Welcome to DriftInJapan.com

The Nissan 180SX or 240SX as it's known in USA and Canada has to be very close the most popular drift car. Every practice day or drifting event you go to, you are sure to see a 180SX!

The light weight chassis and sleek styling make it a favorite drift car, basically, it has all the right bits in the right places to make it a popular choice for drifters.

Turbo engine, rear wheel drive, good balanced chassis and curvy styling will have the 180SX a famous drift car for the rest of time.

Let's take a look at the basic specs of the Nissan RPS13 180SX or 240SX:

• Produced from 1989 to 1998
• Sister car to the S13 Silvia
• Features fastback roof, hatch back trunk (boot) and pop up headlights
• First models came with CA18DET (non-turbo CA18 not offered in 180SX)
• Later was sold with SR20DET and SR20DE

Engine specs:

1. CA18DET - 1.8l turbo engine - 127 kW (173 hp)
2. SR20DE - 2.0l non-turbo engine - 102 kW (137 hp)
3. SR20DET - 2.0l turbo engine - 153 kW (205 hp)

There are 2 main versions we go by here in Japan. "Zenki" and "Kouki". Early and late model respectively.

The main differences to tell them apart is when the 180SX got a major facelift in 1992. It got a new front bumper and rear tail lights. It was then facelifted again in 1994 but not severely.

The 180SX is so popular and good for drifting despite it's age that there are several 180SX's still being drifted in the D1 drift league in Japan and of course other countries.

The 180SX is a great and affordable car for the beginner drifter right through to the professional.

One more thing is that drift parts are everywhere and cheap! I might be making one of these bad boys my next drifter ;)

Stu
www.driftinjapan.com


Leave your comments - YOROSHIKU!

:)

Labels: 180sx drift car, 240sx drift car, nissan 180sx, sr20det

In a local hotel parking lot here in Fukushima a few weeks ago I stumbled across a nasty sight of a new GTR Skyline dented all down one side of her beautiful shiny black body.

Looks like he got a bit to close to another car and exchanged some paint while rubbing tires.

Done when racing? Who knows...but it's a shame to see a new car and expensive one, get damaged like that.

Gotta love the paint pen drawings on it. Kinda makes it look like the dents are on purpose, but shows that the owner probably has enough money to buy a new one anytime he wants!



Stu - www.driftinjapan.com

Labels: crash, new-skyline-gtr, r35, wrecked-gtr

Perhaps the original and most wanted drift car of all time: the classic Toyota AE86 or "hachiroku" as it's affectionately known. "Hachiroku" means "86" in Japanese.

The AE86 was made famous by the Japanese manga turned TV/DVD cartoon series "Initial D". The main character would use his dad's panda black and white AE86 trueno to deliver tofu and then sneak out to race the mountains in the middle of the night.

The car was manufactured by Toyota from the years 1983 - 1987. There are two different models of the hachiroku and two different body styles for each made for the Japanese domestic market.

The "Trueno" has pop-up headlights and the "Levin" has rectangular headlights. I'm sure there are a few more slight differences but that is the easy way to tell them apart.

The two body styles they come in are the coupe (sometimes known as the wedge) and the hatchback.

There are different engines for different grades on AE86 but the most common engine you'll find in a "hachi" is the fuel injected 4AGE non-turbo double overhead cam 4 cylinder. This power unit produces around 130PS (128 hp) in the JDM models.

So why is the AE86 so popular for drifting?

• There are a lot of good thing going for the 86. For one it's rear wheel drive, which is essential for drifting.
  
  
• It's reliable. Toyota got it right with the chassis and engine set up. The engine is strong and will rev and rev! The other drive train parts like gearbox, diff and suspension are up to scratch to take the beating while drifting.
  
  
• It's light (approx. 940 kg or 2072 pounds) which makes it easy to throw around without the need for a turbo engine.
  
  
• It's stylish. Two doors, the option of a coupe or hatchback. I like the style but some may hate it.
  
  
• They used to be cheap. You could score a low km AE86 in Japan for less than \100000 or $1000 before they became getting super popular with drifters. Now, you'd be lucky to find a rusted out one for that price. Look near the \500000 mark for a nice clean AE86.
  
  
• There are heaps of drift parts made for them. You'll never be stuck without parts for the AE86. From body kits to suspension and engine parts, there are plenty to choose from.
  
  
  

So do you want to drift a AE86 yet? I do.

Cheers,
Stu www.driftinjapan.com

Labels: 86, ae86-corolla-drift, initial-d, levin, sprinter, trueno

With the help of some insiders, I was able to get my hands on this footage of the last D1 GP round 6 at Ebisu. If you look closely, you might be able to make out the source of this video...



Kumakubo in the Orange Lancer Evo took the win on the day. Unfortunately, his overall series points ranking is still out of the top 10.

Thanks and stay tuned for more drifting action from Japan.

Stu

Labels: d1-gp-2008, d1-japan, drift, drifting, kumakubo

The final round of this years 2008 D1 GP Japanese drift competition was held in Ebisu circuit Nihonmatsu city Japan. The same place they help round 1 this year. But the results were different this time around....

With Ebisu being right in my back yard, (5 mins drive) there was no way I was going to miss it. I actually took my video camera because I wanted to take some video footage of the drifting and put it up here and Youtube to show you but, I had some bad luck and the battery went flat before I could even use it.

I only had my mobile phone camera with 2 bars of battery so my photo taking was limited by that too. Anyway, I was able to take a couple of "ok" photos.


To cut straight to the point, the winner of 2008 Round 6 D1 GP in Ebisu was none other than the owner of the track, Kumakubo Nobushige in his TEAM Orange Lancer Evolution 9.

This 2008 D1 GP drift season was tough for Kumakubo and his team. He hadn't had much luck with rankings, but the weather held off at Ebisu and he was able to score a win and boost his rank in the D1 points table in the final round in Japan! He was very pleased and it showed with tears of joy at the podium!

The final and closing round of D1 GP 2008 drift competition season will be in Irwindale USA in November. But as for me (and the monkeys) and drifting in Japan, I'll still be going to Ebisu from time to time and I'll be able to bring you more D1GP coverage next season!

SAYONARA - from Stu!
www.DriftinJapan.com


:)

Labels: d1-2008-ebisu-round-6, D1GP, drifting, japanese-drifting, kumakubo, lancer drift car, silvia s15, team orange

Hey Drift Fans! Stu here with a cool update.

Are you on Facebook?

If you are, then Join the Drift In Japan Group!

So then you can get updated more frequently with news and pics etc from my website here.

You can even see a dodgey home made video I did when you go and visit the group page.

Ok, thats all for now, so see you on Facebook!

Stu - www.DriftinJapan.com

"Facebook. A place for friends...who are bored with Myspace."


...

Labels: drifting-group, drifting-website, facebook, join-a-drift-group

Just released in Japan by Takara TOMY!

Palm-sized build it your self RC cars that REALLY DRIFT!

Check out this short promo video....



Just like the bigger 1/10 version....so cool hey?

They make them in 4 different body styles.

• Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 (everybody's fav) in Red
• Skyline GTR R34 in Yellow
• Mazda FD Rx7 in Black and White
• Nissan 180 SX in Blue

For everyone who wants to get into RC drift but can't afford the hundreds of dollars to fork out for the usual drift RC package, these new palm sized RC cars are the perfect way to go!

Want one? Check my auction out on Ebay!

I expect these to be hot sellers so if you have any personal -requests, please email or message me.

Cheers,
Stu

;)

Labels: ae86-corolla-drift, drift-light-package, rc-drift, takara-tomy