hmm.. to get a trash weekend drift pig?

so i sold my audi a few weeks back - was meant to change over to a bmw that my uncle owns, but he's decided to keep it a bit longer.

anyway, long story short... will be driving an slk daily. nice to have a convertible again, but has no power - was thinking of picking up a dirt cheap jdm car to ruin on weekends.


maybe an s13 silvia? depending on condition, and whether it has the ca18 or sr20 turbo engine, they go from $3-7k. i haven't been on the track in years, but miss it heaps!

tim

it's arrived - 2002 ep3r

so after a few weeks of wondering if the car had sunk following the japan tsunami, we found my brother's ep3r had in fact made it all the way to australia without a scratch. it went through customs, quarantine, compliance, and was delivered a couple of days ago.


filthy, unwashed, still with japanese newspaper stuffed all inside the car (protecting what, i'm not sure). anyway, took it for a quick spin before delivering it to the mechanics for the final roadworthy certificate prior to final registration. and this thing is surprisingly quick! compared to the GDB wrx I had a few years ago, this has much better low-end torque and (duh) no turbo lag, and i wouldn't be surprised if it's quicker 0-100 and on the track, feels like a better car stock-for-stock (sorry subaru fanbois - and I'm one!). Gearbox is incredible - super-short shift and throw, light and easily engaged, a pleasure to use - especially compared to the grunt it took to shift gears roughly in my old r33 GTR. Revs very quick and smooth, spins the tyres in first through third (though it's probably the crappy tyres fitted to the stock 17s). A super hot hatch, and i think my brother will have lots of fun with this!

tim

mazda roadster love

awww... what a beautiful image, a classic topless mx5 under sakura.

tim

ep3r on the way

my brother decided it was time to import a proper jdm car - he sold his ej8, then used my mate who imported my old skyline r33 gtr vspec, and within a couple of weeks located a mint honda civic ep3 type-r.


the car my brother found is dead stock, jdm spec ep3r (not euro spec which is weaksause in comparison), championship white (of course). but plans already afoot to get it looking like this one above... looks like volk racing ce28s, which i had back on my white wrx and it looked tops.

should be here in 5-6 weeks?

tim

ohhhhh audi wins again

right... so i guess since buying my avant i've been loving audis more, no surprise. never been a fan of bmws since every real estate agent and milf seems to own one (except m3s and m5s - respect).

used to drive a merc slk first gen - nice enough car and great summer cruiser but totally gutless.

anyway, of the "big three" german manufacturers, i think i'm sold on audis... here's another reason why


proper size, offset and style. well done - not medium rare.

tim

too much win for golf

yesss... one neat euro trick is to go for the big wheel OEM swap from another "related" manufacturer. for example, porsche wheels on a VW/Audi, or in this case, amg/mercedes wheels on a golf. helps a lot if you already share stud patterns, otherwise things get a little tricky - but end result is worth it. nice one!

tim

frankensteins

so everyone's heard of the frankenstein honda thing, swap in a vtec head onto a big displacement nonvtec engine. Sounds hard, but easy compared to stuffing an RB26DETT into an FD engine bay.


With that monster single snail bolted on the the RB though, fitting the hood back on will be a challenge. Leave it off I say, and watch out for small children being sucked through the engine.

tim

porka vs merc; which would you have?

mmmm euro performance - and why does the C63 cost US $57,000, but here in australia it costs $140,000 - more than 2.5 times the USA price, with the AUD pretty much at parity? dammit - i should've moved to the usa. maybe it's not too late...

(nice 911 behind the c63 too!)

tim

clean daily lexus

LEXUS = Luxury EXport to US. toyota's upmarket brand has done the job, but as usual the aftermarket tuner can always make it more hotness.

sweeeeet factory pearl paint is stunning - clean lines, big wheels and proper clearance makes this a flawless victory.

and a late happy new years to all!

tim