Monthly Archives: October 2008

Irish ProDrift AE86s

October 31, 2008 in Feature Cars by

We all know the Irish are crazy, but we also know they have some of the best AE86 outside of Japan. From SR20 transplants to F20C installs to 2.4L NA BDA powered rally cars the Irish have tried it all.

If you don’t believe me you just need to look up the Irish 86 forums and check out these amazing picture from Paddy McGrath of some of the 86s competing in the Irish ProDrift series. (more…)

AE86s @ Fuji D1 ’08

October 30, 2008 in Events by

Alexi from noriyaro again provides us with the latest coverage out of Japan and today he shows us an endangered species – the D1GP AE86.

Caught in the wild at the D1 Grand Prix final in Fuji Speedway last weekend, these AE86’s are the few still competing in what has become a huge horsepower competition. It is a shame to see the AE86 losing it’s competitive edge in a world dominated by machines boasting 400ps power output figures, but it is still exciting to watch the dedicated ’86 pilots in their do-or-die corner entry speeds, flat to the floor to keep up with the big boys!

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Taniguchi Touge!

October 29, 2008 in Videos by

Nobuteru Taniguchi (or N.O.B aka No One Better) is probably best known outside of Japan for competing in his red HKS S15 Silvia in the D1GP and winning the championship in 2001. He later finished 2nd in 2002, 4th in 2003 and 2nd again in 2004 by that time switching to an SXE10 Altezza. However he’s also piloted some amazing machinery in some hotly contested compeitions from Super Taikyu to 24 Hour Nürburgring and even JGTC (for team R.E Amemiya no less!)

He apparently began his career racing minibikes (interesting…) amongst a list of achievements though what sticks in my memory the most is; basically he ‘set the bar’ for drift competitors at the inception of the D1GP compeition in Japan. That red HKS S15 was rather menacing. So a few years ago when I came across this video I was shocked to learn that someone who seemed to have always been a Silva driver actually learnt to drift in an AE86.

And heres the oldschool video to prove it (it’s been around for awhile) but it’s worth watching again… just to hear his commentary on what shoes not to wear while drifting (lol). Enjoy.

What are your favourite drift shoes? Hit the comments.

Team Kassou Subashiri Coupe

October 28, 2008 in Feature Cars by

I’ll have to let these pics speak for themselves as Alexi from noriyaro.com was only being a carpark ninja and has no extra info on it. Enjoy!

2008 Rockstar Prodrift AE86

October 27, 2008 in Feature Cars by

Here is a behind the scenes video of Eric O’Sulivians 2008 Pro Drift season. Enjoy!

Irish Meet Prequel!

October 24, 2008 in Community, Events by

A few months back we posted up some awesome photos of a huge AE86 meet in the land of the shifty leprechaun. It turns out that was the second such meet (or 3rd?) of 2008. Our Irish HR brothers like their meets, and thanks to HR forum member ‘JamesAE86’ we have now got a huge list of photos of the other meet(s) that went down. There are some nice cars on show for sure. My question is where is the love for the stocky clover AE86 rims? Where’s the patriotism! (only joking guys!)

Below is a fine selection of photos, naturally there is the obligatory ‘wet carpark’ photos (lol, no that’s not a euphemism) I think after seeing a bunch of photos of how the Irish lads do their thing it can safely be said that whenever you see a rainbow it doesn’t lead to a pot of shiny precious metal it actually leads to a carpark of several pieces of precious metal doing circle work! If you have any more photos feel free to hit the forums to share the wealth and also check out more of these pics.

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AE86 Restoration: The Japanese Way

October 23, 2008 in Random by

Those crazy Japanese… When it comes to ground-up AE86 restoration they really truly have it down.  This guy has five AE86’s of his own, but this one is pure perfection. It’s like an excerpt from Levin & Trueno Magazine with the level of detail they go to.

Make sure you click ALL the links at the top of the page to see the build in its entirety!

Yahoo Auction Japan: TUBE Garage

October 22, 2008 in Feature Cars, Random by

Every time I look on yahoo auctions Japan, you usually find all these beaten up cars and you may come across something amazing but not that often. However, you always see some super mint cars from the restoration company Tube. Every car they post up is lightly modified, but also look factory mint with some nice offset wheels.

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Carland Autumn Meet

October 21, 2008 in Events by

Since their very first meet was a success, Carland held a second one last weekend to enjoy the many changing colours of Autumn on the mountain roads!

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One Shot: Shino Kouba Coupe

October 20, 2008 in Random by

Alexi from noriyaro.com give us the lowdown our latest ‘One Shot’:

The owner’s name is Numajiri, the photo was taken at a Nikko Circuit practice day. He used to work for Shino Kouba workshop which is why he runs the garage name across the windscreen. I think it has something to do with Ken Satoh in regards to the bodywork.

It is a complete grip car. When I rode in it, the semi slicks were almost worn out, but he was able to hammer it for most of the track anyway. AE111 engine I believe… injection with open bellmouths, tubular manifold, ECU on the floor, bolt in rollcage, completely stripped.

Mental.

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