Takuma Sato may be back?

Ok, so while its only a test run, its good news to us that are Taku fans. I must say that after I read this, I was quite pleased for two reasons: 1)I'm glad he has a chance to come back, and 2)I'm glad its with a team that shows promise.

He's testing for the position that will be left open because Sebastien Vettel is leaving for Red Bull Racing, but while Vettel was at Toro Rosso, they proved to be a team that was making strides forward. Vettel's showing especially within the last few GP's indicate the team is moving forward, though not quite at the speed as say BMW has been.

I think F1 drivers are generally pretty cool guys, with the exception of a few. I particularly like Sato though because he's only 1 of 2 Asian drivers who compete(d) in F1 currently, and also because I think Alonso is kind of a douche, and Sato passed that foo. In a Honda. From the outside. Especially since Alonso was in a McLaren Mercedes, I think that's pretty much the equivalent of physically rubbing poo in someone's face.

Let's hope he makes the team and continues his career in F1!

Build it "A" Style

Well here's a topic that I've been meaning to cover for quite some time now. You'll often times hear me refer to "levels of enthusiasm" in regards to love for automotive tuning, building, preparation and lifestyle. Essentially I believe that once you reach a very high level of automotive enthusiasm, things become less about what country built the car or which manufacturer assembled the parts, engine, or the like. What it comes down to is the time, effort, ingenuity and care that was taken to ensure that the end product is what you see in front of you. Baisically you can appreciate things that are outside of your realm. I'm a perfect example. I used to be very into Japanese and American cars, until I started learning more and more about European vehicles and their racing heritage. Then I learned a little about hot rods and their culture, low riders and their culture; you get the picture. I'm at the point now where I really can go to just about any automotive cultural phenomenon gathering and have a good time, and at least be somewhat familiar with what is being presented. I've opened myself to new things. Sure I still have my tastes in things, but learning about other styles of enthusiasm can help you with what you do to your car. This brings me to the main focus of this post.

I've met and interacted with tons of Japanese car enthusiasts that have very closed minds when it comes to part selection and shop discrimination. Specifically I'm talking about only using Japanese manufactured parts or using a Japanese shop to do building, tuning and assembly. I'll be the first to say that I do admire lots of Japanese part manufacturers, but I've also learned that they are definatly not the highest quality when it comes to certain parts. Ignorant people however will only buy parts that are from specific manufacturers and won't give others a thought, only because of their country's origin. This mainly applies to people who build street machines/show car guys from what I can see anyhow, because I guess the rarity of the parts is more important than their functionality.

My point is this: other countries build "import" cars with their own domestic parts, so why shouldnt' you? You'll notice I placed the Red Hot BMW CSL M3 at the top of my post because A)I absolutely love this car, and B) it totally embodies the subject matter that i want to tackle. Here's another shot, because the car is phenomenal:

This car exemplifies what I'm talking about because its a foreign vehicle to the Japanese market (being German) yet they use their domestic highly sought after race manufacturers to build it. Sure, they could have used the standard German fare, but instead they used what has been proven to them in their home country on their domestic vehicles. Take notice of the Volk racing wheels (I believe in track guise they even use TE-37's! How hot is that?). Since Rays Engineering has been a staple of Japanese motor sports of so long, its only natural to use them. Also the car uses a set of Project Mu brake pads, an OS Giken twin plate clutch and Super-Lock LSD, Japanese made Dixis coilovers and exhaust header. The car also uses Defi gauges as well as Dixis brand aero components.

All of these components come together to build a car that has unique flavor and really does stand out in the sea of clones. This particular formula has proven itself to work well, as they placed at the top of their class at the Super Street Super Lap Battle a few years ago, and was the only European vehicle to really bring the thunder.

Here's another vehicle that exemplifies my point:

Thanks to Speedhunters for getting me started on this by posted up their article on this European built AE86 that competed in the SPA 24 hour race. Notice first off the definitive European race car look livery.....its simple and to the point. Definately a far cry from the heavily graphic influenced Japanese style or the home product sponsor American style. The wheels are also a dead giveaway that this isn't a Japanese built race car, as the offset is fairly unaggressive, and its got those crazy turbine style inducers!

"The car has adjustable camber plates (I wonder what brand they are???) which don't look like they were Japanese-made, and it also has a Cusco OS-style strut bar, but I doubt it was made by Cusco because I don't think Cusco parts were readily available in Europe at the time this car was racing."

Again, the author notes the products used that probably aren't Japanese. As a matter of fact, there's maybe even a good chance some of the stuff was custom one-offed parts since at the time, Japanese parts probably weren't readily available in Europe. Looking even closer, you notice this:

The author notes a "Formuling France" steering wheel. How euro does that sound? Also the car is equipped with perhaps Europe's most famous gauge company (VDO) and also a staple in their safety field, OMP who supplied the fiberglass race bucket.

My last example, is perhaps the one most of you can identify with since its a Japanese car totally utilizing American parts: the Skunk2 TA Civic SI

This was THE original car that really got me thinking about this train of thought. This vehicle was built years ago to compete in an SI tuner challenge for some magazines. Even though it wasn't the most powerful vehicle, it to me was simply the most stunning, and was closest to what I'd envision how I'd like to have the vehicle built. The car uses what is essentially the entire Skunk2 catalog, including all of their engine internal components (which I believed when assembled, was somewhere around the 250hp mark, which was pretty exemplary back in those days) remote reservoir road race shocks with Skunk's own springs and perches, and their exhaust and related components. It proved to be a beast of a car, but failed due to misc reasons which go in question as some people say it was purely driver error, others say a weak gearbox. Anyhow the vehicle to me embodies the soul of what can be accomplished with this train of thought. If other foreign builders are using domestic parts on their cars, why shouldn't we? We can build it "American", or "A" style.

Many of you that know me already understand that I practice what I preach. On my personal AE86, I tend to use race proven American parts where ever I can. Some things are unavoidable, so I of course use the best of what Japan has to offer, but most of the time I'll opt for the American parts. Such is the reason I chose Crower for my valvetrain, and Arias for my pistons. Such is the reason I only use Battle Version suspension products because I know that they are simply the strongest best developed domestically made parts for the AE86 chassis. Sometimes you have to reach a little further, but in the end its well worth it. In my case I found that Porterfield offers Raybestos, yes, THAT Raybestos brand brake pads that are full race compounds. Apparently they have been offering race pads for quite a while, but only sold them to race teams. Recently, they began selling them to the public. I've tried Project Mu, TRD, and a few other brands, but nothing comes close to these pads. The Porterfield specialist actually recommended these pads to me (Compound 43) as he uses them personally and tested them at the 25 hours of Thunderhill race. When a guy like that recommends something like that to you, you listen.

I'm not telling you to hate on Japanese parts, I'm not telling you to build a crazy USA only machine, but I'm just advising that sometimes its useful and beneficial to use domestically tested and produced parts. In the race world, you use what you know and what works best, so take some of that and apply it to your street cars!

"When lives didn't matter"

One of the insanely cool things I picked up while at the Monterey Historics was this DVD titled "Can-Am: The Speed Odyssey". It chronicles the entire Canadian-American race cup from its inception all the way through its demise in the early 70's. I watched a brief trailer for it here
(http://www.canamfilm.com/) and was instantly intriuged since I wasn't totally familiar with that race series, but certainly had heard of it and witnessed many of the vehicles at the 'Historics.

Let me preface the DVD by saying first that I have incredible respect for guys that raced in the days of yore, not only because they were driving machines that were freakishly powerful (which I'll get to) but also because of limited tire technology, and limited safety. Combine the above things and they equate to some of the most spectacular and tragic crashes in history. That being said, I finished this DVD with even more respect for those guys.

As a friend put it, Can-Am racing days "were during a time when it seemed like lives didn't matter". What he was implying, was that people were just crazy. Deaths in racing were abundant during that time (which was also the 60's-70's Formula 1 era) due to limited safety development and insane power. These Can-Am cars in the early years were 450 hp 1400 pound vehicles. That power to weight ratio already equates to an insanely fast car. As technology progressed and different manufacturers began entering the fray (eventually McLaren, Porsche, Ferarri to name a few) the fastest Can-Am car was 1400 pounds with 1100 horsepower. Suddenly, thinking about driving my 150hp Corolla makes me feel like a little girl.

Anyways I don't want to spoil too much of it for you, since the DVD is as much an educational feature as it is for entertainment. With insightful commentary by Jim Hall and interviews with Bruce McLaren, its sure to fulfill anybody's need for a walk down memory lane with one of America's greatest race series.

FYI, for you rally fans, its like Group B rally for circuit racing!

My Favorite Foreign AE86 Drifters, pt 1

I love lists, and I love hearing about people's opinions on things. That is unless, of course, I totally disagree with them. Anyhow I'll try posting up at least one cool list a week to refelct how I feel about a certain topic that week, because lord knows my tastes constantly change. This week will be my favorite foreign AE86 drifters since I am an AE86 fanatic.

10) Djan Ley

Oddly enough, my #10 driver comes from Malaysia. Tengu Djan Ley was virtually unknown until a few years ago when he came over to compete in the D1 international round at Irwindale. I must say, he was shockingly good. The thing that inspires me about him, is that hardware wise his vehicle is very simple. I spoke to him a bit about his setup and really, he has a car that really isn't any more built than most fully fitted AE86 race machines including my own. The difference is, he can harness every single ounce of function out of those parts and deliver a stunningly good show. What he also showed me is that regardless of continent, some things stay constant among AE86 drivers, and one of those things is tanacity and fearlessness (or complete insanity, but call it what you will). Take for instance his battle against JR Gitten at the world battle a year ago. They went against each other in tandem, and Djan more than held his own. As a matter of fact I believe he even passed JR on one occasion, and on a reverse battle held his line to secure his place. He had the "I'm coming, and you'd better move out of the way" attitude that baisically gives the middle finger to 700 horsepower. Can't really argue with that.

9) Hisashi Kamimoto

He's one of the first pro drifters in D1 to consecutively place well. Back in the days of tight circuits and attainable power goals, Kamimoto used his supercharged Levin coupe to run with the big boys. He later moved onto a Trueno hatchback with an HKS stroked 20v engine, which in my mind was his best machine. He later moved onto using the Veilside S15 with huge horsepower, but never attained the success he had in his AE86. He now acts as D1 staff.

8) Toshiki Yoshioka

Some of us remember him way back when he was using a side-draft carbed 16v powered orange Levin. Those days are long gone, but his driving style still continues to impress. He is perhaps one of the only guys to carry on the purists AE86 mantile (until recently with his switch to the new Lexus chassis) but in our hearts and minds (and probably his) he's an AE86 guy. He's proven that in the United States, it is still possible to win in an AE86. He's proven that with the right setup, you can take down just about anybody. Just look at his Vegas FD performance! He took out 2 previous FD champions, and not just champions but factory backed champions. He also drove 2 of them to crash. With the momentum he's got right now, he's bound to make believers out of even more people.

7) Gen Terasaki

Gen is one of the most O.G. AE86 drifters out there. I remember one of the first Option videos I watched featured him and his jet black AE86 Levin. He was one of the few who would consistantly make best 16 and posed a real threat to all of his competitors. He's an engineer by trade, and also had a relatively simple and orthodox setup. If I remember correctly, he used an AE101 injected 16v with high lift 304-304 cams. The setup was good for roughly 200fwhp, which was enough back in those days to put the hurt on those S chassis guys. He drove with a very clean style which wasn't too flashy, but his steady nature put him in the top most of the time. After he switched to the AP chassis Honda, things just haven't been the same.

6) Yoichi Imamura

Really though, who doesn't love this guy. He's one of the very few AE86 guys that were able to jump into another chassis and be just as sucessful if not more so. Most of us however love him most as the driver of the doo doo brown AE86 Trueno. He had one of the most fully built and nice looking AE86's back in the day with good power to boot. He had the traditionalist setup and even only ran an aftermarket front bumper. His style is what defines most common street AE86's these days with the mesh wheels, aggressive offset, and minimalist aero. Then you get to his driving. Oh boy, his driving. This guy could really run with the best of them and he had a relatively unique and flambouyant style. While appearing wild, he always seemed to reel it back in and made it look like he intended to grind the underside of his car on a burm and run with two wheels off the ground. Really though, if this guy is #6, I know I'd think "this guy better have a good explanation for those guys that rank higher". Guess you'll have to wait for the next post to find out!

Monterey Historics '08

There are certain things you must do as an automotive enthusiast, and one of them is to visit the Monterey Historical Races. If you're a car nut and especially a race car fanatic, then this is definately the place for you. I must admit that its only been over the past few years that I've become enamored with vintage race machines (partially because some may consider my car "vintage") but the Monterey Historics welcome anybody at any enthusiasm level.

There are thousands of people who come to this event, and often times they travel from all around the globe. This even is pretty much the closest thing we have to the "Goodwood Festival of Speed" and it actually has a flavor all its own. We saw multiple celebrities, including Kazunor Yamauchi, the creator of the Gran Turismo racing series, Mario Andretti, and Timo Glock. Vic Edelbrock was even there racing his vintage Corvette in the Trans Am group, and to see an owner of a performance parts company enjoying himself and racing truely does bring warmth to my heart. Considering how many passionless buisnessmen there are in the industry, its refreshing to see that some people are in it because they love it.

Aside from some of the celebrities at the race, it was perhaps most exciting for me to see vintage Formula 1 cars. I'm not sure you can really consider yourself to be a race fan if you don't in some way shape or form drool at the sight of the Tyrell 6-wheeler or perhaps cry in glorious ecstacy at the sound of a 1960's Ferrari V-12.

Ever since I became friends with Alex Pfeiffer, I became interested in Porsches. That guy has so many race stories and a lot of them revolve around Porsches. In addition, since Steve McQueen's Le Mans is easily one of my favorite films of all time, it only followed that Porsches started to peak my interest. The Historics were full of vintage race Porches. Some were mildly prepared, and some were fire breathing weapons of mass destruction.

I also have a fetish for race car interiors. Something about spartan-esque, stripped down interiors, mechanical instrumentation, and medevil metal adorning the cockpit of vehicles that excites me. Is it a wonder then that I enjoy leather clad women and bondage?

Its cars like this that inspired the color scheme of my car.

I really can't express enough how much of a blast this was. Please check out the rest of the gallery and let me know what you think!

The rest of the gallery can be found here

No Haruguchi?

Speedhunters recently posted a list of their top 10 drift cars of all time. I realize its all for fun, but in my elitist opinion you really aren't a hardcore fan of drifting unless this guy's car is AT LEAST somewhere in the top ten. I'm not sure I have total faith in their staff anymore.

A wise man once told me that to make it in Formula D, you need three things:
1)Big Wheels.
2)Big Wing.
3)Big Aero.

Take a look at this car and you'll get it.

HKS Time Attack Evo Beat!

The HKS time attack Evo competed here in the states and completely obliterated any competition (if you can call it that). In Japan, they've had the Tuskuba recored as well, which is something like 54 seconds. The car really did seem to be the single greatest time attack machine in racing, that is until a Malaysian team put them out.

This car that you see before you is a Lotus Exige 300RR. It is the instrument of destruction that defeated the HKS Evo. Tipping the scales at a lightweight 1580 pounds and powered by a GM V6 producing 400 horsepower, I'd say this is more than a match for the HKS machine.

Read more about it here

For the complete gallery, go here