- Joined
- 5 August 2009
- Messages
- 1,440
Well, long story short, I really want to compete in a professional auto sport series and Formula Drift captured my attention. I love road racing and rally as well, but for some reason I was just stuck on FD...My adventure began with taking some instruction from Taka Aono in a stock-motored S13 and S14. I was instantly addicted and went on my hunt for a ride. Shortly after I found this S13 that was ready to rock, it needed nothing:
I was able to drift it maybe 2 times before having to relocate to WA (with no access to drift tracks
). I wanted to keep the car in CA for when I would go down to visit and practice and decided to pick up this S13 to bring to my new location:
Ended up getting REAL busy with work and no time to travel down to SoCal for practice. Which at that point and time I think most people would say "screw it" and give up. However, I took a different approach...I really knew that I wanted to give it a shot and I didn't want to take much time to figure out if I could make it. So I decided to go big or go home. I found an S14 chassis that was perfect to be turned into what I needed - a track only drift car. Now, I know there are different trains of thought on how you should go about mastering a skill set. With road racing I started at the low ranks of "track-capable" street cars and steadily worked my way up. That strategy has worked perfectly for road racing...though, like I said, with drifting I just wanted to jump into a vehicle that I could learn and compete in. So the build began...
While the build was in process I was able to get down to practice a couple more times in my CA S13
Fast forward 3 months and my S14 competition car was finally done:
Obviously an LSx power-plant and all the suspension goodies to go along with it. Exhaust exits the vehicle by way of 3.5" piping as demonstrated below:
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1k_htSN9poI" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe>
Car was finally finished and ready for me to fly down and get some practice in. My practice weekend started with flying down and renting a cargo van:
It was brand new with only 16 miles on the odo...how exciting lol. First stop was off to fetch some rubber:
^^ 34 tires (Federal 595 SS and RS-R's)
Next stop was for the rear wheels.
^^ 8 New Enkei RPF1's ready to get mounted. Wanted to get 12 but unfortunately they only had 8 in stock. **I know I know...I am not the best "packer" haha**
After running all around SoCal (put over 250 miles on the new van) I was exhausted and it was off to bed for me. Up at 5am to get to track by 7:30am. Was very excited to shakedown the new car!
Cold start
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZH5aGUn3-1A" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe>
And yes, the front end is not on the car. This was on purpose because it was the first time having the car out. We wanted to be able to make easy adjustments on the fly. After the car was warmed up it was time for its first shakedown lap. Michael Essa the car builder and Pro FD driver had the honors:
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uVMytY5y-e4" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe>
After that it was my turn. First I just wanted to get used to the car and feel for the throttle/control of the vehicle. A small smoke show should do
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RQCGQi6dUBQ" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe>
Then I did a couple starter laps:
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u88Xff54dgU" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe>
Was having a blast learning the new car, taking it little by little. The next day there was an open practice event at HTM. I had never ran the track and was still getting used to the car, but was ready to give it a shot.
The track was a blast and I was slowly making progress:
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qsBf2Viru2Q" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe>
All in all I had a great time and love the new car. The front end and paint job should be completed by the time for my first official event. I am trying to earn my Pro FD license through a 4 event Pro-Am season. Last year there were 46 drivers and the top 3 finishers overall earn their license to compete in FD. I am looking forward to having lots of fun with it and hopefully I can be on that podium at the end of the season. We shall see
. Anyways, I know it was a long read, but thanks for looking haha
I was able to drift it maybe 2 times before having to relocate to WA (with no access to drift tracks
). I wanted to keep the car in CA for when I would go down to visit and practice and decided to pick up this S13 to bring to my new location:
Ended up getting REAL busy with work and no time to travel down to SoCal for practice. Which at that point and time I think most people would say "screw it" and give up. However, I took a different approach...I really knew that I wanted to give it a shot and I didn't want to take much time to figure out if I could make it. So I decided to go big or go home. I found an S14 chassis that was perfect to be turned into what I needed - a track only drift car. Now, I know there are different trains of thought on how you should go about mastering a skill set. With road racing I started at the low ranks of "track-capable" street cars and steadily worked my way up. That strategy has worked perfectly for road racing...though, like I said, with drifting I just wanted to jump into a vehicle that I could learn and compete in. So the build began...
While the build was in process I was able to get down to practice a couple more times in my CA S13
Fast forward 3 months and my S14 competition car was finally done:
Obviously an LSx power-plant and all the suspension goodies to go along with it. Exhaust exits the vehicle by way of 3.5" piping
as demonstrated below:<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1k_htSN9poI" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe>
Car was finally finished and ready for me to fly down and get some practice in. My practice weekend started with flying down and renting a cargo van:
It was brand new with only 16 miles on the odo...how exciting lol. First stop was off to fetch some rubber:
^^ 34 tires (Federal 595 SS and RS-R's)
Next stop was for the rear wheels.
^^ 8 New Enkei RPF1's ready to get mounted. Wanted to get 12 but unfortunately they only had 8 in stock. **I know I know...I am not the best "packer" haha**
After running all around SoCal (put over 250 miles on the new van) I was exhausted and it was off to bed for me. Up at 5am to get to track by 7:30am. Was very excited to shakedown the new car!
Cold start
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZH5aGUn3-1A" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe>
And yes, the front end is not on the car. This was on purpose because it was the first time having the car out. We wanted to be able to make easy adjustments on the fly. After the car was warmed up it was time for its first shakedown lap. Michael Essa the car builder and Pro FD driver had the honors:
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uVMytY5y-e4" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe>
After that it was my turn. First I just wanted to get used to the car and feel for the throttle/control of the vehicle. A small smoke show should do
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RQCGQi6dUBQ" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe>
Then I did a couple starter laps:
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u88Xff54dgU" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe>
Was having a blast learning the new car, taking it little by little. The next day there was an open practice event at HTM. I had never ran the track and was still getting used to the car, but was ready to give it a shot.
The track was a blast and I was slowly making progress:
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qsBf2Viru2Q" allowfullscreen="" width="560" frameborder="0" height="315"></iframe>
All in all I had a great time and love the new car. The front end and paint job should be completed by the time for my first official event. I am trying to earn my Pro FD license through a 4 event Pro-Am season. Last year there were 46 drivers and the top 3 finishers overall earn their license to compete in FD. I am looking forward to having lots of fun with it and hopefully I can be on that podium at the end of the season. We shall see
