We're only a few days past the end of the '09 Formula Drift Season and already the offseason news is starting to flow in. Kenji Yamanaka, who's driven for Drift Emporium over the past couple seasons has a new ride for 2010 – sort of. He's actually going back behind the wheel of the old JIC Magic S15 that he drove from 2005-07. The car has been purchased by Bridgeway Motorsports in the SF Bay Area and is being outfitted with a GM LSx engine to match Kenji's driving style. You might remember that this same chassis was actually a time attack record holder at Buttonwillow a couple years back. Kenji's former team manager Yukio Taira is also back on board with the project.
We are looking forward to seeing how the made-over Silvia turns out, and how Kenji will be able to do in it next year.
-Mike Garrett
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that is awesome!!!!!!!
hopefully it gets a better paintjob. something similar to what he had this year would be sweet!!!!
it has your name on the sideskirt
Here we go again. One more Formula D car that is going to suck.
Why does everyone put a god damned American V8 in their Japanese car. Such bullshit.
how is it going to suck?? nothing wrong with innovation
I hear you teddy. Stop with the bastardizing of an amazing car aad build it from where it was,don't drop a POS v8 and make it hideous. Ross, seriously, this is the kind of crap that is ruining the drift scene. It's not that the US is making their own scene, they're making the drift scene look retarded.
dummest comment ever.
V8s are winners thats why they do it.
But i do preffer a car with a similar engine to the original.
how come no one has a supercharged 4 cyl?
Im with jason , V8s are for horrible American made cars...
Jesus, massive JDM bummer rage in effect!
The LSx motor is a badass motor. Dont be hating cause you're ignorant. I used to hate V8s until i rode in an RX7 with an LS1 in it and it changed my tune completely. Shit is awesomely fast and those are very well designed motors. If u dont believe me just look it up. Now they are no RB26DETT but we are all car guys and dont need to be ignorant.
Im with you guys in the fact that you shoudnt be putting V8's in every drift car cuz everyone is ending up with the same car, but with the lack of tecnical circuits some car like the hachirokus and silvias are just being beaten to death because of the torque and power diference 300hp is not enough anymore in these series with everyone running 400+ and lets face it sponsors doesnt look at the driver with the most technique this days but the ones that win. And lets face it this is not only happening in the US but in japan as well have you actually seen the decline in pros using AE86's the same problem too many tracks in which power and torque matter more than driver technique
WOW so much hate on the LS1, theyre amazing motors (and beefy T56 transmissions too!) plus they are so easy to swap in, so easy to add power, so easy to tune, and they have so much goddamn torque its just an insane LOL experience to be driving an LS1 swapped rwd import at WOT, trust me. its so sad how stubborn and closed-minded some people are. and the LS1 is ALL METRIC nuts n bolts too.
LSx is a great motor, but i will agree that it is getting boring to see them in so many cars these days. I mean, it makes sense to do, but if drifting is about showmanship, why would you want to be a follower?
My next drift car build (after the lotus 7 gets a 2rz swap) will hopefully be a 4BT...cant argue with the torque of a diesel.
Why the LS crap engine when they could put a VK56 in it. That engine actualy wins championships!
To all the V8 haters : you just can't argue with results. And V8s GET those results. You know, WINS?
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It's not about "bastardizing" anything, it's just smart to emulate winners. And sorry to say, but most winners have gone over to V8s. I wonder why?.....
While I agree that having all the cars be the same isn't cool (that's why I don't watch Formula 1, after all), I think it's great that people are putting solid, powerful engines, like the american V8s into their cars. You just can't argue with an engine that can produce those kind of horsepower and torque figures.
After all, there is a difference between everyone being the same because of rule restrictions and everyone being the same because that's the best way to go.
the whole drifting scene is getting lame ..yuu have a toyota with a nascar v8 engine in it. basically a tube chassis car....what are the ecact rules for formula drift or d1 anyway i dont mind the v8 but sooner or later it is gonna be all 240sx with ls transplants...why dont they make the cars drift with the engines that came in them.....and if it is fwd it has to stay fwd....
The V8 engine swap is why D1GP > Formula D, hardcore. The way they score it compared to D1 means that a V8 can do better..... To me, FD seems more about the show than the technique, which is why all of my favorite drift cars are D1, and the drivers have light-years' worth more respect from me than FD drivers. You don't need massive amounts of power to drift, unless you're incapable of facilitating a proper drift on your own.
I really hope that this car does not suck when it comes to 2010. It's already done really well as it is. Look at the lap time that Tyler McQuarrie did at Buttonwillow with it and it's SR 1:48.766. Really this car just needs a great talented driver. Granted that Formula Drift and D1 Grand Prix have gone for more speed tracks. Chosing thse tracks means less powered cars are at a disadvantage. Dropping big power in small cars has been a winning design. Look at the original Shelby Cobras. Big motor in a small car. The LSx from GM is great, but I suggest if you're going to do a V8 get one from Ford. The LS swap has been done to death. Or how bout getting a VQ37. This car is already great, hopefully they'll have removeable LSx mounts so then it can be restored with an SR when it's retired. Best luck to Kenji for 2010. And please, please don't have anything sticking out through the hood. That just looked bad, it took away the already clean lines of the Silvia S15.
I never said an LS1 or LSX isn't a great motor.
I said it's bullshit that it's going into cars like this one. Once this motor gets put into the car, it's ruined. Just one more car on the shit list. Sure, it will probably get great results, but to me, that is irrelevant. Drifting should be about cool cars. It's a show, a spectacle.
I don't even understand the point of dropping in this engine when the car already has a 2.2L SR that put down some amazing results in previous seasons. Wonder why? Probably because it works!
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
hey Teddy they probably did it for many reasons but one being the :LSX motor can better handle the abuse fo drifint compared to their strung out 2.2L SR. thats a venerable motor but at some point its just too costly and time consuming to maintain at these awesome power numbers... if the LSX is allowed you'd be selling yourself short NOT to swap it in. honestly if the LSX was from Mazda, Honda Nissan or Toyota then so many more of you JDM fanbois would love it... stop being so stupid, its an amazing motor especialyl considering how easy it is for the everyday guy to afford the swaps too..
Hey guys, I'm the team manager for this team and I wanted to clarify a few things. There are more than one reason why we are going on a LS platform than a SR20 or RB26 or VQ35/37. Couple of them is for business and that will be revealed shortly. But the main reason why we have to use this platform is maintenance, reliability, and performance. Like many have already stated, we have to keep up with the pack and the pack has tons of torque and power. Back when we campaigned the original Hankook / JIC Cars, the SR20 with 430whp was fine. But skip 2 years forward and much as changed. And NO, Kenji won't have an intake sticking out from his hood. We will build a clean, functional, and purpose-built cars. When the project is near completion in December and we reveal why we have chosen this motor platform, then it will make sense. Thanks.
Interesting... Kenji always has the best LOOKING cars.
I just find it unacceptable that everyone is choosing this engine to run in their cars (or a V8 platform rather). Soon, every FD driver will have one, and that point you might as well call the series Nascar because that is essentially what it will become.
There used to be a time when I thought Formula D was cool and had the cool cars to back it up. That has changed dramatically over the last few years. Such a shame.
Wow. When did that car get back from AU? Used to work at JIC. The suspension setup was crazy. Too bad the car left with out most of it.
People put V8's in for torque and reliability not to mention they make a shit load of power stock.You have no turbo lag which tubos are gay and shitty anyway.