Check out this awesome video of the Scion Rally xD at Olympus Rally.
Author Archives: Philip C.
RedBull Soapbox Racer
Over the past few weeks I have been helping to build a soapbox cart chassis. The project all started about 5 weeks ago when Import Tuner magazine decided it would be cool to enter into the 2011 Redbull Soapbox race in Downtown LA. Import Tuner mag wanted something that represented the import aftermarket car/parts industry and still be appealing to the masses. After some debate, it was decided, a Choro-Q or penny racer. It would be fun, not too serious and the dimensions fit the rules. I made the initial drawing to get the ball rolling.
Other than the Import Tuner mag and Source Interlink staff. Gary from Design Craft fabrication jumped on board to build a chassis and Troy of Five Axis was in to build a body. Import Tuner convinced Dai Yoshihara to pilot the cart and I volunteered to help do whatever.
Most of the team members. From Left. Scott of Import Tuner, Dai the Pro Driver, Me, Troy of Five Axis, Elliott of Source Interlink and Gary of Design Craft. There were a lot more people who helped and they are greatly appreciated.
The end result is a cool double A-arm chassis with push rod suspension, disc brakes and many man hours. The body is just as ridiculous. Scion FR-S concept turned cartoon racer.
The real Scion FR-S concept car at the New York auto show.
Choro-Q inspired FR-S next to chassis at Five Axis.
With everyone having CRAZY schedules we were able to test the chassis 2 nights before the event. Dai got to get behind the wheel 2 hrs before the event registration.
Testing right before the event. Dai had just flown in from Japan. He went from LAX straight to our test hill.
The event is more than a race. It compasses a 10’x10′ display at the event, a 30-second skit performed by the team members and of course the downhill race. The combined scores produce a winner. In case you did not already know – we did not win BUT I think we had the best looking soapbox racer ever built.
Our 10’x10′ booth display was comprised of stereotypical Japanese items.
Dai taking the banked turn right under the judges.
Right after the race all the people involved in this cart were talking about what improvements would be needed to win and what theme would be fun. The Redbull event was definitely a blast. Our cart probably had more money in it than any other but we worked just as hard to build it. In the end, it was fun and we would all definitely do it again.
Special thanks to Troy S., Elliott M., Carter J., Gary C. and Joey L. for the images.
Track Day
Two weeks ago I took my EVO 9 to a Speed Ventures track event for a fun day with friends. I had not driven on a track for almost 8 months. In fact, I had not driven my car more than 100 miles in the past 8 months.
I took the car to Tint Factory on Saturday to get a 3M clear bra installed to protect my newly acquired C-West hood. Special thanks to Garrett and Frank at Tint Factory. Packed up various tools and my car was ready by Saturday 9PM. Left to the track on Sunday at 5AM.
Arrived at ButtonWillow raceway and met up with a few buddies including Joey L. (ex-Sport Compact Car Chief Editor), Jay C. (ex-Sport Compact Car Technical Editor), Wes H. (Honda employee and Time Attack racer) plus a few new friends.
Jay’s Turbo KA S14.
The config. was 13 CCW which is a layout I had not driven in 3-4 yrs. My first session was kind of a rust remover session. I had not driven on track in awhile, the car had not be driven and the course layout almost seemed foreign. Before my next session I went out with Joey in his almost all stock EVO X GSR. That was a blast since Joey is a great driver and the EVO X is an awesomely fun car.
Joey’s EVO X GSR.
My next session out was much cleaner and I pushed a little harder. I was still only driving at partial throttle, super early braking and only bursts of full throttle at certain areas. When entering a corner at high speed a few too many thoughts race through my mind like:
If I go off, what will get damaged and more importantly how much will that cost me.
I wonder if my car will be able to get on a flat bed if I need to get towed home.
After I cleared those thoughts from my mind I began to push a little harder but still keeping it very chill. After all this was just supposed to be a fun day at the track. No timing, no competition. Just driving. I probably drove at 6 or 7/10th and still had lots of fun.
My EVO 9 SE
Next track event I will push harder and start to dial-in the suspension.
After arriving home and parking the car I thought about what needed to be done:
A good car wash to remove the 50+ dead bugs on the front of my car
All fluids change including engine oil, trans fluid, center diff., rear diff. and brake/ clutch fluid.
Rotate Tires, re-torque various bolts and a thorough inspection of brakes, suspension, etc…
SPECIAL THANKS to Wes H. for the photos.
Tradin paint and fiberglass plus Big Air
Rd. 2 of the Global Rallycross took place this past weekend at the Old Mill Adventure Park in Snoqualmie, WA (also home of the DirtFish rally school). The 2 day event is broken into two style of races. The first, held on Friday is SuperRally. Basically one on one battles with a bracket system finishing with an overall winner. In SuperRally, Stephan finished 3 overall but had an awesome battle with Dave Mirra in one of the rounds. Check out the video.
In case your wondering, Stephan went on to win a third and deciding race against Dave to advance.
In the Saturday RallyCross, Stephan qualified first and finished the AWD final in 4th due to a punctured tire. You can see the recap below.
The mixture of surfaces including wet tarmac, mud and gravel make for exciting racing where all competitors have a chance to take home a win. You can watch a rebroadcast of all the action on ESPN. Check you local listing for exact time and dates or check, www.global-rallycross.com
Image courtesy of Mr. Sean McDonough.
Formula D Rd.1
Only our engineer attended Friday’s practice and qualify. A few of us here in the office watched qualifying from live stream on various websites. We were disappointed that not all our sponsored vehicles qualified for the event but I guess that is how it goes. Part of what makes it exciting to watch. “Any Given Sunday.”
After Friday’s Qualify
DMac qualified the highest amongst TEIN users in 6th position.
Tyler McQuarrie qualified two spots behind in 8th.
JTP got the 11th spot.
Charles Ng qualified 20th.
2010 Champion Vaughn Gittin Jr unfortunately did not qualify. Hopefully JR tears it up at Rd. 2 in Atlanta.
Found another competitor, Guthrie on TEIN Super Racing coilovers. Guthrie unfortunately did not qualify but his FD3S looks pretty buff. Might remember this car from HERE.
Saturday’s Main Event
The weather was awesome with clear skies and a nice cool ocean breeze. Spectators filled all the stands around the track and between rounds there was plenty to see. Full vendor area, race pits, car show and of course food.
The stands were packed with spectators.
The vendor area had both products and vehicles on display.
Found a twin turbo Mustang from HESS Motorsports which we sponsor in the Exedy booth.
Lots of high quality cars on display for the FATLACE show.
Cruising through the car show area I found Abe K.’s Lexus on display. He is rocking FLEX Sedan coilovers and a Platnium VIP cup kit.
I was fortunate to get a VIP wristband from a friend at NOS who had a hospitality tent and their own section of bleachers. Here is the view from their bleachers.
CONGRATULATIONS to JTP, Falken Tire and ASD. TEIN Coilovers for the WIN!
Some photos taken from Formula D and ASD.
S. Verdier Podium Finish with Video
A big congratulations goes to Stephan Verdier and his crew for the 3rd place podium finish at Rd.1 of the Global RallyCross Championship.
Stephan finished behind Marcus Gronholm and Tanner Foust in the Saturday final which is outstanding considering many of the other competitors have HUGE budgets and some are factory backed.
From watching the in-car videos it looks like Stephan had a lot of fun on the Irwindale Speedway course which featured a 70′ gap jump and 50/50 tarmac to gravel road surface.
Our own engineer, Mr. Katsuma Nakai, was on hand for suspension support. A few minor tweaks were made to the Gr.N dampers which performed flawlessly.
Check out the in-car video from MotoIQ and Saturday’s final.
Images taken from MotoIQ, Urban Racer and Subie-Life.com. Video taken from MotoIQ and XGames.
NFS SoCal Meet
The Need For Speed SoCal meet held at the Source Interlink Media offices in El Segundo, CA was a quality event. There were nice cars, free raffles, delicious taco plates and plenty of game stations to try out NFS Shift2 Unleashed.
Source Interlink opened up their garage and photo studio area for the public. They had some awesome cars parked throughout the building including Rado’s Time Attack tC, Evasive Motorsports EVO 9, Twin Turbo built Viper, JR’s NFS Mustang and a bunch of other projects.
Source Interlink’s Garage area which has multiple car and motorcycle lifts, Snap-On tools and full bar. Yes, a full bar with LCD screens, and lounge area.
Evasive Motorsport EVO 9 Time Attack car parked near the photo studio. NFS Shift 2 gaming consoles were placed throughout the building for people to try.
Inside the photo studio area.
EA ran a contest for the fastest driver on the DBox setup. Winner got a Logitech prize pack.
In the morning the sky was gloomy but it cleared up later in the day. There was a wide variety of quality cars on display.
Loi from SportCar Motion brought up their monster DC2. Going to Arizona later this week for Modified Tuner Shootout.
My EVO 9 parked next to Brian’s (Mackin Industries) EVO 10.
Two more Evasive cars. Mike’s Civic Si with Type R conversion and Ken’s Voltex kited S2000.
Big Thanks to EA and Source Interlink Media for throwing the event. Check out Speedhunters.com for more coverage.
RallyCross or NFS SoCal Meet
Living in Southern California has its perks. This weekend locals have two events they can attend
Global RallyCross Championship at Irwindale Speedway
or
Need for Speed SoCal Meet at the Source Interlink offices in El Segundo
Preparing for GRCC Rd.1
Stephan Verdier is putting the finishing touches on his STi for RallyCross competition. Stephan and his crew have been hard at work preparing his car and it is looking GOOD.
We loaned Stephan a set of our Gr.N dampers which have been proven in Rally competition.
To see more of Stephan’s car visit MotoIQ which has a great writeup by Mike Kojima. Click HERE
Preparing for NFS SoCal Meet
On the other end of the spectrum I am preparing my EVO 9 for display at NFS SoCal meet. My car is in no way a show car but I do like the occasional meet with the relaxed atmosphere. Plus the Source Interlink offices are pimp, fully loaded garage with full bar. If you did not know Source Interlink is the publisher for Super Street, Import Tuner, Modified, Euro Tuner and a bunch of other automotive related magazines.
I have not started my car in over 3 months so a little work needed to be done. Oiled the valvetrain/ head, replaced the spark plugs, had my RC injectors tested and cleaned and installed a C-West hood.
Updated pics of the car coming soon.
Check back here next week for some event coverage.
Scion Rally xD VIDEO
We got this video a week ago from the team who run the Scion Rally xD. Video features footage from Rally America Rd.1 in Michigan.
The xD is now under further development before the next event. Check out the RallyxD website for more information and updates.
Abe goes to Wekfest
Who’s Abe?
Abe is the owner of a show car that we sponsor. He owns a 2004 Lexus LS 430 which has FLEX Sedan coilovers coupled with a Platnium VIP Cup Kit. The setup allows Abe to raise and lower his VIP styled Celsior over 2.5″ by hitting a few switches.
The FLEX Sedan coilovers were developed to slam big body Japanese sedans. Typical ride height adjustment range on the coilover kit is 3.5 to 4 inches. Meaning on a stock ’01-’06 LS430 (UCF30) the ride height adjustment range is:
Front: +20mm to -112mm (+.79″ to -4.41″)
Rear: +20mm to -116mm (+.79″ to -4.57″)
Okay, enough about the coilovers for now. More on that at a later date. Or contact us for more details. Application list can be found by clicking HERE.
Abe rolled up to SF with his buddies from Platnium VIP who did all the body work and paint on his LS.
Herbst Pavilion is part of the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, CA.
Abe’s LS430 parked with other Platnium VIP cars.
Abe’s LS430 features Kranze wheels, Junction Produce body kit, custom metal body work and custom black paint.
Gordon Ting built this GS450H for Lexus. Features custom Super Racing coilovers and a host of aero mods.
Lovin the old HKS livery.
Lots of Ol’Skool cars in attendance.
Plus newer cars like this 370Z.
Deep dish wheels and slammed always looks good.
Photos courtesy of Abe Ko.