Here is a video we finished up for this season.  I would like to make a big thank you to all the support and hopefully we can keep attending all the drift events around the world.

THANK YOU
Cyrus Martinez

High-intensity, fast-paced full-on drifting action was once again the order of the day (weekend to be exact) at the Clark International Speedway as the 2010 Lateral Drift Pro-Am Championship held its 5th Round at the circuit inside the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga.

Over thirty drivers came to tackle the challenging course selected by race officials to test the skills of the country’s top drifters.

Alex Perez makes full use of the racetrack.

Francisco Blanco smokes the rears of the powerful Motul S13

Jason Choachuy smokes the Kumhos of the AutoIndustriya.com Cefiro to the Top Qualifier Spot

Gio Rodriguez countersteers to victory

Mike Tuason captures the Amateur Division win and championship lead

Pro Division

1. Gio Rodriguez
2. Jason Choachuy
3. Alex Perez

Amateur Division

1. Mike Tuason
2. Bjorn Ongtiaobok
3. Norman Agojo

For a real motor head, there’s nothing better than getting a natural high from the sound of revving engines and the smell of burning rubber. And there’s no better place to get plenty of both than at a drifting event.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen drifting gain more and more momentum here in our region. The Asian Formula Drift series has been a tremendous boost to helping aspiring drifters find a competitive outlet to showcase their skills.

This year, US based Japanese professional drifter Daijiro Yoshihara came down to judge the local talent and I decided it would be a great opportunity to get a real taste of smoking rubber from a real pro.

After briefly interviewing the 32 year old, we started talking about cars and just how he got into drifting. It was immediate how deeply passionate he was about the sport, and then it was time to hop in for a shotgun ride beside the US Formula Drift race winner.

Dai, as he preferred to be called was going to take me on a short spin, demonstrating how he initiated a drift using the emergency brake, or e-brake as he referred to it.

Now I had tried my hand at drifting before and managed to pull off a doughnut and only the first half of a figure 8. It’s not as easy as it looks. Anyone can smoke tyres but not everyone can control smoking tyres.

Dai was excellent, first he just sat down and told me exactly what he was going to do, before we even started moving. This way I was able anticipate what he was doing and not miss a thing. He engaged first gear and floored the accelerator. Well actually, we weren’t going that fast, second gear and about 60km/h was all we needed to achieve. I reminded myself, that unlike in the movies, drifting wasn’t about speed.

Once he’d got the car up to speed, he pulled on the e-brake, but only for a second and at the same time flicked the steering wheel. The car started sliding and I could hear the rubber screeching as it rubbed against the tarmac.

Once we were drifting, Dai told me that controlling the slide was all about throttle technique. And sure enough I listened and could hear the short burst of the engine as Dai feathered the throttle to maintain speed. The smell of burning rubber wafted through the ajar windows.

When I tried my hand at drifting, I had real difficulty changing direction of my slide. I always ended up over compensating and flicking the car 270 degrees instead of the ideal 180. But when I watched Dai do it, it was effortless. He flicked us left, laid down some rubber, switched right squealed the tyres a little more and the swung us back to the left, before moving smoothly into a series of doughnuts and after a few360’s, drifted back out before coming to a stop. Well, at least that’s what I think he did because my head was spinning along with the rest of the car. . I felt like I’d hopped inside a washing machine on a spin cycle! Thank goodness for bucket seats and safety belts!

What a rush. And it wasn’t about the speed this time, it was the ability to control the machine and swing it to all kinds of unnatural manoeuvres but by no means destroying it.

Whist I might have not absorbed everything that he was doing, there was something extremely artistic about how he did it. Just watching his hand, feet and body at work was amazing. Everything was so calm and fluid. I could sense that he was in complete control and perhaps not even really pushing himself all that hard. But for me in the car, with the engine revving and the smell of burning rubber filling my lungs, it seemed like the most impossible task to imitate, and I must say the whole experience left me in awe of just how much skill drift drivers possess. Like I said, anyone can smoke rubber but not everyone can control smoking rubber. Dai didn’t just control it, he mastered it, and I count myself extremely lucky to be able to have experienced it first hand.

Sanjeev Palar is a presenter for the popular motorsport magazine show, Engine Block – catch more of his motorsport adventures, every Monday at 10.30 pm on STAR Sports.

The Lateral Drift Championship series was revised for 2010 to merge both the Pro division and Amateur division into one series ran for 6 events with both classes running on the same weekend. Four legs were to be held in the Eastwood City open grounds while two would be in the Clark International Speedway.

The third round moved to Clark for fast paced high intensity sideways action after having run two rounds in Eastwood. The long track however proved to be more than what some expected it to be, as some cars broke down and relegated some competitors to watch from the sidelines instead of going sideways.

Norman Agojo drives his Skyline hard in Amateur Division

Mike Tuason and Mark Rosca battle it out for the win

Jason "The Destroyer" Choachuy wows the crowd with his daring drift maneuvers

One of the more exciting tandem battles between Alex Perez and Boodie Dabasol

RJ Obiedo versus “The Destroyer”

Blanco against Agregado in a highly competitive tandem battle

RJ Obiedo going sideways with his Hankook S15

Pro Division
1. Gio Rodriguez
2. RJ Obiedo
3. Jason Choachuy

Amateur Division
1. Mike Tuason
2. Mark Rosca
3. Norman Agojo

For the full event coverage on Autoindustriya.com Motorsports click here

This is truly more than just letting your car’s rear end hang out as there’s a theoretical approach on how to actually do it.

Origins

Its beginnings started as a competitive sport that catered to mountain-road racers of rural Japan. Informal challenges on mountain back roads (called “Touge”) eventually evolved into a heavily funded and advertised competitive event, sanctioned by organizations and held on private tracks. Initiated by Option magazine Japan and its video department V-Option, they created the popular D1 Grand Prix to catch and expand the drifting craze. Led by CEO Daijiro Inada, the Option D1GP has now broken into other venues like the States and other countries. Drifting actually started in America around ’02 a grassroots level among Club4AG members and has now exploded into a massively popular form of motorsport with the advent of the D1 GP. However, Japanese drifters are still considered to be at the cutting edge of technique and car development, but their American counterparts are quickly catching up, like Vince Gitten Jr (D1GP Champ), Rhys Millen, Samuel Hubinette, and Benson Hsu.

Definition

Drifting refers to the difference in the slip angle between the front and rear tires of a car. When the rear wheels are slipping at a greater angle than the front wheels, the car is said to be drifting, or oversteering. What happens is that the rear end of the car appears to chase the front end around a turn, as the driver utilizes both front tires and the rear tires to control the actual direction of the car. Adding more throttle induces more rear wheel slip angle and the rear of the car wants to overtake the front. Overall, the goal of the driver here is to achieve steering lock and use the throttle to fine tune the car’s angle and direction. Think of it as a controlled slide. Many of the techniques used today in drifting were developed by rally drivers who often competed on dirt, gravel and snow. Sliding around corners for rally racing was the only way to go faster around a corner as they normally raced on loose or slippery surfaces.

Drifting for Points

Nowadays, drifting has become a competitive sport where drivers have their own styles and techniques as they compete to keep their cars sideways for as long as possible. Drifting competitions are judged based not on the time it takes to complete a course, but how much slip angle a driver can get, how long can they hold it, and how close can they stay to the racing line, or to the wall. Keiichi Tsuchiya, a well known legend in the drifting world, is considered the father of drifting. Regarded as the “Drift King” (Dorikin), he is the official chief judge in the D1 Grand Prix Series. Final rounds of D1GP competition include tandem drift runs nicknamed “tsuiso” in Japanese, where one car follows another through the course, attempting to keep up with or even pass the car in front. In the “tsuiso” rounds, it doesn’t matter if the racing line is wrong, what matters is who can execute the most exciting drift. A car does not even have to keep up, because even though the other car is left behind on the straight, but managed to execute a spectacular drift, he can still win that round. However, a spin, understeer, or collision results in the disqualification of the offending party.

Drift Cars

Any rear-wheel drive car can be set up for drift competition, but must include the addition of a Limited-Slip Differential. Popular competition cars in the US include the Nissan 240SX, Nissan 350Z, Toyota Corolla GT-S (AE86), Mazda RX-7, and Honda S2000. In Japan, the top drift machines are the Nissan S13, S14, S15 Silvia, 180SX, Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno and Corolla Levin, Nissan Skyline (The 4-door sedan, RWD version, a.k.a. ER34), Toyota Altezza, Toyota Aristo, Nissan Z33, Fairlady Z, Nissan Cefiro (A31), Nissan Laurel, and Toyota Soarer. There is some debate over whether or not front-wheel-drive (FWD) vehicles can drift. By the technical definition (rear wheels slipping at a greater angle than front wheels), they are indeed able to drift. However, many consider FWD vehicles a poor choice for drifting, as the frequent use of the emergency brake (necessary to drift FWD cars) slows them down and makes them harder to control. 4WD vehicles, such as the Subaru Impreza WRX STi and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution drift at a much different angle and are usually induced by power-over. As the front wheels are also driven on a 4WD vehicle there is a noticeable lack of counter steer.

Drifting Techniques

Braking Drift

This drift is performed when entering a corner to induce the car to “set” or shift its weight to cause the rear wheels to lose traction and drift. This is performed by braking before a corner while starting to turn in, vary the brake petal until loss of grip is obtained and then balance the oversteer through steering and throttle inputs to control and sustain the drift.

Power-Over Drift

This drift is performed when entering a corner at full throttle to produce heavy oversteer through the corner, it is the most typical drifting technique for All Wheel Drive (AWD) cars.

Inertia (Feint) Drift

This method is done by “rocking” the car much like a pendulum, whereby once the car is rocked towards the outside of a turn, you then use the inertia of the car to swing it back to the desired direction. By going away from the corner, and turning back in hard, you are now coming in the corner at a much sharper angle.

Hand-Brake Drift

This technique is very straightforward, upon entering a corner, pull the hand brake lever to induce traction loss at the rear wheels, and balance the drift through steering and throttle play. Some people argue that this method doesn’t actually create a drift but rather just a power slide. The bottom line here is that using the hand brake is no different from any other method of starting a drift. This method is generally the main technique to perform in a controlled drift when using Front Wheel Drive (FWD) cars.

Dirt Drop Drift

This is done by dropping the rear tires off the road into the dirt to maintain or gain drift angle without losing power or speed and to set up for the next turn. Only permissible on roads without barriers and lined with dirt or other materials which to lose traction. This is commonly done in WRC rallying.

Kansei Drift

This is performed at race speeds, when entering a high speed corner a driver lifts his foot off the throttle while slightly turning into a corner to induce a mild over steer and then balances the drift through steering, braking and throttle motions. (note: the car that is being used for this style of drift should be a neutral balanced car therefore the over steer will be induce when this technique is applied, if the car plows through any turn this technique will not work)

Shift Lock

This is performed by letting the revs drop upon downshift into a corner and then releasing the clutch to put stress on the driveline to slow the rear tires inducing oversteer. (This is like pulling the E-brake through a turn – note: this is best to be performed in the wet to minimize damage to the driveline etc)

Jump Drift

This technique is used to start a drift by letting the rear tire run on the inside of a turn or apex and letting it bounce over a rumble strip to help lose traction resulting in oversteer.

Clutch Kick

This is done by “kicking” the clutch (pushing in, then out) to send a shock through the powertrain, upsetting the car’s balance. It causes the rear wheels to slip and enables the driver to induce oversteer, thereby starting a drift.

Choku Dori

This is an advanced technique that involves using one of the previous techniques to start the drift, while using the hand brake to extend the drift into a turn. This is done by pulling the hand-brake through a straight to start a high angel drift while holding this angle to set up for the turn ahead. (note: this can only be done at high speeds)

Manji Drift

This is used while drifting on long straightaways. The driver of the car sways the car side to side (like a pendulum) while the car is in a drift, which looks impressive. It can be initiated through all the above techniques

Drift Spec Suspension Tune

Drift spec tuning gives emphasis towards making the car go sideways in a controllable state. The car needs to have a low centre of gravity and be able to spin the rear wheels with ease. This makes the car look good while going sideways.

Suspension: Setting is primarily for high grip on the front wheels and low or no grip on the rear wheels. Steering inputs need to be sharp and precise. Use of a quick rack or longer steering arms recommended. Use of stiff spring/shock rates is mandatory as this gives the car low grip levels, hence the ability to easily slide.

Brakes: Low-mid temperature brake pads recommended for front to give good initial bite which helps weight transfer to the front making the rear tires light thus being able to freely spin. Handbrake cable adjustment with ultra high grip disc/drum pads are required to effectively lock the rear wheels.

Performance: Top end (high RPM) response and power is required to hold the drift through the corners. Power tuning up top is highly recommended together with engine reliability. Large radiators and oil coolers are essential to combat over heating with the engine spinning at continuously high RPM level. As the car goes sideways.

Summary: Tuning of this level makes a very responsive and very maneuverable vehicle, with a twitchy characteristic. Power and braking levels are also high, with a very hard suspension setting.

Clear skies, glaring sun and intense heat was the order of the day for the second round of the 2009 Lateral Drift Championship held at the Greenhills Open Parking Bay 6 in the City of San Juan last May 23. A total of twenty-seven participants came to the track to show-off, compete and simply have fun. The track layout designed by David Feliciano proved exciting for the competitors throughout the day up to the tight tandem battles.

The Destroyer drives the AutoIndustriya.com Cefiro hard

Kevin “Bad News” Tayao drives his AE86 smooth as a golf putt qualifying on top

D1 Grand Prix US competitor Cyrus Martinez take the Motul-Autoplus Nissan 240SX for a demo run, smoking tires and showing his moves.

Making his way back to the top of the podium was Team Yellow Cab’s Alex “X” Perez, who won a very narrow victory over Team Forced Speed’s RJ Obiedo who spun out just before the finish line. Rounding up the podium finishers was first leg winner Jason “The Destroyer” Choachuy.

Final Result
1. Alex Perez
2. RJ Obiedo
3. Jason Choachuy
4. Chukri Prieto
5. Kevin Tayao
6. John Boban
7. Jeffrey Villanueva
8. Joema Montaner

From just helping out in his father’s garage at fourteen to buying his first AE86, Cyrus Martinez is now a proud holder of a D1 Grand Prix US license. He is the first Filipino driver to achieve this feat and is also the first Filipino driver to actively compete in professional drifting. He visited Manila recently and we at Tuned got to have an exclusive interview with him courtesy of local Megan Racing distributor HART International.

How long have you been into cars?

I’ve been into cars ever since my dad got me working with him when we first moved to the states. I was fourteen then, basically changing tires and helping him out with whatever I could do. It was just a home-based garage for people who wanted to save money. I basically did it to earn some extra cash for myself.

What inspired you to go into drifting?

In 2003, after attending my first drifting event in Irwindale. The winner was Katsuhiro Ueo, who was driving a Toyota AE86. I was into drag racing at that time, but I saw drifting as a different form or art of drifting. It was exciting for the crowd and for the drivers at the same time. That practically got me into drifting. I bought myself a Toyota Corolla AE86 the next day and started watching videos and riding along with friends who were already into drifting at that time.

How long have you been with Megan Racing?

I’ve been with the company for three years, handling marketing, research and development, and product support. Driving was just for the last year and a half, which started when my boss saw a future for me in drifting, he decided to sponsor me.

What’s your impression of the Philippine aftermarket industry?

The local industry has a lot of marketing involved like Motul and Autoplus. At first, when I visited Banawe, it looked so disorganized and I actually thought the Philippines was really far behind. But when I got to visit high profile shops like Autoplus, who are really passionate with their cars. They also have a lot of nice parts from major brands there as well. Which brings me to conclude that the market shows a lot of promise for growth especially with the influences from the Japanese and American markets. Filipinos will always love cars, they love fixing up cars. There’s always new cars coming out and more cars to fix up.

What can you say about the Philippine drift scene?

I’m actually very impressed. I first got to see the videos of Lateral Drift online about two years ago, and I wasn’t expecting much. I was very surprised to see that its gotten far from what it was. The drifts were a lot better, and the cars also improved by influences from drifting in Japan and the States. I also saw that the Filipino drifters are actually stepping up their driving. The drivers want to learn, they want to get to the point of achievement. I’m actually impressed with the skills of the Lateral Drift drivers, especially with the level of competition they have. I’d like to thank Mr. David Feliciano for letting me drive in their series even just with a demo run.

What can you say about the cars here?

There are actually very expensive cars here. I actually had a chance to drive the Motul-Autoplus S13 in Round 2 of the Lateral Drift Championship. I was surprised when I first drove the car, it was very responsive. A lot of horsepower for such a small track, it was really easy to drive. The cars are starting to get put well together.

What about driving in the Manila?

I’ve driven, and its really crazy. Its really hard almost like you’re to crash every time, especially those crazy motorcycle riders who drive like there’s no tomorrow. The taxi drivers here are very good too, they can weave through the tight streets of Manila so easy.

What’s your best achievement so far?

That would be getting my 2009 D1 Grand Prix US license held in Anaheim. Because when I first started, I was actually watching these guys, now I’m actually a part of the action.

What are your future plans?

I’d want to be one of the top drivers for D1. I’m also aiming to get my license for Formula D in 2010. Its really hard to get in because you’re going against some of the best drivers as well. Some of the participants are actually demo drivers and stunt drivers. Not that D1 is easy, because the Japanese drivers are really good also. They started drifting after all. Its not going to be easy but you know the Pinoy way of thinking. Kung kaya nila, kaya ko din yan! (If they can do it, I can also do it!)

Any last words?

Well I’d like to thank Motul and Autoplus for letting me drive their car and for giving me a chance to show the drifting that I had to offer from the States. I’d also like to thank my mom and dad, “I’m here in the Philippines!” And last but not the least to my girlfriend, who regards herself as my number one fan.

Drifting is about showmanship. It’s not just about the turbo under your hood, the exotic suspension setup you have, or the number of horses your engine is pushing out. Looking good is part of show drifting. Wild bodykits, hot rims, shiny paintjobs, and cool graphics play a big role in the drifting world. Make them work together with a top-performing car and you’re on your way to the top.

To give the boring executive car some serious attitude, we went to A-toy Bodykits who hooked up with a set of fiberglass bodykits for our A31 Cefiro project car. The main man Atoy Llave provided us with a custom aero hood, Type-U front and rear bumpers, aero fenders and side skirts.

With the new bodykits, a new paintjob was in order. We chose DuPont, the world’s leader in paint as our refinish partner. The car was brought to Fil-Carrozzeria paint and body shop to give it a new shine as they fixed some slightly rusted parts of the nearly two-decade old car. After nearly four weeks of preparation, the car was rolled out of the spray booth with its new shiny silver and blue combination DuPont finish.

Graphics come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Since this was going to be the AutoIndustriya.com Drift Car, we decided to go with stripes in a very familiar color – blue. It took one whole week to come up with the final design for the car, which was supposed to be edgy at the same time properly represent the website as its rolling ambassador. Many thanks go to Archie Garcia for coming up with the design.

Nice bodywork needs to be finished off with a hot set of rims. Our good friends at Rota Wheels provided us first with a set of wide offset Torque-R’s in gloss white finish. Michael Rojas of Rota Wheels then told us about this new wheel finish he was planning to try out. We chose the Rota D2 wheels as the design to be used for the prototype of the RS (short for Rainbow Shot) finish. The RS finish is similar to what a burnt titanium exhaust tip looks like. The result was a very unique finish, which matched up really well with the whole new look of the car. Wheels need to be finished off tires. Kumho liked our project and sponsored us with their KU31 Ultra-High Performance Tires.

For the interior, Momo provided us with the drifting-inspired Atomik lineup of products, which included pedals, shift knob and finished off with the deep-dish drift steering wheel. For the seat harness, Momo also provided their 3-inch racing harness. While your three-point safety belts are good enough for the street, proper four-point or five-point seat restraints are a must in motor sport competition. For seating, we chose Recaro, the world’s leading manufacturer of sports and racing seats. We installed the Pole Position Furious racing shell, the entry-level model, which is FIA certified for motor sport competition. An FIA certified racing shell can spell the difference between life and death in the event of a serious accident in motor sports.

Although not completely necessary for a regular drift car, these aesthetic modifications however will be necessary if you want to actively compete in the world of drifting.

I know I promise Brent every time i see him that I would start blogging asap! Here it is Brent! Finally!! First of, I would like to introduce myself. I am Bryan Revilla, and I love cars! As some of you readers know, I compete professionally at LATERAL DRIFT CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES. This is actually my 3rd season competing in the series.

This season, Lateral D is back with a bang! Sicker than ever with sick cars, sick track layouts and with more crazy drivers! LOL! Every year, Burnt Rubber Productions makes Lateral D bigger and bigger. I remember, when the events were held at CCP with only a few sponsors and now it’s hella crazy that a lot of companies are trying to get into the bandwagon. It’s really great to be part of history seeing this sport grow.

my s15 all taped up

The 1st round is over, however, I would just like to share that it was one for the books for me as a competitor. April 25, 2009 is the date that I won 2nd place and my 2nd time to step into the podium. This was the highest position I was able attain in my drifting career, what an unforgettable experience! Though, it was something I wasn’t even expecting. Earlier that day, I was already having problems with the car and my driving style. Qualifying for the top 16 was already a problem for me knowing that I’m still having a hard time adjusting to the new car and having to deal with a sliding clutch. My 1st run was not pretty at all! Under-steer on the first turn but luckily I was able to finish that run. Good thing I was able to get a conservative yet not so great 2nd and 3rd run. I thought my day was over knowing the fact that I was wasn’t driving a 100%. I was already losing hope of actually getting into the top 8 if this continues through out the day…. Surprisingly, my name was called as one of the top 16 drivers! I was actually happy I made it past the first eliminations…

As the eliminations for the top 8 spots began, the same problems I had during the previous eliminations happened again for my 1st run! I made sure that gave the crowd and the judges a good solid 2nd and 3rd run which I actually did with style and a broken bumper. I was praying that those runs were good enough to get me into the top 8! Luckily, my prayers were answered! I made it into the top against top qualifier Lt. Dan Javier. Dan was driving like a mad man earlier that day sticking the rear of his car to the barriers and clipping every point with speed and great angle. 1st run I was in front and Dan had the advantage, I know Dan is one of those very unpredictable drivers not knowing if he’s going to do. I made sure that I would make him get near me as possible during that run. 2nd run, I have the advantage but unluckily I spun out at the first turn. Score tied at 1-1, we both know that we have to give this our best for us to advance. 3rd run, it was a tight battle but Dan under-steered at the 1st turn committing the same mistake I did during the 2nd run giving me the win.

me and jason during practice. Who knew that it would be me and him figting it out for the win that day

Top 4, it was Me vs Kevin tayao and Yellow Cab’s Alex Perez vs AI’s Jason Choachuy. The battle between Jason and Alex was really tight but Jason got the win upsetting the champ Alex Perez who would later win 3rd place that day. Next in line was me against Kevin. Kevin is one of those drivers that I really looked up too in this sport and it was really crazy that I would go head to head with him. 1st run I was able to get the win with my balls in my throat cause I was really nervous during this time. 2nd run, I felt more relaxed after getting that point during the 1st run. As the 2nd run began, Kevin was in front we were really close going towards the first turn, we initiated almost the same time making it really close but Kevin clipped the tire barrier which flew into my line which caused me to stop and losing the point to Kevin. Scored tied once again, its do or die for me. 3rd run was to close to call that the judges had to call one more time. 4th run Kevin in front, we were close approaching the first turn. I wasn’t expecting that the unexpected would happen, Kevin spinning out. I was thinking “Is this what I think it is?” truly enough, I heard the announcer say “Mr Revilla!!! You are going to the finals!!” I don’t know what I was feeling but for sure I was really happy to be there in the finals going head to head with my teammate!

it really doesn’t matter if I win or lose but come to think of it, it was a damn hard to get into the finals and I’m not going to give up with out a fight. Now or never, it was my first time to be in the finals. 1st run and 2nd run both drivers were given one point each. 3rd run, it was hella close! It was hella disappointing spinning out towards the end of the course! With that mistake, Jason got the win making him the champion for the 1st round! Like I said win or lose it didn’t matter, I was just happy to be there competing head to head with Dan, Kevin and Jason. That day, I realized that I burnt my clutch and I pretty much lost my bumper..

before

and after

Next round will be another story but till then, see you guys on round 2 this Saturday May 23, 2009!! Same time same place!

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK MY SPONSORS DMF DRIFT, PR AUTOSPORT, AUTOLINE, STAGE 21 BODYKITS, VISUAL SPEED AUTO DESIGN, AGR EXHAUSTS, MAXXIS TIRES, AUTOINDUSTRIYA AND MY WONDERFUL PARENTS!!

See you guys on round 2!!

-Bryan Revilla

Chassis Preparation

After the alignment, the car was then brought to DMF Drift Garage for seam welding to stiffen the chassis for a rigid platform. In preparation for the process, the stock RB24S engine was taken out of the car also in preparation for the new engine transplant. Seam welding minimizes the chassis flex making the car easier to control and more predictable in a drift. It also helps maintain the alignment done on the chassis. A custom rollcage was then installed in the car for further stiffening and safety after the seam welding process.

Suspension

In order to have a proper footwork to put the car to the ground, a good suspension is required. The stock rear cradle was taken out for an R32 rear cradle to be installed, which would allow a better differential housing to be put in place. To handle the height and damping, a set of XYZ Racing Super Sport Coilovers from Makna Marketing were installed. A set of pillow-ball suspension plates was installed to allow adjustment of front camber. A custom front underbrace done by DMF was also put in place to further stiffen the chassis. It was finished off with a Cusco front tower bar.

For better adjustability, it is recommended to change also the front torsion bars to allow the adjustment of caster; and rear lower arm for rear camber adjustment. These two parts are just some more additional parts to make the car easier to drive and drift better. There are more adjustable parts that would make it better but also makes the cost more. We decided to forgo these for the meantime as we are trying to build a basic drift car.

Brakes

One of the most important things that you need to consider when you plan to make your car perform better is to upgrade your brakes. As they say, if you don’t brake, you’ll break your car.

We decided to upgrade the brakes coming from an R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R. These brakes come with cross-drilled rotors in all fours, four-pot front calipers and twin-pot rear calipers. These come with PCD 5×114.3 hubs, which allow for a wider choice of wheels and provide a lot of stopping power. The surplus calipers we acquired came with a nice red powdercoat finish giving it a very aggressive and fresh look after they were cleaned.