There’s always something exciting about the coming of April and the start of a new Formula Drift season with the traditional Streets of Long Beach opener.
For many, the thing that makes the first Formula Drift event so interesting is the debut of all the new vehicles. You can say what you like about the state of pro drifting, but there are few motorsports that bring such a diverse group of machines to the grid each year.
And every time one of these new drift cars makes its debut, vocal fans of the sport will cast their opinions about its looks, its technical specifications and its overall philosophy. It’s something we saw first-hand earlier this week when Tanner Foust unveiled the new Volkswagen Passat drift car he’ll drive at select events this season. Being a front-wheel drive sedan converted to rear-wheel drive and packing a high-powered V8 engine, Tanner’s VW is as far from your traditional drift machine as it gets, and the strong reaction to our story on the car reflected this.
To me it’s all part of the craziness that is modern professional drifting. Some people love the idea of Tanner dropping smoke clouds in a VW family sedan while others thing it’s absolutely sacrilegious to the roots of the sport. I really don’t think there’s another motorsport that brings such polarized opinions about its cars. And as someone whose been watching pro drifting evolve over the last decade, I can understand both sides of the debate that seems to pop-up with the coming of every new FD season.
On one hand, drifting is, by its nature, a nontraditional motorsport, so it’s fitting for competitors to keep pushing the limits with cars that slide longer and drift faster than before. As drivers and builders to continue to crank out crazier machines, it’s only expected that these cars will end up quite far removed from the simple vehicles drifting’s foundations were built on.
On the other hand, if you grew up with an image of drifting as a sport dominated by underpowered naturally aspirated AE86s and Nissan Silvias making turbo noises, then I can certainly see how you might lament the way the professional drifting continues to move further and further away from its roots.
Fortunately for those people, there still exists a small group of cars that fall in line with what many purists would consider true to the origins of drifting, and one of them debuted in Long Beach this week. That machine just happens to be piloted by fan favorite Forrest Wang, who some might consider an underdog when it comes to the current crop of Formula D personalities.
Tradition RulesUnderdog or not, Forrest can always be counted on to bring something fresh to the Formula Drift grid, and these days ‘fresh’ actually means rolling out a car that stays true to the underground origins of the sport, while at the same time being able to compete with the high-powered monsters that now dominate FD.
For nearly all of his drifting career, Forrest has been found behind the wheel of the venerable Nissan S-chassis, and you’ll likely remember his 2JZ-powered S14 which we featured in 2013. His new car seems even more impressive than that one.
Forrest and the crew at his Get Nuts Laboratory workshop in Las Vegas have been working hard over the last six months to have the car ready for Long Beach, and now that the finished product has surfaced he’s ready for another year touring the country and driving sideways.
First off there’s the fact that Forrest decided to base his latest car on the S15 Silvia – a model which will always carry exotic appeal on American shores because of its rarity. But really, the choice of platform is just the beginning…
Forrest could be considered the S-chassis king of the American drift scene, and his new car is a testament to his years of experience building and drifting Silvias and their 240SX-badged counterparts. Beginning with his signature green and black livery, the 2015-season S15 has everything we’ve come to expect from a Forrest Wang build.
Long gone are the days when one could build a competitive pro drift car with basic upgrades, and over the off-season Forrest stripped the Silvia down to a bare chassis in preparation for its transformation to legit FD competitor.
Needless to say, during the process of chassis fabrication inside the Get Nuts Laboratory, the S15 was fitted with all of the necessary safety equipment for Formula Drift competition.
And you can bet that when it came time for final assembly the cockpit was treated with the same sense of detail and cleanliness as his previous car. Presentation-wise, pro drift car interiors don’t get much better than this.
No V8 HereAs for power, Forrest once again went with a Toyota 2JZ setup with this build. While it might not be the SR20 that originally came in the Silvia’s engine bay, the radical sounding six cylinder stays plenty true to the sport’s Japanese roots, while still making enough power to run with the big boys.
And what exactly is needed to build a pro-level 2JZ in 2015? Well, Forrest’s motor was built by Insane Power and Pineapple Tune, and it’s running a full Brian Crower stroker kit that ups displacement to 3.4 liters. The turbo is a single Garrett GTX4294R mounted on a Future Fab turbo manifold. The intake manifold comes from Sleeper Designs, fuel flows through 2,150cc Fuel Injector Clinic injectors and engine management is handled by an AEM Series 2 system.
The result is a solid 900 horsepower, which gives the Silvia enough power to rival any V8-powered machine it might meet on the start line. Its inline six turbo noise should also keep those drifting traditionalists in the crowd quite happy.
The boosted Toyota power is sent to the ground through a G-Force GSR 4-speed dogbox to a custom carbon driveshaft, and the differential is a Winters Performance Quick Change unit with upgraded axles.
As for footwork, aside from the chassis prep work at Get Nuts, the car is running Stance GR+ 3-way adjustable coilovers and a full suite of adjustable arms from Wisefab. Braking is handled by 6-piston Wilwoods in the front, twin 4-piston Wilwoods in the rear, and the essential hydraulic e-brake was supplied by ASD.
The brakes can be seen behind a combination of STR Racing wheels and Hankook RS-3 tires – both from companies who jumped on board to support Forrest’s Formula Drift campaign this year.
Forrest has never been one to forego good style on a drift car, and his S15 continues that tradition. The body features Get Nuts/ 2F Super Doof parts, along with Origin Type 3 fenders, a D-Max trunk spoiler, a Seibon carbon hood and Craft Square mirrors.
The livery meanwhile is something that brings to mind drift cars of Japan, with heavy application of ‘Get Nuts Green’ both inside and out the Silvia.
Not only has Forrest come out with what’s sure to be one of the cleanest and most stylish cars on the Formula Drift grid this year, his S15 once again shows that you don’t have to ignore the roots of drifting to have a modern, competitive machine.
Whether you fully welcome the extreme builds like Tanner’s VW or think all drift car’s should be more like Forrest’s Silvia, we should be happy that both can coexist alongside each other. Nowhere else in motorsport will you find a group of cars with this much individual personality, and that’s just one the reasons why fans continue to pack the seats at Formula Drift events year after year.
Mike Garrett
Instagram: speedhunters_mike
mike@speedhunters.com
Photos by Larry Chen
Instagram: larry_chen_foto
larry@speedhunters.com
Forrest's car looks great this year, just wish he was still on Works and not STRs. Is there a plan to do a feature on the overseas drivers? Or at least Yokoi? His car looks incredible, I almost can't pick which S15 I like more, haha.
would love to see this thing vs chunky bais s13 to bad its half a world away
Bass boat green flake to the power of forever!
Absolutely awesome, so good to see a beautifully presented S chassi taking it to the big dogs.
I thought it was perfect until I saw it has a Toyota engine, now it's just close to perfection.
Thanks for the very detailed look at the undercarriage of the car. This car is full of amazing little details and a ton of fab work that is totally worth studying and dreaming of replicating one day.
For some reason I feel like I need a Pineapple Tune Engine. It Just sounds so fresh!
Pineapple Tune...
So we are going to ignore the fact that this car is LHD???????? I can't put enough question marks behind that. Is it some strange import from the Czech Republic or something? Converted? Answers please!
@Ockey You can see original mounting holes here; http://www.speedhunters.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Larry_Chen_Speedhunters_Forrest_Wang_nissan_Silvia_S15-13.jpg
So converted.
By far one of the cleanest cars on the grid...stunning!!! And man did he ever absolutely kill it in qualifying today!!
Even though the 2jz swap is the japanese equivalent of a LS swap, this is still very cool. The engineering thats gone into this S15 is just way too cool. One of the fresher S15s of late, and that shot 7th down last paragraph, oh my is that automotive porn. Well done.
Why did he choose a s15? He should have went with a Nissan altima converted to rwd with an LS.
Maybe a de-stroked Nissan patrol quad-cam, ala Altima V8 supercar?
Beautiful!!
god damn, this is pure car porn!!! *heavy breathing*
If it were a purists car it would have a Nissan engine.
Chris 'Haffy' Hafner Oh Nissan, why wont you just throw a damn v8 in one of your sports cars. Isnt there a super charged Titan v8 that makes like 500hp?
Thanks for doing the feature guys, awesome pics and amazing coverage! We worked really hard on this car and are very proud of it!
Loving that V-H8 in the back window.
Incredible build!
Thanks for the very detailed pictures.
This right here is how each and every car feature SHOULD be done. Pics and Copy are both PERFECT!!!!
I will admit that I know very little of the Formula D scene and the cars...but this car really is nuts. Love the detailed pics and all the $$$ and sano work. Stack instruments, top notch stuff....and STR wheels? WTF? How does a company making a living off copying other's work make its way on to such a badass car?
Arianna 2jzgrl
I was just admiring the reinforcement and welds in the engine bay. It's a beauty. Must be rewarding to have all the work pay off so well.
@SW1 Copying other work.. wat?
@Ockey It's converted. Nissan never made a LHD S15. Period.
First time i saw this S15 it knock me out of my seat. Forrest Wang great choice on the car and hopefully you do well in formula drift this year plus great article Larry Chen always love reading them.
CEL400 oh man, google czech republic S15 and your mind will be blown. LHD from factory
Um yes they did... Impossible to find pics but there are a few in the Philippines and a few other continents. Super rare and mostly convertibles
Shameful wheels...
all the colors look like what would happen if you dumped out a box of nerds...
absolutely LOVE that he's using replica wheels, which is clearly getting all the snobs butthurt because they know good and damn well that this guy's wheels will withstand 900hp of drifting and not have one single issue, thereby sucking the wind out of their sails with all those whimsical arguments of non-real wheels breaking easily or being too heavy to perform well -- like that makes a damn here in the real world with budgets, sponsorships, accidents, and whatnot. #SaveTheSkrimps
Absolutely stunning car! Great read and one of the better cars if not the best looking car on the grid. Also to the people talking about the wheels; if you have followed Forrest you'll know he's rocked every type of wheel under the sun including works, ssr, weds, volks/Rays as well as strs. Instead of appreciating the car the first thing to come out your mouth is your dislike of his wheel Sponsor... Right.... Because you've also started a privateer team and had unlimited budget..
Someone please tell me legitimate reason as to why STR's shouldn't be on this car.. Would love to know why.
Purists as far as Japanese style drift cars. Not so much Nissan purists.
@Guest
Maybe not legitimate but I don't see why one would put replica wheels on a car with soooooo much $$$ poured into it. No replica turbo. No replica transmission or rear end. No Ebay exhaust/intake manifold. Ok maybe he's sponsored by STR??? IMHO, the car deserves better to match the rest of it.
Definitely one of the better looking cars in FD (if not the best!). So clean & stylish.
good stuff
Love the interior
Does anyone know what brand is that purple BOV mounted on the intercooler? (or at least what I think that purple thingy is?) Thanks
@ockey CEL400 I love the way you're referring to Czech Rep as it would be some kind of important country for Nissan to make special LHD version just for purpose to sell it on market with like 5 potential customers. From CZ as well btw, but here mare, you're so wrong.... there are two LHD s15s in our country, both converted from RHD...
muggymarl Tial AlphaQ you'll find it on FRSport.com
Om1kron http://www.olx.ph/index.php/view+classifieds/id/71959937/Nissan+silvia+s15?referralKeywords=s15+silvia+for+sale&event=Search+Ranking,Position,1-2,2
pou CEL400 http://www.olx.ph/index.php/view+classifieds/id/71959937/Nissan+silvia+s15?referralKeywords=s15+silvia+for+sale&event=Search+Ranking,Position,1-2,2
pou CEL400 didn't take long to search philippines s15.. seems like they did make RHD S15s. unless this guys also converted their cars
@Ockey if you just browse through the philippines sylvia club you'll see most are LHD. converted? not sure. But seems unlikely https://www.facebook.com/pages/ClubSilvia-Philippines/155369734480946
pou CEL400 https://www.facebook.com/pages/ClubSilvia-Philippines/155369734480946
Om1kron https://www.facebook.com/pages/ClubSilvia-Philippines/155369734480946
That is one hell of a clean engine bay for a race spec car
Om1kron just searched up the philippines Sylvias out of curiosity. going by your hunch. even though 95 percent of sites say it was never sold anywhere with LHD. the conversions must be pretty common
pou CEL400 only replied and searched going by someone elses hunch. the sylvia club will hopefully reply soon to put a lil more light on this matter
Like wearing fake nikes. Why. I understand not having a great big budget but enkei makes plenty of affordable real wheels in similar offsets all day. are the strs free from the brand? Then maybe I would consider rolling on them... wait. No I wouldnt. But yes it is a badass car...with fake wheels... Get butt hurt all u want but I know forest would roll real wheels had he the oportunity or budget. He must like every bit of his car except the wheels. must be a sponsor of his that supplies the wheels. Oh well. I used to love that he rolled deep dish real wheels and slammed to hell scraping bumpers D1GP style.
The car is rad and all, but far from a "purist" build anymore. Forrest car 2-3 years ago was much more of a purist car. You can tell he wants to win and will sacrifice style in exchange for performance as seen by the STR wheels and Wisefab wheel poke.
It was awesome to see someone run FD with cool 3 piece wheels and not the ugly ass Tuerk'dFrontWheelPoke, but now he has more poke and gap than before, and shitty knockoff wheels.
I still hope he does well, but once he picked up STR's, the car became a million times uglier.
TrustS13 well performance of the changes + funds is perfectly reasonable to go that route.
a purist side of me though says that even if he swaps to a larger engine, it should have been a nissan 6-cyl. like any of the RB, VQ or VR engines
@Squarepants ...That can be arranged.
Easily my favourite drift car, ever.
the car was very good
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