honda – Gripshiftslide

WTAC 2022 : Back in business

Grant — Tue, 03 May 2022 02:16:00 +0000

The celestial beings smiled upon us, unleashing perfect weather for the epic showdown. The drivers emerged with a fiery determination, pushing their vehicles to the brink. And lo and behold, records crumbled beneath their awe-inspiring performances.

After a two-year hiatus, the World Time Attack Challenge finally returned, igniting the fervor of teams from all corners of Australia. Over the course of Friday and Saturday, these fearless competitors battled relentlessly, all vying for their own slice of WTAC history.

In the lead-up to this eagerly anticipated event, an army of dedicated engineers and enthusiasts toiled tirelessly, pouring their heart and soul into crafting automotive marvels that defied conventional limits. With each passing day, the excitement mounted, fueled by the belief that these magnificent machines were poised to shatter records and redefine the boundaries of speed and precision. One record, in particular, had proven elusive to the ingenious minds at PRTech since 2019, intensifying the air of anticipation that hung thick in the atmosphere.

The drifting action kicked off with Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions at WTAC, allowing the drifters to experience the full-throttle layout for the first time. Despite the absence of rain, the track proved to be a formidable challenge, unforgiving to those who pushed a little too hard.

Notable drivers like Matt Mingay, who pulled double duty by competing in the drift competition while entertaining spectators with his Hot Wheels Stunt Team, showcased their skills alongside Eugene Arendson and Jason Ferron, who brought their unique drift machines, adding excitement to the mix of Silvias, Skylines, and 86s.

The Haltech Clubsprint class began as a grand clash of street cars from every corner of the globe, in all shapes and sizes imaginable. However, it soon transformed into a classic duel between the age-old rivals, Mitsubishi and Subaru.

In a jaw-dropping feat, Jamal ‘Jimmy’ Assaad, behind the wheel of the Evolution Racing Spares Lancer Evo VI, obliterated the five-year Clubsprint record. His blistering lap of 1:33.7 slashed more than two precious seconds off the previous benchmark.

Yet, as the whimsical nature of motorsport often dictates, plans seldom unfold according to script. In addition to the nerve-racking race against the clock on the treacherous track, the intrepid teams encountered unexpected off-track challenges that tested their mettle throughout the grueling two-day competition.

Drifter Matty Hill did not take top spot unfortunately he was beaten by Levi Clarke emerging as the top qualifier, closely followed by Matt Harvey and Brodie Maher in their respective S13s. Spectators were treated to a thrilling display of close battles throughout Saturday

The Melbournian maverick, Idin Ahangar, maneuvered his Subaru Impreza WRX STI to a dramatic performance during the Final Shootout, securing second place with a sensational lap time of 1:35.228 after an intense battle throughout the event.

The Tilton Evo and RP968, icons of mechanical ingenuity, were not spared from the cruel twists of fate. Both endured the misfortune of tire delamination, an affliction that not only shattered the front aerodynamic prowess of the Tilton Evo but also forced the team to retire their valiant contender. Meanwhile, the RP968, plagued by prior transmission woes and nursing the scars of accumulated damage from the preceding session, heartbreakingly withdrew from the relentless pursuit of victory mere moments before the climactic final shootout.

Many of the esteemed Pro teams encountered untimely tribulations amidst the heated battle, compelling several of them to concede defeat before the climactic final shootout on that eventful Saturday night. The revered MCA Hammerhead, a two-time WTAC champion, tragically succumbed to an engine failure on the fateful Friday, dashing their hopes of securing another triumph.

However, amidst the trials and tribulations that marred these two arduous days, RP Technology, Barton Mower, and their revolutionary Porsche 968 emerged as resilient victors, seizing their third consecutive WTAC title with a resounding time of 1:20.1. Furthermore, the formidable team at GotItRex demonstrated remarkable prowess by securing a commendable third place in the final shootout, inching ever so close to claiming the illustrious Subaru lap record at Sydney Motorsport Park—an astonishing achievement for their maiden voyage into the realm of WTAC.

Notable among the thrills and spills of this gripping competition was the astounding feat accomplished by Tim Slade, whose blistering lap behind the wheel of the Xtreme GTR shattered the existing Open Class record, registering an extraordinary time of 1:27.379.

However, fate dealt a cruel hand to the indomitable team as mechanical gremlins crept into their machine, relegating them to an anxious ten-hour wait, their hopes hanging precariously in the balance. In an electrifying climax to the final shootout, the event reached its zenith when Nathan Morcom, skillfully piloting the Insight Motorsports Mitsubishi Evo, snatched the record away with an awe-inspiring time of 1:27.247—an unforgettable moment etched in time attack history.

The Final Shootout on Saturday evening, illuminated by the vibrant lights of Sydney Motorsport Park, served as the stage for intense battles and heart-stopping drama. The competition for class victories unfolded with nail-biting suspense, with triumph hanging in the balance until the very last seconds.

In the end, as the dust settled on another captivating edition of WTAC, one thing became abundantly clear: the magic of Time Attack lies not only in the awe-inspiring machines and the records they shatter but also in the humorous and cheeky moments that unfold, reminding us that amidst the pursuit of speed and glory, a little laughter and a touch of irreverence can elevate the entire experience to new heights of enjoyment.

Spotlight :: Honda Shuttle

Grant — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 12:46:30 +0000

During our last trip to Japan we made sure to head back out to the infamous Daikoku Futo Parking Area in Yokohama bay. The tiny man made island plays host to impromptu car meets most nights of the week with all sorts of cars showing up into the late hours. Walking the rows of cars we stumbled upon this quirky Honda Civic Wagon.

When it comes to Civic Wagons we are no strangers having one of the 4WD versions of these in our garage back home. This one here is the ‘economy special’ model known as the Shuttle Pro.

This was the cheapest of cheap in the wagon range, Offered with FWD only and next to no creature comforts. Even the roof rails, rear wiper and side moldings are missing. The only additions here from factory are coilover suspension and some very ‘interesting’ looking wheels. (Can anyone ID these wheels?)

Speaking with the owner, we exchanged photos of our wagons and began looking all over the oddball Honda. One thing we couldn’t believe was how immaculate everything was. The pride a lot of Japanese owners have even here with this nearly 30 year old base model Civic is extraordinary.

Inside is much the same as the exterior, things have been left relatively untouched with the only addition being this wood grain Nardi steering wheel.

No matter how you look at it the side profile of these is just plain weird, looking like a skewed hatchback with a scientifically higher roof line over the standard Civic hatch/sedan models.

We caught quite a few people needing to second take the little wagon. It’s great to see they are just as much as an oddity here in Japan as back home in Australia
Thanks for reading,
Gwyn.

Fun2Drive :: Type Arrgghh

Grant — Sun, 14 Aug 2016 13:54:32 +0000

During our most recent trip to Japan we spent some time again in the mountains of Hakone which of course meant we ended up driving half of the fleet from Fun2Drive.
After some mixed feelings driving the FD RX-7 we took something a little more familiar for a drive. A Honda Civic Type R.
Having owned and driven various Honda’s in the past I thought this Civic would just be a case of déjà vu. While it had all the qualities I enjoyed of the DC2 Integra Type R, for some reason in the body of the EK Civic it felt very different. Halfway through my first corner I had very big smile on my face…

What’s not to love about a plucky little hatchback that red lines at 8,500rpm? All the roominess you would come to expect from a small economical car with an angry naturally aspirated engine that sounds like it is having the time of it’s life with each press of the accelerator!

Based on the run of the mill 6th generation Honda Civic, the Type R version known by it’s chassis code “EK9” has all the features of the standard Civic with a host of goodies you normally get in Honda’s hotted up road cars. Including the dohc VTEC motor, Recaro seats, Momo steering wheel, upgraded suspension, bigger brakes, reinforced & lightened body.

The engine is a 1.6l B16B engine, the EK9 is the only car to ever be graced with this particular motor. What’s interesting is that it’s actually a destroked 1.8l block of which you would normally find in the more common Integra Type R.

The engine is faultless aside from the low end torque issues from such small motor. The motor comes alive in the higher revs and makes it’s peak power at 8,200 rpm!! There’s nothing subtle about driving a performance Honda like this at full throttle, the noise the engine makes had dogs from the next prefecture barking!

After spending the whole morning darting around the mountains I switched from ‘boy racer’ to responsible adult and decided to do some sensible driving before stopping for a quick lunch break at the local konbini. In the warmth of the hot food section I looked back out at the tiny Civic and had to admire it for it’s balance of fun and practicality. At low speed it was quiet, comfortable with plenty of boot space. At high speed it was a completely different animal!

After lunch I took the Civic along the Hakone Skyline Toll road around Lake Ashi. With the colder weather it looked more like I’d driven to Silent Hill.
Here there was next to no traffic and the corners hard and fast with banking sections and tight hairpins. The Civic really came into it’s own here.

Driving fast you can’t help but feel the rush as you really have to work the lower gears to keep the revs high, engine braking also produces the most wonderful noises as you gear down for the next corner. It really is a rewarding experience.

The development in the chassis is really noticeable on tight twisting roads. Having driven a base model EK Civic over a few years the difference is night and day.

Not only has weight been taken out, the chassis has been strengthened to counteract the weakness from weight loss. Add in the quicker steering ratio and it really is an amazing car to drive.

Even on the damp roads I felt a tremendous amount of grip from the tyres and felt very confident in it’s ability.

After some more spirited driving it was time to make use of a dry break in the weather and take some photos. Looking at the car from various angles it’s certainly not the best looking hatch ever released. However I do think the years have been kind to the shape and it’s aged well.
The Type R additions really make a big difference over the standard car. Equipped with a new grill, lip kit and spoiler as well as deleted bumper moldings on all facelift models it scrubs up well.
So much so nearly all modified EK Civics have had the same parts fitted to spruce up the look without breaking the bank.

With countless ‘mock up’ Type R Civic’s getting around the easiest identifying feature on the real deal is actually the 5 stud wheel setup. All other EK Civic were released with a 4×100 bolt pattern.

The EK Civic is from a simpler time when the Type R badge was a big deal and engineers appeared to have much more freedom when taking production cars under the knife.

All in all it is an amazing little car to drive. If you’ve never driven a Type R Honda I would highly recommend getting behind the wheel of late 90’s variant as it is hands down some of the most fun I’ve had in a road car.

This is a car I could easily drive everyday, it’s not the softest ride but it is certainly more livable than any other fun cars I’ve driven.

If I had the chance to buy one of these I would snap it up, unfortunately having only a dozen or more imported to Australia over the years they don’t come up for sale often and when they do the price tag matches the rarity.
It was another sad moment handing the keys back, knowing what I would be driving next though the sadness quickly faded. More soon.
Thanks again to Yoshi and Chikara from Fun2Drive for their incredible service!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Fun 2 Drive :: Meet Your Heroes

Grant — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 02:32:34 +0000

I’m not one to jump in the deep end, yet here I was on my first ever overseas trip, two hours from Tokyo, standing in front of a rental car shop.
There were no boring hatchbacks or sedans in front of me, no, these cars weren’t your standard A to B affair. I was at a shop called Fun2Drive and all the cars on offer here were straight out of my boyhood dreams.
Have you ever wanted to drive a GT-R, RX7 or an NSX for a day? This is the place to come!
Having driven less than 3 hours in Japan in total at this point, the nerves were setting in. What had I done? Signing the insurance paperwork, I worried if I had bitten off more than I could chew…

Tucked away in the serene mountains around Hakone/Lake Ashi this is the last thing you would expect to find, a rental car shop that specialises in sports cars.

Fun2Drive has an amazing mix of cars available, and just like any rental car you can rent them by the hour or even days at a time. Drivers can also choose to partake in tours which take you along some breathtaking roads, some made famous by the Initial D anime series. This is a great option to try out a heap of cars and have a tonne of fun trying to keep up with the instructor.
Booking these cars was a walk in the park. Just a quick google translation of the website and a few emails back and forth with the friendly owner, Chikara, was all it took. He spoke perfect English and made the whole process incredibly easy. On the day, I was met by Yoshi. He was super friendly and also spoke great English which was a huge relief being the ignorant traveler I was, I didn’t learn much more than “Hello” “Excuse me” and ” Thank you” before I set off on the trip to Japan.

First I had to complete a quick 10 minute driving test with Yoshi to see if I could be trusted with their precious cars. I was a little nervous, it had been more than 10 years since I was in a car with any sort of instructor. Thankfully I passed with flying colours. After dropping Yoshi back off at the shop, I set off.
I chose to go it alone and didn’t book a tour, I decided I would take 3 cars for 3 hours each. A sample box of Japan’s finest if you will. No maps, no guides, I was just hitting the open road.

I also decided to rent the cars in chronological order. So first up was a beautiful Hakosuka Skyline. After a quick drive, I pulled over to let that sink in for a minute…
Me, driving, Japan, Hakosuka… Bucket list? TICK !!

This KGC10 Skyline was a stunning example even though this was a replica GT-R. With my hands wrapped around the steering wheel and foot planted on the accelerator, I couldn’t tell and neither could passerby’s.

I found myself torn between staring at it and actually driving it. I must have walked around the car at least 8 times before I finally snapped out of it and jumped back in the drivers seat.

Back behind the wheel I was happy because the roads were just as beautiful as the car!! I was in driving bliss! The smells, vibrations and sounds of the throaty 2.0 litre engine as it powered up the hill were intoxicating.

The closest car I’ve driven in terms of age was a 1970’s MG coupe. While not without it’s charms, I didn’t walk away feeling an empty hole that could only be filled by purchasing a classic sports car. No, I just felt like I’d had a fleeting experience with something novel from a time I didn’t understand. It felt like a chore to wrestle around the corners and the engine response was a little underwhelming. I’m sure in its day, many a necks were broken if one came whizzing by.

The Skyline on the other hand, I found from the turn of the key to be something truly special. The initial sound of the fuel pump, then the engine coming to life sending a shock wave of vibrations from the front to the rear of the car, left me in a dizzying high before I’d even set off down the road.

Like most older cars, the steering was clunky and heavy at low speed. Once it was up and moving along though it felt very responsive and the suspension was quite a lot stiffer than I had expected.

I also really enjoyed the slight delay when pressing the accelerator before the car would begin moving. It didn’t feel like that annoying lag you get in an under powered or automatic car. It felt ‘mechanical’ like a million little pieces were coming together to thrust the car forward. It didn’t build up either, it was simply on power or off. This really made shifting down a gear before blasting up a mountain an addictive cocktail, like lighting the fuse of a rocket and jumping on.

Before long I was starting to feel comfortable behind the wheel and I began to just drive the car, I wasn’t premeditating my next move anymore or worrying if I would break this 40+ year old car. It was amazing to just lose myself in the car, the roads and the country.

After only a couple of hours with this Skyline, driving through a few towns it became apparent that this was no ordinary car… It was a national icon! Everywhere I went people were pointing, giving the thumbs up and gesturing to rev the engine.
People young and old were instantly taken by the car. Everywhere I stopped someone would come over and start taking photos of it. At one point an entire family came over and took a group photo with it!

After just 3 hours it was time to say goodbye to one of the best cars I’ve ever driven. I was dreading driving back to the shop. I was feeling like a kid returning to school after the holidays until I realised there were still two more cars to drive! My vacation wasn’t over!!

Flash forward 20 minutes and some 20 years of technology, and motoring in Japan had changed quite a bit! My car for the next 3 hours was this striking Honda NSX, in the ever popular Formula Red factory paint no less. As a self proclaimed Honda geek, I was in heaven!!

While booking my trip, I was easily most excited by the prospect of driving an NSX. This is the holy grail for Honda fans. This was as much Formula One tech Honda could cram into a road legal car at the time.

What could be better than driving around in your hero car on roads with this view?!!

With the giant Mt Fuji in the background everywhere I looked, I was constantly pulling over to snap away like crazy at the two amazing Japanese icons.

We all know how good the NSX’s looks… But how was it to drive? Did it live up to the dream? In one word, YES! I have never experienced such a well balanced car with so much feedback from the road before. The steering was manual and surprisingly light and the suspension was spot on. It never felt awkward, even at speed through corners.

The closest car I’ve driven before with a mid mount engine was a Toyota SW20 MR2 Turbo. The MR2 was from the same era and while plenty of things about the NSX reminded me of the MR2, like the interior, pop-up headlights and bright red paint. However, they were worlds apart. Taking the price difference out of the equation from new, they were both Japanese mid-mount sports cars. The MR2 felt awkward and snappy through corners, the turbo had lag and most of all the shift linkage felt very detached. The gear changing in the MR2 was probably my least favorite characteristic.

Now behind the wheel of the NSX, I was happy to report the handling was brilliant and the gear changes perfect! I’d read once that the NSX was known for having one of the best feeling gear changes. I couldn’t agree more.
As for the power? Funnily enough after reading countless comments on social media pages in response to those “what would you rather own?” type of pictures of some Japanese sports cars, comment after comment would say they wouldn’t touch an NSX because they’re slow, N/A etc etc. I guess the stigma of non-turbo cars got to me and I was not expecting anything exciting…

Oh how I was wrong, they were all so wrong. The response from this engine was amazing. Right from the get go, through to the high RPM, the power is constant and linear.
It didn’t suffer down low like most infamous high horse power Honda engines, there was no need to wait for this magical ‘VTEC’ to kick in and propel me down the road, which I think most of us are guilty of associating with angry loud noises and not actual increases in speed.

This was different, and the sound was phenomenal! It was literally singing as I carved up the mountain, radio off, windows down, just listening to the soundtrack of the C30A engine growling away. I was ecstatic! At one point I was following a convertible Ferrari 458 Italia. Let’s just say the driving was ‘spirited’ and the NSX was well and truly holding it’s own against the Italian thoroughbred.

All this from a 25 year old sports car, truly a marvel of it’s time. If you’re not into Honda’s or the NSX, do some reading and you soon will be. It has an aluminum body, the interior and windows were heavily inspired by the 360 view from an F-16 fighter jets’ cockpit. Even the late Aryton Senna played a part in the NSX’s development, giving the final advice on the tuning of the suspension and handling. Ladies and gentleman, the stars were aligned the day this rolled out of the factory.

Billed as the “affordable” super car, I get it. I really do. I came across a recent article of a man who owns one of the first NSX’s that came out of the dealership in 1990. Currently with over 400,000 kms on the clock, the car and owner are still just as happy as that first day. He was apparently from the Hakone area as well. I could not imagine a greater car to own in an even greater place.

Now after my 3 hours it was time to say goodbye to my new friend, I think I genuinely felt sad about handing the keys back. This time I’d somehow convinced myself in the short window of time that this was MY car, I’d fallen in love. Everything about this car was just so right. I thoroughly enjoyed my time driving the NSX and given the opportunity I’d own one in a heartbeat.

Now it was of course time to trade the NSX in for the third installment of my Japanese motoring sampler box, the mighty Nissan GT-R.

Not many cars can claim to simultaneously be both the topdog and the underdog. Nissan not only created the ultimate “tuner” car, which has been running rampant since it’s release in 2007 as a king among Japanese performance cars, it is also the indisputable underdog against the likes of many of Europe’s finest. Known to take down some heavyweight bulls, horses and even the odd German or two. The GT-R is nothing to turn your nose up at.

Truly a feat of engineering, this car shouldn’t be fast, it’s big, heavy and boxy. Thanks to some very clever thinkers over at Nissan/Renault (and two turbos) this car is capable of some neck snapping speeds!
The hulking car uses it’s muscular lines to channel air down over the bodywork, the suspension is active and changes to help make this small mountain feel like a sports car. It even has nitrogen filled tyres from factory because oxygen is too unstable!! So I’ve read the brochures, seen the videos, read the reviews etc… But what was it like behind the wheel?! Bloody good fun!!

While the NSX I was driving just moments before made me feel like there was harmony between man and machine, I felt like I was working along side the car to go faster and faster. In the GT-R I was definitely just along for the ride. Once you push that accelerator you’re just holding on. It goes from standstill to warp 5 in the blink of an eye. Roads just aren’t long enough, not even highways. While driving the GT-R, acceleration was the drug and I was hooked! I was slowing down every chance I got just to accelerate again.

The backdrop of Mt Fuji once again set the scene, now later in the day, the clouds had settled and things got a bit dark and angry as I finished my day with an equally dark and angry car.

After attempting my first parking job at the wheel of the GT-R one thing was apparent, this thing is huge!! No really, until you try to park one you cannot appreciate how truly large these cars are. I thought this might not translate well into the corners, I was however pleasantly surprised. While it certainly lacked the feedback of the NSX, this thing was quite nimble and the brakes were out of this world. It stops nearly as quickly as it takes off. This of course helped build my confidence when using the accelerator, god it was fast!!

After circling the same section of freeway (the on ramp was just way too much fun) it was time to pull over and spend some quiet time with the car, which of course isn’t possible until you come to a complete stop as the gearbox sounds like someone stuffed a Milo tin with firecrackers and rocks and then chucked it in the boot. I’ve been in quieter race cars! I’ve actually read that there’s a disclaimer when purchasing the car new that the gearbox is noisy and that you cannot take it back to the dealership to complain.

Would that stop me from buying one if I had the money? Hell no! This car made me feel like I was 5 years old again. Every time I pushed the accelerator I could feel the weight of my everyday problems lifting from my shoulders, to the back of my head where my tongue and eyes now were. This thing is just ungodly fast.

I was also infatuated with the flappy paddle gearbox, I loved it! Every chance I got coming to a stop, I would hit the paddle to downshift.
Like a rat in a cage pressing the button on a food dispenser, I was rewarded. Rewarded with the ‘eargasmic’ sound of the crackle and pop from the exhaust as the gear changed down. Every time the beautiful sound faded as quickly as it came, back to the deafening sound of the rocks in the Milo tin. That is until I pushed the “go fast” peddle again.

With the day nearly over, I sat quietly looking at the car for moment.
Here I was with a Nissan GT-R, a picturesque town, at the foot of a giant mountain, in one of the greatest countries on Earth. Until I experience the joys of parenthood, I think this will be the happiest day of my life. I really do mean that, I was truly free, keys in hand, I could drive this amazing machine wherever I wanted. That is, until my 3 hours were up.

As much as I’ve tried, I don’t think I can put my experience into words. So please go do it for yourself.
Visit http://fun2drive.co.jp/ and speak with Chikara and Yoshi and make your dreams come true, even it is only for a few hours.
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Japan Day 2 :: Daikoku Futo PA

Grant — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 09:32:31 +0000

After 36 hours in Japan we finally hit up some car action at none other than Daikoku Futo PA! This tiny car park in the middle of a man made island in the Yokohama harbor is a thing of legend. If you’re into Japanese cars chances are you’ve seen more than a few photos from this location. Here car owners from different walks of life all gather and soak up the experience that is Daikoku Futo any night of the week and during the day on weekends.

Staying in Yokohama meant the parking area was just 15 minutes from our hotel. So hurried back after dinner and set off on our adventure.

The very first sight we were greeted by as we drove down the long spiraling off ramp into the parking area. This ‘Tron’ looking BMW convertible that had light glowing from everywhere. We parked up and ran around like kids in a candy store.

I can’t explain the ‘fizzy’ feeling you get standing in this spot at night… The cars, the orange light and the sound of engines revving is just unlike any car meet at home. The scale of the freeway ramps that circle you create this theater filled with the sounds of cars entering and leaving the car park. It really is just massive!!

The amount of cars even on a quiet night like this was staggering, cars were coming and going all the time. It was impossible to keep up when shooting on a tripod.

These three where all friends.

We loved this bumper-less Crown. It was also refreshing to see a modified Crown after the sea of Japanese Taxi’s getting around Tokyo!

The wheels were on the smaller side for a car of this size bit it still looked great all together.

Our second night in Japan and we were already treated to the sight of a Hako Skyline.

It was beautiful!!

This matte green air-cooled Porsche was a very cool sight amongst all the domestic cars.

There was a small army of MX-5’s out in force.

I’ve only ever seen one or two cool looking MX-5’s together at home so it was awesome to see more than 5 at the same place.

This little dark green one was rocking some wide wheels on the rear. Photos don’t do it justice!

Our favorite MX-5 had to be this BN Sports kitted black number. The level of dish was high with this one!

There was a few Honda’s out and about too.

This little blue EG Civic was sitting stupidly low, it looked awesome from every angle.

The greatest Civic Type R in our eyes… The EK9. These things are just pure awesome!

Another Type R on the same TE 37 wheels.

Over in the corner some local bosozoku bikers were meeting and revving their bikes. When I got closer I realised they were playing songs. They had each made up their own song and began reciting them one after another simply using their engines.

This was one of the coolest aspects of the parking area, getting up close to these amazing machines/people I’ve heard so much about.

Old Suzuki’s and Honda’s seemed the bikes of choice and they all had their own personal touches.

Our personal favorite of the entire night had to be Kazuki’s flawless 86.

The subtle red glitter in the paintwork was beautiful. We were digging the mismatched wheels. Work Equips up front.

TE37V in the rear.

This is seriously one very cool street driven hachiroku!!

Not to far away we found some very nice looking Infiniti’s.

This FX was dropped on it’s airbag suspension while it was parked and had heaps of top end audio gear inside. The roof racks had a very cool flower wrap on them too.

The G-Series sedan was sitting low on a set of 3SDM 0.08 wheels.

These wheels looked the business gleaming away under the street lights.

As it turns out the Toyota Prius is one of the most modified cars in Japan, seriously every second one we saw had blacked out taillights, wheels and an exhaust. This one was a little bit different and certainly had a bigger budget then most sitting pretty atop a set of fifteen52 Tarmac wheels. This thing looked killer.

From big budget to low budget this ‘diy’ Legacy wagon would look at home at most grass root race events. The matte black paint and custom front splitter design along with the rear wing made for a menacing looking street car.

One of the few Supra’s we saw, this was definitely the more wild looking of the bunch. Check out the rear diffuser setup!!

The car park fell quiet for a short time, the silence was quickly interrupted by the unique burble of this Porsche arriving. The sound stuck out like a chip packet being opened in a church.

One for the rotary fans. This spotless white FD RX-7 was certainly worthy of a few photos.

The body kit seemed like a simple lip kit at first but became all the more extreme when you got closer. The rear diffuser alone was a work of carbon art!

A late and brief attendee was this Evo wagon, such a shame we don’t see more of these in Australia. I’ve only ever seen one in real life before this.

This Scion XB was pushing the camber out on the rear wheels, lots of character here. mismatched panels, rusted bonnet and stone chips galore. This was cool!

This tiny Suzuki Alto was just tucking these 14″ mesh wheels in the rear.

It had some patched up fender damage on the front from running so low around Tokyo’s streets.

Later in the evening another cool 86 arrived, this time a coupe!!

In the infamous two tonne black & white combination and on a set of Watanabe wheels… Perfect!

It doesn’t get much cooler than this, sitting behind an idling Toyota Sprinter in Yokohama.

There was truck loads of Toyota’s by this point. Check out the crazy fitment on this Crown.

This Chaser was in pristine condition and funnily enough had the loudest sub woofer I’ve heard on the street. It was ridiculous!!

It had a nice amount of dish too!

One of the toughest looking cars of the night had to be this black Nissan Cima.

The big chunky wheels set it off perfectly.

It’s hard to describe this car without using the word “gangster”…

Even more Toyota Crowns!! They’re literally everywhere here! We were about ready to call it a night before the police did it for us After a few too many cars got a bit loose when leaving the car park.

Then this arrived… The hero car of the night. a sky blue liberty Walk R35 GT-R.

The huge over fenders of the rocket bunny kit perfectly covered the massive rear wheels.

This thing was big!!

Seeing a car like this here in Japan was really a special moment for me, I stood still just enjoying it not even touching my camera for a few minutes before I felt the pain in my feet that comes from a 15 hour day of walking none stop.
So that was that we called it a night and headed back to our hotel.
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Japan Day 2 :: The Night Life.

Grant — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 07:17:49 +0000

The sunlight of day 2 began peaking through the hotel curtains, like a kid on Christmas morning I was too excited to sleep in. This was our second day of the trip and the plan was simple… Do some exploring, catch a train to Yokohama and get our rental car. Easy!

The view out our window was a perfect snapshot of how densely populated most of Japan is. The buildings press up against one another like people in crowded lift, with dozens of air conditioner compressors thrown across the rooftops. We actually spotted plenty of rooftop gardens with their owners tending to them in the early hours.

Back on foot after we checked out of our first hotel, we wandered Ginza in search of food and treasure.

They hustle and bustle of Tokyo was all around with the sound of sirens constantly blaring.

There always seems to be something happening, we found two police cars and an ambulance outside this building.

Only a few hundred meters away from all the traffic and noise of the city was Hibiya Park, one of the smaller parks of Tokyo it was still a beautiful place to sit and rest.

With several flower gardens and two large ponds it was still rather large by Australian standards.

Benches!! We finally found bench seats!

We also found some strange “free range” kitties running around the park. It seemed they would become a regular sight of our two week trip.

Within the park there was also large amphitheater too.

Across the road we found the king of monsters, Godzilla!!!

This amazingly detailed statue just happened to be outside a First Kitchen, so we decided to stop for breakfast.

First Kitchen is kind of like Macdonalds but better in a few subtle ways, it by no means is to be considered great food but the pancakes sure hit the spot!

After finishing our meal it was time to wander back to the train station.

Along the way we spotted all kinds of cool restaurants, this one was tucked away underneath the train tracks.

The warm glow from the lights from this restaurant was very inviting underneath the bridge, they certainly waste no space at all here in Japan.

We walked back through some of the alleys of Ginza just to take in as much of the place as we could.

It wasn’t long till we were car spotting again, Ginza really seems to be the home of exotics and high end European cars. This California would have been our 4th or 5th Ferrari spotting in 24 hours.

Being our first trip to Japan I have to admit I was quite taken with all the tiny Kei cars and strange wagons. The Honda N-Box seemed to one of the most popular.

The council was busy all morning hanging up these banners from all the posts in the streets, it seemed everywhere was getting ready for some kind of festivities. With the Cherry Blossom/Sakura’s ready to bloom there really was a lot happening in all the towns.

One of the things we quickly noticed was the dedicated smoking areas around Tokyo, it seems it is very much frowned upon to walk and smoke at the same time.

After a surprisingly quick train ride we arrived in Yokohama and managed to pick up our rental car. The next step was finding our hotel. It was an easy find as it was the tallest building in Yokohama (2nd tallest in Japan!)

This thing was huge!!!!!!!!

After dropping off our bags we descended into the basement car park. Of our brief 15 minute drive in Japan this was possible the most daunting task. The car park was at least 3 levels deep and there was motion activated sirens at every blind corner to alert other drivers you were approaching.
Given the fact we couldn’t read the signs it was an intense few minutes. Once we relaxed to the soothing sound of car park music (Yep they were playing music throughout the car park!) we parked in the “whale section. (Yes they also distinguish the different areas with things like whales and grapes!). We parked up near this tough looking G Wagon.

The elevator propelled us to the 56th floor at an astonishing speed, lucky our breakfast was only small as it was rather sickening traveling so fast in a lift!

This was the largest hotel room of our entire stay, it was also surprisingly cheap compared to hotels back home. This room was less than $200aud for the night.

The view was awesome!! There was also a large window sill you could sit on so we spent most of our time with our noses against the glass.

Everyone looked like ants!!

After a few hours of staring darkness fell and the view changed dramatically.

Lights as far as the eye could see!!

We ventured out to get dinner and kill a few more hours, the amount of light coming from the Cosmo clock was insane!

This giant Ferris wheel is the worlds largest clock and we were amazed at all the different light patterns it had. Every hour it would perform a spectacular light show.

Now it was closer to 9pm we decided to go back and get the car, it was finally time to head to the holy grail of car meets… The Daikoku Futo parking area!!
Out in the middle of a man made island in the Yokohama harbor is a spiraling network of expressway ramps leading down to a public car park. Here a few food stores and shopping outlets welcome tired truck drivers to stop and rest.
Many years ago it was also the staging grounds for a lot of street racers to meet and scream off into the night, now with increased police activity it has become the go to place to see some of Japan’s best street cars.

The drive from our hotel was super short and after only 15 minutes we had arrived!! The experience of driving down the ramps leading into the parking area was breathtaking. I was truly speechless, the atmosphere had all the hairs on my body on end! The sounds of engines revving, cars downshifting as they made their way into the car park was one of the greatest things I’ve ever experienced.
Check out our full coverage of the Daikoku Futo PA here.
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

WTAC 2014 :: International Visitors

Grant — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 11:51:53 +0000

Like any music festival, big name acts bring the fans in droves, especially international super stars. The World Time Attack Challenge is no different and when it comes to international guests, they’ve got you covered.
It’s no easy task to convince a race team to invest a large amount of money to send a car on a boat half way across the globe along with a small army of mechanics to go head to head with a bunch of locals who don’t want lose on their home turf.
Year after year, Ian and the team behind WTAC manage to top themselves and 2014 was the biggest field of overseas talent we’ve seen yet!

First up team America had two entries. Andrew Brilliant has now decided to keep his time attack Eclipse within Australia (originally from the USA). Having the car based here and help from GT Auto Garage his campaign for 2014 was his strongest yet.

Having won both 2009 & 2010 Super Lap Battle Limited FF titles Andrew is certainly no amateur! With the dream of being the fastest FF car at WTAC Andrew had his work cut out thanks to a little mouse that could…
Andrew’s biggest rival is none other than the QLD based Mighty Mouse CRX. With a time of 1:31.8430 the little Honda was still at much faster pace than the Eclipse this year. Not to take away from AMB Aero USA’s efforts as Andrew and the team managed to shave off a staggering 5 seconds from their previous year!!

The car has undergone many changes since 2013 but the biggest change this year has been a new Haltech ECU and Jack LeBrocq behind the wheel. The team finished with 1:35.7200 around Sydney Motorsport Park.

The second entry for Team USA, ARK Design R32 Skyline and some say this car is cursed. Two years ago at it’s first WTAC, the car was accidentally shipped to China missing the competition completely. The team took a year off, rebuilt the car from the ground up and set course for Sydney once again. This time the arrived with plenty of time to add finishing touches in prepping the car…

This is where it all began to fall apart for the ARK Design team with multiple mechanical failures and then serious issues with the ECU. It was all over for the team even before the first day of competition… The R32 limped around the track for two sessions but did not manage a timed lap. We’re hoping this just makes Team USA push harder for 2015, as we haven’t seen two teams really go head to head for the fastest lap since Sierra Sierra vs Cyber Evo in 2011.

Now from the motherland, the biggest heavy hitters in WTAC history. HKS and Top Secret, two of Japans largest tuning names brought the fight in the form of two wild R35 Nissan GTR’s

The HKS GTR piloted by Nob Taniguchi really was one of the stand outs of the entire event. With ‘out of this world’ looks, the green headlights remind us of an angry alien/insect.

HKS’ direct competitor in the GTR shoot out, Tarzan Yamada in the Top Secret R35. We found ourselves pinching our arms while gazing at these legendary machines.

These were real hero cars and nothing was more exciting than watching these two giants battle it out in the fading light on Saturday.

Once the sun dipped out of sight, these guys really started pushing hard. HKS took the win nearly a full second in front with a time of just 1:30.8380!!

Tarzan certainly gave it all he could in the Top Secret GTR finishing on 1:31.7250. You can’t say he didn’t try.

Another entry from Japan and no stranger to WTAC, the Top Fuel S2000 was back again for another shot at glory. Nob Tanaguchi was also driving the S2000 for a second year, with plenty of seat time between this car and the HKS GTR Nob was certainly dealt with plenty of track time to get things right.

Pro class is where all the time attack monsters reside, Top Fuel has dealt with pressure like this before yet with the most competitive field ever seen at the world time attack challenge this would not be an easy task for Nob.
This year Top Fuel was sporting a new aero package designed by Voltex Racing to help win the fight. But was it enough?

They were faster this year but the team missed out on a podium finish by just over a second. Over the last 3 years they have continually improved in time and in speed. Sadly the rest of the competitors have also improved! The car did suffer a few issues over the weekend and we have to wonder if the car had more to give. Looks like we will have to wait for next year.

Nob locked the s2000 in 4th place with a respectable time of just 1:26.8700.

With a name like Kyushu-Danji, you can only guess that this team is also from Japan! The immaculate BNR34 Skyline GT-R snapped necks for all that dared to lay eyes on this albino Godzilla.

Hot off the heels from fast time around Tsukuba Circuit, Kyushu-Danji was here to set records! With a car that just screams race ready and a driving style that resembles Nigel Manson!

Driver Miyata Sumihiko pushed the r34 to its limits setting a time of 1:31.6856 taking 3rd in his class.

Another return entry, the beautiful RE Amemiya RX7. The ex-autosalon demo car turned serious time attack competitor has quickly become a crowd favorite.

This year in the drivers seat was none other than Japanese racing legend Max Orido!!!

Max is considered racing royalty and featured in many tuning video’s since the 1990’s making him quite the celebrity amongst Japanese tuning enthusiasts.
Max planted his right foot and steered the RX7 to it’s fastest time yet at just 1:27.3410!!

If WTAC had a public face it would be this man, Suzuki Under has been competing for 4 years now and has become the absolute crowd favorite and under dog of the event.

Committed is one way to describe Under Suzuki, we have watched his personal creation the “Scorch Racing” S15 transform over the last 4 years with more carbon fibre and aero development than the united states air force.

While he has received a little help along the way Under is still predominantly a privateer entry in the event, no one wants the win more then Under.

This year he pushed harder than ever before and it wasn’t until the final dusk session when the track was at it’s coolest that he managed his best time ever… All with no headlights!!

Under finished 2nd with a blistering 1:24.8800!!! While over the moon with his win, he has said he will not rest until he is number one!! We cannot wait for 2015!

So when the main attractions are the fastest tuned cars in the world what do you do for entertainment between sessions?? Bring a piece of motoring history to the fans of course, the infamous Mazda 767B Le Mans car! The sound is like nothing else 4 rotors of ear shredding glory!!

To see a classic Le Mans car on track was incredible! It is great to know this isn’t just collecting dust in someones garage and still being used to bring joy to the world. The owner/driver was so excited to be sharing his prized possession with the fans, so much so that he was only meant to complete 3-5 laps but instead continued for almost 10!

From seeing this as a matchbox car in our childhood, to seeing it in reality, there are no words to explain how amazing this piece of machinery really is. Everywhere it went the crowd followed! This year Mazda was one of the major sponsors of WTAC 2014 so along with the 787B they also had a good collection of historical and influential Mazda’s both on and off the track.

If the sound of quad rotor wasn’t enough to keep you on the edge of your seat during lunch than some freestyle motorkhana driving from NZ based Alex Kelsey and his V6 powered Peugeot was sure to get the blood pumping.

This car is as custom built as they come. Starting out in a similar fashion to Nigel Petire’s drift ute. Alex’s Peugeot started out life in tiny garage.

The angry little Peugeot features a hand-built Renault Sport V6 engine and spits flames like no tomorrow. What is it with cars from New Zealand shooting flames?!
We would like to thank all our internationally guests for their continued support of our home grown series and again to the whole team behind the World Time Attack Challenge. The greatest event on the Calendar!!
Stay tuned for even more post WTAC goodness.
Until than, full results here.
Thanks for reading,
– Grant.

WTAC '13 :: Film Only

Grant — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 10:09:24 +0000

Hands down the World Time Attack Challenge is the biggest event on our radar, each and every year Ian Baker and the team step it up constantly raising the bar. We’ve been fortunate enough to follow the transition from the old Super Lap event days, into the world class spectacle it is now known and loved by, under the current name as the World Time Attack Challenge or ‘WTAC’ for short.
The first ever post on gripshiftslide.com was you guessed it, WTAC 2011! To say the event has held a special place in our hearts ever since, would be a massive understatement. We thought it would be a great tribute to create an entire post capturing the event on good old fashioned 35mm film. The charm of anything analogue is hard to deny, the hiss of a record, black & white movies and the grain and colour of a film camera.
We hope you enjoy our unique look at last years event and let us know if you would like to see more posts like this in the future by leaving a comment at the end of the post…

Once again we returned to Sydney Motorsport Park, having access a day early let’s us get up nice and close to the teams as they began final testing before attempting some ‘hot’ laps over the weekend.
It also helps not having any of the crowds around as WTAC is one of the only event’s that spectators can literally walk up to the pit bays see teams working around the clock preparing their car for each session.

The first day of racing last year will be one to remember, as bush fires threatened the nearby blue mountains thick smoke blocked out the sun.

The scene was a very uncomfortable one with reports that hundreds of homes were under danger and the eerie light from the smoke meant there were next to no shadows.

The soft light did make for some remarkable photos though as we spent most of the afternoon watching the drifters set up their pits. While WTAC is all about the remarkable machines pushing the limits of engineering and the laws of physics, at the same time it is arguably the highest profile drifting event in Australia, with many international guest taking part in the competition that takes place in the evening.

One of the biggest appearances last year was from local Melbourne lad, Nigel Petire and his extraordinary home built drift Ute. He made the trip with not one, but two cars!

The Ute was handcrafted in a garage barely bigger than the car itself, don’t believe us? Check out our feature of the build here.
This was the first public event for the Ute to not only be displayed to the public but also be driven on track!!

Nigel was grinning from ear to ear when he wasn’t losing his voice talking to the crowds about his stunning build. He was both nervous and overwhelmed from the excitement of driving his precious creation on track with other cars for the first time ever!

While the car itself doesn’t comply with current competition regulations, Nigel isn’t bothered as he built it for demonstration purposes and of course tyre shredding FUN!!
He brought along his tried and true 180SX for competition duties. So when he was behind the wheel of the Ute, he was just concentrating on getting to know his new friend.

After the first night of track demos in the Ute, something didn’t go to plan and of course that’s just cars for you! Due to the ultra light weight, yet super strong body, the transmission was not having a good time dealing with the punchy SR20 and very grippy tyres, ultimately giving up and retiring the Ute from track duties much earlier then expected.

You could tell it was not how Nigel envisioned his first weekend away with his new toy, he had contemplated getting busy and swapping parts over from the 180SX to get it going again. After the crushing blow the spirits were not high in the Petrie camp and Nigel pulled the pin and left the Ute to be a static display for the rest of the weekend. Since the WTAC he has traveled to New Zealand with Ute and enjoyed hassle free drift demos for all to see and Nigel is set to bring it back to this years WTAC event. We can’t wait!!

Speaking of NZ, Kiwi drifter Mad Mike was over here competing in the drift comp with his world famous “Madbul” Rx7.

The heart of the car is a quad rotor, which produces a very haunting and howling exhaust note that sounds like an F1 car possessed by a demon.

This fire spitting Rx7 has been seen the world over with trips to America, Europe and Australia 3 times now!! Mike sure has a lot of international events under his belt!

Another car that made the trip over from New Zealand was the PPRE RX4 featuring a massive 6 rotor!!! Yep 6!
Mad Mike was invited to pilot the crazy coupe around the full circuit, paying absolutely no attention to any sound restrictions, it broke necks and made ears bleed!

South Australian drifter and “Wunderkind” if you will, Jake Jones is one of the youngest Australian drivers competing on an international level.

His aggressive driving style has seen him go door to door with the worlds very best and scored him international drives in drift competitions in both Japan and China.

Jakes Onvia has even rubbed panels with Daigo Saito most recently at the Melbourne round of FD Asia, check out how he went against the current drift world champion here.

In between all the track action, there’s always plenty to see off the track. Each year the show and shine grows in size and the quality of cars is always impressive.

We’re suckers for old school cars and what better to fill up our roll of film then a pristine Sunny truck.

Remember when Corolla’s were cool! We loved this white duo, the KE30 was our pick of the two.

The Heasman steering girls were all smiles despite the blistering sun beating down against the concrete.

We said each year Ian and the team step it up – this year they had a half pipe with BMX demos all day long.

This sort of entertainment can easily go unnoticed at such a large motorsport event, I remember stopping and watching for a good 15 minutes. These guys had talent!!

One more standout from the crowded show was this striking bright yellow widebody RX7, the RE-super G bodykit is one of the wildest looking kits for the FD RX-7. So aggressive!!

This tubular framed beauty is very serious Nissan Stanza built for the sports sedan series and was part of the Turbo Legends segment were power houses of yesteryear get to prove they still have what it takes to put down a quick lap time.

Back near the pits we hunted around for some of the most impressive builds we could find. This RX8 looks to be a future competitor but for now it was just a static display. If you think the aero looked great the engine bay alone has had more money and time spent the some cars see for their entire build.

The Evolution Custom Industries Porsche was literally the black sheep of the field. One of the only European based cars it had a massive cult following going into the event.
The car is a work of art and seriously fast, the team didn’t get to show their best with a turbo failure ending their chances early.

We thought it would be nice to include this picture of Agges’ 180SX of Insane Drifters fame, some 8 months and many, many events after WTAC the mighty red 180SX finally had it’s last collision at an event here in Melbourne.
Drift cars receive quite a beating and when you’re as competitive as Agges it’s bound to happen sooner or later and sadly this 180SX won’t be seeing the track again.

Melbourne based workshop and tuning specialist Road Track Rally had been achieving great wins with their Evo X. Sadly the Evo lost control at high speeds and collided with a concrete wall.
The team has been busy repairing and will be back for 2014!

All eyes were on the reigning champion Nemo Racing Evo, this engineering marvel had taking the rule book and thrown it out the window and really forced the Australian and Japanese time attack community to go back to the drawing board of what’s possible.

What goes up must come down and in a strange turn of events the team behind this magnificent car crumbled during the weekend sending rumors flying. The car only managed a couple of ‘safe’ laps before being retired back to the pits without a chance to hold onto it’s winning trophy from the previous years WTAC.

With so many classes competing at WTAC you really get a great comparison for times against so many makes, models and platforms. How does a tuned FWD Mitsubishi Colt perform against an street trim Nissan GTR? You’ll find out at WTAC.

Many Japanese teams have started to really to take to series, this year saw some very big hitters from Japanese tuning culture attend.

Top Fuel returned their super agile S2000 to Sydney to once again take on the worlds best, the previous year the car was relatively untested and effectively “out of the box”.

However driver Nobuteru Taniguchi still found the car too challenging to achieve it’s goal, the car performed a lot better but we think Nob will be back to prove he and the car have what it takes.

The Esprit NSX was easily one of the most anticipated international cars this year and with Tarzan Yamada behind the wheel it was a hopeful podium finisher too, after a few hairy spins and a small engine fire the mighty NSX did not get it’s time to shine.

One of the most eye pleasing cars was the RE Amemiya Hurricane RX7, this car was originally built as an Autosalon demo car. This just proves that the Japanese do not do things half-arsed at all, this car is not just a show piece and can really strut it’s stuff in the Time Attack arena!

Back to Australia and the Queensland based Mighty Mouse CRX, This David vs Goliath honda was determined to hold onto it’s NA FWD record from the previous year, Rob and the team did just that. Now with pressure on for a third year the team has since converted the car to left hand drive for better weight distribution… Yep, they’re determined to win again in 2014.

A rare sight outside of the original Fast & The Furious movie here in Australia, The Mitsubishi Eclipse is not something we’re used to seeing racing let alone driving on the street. This FWD racer is owned by aero extraordinaire Andrew Brilliant.
The car originally raced in the America and had many victories under it’s hat, at one point it was the number 1 car out of 50 high powered RWD and AWD cars. A true testament to Andrew’s skills aerodynamic skills.

After three long days of racing the last cars rolled back into the pits, most came back under their own power, some returned to the pits on tow trucks. WTAC is not for the faint hearted and you have to be willing to put it all on the line to win.

After all the action stops the show is packed up and we begin counting down the days till next year, thankfully as we post this we’re less than two months away from the 2014 World Time Attack Challenge!
Don’t miss out on the biggest event on the calendar and book tickets, time off work and accommodation now!!
Check out all the details here www.worldtimeattack.com
We hope you’ve enjoyed this nostalgic glance at our favorite event, it took two rolls of film and nearly a year to get it developed but we love holding a real photo in our hands!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Workshop Spotlight :: JVN Garage

Grant — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 10:59:46 +0000

Melbourne is now home to a different kind of workshop. A young man named Johnny, has held onto a dream for many years while he worked his hands to the bone for a few well established performance workshops around town.
With the help of family and friends, he has opened the doors to his very own slice of automotive culture.
JVN Garage is now the go-to place for servicing and maintaining your pride and joy. There are also future plans to include a selection of local brands to display clothing and products to tie into the lifestyle of young motoring enthusiasts.
I popped in for a visit on day one to see what Johnny had been busy building these last few months…

The factory has belonged to his family for 20 years and as Johnny grew, so did the family business. Soon it became too big for the south eastern factory and Johnny decided this would be the perfect home for his new business venture. He has spent close to 6 months tirelessly cleaning and fitting out the garage with the very best equipment and tools he could find.

Inside you’ll find not one, but two hoists! The aim will be to get the cars out as quickly as they will no doubt be coming in.

We’re sure many hours will be spent sitting at this bench perfecting and fabricating all sorts of exhausts and mounts…

This was a test pipe being fabbed up for a cafe racer.
While JVN will primarily be a maintenance & service workshop, don’t be surprised if you spot some exciting cars/builds in the shop. When Johnny is not under a car fixing it or writing music, you’ll find him sliding his SR20 swapped KE70 around at local drift days… so he loves his performance cars too.

As an avid DIY home mechanic with a habit for losing every tool I’ve ever needed, seeing a workshop as clean and meticulous as this is like stepping through the pearly gates into garage heaven!

This is a one stop shop! JVN has a tyre changer and wheel balancer on deck, so there really isn’t much that Johnny and the team cannot do for you.

Move up stairs and you’ll find a stark contrast to the industrial machines and tools below…

You’ll be transported home to a lounge with some spare rooms and plenty of distractions to keep things fun between jobs.

Air hockey and fooseball will prove to be a favourite during lunch breaks.

Johnny has a strong passion for music, so his decks are never more than a few meters away.

Cars and music, music and cars.

Downstairs this Toyota GS300 was in for a quick wheel change.

Out with the old and in with the new. Enkei RPF1’s look great on anything!

Outside, the front was filling up with some cars ready for the big launch night ahead.

This MX32 Cressida was gorgeous from every angle. The owner suggested this was its’ bad side, but we still don’t see it.

From Toyota’s to Honda’s, nothing is out of place at JVN.

This EP3 looked simple but had plenty of additions everywhere you looked.

We spotted a stealthy carbon intake hidden between the bonnet and windscreen and a host of gauges inside.

The team from Frush banded together to help kick off the new workshop for it’s launch night and it was great to see the local car community already behind the team at JVN.
We would like to wish Johnny all the best with his new workshop and can’t wait to visit again.
If you would like to get in contact with Johnny and the team check out their facebook page or give them a call (03) 8782 4809
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

CRX Australia :: Satay & Cars Melbourne Style

Grant — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 04:59:01 +0000

If you’re into modified cars and you know your way around the internet then you’re probably familiar with the term “Cars & Coffee”, These social car meet ups usually take place frightfully early on a weekend and the idea of a hot coffee is used to lure tired souls out into the cold morning air to talk about all things cars… This is Melbourne so things are a little different, the usual club meets and greats take place around some delicious piping hot food and carry on late into the night.
CRX Australia was due for a reboot after some months of hibernation so the always popular and recently re-opened Garage Cafe was the venue of choice, Honda’s, Targa tops, Wedge backs and Satay was on tonight’s menu.

Tucked away on a side street in Carlton lies a factory with no high-vis, no machinery and no workers… Instead inside you’ll find a few car spaces, a pool table, some cozy tables and the aroma of spices.
Garage Cafe have been operating for years but after a short hiatus due to council disputes they’re back open for business with regular car meets all week long.

The occasion of course was for CRX Australia, a club that’s been running since the heydays of Honda’s original boy racer. The CRX.
We arrived long before dozens of noisy Honda’s entered the building to the beautiful sight of two pristine C63 Mercedes parked up next to a very classy BBS coffee table (A favorite of ours from previous visits).

Not long after the CRX’s started to arrive, soon proving that over the years the club has shifted it’s dominance to the newer Del Sol chassis, as prices have come down, the older generations have become rarer and have held their price on the second hand market. Ultimately young drivers have won having Honda’s ever popular DOHC Vtec engine and a removable targa top all in an affordable package.

The popular modifications seem to be wheels and seats, you would be forgiving thinking that they all came with bucket seats as new walking around this group. The factory fitted cloth seats are now as rare as rocking horse poo.

Some had more character than others, however all still maintained a simple approach…

No body kits in sight, just clean factory lines and the addition of front lip. Remember less is more!!

One of the most popular seats in the Honda world, SR3 Recaros removed from a Type R equipped Integra or Civic.

The final numbers finished on 6 x Del Sols & 4 x 2nd generation CRX’s, all in all a nice mix of what is becoming one of the biggest cult cars in the Honda stable.

The 2nd gen’ CRX’s have always been popular in Melbourne with a large amount of owners lucky enough to have the imported SiR version.
Factory fitted with the first run of B16a, suspension tweaks, facelift and some with a moon roof panel from window to window giving the driver a unique experience.

Melbourne has been home to the largest amount of SiR/EF8 CRX’s in Australia with the club seeing as many as 15 at events in recent years.
Some CRX have changed owners in that time and it was great to see an old hero of the club with a fresh lick of paint and a great set of wheels.

This particular car has kept the original B16a power plant with a healthy amount of boost thrown at it thanks to a turbo conversion by Rev Zone, in it’s years with it’s original the car has claimed several trophy’s and awards thanks to close to 200KW at the wheels.

Any colour other than black is quite rare for these imported versions.

Adding a set of BBS wheels the owner has managed to really stand out amongst the sea of black CRX in Melbourne.

Keeping the German theme with the wheels the owner has fitted a sticker from one of the best blogs around, check them out!
https://www.facebook.com/SehrGute

We also spotted a GSS sticker on this rad Del Sol sitting on some Work Equips.

With everyone feeling full from the feast of Satay and Mi Goreng the group decided to venture out into the cool fresh Melbourne air for some photos by the water.

Several J-turns later we arrived together at another iconic Melbourne location for car fans. Underneath the Bolte bridge.

Now with some space to spread out we got to compare all the cars together.

Volk TE37 work on everything, literally!! Post a car in the comments that doesn’t look good on these wheels, we dare you!

It was great to re-visit the old spot now that the Melbourne Star Ferris wheel is finally operational, the light show it puts on as it spins looks great reflected on the dark water.

While the group kept chatting away we moved two of the Del Sols off for a quick snap together. The black one made the trip all the way down from Sydney to join the fun!!

One of the must underrated Honda’s of the 90’s, it’s great to see them finally get their time to shine.

Now pushing the 25 year mark the original boy racer is now thinning in numbers and I hope more owners hang onto their original gen’ 2’s as they’re a pretty special car in the Honda line up.
Well done to CRX Australia and it’s admin team for keeping name alive and bringing these people together.
If you need any help with anything CRX related whether it’s maintaining one or simply finding one jump on the forums or join the facebook group.
http://www.crxaustralia.com/
CRX Australia Facebook Group
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.