I’ve made it widely known that one of my favorite aspects of Formula Drift is that fact that the competing cars don’t have power limits imposed on them. Instead, FD try their best to even out the playing field by limiting the amount of grip available through tire width restrictions based on car weight.
Of course, the teams overcome the limited amount of grip by using different tire compounds, utilising aero, suspension tuning and of course flat-out power for insane wheel speed. That said, I wanted to showcase a range of power plants from the 2015 Formula Drift field…
Rockstar Energy Volkswagen Passat
Engine: GM LS7 450ci
Pistons: Mahle 13.6:1
Rods: Callies
Crankshaft: Callies
Cylinder Heads: LS7
Camshaft: Stage 3 LS
Valves: titanium intake, stainless steel exhaust
Induction: 102mm throttle body
Engine Management: AEM Infinity
Other: nitrous
Horsepower: 900hp
Ever since the announcement of Tanner’s partial return to Formula Drift, people were wondering what engine would end up in the VW Passat. The Papadakis Racing team are not new to turning a front-wheel drive chassis into a competitive pro-spec drift car, so they went for a motor that would suit their power and reliability needs and found it a GM LS7. I can definitely see Volkswagen stepping up their involvement in terms of a engine package if Tanner makes a full-time return to Formula Drift, but until then I am just happy to see him back on the grid for a few rounds.
Achilles Radial Nissan R35 GT-R
Engine: Nissan VR38DETT
Pistons: JE forged
Crankshaft: Brian Crower
Induction: 2x HKS GT1000 GTII 7867, 2x HKS GT II 50mm external wastegates, custom screamer chimney pipes
Engine Management: HKS F-CON V Pro
Other: custom stainless steel exhaust manifolds Weldon fuel pump, Turbosmart FPR2000 fuel pressure regulator, HKS intake plenum, ATI/Titan crank damper
Horsepower: 1000hp
Daigo Saito returns this year with an out-of-this-world build. We took a quick look at this build the last time I was in Japan, and Dino and I were blown away.
The engineering that went into getting this project together is next-level. Although Daigo has been having some teething problems with the R35 GTR, that’s to be expected in the first year with an unproven chassis.
Achilles Radial Infiniti G37
Engine: Nissan VQ35DE (4.07L)
Pistons: JE forged 10.5:1
Rods: BC Pro with 925+ bolts
Crankshaft: BC stroker
Cylinder Heads: Mazworx custom
Camshaft: BC 272-degree
Valves: BC oversized
Induction: Turbo By Garrett GTX4294R, DW2200 injectors
Engine Management: AEM Infinity 8
Horsepower: 1000hp+
It was about time for Robbie Nishida to campaign an all-new car, although it’s unfortunate that the team did not have a chance to get it all together before the start of the season. Robbie did not qualify in Atlanta due to mechanical issues.
Get Nuts Lab Nissan Silvia S15
Engine: Insane Power/Pineapple Tune Built Toyota 2JZ-GTE (3.4-liter)
Pistons: CP 10:1
Rods: Brian Crower
Crankshaft: Brian Crower 94mm
Cylinder Heads: OEM ported
Camshaft: Brian Crower 272-degree
Valves: Brian Crower 1mm oversized
Induction: Turbo By Garrett GTX4294
Engine Management: AEM S2
Other: OCD Works billet valve covers
Horsepower: 1020whp
Probably the cleanest engine bay in Formula Drift also has the power to back up its looks. Forrest Wang has become the best qualifying driver, and he puts on a hell of a show every time he goes out on track.
Maximum Attack Infiniti G37
Engine: Nissan VR38DETT (4.0-liter)
Pistons: CP forged
Rods: Carrillo
Crankshaft: GReddy billet stroker
Cylinder Heads: custom ported & polished
Camshaft: Kelford
Valves: Supertech
Induction: 2x Turbo By Garrett GTX3076
Engine Management: MoTeC M150
Other: GReddy intercooler, intake manifold, throttle Bodies & fuel Rail
Horsepower: 800whp
While most teams in the FD paddock have progressed from a four or six cylinder to a V8, Charles Ng has down the exact opposite.
Last year he returned to Formula Drift running a supercharged LS motor in his Infiniti G37, but it didn’t suit his driving style. There was also reliability issues, so Charles started over with a new engine build team working on a fresh new platform.
With a GReddy-built GT-R VR38DETT-based stroker motor now consuming the bay, Charles is back in shape and finished in 6th place at Road Atlanta.
Briggs Nissan S14
Engine: Mazworx Nissan SR20DET (2.4L)
Pistons: CP forged 10.5:1
Rods: Carrillo
Crankshaft: Mazworx stroker
Cylinder Heads: Mazworx CNC-ported NEO-VVL
Camshaft: Kelford VVL Killer
Valves: Supertech
Induction: Turbo By Garrett GTX3582R
Engine Management: MoTeC M84
Other: AV Fabrication wiring harness, Darton sleeves, AV Fabrication exhaust
Horsepower: 900whp
There are only two four cylinder engined cars left competing in Formula Drift, and Dave Briggs has one of them. He also had a bad encounter with a V8, which was the catalyst for switching back to what he knows best.
Feal Suspension Hyundai Genesis Coupe
Engine: CBM GM LS7 440ci
Pistons: Manley
Rods: Callies
Crankshaft: Callies
Cylinder Heads: CBM Motorsports
Camshaft: CBM Motorsports
Valves: Manley
Induction: GM LS7 intake manifold
Engine Management: Holley HP EFI
Horsepower: 750whp
Aurimas ‘Odi’ Bakchis is one of the few drivers campaigning two different cars this season, but he’s doing it by choice. It seems like he is out for blood in 2015 and is currently leading the championship race.
HGK BMW 3 Series
Engine: MAST GM RHS aluminium 466ci V8
Pistons: Diamond 2618 Alloy 13:1
Rods: Callies Compstar
Crankshaft: Callies Magnum
Cylinder Heads: Mast LS7 305
Camshaft: Mast custom
Valves: titanium
Induction: Hilborn ITBs
Engine Management: MoTeC M84
Horsepower: 830hp
I know that a lot of guys out there hate V8 swaps, but I have to say – I love this car and think the powerplant suits it perfectly. I am looking forward to seeing the BMW – as driven by Kristaps Blušs – on the grid for the rest of the season.
Retaks Scion FR-S
Engine: Ryan Tuerck Racing Toyota 2JZ-GTE
Pistons: Brian Crower/CP forged
Rods: Brian Crower
Crankshaft: Brian Crower
Cylinder Heads: ported 2JZ VVTi
Camshaft: Brian Crower 264-degree
Valves: Supertech
Induction: Turbo By Garrett GTX4088R
Engine Management: MoTeC M150 tuned by John Reed Racing
Other: Engine & assembly by Vigilant Motorsports, Nameless Performance header, anti-lag
Horsepower: 850hp
Many people think that Formula Drift is dominated by GM LS motors these days, but what they don’t realize is that there are just as many 2JZ-powered cars in the paddock. After all, this is the engine that started the ‘horsepower wars’.
Turn 14 Subaru BRZ
Engine: RHS GM LS 454ci
Pistons: JE forged asymmetrical skirt 10:1
Rods: Carrillo
Crankshaft: Callies
Cylinder Heads: All Pro
Camshaft: Erson
Valves: All Pro
Induction: 2x Turbo By Garrett GTX50R
Engine Management: MoTeC M800
Horsepower: 1000hp
Daijiro Yoshihara is one of the most successful drivers in the Formula Drift paddock, but he just has not been able to cut a break in recent years. I think quite a lot of it has had to do with the V8 in the BRZ platform, which of course took a few years for the guys at RS*R to perfect for Fredric Aasbø’s Formula Drift Asia car.
Monster Energy Ford Mustang RTR
Engine: Roush-Yates DLM Ford 410ci V8
Crankshaft: Bryant
Pistons: Roush Yates/JE forged
Camshaft: Roush Yates DLM/Comp Cams
Cylinder Heads: Roush Yates D3/Ford Racing
Induction: Kinsler EFI, custom K&N filter assembly
Engine Management: MoTeC/Bosch components
Horsepower: 840hp
Ian at ASD Motorsports builds and manages Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s Formula Drift Mustang RTR, and he is definitely more in favor of rock-solid reliability over four-digit horsepower figures.
Of course, at the end of the day it’s how you put down the power that matters, and Vaughn’s team has spent many years developing the Mustang’s solid rear axle.
GReddy Scion FR-S
Engine: Toyota 2JZ-GTE (3.4L)
Pistons: GReddy-spec CP forged
Rods: Carrillo
Crankshaft: BC stroker
Cylinder Heads: PortFlow Design
Valves: Supertech
Induction: Turbo By Garrett GTX4088, GReddy Intake Manifold
Engine Management: MoTeC
Other: NX Nitrous system
Horsepower: 850hp
It took a few years, but Ken Gushi is back on the podium this year with this very developed Scion FR-S drift car, of course powered by a 2JZ. Will he make a run for the championship?
Stoneback Nissan S14
Engine: RHS GM LSX 427ci
Pistons: CP forged
Rods: Manley
Crankshaft: Competition Engine Services
Cylinder Heads: All Pro LSX
Camshaft: Competition Engine Service
Engine Management: MoTeC
Horsepower: 650whp
2014 Rookie of the Year Geoff Stoneback is back in action, and was in great form over the weekend at Formula Drift Atlanta.
I think he has probably the lowest-power car the grid, although it doesn’t really seem to really matter as he is running with the best of them.
NOS Energy Nissan 370Z
Engine: Nissan VK56
Pistons: JE forged
Crankshaft: Bryant Racing
Induction: custom ITBs, AEM filtration, NOS nitrous system
Engine Management: MoTec
Horsepower: 1000hp (estimated)
Chris Forsberg is one of the few Formula Drift drivers who hasn’t changed his engine program from last season. If it’s not broken, why fix it, right?
Let’s not forget that he did win the 2015 championship with the engine, so it should be just fine for another year of thrashing.
Wicknick Nissan S13
Engine: Toyota 2JZ-GTE (3.1L)
Pistons: CP forged 87.5mm 10:1
Rods: Brian Crower
Crankshaft: OE
Cylinder Head: OE
Camshaft: Brian Crower 264-degree
Valves: OE
Induction: Turbo By Garrett GTX3582R
Engine Management: Driftmotion 1JZ AEM V2
Other: custom Chase Bays CM3 engine wiring harness
Horsepower: 820hp
Brandon Wicknick is running on the most shoestring of budgets this year, but he still manages to make lots of power. He has always been one of my favorite privateer drivers.
Hohnadell Nissan S14
Engine: GM LQ9 (6.2L)
Cylinder Heads: Trickflow LS1
Camshaft: Custom Insane Power
Induction: Magnuson supercharger
Engine Management: Holley EFI
Horsepower: 830whp
Alec Hohnadell is a champion motocross rider and jet skier who is trying to leave his mark in the drifting world too. He made it into the Top 16 for the first time in Atlanta.
Lucus Oil BMW Z4
Engine: Toyota 2JZ-GTE (non VVTi)
Pistons: JE forged 9.5:1
Rods: Crower Cams & Equipment Co Inc.
Crankshaft: Duttweiler Performance
Cylinder Heads: Duttweiler Racing port/polish
Camshaft: Crower Cams & Equipment Co Inc.
Valves: Crower Cams & Equipment Co Inc.
Induction: Turbo By Garrett GTX3582R
Engine Management: MoTeC
Other: Doc Race intake & exhaust manifold, OCD Works billet valve cover, GReddy intercooler
Horsepower: 800hp+
Joon Maeng has been around the FD paddock for years, and he decided to do something completely different this season having campaigned a V8-powered S-chassis for the past few years. I’ve always liked the BMW Z4, so it will be interesting to see how far he can go with this setup.
Rockstar Energy/Hankook Tire Scion tC
Engine: Scion/Toyota 2AR-FE (2.7L)
Pistons: JE forged 10.5:1
Rods: Carrillo
Crankshaft: Scat
Cylinder Head: Port Flow ported
Camshafts: OE regrind
Valves: Supertech
Induction: BorgWarner EFR8374
Engine Management: AEM Infinity
Other: direct port nitrous
Horsepower: 1000hp
In terms of an engineering feat, I think Stephan Papadakis has really gone above and beyond with the setup in Fredric Aasbø’s car. The fact that Papadakis Racing can make a motor that originally came out of a minivan output four-digit power figures is just amazing to me.
CX Racing Nissan S14
Engine: GM LQ9 block
Pistons: Wiseco forged
Rods: Callies Ultra
Crankshaft: Callies Dragon Slayer
Cylinder Heads: Trick Flow LS3 255
Camshaft: custom
Valves: Supertech
Induction: Vortech YSI supercharger with billet impeller wheel
Other: Tuned by Blacktrax Performance, 175hp nitrous shot
Horsepower: 1050whp
When Matt Field finishes a run, don’t expect to see the track for a few minutes. The cloud of smoke he never fails to leave is always so thick you can taste it.
GT Radial Mazda RX-8
Engine: Mazda 20B three-rotor
Induction: Turbonetics GTK750
Engine Management: Haltech Elite
Other: Mazdatrix/KMR porting & studding
Horsepower: 1000whp+ (estimated)
Kyle Mohan has always run rotary motors in his Formula Drift cars. Even though he has gone V8 for his Chinese drift car, you definitely won’t find one of those in his main competition car.
Chelsea Denofa BMW 3 Series
Engine: BMW M52
Pistons: CP forged
Rods: Eagle
Crankshaft BMW S52
Cylinder Heads: OE
Camshaft: BMW S52
Valves : Ferrea
Induction: Turbo By Garrett GTX3582R
Engine Management: OE tuned by RKTUNES
Other: nitrous
Horsepower: 777hp
Chelsea Denofa is the only one on the grid brave enough to run a BMW motor. The engine grenaded itself at Formula Drift Atlanta, so he actually had to borrow a car for the event.
Dean Kearney Dodge SRT Viper
Engine: Mopar
Pistons: CP forged 10:1
Rods: Carrillo H-beam
Crankshaft: RSI modified
Cylinder Heads: flowed, Crower assembly
Induction: Novi 2500 supercharger
Engine Management: AEM Infinity
Other: ARP fasteners, Moroso oil pan, Auto Verdi oil pump, nitrous
Horsepower: 1100hp
Dean Kearney probably has one of the most powerful drift cars on the grid. That might explain why he sheared off his lug bolts on the start line at Long Beach.
Coffman Nissan S13
Engine: Dart Machinery small block Ford 410ci
Pistons: JE forged
Rods: Pankl
Crankshaft: Bryant
Cylinder Heads: Roush-Yates D3
Camshaft: Rodgers Racing custom
Valves: Del West
Induction: Kinsler ITBs & ASNU 90/1,050cc injectors
Engine Management: MoTeC M150 tuned by John Reed Racing
Horsepower: 840hp+
I’ve said it before and I will say it again – Matt Coffman drives the most developed S13 in drift car in the world.
Enjuku Racing Nissan S13
Engine: GM LS2 402ci
Pistons: Wiseco forged
Rods: Callies Comp Star
Crankshaft: Callies Comp Star
Cylinder Heads: GM Performance L92
Camshaft: custom Comp Cam
Valves: Manley
Induction: Turbo By Garrett GTX4502
Engine Management: Holley EFI
Other: Dailey engineering dry sump
Horsepower: 850whp
Nate Hamilton is another one of those privateers that really brings his personal style to drifting. I love that he has that skateboarder persona, as well as being a dedicated gearhead.
Gold In The Net Toyota JZX100 Chaser
Engine: Toyota 1.5JZ
Pistons: CP forged
Rods: Brian Crower HD Series
Crankshaft: OE
Cylinder Heads: 1JZ
Camshaft: Brian Crower 264-degree
Valves: Brian Crower stainless steel
Induction: Turbo By Garrett GTX4088R
Engine Management: ECU Master USA
Other: Nuke Performance fuel rail, FPR, surge tank & fuel filters, Deatschwerks 1000cc injectors & 4x DW300 fuel pumps, chassis & engine wired by Wiring Specialties
Horsepower: 850whp
While it’s awesome to see sportscars and coupes being turned into pro-spec drift cars, I still think it’s great to see big four-door sedans. There is something so right about seeing a grocery-getter pitched sideways.
Red Bull Mazda MX-5
Engine: PPRE Mazda 26B four-rotor
Housings/Plates: PPRE-modified Mazda OE
Rotors: PPRE-modified Mazda OE rotors,
Apex Seals: Mazda OE 3mm
Eccentric Shaft: PPRE 3-piece
Induction: 2x custom Garrett GTX40, 4x Turbosmart Mad Mike Signature Line Comp-Gate 40 wastegates, Plazmaman throttle body
Engine Management:Haltech Platinum Series Sport 2000
Other: M&W Ignitions CDIs, WB2 Wideband Controller, CAN Hub modules, Racepak SmartWire solid state power module
Power: 1032hp (low boost)
It makes me wonder, if Mad Mike’s RADBUL MX-5 makes 1032hp on low boost, what kind of power could the twin turbo four-rotor 26B make on high boost?
Larry Chen
Instagram: larry_chen_foto
larry@speedhunters.com
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
Mats Baribeau is currently in a JZX90. I don't think he is debuting his JZX100 until Wall, NJ.
Larry I think you meant Geoff Stoneback?
I don't want to sound harsh, but I think Formula D has become boring. Now 1000hp cars sideways inches from each other is something to behold, but now gone are the days of the 200hp AE86 slaying a 450hp Silvia in a underdog battle. Now that you need an absolute fortune to run (let alone build) a competitive drift car, it's just become a massive ego trip for companies.
Now yes I can hear everyone saying that these cars are hard to drive and skills akin to a god are needed, but wouldn't you rather see smaller technical tracks with slow corners with cars that could actually battle hard door to door with each other, not just power away because your car makes 250hp more than somebody who has 750hp.
I can't see lower tree drifting comps lasting very much longer, it discourages people into believing that the sport is over sponsored and waaaaay to hard to get into.
Limit power to say 600hp, bring back nice tight more than 3 corner tracks and let the skills sort the men from the boys. Besides who can use 1000hp in the wet anyway?
Is it just me or are the vast majority of these liveries really really ugly?
This sport gives a lot of freedom to the teams to create different engine builds, and I absolouteley love that. Some people say "1000 horse power is ridiculous, 600 are enough" but I think that if the driver want a 600hp car, he can have it, and if other drives better with 1000 hp car, he also can have it. Look at Bakchis, he won in Atlanta with a 620hp S14. I think that it's bad to force the teams to limitate the power of the engines, because that stops the development and that kills a bit the sport. What's the best age of rallying or Formula one? The 80's. Why? Because the engeneers had freedom to develop wild cars, the Group B cars for example. Yes, I know, all of this cost a lot of money, but this is Formula D, and this is drifting at it's top level. There are a lot of amateur events and championships that are more affordable if you want to drift and you don't have a big budget. To that people who say " I don't want V8's, I want a SR20 with 450hp in Formula Drift", well, you can have it, but it wont be very competitive. The development on this machines is growing year after year, and that is very good, so please, don't kill it, the diversity of creations in Formula Drift, this is a sport to watch skilled drivers and amazing cars, if we only want to see skilled drivers, we must see Formula 1 or Nascar, all cars are the same, and that's a bit boring. (Sorry for my bad english, I'm from Spain)
Yes Briggs
Mad Mike's RadBul wins. It's capable of 1500hp on high boost.
Cheque books will always win, but it is a hell of a lot of fun when us smaller teams knock some of the big spenders off their thrones, we still do it for the fun (Team DSR in D1NZ), getting a re-run against Mike was a buzz for our team a season ago, our man went through (The mad one had a mechanical drama on the last battle) This year we are 8th in pro, and 4th in pro-am, Last round this weekend, fingers and toes are crossed, entry speeds expected to be 200km plus. Pity Mike is not here for it, always a crowd pleaser. Give our team a like on facebook, our last round is being livestreamed so look it up. Cheers
DonHoonigan Odi Bakchis S14 has closer to 750hp this year if I'm not mistaken. "The development on this machines is growing year after year, and that is very good" That's subjective, personally I think Pro drift cars have just gone downhill since 04/05, but it's all opinionated. Some people like big hp v8s in monster truck 240sx's, and some people like 200hp 4age's in low, style oriented corollas. Different strokes for different folks, and luckily there's a good amount of events/series devoted to keeping the traditional j style alive.
NYporkdept I'd say 75% of these liveries are pretty bad.
Couple of small corrections, Dai's BRZ is single turbo not twin, and the JZX90 is 1.5 JZ (2J block, 1J head) not 1JZ
@ DonHoonigan, I totally agree with everything you said!! FD today is where F1 and Rally were in the 80s, and I hope the realise that and don't let it slip away in the form of regulations and continuous rule changes.
To those who want low HP, small track drifting, fly at it!!! But don't shit on those who are bored of that and want to push the boundaries. This is FD, not a bloody missile comp! I'll never drive a F1 or LMP1 car...but would I ever wish to see rules made to "slow them down and make it more attainable for the average person..." Hell no! If I want to race, I'll go by a Miata, hit up my local track, and by happy.
What I think FD does need to do is run a sister series to Pro1 and Pro2...call it Street1 and Street2 or something...basically mimic what D1GP does with D1SL. Limited budgets and builds, lower speed, technical drifting...but still gets recognized on a national and international level (as opposed to your local comp that no one's ever heard of).
Chelsea Denofa running such a basic setup, stock management, stock intake, stock crank, stock cams lol. When are people gonna make parts for the m52, the aftermarket is soo dead for it. But still hanging with the best of the best.
Love me some FR/BR with big power underhood. Dig the Rocketbunny/flare kits on these cars too especially when a nice wheel/tire package is tucked up into the wheel wells and smoke is billowing out from apex to apex....but dear god that Retaks car....is ugly as sin:
"don't blame on the sunshine, don't blame it on the moonlight, don't blame it on the good times, blame it on the
WISEFAB......"
should get extra points if you use the original engine for the chassis or same engine and car make.
or even have a v8 class and a cool class or something.....V8 everything is boring as.
All these people that complain that the horsepower wars have gone too far, have you actually seen early 2000's compeditive drifting? It was boring compared to the speed and aggressive style that Formula Drift is all about. Low power, all style drifting has a place and so does balls to the wall limiter bashing insanity. There's a reason FD style is the one that's on tv and that's because it's what people want to see. Leave style cats to grassroots events and the streets where they really belong in my opinion.
Double the power of factory GT3 race cars, the tuning world is nuts. And a big achievement of the after market world that it allows "shed build cars" reach those quadruple digit outputs. (Shed build in contrast to 8 digit factory teams ofc)
One question for the nerds, is their any kind of convention one when to call products (camshafts, turbokits) "Stage 1", "Stage 2" and so on?
AlexLobanov "OE Tuned by RKTUNES", no wonder he grenaded an engine. The Scandinavian Tuning Scene clearly shows that BMW engines can produce power outputs not shy of the japanese true-breds.
Still hope VW spends an engine or two for Tanner's efforts. The new Porsche V6TT or the Bentley GT3 4L V8TT should hypothetically be capable of reaching those numbers without breaking a sweat.
Acc I think the difference between stage 1 and 2 is external engine upgrades and internal ones...
But it turns out it's more complicated.
https://www.torquecars.com/tuning/tuning-stages.php
I personally dislike to see so many cars running american v8s. They should be force to run with a engine of the same manufacture of the car you are racing that promotes development and makes for a intresting OEM engine War.
And shame on the Greddy Scion FRS.
Its a Sponsor Greddy Car that is running with Carrillo Rods a Stroke Crankshaft from BC, Valves from Supertech a Garrett Turbo, Only a GReddy Intake Manifold and Engine Management from MoTeC. When they made all those parts.
So why I as a customer would buy Greddy parts if they themselves don't use them in they're sponsor car.?
that's like coca cola giving you pepsi and prending that you go and buy coca cola.
Get Nuts Lab Nissan Silvia's S15 engine is the one which stole the show!
love this 20b..sr20det..and the first passat headers is villanous
hypodermic They do have a manufacturers championship which rewards points for same make chassis/powertrain combos. I think Scion has been slaying that one the past few seasons with Aasbo's tC and the 2JZ FR-S's. I know that's not exactly what you are looking for but I think that's about as close as you are going to get.
EliThanos Because Greddy don't make those parts. Same as it doesn't run Greddy tyres, Greddy fuel, etc etc. To be honest 90% of Japanese branded engine internals have always been made in the UK or USA anyhow.
Gone are the days where drift cars used to be dominated by 100+HP inline 4 engines.
Am I the only one who wants the evo's back from D1GP?
Thank you, Mr. Chen, for the new desktop backgrounds. Pretty sure my computer just picked up a few horsepower.
The MX5 is insane, how much does it weights?
When was drift ever dominated by extremely low powered cars? Go watch some Option Video of guys drifting the docks in Osaka back in the 90s, most of them had at least 300hp.
SH had an article about Chunky Bai's new RPS13 he uses in D1 a few months back. In that article, there's a video of him and Kuroi from way back in the day....I don't remember which is which, but one is pushing 400hp, the other over 600. And these guys are about as original and old school as it gets.
If you get rid of the V8s, it will be dominated by 2JZ. Should they make a 2JZ class?
Get rid of 2JZ, V6s or RB would dominate. Should make a seperate class for them too.
Get rid of them, you have nothing but 4 bangers left. They would of course need their own class
Smh
Ya did you actually check that all those parts you listed are offered by Greddy? How can you use Greddy cranks if Greddy doesn't make cranks for that motor?
I find it amusing how many people are familiar with names like Greddy and HKS (probably from a magazine or video game), but yet are so unfamiliar with how the company actually functions....and then are super quick to "call them out" when something doesn't live up to their fanboy expectations
welcome to competitive world. TONS of companies have done this, we only know about FD cars because tuner culture and brand masturbation. hey! even cyclist racing teams do this, often with wheelsets and sometimes other parts.
Daijiro Yoshihara's engine bay is just pure automotive - porn
Acc only know that the stage stuff is used on the ca18det as well as on the SR20DET... stage one i.e. means a ECU upgrade that leads to the need of changing other parts aswell such as a free flow exhaust+air filter and so on.
silveradotx lol, good one!
JoshuaWhitcombe Weird, I just posted what dudes sent me. I will fix it.
MikeHawkins That kind of stuff is happening every round in Formula Drift as well. Top 32 knocking out number 1 qualifier.
Larry, you should do more of these throughout the season! You got into 15-20 bays, see if you can do the whole field by the time Irwindale comes around. I'd love to see the inside of Taka Aono's bay, or Matt Field, or Dan Savage....
Acc AlexLobanov OE engine management propelled an e36 to a 8.9 second 1/4 mile, and people are running 500whp+ for years reliably on it. Im just hoping that we get more cam options, since the current ones have crazy bmw tax and no proven gains lol. RK tunes is actually a few minutes from where I live, they aint all that bad.
I'm still a bit boggled how the Passat is in formula D, aren't there restrictions on firewalls and the the driveshaft tunnel? It feels like it's closer to a NASCAR than a Passat.
most FD cars have extensively modified firewalls, even the silvias run with the engine backed inside a few centimeters. with V8's it's mandatory, the clutch bellhousing just wont fit. tranny tunnels are there because of the same reasons. aftermarket gearboxes, raised diff/solid axle conversion...
in a way, most of the high end cars are closer to silhouette racers than anything.
alexcheetah I am pretty sure the Passat came in AWD.
still requires extensive firewall mods.
homerunman Taka is not running anymore, but last years engine post has it.
Matt field was included in this list, It's the CX racing S14.
I tried including everyone, but of course I missed a few.
crispykrem3 NYporkdept It just goes to show how hard it is to design a good livery.
Very very little....
I highly recommend watching the build videos/reading the SH blog
Ryan teurck running an anti lag system......... Pointless just #neverlift
N O I S E
It did for VR6 model only U0001f44dU0001f3fc
It did, VR6 only in US. Not sure about overseas though.
AlexLobanov Acc
The m50 and m52 head perform more than good enough with and m50 intake cam on the exhaust side, without vanos. As for the m52 mentioned it got vanos, and with a proper tune there is no need for other cam profiles IMO. that beeing said there are cams out there.
Larry Chen crispykrem3 NYporkdept Very true. Plus a lot of the (imo) good looking liveries (early d1 stuff) doesn't show off the sponsorships very well, so it's understandable why things look so different now.
Interesting to see...quite some wild plumbing there.
Chris 'Haffy' Hafner I'll disagree with you and many others. Because I have the old D1 vids,
right here on my hard drive, and I still watch them. Yeah its cool to see cheap cars
sliding on shoestring budgets and mad skillz, but honestly thats just
any local AA drift series. You don't remember how only maybe 4 or 5
drivers were really the ones battling. 2/3rds of the top 16 through top 8
couldn't even stay on track. The Go-Kart tracks....that could hold
maybe 3000 fans. The worry from the organizers if there would even be a series the next year.
Seriously, you guys are a broken record with
your false 2001-2003 fantasies. It was mind-blowing then because to us
we'd never seen anything like it. But it was hardly competitive! D1
didn't get really competitive until 2004 when the top 10 teams were all
pushing 500-600hp and there were any of 12 guys you could see at the
top.
I loved D1 until the corruption ruined it, not the horsepower wars. I always wished they didn't try to restrict the coverage of their own sport. The skills only got better ans the machinery got refined. But hey, your whole "drifting was only cool when the rest of you weren't into it" is just the hipster coming out. And it makes you "that guy".
haha i like how they say mike's car is 1032 on low boost! TURN IT UP!!!!! LET THAT MIATA SCREAM THE SOUNDS OF ITS PEOPLE!
Twitch_6 at the time Bai and kuroi were in team signal, kuroi was over 750hp
If it's boring with all the LS and 1, 2 JZ, the Mazda Rotas are like a breath of fresh air. Mad mikes mighty Miata build, and Kyles 20B are the class acts amongst the horde of v8s. Agree that it's great to have diversity, much like the great days of group c sports cars, when you'd have the best factory efforts from Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes, jaguar, Porsche, Aston Martin and Mazda, all challenging with a different technology. So that translated to 4 cylinder turbo, 6 cylinder turbos, v12' v8 and 4 rotor Mazdas. The infamous mulsanne straight was the best place to witness the roar of these cars, and none where more impressive than the 4 rotor!
Mad mikes effort is a tremendous chievement, and the ppre boys in wanganui deserve respect for building a world class rota. Kudos toted bull and Mazda for assisting mad Mike, and it's time that Mazda rolls out another rotary or two. Think rx3, rx4 rx7....
Being the central sculpture at goodwood would be the ideal time ..... And there wouldn't be a better person than mad Mike to introduce it!
@unknown
Which people? The Japanese or the Germans?
777 Twitch_6 Well put, but I certainly see where Louis is coming from. It does seem like drifting has evolved (or de-evolved) from graceful displays of vehicle control...to smoke shows.
Hate to say it, but it's become as sensationalized and over-the-top as Monster Truck racing was in the eighties and early nineties.
Frankly, I'm just waiting for there to be a car eating, fire-snorting DRIFT-ROBOSAURUS at the events.
It's just a matter of time.
koko san RE: Rockstar Passat
Riiiight. Although, I guess it's hard to argue with 900hp.
However, it's even harder to imagine a more complicated exhaust system.
Guess someone REALLY wants to get their money's worth out of a tube bender.
Stock cams are never good enough, srsly. Just cause its a bmw doesnt make it any different from the rb26 or 2jz. All benefit from cam grinds that are specific to the application. Current options are seriously lacking. And one size fits all. If there was a real option Denofa would have them.
An RB30 Skyline took out D1NZ Championship yesterday, Turbo engine wins the season. Our cars finished well, both inside the top 10, pro -am car 13b turbo 180SX Nissan, Pro car RB30 S14 Nissan. Looking forward to next season with both Team DSR cars in pro after an off season freshen up. Sticking to the six and rota again, love the noise they make.
Twitch_6 UEO won it the d1gp in irwindale with a 240 hp corolla.. we could argue that it was 2003 and drifting was still new... but he still won the event with probably the most underpowered car in the sport!!!
http://www.superstreetonline.com/features/130-0312-custom-toyota-corolla-gts/
Larry Chen homerunman When did Taka Retire?
alexcheetah Because it came in AWD it is acceptable. They have to use the rear suspension pickup points of the AWD, which they do. Also, the firewall and driveshaft tunnel have not been modified.
Acc "Stage xx" is advertising. Companies make multiple levels of a product and label it in stages. This lets the average guy who doesn't really know what's in his car say "I've got a stage 3 clutch" instead of saying "I've got a 2500lbs pressure plate with an unsprung 6 puck disk."
I can't stand the "stage xx" nomenclature. The only one I use is "Stage 0" meaning bringing a car back up to stock level.
Brentonmartian You're saying drifting belongs on the streets?
AlexLobanov People are still doing so much with the M50/M52 architecture. Even if the peak HP levels aren't as big as the 2J/LS/VG et cetera engines doesn't mean they make less power. The M5x architecture makes better power under the curve.
Acc AlexLobanov What's wrong with RK Tunes on OEM engine management?
buzzboy Brentonmartian I'm saying it belongs where ever the drivers want to take it. I did actually moreso mean grassroots events, Friday night drifts at the local track etc. but sure, I guess I would include street drifting in there. FD is about the spectacle, it's about smoke and noise. The same as all other televised motorsports. Low power drifting is essentially equivalent to low budget drifting these days (in my opinion anyways) and the appeal of that is going to be doing it more than watching it on TV. There's always going to be die hard fans who love watching touge runs (myself included) but that's accessible through mediums other than television. Televised drifting should appeal to the mainstream, it should draw as much money and attention as it can because ultimately that's what's going to help the sport. Look at the progression drifting has experienced in the past number of years, I would say that you could absolutely attribute that progression to the money and attention that being a TV motor sport attracts.
Forest Wang, I mean dang, the bay is off the chain, in every way.
Including the fact, you get your own back, and do this everyday, all for love of the game.
My favorite driver, for many a reason, for every season, even with str's under the frame.
Nice pics as usual.
@Whoshot Forrest definitely brings drift style to a whole new level.
JohnJeremiahSy homerunman This is his first year not competing in FD.
@THE GRINCH I honestly don't understand where Germans got into this... Explain?
@THE GRINCH 777 Twitch_6 Fire breathing's taken care of... HAVE YOU SEEN RYAN TEURCK'S ANTI-LAG BEAUTIFULNESS!!!
Jbrady43 felix wankel? the one the rotary engine is named after? a german?
and miata? a mazda? mazda being a japanese company?
Why? this is taking the "drifting" out of it and turning it into "Formula lets-see-how-much-power-we-can-make-and-use-little-technique-to-get-sideways drift"
TheDude69 Multiple clutch kicks, heaps of handbrake action, left foot braking and inertia drifting all in one run... I'm failing to notice any lack of technique here...
TheDude69 It's definitely taken something beautiful and turned it into a classic horsepower pissing competition. I watched the latest round on YouTube the other day and couldn't see a single car in the clouds of smoke.
please inform me who the fuck clutch kicks. Who are you talking about when no one has a clutch pedal anymore all sequential.
In my opinion this is the stage that drifting should be at, high hp cars with seamless drifting transitions, no more peasant 500hp slowmobiles.
First off, excellent article. I really enjoyed the pics too.
Next time it would be really interesting to include info on transmissions and diffs! I'd love to know who uses what to put the power to the ground.