Have you ever scrolled down further than you should on your Instagram feed?
Sometimes, you get lucky, stumbling upon a long-horned cow enjoying a dust bath in South Sudan or a family of baby bears frolicking in a forest, completely oblivious to the camera. I try to like as many of those posts as possible to keep the algorithm privy to my tastes in mindless joy.
On the flip side, there’s the car-related nonsense. I’m not talking about wild stunts like putting a jet engine in a kei truck, but rather the endless opinion-based debates. A lot of it tends to be pretty negative.
When I met up with the owners of this FD3S Mazda RX-7 – Masa and Yukimi-san – it reminded me of something I’d seen deep in my feed one day. I must have been scrolling in the lavatory for quite some time.
“We used to build [street] cars to impress girls; now we build cars to impress middle-aged men”, the post read, accompanied by a picture of a group of enthusiasts gathered around an engine bay.
This raises an important point. The tuning scene often feels male-centric, and while there are plenty of skilled individuals across the hobby, the car community can get caught up in who’s worthy of approval. I think the real joy comes from building a car that reflects your personal vision.
So, how do you do this? Masa-san may have found the perfect recipe.
Stripped-out interiors have their appeal, but unless you’re specifically going for that minimalistic vibe, it’s nice to have a space that feels complete and comfortable. After all, you’re the one who has to live with it.
Another common pitfall in the Instagram car culture is the notion that unless you’re running a WEC car on the street, your build isn’t legitimate. It’s easy to get lost in that mentality, but ultimately, it’s your car, and that should matter most.
Wheels and tyres? That alone probably doesn’t qualify, but when you start modifying your cross member to fit 18×11-inch RAYS Volk Racing TE37SAGA wheels wrapped in 295/30R18 tyres, as Masa-san has done, you’re creating something special.
And if you start adding elements from TCP Magic to your bodywork and finish it in a custom cyan hue, the car is uniquely yours.
Masa-san has also equipped his RX-7 with Kei Office DG-5 coilovers. These might be a little on the stiff side for everyday use, but he can live with it. The passenger seat is a reclinable Bride Stradia for extra comfort, while the driver gets the more race-oriented, fixed-back Bride Jeeg.
Under the hood, the Mazda’s original 13B Turbo engine has been tuned to a respectable 330hp by Knight Sports, a rotary specialist in Otaku, Tokyo. An A’PEXi Power FC sends the firing orders and a Kakimoto cat-back exhaust provides an aggressive note.
Maybe the FD3S RX-7 is just inherently appealing. It’s compact and sleek, with a wrap-around interior that feels snug and luxurious, like a well-tailored jacket.
When building street cars, it’s refreshing to find a balance between looks, performance and comfort, and Masa-san’s RX-7 has all three. Maybe I’m getting older, but ensuring that the car is enjoyable for yourself – while also being able to share that experience with friends – is a top priority these days.
Toby Thyer
Instagram _tobinsta_
tobythyer.co.uk
You guys all give me crap for saying this hobby is becoming more feminine and that men are becoming more feminine. And then right here in the article it says how male centric this hobby is.
Hahahahahah jfc...I can't.
It's really simple. I've been saying it for 15 years. If you are building a road car nothing you do matters. Build it for yourself. All performance road cars are doing is emulating race cars. Literally every trend in the street now is based on racing technology from about 20-30 years ago. Road cars at the end of the day are like jewelry for grown men.
Unless you're actually competing nothing matters. Your ride height doesn't matter. Your aerodynamic balance or center of pressure doesn't matter. Your rake angle doesn't mean anything. Spring rate is just for comfort. Road cars are all about image. You want to be perceived as a little racer so you slam your car and put coilovers on it.
Push / pull rod suspension is probably the greatest example of this in recent times. 90% of you guys have no idea why open wheel cars even do it, but it has to be on your SEMA build BECAUSE RACE CAR. This is why I have just started to laugh at this industry and why at my age I am switching industries. It's too diluted now and a caricature of what it once was supposed to be.
Half you "journalists" now don't even list specs beyond wheels and tire sizes because you don't have a clue why shocks need to be mono tube vs twin tube, let alone how to build your own engine or map suspension geometry through its arc of travel. Wheel rates and motion ratio are foreign terms to the average guy at a Ferrari club meet and even track days. Most of you who will reply to this can't even tell me what they are beyond the google search definition.
It's all a show and it's all become just laughable. It used to be about performance. Now its about vibes and your feelings. Like women!
Take the violins out, Mr Brent Atwood is yet again in the comments of this website being a troll and looking for attention on the internet. Good boy, here's your bone now go chew it somewhere else.
Well for what it's worth I tried to take out the battle axes and you all got quite sheepish. There's a pile of bones in the back of my yard. As tall as the tower of babel...
The truer words I speak the more comments like this I get. It’s called being directly over the target and it is a compliment. This is all confirming what I’ve been saying the last 10 years. Brilliant.
https://www.speedhunters.com/2021/10/project-gc8-rebuilding-an-engine-in-my-kitchen/
Probably doesn't matter because it was only a road car.
To be honest, half the time the specs are the least interesting thing about the cars, and as you say, most of the stuff is 20year old tech anyway. We all know it.
Yes, the industry is male centric, I'm not sure how that relates to your sexist and frankly offensive opinions?
If you seriously think that rake angle, ride height or wheel geometry has no importance to road cars then I worry for you. At the very least, from a safety perspective, those things all matter.
You seem to have simultaneously both proven and missed the point of the story. Remarkable.
Explain to me the importance of rake angle please.
That's a good start Toby. I did my first when I was 17 which made around 600bhp. The guy who trained me was building alcohol engines for money in his garage by 10 years old. The first engine he built was done when he was 5.
What you just posted to "get me" was the standard at one point. I'm sure a lot of people here are very impressed with your rebuild of an engine in your kitchen. You spent most of this article talking about feelings and vibes which is why I commented what I did.
My point was to laugh at the fact that this industry has become more about feelings and vibes than camshaft duration and understanding shock valving. If I was 16 years old trying to learn about cars what does this kind of stuff teach me? As I have said previously this industry has steered off course rather hard. That's the point.
Mate, honestly, if a 16-year-old wants to learn about cars, they shouldn't be just looking at Speedhunters alone. Half of the time reading up on things from multiple websites would lead one down further rabbit holes. That's how I spend most of my time on Wikipedia reading up on world history.
Or a better suggestion is to enroll into an automotive school to really learn in a more hands-on approach.
If you're getting your world history from Wikipedia that explains a lot.
"This industry" is rather vague. What industry are you specifically up in arms about? Is it automotive media? Because even still that is rather broad bordering on old man yelling and a cloud level of irritation.
To most Speedhunters has always been in the vain of previous publications such as Import Tuner, Performace Auto And Sound, Fast Car, Car Audio And Electronics etc. More than it has been Grass Roots Motorsports, Racer, Race Car engineering etc.
I think you are simply looking for the wrong things in the wrong places and blanket assuming everyone wants the same things from any piece of automotive literature written.
I think you'd be much happier hanging around dedicated racing forums and websites rather than here with a bunch of people you feel know nothing.
Comparing yourself to race car engineering is 10/10 insane.
That’s hilarious to even fantasize. Once people cross a certain line with me I go after them. Unfortunately a lot of you guys crossed that line so here we are.
Maybe I wasn't clear enough.
Speedhunters is not Race Car engineering, Grass Roots Motorsports or Racer and has never strived to be.
If that is the kind of publication you are looking for you are in the wrong place.
Hey Dave....I should simply be allowed to speak my mind unless this is an absolutely authoritarian publication, right?
You have to ask yourself why what I'm saying is generating so much hatred. All I'm doing is talking about cars in an objective and truthful way that is numbers based.
This upsetting a small percentage of your viewers is not my problem. I am free to speak my mind and will continue to do so forever.
Freedom of speech is not freedom of consequence.
You're free to say whatever you like. But whatever you like make not be visible on this site forever.
Luckily for you, you are free to rephrase and try again.
lol Dave. Welcome to the game huh? This is how media works. Play ball or get censored. Very alarming what has happened to the world in a short amount of time.
I think it’s funny. All this circling around nonsense. No one here can refute anything I’ve said with facts. Just ban me. Censor me. Let the low IQ people dictate how the site is controlled.
This is a fascinating study into the consciousness of the low IQ. I like how no one ever raced me or was down to fight. Just chit chat. Talk talk talk. lol.
Isn’t it funny how no one can actually directly confront what I’m saying?
I find that fascinating Dave. And very insightful.
I've directly address your concerns several times. This isn't the right website for what you want out of automotive media.
Oh Dave we have completely come to terms with each other and as you can see none of my comments have been disrespectful.
Whoever is behind the account Dwayne freeman (Nate) attempted to call for me being banned on the basis that he thought I was a bot.
This is someone with a personal vendetta against me. It is very obvious and very clear. Look at my comments outside of this person and you will find they have been very objective and different since our previous discussion. I am a very logic very rational person.
Again, look at all my recent comments. This person continues to stir the pot based on a personal problem they have with me…mainly be not backing down to them trying to intimidate me. I can keep making accounts or we can address the issue at hand: allowing people with differing views to have conversations.
Everting I say I back with facts. Stop and re read what I just said. Everything I say I back up with facts. Others don’t. Why are others allowed to badger me and insult me and gang up on me but when I single handedly stand up for myself I am ostracized?
This is a very interesting question. But it’s irrelevant.
Do I get to speak equally to others or do I not?
There's a pile of comments directed at you that have also not been approved. So no, it's not just you.
Hahah well good to know Dave. At least you’re going after everyone equally. I think this is all pretty funny tbh.
We get it, you´ve been working on race cars before.
It's a vibe.
Brent, I've been here everyday since 2010 and I've seen lunatics like you come and go.
Just cut tu to the chase and get out of here if you are not happy. You are just throwing tantrums like a pre-teenage boy at this point.
It ruins any chances of respect we could have for you or good knowledge you could share to add instead of firing at the article.
You don’t even have the physique or talent to do what I do. You’re a low level street guy and a coward like all the others. You’re hilarious. I don’t take anything you say seriously now. That’s hilarious. Ur a little baby. You’d die if you ever tried to drive the machines I do. You’d die.
Hahahaha you drive a dodge neon and you’re talking crap hahahahhaa that’s all I need to know. The more I learn about you guys the more hilarious these replies gets. You’re all dorks with zero experience. Ahahahaha so good. Love it
Your respect means nothing to me. I have raced with f1 world championship designers who have told me I use my right foot the same way senna did. People who went over his data at McLaren. I have respect. Just not from stupid people with zero experience. Like you. If you want my respect you’d race me but none of you will. Too scared.
Don’t care. Will continue to speak my mind until you’re in the grave.
Also in this car, license plates with two-digit registration are interesting, that is, these numbers are at least 24 years old, which in itself is amazing) I take it this is a family car, probably owned by his father?)
Another question is, when will this fat troll be banned? Well, actually he's superfluous here and spoils the atmosphere)
Yes, by the way, in case he writes me something - I really don't care if he only knew how much, he would cry)
Well spotted! Double digits are rare