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MACKAY

jp
Posts: 712

Location: Japan
Occupation: Ranter
Age: 25
V$: ∞
#121   2019-02-03 14:47          
You guys are wildin' out there in the back roads haha. Can't wait to set up my touge machine in upcoming months so I can join you all properly.

450HP's is very healthy and good number, fine tuning at its finest. :thumbsup:

BigSmoke

id
Posts: 844

Location: Indonesia
Occupation: Following Those Damn Trains
Age:
V$: Broke
#122   2019-02-03 15:58          
# MACKAY : You guys are wildin' out there in the back roads haha. Can't wait to set up my touge machine in upcoming months so I can join you all properly.

450HP's is very healthy and good number, fine tuning at its finest. :thumbsup:

Is it going to be another R34 or something else? Either way I can't wait to see it man! Imagine a lot of us hitting the touge at summer night.....
Also thanks my man, the mighty Silver Queen is fit and healthy now :thumbsup:




Also WOOHOOOO PAGE 4! Here's my update in case anyone doesn't bother to check back one page:
# BigSmoke :
The Rise of The Silver Queen






At last, the final piece of my Evo's upgrade list has arrived!
The final figures of the build is staggering as well! :O
(well, as if 394 BHP isn't astonishing enough for a quarter century old car.....)
And once again I tested it on touge roads....but I'm not alone this time! ;)
So without further ado, let's jump into the update!








[28 Jan 2019]
Paycheck time! It is a good thing I receive V$750/week at the moment, since it certainly helps me on tuning the Evo and more importantly, keeps me and my Evo moving easily :D And oh, I'm still considering getting a solid jo at the moment, but I might decide it when I'm back to Tsukuba. Although if I choose to be a chauffeur/driver for hire, I might start at May since I have something planned for it at April......Well, let's see what fate has in store.

Speaking of coming back, I realize my time in Tokyo is almost up and Tsukuba Circuit has been opened again, as well as the University. This means it's time to go home soon and get back to the realm of work life again. I could opted to live in Tokyo and get job easily, but this means my time for trackdays is very, very limited, and though I also love touge drives so much, I do realize that this can be rather dangerous and in one unfortunate event I might crash with nobody helping me, and I might be found bathing in blood waiting for my death inside the Evo (If I go alone that is, otherwise at least someone will help me). And though my time in Tokyo is very, very lovely, as people always say, there's no place like home (unless if you consider your home as a hellhole). I plan to come back at 8 or 9 Feb.

And oh, thorough my times in Tokyo I still keep in touch with my friends at Tsukuba, mainly Rantaro (the owner of the Merc II, which is a Mark II GX70 with Merc front-end conversion. Click here to see how it looks) and Ryuji (owner of a Jagermeister-orange M3 E46. Click here to see how it looks, along with some other nice cars). Ryuji and his little sister will be likely come back from Australia the same time as I come back to Tsukuba, meanwhile Rantaro and his GF has came back from Okinawa at 27 Jan. With Muza(Niatross) currently owning two European cars, I told Rantaro about Muza's M3 E46 and A5 since Rantaro is a fan of Euro cars. And as I expected Rantaro was fangirling over them! :)) He also appreciated the colour choice of the M3 as well as wondering how the A5 looks gorgeous while wearing a wheel it wasn't designed for (a set of Nismo LMGT1s. I'm not kidding, check out his RP!). Meanwhile, Ryuji also shared some pics of bulky but gorgeous Australian muscle cars to me. He also rented one, a Holden Commodore VF. He was so impressed with how it goes and actually wished to get one and import it back to Japan. But since he found out that it's thirstier than his M3, he dropped the plan. Ah, what could have been...........

But of course, before I come back to Tsukuba, I wanted to do some stuff with the WestKyo boys first. Don't worry, you'll know it soon.......


[31 Jan 2019]
THE FINAL UPGRADES HAS ARRIVED! To remind you again on what are those final upgrades, I bought the complete assembly of HKS GTII-8262 turbochargers and Hypertune 77mm intake manifold. Finally they arrived at WestKyo's garage doorstep at midday while I was going to help Marc(Macaron_moon) tinkering with his Evo X. Speaking of which, I assume Marc is going to do somethinng very, very big with his Evo X. After all, it hasn't hit the road in more than three months........if it's not waiting for a humongous list of upgrades then I don't know what is currently happening.

Speaking of Evo X, I lamented in the previous update that Evo X's 4B11T engine didn't see as much motorsport life as the 4G63 did. It turns out that some national level rally championships has a class called Proto class. Basically the class consist of any kind of cars that has Evo X's 4B11T engine and drivetrain sitting inside. It's a bit like Super GT's Mother Chassis (MC) rule for GT300 class, where you can build practically anything with Nissan VK56DE engine in it. So far there are only two MC cars built, they're Toyota 86 MC and Lotus Evora MC. Interestngly, Subaru has a BRZ that follows original GT300 rule instead of the MC rule, so retaining it's boxer engine.

As for the Proto cars, you can make it yourself as well, but there are already a lot of builders that can fullfill the demand. Some of them are Dytko Sport, Evolve Motorsport and Heuvel Motorsport. But in case of Evolve, somehow they used Subaru EJ20 units instead of Mitsu 4B11T. Dytko's builds are the most famous ones, mostly using VW Polo or Peugeot 208 bodies. Remember the Lancer R they made some time ago? Yep, that's a Proto car too as well as their demo car. Sadly, you can't bring them outside national championships as they don't comform to any of FIA's Group R rule for national, continental or international championship rule including WRC. But performance wise, they should be on par with R5 rally cars if not slightly faster, since basically most Proto cars has R5 platform (which is small, light and nimble) and R4 engine (which is actually bigger than R5).

Anyway, moving on to my Silver Queen. After the parts has arrived and we prepared our tools, we decided to work on my Evo first. So I backed up my Evo into the working bay. Man, working on my car here is so fun and easy, I wonder if I can live moments like this again.

Then we proceed to dismantle the car's front part again to allow the engine crane to pick the engine easily. Tthis way we can disassemble the engine while we're sitting and talking about stuff while having some cans of coffee. All we need to make sure is if we can put it back correctly in the car later.....and of course not damaging the engine in the process. This might sound so easy but believe me, it's not really that easy :))

I also did some setup while installing the parts. Thankfully I ordered the heavy duty actuators along with the turbo assembly, so adjusting the turbo is easier than before. Also with stronger stroker kit installed, I can safely increase the boost without worrying if my engine will turn into a box of molotovs on the run. Some time ago I read that (a)Turns out stock 4G63 block of the 90s can be fed with up to 16 psi of boost instead of 13 psi that I read back then, and (b)4G63's achilles heels is it's conrod and piston, which under hardcore usage might bent or even snap, so it's advisable to get stroker kit, which I already did. With this in mind, I set the boost to exactly 1 bar (roughly 14,7 psi) to keep the block healthy while letting it receive more air.
5 hours later, the job was done. Could be done in 3 hours if we didn't chatter about motorsport or life to be honest, but hey, social interaction is a part of car culture after all :D The fact that I was blasting and singing to Taeko Ohnuki's "4.00 am" might also do with it....citypop is life man! :)) We moved on to work on Marc's car as the day goes on. I told Marc about the Proto rally car rules and joked on him that we should pull out the 4B11T and built a kei-car based Proto car if the Evo X is damaged beyond repair should he crash it. Marc retaliates with a sonorous "NO!! That's not going to happen!" :))

At the end of the day, I listed the stock parts for sale. I listed the stock IHI turbo for sale at V$2800. Ii think they can still stand some abuse by others despite what I said at the end of last update, and after all I haven't reverted the boost setting so it's a bit of plus point. As for the stock intake manifold, I listed them for V$640. I do aware there could be cheaper aftermarket intake manifolds and I even found one back then, but then most of them looks dubious......they looked like they're made of plastics :)) Ii'm confident enough to sell mine with a bit higher price tag sine obviously it's a factory original.

I also remembered something: I need to dyno the car again to see how the tune affected on-paper results. Well, that can be done tomorrow..........


[01 Feb 2019]
The first month of the year has been passed with a lot of fond memories for me and significant developments for the Silver Queen. It is time to see how far it's been going on it's final form. At 9 am after Muza and AJ(RocketBunnyS13) went off to work, I left the garage keys to Marc and went off downtown for another dyno session at ProMods. It's a cold, cloudy morning, so I took my jacket with me. Eh, spring will come soon anyway. Also somehow rush hour isn't really over as I went there, making the journey a bit uuncomfortable......before the final upgrades I said that the Evo deliver huge surge of power at lower gears. Now the Silver Queen outright punched my face and chest upon launch, and when I didn't really pay attention 2nd gear already felt like warping to another dimension. "Calm your foot down you greedy boy!" I shouted to myself. Probably that's what the Silver Queen thought as well.

Upon my arrival, one of the ProMods crew welcomed me and directed me to their dyno. Somewhat I got lucky I could park my Evo without making a mess inside. Let the examination begin!

Shortly after, the sonorous sound of the 4G63 engine fills the garage. Now it sound like a big box of angry hornets owned by an eccentric madman, with turbo whistles and fiery backfires filling in between, making the sight looked like one of the most unholy orchestra performance ever seen. But all of this was worth it when the result came out:

MAN WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT.
HOLY NUMBER NINES MAN I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS.
445 BRAKE HORSEPOWER!!
More than enough to follow that damn train beat the Evo FQ-440! Also already enters the Group B territory! I cheered in both ecstasy and disbelief while thinking "Is this my brain on extra-strong coffee or what?". The crew looked excited and glad at the results as well, then we talked a bit on what I've done to it. But then it looks like they tried to wake the greedy madman in me when they jokingly asked: "Why not round it to 450?" I duly answered, half-conscious on what I did said: "Yap good idea!"

So they actually did it. All they do was readjusting the exhaust cam, but they guarantee the result will be exactly as guaranteed. I also told them about the face-punching acceleration, so they also shorten the transmission's final gear to compensate the torque effect as well as to make it even faster on top end.

With the tuning done, the Evo had another dyno run and the madman's orchestra was back on business. The result is, again, unbelievable:

The difference is, it's unbelieveable not on how powerful it is now, but on how actually they prove their claim of 450 bhp output and just how precise it is. I was so impressed I want to buy them beer and coffee, but turns out they already have their own supply, so I simply high-fived everyone in the crew and thanked the for the work they've done.

I returned to WestKyo garage later that day via the industrial route. I supposed to come back straight to the garage, but midway through the trip I spotted something similar. Aren't those the lowriders from about a week ago? They were parked outside a supermarket, so I decided to find out by parking beside them.

A moment later, the owners came back from shopping. One of them wore a green hoodie, while one of them wears a blue shirt. Upon eye contact I slowly apporach them.

"Excuse me for my rudeness, are these your cars?" I asked to them.
"Well yes, what's wrong? You got a problem with us?" Said the green hoodie guy in a bit of grunt.
"Wait nonono! I've just happened to see these a week ago. They look awesome!"
"....aaah I see."
"I mean, it's rare to see an American car here, let alone classic ones"
"Honestly there are some in Tokyo, but yeah outside Tokyo there aren't many. I can tell you're not from here"
"Exactly! I live in Tsukuba, and I'm here in Tokyo for holidays though I'm going to come back soon"
"Oh Tsukuba you say? My cousin lives there y'know. I used to live with him in my high school days. Sometimes I visit him at summer"
"With this car?"
"With this car, yep"
"Awesome man! Clearly you've maintained this car very well, looks factory fresh!"
"Oh thank you, safe to say maintaining and modifying this car is a form of art. That's why they're unique"

The green hoodie guy is Juuichi (32), or 'Joey' as his community called him. He owns the green Impala, and he imported it himself from his earnings from his job as a music store and a small recording studio owner at Roppongi. Oh yeah, mind you, physical music collection is actually still a thing in Japan, since people here still insists on collectibility and originality of musical products. As you expected, he prefres hip-hop, rap and all their subgenres and he's keen on seeing the local and Asian scene growing up. He's a big fan of Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, as well as Snoop Dogg and Cent. He said he didn't really enjoy the modern US scene at the moment, so it's a perfect moment to look at other scenes around the world.

The one with blue shirt is Joey's work partner and studio assistant, Noriki (29). When I asked why he chose to import a Buick Century among anything else, he simply answered he wants something unusual and wants to make it something groundbreaking. Personally, I think he did those gracefully: He transformed something normally unappreciated by common Americans into a eye-catching road yacht. Also, due to their preferences, cost and maintainability, they decided to install airbags instead of hydraulics, as well as not modding their engine and simply keping it as fresh as possible.

We exchanged contacts after I grabbed some pics under their permit, and went back to the garage.

And when I arrived at the garage, I immediately asked Muza something.

"Ey Muza, what time do you come back from work tomorrow?"
"I think I can come back at 4pm, what's the matter"
"You want to do some evening cruise?"



[02 Feb 2019]
Earlier I said I wanted to do some stuff with the WestKyo boys. Well, this is one of them: A mass touge session. Yesterday I told Muza about Otarumi touge, the place when I tested the Evo after it has stroker kit and cams installed. I offered Muza and AJ to tag along, and thankfully they agreed to go there at 6pm. Muza wants to stay sharp in his M3 E46 which has recently receiving a micro diet. This might become the last touge for it as well since he planned to turn it into a track car. Meanwhile AJ have to use his fresh, stock S2000. After all, from all of his cars, his S15 isn't working yet, he recently crashed his S14, and he doesn't want to see his Civic FC1 suffered the same fate, leaving only the S2000 to ride on.

"But look at the bright side AJ, time for a new hair-do!" I jokingly cheer him up :)) AJ doesn't seem to mind, after all fresh mountain air is fresh and good for your mind. How to keep your face features intact on high speed is another issue though. Nevertheless AJ still decides to have his roof down for the ride. After leaving the keys to Marc again, we set off.

We arrived at the touge at 7.30pm, just in time for sunset. Perhaps this would be the most breathtaking view we've experienced on a touge session. We took a rest for a while as we made our final preparation. By the way, the ProMods guys has succesfully soften a bit of it's acceleration it seems, the punch now felt less intense.


After a short briefing, we set off to attack the touge route. But to be honest I'm rather worried about AJ, since the S2K is famous for oversteering at most times thanks to it's narrow width, and the cause of AJ's crash is.....he went sideways at high speed. Tbf he was avoiding a dog, but still, this should be taken as a precaution.


We flew around the first corner in a breeze. Two sonorous inline 4 engine provides two treble mixes and one inline 6 engine plays the baritone voice for a calm sunset drive.



And then the road throws some sequences of chicane to us. I and Muza decided to grip it through and swinged our cars smoothly.

I'm sure AJ prioritizes gripping too, after all his car is still in stock condition. But then as I predicted his car rebelled and decided to go sideways. Thankfully AJ can control it with so much focus. Gotta stay sharp and fearless after the crash I see......but the fact that he was able to keep up with more powerful cars while being sideways in a bone stock car is more awesome to behold.

Some corners later, it looks like the drifting syndrome is infectious as Muza somehow pulled a huge drift with his E46, full pro style. And this was done while going uphill. It is helpful that there was only a smidge of traffic at the moment, otherwise we might end as a huge pile of wreckage......

I'd really like to join the sideways bros aswell, but uhh....my Evo's so grippy it doesn't really like going sideways. I'm not Tommi Makkinen anyway heheh.

A moment later we found a huge road shoulder to turn around. We decided to go back for the downhill session.


We started storming the first corner like a rollercoaster. Once again I and Muza goes for the full grip policy, while AJ also tried to but nevertheless his car protested against it. Another slide for AJ, then.


The Evo attacks the corner in a flash after the upgrades, but the brakes felt a bit squeaky at the moment. Might be because it still uses OEM-size disc and 4-pots at the front. I want to change them but I'll do this at Ttsukuba I guess. Meanwhile surprisingly AJ still able to catch up. The S2K is remarkable that it once held the record for the most horsepower per capacity in litres,roughly 125 BHP/litre. It was broken 7-8 years later by Ferrari 458. Just think about it, it took 8 years and a Ferrari to break a record held by a plucky Honda. That's quite a huge feat indeed.

It looks like Muza can't hold himself from going sideways though, or it's just his BMW wanted to do so. But it looks graceful going sideways.

Finally we reached the starting point again, and we decided to come back downtown. I and AJ came off the touge tidily and quickly, and Muza came out with a bang and flurry of oversteer. That's how you say goodbye to a touge yeah! :D


We finally arrived at downtown as night comes. Saturday nigt here is quite crowded with traffic and people everywhere moving on to celebrate the temporary freedom from the work life. Our cars attracted attetions from passer-bys, either from the looks or the sound. Muza's M3 catched a lot of eyes at traffic lights, but it's AJ's S2K that steal the most looks from the local girls as he's driving a convertible with roof down, revealing his good looks :D So it's true that a convertible will attract girls easily. Now I wonder if AJ has a GF already? I mean, he could pick up a girl right now!


There are a lot of cafes here, but we decided tp just have coffee and ramen at the garage. So we decided to keep going towards a bridge.


"Man, I wish I can cross this bridge everyday. Feels like a bridge to heaven"
"That's why you need to stay here bro"
"Nah man, but maybe one day. Work and trackday called again"



But then the chatter stopped as near the end of the bridge there was a drunk driver in a Prius darting his way towards us. In a bit of panic we tried to make our way out from the situation. I simply add more throttle as I'm sure I'll make it in time, and fortunately my calculation is correct. Muza and AJ swerved to the right lane, but unfortunatley Muza judged his move a bit late and I saw the Prius took a bit of his front bumper from the side mirrors. AJ is okay though. Instinctively we made our way out from the scene by driving a bit faster.

We then stop in a car park and we checked Muza's M3 bumper.

"Just a bit of scratch, no problem. I still can keep on running."

But just how bad is it? You might find it out at Muza's RP update.










So let's see how my wallet survived this week.........








That's all my updates for now, thank you for stopping by and see you soon!
(either here or one of the WestKyo boys RPs)
Still following the damn train since 1992

Visit my RP HERE!

RocketBunnyS13

ph
Posts: 418

Location: Philippines MNL
Occupation: Yes I ruin cars
Age: 34
V$: wat
#123   2019-02-03 18:26          
Can't wait for Muza's update! I want everyone to know what happened... :O

Also a touge run like that is exactly what I needed, top down, wind in my hair, flooring a VTEC S2K up to its F20C 9k glory. And man oh man did I have fun! I've actually been seeing someone so yeah, no girls being picked up, although I did wave back at them H I H E

s t a y c l a s s y

Soju

kr
Posts: 1247

Location: South Korea
Occupation: Smuggling Soju
Age: 122
V$: Broke
#124   2019-02-03 18:55          
Mmm can't wait to see how that S2000 will turn into :)

Sleepin mOnkey

jp
Posts: 2459

Location: Japan Universe, Milky way ,Solar system, Earth
Occupation: Automotive engineer Student
Age: 32
V$: 14.750
#125   2019-02-04 03:36          
# BigSmoke : Since a bone stock S2K could keep up with me, I'd like to go together with the AE86 someday :D

well i can help you sort the evo for the touge but it would just slay tyres LoL and the s2k is a killer even stock i just hope i don blow my engine since i cant afford a Grop A 20v
Roleplay: A engine Builder and tuner that lives in Japan and Builds cool stuff.
Cars: Corolla Levin coupe Tog/show car
180SX s13 350hp SR20DET 6MT Babe 1
Supra Sz JZA80 2jz-Gte Vvt-i 2000's Hotboi
240sx Vert HOTBOI 2

CLICCC...

BigSmoke

id
Posts: 844

Location: Indonesia
Occupation: Following Those Damn Trains
Age:
V$: Broke
#126   2019-02-04 07:51          
# RocketBunnyS13 : Can't wait for Muza's update! I want everyone to know what happened... :O

Also a touge run like that is exactly what I needed, top down, wind in my hair, flooring a VTEC S2K up to its F20C 9k glory. And man oh man did I have fun! I've actually been seeing someone so yeah, no girls being picked up, although I did wave back at them H I H E

Yeah, I agree. It might be just a bit of bumper but seeing it's an M3 E46 it quite hurts :crying:

Eh did you enjoy your new hair-do? :))
That F20C symphony at the touge though is lovely. Glad you had fun man :thumbsup:
Aaaah I see, though hey at least you had a spotlight moment as well hihe :D

# Soju : Mmm can't wait to see how that S2000 will turn into :)

I can't wait as well. The S2K is has a tank full of potential, and AJ has received legendary status for his builds, so he should be able to transform it into a masterpiece whichever way he wants ;)

# Sleepin mOnkey : well i can help you sort the evo for the touge but it would just slay tyres LoL and the s2k is a killer even stock i just hope i don blow my engine since i cant afford a Grop A 20v

I really appreciate your offer, but I currently enjoyed it this way (since a part of it was based on WRC Group A tune ;) )
Take care of that engine man, it's a precious and potential thing :D
Still following the damn train since 1992

Visit my RP HERE!

DEADMANE

us
Posts: 104

Location: United States Los Angeles
Occupation: Grim Reaper
Age: 30
V$:
#127   2019-02-05 16:05          
Ooooo s2k!
RP Aristo
RP Build Thread

StratoWolf

it
Posts: 754

Location: Italy , Near Milan
Occupation: RPS13 and AE86 Connoiseur
Age: 21
V$: 54,860
#128   2019-02-06 10:04          
Hey mane!

I'm looking for a place to stay in Japan, I've just touced and I wanna get some rest before I get to finding
Possible Italo/Japanophile

CURRENT RP LOCATION: Somewhere in Japan

BigSmoke

id
Posts: 844

Location: Indonesia
Occupation: Following Those Damn Trains
Age:
V$: Broke
#129   2019-02-06 12:09          
# StratoWolf : Hey mane!

I'm looking for a place to stay in Japan, I've just touced and I wanna get some rest before I get to finding

Oh hello there, finally you're coming to the Japan soil as well! :D

I'm currently at the place of WestKyo boys (Niatross, Macaron_moon, RocketBunnyS13) at Tokyo as I've mentioned in the recent updates, but I'll be returning to my crib at Tsukuba at the end of the week. If you're going to Tokyo, you might want to contact them, but if you want to go Tsukuba feel free to join me after I come back. Just 18 kms from he racetrack :D

If you're staying with WestKyo boys they might be able to help with your builds, and you might as well . Me? I might be able to, but it'll be rather slow since after all I don't have a lot of money and time even for my own builds heheh :rolleyes: still, I got some tools in my place so feel free to swing by and use them.

Alternatively, you might want to join Shez who also lives in Tokyo (was staying with WestKyo boys for a while, now has his own place at Shinjuku), but since he got a new job I'm afraid his conditions would be similar to me (but financially better). There's also Sleepin mOnkey who presumably live somewhere near Ebisu racetrack. He's working as a self-made tuner, builder and restorer, so it should come handy for your builds.

And yet another one you might want to look is Nightrunner at Gunma, who has just recently got himself a personal shop and lots of cars to build :D
Still following the damn train since 1992

Visit my RP HERE!

StratoWolf

it
Posts: 754

Location: Italy , Near Milan
Occupation: RPS13 and AE86 Connoiseur
Age: 21
V$: 54,860
#130   2019-02-06 12:17          
Right, good to know.

This post was edited by StratoWolf (2019-02-06 13:04, ago)
Possible Italo/Japanophile

CURRENT RP LOCATION: Somewhere in Japan

BigSmoke

id
Posts: 844

Location: Indonesia
Occupation: Following Those Damn Trains
Age:
V$: Broke
#131   2019-02-10 07:52          
The Queen's Departure
(And a new family member!)








Finally, my days living in happiness at Tokyo is over.......for now.
It's time to get back to business and go back home to Tsukuba.
And oh, before all of that, a new family member is (unofficially) here! :D
Let's jump into the update to find out who is she, shall we? ;)









[04 Feb 2019]
Paycheck time! V$750 landed safely into my pocket. Should be a nice savings for the early work days waiting for me later. And of course, tuning my cars as well. And oh, at the previous weeks I've been scouting for cars with Muza(Niatross) and AJ(RocketBunnyS13) over the internet. What kind of cars? Almost everything I should say, from your usual tuner materials to some wackiest cars imaginable(including Renault Twingo!). Turns out some JDM heroes like the R34, NSX or Supra A80 does have price tags worth of their status, usually going above V$15k. After all, not only they're rare, most of them are also meticulously maintained and has racing reputations on their shoulder. Stuff to be admired and respected at, in short.

But what's more surprising is some other JDM heroes can be very, very cheap! Some can be explained for good reasons, like the Mark II-Chaser-Cresta family (without mods they're simply an executive sedans) or S-Chassises (lots of them has been modded). If you don't mind on buying an auto to be swapped on later, that's a bonus point since those with autos are much cheaper than their manual counterpart. But some are actually rather hard to explain, like 350Z being cheaper than I thought (but to be fair some are also reasonably priced), both auto or manual. They can go as low as V$2500 when I found them back then. BUT THEN, I found something cheaper, almost half-price cheaper in fact. What car is it? You'll find it out later.

And yet another surprising thing is some European cars are actually sold for cheap as well. Obvoiusly those aren't performance cars like M-cars or AMG-cars, but rather their everyday counterparts. But considering the fact that nowadays engine swapping can be done on these things, this can turn out to be a very, very good or even mad idea. Some of these cars can even be sold below the V$1000 mark, depending on their mileage or condition. On a bit minor note, I didn't expect the cheap Euro car list would include an abundant presence of classic Volvos! Driving a Swedish tank around Tokyo could be a hell of a smugface-inducing joyride to me. But then, I remember what Rantaro said to me back then when he introduced his Merc-I mean Mark II: They might be cheap, but spare parts could be hard to come by. Considering I had to import some parts for my Evo, he's absolutely right. It can turn into an endless pit of money cremator machine........


[05 Feb 2019]
Turns out there are also another places to get your cars for cheap, and they're not even around Asia. The first one is around the British Isles. Quite understandable since most Euro countries are left-hand drive countries, but the well-known isles of albion is unique since all countries inside it (England, Scotland, Wales, Republic of Ireland, and Nothern Ireland. Technically Isle of Man isn't a country but can also be said as one) are right-hand drive countries, so logically driving them outside the country would require adjustments (by either swapping the wheel side or simply adapting to it). But driving them here would be an easy breeze since, y'know, Japan and most of Asian countries are right-hand drive countries.

The second one is most parts of Eastern Europe, due to the depreciation rate being faster than the time you took to completely read this sentence. This was proven when Muza and AJ received some cars sourced by our good friend, Ben(Phonexius), straight from Bosnia. The only problem is, at the moment only AJ's has arrived. The cars are two LHD Euro-spec Nissan 200SX, bought at V$2300 each. In the sea of JDM S13s, I'm sure both cars could stand out from the crowd.....though overtaking could be an issue. Check out how it looks and find out why Muza's havent arived yet here.

Speaking of Ben, the reason why he could source the 200SXs is....simply because he's there at the moment with his partner-on-crime, Ziga(Lagano). They'll going to do some high-quality projects while staying there for a while. You can check the progress from Ben's point of view here!

With this in knowledge, I decided to look for myself some cars that can be obtained from that side of the world. For bonus humor points, I tried to look for the wackiest and cheapest car I can find, in sense of normally these cars won't be turned into a project car. Turns out ome cars can be cheaper than......the Evo's steering wheel! With these findings, I decide to grab them someday, with a lethal joke build idea in mind. *insert evil scientist maniacal laughter here*


[07 Feb 2019]
At this point, all my parts for sale, specifically stock turbo assembly and intake manifold has been sold for V$3440. More than enough to purchase any of used cars I, Muza and AJ has been looking these days. But then, I've made my mind on what should I buy. I decided to order them immediately and pick them tomorrow. Then I realize the car's location is rather far away from Tokyo. The car is located in the town of Kuwana, at Mie prefecture (I don't know how far it is from Suzuka Circuit). Back then I grabbed my Evo by taking a bus since it's located in the same prefecture as my crib, but this one is roughly 2-3 prefectures away, so taking a single bus is a bit impossible.....and it'll be a long, long journey as well.

I decided to solve this problem by taking my Evo there to sort the final deal and bring it directly to Tsukuba by having it delivered with a truck. Rantaro told me he towed his Mark II to the shop that done the Merc conversion back then, so I contacted him to get the towing company's number.

"Hey Rantaro-san, it's me Edo-kun. I have a small favor."
"Oh hey Edo-kun, is it serious?"
"I told you it's small man. Anyway, you said you've towed your Mark II once yes?"
"Oh yah, when I brought it to the workshop. What's the matter, did your car broke down?"
"No, thankfully. I needed it for something else"
"What is it, really?"
"Okay I'll just spill it here as well. I'm going to buy a new car"
"Hoowee boy congrats! What car is it? And why the tow truck?"
"I'll tell you when I and the car have arrived at my crib. The car is neither in Tokyo or Tsukuba"
"Aaaaaah that makes sense. I'll send the contact to you"
"Thank you very much my man"
"Anytime, mate"


After the phone call ended, Rantaro sent the contact to me. Problem (half) solved!

Later on I received news from Rifky(Shez) that he's finally got his own crib at Shinjuku and works as an animator for an animation studio. The good news is his DC5 accompanies him for work and daily usage with ease. The bad news? His 86 won't be reaching the Japan soil after all since it turns out he has sold it without finishing the project. Well at least he can get another car for cheap here.......and unleash his weeb side with ease.

Speaking of which, I decided to visit Akibahara for the last time in my visit here to grab some more UCC Coffee cans to be enjoyed back home at my crib.

Coffee business done, I returned to the garage and get an early sleep.


[08 Feb 2019]
After a rather long period of sleep, I woke up, took a quick shower and dress up. I'm going to grab the new car today! And so the journey to Mie started. It turns out the trip passes the Kanagawa prefecture, which has a lot of famous touge roads. So when I approach the Kanagawa prefecture, I immediately elected to get into the mountain areas. This is going to be fun hehe ;)

After several hours of driving I've seem to be stumble upon one when I emerged from a tunnel. I really don't know which touge is this, but it looks promising. Not so narrow compared to previous touges I've ever drive on, but this looks promising as well.

Moments later, I passed across what seemingly is a tree logging area, with lots of truck carrying lots of logs. Thankfully though at this point the road widens to give them a place to stop. Still, imagining having to face log debris at touge nights made me feel a bit uneasy. I mean what if it flings over your tires, or even worse, windscreen?

Later on, the road tightens again. But it has no guardrails this time. I really wonder if racing here would be a bless or a curse. Oh well, as long as you don't tumble down the hill........

At one point I came across an odd-looking intersection and a tour bus, seemingly being parked. Is this area a tourism spot?

I think the bus explains the need of extra lane at some corners. This also would come very, very handy in touge races, as long as you can come back to the original lane at the exit. I think there's a similar touge, also in Kanagawa, once featured in Initial D, but I forgot the name. And it's worse: It changes from two-lane into a single lane, effectively cutting off overtaking chances.

And here comes the explanation on why there's a tour bus: There's a temple, or any kind of historic/ancient Japanese building nearby. They're located down below a corner. Well, it might be dangerous if a car somehow tumbled down the corner, but.....I'm sure you've seen Mighty Car Mods's Turbos & Temples video series, which features JDM heroes along with Japanese temples. I think you can make your own version here! :D

I continued my trip for several hours. Indeed it was very, very long way to Mie.

Some hours later, finally I arrived at my destination in Mie. One of the dealer agents welcomed me and told me to put my car near their garae, since the car being sold was stored there. I decided to wait outside for a while. Oh yah....are you ready for the reveal?

"Come on, where is it, where is it........"

Minutes later, I heard a sound of a revving engine that isn't coming from my Evo. Time to meet the new car.


AAAAAND HERE IT IS LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! It's a 1999 Nissan Silvia S15 Spec-S G-Package (god this is a mouthful). It's an auto with SR20DE inside (as opposed with SR20DET in Spec-R model),and it has gone through 128,000 kilometres of roads. So all in all, pretty healthy. Airbags hasn't popped yet which roughly means it hasn't ever crashed yet, the AC is relatively cool for me. I suspect the car hasn't seen so many actions back in the past. And all of this comes for V$1500!
Note: I had to use a BBS to resemble the original Spec-S wheels

"But Smoke, why an auto man? Manual is love, manual is life!" Yea I'm agree with that. I've explained why I picked an auto in the beginning of this update. And anyway, at the end of my project with it, it won't be an auto anyway. But what kind of project is it? I'll reveal it when the Silvia comes to my crib at Monday, all I know is it'll be big and doesn't involve AC or airbags. These things can go away from the car.

After I've sorted the payment and slips for the car, I called the tow truck service with the contact I got from Rantaro. For the trip from Kuwana, Mie to Tsukuba, Ibaraki they charged me V$360. Quite reasonable I presume, and the car will arrive at Monday at my crib as I've said before. Haven't thought to give the car a nickname, but it can come later anyway.

I went back to Tokyo after the Silvia has been unloaded into the truck.


[09 Feb 2019]
It is now time to leave Tokyo and come back home to Tsukuba. But certainly this isn't the last time I'll come here........now I know where I should spend my summer holiday (or at least half of the summer holiday) ;) the guys at WestKyo are so kind to me for letting me stay with them (overstaying for a month, in fact), helping me on finishing the final stages of the Silver Queen build, and sparing their time to have some fun as well. We all started this year with relatively great stuff (save for AJ's S14 being destroyed and Marc(Macaron_moon)'s Evo not hitting the road yet). And I'm eternally grateful for that. Now I have a second place to call my home, and a second group to be called my family :')

After having lunch together for the last time, I packed up my stuff into my Evo, and all of us have a warm group bro-hugs. Though before I leave I spotted something odd: Whose Impreza GRB is in the garage? But eh, I might check it out at summer. Also, my stuff is heavier now thanks to the UCC Evangelion Coffee packs :))

"Guys, thank you for everything. For letting me stay, work with you, having fun together, absiolutely everything"
"No probs man, you're welcome all the time here"
"Yeah. You know what? I guess I'll spend my summer here"
"YEAH BOI THAT'S HOW YOU SPEND THE SUMMER! Can't wait for your visit again man!"
"Haha sure man. Anyway, I'm off to Cluckin Bel-I mean sunset my fams"
"Take care man, and keep following the damn train Smoke!"
"Ohoho, sure I will!"

And with that, I rolled off the garage for the last time. The Queen now has left her wounded little sister who accompanied her at Tokyo..........

.........as well as her German mentor who taught her the joy and thrills of rear wheel drive platform. When the Queen come back here, he might not be rolling in the streets anymore, rather than that he'll be seen on racetracks. Who knows if they could meet in Tsukuba Circuit? I'll celebrate it when the day has come

As I leave the garage and turned away from the town, I still can hear the boys cheering on me and my Evo, like rally spectators cheering on the race drivers and their cars. Thank you for sending me and the Queen off, fams! :')

"LONG LIVE EL GRANDO SMOKIO!"
"LONG LIVE THE SILVER QUEEN!"

I'll miss everything in this small part of the town. The sea breeze, the narrow roads, the good people, the marina......it's not everyday you can enjoy sea breeze when you live far away from the seaside by yourself.

After exiting town, I headed to the expressway for the last time. I decided to cue up this song, despite spring is just a corner away at the moment.It's a proper goodbye song for the moment in my opinion.

Later on, come the Tokyo Expressway in my views. I really wish I've got something like an R34 or a Supra A70/A80 to ride on it.........

.......so stepped on the throttle to cherish the moment when I got into the main roads.

As I headed to Tsukuba, I remembered everything I've done at Tokyo. The first time I came here and questioned the weather, the first time meeting the boys, the first time I went downtown, our touge sesh, the meeting at Shinjuku..........


Some hours later........


The trip is admittably not as smooth as I thought due to traffic jam, but at least it wasn't as bad as when I departed from Tsukuba way back then, where I was stuck for a few days with traffic jams everywhere due to heavy snowfall. And so, finally I came back to Tsukuba as the sun sets. I really miss hitting this highway.

As I zoomed on the highway, I also spotted a huge supermarket with even bigger parking lot.....should be ideal to have a huge meetup. I should tell Rantaro, Kenichi and Ryuji about this, they might be interested on the idea.

Speaking of which, I really want to meet everyone I know soon to tell about my days in Tokyo. Rantaro, Kenichi, Ryuji and his sister, Genzo, the high school girls, Sera, Ohira-sensei and his crew, Kitagara-sensei.......the list goes on and on.

As the sun alomst sets compeletely, finally I arrived at my crib. As people always say, there's no place like your home after all. I immediately entered my garage.......

.....only to realize I entered from the wrong direction. That's what you get when thought about bed overcomes your concentration :)) Thankfuly though my yard is big enough to do a multi-million point turn. After I adjust the Evo's position and heading properly, I backed up the Evo into the garage.

I'm really, really greateful for all the times I've spent in this world. After the Evo has been parked I unpacked my stuff, put them back properly and went to a deep sleep.












Finally, my times in Tokyo has been over and I returned to my crib safely.
Here's how my wallet survives at the moment:











That's all my updates for now, thank you for stopping by and see you soon!
Still following the damn train since 1992

Visit my RP HERE!

11000rpm

kr
Posts: 391

Location: South Korea
Occupation: a human
Age:
V$: idk
#132   2019-02-10 08:32          
YOSHI GRANDO SEASON
i smell something enormous from an S15, feels like you'll gonna do an insane makeover.

BigSmoke

id
Posts: 844

Location: Indonesia
Occupation: Following Those Damn Trains
Age:
V$: Broke
#133   2019-02-10 08:59          
# 11000rpm : YOSHI GRANDO SEASON
i smell something enormous from an S15, feels like you'll gonna do an insane makeover.

Hehe trust me it will be massive ;)
Still following the damn train since 1992

Visit my RP HERE!

Niatross

bd
Posts: 430

Location: Bangladesh
Occupation: topkek
Age:
V$: yes
#134   2019-02-10 09:40          
Was indeed great to have you around Tokyo man! :-X
Be back here in summer with what becomes of that S15 to FLEX ON AJ xd (if its done by that time)
i might be popping into Tsukuba pretty soon with my E46 too so theres that ;)

S15 was a steal at that price ngl. Fairly average mileage and in good condition! great pick :D
(I HAVE INSIDE INFO FOR BUILD PLAN HIHE)


Current owned cars:
- Toyota Supra GA-JZA70 Mk3
- BMW E46 M3
- Nissan Skyline ECR33 GTS25t
- Nissan 200SX Hatchback
- BMW E92 335i
- Nazda RX-7 FD3S Type RS
- Mazda RX-7 JF1FD (USDM)
- Nissan Silvia S14

Macaron_Moon

jp
Posts: 144
http://cornhub.com
Location: Japan Homeless
Occupation: Human Lan Evo, or homeless crackhead. Same thing
Age: 27
V$: 2 cents
#135   2019-02-10 09:53          
It was fun having you in Tokyo, shame I couldn't spend these last days with y'all. Anyways, come back amd visit us anytime!

BigSmoke

id
Posts: 844

Location: Indonesia
Occupation: Following Those Damn Trains
Age:
V$: Broke
#136   2019-02-10 10:48          
# Niatross : Was indeed great to have you around Tokyo man! :-X
Be back here in summer with what becomes of that S15 to FLEX ON AJ xd (if its done by that time)
i might be popping into Tsukuba pretty soon with my E46 too so theres that ;)

S15 was a steal at that price ngl. Fairly average mileage and in good condition! great pick :D
(I HAVE INSIDE INFO FOR BUILD PLAN HIHE)

Thank you fam for allowing me to stay (overstay in fact hihe) in your place, you guys are simply the best :thumbsup:
I'll try to, regardless if it's street legal or not by the time I finished it ;)
Oh, can't wait to see you at the next trackday! ;)

ikr, I was surprised to see an S15 could dip into that area of price, even if it's an auto.
(Oi don't spill it h i h e)

# Macaron_Moon : It was fun having you in Tokyo, shame I couldn't spend these last days with y'all. Anyways, come back amd visit us anytime!

I'm really glad I can meet with an Evo sensei like you. I'll come back at summer man, I'll see you by then! :D
Still following the damn train since 1992

Visit my RP HERE!

Lagano

si
Posts: 1739

Location: Slovenia West side
Occupation: Taking it easy
Age: 24
V$: :$V
#137   2019-02-10 15:07          
Finally you got another money pit addition to your garage! Yeah, when it comes to this kind of cars manual examples are very sought-after so automatics end up being much cheaper, sometimes even manual swapping it can get pricey so be careful. You have way more tuning possibilities for it than the Evo so i'm really looking forward to your ideas for it :)

BigSmoke

id
Posts: 844

Location: Indonesia
Occupation: Following Those Damn Trains
Age:
V$: Broke
#138   2019-02-10 16:39          
# Lagano : Finally you got another money pit addition to your garage! Yeah, when it comes to this kind of cars manual examples are very sought-after so automatics end up being much cheaper, sometimes even manual swapping it can get pricey so be careful. You have way more tuning possibilities for it than the Evo so i'm really looking forward to your ideas for it :)

Yep, happy to be a two-car owner! :D

Considering my plans with it, I guess it'll be a money burner as well..........but once it's done, I'm sure all of the money should worth it ;)
Still following the damn train since 1992

Visit my RP HERE!

Soju

kr
Posts: 1247

Location: South Korea
Occupation: Smuggling Soju
Age: 122
V$: Broke
#139   2019-02-10 17:11          
Tbat is a really great purchase! I guess manual swap could be done or stay automatic and do the restoration process :)

BigSmoke

id
Posts: 844

Location: Indonesia
Occupation: Following Those Damn Trains
Age:
V$: Broke
#140   2019-02-10 19:05          
# Soju : Tbat is a really great purchase! I guess manual swap could be done or stay automatic and do the restoration process :)

Thanks my man. I'll reveal whether it's going to stay auto or manual swapped when it comes to my crib ;)
Still following the damn train since 1992

Visit my RP HERE!

RocketBunnyS13

ph
Posts: 418

Location: Philippines MNL
Occupation: Yes I ruin cars
Age: 34
V$: wat
#141   2019-02-14 04:52          
That's another one on the VStanced S15 Owner's Club, CONGRATS! It was also nice having you at the shop for a while, gonna miss the GTA SA jokes floating around hahahaha. See ya around!

s t a y c l a s s y

BigSmoke

id
Posts: 844

Location: Indonesia
Occupation: Following Those Damn Trains
Age:
V$: Broke
#142   2019-02-14 05:53          
# RocketBunnyS13 : That's another one on the VStanced S15 Owner's Club, CONGRATS! It was also nice having you at the shop for a while, gonna miss the GTA SA jokes floating around hahahaha. See ya around!

Thanks dude, I'm gonna miss your Ichigo as well :')
Ssee ya around as well man!

Also STRAWBERRY GANG STRAWBERRY GANG STRAWBERRY GANG! :))
Still following the damn train since 1992

Visit my RP HERE!

Sleepin mOnkey

jp
Posts: 2459

Location: Japan Universe, Milky way ,Solar system, Earth
Occupation: Automotive engineer Student
Age: 32
V$: 14.750
#143   2019-02-14 14:14          
daang s15 going to be hella sick too bad i already commited with another s chassis
Roleplay: A engine Builder and tuner that lives in Japan and Builds cool stuff.
Cars: Corolla Levin coupe Tog/show car
180SX s13 350hp SR20DET 6MT Babe 1
Supra Sz JZA80 2jz-Gte Vvt-i 2000's Hotboi
240sx Vert HOTBOI 2

CLICCC...

BigSmoke

id
Posts: 844

Location: Indonesia
Occupation: Following Those Damn Trains
Age:
V$: Broke
#144   2019-02-14 15:09          
# Sleepin mOnkey : daang s15 going to be hella sick too bad i already commited with another s chassis

Thanks man! Good luck with your S13 as well, looking forward to it! :D
Still following the damn train since 1992

Visit my RP HERE!

Sleepin mOnkey

jp
Posts: 2459

Location: Japan Universe, Milky way ,Solar system, Earth
Occupation: Automotive engineer Student
Age: 32
V$: 14.750
#145   2019-02-14 20:03          
i said another wich means is not the s13 :lol:
Roleplay: A engine Builder and tuner that lives in Japan and Builds cool stuff.
Cars: Corolla Levin coupe Tog/show car
180SX s13 350hp SR20DET 6MT Babe 1
Supra Sz JZA80 2jz-Gte Vvt-i 2000's Hotboi
240sx Vert HOTBOI 2

CLICCC...

BigSmoke

id
Posts: 844

Location: Indonesia
Occupation: Following Those Damn Trains
Age:
V$: Broke
#146   2019-02-15 05:00          
# Sleepin mOnkey : i said another wich means is not the s13 :lol:

Oh I thought it's your S13 :))
Still following the damn train since 1992

Visit my RP HERE!

BigSmoke

id
Posts: 844

Location: Indonesia
Occupation: Following Those Damn Trains
Age:
V$: Broke
#147   2019-02-16 14:17          
Weight Loss Program









Finally, I'm back to Tsukuba with spring closing in.
Also the S15 has arrived to my crib as well! :D
I'll tell you what I'm going to do with it in this update.
And oh, the Siver Queen had a micro bit of change as well.
All of which can be seen in this update so let's jump inside! :D












[11 Feb 2019]
Paycheck time! V$750 has come to my wallet, but there's something else coming that day. As I've told you in the previous update, Ii've got a new car, which is a Silvia S15 Spec-S AT, and I had it delivered on a truck and it'll arrive at my crib this day. So I waited inside my crib for the delivery truck. Speaking of which, the prpularity of S-Chassises here is quite inevitable, being one of the go-to machine for pretty much any purpose with any kind of mods. Pro Drifting? Check. Grassroots Drifting? Check. Time Attack? Check. Club Racing? Check. Rallying? Check. Daily? Check. Kyusha? Check. Drag Racing? Check. Lowered? Check. Stance Nation Meeting? Check. It's basically a blank canvas waiting for anyone to paint it anything, and it'll be open to any kind of owners, from those who recently learn how to drive to master drivers with all salt and experience on their hands, and from uhhh......people with 'eccentric' tastes to craftsman who can summon a fine arts quality of tunes.

What's rather interesting is the type of the S-Chassis being picked. A bit of disclaimer, S12 is rare so I could understand why there are none of them here, but I do like them. It has spawned a Group B variant after all (240RS), and that thing is rock solid and as stable as a jumbo airliner, so it can be driven as smooth as a flamboyant man flirting with a bunch of young women or as aggressive as everyone attending Slayer and Motorhead concerts. Let's get back to the topic. Most people I've seen around here picked up S13 Hatches, be it 180, 200 or 240SX. Understandable, as they look gorgeous and sold around the world, compared to the Notchback which looks....uhhh.....common in standard form, and mostly can only be found at Japan (or perhaps didn't sold as well as the hatch at the rest of the world). I'm not saying it's ugly, my point is most cars at it's era were boxy, and so does the S13 Notch. Nevertheless, both has a lot of visual and performance mods, so they can cope with all your needs. I can only recall one S13 notchback being driven here (Muza(Niatross) & Marc(Macaron_moon)'s shared S13), so hands up if you currently own one.

The S14 is actually great as well and also sold around the world, but due to Nissan somehow making ot bloatier, it's more expensive since bigger dimension means higher tax, at least here in Japan. This leads to extremely declining sales and slightly lack of fans of this model. Hell, even Nissan had to prolong the S13 hatch production and sold them alongside the S14 to regain profit! But if we throw away those facts out from the window, the S14 is a great thing as well, and actually not losing most of the sparks and brilliance set by the S13 despite it's size and weight.So this does make me wonder why there aren't more S14 in this commnity. The one I know well is AJ(RocketBunnyS13)'s S14 which at the moment is out of action. Another one is Sleepy(sleepin mOnkey)'s S14 which he built alongside his S13 hatch at the moment. Hands up if you currently have an S14 you think I should check out.

Now, learing from the S14 tax fiasco, Nissan designed the S15 to be slim like the S13 was and made it more gorgeous and aerodynamic. The result is arguably one of the most gorgeous, timeless-looking car that can stand with modern car design standards. No matter what you've done on it, it'll always have that iconic looks and it can attract people to like it as well, either thinking it as fast or cute depending on your mods. With the arrival of my S15, this means currently there are four active S15 users: AJ, 11K (11000rpm), Crazy Eighty Eight(iirc) and myself. Let me know if I missed some.

I'm going to interrupt this as the delivery truck finally arrived. I drove the S15 off the truck and thanked the trucker for bringing it safely. Yep, time for the full reveal of what I'm going to do with it.

So what I'm going to do with it? I've seen lots of S-Chassises here used for drifting, stace and daily purposes. But not me, I want to go different. You see, I live near the Tsukuba Circuit, well-known for time attack activities there. So it should be obvious that I'm going to turn my S15 into a time attack machine. Admittably, mine wouldn't be the first TA S-Chassis here (Mackay built one ages ago form an S13), but I should remind you that the current Tsukuba record holder is a heavily tuned S15 driven by Toshihiko Suzuki, better known as Under Suzuki(yes, HKS smashed said record with an 86 but it used slicks on the run, deviating from the official time attack rules of Tsukuba). Of course I don't have the budget to do aero R&D and billet parts as he did, so I have to use anything aerodynamic and powerful that I can find in the vast virtual land of internet.

I want the S15 to be registered in equivalent to WTAC Open Class, so it can stretch it's muscles without worrying about limited budget or road legality. This is why I'm not going to make it street legal as well. I can guarantee, it'll be a bigger, longer, harder journey than the Evo did to me.


[12 Feb 2019]
Despite what I'm saying, I still want to drive the S15 on the road at least once, so I decided to go to my favourite auto shop downtown without having plates on it. I know the route to go there unspotted, so this should be a rather easy job. I have a feeling I can find something interesting after spending months in Tokyo. I have no plans to buy anything for the Silvia at this point, but perhaps there could be something for my Evo. Earlier at the morning, I noticed the Silver Queen might need new tyres after spending lots of distance and being cooked in Tsukuba and various touge routes.

Driving impressions? It drives quite well, the SR engine is unexpectedly running smooth in this configuration, mainly thanks to the torque-converter model AT transmission. The downside of this is the engine felt rather lazy and sluggish. Oh well, it's for cruising after all as opposed to performance driving. Handling-wise it feels great, responsively answering driver feedback on the run. No wonder S-Chassises are fan favourites. The seat is a bit dusty, but cloth is pretty much intact. It's a bit hard to sit on, probably because all of the years of usage.

I arrived at the shop and parked the S15 at the back of the building to hide the Silvia from the masses.

I did ended up bought some stuff for the Silver Queen. The first one is a set of R16 Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE003s, which is the successor of the RE002 I currently use on the Evo. They're also quite expensive actually, being sold at V$207 each, making the total cost at V$828. But sinc ethis is basically an upgrade, I don't really mind. The other thing I bought is a pack of RalliArt stickers for V$5. Seeing Rifky(Shez)'s Integra DC5 and 11K's BMW E36 made me think it would be a good idea to give the Silver Queen a sticker on each front doors. I think I've said back then the Evo woud stay clean from stickers to keep that daily look........I think I should take those words back now.

Back on the garage, I parked the Silvia not fully backwards inside the garage. This was done for two reasons.

The first one is of course to give space for working on the Evo. First off, giving it stickers. Does it look nice to you? I'll let you guys to be the judge.
(Damn, stickering in SLRR is quite a pain in the back)

And next up, changing the tyres.

Changing tyres done, onto the S15 next. It's time to put it on a diet, since it's going to be a competition car. But first, I'm going to do those that can be performed alone, which are removing setas, carpets, panels, audio parts, air vents, and some of the dashboard panels.

Unexpectedly this took almost half a day.

"Oof that was close!"
"Ack!" *hand bleeds*
"Come on get off the door!"
"Pull! Pull!" *headbutts floor*

After hours of torturing myself with fully scuffed hands, some small wounds and sweaty body, the car has been reduced to bare-looking interiors.


Seriously, there are only a few remains inside. I actually tried to lay my body inside the car since it was quite spacious after all the weight reduction. Safe to say, uhh......it's not really a good thing to sleep in :))

After all the work has been done, I had to reverse the car to the garage by pushing it. Tell me, do they look gorgeous side by side? :thumbsup:

After treating my hands, I called Kenichi, Rantaro and Ryuji to see if they can help with the rest of the operation.

"Kenichi-san, it's me Edo"
"Oh hey Edo! Was wondering where have you been these days"
"Sorry man I forgot to call you. I was at Tokyo the entire month"
"Oh I see, what did you do there?"
"A lot of things man, I'll tell ya when you come to my crib"
"Uh, not now tho, Ii'm bu-"
"Of course not now man, but are you free at Friday?"
"Oh yah, good idea"
"I also have a new car, so I need your help to sort it out"
"Ooooh I also have a new bike-"
"Wait really? Damn, bring it here at Friday!"
"Of course man, I think you're gonna like it"
"Alright see ya at Friday man"
"See ya"


"Rantaro my man, I'm already back home!"
"Yoooo if it's not Edo-kun! How's your trip man?"
"Everything went well, thanks man. Eh how about I tell you about it at my crib?"
"Oh sure, but not now. Let's do that on weekend"
"How about Friday? I also invited a friend"
"Cool enough, will do. But why another friend?"
"Oh yah, I bought a new car. Need your and his help to sort it out"
"Ah I see, I'll help you, don't worry"
"Alright thanks man"
"You're welcome, see ya at Friday"
"See ya"


"Hello Ryuji-san, it's me Edo"
"Oh hello Edo-san, what's the matter?"
"Uh, I have a new car, and I think it'll be wise to ask for your help to sort it"
"Oh sure sure, I might be able to help"
"Can you come to my crib at Friday? I'll give you my address after the call"
"I think I'm free on Friday, so sure man"
"Oh, tell me more about your trip to Aussie as well!"
"Sure sure"
"Alright, thank you very much"
"You're welcome mate"


With all calls sorted, I returned to my room to continue working.

Also, I remembered after all the engine upgrades the brakes felt squeaky, not really enough to be used on hard circuit usage. So I looked for a new one with bigger discs that can fit 16 inch wheels. Turns out there was only some results, some of them are Wilwood Superlite brakes. I opted for 6 pot calipers for front, and 4 pot for rear, with both wearing heavy duty 298mm discs. They also offered the option to paint the caliper red, but I stick to black for that unassuming, stealth look. All of this goes for V$2156. Can't wait for the Silver Queen to try throwing me out via the windshield.........


[15 Feb 2019]
The time to reunite (some of) the crew has come. But first, time to get the Silvia off the garage. Because pushing it off the garage took some time, I decided to enter the car, sit down on the car's floor and give it a smidge of gas while hoping I don't hit anything in the process. This turned out somehow successful, but it's quite scary to do. Perhaps not again.

Afterwards I opened the bonnet of the S15. Would you look at that, a relatively fresh SR20, rarely abused to the redline, might need some oil. But I won't give it any. Why? I'll tell you something.

Unlike WTAC which has strict engine swap rule (can only be from same manufacturer with same number of cylinder,e.g. you can swap VQ35 with VR38 but not SR20 with RB26), in Japanese time attack series you can rather freely do engine swaps to your car. I mean, there's a team(NewType Racing) who swapped their RX7's 13B engine for a 2JZ. So the plan is, I'm going to throw an RB26 inside (yes, with twin turbos so not an RB25) the S15. How cool is that? ;)

Shortly after Kenichi arrived with his shiny new bike.

"Hey man good to see you again!" Kenichi greeted me as we have a high five.
"Heeeeey! Is that a Honda Grom?"
"Yup! See, I know you'd like it!"
"It's practically impossible to dislike this thing you know"
"Exactly! Wait please hold up the bike for me, I'm going to pick the stand"
"Alright"

He then put the stand on his bike.

"Wait if this is your bike, where's your CB? Did you sell it?"
"Nah, I gave it to my cousin. Just recently finished high school"
"Aaaah I see. Wise move man, teaching him about freedom on the road and making him cool"
"Yap we're on the same wavelength it turns out"
"You know what? Honestly I want to ride one of these, but I'm not sure if it can stand my body weight"
"I think it will though, I mean I could go to Ooarai and back on this. You want to try?"
"No, not for now. No helmets and suits yet. I don't think I can ride these on t-shirts"


During our banter, Rantaro arrived to my crib in his Mer-sorry, Mark II. I think there are a lot of fans of his build here!

"Oi Edo-kun, where should I park?"
"Uh, just park it at the yard across my crib, it's empty"
"Okay, will do"

So he did just that. On second thoughts, it might be a good idea if I and some more guys buy said yard and the house on it.


"Long time no see my man! How's your day in Okinawa?" I greeted Rantaro
"It was superb! Lots of sea breeze and top cuisines! And oh, did you believe they mod and race vans there and their surroundings?"
"Oh I've ever heard of that! Do they race vans other than Dodges?"
"I saw Chevys, but they're quite rare to be seen"
"Let's do that sometimes!"
"Sure man, I heard there are more of these at Ebisu. Oh yah, is this your friend?" said Rantaro has he half-points his hand at Kenichi
"Oh yes, he's my fellow worker Kenichi. He's a motorbike fan, he brought a Honda Grom here"
"Oh, a Grom! I rented one at Okinawa. Quite a fun ride!"
"See, I told you! Nice too meet you by the way" Kenichi confirms my and his theory
"Nice to meet you too man"


We continued our banter with some snacks and sodas from my refrigerator. 15 minutes later, Ryuji arrived in his Jagermeister orange E46.

"Oh hey Ryuji! Man the E46 still looking fresh! How's your days in Australia?" I greeted him
"Aussie's awesome man! Big engines everywhere! It's quite hot, though"
"You're quite lucky to be able to rent a Holden man, aside from fuel thirst how does it feel?"
"It's comfy enough to make Ryoko sleep inside haha. But it's also quite tail-happy to brng sideways?"
"And you're not getting arrested for bringing it sideways? Absolute lucky guy!"
"Well indeed I was lucky. I saw similar Holden being arrested for speeding at one time"
"And oh, remember my friend I told you who has an E46? He's going to make it a track racer?"
"Oh really? That's awesome! Send my regards to him man"


After a bit of lengthy banter between us, finally we set to work on uninstalling the engine, cooling system and the AC system. It took us almost one whole day to do it. After it was done, the Silvia has been reduced even further to a mere rolling shell.

After the work was done, we pushed the car back to the garage and went inside my crib to talk about holiday, upgrades on the Evo, how did I get the S15 and my plans with it. We also checked out the classes in Japanese time attack racing and venues we possibly could enter in. So after some discussions, I decided to attend Tsukuba's very own Time Aattack championship, RevSpeed's annual Time Attack event and all Attack Maximum Challenge events held at Tsukuba and Ebisu West. As for the class (thanks to these articles serving as guides), I would enter the Second class, which is opened for privateers and amateurs with limited aero works.

If you wonder what the other classes are, there are Ladies, Radial, NA and Turbo classes. Ladies class are similar to Second class but obviously limited to women drivers. Radial class are similar to WTAC Clubsport class where they have to use street tires. NA and Turbo class are the main Time Attack shows where pro teams and builders play with skyscraping budget and mad level aeros, with restriction being whether they're aspirated or not as the name suggests.


And oh, of course I'm also open for sale at the moment!
Here are the list of stuff I'd like to sell here:











The time attack project has begin!
Meanwhile, here's how my wallet survives:








That's all my updates for now, thank you for stopping by and see you soon!

This post was edited by BigSmoke (2019-02-25 14:29, ago)
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Sleepin mOnkey

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#148   2019-02-16 16:58          
HEY, I have an S13 coupe (is just a shell but I have it) actually I'm waiting for the money so I can do what I planned which is going to be way more expensive than the hatch and different also. And as I said I got another s chassis an S14 zenki that's the main project for now so I think you should update your s-chassis owner list :lol:


Also, I'm quite active at the grip scene around so if you want any help at the s15 I'll be glad to hook you up especially in fabrication which I can say it is going to require a lot if you going WTAC spec for example one dc5 that I've built before my break did 1;05 at Tsukuba this January
Roleplay: A engine Builder and tuner that lives in Japan and Builds cool stuff.
Cars: Corolla Levin coupe Tog/show car
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BigSmoke

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#149   2019-02-16 17:21          
# Sleepin mOnkey : HEY, I have an S13 coupe (is just a shell but I have it) actually I'm waiting for the money so I can do what I planned which is going to be way more expensive than the hatch and different also. And as I said I got another s chassis an S14 zenki that's the main project for now so I think you should update your s-chassis owner list :lol:


Also, I'm quite active at the grip scene around so if you want any help at the s15 I'll be glad to hook you up especially in fabrication which I can say it is going to require a lot if you going WTAC spec for example one dc5 that I've built before my break did 1;05 at Tsukuba this January

Oh yah, forgot about your S13, sorry man :))
If you like, you can buy the SR out of my S15, either with or without the tranny :D

Oh you're doing TA too? Noted man, I think I might need your help at one point :thumbsup:
It might not be as spectacular as Pro classes did but I really want to see it going well ;)
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Niatross

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#150   2019-02-17 11:02          
THE BEANS HAVE BEEN SPILLED
RB26 oh boy
and a gutted interior
i can already sense the TA monster this thing is going to become :O

Also tell Ryuji we should meet up someday and go for a burger run on the E46's XD


Current owned cars:
- Toyota Supra GA-JZA70 Mk3
- BMW E46 M3
- Nissan Skyline ECR33 GTS25t
- Nissan 200SX Hatchback
- BMW E92 335i
- Nazda RX-7 FD3S Type RS
- Mazda RX-7 JF1FD (USDM)
- Nissan Silvia S14

Soju

kr
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#151   2019-02-17 11:29          
Ohhh can't wait for the S15!

BigSmoke

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#152   2019-02-17 11:50          
# Niatross : THE BEANS HAVE BEEN SPILLED
RB26 oh boy
and a gutted interior
i can already sense the TA monster this thing is going to become :O

Also tell Ryuji we should meet up someday and go for a burger run on the E46's XD

Hehe exciting right? ;)
Also thank you for purchasing the front seats!

Of course man, I'd like to see two E46s reunited on track ;)

# Soju : Ohhh can't wait for the S15!

Thanks man, I can't wait for 11K's S15 as well! :D
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BigSmoke

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#153   2019-02-18 12:06          
Small Update: Securing the Heart









With the SR20 chucked out of my Silvia(it's still on sale!), it is time to get the new heart for it.
As you can read in the previous update, I'm planning to plant an RB26DETT inside.
Fortunately, I have a 'wingman informant' who told me on where I can find one.
Let the hunt begin! :D











[18 Feb 2019]
Paycheck time! V$750 safely landed on my pocket yay! But first, a bit of a flashback. *presses rewind buton*


[Rewind to 16 Feb 2019]
A day after I gutted out my S15 with my friends and putting some of the results for sale, Muza(Niatross) called me up. He wanted to buy both front seats from the S15, so I automatically gave him a DEAL! Whether he's going to put it inside an S-Chassis, something other than an S-Chassis or even turning it into a sofa remains to be seen. After the deal was accepted and V$600 transferred into my account, we continued to talk about things, mainly his working days at Nismo Omori Factory, as well as my current life back at Tsukuba.
And of course I told him about the plan on planting an RB26 block inside the S15. Because he works at the birthplace of the engine, initially I wonder if I could source one right from the factory, but I doubt it'll be fullfilled since it's not for an R-Series car. It could be very, very expensive anyway. But then, being a knowledge-brimmed man he is, he purposed something quite brilliant.

"Hey Edo, I've got an idea. You want a budget RB build right?"
"Yes yes, but not an RB20 or RB25 please"
"No don't worry, we're still talking about RB26 territory. Try to check online auctions, I'll find you some on the way"
"So basically we're searching together?"
"Yup! I'll send you the link while I'm calling"
"Good idea, let's do this"


While I was looking for them, I also try to find RB blocks outside from Japanese websites. And indeed I found some. The problem is, I admit I'm a bit stingy by searching RB26 fitted to R34.....all for that Getrag 6-speed MT transmission fitted on it (remember, R32 and R33 only got 5-speed). I mean come on, it has better ratio, better durability, better torque resultant, better......almost everything, except maintenance cost. Due to rarity of them, those fitted with them are very, very expensive just like this example. If you want to cop that thing, well, I don't mind. At that price you might as well get an LS or even LT-series engine, or perhaps european high-end V8 engine, or even any kind of V10 engine (while we're in the topic of V8 engines, I found this cheap VK45DE engine. You might want to grab it!). Additionally, Mine's (yes, THAT Mine's) could sell you an RB26 N1 block for V$8980, but it isn't said if they would include transmission or not.

The best deal I found with Muza was this RB26 block, auctioned at V$2500 out of an R32:

The seller has a good reputation as well. But as it is an auction court, I decided to wait for a while to see if anyone else is interested on it, and as a trap to other bidders rushing on buying it. Very risky, I know. But I'm also saving my cash at the moment. Still, who could resist a complete, relatively healthy RB26 sold for cheap?

Now the problem is that engine has no transmission and no turbo piping yet, explaining the cheap price. Muza tipped me I should install transmission from VQ35DE engine, namely Nissan CD009. It is 6-speed MT, and basically a Swiss Army Knife of engine builds. Plus, it's an RWD transmission, therefore keeping up with most time trial series regulation to keep it having the same type of drivetrain as the stock one (though AWD Silvia is an interesting idea, I doubt it can cope with front torque distribution that well). It's been popular to be installed into many kind of engines, even non-Nissan engines such as Toyota UZ series, Toyota JZ series and even GM LS series! With that in mind and Muza had to go back to work again, I thanked him before he ended up our call.

Now let's get back to the current time. *presses fast forward button*


[Back to 18 Feb 2019]
Shopping time! Turns out nobody has secured that RB26 engine, so I decided to buy it outright for V$2500. And for the transmission, found a used one on eBay for V$1100. Looks relatively healthy, has passed 113k miles. Eh, I'm going to replace some of the parts anyway. And finally, the adapter. I bought one from Collins Performance, complete with optional clutch relesae bearing adapter and all the assembly bolts for V$520. Additionally, I bought Hardrace RB-series engine mounts for S14 and S15 for V$333.
Holy crap man, all these purchases successfully burned my wallet badly. I really need to apply for a stable job very, very soon.







To give you an idea how bad the money draining process was, here's the details:

Also a friendly reminder: Lots of parts, including cheap, healthy SR20DE with AT transmission is still for sale! And you can buy them without the tranny too!











That's all my updates for now, thank you for stopping by and see you soon!

This post was edited by BigSmoke (2019-02-25 15:42, ago)
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Niatross

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#154   2019-02-18 12:31          
with the amount of projects rocking Z33/G35 transmissions nowadays, im pretty confident it wont let u down my man ;)
Also one thing i dont yet have INSIDE INFO about, how much power do u plan to push?


Current owned cars:
- Toyota Supra GA-JZA70 Mk3
- BMW E46 M3
- Nissan Skyline ECR33 GTS25t
- Nissan 200SX Hatchback
- BMW E92 335i
- Nazda RX-7 FD3S Type RS
- Mazda RX-7 JF1FD (USDM)
- Nissan Silvia S14

BigSmoke

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#155   2019-02-18 12:44          
# Niatross : with the amount of projects rocking Z33/G35 transmissions nowadays, im pretty confident it wont let u down my man ;)
Also one thing i dont yet have INSIDE INFO about, how much power do u plan to push?

I'm eyeing a target of 600-750 BHP, seeing as that's how far top WTAC Clubsport and Attack Second class cars can be pushed around :D
Might be up to 800+ BHP, but not sure if I can handle that much

With their usage on even V8 cars, I'm sure the transmission would live up to the reputation. Thanks for tipping me up on those by the way! :thumbsup:
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Soju

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#156   2019-02-18 16:44          
Regardless of the big gaping hole on your wallet, the engine/tranny swap process for the S15 seems to be going really well!

Ending up with 800+ horsepowers for the S-chassis would be a killer :)

BigSmoke

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#157   2019-02-18 18:52          
# Soju : Regardless of the big gaping hole on your wallet, the engine/tranny swap process for the S15 seems to be going really well!

Ending up with 800+ horsepowers for the S-chassis would be a killer :)

I really, really hope so, since it has already costed me a lot even in the beginning state.

Not sure if 800+ is still under my hands with off-the-shelf aero parts, but I do hope it'll be a killer! :D
(And obviously not in the literal way, I still want to be alive)
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Sleepin mOnkey

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#158   2019-02-18 19:41          
the cd009 hold over 1000 depending on the usage as for the Rb congrats on the build I can fab you a header if you want but for the level you are taking your car I would go for a stroker SR because of weight and balance or you could move the engine deeper into the firewall but it would require custom mounts and firewall
Roleplay: A engine Builder and tuner that lives in Japan and Builds cool stuff.
Cars: Corolla Levin coupe Tog/show car
180SX s13 350hp SR20DET 6MT Babe 1
Supra Sz JZA80 2jz-Gte Vvt-i 2000's Hotboi
240sx Vert HOTBOI 2

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BigSmoke

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#159   2019-02-19 04:17          
# Sleepin mOnkey : the cd009 hold over 1000 depending on the usage as for the Rb congrats on the build I can fab you a header if you want but for the level you are taking your car I would go for a stroker SR because of weight and balance or you could move the engine deeper into the firewall but it would require custom mounts and firewall

Thanks man, I appreciate your offer as well! But seeing as I'm on the edge of bankruptcy, I have to save some more money. Tbh I already have an idea on what should I order from you.....but that's for much later :D

Well tbf top WTAC runners uses SR per their rules, but since Japanese TA rules are less strict I decided to go for RBs :D
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Sleepin mOnkey

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#160   2019-02-19 04:31          
ok as i said feel free to hmu

but the engine my advice wasn't because of regulations actually im giving my engineer POV. Sr is way lighter and smaller which leads to a better balance and less inertia but on the other side with the Rb, you get the smoothness of the i6 layout and on the s15 which is not as big of a chassis it's also harder to counter the extra weight for an example the s14 wich is only slightly fatter and with a longer wheel but because of the engine bay that's bigger and part of the design its easier to balance the weight BTW that's the next step on the S14 build get the balance to that sweet 50/50
Roleplay: A engine Builder and tuner that lives in Japan and Builds cool stuff.
Cars: Corolla Levin coupe Tog/show car
180SX s13 350hp SR20DET 6MT Babe 1
Supra Sz JZA80 2jz-Gte Vvt-i 2000's Hotboi
240sx Vert HOTBOI 2

CLICCC...