Import Tuner 2010-02

BRING YOUR OWN INTERPRETATION
Chaos. Pattern. Style. Everyone perceives things differently. That’s what makes
you unique. You never go along with the crowd. Just like you, Scion vehicles are
born with self-expression in mind. Visit your local Scion dealership or Scion.com
and create your interpretation of the perfect ride.
Vehicle shown is a special project car, modified with non-Genuine Scion parts and accessories. Modifications with these non-Genuine
Scion parts or accessories will void the Scion warranty, may negatively impact vehicle performance & safety, and may not be street
legal. For more information, call 866-70-SCION (866-707-2466) or visit Scion.com. ©2009 Scion, a marque of Toyota Motor Sales,
U.S.A. Inc. All right reserved. Scion, the Scion logo, and xD are trademarks of Toyota Motor Corporation.
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FEATURES
34
CONTENTS
76
MODEL
MERCEDES LUNA
RAW MATERIAL
’93 HONDA CIVIC
48
BLITZKRIEG BUILDUP
’95 NISSAN 240SX
62
BLACK OPS
’92 MAZDA RX-7
68
DO IT RIGHT COVER SHOOT

’02 SUBARU WRX
PHOTO: STYLING: MAKE UP:
IMPORTTUNERMAGAZINE ODESSY BARBU TIFFANY DEAN VAL C
ERIC TONG FOR ICONIMAGE.NET
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 0 . I S S U E # 13 1
30 42 54 88
TECH DEPARTMENTS
24 FACT OR FICTION 06 INITIAL TIMING 14 FOUR ONE ONE 94 AUDIO GEAR

A FUEL TREATMENT THAT INCREASES POWER? IT ALL STARTS HERE YOU FOUND OUT FIRST FOR YOUR EYES AND EARS
54 PROJECT 4G64 08 UNDER THE HOOD 20 QUESTION IT 96 POWER GEAR

BUILDING A BETTER BOTTOM END INSIDE THE INDUSTRY ERIC HSU FIXES WHAT YOU BROKE FOR YOUR RIDE
82 DITCH THE DAILY GRIND 12 GOING POSTAL 22 WIDGETS 98 LONGSHOTS

STRENGTHEN YOUR TRANS ON A BUDGET YOU SHOOT US, WE SHOOT BACK DAMN, THESE ARE DOPE DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?
88 POWER PAGES
’08 SCION TC
TUNER FIRST LOOK
30 SHAUN CARLSON
FAREWELL TO A FRIEND
131 FEBRUARY 2010
PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION/INFILTRATION
IMPORT TUNER (ISSN#1528-0845) VOL. 13 NO. 02 IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA, LLC., 261 MADISON AVENUE, 5TH FLOOR,
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INITIALTIMING
IMPORT TUNER MAGAZINE
FEBRUARY 2010 ISSUE #131
HELLO FROM SEMA _TEAM

By the time this issue goes through the production cycle, hits print and is in your hands, it should WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU BUSTED AN ALL-
be around mid-December, early January. Happy holidays/new year from a month or two back, circa Hal- NIGHTER WORKING?:
loween. Thanks to the print space-time continuum, it’s currently 2:37 a.m. on Saturday, October 31st,
and I’m sitting at the cramped makeshift desk I have in my room, writing my editorial. By the time the
six, maybe seven of you read this column, 2010 resolutions will be under way and the 2009 SEMA show
will have been a forgone memory. But for me, it still hasn’t happened yet—there are still 72 hours till the
first day of the show.
Being this late an hour, post-Friday night, one would think I just got home from partaking in pre-
Halloween festivities. Far from it—unless you call working on a car a party. Instead of a bar, I just got
back from Tein, where manager Philip Chase and Elliott Moran,
Mr. Super Lap Battle himself, and I spent the last five hours ap-
BY SHEER plying graphics on our project 370Z. Yes, you heard me right, five
hours on stickers. And that was with three people. I’m not big
EDITOR
CARTER JUNG
NATURE, THIS fan of stickers, so prior to this evening, I’ve never attempted to
lay out or apply a vinyl scheme, which was why Philip and Elliott
SWAPPING AN SR20DET IN MY S13 AFTER MY KA CRAPPED
OUT. STEPHEN, STEVE AND I WRENCHED ALL NIGHT TO
JOB KEEPS YOU were brought, er, begged to be on hand.
Meticulous and with an unparalleled work ethic, Philip was
GET IT RUNNING THE NEXT DAY . . . WELL, I ALMOST DID.
I NAPPED WHILE REPLACING THE OIL PAN. I WOULD’VE
BUSY, BUT THIS the first person I thought of asking for help—he practically built
our project IS F single-handedly last year. When I pulled the Z
SLEPT LONGER, ONLY I WAS AWAKENED BY THE NOXIOUS
SMELL OF TRANNY FLUID LEAKING ON MY HAIR.
PAST MONTH in to Tein’s garage at 8 p.m., Phil had a spray bottle filled with
soapy water, painter’s tape, two squeegees and tape measures
HAS BEEN ready. Great with designs and always down for the cause, Elliott
not only volunteered to do a composite of the sponsor logos
COMPLETELY on Adobe Illustrator, but his Friday night. And bless them both,
otherwise I’d be still working on the vinyl and not my editorial
NUTS that’s already past deadline.
By sheer nature, this job keeps you busy, but this past month
has been completely nuts. On top of the normal monthly work-
flow, last week I was in Japan for the Tokyo Motor Show and now I have to make sure our SEMA proj- SENIOR EDITOR
SCOTT TSUNEISHI
ects—the 370Z and Suzuki Kizashi—are buttoned up, because come Monday, November 2nd, both cars
need to be in Vegas for the show. Meaning the Z, which up until a week ago only had Tein Mono Flex THIS PAST SUNDAY, WHEN A CO-WORKER (COUGH, ELLIOTT,
COUGH) DECIDED TO VOLUNTEER MY SERVICES TO HELP
coilovers, a Greddy exhaust and twin turbo kit (the first one ever, for those who relish in such facts),
INSTALL A GARRETT GT3071R TURBO IN HIS EVO X.
and a twitchy body control module, not only has to survive the four hour jaunt up to Nevada, it has to
be built to show and time-attack status, since we’re taking it to Buttonwillow for the Super Lap Battle
Finals the week after SEMA.
Luckily, I had help from friends like Phil, Elliott, Freddie Fernandez from Autofashion, and Stephen
Rhim from G-Dimension who lent a helping hand and wrench, sorted out the body control module issue
and swapped in a SPEC clutch and flywheel, while I was out gallivanting in Japan. That left the Volk G2s,
FK452 Falken tires, Project Mu brakes, Bride Cuga seats, Sun Line carbon body kit and Carbonetic clutch
that still needed to be put on. Let’s just say the last few nights were sparse on sleep for Stephen and I.
With just a few hours left to finish up the car, and a whole week of SEMA ahead of me, wish me luck!
Scratch that. It’ll already be too late. A “happy new year” will suffice. TECH EDITOR
LUKE MUNNELL
I’M THANKFUL FOR THE 3-4 HOURS OF SLEEP I’VE GOTTEN

EACH NIGHT OF MY TWO-YEAR TENURE WITH THIS COM-
PANY. AFTER ALL, I DON’T GET PAID TO SLEEP! (THAT WAS A
GOOD ANSWER, RIGHT?)
EDITOR
CARTER JUNG
carter@importtuner.com
facebook.com/carterjung
MANAGING EDITOR
DREW FARRINGTON
I HAVE A THREE-MONTH-OLD. EVERY NIGHT IS AN ALL-
NIGHTER. A POOP-FILLED ALL-NIGHTER.
ART DIRECTOR
CLINT DAVIS
AS I’M TYPING THESE WORDS INTO THE LAYOUT IN ADOBE
FEATURES@IMPORTTUNER.COM FOR FEATURE CARS INDESIGN, IT IS CURRENTLY A BEAUTIFUL 72-DEGREE
MODELS@IMPORTTUNER.COM FOR ASPIRING MODELS SUNDAY AFTERNOON . . . WHICH IS INFINITELY WORSE
TWITTER TWITTER.COM/IMPORTTUNER THAN WORKING AN ALL-NIGHTER.
6 importtuner.com

www.storemags.com & www.fantam
amag.c
.com
om
UNDERTHEHOOD
INSIDE THE INDUSTRY
TOMORROW’S FUTURE STARTS TODAY

Peering inside an open door, I watch renovations take place as demolition crews tear
apart the concrete floor to make room for a SuperFlow all-wheel-drive dynamometer. Di-
rectly adjacent to the dyno, nestled in a 10x10-foot test cell, sits a SuperFlow engine dyno
shielded behind a $13,000 special ballistics door. There’s also a flow bench and whole lot
of other equipment, along with tools, welders, benders, lifts, emissions analyzers, etc. Any
given Monday afternoon, this shop would be tagged as a hardcore automotive fabrication
facility, but step outside its double-wide doors, and you’ll come face to face with 2,300
students bustling around with backpacks, going to and from their Fifth-period classes. It’s
hard to believe but this state-of-the-art facility is located on the campus of Nogales high
school, located in La Puente, CA.
Mike McCarthy, the instructional teacher of the automotive program
THE ONCE at Nogales who has dedicated over a decade of his career to educating
OUTDATED today’s youth, voices a disturbing statistic happening within school dis-
tricts statewide. “It is true that many high school auto shop programs
THREE-BAY are dying, along with a lack of funding and higher academic standards
that are strangling the elective classes that kids want to take in school.
GARAGE HAS The auto shop competes with athletics, band, business, and many ROP
RECENTLY programs for students and limited department dollars.
“I kept pushing the Rowland Unified school district to give our stu-
COMPLETED dents the vocational experience and equipment they deserved toward
ITS building a career in the automotive field.” After months of tussling with
the school district, McCarthy was given the green light to renovate the
RENOVATIONS outdated auto shop, using bond money and a matching grant from the
AND state through the Career Technical Education Facilities Program, the
largest state grant project directed toward technical education since
EVOLVED this school was built in 1962. “It’s like winning the lottery,” states Mc-
INTO A Carthy, “It will change young lives in ways we can’t imagine, and they
will remember this from High School no matter where life takes them.”
STATE-OF- The once outdated three-bay garage has recently completed its renova-
THE-ART tions and evolved into a state-of-the-art facility to teach students the
latest in auto repair, and hopefully inspire a new generation of enthusi-
FACILITY asts to tune our market.
SENIOR EDITOR
SCOTT TSUNEISHI
scott@importtuner.com
LIVING
RIDING SHOTGUN WITH THE EDITORS
’09 NISSAN 370Z ’95 CIVIC ’09 IKEA VERKSAM

With our Z going to Super Lap Battle with Tyler McQuarrie be- A weekend of fun filled partying and booze was put My MIG has been down for a couple weeks now, so progress on
hind the wheel, a set of Bride Cugas and seat rails were next on the back burner as I spent a full day replacing a both my cars has been slow. And wouldn’t you know it, the very
on the list of mods. Lightweight, reclineable and boasting a busted wheel bearings on the Civic. Oh the joys of ve- same day it peaced out, Kevin from Buddy Club sent me this
monocoque backrest with ample knee and side bolsters, the hicle maintenance. beautiful pair of P1 racing buckets for which I’ll need to whip up
Cugas are a true fusion of form and function. custom sliders and a harness bar! Argh! It’s ok, though—I’m ac-
tually sitting in one perched on top of my office chair as I write
this. I even make vroom-vroom noises when no one’s looking. I
fell asleep in one for a few minutes today. These things rock . . .
EDITOR SENIOR EDITOR TECH EDITOR

CARTER JUNG SCOTT TSUNEISHI LUKE MUNNELL
8 importtuner.com
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ags.
ag s.com & www.fantamag.com
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m & ww
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Call 1.800.828.4379 or Visit specclutch.com SHIFT TO A HIGHER STANDARD.

GOINGPOSTAL
SEND PRESENTS TO: CHRISTMAS JUST CAME EARLY THIS YEAR! NOT ONLY ARE WE
IMPORT TUNER GIVING YOU A PREVIEW OF WHAT WILL CERTAINLY PROVE TO BE
2400 EAST KATELLA AVE THE PIECE DE RESISTANCE OF ANTHROPOMORPHIC ROBOTICS IN
11TH FLOOR THE COMING MONTHS, WE ALSO GRANT ONE CELICA FAN A LONG-
ANAHEIM, CA 92806 AWAITED WISH, AND USE THE TRAGIC STORY OF ANOTHER TO
OR DROP AN EMAIL TO: REMIND YOU OF THE DANGERS OF LEAVING CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ON
POSTAL@IMPORTTUNER.COM (OR MENORAHS LIT) UNSUPERVISED. TSK, TSK . . .
PROJECT OF THE CENTURY INSANE IDEA

I like tuners and muscle cars and what I Just had an insane idea for you: one month, feature nothing but micros—Fit,
people make them do, such as drag racing Yaris . . . things like that. But the kicker would be to have a little person model on
and drifting, etc. I wanted to have a tuner the cover. That would be awesome! I don’t drive a micro nor do I have a thing for
of my own, so I have decided to turn my little people. I just thought that would be something way different.
car into one. I have a ’94 Buick Century and Kelly Cameron, Fayetteville, NC
I want to turn it into a high-performance
tuner, but have no idea where to start. I We’re wondering if you have a thing for LSD . . . and not the driveline component.
was wondering if you have any ideas for
me because I would like to be featured in
your magazine one of these days. WISH . . .
Gilbert Medrano, Houston, TX I have been reading you mag for about two years now, and have yet to see a
Toyota Celica feature. I know you’ve run them a long time ago; don’t you think it’s
Dude, this is going to be a badass time to change things up a bit and show the Celica heads some love?
project! The import world has never seen “Tommy”, via postal@importtuner.com
a Century—any Buick, for that matter—
do anything cool, so imagine the look on You know, Tommy, you’re right.
everyone’s faces when yours gets up and
starts tuning high-performance cars! Nev-
ermind the artificial intelligence required
for it to develop ignition timing and air/fuel . . . GRANTED
maps for all the different engines and ECUs
out there (as we’re sure you’re already past
that hurdle), we can’t wait to see you cut
this thing down in size and construct the
bionic appendages it’s going to need to
do things like operate a PC, strap cars to
the dyno, ride shotgun around a racetrack,
wrench parts on, fabricate, etc. Plus, you’ll
need to give it quick wits and a sense of
humor if you want it to hang with the other I wrote in a few months back, asking how I could get my car to grace the pages
of your magazine, and I received an email back, telling me what I needed to do
tuners we know—swapping stories with
the likes of Eric Hsu and Alex Shen is no in order for it to happen. I went through it step-by-step, but decided to wait until
simple task, even for a Century-turned- spring to contact you, so I could send the most recent photos. Unfortunately, I
won’t be getting that chance. Not long after receiving your email I lost my car in a
cybernetic-robotuner!
fire (see photos). After the incident I couldn’t bring myself to pick up your maga-
zine again—I guess the thought of being so close to having my baby on the pages,
only to have it all taken away, just kept me from reading. But after picking up the
GADGET FREAK Dec ’09 issue the other day, it dawned on me that this is an opportunity to start
I was reading Going Postal in the fresh. Readers these days want to see performance; they want to see power. With
December ’09 issue, and saw the gift pack- that in mind, I have chosen the platform for my next project. Unfortunately, it will
age from Gadget Import that was sent be a few years before I get it the exact way I want, but with time, patience and
to Chris Thayer. I was wondering where inspiration from your magazine, I know I can make it happen. Be on the lookout
I could find some stuff from them. I tried for an email from me soon . . .
searching online and all that comes up and be sure to check out the
are sites that import gadgets. Any help on attachments—they’ll be a little
my situation would be great. Thanks, and easier on the eyes next time! 2NR tweets
keep up the great work on the mag! Casey Oles, via features@ @bng905 @importtuner haha I love those
importtuner.com little articles about the Miata! I love mine!
Tim Bollman, Fombell, PA
@AlexiaLei Not as much as a Nike Swoosh sticker! Lol
Chris, we’re going to let you in on a little Wow! Looks like you caught jk! :) RT @importtuner: TGIF Q of the day: How much HP
the shit end of Scott’s karma (Jan do yellow stickers add to your car?
secret Art Director Davis discovered a few
’10 editorial)! We’re hoping you @KT_Alvarez @importtuner “its not how you stand by
weeks back, while fiddling with this new
had insurance on that whip, but your car, its how you race your car”
invention called the Internet. When you
given the long estimated build
do a search for a specific phrase, such as @topramn @SaharSpice @importtuner
time of the new project, we’re @sarahmcdowd I do not, I repeat, DO NOT WANT TO
“Gadget Import”, enter the phrase you’re SEE CARTER OR ANY OTHER SOURCE INTERLINK STAFF IN
guessing that you didn’t. Tough
looking—get ready for this—in quotes! Go break. Hang in there and cover THEY CHONIES. NO!
ahead and try it right now, with Google. all your bases this time around. @DrifterMama @importtuner models know how to use
We’ll wait. In case you missed the very Good things come with hard twitter (minus @modelmandylynn)?
first friggin’ link that populated, it’s: www. work, but go with carelessness. @Bigjoe53 @importtuner i just want to say i am really
teamgmpt.com. Make sure to click on the We’ll be here when you’re ready. happy you guys are interacting with you followers..you
“GMPT Racers” link, too—you’ll see one of And hopefully “Tommy” will still guys are good people... A++
our ugly mugs lurking in the crowd! be reading, too! follow us at @importtuner
12 importtuner.com
www.storemags.co
com & www.fantamag.com
FOURONEONE
From an enthusiast’s point of view, perusing the
2009 Tokyo Motor Show was about as exciting
as shopping for a new washer and dryer. Sure,
there were lots of new technology floating about, but
instead of hp and zero-to-sixty times, it was all about
mpg and zero emissions, equating to a future crop
of cars less about fun times. But amongst all the
dark, green-colored muck, a few OEs understood
that not all consumers want their cars to have
the soul of an appliance.
The Shogun of AWD, Subaru introduced the
STI Carbon and Exiga 2.0GT, tuned by STI. No
overly ambitious eco-technology masked as
marketing statements here, just plain ol’ tur-
bocharged goodness, wrapped with a healthy
dose of sportiness. And if that wasn’t counter-
establishment enough, Subaru proudly displayed
the Legacy B4 GT300 racecar and Hybrid Tourer
concept—bless their flat hearts. In a not-so-shock-
ing revelation, Lexus debuted the long-overdue LFA,
along with the very shocking news of its near-$400k
sticker price. Lexus’ more practical brother showed
the eagerly anticipated Hachi-Roku heir with the
FT-86, and Honda the CR-X’s offspring: the CR-Z.
from its late debut

Subaru Legacy B4 GT300: Fresh
2009 Supe r GT seas on, the AWD 2.0L turbo-
in the
ed flat-4 GT30 0 Lega cy was the only motor-
charg
s-rela ted car displ ayed by an OE at the mostly
sport
green show.
EVENT CALENDAR: 12.12: HIN, Chandler, AZ 12.13: Import Faceoff, San Antonio, TX 1.15-17: Tokyo Auto Salon
14 importtuner.com

Lexus LFA: Rocking a 4.8L V-10 that
redlines at an astound-
ing 9,000 rpm and puts out 560
ps and 354 lb-ft of torque,
the LFA rockets to a 202-mph top
speed at an exorbitant
$375k price tag.
TOKYOMOTORSHOW
Subaru Exiga 2.0GT, tuned by STI: Utilizing a

turbocharged 2.0L flat-four motor, aggressive
Subaru Impreza WRX STI Carbon: Based on the JDM-spec A-Line, an automatic STI, the aptly named styling and third row/seven-passenger seat-
Carbon comes with a carbon fiber roof, lowering the center of gravity, and suede interior fabric. ing, this is the ultimate party-mobile.
Subaru Hybrid Tourer: This crossover SUV-

looking concept comes powered with a turbo- Honda CR-Z: This sporty six-speed two-seater pays Honda Skydeck: Hybrid powertrain and funky
charged 2.0L flat-four engine and two electric homage to the CR-X of yesteryear, only it’s packed styling make this the perfect minivan of the
motors (one front, one rear). with a 1.5L hybrid. future. If ever there were such a thing.
Mazda Kiyora 32 KM/L: Direct-injected and ultra

efficient, the 1.3L SKY-G gasoline engine puts
down 32 kilometers per liter.
Nissan Land Glider: At about 44 inches wide, the

Honda EV-N: A throwback to the CVCC, this civic- 1+1 tandem seat Land Glider is driven by a pair
minded plug-in electric vehicle seats four and holds of rear-mounted electric motors and leans up to
a U3-X gyro-controlled unicycle. 17 degree on turns, ala motorcycle.
Nissan Leaf: Based of the Versa platform, this Toyota FT-86: Developed and built by Subaru, the 2+2 Hachi-Roku successor retains FR status and comes
zero-emission FF comes powered via lithium-ion packed with a naturally aspirated 2.0L flat-four engine and six-speed transmission. Rumors have it coming
batteries and will have a 100-mile range. to the States at around $20k and possibly as the next tC.
hybrid OE wheel replace-

Rays RE30 Eco Drive: Made for
Rays RE30s have been
ments, the lightweight forged
d to impro ve fuel econ omy, not to mention looks. 10.02.2nr.15
teste
www.
www.st
w. storemags.com & www.fantamag.com
st
FOURONEONE
JAPANESE For the fifth time in as many years, the Japanese Classic Car
Show recently took to the grassy knolls of Irvine, CA’s Hidden
Valley park for one of the largest gatherings of pre-’86-model
Japanese autos, and proved itself as a show where anything goes.
CLASSIC Showroom-stock restored rides shared ground with swapped and

flared utilitarian roadsters and drift machines; owners of 86hp,
three-cylinder vintage Hondas mingled with those of 1UZ-swapped
Corollas; and twin-turbocharged, 2.6L fuel-injected 240Zs could
CAR be found next to their RHD, carbureted, L28-powered brethren.

Awards were handed out in too many categories to count, but
our picks were Robert Gallagher who traveled the farthest to the
show from Mechanicsburg, PA, Frenchy Dehoux’s Oldest in Show
SHOW 1958 Crown 3RC, and Mark Still for his ladder-frame, V-8-swapped,
flared and generally ratted-out ’75 Corolla. That last one won no
awards—we just think it’s badass that it was driven to the show,
wooden firewall and all! www.japaneseclassiccarshow.com
16 importtuner.com

ww
TRAVIS TRICKS
PASTRANA OF THE
TRADE
HELPING YOU WRENCH
IS DIY COOLANT
SYSTEM
FLUSH
GONNA Lime and mineral depos-

its can build up over time
inside a radiator, clogging a
vehicle’s cooling system and
causing its engine to overheat.
But there’s a quick and cost-
DO
effective way to flush your
radiator by using white vin-
egar sold at any grocery store.
Begin by draining the car’s
entire cooling system, then
refill the radiator with a gal-
lon of white distilled vinegar,
WHAT?!
As if attempting—and landing—the world’s first freestyle motocross double backflip in competition as
the entire world watched, winning nine X Games gold medals and jumping out of a plane without a para-
chute weren’t thrill enough for Adrenaline-Junky-of-the-Century Travis Pastrana, he’s got a new challenge:
breaking the 171-foot record for the world’s longest car jump. And he’s planning to do it by driving his
making sure to top off the
remaining cooling system with
water, then idle the engine
until it reaches normal operat-
ing temperatures. Turn the
engine off and let the car cool
for no more than three hours
before thoroughly flushing the
cooling system with water.
Vinegar is a mild acid that’s
Subaru STI rally car (Sept. ’09 2NR) off Long Beach, CA’s Pine Street Pier, landing onto a barge floating in safe for human consumption,
the Pacific Ocean, on New Year’s Eve, live on ESPN/ESPN HD. Come hang out with us at Shoreline Village if but strong enough to dissolve
you’re in town, or tune in to Red Bull: New Year, No Limits on December 31st for live coverage, beginning those white deposits you can
at 11 p.m. PST. Use those wings, homie! www.redbullnewyearnolimits.com see floating around in
your coolant. Vinegar is
environmentally safe,
so you don’t have to
be too cautious when
draining, but please,
make sure to dispose
of used coolant
responsibly.
PHOTO: GARTH MILAN/RED BULL
10.02.2nr.17

FOURONEONE
SCION NIGHT
@ KNOTT’S
For the sixth consecutive year, Scion enthusiasts gathered at Buena Park, CA’s Knott’s Berry farm, forming the single largest gathering of Scion
owners in the country. Which, by default, also makes it the largest in the world. This year, Knott’s and Scion paired up to close the park to everyone but
Scion owners, and admission was free with the donation of one $10 toy to Toys for Tots. Of the nearly 12,000 enthusiasts in attendance, we managed
to catch up with Mike Ma and his 3S-swapped xD, Mattyrattypoo and his boosted orange xB with matching fixie, a party sporting Jeri Lee and friends, and
a few thus-far unseen rides we’re keeping tabs on. Special shouts go to Team Fuscion for the carney antics, Scion Evolution for the girls, and of course,
Scion, for putting the whole thing together. www.scion.com
18 importtuner.com

In hybrid news, plug-in hybrid slingers Fisker Automotive recently came
up on more than half a billion dollars, courtesy of the US Department
of Energy, to help create what the company is hailing as “affordable,
fuel-efficient, plug-in hybrid electric cars,” slated to retail to the general year to help promote development of energy-efficient vehicles—a pie of
public as early as the ’12 model year with 100 mpg efficiency and MSRPs which long-time electric car maker Zap is rumored to also have gotten
competitive with traditional gasoline-powered alternatives. The $528.7 a substantial piece. What we want to know: who’s going to be the first
million loan is part of the DOE’s $25 billion Advanced Technologies to make one run 10s, drift the bank at Irwindale, or lap Buttonwillow in
Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program, penned by Congress late last under 1:50? www.fiskerautomotive.com www.zapworld.com
MOBILE
ELECTRONICS
TEAM HYBRID
TRAINING
Does it seem like, despite the rough economic cli-
mate, the rich just continue to get richer while the
rest of us struggle to make ends meet? Looking for
a way to use your talents to turn the tables and
get your just dues? Look no further than mobile California’s most predominant import car club celebrates 15
TURNS 15
electronics, a purportedly recession-proof indus- years atop the show tier this year, on the heels of its recent Best
try in need of manpower. Metro Auto Electronics Team Overall win at the past Nisei Showoff. January 7th, 2010
Training Institute can give you the training you’re will mark the date when, a decade and a half earlier, president
looking for, and even offers federal financial aid, James Lin founded the club among friends in his local Oxnard, CA,
government assistance, Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, import car scene. Think about what you were doing to your ride
and more, for the talented yet particularly cash- back in ’95 (if you were old enough to drive then)—we’re going to
strapped among us. 800.649.6387 venture a guess that whatever it was, it wasn’t as cutting edge as
what James and co. were doing to theirs. Not that we doubt the
legit status of any 2NR reader . . . we just know you wouldn’t dare
call James any less than a true O.G. to his face! It was an honor to
have them rep our 10-year party last year; hey James, our invites
to yours are in the mail, right? www.teamhybrid.com
The total amount of

miles traveled by
cover car owner Alex
Witkin, while showing
his WRX during the
ʼ07-ʼ08 seasons.
31,248.4
10.02.2nr.19
www.
www.storemags.co
comm & www.
w.fantamag.com
w.
QUESTION
FIXING WHAT YOU BROKE
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a picture of him is worth ten thousand.

The cars he tunes tip him at the end of each session. Their owners offer their
girlfriends in gratitude. He politely declines. Most of the time.
Bolts will spontaneously change size, according to which wrench is in his hand.
He can kill two birds with one crank pulley. And vise versa.
He once taught a Euro taillight to brake in JDM.
He is the most interesting man in the tuning world, and in fact, Eric Hsu can please all
the people all the time. He just chooses not to.
Feeling lucky? questionit@importtuner.com
COST EFFECTIVE SWAP HONDA REPLACEMENT

Is it possible to swap a 13B-REW engine into a first- I own a ’00 Honda Accord 3.0L VTEC engine with a faulty TPS sensor. A shop I
gen Mazda MX-5 without fabricating or spending a know sells the sensor, but I am clueless on which one to buy because I do not
lot of money on custom parts? Any help or sugges- know the engine class. Can you offer any advice?
tions you can give me would be great. -Anonymous
-Mike B. via importtuner.com
via importtuner.com
That’s what the Honda dealership is for. Give them a call with all the information
No, it will not bolt in. Yes, it is possible to do the you’ve mentioned to get the right part.
swap. No, it cannot be done easily without acquiring
custom parts and, yes, it will require a good deal of
fabrication and custom wiring. If you have plenty of REFLASH OR STAND-ALONE DILEMMAS
time and some money, go for it. It would be a pretty My ’93 240SX with an SR20DET swap used to run an HKS GT2530 turbo, with
damn fun car to drive! supporting modifications and a ECU tune, delivering 280 whp. Since then, I’ve
redone the engine using a GT2871R (0.64 a/r turbine housing) and some Tomei
Procams (260 duration/lift). I’ll need another tune, and a chipped ECU would be
FINDING THE PERFECT TURBO cheaper but I know you’re not much of a fan of mail-order tunes. With a target
I built an ’86 Toyota MR2 with a 2.0L turbo engine goal of about 350 whp, would a stand-alone be worth the money for such a
about a year ago, but leaned it out at 25 psi of mild setup? If so, what stand-alone unit(s) would you recommend?
boost, blowing apart the T3/T04 hybrid turbo and -John Yang
taking out a chunk of one piston’s ring land. I’m Seoul, Korea
currently rebuilding the engine with custom 0.5mm
oversized coated JE pistons, ARP fasteners, a cus- A properly tuned ECU, whether stock or stand-alone, would be fine. I prefer stand-
tom side-feed intake manifold with a Ford 75mm alones, but the stock Nissan ECUs are pretty good if an experienced tuner is chip-
throttle body, 3.5-inch surge tank, and 1.5-inch ping/reflashing them. The only problem with mail-order tunes is that you need to
runners with a liquid-to-air intercooler mounted have exactly what the mail-order map was designed for. A different air filter, intake
directly to the intake. What turbo would you sug- tube, air flow meter, intercooler, or intercooler pipes can throw the entire tune sig-
gest and what size? I was looking at the GT30R but nificantly off. If you plan on matching the parts exactly to the chip for the stock ECU
need a turbo that could utilize a T3 exhaust flange then you could give it a shot. If not, I recommend the A’pexi Power FC as a true plug-
and be able to handle 25 psi of boost on the track and-play ECU. The catch is that you’ll still need somebody to tune it for you, or you’ll
with a proper AEM water/meth injection and about need a tuner to load a base map in the Power FC for you—and you’ll still need the
15 psi on the street. My current setup uses an same exact parts. With the Power FC you also have the “D-Jetro” option that allows
XSpower stainless header with a T3 flange. I really you to eliminate the air flow meter and therefore the chances that the tune will be
appreciate any input you may have thrown off due to differences with air flow meter voltages from mismatched parts.
-Matt R.
via importtuner.com
ELUSIVE PULLEYS
First off, ditch the bullshit XSpower exhaust mani- Can you please tell me where I can get a set of pulleys for my Honda S2000
fold. It will crack and/or break in a matter of hours Vortech supercharger? I am desperate to find a source and it seems that no one
(go to my blog and search “XSpower” for details). has the solution to my dilemma. So please, even if you don’t know the answer,
Otherwise it sounds like you have a pretty serious just say you don’t know, not like those Super Street guys, who just ignore
setup. You didn’t mention what your power goal my thousands of emails and pretend to never get to them. That’s the reason I
was or what kind of track (road-race or drag) you’re stopped buying that magazine, and subscribe to Import Tuner instead. I hope
planning to drive, since that has a huge impact you will not fail me like those SS guys did!
on the turbo sizing. If you are thinking GT30, my
guess is that your goal is around 450 hp. I like the -Desperate
GT3076R using a 0.63 a/r turbine housing for a 2.0L. via importtuner.com
If you’re building for drag racing, you might consider
the GT3582R with a 0.82 a/r turbine housing for up- Uh . . . have you tried sourcing your pulley through Vortech Engineering? They list
wards of 600 hp. Be sure to use a reliable wastegate multiple pulleys on their website. You can also call them for custom pulleys at
like a Tial 44mm or larger. And stay away from the 805.247.0226. Use some common sense—I’m not too surprised you keep getting
made-in-China shit. blown off on this one.
ERIC HSU
20 importtuner.com
WWW.BEYONDTHEDYNO.COM/BLOGS/ERIC HOTBOX
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WIDGETS
DAMN IT THESE ARE DOPE
02 03
04
01
01 DIGIDUDE 02 READER DAILY EDITION

Face it: It’s tough enough trying to take decent photos when you’re Reading may be fundamental, but it also kinda sucks when you’re forced
simply relaxing on the beach, let alone hanging half-naked, upside to carry a 10-pound copy of The Lost Symbol halfway across America.
down over a pool of Jell-o while a midget tickles your toes. Thankfully, Enter a worthy digital alternative to hefting hardbacks in Sony’s sup-
these funky portable tripods—disguised to look like keychains modeled posed Kindle killer, which packs a seven-inch monitor, touchscreen
after cartoon versions of robots, dragons and bling-sporting chumps— interface and 3G wireless connectivity for on-demand downloads. Making
make it easy to snap the perfect shot. Just mount a digital camera or it easy to purchase eBooks, add storage for your growing library or enjoy
pocket camcorder to its retractable, bending legs to effortlessly fire thousands of free manuscripts via the open ePub format, there’s even
away from any angle. options for virtually checking out volumes from the local library.
www.quirky.com / $19.99 www.sonystyle.com / $399
03 CLIQ 04 iPOD NANO (5G)

Cell phones based on the open-source Android operating system have One of the world’s most mobile MP3 players switches up its game,
yet to impress, but this may well be the one to finally raise eyebrows. In adding a video camera, larger 2.2-inch screen and built-in microphone/
addition to noteworthy frills like 3G and WiFi connectivity, a slick 5.0MP speaker, becoming more of an all-around portable media powerhouse
digital camera, a touchscreen interface, and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, in the process. Beyond fielding songs, photos and videos, you also get
you also get fully integrated social networking features. See a screen a new FM tuner too, allowing you to pause and rewind live radio or tag
filled with widgets, or little pop-up windows that keep you constantly unknown songs for later enjoyment on iTunes. While videos are only
updated on e-mails, tweets and Facebook status updates. Beware, of standard-definition quality, low-light filming performance sucks and
though! Whether it’s an OMG or LOL ultimately depends on if you’re a it’s tough watching full-length movies on the tiny monitor . . . as sheer
social butterfly. versatility goes, this small wonder remains unmatched.
www.motorolla.com / $TBD www.apple.com / $149 (8GB), $179 (16GB)
05 CHAMPIONS ONLINE 06 GUITAR HERO: VAN HALEN

Real men wear tights. OK, maybe not outside of Hollywood sound stages While we’re still praying for versions based on Air Supply and Winger,
(sorry, Dancing With the Stars!), but at least in the world of massively you’ve got to appreciate a hard-rocking music simulation that could
multiplayer online superhero games, Spandex reigns supreme. See the lat- shame even American Idol the way it squirts out the assembly-line hits.
est outing from Cryptic Studios, makers of City of Heroes, which lets you You know the drill: Same game, different catalogue of hair-metal smash-
personalize your own caped crusader, pile on the force fields and heat rays, es, including “Hot for Teacher,” “Runnin’ With the Devil” and “Panama.”
then save a sprawling 3D universe. Trading tedious, turn-based combat and Guest acts (Blink-182, Weezer, etc.) aside, there’s little new here, but
simulated dice rolling for more action-packed crime-fighting, it’s an unex- we’re still suckers for strumming along to “Jump.” For sake of potential
pectedly superhuman effort. hernias though, just watch those Diamond Dave-style splits.
www.atari.com / PC www.activision.com / PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii
07 GRAND THEFT AUTO: 08 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010

EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY With Super Bowl season here and dreams of pork rinds and Iron City
Sick and tired of working your way up the Eastern European underworld’s dancing in everyone’s head, it’s hard to believe: This is what most
ranks, rampaging through a living, breathing virtual metropolis, and wooing of the world pictures when you say “football.” But despite its lack
fussy computerized dames? Us neither, but if you need a change of scenery, try of public awareness, FIFA’s chief rival continues to deliver a World
this killer expansion disc. Pairing addictive add-ons The Ballad of Gay Tony and Cup-worthy performance year after year, delivering sharper controls
The Lost and The Damned in one box, it ditches the original GTA IV’s storyline, and higher-definition visuals than ever before. Between smarter CPU
but adds two equally polished successors. Note that smart shoppers will skip opponents and expanded online options, it’s enough to keeping you
the box entirely and download direct to their Xbox 360, however. bending it like you-know-who for weeks on end.
www.rockstargames.com / Xbox 360 www.konami.com / PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii
05 06 07 08
22 importtuner.com

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comm & ww
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FACTORFICTION
BY LUKE MUNNELL DEBUNKING TUNING MYTHS
They’re everywhere. On the shelves of consumer auto parts stores, on the e-pages of online perfor-
mance catalogs and occasionally plastered across the flanks of winning competition cars. On their
bottles are claims of increased power, better fuel mileage and cleaner engines with use, and inside are
proprietary formulas and chemicals with names we can’t even begin to decipher. They are the world’s
“performance fuel additives”, and we have yet to test one that makes good on all its claims.
HAVE WE FINALLY FOUND A FUEL

TREATMENT THAT INCREASES POWER?
In lieu of tetra-ethyl lead added to gasoline in pre-catalytic-converter days, a wide vari- tions) will elevate octane levels to
ety of chemicals are added to modern-day automotive gasoline to stabilize and elevate only 91.03 octane, give or take.
its octane level on the cheap, decrease the propensity for pre-ignition, and allow for more Published third-party informa-
power to be made from increased compression and/or advanced ignition timing. In the world tion about 104+ Octane Boost
of aftermarket performance fuel additives and octane boosters, three ingredients are used claims a “five-point” octane
predominantly: methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT), toluene, and variants increase 3, which, in marketing
of trimethylbenzene. Avoiding the whole father-son organometallic chemistry talk, let’s just terms, translates to a 0.5 jump in
say that each does the job in its own way, with its own set of characteristics. Our testing the AKI octane rating 4. Figuring
of an octane booster with MMT (Fact or Fiction, Feb., ’09) produced no measurable power a 10-point increase for 104+
increases—the same results we experienced testing a different one that bragged of adding Maximum, this would bring the
“up to 25 horsepower instantly”, without listing its ingredients (toluene, we suspect—Fact or octane rating of our test fuel to
Fiction, May, ’08). This month, we test the venerable 104+ Maximum Octane Boost. around 92—far less than 104.
Like our mystery fuel treatment in the May, ’08 issue, the makers of 104+ don’t list its To test the product’s effects
ingredients on the bottle, nor on any readily accessible part of their official website. But on power and torque output, we
company literature does state that it contains no MMT or alcohol, yet delivers “double the strapped Project DC2 down to the
octane boost” of its regular-formula product—one for which published MSDS data sheets list Dynojet rollers of Westminster,
a 5-percent solution of well-known octane booster 1,2,4 trimethylbenzene (with two percent CA dyno-rental specialists MD
naphthalene, in a solution of 30-percent petroleum distillate and 60-percent “proprietary Automotive, and performed a
additive”) 1. Assuming a 10-percent solution of 1, 2, 4 trimethylbenzene at a 136 AKI octane set of five Fourth Gear pulls, first
rating (anti-knock index—the same system used to rate US pump gas) 2 as our test subject’s with straight 91-octane pump gas
only significant octane-enhancing ingredient, adding the 16-ounce bottle of 104+ Maximum powering the car, then another
Octane Boost to 20 gallons of 91-octane fuel in our Project DC2 (per manufacturer’s direc- set of five after the addition of
104+ Maximum Octane Boost.
Averaging the numbers, our
DC2 experienced negligible
BASLINE (MEAN) MAX POWER = 133.26 MAX TORQUE = 118.69
changes to power and torque
PRODUCT (MEAN) MAX POWER = 133.83 MAX TORQUE = 119.23 output throughout testing, while
ambient temperatures steadily fell
about two degrees.
THE VERDICT:
Don’t let our testing discredit the product entirely— system cleaning and increased mileage claims weren’t
octane levels weren’t measured, and changes to ignition tested, either. All considered, let this show what to expect
ttiming in our subject car weren’t from adding an over-the-counter fuel treatment to a simi-
mmade to determine if it did stave lar car in good tune. If you need higher-octane fuel, buying
off knock, as advertised. Fuel it directly from a gas station or race shop is a better bet.
2 Myers, Richard L. (2007). The 100 Most Important Chemical

Compounds: A Reference Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_additives_in_gasoline
sources
1 MSDS information prepared by Mike Profetto, courtesy of Ignitable
3 www.octane-booster.com
http://www.octane-booster.com/octane-104-street-formula-16-oz/
HOTBOX
Liquids Reference Collection, University of Central Florida MD AUTOMOTIVE
http://ilrc.ucf.edu/documents/ILRC%2000000208/MSDS%20 4 Car Care FAQ: Prestone 714.891.1113
00000208.pdf http://www.prestone.com/carcare/faq.php#q7 WWW.MARKDIBELLA.COM
24 importtuner.com

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Photo by Henry Z. DeKuyper
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TEXT BY EVAN GRIFFEY
PHOTOS BY JAY CANTER
ctober 5th, 2009 will go
O down as a dark day in the

sport compact industry, as
Shaun Carlson, one of its
best and brightest, was taken from
us far too soon. Only 35 years old, Shaun had recently been
diagnosed with Brugada Syndrome—a genetic disorder that disrupts the heart’s
electrical system—but upon being given an implanted defibrillator, reportedly told his the Mustang kids where they should store it, and informed them that daddy’s car—nor
condition would be manageable. It was unclear exactly what caused his passing, as any of his customers’ cars—would never appear in our magazine. Shaun was shocked,
of press time. and worried about me getting in trouble. But he was there shooting for me, and on
After years served in this industry, any chance I found to BS with Shaun at events the front lines, you stand up for your guys. I suggested an early dinner and we spent a
and industry functions were a big part in keeping them worth looking forward to. good chunk of time just talking. It was one of the few times he didn’t run home to weld
Although we missed each other through much of 2008, he always set aside a good something. We talked about my daughter, about him moving out on his own, about
chunk of time so we could reconnect and talk about cars, racing and everything else how we had a hard time spending money on ourselves for stuff like shoes when we
that’s been going on in our lives—no matter how busy we were, we would always could use the cash for something useful, like parts or tools. We also touched on where
catch up like time hadn’t passed. SEMA was always a good place for this; I try not to the emerging import scene was going, and he surprised me with some of his product
think of how much quieter this year’s show will be without him. ideas, the Honda Block Guard among them. I stayed quiet and let his train of thought
Shaun started his import performance odyssey at Turbo magazine back in 1997, carry the conversation, the gears in his head turning almost frantically, a precursor of
where he became a staff editor and our best photographer. I shared a cramped office things to come.
with him and we worked long, hard hours, as committed people with vision and Shaun was only 23 years old at the time (and looked like he was 13) but his fabri-
purpose usually do. It was an exciting time; the scene was in transition, growing into cation skills were far beyond his years. On several occasions, people couldn’t believe
a legitimate industry and we saw our efforts as being the tip of the spear, bringing his work was his own, and that shook Shaun’s rafters to no end. He was building his
credibility and respect to what was so often described back then as merely “kids with “World’s Fastest 1.5-Liter Honda”, when he started working at the mag, a CRX project
small cars and big mufflers.” It was an uphill battle at times. he and cohort Jason Whitfield collaborated on, and his immense talents needed little
We were shooting a Mustang one evening, when the owner’s son and a friend who justification once we ran that series of articles. In one of the more popular install-
drove the car to the shoot started hating on Sean’s import, asking him about muffler ments, he explained how he painted it in the front lawn of his parent’s house. The paint
bearings and what he thought the best valves for a 13B would be. Shaun was spoolin’ was flawless. What emerged at the end of the series was a truly timeless build that
up and ready to body slam the boneheads, but held his cool for the sake of profession- combined form and function as only Shaun could. Heck, the car would still pop retinas
alism. I wasn’t so reserved. I asked Shaun for his film, ripped it from the canister, told today as it did when it appeared on the April ’98 cover of Turbo.
10.02.2nr.31
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REMEMBERING SHAUN CARLSON
Large and in Charge

What you might not have known about
OULD Shaun Carlson
HECK, THE CAR W S
STILL POP RETINA
1 Began his journalism career at Turbo Magazine in late ’96, early ’97.
WHEN IT
TODAY AS IT DID E
2 Was the president and founder of NuFormz Racing, a fabrication company that
builds aftermarket components and custom race cars.
PRIL
APPEARED ON THRBA 3 Debuted Stephen Papadakis’ Pro FWD tube-frame Honda Civic at SEMA in ’98:
‘98 COVER OF TU O
the first sport compact drag car with a tube chassis.
4 That same Civic became the world’s first FWD to run a 9-second quarter mile,
with a 9.89 @ 149 pass on March 27th, 1999 at Battle of the Imports. And if that
wasn’t enough, it became the first FWD vehicle to break the 8-second barrier, with
an 8.93 @ 164 pass at Maplegrove Raceway on May 14th, 2000.
5 Built the “World’s Fastest 1.5-Liter” project car (10.2-second Honda CRX); cover
feature for Turbo Magazine’s April, ’98 issue.
6 Shot the first two covers of Import Tuner in ’98, featuring the Remix Twins, fol-
lowed by Francine Dee.
7 Designed and debuted a revolutionary Honda cylinder-wall reinforcement called

the “Block Guard” in ’99.
8 Built and campaigned the Ford/Meguiar’s Pro-class Focus dragster in ’00.

9 Unveiled the Mopar/Nuformz Dodge SRT4 at SEMA ’02 and set a new NHRA
FWD class records for ET and speed in May ’03, at Gainesville: 8.22 sec @
181.70 mph, the same event in which he captured his first NHRA victory.
10 Took to the NHRA as a backup driver for Darrell Alderman in ’04 Pro Stock
competition.
11 Returned to the NHRA, piloting the Team Mopar/SRT Dodge Stratus R/T for Don
Schumacher Racing in the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Pro Stock Class for the
’06 season.
12 Joined forces with Samuel Hubinette, constructing the Mopar Viper Competition
Coupe that won Formula D championships in ’04 and ’06.
13 Continued ties between Nuformz and Mopar/Hubinette in ’08, with the release of
the Dodge Charger drift machine that debuted at SEMA the same year.
32 importtuner.com
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He was on staff when Import Tuner was born,
shooting some of the very first covers, and though he
really had no time for it, even stayed on as Editor-At-
Large while he got his new fabrication shop, Nuformz,
up to speed. No one will forget the first project that
put him on the map: Stephan Papadakis’ tube-frame
Civic, the world’s first front-wheel-drive vehicle to
break into the single digits down a quarter-mile. Or
Shaun Carlson tributes:
Frank Choi
how he crew chiefed Sam Hubinette’s drift team to Founder, Battle of the Imports
champions in 2004 and 2006, while building the “I met Shaun a long time ago, when he called me asking for a press pass to shoot a Mini Truckin’ cover at a BOTI event
Meguiar’s Focus and Mopar Neon dragsters. The latter at Los Angeles County Raceway. I think my words to him were, ‘You want to put a mini on the starting line? WTF for?’
two Shaun drove himself while subbing for injured It was then that I noticed what a talented photographer he was and our friendship began. Soon enough, Shaun ended
Pro Stock driver Darrel Alderman, even winning a few up working for Turbo and Import Tuner, and our paths crossed regularly. Those were good days. I remember cruising
Wallys in 2004 in the process. around with him, dropping off his famous Nuformz Block Guards, and I knew this guy had something special to offer our
Shaun went all-out in everything he did. Guided by industry. He was definitely ahead of his time when it came to ingenuity, creativity and work ethic. Simply stating that he’ll
his own natural innovation, his efforts rarely took the be missed doesn’t even come close.”
easy route; his destinations were always a few stops
farther down the line than the rest of us. I saw him as Ken Miyoshi
the ultimate CNC machine—he didn’t need CAD/CAM Founder, Import Showoff
blueprints, soda straw models or scribbles on a napkin. “When anyone recalls Shaun Carlson’s name, words along the lines of ‘true pioneer’ are inevitably spoken by someone
Shaun would take an idea right out of his head and in the group. Everyone can say he was a great photographer, racer, entrepreneur, builder, team manager, but the one thing
execute it with a precision that could scarcely be distin- that stands out the most is that his actions spoke louder than words. From the Showoff trophy I awarded the CRX that he
guished from computer-navigated machine work. Lexus’ and Jason Whitfield built years ago, to his magazine cover shots and his work on drift and drag cars over the years, no one
slogan, “The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection”, must have could top the attention to detail Shaun would pride himself with, but never boast. A true pioneer, he will be deeply missed
been thought up by someone watching him fabricate. by us all.”
At his memorial service, it was interesting to see
his friends gather, based on where in Shaun’s life they Ron Bergenholtz
intersected; the magazine people and import drag rac- Co-founder of Bergenholtz Racing
ers, the drift crowd, those associated with his Mopar “The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Shaun Carlson is ‘crazy’. Everything he worked on was a work of
efforts, and his friends and family. I thought it a great art. He went all the way on every project he undertook. When you looked at a Shaun Carlson car, you could stare at it
honor that the reception was held at the NHRA Mu- for days, never even realizing the small details Shaun likely lost sleep over—the finished product was always that clean.
seum, and the NHRA has my appreciation for stepping His ingenuity and craftsmanship were just plain sick, and the automotive industry benefited from his ideas before it even
up and opening their doors for the occasion. At the ser- knew what hit it. I miss Shaun Carlson already. I miss competing against his and Steph’s Civic back in ’99. I miss asking
vice, I noticed a conspicuous black aluminum box that him how to build a Pro-FWD car. I miss racing against his Dodge Neon in NHRA Sport Compact competition. I miss
I had to ask about. Shaun’s friend and fellow fabricator rooting for him in the NHRA Powerade series. I miss asking him how to begin a drift team. I miss competing against him
at Nuformz, Rob Miller, explained that it was a true bil- in Formula D. But more than all that, I think I’ll miss just talking with my friend the most.”
let aluminum urn that the team CNC’d for Shaun, with
his initials and Nuformz logo lasered into it. More than Samuel Hubinette
40 hours were invested into it by the Nuformz team. Driver, Nuformz/Mopar Formula D competition cars
I asked Rob if there was any welding involved and “I got to know Shaun for the first time in 2004, when I started to drift for Team Mopar. With him and his crew from
learned there wasn’t. We shared a laugh and agreed Nuformz, we achieved two championships and so far, the most victories awarded to any single team in Formula D history.
that it was probably a good thing—Shaun would have Having a master fabricator as a team owner was always a big bonus for us. Every time I came out to an event there were
been picky about the welds. I got the impression that some new updates to the car. I have to admit, they weren’t always things I thought were necessary, but that was Shaun:
Rob had already considered that. the eternal perfectionist. He loved to keep things top-notch for style. Our success and popularity as drift competitors are
Managing more projects—and stress—in any given largely thanks to his efforts. It’s amazing how closely Shaun has stuck by his team throughout the ’09 season, despite
week than most of us could in a year, Sean Carlson suffering three heart attacks and losing sponsorship with Mopar due to the Chrysler bankruptcy. For all of us at Team Nu-
accomplished more in his short time than most will ever formz 2009, thank you so much. You will always y be in our hearts. Rest in peace, bro. We know you’re
y in a better place.”
dream of. Yet behind it all, his dedication to work and
the people in his life kept him approachable, humble
and down for a good time with friends at a moments’
notice. That there was still so much more potential to
be fulfilled in his craft and his personal life only deepens
the tragedy. Selfishly, I want more. I want to hear about
his new projects. I want to run into him at the next For-
mula D event and bust his chops while he’s busy doing a
million things; I’d even secretly been planning for him to
meet my son at next season’s Seattle event. I wanted to
be around for all the big, grown-up changes that Shaun
would make before becoming a father himself.
What makes Shaun’s passing so painful, yet
bearable at once, I think, was that he was one of our
dearest friends. The type that saddens us deeply
when they leave, but only makes us smile when we
remember them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
--
Evan Griffey sat as Editor of Turbo & High-Tech

Performance magazine from 1992-2005, and served
as Editorial Director when Import Tuner was created in
1998. He worked with Shaun Carlson from 1997 until he
gradually moved on to greener Nuformz pastures.
Freelance photographer Jay Canter has documented

the tuning industry for years. Having first met Shaun
Carlson in 1997, he has been an inspiration to Jay, both
professionally and personally, ever since.
10.02.2nr.33
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FEBRUARY2010.ISSUE#131
M AT
34 importtuner.com

IMPORT TUNER MAGAZINE: RAW MATERIAL
RAW
ERIAL THIS CIVIC COULD BE THE
CAT’S PAJAMAS
TEXT BY COLIN RYAN

PHOTOS BY KYLE CRAWFORD
Honda has built something like 19.4 million Civics. So that’s 19.4 million chances to get some gro-
ceries. Or, looking at it the Import Tuner way, 19.4 million opportunities to create something unique.
Every little cookie from that giant cutter can be fashioned into so many different visions.
This is Andre Bourne’s vision, a key to his identity: a ’93 EH2 model in Milano Red, converted to
right-hand drive, and given a K20A2 swap from an RSX Type-S. Bourne first bought the car as a roll-
ing shell, built it loosely to stock specs and used it for transport around Miami. Then he grew bored
and gave himself an ultimatum: to build his idea of a dream Honda—one that could hold its own on
the street, be quick around a track, and look good enough for shows and magazine features. In other
words, to achieve Civic supremacy.
10.02.2nr.35

RAW MATERIAL
Bourne admits to having gone through several motors. But we must
assume he is fairly happy with the one currently secured on Hybrid
Racing engine mounts in his bay, judging by the RBC intake manifold
and P2R throttle body adapter, and extensive fuel-delivery system
he’s prepared for it—consisting of a Walbro 255 lph fuel pump, Hybrid
Racing fuel rail, Russell Performance inline filter, Aeromotive fuel pres-
sure regulator, Marshall liquid-filled pressure gauge, and soon-to-be
upgraded injectors. Could someone be planning a little forced induction
in the coming months? If so, the car’s custom Rywire harness should be
a little easier to navigate around, while installing the goods.
Bourne likes a touch of relocation, too, shifting the homes of the radi-
ator, power steering and air conditioning units with kits from K-Tuned.
In this instance, the radiator is topped off with a Cusco cap and aug-
mented by a Summit Racing aluminum overflow tank. Bourne has also
taken the valve cover and had it custom powdercoated in white. On the
exhaust side, a modified DC Sports 4:2:1 TSX header (shortened to fit)
goes into a Magnaflow exhaust.
Neither is Bourne averse to looking elsewhere in the Honda/Acura
range for parts, hence his use of a DC5 Integra Type R crank pulley and
Civic Type R ECU. A look further along the driveline reveals axles from a
base-model RSX, used with the K20A2’s original six-speed transmission,
upgraded with a Karcepts shift box. Such work is rarely carried out in
solitude, and Bourne’s right-hand man during the installation of nearly
all go-fast bits was Carlos Silva of Label One Garage, in Plantation, FL.
To any car that needs to hold up to brutal street driving and occasion-
al track use, a solid, reliable and adjustable suspension is a must-have
item. Fitting that description is the set of aluminum-bodied, fully adjust-
able KSport coilovers at each corner of Bourne’s EG, joined by a Skunk2
front camber kit, Ingalls rear camber kit, Blox adjustable endlinks, and
OEM DC2 sway bars—an Integra GSR piece in the front, and Type R 24mm
provision in the rear. And because a good setup depends on a rigid body,
Bourne installed a first-generation Carbing three-point front strut bar
(resplendent in white) and an ASR subframe brace.
Not only has Bourne been through several engines, he’s tried on a
few sets of wheels, too. Right now, though, he’s happy with his CCW
LM16s, sized 16x8 and secured with Volk Racing Formula lug nuts. The
chosen rubber is Nitto Neo Gen 205/40.
Snuck in behind the front wheels are Wilwood Dynalite calipers
(held by Fastbrakes brackets) biting onto 11.1-inch slotted and drilled
rotors. The rear stoppers are again from a GSR, and again with slot-
ted and drilled rotors. The whole system benefits from a GSR brake
booster, 15/16 -inch master cylinder and 40/40 proportioning valve, Hawk
Performance pads, and Earl’s stainless steel lines.
When it came to the exterior, Bourne got down with his bad JDM self,
sending a lot of business SiR’s way, in the form of yellow fog lights (pro-
tected by Password:JDM carbon fiber covers), headlights, corners, side
markers, thin moldings, window visors, amber hatch glass, and a rear
spoiler. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a set of SiR Euro domestic
market taillights with integrated fogs. A Backyard Special carbon fiber
36 importtuner.com

BOURNE GAVE HIMSELF AN ULTIMATUM: TO BUILD HIS IDEA
OF A DREAM HONDA. IN OTHER WORDS, TO ACHIEVE
CIVIC SUPREMACY.
10.02.2nr.37

RAW MATERIAL
A CUSTOM FABRIC CALLED lip sets the OEM mixture apart from factory stock, possibly the only
exterior component that does, save for matching APR carbon fiber mir-
“SASHIMI” COVERS THE rors and something even more unique: SRR quick-release fasteners for
the front bumper, a preemptive modification to shorten down-time any
HEADLINER, DOOR PANELS AND track-prepped car will definitely see in battle. While attending to the
body, Bourne asked AAB Customs of Pompano Beach, FL, to shave the
ARMRESTS. THERE’S NOTHING badges, antenna and windshield washers, for good, clean measure.
There’s more SiR stuff inside, including a full dash (with instrument
WRONG WITH A BIT OF cluster, clock and climate control), a center console with a storage
box covered in rare amber-colored material, and lowly-but-useful floor
HEALTHY SELF-EXPRESSION. mats. The remaining cockpit candy represents, for the most part, some
fine and understandable selections. For example, the Personal steering
wheel set onto an NRG quick-release adapter and Splash short hub, the
SRR pedals, Status carbon fiber bucket driver’s seat and the Integra
Type R Recaro front passenger seat. And who could find fault in the
custom-made harness bar or dispute the choices of an Alpine head unit
and Infinity Kappa door speakers? Certainly not the Hot Import Nights
Miami judges, who awarded this car a First in the “Hottest JDM OEM”
category. Bt maybe that was before Bourne fitted what might be his
most controversial choice.
We now come to the elephant in the room. Or in the cabin, to be more
precise. Study the picture featuring the headliner. It’s covered in a custom
fabric Bourne calls “sashimi” and it also covers the door panels and arm-
rest. Chances are it looks great on a child seat or as a pair of pajamas.
Then again, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of healthy self-expression.
The $20,000 or so spent on this project could have bought a brand-
new, cookie-cutter Civic. But that’s not the point. Following that route,
Bourne would have missed out on the learning experience of building a
car nearly from scratch, the joy of snagging an HIN gong with it . . . or the
embarrassing moments that inevitably come with it all: “In 2007, when
I first got the car on the road, I went to the alignment shop and it broke
down on the lift,” he says. “Everyone at the shop was trying to help me
get it started, but the car just would not turn over. I even sent my friend
over to a Honda dealership to buy a new main relay, thinking that was
the problem. Little did I know the original gas gauge was broken and I
was just running on E. I put a few gallons in and she started right up.”
So, apart from avoiding a certain alignment shop for evermore,
where does Bourne go from here? “A limited-slip differential and
Hondata K-pro ECU,” he says, “then, it’s off to the track to get ’er dirty!”
He might even be angling for a feature in our sister magazine, Lowrider:
“I’ll always have Hondas, but I want to get into a ’73 Chevy Impala drop-
top or a ’62 Lincoln Continental.” Just one piece of advice: think twice
about the pajama material.
38 importtuner.com

’93 HONDA CIVIC BEHIND
OUTPUT NA
THEBUILD
HEAD TO THE MESSAGE BOARDS
ENGINE K20A2 engine; Hybrid Racing fuel rail, engine mounts; Walbro 255 lph fuel pump; TO CHAT
AT WWW.IMPORTTUNER.COM
Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator; Marshall fuel pressure gauge; Russell Performance inline ABOUT THIS FEATURE VEHICLE
fuel filter; P2R throttle body adapter; RBC intake manifold; K-Tuned A/C, PS, radiator relocation
kits; Rywire harness; Cusco radiator cap; Summit Racing aluminum overflow tank; Magnaflow
NAME. BUILD TIME.
muffler; DC Sports header; Integra Type R crank pulley, Civic Type R ECU; custom powdercoated ANDRE BOURNE TWO AND A HALF
valve cover, fuel line tuck YEARS
AGE.
DRIVETRAIN RSX Type S six-speed manual transmission, base RSX axles; Karcepts shifter 26 FEEDBACK.
box kit dreb20v@yahoo.com
HOMETOWN.
SUSPENSION KSport adjustable coilovers; Carbing three-point front strut bar; Skunk2 MIAMI, FL FAVORITE QUOTE.
front camber kit; Omni Power rear lower control arms; Ingalls rear camber kit; Blox adjustable “I’VE HAD SO MANY
OCCUPATION. PROBLEMS WITH THIS
endlinks; Energy Suspension trailing arm bushings; ASR subframe brace; GSR anti-roll bar MERCEDES-BENZ CAR, I WOULDN’T EVEN
(front); Integra Type R 24mm anti-roll bar (rear) SALES ASSISTANT KNOW WHERE TO
WHEELS/TIRES 16x8 CCW LM16 wheels; 205/40-16 Nitto Neo Gen tires; Volk Racing START. EVEN SIMPLE
HOBBIES. SUSPENSION CHANGES
Formula lug nuts CARS, COOKING, BECAME A MISSION
BRAKES Wilwood Dynalite calipers, 11.1-inch rotors (front); Fastbrakes brackets; GSR calipers, SPORTS SOMETIMES.”
drilled/slotted rotors (rear), master cylinder, booster, proportioning valve; Hawk Performance
pads; Earl’s stainless steel lines
EXTERIOR SiR fog lights, headlights, corners, side markers, thin moldings, window visors, rear
spoiler, hatch glass, taillights w/fogs; APR carbon fiber mirrors; Password:JDM fog light covers;
HOTBOX
DC SPORTS
WWW.DCSPORTS.COM
Backyard Special carbon fiber front lip; SRR quick bumper release system
INTERIOR SiR dash, center console, floor mats; Personal steering wheel; NRG quick-release KSPORT
WWW.KSPORTUSA.COM
adapter; Splash short hub; Status carbon fiber driver’s bucket seat; SRR pedals; Integra Type R NITTO
Recaro front passenger seat; custom harness bar, headliner, door panels, armrests WWW.NITTOTIRE.COM
ELECTRONICS Alpine head unit; Infinity Kappa door speakers LABEL ONE GARAGE
MYSPACE.COM/LABELONEGARAGE
GRATITUDE My beautiful girlfriend; my family; Carlos at Label One Garage; JDM Rick; the whole
COMPLETE CUSTOM WHEEL
Beast Coast; Sunworks WWW.CCWHEEL.COM
10.02.2nr.39

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A DRIFTER
TEXT BY COLIN RYAN, CARTER JUNG & THE DRIFTERS
PHOTOS BY HENRY Z DEKUYPER & LUKE MUNNELL
ROUND 6: IRWINDALE, CA
It was back to southern California for the last power-

slides of the Formula D season. Round Seven took place
at the “House of Drift,” otherwise known as the Toyota
Speedway at Irwindale. This is where the American drift
scene really took off, so it was only fitting that the venue
should see make-or-break, foot-to-the-floor, Hail Mary
passes in the final chance to grab some glory, all in
front of a record-breaking, 12,000-strong crowd.
42 importtuner.com
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Rhys Millen
With the tire smoke dissipating
and mechanics finally scrubbing all
that oil from under their fingernails,
it’s time to reflect on what was
and what might have been. There’s
no doubt that Rhys Millen has the
skills, but his new platform was
unproven in motorsport coming
into the season. So perhaps the
learning curve was the toughest bend to negotiate in 2009.
Well, another year has come to an end, and with it, a lot of learning and a
lot to ponder. The Hyundai Genesis ran fantastically at the final round. No com-
plaints at all, other than the driver missing a gear. This year has been a tough
one, but not without its promises for podiums. The team and I have a great
foundation to work from.
With the off-season now upon us, we are expecting great results to kick
off 2010. I’m still as hungry as ever for another championship. And if the world
record we set this year at Pikes Peak is any indication of the season to come, I
bet it will be a good one. Big props to Red Bull, Toyo Tires, Infinity, and the great
folks and new friends at Hyundai. Thanks for all the support this season.
RED BULL HYUNDAI RHYS MILLEN

WWW.REDBULLUSA.COM WWW.HYUNDAIUSA.COM WWW.RHYSMILLEN.COM
This time, we were certain the motor was toast.
Ken Gushi By then, I was over it. After all, we had been using this same 3SGE for two seasons
and it still gave us problems in the final rounds. The only spare engine we had left was
made up of salvaged parts from previously damaged motors. To use that one was a
The words “Ken Gushi” and “headgasket” risk, but was a better option than running a motor that was already done. The other
always seem to coincide on this page. And, change was fuel. No more E85. We went back to C16. Woo-hoo, top-end power!
sadly, out on the track as well. Which is a shame, The tC ran strong in Saturday’s practice session. It felt like a brand-new car. And
because The Gush can’t put on a rush when his with more top-end power, it was much easier drifting the Irwindale bank. Thank you,
engine misbehaves. But ever the optimist, our RS-R and Nate, for working such late hours. As the Top 32 tandem battles began, we
Ken sees the positive side, thus re-fuelling his made some last-minute changes before I was up. Since track temperature was still
ambition for next year. high, we altered the tire pressure to compensate. I was getting nervous, but then I
I wanted to finish the season with a bang, thought, ‘This is the last event of the year. Just have fun.’
especially after proving the RS-R Scion tC can kick My match against Taka was exactly that. I took the lead first, so I knew I had to
ass with a podium finish at Sonoma. I really wanted to win at Irwindale, since it’s leave him in the dust. While we utilized the pace cone to keep it fair, as soon as I
my home course and because I failed to qualify last year due to engine problems. entered the bank I was only focused on keeping my speeds high and hitting every clip
This year, I hoped there would be no similar issues. Unfortunately, things didn’t go out there. On my following lap, I had to be extra cautious not to stay too close on the
according to plan. straight, because I knew the tC would catch up on the bank. Luckily, we made it past
First, we blew a fresh motor on media day, two weeks prior to the main event. I had the 32 into the Top 16. Thank you, Taka, for a good run.
a bad feeling about Irwindale already. Maybe it’s a curse. I didn’t get to break in the Next up was Ryan Tuerck. Track temperature was dropping fast, so it was critical
new motor for Thursday’s practice, so we decided to do it at the track. This time, we to adjust the rear tire pressure. This is where I made my mistake. I set the rear tire
were running on E85. I was skeptical about this. First, we did not have sufficient data pressure too low, which made it hard to keep the high line on the bank. I knew Tuerck
to tell us that the motor was reliable—we had an E85-powered 3SGE blow up on us had been staying in the middle of the bank all day, so my strategy was to force him to
run a line he would be uncomfortable with. But he ended up beating me and the rest
of the field.
Overall, this event was rough for us. We were overwhelmed with engine problems.
But I am extremely happy with the team. They worked super hard to keep the car
running to the end. We finished the 2009 Formula D Season in 10th Place. To me, that
counts as a success, considering we started the season at 33, not even qualifying at
Long Beach. Also, 10th is not so bad for a team that has had transmission and engine
problems all year long. On a positive note, we did have one podium finish, a First-place
at the Vegas round. Secondly, the E85-powered 3SGE was powerful in the mid-range, qualifying, a Fourth-place finish, and a car that’s still in one piece. It was one of the best
but not at the top end. For a track like Irwindale, top-end power is more important than seasons I’ve had in a long time.
anything, especially when the judges ask for extreme lines. Special thanks to Team RS-R, Scion, Toyo, Rogue Status, Pioneer, BASF, Eneos, RAYS,
It turned out the powerband was not so bad compared to our C16-fueled motor. TRD, Alpinestars, my fans and my family for supporting me. For 2010, to the top we go!
But after practice, chief mechanic Koji found air bubbles in the coolant lines. Not a
good sign. After a brief meeting, Team RS-R decided to split the motor open to check
for damage to the block. Fortunately, it was just a blown headgasket, so they decided
to use a thicker one. A thicker headgasket means lower compression, which in turn
means lower horsepower. It was so much slower that I was having a hard time during
practice before Friday’s qualifying. Something was not right. We kept turning up the
boost, but the gauge only read 1.4 bar max. With the settings we had, it should have
been close to 1.7 or 1.8. We didn’t have time to diagnose the problem, so I ran qualify-
ing with what I had. I ended up in 15th with a score of 73.9 and a match-up in the Top
32 against 18th-place qualifier, Taka Aono.
To be honest, I don’t like going against Corollas. They are much faster in the techni-
cal areas of the tracks, but slower in the open areas. I went up against Taka in New
Jersey and I remember his car being pretty quick. After qualifying, we got ready for the
last practice session of the day. After running a few laps, Koji checked for bubbles. I sat
in the car, waiting for him to close the hood, but it was taking a long time. I was getting RS-R SCION RACING TOYO TIRE
worried. When I saw his face, it confirmed my suspicions. ‘Again?’ I thought to myself. WWW.RS-R.COM WWW.SCIONRACING.COM WWW.TOYO.COM
10.02.2nr.43

FORMULA D DIARIES: IRWINDALE, CA
Dai Yoshihara
The 2009 Formula D season has been one
long, out-of-control, chaotic slide for Daijiro-
san. So, he was hoping it would be seventh-
time’s-the-charm at Irwindale. He didn’t want
everyone’s final memory of his racing year to be
a negative one. And then there was that little
issue of a mislaid mojo . . .
I’ve had a tough season; no great results and a
bad crash. This round was the last chance for me to
get my confidence back.
I wasn’t really comfortable in practice. To be honest, I was kinda scared. I since last year. On the following run, he was fast, but he touched the wall and that
wasn’t sure if it was the car or me. I think it was both. The bank reminded me of made him slow down a bit. I was able to suck into the side of his car to take the win.
the crash I had in Seattle. We kept changing the front suspension setup and I It was my first time moving on to the Great 8 round in 2009 and the first time ever
became more comfortable by the end of the session. I tried 100 percent and was for Discount Tire. I was so happy.
able to qualify Sixth. I went against Tanner Foust in the Great 8. I felt really good and thought I was
going to win! He took the lead first. He is one of the quickest guys, so I focused on
going as fast as I could and stuck with him. I was doing well until we were coming
out of the bank. He made so much tire smoke that I couldn’t see much just before
the transition. I lost him for a second and that made a little gap, but I was still able to
follow him. At the last corner, he made tons of smoke again and I absolutely couldn’t
see a thing. But I didn’t want to back off, so I stayed on the gas anyway. Then, unfor-
tunately, I hit the K-rail. WTF?! I broke the front bumper! I tried my best when I was
leading, but I couldn’t beat him.
In the Top 32 round, I went against Ross Petty. When I was leading, I think I had I finished in Sixth Place. It wasn’t the greatest result, but the most important thing
my best run so far. I was scraping my rear bumper on the bank wall. When I was was that I definitely got my mojo back. At last, my worst season is over . . . too bad
following, he made a lot of smoke and I couldn’t see very well at the first transition it ended right when it started getting good! But I think everything happens for a
and I hit the clipping cone, so I thought it was going to be a One More Time, but the reason. I have been through a lot and learned so much this year.
judges gave it to me. I guess my leading run was really good. Thanks to everyone who supported me through 2009. Also, I want to thank Team
In Top 16, I faced Darren McNamara. He is my teammate, but his main sponsor Falken Tire, Discount Tire and all the sponsors. I will be stronger and back in the fight
is Sears. So it was Discount Tire versus Sears. Since I haven’t been able to provide for the championship in 2010!
Discount Tire with any good results yet, I had to win this battle at least. I was
pumped. When was leading, I did another best run. After this, I proved to myself that
DISCOUNT TIRE FALKEN TIRE KW SUSPENSION
I can drive well. I felt my confidence return. I was in game-face mode for the first time WWW.DISCOUNTTIRE.COM WWW.FALKENTIRE.COM WWW.KW-SUSPENSION.COM
Tanner Foust
The good Mister Foust is one of
the giants of the scene who can
always be relied upon to give good
drift. This diary gives a fine insight
into the mind of a man who drives
sideways for a living. Turns out he’s
not afraid of commitment.
There are only two real options
when choosing a line for the Irwindale
circuit. Option one: slow down while
making the main transition, allowing
the car to cut back further up toward
the judges, then simply drive by the judging wall. This line allows the
bumper to stay close to the inner oval wall as long as possible, but
The next round with Dai was great. We agreed to surf the next
compromises speed, racing line, and in my opinion, impact.
week, regardless of who won, and went to work. The lead run was one of my most
The other option is to stay on full throttle through the transition, cut back
aggressive. Following, I gave him a car-length on the bank to account for the hand-
toward the judges as long as you dare at this higher speed, then transition hard
brake correction his lower-powered car sometimes needs on the grippy section
back to the left and brake as late as possible before crashing. Here the impact
halfway through. He made the fix and I was locked on through the rest of the run.
spot on the wall is a good 15 feet further down, but you can get bigger angle
What an awesome feeling of commitment, being close to another car, sideways,
(always bigger potential under braking) and achieve awesome speed going
under hard braking. We were at the mercy of momentum and I expected some sort
straight at the wall. It takes some commitment. Whenever I watched Ryan
of contact, but it all worked out great. How much fun was that?
Tuerck attack the track with this method, I was sure he was going to crash into
Running against Ryan, I was following first. On the acceleration out, I wasn’t
the wall just before he’d smoke through the inner oval to the finish. I tried both
attacking him enough and let him get a small lead before entry. We had a pretty
methods and thought the latter was much more aggressive, so I stuck with it.
evenly matched run, but I think my slightly shallow line on the bank gave him the
When leading, this aggressive line was great. When following, it was impor-
round. He ended up winning overall, and with the crazy speeds he was hitting
tant to allow space for the guys who slowed early. Or in Tony Brakohiapa’s case,
(thanks to the latter of the two methods), I think he deserved it. For the podium
guys with engine problems who never got up to speed. In that first round, we
fight, I faced a future champion, Mr. Powers, and was able to take him out. But
entered the bank at 45 mph instead of 85 mph. He did a great job of working
we’ll be seeing much more of that green Nissan.
through his car’s issues, but I was able to move on. Against Michael Essa in the
second round, there were problems again. He hit the wall hard while I was on his
bumper. That was a close call, but Essa mitigated the situation and luckily we
HANKOOK TIRE SCION RACING ROCKSTAR
didn’t crash. WWW.HANKOOKTIREUSA.COM WWW.SCIONRACING.COM WWW.ROCKSTAR69.COM
44 importtuner.com
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Tyler McQuarrie Shaun’s long-time crew guy, came up to me after the run. He told me if Sam couldn’t
win, Shaun would have wanted me to win and that he always thought very highly of
me. That meant so much and truly gave me the strength to push harder.
Chances are that the former Knicks basketball Matt Powers was the only guy between me and the Finals. Even though he had the
star and current Democratic Senator for New best Top 16 driver introduction of all time, with a life-size ’80s rocker stuck in his trunk,
Jersey, Bill Bradley, wasn’t thinking of Formula I had to take him down. Powers had been driving the crap out of his car, but it was on
D or Tyler McQuarrie when he said: “Ambition is the slow side. We stayed together going into the bank, but I soon pulled out a sizable
the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle gap. I knew following him would be a little tricky because of the difference in speed. I
you arrive in.” But it’s uncanny how McQuarrie used a lot of handbrake and left-foot braking to stay on his bumper. In the end, Powers
has ambition, persistence, and a
vehicle.
Going into Irwindale, I stood Fifth
in the points chase and had a realistic shot at getting Third or even
Second for the 2009 Formula D Championship. I had nothing to lose but
a lot to gain and I was ready to wring the neck of the Falken Tire 350Z.
I was either going to win or bring the car back in pieces, but all I could
do was try.
For Qualifying, my plan was to get in a solid first run, so I could lay
it all on the line for the second run, since points are so important. My
first run put me 16th, but on my second run, I pushed a little too hard
and hit the third clipping point. Unfortunately, this meant I had to
settle for 16th and my first match-up for Top 32 was with Rhys Millen.
Before the Top 32, Rhys tried to pull a Tonya Harding and take
me out at the legs as I was coming out of the bathroom, but I wasn’t
having any of that. On my lead run, I pulled out a gap and Rhys also missed a shift on
the infield, so I had the advantage. When I followed him, I had to left-foot brake on the had an awesome event, but I moved on.
bank to avoid hitting him. I took it easy on the rest of the run, but was still able to sit on At this point I had the podium locked up, so I held nothing back. Ryan Tuerck and
his rear quarter panel and the judges called me the winner. I would be fighting for a win at the “House of Drift” and the biggest drift event ever.
For the Top 16, I was matched up with the number-one qualifier, Justin Pawlak. I Our cars are similar in performance, so I tried to stay close and drive as hard as I could.
knew this was going to be tough for a couple of reasons. First, he had been killing it all My follow run was good, but to win this event, I knew I needed to lay down my best
weekend. Second, I kicked his butt at the Formula D K1 karting event the night before run of the weekend. I went through the bank as hard as possible and brought in more
and he was looking for revenge. On my follow run, I was able to stay close throughout speed to the inner oval than I had all weekend. I knew I was going to hit the wall with
the bank and infield. Going into the last corner, I tried to get under him, but ran out the rear of the Z. I got on the gas to prevent the front from being sucked in, but I didn’t
of room and clipped one of the barriers. I thought I might be done with that move, so hit as hard as I thought. Getting on the gas caused me to spin. I could see the smile on
on my lead run I knew I needed to go all-out. I got a pretty good gap on him then, so I Ryan’s face as he passed. So close to my first win and so close to victory in Formula
knew it was going to be a tough call for the judges. They came down in my favor and D’s biggest event! But I have no regrets for pushing as hard as I did. Congrats to Ryan
that moved me up to Fourth in the championship. for the win.
The Great Eight was bitter-sweet. I was matched up with Samuel Hubinette driving 2009 was an awesome year and I owe it all to Team Falken and the ASD crew. Four
the Shaun Carlson Tribute Viper. Shaun was an awesome guy and very good to me. I times I made it to the Final Four, standing on the podium three of those times. All this
will miss him very much. I think everyone wanted to see his Viper do well this weekend, was done with my first year in the Falken 350Z and I finished Third in the Formula D
but Sam was four points ahead of me and I wanted that Third spot. I beat Sam in championship. I’m now the highest-ranked driver Falken’s ever had. Thanks to all my
Seattle, so I knew what to expect. He was fast in a straight line, but I was able to close sponsors: Falken Tire, GoPro Cameras, BC, Enkei, and Sparco. I can’t wait for 2010!
up over the rest of the track. On my lead run, he was all over me going into the bank,
but the Falken 350Z checked out on the bank and helped me create a big gap. I moved GOPRO CAMERA FALKEN TIRE BRIAN CROWER
on to the Final Four and also took Third in the championship. Wheelz, who had been WWW.GOPROCAMERA.COM WWW.FALKENTIRE.COM WWW.RUNBC.COM
GUEST
Ryan Sage DIARY
We would like to thank all our diarists for
their excellent contributions, which made the
2009 series even more enjoyable. And it’s with
great pleasure that we grant the final word
to one of Formula Drift’s principal architects,
Ryan Sage.
As I sit in the judging tower and prepare to go
out on track and meet up with Jim Liaw (partner)
and Andy Luk (director of operations) for one So many companies tied to this industry went under, along with many
last Top 16 driver introduction, it’s hard not to reminisce about the 2009 series more around the world. One would think that a small concern like ours might
and look back at the event that the FD team, drivers, sponsors, and—most have been damaged irreparably and that Formula D, though strong, may even
have sunk. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. In the past six years FD has been
around, many things have changed. Hundreds of people are now employed
predominantly for drifting. So many have made a big jump to support this
amazing sport wholeheartedly, from drivers and team managers, to mechanics
and sponsors whose primary involvement is in this sport. Indeed these great
folks have created a mini-economy. This has been achieved through their
importantly—friends (fans) have created. combined efforts, as well as by those who have provided further support, such
It’s the close of another season. And a great one at that. Since none of us as websites and magazines.
are old enough to have experienced the Great Depression, this recent and on- If there were any year when FD could have had an excuse to have been
going poor economy might be as close as we all get to it. I admit, it’s definitely subpar, this would have been the one. But we didn’t have to prepare those
been a scary experience. There we were, coming off our greatest year yet in excuses, because in almost every way, this sport has grown from the previous
2008 with record attendance numbers, the Red Bull Drifting World Champion- year. Right now, peering down the straight at Irwindale Speedway and looking
ship, and an amazingly competitive regular season—then as soon as that year at the biggest-attended drifting event in its history, I get the feeling that this
ends, the economy takes a dump. sport will stick around for a long, long time.
10.02.2nr.45
www.storemags.com & www.fantamag

ag.c
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FORMULA D DIARIES: IRWINDALE, CA
2009
OVERALL
Chris Forsberg WINNER
It’s all very well going into
the final event with a points
cushion and being touted as
the clear favorite. But that
kind of pressure can mess
with a man’s head; many a
possible champ has choked
at the last hurdle. It might
even make him think of ’80s
pop stars. How weird is that?
I cannot even begin to
explain what I’m feeling right
now. WE JUST WON THE FORMULA D CHAMPIONSHIP! I had been so o
nervous and stressed out the past seven weeks, waiting for the
final round to come. We came close to winning a championship
a few times in the past, but with the points lead after Sonoma, all
we needed to do was get into Top 32, and win the first head-to-
head battle to settle it.
So with that on my mind during our big break and the car ready
to go, I had to occupy my myself with small projects here and there fantastically well in practice. Our Top 32 pairing was with Doug Van Den Brink. I had
to keep from going crazy. The few days before the event were the most agonizing. I watched him practice all Friday night, which helped me feel ready to run against him.
started getting stomach aches and sweaty palms just thinking about the upcoming My lead lap was great, so the crew told me to just give him a good chase and we
weekend. Thursday’s practice session was just what I needed to get my focus back on should get the win. On the chase run, as we headed down the straightaway, the car
driving. I did a few laps of practice on Friday, and the team was good to go. At the same hiccupped in Third, and Doug pulled a big lead before we reached the bank. The run
was solid, but I think the judges may have thought I left a gap to play it safe, so they
ran us one more time. I called for five minutes and headed to the pits.
We checked everything, but the car looked fine. Because we had the same issue
last season, I was terrified it was going to happen again in the next run. Kevin said
everything was good, so I pulled back up to the line. Another great lead run and no
hesitations from the car. On the chase lap, I stayed with him and closed the gap off the
bank through the infield. When I reached the start line again, everyone was jumping
up and down and screaming. Before I even heard on the radio that we had won, I was
ripped out of the car by my friends and crew, and thrown into the air. It was one of the
time, we noticed that Tuerck seemed to be on a mission; a Top 32 finish would not be greatest feelings of my life.
enough for us to take it if he won. And I could see in his eyes that he was going to. From there we went into the Top 16 against Robbie Nishida. I had a great chase run
Friday’s qualifying session went great. I posted a Seventh-spot run on the first lap. with him, but I rotated too soon at the last corner and punted a couple of barriers. The
But Tuerck’s second run put him in Second Place. If we were knocked out in Top 32 and judges gave Robbie the win, but at the same time I felt instant relief that our season
Tuerck won the event, we would be tied for the championship. What’s even crazier, the was over and we had won. I spent the rest of the night cheering on Tuerck. He took it
tie breaker would be based on our podium finishes, which would put us in a tie again, all the way to the finals and not only won the event, but took Second in the champion-
with two First-place finishes and one Third-place finish each. Tuerck is one of my best ship. It was perfect.
friends, so when we got to the track Saturday morning, we talked about the crazy Here is where I get a little sappy: I seriously cannot believe how lucky I have been
situation we might find ourselves in later that day. We both had the same idea in our to have the best crew, family, sponsors, and friends who have all supported me every
heads: if it came down to a tie, we wanted to run for it. Who knows if Formula D would step of the way. As Hall & Oates would say: “You make-a my dreams come true.” But
have gone down that route, but in our minds, that was the only true way to decide a seriously, thank you, guys. I love you all so much.
clear-cut winner.
Saturday morning was probably the best I’d felt in two months. I had already
DRIFT ALLIANCE NOS ENERGY DRINK MAXXIS TIRE
clinched the Second-place champ spot at the very least, and the car was running WWW.DRIFTALLIANCE.COM WWW.DRINKNOS.COM WWW.MAXXIS.COM
FsonrampuslahotDs
OVERALL STANDINGS
Rd 7. Results 1 FORSBERG
2. TUERCK
3. MCQUARRIE
WINDALE,, CA PODIUM
IRW 4. HUBINETTE
5. GIT
ITTI
TIN
1. RYAN TUERCK 6 FOUST
2. TYLER MCQUAARRIEE 7. MCNAMARA
8. NISHIDA
3. TANNER FOUST 9. PAWLAK
10. GUSHI
46 importtuner.com
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ntamag
am ag.c
ag.com
.com
THE LIGHTNING
ATTACK VERSION OF
A 240SX PROJECT
48 importtuner.com

IMPORT TUNER MAGAZINE: BLITZKRIEG BUILDUP
TEXT BY BOOTSY FARNSWORTH

PHOTOS BY HENRY Z. DEKUYPER
Suppose Sasha Singleton had gotten her bigger-better-baller funbags done piecemeal over the course of two
years. What if your haircut took three visits to the barber and four weeks to complete because the trimming was done in
phases like a project car? Let’s imagine that your girlfriend (or maybe your deadbeat sister?) had that tramp stamp inked
onto her back in several installments during a painful three-month span, and by different artists who offered that week’s
lowest phone estimate. There are some tasks that just make heaps more sense accomplishing uninterrupted from start
to finish rather than breaking into painful phases, and laboriously dragging them over time-inhaling installments. After all,
the world would be a bizarre, downright scary place with mono-boobed import models, cops rocking “under-construction”
uneven flattops, and scandalous tramps rocking unfinished lower back art of hornless unicorns or wingless butterflies.
10.02.2nr.49

BLITZKRIEG BUILDUP
“WHAT I LEARNED FROM PAST PROJECTS IS

THAT IF YOU DON’T GO ALL OUT IN THE BEGIN-
NING, PROJECTS LAG. SO I DECIDED TO FOL-
LOW THROUGH THE FIRST TIME.”
The vast majority of car enthusiasts adopt a layaway- know-how, and labor are the secrets to build speed and have allowed
style build plan that dictates the pace and execution of Nick to complete the re-invention of the S14 on the pages you see
a car project. Lesser car-building mortals know all too before you in a blitzkrieg-like 30 days, for about $30,000. To put that
well how the realities of insufficient money, complicated in perspective, consider that some car projects could take 30 days
engine work before far-too-costly body work, parts to determine the right wheel/tire combination. There have been N15
ordered from Japan, the word “back-order”, and homies/ Pulsar throttle bodies on back-order for much longer.
cousins/flakes with parts or service hook-ups who never In a fit of wisdom, Nick chose the tuner evergreen, the Nissan S14,
come through can derail even the most well-intentioned as his canvas because it’s such an effective multi-role car. With drift-
car-improvement plan. ing dreams soiling his mind, Nick set forth to build this captivating ride
Nick Irie is lucky enough to live in a rarified dimension that highlights the capabilities of his body shop. At 27 years young,
normally occupied by SEMA project car builders and TV Nick is already a grizzled veteran of the project-car battlefield, having
project car show hosts. And my, what car-modifying built up several Civics, an S13, an AE86, and a Datsun 510 among oth-
stones this young man has, thanks to the bionic capabili- ers. Nick’s sage credo is a reality all would-be builders/ tuners should
ties afforded him as owner of Spring Mountain Auto Body confront: “What I learned from past projects is that if you don’t go all
in Las Vegas, NV. Shop ownership, access to resources, out in the beginning, projects lag. So, I decided to follow through the
50 importtuner.com
& www.fantamag.com
first time.” Nick traces his infection with the modified-car virus back to
his first contact with Import Tuner magazine. Over a decade back, this
magazine ran a feature on a modified JDM 4Runner that got the bug in
his veins, and now here is: a grown-ass man plundering sweat, fortune,
and tears onto the tuner landscape. Like many a project car tale, the
story starts humbly with a salvage-titled car with some frame damage,
and $2,500 in cabbage to make the forsaken pile Nick’s problem.
The foundation of this blitzkrieg ’95 240SX buildup is a well massaged
SR20DET engine. Showing faith in the proven 2.0-liter Nissan shortblock
assembly, Nick stayed with the beefy, low-mileage stock internals. The
engine’s breathing is enhanced with HKS cams, adjustable Greddy cam
gears, and a free-flowing Greddy intake manifold. The turbo was upgrad-
ed to a Garrett GT2871 that provides the kind of responsive, drift-focused
ponies (and torque) Nick was looking to have under the hood of this
driftable machine, attached to a stainless steel Tomei tubular exhaust
10.02.2nr.51
& www.fantamag.com
THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE EVERY OUNCE A SPECTACLE, AND LIKE
AUDRINA PATRIDGE ON A TRAMPOLINE, SCALD THE RETINAS
LIKE A BOLD AND INDELIBLE FORCE OF NATURE
manifold. A Greddy intercooler sends the chilled air into the engine through a Nismo 70mm throttle body feeding 550cc injectors.
Handling their own tuning chores and with the help of an Apex’i AFC NEO and AVCR, the Spring Mountain Auto Body team extracted a
stout 305 horsepower and nearly 295 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm from this very reliable engine combination—more than enough to
make this lightweight car something of a drift orgy in skilled hands.
Proper stance and handling mean everything to a drift car, and Nick selected a Tein Super Street suspension to enhance this
15-year-old car’s handling. The car rides on massive 18x10 and 18x11 Work VS-XX wheels shod in BFGoodrich rubber. Peeking from
behind these wheels are massive Wilwood brakes poised to hasten abrupt ends at the flick of an ankle. Inside, the 240SX gets a seri-
ous re-boot. The foxiest red, suede-covered Sparco Monza seats ever cradle the driver and passenger, while other interior surfaces
enjoy a hint of the Kiev bordello treatment with additional red suede covering. A Cusco roll cage helps stiffen the chassis and protect
occupants when drifting goes wrong.
As the owner of Spring Mountain Auto Body, the exterior of the vehicle had to be every ounce a spectacle, and like Audrina
Patridge on a trampoline, scald the retinas like a bold and indelible force of nature. The car wears an Origin Labs aggressive body kit
and 50mm-wide flared fenders, and a bright hue of yellow as unforgettable as your mother with her top off, but far more pleasing. The
stunning Lemon Yellow House of Kolor hue was applied by Nick’s good friend at Spring Mountain Auto Body, Rodney Manandik.
Few are the 240SX projects that have gotten their body kit installed, prepped, painted and pinstriped within a 30 day span. Even
on a compressed build schedule, Nick’s car is arresting and satisfying behind the well, and with an execution that is cleaner than a
freshly douched virgin. For his next project, Nick and his team are salivating about a track-focused AE86, and we can only imagine
what that mission will produce 30 days after lift-off.
52 importtuner.com

BLITZKRIEG BUILDUP
BEHIND
THE
BUILD
AT WWW.IMPORTTUNER.COM TO CHAT
’95 NISSAN 240SX ABOUT THIS FEATURE VEHICLE
OUTPUT 305 hp at 4,500 rpm, 293 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm NAME. HOBBIES.
NICK IRIE BUILDING CARS, SNOW-
ENGINE 2.0-liter SR20DET; HKS cams; Greddy adjustable cam gears, intake manifold, intercooler, BOARDING, COMPETITIVE
piping; Nismo 70mm throttle body; Koyo Radiator; Samco hoses AGE. BELLYDANCING JUDGE
27
DRIVETRAIN Exedy Stage 2 clutch; Peak Performance Bushings BUILD TIME.
LOCATION. 1 MONTH
SUSPENSION Tein Super Street coilovers LAS VEGAS, NV
WHEELS/TIRES 18x10 Work VS-XX wheels; 235/35-18 BFGoodrich tires (front); 18x11 Work OCCUPATION.
FEEDBACK.
smautobody@gmail.com
VS-XX wheels, 245/40-18 BFGoodrich tires (rear) BODY SHOP OWNER
BRAKES Wilwood six-piston calipers, 332mm rotors (front), four-piston calipers, 310mm AND SWINGER FAVORITE QUOTE.
“FOR DRIFT, TIME-ATTACK
rotors (rear) AND SHOWS, THE S14 IS MY
FAVORITE PLATFORM”
EXTERIOR Origin Aggressive body kit, +50mm fender flares; House of Kolor Lemon Yellow paint;
body work by Spring Mountain Auto Body
INTERIOR Sparco Monza seats, harnesses; custom reupholstered rear seats, interior pieces;
Momo Jet steering wheel; Nismo floor mats; Tomei shift knob
HOTBOX
TEAM HYBRID
ELECTRONICS Alpine IVA-W205 head unit; JL Audio amplifiers; Boston Acoustics Pro60 WWW.TEAMHYBRID.COM
speakers; Audiobahn AW1200X subwoofers TEIN
GRATITUDE My wife Colleen, Spring Mountain Auto Body (Van, Tom, Rodney, Jim, Jesus, WWW.TEIN.COM
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WWW.MEGUIARS.COM
10.02.2nr.53

tech knowledge
TEXT BY SEAN CRAWFORD & SCOTT TSUNEISHI
PHOTOS BY SEAN CRAWFORD & STAFF
PROJECT
4G64
MIVEC PART 1
TRANSFORMING A 2.0L EVO INTO A
2.4L MONSTER
Mitsubishi’s turbocharged 2.0L 4G63 has long been one of the most powerful and reli-
able four-cylinder engines available. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX version is rated at
286 horsepower, offering an impressive 143 horsepower per liter. Even more remarkable is
the potential power that can be unleashed with very few modifications. For this reason, few
EVOs roaming the streets today are left unmodified. The quest for more power often includes
common modifications such as a high-performance exhaust, larger turbocharger and ECU
recalibration. These are all effective methods of increasing output, but limitations such as fuel
octane and engine displacement will eventually cap the tuner’s ability to generate more power.
Furthermore, the lack of mid-range torque can leave a lot to be desired from those using their
car for daily driving. The solution to this problem is obvious: build a bigger engine and feed it
with better fuel. Stroking the engine to 2.3 liters with a 100mm 4G64 crankshaft is the most
common way to increase displacement, but after a little digging, we discovered that some
4G64 blocks—found in vehicles ranging from Mitsubishi trucks to the non-turbo Eclipse—are
almost a direct replacement for the EVO’s 4G63 block, and can be stroked to a true 2.4 liters.
And with E85 pumping stations on the rise, it seemed clear that our goal for more displacement
and better fuel was within reach. With 2.4-liters of corn-powered goodness fresh in our minds,
the search for parts began.
What is our ultimate horsepower goal? Your guess is as good as ours. To date, we have yet
to see anyone run our unique combination of parts, so we don’t have a clue. But if we had to
put a number on it, we’d be guessing in the range of 550 to 600 hp. But of course, if all things
pan out smoothly, you can bet we won’t hesitate to increase boost and generate some tasty
dyno numbers to put this custom build officially on the map.
54 importtuner.com

10.02.2nr.55

PROJECT 4G64 MIVEC
ENTER THE 4G64 BLOCK

The 4G64 block is nearly identical to the 4G63 used in today’s
EVOs. The 4G64 is essentially the same casting, but features a
6mm-taller deck height, 1.5mm-larger bore (86.50 mm), and no oil
squirters for the pistons. Since we plan on installing this engine in
an EVO IX, a newer 4G64 block with the proper orientation and oil
drain backs was needed to work with the existing components. In
this case, a ’00 Mitsubishi Galant engine was our pick. And after
160,000 miles of grocery runs and mad-dashes to soccer practice,
it was obvious that this block would require some work to bring it
back to life.
The 4G64 block was

taken to LESCO Race
Engine Development for
machine work. LESCO
MIVEC OIL FEED has years of experience
machining Mitsubishi
blocks, most of which
from behind the scenes
for some well-known cus-
tomers. Their first step
was to machine ours to
accept oil squirters from
the 4G63. Although the
engine can be used with-
out oil squirters, the extra flow of oil to the piston undercrown and wrist pin helps keep moving parts lubricated and at a lower operating
temperature. Using a spare 4G63 block as reference, LESCO utilized their CNC mill to trace the OEM location of the oil squirters and cre-
ate a CNC program to add them to the 4G64. The extra effort resulted in a perfect replica of the OEM squirter bosses that LESCO could
easily reproduce in the future. Before removing the block from the CNC Mill, the threaded passage to the oil gallery on the intake side
of the block was drilled and tapped to accept the MIVEC oil feed line.
Next, the mains were lightly honed and measured to ensure they were
within specification. The crank journal mains checked out and the block
was honed to clean up the bores. The 4G64 block has a maximum bore
size of about 87.5 mm, but for most high-performance applications,
it is advisable to select a smaller bore size to ensure proper cylinder
wall thickness. The extra thickness helps reduce bore distortion, and
improves piston-ring and head-gasket seal. Cylinder wall thickness can
also vary from block to block, due to core shift during casting or other
manufacturing factors. For this reason, LESCO checked the cylinder wall
thickness with a sonic thickness gauge before removing any mate-
rial from the bores. The bore thickness turned out normal, but it was
decided to simply hone the block slightly until the bores were straight
and round. After honing the block, the deck was resurfaced and the
block was again sent to the CNC mill for one last operation.
56 importtuner.com

One concern when using a 4G64 block is the lack of good head gaskets for the larger bore size. Furthermore, finding a large-bore gasket
specifically designed for the MIVEC cylinder head we’d be using proved to be difficult. Tim Salefski at AMS Performance recommends
adding a copper O-ring to the deck of the block, along with an AMS modified EVO IX head gasket with a larger bore opening. After install-
ing the .040-inch copper wire in the deck, the block was final cleaned, packaged and shipped back for assembly.
BILLET CRANKSHAFT
With the block in new condition, it was time to select the
rotating assembly components. The bore was left very
close to standard, so a longer-stroke crankshaft was
needed to increase displacement. Fortunately, there are
many aftermarket crankshafts readily available that offer
strokes from 92 mm to 106 mm—a significant increase
from the standard 88 mm stroke found in the EVO. The
desire for torque resulted in the purchase of a Brian
Crower (BC) 102 mm billet crankshaft. The new BC crank-
shaft will help increase torque and bump displacement up
20 percent to our target 2.4 liters. All Brian Crower crank-
shafts for Mitsubishi engines are 100-percent machined
from new 4340 steel billet and feature large radii on each
journal for improved strength and durability. The nicely
polished journals were measured with a digital microm-
eter and found to be the perfect size. The BC crankshaft
was installed in the block with ARP main studs and WPC-
treated ACL main bearings.
10.02.2nr.57

PROJECT 4G64 MIVEC
H-BEAM RODS
If the standard 150 mm rod was used
with the 102 mm BC crankshaft, the rod-
to-stroke ratio would become slightly
worse than the already marginal OEM
ratio. To counter the effects of the
longer-stroke crankshaft, Brian Crower
152.4 mm (6-inch) H-beam rods were
selected to help restore the rod-to-stoke
ratio to near-OEM levels. The improved
ratio will help reduce side loading on
the pistons and cylinder walls, therefore
increasing piston and component life.
The BC rods feature high-quality ARP
625+ bolts that require 0.0063-0.0067
inches of stretch for correct preload.
Checking rod-bolt stretch is the only
way to ensure accurate clamping force
between the rod and rod cap, since
friction between the threads and bolt
head can cause the torque method to
vary significantly. In this case, a point
micrometer was used to measure the
bolt stretch after they were installed
with WPC-treated ACL rod bearings.
CUSTOM DESIGNED PISTONS

Despite the fact that the rods and crankshaft are available off the
shelf, the required piston design is less than ordinary. Fortunately,
JE Pistons was able to manufacture custom pistons for this com-
bination in under three weeks. The wrist pin location (the distance
between it and the top of the piston known as “compression dis-
tance”) was changed to properly locate the piston top relative to
the deck of the block. The remaining piston features, such as skirt
and crown thickness, were adjusted to handle the stresses associ-
ated with the longer stroke and increased cylinder pressure. JE also
added their “Tuff Skirt” coating to reduce wear on the piston skirts
and “diamond-like carbon” coating (DLC) to the wrist pins. JE Pro
Seal rings were matched to the pistons to seal combustion pres-
sure and maintain oil control. Once installed, the pistons provided a
pump-gas- and E85-friendly 9.0:1 compression ratio.
58 importtuner.com

www.
w.st
w. stor
storem
or emag
ags.
s.co
comm & ww
www.fantam
amag.com
ATI CRANKSHAFT DAMPER
One component often overlooked when building a high-performance engine is the crankshaft damper. When the engine is running, the
crankshaft is being pushed and pulled in different directions due to the various forces related to the engine’s four-stroke cycle. These
stresses cause the crankshaft to “twist” and can become problematic if not controlled properly. To resolve this issue, we called ATI
Performance and purchased a Super Damper. ATI’s dampers significantly reduce torsional crankshaft vibrations (twist), which helps to
increase engine and component life. The damper included a press-fit hub that installed easily on the front of our BC crankshaft.
ALUMINUM OIL PAN PROJECT 4G64 MIVEC

The OEM oil pan works well for street appli-
cations, but is not specifically designed
for the effects of high-speed corning and
extended track time. We picked up the
new AMS aluminum oil pan to help keep
our engine safe at the track. The oil pan
holds an extra 1.5 liters of oil for better
cooling, and features a trap door designed
to maintain a constant supply of oil to the
pickup. The kit even included a crankshaft
oil scraper and all the necessary hardware
for installation.
Check back as we progress deeper into our 4G64 build, cover-

ing intimate details on porting the cylinder head, addressing
the drivetrain, and bolting on some go-fast goodies to propel
our soon-to-be daily driven EVO.
LESCO RACE ENGINE DEVELOPMENT ATI PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS LUCAS OIL

HOTBOX WWW.4-LESCO.COM WWW.ATIRACING.COM WWW.LUCASOIL.COM
BRIAN CROWER (BC) AMS PERFORMANCE AUTOMOTIVE RACING PRODUCTS (ARP)
WWW.BRIANCROWER.COM WWW.AMSPERFORMANCE.COM WWW.ARP-BOLTS.COM
JE PISTONS WPC TREATMENT ACL PERFORMANCE

WWW.JEPISTONS.COM WWW.WPCTREATMENT.COM WWW.ACLPERFORMANCE.COM.AU
60 importtuner.com

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62 importtuner.com

IMPORT TUNER MAGAZINE: BLACK OPS
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY LUKE MUNNELL
“I never really wanted an RX-7 in the first place,” confesses Dan Beighley, on the days before taking ownership of
the black-on-black crime machine in front of you. An East Coast transplant, Dan spent the mid nineties cutting his teeth
in San Diego, CA’s, growing import scene from behind the wheel of his modded 200SX, rolling with a crew that boasted
some of California’s first SR-swapped rides. Enlistment in the Marine Corps brought him out here four years prior, and after
mastering the trade of heavy equipment mechanics and attaining the rank of Sergeant, he was looking forward to applying
his skills to the private sector. His last day of service was September 10th, 2001—needless to say, civilian life was short-
lived. “I re-enlisted the next morning,” Dan explains, “and Okinawa’s tropical beaches weren’t where I was looking to go.”
Fate, it seems, would just as soon grab us by the balls and shove us down our path, than ask our feelings on the matter.
10.02.2nr.63

BLACK OPS
When Dan arrived at his new post a few months later and learned of
the responsibilities of his new role—and of Okinawa’s well-established
automotive culture, ripe with reasonably priced used rides, plentiful
aftermarket support and low-pressure law enforcement—his affinity for
island life grew. His re-location would be for an “undetermined” amount
of time, so his first order of business was to find a ride, preferably some-
thing Nissan-badged. “I really wanted a Pulsar GTiR,” explains Dan, “but
they were all in pretty shitty shape. GT-Rs were everywhere, but were
out of my price range. Then one day I found this FD at a seedy little
used car lot in the middle of nowhere, for $5,500.” It was one of the
first FDs ever produced, manufactured in October of ’91 on a converted
FC assembly line, as part of a batch sold in Japanese dealerships under
the “Efini” marquee—Mazda’s short-lived sport-oriented brand exclusive
to the JDM. The car had previously been modded with the addition of
a Veliside Type-I aero kit and wing, and some ultra-rare RS-R wheels
commissioned by Mazda as optional equipment for the FD. The car had
been taken care of, but like any first-year model, it came with its share
of problems. “The vacuum lines and cooling system were shit,” explains
Dan, “so the salesman let me have it for $4,500.” Good thing, too,
because it overheated on his way home from the dealership, teaching
Dan his first lesson in owning an RX-7: they need lots of attention. After
spending a month replacing every vacuum line and coolant hose in the
engine bay—a process Dan “wouldn’t wish upon (his) worst enemy”, he
learned his second lesson when the FD overheated, again, on its first
testdrive: leave no stone unturned; a faulty radiator cap—the only part
not replaced—was to blame.
After the addition of some bolt-ons, a manual boost controller and Dan’s
handiwork in re-configuring the FD’s sequential turbos to deliver boost
simultaneously, his next step was to replace the dated Veliside kit with
something a little more contemporary. Taking a page out of the Okinawa
street racer’s handbook, he replaced it with a full Wise Sports Type A kit
kept in its natural fiberglass finish—no body filler to crack or chip under
the daily rigors of aggressive daily driving. The corny battle wing was dis-
charged, and Dan replaced the stock flip-ups with a custom flush-mount
headlight kit of his own making—one of the nicer-looking ones we’ve seen,
at that. The car’s rear fenders were rolled to match the widened stance of
the Wise fenders up front, and the already black FD was re-coated in genu-
ine Mazda Brilliant Black paint, for an even darker demeanor.
Dan began pounding the pavement of the Okinawa street scene during
his off-time, meeting other gearheads in the random Lawson’s or Family
Mart parking lot and battling up the 58 freeway between Naha and Nago
City, or along a certain desolated stretch of roadway running adjacent
to Kadena AFB. It was on one of these excursions that he caught up with
“FC Chris” and a crew of dedicated rotorheads based in Sunabe, blew up
his motor pushing it a little too hard, and learned his third lesson in RX-7
building: for best results, start from scratch.
Chris’s crew was some of the fastest drag racers on the island. His per-
sonal 13B-powered FC RX-7 pushed over 500 whp at the time, and routinely
sniped built GT-Rs at HKS Drag Series events at Nago Circuit, until it became
too fast for its own good; “If he stayed on the throttle all the way to the
traps,” laughs Dan, “he’d overshoot the braking distance, and have to
dodge trees at the end of the track.” The crew took their fight to
the streets, and hanging with them taught Dan the proper
ways to build a street-driven race machine.
64 importtuner.com

“. . . THEN ONE DAY I FOUND THIS FD AT A USED CAR LOT IN THE MIDDLE OF
NOWHERE, FOR $5,500—A RELATIVELY HIGH PRICE, IN OKINAWA.”
10.02.2nr.65

find, living in Okinawa. Which, in this case, was an OS Giken twin-plate
clutch and flywheel, Kaaz two-way LSD, RE Amemiya 4.7:1 final drive,
and a few other bushings and braces for which the rest of us would pay
gladly pay three times the Okinawa street price . . . if we could even find
them in the first place. Feeling envious, yet?
Suspension mods are simple and effective—RS-R coilovers and
Mazdaspeed strut and sway bars—but the rest of the underpinnings
didn’t come as easily. When Dan dropped his ultra-rare RS-R rollers off at
a paint shop for some fresh powdercoating, he wasn’t aware they’d be
donated to charity. “I saw security footage from the night I dropped them
off, and you can see someone ‘break in’, go directly over to my wheels,
take only them, and leave,” Dan explains, “And one of the shop’s new-
hires quit the next day.” Dan needed something to fill the sprawling void
of the FD’s flared wheel wells, but was also hell-bent on keeping styling
clean, sleek and unique. A set of Uras NS-01s, 17x9, +30mm offset in
the front and 17x10, +15mm offset in the rear, with Project Kics spacers
matching the increased fender width, were a perfect fit.
Dan and the crew pulled the FD’s 13B, Since Dan’s car was one of the earlier models, it came cursed with a
rebuilt it with street-ported housings, tan, 2+2 interior design, featuring ridiculously under-sized rear seats—
SURE, MORE machined rotors and 2mm apex seals,
and ditched its stock twin-turbo setup
pretty much a lose-lose all around, made worse by a set of Amori
gauges the car’s previous owner saw fit to haphazardly screw into the
RADICAL for a custom tubular exhaust manifold dash. Dan swapped the interior with a black set from a newer two-seat
and Turbonetics 62-1 single turbocharg- car, and added a Cusco six-point cage, Momo steering wheel, Mazda-
BUILDS er. Fuel delivery was beefed up accord- edition Recaro carbon/Kevlar buckets, Crow safety harnesses, Knight
HAVE BEEN ingly: Bosch 550- and 1,680cc injectors

and two Walbro 255s, with an A’pexi
Sports 300km/h speedo, a grip of Defi Link Meters, a Pioneer in-dash
headunit and Carrozzeria speakers—a lot of which was found in scrap
PERFORMED, Power FC and AVC controlling it all. A

tweaked Greddy front-mount intercooler
yards or on the plentiful JDM used parts market. “Japan is awesome like
that,” Dan says.
BUT WHO kit, a Racing Design three-core radiator

and some bits to help them perform opti-
Dan’s ride was complete for only a few months before Murphy handed
down his infamous Law: Dan received orders to re-locate back to the
CAN ARGUE mally were added in the cooling depart-
ment, and the new hardware was tuned
states, and Uncle Sam would not be footing the bill to send his car with
him. “I had to disassemble everything and have it shipped to me after I
WITH 442 for high-octane pump gas. Sure, more
radical builds have been performed, but
relocated.” It was a $6K headache, and one that still didn’t include street
legality. “My old man came through for me on that,” he explains. “He’s an
WHP AND who can argue with 442 whp and street
reliability?
old-school hotrodder at heart, and took advantage of every custom- and
kit-car law he found to get it done.” Within a month, the car was regis-
STREET Like the rest of his build, when it came
to drivetrain modifications, Dan just
tered, insured and street legal; the only stipulation being that it would
carry a “collectible” designation on all paperwork for the rest of its days.
RELIABILITY? installed what was cheap and easy to We wouldn’t call it anything else.
66 importtuner.com

BLACK OPS
’92 MAZDA RX-7

OUTPUT 442 whp @ 7,250 rpm
ENGINE Street port; Rotary Aviation 2mm apex seals; Viton motor seal kit; Atkins oil bypass valve;
Pineapple Racing louvered oil pan; Turbonetics 62-1 a/r P-Trim turbo, T-band clamps; HKS 50mm
stainless steel exhaust manifold, 52mm wastegate, Super Drager exhaust; A’pexi Power FC with Fuel
Commander, AVC boost controller, turbo timer; MSD 6A ignition amplifier, 8.5mm spark plug wire set;
Optima red-top battery; Walbro 255lph fuel pumps (x2); Earl’s stainless braided lines, anodized AN
fittings, in-line fuel filter; Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator; KD2Y billet aluminum fuel rail; Bosch
550cc primary injectors, 1,680cc secondary injectors; Racing Design polished three-core radiator;
Billion low-temperature thermostat, high-temp upper and lower radiator hoses; Greddy 90-degree BEHIND
turbine elbow, two-row front-mount intercooler, intercooler piping hose grommets, Type-R blow-off
valve, polished intake elbow, underdrive air pump elimination, oil catch can, oil sensor adapter, Type
THEBUILD
4 oil filler cap; Mark’s upper engine torque damper; custom motor mounts, grounding system, front
pipe and V-band clamps, lower radiator support bracket, air separator tank, throttle body, intercooler AT WWW.IMPORTTUNER.COM TO CHAT
piping, oil catch can bracket ABOUT THIS FEATURE VEHICLE
DRIVETRAIN OS Giken 990kg B-type twin-plate clutch, flywheel, push/pull kit; Crown Performance
stainless steel clutch line; Kaaz two-way limited slip differential; RE Amemiya 4.7:1 final drive; custom NAME. HOBBIES.
DAN BEIGHLEY SPENDING TIME WITH
transmission brace, solid upper differential mounts, lower differential brace THE FAMILY
AGE.
SUSPENSION RS-R coilovers; Mazdaspeed front strut tower bar; custom rear strut tower bar 31 BUILD TIME.
WHEELS/TIRES Uras NS-01wheels (17x9 +30mm offset front, 17x10 +15mm offset rear); Falken 3 YEARS
HOMETOWN.
Azenis RT-615 tires (235/40-17 front, 275/40-17 rear); Project Kics 25mm front wheel spacers, 20mm OCEANSIDE, NC FEEDBACK.
rear wheel spacers dwbeighley@gmail.
OCCUPATION. com
BRAKES SP Motorsports drilled/slotted rotors; Hawk Performance pads; Crown Performance stainless steel MARINE SERGEANT
brake lines; Summit Racing proportioning valve, line lock kit; Cusco master cylinder brace FAVORITE QUOTE.
“TAKE YOUR TIME AND
EXTERIOR Wise Sports Type A fiberglass body kit, +20mm front fenders, vented hood; NRG hood ENJOY”
dampers; Cusco hood pins; Swat Racing carbon fiber GT mirrors; custom flush-mount headlight kit,
+25mm rolled rear fenders; JDM RX-7 Kouki tail lamps, turn signals; Mazda Brilliant Black paint
INTERIOR Defi BF gauges: boost, fuel pressure, EGT, water temperature, oil temperature, oil pressure,
115mm tachometer, shift light, Link II computer, warning light; Cusco six-point padded roll cage; Recaro
HOTBOX
WISE SPORTS
carbon/Kevlar racing buckets; RE Amemiya air bag gauge cluster, 380kg ball shift knob, short-shift kit; WWW.WISESPORTS.CO.JP
Knight Sports 300 km/h speedometer; Momo steering wheel; NRG steering hub disconnect kit w/lock; URAS
WWW.URAS.CO.JP
Crow four-point safety harnesses (x2); Moroso kill switch; custom battery location, center console,
FALKEN TIRE
climate control relocation, polished door step plates WWW.FALKENTIRE.COM
ELECTRONICS Pioneer in-dash CD/WMA/MP3 player, Carrozzeria three-way mid-range speakers (x4) GREDDY
WWW.GREDDY.COM
10.02.2nr.67

DO
IT
RIGHTWHAT DO ONE-OFF PARTS FROM THREE
CONTINENTS, A $250K BANKROLL AND SURPLUS
SCHWAG FROM THE APOLLO MISSIONS HAVE IN
COMMON? YOU’RE LOOKING AT IT.
TEXT BY LUKE MUNNELL
PHOTOS BY ERIC TONG
What would you do with $250,000? Put yourself through college? Buy a house? Take
a few years off and travel the world? Die happy in a back-alley Patpong “parlor”? No doubt
if you asked 23-year-old Alex Whitken what he would’ve done in the same situation eight
years ago, his answer would’ve been similar. But that was before he put a cold-air intake
on the practical, all-wheel-drive daily driver his parents got him for school, to “give it a little
more pep.” His words.
68 importtuner.com

IMPORT TUNER MAGAZINE: DO IT RIGHT
10.02.2nr.69

DO IT RIGHT
“I’ve been a car guy since before I could remember,”

laughs Alex, “My mom tells stories of me pointing and
yelling out car names from the back seat of her car
when I was a baby.” Once Alex was given that first
tune-able car of his own years later, it was all he could
do to resist the urge to modify it to the hilt. He had
friends who were in that situation; whose daily-drivers-
turned-project-cars became less street-worthy the more
they progressed, and he knew he needed to be patient.
Living in North Potomac, MD (a suburb of Gaithersburg,
equidistant from Baltimore and Washington, DC), and
driving through upper elevations for school, he needed
transportation, and knew that investing time and money
in school would pay off in the long run.
Fast forward a few years. Alex graduated, co-founded
realty specialists MBN Properties, and has become an the same as what powers the JDM Forester, only this one came with an
analyst for one of the DC area’s most prominent medical upgraded turbo from the JDM STI and pushed out around 300 whp and
investment brokerages. Needless to say, it was finally 300 lb/ft of torque. The suspension and motor were retained, but that’s
time to open the flood gates on his dream project. where the nostalgia stops. Everything else was completely re-worked,
Thanks to friends at Team Emotion, Alex had been beginning with a complete tear-down of the interior, and fabrication of a
immersed in the show scene all the while. Combined true WRC-legal cage which includes gusseted side-impact zones, dimple-
with his own passion for motorsports, he’d stayed died A- and B-pillars, reinforcement of the rear strut towers, and integrat-
current not only with trends in the import and Subaru ed supports for nitrous and fuel systems, as well as a self-contained AP
scenes, but also with the moves that were earning JGTC, Racing air-jack system (powered by a modified nitrous bottle, filled with
WRC and time-attack teams their status; moves that, nitrogen—thought to be the only such system in existence), courtesy of
once the time came to build his daily into the show win- Piper Motorsports. See that flashy aluminum trunk paneling? Contrary to
ner of five past years’ worth of dreams, he’d be sure to show car M.O., no high-priced stereo components lurk beneath it—just
make in his own way. two Walbro fuel pumps in the stock fuel tank to suck up pump gas, and
Over the previous few years, the car had progressed a C16-dedicated custom ATL fuel cell and dry-brake filling system, also
moderately. Tein Type Flex coilovers had been added courtesy of the Piper crew, which employs the use of twin Weldon pumps
behind each wheel, and the engine had been swapped tucked neatly behind the $1,000 ATL filler neck—the same unit used in
for a 2.5-liter EJ255 turbocharged flat-four crate motor— the JGTC.
IT WAS TUNED TO JUST OVER 403 WHP ON THE CAR’S DEDICATED

PUMP GAS SYSTEM, WITH ABOUT 560 WHP EXPECTED ONCE
SWITCHED TO ITS C16 FUEL SYSTEM AND NITROUS
70 importtuner.com

10.02.2nr.71

Things remain crazy in the cabin, which is separated by a
genuine WRC-commissioned Prodrive carbon fiber seat delete,
and complimented by Prodrive WRC carbon fiber door panels
(that re-position door handles and window controls above
where a properly constructed cage would pass), and a Piper
custom aluminum center console. A Stack digital dash display
replaces the OE cluster, a grip of Defi Link meters can be found
about and the stock seats and steering wheel have been
replaced by Bride and Sparco alternatives. The only audio
equipment to be found is a pair of Polk Audio speakers in the
glove box and a Pioneer Avic-D1 above the shifter. Lord, how
the show scene has changed.
Chances are you’ve seen some impressive Subaru engine
bays in our magazine, but none quite like this. Dynamic Power
Solutions, of Gaithersburg, MD, deserves praise here, beginning
with the prototype Turbo XS T04R kit staring you in the face
as the hood is popped. It’s one of two ever produced, with
undisclosed wheel trim and housing specs. Aiding it are one
of nearly every applicable Turbo XS accessory imaginable,
right down to the Delta EMS modified high-flow fuel rails and
removable map selector that allows Alex to switch between
pump-gas and race-fuel tunes on the fly—the advantage of
having two independent fuel delivery systems in one car.
Power Enterprise 850cc injectors deliver either fuel, and
what’s unused is returned to its reservoir before the other fuel
can be called into action, via a top-secret Dynamic method.
JDM Beatrush, Blitz, Prova and Zero Sports bits were added
liberally and the heat-reflective gold foil throughout—that’s
rumored to have come directly from NASA, through some
backdoor connection Alex made in DC. We’re not asking for
proof. The whole mix was tuned by Turbo XS’s lead tuner
Jermaine to produce just over 404 whp on 93-octane pump
gas (538 hp, factoring for drivetrain loss), with about 560 whp
expected at next tune, switched to the car’s C16 fuel system
and nitrous. His first trip out, Alex sheared all the teeth of his
stock transmission’s Second Gear. His solution? Replace it
with a PPG dogbox with custom-ratio straight-cut gears, a PPG
interlocker, Driveshaft Shop Stage Four axles and lightweight
aluminum driveshaft, and an Exedy triple-plate clutch.
Rule number one to building a show car is that it’s got
to catch attention. Following closely is rule number two:
the rarer and more exclusive the schwag you fit it with,
the better. Alex achieved both of these at once, when he
ordered the Gram Lights front bumper and sides (which
took two and a half years to arrive—the only such bits in
the states), C-west rear lip, Varis carbon fiber hood, Voltex
carbon wing, and genuine WRC Prodrive carbon-fiber side
mirrors. Normally, paint over this eclectically scarce JDM
mix would only be icing on the cake, But this is no normal
car. Its custom HID Silver base and 15 coats of $650/pint
red and blue pearl add up to a $17K Wayne Howard paint
job that paradoxically screams “wild” and “subtle” at once,
in the tradition of Japanese circuit machines . . . only to a
slightly higher degree. And let’s not forget the wheels: an
$8K set of three-piece aluminum BBS E28s, sized at 18x9.5
and custom-formed around Alex’s Stoptech big brake kit and
oversized Chargespeed front fenders.
“I didn’t want to half-ass it,” he says, regarding the project,
“I was sick of being some other kid with a kit and exhaust. I
wanted to build the baddest WRX in the world.” No small feat,
but if you ask us, the results of years of planning speak for
themselves—almost as loud as the 85 show trophies the car
garnered in just over one year on the circuit. Alex’s next proj-
ect will be to apply the race-fab knowledge he gained building
this car to a time-attack effort. “I’d love to drive this car on
the track,” he laments, “but I have too much money invested
to beat it up. I need to build something I won’t feel bad about
wrecking.” Seeing firsthand what became of the daily driver
he first modified with bolt-ons for a few extra ponies, we’re
betting we know what’s in store for this future undertaking!
72 importtuner.com

DO IT RIGHT
10.02.2nr.73

DO IT RIGHT
’02 SUBARU WRX

OUTPUT 404 whp @ 6,400 rpm
ENGINE Subaru EJ255 engine; Brainchild Customs prototype intake manifold, three-inch exhaust; Nitrous BEHIND
Express Gen X 2 direct-port kit; Turbo XS prototype T04R turbo kit, Delta EMS, remote map selector,
Hyperflow front-mount intercooler, downpipe, test-pipe, V2 up-pipe, modified intake, RFL blow-off valve,
THEBUILD
high-performance boost controller, modified high-flow fuel rails; ARC radiator; Beatrush alternator cover,
AT WWW.IMPORTTUNER.COM TO CHAT
pitch stopper, oil filler cap; Blitz radiator cap; Cusco heavy-duty engine mounts; Greddy oil catch can; Ku
Engineering 70mm billet throttle body; Prova brake fluid cap, clutch fluid cap; Zero Sports turbo manifold, ABOUT THIS FEATURE VEHICLE
polished intake piping; DEI turbo blanket; NASA reflective gold foil; Kartboy exhaust hangers; relocated
Optima red-top battery; Process West oil cooler; relocated and powdercoated coolant overflow tank; NAME. HOBBIES.
Samco nine-piece blue coolant hose kit, radiator hoses; TGV delete; Power Enterprise 850cc injectors; ALEX WITKIN FAST CARS, BIKING
AND GOOD WINE
Sard fuel pressure regulators (x2), fuel filters (x2); Walbro 255 in-tank fuel pump; Weldon 1000 external AGE.
fuel pump; ATL fuel cell, dry break filling system; tuning by Jermaine at Turbo XS 23 BUILD TIME.
7 YEARS
DRIVETRAIN PPG transmission with custom-ratio straight-cut dog-engagement gearset, billet shift LOCATION.
forks, interlocker; Driveshaft Shop Stage 4 axles, aluminum driveshaft; Energy Suspension shifter NORTH POTOMAC, MD FEEDBACK.
alex.witkin@sam-
bushings; B&M short-throw shifter; Cusco transmission mount; Exedy triple-plate racing clutch OCCUPATION. sonvp.com
CO-FOUNDER AND
SUSPENSION Tein Type Flex coilovers, EDFC; Beatrush 12-point underbrace, front compliance PRESIDENT: BRAINCHILD FAVORITE QUOTE.
bracket kit, front strut tower bar; Cusco front and rear sway bars, front sway lateral links, rear CUSTOMS “BE PATIENT AND
sway endlinks, front and rear lateral links, trailing arms; Energy Suspension master urethane kit; PRESIDENT, MBN READY TO FIND THE
PROPERTIES, LLC NEXT WEAKEST
GT Spec cowl stay braces; Perrin rear sway links ANALYST, SAMSON LINK.”
WHEELS/TIRES 18x9.5 BBS three-piece forged aluminum E28 racing wheels; Advan AO48 VENTURE PARTNERS, LLC
265/35-18 tires; ARP extended lugs; 5Zigen anodized lug nuts
BRAKES Stoptech four-piston calipers and 355mm two-piece rotors (front), two-piston calipers and
328mm two-piece rotors (rear), stainless steel brake lines; Hawk HP pads; ATE Super Blue brake fluid
HOTBOX
BRAINCHILD CUSTOMS NOS ENERGY DRINK
WWW.BRAINCHILDCUSTOMS.COM WWW.DRINKNOS.COM
EXTERIOR Chargespeed +20mm D1 front fenders; Gram Lights front bumper with carbon fiber ducts,
DYNAMIC POWER TURBO XS
side skirts, door trim pieces; C-West rear lip; Voltex Type 5 carbon fiber wing; Varis carbon fiber hood; SOLUTIONS WWW.TURBOXS.COM
WWW.DPSTUNING.COM
WRC-spec Prodrive carbon fiber side mirrors; shaved corner markers, antenna, door sills; OEM STI WORLD ONE
projector headlights; Wayne Howard HID Silver base coat, red and blue pearl cleat coat PIPER MOTORSPORT PERFORMANCE
WWW.PIPERMOTORSPORT.COM WWW.WORLDONEPERFOR-
MANCE.COM
INTERIOR AP Racing self-contained air-jack system; Piper Motorsports nine-point WRC-style WAYNE HOWARD
WWW.PIPERMOTORSPORT.COM BRITS, INC
custom rollcage, aluminum center console, trunk paneling; Stack digital dash display; WRC-spec WWW.BRITSINC.COM
Prodrive carbon fiber front and rear door panels, rear firewall, rear seat trim panel, rear parcel TEAM EMOTION
WWW.T-EMOTION.COM THE GLOSSER
WWW.THEABSORBER.COM
shelf; Blitz FATT DC II turbo timer; Bride Zeta III driver seat, Brix II passenger seat; Defi Link Meter NITROUS EXPRESS
EGT, boost, fuel pressure gauges, gauge holder; carbon concepts center gauge holder; Sparco WWW.NITROUSEXPRESS.COM
383 steering wheel, hub adapter, quick-release hub; Takata 340mph harnesses, foot rests; COMPETITION GRAFIX
WWW.COMPETITIONGRAFIX.COM
custom fire suppression system, kill switch, fuel option switches.
DUNLOP TIRES
ELECTRONICS Pioneer AVIC-D1 in-dash head unit; Polk Audio four-inch speakers (x2); custom WWW.DUNLOPTIRES.COM
glovebox enclosure
74 importtuner.com

ww
Despite a first name mirroring that of a certain Deutsch automaker, Mercedes Luna used to drive a Honda. Not just
any Honda, but a modified Civic. Say word? Word. Growing up in Rosamond, CA, by way of Mexicali, Mexico, Mercedes
would cruise the local street races with her brother and even partake in a few. Outlaw? Maybe. But take those quali-
ties and combine them with an exotic look resembling a young Eva Longoria, and this is one Mercedes that belongs on
the cover of 2NR.
Mercy . . . may I call you Mercy? municate with me. The minute a person would What did you used to drive?
That’s what my friends call me, but yes, as long as you open their mouth to say something, I’d blurt out, My first car was a Honda Civic. I remember I wanted to
don’t break out trying to sing Marvin Gaye. ‘I don’t speak English’. make it look cool as soon as I got it, so I added clear
corners. [laughs]
We’ll save that for a drunken karaoke night. Were Where in Cali did you move?
you born in the States? We moved an hour and a half north of Los Angeles. Did you do anything else to your Civic?
No, I was born in Mexicali, which is in Baja Mexico. I First to Palmdale and shortly after to Rosamond. It’s funny because my brother used to read Import
came to California when I was 12 years old. Tuner all the time, which was where he used to get all
Rosamond? As in Willow Springs Raceway? his ideas for my car. We ended up swapping out the
Explains the cute accent. What was the first Eng- It was probably the coolest place in sixty square wheels, intake, exhaust, header, and suspension.
lish word you learned? miles. I used to get excited every time there was a big
It wasn’t a word but a sentence: ‘I don’t speak English’. race—that meant there would be a lot of people com- So how did a girl from Antelope Valley get into
[laughs] ing to our small town, creating some kind of action. modeling?
I rolled like a tumble weed into the local mall when I
Quite possibly the most important, yet oxymo- Were you into cars, growing up? was 16 and they had a scout looking for new talent,
ronic phrase to learn in any foreign language. Yes! Growing up, imports were very popular—it was all which was when I started my portfolio. At 19, I was
[laughs] I can attest to that. When I came to the about who had the fastest car in town. invited to a Lakers game and was fortunate enough
States, I didn’t speak English at all, so I would to meet owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, who asked me to be
freak out every time someone would try to com- one of their models.
76 importtuner.com

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: MERCEDES LUNA
INTERVIEW BY CARTER JUNG
PHOTOS BY ODESSY BARBU
STYLING BY TIFFANY DEAN
MAKE UP BY VAL C FOR ICONIMAGE.NET
DENIM DRESS BY CHARLEY 5.0; BELT BY GUESS JEANS; JEWELRY BY GUESS; SHOES BY ALDO
10.02.2nr.77

MERCEDES LUNA
What stuff did you do with the Lakers? Can you cook Mexican food?
I had a photoshoot on the basketball court and took Of course! I learned from my grandmother
some amazing pics for a calendar promotion they who was the best cook, ever. My favorite
were working on. I also did Spanish announcements dish to make is enchiladas rancheras. Guar-
for Laker TV. anteed to make you say, “yum!”
The Ariza-for-Artest trade; were you for it or against How about Taco Trucks? Are you for or
it? against?
I think Ariza was a huge spark last season and a big part Sorry, but I can’t handle taco trucks.
why we won it all . . . too bad the Lakers gave his money
to Artest. But Artest is hungry for a ring, so maybe he’ll Why not? Bad experience?
help us get two championships in a row. Let’s just hope I got really sick once! I feel like they’re not very clean.
no one in L.A. spills beer on him! [laughs]
Do you go back to Mexico to visit?
Other than the Lakers, what were some other gigs I love seeing my family but they live near the border
you’ve had? and it’s scary because some of the people over there
I did some stuff with Rockstar, Mazdaspeed, and was get gangster!
Miss Makita. Working for Makita was a lot of fun. I got
to travel nationwide. Example, por favor?
I was driving home after a late night of partying with
If you had to pick one power tool, what would it my girl cousin, and I accidentally drove the wrong way
be and why? down a one-way street . . .
[Laugh] Probably a power screwdriver. Because screw-
ing is practical and fun. So is this a story about how you drive like a gang-
ster?
Word . . . ? [laughs] No! It’s a story of how I was almost at my cousin
Hey! Get your mind out the gutter! [laughter] Araseli’s house when a guy pulls up in another car, yell-
ing at me to turn around. When my cousin argued that
You also made appearances on my favorite summer we were almost home and to leave us alone, the crazy
vacation program—The Price is Right! dude jumped out of his car and pulled a gun. My cousin
I did! Being a Barker girl was a lot of fun. I loved being on started yelling, ‘You better be ready to pull the trigger if
the set and seeing how happy and excited people were, you pull a gun,’ followed by me screaming at my cousin,
trying to win the prizes. ‘Shut up and get back in the car!’
A burning question: No matter how great the first What happened?

batch of Showcase Showdown prizes looked, why Let’s just say we took the long way back. [laughs]
was the second set always better?
Like everything else, you have to save the best for last! For the ultimate plot twist, you’re one-eighth Japa-
It’s part of the teasing process that keeps you interest- nese, correct?
ed and wanting more! Yes!
That was almost profound! Almost. Let’s go back to How the hell did that happen?
your roots—what do you miss most about Mexico? My grandfather on my mother’s side of the family was
I miss the traditional atmosphere. I feel that people in half Spanish and half Japanese.
Mexico are very humble and very welcoming. They al-
ways want to feed you. Every time I go to a relative’s The fixed-up Civic? Totally explains it.
house, after they ask how I am, the next question is [laughs]
always, “are you hungry?” And I definitely miss the au-
thentic food.
BLACK SHORTS BY FREDERICKS OF HOLLYWOOD; JEWELRY BY TARA JEWELRY; SHOES BY MICHAEL ANTONIO
78 importtuner.com

10.02.2nr.79

MERCEDES LUNA
Height: 5’6”
Measurements: 34C-26-35
Ethnicity: Mexican, Japanese
Sign: Aries
Birthday: March 31st
Hometown: Mexicali, Mexico
Website:
mercedesluna.com
Thanks: My grandmother for all the

great advice, my mom for kicking my
butt to always do better, my brother
and sis for always being there for me,
my best friends for always motivating
me, my long-time career consultant
Daniel Garite, and my agents Pacific
Talent and Maier Management for
believing in me.
RED CORSET AND BLACK SHORTS BY FREDERICKS OF HOLLYWOOD; JEWELRY BY TARA JEWELRY; SHOES BY MICHAEL ANTONIO
80 importtuner.com

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ww
tech knowledge
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY LUKE MUNNELL
REBUILD YOUR TRANSMISSION FOR

PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR, WITH
BETTER PERFORMANCE AND
GREATER LONGEVITY
DITCH I’ll never forget test-driving my first newly swapped Civic years
ago. No matter how effectively the preceding week of mind-racking
stress of installing that ’94 B18C1 GSR engine and trans into my
’95 Civic DX taxes the memory, I can recall the moments as if they
happened yesterday: the foreign sound of the new starter crank-
THE ing the dual-cam engine to life, the increased NVH levels felt at
idle, and the massive power and gearing improvements the new
combination delivered over the previous D15 arrangement. I can
also remember shifting into Third Gear for the first time—the
DAILY moment my unadulterated bliss was traded for an emotion felt by

anyone the moment they realize they’re f*cked—which can only
be described in one onomatopoeiatic offering: “grreeacchhhkk!”
“What the hell was that?!” I asked my shotgun-riding, seasoned
GRIND vet of the wrench.

“That’s the sound of a worn synchro,” he responded.
“OK . . . what can I do about it?”
“Nothing. Replace the transmission and hope it doesn’t
happen again.”
Fortunately, times have changed.

When the same problem surfaced in Project DC2 a little while
back—on the up-shift from Third to Fourth—we decided it was time
to find a permanent solution. We had two options: we could replace
the trans with a nicer-looking one from a junkyard and hope for the
best, or we could spent a small fortune on a complete synchro and
sleeve set from a Honda dealership (synchros/sleeves aren’t sold
individually), re-build our trans to OE specs and hope it lasts a decent
amount of time before it starts grinding again. It wasn’t until we caught
up with Synchrotech in San Dimas, CA, that we learned of a third option:
order only the components we need (at manufacturer-direct costs),
and rebuild the trans ourselves or have them do it for a nominal fee.
We could even upgrade our OEM brass synchros to their proprietary
carbon-coated or full carbon-fiber synchros to increase performance
and longevity, and still save coin in the process. Turns out our choice
really wasn’t one after all.
82 importtuner.com

01 So that we could
document the rebuild
without getting our gear greasy
(not that it already isn’t), we
decided to let Synchrotech’s
techs handle the process while
we followed. Transmission
rebuilding can seem like a daunt-
ing task, but with a factory ser-
vice manual (FSM—available at
any Honda dealership, or online
at: estore.honda.com) kept on
hand, mechanically inclined
gearheads of any experience
level should have no problem.
Step one: remove the release
fork and boot, throwout bear-
ing, and everything else from
the clutch housing.
02
Next, remove the speed sensor, reverse light sensor assembly and stay, both metal hangers, and breather cap from the transmission housing.
04 Now
you’re
ready to remove
the 12mm bolts
joining the transmis-
sion housing to the
clutch housing.
03 The drain and fill plugs are next to go.
05 Before you can

separate the two
housings of the transmission,
you’ll need to remove the hex-
head sealing bolt and square-
head sealing screw at the end
of the transmission housing,
to access the snap-ring that
locks onto the countershaft.
10.02.2nr.83

TECH KNOWLEDGE:
DITCH THE DAILY GRIND
06 With a pair of snap-ring pliers in

one hand and a thin pry bar in
the other, compress the snap-ring while
you gently (so as not to damage the hous-
ings) pry the two housings apart. You may
need to work your way around the seal,
prying from several points, until the two
parts detach. Once they do, the compressed
snap-ring will let go of the countershaft and
the transmission housing will lift free from
the clutch housing.
07 Remove the oil gutter plate, ball-spring screw and shift rod, change holder assembly, change piece and interlock
08
. . . remove the countershaft
assembly, Fifth and Reverse shift piece, and reverse idler gear and holder . . . retaining nut . . .
11
09 10 Remove the countershaft needle
bearing’s retaining plate (red arrow),
With the shaft assemblies then use a bearing removal slide ham-
removed, the differential and final mer (available for rent at most auto
drive gear can be lifted out of the parts stores) to remove it and the
clutch housing to allow access input shaft’s ball bearing. There are
. . . and lift the main- and coun- to the first (directly underneath also bearings atop the differential,
tershaft assemblies out together, it) of three oil seals you are going and around the main- and counter-
along with the shift forks, as to replace while you have the shafts inside the gear assemblies.
shown. Lay them somewhere out trans apart. The remaining two Inspect that each is free-rolling and
of the way for now—we’ll get to are underneath bearings, which resistance-free. If any appear to be
them shortly. will need to be removed. worn or damaged, replace them.
13 This magnet can be

found along the bot-
tom side of the clutch
housing, near the mat-
12
Removing the oil seals
ing surface. All the
metal collected here
has been “shed” off the
is a real P.I.T.A. without transmission’s mov-
one of these removal ing parts over time.
tools. Do yourself Cleaning this magnet
a favor and rent one thoroughly will keep this gunk from recirculating through the transmis-
along with that bearing sion after re-assembly, and will clean the slate for more rouge metal to
remover. collect on it in the future, reducing premature wear.
84 importtuner.com

14
With everything stripped off the clutch-
and transmission housings, hit each mat-
ing surface with a fine sanding disk or
some sandpaper to clean off the remaining
15 Remember the main- and countershafts we
silicone sealant, to prep the surface for
set aside? Disassemble them completely
re-assembly, then make sure to wash each
and clean each part, along with the differ-
housing completely, to remove debris.
ential and shift forks.
16
Synchrotech will go so far as to tumble or wire-wheel every part, to debur sharp edges (which decreases shedding among moving parts) and bring hous-
ings to a factory-fresh finish. If you’re doing this at home, a good scrub-down of everything should be fine.
17 18
Now comes the fun part—inspecting components for wear. Pictured Likewise, here we see a brand-new synchro sleeve compared to
above is a brand-new OEM synchro, compared to the one below that ours. When the nice, sharp, pointy teeth and straight columns of the
came out of our trans. Note the worn synchro’s misshapen teeth—a defi- brand-new sleeves and hubs become dull, rounded teeth and battered
nite sign it should be replaced. columns like ours, you should probably replace.
10.02.2nr.85

TECH KNOWLEDGE:
20 Finally, the gear itself. Made of
case-hardened steel, they’re pretty
tough. Despite the poor condition
of this gear’s synchro and sleeve/
hub, it is in good enough shape
to be re-used. The pointed teeth
toward the top are relatively sharp,
19 Pictured here is one of the selector springs that

the splines are fairly straight, and
the smooth area that is the “cone”
isn’t scored or otherwise dam-
sits atop each synchro. These, too, get battered aged. Inspect that all gears are in
over the course of their usefulness. They should be acceptable condition, along with
round and circular; if any appear scored, flattened the main- and countershafts.
or misshaped, replace them.
21
Now, for the improvements! Pictured here is the inside of that brand-new, OEM synchro (left) compared to a Synchrotech carbon-coated alternative
(middle). Remember the smooth cone atop the OE gear? This is the part of the synchro that contacts it, creating friction that slows and “synchronizes”
the speeds of two gears when shifted. As the friction surface of the inside of the synchro becomes worn to the point where the synchro loses contact
with the cone, “grinding” occurs. Brass isn’t nearly as effective or durable as the carbon fiber matrix used in carbon-coated alternatives—which is why
Honda now uses carbon-coated synchros as OE equipment in the K-series transmissions. Check that all synchros sit atop their gears with a little space
between their rows of teeth and the gears’. If the two rows contact one another, replace the synchro and double check the gear.
Re-assembly is basically
the reverse of disassem-
bly. Laying your parts out
in an orderly fashion and
referring to the FSM are
invaluable at this stage.
22 Upping the ante even more, Synchrotech has

Unless, that is, you’re our
installer, Synchrotech lead
tech Steve Vasquez. With
designed a replacement synchro with a full carbon- over 700 re-builds under
matrix friction surface—not just carbon-coated his belt, he could do this in
brass (pictured above). Though the components his sleep, blindfolded, with
were in late prototype stages at the time of this one hand tied behind his
writing, sets of the full-carbon synchros had been back. Using all his facul-
distributed to various drivers of street cars, road- ties, a full rebuild takes him
race and drag-race machines for testing and feed- about an hour.
back. We opted for one, too, and our opinions are
given at the end of the article; see the sidebar for
what the other guys thought.
23
25
24 Once main- and countershaft assemblies are back

together, check the action of gear selection (pic-
Genuine Honda manual transmission oil is what Synchrotech recommends using with either the tured from top to bottom is a downshift from
OEM or carbon synchros, and it’s important to lube bearings, gears, synchros, and sleeves with Second to First), to verify that nothing funky is
a bit of it upon re-assembly. going on, signifying improper installation.
86 importtuner.com

TECH KNOWLEDGE:
26
After replacing the
differential/final
drive assembly,
the needle plate
set, magnet, etc.,
and assembling
each shaft, join the
gears with their
A little transmission assembly lube or oil on the oil seals and bearings does forks on the table,
wonders to get them in their place. lift them together,
and replace into
the clutch hous-
ing just like you
pulled them out.
27
29
28 Hondabond is so good, it’s been suggested to us by Toyota techs. Apply a liberal coating to
the clutch housing’s mating surface and re-install the transmission housing. Remember to
compress the snap-ring when you do, and make sure the ring brake stopper’s tab (underneath
Re-install the rest of the clutch housing innards
removed in Step 7, and make sure to coat the gears, the mainshaft’s largest bearing) is in the correct position to slide into its spot in the transmis-
selectors and forks with transmission assembly sion housing.
lube if you’re not planning to install the transmis-
sion and drive right away. If you are, a good coating Re-install the components you took off in the
of transmission oil will suffice.
30 first few steps, affix your Synchrotech sticker
and you’re done. Re-install the transmission,
fill with Honda manual transmission oil, and enjoy
all the buttery smooth shifting and high-rpm syn-
chronization you can throw at it (after a short
break-in period, of course)—the difference really is
night and day. Make sure to change transmission
oil after your first drive, to remove any residual
gunk, assembly lube or initial shedding.
BRASS, CARBON-COATED AND

ISON
(ALL PRICES FO
R B18C1
ION AND HOTBOX
FULL-CARBON SYNCHROS PRICE COMPAR Y80 TRANSMISS
COMPONENTS) SYNCHROTECH TRANSMISSIONS
909.592.5900
WHAT DO THE RACERS PREFER? SYNCHROTECH-TRANSMISSIONS.COM
nsmissions:
“I rev out to almost 11 grand in each gear,” begins Tim Thomas,
$3 ,0 53 .0 0
NYC-based Low Budget Racing’s 9.6-second B-series Civic drag Replacement tra $2 ,2 30 .9 9
W:
champ, “and it was just killing the stock synchros. They were DEALERSHIP, NE $ 850.00
KET, REBUILT:
failing every two or three passes.” He continues, “I’ve gone over OEM AFTERMAR $ 1,195.00
20 passes on Synchrotech’s carbon-fiber ones so far, and shift- JUNKYARD: SS SYNCHROS): $ 1,200.00
REBUILT (W/BRA NCHROS):
ing at high rpm is way faster. If I blow a trans, I’ll yank out the SYNCHROTECH, /CARBON-COATED SY
REBUILT (W
synchros and put them in the new trans—good as new!” Brian SYNCHROTECH,
. install)
uild items (for D.I.Y
Kono, of Cypress, CA’s After Hours Automotive, whose road-race
ion re-b $ 1,251.31
EG recently won Honda Challenge’s H2 class with the prototype Transmiss
ER KIT:
ST $ 750.00
full carbon-fiber synchros installed (and with Renan Bayar behind DEALERSHIP MA /BRASS SYNCHR
OS):
$ 795.00
MASTER KIT (W D SYNCHROS):
the wheel), concurs. “We log thousands of high-rpm, abusive SYNCHROTECH /CAR BO N-COATE
$ 684.99
MASTER KIT (W
shifts during each race weekend,” he explains, “and the carbon SYNCHROTECH $ 350.00
KET BASIC KIT:
synchros outperform OE in every way.” OEM AFTERMAR SS SYNCHROS): $ 395.00
OTECH BA SIC KIT (W/BRA NCHROS):
SYNCHR ARBON-COATED SY
BASIC KIT (W/C
SYNCHROTECH
10.02.2nr.87

• OWNER: MATT ST. PERRIER
• DYNAMOMETER MODEL: MUSTANG 450
• INSTALLATION: TUNE TIME PERFORMANCE
• TEXT & PHOTOS: BRENDAN MORAN
OFFICIAL FUEL OF POWER PAGES
2008
SCIONtC
PROS
Powered by a 2.4L VVT-i (Variable Valve Timing
with intelligence), the Scion tC produces 161 hp
Dyno 1: Baseline and 162 lb-ft of torque. Since its introduction
in ’04, the tC has remained loyal to the 2AZ-FE
engine, thereby creating a plethora of competi-
tively priced bolt-on parts from many popular
160
138.5 152.5
HP / TQ aftermarket manufactures.
150
CONS
Although a popular model in the re-styling scene,
140 the tC has yet to be taken seriously amongst
hardcore tuners. This is apparent when seeking
essential, yet inconspicuous performance modi-
130 fications such as engine management solutions.
However, the recent success of Tanner Foust’s
tC Formula D sled and Chris Rado’s time-attack
110
machine has many enthusiasts rethinking their
perception of the tC as not only a show-worthy
100 vehicle, but a contender on the track.
SAE (HORSEPOWER & TORQUE)
NOTES
90
Differences in both appearance and nomencla-
ture between the tC and its boxy brethren (the
80
Temp 75.5˚ xA xB, xD), are not accidental. The Scion shares
BASELINE HP
the same chassis as the Euro-spec Toyota
BASELINE TQ Avensis, giving the tC a lower center of grav-
70 ity, lighter weight and a more ridged chassis
verses the ’09 xB, arguably making the tC the
60
RPM (x1000) most performance-minded platform within the
3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 Scion family.
88 importtuner.com
www.
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ags.
s.co
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co m & ww
www.
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ag.com
ADVERTISEMENT
143.4 154.7 HP / TQ Dyno 2

160
150
140
ARE YOU A
GASO
OLIN
NE
130
GURU
U?
Whether you’re a true enthusiast or simply
110 looking to challenge your automotive
intuition, the Shell Passionate Experts want
to test your Fuel IQ! Take the quiz below to
S OVER
PEAK GAIN
100 test your high-quality fuel knowledge and
BASELINE compare your results against your friends

and family! Who’s the top gasoline guru?
90
+4.9 HP Temp 76.8˚
Temperature difference
80
+2.2TQ from previous run: +1.3
degrees Fahrenheit
Q1: How does Shell V-Power help today’s
modern engines maintain optimum per-
BASELINE HP formance?
BASELINE TQ
A. Shell V-Power is part rocket fuel and magically
MAGNAFLOW CAT-BACK EXHAUST HP
MAGNAFLOW CAT-BACK EXHAUST TQ
turbocharges engines.
70 B. Shell V-Power upgrades your exhaust note to
a throatier sound.
RPM (x1000) C. Shell V-Power is specially designed with the
60 highest concentration of the Shell Nitrogen
3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5
Enriched Cleaning System, which is more
stable at higher temperatures that are preva-
PROS PARTS
Magnaflow’s cat-back
exhaust system utilizes
Inlet pipe, intermediate
pipe, muffler, tailpipe,
MAGNAFLOW lent in today’s modern engines.
D. All the above.
mandrel-bend, 100-per- clamps, CAT-BACK Q2: Shell V-Power provides maximum protec-
cent stainless construc-
tion, and comes with a TOOLS PERFORMANCE tion against performance-robbing gunk.
How soon does it begin to work?
lifetime warranty. Upon
installation and starting
10mm, 12mm, 14mm and
17mm sockets, 14mm
EXHAUST
HORSEPOWER GAIN
A. Shell V-Power begins to clean up gunk as soon
as you pull into a Shell-branded station.
B. Shell V-Power can begin removing gunk from
the car for the first time, open-end wrenches, • 2,000 to 3,500 rpm range: 2.0 to 3.0 intake valves and fuel injectors with the
we were impressed with ratchet, extension, • 3,500 to 5,500 rpm range: 3.0 to 5.0 first tank.
the deep and crisp tone exhaust hanger removal • 5,500 to redline rpm range: 6.0 to 7.0
C: Shell V-Power can begin cleaning up engine
that emanated from the tool, PB Blaster, metal TORQUE GAIN gunk as soon as you drive under a rainbow.
• 2,000 to 3,500 rpm range: 4.0 to 5.0 D. No one would ever want to remove gunk from
tailpipe at a healthy, yet cutting device • 3,500 to 5,500 rpm range: 2.0 to 6.0
socially acceptable, deci- • 5,500 to redline rpm range: 3.0 to 7.0 their engine because it turns into diamonds.
bel level. We savored the INSTALLATION
Q3: Which one of the following is true about
fact that the Magnaflow TIME Octane?
exhaust is one the few 30 minutes
A. Octane was named after a French octopus
true, cat-back systems that swims really, really fast.
on the market, as most NOTES B. Octane levels were originally discovered to
manufactures offer only Installation was fairly measure the bubbles in soda.
an axle-back system for quick and easy, with the C. Different vehicles require different octane
the tC. only difficulties resulting levels and you should use the level recom-
from cutting the factory mended by the manufacturer.
D. Octane contains eight different minerals
CONS exhaust directly after the
and spices.
The configuration of the second catalytic convert-
Scion exhaust utilizes er. If cutting your stock
two catalytic converters, exhaust is too much to
one of which is welded bear, consider fabricat-
into the factory B-piping, ing an extension pipe
located between the tC’s between the Magnaflow
stock header and the inlet and the stock
axle-back section. Thus, header, which would
installing the Magnaflow conveniently remove
unit required cutting the the catalytic converter
stock exhaust after the and eliminate the need
catalyst in the B-pipe, to permanently alter the
and slip joining the OEM exhaust.
ANSWERS 1: C; 2: B; 3: C
Magnaflow unit onto it.

10.02.2nr.89
& www.fantamag.com
Dyno 3
160
150
140
130
152.0 160.3 HP / TQ
110 S OVER
PEAK GAIN HAUST
OW EX
MAGNAFL
100 +8.6HP
+5.6TQ
90
Temp 73.2˚
from previous run: +0.5
degrees Fahrenheit
80
MAGNAFLOW CAT-BACK EXHAUST HP
MAGNAFLOW CAT-BACK EXHAUST TQ
K&N TYPHOON AIR INTAKE SYSTEM HP
K&N TYPHOON AIR INTAKE SYSTEM TQ
70
RPM (x1000)
60
3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5
K&N PROS
Installing the K&N intake
system proved to be an
PARTS
Intake pipe, filter,
couplers, tubing, clamps,
TYPHOON AIR effortless task, thanks to

the detailed instructions
and precise fitment pro-
heat shield, brackets, all
necessary hardware
TOOLS
INTAKE SYSTEM
HORSEPOWER GAIN
• 2,000 to 3,500 rpm range: 1.0 to 3.0
TORQUE GAIN
• 2,500 to 3,500 rpm range: 3.0 to 5.0
vided with the kit. The R&D
that went into designing
the intake was apparent,
Phillips screwdriver,
ratchet, extension, 10mm
and 17mm sockets, 10mm
• 3,500 to 5,500 rpm range: 3.0 to 6.0 • 3,500 to 5,500 rpm range: 4.0 to 6.0 as we encountered no open-end wrenches, 3mm
• 5,500 to redline rpm range: 8.0 to 9.0 • 5,500 to redline rpm range: 8.0 to 9.0
idle issues or troubling Allen wrench, pliers
engine codes upon install.
However, even more INSTALLATION TIME
impressive than the qual- 30 minutes
ity of the product were
the consistent power and
NOTES
torque gains the intake
None. Follow directions
delivered.
when installing and enjoy
more power, torque,
CONS and—we suspect—better
If cleaning the K&N fil- fuel economy. If it ever
ter at a recommended fails, send it back. It’s that
50,000 miles is a hassle, simple.
modifying a car just isn’t
for you.
90 importtuner.com
www.storemags.com & ww
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.com
Dyno 4
160
150
140
130
110
161.3 161.9 HP / TQ
100
S OVER
90 PEAK GAIN E
K&N INTAK Temp 80.5˚
+9.3
HP from previous run: +2.1
degrees Fahrenheit
80
+1.6TQ K&N TYPHOON AIR INTAKE SYSTEM HP
K&N TYPHOON AIR INTAKE SYSTEM TQ
WEAPON-R 4-2-1 HEADER HP

WEAPON-R 4-2-1 HEADER TQ
70
RPM (x1000)
60
3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5
PROS INSTALL TIME

The Weapon-r 4-2-1 long-tube header is constructed of
stainless steel and is CNC welded, making for a perform-
ing, high-quality piece. Steady gains after 4,000 rpm are
particularly sweet up top. Included with the headers is a
90 minutes
NOTES
The dip in torque around
WEAPON-R
4-2-1 RACE HEADER
free check-engine light (CEL) eliminator. 3,800 rpm and the gains HORSEPOWER GAIN -
TORQUE GAIN
above 4,000 rpm are due in • 2,000 to 3,500 rpm range: 0.0 to 5.0 • 2,500 to 3,500 rpm range: 0.0 to 8.0
• 3,500 to 5,500 rpm range: 1.0 to 9.0 • 3,500 to 5,500 rpm range: -2.0 to 7.0
CONS part to how pressure waves
• 5,500 to redline rpm range: 8.0 to 9.0 • 5,500 to redline rpm range: 7.0 to 9.0
Because of the tC’s front-facing exhaust ports, position- travel down the length of
ing the header in its proper place became an exercise in the header. These waves
anger management. After several attempts trying from are directly influenced
above and below the engine bay, we found it necessary by tubing diameter and
to remove the cooling fan and disconnect wires. Once the overall design of the
we cleared out some of the necessary clutter, the header header, allowing for engi-
was able to easily slide into position. We did observe neers to alter the power
some minor power loss around 3,800 rpm, but this is to band. Like most things
be expected and is worth gains at the higher revs. Also automotive, compromises
note that the header eliminates one of the catalytic con- must be made in header
verters, and may not be legal for road use in your area. design. With this particular
header we saw a small dip
PARTS in torque on the low end,
Stainless steel header and CEL eliminator but made up for its loss in
horsepower at higher rpm.
TOOLS
10mm and 12mm sockets, ratchet, extension, 10mm open-
end wrench
08.05.2nr.91
10.02.2nr.91

160
150
140
130
161.3 161.9HP / TQ
110
ER
GAINS OV E
BASELIN
100
+22.8HP
AND
90 +9.4 TQ
80
BASELINE HP K&N TYPHOON INTAKE HP
BASELINE TQ K&N TYPHOON INTAKE TQ
MAGNAFLOW EXHAUST HP WEAPON-R HEADER HP

MAGNAFLOW EXHAUST TQ WEAPON-R HEADER TQ
70
RPM (x1000)
60
3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION HP Level +HP TQ Level +TQ
The tC responded well to our three modifications and its
noticeable improvements in acceleration can be felt on
BASELINE 138.5 152.5 the street. With peak power output symmetrical and a
MAGNAFLOW EXHAUST 143.4 4.9 154.7 2.2 flatter torque curve, this Scion pulls smooth throughout
its power band. However, lacking a proper fuel manage-
K&N TYPHOON INTAKE 152.0 8.6 160.3 5.6
ment tune, one can conclude that more power could be
WEAPON-R HEADER 161.3 9.3 161.9 1.6 extracted from these bolt-ons. With a new tC arriving in
FINAL 161.3 22.8 161.9 9.4 2011 and rumors circulating of a possible RWD configu-
ration and boxer engine, the tC looks to remain a staple
of the tuning scene well into the next decade.
BANKROLL
MAGNAFLOW EXHAUST $646.77
K&N TYPHOON INTAKE $321.99
WEAPON-R 4-2-1 HEADER $600.00
MSRP TOTAL $1,568.76
HOTBOX
K&N ENGINEERING TUNE TIME PERFORMANCE
WWW.KNFILTERS.COM WWW.TUNETIMEPERFORMANCE.COM
MAGNAFLOW PERFORMANCE WEAPON-R COMPETITION PRODUCTS

WWW.MAGNAFLOW.COM WWW.WEAPON-R.COM
92 importtuner.com
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AUDIOGEAR
DEDICATED TO EXPOSING THE NEW LOUDNESS
01 ORION COBALT 02 ECLIPSE 03 STREETWIRES 04 PIONEER IPHONE

SUBWOOFER CD5030 HEADUNIT RE-Q5 BASS NAVIGATION APP
ENCLOSURES Eclipse unveils the newest RESTORATION DEVICE Pioneer unleashes the power of its
Orion’s best-selling entry-level CD5030 in-dash A/V, single-din Streetwires’ re-Q5 offers in-dash navigation system with a new,
subwoofer is back by popular receiver, designed with a mono- the perfect solution for free Apple iPhone application created
demand in vented single and chrome LCD display, blue and improving bass audio signal for use with Pioneer’s new AVIC-
dual 10- and 12-inch sub- red switchable illumination, and a quality from the factory U310BT and AVIC-Z110BT in-dash
woofer enclosures. The Orion sleek, motorized detachable flip face. radio by processing com- navigation systems. Pioneer’s AVIC
Cobalt woofer has earned The CD5030 offers audio playback pressed low frequencies FEEDS app establishes a link between
its reputation for rugged of CD-R/RW, MP3 and WMA files, and re-producing a signal the Apple and Pioneer products,
performance and unbeatable and includes USB and AUX inputs for that delivers superb sound letting iPhone owners find points-of-
value, featuring components connecting any audio device (includ- at any volume level. The interest or search for destinations
commonly found in higher- ing your iPod) using the optional re-Q5 features five-channel on their phone and access them via
end subwoofers, including a adapter. Built-in Bluetooth connectiv- inputs and outputs in ad- Bluetooth from their Pioneer naviga-
reversible top gasket, large ity is also included for hands-free dition to bass restoration, tion systems, eliminating the need to
copper-wound Kapton voice calls. Additional features include plus an auxiliary input that jot down or manually enter address
coil, and flat Conex spider with MOSFET amplification—delivering can send any audio signal information into the Pioneer unit, and
loop-stitched tinsel leads. 200 watts of peak power—a built-in (iPod or Bluetooth adapter) allows drivers to receive convenient
www.orioncaraudio.com seven-way crossover, and an auto from the 3.5mm jack to turn-by-turn voice guidance while
equalizer for improved sound quality. your headunit. still being able to use their iPhone for
www.eclipse-web.com www.reqsound.com other purposes.
www.pioneerelectronics.com
O2
O1
O3 O4
94 importtuner.com
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om
POWERGEAR
DEDICATED TO EXPOSING THE NEW HOTNESS
01 HONDATA S2000 FLASHPRO 02 SHUTT RETRO 03 O.Z. RACING 04 HONDA CIVIC SI

Hondata’s new FlashPro for the S2000 is STEERING WHEEL ALLEGGERITA HLT PROJECTOR
the latest addition to its highly success- Shutt introduces a new ver- O.Z. Racing wheels exclusive HEADLIGHTS
ful FlashPro line, offering comprehensive sion of the ’08 Sema Global to Tire Rack, introduces the Add some style to your’02-
tuning solutions to the late model Honda Media Award Winner VY3 model Alleggerita HLT. HLT’s nine- ’05 Honda Civic Si EP3 with
market. The Hondata FlashPro enables steering wheel; now available spoke design features High a set of DEPO projector
the user to quickly and accurately tune in Redstone color Leather. The Light Technology for ultra head lamps. Each perfor-
the Honda S2000 engine computer VY3R wheel adds a sophisti- lightweight and strength, mance headlight is designed
parameters through the OBDII diagnos- cated look with a retro style, with one-piece, low-pressure as a direct bolt-on replace-
tic port for maximum performance and perfectly suited to upgrade cast construction, heat treatment that requires no
economy, whether naturally aspirated any interior with its “Y” shaped ment and shot peening. Also modifications, 100 percent
or with forced induction. Using the frame in anodized aluminum, designed and engineered to be street legal and meets SAE/
FlashPro manager software enables unique Shutt shaped horn TPMS compatible (Application- DOT standards to ensure the
multiple features including 20 hours button and chromed ring that specific), HLT wheels are best in quality and fitment.
of on board data logging capability, conceals the screws. available in an array of colors www.maxzone.com
support for larger injectors, race vehicle www.shuttauto.com including black, blue, gold,
sensor disabling, individual cylinder matte graphite, orange, red,
knock data logging, fuel trim and and white.
ignition trim tuning, along with a bevy www.tirerack.com
of additional parameters.
www.hondata.com
O2
O1
O3
04
96 importtuner.com
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AD INDEX
ANDYS AUTOSPORT 40-4
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BELTRONICS 7
DEVILS OWN 10
0
DISCOUNT TIRE CORP 25-29
9
ENERGY SUSPENSION 59
9
EXTENZE 95
5
EXTREME DIMENSIONS 23
HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS 61
HONDATA.COM 59
9
INOVIT INC 5
JAMSTER INTERNATIONAL 93
LUMINICS USA 25
5
METRO ELECTRONICS INSTITUTE 47
7
MOBILE TECHNICAL TRAINING 97
7
MOTOVICITY DISTRIBUTION 47
7
NIPPON OIL CORPORATION 81
NIPPON THERMOSTAT OF AMERICA
A 81
OPTION GROUP 9
SCION C2-3
SEIBON INTERNATIONAL C4
4
SEMA 97
7
SPEC INC 11
SUMMIT RACING 21
UNIVERSAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE C3
VERMONT TEDDY BEAR COMPANY 59
9
WINGS WEST 13
The advertiser index is provided as a service
to Import Tuner readers. Import Tuner is not
responsible for omissions or typographical errors
in names or page numbers.
some things can’t be replaced. don’t let unfair laws take you off the road.
stay informed. join today. www.semasan.com
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Unfortunately for my ego, the Longshots
text box is shorter this month. Fortunately
for you, this leaves room for bigger pictures.
We’re sure you don’t mind the tradeoff. Enjoy
the rear end of Import Tuner.
longshots@importtuner.com
SHOT
OF THE
MONTH
Photographer Oliver Hirtenfelder
h Africa
Shot Location Johannesburg, Sout
m
Connect ohirtenfelder.blogspot.co
Photographer Brad Sillars
Shot Location Chicago, Illinois
Connect bradsillars.com
an Chow
Photographer Jonath
Clarita, CA
Shot Location Santa
er@aol.com
Connect JonnyBimm
Photographer Seba
stian Furstenborg
Shot Location He
lsinki, Finland
Connect sfursten
borg.1g.fi
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Want to make a living doing what you live for?
Actual UTI students. Actual UTI students.
UTI IS THE ANSWER.

At UTI, you can train to become an entry-level automotive technician in
about a year. You’ll get hands-on training on a wide range of vehicles
and automotive technologies, and gain the knowledge you’ll need for a
successful career. In fact, many employers recruit our students on
campus for immediate employment after graduation.
AUTOMOTIVE
MOTORCYCLE
MARINE
uti.edu
DIESEL
COLLISION REPAIR
1.800.314.8364
Programs vary by location. MSAT programs available to those who qualify.
Financial aid and VA benefits available to those who qualify. UTI cannot guarantee employment. MSC: 800/835

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DO IT RIGHT COVER SHOOT

24 FACT OR FICTION 06 INITIAL TIMING 14 FOUR ONE ONE 94 AUDIO GEAR

54 PROJECT 4G64 08 UNDER THE HOOD 20 QUESTION IT 96 POWER GEAR

82 DITCH THE DAILY GRIND 12 GOING POSTAL 22 WIDGETS 98 LONGSHOTS

TUNER FIRST LOOK

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HELLO FROM SEMA _TEAM

I’M THANKFUL FOR THE 3-4 HOURS OF SLEEP I’VE GOTTEN

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TOMORROW’S FUTURE STARTS TODAY

’09 NISSAN 370Z ’95 CIVIC ’09 IKEA VERKSAM

EDITOR SENIOR EDITOR TECH EDITOR

DIGITAL/MARKETING/EVENTS PERFORMANCE AUTOMOTIVE GROUP SOURCE INTERLINK MEDIA, LLC.

Copyright© 2009 by Source Interlink Magazines, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Call 1.800.828.4379 or Visit specclutch.com SHIFT TO A HIGHER STANDARD.

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PROJECT OF THE CENTURY INSANE IDEA

from its late debut

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Subaru Exiga 2.0GT, tuned by STI: Utilizing a

Subaru Hybrid Tourer: This crossover SUV-

Mazda Kiyora 32 KM/L: Direct-injected and ultra

Nissan Land Glider: At about 44 inches wide, the

hybrid OE wheel replace-

CLASSIC Showroom-stock restored rides shared ground with swapped and

CAR be found next to their RHD, carbureted, L28-powered brethren.

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GONNA Lime and mineral depos-

PHOTO: GARTH MILAN/RED BULL

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The total amount of

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a picture of him is worth ten thousand.

Feeling lucky? questionit@importtuner.com

COST EFFECTIVE SWAP HONDA REPLACEMENT

Ingalls Engineering Chikara Hedders

SummitRacing.com • Sales: 1.800.230.3030

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01 DIGIDUDE 02 READER DAILY EDITION

03 CLIQ 04 iPOD NANO (5G)

05 CHAMPIONS ONLINE 06 GUITAR HERO: VAN HALEN

07 GRAND THEFT AUTO: 08 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2010

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HAVE WE FINALLY FOUND A FUEL

2 Myers, Richard L. (2007). The 100 Most Important Chemical

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LARGE SHOULDER BLOCKS

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ctober 5th, 2009 will go

O down as a dark day in the

Large and in Charge

7 Designed and debuted a revolutionary Honda cylinder-wall reinforcement called

8 Built and campaigned the Ford/Meguiar’s Pro-class Focus dragster in ’00.

Evan Griffey sat as Editor of Turbo & High-Tech

Freelance photographer Jay Canter has documented

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