Archives » 2008 » June

Jay Leno is known for being an automotive enthusiast and now he has a great website: JayLenosGarage.com that features videos of Jay discussing and driving cars from his awesome collection.

“I do it for free - there’s no money in it,” says Leno. “It’s great fun because it’s like sitting with a bunch of car friends.”

In this episode Jay investigates the highly anticipated Nissan GT-R or as he calls it, ‘the first ever Japanese supercar.’

NBC purchased the rights to produce an American version of the popular BBC television show Top Gear, but many enthusiasts fear corporate sponsorship will limit the brutally honest opinions that made the UK version a hit. 2007 Formula Drift Champion Tanner Foust, comedian/Man Show host Adam Carolla, and handyman Eric Stromer have been announced as the hosts for the new Top Gear USA. NBC’s Jay Leno was offered the job as host but passed fearing the show would not live up to the original.

“I think it would be impossible to recreate or live up to the standards of the British show,” says Leno. “In my mind I can just see Jeremy (Clarkson) lambasting Americans for what they did to his show.”

The Top Gear series premiered in the UK in 1977 and is consistently BBC TWO’s most-watched program in the UK. The UK version of Top Gear is broadcast globally in over 100 countries and has been airing on BBC America since 2007. The program has won many awards including an International Emmy. Top Gear celebrity guests have included Hugh Grant, Simon Cowell, Ewan McGregor, Helen Mirren, and Gordon Ramsay. In addition to the television show, the self-titled magazine “Top Gear” continues to be both the best-selling car and men’s magazine in the UK.

We know Tanner Foust has driving skills and experience hosting Redline TV and SuperCars Exposed and occasionally Adam Carolla can be funny, so let’s hope Top Gear USA can live up to its legacy.

Jay Leno’s article: “I hope we don’t ruin Top Gear”

The concept is easy - acquire two plastic trays available at a number of fast food restaurants, put them under the rear wheels of any FF car, apply the e-brake, and allow hilarity to ensue. You won’t be able to slide around forever as the plastic trays will wear down, but McDrifting in the rain will lengthen the life of the trays. Perhaps there is room in drifting culture to have legitimate McDrifting Championships, or maybe I should be run over for posting this! lmao…*drift hater shield deployed (at least you learn to countersteer).

Drifting a FF (Front-engine, Front-wheel drive) car is known as “ass dragging” by drifting purists, but drifting is possible by definition and fun. Since the rear wheels on a FF car freely turn without a transmission, they are easy to lock up when you pull the e-brake, given your rear brake pads are in good shape.

In Japan, there are front-wheel drive cars competing in the D1 Street Legal series and Keisuke Hatakeyama has competed in the Falken sponsored Honda Civic EF hatch in Formula Drift. They don’t win, but they are out there competing and having fun. Don’t let people discourage you from having fun in your FF car, just pop your collar and shake them drift haters off!

The technique I’ve outlined for FF drifting is very close to the basic E-brake drift. One thing to consider when driving a FF car is that under high speed they tend to understeer – or experience a loss of traction in the FRONT tires (opposite of oversteer). With this in mind, you need to stay close to the corner entrance or you might find yourself leaving the road when exiting the corner.

Front-Wheel Drive Drifting Sequence:

1. Brake for upcoming corner – This transfers vehicle weight to the front wheels for traction while lightening the rear end - enabling the rear wheels to lock up more freely once the e-brake is pulled.
2. Create further weight transfer by steering away from the corner momentarily in a feinting motion (Feint Drift)
3. Turn the steering wheel to enter corner – You got to tell the car what direction it’s going.
4. Pull the e-brake and hold for 1 second – This will lock the rear wheels causing the rear end to slide (oversteer). Now you are drifting! Most likely you will have to use the e-brake throughout the corner to keep the car sliding, otherwise the rear end will simply fall in line with the front wheels – neutralizing any drift angle.
5. Release the e-brake.
6. Countersteer - Countersteering is turning the steering wheel in the opposite direction that you first turned the steering wheel in - to initiate the turn. For example: Say you are about to drift a right hand turn. When entering the corner you turn the steering wheel to the RIGHT to get the car going in that direction. Once the car starts sliding, you would then turn the steering wheel to the LEFT to counter the skid.
7. Now wait until the car is facing the corner exit and floor it. Smoke those front tires! How hard you step on the gas depends how much you are countersteering and sliding. Good thing about FF cars is that the car will follow the front wheels – hence the “ass dragging.”

If this front-wheel drive drift sequence seems complicated, just find a patch of dirt or other low grip surface away from other people, cut the wheel at about 20 mph, and pull the e-brake. This will give you a good idea of what it feels like when the rear end of a car starts to slide.

Some people may interpret a front-wheel drive drift as a powerslide, but the definition of powerslide in reference to motorsports refers to a Power Over Drift – or excess use of throttle to induce oversteer when exiting a corner.

By definition drifting is initiating oversteer and controlling it, so it doesn’t matter if a car is FWD, AWD, or RWD it’s all drifting. Furthermore, Drift King says, “You can drift anything with 4 wheels!” No one is going to mistake you for Drift King and you’re not going to be able to hold a long continuous sideways drift like a rear-wheel drive car, but you can have some fun. You can also perform 180 u-turn slides using this technique at lower speeds.

Yashio Factory is introducing an entire line of products designed to keep your Nissan Silvia running cool on the track and street.  The Yashio Factory Digital Water Temperature Meter, Water Sprayer System, and Super Water Pump Pulley are designed to work in harmony to reduce harmful temps in your drift car’s cooling system.

The Yashio Factory Digital Water Temperature Meter indicates the exact degree of water temperature in an easy to read digital number readout and it can be connected to the Water Sprayer System through an incorporated relay (maximum 1 Amp), to automatically engage and cool the radiator.

The Yashio Factory Water Sprayer System is the world’s first and only automatic water sprayer created to help keep your car from overheating.  Simple in design, the Yashio Factory Water Sprayer System sprays water onto the radiator core to further add to its cooling effectiveness.

The Super Water Pump Pulley is 10% larger in diameter than stock and reduces pump rpm by 10%, thus maintaining a lower temperature than stock.

Whether implemented alone or in unison, Yashio Factory cooling products are designed by Japan’s premier Nissan Silvia tuner and are meant to save your car from catastrophic failure.

Price:  Digital Water Temperature Meter $180 USD, Water Sprayer System $430, Super Water Pump Pulley $150.

After two years away from D1 Grand Prix, the 2001 D1GP Champion Taniguti Akira Makoto (Nobuteru Taniguchi) returns drifting the HKS sponsored Toyota Altezzas.  Nobuteru Taniguchi is a Japanese fan favorite well known for his accomplishments in SuperGT and other forms of professional motosports. Nobuteru Taniguchi maintains his popularity within the drifting community with appearances in popular drift videos like Video Option, Hot Version, Drift Tengoku, Best Motoring, and Rev Speed Videos and by performing drifting exhibitions at popular drifting events worldwide.

Normally drift tuning shops modify stock knuckles into their own original shapes to increase maximum steering angle. Now GP Sports has created an original die-cast knuckle specify designed for drifting that takes drift angle to the next level.

The G-Master Hyper Knuckle was battle tested during the 2007 D1 Grand Prix season on Masato Kawabata’s S15 Nissan Silvia and Kawabata attributes his success in the series to the GP Sports part.

“Many shops usually modify stock knuckles, but GP Sports made a 100% original knuckle in a 2 piece style which accommodates adjustable spacers. This miracle knuckle brought me the 2007 D1 Grand Prix Championship,” says Kawabata.

GP Sports’ goal with the Hyper Knuckle was to raise the roll center without sacrificing other factors necessary for drifting. The front roll center was raised by 20mm(0.8 inch) and can be further raised by a maximum of 50mm (2 inches) with the optional spacers. Even with the spacers the body height stays low since the length of the upper ball joint from the spindle is the same length as the stock knuckle. Since the center of gravity of the whole body stays at the same ride height no stability is sacrificed for increased steering angle.

Application Fitment: Nissan Silvia (240SX) 5 Hubs Type (4 Hubs Type should be modified to 5 Hubs).

Price: $1400.00 USD (pair). Spacer (5/12″): $180.00. Spacer (10/12″): $220.00 – Quantities are limited so email JDM Option to reserve product: info(at)jdmoption.com

There is also a less expensive one piece construction design Super Knuckle available for $950.

Okachan of Yashio Factory has developed his first suspension reinforcement part for the Nissan Silvia (240SX).  The extreme weight transfer experienced when drifting puts tremendous pressure on the tension rods and in the long run this pressure damages the core support’s spot welding. Once the spot welding is damaged, it’s a big job to fix including dismounting the bumper, radiator, intercooler, etc. “The Extreme” Core Support Guard is designed to reinforce this weak point of stock Silvias.  In addition to strengthening the tie rod core, the Yashio Factory Core Support Guard increases the direct feeling to the wheels in steering giving the driver quicker suspension feedback for enhanced handling.  The Yashio Factory Core Support Guard sells in pairs for around $165 USD (17,700 JPY).

First and foremost, I want to express my sympathy for both families involved in this tragedy. Second, I want young racers to understand that 1. Always wear your seatbelt, and 2. Never drink and drift. The purpose of this post is to help make young street racers aware of their mortality and hopefully inspire them to race more safely.

Yes, Nick Hogan is at fault for recklessly piloting his Supra on a public road and so is Hulk Hogan for supplying his underage son with alcohol. And I can’t help but think, John Graziano would be in better shape than he is now, had he been wearing a seatbelt.

Street racing and drunk driving claim the lives of thousands of would-be racers and innocent victims every year. The last thing a true racer wants to happen is wreck their car or hurt someone else. This tragedy is an example of how one stupid decision, driving drunk, can change your life and those around you forever. Hogan and Graziano had bright futures ahead of them and now one is in jail and the other imprisoned inside his own body.

It’s easy to look around the world and see heartbreak and misfortune at every glance, but many tragedies like this one, can be avoided with a little self-control. Life is about making decisions and living with them. I’d be a hypocrite to say ‘don’t ever race or drift on the street,’ but do so in the safest environment possible – even better, race at the track. Traffic tickets are expensive and lives are priceless, so use your head and represent street racers and drifters in a positive fashion.

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