Indholdsfortegnelse for No 259 July 2018 i NZ Performance Car

We are currently in the middle of the biggest attack on our culture since the mainstream media fuelled police crackdowns on ‘boy racers’ during the mid 2000s. Our fossil-fuel-burning days seem numbered, and the push towards an electric vehicle (EV)–based fleet spearheaded by the government is going to have a significant impact on the way we enjoy cars — maybe not in this coming decade but certainly in those to follow. We’re likely to become the lepers of the road, with public perception shifting — much as it has on smoking — and there could well be a future in which we are spat at while grabbing another tank of fossil juice to burn through. As a country, we need to reduce our carbon emissions — of this I have…

If you have an event you’d like to see in the Gig Guide, mail editor@performancecar.co.nz with all the details WINTER DRIFT MATSURI 2018 BRUCE MCLAREN MOTORSPORT PARK, TAUPO The weather may be turning to shit as the winter months roll in heavy, but the shining light of the cold snap is the annual Winter Drift Matsuri hosted by the team at Zeroclass Drift. It promises a weekend of epic times, hardcore drifting, good eating, plenty of bangers, and one of the wildest after parties known to man. It caters to those from just starting out on the Friday, with advanced drivers allocated Saturday and Sunday. Hit up the Winter Drift Matsuri 2018 event on Facebook for full details and pricing. MOD (MITSUBISHI OWNERS DAY) NZ 2018 HAMPTON DOWNS MOTORSPORT PARK…

For more than a decade, Grant Walker has been on a mission: a mission to build cars that stand out from the crowd — stuff that others only dream of or do nothing more than talk about. His workshop, GT Refinishers, is associated with a long list of machinery that has landed in these pages, including countless cover cars. It comes as no surprise that a man so immersed in building customers’ cars has put his own dreams of custom builds on hold. This is often the case with tradies: the lawnmower man has the longest grass at home, the builder’s own home remains unfinished, and the car painter always has that long-term project gathering bog dust in the back corner of the shop. But, in recent years, Grant has…

Stacking dimes, laying weaves, and dropping that sweet, sweet weld porn isn’t the kind of thing you’re going to learn with a five minute Google session and a couple of YouTube ‘how to’ videos — but having the right equipment behind you when learning to do such radness is always going to help. It’s that classic case of being prepared for the task you’re tackling, and with welding, be it MIG or TIG, there’s a bit more that goes into it than what some people realize — what amperage machine is best, filler rod selection, how tungsten treatments work, why cheaper isn’t always better with helmets, and much more. Having gear that isn’t designed for your intended purpose and getting the setup side of the equation wrong makes for guaranteed…

NAME: DREW COPPINS AGE: 25 LOCATION: AUCKLAND OCCUPATION: BRAND AND MARKETING MANAGER NZ Performance Car: Hi, Drew. A Fiesta isn’t our regular cut of cheese; how’d you end up with it? Drew: Hey, team. This is actually my second Fiesta. The first one hit 50,000km, and I decided to sell it, so this was the natural progression from there. This shape was a brand-new platform and engine to Ford New Zealand, and I picked it up as an economical runabout, which it is far from, now! Yeah, it doesn’t quite look like your run-of-the-mill Fiesta! Nope, it doesn’t. I got quite involved with social-media happenings and the online car community, so went hunting for the forums offering support and mods for these vehicles. They’re all UK based and full of…

NAME: LUKE HODGE AGE: 27 LOCATION: AUCKLAND OCCUPATION: REFRIGERATION ENGINEER NZ Performance Car: Hey, Luke. She’s a pretty undercover wagon; what does it get used for? Luke: Yo, what’s happening? Yep, it looks like Grandad is off to the grocery store for a few spuds; but, for me, it’s basically a weekend workhorse that gets abused — it sees limmy every time it gets driven [laughs] — that’s what we built it for. Doing skids is its favourite trick, but it pulls quick in a straight line, too, having done a 13-second flat pass at Meremere. So, it’s clearly not running the factory 2Y motor anymore. You went with the 1JZ instead? Yeah, it’s a simple package that me and my old boy, Hodgey, built in the garage at home.…

STEALTH MODE Boiling wheel design back to basics and taking the classic five-spoke design to a whole new level, the latest from Momo is going to be a new favourite — introducing the Momo Stealth. With a fine diamond-cut finish, the concavity of the wheel is emphasized and draws upon aero styling to create one slick aesthetic. Available in 19-inch Matte Anthracite Diamond Cut and 20-inch Magnesium Anthracite Diamond Cut finishes, the Stealth is available in a range of stud patterns and is compatible with tyre pressure management system, valve, and run flat tyres. For pricing, the right fit, and to find your local DTM dealer, head to dtm.co.nz NO WASTED POTENTIAL When you’re at the top of your game, you don’t just kick back and wait for someone to…

NAME: TRAVIS TREMLETT AGE: 21 LOCATION: AUCKLAND OCCUPATION: PHOTOGRAPHER, MARKETING NZ Performance Car: Hi, Travis. Tell us how you got into cars and about the first you owned. Travis: Hey, guys. I’ve always had a fascination with cars from a young age. And, because I played Need For Speed a lot, I wanted to one day own a Silvia. My first car was a Nissan Pulsar, which did the trick getting me around, but my mind was always on getting into an S-chassis. I finally did with a silver S15 before the one I currently own, but I sold it to purchase this, as it was in completely factory form. You’ve taken photos of, and been exposed to, lots of cars, but is the S15 still your favourite? Yeah, for…

Whether you’re buying your first car or hustling your fifth money-making special of the month, taking a seller’s word as gospel is a gamble at the best of times — and the same extends to buying components, too: wheels, suspension, motors, and boxes. There’s often some issue that you’re not going to be able to detect until you’ve handed over the cash and taken ownership. Most of the time, we can rely on people being generally honest about what’s going on with a car, and you can spot things that are obviously amiss, such as finding that serious case of rod knock on the ‘mechanically sound’ daily-driver you’re viewing, as I recently did. But there are always those cases when a seller omits certain issues that may not present themselves…

DUAL 50MM EFI HARDWARE THROTTLES FEED THE 13B THROUGH A CUSTOM MANIFOLD. FUEL IS SUPPLIED VIA FOUR 1000CC INJECTORS, AND SOME ADDED GO-JUICE COMES IN THE FORM OF A 200HP NITROUS FOGGER SYSTEM WITH ALL THE ADDED COMPONENTRY TUCKED UNDER THE TRAY, IT’S A BUSY PLACE, HOUSING THE AIR TANK AND TWIN VIAIR COMPRESSORS, THE FUEL SYSTEM, AND THE CUSTOM THREE-LINK. TO SAVE SPACE, THE TOP CENTRE LINK ALSO ACTS AS THE LOCATOR, DOING AWAY WITH THE NEED FOR A PANHARD Flawless paint, millimetre-perfect door gaps, and a tray so clean that you’d likely be shot point blank if owner Wiremu Burkhardt ever caught you throwing anything in there: these are not the kinds of attributes you’d normally associate with the humble and often-abused utility, but the B2000 before you…

Aerodynamics is the science of exploiting the airflow around your race car for downforce, reducing drag, and cooling. It’s a precision task that can pay huge dividends if you get it right, which is why the upper echelons of motorsport pay so much attention to it, with the likes of Formula 1, touring cars, and endurance teams devoting huge budgets and resources to it. But even at a grass-roots level, getting this right (without breaking the bank) can result in lasting and sizeable improvements to your lap times. We’ve all heard that a race car like Rod Millen’s Celica should, theoretically, be able to drive upside down in a tunnel at, say, 200kph, with the only thing holding it to the roof of that theoretical tunnel the passing air acting…

Predicting the podium for any round of the national drifting series is an almost impossible task, one that requires a mix of guesswork and educated assumptions, and even those who have been around since the series’ inception often get it wrong — you really need to have a talented psychic on speed dial and a healthy dose of luck on your side to get within the ballpark. It’s one of those sports in which no one really knows what’s going to happen, or when, and even those who look to be on a hot streak can be knocked out within a single battle for just one simple mistake. The 2018 Link ECU D1NZ National Drifting Championship season has been no exception to this rule, with both the big-name and lesser-known…

With the world’s automakers and mainstream media’s hard-on for uber-efficient electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous driving these days, one could be forgiven for thinking the future of driving enjoyment looks bleak. But don’t despair; not all automakers are turning their backs on the combustion engine and driver enjoyment — well, not anytime in the next 40 years, if we can believe everything we’re told in press releases from Mazda. Instead of going all volts and amps, the Japanese automaker is focusing on pushing the efficiency of four-cylinder internal-combustion engines to new heights without sucking all the fun out of driving, and, better still, its new motor will be offered in true manual form. The Skyactiv four-cylinders are nothing new, having been available from Mazda since 2011, but, set for release…

Fifty-two cars, 18 special stages, and 277km are what made up the 2018 International Rally of Whangarei. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the event, which was round two of the New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) and the first round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). With last year’s winner of the NZRC, Andrew Hawkeswood, not contesting the championship and third-placed Sloan Cox heading off to Europe to compete in rallycross, it opened the door for others to step up. That being said, Hayden Paddon is back in the mix this year and will be contesting all but one round of the six-round championship. The field of international APRC cars was slightly sparse, with only four cars entered into the championship, one of which was home-grown boy Mike Young.…

Big-name manufacturers often used wild concept cars to duke it out in order to establish automotive dominance within the market, with the most out-the-gate designs thrusted into the public eye just for the sake of keeping that brand name relevant. But there can be a lot of innovation found in these forgotten pioneers — the kind of stuff that is only really being explored and implemented properly now, some 30-plus years later. Toyota has always maintained a slightly less crazy stance with its concept cars, looking to produce concepts as close to production vehicles as possible, and much of what was developed in the ’80s and ’90s ended up contributing heavily to their production counterparts. This month, we’re taking a look at the Toyota GTV (Gas Turbine Vehicle), debuted at…

UNDERDOG This particular British green MX-5 has become somewhat of an institution within the local grass-roots drifting scene. Why? Well, its owner, Kieran Stewart, defies the rules of physics by squeezing his almost-seven-foot frame under the hard-top and pedaling it like an absolute madman. Dedicated to sticking with a naturally aspirated (NA) 1800cc motor that, at its best, was only punching out just shy of 100kW, it was a formidable opponent against many a high-powered car, favouring speed and momentum over outright power. This saw the pair stepping up to tackle the Link ECU D1NZ National Drifting Championship Pro-Sport class, managing to hold its own as the most underpowered car in the field — but even wringing the poor thing out to 8500rpm couldn’t see it progress. Kieran told us…

GET YOUR DAILY NEWS FIX ONLINE: themotorhood.com CHROME EXPRESSION SESSION WHEN: AUGUST 3-5, 2018 WHERE: HAMPTON DOWNS CHROME ENTRIES NEARLY SOLD OUT The wildly successful Chrome Expression Session is back for the fifth year running, August 3–5, at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, for a three-day hit of on-track radness. By the time this mag hits the shelves, entries will be lose to sold out, and the team will have announced that the Friday will be dedicated to VIP entrants only — which guarantees premium track time with all the regular features that you fiend for: drive with your mates, roll racing, circuit racing, burnouts, drifting, gymkhana, and a show and shine. There will also be the popular rotary-only sessions, alongside twilight sessions towards the end of each day. Organizers are…

One class within the upper echelons of New Zealand motorsport exemplifies the Kiwi can-do attitude by offering such a loose set of rules that mad scientists–cum–race engineers can piece together tin-top machines capable of blisteringly fast lap times. It’s a class in which only one’s imagination, practical ability, and lust for speed are the hurdles between you and how fast you can go. GTRNZ is home to our country’s fastest tin-top circuit racers, and one of them is the wildest-looking RX-7 you’re ever likely to lay eyes on. But the best bit about the flame-spitting FC is that owner/builder/pilot Shaun Judd has managed to piece together this weapon right from inside his humble two-car home garage. It’s not the first time that we’ve pointed a camera at this FC, and,…

There’s a double-edged sword to owning anything on four-wheels that doesn’t look like it takes 15 seconds to hit 100 clicks. They are an endless money pit that can bring a lot of entertainment, both throughout the build and when driving. However, the other side of this is that those with even the slightest hint of modification draw attention — serious amounts of attention, be it from the red and blues, or just the comments from young bucks hanging around in the car park of your local supermarket. But if there’s one kind of heat that modified cars draw most it’s that from those looking to prove that their own is bigger, better, harder, and faster — even if you ain’t out looking for it, this kind of trouble will…

Each year, during April and May, Whangarei transforms into an automotive mecca, from the hot rod show that shuts down the centre of town to the Ruakaka Street Sprint, Whangarei Swap Meet, International Rally of Whangarei, and the latest kid on the block: The Tint Shop Show and Shine. This year marked the third year the show has run, with organizer Brad Wright pulling out all the stops to make 2K18 the biggest yet. With an overwhelming 250-plus cars spit shined and on display, and attendance having nearly tripled since its inception, the street-side location based around The Tint Shop car park gives the event a real grass-roots feel, “just like when we all got into cars as youngsters”, explained Brad. At one point, you’d have been forgiven for thinking…

Hi, Mark. How long has Morris Sheetmetal Works Ltd been operating for, and what are your bread-and-butter services? “The company has been in business since 1971 and we have a fully functional tool, press, fabrication, and welding shop, as well as mobile welding services, on-site fabrication repairs, and full installation. Most of our work involves cutting, pressing, and fabricating products such as stainless-steel tanks, conveyor pressings, house flashings, machine guards to comply with the new health and safety act, dust extraction ducts, and bench tops — we fabricated all the workshop benches for the Giltrap Group. We also specialize in argon TIG, MIG, and arc welding, both aluminium and stainless steel, including purge welding. “So, we can pretty much make anything out of sheet metal in the shop, and then…

If you’re heading to the drag strip this coming summer, you’ll want to pack some decent ear plugs, as Aaron Keech is set to storm the strip in his latest RX-3 build. This time, he has ditched the boost in favour of an all-motor 20B peripheral port (PP)–powered RX-3 coupe; and you can rest assured that it will be low and loud. With no boost on tap, and only a limited amount of power-making ability from the naturally aspirated (NA) three-rotor, a big focus has been on keeping weight to a minimum, saving grams wherever possible — the shell is currently undergoing some extensive chassis work at Auckland-based SMS Fabrication with this in mind. The front chassis rails remain, although, from the firewall back, it’s all new steel work, including…

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