ASB 2008 !!!

today i went to the willow springs raceway in ........ in.....
lancaster........ i think.
it was the annual All Star Bash weekend where all the crazy
drifters gather for saturday at the 'balcony' and sunday at the
'horse thief mile'. (www.justdrift.com)
i took the horse thief mile picture because i thought today
was the horse thief mile day, but there was no one there
when i got to the pit area. and when i got to the balcony pit,
it was PACKED ! lots of drifter dudes some with real nice
cars and some with not so pretty cars.
i brought my chaser out for some fun and it's been a long
time since i've driven at balcony but it was lots of fun !
i wish i could've stayed for sunday at horse thief, but i had
to come back. maybe next year !

hiro

OS Giken clutch !

i'm installing a new parts for my cressida manual swap.
it is the OS Giken Super Single clutch with the OS Giken
Movement Alteration kit.

i use the OS Giken Twin plate clutch and OS Giken
Super Lock LSD on my Chaser and it has worked
without any problem for 3 years of hard competition.
Taka has them in his hachi too.
the endurance of OS Giken products is awesome !

you can find out more about OS Giken products here :
http://osgiken.net/index.html

hiro

For Las Vegas

Tadaaaaaa----!

I just got a pair of shoes yesterday for Las Vegas.

The ones I wear right now are heavy and not mesh materials, so it would be too hot to use in hot weather.

These are pretty light, and even if I get dirty, it won't show cuz it is black! =)

I am still looking for the things for Las Vegas to survive in Las Vegas.

I hope I won't pass away. ;)

Yoshie

new handle !

a new handle for the hydraulic e-brake was made by
Scott at SPD Metal Works.
now with the super wide 315's on the rear wheels, i
needed to pull on the e-brake handle harder to lock
them up.  and that previous flat metal bar wasn't very
comfortable so this new handle was made.
it should be easier to lock up those monster Falken
Azenis RT615's now !!!

hiro

ps.  Scott also put the "NOB" sticker on the center dash
for the extra 'touch' !

Drift Day @ Camarillo

I went to the Drift Day event @ Camarillo on last sat.

I felt it was almost summer!  I don't easily sweat...but when I changed the tires...OMG, I started sweating right away. 


I found out something really important (at least for me)...

I usually don't feel any difference between male and female as a driver.  Like...I don't get treated like "O, female can't drive/drift blah blah blah" kinda thingy...

BUT, I felt so much difference on last sat... =(

----

I set my goal for this year that how to master of using ebarke.  I only used e-brake for initiation before...nothing else.  

I took the rubber cover from my ebrake so that I could grab it easy since my hands were small.

Then, I tried to lock my ebrake to slow down & turn as the first step...but I couldn't.  I pulled the ebrake as hard as possible, but it didn't work.  Yes, my wimpy muscle!! =(

So I definitely have to modify my ebrake that I can just lock really easy. 

----

Now....I have muscle-aches because of pulling the ebrake!! hahaha =)

Today, just my blah....


Yoshie

Healthy (?) JDM snacks

whenever i go to a JDM grocery market, i always buy
these "Tennen Koubo Pan". they have several
different flavors but i always only get the 'chocolate'
and 'kokutou (brown sugar)' ones. since it's not
that sweet at all, all flavors tastes kinda similar...
it's pretty big and i like it because it's very fluffy inside.
you can get these at mitsuwa, nijiya, and marukai.

"my boomu ! "

hiro

Oxygen

I bought the canned oxygen a couple of days ago...and I just received it today.  YAY! 

Well, it was @ NJ Formula D event.  One of our friend bought the canned oxygen @ gas station, and it worked the person who was really upset.
Of course, not only calm the feeling, it would give me clear brain work...maybe will help to burn more fat when people do exercise! =)

I've already got a couple shots...and got a bit dizzy...so I think it is working.  Hopefully, not placebo...HAHAHA

Anyway, have a nice weekend! =) 

Yoshie

finally fixed the exhaust on my "zombie" chaser . . . .

my exhaust on my toyota chaser jzx90 was completely
split all the way from the end of downpipe to the exit.
i finally found the time to bring the car to SPD Metal Works
and got it fixed by Scott.
it feels great that all the exhaust fumes are exiting at the
rear end of the car !!

hiro

New Parts

I got a few parts that supposed to be into my competition car.

One is...my good friend, Mike Kojima, let me use his boost controller since I am so broke that I don't think I can buy sometime soon. hahaha

The other one is...BOV that got off from ebay...yes, cheap one! hahaha I also disassembled it since I wanted to see inside. =)

Anyway, these will be in my car sometime soon. (I hope.)

Other than the car parts...my daily Cressida wagon's AT tranny was dead last week. I am so sad. =(

Yoshie

Formula D Rd.3 Englishtown, NJ

I just got back from Formula Drift 2008 at Englishtown.
Geez, it was such a hot event !!! It was almost hard
to stay in conscious while waiting at the start line....
Finally the time has come for both me and Taka to test
out our new motor !
The practice on Thursday didn't go too well for both of
us since we both had some minor problems which
prevented us from getting many practice runs. So, we
just got the 'feel' of how the course was laid out and we
just had to 'image train' ourselves for Fridays practice
and qualifying rounds.
During the practice on Friday, I had a little problem
adjusting my initiation point and kept going too fast
off the pavement into the grass dirt. I was mad because
I spend a good time cleaning the car right before the
practice..... but as I got more runs in and as I got more
used to this new monster engine power, my runs got
better and better ! The Falken/Discount Tire IS350 with
the new Hasselgren custom V-8 is nothing but plain
crazy power. We haven't put it on the chasis dyno but
I wouldn't be surprised if it was close to 800 hp !!
It spins the new 315/30/18 Falken Azenis RT615 no
problem with incredible amount of smoke !!!
Then it was time for Friday's single run qualifying.
On my 1st judged run, as I accelerated hard on the
straight away.... 1st gear..... 2nd gear...... 3rd...... gari gari ?!?!
I blew the 3rd gear and shooted off course.
Since there was not enough time to swap out the tranny
between runs, I had to drive with only 1st, 2nd, and 4th gear.
For my 2nd run, I went smooth and easy in 1st and 2nd gear
to get in as much speed as I can then hard shift into 4th and
kicked the clutch........ . . . . . and made a decent run.
And I qualified 9th. What a relief !
Unfortunately, I had to miss out on the evening practice
session because my car had to get a tranny swap to get
ready for Saturday's rounds.
The IS350 was ready to rock by Saturday morning and
after a short practice, it was time for another single run
qualifying to make the Top 16 positions.
By this time, I had finally figured out the course and knew
exactly what I had to do to get the high points from the judges
thanks to precise advise given by Yoshie, our trusty spotter!!
My first run was alright, but the speed was not up to par,
and I was not close enough to the first outside clipping
point. I knew this run was not good enough. So, for the second
run, I just went for more attack and held the aggresive high line.
And I got it on the perfect line on the entry and kept good angle
and lots of smoke until the transition right before the finish.
BUT, right at the transition, my throttle pedal got slightly stuck
and I spun out as I lost the precise throttle control...............
I was sooooooooooooooo mad !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I went to talk to the judges later and they told me I would've
qualified in the top 3 position if I had not spun.
This is all part of the sport. One mistake and you are done.
I am still angry as I am writing this, but all I can say is that
the Falken/Discount Tire IS350 feels great and I cannot wait
for the next Formula Drift in Las Vegas !!!!! Revenge !!!

hiro

ALL FEMALE DRIFT CLINIC

I was the first female drifter that started drifting in the US. 

There were a lot more girl drifters while back, but less and less girls are coming to the drift events w/ time passed.

Then, one of my girl drifter friend, Kat Tanaka, decided to have all girl event in July 2008!!

They flyer has the car I used to drive!

I hope people who have left drift scene & are new to drifting come to the event and have fun there like old days.

If anyone is interested in, please let me know!

I am soooo excited! =) 

Yoshie

It's done... and on its way to Englishtown New Jersey !!!

Both Taka's Falken AE86 and my Falken/Discount Tire IS350
is finally finished !  It's been a long few days for me, Taka, and
all the people who helped on our cars, but it feels great to have
everything done and see the Falken rig drive away on their long
trip across the country.  Since both Taka and I will be having a
lot more horsepower and the cars balance has changed
drastically, we really needed some practice seat time to get
used to the car before heading right into the Formula D
competition.  But the good news is that the cars are on the way,
and the rest is all up to us me and Taka, the drivers !!

Wish us good luck at the Formula D round 3 at Englishtown,
New Jersey !!!

Hiro & Taka

3 more days until the cars take off to New Jersey...

Minasan ogenki desuka~? (How is everyone ?)

Taka's Falken AE86 has a brand new smoked out
JDM tail lens from Wise. And the big milk tank and
it's catch can small tank near the roof. The new
center console is carbon fiber with cleanly layed out
relays and fuses. The car still has a lot of work left
to do for both engine and body, but we still have
3 more days..... that's more than 70 hours !!!

Hiro's Falken / Discount Tire IS350 has the new gauge
cluster from Motec. I can have all the engine info
(ie. W/T, O/T, O/P, F/P, V, etc) and the bright led shifter
lights at the top. After JSP's Mr.John finished the
awesome clean headers, brand new plug wires were
installed. And look at my new tire size !!!!!

hiro

a little more scoop on the Falken/Discount Tire IS350

Right now the custom headers are being built by
Mr. John from JSP Fab as we speak.  Since it's a
V-8 engine, the space between the heads and
the frame rails are really really tight.  And with the
steering shaft on one side and the oil lines weaved
on the other side, it just looks impossible.... for me.
The driver's side is already finished and it's
simply a work of art.  I don't know how he can image
this 3D twist and bends in his head to come up with
that finished product. 
With the old header, it was almost impossible to do
the spark plug change because we coudn't get our
hands and/or tools in between the header pipes.
But with this new design by JSP, the header looks
way nicer and it's also much easier to access the
spark plugs!
The passenger side is almost done, but all I can say
is good luck Mr. John !!
Both the staff at SPD Metal Works and JSP is working
without sleep for the last few days working on both
the IS350 and Taka's AE86.....
1 week to go !!!

References :
SPD Metal Works : http://www.spdmetalworks.com
JSP Fab : http://www.jspfab.com

hiro