L

SPECIA

N
FREE! GIANT DOUBLE-SIDED
A1 POSTER INSIDE

EDITIO

LESS THAN THREE

MONTHS SINCE HIS LAST
CAR BROKE COVER,
STEPHEN ‘BAGGSY’
BIAGIONI IS
BACK AND
HIS 1200BHP
V8 GT-R IS
THE BEST YET!

200MPH
CLUB
THE THREE
BEST
NE
CARS TO TU
TO TOP THE
N
DOUBLE TO

SEPTEMBER ’17 £4.75 No.200

japaneseperformancemag.co.uk

EIBACH/DREAM
FK2 HONDA CIVIC
TYPE R SPRING KIT

ALSO INSIDE...
THE WARRIOR IN WHITE
TRACK-TUNED EVO HITS THE STREETS
SUBARU PURISTS BEWARE!
IMMACULATE P1 IMPREZA ON AIR RIDE
TRIUMPHANT TRIANGLES
RX-7 OWNER TAMES THE BEAST
NISSAN R35 GT-R
6-Speed (Heavy Duty) Helical Synchro Gearset

Gears... that make records

AUDI GM FORD HONDA LAMBORGHINI MITSUBISHI NISSAN SUBARU TREMEC

ppgearbox.com.au
[email protected]
 You’ve come a long way, baby!
T
wo hundred. That’s how many issues there have
been of your favourite Japanese tuning magazine
since its launch editon back in November 1999. How
things have changed! While back then we were talking
about tuning your Japanese joy toy to hit the heady
heights of 150mph, in this latest issue we’re explaining
how you can top 200mph! Check it out on page 71.
But it’s not just the benchmark for top speeds that have
changed dramatically as, since its inception, the Japanese
performance scene has witnessed an explosion of
SPECIAL
creativity and development unlike any other. For example,
FREE! GIANT DOUBLE-S
A1 POSTER INSI IDED
DE
what other scene has such diversity of genres at its heart?
EDITION
Retro, modern, stanced, styled or tuned, owners of
Japanese cars have embraced them all. And then there’s
the dominance of Japanese machinery in the field of
LESS THAN THREE
MONTHS SINC
E
competitive motorsport. Time Attack, sprinting, drag racing,
CAR BROKE COVEHIS LAST
R,
STEPHEN ‘BAG
BIAGIONI IS
BACK AND
GSY’
drifting or Gymkhana – name the discipline and you’ll find
HIS 1200BHP
V8 GT-R IS
THE BEST YET! a tuned Japanese car at the top of the tree.
200MPH
CLUB Of course, way back at the end of the ’90s few people
THE THREE BEST
CARS TO TUNE
TO TOP THE
DOUBLE TON
in the UK had heard about Time Attack or the art of drifting,
and a large part of the popularity of the sports today can
be directly attributed to magazines like Japanese
Performance spotting these niche pastimes, seeing the
potential and opening their readers’ eyes to these cool
SEPTEMBER
japanesep
’17 £4.75 No.200
erformancemag.co.u
k
new competitions. And over the years we’ve featured just
EIBACH/DREA
M
FK2 HONDA
TYPE R SPRIN
CIVIC
G KIT about every significant and groundbreaking car there has
ALSO INSIDE
THE WARRIOR
...
TRACK-TUNED IN WHITE
been and this 200th issue is no different, with Stephen
EVO HITS THE
STREETS
SUBARU PUR
IMMACULATE ISTS BEWARE!
TRIUMPHANT
P1 IMPREZA ON
AIR RIDE
‘Baggsy’ Biagioni’s latest drift monster gracing our cover.
RX-7 OWNER TRIANGLES
TAMES THE BEAS
T It’s a Nissan R35 GT-R with a 1200bhp turbocharged V8
that has split opinion and broken the internet. You can get
the exclusive inside story of the build from the man himself
on page 18. There’s even a huge double-sided A1 poster
free with this issue to celebrate this unique and frankly
insane machine! Elsewhere we have another opinion
dividing ride in the form of a 500bhp Impreza P1 on air-
ride. It may make the purists froth at the mouth, but we
love it! And that’s not all, as there’s a radical RX-7, a track-
tuned, road driven Mitsubishi Evo VI, a pocket rocket
Toyota Glanza and a hard-slammed S2000 that needs to
be seen to be believed! So while many things have indeed
changed since that iconic first issue back in ’99, the one
thing that has certainly stayed the same is that Japanese
Performance continues to bring you the best in Far Eastern
car culture from the UK and around the world, and long
may it continue. Enjoy!

DAN SHERWOOD

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 5
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WHAT’SIN +

64

FEATURES
18 BATTLE BEAST on the cover
With a 1200bhp V8 and wide arches, Baggsy builds the world’s wildest GT-R
44
30 JAPFEST DONINGTON
All the action from the second instalment of the awesome Japfest franchise

34 JDM COMBE
Castle Combe rocked to the sound of Japanese metal as JDM Combe went off

37 WIN! EIBACH/DREAM SPRINGS on the cover

3
Win over £500 worth of lowering springs and fitting for your FK2 Civic Type R

38 FEELING BLUE?
WAYS TO
Rapid Toyota Glanza V is the perfect performance pick-me-up to make you smile 200MPH
44 TRIUMPH OVER ADVERSITY
RX-7 owner’s trials and tribulations have shaped his badass track build

50 BALANCING ACT

71
Evo VI owner with a tuning dilemma. Stick with a road car, or go all-out racer?

56 SACRILICIOUS! on the cover

Purists beware as 500bhp Impreza P1 gets slammed on air ride suspension!

64 WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS...

Hard-dropped S2000 is the lord of the stance in sunny Las Vegas
on the cover
SUBSCRIBE
See page 98 for great money-saving deals or visit:
71 THREE WAYS TO TOP 200MPH www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
The top three cars to buy and tune to top the mighty double ton!

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 7
350Z / 370Z / R35GTR / 32GTR / 33GTR
34GTR / 32GTS / 33GTST / 34GTT / 350GT

EVERYTHING
NISSAN
DIAGNOSTIC’S, SERVICING,
TUNING, 4 WHEEL ALIGNMENT,
TRACK/RACE PREPARATION.
01883 732331 WWW.ABBEYMOTORSPORT.CO.UK
 WHAT’SIN +
12

REGULARS 81
12 NEWS
Prodrive-built Subaru STi smashes Nürburgring lap record, Japanese metal
dominates at Goodwood Festival of Speed, show previews: Players Show &
Japshow Finale, 5 mins with...Anders Hildebrand, HKS GTS800 caught in
action, Milltek ‘Active Sound’ technology, electric cars to take over the world!

79 JAPSTUFF
OMP HRC-R composite race seat, Yokohama Advan A052 tyres, Xtreme
clutch kit for FK2 Honda Civic Type R, Smart Polish Waterless Wash & Wax,

88
Yuasa YBX5000 battery, Renovo leather reviver, AMSOil synthetic oils, KW
Variant 3 coilovers for FK2 Civic Type R, RTS lightened flywheels, Piloti Circuit
Le Mans footwear, Airrex suspension app for iPhone, Samco breather hose
for Subaru STi V5/6

84 READERS’ RIDES
Our favourite readers’ rides this month. The winner gets a Meguiar’s New Car
Kit worth £40! Has your car got what it takes to win?

88 THE GARAGE
Project Type R gets a new undercoat of Dynamat Xtreme to kill unwanted
noise, Project Z gets some sexy new rolling stock and Project 5 gets its loom
on and a spot of flocking, but there’s trouble brewing ahead!

Editor Dan Sherwood Accounts Bev Brown

Tel: 01480 219990 Administration Sandra Househam
[email protected] Subscriptions Debi Stuart
[email protected]
Studio Manager Peter Simpson
Website www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
Designer Jonathan Henson
Managing Director Clive Househam
Advertisement Manager
Jason Baker Worldwide stockists Printed in England
[email protected] To find your nearest stockist: GD Web Offset;
Tel: 07710 096548 UK: seymour.co.uk/storefinder Tel: 01709 768000
N. America: magfinder.magnetdata.net © CHPublications Ltd, 2017
Ad Production ROW: [email protected] ISSN 1467779
Don’t Miss Out
Liz Smith Tel: 01883 731152;
Fax: 01883 740361 For single copies and subscriptions: While every care is taken in compiling
[email protected] japaneseperformancemag.co.uk Japanese Performance, the publishers
Digital copies and subscriptions: cannot be held responsible for any effects
CHPublications Ltd 1 The Alma Building, pocketmags.com arising therefrom
Brewerstreet Dairy Business Park,
Brewer Street, Bletchingley, Surrey RH1 4QP Japanese Performance is distributed Japanese Performance is always available at Your local newsagent to
Tel: 01883 731150; Fax: 01883 740361; worldwide by Seymour Distribution Ltd, Tel: order this magazine

[email protected] 020 7429 4000, [email protected]

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 9
 7+(
%5,
7,
6+'5,
)7&+$03,
216+,
3
&2
8.
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,
13$571(
56+,
3
:,7+
 PLANET JAP +

LORD OF
THE ‘RING
FORMER JP
The Prodrive-built Subaru
Impreza we featured last
of 6min 57.5s. That’s
insanely fast. It means the
2.0-litre turbo boxer kicking
out 600bhp, while the drag
FEATURE CAR year has a new name and a
new lap record. Now called
car now has two lap records,
as it is also the fastest car to
reduction system also
remains fully-functional, as
IMPRESSES AT the ‘Subaru WRX STI Type officially record a lap time does the WRC gearbox with

GOODWOOD RA NBR Special’, its name

takes almost as long to read
around the Isle of Man TT
course (17min 35.1s).
its trick hydraulic paddle-shift
system that can swap cogs
FESTIVAL OF as it does for the car to
complete a lap of the 12.9-
Since recording the TT
lap record and appearing in
faster than you can blink.
For the Nürburgring
SPEED, THEN mile Nordschleife! JP, the car has been through Nordschleife record attempt
SMASHES Former British Rally
Champion Mark Higgins was
a facelift. The aero package
has been completely
the car was running on 9in
wide slick tyres. So this is
NÜRBURGRING behind the wheel once more, redesigned, delivering 295kg very much an out-and-out

LAP RECORD setting a blistering new lap

record for a four-door saloon
of downforce according to
Prodrive. The engine is still a
racecar. Even so, a sub 7min
full lap is stupidly fast – we’re

12 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 NISSAN R35 GT-R 2ND IN
SUPERCAR SHOOTOUT
IN THE HIGHLY DECORATED SUPERCAR SHOOTOUT, WHICH FEATURES SOME OF THE
WORLD’S MOST EXOTIC MACHINERY, EVEN THE MOTORING WORLD’S FINEST WERE
STILL SHOWN THE WAY BY THE RELATIVELY HUMBLE NISSAN GT-R, WHICH ONCE
AGAIN LIVED UP TO ITS ‘SUPERCAR SLAYER’ REPUTATION. THE R35 NARROWLY MISSED
OUT ON THE TOP SPOT WHICH WAS CLAIMED BY AN AUDI R8 COUPE

SUPERCAR SHOOTOUT
RESULTS
1 AUDI R8 COUPE 51.00
2 NISSAN GT-R 52.68
3 PORSCHE 911 TURBO S 53.31
4 LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR S 54.44
5 FORD GT 54.54
6 NOBLE M600 SPEEDSTER 54.73
7 RIMAC CONCEPT S 54.89
8 ASTON MARTIN VULCAN AMR PRO 55.62
9 PAGANI ZONDA 760RS 57.04
10 ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE AMR PRO 57.83

JAPANESE METAL DOMINATES GOODWOOD FOS

MARK HIGGINS AND PRODRIVE WEREN’T THE ONLY ONE REPRESENTING FAR
EASTERN MACHINERY AT THE FESTIVAL OF SPEED, AS THERE WAS A HOST OF
JAPANESE CARS WOWING THE CROWDS, ESPECIALLY THE ONES TAKING PART
IN THE DRIFT DISPLAYS. STEPHEN ‘BAGGSY’ BIAGIONI, MAD MIKE WHIDDETT
AND JAMES DEANE WERE AMONG THE SIDEWAYS SLIDERS THAT WERE INTENT
ON COVERING THE CROWDS IN HUGE PLUMES OF ACRID TYRE SMOKE

not talking about the Sunday afternoon, he

shorter bridge-to-gantry recorded a 48.25s run to
lap either. Mark clearly finish third fastest overall.
had his ‘big boy pants’ The only cars to beat the
on that day. NBR Special up the hill
Prior to setting the were a Group C Jaguar
’Ring record, Prodrive XJR12D and a Penske-
took the car to the Chevrolet PC22 Indy Car.
Goodwood Festival of An impressive car that
Speed. Once again Mark shows what can happen
wowed the crowds with when the big boys turn
his maximum-attack their hand to
driving style. In the performance tuning,
famous Goodwood FOS without having to
hillclimb shootout on the conform to race regs.

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 13
 NEWS +
PLAYERS SHOW FIVE MINUTES WITH...
SUNDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER ANDERS HILDEBRAND
NORTH WEALD
Definitely one for the show car purists. Players Show is a
static event held in the huge hangars at North Weald
airfield in Essex. Every year it attracts the finest show
cars in the UK and beyond. Historically, Players has been
filled with German cars, from VWs on dished wheels to
pimped-out BMWs. However, there are more and more
Japanese cars hitting the circuit in a big way, so we
expect to see plenty of JDM metal on display. Players
centres around 100 cars in the main hangar, with a
further 800-odd expected to be on display around the
venue. If you want to find out what’s hot in the show
scene, Players is the place to find it.
PIC CREDIT: CHRIS PRESLEY

Q. HI, WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU DO?

A. HELLO, MY NAME IS ANDERS HILDEBRAND AND I AM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
OF THE ANGLO AMERICAN OIL COMPANY

JAPSHOW FINALE Q. WHAT PRODUCTS OR SERVICES DO AAOIL SUPPLY?

A. WE DISTRIBUTE SUNOCO RACE FUELS AND DRIVEN RACING OIL LUBRICANTS
SUNDAY 1ST OCTOBER TO EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST. WE ALSO MANUFACTURE THE R RACING FUELS
IN OUR BLENDING PLANT IN POOLE, DORSET AND DISTRIBUTE OUR OWN
SANTA POD RACING BRAKE FLUIDS

Q. TELL US MORE ABOUT SUNOCO?

Billed as ‘your last chance to get your car out there A. SUNOCO STARTED IN THE LATE 1890S BUT REALLY BECAME A FORCE IN
before winter draws in’, Japshow Finale unofficially MOTORSPORT DURING THE ‘60S, WHEN THEY TEAMED UP WITH ROGER PENSKE
brings down the curtain on the 2017 show season. The RACING AND MARK DONOHUE. TODAY, SUNOCO MAKE A VARIETY OF POTENT FUELS
THAT ARE WELL SUITED TO BOTH MOTORSPORT AND MODIFIED PERFORMANCE CARS.
format should be familiar to anyone who frequents Santa THEY MAKE ALL THEIR FUELS IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA AND LAB-TEST EVERY
Pod on a regular basis. The focus is on the drag strip all ONE. IN THE UNITED STATES, SUNOCO IS THE OFFICIAL FUEL SUPPLIER FOR NASCAR,
WHICH REFLECTS HOW WELL-RESPECTED THEIR FUELS ARE
day, where you can race your mates up the famous
quarter-mile track with four ‘Run What Ya Brung’ runs for Q. IMPRESSIVE! WHAT ABOUT R RACING?
A. WELL, THE R RACING FUELS ARE BLENDED IN ANGLO AMERICAN OIL COMPANY’S
just £20. The RWYB action will be halted a few times OWN PLANT IN BERKSHIRE AND ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR THE EUROPEAN
during the day, while competitors in the FWD Drag Series MARKETS. WE HAVE USED OUR EXPERIENCE OF WORKING WITH THE WORLD’S BEST
show everyone how it’s done. Watch out for plenty of BRANDS TO DEVELOP A RANGE OF OILS, FUELS AND BRAKE FLUID THAT WE BELIEVE
ARE VERY SPECIAL. THE R RANGE OF PRODUCTS CONSISTS OF SPECIAL FUELS AND
turbocharged Honda Civics in that. There will also be OILS THAT ARE NOT PROVIDED BY OUR NORMAL SUPPLIERS. THE RTC RACING FUEL IS
demo runs from the FireForce 5 Jet Dragster and FOR TURBOCHARGED CARS AND IS AN FIA CUSTOM BLEND DESIGNED TO EXTRACT
THE BEST PERFORMANCE FROM TOP-FLIGHT RALLY CARS. OUR R600+ RACING BRAKE
Japanese motorbikes, too, which will have their own FLUID IS USED BY TOP TEAMS IN FORMULA 2 (FORMERLY GP2), BRITISH F3 AND
RWYB class and Show ‘n’ Shine competition. Elsewhere BRITISH GT. WE HAVE HAD EXCELLENT FEEDBACK ON OUR SYNCHROMESH RACING
GEARBOX OIL FROM RACE TEAMS RECENTLY, TOO
there is the usual fun fair, main stage and traders. The
drift rides are well worth checking out, as is the Fueltopia Q. WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF RACE FUEL?
Barrel Sprint, which is becoming really popular with its A. IN SHORT, RACE FUELS BURN CLEANER, ARE MORE CONSISTENT AND ENABLE AN
ENGINE TO PRODUCE MORE POWER. THERE ARE ALSO BENEFITS CONNECTED TO
mix of bonkers cars and precision driving. ENGINE PROTECTION, AS A RACE FUEL IS MORE RESILIENT TO DETONATION. IT’S
IMPORTANT TO PICK THE RIGHT FUEL FOR YOUR APPLICATION AND YOUR BUDGET.
TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF THE STRENGTH OF RACE FUELS, GOOD QUALITY PUMP
FUEL IS GENERALLY 95 RON IN THE CASE OF REGULAR UNLEADED AND 98 RON FOR
SUPER UNLEADED. SUNOCO PRODUCE FUELS BETWEEN 98 RON (RESEARCH OCTANE
NUMBER) AND 120 MON (MOTOR OCTANE NUMBER). OUR R TF (TURBO FIA) FUEL IS
102 RON, WHILE OUR R TFF (TURBO SPECIAL) IS 109 RON. TUNERS CAN TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF THESE FUELS BY RUNNING MORE TURBO BOOST OR USING MORE
IGNITION ADVANCE, TO GENERATE MORE POWER

Q. DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL PROJECTS OR NEW PRODUCTS ON THE HORIZON?

A. WE ARE CONSTANTLY DEVELOPING NEW FUELS, ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH-OUTPUT
TURBO APPLICATIONS

Q. DO YOU HAVE A WEBSITE?

A. YES, IT IS WWW.AAOIL.CO.UK. YOU CAN ALSO FIND THE ANGLO AMERICAN OIL
COMPANY ON FACEBOOK. FOR SUNOCO NEWS, WE ARE ON TWITTER (@SUNOCO_UK),
FACEBOOK (SUNOCOUK) AND INSTAGRAM (@SUNOCO_UK)

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME ANDERS, IT’S APPRECIATED

14 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 Honda
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www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 15
 NEWS +
HKS GTS800 CAUGHT IN ACTION
In case you missed it on our Facebook page, here is a
short video of the formidable HKS GTS800 in action at
Tsukuba. Sadly there isn’t a full-on lap time attempted,
but this is the first footage we’ve seen of the car in
action. This is a full carbon-bodied GT86 built by HKS,
with aero by Andrew Brilliant and powered by a
supercharged 2.5-litre boxer engine. If you did miss the
video on our Facebook page, then make sure you give
us a like and a follow for all the latest news from around
the UK tuning scene and beyond.

NO MORE FUEL-POWERED CARS?

Just as we were going to print we got wind
of some worrying news, although to be fair,
it’s a long way off yet. The Government’s
Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, has
announced plans to get rid of all petrol and
diesel-powered cars by 2040. The idea is to
replace them with electric cars, at least until
other technology like hydrogen-cell power
becomes more viable. We’re concerned this is the start of
a fresh wave of ‘anti-car’ propaganda, and you can be
sure that tuned high-performance cars and motorsport will
come in for a bit of a kicking. It seems cars putting out
high amounts of CO2 and noxious gases could soon be
charged extra tax or even banned from city centres
altogether. The news arrived hours after we watched the
video linked by the QR code here, made by the guys at
1320 Video in the States. It features a stripped out Tesla
P100D with no other mods completely destroy a string of
muscle cars, including a modified Nissan GT-R. We know
Tesla isn’t Japanese, but watch the video. Maybe there’s
hope for electric performance cars after all? Let us know
what you think at [email protected].
MILLTEK CREATE ‘ACTIVE SOUND’
Performance exhaust manufacturer Milltek Sport is about to change the
game with their new ‘Active Sound’ technology. They’re currently
performing final beta testing and the final product should soon be available
to fit any petrol, diesel or even electric car. So what is it? In short, it’s a way
of choosing how your exhaust sounds. So your diesel daily-driver can
sound like a V8 monster at the touch of a button. The system works by
fitting a carbon-fibre speaker into a motorsport-grade stainless steel
housing. That provides the sound, which is controlled by a clever algorithm
that changes the sound to match the road speed and throttle position, so it
should be extremely realistic. You’ll be able to select from a range of
engine sounds, all of which can be selected using the accompanying
smartphone app. This isn’t like those cheap systems that play noises
through your car’s speakers, either. The noise literally comes out of your
car’s tailpipe. It’s as realistic as fake gets. This should be great fun to play
with when Milltek put it into production. For more updates visit
www.millteksport.com.

16 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
BEASTBAGGSY’S INCREDIBLE 1200BHP GT-R
WAS BUILT TO BREAK THE INTERNET
WORDS: DAN GOODYER PICS: DAVE COX

T
hundering V8 engine the craziest GT-Rs on the Goodwood Festival of Speed Performance in Birmingham,
swap. Turbo the size of planet. This monster R35 is the cheering and whooping like the official European distributor
your head. 1200bhp with star of ‘Battle Drift 2’, an lunatics, too, just a couple of of Chevrolet Performance
ease. No real reason for it to adrenaline-fueled online video weeks later. With so much engines. These are a range of
exist other than to shred rubber featuring Baggsy tearing it up hype, we had to find out more. performance engines based on
for the sheer bloody fun of it. against Japanese drift superstar ‘We had decided on the the LS platform, which have
This is what happens when pro Daigo Saito in his Lamborghini heart of the car before the rest,’ already been modified with all
drifter Stephen ‘Baggsy’ Murciélago, in a dockyard in admits Baggsy. ‘We wanted a the right bits on.’
Biagioni lets his fevered Sheerness. It’s already caused big V8 engine with a turbo the The thumping heart of this
imagination run wild. a sensation since hitting the size of a house, putting out over Frankenstein creation is an
It was built to star in a viral web a few weeks ago, and 1000bhp. We bought the ‘LSX-454’. In short, a massive
video and the result is one of Baggsy got the crowds at engine from Phil at Partsworld 7.4-litre V8 engine with a ton of

18 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
upgrades to help it kick out bottom-end. So it’s ’ard as nails. a ‘crate motor’, a popular time. Which was a huge bonus
roughly 600bhp and 600lb ft of ‘That’s what I love about the American term for a pre-built to Baggsy and his team.
torque in naturally-aspirated LS engines,’ explains Baggsy, engine that is ready to go. The ‘We only had two months to
form. The LSX-454 essentially ‘they can handle loads of phrase came about because put this car together,’ Baggsy
provides traditional ‘big-block’ abuse, especially this one, new engines are typically admits. ‘At the end of February
V8 capacity and power, without obviously. We go all out for 45 transported in a crate. The we drove a perfectly good, 17k
the size and weight drawbacks seconds or so during a beauty of a crate engine is you mile, ’09 Nissan GT-R into the
of the older engines. It’s competitive drift run, and I know know it’s been put together by workshop. We had to have the
physically the same size as the this engine can take the abuse, people who know the engine finished car ready to go
rest of the LS family, however, even at 1200bhp with the inside and out, particularly in sideways on camera at the start
this one has the strongest throttle pinned.’ the case of Chevrolet of May.’ It was a huge task,
‘Bowtie’ block and a fully-forged The engine was supplied as Performance. It also saves you especially as Baggsy only

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 19
 INSIDE JOB
THE INSIDE OF THE MONSTER GT-R
IS COMPLETELY BARE. THE FLOOR IS
EXPOSED, IT’S DOMINATED BY A
10-POINT T45 ROLLCAGE AND
COVERED IN A CLINICAL SHADE OF
SATIN SILVER. THAT MAKES THE
CUSTOMISED COBRA BUCKET SEATS
AND SPARCO STEERING WHEEL
REALLY POP, ALONG WITH THE ULTRA
SEXY CARBON-FIBRE DASHBOARD
THAT SWEEPS UP TO THE
WINDSCREEN. THERE’S SOMETHING
REALLY SPECIAL ABOUT SEEING
EVERYTHING EXPOSED, WITH
HIGH-END MATERIALS ON
DISPLAY EVERYWHERE

‘WE ONLY HAD TWO

MONTHS TO PULL THIS
BUILD TOGETHER’

20 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 #TEAMSAMCO
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 ‘TURBO’D V8 POWER
IS MUCH COOLER
THAN A TUNED-UP VR’

opened SB Motorsport in decided to have the chassis conventional steel ’cage. It’s COOL BUM
DRIFT CARS GET VERY HOT, VERY
November last year and the car- dipped in an acid tank to get rid been beautifully cut and welded QUICKLY. THIS IS PARTICULARLY
building side of the business of all the paint and seam-sealer. in place, with carbon-fibre TRUE DURING THE BATTLES,
currently relies on just two very This way we got a truly blank detailing on the door bars. More WHERE THE FRONT OF THE CHASE
CAR WILL GET VERY CLOSE TO THE
passionate individuals. Baggsy canvas to work with and the importantly, it will keep Baggsy BACK OF THE LEAD CAR. IN AN
pitches in when he has time but guys could get on with seam- safe in an accident. EFFORT TO KEEP COOLANT
TEMPERATURES DOWN, SB
admits his talents really lie welding it. You want the chassis It’s worth pointing out at this MOTORSPORT DECIDED TO
behind the wheel, rather than to be as stiff as possible as it point the little trick hiding MOUNT THE RADIATOR IN THE
behind a welder. improves the handling.’ behind the fuel filler cap. With a BOOT. THEY ALSO CUT SOME NACA
DUCTS IN THE REAR SCREEN TO
He adds: ‘The car was really With time quickly running boot-mounted Radium fuel tank, PULL ALL THE COLD AIR ABOVE
put together by my guys Corbin out, the guys immediately filled there is no need for the original THE ROOF DOWN, THROUGH
THE RADIATOR AND OUT THE
Darke and Ian Waddington. We the empty carcass with a 10- filler neck. In its place the SB BACK OF THE CAR
built the whole car at SB point rollcage made from T45 Motorsport crew have fitted the
Motorsport. There were only chromoly. This is an alloy steel main air supply nozzle for a set any car, let alone a rubber-
two parts of the build we didn’t that is much stronger than of four air jacks. So the whole destroying drift car that requires
do; acid-dipping the chassis traditional mild steel, so you car can be raised up in an frequent tyre changes.
and tuning the engine. After can use thinner pipes and save instant by simply attaching an Getting the V8 engine under
stripping the car down, we a load of weight compared to a air-line. This would be handy on the bonnet was obviously a big

22 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
challenge. To our knowledge personally think the turbo’d V8
this particular Chevy engine power is much cooler than just
has never been mounted in a a tuned-up VR engine.’
Nissan GT-R before, making it SB Motorsport modified the
the world’s first LSX-powered front subframe to make room
GT-R. Thing is, there’s nothing for the LSX engine. They also
wrong with the original fabricated their own solid
VR38DETT engine, is there engine mounts from Delrin, a
Baggsy? ‘To be honest, we special kind of plastic used in
didn’t have the time to muck engineering, made by DuPont.
around and get the VR engine You might think that going from
to make all that horsepower, a 3.8-litre V6 to a much larger
plus make it happy to be 7.4-litre V8 engine would be
permanently rear-wheel-drive. It tricky, but Baggsy points out
felt like a more straightforward the GT-R engine is quite tall to
plan for us to attempt the begin with. So the V8 actually
engine and gearbox swap that sits lower in the engine bay,
we felt would work. Plus, I lowering the car’s overall

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 23
 SB MOTORSPORT
IN ADDITION TO THE HARD WORK AND MANY
HOURS THAT CORBIN AND IAN HAVE PUT INTO THE
CAR, BAGGSY WANTED TO GIVE A SPECIAL MENTION
TO HIS MANAGER, SCOTT BRANDON: ‘HE DOESN’T
GET MENTIONED IN FEATURES, DOESN’T APPEAR ON
CAMERA IN THE VIDEOS, BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT
WITHOUT HIM THIS CAR WOULDN’T EXIST. HE PUTS
IN A LOT OF HARD WORK SORTING CONTRACTS,
SECURING FUNDING, ETC. IT’S A SIMILAR STORY
WITH MY PR MANAGER RICKY DOUGHTY, TOO – HE
WORKS HARD BEHIND THE SCENES BUT DOESN’T
GET A MENTION OFTEN, SO CHEERS, GUYS.’

24 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
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 BATTLE DRIFT 2
POINT YOUR QR CODE
READER HERE FOR A
DIRECT LINK TO THE
VIDEO THAT INSPIRED
THIS BUILD

centre-of-gravity and improving turbocharged Honda S2000. back that doesn’t let go until the FEEDING THE BEAST
THE 1200BHP TURBOCHARGED V8
its handling capability. Chris flew over to help out, 7600rpm redline, and with MOTOR IS UNDERSTANDABLY A
The sump also needed to be bringing with him a custom enough torque to spin the earth THIRSTY POWERPLANT AND SB
MOTORSPORT HAVE CALLED IN
modified to clear the subframe camshaft to match the LSX underneath it. THE BIG GUNS TO KEEP THE JUICE
and steering rack. The bottom engine to the big turbo SB The engine was wired in with FLOWING. FOUR WALBRO 450LPH
line is that this isn’t a heavy, Motorsport wanted to run. a loom made in-house by SB IN-TANK FUEL PUMPS FEED THE
POTENT SUNOCO E85-R FUEL TO A
old-school V8 swap. It’s modern ‘We turned to Garrett for the Motorsport using Rywire SET OF ASNU 1500CC INJECTORS
technology, modern materials turbo,’ explains Baggsy, ‘we components. This is connected VIA VIBRANT PERFORMANCE FUEL
LINES AND FITTINGS. IT’S A
and the engine size and shape told them the power and to an AEM Infinity ECU and a SERIOUS SET UP THAT CAN DRAIN
actually suits the GT-R. As does response we wanted and trick digital display. Baggsy THE RADIUM ENGINEERING 15
GALLON FUEL CELL IN NO TIME!
the thundering exhaust note! they’ve absolutely delivered.’ admits that because this is a
When it came to tuning the Garrett supplied a GTX4718R drift car, half of the AEM’s clever knowledge to really dial in the
engine, Baggsy called in a guy for the task, a large-frame turbo tricks aren’t used. However, its tune. The turbo isn’t even trying
he had met at SEMA a few with the latest 11-blade billet excellent knock protection hard, so as crazy as it sounds,
years back; Chris Jeanneret. As aluminium compressor wheel. certainly is, which is where the 1200bhp tune is a fairly
the head of Chris Jeanneret It’s designed like a fast- Chris makes another conservative one.
Racing, he has been involved in response turbo, just super- appearance. The car was When it came to choosing a
some incredible car builds and sized. Baggsy says they’re mapped by Abbey Motorsport, gearbox, Baggsy turned once
has also driven in Formula Drift, getting full boost by 3000rpm Baggsy’s long-time tuning more to Quaife. Their boxes
behind the wheel of a with an almighty shove in the partner, and Chris using his LS have appeared in his previous

26 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 ‘IT SOUNDS CRAZY,
BUT THE 1200BHP
TUNE IS A FAIRLY
CONSERVATIVE ONE’

cars and for good reason; they components, along with an have on the GT-R. The next step field is on KW suspension.
work. The six-speed sequential OBP Motorsport power-steering is everyone focusing on proper, There’s a reason for that.’
’box is connected to the engine cooler, to cope with the sudden fully-functioning motorsport The ST suspension helped
by a Competition Clutch surge of heat and stress suspension. Not just getting Baggsy with his baptism of fire.
flywheel and clutch combo. provided by drifting a powerful your car lower and making it The build was literally finished
While the rear-end features the car on sticky tyres. In fact, look better, but fine-tuning that just in time to shoot the video
same Winters quick-release Baggsy reveals just how balance of compression and with Daigo Saito. This meant
LSD setup as his V6 turbo- important the suspension is on rebound to keep the car the first time Baggsy drove the
engined PS13 Silvia that we a modern competition drift car. working at its peak.’ car was in the video, with a
featured in this very magazine ‘It’s the next big thing,’ he Baggsy feels he’s on the Japanese drifting superstar in a
only a few months back. The admits, ‘or, more accurately, I money here with his new ST Lamborghini chasing him down!
team used parts supplied by should probably say that good Suspensions setup. He ‘That was pretty exciting,’ he
Sikky in the United States to suspension is what all the top explains: ‘It’s hand-built in admits with the understated
make it all work. teams are working on. There Germany with high-end tone of a truly nutty (and
Of course, any high-end drift was a time when everyone components, alongside talented) drifter. ‘To be honest
car needs plenty of steering wanted more power, now cars products from its sister with you, I was surprised it
angle and fully adjustable have plenty. Then everyone company, KW. When you go to drove so well straight away.
suspension. SB Motorsport wanted grip, now we have an endurance race at the Usually there are small issues
have fitted and aligned a full set supremely sticky tyres like Nürburgring Nordschleife, for to sort, setup tweaks to make. I
of Voodoo Thirteen these Westlake Sport RSs I example, at least 75% of the have to say that Corbin and Ian

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 27
TECHSPEC
ENGINE
Partsworld Performance Chevrolet
7.4-litre V8 ‘LSX 454’ crate engine,
ARP main studs, Canton drift-spec rear
sump oil pan, ARP head studs, Chris
Jeanneret Racing custom camshaft,
Garrett GTX4718R turbo, K&N cone
filter, SB Motorsports custom stainless
steel turbo manifolds and collector with
black ceramic coating, twin 44mm
Turbosmart external wastegates, 5in
downpipe exiting out the front bumper,
custom Forge Motorsport intercooler
fabricated with 4in Vibrant Performance
pipework with Vanjen clamps, Forge
Motorsport rear-mounted radiator
setup, OBP Motorsport engine oil
cooler, Samcosport hoses, ASNU
1500cc fuel injectors, 4x Walbro WANT MORE?
HERE’S A BRIEF
450lph in-tank fuel pumps, Radium ‘BEHIND THE
Engineering 15 gallon fuel cell, Radium SCENES’ VIDEO OF
HOW THE CAR WAS
Engineering multi-pump regulator and PUT TOGETHER
fuel filter, Vibrant Performance fuel lines
and fittings, Sunoco E85-R fuel, HP
Electronics PDM, AEM Infinity 508 ECU
mapped by Abbey Motorsport and
Chris Jeanneret Racing

TRANSMISSION
6-speed sequential Quaife QBE69G
gearbox, Competition Clutch triple-
plate clutch, SB Motorsport modified
front subframe and custom engine
mounts, SB Motorsport custom
gearbox mount, Sikky Manufacturing
rear subframe with Winters quick-
change differential, The Driveshaft
Shop pro axles, OBP Motorsport
gearbox cooler

SUSPENSION
ST Suspensions custom 3-way
adjustable coilovers, Voodoo Thirteen
rear camber arms, toe arms, and
traction arms, custom Voodoo Thirteen
GT-R front steering angle kit, OBP
Motorsport power steering cooler

WHEELS & TYRES

10.5x20in Rotiform LHR alloy wheels
with custom black dishes and green
faces, 255/40-20 (front) and 285/35-20 PHAT FACE
(rear) Westlake Sport RS tyres SB MOTORSPORT HAVE CREATED alongside Daigo, pushing he’s pleased with how it’s turned
THEIR OWN BOLT-ON FRONT-END
BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL GT-R ourselves faster and faster was out: ‘It’s everything I’m into –
BRAKES FRONT HAD A LOT OF STUFF an unforgettable experience.’ I like Rotiforms, Liberty Walk
HANGING OFF IT, LIKE
Wilwood 6-pot calipers with 355mm INTERCOOLER AND AIR-CON It’s clear this is a fully- bodykits, Nissans, sequential
discs (front), Wilwood dual 4-pot PIPES. SO IT WAS EASIER TO START functioning piece of motorsport gearboxes, etc. To put it all
calipers with 353mm ‘drift spec’ discs WITH THEIR OWN. THEY ALSO hardware. However, let’s not together on a GT-R like this is
CHOPPED A HUGE AMOUNT OF
(rear), OBP Motorsport hydraulic THE ORIGINAL REAR WINGS AWAY, overlook just how cool this thing just something I’m really proud
handbrake, OBP Motorsport billet AT LEAST THREE INCHES looks. The combination of of, and I’m grateful to everyone
ACCORDING TO BAGGSY. THIS
pedal box GIVES THE MASSIVE LOW-OFFSET Liberty Walk wide arches, 20in who made it possible.’
10.5X20IN ROTIFORM LHR ALLOY Rotiform wheels and that familiar It’s impressive to think how
WHEELS AND WESTLAKE RUBBER
INTERIOR THE ROOM TO MOVE FREELY. SO IT black and green Monster colour- far Baggsy has come. From
Completely stripped-out with 10-point LOOKS LIKE A STANCED SHOW scheme is certainly eye- learning to drift in a street car
T45 chromoly rollcage fabricated by CAR BUT ACTUALLY HAS LOTS OF catching. It was permanently with a welded diff, to drifting
FUNCTIONAL SUSPENSION TRAVEL
SD Motorsport, AEM CD-7 colour surrounded at Goodwood by competitively in Japan and even
digital display mounted in carbon-fibre have done an incredible job on petrolheads who had never seen appearing regularly on TV. If that
dashboard, custom Cobra Ultralite this car. We expected the project anything so outrageous. kind of success means he can
bucket seats and Cobra harnesses to be under scrutiny because of The engine bay is a sight to build more cars like this, we
the engine swap, so the guys behold, too, with the massive hope he goes on to even bigger
EXTERIOR have put all their effort into every turbocharger bulging out of the and better things. The question
Liberty Walk widebody kit, Liberty Walk step of the build. I’m so happy front of the bay. The whole thing is, what the heck can he build to
GT wing, Baggsy 2017 livery pack with the finished car and driving is just incredible. Baggsy admits top this? JP

28 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 THE SECOND INSTALMENT OF THE
JAPFEST SHOW ROLLED INTO
DONINGTON PARK
WORDS & PICS: DAN SHERWOOD

JAPFEST DONNY
I
t was a grey day at Silverstone, back in April when it comes to the latter show was a Cubes to the 600bhp
Donington Park circuit was a monster of a show Japanese car culture. more general showcase Honda Stream built by
for the second drawing over 20,000 fans Supported by Toyo for performance Oxfordshire-based tuners
instalment of the of Japanese metal Tires, KSport, Hardrace, machines of all makes, Hond-R.
awesome Japfest flocking to BC Racing, BC Forged we focused on the Away from the static
franchise of shows, but Northamptonshire’s wheels, Goodridge, Japanese specific event displays there was action
that didn’t dampen motorsport Mecca. SamcoSport and Valet the day before. Hundreds aplenty for power-hungry
anyone’s spirits. Japfest Donington is a Pro, Japfest Donington or cars flocked to the punters to enjoy in the
The first Japfest of the much smaller show than was held as a back-to- circuit and filled up the form of constant track
year at the home of the its forebear, but still back event with the Fast car club stands with action from the public
British Formula One GP, packs a mighty punch Car Festival. However, as everything from Nissan sessions to when the big

30 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
boys of the MSA Time RDX Drift Academy laid Neutrino entertaining the Toyo Tyre Change RDX DRIFT ACADEMY
AS ONE OF THE MOST
Attack Series came out to on drift passenger rides crowds in-between the Challenge in partnership RESPECTED TEAMS IN THE
play and showed around Donington’s track action as well as with Sealey Tools to BDC, TEAM JAPSPEED
KNOWS DRIFTING INSIDE
everyone how it was famous Melbourne Loop. guest interviews and compete in, where OUT, SO WHO BETTER TO
really done when you’re Action of a different unveilings – including the contestants were invited LEARN FROM IF YOU WANT
TO TAKE UP THE NOBLE
racing against the clock. kind could be found on new Honda Civic FK8 to change a set of wheels ART? RDX DRIFT ACADEMY
Elsewhere the action the Toyo Tires Live Stage, from Synchro on the Toyo car as IS A NEW DRIFT SCHOOL
continued as the which was hosted by TV Motorsports. quickly as a professional TO BE RUN AT
ROCKINGHAM SPEEDWAY
sideways sliders of the presenter Alexandra For those not wishing pit crew. AND THE INSTRUCTORS
British Drift Legouix, with well-known to rag their ride around The Challenge was WERE GIVING DRIFT RIDES
ON DONINGTON’S
Championship and the garage act Oxide and the circuit, there was the won by Alex Bingham, MELBOURNE LOOP

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 31
 TIME ATTACK ACTION
with a time of 36.40 sponsored by ValetPRO. plenty of firms ready and missed Donington’s IF YOU GOT BORED WITH
seconds, while other Like most shows, waiting to swap your delights, unfortunately it STARING AT THE STATIC
DISPLAYS OF THE CAR
winners on the day there was also the hard earned cash for appears you missed out, CLUBS AND TRADERS,
included the Leeds chance for eager tuning shiny new products. but don’t worry too THERE WAS ALWAYS THE
Subaru Owners Club, fans to bag a bargain So as you can see, if much, as the Japfest ACTION ON TRACK TO
KEEP YOU ENTERTAINED.
who took the Best Club from the traders in the you’re into Jap metal juggernaut will be back AS WELL AS PUBLIC TRACK
Stand award, sponsored Retail Village, so whether (which you damn well again next year, starting TIME, THERE WAS A
ROUND OF THE MSA TIME
by VIBE and Ground it was suspension, should be if you are an once again at Silverstone ATTACK SERIES RUNNING
Zero, and the Datsun Fair steering wheels or a big avid reader of this and promising to be ON THE DAY, TOO,
SHOWCASING SOME OF
Lady Z, who won the brake setup that you prestigious tuning bigger and better than THE UK’S MOST POTENT
Show & Shine, were after, there were periodical) and you ever. We can’t wait! JP PERFORMANCE MACHINES

32 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
       
   
       

  #      

!   !  
 #       
    $   #
   "  
        #

3 Chessingham Park, Dunnington, York, North Yorkshire, England Y019 5SE

$      ' &    
    % !  !!! 

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 33
 JDM YO!
CASTLE COMBE CIRCUIT PLAYS HOST TO THRILLING NEW
WORDS & PICS: DAN SHERWOOD

JAPANESE CAR SHOW, JDMCOMBE

W
hether it’s the grounds for the inaugural cars were displayed by and drift displays A fiercely-fought Show
sound of drift JDMCombe show, a over 100 dedicated spanning the entire day. and Shine competition
cars’ tyres being completely new concept Japanese car clubs, from Budding trackday fans saw three of the most
shredded or the smell of in car shows celebrating the likes of Impreza 22Bs were able to take their impressive Japanese
burnt premium unleaded all things Japanese! through to ’70s Datsuns. own cars out for a spin in show cars in the UK take
in the air, it’s not hard to Following the circuit’s There was also an 15-minute time slots, to the podium. In third
tell when there’s another acclaimed ‘Action Day’ expanse of traders while an array of both was Sam Spanswick with
Japanese car show in format, there was an tempting punters with local and national drifters his timeless AE86 Toyota
town to amaze and abundance of fantastic deals on car parts and from various teams was Corolla Trueno, while
inspire the crowds. spectacles for show- cleaning accessories. brought together to second place went to
On Saturday 10 June, goers both on and off the The excitement produce three Ashley Lawton in his DC5
Castle Combe Circuit saw Wiltshire race track. In the continued out on the spectacular demos under Honda Integra Type R on
over 8000 car fans vast paddock area, a sea circuit with a packed the ‘JDMCombe Drift air ride (thought to be the
descend onto its scenic of over 1500 static club schedule of track time Collective’ outfit. only one of its kind in the

34 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
country), with the top chose Southern Subaru championship drift driver)
spot eventually going to Car Club for its eye- from Link ECU, shared
Andrew Boyle in his EK9 catching display over at his thoughts on
Honda Civic Type R – Tower Bank. Club JDMCombe’s debut:
beautifully restored and secretary, Hay Bridge ‘What an outstanding
with an individual throttle commented: ‘Thank you event it’s been; it’s great
body-fed K20 motor and for choosing us as Club to see the support of the
tucked engine bay. of the Show, we’ve had a West Country for a new
With the sea of car fantastic day and have event at Castle Combe.’
clubs in attendance, really enjoyed our Keep your eyes
choosing the Club of the location at Tower Bank, peeled on the
Show was never going to overlooking the track with JDMCombe website for
be easy. Eventually, spectacular views.’ next year’s date:
however, the judges Mark Luney (ex- www.jdmcombe.com JP

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 35
 WE ARE
PROUD TO
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JP'S
PROJECT
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this Dream Private Label kit has been by offering a 20mm drop all round, and peened and powder coated to protect
developed exclusively in the UK for Dream improving the handling by lowering the against even the harshest of winters.
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TO ENTER, SIMPLY EMAIL YOUR ANSWER TO [email protected]. ENTRIES SHOULD
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TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This competition is open to UK readers only. The winner will be the first correct entry drawn when the competition closes at midday on 15th
September 2017. CHPublications Ltd. takes no responsibility beyond promoting this competition, and no cash alternative or adjustment is
available. The competition is not open to employees or associates of either CHPublications Ltd., Eibach UK, Dream Automotive or Japanese
Performance magazine. The Editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 37
 WORDS: EMMA WOODCOCK PICS: MATT DEAR

FEELING
BLUE?

THANKS
TO MY DAD, JOHN DANIEL, FOR ALL HIS HELP
AND ADVICE, JASON BOWDEN AT BOWDEN AUTO
SERVICES FOR ALL THE WORK, HELP AND ADVICE,
MIKE AND NICK AT TUNING DEVELOPMENTS FOR
ALL THEIR HELP AND ADVICE WITH THE SECOND
ENGINE BUILD AND MAPPING, MATT BAILEY FOR
HIS CONTINUOUS EFFORTS TO HELP KEEP THE CAR
RUNNING RIGHT, JAMIE KNIGHTLEY FOR TALKING
ME INTO GETTING IT IN THE FIRST PLACE AND
MY FIANCÉE DALE SIMPSON FOR PUTTING UP
WITH MY ADDICTION

38 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 I
nterest rate rises are balance of an AE86 or the any mere production variant
IF YOU’RE looming. Each passing mind-boggling lunacy of an ever could. That’s where
GLOOMY, public vote exposes a
gulf between left and right,
overboosted R35 GT-R. Of
course, some cars are better
Dave Daniels comes in with
his 1998 Toyota Starlet
THIS GO- young and old, leavers and suited to our slippery, Glanza V Turbo. After years
FASTER remainers. North Korea has
increasing nuclear capability.
serpentine back routes than
others. Take a self-contained
of contentious modifying,
both in Cornwall and over in
GLANZA IS House prices continue to body, add seats that sit high Japan, the little Toyota’s
rise, as do personal debt enough for good visibility wheels may be a searing
THE CURE. levels, as do the oceans. but low enough to feel shade of glitter blue, but get
TAKE 295BHP Late stage capitalism has
stretched the gap between
sporty, add stiffened
suspension for the corners
into the driver’s seat and it’s
sure to make you smile.
SEVERAL rich and poor further than at and enough power to make Things could have been
TIMES DAILY any other time in living
memory. The more you look
the straight bits fun and
you’re there. There’s a
very different. Almost a
decade ago, in the winter of
FOR THE BEST around, the more there is to reason, after all, that we’re a 2007, Dave had been driving
get you down. nation of hot hatch lovers. his first Glanza V Turbo for
RESULTS… Happily, for petrolheads, That said, we can surely just six months when
there’s always a solution. do a little better than the disaster struck. It was cold,
Get up early, slide behind various Sports and Type Rs it was greasy and, Dave
the wheel of your tuned car, that roll off manufacturer happily admits, he was
aim at your favourite B-road production lines. Freed from driving above his abilities
and enjoy. It’s a simple the need to pass emissions when the Glanza shot off the
recipe but one that retains tests or appeal to softcore road – rolling twice before
enduring appeal, whether wannabes, the resourceful coming to a rest. ‘I was
you prefer the chassis modifier can build a car that lucky to survive,’ he says,
thrills harder, faster and ‘It was a real shock. It got
louder than me thinking about my
driving in a

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 39
 completely different way: I took
advanced driving courses and
learnt a lot on skid-pads. It
really helped me realise I wasn’t
the best of drivers and I could
get better. Once you’re aware of
that, there’s always
opportunities to improve.’
Dave’s approach was
sensible and admirable but it Turbo when he was convinced There’s definitely some special been looking for something
couldn’t un-write-off the that the little Toyota was a attraction in the Starlet Turbo!’ fairly standard. The second time
wrecked Glanza. Dave had brilliant Japanese equivalent. By He felt there was unfinished around, with this car, I was
been talked into purchasing his now, however, the Jap bug had business with the model and, holding out for something much
first Glanza by his JDM-loving bitten – hard. ‘They’re seriously with the help of an importer more aggressive.’ Buying
mates: he’d been searching for cool little cars,’ he explains, ‘I’ve friend to assist, started his through Japanese auction sites
a Fiat Punto GT seen people break them, crash search for a replacement. can be a high stakes lottery,
them or sell them, then return to ‘The first Glanza had come with no chance to examine the
the model years later. through my mate, too,’ he car before handing over your
explains, ‘Though I didn’t have hard-earned Yen, and Dave had
too many preferences when I only a handful of grainy photos
bought that car. It was to scrutinise before picking a
lightweight with a Glanza to bring over here.
good spec, but When he spotted a beefy
I’d only intercooler and a full Livesports
body kit, he decided to take a
gamble. Would the rest of the
car be as extensively

40 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 FORGE YOUR OWN PATH heavily modified and they just and they look amazing!’
YOU OFTEN HEAR ABOUT FORGED weren’t interested. In the end, I We’re getting ahead of
ENGINES OR INTERNALS BUT
WHAT DO THEY DO? UNLIKE MORE stopped trying and decided to ourselves: project cars don’t
COMMON CAST INTERNALS, WHICH wait it out.’ Come December happen overnight. Let’s rewind
ARE CREATED WHEN MOLTEN
METAL IS COOLED IN MOULDS, 2008, the car became too old to to 2011, when Dave had been
FORGED PARTS ARE MADE BY need an IVA and sailed straight using the car as a daily driver
HEATING METAL AND FORCING IT through a more conventional for around three years. With
INTO THE REQUIRED SHAPE UNDER
HIGH PRESSURE. THE PROCESS registration process. 180bhp from the original
CREATES A NUMBER OF SMALL Now the car was on the engine, the Glanza was nippy
STRESSES INSIDE THE PART, WHICH
THEN HELP TO COUNTERACT road, it was time to get but beginning to show its age.
THE HEAT AND FORCE CREATED modifying. First on the to-do list When the car was sent for an
IN A HIGH PERFORMANCE
ENGINE: ALLOWING FORGED was a six-point Cusco dash- MOT, the news was less than
PARTS TO WITHSTAND MORE dodger rollcage, courtesy of lovely: the head gasket was
POWER FOR LONGER Dave’s father. Safety was a on the way out and the
clear priority but the Cusco’s aftermarket Gab coilovers the
modified? There was only one colour also helped set a car had worn since its days in
way to find out. A bid went in. direction for the build. ‘I liked Japan were heading towards
Several weeks later, the the blue and wanted to tie it all their final sunset.
Glanza rolled out of the together,’ he laughs. He Dave weighed up his
shipping container and into the certainly committed to the options. This was a crunch
tepid British sun. The theme: powdercoating a point, where he’d either part
specification was fairly strong, number of engine parts in the with the car or start throwing
with highlights including same shade of blue, along with serious money at it. After much
Prodrive alloys, Gab Sports a set of equally blue Volk cajoling from his girlfriend and
coilovers and an HKS Silent Hi Racing CE28 alloys. It’s his mates, he decided to go for
Power exhaust. Dave was certainly a striking look but it. The sagging suspension
pleased as punch. It wouldn’t Dave eventually got bored: the exited stage left, replaced by a
last, however, thanks to the Volks have since been set of Tein coilovers, while the
bamboozling policies of British powdercoated white and are original engine was retired, in
bureaucracy. He tried to push regularly swapped with a favour of a secondhand forged
through all the relevant quartet of matt black Prodrive 4E-FTE. But it wasn’t enough.
paperwork to make the car GC-60Ds and the build’s piece He wanted to go even further.
road legal…and got nowhere. de resistance: an eyecatching Now the financial decisions
It all boiled down to age. set of Advan SA3R wheels. got tough. With no little
The Glanza was just under a They’re crazy – and crazy consideration, our man parted
decade old and therefore desirable – wheels that instantly with his beloved KTM motorbike
required an Individual Vehicle draw the eye, thanks to their to fund supporting engine
Approval to become legal for attention-grabbing split rim mods and a TD04 Subaru
UK road use. The IVA test is a design and prominent turbocharger. Things were
notoriously stringent test, hexagonal centre caps. Advans getting serious. Laid out on the
covering everything from don’t come onto the open floor of his mate Jason’s
headlamp aim to seatbelt market too often and Dave was garage, the scale of their
anchorage, exterior protrusions ready to settle for a set in any ambitions began to soak in: the
and emissions. It is exceedingly colour when his current rims speed parts almost covered the
difficult for a modified Japanese turned up in dazzling indigo. entire floor. ‘It was like
car to secure a pass but this ‘They’re somewhere between Christmas morning, seeing all
didn’t stop Dave from trying. purple and blue, they can show of the parts there!’ Dave laughs.
‘I wasted about a grand on the either colour depending on the ‘Once I got the car mapped that
process, changing things and light. It was an entire accident December, it was an absolute
getting the car tested. It was no that the only set I could find animal. I couldn’t have been
good: the Glanza was too were in the colour I wanted happier!’ And who can blame

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 41
TECHSPEC
ENGINE him? He started the year with up. I should have seen it front and rear anti-roll bars, full
1.3-litre, 4-cyl, 16v Tuning
180bhp, and finished it with 280! coming; I’d driven the car very polybushing and a Toy Tuning
Developments Stage 2 forged 4E-FTE
with Wössner low compression piston
Around the same time, the hard since the forged engine castor kit now complement the
kit, rings and pins, Scat forged rod kit, car gained one of its most was fitted and wasn’t aware of Tein Mono Flex coilover
330cc injectors, ARP head bolts, striking mods: the bumper-exit how much more servicing suspension, while stopping is
Athena head gasket, ARP head bolts, exhaust. First appearances can modified cars need. I’ve taken care of by 282mm
ACL bearings, machined and polished be deceptive – this mod was definitely learnt that since, and I grooved front K-Sport discs and
bottom end, WEPR ram horn turbo kit, driven by function, not form. make sure I keep the current six-pot K-Sport calipers.
screamer pipe, WEPR intercooler and Dave had suffered problems engine very well maintained.’ Corbeau bucket seats and a full
2.5in side-exit exhaust, Tuning trying to achieve peak power For the second time in two interior strip keep weight down
Developments TD04L turbocharger,
with the standard Glanza years, Dave faced a fork in the to 960kg with fluids and fuel and
TiAL blow-off valve and external waste-
gate, braided fuel, oil and water lines,
exhaust system, due to the road. Would he keep and repair Dave’s creative side is
Civic alloy radiator, GReddy oil cooler, presence of a restrictive flange the car, or would he sell up? expressed with a custom rear
oil filter relocation kit, Tuning between the downpipe and the After much soul searching, he diffuser, designed to spice up
Developments fuel rail and fuel pump, exhaust proper, and needed decided to stick with it and the Livesports rear bumper.
GReddy FPR, HKS earthing kit, HKS air another answer. Having seen the make the Glanza the car he’d One of the biggest changes
filter, CJ Performance hose kit, RW expense of a full custom system, always wanted it to be. We’re was the Wolf Vx4 ECU. ‘With the
Developments baffled sump, Dave settled for fitting the WEPR very glad he did! As it sits today, old piggyback unit, you were
Magnicore leads, NGK iridium spark 2.5 inch muffled side-exit pipe. the little Toyota features a Tuning always fighting it. Now you just
plugs, Wolf Vx4 standalone ECU,
At 99 decibels, it also allows the Developments Stage 2 forged put your foot down and go,
polybushed engine mounts, painted
engine block and head, JD Tuning
Glanza to just sneak below 4E-FTE engine with 74.5mm low which is pretty amazing.’ And
clear cambelt cover trackday noise limits. Phew! compression Wossner pistons, Dave’s certainly put the new
The good times wouldn’t last Scat forged conrods, ACL modifications to good use,
POWER for long, though. When Dave bearings and plenty more. taking in trackdays at
295.7bhp and 275lb ft at 1.4 bar boost took the Glanza on track for the With the addition of a Tuning Silverstone, Donington Park and
first time, at Japfest Combe Developments TD04L billet turbo planning to enjoy a Tarmac rally
TRANSMISSION 2013, disaster struck. ‘Coming and WEPR stainless steel stage with Slip&Grip in August.
Standard five-speed manual gearbox
out of Quarry corner,’ he wastegate, it makes 295.7bhp at In between events, you can find
with TRD LSD, Tuning Developments
lightweight flywheel, Spec 6-puck explains, ‘the engine just blew 1.4 bar of boost. That’s enough him blasting across the local
clutch, solid shifter bushes, TRD quick- to be getting on with for a 1.3- moors, having frantic, front-drive
shift kit, polybushed gearbox mounts PETITE BUT POWERFUL litre engine that left the fun. ‘I’ve had the car for nine
THE GLANZA V IS THE SPORTIEST factory with 131bhp. years now and can’t see myself
SUSPENSION VERSION OF THE FIFTH AND
FINAL GENERATION OF THE
Whiteline getting rid of it. It’s basically
Tein Mono Flex coilovers, Carbing TOYOTA STARLET, A JAPANESE finished now and I just want to
front strut brace, Whiteline 22mm front MARKET SUPERMINI. AS enjoy it.’ Here’s to another
anti-roll bar, front drop links, adjustable STANDARD, THE GLANZA
PRODUCES 131BHP AND decade of blasting away
rear anti-roll bar, Cusco lower arm bar,
adjustable Panhard rod, full
REACHES 60MPH IN 8.3 away the blues! JP
SECONDS. IT WAS PRECEDED
polybushing, Toy Tuning castor kit, JD BY A NUMBER OF SPORTY
Tuning powdercoated torque damper STARLETS, INCLUDING THE EP71
TURBO S, BOASTING 110BHP
AND THE EP82 GT TURBO,
BRAKES WHICH PACKED 133BHP AND A
K-Sport 282mm grooved discs with FIVE-SPEED MANUAL GEARBOX
K-Sport six-pot calipers and Ferodo IN AN ERA WHEN BOTH OF
THOSE WERE SOMETHING TO
DS2500 pads (front), standard rear BRAG ABOUT
discs, calipers and pads, braided brake
lines all round, Cusco brake master
cylinder stopper, ABS removed

WHEELS & TYRES

Advan 15in SA3R alloys with 195/50-15
Yokohoma ADO8 tyres, Nuts 4 Wheels
steel wheelnuts, H&R hubcentric front
and rear wheel spacers

EXTERIOR
Full Livesports bodykit with front
bumper, side skirts, rear spoiler and
customised rear bumper, custom rear
diffuser, respray in 040 Toyota Super
White 2, Cruise glassfibre bonnet with
aero catches, rear wiper removal,
full debadging, TRS front tow straps,
window washers relocation to scuttle
panel and rolled rear arches

INTERIOR
Full interior strip, rubber backed carpet
lining, Cusco six-point dash-dodger
rollcage, Zisco rear brace, Defi gauges
with controller, Blitz boost gauge, Blitz
boost controller and power meter, TRD
centre console, dial surround and
window switch surrounds, TRD
gearknob, OMP dished steering wheel,
Corbeau bucket seats with custom
rails, Luke harnesses, Wink mirror,
Razo pedals, LED dials with dimmer

42 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 TRIUMPH
OVER
ADVERSITY
JAKE NEST HAS HAD MORE THAN HIS FAIR SHARE OF PROBLEMS
WITH HIS RADICAL RE AMEMIYA KITTED RX-7, BUT JUST AS EVERY
CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING, EACH ISSUE HAS BEEN SOLVED
WITH A PERFORMANCE ENHANCING UPGRADE
WORDS: DAN SHERWOOD PICS: JIMI LEE

W
hat is it that attracts kicks. Or maybe it’s the fact that the automotive world would be and constant reliability issues
people to owning each time they come into the owners of rotary-engined surround rotary-engined
exotic and potentially contact with their hellish co- machines. In the scheme of vehicles, to the point where
lethal animals as their pets? inhabitants they are effectively things rotaries are still extremely most of the motoring world
For example, why would rolling the dice with their health rare and exotic things, shunning refuses to touch them with a
anyone choose to spend their and gambling their wellbeing on the more conventional barge pole. However, just like
days tending to the exacting the unstable musings of a wild reciprocating motion of a piston the reptile-loving
requirements of a venomous creature’s cerebral cortex? engine in favour of the circular herpetoculturist hell-bent on
snake or spider when they Of course, only the most motion of a triangular Wankel keeping an alligator in his
could save themselves a lot of foolish of exotic pet owners rotor. In theory, they operate in bathtub, there are still
hassle and potential near death goes about acquiring such a very simple manner, which, individuals out there that are
experiences by opting for a animals without carrying out with less moving parts than prepared to take on the risk of
humble hamster? Maybe it’s the thorough research into the their piston-engined rotary ownership for the thrill
bragging rights that go hand-in- subject, so you have to assume equivalents, should equate to that only a pair of spinning
hand with being the master of a that they know what they’re greater reliability and longevity. metal triangles can produce.
terrifying tarantula or a sinful getting into from the outset. However, as we all know by 27-year-old Jake Nest is one
serpent that attracts them. But that’s not to say that some now, this is rarely ever the case. such individual who has taken a
Maybe it’s the thrill of the rare won’t get bitten with a lethal In the real world, horror stories punt on one of Mazda’s finest
and exotic that gives them their dose… A similar comparison in of catastrophic engine failures sports coupes.

44 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 ‘I first fell in love with the FD rotary engine’s equivalent of a wastegate setup, a stainless system developed a boost leak
RX-7 after seeing one in a head gasket – had perished, steel exhaust, a set of BC and the exhaust started
magazine years ago,’ Jake meaning an expensive engine coilovers and some matching blowing. In the first year, I
remembers. ‘But it wasn’t until I rebuild was on the cards. black wheels, and, even though reckon I spent more time fixing
was travelling in Australia, and I Understandably not happy with it was a bit rough around the the thing than driving it!’
saw an all black, bridge-ported the situation, Jake returned the edges, I was only too happy to But Jake’s pain was not in
RX-7 drive past, that I really radiant red RX-7 to the seller, for take him up on his offer.’ vain, because every problem
started to consider making the a refund. However, while the car’s led to him overcoming the issue
jump into rotary ownership. ‘The seller specialised in colour may have been an with an uprated alternative. So
The sound, aero and menacing buying and selling RX-7s,’ Jake improvement, the plethora of while the constant stream of
styling had me hooked! So explains. ‘He was cool about problems coming out of the faults seemed like he was
when I got back to England a everything and actually offered woodwork were anything but. forever taking one step forward
year later, my first port of call to exchange the faulty red ‘It wasn’t exactly how I had and two steps back, in reality
was to purchase an RX-7.’ Mazda for a black one. Of imagined RX-7 ownership,’ Jake each issue was pushing the
And he made good on his course, black was the colour laughs. ‘There was just one performance potential of the
promise just six weeks after he that I’d always wanted, and problem after another. First the build ever further.
got home. Unfortunately, that’s along with a Garrett T04Z single clutch started slipping, then the A new V-mounted radiator
when the trouble started... turbo conversion mounted to a radiator started to leak, a and intercooler later, plus a host
The engine’s water seals – a GReddy manifold with external coolant hose split, the turbo of other cooling, fueling and

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 45
 IT ALL MOUNTS UP
JAKE SWAPPED THE RX-7’S
STANDARD RUBBER-BUSHED
ENGINE MOUNTS FOR A SET
OF HIMINS SOLID MOUNTS.
THIS UPGRADE MEANS THE
ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION
DON’T MOVE AROUND AS
MUCH AS BEFORE AND MAKE
FOR A LARGE IMPROVEMENT
IN THE POSITIVITY AND PRECI-
SION OF THE SHIFT QUALITY
OF THE GEARBOX. THIS BENE-
FIT TO THE SHIFT IS OFFSET
SLIGHTLY BY INCREASED
VIBRATION, HOWEVER JAKE
RECKONS THE EXTRA VIBES
ARE WELL WORTH IT FOR THE
PERFORMANCE ADVANTAGE
OF ULTRA SLICK SHIFTS

46 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 ‘I JUST LOVE THE
MENACING, MOODY,
MURDERED LOOK’

breathing upgrades, the Mazda’s shortcomings in the reliability reincarnation.’ Jake chuckles. ‘We started at
mighty single turbo’d motor was department,’ laughs the Wheels were next, as the five in the morning and finally
singing sweetly again. Hampshire-based rotorhead. bloated arches needed suitably had everything mounted up at
‘With the motor sorted, I ‘So rather than planning to wide rims to fill them. After ten o’clock that evening. The kit
decided to strip the interior,’ ditch it, I decided to take things looking at various brands and wasn’t the best fit to be honest,
recalls Jake. ‘I had a bunch of to the next level…’ styles, Jake came across the and needed a lot of tweaking,
parts from an old track Starlet Unlike many RX-7 addicts Cosmis range, where the mix of but we got there in the end, we
project I’d abandoned, such as who proclaim their love of the cool deeply-dished styles and just didn’t get chance to paint it.’
a single bucket seat, harness Mazda’s factory lines, Jake has extra-wide widths meant they He did make it to Japfest,
and steering wheel, so I never been a fan of the OEM were the perfect choice. though, even if the car was a
decided to put them to good look and has always fancied Sourced through Driftworks, mish-mash of unpainted white
use in the Rex, complementing adorning his FD with a wide Jake selected a set of 9.5x18in glassfibre and factory black
a bolt-in rollcage I fitted. But no arch kit, so when he spotted an XT-206R wheels with 255- paint. The ‘Panda’ look was one
sooner had I completed the RE Amemiya GTAD wide body section front and 285-section that stayed for a while, at least
interior makeover than the conversion up for sale on the rear Federal RSR tyres. until Jake could get the car into
starter motor and HT leads died.’ FD:UK forum, he was only too A huge 1600mm GRAMS GT his mate’s bodyshop for a full
You’d think that at this point keen to snap it up. FRP spoiler blade with custom respray in Mazda PZ black.
Jake’s enthusiasm for the ‘It was up for a good price wing end-plates and Dragon ‘I just love the menacing and
project would be waning, but so I wasted no time in securing Performance GT wing stands moody “murdered out” look,’
nothing could be further from the deal,’ he says. ‘I then was the last piece of the puzzle Jake grins. ‘It really suits the
the truth. stashed the kit, plus a few other and finally signalled time for the aggressive lines of the kit.’
‘The RX-7 has certainly had exterior upgrades in a unit I was exterior transformation to begin. And he would go on to
its problems, but it’s just so borrowing until I had sourced ‘It was the day before enhance those lines further by
good when it is working that it’s the other items that were on my Japfest 2016 when my mate adding an RE Amemiya carbon
easy to forgive its numerous wish list for the RX-7’s Loz and I began fitting the kit,’ bonnet, carbon headlight

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 47
TECHSPEC THANKS LIST
JARROD, JAKE, BRAD AND GEORGE
ENGINE FOR THEIR GENERAL HELP, CHARLIE
FOR PARTS AND TECH HELP,
1.3-litre, twin rotor, 13b REW Wankel JIMMY FOR DETAILING AND
engine, Garrett T04Z turbo, cast-iron KEEPING THE PAINT PERFECT,
GReddy manifold with external GABRIEL @GG_CARBON FOR ALL
THE CARBON-FIBRE, IAN FOR ALL
GReddy wastegate, K&N air filter, THE PAINT WORK, LASTLY MY
custom 3in full stainless exhaust, SX GIRLFRIEND LAURA, FOR PUTTING
UP WITH THE LUDICROUS AMOUNTS
Tuning V-mounted intercooler, OF TIME AND MONEY SPENT ON
Japspeed V-mounted aluminium THE CAR!
radiator, APS 13-row aluminium power
steering cooler, Viper Performance
hoses, Mikalor clamps throughout,
R-Magic air separation tank for cooling
system, 850cc primary injectors and
550cc secondary injectors, Aeromotive
fuel pressure regulator, DM Motorsport
lightweight pulley set and sump brace,
Racebolt magnetic titanium sump plug,
Himins Rotary solid engine mounts,
A’PEXi standalone ECU

PERFORMANCE
Estimated at 350bhp

TRANSMISSION
Factory 5-speed manual, rear wheel
drive, OS Giken twin-plate clutch and
lightweight flywheel, B&M short shifter,
HEL braided clutch line

SUSPENSION
BC Racing 3-way adjustable coilovers,
JIC Magic carbon-fibre front strut
brace, polished factory rear strut,
Driftworks rear adjustable castor arms,
fully polybushed rear trailing arms

BRAKES covers and constructing a ‘I took the car on track at this THREE-WAY ACTION
JAKE’S RX-7 FEATURES THREE-WAY
YellowSpeed Racing 6-pot calipers with custom carbon diffuser. year’s Japfest show and it ADJUSTABLE COILOVERS FROM BC
330mm floating discs with aluminium But good looks alone were performed brilliantly,’ he RACING. THIS IS NOT BECAUSE THEY
bells, braided front and rear lines, still not enough to stem Jake’s enthuses. ‘The power and the LIKE TO INDULGE IN SOME KINKY
MÉNAGE-A-TROIS ACTION, BUT
performance discs and pads at the rear run of bad luck as the slipping balance were sublime and the BECAUSE THEY FEATURE THREE
clutch finally gave up the ghost. grip from the coilovers was SEPARATE DAMPING ADJUSTMENTS.
WHEELS & TYRES ‘When the clutch went, I took immense.’ THE INDIVIDUAL ADJUSTERS ALLOW
YOU TO CONTROL BOTH HIGH AND
9.5x18in ET10 Cosmis Racing XT-206R the car off the road while I But then disaster struck. The LOW-SPEED COMPRESSION AS WELL
wheels all round with 255/40/18 (front) waited for a new OS Giken item rattle from fourth gear finally AS LOW-SPEED REBOUND
and 285/35/18 (rear) Federal RSR and lightweight flywheel to signalled the death of the ratio CHARACTERISTICS. THIS MEANS
THAT YOU CAN REALLY FINE TUNE
semi-slick tyres arrive,’ recalls Jake. ‘So I and it could no longer be selected. THE WAY THAT THE COILOVERS DEAL
decided to get stuck in and ‘The other gears still worked WITH IMPERFECTIONS IN THE ROAD
EXTERIOR cleaned and painted the entire fine,’ laughs Jake. ‘So I just AS WELL AS HOW THE CAR REACTS
TO STEERING, BRAKING AND
Full respray in PZ black, full wide-body underside of the car, replacing drove it around block-changing ACCELERATION INPUTS AND ISSUES
RE Amemiya kit, RE Amemiya GT FRP worn out items as I went along.’ from third to fifth and vice versa. SUCH AS WEIGHT TRANSFER,
bonnet, carbon-fibre rear diffuser with When the new clutch finally It wasn’t ideal, but it bought me MAKING THEM THE PREFERRED
SETUP FOR CARS THAT SEE A LOT OF
carbon-fibre extensions and stainless arrived, Jake installed it himself some time to save up for a TRACK ACTION, OR THOSE AFTER
support struts, carbon-fibre headlight using axle stands on his mum’s replacement gearbox.’ THE LAST WORD IN ADJUSTABILITY
covers, Dragon Performance GT wing driveway. Unfortunately, the And this brings us to the time
stands with stainless X-brace support, beefier clutch only served to of the photoshoot. Jake’s had engine rebuild underway,
GRAMS 1600mm GT FRP spoiler move the weakest link to the more than his fair share of including a smoothed, wire-
blade, custom wing end-plates gearbox itself and fourth gear troubles with the woeful Wankel, tucked bay, full ABS delete and
started to omit an ominous rattle. and even as the pictures were braided lines throughout the car,
INTERIOR ‘I decided to ignore the rattle being taken the car was still new oil coolers, billet fuel rails,
Fully stripped interior with single and only fix it if it got worse,’ plotting new ways to cause him new injectors and a remap,
Corbeau race bucket seat with OBP Jake says sheepishly. ‘I’d just pain. The very next day after the when it’s finished Jake’s RX-7 is
side mounts and Takata harness, splashed out on an awesome shoot the engine’s water seals going to be back in black and
5-point bolt-in rollcage, Sparco YellowSpeed six-pot big brake let go, sending a fountain of even better than ever.
D-shape steering wheel with quick- kit, so I couldn’t afford a new boiling water up through the So the next time your build
release boss, Motamec aluminium foot gearbox as well.’ vented bonnet like a geyzer. throws a spanner in the works
plate, carbon-fibre blanking plates, But like a persistent cough ‘It happens!’ laments Jake, and you’re faced with seemingly
custom carbon-fibre door cards, JJC that turns into terminal lung shrugging his shoulders. ‘It just overwhelming adversity, think of
Lifeline 2.25 fire extinguisher system, cancer, Jake’s niggly rattle was means I have another reason to Jake and his RX-7 and see each
Odyssey racing battery relocated to only ever going to get worse, add some more upgrades.’ issue, not as a problem, but as
passenger seat position which it did at his next outing. And with a full bridge-port an opportunity to triumph. JP

48 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
50 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 THIS MITSUBISHI LANCER IS TEETERING ON A KNIFE-EDGE
OF USEABLE ROAD CAR AND ALL-OUT TRACK MONSTER. THE
ACT WORDS: DAN GOODYER PICS: DAN SHERWOOD

BIG QUESTION IS: WILL ITS OWNER TIP THE SCALES?

I
t’s rare that we feature a car in 1000cc fuel injectors and loads course, because they set-up the development work on JCB
the middle of its evolution. No more. I haven’t opened the suspension and Matt at MG diesel engines. So while his Evo
pun intended. However, that’s engine yet and apparently it’s mapped the engine. It was the VI is a completely different
exactly where Adrian Lawes and the con-rods that are the weak balance of modifications that beast, Adrian isn’t afraid to get
his surprisingly-potent Evo VI spot. If I fit these bits I’ll have to impressed them, according to his hands dirty. ‘I’ve done most
are. After three and a half years change the rods and do Adrian. He adds: ‘You would of the work myself,’ he admits,
of steady upgrades, the car has something with the pistons, expect a tuning company to tell ‘either in the garage or out on
developed into a nicely-balanced either machine the existing you to keep going with the the drive. That’s everything from
package of power, handling and ones or replace them mods because it makes them fitting the brakes to bonding on
braking. The question is, should altogether, but I’m having money, but they actually the carbon-fibre rear wheel
he stop here? second thoughts.’ suggested I leave it as it is. The arches. Funnily enough, the
‘I’ve already bought the next The reason for Adrian’s trouble is I can’t leave anything only thing I didn’t really touch
load of parts!’ admits the 43- hesitation is that he claims the alone – idle hands and all that.’ was the engine. I just figured
year-old engineering surveyor MG Auto Motorsport guys got Adrian is a very hands-on that was best left to the experts,
from Nottingham. ‘I’ve bought a behind the wheel recently, and kind of guy. As a qualified people who are really familiar
pair of Jun 272 cams from Ross were surprised by how well it engineer, he’s familiar with car with the 4G63. I was lucky to
Sport, a Blouch 760-XTR turbo, drove. They’re slightly biased of mechanics. In fact, he did some find MG Auto Motorsport.

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 51
 BRUTAL BOLT-ONS
MG AUTO MOTORSPORT WORKED
THEIR MAGIC WITH THE BOLT-ON
PARTS, BEFORE MATT REMAPPED
THE FACTORY ECU. THE KEY MODS
ARE THE FREE-FLOWING EXHAUST,
BIG HDI FRONT-MOUNTED
INTERCOOLER THAT STUFFS
COOLER, DENSER AIR INTO THE
ENGINE PLUS THE GREDDY J-PIPE,
WHICH IS A LESS RESTRICTIVE
TURBO-TO-INTERCOOLER PIPE.
WITH A WALBRO FUEL PUMP
CAPABLE OF SUPPLYING A BIT
MORE FUEL TO MATCH THE
DE-BUNGED ENGINE, THE TD05HR
TURBO IS PRETTY MUCH MAXED-
OUT AT AROUND 380BHP
WITH MATCHING TORQUE.
THIS MAKES FOR A PUNCHY,
‘BOOSTY’ POWER DELIVERY AND
IS ENOUGH GRUNT TO SURPRISE
SUPERCAR DRIVERS THROUGH
THE TWISTIES

They’re just down the road from people either break their cars or
me and have done all the put them back to standard
engine work. They’ve been before selling them. Adrian has
really helpful with the whole car taken full advantage of this
and are always willing to give bargain-packed market.
me advice and offer insight and ‘You’ve got to be quick,’ he
a professional opinion.’ explains. ‘When you see a
When Adrian bought the car DAMD front bumper that
it was relatively standard. It did normally retails for about £850
have one really nice on its own, up for just £50,
modification, though, a three- you’ve got to jump straight in
inch downpipe and single- your car and go and get it,’
silencer exhaust. He adds: which is exactly what Adrian
‘I think it’s a Trust GReddy did. The front bumper is
silencer but the pipework itself attached with quick-release
looks custom-made. It takes a fixings, so he can remove it in
much more direct route under about two minutes. This makes
the car, compared to the factory it much easier for him to get the
exhaust.’ So it’s able to get the car on a four-post ramp for
hot gases away from the factory example, as the car is too low
TD05 turbo quickly and and that splitter too big to clear
effectively. The three-inch bore otherwise.
of the downpipe is particularly ‘The splitter is one of my
important, as the area directly favourite parts of the car,’
behind the turbine is commonly admits Adrian. ‘It’s something
where the biggest restriction people often ask me about at
occurs on the stock pipework. shows. It was built by Trackday
Otherwise this Evo VI GSR Splitters and includes the
was a fresh Japanese import canards that attach to the side
ready for some tuning. Adrian of the bumper. The splitter
has had loads of performance continues back under the
cars in the past and has engine so it works properly.
modified every one. It’s usually I was amazed how much
old Fords though, so this is his difference it made when I drove
first Japanese car. ‘I wanted to it for the first time. The front-end
buy an Evo because of the turns in much sharper at speed,
rallying heritage, plus I love the and generally just feels more
way they look,’ he admits. planted. The guy who runs the
The upgrades started with a company has an Evo VI that he
set of carbon-fibre sideskirts drives in the MLR Sprint Series.
and aftermarket headlights, I like the idea that any money out on the track sessions at with Performance Friction discs
when a friend decided to break he makes from the splitters shows, like I did recently at and pads, HEL braided lines
his Evo. It’s a common practice goes into his own car, too.’ Japfest Donington.’ and proper fluid. Adrian admits:
sadly, as modified cars have Adrian admits speed bumps It’s only when you’re really ‘I know it’s a fairly budget build
traditionally been worth less are a bit of an issue now, hustling this car that its compared to some cars you
than standard minters to particularly with the nose-down brilliance reveals itself. Visit any see – in that it’s not running
anyone outside the tuning rake provided by the Lancer Evo forum and you’ll Alcon brakes or Öhlins
scene. With the prices of suspension alignment. Once find 400bhp is often quoted as suspension, etc. – but what I
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions again, MG Auto Motorsport the reasonable power limit for a have got seems to work really
rising rapidly now, it seems that were involved, setting up the 4G63 engine with standard well together.’
anyone buying one as an car for ‘fast-road/track’ use. internals, which is exactly what Indeed, it seems that Adrian
investment is after a standard ‘I do get on track occassionally,’ this car has. There’s a load of has hit a sweet spot for an
car with history. As a result, the Adrian says, ‘Usually it’s braces underneath and a set of enjoyable and reliable fast-road
forums and Facebook groups Donington Park as that’s closest BC Racing coilovers. While the car that can also do a decent
are packed with used parts, as to me. I particularly enjoy going brakes have been upgraded job on track. The brake

52 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 SORTED SEATS CARBON REAR BENCH
A MORE UNUSUAL CHOICE OF BUM- ONE PARTICULARLY NEAT
REST. ADRIAN INITIALLY FITTED A PAIR FEATURE OF ADRIAN’S CAR
OF CORBEAU REVOLUTION BUCKET IS THE CARBON-COVERED
SEATS BUT SOLD THEM AFTER THEIR FIA REAR PART OF THE
APPROVAL DATE EXPIRED. FOR THE INTERIOR. AFTER FITTING
MONEY HE RAISED FROM THE SALE HE THE SAFETY DEVICES
MANAGED TO BUY HIS CURRENT MIRCO ROLLCAGE, ADRIAN
RS2 SEAT FROM GSM IN NOTTINGHAM. MODIFIED THE ORIGINAL
ADRIAN ADDS: ‘MIRCO MAKE SEATS REAR SEAT BENCH TO FIT
FOR OTHER MANUFACTURERS BACK IN PLACE, BUT HE
APPARENTLY. I’M REALLY PLEASED WITH DIDN’T THINK IT LOOKED
THE QUALITY. ONE NICE THING IS YOU RIGHT. LUCKILY, HE
CAN ORDER THEM WITH YOUR OWN STUMBLED ACROSS THIS
CHOICE OF FABRIC AND STITCHING CARBON SEAT BASE COVER
COLOUR FOR NO EXTRA CHARGE. ON ONE OF THE FORUMS.
I WENT WITH THE STANDARD BLACK HE’S NOT SURE WHO MAKES
SEAT WITH WHITE STITCHING, TO MATCH IT BUT IT LOOKS THE PART.
THE REST OF THE CAR. I ALSO RE-FITTED HE ALSO MANAGED TO FIND
THE FACTORY RECARO RECLINER ON A PAIR OF REAR DOOR-
THE OTHER SIDE BECAUSE PASSENGERS CARDS, AND IS CURRENTLY
WERE GENERALLY MOANING AT WAITING FOR A CARBON
HAVING TO CLIMB IN AND OUT OF SEAT-BACK COVER. LOOKS
A TIGHT BUCKET SEAT!’ GREAT, DOESN’T IT?

upgrades for example still use lines have given the brake AD08R tyres and has been GT in Club 4WD this year. He’s
the original Brembo calipers, pedal a much more direct and much happier. With the sticky sponsored by MG Auto
although they have been rebuilt, consistent feel, too. rubber, front splitter and proper Motorsport and set a new class
so while the braking The new rubber certainly suspension alignment, this Evo lap record at Snetterton
performance isn’t going to helps as well. When the tyres sticks to the road like glue. recently. So he’s no slouch!’
match an expensive eight-pot wore down on the standard Of course there are lots of A lot of the carbon-fibre
kit with massive discs, they do wheels, Adrian took the quick Evos about, so it helps parts on the car have come
pull the car up well. More opportunity to replace them that Adrian’s car is a bit of a from the sales section of the
importantly, Adrian can stamp with a set of 8.5x18in Rota looker, too. ‘It’s no show car,’ Mitsubishi Lancer Register
on them repeatedly and they GTRs with Toyo R888 rubber. he admits, ‘but it does get a lot forum or the Evolution group on
don’t fade, which is the biggest Surprisingly, he found the car of compliments. I’ve gone for a Facebook. Take the rear arches,
downfall of standard brakes. moved around quite a bit on the Time Attack style with the for example. Adrian had to
This is largely because of the R888s, which are basically a cut rollcage, big wing and splitter. remove the originals and bond
pad compound and brake fluid. slick. Recently he’s swapped Actually, I’ve been following the new carbon ones in place.
Adrian reckons the braided them for a set of Yokohama Bruce Winfield and his Evo IX He also cut the rear bumper out

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 53
TECHSPEC
ENGINE
2.0-litre, 4-cyl, 16v DOHC 4G63, factory
TD05HR turbo, 3in downpipe into
custom 3in single-silencer exhaust
system, Walbro 255lph fuel pump,
3-port boost solenoid, HKS induction ‘THE NEW TURBO
kit, GReddy J-pipe, HDi intercooler and
hardpipes, hydro-dipped cam cover,
battery relocated to the boot, OEM
SHOULD BE CAPABLE
ECU mapped by MG Auto Motorsport

POWER
380bhp, 380lb ft torque
OF AT LEAST 500BHP’
TRANSMISSION
5-speed manual gearbox, eBay quick-
shift with AMS gearknob and Ross
Sport extended gear lever, Exedy HD
twin-plate clutch and flywheel

SUSPENSION
BC Racing coilovers, PDM Racing alloy
rear arms, front and rear strut braces,
Flitch inner wing braces, 4-point under-
body brace, fully polybushed, ‘Fast
Road’ alignment

BRAKES
Performance Friction 2-piece discs with
Performance Friction pads, HEL
braided brake lines, refurbished
Brembo calipers

WHEELS & TYRES

8.5x18in Rota GTR alloy wheels with
235/40-18 Yokohama AD08R tyres,
20mm spacers all round

EXTERIOR
Genuine DAMD front bumper, Trackday
Splitters front splitter, carbon-fibre
bonnet with lockable aero catches,
+20mm vented front wings, +20mm
carbon-fibre rear arches, genuine
DAMD carbon-fibre sideskirts and rear
lip, Carbon Goodies rear diffuser,
carbon-fibre boot lid, carbon-fibre rear
wing, carbon-fibre vortex generator,
electric Ganador door mirrors, Evo VI ROSS SPORT just seems a shame to cut the reliable car off the road, pull the
RS door handles, aftermarket one- ‘I’VE BOUGHT MOST OF THE BRAND car up as I don’t feel it really engine and upgrade the bottom-
NEW PARTS FROM ROSS SPORT,’
piece headlights ADRIAN EXPLAINS. ‘ONE OF MY needs one. Not yet, anyway.’ end – or forever wonder what
FAVOURITE COST-EFFECTIVE MODS IS That might all change if he the car could have been like
THE GEAR-LEVER EXTENSION. I FITTED
INTERIOR A SHORT-SHIFTER AND AMS GEAR- goes ahead with the power with more power. With the new
Safety Devices 6-point rollcage with KNOB, BUT WANTED IT CLOSER TO THE upgrades. ‘I’ve got a decision to Blouch XTR turbo in place, the
twin rear diagonal, harness bar and STEERING WHEEL. SO I BOUGHT AN make now, haven’t I?’ he asks, engine should easily make over
EXTENSION FROM ROSS SPORT AND
door bars. Mirco RS2 FIA-approved NOW THE GEARKNOB IS RIGHT THERE, looking over the white and 500bhp, possibly closer to
bucket seat with Luke 4-point harness, IT’S MADE A BIG IMPACT TO THE carbon bodywork. ‘I was never 600bhp. That will definitely be
DRIVING EXPERIENCE. I ALSO BOUGHT
OEM Recaro reclining passenger seat, THE BRAKE LINES, DISCS, FLUID AND A going to fit carbon bits to it, to fun, but will it require more
Momo steering wheel and mounting LOAD OF OTHER BITS FROM ROSS be honest. It was going to be mods? Will the ’box handle the
SPORT, TOO, INCLUDING SOME JUN
boss, ProSport boost gauge on driver 272° CAMS FOR THE FUTURE ENGINE matt black and white. That’s why torque with the grip provided by
A-pillar, oil temp, water temp and oil BUILD. THEY ALWAYS PROVIDE one of the first mods I made was those Yoko AD08R tyres? How
pressure in dash-mounted pod, rear EXCELLENT SERVICE.’ CHECK OUT to swap the colour-coded will the brakes cope? It’s not a
WWW.ROSSSPORT.COM
seat delete with carbon-fibre cover, original door handles out for cheap game, this modifying lark.
carbon-fibre rear door cards MG AUTO MOTORSPORT some matt black RS ones. And no-one said it was easy. But
(01773) 745400
WWW.MGAUTOS.UK.COM Sometimes I tell people I did it one thing’s for sure, we all get
THANKS LIST to save a gram of paint on each used to what we have under the
Big thanks and respect to MG Auto for the new diffuser, which he handle, for a laugh. The truth is bonnet. So, it won’t surprise us
Motorsport in Ripley, Derbyshire for all admits is purely cosmetic: ‘It that carbon bits kept cropping at all if we revisit Adrian’s car in
their support, work and advice. Also doesn’t serve a purpose, other up for the right price, like the a few months and he’s thrown
Team DFR (you know who you are) than to balance out the rest of boot lid and rear wing. It just caution to the wind and
and Trackday Splitters for producing an the styling. If I needed a proper sort of evolved naturally.’ changed the whole thing. But
amazing splitter diffuser, I’d cut the boot floor Now he’s got to either take a then that’s the nature of
out, make a false floor, etc. It perfectly well-balanced and evolution for you... JP

54 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 S
SACRI-
ome cars are untouchable.
Or so people would have
you believe. That’s what
Prodrive being the outfit who
developed the cars for the smoky
crucible of World Rally
makes it so much fun when you Championship adventures, when
see some of the outrageously they put their name to a car it
mischievous builds that have really means something.
been doing the rounds in recent Celebrating an era when two
years, like the Bentley British drivers took Imprezas to
Continental GT that’s been turned rally victory – Richard Burns and
into a tube-framed dragster, Colin McRae – it was eminently
Rayvern Hydraulics’ body- fitting that a British tuning firm
dropped Volkswagen Amarok, should develop this factory-
that S-body Nissan with the BMW sanctioned model variant. It came
E46 nose grafted to it…some with unique body addenda,
people just like to shake things anthracite OZ Racing alloys, and
up. Build cars just for the hell of a far more aggressive throttle
it, embrace the hate, no f**ks response than the standard Turbo
given. And that’s pretty much the model. The P1 ran 20mm lower
reception that Gary Krakow’s on Eibach springs, mixing Turbo
Impreza receives when he rolls ARBs with STI shocks, and
up at shows and airs it out. Prodrive offered a big Alcon
Yep, you heard. It’s a genuine brake upgrade into the bargain.
P1, and it’s running air-ride. In the This, then, was the first two-door
infamously nitpicky world of Impreza officially on sale in the
Subaru enthusiasts, this is UK (aside from the hen’s-teeth
tantamount to drawing a 22B, of course), which could run
moustache on the Mona Lisa. from 0–62mph in 4.7 seconds
‘Sacrilegious!’ they cry, choking and go on to 155mph. It’s a bona
on their own rage. But we fide proposition for investors and
disagree. We’re more inclined to collectors today, and enthusiastic
take the view of Homer Simpson, drivers are climbing over each
peeling the waffle from the ceiling other to get their hands on the
that he’s been praying to like a few that remain.
god, and starting to nibble on it. And then Gary pulls up with
‘I know I shouldn’t eat thee,’ he his heavily modified example,
says, ‘but…mmm, sacri-licious!’ belligerently rolling on gangsta
So why are people so wheels and air-ride. You can see
annoyed about this idea? Well, to why the rally-jackets are
understand where the swells of annoyed.
rage are rolling in from, it’s But life’s too short for all that
important to understand just what nonsense. You only live once,
a revered and iconic thing the right? You’ve got to make
Impreza P1 is. This was the yourself happy, build your car for
second special-edition Impreza to you, that’s the true path to
be launched in 1999, the first enlightenment. Other people’s
being the much-admired RB5 – a opinions are seldom worth the
four-door celebration of Richard spittle they sail out on.
Burns joining the works rally ‘I’ve always been heavily into
team. The P1, with notably fewer cars, from a very young age,’
doors, was more of a Prodrive Gary explains. ‘My first car was a
project than a Subaru one; Vauxhall Calibra that I modified;

56 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
-LICIOUS ‘YOU’VE RUINED THAT.’ A PHRASE PEOPLE SOMETIMES
SAY WHEN THEY SEE MODIFIED EXAMPLES OF RARE
CARS. THESE PEOPLE NEED TO FIND OUT THE FULL
STORY BEFORE THEY JUDGE, THOUGH, AS GARY
KRAKOW’S P1 DEMONSTRATES…
WORDS: DANIEL BEVIS PICS: DAN SHERWOOD

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 57
 RIDING ON AIR
IT’S EASY TO KNOCK AIR-RIDE
AND SAY IT’S NO GOOD FOR
PERFORMANCE DRIVING, BUT
THIS IS ACTUALLY AN
ANTIQUATED VIEWPOINT –
MODERN BAGS CAN BE EVERY
BIT AS EFFECTIVE IN THE
TWISTIES AS TRADITIONAL STEEL
SPRINGS. AIRREX DAMPERS ARE
THREADED AND CLICK-
ADJUSTABLE JUST LIKE REGULAR
COILOVERS, TO PERFECTLY SET
THE DAMPING CHARACTERISTICS,
WHILE THE BAGS ARE
SPECIFICALLY ENGINEERED TO
ACT IN THE WAY YOU’D EXPECT
FAST-ROAD AND TRACK
SUSPENSION TO DO. SO IN THE
CASE OF THIS CAR, THERE’S NO
COMPROMISE – IT’S SIMPLY A
MODERN ALTERNATIVE

58 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
in fact I modded it to such an enormously happy with his understandably, Gary had When you view the thought
extent that it ended up being purchase, and thoroughly grown rather attached to his P1, process from that angle, it does
featured in Total Vauxhall enjoying racing about in the and the shock of nearly losing it make rather more sense, does
magazine, it was the first limited-edition Subaru he’d must have triggered something it not? Naturally the car had to
Calibra to have Lambo doors.’ always coveted, things came to primal and radical deep down be bent back into the correct
Crikey. That is a strong start. a crashing halt in a very literal in his subconscious. He was all shape first of course, and the
Not many people can boast that sense. of a sudden gripped by a quality of the curves and
their first car was a feature car ‘Around five months ago, the tenacious and irrepressible shutlines is a true testament to
and, while Lambo doors have car was very close to being a desire to turn the car into what a fabulous job has been
passed out of fashion these write-off,’ he grimaces. something different, something done, with Jeff Dragon laying
days, you’ve got to admire the ‘Someone crashed into the rear mould-breaking, a real middle- down that iconic blue paint –
lack of fear in rolling up his quarter and the boot – I was finger to the fickle whims of you’d never guess it had taken
sleeves and making radical devastated! It took quite a lot of fate. The cosmos had tried to a sizeable clout in the rear,
changes. searching to track down a destroy his Impreza, and he would you? And with everything
‘I’d also always wanted a genuine rear quarter panel to certainly wasn’t going to take straightened and realigned, it
P1,’ he continues, getting down repair it, and I eventually any of that sort of nonsense; he was time to tweak the nips of
to brass tacks. ‘Six years ago I located one in Hungary and intended to throw the very fate and get those bags down.
finally decided to bite the bullet had to have it shipped over… concept of fate right back in the Gary opted for a custom AirREX
and fulfil the dream. I had to I couldn’t miss out on it, it was face of the universe itself by system with double bags and
travel up and down the country one of only two left in building a P1 like no other. full camber adjustability, and
for weeks trying to find the right existence!’ A P1 to turn heads. The first P1 while he had the thing apart he
one! But when I eventually By this point, in Europe to run air-ride. took the opportunity to renew
came across this one, I found it
to be straight and original, in
good, clean condition.’
So that was that, then? A ‘IT’S THE FIRST P1 IN
EUROPE TO RUN AIR
dream fulfilled, a box ticked, the
end of the story? Er, no, not
quite. You see, while Gary was

RIDE SUSPENSION’

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 59
TECHSPEC
ENGINE all the bushes with sturdier build centres around a 2.5-litre there’s a very clear reason why
2.5-litre, 4-cyl, 16v EJ25 boxer block, polyurethane items. ‘It took block, with myriad porting and he’s so determined to persevere
semi-closed, ported and polished endless hours and money to get polishing, fast road cams, CP with this mighty build, no matter
heads, fast road cams, ported inlet it to the picture I had in my pistons and Manley rods, a what nature may throw at it. No,
manifold, CP pistons, Manley rods, mind,’ he says, but it was worth thoroughly reworked fuelling it’s not simply that it’s the car
APR bolts, 1.6mm Cosworth head all the heartache, right? Seeing system, and a cunning ECU that he’s always dreamed of, or that
gaskets, Equal fuel rails, Fuelab the two-door aired out on the runs various maps for any given it’s the car he rescued from
pressure regulator, Roger Clark fuel floor seems gloriously obscene driving scenario – track, street, near-oblivion – it’s something
pump, GT-spec headers, Blitz full decat – a look which is exponentially strip, you name it. Just to add to even more personal. ‘The
stainless steel exhaust system, flamer accentuated by those chunky the visual drama of it all, the reason this car means so much
kit, Alcatek ECU with 6-switch running 19in Bola wheels. It’s a new exhaust rocks a mighty flamer to me, and why I wanted to build
450.2 PK dyno-able maps, launch design for 2017, the B11, and kit, which is a handy bit of it back up, was because my
control, anti-lag, SC46 turbo with the way they tuck into the theatre when part of your son, Taylor, was born in the car.
bigger inlet housing, Turbosmart arches is sublime. They also do mapping includes anti-lag and I delivered him myself, right
Megasonic dump valve, large Nismo a pretty stellar job of showing off launch control. This, then, is a there in the P1.’
radiator and fans, Mocal 19-row oil those tasty brakes! very serious build indeed. So Emotional ties don’t come
cooler, sandwich plate, 3-port boost It would arguably be an when adenoidal geeks tap Gary any beefier than that, do they?
solenoid, JSP silicone hoses, 850cc exercise in crassness to throw on the shoulder and say ‘Er, I One day Gary intends to pass
lateral injectors, chrome engine bay rims and air-ride at a stock car don’t believe you should have the car down to his son, to
trims, front-mount intercooler (even one as racy as a P1) and done that…’ he’s able to toast complete the ouroboros circle of
just leave it at that. But fear not, their polyester turn-ups with his life and let him drive around in
TRANSMISSION as Gary’s spent more than a mighty pipe. C’mon now, it’s all the very venue that first brought
5-speed manual with R180 driveshafts little time tinkering under the a bit of fun. Serious fun, but fun him into this world. But before
and rear diff, 5-paddle fast road clutch bonnet, too. ‘I carried out all the nonetheless. that, haters be damned, Gary’s
and lightened flywheel, stronger mechanical work myself,’ he Gary’s not done with the got a few years in which to
pressure plate explains. ‘It was mapped by performance angle either. ‘The enjoy his polarising creation.
Graham Duncan, rolling-roaded future plan is to build it up with a Sacrilege? Whatever. It’s the car
SUSPENSION at PK Motorsport.’ And the spec real monster engine,’ he grins, he wants it to be, and that’s
AirREX air-ride system with double- is really quite impressive: the with a twinkle in his eye. And exactly what it needs to be. JP
custom bags and camber-adjust,
Powerflex bushes, STI Prodrive
strut brace

BRAKES
Prodrive Alcon 4-pot front calipers with
330mm discs, 2-pot rear calipers with
330mm discs

WHEELS
8.5x19in ET40 2017 Bola B11 wheels,
225/30-19 tyres

INTERIOR
Prodrive P1 seats, Safety Devices
6-point rollcage, Kenwood DVD head
unit, auxiliary gauge pod

EXTERIOR
Air intake headlight, larger bonnet vent,
Prodrive intake, STI clear light lenses,
1000K HID bulbs, front splitter lip

THE OTHER TWO-DOOR IMPREZA?

THE P1 IS CONSIDERED AN ICON BY MANY, BUT THERE WERE A NUMBER OF OTHER TWO-
DOOR IMPREZAS – CHIEF AMONG WHICH WAS THE LEGENDARY 22B. RELEASED IN 1998,
THIS FEATURED A 2.2-LITRE MOTOR, AGGRESSIVELY BLISTERED ARCHES, AND MASSIVELY
IMPROVED TORQUE. 400 EXAMPLES WERE BUILT FOR THE JAPANESE MARKET (ALL OF
WHICH SOLD WITHIN 48 HOURS), WITH ANOTHER 24 BUILT FOR EXPORT MARKETS, 16
OF WHICH WERE FOR THE UK. THESE UK-MARKET CARS WERE FURTHER TWEAKED BY
PRODRIVE, WITH LONGER GEAR RATIOS AND DIFFERENT LIGHTS. FOR COLLECTORS, THE
TWO-DOOR SPECIALS ARE PROPER HOLY GRAIL CARS

60 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 LATERALSUBARU PARTS FROM ROAD TO RACE

THE BEST SUBARU TURBOS JUST GOT BETTER

ALWAYS LOOKING TO IMPROVE OUR PRODUCTS WE ARE NOW FITTING THE MDX321
BILLET ‘T’ AND ‘V’ WITH THE HI SPEC T3 ACTUATOR FOR EVEN BETTER BOOST CONTROL

AND TO FURTHER IMPROVE RELIABILITY IN BOTH ROAD AND RACE

THE STANDARD GARRETT PLASTIC BEARING CARRIER AND BEARINGS ARE REPLACED WITH
METAL COMPETITION CARRIER AND CERAMIC BEARINGS ON ALL LATERAL TURBOS

PRICING FROM 1395+VAT INC ZIRCOTEC CERAMIC COATED

EXHAUST HOUSING, COMPETITION BEARING SET,
FITTING KIT AND 2 YEAR WARRANTY

WWW.LATERALPERFORMANCE.CO.UK TEL: (+44) 01923 238477

 LATERAL
SUBARU PARTS FROM ROAD TO RACE

LATERAL 2.1LITRE SUBARU IMPREZA

STROKER KIT

THE KIT CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING:

2.5LT STI CRANK
LATERAL/WISECO CUSTOM 2.1LT PISTON KIT, WITH RINGS AND
UPRATED PINS
LATERAL CUSTOM FAST ROAD "H" SECTION STROKER RODS
(LONG VERSION)
ACL "RACE SERIES" MAIN AND BIG END BEARING SET
MULTI LAYER STEEL HEAD GASKETS (PAIR)
BLOCK O RING SET

£1675 incl VAT

WWW.LATERALPERFORMANCE.CO.UK TEL: (+44) 01923 238477

WORDS: DANIEL BEVIS PICS: VICTOR BENYI

WHAT
HAPPENS
IN VEGAS…
PHIL ARBOLEDA’S AGGRESSIVELY STANCED S2000
CAME SCREAMING STRAIGHT OUTTA LAS VEGAS
LIKE A THUNDERBOLT, DECIMATING ALL IN ITS PATH.
AND THEN, AS QUICKLY IS IT ARRIVED, IT
VANISHED. EASY COME, EASY GO...

64 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
T
he essential problem with is often beautiful as well as see it here. Phil’s returned it them remained stock for long –
human existence is that functional, why clothes are back to stock and sold it on. there was the ’94 Civic
nothing lasts. All of our colourful instead of drab and Aha, but the car did once exist hatchback with an H22 swap,
achievements, no matter how uniform, why food is tasty and in the form you see here, Integra Type R transmission and
seemingly significant, will pleasing to the eye rather than splayed so lasciviously across dual 76mm throttle bottles, a
ultimately boil away into dust, merely fuel, and why we build these pages, and that’s the couple of other Civics, a Miata,
the base elements returning to silly cars. We don’t need to most important thing. Things two RX-7s, a Mazdaspeed
the cosmos from whence they spend all this money on making don’t have to be in your face to Protege, a Mazdaspeed 3 and a
sprang forth. It’s a truism to say our cars different. But whoever be worthy of merit – the fact Toyota Cressida...and, of
that our lifespans, when taken cared about ‘need’…? that they reside in posterity is course, the most recent build,
as a percentage of the Earth or It’s for this reason that Phil the clincher. The world knew the Scion FRS.’ The man just
the universe as a whole, are so Arboleda created the this S2000, and it was good. seems to be unstoppable in his
mind-bogglingly insignificant shimmering S2000 that you’re And then, like Keyser Söze, it modding aspirations; take a
that there’s no purpose now gawping at with was gone. Japanese car, do unseemly
whatsoever to anything we do, undisguised animal lust. ‘This all started at an early things to it, then move on to
but at the same time this little (Seriously, put your tongue age for me, working on my the next project like he’s ticking
pocket of near-nothingness that away, people are looking.) dad’s old first-generation Mazda all of his dream builds off some
we inhabit is still our nothing. Phil’s got a pretty clear idea of RX-7 in his garage,’ Phil vast celestial wishlist. Perhaps

…
It’s mankind’s prerogative to the nature of the cosmos and reminisces, neatly sowing the he is. He certainly seems to
make things better for that brief his own infinitesimal position seeds for all that was about to have some sort of connection
flash of time in which we get to within it, and it’s his overt aim to spring forth in his fledgling to the mainframe of reality
enjoy them, and it’s for this maximise that speck in any way years. ‘Working with him itself, rippling through the fabric
reason that great and inspiring possible. We’re going to start instilled a fascination and love of space-time in a string of
art has always characterised this story with a massive spoiler for cars within me, and it's had green ones and zeroes. That
man’s – no, not that kind of spoiler – something of a snowball effect. must be why everything that
achievements; and tell you that this car no Out of the twelve cars I've comes out of his garage is so
why architecture longer exists in the form you owned over the years, none of utterly flawless.

STANCE SUSPENSION
PHIL’S CAR USES STANCE SUSPENSION,
WHICH MAY SOUND LIKE AN OBVIOUS
THING TO SAY, BUT IN FACT STANCE
SUSPENSION IS A BRAND NAME WHICH
IS KIND OF A BIG DEAL. HONING THEIR
TECHNOLOGY IN THE SMOKY CRUCIBLE
OF MOTORSPORT, THEY TAKE THEIR CUES
FROM SUCH DISPARATE DISCIPLINES AS
DRIFTING, DRAG RACING, TIME ATTACK,
LAND SPEED RECORD ATTEMPTS AND
HILLCLIMBING. SO IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT
DUMPING YOUR CAR ON THE FLOOR –
IT’S ABOUT MAKING SURE IT HANDLES
WHILE IT’S DOWN THERE, AND PROVID-
ING ULTIMATE ADJUSTABILITY

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 65
 So why an S2000 this time? musings on the colour blue at vision of a show car with the Meisters, to the Rezax it's on for
Well, they’re just awesome on this point, thank goodness, by latest fashion-forward rims and this shoot.’
toast, aren’t they? ‘I’d always returning to the facts at hand: technologically befuddling air- Phil’s put a fairly incredible
wanted one, and when they ‘I wanted something classy, ride system. There’s also the amount of thought into
came into my price range, I just really – that’s what inspired the old guard, the pre-stance the chassis settings that allow
had to jump on the opportunity,’ purchase of an S2000. I was survivors whose passion for the S2K to get this snake’s-belly
grins Phil. ‘When I found this tired of having fast cars that modifying is baked right into low, with that rakish camber,
one, it was in decent condition weren't fun to drive. And as their very souls. We’re not poke and stretch. It’s like
and near enough stock. It soon as I’d got this one home, knocking the former group, of playing stance buzzword bingo.
wasn't the colour I wanted, but I started modifying it right away. course, but Phil is very firmly in The front wings have been cut
it eventually grew on me…’ In fact, every penny I was the latter. It’s the base of and widened to accommodate
You can certainly see why – earning went into this car!’ childhood passion that’s all that’s going on beneath, and
Honda’s Suzuka Blue is one of It’s important at this juncture shaped the man he’s become the rear arches have had more
the all-time great blues; at once to take a step back and today, and his cars reflect this than a little tickle, too; Stance
steely and creamy, harshly consider the stance scene as a rich cultural history. Suspension coilovers get the
abrupt yet warmly welcoming, broad picture. You see, for ‘I've always been fascinated bulk of the thing down (oh, yes
it’s a dichotomy wrapped up in better or worse, people in the with the stance scene, and have – static, and proudly so), while
a conundrum. The sort of scene tend to fall into one of been pushing the envelope on SPC camber joints and J's
colour that starts arguments, two camps: there’s the fitment with this car since I've Racing driveshaft spacers work
that songs are written about, newcomers, who’ve latched on had it,’ he says, from the together to get it all exactly
that inspires dreams. to something fashionable and fortuitous perspective of having where it needs to be. The front
Phil pricks our whimsical are merrily throwing their credit seen the whole phenomenon wheels are 10in wide – and
cards at their rides in roll out right from its genesis. there’s an extra inch of girth for
order to build a ‘The car’s had numerous sets of the rears – and he’s running 6.5
personal wheels and looks, from TE37s and 7.5 degrees of negative
to Gram Lights, Victrix, Work camber, respectively.

‘I’VE BEEN PUSHING THE

ENVELOPE WITH FITMENT
SINCE I GOT THIS CAR’

66 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 THE F22C1
WE OFTEN BANG ON ABOUT THE GENIUS
OF THE S2000’S F20C ENGINE – IT’S AN
ABSOLUTE SCREAMER, REDLINING AT
8900RPM. IT BOASTS CLEVER CAM
TIMING, FORGED PISTONS WITH
MOLYBDENUM DISULFIDE-COATED
SKIRTS, AND ALL SORTS OF OTHER
RACE-CAR TECH. INDEED, THE F20C HELD
THE RECORD FOR A WHILE FOR ‘HIGHEST
SPECIFIC POWER OUTPUT FOR A MASS-
PRODUCED, NATURALLY ASPIRATED
ENGINE’, SERVING UP 237BHP AT
8300RPM, BEFORE MARCHING ON TO
THAT HYSTERICAL TOP END.
HOWEVER, IN 2004–05, THE NORTH
AMERICAN-MARKET S2000S GOT TO
ENJOY THE F22C1… THIS WAS BASICALLY
THE SAME ENGINE, BUT STRETCHED OUT
TO 2157CC. IT BOASTED THE SAME
240BHP PEAK BUT WITH AN INCREASE
IN TORQUE, FROM 153 TO 162LB FT,
WITH THE REDLINE NECESSARILY
LOWERED A LITTLE.
FROM 2006 THE ENGINE REPLACED THE
F20C IN JAPANESE-MARKET S2000S,
TOO, ALTHOUGH THE F20C REMAINED
EVERYWHERE ELSE. SO THAT EXPLAINS
WHY SOME S2KS ARE 2.0-LITRE, AND
SOME ARE 2.2. SO NOW YOU KNOW!

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 67
TECHSPEC ‘Most of the work with the blazing his own little trail here. was a bona fide neckbreaker
ENGINE build was done by my brother ‘I would enter car shows just for that didn’t so much upset the
2.2-litre, 4-cyl, 16v, F22C1 VTEC, and I, with the exception of the fun,’ he recalls, ‘and at first applecart as crash right through
polished ARC intake, J's Racing test painting and paint preparation,’ people frowned upon what I’d it and pulp it all into cider, and it
pipe, J's Racing oil cap, J's Racing Phil explains. ‘The only real done with the car. But accentuated the smooth lines of
radiator cap, Mishimoto radiator, hurdles we encountered came eventually, a year or two later, it Honda’s design to an almost
Spoon radiator hoses, polished Alloy with making wheels fit that started to become accepted cartoonish degree.
Craft radiator cooling panel, polished weren't meant to fit! A lot of because the stance and fitment But like we say, this car
Alloy Craft fusebox/battery cover, customising of the control arms movement had gotten so big.’ doesn’t exist in this form any
polished GP Fab brake master cover, was required to get the camber But that’s not to say that Phil more. Not that it matters a single
Snail Motorsports powdercoated valve adjustment needed to fit the was altogether bothered by the iota; it’s better to have loved and
cover, Moddiction titanium bolts and rims and still have the ride notion of being ‘accepted’, of lost, as Alfred Lord Tennyson
washers, HKS dual exhaust height where I wanted it. I went course – this was his car, built said, than never to have loved at
through multiple sets of tyre entirely on his terms, and all. And as a solid representation
TRANSMISSION combinations and alignments anyone hating on that could go of the sheer pointlessness of
Factory 6-speed S2000 manual just to get it right…’ and poke it, frankly. existence, combined with the
gearbox A lot of effort, no doubt, but Phil, then, had achieved all thrilling complexity of harnessing
unquestionably worth it to that he set out to achieve with that lack of direction to create
SUSPENSION achieve the results you see this almost aggressively sparkly beautiful and unique art forms,
Stance Suspension coilovers, SPC before you. And bear in mind S2000: it was a fast car that was this car stands as a pretty good
camber joints, J's Racing driveshaft that this was happening before actually fun to drive, it had a totem for mankind’s creativity.
spacers, 6.5° negative camber at this sort of behaviour was usual, pioneering stance that was Much like humanity itself, this
front; 7.5° rear and carried out by all and absolutely on point (and project didn’t need to exist, but
sundry for clickbait and engineered by himself and his it did. And it was pretty bloody
BRAKES Instagram likes – Phil was brother in the garage, no less), it spectacular. JP
Factory S2000 discs and pads
all round

WHEELS
10x18in ET+6 (front) and 11x18in ET-4
(rear) Work Rezax wheels – powder-
coated by Snail Motorsports with
225/35-18 (front) and 245/30-18 (rear)
Federal tyres

EXTERIOR
Factory Suzuka Blue paint, pulled rear
arches, cut and extended front wings

INTERIOR
Nardi woodgrain steering wheel, J's
Racing titanium gearknob, Works
Bell hub, Works Bell quick-release,
Burberry armpad

THANKS
‘I would like to thank my brother for
always being there to help me with
every project, my family and beautiful
girlfriend for supporting my hobby,
and of course Victor Benyi for the
amazing photos.’

68 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
3 WAYS TO
200MPH

WORDS: GUY BAKER

PICS: DAN SHERWOOD

WE CELEBRATE OUR 200TH ISSUE BY TAKING THREE VERY DIFFERENT

JAPANESE PERFORMANCE CARS TO THE MAGIC 200MPH MARK

1
8 years ago, when the first sensible, with a number of course, the most important of but we’re seeking the most
issue of JP came out, the different modified Japanese which are engine power, cost-effective approaches.
idea that it might be performance cars having aerodynamic efficiency, frontal And after speaking to
possible to buy and tune a already exceeded the 200mph area, and gearing. And then numerous experts in the field
Japanese performance car that mark. But although you have to take into account and crunching heaps of
could nail 200mph would have performance car development vehicle losses, like rolling numbers we’ve come up with
seemed crazy. At the time, most has evolved considerably since resistance, drivetrain losses and the three best ways to achieve
factory-spec cars topped out at 1999, it still takes some serious electrical system loads. With the double ton, starting with
135 to 145mph, and 150mph technical nous and no shortage many different issues to three of the most iconic
was seen as a realistic pinnacle of wonga to take a high-speed overcome, different potential Japanese performance cars of
for those prepared to splash out manufacturer’s model and starting points and a variety of the last 18 years. And in each
a pretty serious wedge on transform it into a 200mph strategies there are numerous case we can tell you how to do it
modifications. champion. ways you could achieve our and how much it will cost – both
Fast forward to 2017 and the A car’s top speed depends target of buying and tuning a to buy, and to modify a car to
idea seems completely on a number of factors of car to hit the magic 200mph, reach a breath-taking 200mph.

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 71
 CONTENDER NO. 1 NISSAN GT-R (ORIGINAL 2009 UK MODEL)
STANDARD SPEC
ENGINE 3799CC V6 TWIN TURBO

NISSAN GT-R (R35)

(2007-ON)
MAX POWER
MAX TORQUE
TRANSMISSION
MAX SPEED
478BHP AT 6400RPM
434LB FT AT 3200RPM
6-SPEED DUAL CLUTCH
195MPH
0–62MPH 3.5 SECONDS

Our first contender will come as no as £30k to £35k for a 2009 model
surprise whatsoever. The greatest 485bhp version, and with even a stage 1
Japanese performance car ever rivals conversion the car will be capable of
the world’s finest supercars, yet comes 200mph, given enough space.’
at a fraction of the price. And you can Impressive stuff. ‘To be honest an R35
now buy a good example for less than GT-R is one of the most competent cars
£35,000. Boasting a hi-tech six-speed that you can buy to be stable at high
semi-automatic transmission with speeds,’ Amar confirms. ‘It will do
paddleshifts and a space-age four-wheel 200mph by just increasing the power,
drive system, it’s also seriously tuneable. whilst running the stock internals and
First launched in Japan in December transmission. There are no real key
2007, UK versions didn’t arrive until issues to overcome.’
spring 2009. Powered by a 478bhp And something like Severn Valley
3799cc V6 VR38DETT engine, with two Motorsport’s own 570R conversion
parallel IHI turbochargers, 62mph is would do the job perfectly. Designed for
reached in a mere 3.5 seconds and the GT-R owners looking to give their R35 a
original R35 topped out at over 190mph. boost in performance, not only does it
Well specced, too, all UK models have increase horsepower but it provides
part-leather seats, climate control, cruise added torque and overall increases the
control, a Grand Turismo LCD acceleration. The bespoke package
information screen, an alarm system, releases between 60bhp and 70bhp –
forged 20in alloys and electric seats as enough to reach 200mph – and SVM
standard, while Premium Edition cars also offer two different ways of
came with a Bose sound system and converting your GT-R.
automatic headlights. The first employs COBB Pro-Tuner
In 2010 power rose to 485bhp whilst (Gold) tuning, which is their
in 2011 the output for the facelifted recommended approach: ‘It offers the
model reached 523bhp with extensive ability to 'see' in real-time what your
revisions to the transmission making for GT-R is doing, with new engine and
a smoother drive in auto mode. gearbox software as standard, real-time
Continually evolving, 2012 saw power performance gauges displayed on the
rise once again to 542bhp and Nissan’s Cobb unit, and data-logging,’ Amar tells
2013 models were reconfigured to us. ‘In addition, you would need an SVM
deliver even better engine response, stainless steel 90mm Y-pipe, revised
ride comfort and handling. And this year ignition and fuelling maps, tweaks to the
power jumped to 562bhp, despite launch control map and a full safety
changes designed to make the GT-R check – and that’s about all.’ Amazingly
‘easier’ to live with. this would cost just £1595 fitted, giving
At the heart of all GT-Rs beats a 3.8- you 200mph potential for an overall
litre twin turbo V6 which, when outlay of around £35,000.
combined with ATTESA E-TS all-wheel If you would prefer your GT-R tuned
drive, bespoke Bilstein suspension, a using EcuTEK software SVM can do
six-speed semi-automatic transmission, that, too, using a similar set of other
launch control and space-age modifications, with boost pressure
aerodynamics, is capable in its latest controllable via the steering wheel. Add
guise of a staggering 193mph. A perfect in optional upgrades to the gearbox
starting point for our 200mph challenge. software, costing £300, and an EcuTEK
Cable for another £228, and the total
POWER BOOST price with this approach is just £1623
You can find quite a few earlier GT-Rs fitted, including VAT.
now advertised in the £35,000 to However, if your pockets are just that
£40,000 range, with a few higher- little bit deeper then Amar recommends
mileage examples for a few grand less. SVM’s stage 4 COBB 602R conversion,
Still a fairly large sum, but an incredibly complete with a K&N Hi-Flow cone filter,
stable and durable starting point, with ASNU 1050cc or 1100cc injectors, SVM COST TO HIT 200MPH
TYPICAL PURCHASE COST: £33,000
reassuringly high levels of grip and in- 80mm MAF intake pipes (with MAF (2008 NISSAN GT-R, 50K MILES)
built safety systems – after all, 200mph housings), an SVM stainless steel
ESTIMATED TUNING COST: £2000
is still a pretty scary speed. 102mm Y-Pipe, and an SVM stainless
Fortunately, taking a GT-R to the steel 102mm exhaust system. The price TOTAL COST TO HIT 200MPH: £35,000
200mph mark doesn’t require a massive fitted is just £4699 including VAT. ‘And
amount of further modifications – such is this full fat Stage 4 conversion packs a
USEFUL CONTACTS
its out-of-the-box potential. As Amar truly fantastic punch as well as offering WWW. SEVERNVALLEYMOTORSPORT.CO.UK
Dhillon at GT-R tuning experts Severn great value for money,’ Amar rightly WWW.GTR.CO.UK
WWW.GTROC.ORG
Valley Motorsport explains: ‘You can points out. For under £40k you could WWW.ANDYMIDDLEHURST.COM
purchase an R35 GT-R now for as little have a 200mph-plus supercar! WWW.LITCHFIELDIMPORTS.CO.UK

72 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 NISSAN SKYLINE GT-R (R35) BUYING TIPS
• A COMPLETE SERVICE HISTORY FROM EITHER A NISSAN HIGH
PERFORMANCE CENTRE, OR AN EXPERIENCED GT-R
SPECIALIST, IS AN ESSENTIAL PREREQUISITE
• SERVICING ON EARLIER GT-RS IS EVERY SIX MONTHS OR
6000 MILES, WITH 2011-ON MODELS EVERY 9000 MILES OR
12 MONTHS
• MANY GT-RS HAVE ALREADY BEEN TUNED – SO CHECK THE
PROVENANCE CAREFULLY, AND INSURANCE PREMIUMS ARE
HIGHER ON JDM MODELS
• THE DRIVETRAIN CAN SUFFER BELL-HOUSING BEARING
FAILURE – USUALLY IDENTIFIED BY A DISTINCTIVE NOISE
COMING FROM UNDER THE VEHICLE. GET THE CAR
INSPECTED AS REPAIR COSTS CAN EXCEED £3500
• UK CARS COME WITH SPECIAL DUNLOP RUN-FLAT TYRES,
WHICH COST AROUND £2300 A SET. SO, SOME OWNERS
HAVE FITTED CHEAPER BRIDGESTONE NON-RUN-FLAT
RE070R TYRES INSTEAD
• OE BRAKE DISCS CAN SPLINTER AND CRACK SO MAKE SURE
YOU CHECK THEM CLOSELY
• SOME GT-RS NEEDED COMPLETE STEERING REPLACEMENT
UNDER WARRANTY – CALL A NISSAN HIGH PERFORMANCE
CENTRE WITH THE CHASSIS NUMBER TO SEE IF THIS WORK
HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 73
 CONTENDER NO. 2 TOYOTA SUPRA (UK MK4) TWIN TURBO
STANDARD SPEC
ENGINE 2997CC
MAX POWER 326BHP AT 5600RPM
MAX TORQUE 325LB FT AT 4800RPM

TOYOTA SUPRA TRANSMISSION

MAX SPEED
0–60MPH
6-SPEED MANUAL/4-SPEED AUTO
155MPH (LIMITED)
5.1SECS

(MK4) TWIN(1992
TURBO
TO 2002)
Our second contender is another and then build your own bespoke
high-speed Japanese supercar, albeit 200mph car. The likely cost to do this
from an earlier era. And with a would be around £15,000 according
relatively low frontal area and a top to expert Lee Perryman, at Supra
speed of around 170mph in factory Racing Developments.
trim – when the limiter is removed – ‘Research, a clear plan and
Toyota’s Twin-Turbo Supra makes an confidence are all key when trying to
ideal starting point for our challenge. build a 200mph Supra,’ Lee
Boasting curvaceous exterior emphasizes. ‘There are so many
styling which still looks bang up-to- different factors to take into account
date, Toyota’s rear-wheel drive Mk4 when building a car for this speed,
Supra TT was a genuine supercar. that costs can spiral if you’re not
First launched in Japan in late 1992, careful. So decide a budget first, and
the Japanese model was tweaked then decide what type of build you
heavily for the US and UK markets want – either twin turbo or big single.’
with the official 1993–1996 UK models Don’t be tempted to deviate from
claiming 326bhp. your original plan: ‘Changing plans
Sequential turbochargers deliver on which parts to use or moving your
impressive performance throughout goal posts through a build will all
the rev range and UK buyers had the increase the cost,’ Lee warns.
option of a six-speed manual or a Probably the best way is to pick a
four-speed automatic, with both tuner who specialises in building
versions claiming a luxury these cars – like Supra Racing
specification including a limited-slip Developments – give them a wedge
differential, traction control, a large of cash, let them use the tried and
rear spoiler, five-spoke alloys, cruise tested parts they know work, step
control, electric heated front seats back and let the magic happen.
and plush leather upholstery. If you do buy a car which has been
It was a shame these official UK upgraded already, ensure that it’s
imports ceased in 1996, because been worked on by a known tuner:
Japanese production continued right ‘There have been many times when a
up until 2002, with the Supra Twin customer has brought a 500bhp
Turbo available in a wide range of Supra, thinking they could just add to
different specifications. the build, only to find that the spec is
The JDM cars received a facelift in very old or it’s been poorly put
1998 with the introduction of VVT-i together.’ Lee points out. ‘The
variable valve-timing power-plants and customer has then paid the premium
quite a few have since made it to UK for a 500bhp Supra and then the
shores. You can now pick up a decent added cost of having to buy new parts
example from £12,000 upwards – and start from the beginning again.’
which leaves plenty of money in the The Supra has the gearing to
kitty for the modifications you would reach the speed, and it can be
need to get to that 200mph barrier. achieved on a stock engine and
gearbox, but you’ll need to upgrade
the brakes, suspension, fuel system,
BUY OR TUNE? turbo system, exhaust, clutch and add
There are two approaches you could a decent standalone ECU. ‘A stock
take to achieve our target in a Supra – UK-spec six-speed is very good,’ says
hunt around and you will come Lee, ‘as they came with bigger brakes
across highly-tuned examples which and better cooling, which can lower
will already be capable of 200mph – costs of the build, but these are now
COST TO HIT 200MPH
given enough runway. These cars very rare and not always in great TYPICAL PURCHASE COST: £12,000
don’t come up every day – so you’ll condition – so a JDM TT makes a (1994 TOYOTA SUPRA TWIN TURBO, 82K MILES)
need to make good contacts and do perfect base car.’ The Twin Turbo’s ESTIMATED TUNING COST: £15,000
some serious research before finding engine is good for over 500bhp in
a car that’s been modified properly stock trim, whilst 1000bhp is possible TOTAL COST TO HIT 200MPH: £27,000
and safely. The asking price is likely with more serious mods. But to be USEFUL CONTACTS
to be between £25,000 and £30,000. sure of getting to 200mph you’ll need WWW.SRDTUNING.COM
Alternatively, you can buy a mildly a minimum of around 650–700bhp. WWW.MKIVSUPRA.NET
WWW.FENSPORT.CO.UK
modified Supra (almost all have at Expect to spend around £27,000 in WWW.GARAGEWHIFBITZ.CO.UK
least some mods) for around £12,000 total to achieve your 200mph goal. WWW.THOR-RACING.CO.UK

74 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 TOYOTA SUPRA (MK4) TWIN TURBO BUYING TIPS
• LOOK OUT FOR ANY SIGNS OF ACCIDENT DAMAGE AND
ENSURE THAT THE CHASSIS NUMBER MATCHES THAT IN THE
V5C – GOOD PROVENANCE IS KEY
• LISTEN OUT FOR MISFIRES, AND LOOK FOR BLUE EXHAUST
SMOKE, OIL OR WATER LEAKS FROM THE ENGINE, PERISHED
HOSES AND INTERMITTENT TURBO BOOST – IDEALLY GET
YOUR SUPRA INSPECTED BY A SPECIALIST BEFORE PURCHASE
• 9000-MILE OIL CHANGES ARE VITAL, WITH THE PLUGS
NEEDING TO BE CHANGED EVERY 27K MILES AND A NEW
CAMBELT NEEDED EVERY 54K. YOUR SUPRA MUST HAVE A
FULL SERVICE HISTORY
• HEAD GASKETS AND TURBOS WILL GO ON OLDER
HIGH-MILE EXAMPLES, AND WATCH OUT FOR POWER-
STEERING FLUID LEAKS
• CLUTCHES ON MANUALS WILL WEAR OUT – TRY OUT EVERY
GEAR AND BOOT THE CAR IN SECOND FROM LOW SPEED –
IT SHOULD PULL SMOOTHLY
• SUSPENSION DAMPERS, BUSHES, GEARBOX MOUNTS AND
ENGINE MOUNTS ALL PERISH WITH AGE – THESE NEED TO BE
A1 AT HIGH SPEEDS
• CHECK THE DISCS FOR ANY SIGNS OF RUST OR SCORING
OR WARPING – YOU DON’T WANT PROBLEMS SLOWING
DOWN AT 200MPH!

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 75
 CONTENDER NO. 3 SUBARU WRX STI TYPE-UK (2005-2007)
STANDARD SPEC
ENGINE 2457CC
MAX POWER 276BHP AT 6000RPM

SUBARU WRX(2005–2007)
STI
MAX TORQUE 289LB FT AT 4000RPM
TRANSMISSION 6-SPEED MANUAL
MAX SPEED 158MPH
0–60MPH 5.2 SECONDS

Our final contender is something big difference, as well as deleting the

of a left-field choice for this OEM air scoop and wing mirrors.’
challenge, boasting neither a high Keeping the big rear spoiler would be
top-speed in factory trim, nor sleek wise, though, to aid stability.
aerodynamics. But Subaru’s iconic ‘Personally, I'd also be looking at
WRX STi is the most popular lowering the centre of gravity,’
Japanese performance car of the JP suggests Matt. ‘It's not a must, but it
era. It is also lighter than the other does reduce the drag and makes the
two contenders and much cheaper to car more stable at the same time.’
buy – leaving a lot of cash in reserve Coilovers would be your best option.
for some major modifications. And Turning our attention to the engine, a
with the right approach, the WRX STi set of replacement forged pistons
can be moulded into a 500bhp+ and con rods are a must, as well as
200mph monster. race type bearings. ‘I’d recommend a
Your best Scooby starting point set of tried and tested items such as
would be the 2005 to 2007 ‘Hawk those from ACL or Cosworth/Mahle,’
Eye’ WRX STi, which boasted a suggests Matt, ‘Plus a set of uprated
longer wheelbase, sharper steering, a 11mm or bigger head studs and
larger-capacity 2.5-litre boxer engine multi-layer steel head gaskets.’ A
for UK models, and DCCD. Prodrive modified oil pump is also a must to
produced a Performance Pack (PPP), keep the motor together under higher
which took a standard STi from levels of stress.
276bhp to 316bhp. More extrovert ‘Once the engine internals have
STi buyers however choose the Black been addressed you’ll need a larger
RB320 limited edition – with the PPP, turbocharger and a front-mount
a bespoke chassis (boasting Bilstein intercooler, as well as a high-flow
dampers, Eibach springs and a lower 320lph fuel pump and matched larger
ride height), a mesh grille and a new injectors,’ Matt continues. ‘Next up
front lip spoiler. Japan also received you will need a 3in exhaust system
a Spec C and Spec C Type-RA with a sports cat or decat, plus a set
models, with the ‘WRX’ part of the of tubular headers like RCM GT Spec
model’s name dropped, simplifying it 2 items.’ A high-flow induction kit with
to the Subaru Impreza STi. a good supply of cold air will also be
The 2007 RB320 limited edition required to feed the larger turbo,
(produced in memory of Richard along with an oil cooler to keep the
Burns, the 2001 WRC World oil at a working temperature. ‘The OE
Champion who had died in 2005) water system is very good though,
had 332lb ft of torque at 3750rpm, and these rarely need touching,’ Matt
with 60mph smashed in just 4.8 adds. And then it’s time for the ECU.
seconds. Production finally ended in ‘This is one of the most vital parts of
2007 to make way for the all-new the build,’ Matt emphasises, ‘So
third generation 2008 Impreza choose your ECU and mapper wisely.
hatchback. We recommend Syvecs ECUs.’
Finally, you should look to shed
REBUILD TIME as much weight from the car as
A decent Hawkeye STi will set you possible, so ditching the heavy air-
back just £9000, and would be the bag equipped front seats and rear
starting point of choice for Subaru seats for lighter items makes sense,
tuning guru Matt Baker, of MB as well as removing sound
Developments. ‘The benefit of this deadening material and unwanted
model is the very strong longer-ratio items like tools, the spare wheel/jack
gearbox, with a taller 5-6th gear ratio and seat-belt brackets – and adding
that will top out at over 200mph with a rollcage. Don’t attempt high speeds
no modifications needed from the without one! High-speed tyres, racing
drivetrain,’ Matt explains. ‘This means harnesses and a fire extinguisher are COST TO HIT 200MPH
less stress on the engine and turbo also essential. Matt reckons just over TYPICAL PURCHASE COST: £9000
with lower revs needed to hit the 500bhp should see a lightened, (2006 WRX STI TYPE UK, 94K MILES)
magical 200mph figure.’ lowered, slip-streamed STi capable of ESTIMATED TUNING COST: £14,000
With a revised front end they have 200mph. With an estimated spend of
TOTAL COST TO HIT 200MPH: £23,000
a relatively low 0.33 coefficient of £14,000 on modifications and a
drag from the factory, and this can be £9000 base car the total expense USEFUL CONTACTS
WWW.SIDC.CO.UK
improved somewhat. ‘Simply slip- would be around £23,000 – WWW.SCOOBYNET.CO.UK
streaming the front-end grille and undercutting both the other WWW.ANDYFORRESTPERFORMANCE.CO.UK
shut lines wherever possible makes a contenders. JP WWW.SCOOBYCLINIC.COM
FACEBOOK/MB DEVELOPMENTS

76 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 SUBARU WRX STI BUYING TIPS
• BODY-WISE ACCIDENT DAMAGE IS THE KEY THING TO LOOK OUT FOR
WITH THE FRONT END AND CHECK UNDER THE CAR FOR RUST AS SOME
JAPANESE IMPORTS MAY NOT HAVE RECEIVED ANY UNDERSEAL
• INTERIOR TRIM FEELS CHEAP BUT LASTS WELL. CHECK THAT THE AIRCON
RUNS COLD AND THAT BOTH KEY FOBS WORK PROPERLY – SOME CARS
FITTED WITH SIGMA IMMOBILISERS ARE VULNERABLE TO RADIO WAVE
INTERFERENCE
• LISTEN FOR ANY KNOCKING COMING FROM THE ENGINE WHICH
COULD INDICATE SERIOUS ENGINE DAMAGE AND WATCH OUT FOR OIL
LEAKS, A FLUCTUATING IDLE, JUMPY THROTTLE RESPONSE AND RAT-
TLING HEAT SHIELDS
• STI GEARBOXES ARE TOUGH BUT DO OCCASIONALLY LET GO, BUT
CLUTCHES DO WEAR OUT. A CRUNCHING GEARBOX OR A JUDDERING
CLUTCH SHOULD SET ALARM BELLS RINGING
• BUSHES WEAR OUT QUITE QUICKLY, WITH ANTI-ROLL BAR BUSHES AND
STRUT TOP-MOUNT BUSHES TWO OF THE MOST FREQUENT CULPRITS –
AND REAR SHOCKS CAN ALSO FAIL
• STI REAR BRAKES CAN SEIZE IF THE CAR HAS BEEN LEFT STANDING
AROUND FOR ANY PERIOD OF TIME, AND INSPECT THE DISCS FOR ANY
SIGNS OF RUST OR CRACKING
• FACTORY ALLOYS SEEM TO LAST REMARKABLY WELL, BUT TYRE WEAR
CAN BE PRETTY RAPID – EXPECT ANYTHING BETWEEN 3000 AND 15,000
MILES PER SET DEPENDING ON HOW HARD THE CAR IS DRIVEN

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 77
 
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A MX-5 MELEED AUTOBAHN
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JAPSTUFF +
BRINGING YOU THE HOTTEST NEW PRODUCTS ON THE JAPANESE TUNING SCENE
Every month we bring you the latest
and greatest products on the Japanese
section and also highlight the ‘must-have’
products at either end of the
save your pennies to afford the 'Big
Spender' or simply splash a little spare
tuning scene. We always showcase a budgetary scale. pocket change on the more affordable
'Red Hot' product at the front of the This way you can decide whether to 'Chump Change' product. Enjoy!

HO T
RE D UC T
P RO D

OMP HRC-R
COMPOSITE
RACE SEAT
Finished in hardwearing materials (and the latest Airtex for
increased transpiration), OMP’s HRC-R composite motorsport
bucket seat is FIA-approved and offers serious head
protection thanks to wraparound side bolsters. High sides,
removable split leg cushions and a gloss black gel coat finish
to the shell provide comfort and style, while four-side
mounting holes (Type W) make this brilliantly-priced bucket
compatible with a HANS device when used in accordance with
the relevant FIA regulations. Weighing just 10.5kg, the seat
can be ordered in two sizes, the bigger of which is ‘extra large’
(meaning 50mm extra width and 50mm extra height over the
standard model).
Price: £614.60
Contact: www.motorsport-tools.com or call 01758 357000

FIA APPROVAL
ALL SEATS, REGARDLESS OF WHAT
MATERIALS THEY ARE MADE FROM,
UNDERGO THE SAME TEST – THEY EITHER
GAIN FIA HOMOLOGATION OR THEY
DON’T. EACH SEAT IS CRASH TESTED AT A
SPECIAL TEST HOUSE SIMILAR TO THOSE
USED IN VEHICLE CRASH TESTING. THE
IDEA IS TO SIMULATE A WORST-CASE
SCENARIO ACCIDENT AND MEASURE ITS
EFFECT ON A CRASH TEST DUMMY, WHICH
IS STRAPPED INTO THE SEAT AND
EQUIPPED WITH SENSORS. LEGAL
REGULATIONS REQUIRE THE SEATS TO
ENDURE A 20G REAR IMPACT FOLLOWED
BY A 15G LATERAL IMPACT AND FINALLY
ANOTHER REAR IMPACT OF 10G. THE
SEATS ARE THEN INSPECTED AND IF ANY
DEFECTS ARE FOUND THE SEAT WILL FAIL
AND WILL NOT BE GRANTED FIA
HOMOLOGATION. MOST FIA
HOMOLOGATED SEATS COME WITH A
SERVICE LIFE OF FIVE YEARS, HOWEVER
THE LATEST STANDARD ALLOWS FOR A
10-YEAR SERVICE LIFE. ALL FIA
HOMOLOGATED SEATS SHOULD FEATURE
A DATE STAMP TO IDENTIFY EXACTLY
WHEN IT WAS MADE

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 79
 JAPSTUFF +
YUASA YBX5000
BATTERY RANGE
Honda’s BTCC partner, Yuasa, has launched a range of
premium quality batteries suited to standard or
modified vehicles with factory ignition systems.
Featuring up to 35% increase in cranking power and a
handy ‘state of charge’ indicator, each unit in the
YBX5000 range is VDA rollover test compliant and
ensures easy installation thanks to an integrated
handle. A sealed tip/tilt double lid and calcium plates
add to OE quality with enhanced performance and
specification. A wide range of cars are catered for, so
hop online, visit www.yuasa.co.uk and punch in your
vehicle’s reg number to find out which battery and
upgrade options are available for you to take
advantage of. We did exactly that before fitting a
YBX5000 unit to our own Civic EP3 Type R!
Price: From £81.95
Contact: www.yuasa.co.uk YOKOHAMA ADVAN A052
Tyre giant, Yokohama, has added a street-legal competition tyre to its range
of performance products. The Advan A052 is available to order in sizes
ranging from sixteen to eighteen-inches. As the successor to the popular
Advan A048, the new tyre provides extraordinary levels of grip in both wet
and dry conditions. The asymmetrical, high rigidity tread pattern has been
developed from Yokohama’s established Tarmac rally range and features an
all-new sport-orientated compound. Importantly, the Advan A052 is included
in the MSA’s ‘Blue Book’ approved motorsport tyre list. Yokohama’s
manufacturing standards are well known, and the company’s efforts in
developing the Advan A052 have resulted in a top quality tyre that delivers
favourable environmental performance, meeting Europe’s rigorous rolling
resistance and tyre noise regulations.
Price: Varies
Contact: www.yokohama.co.uk

SMART POLISH WATER-

LESS WASH & WAX
According to the Met Office, Britain has experienced
the driest first half-year in more than two decades,
the third most parched since records began! Water
companies are now warning of the possibility of a
hosepipe ban as their reservoir levels drop much
more than expected. One essential
activity that may be affected by water
restrictions is the cleaning of your
Japanese joy toy. Thankfully, British
start-up, Smart Polish, has developed
a car care formula that allows you to
achieve a showroom shine even
when the taps stop running. The
detailing outfit’s teal-coloured
Waterless Wash & Wax has been
chemically engineered in the UK
using a unique carnauba wax
mixture. Quick and easy to apply,
this eco-friendly fluid contains no
nasty chemicals, meaning that
gardens and nearby drains remain
undisturbed. The product also
comes in handy when you want to
clean your car at shows. Simply
keep a bottle of it in the boot!
Price: £15.99
Contact: www.smartpolishpro.com

80 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 PILOTI ‘CIRCUIT’
LE MANS
FOOTWEAR

Hot on the heels (geddit?) of Toyota Gazoo

Racing’s recent LMP1 efforts at the 24 Hours of
Le Mans, Piloti has unveiled a line of limited

RTS LIGHTENED FLYWHEELS edition leather driving shoes designed for fans of
what is the world’s oldest and most prestigious
RTS Performance products have enjoyed a history of track-proven endurance sports car race. Piloti’s celebrated
results due to the fact that each and every part made by the company (and patented) Roll Control Heel technology –
is built to exceed the reliability, high performance and durability rising spherically up the back of the shoe to
expectations of racing teams and drivers. This passion and provide improved traction in the footwell whilst
commitment to delivering excellence is also poured into the products cupping the driver’s heel for reduced foot fatigue
RTS makes for fast-road cars, including its one-piece forged chromoly – was first tested and developed at the event.
lightweight flywheels. Providing reduced moment of inertia and Needless to say, Piloti and Le Mans are a match
improved driveline response over factory options (without sacrificing made in footwear heaven! ‘Circuit’ features an
durability or longevity), RTS designs utilise a proprietary heat-treat attractive race stripe in French national colours,
method not duplicated anywhere else in the industry. Burst tested up and a woven French flag next to raised event
to 15,000rpm, these fantastic flywheels allow for quicker acceleration. branding. A 100% leather upper in white is joined
A hobbed-on ring gear ensures optimum strength, while special by a black leather heel decorated with a red
friction surface grooves encourage heat dissipation. RTS Performance band, while a further nod to racing can be seen in
one-piece chromoly lightweight forged flywheels are available for many the tread pattern of the shoe’s detailed 80%
popular Japanese sports cars, including Imprezas, GT86/BRZs and rubber, 20% leather sole. The attention to detail
Evos. Find your nearest distributor by visiting the company’s website. and quality construction of this excellent driving
Price: From £289 shoe is bound to be a big hit with lovers of Toyota
Contact: www.rtsperformance.co.uk or call 0207 993 0089 and endurance racing, especially as ‘Circuit’ can
be worn as comfortable casual footwear. UK sizes
available range from 6.5 to 12.5. Gentlemen, start
your engines!
XTREME CLUTCH Price: £158
Contact: www.bit.ly/pilotilemans
KITS FOR HONDA
CHUMP
or call 01328 862387
CIVIC FK2 TYPE R
Available in three different friction materials, RENOVO CH
including organic, ceramic and carbon, the
new Honda Civic FK2 Type R clutch kits LEATHER ANGE
released by Xtreme offer a 600–910Nm
torque capacity depending on the friction
REVIVER
material chosen for the disc. The organic Not only does old, tired
option delivers excellent driveability for the and faded leather ruin the
street, whilst the ceramic and carbon overall look of your car, it
options are perfect for trackdays or can negatively affect resale
motorsport use. All of Xtreme’s new kits value. In contrast, well
utilise a 240mm lightweight alloy clutch maintained upholstery is
cover, reducing overall inertia in order to considered to be a significant
improve engine response. The kits also plus point. Cleaning and reviving
include a lightweight single-mass chromoly the colour of black leather needn’t be as
flywheel that replaces the dual-mass OEM challenging as you think. Enter Renovo Leather
part. Allowing for lower rotational inertia Reviver. This new and unique formulation not
(a 25% reduction in rotating mass), this only re-colours black leather, but it also contains
uprated part offers a more durable a UV light inhibitor that prevents colour-fade and
transmission solution for Type Rs with dry-hide. What’s more, the product features an
increased power and torque. Each kit anti-bacterial agent that protects against
comes complete with a thrust bearing and superbugs. Easy to apply and able to deliver
all the necessary bolts. outstanding results, each 200ml tub can be
Price: £1230 bought for less than thirteen quid. Bargain.
Contact: www.clarkmotorsport.net Price: £12.95
or call 01330 860999 Contact: www.renovointernational.com
or call 01444 443277

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 81
 JAPSTUFF +
KW VARIANT 3 COILOVERS B IG
SPEND
FOR HONDA CIVIC ER
FK2 TYPE R

Underpinned by KW’s
famous valve technology,
Variant 3 coilovers allow the user to
independently adjust the compression
(bump) and rebound settings of their uprights
while the coilovers remain in place. This allows for huge
control over body roll and cornering speed behaviour, making
them the ideal choice for those who wish to fine-tune the suspension
of their ride to suit the road and driving conditions they’re likely to find
themselves tackling. Easy adjustment (twelve different presets for compression,
sixteen for rebound) via integrated control wheels enable changes to be implemented
without any hassle, which is great if you want to switch between your preferred road and track
settings when you’re on your driveway or in the paddock. These cool coilovers are now available to order for Honda’s
Civic FK2 Type R, a kit that includes technology to disable aspects of the OEM suspension system tasked with
controlling factory damper electronics.
Price: £1800
Contact: www.kwsuspensions.co.uk or call 0870 990 7536

AMSOIL SAMCO SPORT

SYNTHETIC OILS BREATHER HOSE KIT
Amsoil is the first oil
FOR SUBARU
brand to have
IMPREZA STI V5/6
produced synthetic The OEM rubber oil breather hoses fitted to
oils, and now it’s Subaru Impreza STI versions 5 and 6 suffer
re-entering the UK from age and performance related degradation
aftermarket with a due to exposure from extremes of heat and oil contamination. Left
selected range of unattended, perished hoses will eventually encourage engine failure
high performance through a loss of oil. Fortunately, Samco has a six-hose direct
engine oils, gear replacement kit manufactured from three-ply fabric-reinforced silicone with
oils, additives and a Flurosilicone liner designed to protect the hose from internal oil degradation.
greases. The Able to withstand sharp increases in operating temperature (up to 180°C), each kit is
company is also available to order with a choice of sixteen different colours and fitting clips.
bringing to market a Price: £102.94
special manual Contact: www.samcosport.com or call 01443 238464
transmission fluid
designed to protect
and extend the life AIRREX AIR SUSPENSION APP FOR IPHONE
of your Japanese Air ride is a big deal on the modified motor scene, with aftermarket
sports car’s gearbox suspension manufacturer, AirREX, doing its best to lead the charge.
while delivering slick and easy shifting. No matter how impressive raising and lowering your car is,
Outperforming conventional gearbox oils, however, the fact remains that air suspension control systems aren’t
Amsoil’s offering is rated at between -40°F anywhere near as cool as the effect they deliver. That’s about to
to 300°F, maximising energy efficiency and change thanks to AirREX’s new iPhone app. Essentially, the app
resisting the effects of heat, oxidation, connects to the AirREX ECU via its WiFi signal chip, allowing you to
sludge and varnish deposits. Motorsport ‘lay frame’ using an intuitive remote user interface. All that’s
(and energy drink) fans may be interested required is a swipe of your finger or the touch of a soft key to
to know that in addition to its role as a first- provoke gasps of admiration from anyone watching your car lifting
class supplier of lubricants, Amsoil is also and lowering itself off the ground! A built-in Auto Level function
the official oil of Monster Energy’s ensures that the host vehicle adopts your preferred ride height
Supercross FIA World Championship! when its engine is started. An app for those who use phones
Price: Varies running on the Android platform is currently in development.
Contact: www.oldhallperformance.com Price: Free for new customers running pressure-based suspension
or call 02476 717100 Contact: App Store on your iPhone

82
THEGARAGE +
READERS’
RIDES
WORDS: DAN SHERWOOD PICS: OWNER’S OWN

EACH MONTH WE GET TONNES OF SUBMISSIONS FROM OWNERS WANTING TO GET THEIR CARS
PLASTERED OVER THE PAGES OF THIS HALLOWED MAGAZINE. UNFORTUNATELY, NOT EVERYONE CAN GET
A FULL FEATURE, AS WE’D SOON RUN OUT OF PAGES! BUT RATHER THAN LEAVE THEM FESTERING IN OUR
BULGING EMAIL INBOX, WE THOUGHT THE BEST ONES COULD BE HONOURED HERE IN OUR READERS’
RIDES SECTION. SOME MAY EVEN GO ON TO BECOME FULLY-FLEDGED JAPANESE PERFORMANCE FEATURE
CARS! SO KEEP AN EYE OUT ON FUTURE ISSUES, AS YOU NEVER KNOW, YOU MAY HAVE SEEN A SNEAK
PEEK HERE FIRST! WE WILL ALSO BE PICKING OUR CAR OF THE MONTH, WHICH WILL WIN AN AWESOME
MEGUIAR’S NEW CAR KIT WORTH £40!

!
W INNER
LEE HUTCHY’S TOYOTA GLANZA V PAIGE MURRAY’S NISSAN 370Z
Based in County Durham, Lee Hutchy has a serious sexy In a luxurious shade of pearl white, Paige Murray’s
slice of Toyota’s dinky hot hatch, the Glanza V. From the Nissan 370Z is packing a pair of Stillen Gen 3
rare 8k9 blue paintwork (one of only 5 in the UK) to the contrasting pink engine intakes, a Motordyne e370 exhaust system with
bay and the multipoint rollcage to the genuine Varis and Livesports bodywork ART pipes and a Southbend Racing flywheel.
upgrades, this is a car that screams attention. And it doesn’t shy away when you Topped off with an Ecutek remap, this little lot has
open the bonnet, either, with a full complement of WEPR parts such as the TD04 pepped up the beefy V6’s output and necessitated
turbo, manifold, downpipe and screamer pipe boosting the 1.3-litre motor to over an upgrade to Z1 two-piece discs all round.
240bhp! Sticking the blue beasty’s 15in Rota Grid V alloys to the Tarmac is a set Exterior upgrades include Tarmac Sports side
of D2 coilovers, fully polybushed arms and a host of Ultra Racing braces. With skirts, a Stillen front splitter and an Evo R rear
examples like this, it’s no wonder these pocket rockets are shooting up in value! carbon diffuser and spats making a stunning Z-car!

PIC CREDIT: OVERSTEER PHOTOGRAPHY

PIC CREDIT: PIT STOP

COULD YOUR CAR BE A WINNER?

TO BE IN WITH A CHANCE OF YOUR CAR APPEARING AS A FEATURED READERS’ RIDE, WINNING A MEGUIAR’S KIT OR EVEN GAINING A FULL FEATURE,
SEND GOOD QUALITY PICTURES OF YOUR CAR ALONG WITH A BRIEF WRITE UP AND SPEC TO [email protected] OR LOOK OUT FOR OUR REGULAR
READERS’ RIDES POSTS ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

84 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 MATT HONEYWILL’S SUBARU IMPREZA TOMMY BRADY’S TOYOTA CELICA GT-FOUR
Dumped on the deck by an Air Lift Performance air The word ‘immaculate’ gets thrown around in car circles a lot, but few cars can
ride suspension setup, Matt Honeywill’s Blobeye truly match up to Tommy Brady’s pristine OEM white Toyota Celica GT-Four WRC.
Impreza has got a strong hand in the stance game. The extensive build has taken the last 14 months and has been a complete
The 18in XXR 557 alloys in black and gold suit the restoration with no stone left unturned. But this is no mere return to stock, as
car perfectly, especially when tucked tight into the Tommy has been busy with a whole host of custom fabrication work which makes
Karlton flared arches. The subtle bodymods are a his cunningly concealed upgrades look like they came from the factory. Nice. One
mix of HT Autos and Chargespeed items that thing that definitely didn’t come off Toyota’s production line, however, are the
combine to enhance, rather than detract, from what awesome Desmond RegaMaster wheels! Proper JDM wheel royalty there!
Subaru intended. Inside, a set of Corbeau RRB
reclining seats ensure Matt is supported when he lets
the 330bhp tuned EJ20 loose on the twisties, a
pastime that is further aided by a Whiteline anti-lift kit,
roll centre correction kit and droplinks making this
aired out Impreza a true performance tool!

ROSS HANCOX’S DATSUN

SUNNY PICK-UP TRUCK
How cool is this? Ross Hancox’s 1984
Datsun Sunny pick up truck is a
seriously rare beast on UK roads,
especially when it’s modified and
tuned to such an extent. Ross has
fitted a set of custom coilovers to lower
LEE ROBSON’S HONDA CIVIC TYPE R the ride height and frame the SSR
Another ride rocking air suspension is Lee Longchamps wheels perfectly. He’s
Robson’s EP3 Civic Type R. The stunning Milano also smoothed the bodywork and
red facelift model features D2 bags with AirLift added cool carbon touches such as
management to get the bodywork skimming the the boot and bonnet. The engine is
Tarmac and those gorgeous Advan SA3R three- mint, too, and is running twin 40 Solex
spokes tucked sweetly into the arches. Inside, a carburettors. An awesome piece of kit!
flocked dash, stripped rear and half rollcage
dominate the proceedings while an M2 Motorsport
Spoon-style stainless steel exhaust system adds a
tasty soundtrack along with a handy boost in bhp.

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 85
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www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 87
THEGARAGE +
THANKS & CONTACTS
Dream Automotive
www.dream-automotive.com
020 3538 8181

Dynamat Europe
www.dynamateurope.com
01202 664390

Adrian Flux
www.adrianflux.co.uk
0800 085 5000

PROJECT TYPE R
SILENT ASSASSIN
FREE-FLOWING EXHAUSTS AND SOLID ENGINE MOUNTS IMPROVE
PREFORMANCE, BUT CAN CAUSE A LOT OF UNWANTED NOISE AND VIBRATION.
STEP FORWARD DYNAMAT – THE MOST EFFICIENT NOISE KILLER ON THE MARKET
Regular readers of this magazine power output of the K20 engine the EP3’s innards can become dashes and door cards. But then
will be well aware of the and uprated the suspension with borderline deafening when the there are the others who, like us,
performance benefits of a wide polyurethane bushes and stiffer pedal hits the metal. And for want it all. They want a stupidly
range of tuning parts, however, coilover suspension. And while some, this is a fair trade-off. For fast car that handles like a go-
like most things in life, there are this has made the car much example, anyone building a pure kart, yet they also want to be
always compromises to be faster and more fun to drive, it racecar is more than likely to able to listen to their tunes and
made. What gives with one hand has come at a cost: noise. sacrifice pretty much all creature hold a conversation with their
often takes away with the other. With 400bhp screaming comforts in the pursuit of pure passengers without the aid of a
We found this out first hand with through the exhaust and the speed, even going to the Rally-spec intercom.
Project Type R. In our quest for uprated engine mounts trying to extreme of removing all So what can you do if you’ve
increased performance we have contain the raging motor under extraneous weight such as inadvertantly pumped up the
more than doubled the stock the bonnet, it’s no surprise that carpets, sound deadening, volume on your ride and want to

THE KNOWLEGDE
NOISE, VIBRATION, HARSHNESS – OTHERWISE KNOWN AS NVH – IS
BASICALLY A PROBLEM OF UNWANTED ENERGY. THE DRONE OF YOUR
EXHAUST OR VIBRATION FROM YOUR UPRATED ENGINE MOUNTS GETS
TRANSFERRED TO YOUR CAR’S METAL PANELS WHICH RESONATE AND
CONVERT THE ENERGY INTO UNWANTED SOUND. YOUR CAR WILL HAVE
SOME FORM OF SOUND DEADENING APPLIED AT THE FACTORY, WHICH IS
FINE IN STANDARD TRIM, BUT OUT OF ITS DEPTH ONCE YOU START
TUNING. AND WHILE MANY A DEDICATED TRACK CAR FAN WILL EXTOLL
THE BENEFITS OF REMOVING ALL FORMS OF SOUND DEADENING IN THE
QUEST FOR MAXIMUM LIGHTNESS, IN A ROAD CAR THE INCREASE IN
NOISE AND VIBRATION IS HARDER TO LIVE WITH. THIS IS WHERE DYNAMAT
COMES IN. DYNAMAT IS A SUPER EFFECTIVE SOUND DEADENING MATERIAL
(MADE FROM A SPECIAL BUTYL RUBBER AND SHEET ALUMINIUM) THAT
COMES IN SHEETS WHICH YOU THEN APPLY TO YOUR CAR’S PANELS TO
ELIMINATE UNWANTED NOISE. THIS NOT ONLY REDUCES THE LEVELS OF
NVH IN THE CAR, BUT ALSO HAS THE ADDED BENEFIT OF IMPROVING THE
PERFORMANCE OF YOUR IN-CAR AUDIO SYSTEM. WIN-WIN!
WE WENT FOR TWO PACKS OF DYNAMAT XTREME, WHICH IS 1.7MM
THICK AND COMES IN 18X32IN, MOULDABLE, SELF-ADHESIVE SHEETS.
ALTHOUGH FOR THE MORE WEIGHT CONSCIOUS THERE IS A LIGHTWEIGHT
ALTERNATIVE CALLED DYNAMAT SUPERLITE, WHICH IS JUST 1.2MM THICK,
YET POSSESSES MUCH OF THE SAME ABILITIES AS ITS THICKER BROTHER.
YOU SIMPLY REMOVE THE PAPER BACKING AND STICK DOWN TO YOUR
CAR’S CLEANED AND DEGREASED PANELS WITH A RUBBER ROLLER. EASY!

WE USED 18 SHEETS OF DYNAMAT XTREME WHICH NOT ONLY REDUCES EXHAUST BOOM AND VIBRATION, BUT ALSO IMPROVES AUDIO PERFORMANCE!

88 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 0800 085 5000

INSURANCE
When it comes to
modifications that improve
your car’s performance, you
expect to pay a little extra on
your insurance premium, but
what about mods that
improve the NVH? We spoke
to specialst insurance brokers
Adrian Flux, who confirmed
that, while it’s very unlikely
that adding Dynamat would
make any difference to your
premium, it is still worth
informing your insurance
company, to ensure your
cover is up to date.
They did mention,
however, that if the Dynamat
fitment was part of a larger
audio installation, which may
push the value you need
covering for your in-car
entertainment over that of
your current policy, it could
mean you will need to pay out
for a policy or bolt-on with
increased audio value, if you
want your new system to be
THE CIVIC’S DOORS FEATURE LITTLE TO NO SOUND DEADENING AND SOUND VERY TINNY, SO DO THE OEM SPEAKERS fully covered.

lower the tone a touch? Well, speakers themselves are free

reducing performance is not an from distortion-causing
option, no matter what the resonances meaning more
resulting ear-bashing, so there precise and controlled output
must be another way. Enter and weightier bass. But in-car
Dynamat Xtreme. audio isn’t the only reason you
Some of you out there may may want to fit the self adhesive
have heard of Dynamat before, aluminium-backed sheets to
as it has been around, mainly in your car, as they also do an
high-end car audio circles, for excellent job of reducing the
over 20-years. Used most associated noise and vibrations
commonly as a way for audio that often accompany
installers to stop car panels from performance tuning.
rattling and providing a solid, We got two packs of
resonance free surface for Dynamat Xtreme, which is the
mounting high quality speakers thickest and most effective
and subwoofers, it is a seriously option, as we wanted to
effective solution. Not only do maximise the effectiveness and
the treated panels lose their reduce the exhaust drone as
tinny, rattly quality, but the much as possible. A lightweight

DYNAMAT SHEETS CAN BE EASILY CUT TO SHAPE WITH A BLADE OR SCISSORS

AFTER CLEANING AND DEGREASING THE DOORS INSIDE AND OUT THE DYNAMAT WAS APPLIED WITH A RUBBER ROLLER ENSURING MAXIMUM ADHESION

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 89
 THEGARAGE +

THE CIVIC’S BOOT IS A BIG CULPRIT FOR TRANSMITTING EXHAUST DRONE INTO THE CAR. AFTER PREPPING THE SURFACE WE COVER THE WHOLE AREA IN DYNAMAT

option called Dynamat SuperLite you want to apply the matting. OEM speakers sounded after more pleasant, but it has also
is also available for those You should also remove any installation, we can’t wait to try reduced vibrations from the
conscious of adding too much OEM sound-deadening first, but some upgraded ones in there in uprated mounts and dampened
extra weight. Two packs equate luckily the EP3 only features a the future! the sound of imperfections in the
to 72sq ft of coverage and was small square under each front After the doors we moved road, meaning the car feels
enough to cover the Civic from seat, so the reat was plain onto the boot area and worked more solid all round.
the front footwells all the way sailing. We used brake cleaner our way forwards. The boot and The weirdest thing is, even
back to the boot, with both inner to ensure the surface was clean rear wheel arches are particular though we have technically
and outer skins of the doors and and would make sure the areas where sound transfers into added a few extra kilos in
rear quarters covered, too. matting stayed stuck. the cabin so are areas of weight, the fact that the exhaust
To help us gut the Civic and We started on the front maximum benefit to be covered and engine now sound quieter
install the Dynamat, we roped in doors, as they are closest to with Dynamat. means the car actually feels
the skills of experienced Honda your ears and also benefit from We completed the whole faster, as you are going the
tuner, Phil Crafford from Dream a more solid sound when process, including refitting all the same speed but with less noise,
Automotive. opening and closing the doors, interior, in just one day and the so it feels like the car isn’t
The process begins after you as well as offering the perfect result is definitely worth the working as hard to produce the
have stripped the interior by base for your car’s main audio effort. Not only does the Civic speed. We know that’s simply a
cleaning, vacuuming and speakers. In fact, it was amazing sound quieter, making long placebo effect, but it’s a bonus,
degreasing the panels where just how much better the puny journeys and listening to audio nonetheless – Dan

WE CARRIED THE PROCESS ON TO THE WHEEL ARCHES, QUARTER PANELS, SEAT AREAS AND FOOTWELLS. THE ONLY OEM DEADENING IS UNDER THE FRONT SEATS

90 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
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www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 91
THEGARAGE +

PROJECT Z
WHEELY GOOD RIMS
PROJECT Z’S MODIFYING JOURNEY STARTS WHERE MOST
GOOD BUILDS DO, WITH A FRESH SET OF WHEELS...
Decisions, decisions. It can be a spin, it’s not the most of black WORK Emotion D9R previous experience with Falken
seriously difficult to choose a functional style for a car that is wheels in 8.5x17in all round tyres but, with the FK510
new set of rims for your ride. to remain as a daily driver with from UK distributor Driftworks. coming in at an affordable £62
Even in the zero pressure all the mundane duties that can For those in the know, that’s per corner, I thought I’d give
arena of video games, you can entail. 2.5in wider and 1in larger them a go! The FK510 is a
still agonise for hours over So, for a daily with a sweet diameter from the standard premium performance tyre
which ones are the perfect set. ‘street tuner’ vibe, I reckon the wheel. Now, the experienced designed for excellent
Now add in your real hard- ideal wheel would be a one- CRZ owner may be thinking: performance in both dry and
earned money that you’re piece wheel. Not only does the ‘That’s going to be tight on the wet conditions. Hopefully in the
spending, plus the fact you one-piece construction make front!’ Well, yes, it will be, near future I will be able to put
can’t simply reset the world if cleaning easier, but there is also especially with an offset of them to the test to come back
you change your mind, and the less maintenance involved and ET+32, but after hours of with a critical review. However,
pressure of selecting your they come in a multitude of research it appears it should be I’ve got to get them fitted first,
preferred wheels in reality is lightweight cast and forged possible with 215/45/17 tyres so the next stage in the CRZ’s
almost unbearable! Before options, too. and some intricate camber transformation is to get these
making my wheel choice for Whilst browsing the adjustments…or so they say on wheels fitted after making the
Project Z, I thought about the thousands of different variations the internet. Fingers crossed! hot Honda sit pretty with some
direction I was going to take of wheel and tyre specifications I’ve always liked the D9R uprated suspension! – Ollie
with this build, as I’m a big available on the market, I wheel, the design gives a ‘deep
believer in getting the perfect narrowed my choice down to a dish’ concave look which isn’t THANKS & CONTACTS
wheel and tyre specification to small selection of the most the typical style for a single
Falken Tyres UK
meet a particular purpose. iconic JDM brands: Enkei, Rays, piece lightweight cast wheel. www.falken-europe.de/en
If I take the car down the Work, Buddyclub and Spoon. Retailing at just over £760 +49 (0) 6924752520
current trend of big aero, wide These are true JDM tuner including centre caps, decal
body and low-slung stance, wheels of the highest order and, sheet and an alternative valve Work Wheels UK
www.workwheelsuk.com
then there’s little other choice with varied styles and colour from the standard black, 0121 792 2002
than a set of uber-dished split impeccable quality throughout, I they’re pretty good value for
rims sitting on super-stretched knew that, whatever I chose, I money I’d say! Driftworks
tyres. However, while that look is wouldn’t be disappointed. I’ve dived into the unknown a www.driftworks.com
one that will have the internet in In the end I settled on a set bit with tyre choice, as I’ve no 0121 792 2000

92 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
 THE BLACK WORK EMOTION D9R WHEELS ARE 8.5X7IN AND WILL BE A TIGHT FIT UNDER THE CRZ’S STANDARD ARCHES, ESPECIALLY AT THE FRONT

THE FALKEN FK510 TYRES ARE A BARGAIN AT ONLY £62 PER CORNER AND SHOULD PROVIDE PLENTY OF GRIP IN ALL CONDITIONS, PERFECT FOR A DAILY

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 93
THEGARAGE +
THANKS & CONTACTS
The Flock Shop
www.theflockshop.co.uk
Tel: 07951 241555

PROJECT 5
LOOM BANNED
IN THE PURSUIT OF TIDINESS AND MINIMAL WEIGHT LOSS, PROJECT 5
HAS UNDERGONE A LITTLE INTERNAL SURGERY...
Bare necessities, the simple dedicated track car, but with all your electrics as you go is little more weight shaved off the
bare necessities. If it's good the plugs and switches still always a good idea as the earth total figure (okay, maybe I'm
enough for Baloo the bear, then floating around in the cockpit it and live connections are usually pushing it now).
it's definitely got to be good makes perfect sense to get into shared by several of the While concentrating on the
enough for my Project 5, and the loom and remove any of the components throughout the interior, I also fitted my newly
now that every luxury known to associated wires that are no cockpit, and snipping the wrong flocked dash binnacle that had
man has been removed from longer needed, too. Stripping one inevitably ends in tears. In made its way back from Ron
the lightweight 5, that's exactly parts from the loom is not a job the end, though, the result is Fox at The Flock Shop. I've
what we're left with. Removing for the faint hearted, though, well worth all the panic and not been using Ron for years to
heavyweight items like the air and as I've found out in the past only does the surgery tidy cover parts in the fuzzy felt and,
con unit and dash is always the to my peril, its best to trace everything up from an aesthetic as usual, the quality of finish
best place to start if you're each wire back methodically point of view, but with more wire was spot on. When I went to fit
planning on building a before chopping it out. Testing stripped out of the car comes a the binnacle back in, though, I

WITH NO DASHBOARD TO HIDE THEM, WIRES NEED TO BE NEAT AND MINIMAL. THIS WAS THE SPAGHETTI-LIKE OEM LOOM BEFORE REMOVING UNNEEDED WIRES

94 www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk
A FEW HOURS OF TAPING LATER AND THE STREAMLINED LOOM LOOKS MUCH BETTER, AS DOES THE FLOCKED INSTRUMENT BINNACLE BY THE FLOCK SHOP

came across a couple of holes through the binnacle and was the sight of a clump of little peeved is the
problems I hadn't envisaged. bolt the two parts together at rusty metal sitting next to my understatement of the century
The main problem was that the bottom. I then used Tiger car when I entered the garage. and it just adds yet another job
there was now nothing to hold Seal to fix a couple of pieces of On further inspection, it turned to the ever growing list of 'to
the damn thing in place. As the wood to the back to act as a out to be due to something that dos'. These things are sent to
dash was no longer where it new bracket and they now hold no MX-5 owner wants to test us though and I suppose at
should be, the clips that secure everything together perfectly. It hear...rusty sills. I started the very least it means that I
the binnacle and the speedo may seem a little ghetto at first prodding about and from what I can now have both sills
unit together were no longer sight, but it does the job thought was a solid, well repaired properly once and for
there to help. So, with a bit of perfectly and everything is repaired sill fell a huge lump of all and I won't have to worry
head scratching and a check in hidden out of sight. rust and filler that had obviously about them again in the future!
my parts bin, I decided the best One thing that did make my been bodged in place a couple Here’s hoping that the red
option was to drill a couple of heart sink this month, though, of years ago. To say I was a rot stops here! – Matt

THE BINNACLE AND LOOM IS NOW BACK IN THE CAR. UNFORTUNATELY, THE DREADED RED ROT HAS RISEN ITS HEAD AND THE MX-5’S SILLS ARE TOAST

www.japaneseperformancemag.co.uk 95
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