Melvin Tang – Gripshiftslide

370 ReasonZ :: To Choose Tyrepower

Grant — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 21:23:27 +0000

Nissan have always saved something special for models branded with the “Z” and the 370z is no exception, there isn’t a line or curve out of place on this car. It is the better looking younger brother of the 350z, the one that goes to the gym and drinks nothing but protein.

Jeremy Clarkson may argue that this car is just another Datsun, but he’d be wrong. This Nissan looks like it has more in common with some kind of futuristic metal shark than a dilapidated Datsun F-10 and with a modern nose, it makes it look like some type of supercar.

When someone has a vision and knows what they want, it can be very impressive when it all comes to fruition. Erfan, the proud owner of this tastefully modified Nisaan 370z, is no exception.

Starting with the colour, it is obvious that this is not just a run of the mill factory paint job. With enough clear coat to go around the earth twice over, the car continues to shine even if it is dirty. With such a quality paint job this car will undoubtedly continue to look good ten years down the track.

Ladies, you can keep your boring old seat belts because real men use race harnesses! Erfan not only built this car to be safe on the road but also built it for weekend track use. This car may look like a ‘hard parker’ but let me assure you I have seen it in action at Winton Raceway and it pulls down some impressive times and puts many of the other boys to shame.

When you have something in mind and you want to create it, money is no object! Erfan is a strong believer in quality and so only the best parts have been used to take this once standard looking 370z, to the awesome machine that you see before you today.

One of the major components of this build is the GTM – TwinTurbo kit Stage 2, which includes not one, but two Garrett GT28RS ball bearing turbo’s!!!
Not only are the turbo’s upgraded, but keeping it cool under the hood is the upgraded GTM radiator kit!

These Defi advance BF gauges look at home on the dash as there is not a screw or piece of velcro in sight here! When you have this much gear under the bonnet you want to make sure everything is working correctly and he can keep everything in check with these bad boys.

Sitting perfectly on a set of KW V3 coilovers and equipped with a Whiteline front sway bar, Whiteline rear sway bar, SPL rear camber arms and SPC toe bolts, this car has perfect fitment for street/track use!

With all of this power you need to have a way of transferring this to the ground efficiently and as you would expect, Erfan has not neglected to think this aspect through…

… The standard diff has been ripped out and replaced with a OS Giken 1.5 way LSD. Finding a way to tame this tail happy Nissan wasn’t easy and Erfan took great time to select a really good traction control system.
The Race Logic traction control system was chosen because it is used in the Gumpert and Koenigsegg these cars both have incredible power and Erfan wanted nothing but the best for his pride and joy.

Even the tiniest details have not been left out, with custom LED lights and an EVO R LED rear fog light.

Holding this beast on the ground is a set of Nismo OEM forged wheels by Rays. They are 19″x9.5″F +40 – 19″x10.5″R and have a huge brake setup thanks to Stoptech – BBK 15″F and 14″R, this car not only goes fast but pulls up pretty quickly aswell.

This car was definitely looking at home in the Tyrepower North Melbourne driveway! Being an owner of Tyrepower sure does have its perks.

From the back you can see how nicely the 370 sits, fat and low, just how we like it!

You do not see many 370’s that look this good. It has everything! Form and function come together in this impressive looking car where everything has been though out and implemented with military precision.

This car isn’t all turbo push either, it is still revvy and responsive. With smaller turbo’s that spin faster, you don’t end up with much lag at all.

Proof that this car does get to go out and stretch its legs, So far with some cooling issues Erfan has hit 1:44.9220 around Winton and plans to get that down even quicker now that the car has had some improvements made to the cooling system!!

From a distance the wheels look small but up close you can see they are actually massive! and I cannot believe they fit inside the guards, these large open wheels help to feed the cross drilled rotors with much needed air.

Tyre Power North Melbourne is a known hub for many performance and modified vehicles in and around Melbourne. If your ever in the area drop in a say hi to the crew, a great bunch of guys that can help to create the type of stance and look you desire. Big thanks go out to Erfan, Chris and Melvin Tang Photography.
Thanks for looking,
– Grant.
Mod list:
– GTM – TwinTurbo kit Stage 2
– GTM Radiator kit
– Race Logic Traction Control
– Fast Intentions TDX 12″resonated Cat-Back & High Flow Car
– Whiteline Front Sway Bar
– White Rear Sway Bar
– SPL Rear camber arms
– SPC Toe bolts
– EVO R LED rear fog Light
– Custom – LED lights
– TWM Short Shift Kit
– Setrap 34 Rows Oil Cooler
– Greddy Thermostat Sandwich Plate
– OS Giken 1.5 Way LSD
– South Bent Clutch Stage 4
– ACT Flywheel
– MCR Carbon Fiber Canards
– CarbonSignal Custom bonnet & fenders
– JL Audio HD 900/5 Amp
– JL Audio 13TW5 sub
– Boston Acoustic SR95 speakers
– Blitz – R-VIT DS
– Defi – Advance BF series – Oil Pres – Oil Temp – Boost Press
– KW – V3 Coilover
– Stoptech – BBK 15″F and 14″R
– Street = Venaci Spirit 20″x9.5″F +10 – 20″x11″R +5 | Bridgestone Pole REO50A 255/30/20F – 305/25/20R
– Track = Nismo OEM forged wheels by Rays 19″x9.5″F +40 – 19″x10.5″R +23 | Yokohama AD-08 275/35/19F – 305/30/19R

Mighty Car Mods :: Mighty Melbourne Meet

Grant — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 07:37:28 +0000

Earlier this month Melbourne played host to a Mighty Car Mods meet and with a massive turnout expected, both Marty and Moog came down to see what the Victorian car scene had to offer.
Rather than our usual running commentary we thought we would take the opportunity to catch up with Marty and ask him a few questions about the show and cars in general.

GSS – Hi Marty, thanks for catching up with us. Let’s start with your first car and what is your favorite memory about it?
Marty – My first car was a Kermit Green 1975 Holden Gemini TX. 1600cc of pure power. It was an absolute bucket but it cost $300 and arrived on a tow truck with many parts broken and missing. I’m not sure if this is what kick started my love for fixing up beater cars and making them mad but I knew almost nothing about cars, so armed with some tools and a Haynes Manual I set to work fixing it so it would pass its roadworthy. It didn’t. A few times.

GSS – What was your least favourite memory or experience with the Gemini TX?
Marty – I remember the exact moment the engine blew. That split second where the accelerator and the amount of forward motion your brain expects suddenly differs and to add insult, the oil pressure light glows bright red as if pay back for all the harassment the engine got while it was in my hands.

GSS – If money was no object, what car would you have to own?
Marty – Up until we made Episode 19 of Season 1 (How to Time Travel in a DeLorean) I would have said that car. But after I drove one, I realised it’s better off staying as a ‘Dream car’. That said they’ve been made fast with 2JZ’s and other crazy conversions, but no amount of JDM transplanting is gonna make it travel through time – neither will a Flux Capacitor purchase off ebay, apparently.

GSS – Is there a car you love but know you could never drive in public?
Marty – The cars I drive around, some would consider pretty embarrassing anyway. My newly built daily the ‘Blue Turd’ gets absolutely slammed by people like Jeremy Clarkson who say it’s everything that’s wrong with the motoring industry. I disagree, it’s a machine like any other car that can be made to do exactly what you want with the right skills. I’m sure Jezza’s that into engine conversions but after swapping in a 1.3l engine from a Sirion GTVi the car is a HEAP of fun to drive and own.

GSS – How did you and Moog become friends?
Marty – We were working at the same recording studio, he was writing and producing music and I’m an Audio Engineer by ‘trade’ so between recording songs and soldering stuff, we’d talk cars. Moog had a clean 180SX and after we realised we had the same appreciation for boost we became friends!

GSS – Mixing friends and business can be hard, have you guys had a smooth or bumpy road to get where you are today?
Marty – We decided from the beginning that being mates comes before everything else. We’re lucky that while we do have some sponsors who help us do what we do, we’re still independent and can decide our own destiny. The show takes up most of our free time when we aren’t working our 9-5 jobs but we still manage to hang out, eat pizzas and shoot zombies whenever possible.

GSS – When did you realise what you guys were doing was getting serious?
Marty – For me it was the first week of the Autosalon Tour in 2010. We’d been at it for 2 years at that point and were enjoying every minute. We’d been asked to travel around to all the shows and video the action as well as get up on stage. Perth was the first destination, I thought we’d be flying well under the radar in a place that far away from home but it was not to be. Moog and I realised that to get anywhere around the show we had to split up – and run! Or else we’d be stopped by heaps of fans who wanted to meet us – which is one of the best things about the show!

GSS – Did you ever have moment when you thought you were in too deep?
Marty – A few month ago I got asked to commentate on a drift event. I’ve been to plenty – and love drifting! But I realised pretty quickly that the actual process of commentating is a total black-art and you either have it or you don’t. I have a new appreciation for the jabbering that you often ignore at events, the guys brains are going at a million miles an hour to be able to come up with things to say.

GSS – While trying to stay under the radar have you ever had a crazed fan moment?
Marty – Moog had a fan appear to hyperventilate and then burst into tears at one of the Autosalon shows. He is also wildly popular with the Mums’ of some of the younger fans… I call it ‘Mooglemania’ – in honour of the Beatlemania that would have struck them when they were young.

GSS – Traveling all around Australia to visit car meets and events, have you found any state follows any unique trend or particular make more than another state?
Marty – Hard to say about particular makes and models, although its true each state does have slightly different trends as to the kind of mods. We’ve noticed this has a little bit to do with what you can get away with, as engineering and defect laws change and come in, some mods are just too hard to have on a daily driven car.

GSS – Are there any mods you have performed on a car and immediately regretted or have you completely ruined a car?
Marty – Yes, the entire Honda Civic build. It was done in jest, and to prove a point – that a car can still look great and modified, but doesn’t have to be so. We copped a bit of heat over that, which we were expecting but had some great laughs along the way. The brembo brake covers welded to the rear drums is one of my favourite ‘mods’ of our show so far.

GSS – People are always very keen to show you their cars, have you ever been shown a car or a modification that has horrified you from ether a taste/style point of view or just plan unsafe?
Marty – Well, we horrified ourselves when we set to work on the TRD Laser. It was our Season 1 Finale and our first proper tongue in cheek modding video. It repulsed us but still holds a place in our heart because of its beautiful flame paint job, and poorly installed bonnet scoop.

GSS – What has been your favorite car to work on and why?
Marty – I’ve got a soft spot for the Charcoal Subaru we built up last year. We found it in a paddock in Coffs Harbour with a blown engine looking very sorry. We documented the restoration and engine swap which turned it into a practical, good looking and fast daily driver. It was great to be able to drawn on all the knowledge I’d gained from owning Subaru’s in the past and do it right, but still do it on a budget and have a record of the whole experience.

GSS – What is your favorite time saving tool that you couldn’t be without working on cars or filming the show?
Marty – Battery powered Impact Gun. I wish I could reclaim all the time spend jacking up cars and spinning wheel nuts off one by one. Its the first tool I recommend people buy when they’ve covered the basics of spanners and sockets and whatnot. Shove a 19mm socket on the end and buzz off a wheel in less than 5 seconds. Awesome on the driveway and at the track!

GSS – Having bought so many cars over the years, have you got any tips for checking the quality of a car before handing over your hard earned?
Marty – That’s a tough one. I’ve been stung a few times myself with cars that looked fine. I slowly realised what I was doing wrong – buying cars in the dark!! Always try and view it in good light, it makes it SO much easier to see accident damage. I’m not bothered by mechanical issues in most cars these days, cause with the right knowledge it can all be fixed. Panel damage is not always the end of the world, but I’ve seen so many good cars ruined by dodgy repairs that have leaked water and then rusted, that I try and shy away from that as much as possible. I hate rust!

GSS – The show has been going on for quite some time, how have things changed to keep it fresh and new?
Marty -The formula is much the same as it’s always been. Sure our production standards have risen as we’ve acquired better equipment and refined our ideas, but you can watch an episode from Season 1 and Season 4 and the format will be fairly similar for an average episode. One of the ways we’ve kept it fresh is to do specials every now and then like ‘How to build a Zombie Proof Car’ where we use household items to protect a newly acquired car against hoards of zombies or ‘Buying Parts from Japan’ where we cut up a car in a rice paddy and send it home!

GSS – You guys always manage to post videos from events you attend so quickly, is this just something that came with practice or do you plan out shots and a rough game plan before you arrive?
Marty – One of the great things about Youtube and Online media is that it CAN be done so quickly. We’ve learnt a lot over the years about production and streamlined the way we do things. Both of us can plan, shoot and edit an episode and we’ll often switch roles depending on what the episode needs. Moog is a musical genius and his biggest talent is being able to create music that perfectly suits the feel of the video. Every video of our national tour had a different sound track, which Moog had recorded in the days before we left. We’d then shoot it, jump on a plane home and I’d be setting my alarm for 4am when the final render and grade were done, so I could set the video live.

GSS – So out of both Moog and yourself, who has the most ‘colourful’ driving history?
Marty – I think I’m a few points up on Moog, possibly because of the amount of driving I do! We try to attend events all around the country so I’ll find myself on the road to Melbourne, Brisbane and even Tasmania quite often. There’s been the odd tangle with Victoria’s ‘awesome’ speed cameras but I try to keep it pretty sedate on the streets – pick your moments and save the craziness for the track!

GSS – So you have been all around Australia and now Japan, where would you boys like to head to next?
Marty – We’d love to head to the USA. We have a lot of fans from over there. There’s a North American meet up happening in Canada in June so I’m planning to head over to that. We get contacted daily by fans from all over the globe asking us to come and check out their car scene which is awesome!

GSS – What is your ultimate car movie and why?
Marty – Turbo’s and Temples by Mighty Car Mods – excuse the plug but making that feature length film about Japan and it’s car culture we experienced first hand around Hokkaido was one of the best experiences of my life so far!

GSS – Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions Marty!
Marty – No problem boys.
To check out all the crazy things these boys with cars, do head to http://www.mightycarmods.com/
Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page, we have a massive competition starting next month!!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.
Photos: Melvin-Tang-Design-Photography

Chasers Motorworks Eastside :: Birthday BBQ

Grant — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 10:05:04 +0000

Earlier this month Chasers Motorworks ‘eastside division’ McGlone St Mitcham celebrated their second birthday, inviting loyal customers and friends along for a free feed and a few drinks to mark the occasion.

The weather was perfect with around 60 cars and 100 people coming out to enjoy the sunshine and awesome company.

Unfortunately a Vicdrift Members day was on at the same time and so a few people could not be in attendance.
But this didn’t discourage everybody else from joining in the festivities.

What is Chasers Motorworks Eastside?
Chasers Motorworks – Eastside Division began in April 2010 after Manny Su successfully negotiated an agreement with the already established Chasers Motorworks Dynon Rd (in West Melbourne). Bosses Glenn Trollope and Paul Flourentzou agreed that an eastern suburbs workshop would be mutually beneficial to both entities.

Together they would be able to provide excellent service, tuning and advice for a wider audience in the Melbourne car community.

Over the years there have been many people requesting to be a part of the Chasers Motorworks group, however they have all been turned down as the current owners felt that they either lacked an understanding of what their brand is all about or didn’t have the same passion or determination in cars/motorsport needed to succeed.

Fortunately for Manny, they agreed to allow him to operate an eastern suburbs based workshop, which marks an unprecedented event of having two performance workshops under the same banner.

Manny has been in the car street scene since 1998 and has experienced many of the huge events of yesteryear as well as having experienced the different styles of products and servicing on offer from many of the established workshops; most of which are still around today.

When a series of incidents led Manny to the capable hands of Paul Flourentzou (dyno tuner, ex Motec engineer) at Chasers Motorworks Dynon road, Paul tuned Manny’s personal s15,

Being so impressed with the level of service at Chasers westside, Manny wanted to start a car workshop which could provide the same level of service to the potential customers in the eastern suburbs.

What does Chasers Motorworks do?
Both divisions offer servicing, in-house tuning and race preparation and modifications.
Both workshop also follow this simple code of practice…
“Quality work, as quickly as possible, always keeping the customer informed, at an affordable price” – Manny

Chasers Motorworks are very seriously into the time attack scene with several cars (EVO 6, EVO 8, R32 GTR and an Audi TT) attending and placing very well in the “World Time Attack Challenge 2011” (Eastern Creek, NSW).

This year in August they will again vie for the title of fastest Pro Class car in Australia and are currently putting in a huge amount of effort to make that happen.

You will regularly see their cars or customers cars driving at local tracks like Philip Island and Sandown. For those that regularly race at Winton, you may have even seen Manny setting some respectable times in his own S15, which also made an appearance at the recent ARC Forum Battle.

So, if you love cars, or would like information on how to get onto the track, you should speak to one of the guys at Chasers and they will be sure to help.

If you are lucky enough to attend WTAC 2012 this year, come and say hello to the boys track-side.

I would like to thank Manny for taking the time to talk to us about his successful workshop.
Visit the Chasers website to get in contact with Manny and the team:
http://chasers.com.au/

A massive thank you to Melvin Tang for heading out and taking these awesome photos for us. If you would like to see more of Melvin’s work head to his photography Facebook page and hit that ‘like’ button.
We will be sharing more of Melvin’s work here in the future as he is joining the Grip Shift Slide team as a regular contributor!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.