Fury -A racer's story.

Chapter 8: The Drift Kid​

There's a drift crowd here in NYC. Everything from Honda S2000s, Toyota Supras, RWD Toyota Corollas, and the occasional imported Skyline GTS.

They run the same route every weekend, and it's the same route I used to run my Camaro around.

Today I saw a kid making himself look horrible trying to drift the course. He was in a white Corolla, one of the older, boxy ones. But it had fixed headlights and was right-hand drive. He had it sitting nose-high by a bit, and was having issues both getting it sideways and keeping it there.

By this time, I had parked on the side of the road in my Silvia, gotten out, and lit a cigarette.

Next time he came around, he saw me. He cracked down through the gears, pulled up behind me, cracked the throttle in neutral, and shut it off. He got out.

“You'll kill your turbo like that. Yes, I heard it, your blow-off valve isn't THAT quiet.”

“Who the heck are you? What are you doing here?”

“The name's John.”

“Nice meeting you, John. I'm Lee.”

“The same. Anyhow... I'm here because I felt like seeing if anyone was out today. Looks like you're the only drifter around, eh?”

“Well, I wouldn't say I'm much of a drifter. As you can see, I'm horrible.”

“Nah, you're just having some issues. Some might be coming from the car, some might be your driving.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. You're not so much having problems getting the rear tires lit up, but you can't enter at a very high speed with the car as it is. You've taken some steps in the right direction with the lower rear, but that's not quite enough.”

“Hm? How can I get it so I can go into the corner faster?”

“I'd have to drive the car, but my initial thought is that you've probably got a rear differential that's too tight on deceleration and the car's very rear-light. You mind if I take it around for a few laps?”

“Sure, let's go.”

He tossed me the keys.

I walked over to the drivers side, he walked around to the left side of the car, and we got in. I put the trans in neutral, shoved the clutch in, and hit the key. The little 1.6L came to life and we pulled out.

As I accelerated down the long main straight, I already noticed that this car certainly felt stronger than my Silvia. Sure enough, we hit 220 km/h according to the speedo before I had to brake for the first hairpin. I feinted to get the tail to come out, and the entire car just stayed glued until I whacked the throttle. It went sideways, then straightened out the instant I dialed a little countersteer in. Rear tires still spinning, I cranked the wheel back into the corner to get it the rest of the way through.

The next corner, I slowed down to around 40mph, cranked the wheel in, and nailed the throttle. The rears lit up, and I controlled my angle partly with throttle modulation and partly with countersteer. The fronts started grabbing right near exit, and I turned back in just a little to finish off the slide.

From there around, it was just slow, 2nd gear entry and WOT to get the tail out. It hung it out nicely a few times, and then a few times, the tail got out a bit too much but then RPM dropped, it bogged, and spun on me. I pulled in behind the Silvia, stopped, put it in neutral, and pulled the handbrake up.

”She's rear-light and the differential is too tight on deceleration. What do you have in it?”

“Uhh, I bought it like this. Guy said it's got a 2-way, yeah...”

“How's the suspension?”

“One adjustment on the shocks, ride-height adjustable, and I've got a few different springs for it.”

“Hmm... Do you have cash?”

“Why?”

“This car can be made to slide nicely, but it won't be cheap.”

“How much are we talking?”

“8 grand. Total.”

“Uhh, sure. Where do you want me to bring the car to?”

“Follow me.”

I got out, leaving the car running, got in the Silvia and fired it up. I watched Lee cross over to the driver's side of his 86, and then I pulled out with him directly behind me.

I just drove to my shop, where I hadn't been seen as yet, parked, and got out.

Of course, everyone wanted to know why the hell I was driving a Japanese car, where the Camaro was, and why another Japanese car was coming in.

Lee handed me a check for 10 grand, said to keep the change and have his car done soon, and started walking out the door. I tossed him the keys of our lender vehicle, a 2005 Mustang GT in dark gray with a stick.

Time to get to work.

 

And the transformation of an AE86 begins! I look forward to it.

 

a Hachi-Roku!! i'd like to see that drift..,

 

Considering how they're thought of as awesome drift cars, they really SUCK at drifting. Ah well, I'm starting to get the rotation and response I want and need.

 

Drifting is easier and more realistic in.............in............. don't want to upset you guys. Another good chapter! Does this mean the formation of a team? Wll he ever vs Roj?

 

Shh... I know...

Drifting is even MORE realistic in the PC racing sims.

 

really??

 

Just to be sure, we're talking about GT5 right?
Yes, AE86 Corollas are very good drift cars, and have been Australian drift champions and still compete in the top 5.

 

Yes, I was talking about GT5.

AE86s SUCK. Way too short wheelbase.

 

This is my last OT post, then you better post a new chapter.

As far as I can tell, a SWB would be good for drifting, but tell AE86s suck at drifting to this guy:

2006 Drift Australia Champion

 

Yeah, but how much of that Corolla is stock? Any car in the hands of someone who know's what they're doing can be modified into a great drifter.

 

The AE86 is an as well known drifter as the Silvia, I don't believe you guys are even doubting that. Of course it's highly modified, but that's perfectly OK for the sake of this discussion. If I modified a Bentley Continental to be a drifter, it would still be a lowsy one.

Now where is the next chapter in this story?

 

Coming slowly along while life keeps sidetracking me.

The AE86 is known as a drifter because it's cheap (well, WAS), RWD, Japanese, and light. That said, a Silvia is truthfully a better platform for drifting due to the longer wheelbase and independent rear suspension.

 

Chapter 9: The Silvia gets put to work​

I took Lee's Corolla out, and promptly killed the transmission.

Went for third and there wasn't one. So out came the Silvia and I went looking for some cheapish parts.

I picked up a pair of 86s, both Corolla GT-S models (US). One fried the turbo 1.6L that was in it, the other looked like it had gotten backwards and gone into a wall at a high rate of speed. Total price? 2 grand. For both.

The wrecked car still ran, and it was very obviously non-stock. Turns out... It had a 240hp motor before the wreck. Six-speed gearbox as well.

That went into Lee's car, as did the entire coilover suspension setup and rear axle from the non-runner. Left me with enough to build an AE86 to sell of my own, too.

I took Lee's engine and stripped it down. I sent the block out and got it zero-decked for more compression and had the head milled as well. Fresh, hotter cams, and new rings/seals/gaskets, and I had a runner. Right around 200hp, I'd say. I put the car back together with the parts off Lee's car and threw it up for sale after setting the nose back down. Solid black Corolla GT-S with fairly heavy mods and nice rims... It sold for 6 grand that day.

Lee's car got a bit of rear diff work done along with fine-tuning the coilovers, and it became quite a nice drifter. It went back to him the day before yesterday. My Silvia now sports a new set of shoes, a stiffer, lower coilover suspension, and I found what all had been done to it before I got it.

The compression had been bumped up, and it had been recammed to match. My buttcrack dyno says 210hp or so. The exhaust is full stainless with a very racy silencer.

Today, I got bored. I drove over to the street course, and guess what? They had it set up. I pulled into the paddock and saw a bunch of Asian guys standing next to their cars. There was a red Supra, a BMW Z4, an Infiniti G35 Sedan, an Accord Coupe, and some strange silver wedge that I've never seen or heard of. I clicked the throttle a few times and they turned their heads. I got out and the guy with the Supra laughed.

“What are you doing here, whitey?”

“The name's John. I'm looking for a few people to destroy in a race.”

“In that car? Where the hell did you get that, by the way?”

“Some guy in California sold it to me for 2 grand because it didn't run. Turned out to be the ECU. It's a JDM Q's by the way. I'd never convert a car to right-hand-drive. So, you want to race?”

“Yeah. Sure. Why not? My Supra will kill you.”

“2JZ GTE?”

“2JZ GE. I don't need a turbo to spank you!”

“You might. What say, 2 grand entrance fee a person?”

He went around and asked everyone if they wanted in. Everybody coughed the cash, and then he slapped 4k on top of it. I handed him my share.

Starting order:

1st: 1997 Toyota Supra SZ-R
2nd: 1978 DOME ZERO
3rd: 2003 Honda Accord Coupe
4th: 2003 BMW Z4
5th: 2003 Infiniti G35 Sedan
6th: 1993 Nissan Silvia Q's

Off the start, I was quickly outdistanced by the Infiniti ahead of me, and with it the rest of the field. I tapped him on the rear bumper going into turn one, then twice on exit, making it a drag race down the back straight. We were dead equal, but I slipped out in front of him before the braking zone for turn 2. I cut inside the Z4, swiping slightly. If he can afford a BMW, he can afford to fix it. Turn four, I pulled the same move on the Accord as I did on the Z4, passed the Supra on the outside of turn 5, leaving me to chase the silver... Thing. I had to overbrake for turn 8 to avoid hitting it (Obviously an impossibly rare car), then ran down the 'chute to the right leading into the parabola. I was able to come in hotter than the Dome, but underbraked for the actual parabola, forcing me to tap the brakes an extra time to get back in line. He pulled away down the main straight, but I slowly caught back up in his wake. Going into T1, I had more speed and there was no room for me to get by going in. I nailed the brakes the instant his tails lit, but still clipped his rear corner. From there, it was just me racing the course, really.


Finishing order:
Nissan Silvia Q's 1993: 4:08.122
DOME ZERO 1978: 4:11.424
Honda Accord Coupe EX 2003: 4:15.927
Toyota Supra SZ-R 1997: 4:16.295
BMW Z4 2003: 4:17.755
Infiniti G35 Sedan 2003: 4:18.431


Afterwards, I had to track down the Supra driver and get him to pay me the winnings... Easier said than done.

“Hey man... What about the winnings?”

“Oh, I keep them.”

“Wait, what?”

“You heard me, whitey. I'm keeping the winnings.”

“Really? How's that work out? There's two grand of my money in that stack and I aim to get it back, even if it means having some fun with a tire-iron on that pretty, poseur Supra of yours.”

“Okay! OKAY! I'll give you the money! Just don't mess up my car!”

“Good. And now, goodbye. The name's John, not whitey, and ask around... You can get directions to my shop if you want to try and get a re-run. Unfortunately, I don't plan on getting any slower, I'd say you need to look into a lighter, smaller car.”

Now I'm home and 12 grand richer. Works well enough for me! Of course, I may put a sign in the Silvia. I'm starting to miss torque. I've got about 30k in truth, thanks in no small part to today, and to the earnings from my shop.

 

Nice Chapter

 

Some pics of the race would be nice, but a update nonetheless!

John's earning some nice cash... I wonder what he'll do with it all.

 

Nice chapter, John sounds like an all-balls driver. Glad to hear he's missing torque, it's a very fun thing. I did go at the comment he needed a smaller and lighter car than a Supra though, I like the SZ-R. It's not exactly a Bentley Saloon.

 

dude, you have TWO Chapter 8's, in case you haven't noticed..,

nice chapter BTW, you should have done away with the Supra

 

Hahaha, D24/7 is right you do have 2 chapter 8's.
QUICK EDIT IT BEFORE WE ALL NOTICE!

 

The SZ-R, while a bit lighter than the RZ, is absolutely lacking in the balls department. It's just not that great of a car.

Got no idea what you two are on about...

 

Modify the SZ-R a bit and it's potentially better for the events you don't want huge horsepower. Torque isn't too bad- it's not as good as my Ute for example, but it's got potential.

 

Better, but not great.

It's still a nose-heavy pig thanks to the JZ block being cast-iron.

 

oh really?? *examines the current chapter* ah, much better!

 

Okay, Fury has officially backed itself into a corner, and due to this... I may quit doing anything with it for a while. Instead, I may start doing car comparos much like niky's Road & Trek series.

Convince me to keep going and I will however, but expect a HELL of a text block before further racing.

 

Well there's not much point in continuing a race report , so I'll wait for some actual racing thankyou.

 

Er, how do you mean that?

 

I mean, if you don't have any racing to write about, not much point writing at all. If you can write about races you've had then by all means go ahead.

 

I say, keep going. I liked how your story was going. I'll live through a text block. I started reading big books as a result of boredom in summerschool and I'd like to read something at home. This fits the bill perfectly.