SixthSpeed Issue 18

18

TRINBAGO’s PREMIER UNDERGROUND

MOTION.LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

Aug/Sept 2014 + Nov/Dec 2014

The prices are RECOMMENDED & do not reflect or include Shipping or Sales tax or Additional Charges: USD $3.50 | EC$10:00 | TT$20.00 | BDS $10.00. It’s only a rough guide people.

www.sixthspeed.com

news: Jet Ski Drags | TTundra Drag Wrap up | Madness in the Mud

with VATT & Mud Dogs | Seaboard Marine CMRC & TTASA | Carib Great Race | Audi gets another Dyno | Humy goes faster Kristain flies at NASA

HANNAH MORRIS Join Sixth Speed on the Facebook.

Look for SIXTH SPEED MAGAZINE.

SAME BAD ENGRISH WITH KINDA GOODISH SPELLING

You wouldn’t BELIEVE the AH HEAR dis rongs.

LEARN HOW TO READ A

TIMESLIP MOR MOBILES of MANICAL MAYHEM:

Stefan’s Roughtop Medalist A Suzuki Swift that Go Pees Singh Dong in the Boost Altezza Make you rotate FD3S Quincy and Yaseen

BIKE TECH: CHOOSING THE RIGHT GEAR for Riding Safe.

TO MANAGE YOUR DRIVER WAYS ENERGY WHETHER DRIVING SERIES NORMAL or PEELING OUT

this is TWEETY TOO

If a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush; what do you call a bird that can beat the air out of your lungs worse than a cat getting levelled by a coki-yea broom fresh cut from a guava whip

SixthSpeed18 | www.sixthspeed.com

NUMBERS by

the SIXTH 700,744,000

that was the cost to build Dubai’s first fully integrated automotive and motor sport business park in (TT). That price includes a world-class FIA-sanctioned track, 8,000 seat grandstand, business park, karting circuits, a motocross centre, concert space and more.

T H E

S U M P

P A N

“Real revolutions never go backwards.” - Unknown Here we are again, bringing back the grind to patay cornmeal like a dry hibiscus branch in the Gulf of Paria during Hurricane Gilbert. There’s a saying that goes those who don’t know their past are doomed to repeat it and if racers don’t get it together and understand the bigger picture they’re going to get Angus beefed with no grease - AGAIN. Yes again.

It AMAZES us to see history repeat itself and men making the SAME EXACT MISTAKES that brought us to where we are as a community - which is nowhere! Racers i.e. street, track, serious, casual, part-time need to understand that the time has come to put the sport FIRST. The short term “ah just want to race” mentality has been something existing for YEARS and as gratifying as it is to jump in and spread out, the racing community has to begin to think long-term. What about tomorrow? Mind you this doesn’t apply only to speed but to life as well. In the past many have walked in; usually through some backdoor channel and driven deep wedges in an effort to simply divide, conquer and capitalize. This hadda stop and the only way that will happen is if men put down their feet and take a stand.

Right; outside that it’s AWESOME to see guys left and right seeking to do project of all types to jump een the dance - whether it be FORM or FUNCTION. Don’t even mention the overall riding scene as well as Stunt Bike and Drifting which has EXPLODED on the underground. However; with all the expansion; which is a good thing, there’s the not so good side that also blowing up and that the posers/ bandwagonists. Not only do these men have no real love for the life but they are also the ones causing UNNECESSARY drama and therein make life difficult for genuine enthusiasts.

Sigh! How we miss the old days; but say what. Speed Life Still Good!

250,000

going price of an Evo 9 MR in Trinidad & Tobago. Put a little again an you can get an Evo 10. Not the same though.

1,000

the minimum amount of horsepower most men try to achieve in order to break into single digits without really realizing that more power is useless when there’s no traction.

120

the AVERAGE speed in km/h that 85% of Trinibagonians drive. Considering that’s more than half the driving population breaking the “law” wouldn’t it be easier and more productive to get rid of/ adjust the law rather than buy speed gun to make everybody drive 80.

90

give or take that’s how much days it takes for a licences plate series to change.

0

the % confidence we have in the Ministry of Transport, License Office and the babs to come up with original, creative, realistic policies or initiatives to produce better drivers, equipped to critically think and ACTUAL drivability.

Thank God for motorsport.

Linzi.

SIXTHSPEED PRIME PARTNERS PURE We got sponsors kids. Yay! Gotta love these folks who contribute so as to keep us blowing up the spot.

(Kevin De Leon) De Leon Construction Co Ltd.

# 121 Southern Main Rd, Curepe, Trinidad | (868) 662-4622 | deleonconstruct@gmail.com

Bin Stuntin Promotions & GTees (Apparel)

GTees - Branded Apparel/ T-Shirts/ Trincity Mall & Mobile Unit (POS) | (868) 724-6696

Innovative Security.

#126 Cipero Road, Victoria Village, San Fernando, Trinidad. | (868) 657-5826 www.innovativesecuritytech.com

Lo-Cost Supermarket

Southern Main Road, Cunupia, Trinidad | (868) 665-3469

FAILMENTS

TRINBAGO GOVERNMENT

We not taking sides - the ENTIRE Trinidad and Tobago government; but more specifically Minister of Transport, Stephen Cadiz and his ridiculous albeit abysmal attempt to bring sense to the road by attempting to introduce and implement blind hombre blanco solutions that have proven to be ineffective and having no meaningful impact other than to stress out the average drivers more than they already. On the cards is speed traps, speed guns and our personal favorite a law that seeks to ban having open alcoholic drinks in the front compartment of a vehicle while driving.

WTF! So a person can get technically get charge for cracking the seal on a bottle of Buckley’s then; considering it has alcohol. What about bay rum; men does sap head and then drink that with two block of ice normal; normal after.

S I X T H

S P E E D

G R E A S E

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I N D E X

P A R T N E R S

the people mad enough to sell the magazine

UP in the NORTH

Garvin’s Performance (POS) Miniciti (Valpark) Auto Image (Valpark) Quickbits (Curepe)

DOWN in SOUTH

Sheriff’s Auto Supplies (San/Do) Specialist Muffler (Ste Madeline) Mileage Mack Ltd. (San/Do) QWKWHP Co. Ltd. (Debe) Princestown Auto Supplies RONS Marketing (San/Do) Torry Hosein (Gulf City Mall) Parts Solution (Princestown) Pink Noise Audio (Gasparillo) Maztune (Cocoyea) Ryan Performance (La Romain) Marty’s Barbershop (Mon Repos) SJR Imports (Debe) Antix Car Care (La Brea) Deserica Driving School (P/ Fortin)

ACROSS in the EAST Street Customz (Arima) Kingston12 Garage (Pasea)

RIGHT there in CENTRAL Tuner Imports (Charlieville) XR Performance (Cunupia) Custom Imports (Cunupia) Custom Sound & Security (Couva) Turbo Klub (Couva) Chris Performance (Munroe Rd.)

ACROSS in ‘BAGO

1.868.628-1278 1.868.678-7430 1.868.662-1201 1.868.645-7297

1.868.657-1687 1.868.698-0009 1.868.657-1704 1.868.647-6878 1.868.655-7633 1.868.653-0778 1.868.771-1478 1.868.655-6922 1.868.688-8679 1.868.783-5064 1.868.724-6493 1.868.762-6775 1.868.327-8996

1.868.683-6065 1.868.784-6710

1.868.665-6803 1.868.735-1086 1.868.788-2898 1.868.636-6997 1.868.636-5589 1.868.620-6306

JJ (Jelani Williams)

1.868.772-4361

A D VE R T I S E R S

I N D E X

Blue Coral Racing (Performance Shop) Boodram & Sons Ltd. (Foreign Used Parts) Car Lover’s Pitstop (Auto Garage & Car Detailing) Cariszone (Like a Trinbago Amazon) Castrol (Automotive Lubricants) Cleantec (Foreign Used Vehicles) Custom Sounds & Security (Automotive Security) D&D Tyres & Auto Parts Ltd. Imraj Brothers Muffler (Muffler Works) Mako Graphix Signworks Maztune (Mazda Performance Parts & Service) Motor City Limited (Tinting, Signs & Supplies) Outlaw Engineering (Mechanic Garage) Quickbits (Bike Performance Shop) QWKWHIP Co.Ltd. (Parts & Accessories Wholesale) Realtime Imports (Performance Shop) Royal Purple (Automotive Lubricants) Sheriff Auto Supplies (Performance Shop) Specialist Muffler 2001 (Muffler Works) Speedy G Auto Garage (Mechanic Garage) Street Concepts (Performance Shop) Trump Auto Garage (Rotary Garage) Tuner Imports (Performance Shop) Tune Tech Performance (Bike Shop + Garage) Turbo Klub Performance (Performance Shop) WCIS Limited (Industrial Supplies) XR Performance (Performance Shop)

T H E

F O R M A L I T I E S

#9 Ramnarine Ave., St. Margaret’s Vge. C/Bay, Trinbago W.I

Feel Free to Call, Text or Email the Sixth

476-3220

sixthspeedtuner@hotmail.com The Team: Marissa Wong Soo | Editorial Assist: Alex Ramirez, Brent Alleyne, Dwight Titus, C.T Bear, Kerwyn Johnson | Writers: Linzi Jeremiah, Jevon Emmanuel, 5FWD | Underground Radar: Nigel | Design & Layout: Sev7nth Interactive |the Accounting: Monique Jones The Editorials: We endorse individual expression and free speech but we can’t publish everything; so we reserve the right to use submitted material and editorials as we see fit. All credit will be given where applicable. Also the views expressed are those of the writers and NOT the magazine so don’t shoot the messenger.

The Disclaimer: At Sixth Speed we try our best to gurantee that the information in these pages are correct but we will not be held responsible if you decide to try anything and ish goes wrong.

Any damages to persons and property is not our fault; that burden of responsibility rests upon your shoulders pappy.

EEN THE

SixthSpeed18 | www.sixthspeed.com THE NEWS IS SPONSORED in PART BY:

NEWS

TTUNDRA DRAGS

Ears to the ground and eyes on the boost guage; we’re having the REAL motionsports stuff go fast people care about.

Wheyyyyyy, were to start? If you have been behind on your drag history let us take you back to the fact that this year has been nothing short of EPIC in our books and the Trinidad & Tobago Drag Racing Association (TTUNDRA) has stepped up to help bring drags back. Times fell like loose leaf and whilst there were not that much mano y mano grudges like in days of old, the ones that formed were absolutely entertaining starting with the unexpected Evo 3 battle between Omar (Samuel Weekes) and the Cyber Evo (Sheldon Mohomed). Omar was the lone wolf and had 10’s hot until the Cyber creep in the dance dropping from 11.4 to 10.7 to 10.4. For the first time in history there was pure Mitsubishi massive in the same domain and no doubt with the kinda fire both were spitting the race was on to see who would have been the first Evo to touch 9’s. Omar was the favorite to crack that seal but it was

The Times, Matchups & Historics in a snug nutshell

Cyber who buss open the bottle with a 9.8 (PB) however that record was broken inna month when Omar finally got the combo right with proper tires and screechy dan a 9.74 and then a faster 9.63 (PB). Also in the Evo frenzy was Nick in the Tuner Imports Evo3 built by Aziz Khan who was in the door from high 10’s to a low 10.22 (PB). The Teknet Performance touched Evo 8 driven by Wayne Gadahar hit his best at 12.03 and the 352 HP Evo 4 convo. patayed by Team Goodfellas member Geron Archer in 11.781. Another longtime Evo pilot Kiran Kumar managed 11 flat in a hentai draped Evo 3 put together by Omar.

The big boy battle for times was made hot with Ryan Garcia and the SKF Lancer coming out as is and started life in 8.2, then there was Aaron Dowridge with his RB26 stormed Skyline who peeled back an 8.7 and the old school veteran Gordon Rooks who fresh out of retirement just came in the room and kick over the tables with an 8.487 @ 161mph in the Nitrous flared V8 Nissan Laurel. Old school was officially back and more hope was given to that generation when Boost Factory went up against and was decimated in a head to head due to lack of grip and suspension issues. However; after tuning out the recently rebuilt under methanol JZ powered Silvia things began to get good when Boost was able to tear up in a 8.79 @ 161mph. But things got stink meaner when Navin Maraj aka the Medicine Man shipped back his the 7 second 2JZ R32 barracuda from outside and leggo an 8.7 then followed up with a 8.59 @ 161mph (PB). Representing J

CARTAIL

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EET

Breif, Fast & Sweet - all the Car News in a Short Short

(TT) SAS Racing/ Sheriff Auto Supplies now has the rotary specific oil IDEMITSU as well as carrying a full line of Drag Racing Safety apparel including full race suits.

(TT) Before returning to Trinidad & Tobago shores, Navin Maraj was able to set his fastest time outside by going down the 1320 at a Don Omar import event in 7.72 @ 176mph this is despite a leaking NOS line, sleeping on the line, open car door and jet lag. Qualifying 1st in the Street Outlaw Class, Navin was able to cut thru a field of 16 competitors to place 2nd Overall.

(TT) Teknet Performance is has recently began importing Brad Penn High Performance lubricants. In stock is the Brad Penn 20W - 50 motor oil and Castor 927 premix. Both excellent products they both come highly recommended for not only rotary engines but Evo’s and engines running methanol. With it’s high zinc content, Brad Penn goes the extra in lubrication seals that have been stripped with the meth.

(TT) RONS. you know the automotive outfit that open till 11 in the night has started up another branch that caters to ALL your car accessorie needs. Located on Cipero Street in San Fernando the place is wall to wall car stuff from mats to rims, to covers, to batteries to oil and the list goes on.

(TT) There’s going to be an automotive museum soon in the south. Pioneered by Brig Maharaj the goal of the project is to preserve cars of the past (TT) Marvin Guy aka TECHPOINT even though they had it wrong on the certificate as it should be Gaye is now officially recognized as an AEM factory trained tuner for AEM Infinity Series after completing the course in May. Man fly up to the US, take the training and fulfil the requirements yes.

(TT) Tuner Imports has set the local record for the highest hp made in a 4WD Evo3 toting a 2000cc 4G63T to date, we talking 828 @ 9000rpm 45psi with a GTX35 on C16

is the way with spray section too, was the done over Kingston 12 2JZ Ceffy piloted by Sean Ragbir who FRESH out the foil was doing 9.51 @ 140mph (PB). Also representing the K12 is Stefan Ragbir in his RB meddy who bite the lights in a surprising 11.7 (PB). But back to JZ business; Neil Roopnarinesingh’s Supra built by Boost Factory was inside in 9.0 before destroying the welds on the intake, Junior Phillips aka Central Speed skinned it back to back by driving the 680HP 2JZ Toyota Cressida owned by Nixon Dindial down the road in 9.7 and the 700HP 2JZ owned by Bhola Lee in 9.33. Bhola himself was able to do it nice after getting over jittery stage fright and drop from inside 10’s to a 9.5 (PB). Pelting bricks down the JZ channel as well was the Realtime Import A31 Cefiro driven by Richard Ramlagan who did the dew in 10.45 then dropped to a 10.2 (PB) under automatic and 672HP. Sarah Partapsingh holds onto to the fastest woman on 4 wheels doing 12.9 with the Tuner Import Evo 8 and Allison Gajadhar a 13.7 in her Evo 10. She should have stuck with the Evo as switching brands to a Nissan R34 had her playing the ass with a 14.5 and doing 1-2-5. As we on playing, SR men had a time from top to bottom; commencing the uppercuts has got to be the Ram and Sons fish van driven by Amit. After raising galvanise the infamous carite carrier knocked down times till hitting the 9.08 @ 148mph, mind you that was with a damaged 3rd gear. Leading the Pulsar charge was Richard Gardner who after overcoming mechanical issues did the track dirty in 10.32 then later on a 10.05 @ 135mph (PB). Also making Nissan Pulsar headway is Ewart who finally GT with 10.91 under all four tires smoking up the road. As always the SR in box lancers made their presence felt and on the top of that hit list was Jason Budhooram

(TT) Maztune, yep those Mazda blokes in south have retuned their operations and move the hand on operations to a bigger facility at #56 Corinth Road in San Fernando.

Still specializing in the winged M the focus is grounded in providing great aftermarket service, parts, tech support and full on complete conversions among other things.

BTW there’s a new number 653-4730 (TT) Realtime Imports has just became a dealer for Injector Dynamics and Precision Turbos in addition to digging up in CX Racing.

(TT) Trafalgar Motors actually has a Jaguar F Type in the showroom. We surprised because it’s a performance monster with a 340 hp V6 Supercharged engine, tonnes of tech and a whole lotta style.

(TT) Located in Gulf City, Center City and Movie Town the Fan Zone has official Top Gear Merchandise.

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SHORTShift Stefan Ragbir Car: 1998 Nissan HC35 Laurel Club S Build Time: 5 years Engine: RB25DET 350hp @ 6300rpm / 325lb*tq - 15psi 485hp@6300rpm / 450lb*tq - 28psi

Build, Engine Install: Kingston 12 Garage: 473-2910 Exhaust & Intake: Fitters Muffler Shop: 662-8395 EMS Tune: Kel 710-7710 Performance Parts: Tuner Imports: 689-9170 Sponsors:

XSL (a billboard company), Schaffer’s Motor Oil

BUILDING

a brick to fly isn’t easy; outside of the lack of aerodynamics there are many other things that you cater for. However, when the brick is greased by Nissan pluralism, shares lineage with one of the most infamous cars in tuner history and is mortared with nothing but the best jam then now self we having ting that saying something.

Bought in 2009, Stefan Ragbir’s Club S was stock like a Hilo store room. Coming with the original RB25 NEO the car wasn’t necessarily the pinnacle of what you would consider fun with it’s 200hp, natural aspiration and automatic tranny - at least it was comfortable and sporty looking with the OEM bodykit. You can tell that this look and level of movement wasn’t flying in the least; so Stefan, together with the wrenchmen at Kingston 12 garage began the amplification by initially installing a RB20DET and box. Compared to having an automatic NEO, the 20 turbo was a better step in the entertainment but 18 months down the road that to went the way of the NEO in favor for a bigger displaced RB25DET rated at 250HP out the hole - now we getting somewhere. Soaked with

the 25, the meddy burned the people road for close to a year before Stefan did anything by way of modification and when time came to do a lil something, it started with an A’PEXi Power FC and a sweet tune that managed to release a lil 295hp.

Three months later it went from being just a Power FC to being a full mini build starting with the engine. Activate thirsty. The head and block remained as is but boltons came galore beginning with a Q45 throttle body which was 17mm bigger than the original. Next was GReddy style intake, HKS ‘shroom filter, TIAL 44mm wastegate, (2) washable micron fuel filters of different densities - lighter one in the back to prevent stifling of the Bosch 044 fuel pump and a denser one up front to pick up the smaller particles. Since we on fuel, the lines were upgraded to ½ “; the original 370cc injectors were upped to (6) DeatschWerks 550cc side feed and an AEM FPR holds pressure on the line. Gas is lit up using SplitFire coil packs and SK ignitor. Air to facilitate the combustion is cooled via a bigger intercooler and exits through a 3in exhaust put in place by Fitter’s Muffler Shop. Pushing the molecules through and through Stefan opted

for Garrett GTX3076 rocking a .82 backend but that didn’t come jes so. Like most men who now coming into the game bamboo used is the order, however after 1 week and 11psi the turbine wheel on the used unit broke clean off under a simple road tune thereby sending Stefan back in the barn.

After the engine; focus was then turned to making sure the power created and transferred via the stock 5 speed gearbox with an OS Giken twin disc clutch to a 4:3 diff properly bakes the Falken 595 wrapped forged AZA rim measuring 19 x 9.5 (rear) properly - just so you know is 19 x 8.5 in front. With Hosiers measuring 26 x 10 on some creamy Welds drag rims, the Meddy is a mountain dew guzzling champion which usually lays down comfortable 12’s in the ¼ with the best time being 11.73 when everything was ripe and all was right with the werld. Besides the time we have to say that making a reliable 485hp x 450lb*tq is insanely impressive and flavouring the pot more is the fact that the car is a daily to and from work beater. So while Stefan may not be able to lick down mango, he could sure a hell pull down the tree and getaway with anyone one even seeing.

THE ORIGINAL IN DE BUSH MASTER

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All cars

swing RPM; some do it silent like a midnight whisper in a Toco police station, while others do it so cantankerous that the hairs on the back of your neck raise faster than getting back money during an after party wine down in the Agnes. Now, swinging RPM is one thing but when you can belt out prime notes of potency so real that you have forest birds trying to imitate the sound of your engine while escaping the carnage caused from the turbulence - that our dear readers is a horse of a different color.

Aziz Khan always wanted a Toyota Altezza; as did half of Trinidad when they now came out - those rear tail lights were such a unique novelty that people were doing all sorts of makeshift thing just to achieve the look. Initially, Aziz’s RS200 came powered by a manual BEAMS 3SGE and for six months the car was thoroughly enjoyed as is until the clutch started to slip. Not thinking much of it; he headed into the local Toyota dealer and after getting clout with the firm price for an OEM replacement he decided to move straight onto the second thing he always wanted and that’s to prove a point revolving around the notion a 1JZ turbo can throw down every bit as well as a 2JZ turbo.

The first step was to source an engine. That he found by D&D Auto and Tyres in the bamboo. However; after installing the engine together with a Walbro intank and AEM FPR, boost delivery was a no go as the turbine wheels mysteriously broke off and disappeared. Luckily for him though, he was able to find an original pair but they only lasted 2 weeks, thereby rendering the Lexus pretty much dead. Being his daily, Aziz had no choice but to roll around in the car as is for the hour but that didn’t stop him from playing the ass and although it didn’t have the poison to really turn over the chaser torsen diff he used to replace the stock one he broke just before the turbo went, the car still had a lil’ something that Zizos could’ve taken advantage of despite it not being full hundred.

Speaking of which; everybody knows that when your car isn’t full hundred you relax but apparently Aziz’s didn’t get that memo. During a drift attempt he got a bit over enthusiastic and managed to get engaged, married and divorced all at the same time to a KIA in Sangre Grande. Buffing out was not applicable here, so it was off to the straightener for what was supposed to be a 3 months. Not wanting to stick or hear any excuses, Aziz scrapped out everything and sent just a bare shell to make life easy, but is Trinis we talking about and 3 months turned into almost a year. During the unexpected extension restlessness kicked up and ideas of modification came running to the front. T’was not long after Aziz decided to dig up and explore; after all he had time. Not sure where to start Aziz consulted Nick at Tuner Imports to see what sense it made building a 1J to vomit out a 700 plus and after getting the talk on feasibility - it was orn! Armed and legged with the combination, the build was supposed to be simple; but after pulling the engine apart to refresh certain bits, it was discovered that the block was scratched. To get things right; it was shaved and bored by Baldwin’s Machine Shop then made nice with ACL bearings and 20 thou oversized CP ceramic coated pistons on the stock rods that was locked down tight with ARP rod bolts.

SixthSpeed18 | www.sixthspeed.com

This time when Aziz unleashed the 508 during a casual outing, the driveshaft wring like wet bed sheet on a jookin board that get rub down with white blue soap

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THE OTHER WOMAN

SixthSpeed18 | www.sixthspeed.com

You don’t have

to agree nah; but trust us, in our books; having a outside bad ting is the BEST. Drawing froth is no easy thing and the beast in camp must be able wang a willy silly while maintaining a level of appeal that can harden concrete and soften wood. Not only that but she hadda respond predictably nasty; must not give stress; must have one helluva bumper that when going in a straight line is only sideways and smoke you seeing and last but not least MUST be embraced by the entire family including the boss i.e. wifey.

Yes kids; Ryan Bernard’s wife knows that he has an outside woman and it’s okay cause the bad ting pon the side is the scrumptious 3rd you hold before you and by our standards she is all you could want. In fact after meeting her live, getting to see how she misbehaves while rip roaring away that wingless ah-hass from behind on what was small boost and chanting on a composition of acoustic apathy in the night air - all that’s left to say is that We WANT her - BAD! Now, we don’t know where your mind was at the beginning of this article, but we do know where Ryan’s was and that’s on building a street project that bites like a 4 in the morning outside barrel bath in the ¼ mile. After seeing the FD at a Drag & Wind event and instantly falling in lurve, he wasted no time in making Sean Shairsingh; the then owner an offer for what was at that point a street ported, Haltech carrying 450HP Bad John that was set for grip and built by Anil in Trincity. It just so happened that the engine was damaged at the said Drag & Wind event, so the car was sent back to Anil and that’s where

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TUNING TECHNICA 35

GEARING UP FOR THE RIDE Lately, if it’s one thing we’ve noticed is that most riders are kinda stepping up their game when it comes to gearing down. However there is a big difference in simply stepping up your game and how you ACTUALLY step up your game.

By that we mean MOST go out and buy certain pieces of gear because it either looks cool or offers the bare minimum in terms of a particular kind of protection e.g we’ve seen some guys throw on a regular short sleeve jersey but say they are protected because they have on an armored vest. Same thing with helmets; alot more riders are making the choice to ride with them but alot of them have on helmets that either don’t fit properly or are not secured properly.

Some even have gear that’s not up to scratch with the level of upgrades made in that the amount and type of gear you use for a scooter is going to be much different from what you are going to have to throw on when riding a “Busa.

Safety is something that most people in the life, especially riders take for granted because everybody figures “that can’t happen to me - I could ride.”

And therein lies the error - the mentality of taking things for granted. Not only that but enthusiasts seem to put more focus on aesthetics and going faster than they do in upgrading or at the least getting a good kit. We really don’t care who you are but it makes more sense to keep your ‘07 CBR600RR a while longer and get better gear than buy a faster model bike and ride in stuff that get licks out and not up to scratch in terms of protecting your ass. Like we at the magazine tell car men; speed is not cheap and anytime you have to compromise safety based on budget, you’re in the wrong sport. We all know plenty riders are cheap (let’s be honest, c’mon) but consider that the ONLY thing preventing you from getting damage and getting SERIOUS damage is your gear, logic should dictate that you build your kit good from the start and make sure that whatever you have compliments the type and style of riding you are going to be engaging in.

Right; Lewwe buss in this thing

GEARS UP PEOPLE!

Know one time that it’s EXPENSIVE but that is a relative word when it come to your life. What’s your life worth? If you can’t answer that you will understand why we say it’s relative. From the word go, even before you get a bike; once the thought is serious in your mind take the time to invest in proper gears top to bottom. Now that doesn’t mean buying the MOST EXPENSIVE and everything you see in sight but rather making the correct choices to suit you and your pocket as a rider. Another thing is the bare minimum is just that; the bare minimum, not because the rules allow you to get away with a helmet alone means, that’s all you will wear. Try your best and take personal responsibility in order to up your A game. Remember; good gear, besides reducing the risk potential injury, has a direct relationship to your ability to properly control a bike. Hitting something hard will hurt and worst case scenario you could dead; doesn’t matter what bike or how good of a rider you are, the laws of physics apply evenly to EVERYBODY in a touchdown and your body can ONLY withstand so much trauma. HOW you walk away from such an occurrence is totally dependent on gear. And for those with money on the mind it’s SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper to get the right gear from the beginning as opposed to going to the hospital (worse yet if it’s private) for something that could otherwise have been avoided if you were strapped up proper.

BUILDING THE KIT

Some people build a good kit from the word go while other take their time; either way you must understand that when putting together a PROPER kit you need to assess how you’re going to be using the bike and understand that each individual part of a kit serves a specific purpose and acts as part of a whole to keep you safe.

HEMLET:

PRIMARY PURPOSE: to protect

your head and face from damage.

It’s really that simple.

KNOW THIS: a sportbike helmet is basically a hard shell with styrofoam. On the more technical end helmets are composed of basically four parts: outer shell, interior padding, visor and fastening mechanism. When impact of any kind occurs, the shell; often made up of a mixture of exotic materials like glass fibre, carbon, Kevlar and polyurethane, absorbs the energy transferred and spreads out the force of the lash over the ENTIRE surface of the helmet. Remember energy that the helmet take is energy that your head doesn’t. The styrofoam padding which is made up of several layers varying in density essentially slows the rate of deceleration your head experiences in an impact while moving forward - it’s like a buffer. The visor prevents stuff from going into your eyes - a bee flying in your retina; at 100mph, will hurt; alot! And the straps that exist to lock down the helmet to your head MUST not only be secure but absolutely failsafe without being uncomfortable.

With helmets more money doesn’t necessarily mean more protection; rather shine light on making sure that the helmet fits your head PROPERLY. You should not have to FORCE it on and once on, it should not feel like a vice grip squeezing the life out your cheeks - things should be snug as well as comfortable. Don’t be afraid to try on as many helmets as possible as helmets vary from brand to brand and across manufacturers to accommodate various head shapes and sizes. An easy way to see if a helmet fits proper it to put it on and try turning it on your head while keeping your head straight - if it doesn’t want to turn around easily you in the cricket field.

Another thing to remember is to ALWAYS buy a helmet to suit the intended purpose use. There are a lot of different types of helmets out there from full face to half face to modular to motorcross to open face and besides design they all vary in how they go about protecting your cranium. Since the majority of you reading this will be either street or track as in drags we’re gonna put focus on the one that offers your the MOST amount of protection - FULL FACE. Normally if you’re into riding dirty a full face helmet is a MUST as it’s the only design of helmet that offers the most amount of protection while still keeping weight down, aerodynamics on point and visibility in mind. Full face helmets protects the jaw and the lower part of the face from injury in an accident and while it may be considered a bit bulky to some, these are the helmets that because of their shape allow wind to glide over the head efficiently thereby reducing neck strain. And lewwe explain this one; the shape of a helmet ties directly in with aerodynamics which is basically has to do with the way air moves around things. When you’re riding forward, wind is pushing back against you and it stands to reason the faster you ride the more resistance/ push back you have to overcome. This means that your neck muscles have to work harder to in order to support your head and resist neck strain. The constant resistance can lead to fatigue and depending on the....

(Gearing Up for the Ride continued on pg. 42)

WOMEN of the SIXTH

HANNAH MORRIS

Identify? Lol! I am Hannah Morris and I am the Daughter of rally legend Peter Morris.

Oar, so you are the person we have been hearing about for ages, it’s good to finally place a face. Now that we know that you have racer genes built in thru your dad, where did it all start for you? My dad has been in rallying since before I was born; so ever since I can remember I have been around cars and him always working towards getting his car organized for an event. Looking back as a kid I have like vague snippets of going up wallerfield to watch him rally; however, I do remember the HUGE jeps that it had up there though - would never forget those.

You remember the huge jep; we REMEMBER them HUGE cobeaux; would have sworn we saw one rob a man already coming to watch racing and laugh with he partners after. When did you start pulling steering? I star ted driving at the age of 17 Stop lying nah, really; quite 17. No really. Although there was this one time when I was a kid I remember my dad putting me on his lap pressed the gas and I steered the car. So yes, I “drove” one of his cars.

Nah man, daiz normal ting, we and all pass thru that - almost lick way a chicken and run into a big drain in the preocess. Besides your dad who else has influenced you to get into car? Besides him, no one else really. I don’t pick up interests to please other people; my dad did introduce me into cars but it’s not like I am in this thing to please him, I personally have a GENUINE interest in them - love it.

What do you love about them so? *Big Smile* They can be as sexy as hell, I love the speed, I love that adrenaline feeling you can get when the pedal is to the floor *Phew*. Of course road safety must be first, no reckless driving on the nation’s roads. If you have to drive fast its better to do it in a safe environment like on a closed race course.

As you mention fast lewwe talk about speed, you ever pepper somebody on the highway? Lol. No comment; for now.

Lol, we hear you *wink-wink* - buy license or earn it? Definitely EARN! But they NEED to make that test harder and fairer. Everybody

LAMIT Y A C f o T IO R IC CHA THE CHAOT

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STRAIGHT UP BEEN STUNTIN!

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Then out of the blue we were saved, for what happened next was nothing short of SPEK-TACK-QUE-EFFIN-LAR.

T’was a cool,

dry Sunday afternoon heading up the highway at a very uncool 70km/h - yes kids, not only were we at the Sixth obeying the speed limit but driving BELOW it - something hadda be wrong because that’s not normal. That abnormality arose out of the simple fact that we were bored as spit - we were so bored that we found ourselves actually reading billboards - for the record, Winzie Ann Cuffy izz a bess ting - she could feel something. Anyway - then IT happened. Out of the blue we were saved. Kids, what happened next was nothing short of SPEK-TACK-QUE-EFFIN-LAR. A yute on a white Honda CBR1000RR, belt out right in front of the mobile, quick turn back; ring back throttle and pop what was one of the foulest standing wheelies ever with one foot kicked out. He then dropped the front, slowed a bit barked into a full on moving burnout with some side to side action; then pressed out and disappeared in the distance It looked SICK! We - were - tun up bad after that. So you know what that means with us; we want to do that too.

In Trinbago, stunting has always been thrown aside and branded as glad bike men who could only do wheelies and burnouts. But as of late, there have been a few who have taken the underground sport of stunting to a totally different level not only rider wise but bike wise as well. No longer are men fighting up with stock bikes but modding in such a way to deliver the goods in a wrathed manner. Enter Quincy and Yaseen whose passion for the sport has led then to upping their game when it comes to what they ride and how they ride what they ride.

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Continued from page 34 circumstance, neck and sometimes back injury. That strain is compounded even further when you turn your head into the breeze when pelting down the highway/ track to see who on your tail. And since we are on turning heads being able to see especially through the corner of your eye without having to fully turn your head is another important factor when looking at helmets, the eye cut out should be enough to give your perry vision the room but not be so much that it The final nail in a good helmet coffin is that aside from protecting the rider’s head and cutting wind resistance is that any good helmet must do so without distracting the rider from focusing on the task at hand - riding. Aerodynamics, comfort, security, visibility and weight must all be considered when buying a helmet but all of these affect HOW you ride and in the end HOW you ride ties in directly with you level of riding safe.

Gloves:

PRIMARY PURPOSE: to protect your hand from damage. It’s that simple.

KNOW THIS: after your helmet, this is next most important bit of safety in your arsenal and here’s why. Your hands are technically your body sacrificial brakes; when you fall or slide the first thing you do is put your hands out relax; that’s pure instinct, your brain is naturally wired to produce that response.

Now the problem with hands is that as hard as they might appear to be they are EXTREMELY easy to damage especially under impact and that’s where good gloves comes in. Besides the padding to absorb some of the impact, good gloves prevent your hand from being destroyed in a good babagreen slide.

Gloves have come a long way and it will do you well to remember that not all are the same. Just like helmets they vary in their level of protection by their design and materials used - some have better padding for shock absorption than others; some have better lateral side protection, some are cut differently for comfort and it goes on and on. Basically gloves fall into (2) categories; street and race - street gloves are MORE geared towards comfort with the glove design itself giving more room for articulation as well as ventilation whereas Race gloves go the extra mile in making up for total protection. That doesn’t mean that either are not good; it just means the level of focus is very different; in some cases manufacturers are actually beginning to include some race characteristics on their street gloves and race gloves are getting MORE comfortable.

One thing to note and it’s not something that’s out there. In a fall when you put your hand out one of the first things to get damaged is your scaphoid bone. It’s one of eight small bones in the wrist called carpal bones and these bones are responsible for complex, yet delicate movements of the hand and wrist. While most gloves include added protection for your fingers and knuckles via “armor” , it’s actually the base of your palm that tends 1 to hit the road first and with the most force. That’s where you need the bulk of protection. There are some gloves that not only have extra padding and a more robust palm surface but also “palm sliders” or scaphoid protectors (the picture with the red circle); these are 2 extensions on the glove’s surface that allows the palm to slide on the babagreen rather than grip it.

With gloves another thing to remember is find one that FITS properly; either too small or big and you loose articulation and feel. Gloves have to be light enough so you maintain a level of touch with the handle bars as well as throttle. We know that some of you have odd sized fingers; well in a case like that order a custom set that’s made to order for your hand specifically. There really is no excuse for you to pump without good gloves on - we really don’t

care who you are. In order for safety to make sense, you need to have on the gear. Gloves need to stay on your hands throughout in addition to having good stitching as in construction. No doubt if you make contact with the crust of the earth you shouldn’t look down and realized that your gloves tearing away at the seams.

Jackets, Pants, Armor And Full Suits:

PRIMARY PURPOSE: to protect your skin from damage in the event of a fall and your body from impact - to a point. It’s that simple.

KNOW THIS: losing skin in a touchdown HURTS, that’s why we have protective clothing that goes over regular clothing. In the world of motorbike protective apparel you have different stages of protection that’s dependent on apparel material used. Usually kits are made from either a combination of synthetic materials such as kevlar OR some sort of natural material, namely leather which can either be Kangaroo, Cow or Goat. No doubt each type of material has characteristics that result in varying levels of safety; in fact, right about now in the sportbike world - MotoGP; leather suits are now mainly made of kangaroo leather as opposed to cow; reason being it is more resistant to abrasion from impact, it’s more flexible and it weighs less than cowhide.

In addition to different materials have different wear pattern and while some may only last thru one incident others can take more licks across higher speeds, multiple times. Either way it all depends where your dollar could stretch while keeping in mind that it’s better to go for something good that will last as opposed to opting for a one time use and done.

Now that we have the basic understanding let’s dive a bit into each of the pieces starting with

Riding Jeans:

Like we said before and we want to stress on it; touching down HURTS and the only difference between a rider that is able to get up dust off v.s. the one that’s at home nursing more white man than a polo tournament is a good set of pants. Many riders locally use Levi’s or Carpenter jeans as the bench mark for keeping an ass good to go. NOTHING could be further from the truth - NOTHING. Levi’s and jeans like those are cheap, they are stylish, they’re comfortable and the branding looks cool BUT that just about it. Compared to dedicated riding jeans they offer ZERO by way of protection in a slide and if you don’t believe us go get an electric sander; use a very coarse grit of sandpaper and see how long it takes you to destroy the pants.

Not only do they offer NO abrasion protection but they offer NO impact protection. A belt loop to hold a hammer on a carpenter’s pants and the extra pockets for utility is not going to help preserve your skin in a jai ho. Now, as any normal rider will admit there will be times when going full gear all the time can be inconvenient, inappropriate, a hassle and outright impractical e.g. showing up to a meeting or making a quick zig up the road to check a friend. There will be instances when you want to be casual and avoid the whole make out scene - we get that.

Which bring us to this; there is a big difference between REAL protection and PERCEIVED protection. Purpose made riding jeans are made much differently from fashion jeans. For one the materials used are meant to resist abrasion especially in the areas that are going to be making contact with the ground; knees, hips, thighs and backside. Normal Jeans are just denim and cloth, while dedicated riding jeans are either leather or multiple layers of fabric lined with synthetic fibers e.g. Kevlar or Ballistic Nylon. Also, riding jeans depending on the brand come with pockets that can accommodate padding or armor as inserts. And the stitching that hold the seams together are constructed better to prevent the jeans from tearing easily.

Space done kiddies. Tuff. “Gearing Up for the Ride” will continue in Issue 20

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I TAUGHT EYE SAW A TWEETY.

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When

a turbo car does a burnout, it’s like someone tickling your lungs with a feather and whistling the hills are alive with the sound of music. It sound nice and yes you will get the smoke effects, the exhaust pops and a barrel flames but that’s pretty much about it. However; when Gordon Rooks rolls out his yellow monster of vicarious vexation oddly named Tweety Two or Too and stages on that throttle; the air in your lung rushes to leave the scene of your body so fast that you would SWEAR is police bussing down on a whapee block inside your left ventricle. Mind you; that’s aside from the arsonic assault on your eardrums that will make them want to pop like a soft half ripe doux doux mango in a Scorpion fisted bear hug during a Caribbean Championship Wrestling match.

Normal people may find it insane that anyone should subject themselves to that kinda of vibrational onslaught but at the Sixth we not normal and real talk; there’s something gloriously satisfying about subjecting your body to the rigors this car puts out just to witness the aftermath where it tears into the fabric of time and deals with the track and the brave ones with total disregardments.

Kids, for a car that’s 15+ years old to be in continuous ripping form says alot about the build and for it to be STILL laying down the smacketh when it comes to belting people says even more about the driver. Being no stranger in the manger; Gordon Rooks is your very typical racer, starting off on the streets with another C32 which was his daily driver toting a small block 350 Chevy and AC. The Tweety name came in after he stuck on a Tweety sticker that his nephew sent for him from the states and from there the name stuck.

Representing Team SuperTune Racing back then, the Laurel was doing 12’s comfortable and belting men from aside; but the need to punish naturally reared its head. So rather than building out his street car which would require some chopping for where he wanted to go; Gordon bought an unregistered shell from the bamboo and went about the business of building an all out or nothing terrorist.

Beginning with a Chassis Engineering pipe and angle package; hence the left hand drive orientation of the car, Gordon wasn’t trying to reinvent the wheel. In order to off a project that was meant to end all, Gordon wanted only the best working on the car and on the fabrication end he locked in the much sought after Darryl Gittins to put the metal pieces together - yep, the same guy that put together SKF. In order to fast track the process and keep the plan on schedule, Gordon leveled a spot and built a shed extension onto Darryl’s house. All that just to say that this car not going anywhere, we doing this right here. And doing this they did; Gordon lived on

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When Gordon Rooks rolls out his yellow monster of vicarious vexation oddly named Tweety Two or Too and stages on that throttle; the air in your lung rushes to leave the scene of your body so fast that you would SWEAR is police bussing down on a whapee block inside your left ventricle.

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