Adventures in the Automotive World: January 2008

Thursday 31 January 2008

Tokyo Auto Salon 2008 - Part 2

Part 2 of my TAS report and we begin with 1 of the better R35 GTR's on show, respray in orange,very subtle bodykit and carbon inserts in the bonnet vents

1 of the bigger tuning suppliers in Japan,GReddy/Trust had their R35 GTR on display. I liked the vinyl livery (all the black/red bits are stuck on!!) , many didnt!!

Like the majority of R35's there, GReddy had already made a new exhaust system for the car

HKS had made a bigger effort though, as their R35 had new suspension, exhaust, Bride seats aswell as the bonnet up....

The VR38DETT engine already has been fitted with new air filters and blow off valves aswell as HKS making their FCon V engine management system compatable. Not much (yet) but Id imagine they were busy in the 2 months leading up to TAS, and with the cramped engine compartment of the R35 you will agree HKS had made the biggest effort so far in tuning the R35

MiNES have also been busy with their R35, new exhaust,suspension, brakes but more importantly they are the 1st tuner to crack the factory ECU so are now offering their own VX-Rom, which delimts the car aswell as it being able to run on different octane fuel if required

Still has a long way to go until its at the level of their R34 GTR N1 though!! Still the ultimate street tuned GTR for many including myself

HKS also had the latest version of their Zero R on display. The Zero R began in the early 90's and was a complete tuning package for the R32 GTR offered by HKS, with various updates over the years. This is the 2008 version. Good to see the R32 is still held in high regard

The famous Cyber Evo Time Attack car. This car can lap Tsukuba circuit in around 55 seconds, which is very quick, and is the 2nd fastest Evo around Tsukuba, with the HKS Carbon Evo being the quickest

Another thing better at car shows in Japan - the food. Some warm yakisoba (roasted noodles) for lunch, which I queued up for 30 seconds beforehand, paid an excellent price and which kept me going for the entire day, unlike soggy burger and chips that you pay a fortune for back home!

The best R32 GTR of the show for me was Phoenix Powers example, just immaculate. Apologies for the poor photo but it had people around it the whole time

Although the image of the Japanese tuning scene is for GTR's,Evo's,350Z's etc the new trend is for more affordable compacts with similar levels of modifying, carbon,wheels,engine tuning,brakes,suspension etc. This is Sunline Racing's very tidy Suzuki Swift GTi

and Mugens new Honda Fit (or Jazz). Still plenty of tuning options for these smaller and less powerful cars and certainly more affordable

Many feel that the new GTR is proving difficult to tune and that the Fairlady Z (or 350Z) is the last truly tunable Nissan. The Amuse car was 1 of the best at the show, not overdone either

Back to drift cars and BN Sports pair of JZX100's,a Mark II and a Chaser both with 2JZ-GTE transplants and the most powerful cars in D1 at present with over 750bhp each!

Another new D1 car, Toshiki Yoshioka will use this Lexus SC430 (or Toyota Soarer) in D1GP in 2008 instead of his AE86. No idea of engine spec yet, hopefully the 3UZ-FE 4.3 litre V8 will be retained

Another impressive new car ST Garage/Wedsport Lexus IS250 with a 2JZ-GTE transplant, maybe D1 bound too

And to finish, my personal favourite cars from Tokyo Auto Salon 2008:

The RE Amemiya carbon widebody Mazda RX-7 with the Porsche style front

Another RE Amemiya car,RX-7 with widebody conversion and 20B triple rotor engine conversion. This car won a trophy, but until the TAS website is updated I dont know which 1!!

Finally my favourite car of the entire show WELD JZX100 Mark II. 2JZ-GTE engine transplant,massive Trust T88 turbo....

and the engine has been moved back for better weight distribution. A lot of work has been done under this car, including a custom differential carrier, new alloy floor panels to reduce weight,the shell fully seam welded and all excess metal removed

not to mention Welds trademark foward opening bonnet aswell as their wild graphics

and lots of carbon!! This car also won an award at the show,ill update when I find out!!

So that was my 1st Tokyo Auto Salon and what an introduction! Ill certainly strive to return in the future as it was a new experiance compared to any other car show Ive ever been to!!

Wednesday 30 January 2008

Tokyo Auto Salon 2008 - Part 1

This is it, not the biggest, but certainly the best modified car show in the world, even moreso if you like Japanese cars. This was my 1st Autosalon and it was a significant 1 in that it was the 1st for the new versions of the main tuning cars on the scene, mainly the new Nissan GTR, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X and Subaru Impreza. So here are some photos, observations and views on TAS, really the tip of a very big iceberg as there is so much to see and take in at this show

There were several R35 GTR's on display, but Sunline Racing's one looked the best to me, lowered and running on Work 20" wheels. Subtle external modifications, no other changes yet but less than a week after the show it had a full titanium exhaust system fitted

Out of the car manufacturers present at the show, Mitsubishi easily had the best stand with the star attraction for many being Nobushige Kumakubos new Team Orange D1GP Evo X on display. Personally I feel this car is just a mockup for now as Kumas Evo 9 D1 car has had the engine relocated to longitudinal position aswell as a lot of other mods to change it from 4x4 to FR. Also shows the finances in D1 if a nearly brand new car (Kumas Evo 9) is being replaced after only a few rounds with this Evo X. All about the marketing and promotion as always

Easily the most interesting Toyota JZX100 Chaser there - converted to a 2 door version

Kazama Auto's D1SL Toyota JZX110 Mark II is now white after being red. Jury is out on this 1, or maybe its because red is my favourite color

Also you get to see (but rarely meet as they are so busy) Japanese racing drivers/drifters. Left to Right: Nob Taniguchi, Max Orido and Miki Ryuji who were promoting the MSC drift series

Who else remembers watching Speed Racer as a kid? The Mach 5 has been built for a new movie

One of the more publicised cars to appear was this Porsche 996, a collaboration between Gemballa and Top Secret but myself and many others didnt think much of it in fareness, or Top Secrets new logo/graphics and imagery. If it aint broke, dont fix it

On the other hand I thought a lot of the cute model beside the Porsche. Japanese models/racequeens are a delight to work with. They are true professionals. They love the camera, always have a nice smile and pose and you dont need to tell them to 'look this way' or 'smile', unlike most of the uninterested bimbo excuses for models at carshows back home!

The Nissan Skyline R32 GTR. A part of the modifying scene for almost 20 years. This was the Garage Saurus car, immaculate in every way, with lots of carbon

In Europe and America, Japanese cars are 'imports', in Japan, European and American cars are 'imports'. Imports are big in Japan and especially BMW's. 3,5 and 6 series were very popular with big alloys and subtle bodykits being the standard, these 2 being on the NKB stand

But its not all about wheels and bodystyling, HKS have also began (heavily) developing performance parts for European cars, this being a supercharger for.....

a BMW E46 330, note the clear part of the bonnet to display the supercharger (not a camera trick!!)

Another sign of how popular drifting is in Japan. This is the Goodyear stand with Tsuyoshi Tezukas Bee*R B324R Skyline GTR drift car on display. Each of the D1GP tyre sponsors had their own huge stands with drift cars on display, showing just how big and corporate sponsorship is in D1GP

As popular as D1GP is, it does not even come close to Super GT which is the most popular motorsport series in Japan, so to close this update here are the 3 models of car which will race in the GT500 class of Super GT in 2008