So I was lucky enough to stop by Irwindale Speedway on my lunch break on Tuesday… Imamura was there testing and tuning the American Apex’i FD! Ueno was also there with his Soarer. Wow! It was so fun watching them do HIGH SPEED feints and drift the entire outer oval. Next thing I knew, they were setting up a course on the infield and asked me drift too! Andy, Alex P, and Calvin were also out there… it was fun. And we got to go round and round and round until we felt like stopping. Haha, no waiting in line! I had a blast. And I tried really hard to keep a good line. I’ve got a video that Marc was nice enough to make for me. Thanks Marc! Here’s the video!! Thank you Apex’i
I forgot to tell you guys about the experience that I had at Drift Day 7. I went out with Ken Gushi in his dad’s AE86… and I tried to drift it. The problem that I was having was that I was drifting it like it was my s13 except with less power… It was the wrong way to do it. I sat as Ken drove it and he opened my eyes… I was doing it totally wrong! I think you have to drive an ae86 as if it is bounded by its inherent characteristics, but that you are only limited by your ability to to exceed its limitations. Did that just make sense? I mean… I see S13 drivers out there with big power and good skill… but an s13 is so easy to drift – I often tell people that it feels almost like a video game and not a real car. Anyway, I got back into the ae86 and drove it like there was no tomorrow… hard on the throttle at all times, kicking the clutch to compensate for its lack of power… now I understand why it’s so fun to drift an ae86! I think watching a person drift in an ae86 is a better expression of their skill than it is watching the same person drift in an S13. Strange revelation, eh?
Drift Day 7 was lots of fun! I got to test out my new suspension and LSD on the track, and I was impressed! The car was much more eager to start sliding and slide out too far… It’s time to start tuning my car for better grip! I destroyed my Falken Azenis ST115… *sigh*… I just bought them a month ago! Nadine did great! She was getting pretty consistent at drifting figure-8s, donuts, and even wider radius donuts! I can’t wait to tandem with her *wink* *wink*! Anyways, I’ll get some pictures up soon… since Kyle was nice enough to donate his pictures to me!
Breaking news! I am the proud owner of Tanabe Sustec DD coilovers and the new KAAZ 2-way LSD with 16 clutch plates instead of the previous model with 8.
Okay so first, the coilovers:
These coilovers are 1 of 3 sets made currently… mine, and one set on each of the Signal Drift Twins cars! Tanabe has plans to mass produce and release these in the US market in late October, I believe. They are both height adjustable at the spring perch as well as lower bracket. Spring rates are 10k in the front and 8k in the rear. The dampers are 4 way adjustable. These coilovers are similiar to the Sustec RR, which are highly rated in Japan, according to reviews by Option2 magazine, except the DDs were designed by D1 driver Bai (Drifter XL) and his personal specifications. Currently they are on a very mild setting, and I haven’t had a chance to adjust them to my liking, but so far, they have a very nice ride on the streets. They are not stiff at all, as I thought they’d be, and I’m able to drive around on really harsh roads without a problem. They are noticeably stiffer than my old HKS hiperdamper IIs, but not enough for me to hate driving.
The new KAAZ 2-way LSD:
The new LSD is noticebly more aggressive than my old 8-disk one. The added clutch plates increase the initial bite of the LSD while drifting. Because I’m experienced with controlling an oversteering car, I had the LSD set at 100% lock (the percentage of locking can be customized – I think the average person should use 80%, but the car should still be driven with care). While driving around on the street, I can already tell the difference. While driving through corners on the street at moderate speeds, I can feel the LSD push the car’s rear end around the corner. And even with my understeering tire setup from Hyperfest, if I give the car a little bit of extra throttle during a turn, the car will slide out easily. Since I’m still in the break-in period, the LSD is making quite a bit of noise… while turning at low speeds, I can feel the clutch disks slipping a lot more (since there are more of them), and since this LSD locks easier, I can even feel the tires hop a little too. It’s pretty cool! Haha.
Hyperfest was… an experience. We didn’t get as much driving time as I thought, but it was interesting nevertheless. I had Nadine’s loaner Dunlop FM901 in the front, and my Falken Azenis ST115 in the rear… which was a horrible combination. The front tires wouldn’t grip all day long, no matter how hard I tried to throw the car sideways. Eeek! I was able to manji though, for the first time! I really only had one shot at it, because my tire pressures were only ok for one lap, and it was really sloppy. I was refining it to where I wanted it at each slide on the straightaway… and I found out I was still not doing it right. Haha. Marc realized that one of the drivers out there was one of the team members of Night Walkers! That was cool – and he gave Marc a buttload (eh?) of Night Walkers stickers since he was the only one to notice that day.
Here’s a video of my 2nd practice run of the day:
Video
Well, Vegas was fun! We all had a great time there, enjoying the casinos, the food, the atmosphere. Thank you vegasdrift.com for hosting the event! My new Exedy clutch is holding up nicely! It’s got a 6 puck cerametallic clutch plate, and comes with a lightened flywheel, and pressure plate… good up to 400hp and it’s VERY streetable! What did I learn that day… I started to grasp the sidebrake idea mid-drift in order to adjust angle and distance. It’s interesting! I also picked up a great tip from Ernie about how to increase speed while sliding… and I learned from Ken Gushi that I really need to get better with my clutch! As you may have heard already, JDM Rice had an accident… we’re all very sorry to see it go, but Richard has the best attitude about the whole thing… we can’t wait to see you back on the track again! Good luck!
So last weekend was the D1 Grand Prix’s driver’s search… and to prepare, I made a few changes… I got new tires (215/45/17 Falken ST-115) and I picked up a boost controller! The great guys at Blitz were nice enough to install it for me too. I was a little hesitant getting the boost controller, because I wasn’t sure if I really needed the boost controller yet or not… turns out I made great use of it at the event, so I’m glad! There’s so much to say about the D1 driver’s search… I guess I’ll try to keep it as concise as possible. I had a lot of fun… I drifted at the highest speed I’ve ever done before… 6500rpms in 3rd gear. I was surprised, because I was strangely comfortable at that speed. I’ve been working so hard on my entry speeds all year, and I think I’m pretty satisfied with where I’ve gotten. I’ve learned (from not making 2nd round) that I really need to work on fine tuning my line, angle, and speed… I’m really excited now about all the things that I want to learn! I’m setting my sights on the D1 guys – I don’t know if I’ll ever get there, or if I do, how soon it will be, but I figure there’s no better goal than straight to the top. I’m going to be pushing myself 3 times harder than ever before. Anyway, congratulations to Ken, Ernie, Hubert, Bryan, Daijiro, and Calvin. You guys did great… and thanks for another lesson learned!
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