly three hours working on his car. Said Hernandez, “[The car] is a work in progress. After it’s ready cosmetically, I’m gonna start putting in work for the mechanical stuff,” in an interview conducted by Vishal Shenoy and Dhruv Kerai.
His favorite modification at the moment is his side exhaust, to which he added a Super 10 muffler and cut the pipes to the side. These modifications will release additional horsepower and torque from the engine while amplifying the sound at full throttle. In addition to his exhaust and muffler, Hernandez has modified his car’s audio system and digital display. In the future, Hernandez hopes to freshen up the paint on his car and switch out his current 4.3 liter V6 engine with a Chevrolet Corvette-based LS3 engine –– another performance enhancing addition considering that the Corvette is one of the fastest cars available.
Hernandez finds inspiration for his work through Instagram. Said Hernandez, “I used to see trucks like that and I was like, ‘Dude, I want one so bad.’ So I think I just got myself into it and little by little –– I’m just learning stuff.”
When asked about the car community at CHS, said Hernandez, “There’s
a little bit of competition just because you wanna have the nicest car –– the loudest car, and fastest car –– but everyone’s pretty cool. One of my buddies, Antonio, works on his car too and I tell him ‘Oh, do this, do that –– it’ll look cool’ and stuff like that. So it just goes both ways.”
Hernandez hopes to further improve his truck and potentially pursue another project car to fix, sell or keep and pass on to his family. Hernandez has always wanted a lowrider, a customized car that narrowly clears the ground, with his top choice being the 1964 Impala.
For Hernandez, who prefers American muscle over imported cars, his dream car would be a Dodge Hellcat Challenger with a wide body. Said Hernandez, “In the JDM scene, people are like, ‘Oh turbo this, turbo that.’ But to be honest, I’m not really a turbo guy. I would use a blower –– like a supercharger.” A supercharger is an air compressor that is driven by the engine gears, whereas a turbocharger is powered by a turbine that is reliant on the exhaust stream.
Hernandez recommends students interested in car culture learn from Youtube and work with their local car mechanic, much like Hernandez himself.
Said Hernandez, “Don’t rush things. [When] you rush things, it’s not gonna come out good. The most important part is to just take your time on it ”
PHOTO | Rishita Shah
