Monday, January 3, 2011

Winton December 11th Video

So Finnnaaalllllyyyyy... the video from Winton in December is finished!

Me and Stu had a heap on, plus Christmas and New Years as well as problems with the footage made it take a fair while but we finally got it done!

Check it out and let us know what you think!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Solid Subframe Collars Installed!

Had a bit of spare time today so I put in my subframe collars. Took about an hour to do taking my time. Pretty easy install!

If your going to do this install, a breaker bar will be your friend!

First Impressions of the collars are all good! The only downside is the noise. The noise inside the cabin is definitely noticeably louder. The diff engagement, creaks and turns are made louder as well as a bit more road vibration. My exhaust also seems to sound louder inside the car.

I took my car for a bit of a spirited drive and the rear end definitely feels alot more solid and firm! Going around corners it seemed to stick really well and feel a bit more responsive to steering. I'm actually surprised at how much of a difference such a simple mod can make!

I'll have more info on them later as I get more used to them and have had a chance to take them for a proper drive and used them for a while!

Also, my under carriage needs a good wash! Haha



Mounts off and stock bush





Collars sitting in waiting for mounts to go back on and tightened





Mounts back on and collars installed!


Friday, December 17, 2010

Stock Tail Lights

I put my stock tail lights back on today

I was getting sick of my other tinted tail lights. I tinted them with "VHT Nite Shades" and they turned out well. Only problem (that I didn't realise at the time) was that it takes a while to fully set properly. I polished my car the day after and they must have still been curing as the polish ate through the tint and left swirl marks in it, also making them look a matte colour.

Anyway, I put the stock ones back in and it has made it look alot cleaner. I think I might skip tail lights on my list now and go for a rear bar first instead. Thinking of getting an Instant Gentleman rear bar. Think that it will finish the aero look off nicely plus i really don't like the look of the Nismo / Option Aero S13 pod's. Also thing it will look sweet with my new exhaust!

Let us know what you think of the stock tail lights vs the older tinted ones! Should I keep the plain stockies or buy Origin Style Smoked lights?


Solid Subframe Collars

Got my solid subframe collars today!

Got them off eBay from a seller called "t72dawg". Was hoping to get them in time for Winton but coming from the states it didn't look hopeful.

Apparently subframe collars are one of the most under rated or least known mods for handling and drifting. Stiffening up the rear end will help to encourage oversteer so thats definitely good for drifting. Should be especially good in an NA because we need all the help we can get from suspension!

Didn't get a chance to put them in today but I'll find time over the next few days and put them in. I'll also write about any changes that I notices, as one of the downsides that is noted is increased in cabin noise.

Not really complaining for $40 US plus post!


Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Beginning - Winton 11th Dec

I travelled up to Winton the night before with a few mates and we stayed at the Banella Leisure Park - pretty popular place for alot of the drivers; nice and cheap and about 5 minutes away from the track.

Banella is a bit over 250km's away from Wagga, but is still the closest full track for us. We have a skidpan about an hour from Wagga, but nothing that is as big as Winton. It's also the closest, and if I'm not mistaken the only location within Victoria that allows drifting on the track. This means the track day spots fill up fast, for the December day, spots were full after just 3 days of being announced open!

Heres a few photo's from the trip up:









A 2 or 3am finish on the Friday night was a bit much for some to handle haha. Vinnie taking a nap in the morning line up:





The lineup in the morning waiting for the gates to open is always an awesome sight. It's a great time to see everyones cars up close and personal, and it's just plain awesome to see up to 80 JDM cars all lined up at once! The extent to which some people go to for a track car is pretty insane! Mint paint jobs, big wheels and decked out interiors all for a car they can only drive on the track! It's awesome to see the dedication people have to the sport.






I should have some pics up in the next couple of days of Nigel Petrie's car - no doubt if your into drifting you would have heard of him! Should have a few pics up of him driving and his mint red Type X 180SX up soon!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Streetforced Team - Winton, Dec 11th 2010

The Streetforced team was at Winton on the weekend for the VicDrift open practice day, pouring smoke from every corner they took! Managed to snap some photos of them throughout the day.

The Streetforced team is managed by Donny, the SR20 King! Donny (aka SR-NRG) is a well known SR20 specialist throughout Victoria. Have only heard great things about his work. From dropping in some cams to a full rebuild to handle 700hp , he is the man to talk to! Donny will be doing the head work on my car and I know that he's going to do a great job! Head to http://dev3.ben-turner.net/index.php to find out more!

Dazza in the "Bumble bee" S13 didn't wait to get into it. Right from the word go he was tearing up the S section like there was no tomorrow. His driving throughout the whole day was great, getting some great angle and baking tyres all day long. It's great to see him back out on the track after a crash earlier in the year. Looks like the car has made a full recovery and performing well! You can't miss him in the bright yellow S13 he's driving!









Zeph's Wide Bodied S14.5 made me fall in love. The interior of this thing is immaculate! It's simple yet still stylish and in mint condition. Somewhat stripped, Red full cage, Bride Seats, Defi Gauges, and RPM Harnesses make it look amazing. The exterior is just as great. The strawberry face flows well with the lines of the S14. Theres nothing mexican about the fitment of the wheels in the wide body guards either! I didn't get any driving shots but it was just as good! Definitely well worth a close up look in the pit's if your ever at Winton on a Drift Day!









The apparently "Dark Green" Chaser driven by Steve was another great performer throughout the whole day. Must be the darkest green ever seeing as I thought it was Black all day! There were a fair few 4 doors throughout the day but none stood out as much as Steve's chaser! So much smoke was being pushed out of this car! Getting plenty of great angle and also some nice close tandems made for a great spectate! Big smoke while Munjiing up the straight showed off his skill. I got to catch some footage of his car for a run with a GoPro HD Hero, so look out for his driving in the video that should be up in the next few days!










The Streetforced team is definitely going to be making their mark in 2011! If you get a chance, go and check out their cars close up and say gday!

New Exhaust

The exhaust that was on my car was a peice of shit to say the least. It was a 2.25" press bent system that had 2 hot dog type resonators and a end muffler from a VN or VP Commodore! It had a bit of volume to it and sounded ok down low but terrible up high! Not to mention that the flow of it would have been pretty crap.

I purchased my own mufflers and had a local exhaust shop make up the piping and put the mufflers on. I got my work done by Pat at Don and Pat's Muffler Center at home here in Wagga Wagga. End result was really great. The whole exhaust system is tucked up really well and the welds look great. Would definitely go there again or recommend him to others. Great quality of work

I decided to go for a 2.5" Mandrel bent system to support the mod's I'll be doing to my car in the near future. I opted for a simple setup; a magnaflow mid muffler and a "DTM Style" rear muffler. Have always loved the look of twin pipes out of an S13 so I went for that style.

The Magnaflow I chose was a 11216. 2.5" inlet and a 2.5" outlet. Opens at the middle on both sides and is straight through. The quality of this muffler was awesome and with the Aussie dollar being so good against US it was at an awesome price shipped from the states.

The end muffler was also straight through, then just splits into 2 at the end for the twin pipes. This means that the whole exhaust system is a muffled straight through system. No baffles. No restriction. Should make for great flow.

I first was worried about the whole system being stupidly loud because of the good flow on it but was hopefull after reading alot about how well Magnaflow mufflers both flow and muffle sound. Hearing the exhaust now it isn't too much louder than the original one that was on there. It's definitely fine to drive each day, not crazy loud like some! If anyone is looking at a new exhaust, go Magnaflow! I'll be buying all my mufflers from them from now on! Plus you can save yourself a bit of money by buying your own mufflers than having an exhaust shop supply them!