AugustaDrifting.com

I am in Myrtle Beach, SC. It’s the end of August. A hot, flesh searing southern sun beats on drifters for hours as they push themselves and thier chosen machines far past limits set by government agencies and society at large. The occasional arid breeze clears some of the vaporized rubber from the air; which, accompanied by sparse clapping and cheering is what is usually left in the wake of these low-slung pleasure machines. The cones on the course sigh as yet another would-be attacker approaches the starting grid in preparation for a ballet of physics and nerves…. The stage is set for an anticlimactic return to the sport of one of Augusta’s own which ends bittersweet.

Ok, really. I’ll quit playing with words.

In my last run, after a long drive and lots of fun I made the aqaintance of one Myrtle Beach Speedway infield wall. I had come close to meeting his friend on the other side of the course earlier in the day, the wall just decided to jump out in front of me, i dunno, maybe he had to take a bathroom break or something. I claim no responsibility for this damage at all, j/k.

After playing tug-o-war with a stationary tow truck she looked waaay better than right after i hit.

FF>> to at home 3 weeks later and it all looks about the same. Thank God that i could drive her home with the damage.

Look at that… pushed the fins in and missed the coolant passages, wow.

The impact ripped/broke the bumper support on the passenger side right off.

So here she sits. what to do now? Hhmmnn, what to do?

My car is a 95′ S14 base model and has come along way in the past 4ish years that i’ve had it. Since i was 15 and knew hardly anything about cars i liked the S14 in pearl white and now i’ve got one and love driving it. My car is and probably will always be a project since i am always changing directions and having new ideas i want to pursue. I  mainly AutoX’d the car from 05′-07′ but after sliding around i knew the way i wanted to go and started to get into Drifting which led to me to 3 events during 2008 at Atlanta (Triple Threat July, Say Cheese November) and Cordele Watermelon Speedway (SED Nightdrift II). Here are some pics, enjoy.

Changes, living in Savannah and AutoXing

Drifting

I will continue to take my car to events, now that i have another vehicle i can not be so worried about using this as a high strung daily driver and just focus on having fun. Now i am trying to make sure this car stays reliable and since my engine is approaching 200,000 miles it has some preventative maintanance needed. I don’t know what lies ahead beyond that though as far as motorwork goes, i think i have plenty of power to have fun right now and i should just save on up for a big change down the road aways….

MODS:

ENGINE:
A-Spec short Ram Intake piping
K&N Extreme Filter
MAni-back crazy exhaust w/a No. 1 DSM muffler
NGK plugs and wires
Polished Valvecover
Always Mobil 1
NEW Underdrive crank pulley

DRIVETRAIN:
NEW Competion Clutch stg2 kit (7/09)
Lightweight flywheel
New OEM clutch and flywheel as of 3/08
Royal Purple Diff fluid

SUSPENSION:
MDU fr. coilovers
KYB AGX adjustable shocks
Eibach Sportline Springs
PROTHANE master bushing set
Wicked Tuning Inner Tie rods and Ends (17mm)
Wicked Tuning RUCA’s
Wicked Tuning prototype Blue Racing lugnuts short open end type
Megan front strut bar
Greddy triple tube rear strut tower bar
Progress Adjustable rear sway bar + heim endlinks
Ebay hard heim joint front traction/caster rods
Ebay hard heim rear toe control rods
New front 5-lug hubs from Superior Nissan Motorsports
Nismo 60mm front wheels studs
R33 rear 5 lug knuckles & e-brake cables
R33 GTS-T sumitomo brakes alum 4/2 piston calipers 296mm rotors
PBR Metal Matrix pads
Agency Power SS brake lines

WHEELS:
Work Equip 3pc Gold/polished
17×8/9 +32 set
Work Ryver white
17×8/9 +35 4/5H
Gewalt Mesh silver
17×7.5 +38 4/5H 1 pair
Mustang Cobra 03′ chrome
17×9 +30 5H 1 pair
Mazda FD RX7 silver
16×8 +50 set

EXTERIOR:
S14 Navan front bumper
Blacked out headlight housings
Cleaned headlight covers
5100k HiD setup
98′ taillights
My ‘Got Bored’ 3rd brakelight w/Sexypants right above it
dents and scratches custom applied over the years
Rolled rear fenders w/out pull (for now)
Factory sunroof deflector

INTERIOR:
R33 GTR seats
240sx mats
G-Force racing harness
Cd/MP3 player
No interior (leaky seals dammit)

Ever spend money on something, then immediately feel regret after realizing that someone less fortunate than you is starving while you’re spending money frivolously?  Not me!  In fact, heres a list of cars I would rather buy than sponsor a starving child.

It may seem cliche, but I’ve always wanted a Skyline R32.  It seems any fanboy on the planet can pick one out on the internet like a lame version of wheres Waldo, but I’ve always admired the design and soul behind it.  Though many will think I’m crazy for saying this, I would MUCH prefer the GTS-t model over the GTR.  I know, I know; this is madness.  But when it comes down to it, I just love a rear wheel drive car.  If I had this car, I would never drive in straight lines, and the cops would be able to follow neat lines of shredded tire and smoke right to me.

Though, not at the top of my list, I would still love to cruise around in this Mad Max machine.  Though I dont recall who built this, this image is permenantly burned into my eyes.  I cant explain why I like it, I just know its awesome.

I know, I know, two skylines in one post?  I’m a fanboy, ok?  The 71 skyline GTR, in my oppinion, is one of the coolest old school imports to ever roll off an assembly line.  Wide low offset wheels, fender mounted mirrors, boxy yet smooth flowing lines, l28 engine… theres nothing not to love here.  When I think of a car that would get my blood flowing on the drive to work, this one ranks pretty highly up there.

69 SS Camaro.  I’m not going to go on and on about this here.  Its just awesome.  Parts are cheap, and it would be easy to work on.  The exhaust note and body lines take care of the rest.  Mash the pedal and instant hard-on.

Here is my number one.  My ultimate automotive fantasy.  Did you expect something else?  The jzx81 chaser.  A lightly modified chaser would be ideal.  Coilovers, a little more power from the ‘otherwise stock’ 1jz engine and I would have a beautiful car for both comfortable daily driving and track use.

This typical ae86 started life as a battered beaten down piece of scrap metal.  Inexperience at the time, I drove over 200 miles to go buy it and drive it home with my friend.  I was satisfied with it although the testdrive showed obvious faults (no braking pressure, no exhaust, dissapearing coolant with no evidence of leaks, etc;).  This was about to be my greatest learning experience ever.

I was driving in front of my friend in my NSX while he was following behind me.  we drove about 10 miles from the sellers house and I happened to look into the rear view mirror and saw clouds of black smoke pouring out from behind the 86.  My phone rang immediately, my friend was on the other end, sounding quite concerned for both the car, and his own personal safety, we decided to pull over.

We opened the hood and the first thing we saw was a small fire near the exhaust manifold.  Naturally we ran away, expecting the car to go up in a big fireball.  Twenty minutes later the smoke cleared and we deemed it safe to examine the car closer.  I found a huge oil leak under the car, and decided that ’something must be wrong’.  I convinced the previous owner (who had assured me that the car was in tip top shape and just rebuilt three thousand miles ago) that I wouldn’t stop payment on the check if he just towed the car to my house.  My thoughts at this time were ‘how hard could it be to fix it’.

Lucky for me, I have friends who know what they’re talking about.  So over the next four months, my knowledge and confidence in automotive mechanics improves one-hundred-fold.

With the engine finished, we went to getting the body figured out.  This took nearly a year and a half, I shamefully admit.

Since the completion of the project, however, its had problems.  The waterpump input shaft bent, the oil pump seal gave up, brakes gave out; just to name a few.  So unfortunately I haven’t been able to drive it for more than a week at a time.  As it sits right now, the motor is out yet again, but I’ve taken care of all the issues, and its ready to go back in as soon as I find a new lower timing cover.

Dans AE86

A short clip of the exhaust note.

Mods:

Head -

• blue top head
• Crower cams, 272 duration 7.9mm lift
• Shaved head
• t-vis removal

Bottom end-

• ae92 red top bottom
• T3 lightweight underdrive pulleys

Exhaust-

• 4-2-1 long header
• test pipe
• rs-racing exhaust

Cooling-

• Koyo Radiator
• electric fan

Fuel

• Walbro 255lph fuel pump
• altezza fuel regulator
• 220 injectors

Drivetrain-

• TRD 1.5 way (I think)
• XTD stage 3 clutch (I know, its a cheap piece of crap, but I needed something to wear out until I get the bugs worked out)

Suspension-

• 2.5kg 2.2kg progressive rate ebay springs (temporary)
• KYB GR2 shocks (temporary)
• Cusco swaybars

Wheels-

• Advan Oni’s
• XXR somethings or others
• Kumho ECSTA 195/50/15

Its about time for a change, and this is a pretty big one.  Later I’ll let you know what we can do with this new software.  let me know what you think.