The 370Z came about when Nissan thought of refining the already alluring 350Z and looked for aspects that could be improved upon. Thankfully, it now sports more power, better handling and even blips the throttle for you during down shifts. Seriously, I mean what’s not to like about the 370Z? Well, if you’re a performance enthusiast this only serves as a starting point towards more dyno-busting power and awesome looks.

Under the hood the 370Z is powered by an all-aluminum, 3.7-liter, V6 engine (VQ37VHR). The N/A engine comes with Nissan’s Variable Valve and Lift Control and produces 332 bhp. Closer inspection on this particular engine will reveal an aftermarket intake system from HKS. Taking advantage of the VQ engine’s twin intake system, HKS developed their own dual open element HKS racing suction kit. The kit comes with lightweight dual aluminum suction pipes that allow more air to flow more smoothly. More importantly it comes with HKS’ high-flowing wet 2-layer dual density polyurethane filter element and Super Funnel for the absolute in performance. Next up on the mods list is a Powerhouse Amuse titanium exhaust. I’m sure most of you know who this company is and what they’re capable of making. Just think of them as Japanese exotica and you get the idea. Being made from titanium means its very, very light. How light? Well, the stock unit roughly weighs 46lbs while the Amuse unit weighs a scant 13.6lbs! As for the bling factor, the burnt blue color on the ends of the muffler housing and on the exhaust tips really look cool. Performance-wise the intake and the exhaust mod should probably add more than fifteen or even more horses at the wheel and plus ten or more clicks on the torque.

On the outside, this 370Z looks unlike any other out there as it has an Amuse Vestito body kit to boast of. Aside from performance products, Amuse has also been known to produce well-designed body kits and this one stands as one of their best work so far. From the subtle splitters that ride on the edges of the front bumper to the flowing side skirts as well as the rear bumper treatment, it really screams JDM Tuner. Finishing off the exterior mods is a rear wing that’s also made by Powerhouse Amuse. Those particular about stance should probably take notice of how this 370Z sits as it has been equipped with lowering springs from Tanabe that lower it by an inch or two. This brought even closer the massive black finished CE28 wheels from Volk racing that’s wearing Bridgestone Potenza rubber for a neat stance. Overall, with all its subtle yet costly and effective mods this 370Z is righteously far from stock and should also be aptly named Vestito for in Italian it means ‘well dressed’ or suit and this is definitely one well-dressed 370Z!

Engine Mods:
HKS Racing Suction Air Filters
Powerhouse Amuse Titanium Exhaust

Suspension Mods
Tanabe lowering springs

Exterior Mods
Amuse Vestito Body Kit
Amuse Rear Wing

Wheels
RAYS Volk Racing CE28N

Tires
Bridgestone Potenza

[Show as slideshow]

Hey folks, let me introduce myself before I begin! My name is Toni Tsuyoshi Arakaki or “Half Breeds” as people may know me by! I am half Japanese and half Filipino, I am currently based at Okinawa, Japan! I am the lone half Jap half Pinoy drifter I have yet to see here at the drift scene in Japan. There are several Fil Ams who competes in their own respective regions in Japan that I know of, I have much respect for all of them since Japan is one tough country to break into regarding Drifting!

I recently competed at the new drifting series in Japan called, “The Drift Muscle” series, created and run by none other than Keichi Tsuchiya and Daijiro Inada, the father’s of drifting as you may say!

There were 5 rounds on its first season, 2011! I entered two rounds, Round 3 at Nikko Circuit (retired due to logistics problems) and Round 4 at Suzuka Twin Circuit (finished 27th).

2011 was a year of trials and learning for me,  it was a very difficult year since trying to progress to the top is not an easy task after all! I don’t have a pit crew or any crew that would help me during events, I am a simple person just trying to achieve his dream who started from the very bottom!

2012 season will be starting in a couple of months Nationally, and in a few weeks locally! I’ll be competing again at the Drift Muscle series and at the local divisional series as well!

I would like to thank my sponsors and friends for helping me all throughout and funding the car’s upgrades for season 2012: ROTA Wheels, 99k-Corp, FederationD, CustomPinoyRides, Pyrotect Helmets, Speed Factory, B&M Okinawa, Team Suicidal, Team Hinga, Michiya Koboribata, and of course AutoIndustriya!

That concludes my first blog post for now, please stay tune as season 2012 is just around the corner, and I promise everyone 2012 will be an exciting year!

Right off the bat, the current Nissan GT-R makes no pretensions regarding what it can do on the track. In fact it has proven itself to be one of the fastest production cars around any racetrack. This actually comes as no surprise for Nissan engineers loaded it with state of the art technology. With over four hundred plus horses from a twin turbo V-6 engine and a “Nurburgring-tuned” suspension, it’s no slouch. Why they loaded it to the hilt stems from Nissan’s mantra that they should do everything they can to make it extremely fast and handle exceptionally.

Just like previous GT-R models that have been modified by various Japanese high performance tuners, it didn’t take long for the current GT-R to enter the aftermarket-tuning scene. As we all know this is a realm where the possibilities, as they say are endless. As such, we have Dolf Santiago’s tuned GT-R from Emperor Motorsports. His shop needs no intro at all as it specializes in selling hardcore aftermarket performance parts and accessories from Japan. In addition, it also offers periodic maintenance services on high performance cars. But what makes it even greater now is the fact that it’s the authorized dealer of HKS parts and lubricants in the Philippines.

Going back to Dolf’s highly tuned GT-R, occupying the top spot on its list of mods is the HKS GT800 kit. Aside from its very hefty price tag, this advanced turbo kit is not a simple bolt-on kit. For starters, the whole engine must be removed to facilitate the mods. Before advancing to the GT800 kit, it needs the components found on the GT600 kit. It’s really so advanced that HKS does not offer any warranty as to what can happen to the engine. The said kit comes with a comprehensive list of equipment that includes, Special GTII Turbines, Heat Resistant Cast Exhaust Manifolds, GTII (50mm) Wastegates and aluminum piping’s. According to HKS, the GT800 Turbo Kit with “Symmetrical Twin Turbo Layout” combined with other HKS performance products has the potential to increase the R-35′s engine performance to 800+ horsepower”. Local tuning guru Tommy Teng of DTM/Autotechnika was responsible for pulling out the motor while Dolf flew in Lester Wong of HKS Singapore who dialed-in the HKS F-Con V-Pro ECU. Another notable and very audible mod is the HKS Superior R-Spec exhaust system. Being the high-end model of the HKS exhaust systems, it’s made of full titanium and very, very lightweight. Hearing it howl through the titanium tips during high rpm throttle bursts as the GT-R goes through the gears is nothing short of spectacular and addicting.

After more ECU tweaking on the DTM/Autotechnika Dynapack Dyno, Tommy Teng was able to extract over 700 plus horses at the wheel and 600+ lb-ft of torque. Despite not being able to reach the 800+ target, this is just due to the lack of internal mods such as forged pistons and heavy-duty con rods. Overall, this is certainly a considerable figure and feat, given that a stock GT-R is already rated at 480 horses. As compared to the explosive power burst of let’s say a tuned EVO or an STi, Dolf comments that the GT-R’s power delivery is more consistent whether in the low, mid or high rpm levels. While I can truly attest to that, but what really got my attention was the linear and neck-pulling acceleration of this beast that really pushes your back hard on the bucket seat. Despite its hefty weight, the addition of stiffer aftermarket lowering springs from Mine’s limits the amount of body roll together with wide Bridgestone rubber. With a well-designed silhouette, Dolf simply added slight exterior touches. A Zele front lip spoiler and a carbon fiber hood is all that’s needed to assert its performance factor. With all the mods done to it, Dolf’s R-35 certainly lives up to its predecessors in all aspects of tuning.

Engine: HKS GT800 kit (Special GTII Turbines, Heat Resistant Cast Exhaust Manifolds, GTII (50mm) Wastegates, Aluminum pipes, HKS racing suction air filter, HKS Superior Spec R Exhaust system, HKS F-Con V-Pro, HKS EVC Electronic Boost Controller
Suspension: Mine's lowering coil springs
Interior: Bride limited edition Cuga seats
Exterior: Zele front lip spoiler, Varis carbon fiber hood
Wheels: Prodrive GC05K 20-inch wheels, Bridgestone Potenza RE070R tires F- 255/40ZRF R-285/35ZRF20

[Show as slideshow]

Round 4 of the Lateral Drift Pro-Am Championship moved back to the metro in Eastwood City last June 26-27. With the championship going past the halfway mark, the points leaders tried to outdo themselves while those trying to catch up showed them that the series is far from over.

With great power comes great smoke – Pacho Blanco smoking the tires of the Motul/Autoplus Nissan S13

The Destroyer showing his own brand of power and tire smoke that made him the top qualifier for the Pro Division

Hot on his heels from his first podium finish during the last leg, Team AutoIndustriya.com-Kumho Tires’ Jason “The Destroyer” Choachuy truly put on a good show taking the top spot in the qualifiers for the Pro Division. Topping the scoresheets in the Amateur Division was Alvin Dayrit in his first outing in the series.

In the end, it would be classic matchup between Choachuy (Nissan Cefiro) and Yellow Cab’s Alex Perez (Nissan S13), where The Destroyer literally hands the victory to Perez on a silver platter with a spin during their first championship tandem battle.

Meanwhile in the Amateur Division, youngblood Kar Montaner drove his SR20DE powered Corona to the limit and took TRS’ Bjorn Ongtiaobok (Mazda BT50) to school.

Choachuy sticks it close to Blanco

Tayao tries to go side-by-side with Ronquillo

Hurt and still fighting – Audel Sison soldiers on after a brief encounter with the wall in the first turn

Pro Division
1. Alex Perez
2. Jason Choachuy
3. Kevin Tayao

Amateur Division
1. Kar Montaner
2. Bjorn Ongtiaobok
3. Alvin Dayrit

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

Tire smoke, cool cars, and extreme sideways action was the order of the day in the season opener of the 2009 Glade Sport Lateral Drift Championship at the Greenhills Promenade Open Parking Lot in the City of San Juan. Many of the competitors for the pro-series came prepared with new cars, and new setups. New graduates from the recently held Drift Underground amateur series also came to play with the pros.

Bryan Revilla, Jason Choachuy and Alex Perez closely watching the practice session.

Alex Perez with his Nissan S13 in new Yellow Cab Livery hoping to defend his crown one more time.

Kevin Tayao smokin’ rubber in his newly supercharged and newly painted AE86 with shiny new rims as well.

Bryan Revilla aboard his new Nissan Silvia S15 proudly powered by his parents.

Jason “The Destroyer” Choachuy in his first outing with the new Team AutoIndustriya.com Nissan Cefiro A31.

The Destroyer takes first stab at the 2009 Championship Series, taking the final win against Revilla in the finals aboard the new Team AutoIndustriya.com Cefiro sponsored by Kumho Tires, A-toy Bodykits, Informatics Valenzuela, Recaro, Rota Wheels, Motul, Autoplus, Momo, Alpine, H&R Suspension, Du Pont, Fil Carrozzeria, Motor Pro, Remixx Clothing, and DMF Drift.

Final Result
1. Jason Choachuy
2. Bryan Revilla
3. Alex Perez
4. Kevin Tayao
5. Dan Javier
6. Jeff Villanueva
7. Giovan Bernardino
8. Franscisco Blanco

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.

Drifting is one of the fastest growing high intensity motorsport events today. Its popularity has gained greatly due to the movie The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift and the Japanese Anime series Initial D. And with the organization of the professional drift competitions such as the D1 GP Championships and Formula Drift, the sport has truly gone through great heights from its grassroots beginnings with street racers drifting in mountain passes in Japan during late nights.

The first and foremost requirement for drifting is a rear-wheel drive car. You can forget about drifting if you have a front-wheel drive or an all-wheel drive car. Sure you can do a powerslide with those, but they cannot compete in professional drifting events.

*Popular choices for drift cars would be:

Toyota Corolla Trueno AE86 – a car highly popularized by Drift King Keichi Tsuchiya and Initial D, which was also insipired by Tsuchiya. Downside for this car is its value has increased considerably due to its popularity. The car is hard to find and is also not a very easy car to use for beginners.

Nissan Cefiro A31 – considered as the Honda EG hatch of drifting with its relatively low acquisition cost. The Cefiro is the result of the mating of an S13 and a Skyline. It comes with a stock RB24 engine which you will eventually throw away once you start with your project and swap in any RB engine of your choice with much ease. There are also some who install an SR20DET engine in the Cefiro. This is the drift car for the budget concious.

Nissan S13 – the cheapest Nissan two-door car to drift with. More expensive than the Cefiro, but definitely looks a lot sportier with two doors. Comes in a coupe and fastback iteration. Comes with an SR20DET engine in Japan, but most left-hand-drive models come with KA18 and KA24 engines which you’ll eventually swap with an SR20DET engine, which offers more flexibility and abundance of aftermarket parts.

Nissan S14 – the more expensive Nissan sports coupe, released locally standard with an SR20DET engine, which unfortunately was mated to an automatic transmission. A manual transmission swap is a relatively easy modification for this car. The S14 is a very good drift car and it is easy to power up the engine with bolt-on parts and an increase in boost. As with the S13, parts are very abundant for the S14.

Mazda RX-7 – one of the most stylish cars that can be used for drifting. Unfortunately, the engine does not last very long. There are only a few specialists for the RX-7′s rotary engine in the Philippines. Aftermarket parts are very much abundant in Japan and it is realtively easy to power up the car. Only recommended if you have a big budget.

*Note that the suggested drift cars are those that are available in left-hand drive form in the the Philippines.

To better illustrate how to build a drift car, we at AutoIndustriya.com decided to build a project drift car. Since we wanted to show the basics of building a drift car, we chose one of the most basic vehicles which costs the least. We acquired a 1989 Nissan Cefiro A31 with the help of David Feliciano of DMF Drift Garage, who will also be the one responsible for making initial preparations for the car.

Being a nineteen year-old car, it was not in the best of shape, but the chassis was still in good condition. We first brought to car to Velocity Motors to have the chassis alignment specs checked and readjusted to factory specs as the chassis will have deformed through age. After some minor adjustments, which actually made the car much easier to drive afterwards, the car was ready to be taken apart to begin its new life as a drift car. The chassis alignment step is very much recommended for older cars and especially if you plan on seam-welding the body. A straight chassis is always the best foundation for a project car.

Once regarded as an executive’s car, the Nissan Cefiro was a popular car in the early nineties when it was released. But now, the car is seen in a different light or in drift terms as a different approach angle. The once reserved and serious car is now being used as a project car for drifting because of its long wheelbase and rear wheel drive configuration.

Also in a different light is Atoy Llave of A-toy Bodykits who is more often known for his wild bodykit creations and extreme aesthetic modifications who is now into the performance scene as well. Being bitten by the drifting bug recently after he joined one of the drift clinics organized by the DMF Drift School, Llave has built his own drift car from a Nissan Cefiro.

However, a plain looking Cefiro would not be enough for him, so a custom widebody FRP aerodynamic bodykit and ground effects were added to the car to put the A-toy trademark on the car, while carbon-fiber aero mirrors and a carbon-fiber rear wing adds some contrast. Custom graphics made by Winner Graphics were also added to further enhance the car’s drift car appeal. The look is finished off with white ROTA P45Rs wrapped with Avon ZZ3 tires.

Under the hood is an RB25DET engine transplanted from a Nissan Skyline R32 GT-S. The intercooler from the R32 was also used and custom intake and exhaust pipes were done by Fremuff. Some additional parts are an HKS Super Mega Flow filter, Blitz blow-off valve and an Apex-i AFC Neo for instrumentation and minor fuel delivery tuning.

In the roadholding section, suspension is handled by a set of TEIN Type HA coilovers and a custom built rollcage. To further stiffen the chassis, it was also seam-welded by DMF. The brakes from the R32 were also transplanted to compensate for the engine’s extra power.

This is one mean car inside and out, and goes sideways. What more could you ask for?

Engine: RB20DET Engine, HKS Super Filter, Blitz Blow-off Valve, Front-mount Intercooler, FREMUFF Custom Exhaust System, APEX-i AFC Neo
Suspension: TEIN Type HA Coilovers, CUSCO Front Tower Bar, Nissan Skyline R32 GTS-T Brakes, DMF Custom Rollcage
Interior: Momo Drift Steering Wheel, Kazama Shift Knob, DEFI Black Face Boost Gauge, DEFI Black Face Water Temp Gauge, Cobra Bucket Seat, Drift-spec Handbrake Lever
Exterior: A-toy FRP aero hood, A-toy FRP front aero bumpers, A-toy FRP rear aero bumper, A-toy FRP aero front grill, A-toy Carbon Fiber Drift Wing, A-toy FRP Front Diffuser
Wheels: 17 x9.0 ROTA P-45R Wheels, 215/45R17 AVON ZZ3 Front Tires, 225/45R17 AVON ZZ3 Rear Tires

[Show as slideshow]

12►

For most devoted fans of Japanese supercars, the Nissan Skyline GT-R is considered to be the most desirable of them all. The combination of its potent twin turbocharged engine, ATTESA all-wheel drive, and HICAS 4-wheel steering ensures immaculate performance whether in the straight line or through corners. The fact that it was never made in LHD just adds to the exclusivity and appeal. It is known by car enthusiasts simply as “Godzilla”.

This particular example is one of the most extensively modified Nissan Skyline GT-Rs in the world. The base car is a R34 GTR VSPEC II Nür, which is a limited edition final run of the GT-R before Nissan decided to stop production. The car was sent to Skyline Motors in California which worked on the LHD conversion for almost one year. There are two reasons the GT-R is extremely difficult to convert to LHD. The first one is difficulty in finding the right dashboard. Since there was never any LHD GT-Rs, most choppy conversions used the dashboard from an Altima. This was simply unacceptable to the owner. Skyline motors fabricated an immaculate carbon fiber dashboard wrapped in leather. Looking at the interior, you would never believe that this car was converted. The second reason for the difficulty is Nissan purportedly placed the turbos in the space where the steering column would be should the car be converted. This was taken care of through a special order steering rack from Nismo and custom downpipe work from Skyline Motors.

After the conversion was done, the car was shipped to Croydon Racing Developments in Australia for the engine work. Croydon racing is responsible for building the third fastest GT-R in the world (fastest outside of Japan) and they have used their experience and capability to build this beast. A custom ordered Jun 2.7 liter engine and a pair of HKS turbos were utilized to build power. Other engine pieces include a custom ignition system, a custom ARC 4” exhaust system, and Motec M800 for engine management. An especially nice touch is the custom fueling system Croydon racing made with switches and a fuel cell in the trunk of the car. To enable the car to get the power to the ground properly and ensure good quarter mile times, a custom sequential transmission was ordered from Hollinger. An OS Giken Quad Plate clutch is responsible for hard first gear launches (the clutch isn’t needed except when taking off from first gear and reverse). A Jun modified drag coilver system is utilized at all four corners.

After 2 years of painstaking work, this GT-R arrived in Manila July of 2004. The car was immediately treated to aesthetic improvements such as a Nismo carbon fiber hood, Electra carbon fiber trunk, Mines carbon fiber side mirrors, Veilside side skirts, and a set of very exclusive 18-inch Nismo LM-GT4 wheels in Black JGTC centerlock style.

After strenuous sessions on the dyno, this GT-R was tuned to a ’safe’ 700whp for street use on local high octane pump fuel with 1.5 bar of boost. The potential of this car is much more and is estimate to produce about 1000whp with C-16 race fuel and a higher amount of boost. With this amount of power, a set of special ordered Project Mu front and rear brakes were called in for stopping duties.

This Skyline GT-R may very well be the most powerful car in the country today.

Engine: JUN fully prepped 2.7L RB26DETT Race Engine, Motec M800 w/ datalogger & adv. lambda, Blitz SBC ID2 Dual Boost Controller, HKS GT3240 Twin Turbo Kit, Trust BOV, HKS tubular stainless steel exhaust manifold, HKS racing wastegate, Custom ARC 4" Titanium Exhaust System, Apex-i Drag VMAX SPL Intercooler, JUN Oil Pump, CRD 9-litre sump
Suspension: JUN Drag suspension shock absorber and spring, JUN rear drag cross member, Nismo front and rear stabilizer bars, Nismo front strut bar
Interior: Nismo white face gauges, Nismo MFD2 upgrade, Custom CRD Shifter, Custom LHD Conversion, Leather wrapped custom carbon fiber dashboard
Exterior: Top Secret front bumper, Nismo carbon fiber hood, Electra rear carbon fiber trunk, Veilside side skirts, Nismo rear carbon fiber spoiler plane, Mine’s side mirrors
Wheels: 18 x 9.5 NISMO LM-GT4 Black Limited II (JGTC Center Lock Style), Bridgestone Potenza RE55S Intermediate tires

[Show as slideshow]