June 2011
MAGAZINE
pride performance and their S2000 equipped with a kraftwerks supercharger classic import of the month featuring exclusive import’s rhd kswap honda crx
juan’s 700 hp altezza
formula drift round 2 Atlanta Spring Nationals Englishtown New Jersey Puerto Rico vs USA
SCCA PRO NATIONALS midwest drift union round 2
This event once it was shown on the Clubloose schedule I expected big things from this event. The only thing I can think about was the A group hitting that bend and smoking it out. I must admit, I thought the guys would be sluggish with the 8 am start after their usual Shanty Town antics the night before. I was in a nice comfy air conditioned hotel room and this crew loves roughing it and get ready to rip off minimal sleep. I finally got to see the Rapper drive and it was great to see him rip it in the Sikky LSX 240. I enjoy guys who go balls out from after the practice run till it’s time to shut it down He was real smooth throughout the whole day, and seemed to love the incredible speed of this track on the back end. He took a couple of dirt naps but with that speed it is pretty inevitable. Check Dan out at XDC Hyperfest
The Pink Panty Dropper driven by the fearless Miro Ovcharik is a little battered from a devious wall at XDC Orlando during one of his manly entries, but the wheels are straight. the motor is intact and it’s a go for the remainder of the season. If you haven’t noticed from our 1st issue this is the guy to watch if you like aggressive driving and killer angles.
NJMP is an elite track for road racing that host events for NASA, SCCA, and Grand Am events. It is great to see the sport of drifting taken seriously to be put out there on the same level as these other type of motorsports that have decades of history. With an epic chance of opening the eyes of NJMP to this manic motorsports; Clubloose participants put on a great show as usual and on their best behavior. I also got to see Andrew Russell of D-UP Drifting open up his extremely loud LSX FC on this course, and I swear you can hear that car rev from Manhattan. It was his second time out with the beast since it’s new powerplant was put in , and the car loved the speed of the track. I think I could hear Andrew cursing as this car launched into the 1/8th mile bend on the back end of the track. If you want a crazy, sick and powerful drift spec Mazda RX-7 , hit up Andrew Russell; it’s up for sale.
The cool thing about this event we got to see some missle cars driven by Formula Drift Superstar Ryan Tuerck and Formula Drift Judge Tony Angelo. In his moderate horsepower 240 ( compared to the FD Camaro ) Tuerck showed how skill can overcome lack of power. If you weren’t a Tuerck fan before this event, i’m sure him showing you his abilities at NJMP made you a believer. It was also a time to reach out the Tony and tell him he didn’t have enough speed or angle so you would have to deduct a few points off his runs.
Like any motorsports , accidents can occur during a drifting session. Mike Vogt and his baby blue 240 had a battle with the tire wall and the wall won. The good thing about hitting a tire wall though is typically the damage is not too extensive and Mike should be ready to battle at the East Coast Bash at the end of the month in Englishtown.
The Kraftwerks High Boost Supercharger Kit is a fairly new product out for the Honda S2000 crowd and we were fortunate enough to speak with Will La Hara of Pride Performance to get his feedback on this kit. Kraftwerks is not a fly by night ebay unit it’s legit and if you need further verification of it’s origin, it was founded by Oscar Jackson of Jackson Racing and David Hsu of Skunk 2, if you are a Honda Head that’s gospel. I am far from Honda Head, I hung up my Honda shoes when I couldn’t squeeze any more horsepower out of my 03 TL’s without robbing a bank. To my surprise when I saw my buddies at Pride Performance putting a kit I never heard of before on their own employee’s Honda S2000. I immediately became a spectator because they do not deal with bootleg parts. The kit is plug and play for the S2k and Will is still using all his stock motor setup, clutch, exhaust and drivetrain.
The Kraftwerks kit with a MSRP of $5,995 can be installed by the pros at Pride if you are in the area. This kit like any forced induction kit is recommended to be installed by an authorized Kraftwerks dealer. The kit is fitted with a lighter, smaller,quieter and cooler Rotrex Supercharger from Denmark.
Will was able to make 367 rwhp and 248 ft tq with this bolt on kit and without any other added modifications. The great thing is last year we were teasing Will at a time attack event while he was getting pushed off the course and now with this kit he is ready to see the same cars with an evil grin and say “Payback is a bitch� . In these times of crazy gas prices Will claims better gas mileage with a complete stock feel until you get into the higher rpms ; where the fun begins. The kit is great for the track with power throughout the band that helps you get out of turns with as much power as going into those crazy turns.
For a smooth bolt on supercharger kit to get your car to levels you didn’t expect with a stock feel check out www.kraftwerksusa.com for your application. To purchase this kit and have it installed by an authorized dealer in the NJ/NY area make an appointment with Pride Performance at www.pride-performance.com. Thanks to Will La Hara and Pride for the feedback on this great kit.
When these rotaries get going once the light turns green sounds like a hell is gonna break loose. I think next event I will invest in some ear plugs. The event wasn’t only about racing but a great car show with over 400 cars in attendance. The heavy hitters came out to play to try and get the big cash reward for best of show. Kenny Vince in his incredible Honda Civic hatchback took the prize for best of show. A car that didn’t win was the bride’s maid of the show in my opinion was Liberty ViP’s own General Chau in his Lexus Sc430 fully equipped with air and uber aggressive Weds fitted 10’s up front and 11.5 in the rear on this little drop top. One show goer approached the proud man and asked if this was some type of concept car, that’s how you know you did a great build when just a little modification makes the car so different from the rest.
The new thing going on this season at Englishtown is the Old School Import Car category sponsored by Shiftgearclothing. The winner of this category was Duarte Almeida in his Honda Crx RHD. The usual players came out to support the old school, the New York Toyoteros Auto Club. The main event for some is the bikini contest and as usual it was an interesting showcase. One of the coolest cars that never get voted is the epic big power Honda Civic Coupe from Vraceworks. I have seen Rob post on his Facebook page about 24k this and that, but didn’t pay it any mind till I get to the show and see the gold dipped BBS wheels on the coupe. I walked up to Rob and told him he did it again with this mod. His brother Jis dropped jaws at Honda Day Atco NJ with his awesome Honda Civic hatchback, so I guess Rob wanted to join the party.
RED CAFE
For future Englishtown events, keep an eye on www.racewaypark.com. The next big event in line is the 16th Annual Summer Slam two days of great racing, car show and fresh entertainment on June 25th-26th. The 25th will feature a Rotaryfest for all the Mazda fans, so sign up and bring out the rotary and plenty of oil just in case :) .
Duarte started working on cars before he could even drive by helping his father work on tractor trailers. So the modding began due to the fact when he got his license his parents wouldn’t let him take out their car, so he bought the now infamous 1991 Honda CRX for $700 bucks. D has always been an artist and always have incorporated his imagination in the building of this CRX from day one when it was a rust bucket, dented car with a B16 to the Macademia Porsche Cayenne brown built JDM K series CRX you see today. The name Exclusive Imports derives from back in 2004 when he would only work on imports and everyone considered the work he did on their cars as Exclusive in 2007 with his father opened up their own shop called Exclusive Imports in Newark, NJ
Let’s see what’s in this ride. Interior: Bride Vios Low Max seats JDM rear solar visor JDM armrest JDM personal items holder JDM door visors Skunk 2 weighted shift knob Vertex Steering wheel custom stitched King of Vertex Password JDM Shift Boot Broadway 300mm rear view mirror
Exterior: Macadamia Porsche Cayenne Brown Paint JDM rear trunk and glass JDM quarter panel glass JDM door glass JDM power folding mirrors JDM parking pole JDM rear fog Mugen Spoiler wrapped in kevlar JDM rear seats JDM rear tailights with custom Exclusive Lights JDM hood bra Brakes: Wildwood 11” Front BBK Steel Braided Brake Lines Suspension: Blackworks Adjustable Coils Skunk 2 Front Camber Kit Energy Suspension Bushings Function 7 Subframe Brace Custom Exclusive Imports X Brace and H Brace
Engine: JDM K20 Skunk 2 Stage 2 Package Custom ported and shaved RBC Manifold Custom MB Racing CAI with 3� Velocity Stack Exclusive Imports Wire Tuck K Pro ECU Tuned Yosolo Racing relocated to glove box Walbro Fuel Pump Custom valve cover design created and painted by Exclusive Imports
Wheels: 16x7 Polished Work CR Kai NRG Lug Nuts Karcepts K Series Hub
Electronics: Pioneer 4200 Headunit 2 8� Celestion rear speakers 2 10� Kicker in custom box 2 Lanzar Amps
Duarte like to give a few shouts to those who helped in this build: God of course, enough said my parents for being there to support and help with whatever they could my girlfriend for being supportive and not getting in my way, and being my biggest fan Yosolo, Eric Medina for being a great friend, helping me when i needed it, and most importantly tuning my car! Roland and kevin @ M.B. racing for all the parts hooks ups, great friends and Kevin's welding and fabrication skills! Pete and Nick @ 1320 Performance for letting me use the dyno for all my tuning needs! Bruno @ Imprezzive Motorsports for the sponsored parts and outstanding service B.K. my right hand man for all the extra hours spent at the shop and the all nighters getting her ready for events and making sure we never cut corners, and always finding the tools that i had misplaced, ur like a brother to me and i love you NO HOMO! Marquis, my sister from a different mister, my main body man, helped do all the sanding, filling, prepping her engine bay to get it looking flawless like it is today! Albert from Certified Racing for all the phone calls he answered at all crazy times of the night to answer any question i may have had about even the dumbest shit, and having the idea to shave the RBC for proper fitment! Nick @ Graf-X for always being there to make my stickers and shirts, and being a good friend to just swing by and bullshit with (im sure i made his day sometimes) Amir @ Hytuned for doing a bang up job of tuning my system to make it knock hard and sound crystal clear!
and a big shout out to Orlando A.k.a. Squirrel for throwing the idea my way for the color and making me do it... big thumbs up "EVERYONE LIKES THIS!" any1 i may have forgot to mention, my bad i got u later!
When I found I out I was getting to shoot Formula Drift I was pumped. I had never been to an FD event, and I was looking forward to seeing what kind of shots I could get. The course they set up at Road Atlanta appeared to be very challenging. Lots of speed at the entry and lots of elevation changed throughout (probably 25 feet from highest to lowest point). I got there very early on Friday morning after driving all night. When I arrived hours before the gates opened, there was already tire smoke and the sound of rev limiters in the air. There were a lot of guys running the Pro-Am, and I was impressed with a lot of the drivers. I dig street cars that people drift as much I enjoy the dedicated race cars. After Pro-Am practice the big boys came out. I had to take a break from shooting just to watch the Pros go at it. It was amazing to see for the first time.
After watching and shooting fora while, I wandered around in the crowd and ended up running into my buddy Chris Rhoad and Team Rowdy who were making their presence felt as always. These guys were wild and they really seem to love drifting (and beer). The best make shift posterboard signs ever! They were super hyped and this was only qualifying.
Day two was packed with the best drifting I've ever seen. I really like the Road Atlanta track layout. If you aren't perfect at RA, you're out, period. The double apex upshift going back up the hill proved to be the most challenging spot other than the entry point. It seemed to be the difference maker in many of the racers. Power is huge at ATL. Making it up the hill takes a lot of power and that was even more evident with the Pro-Am drivers. At the end of the day, JTP was king of the hill. Dai made a huge effort, as well as Matt Powers and D-Mac. Walker Wilkerson is having a hell of a year in my opinion. With a pretty modest car compared to so many in the field, he is making it interesting for sure. With any FD event it’s all about entertaining the fans with a great showcase of door to door action and meeting them face to face by signing auto graphs. Leading up to the event Red Bull and Gardella Racing put on a show through downtown Atlanta with Rhys Millen and Ryan Tuerck drifting through the streets. The Gardella Racing team unleashed their new Chevy Camaro for Ryan Tuerck. I must admit for driving that car competitively for the first time he did an awesome job. I was real skeptical going from a small car like the Soltice to a big car like the Camaro and he showed his driving skills by whipping that Chevy around the course like he has been driving it for months .The finals came to down Dai “Drift or Dai” Yoshihara and Darren “Dmac” McNamara. When these guys battle it’s usually an exchange of paint is going to happen. Dai took the battle for Round 2 with Toshi Yoshioka with an impressive day taking podium at 3rd place. Good luck to all you guys and we will see you in Palm Beach.
Juan bought his IS300 in 2005 and right off the bat did your little mods to
make the car his own with a JDM Toyota Altezza Grille and Headlights. In 2006 he went in and modded the car even more, because in the Northeast at this time the IS300 scene was big and majority were boosted. Juan was part of crew called Lexotic Concepts who were known to have the most modded and powerful IS300s in the area. He then outfitted his car with a Top Secret front bumper, Wald sideskirts and custom rear bumper sitting on 19� PIAA Super Rozza with a Tein S-Tech/Tokiko Illumina spring and shock setup. Then came 2007 and he began to concentrate on keeping up
with the rest of the Lexotic guys. He installed a Precision dual ball bearing 67mm water cooled turbo. The kit was installed and tuned at PFS in Maryland with every part of the engine and tranny built to withstand the power he was ready to put down. CP pistons and Eagle rods were installed on the 2JZ-GE with Clevette rod and main bearings.
When the car left PFS it was putting down an impressive 603rwhp on 20psi 93 octane. Now he was ready to play with the group who at the time was pretty much on an average of a few 500hp IS300s. He went back for a re-tune and to install some more parts and came out with a whopping 702rwhp on 26psi on C16. Now the go fast parts were all done it was time to change the body a bit.(Evil Grin) We get to 2009 and Juan decides it’s really time to get serious and make this one of the most unique IS300 in the country. He had a set a Volk CE28N Time Attack laying in storage and sent it out to Wheel Works to get it cut up and widened from a 18x9.5 to a 18x11.5. It is not normal for someone to send rare Volks out to get cut so he can fit them in a 335/30/18 tire. To get these wheels to fit, he had to get some custom metal bodywork done at the infamous Azevedo Motorsports in Linden New Jersey. If you were blind and didn’t notice, the car started out as a boring silver and ended up with a stunning Star Fire Pearl White. He didn’t leave anything untouched in this amazing build, with an all out Bride interior. To keep him snug when boostin around North Jersey, he has Bride Cuga seats, the door panels, shift boot,rear seat inserts and arm rest are outfitted in Bride. The most pimpin part of his Bride addiction is his Bride floor mats. The car was completed just in time to make it’s debut at Importfest in Toronto in 2009.
In 2009 I was fortunate enough to be a part of the first shoot after the transformation and in person that white was so fine it would make Tony Montana wanna sniff it. We shot locally in Passaic, NJ and then off to the infamous 5 Pointz in Long Island City, Queens.
Exterior Mods:
Custom Widebody by Azevedo Motorsports JDM Gialla Corsa Sideskirts JDM Cwest Rear Bumper Siebon Carbon Fiber Hood Carbonitrix Carbon Fiber Hood Scoops JDM Ganador Mirrors JDM Pittura Roof Spoiler Custom Dual Exhaust
Wheels:
18x9.5 and 18x11.5 Volk CE28N Time Attack
Tires:
BF Goodrich KDW2 265/35/18 F 330/30/18 R
Engine:
* CP forged pistons 86.5mm * Eagle H Beam Forged rods W/ Upgraded ARP bolts * Clevitte racing rod bearings * Clevitte Racing main bearings * ARP head studs * ARP main studs * Supra TT oil pump * Brian Crower Titanium springs & retainers * HKS camshafts. Staggered (264 in/272 ex) * Fidanza/Titan Red cam gears * TRD racing oil cap * NGK Sparkplugs
Turbo Set Up:
* Precision dual ball bearing 67mm water cooled Turbo (.81 A/R) * Turbosmart 48mm Pro- Wastegate * Tubular manifold * Lexus GS400 V8/80mm throttle body * mouth of intake manifold bored out * 3" aluminum i/c piping (polished) * 4" Turbo charge pipe (polished) * 4" HKS Mega Flow Filter * custom 3" down pipe * Custom Full 3" Dual exhaust * Dual 3" HKS carbon fiber Titanium mufflers
* PFS 720 cc injectors * PFS Custom Dual fuel pump set up. ( 1 intank, 1 outside) * PFS Electronics Interface Module * PFS Custom Electromotive TEC続 stand alone engine management system * PFS large 15"X23"X3" intercooler* Custom fuel return set up * Aeromotive Fuel pressure regulator* Dual HKS SSQ Blow off valves (1 on each side) * Turbo XS dual stage boost controller w/ rocket launcher switch * Custom Line lock system *"Devilsown" alcohol injection system Modified by PFS * Carbon fiber radiator panel by "autoteknic" * TRD Radiator cap * Hose Techniques Red hose kit * OBX Red radiator hose kit * I/c piping, intake manifold, throttle body, turbo housing, and valve covers have all been polished.
May 15, 2011 , Midwest Drift Union brings their A game to Clio Michigan. We were fortunate to have Jake Leone take care of the flicks for of this event on such a rainy day. On a day that is wet and dreary the driving is usually horrible but the crew kept it together and put on a great show for their midwest fans. Bill Cook took the win for this round with points leader and fan favorite Kris Hackenson taking 2nd place. If you haven’t been to a MDU event follow them at www.mdudrift.com or on facebook, joint the forum and come to the events and support your drivers.
The Sports Club of America better known as the SCCA brought their Tire Rack.Com sponsored Pro Solo Event to the Meadowlands of Rutherford, NJ. The Pro Solo event unlike your normal autocross event is lined up like a drag strip, with the competitors running the exact same course but one goes left and the other goes right.
The course is very quick with one slalom and numerous tight turns; that were making the seasoned veteran and past champions spin out. The categories consisted of stock,street,modified, ladies and other classes. The most fun classes to watch were definitely the super street modified watching battles of Jake Namer of Hamfist Racing’s RX7 and Jason Becker in his Red M Coupe.
A real well put together car out in the Street Modified class was the 240sx of PJ Corrales. I am used to seeing slammed 240’s drifting but this one was zipping through the cones as if it was made for autox.
It seems the key to getting those low 30 second times was to make sure you get some 3 wheel motion around those tight turns as if you were in an old Dr. Dre/ Snoop Dog video.
Congrats to all the winners and participants of the Tire Rack/ SCCA Pro Shootout. For more information on this event visit www.scca.com