Innehållsförteckning för No 271 July 2019 från NZ Performance Car

Engines: they suck, they bang, they blow, right? It’s what we have all grown up with; it’s what we’ve known for our entire lives. They brought us home from the hospital; took us to school; we learnt to drive using one; probably got lucky a few times because we could drive to the lookout; and, if you’re reading this, then they are clearly a passion shared. But life is changing, and the performance of electric motors is now at a stage that’s threatening the old gas burner’s time as king of propulsion. It’s something that I find both exciting and a little sad, as I make no secret of the fact that noise is a big part of what attracts me to cars. While I have no doubt that, inside…

Undoubtedly, the dream for most of us is to treat some of the best roads in the country like our own personal playgrounds without the risk of harm to the general public and with Johnny Law giving you the thumbs up from the sideline. That’s exactly what Targa is; it’s said to be the ultimate road race, and it’s celebrating 25 years of doing it! Targa is a five-day tarmac road race with a focus on serious driver’s skill. At the head of the pack are full-competition highly modified rally cars piloted by driver and co-driver teams, racing against the clock and offering no quarter to the competition. The second category is the Targa Tour. These cars are generally unmodified, high-performance road cars, and MotorSport New Zealand (MSNZ) safety rules…

The UK-based arm of famed Japanese car manufacturer Honda is set to close at the end of all current model production cycles in 2021. The powers that be told workers at the Swindon factory that, following a “meaningful and robust” consultation, no viable alternatives to the closure had been found, and that the future of its 3500 workers is uncertain. The closure is rumoured to be the result of a focus towards electric vehicles (EVs) and the European Union (EU) striking a trade deal with Japan to remove car export tariffs for both, meaning there is little need to base manufacturing in the EU. However, what makes this important news to the likes of us is that Swindon is notable for being responsible for the manufacture and assembly of Civics.…

IF YOU HAVE AN EVENT THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SEE IN THE GIG GUIDE, EMAIL EDITOR@PERFORMANCECAR.CO.NZ WITH ALL THE DETAILS 7 JUNE 2019 ENEOS NORTH ISLAND ENDURANCE SERIES, ROUND THREE HAMPTON DOWNS MOTORSPORT PARK For those who want nothing more than to have their senses tweaked by vicious endurance race cars, the Eneos North Island Endurance Series is your best bang-for-buck event. Get your arse along to Hampton Downs Motorsport Park on 7–8 June to experience a solid line-up of competitors piloting anything from factory production cars to GT3 monsters from Europe, and, with racing lasting up to 12 hours, you’ll get a big whack of a petrol-fuelled fix. For more information, head to nierdc.com, or search ‘North Island Endurance Series’ on Facebook. 15 JUNE 2019 DODSON MOTORSPORT GTR FESTIVAL…

When we think about four-cylinder engine performance, we often have a tendency to overlook the longest-running and most-competitive form of four-banger racing on the planet. Born in the US in 1933 and raced here in New Zealand since 1937, open-wheel speedway midget racing has given birth to some of the best-performing little air pumps on the planet. The sport is so competitive in places like the US that factory-supported engine programmes have seen power figures reaching upwards of 300kW from only 2700cc, with names such as Toyota, Ford, Mopar, and Chevrolet all represented on the grid. So, while we all might look to Japan, thinking that it is the pioneer of small-engine performance, the truth is that the Americans have been pushing the envelope with four-bangers since the ’30s. Now,…

Sleeper, noun: A vehicle that is typically not built for performance and has no discernible performance features, despite housing a power train that is ready to party; built with the intention of surprising unsuspecting victims who believe that the vehicle is less than it truly is: “Damn that thing is a sleeper, it hauls arse for a grandad-mobile!” Once reserved as a badge of honour for only the most unassuming examples of street-patrolling feelings-hurters, the term ‘sleeper’ can now be heard thrown around pretty loosely. It’s morphed into an umbrella term used to describe anything that makes mild amounts of power without shouting it to the world, so much so that true sleepers have become near-on extinct in the wild — they’re that good at hiding what they’re about that…

1. IT WILL PROVIDE A VARIED GRID Currently, Touring Car Racing (TCR) has 16 different models homologated for racing, most offered in DSG (flappy paddle) or with a Sadev or Xtrac sequential. Built under license for the likes of Audi, VW, Hyundai, Skoda, Honda, Subaru, and even Lada, these are factory-built race machines with the purpose of being reliable and cost-effective to run, while also providing extremely competitive racing. Currently, we have at least seven of these machines on the ground in New Zealand, and many more rumours flying around about others coming, so expect a solid grid come the November opener at Pukekohe. 2. IT’S ALL ABOUT BOOST, BABY While old Barrys will moan and groan about the distinct lack of four cylinders and a bunch of push rods,…

They may be wildly popular in the import motherland of Japan; however, locally, we haven’t quite clicked onto the benefits that kei cars have to offer. It’s probably to do with the difference in tax costs between here and there; in Japan, vehicle regulations ream owners of larger capacity vehicles and offer the most relief to vehicles that fall within the kei category — short for keijido¯ sha, translating to ‘light automobile’ in English — which are regulated by a maximum vehicle size, an engine capacity of 660cc, and a power output of just 47kW. These tax breaks and lower insurance costs, paired with solid fuel economy, have made kei cars a go-to choice as a daily-driver, and a number of manufacturers continue to produce examples today. With capacity and…

SUZUKI GSX150 For those looking to get on their first street bike, the GSX150 features bold sports styling with the technology and engineering knowledge gained from the GSX-R heritage that it fronts. Offering an ultra-lightweight, compact, four-stroke, single-cylinder 154cc engine for maximum efficiency, the Gixxer delivers the next generation of riding performance, with low fuel consumption and solid acceleration with Suzuki Eco Performance (SEP) technology. The bike is ideal for commuting or weekend touring, and is built around a high-tech frame that utilizes lightweight materials, including large-diameter front forks that increase the rigidity around the front section and reduce the weight, and optimized rigid parts for strength that equates to a featherweight 135kg easy-to-handle chassis. With a comfortable riding position, dual disc brakes for a stable and controlled on-road performance;…

I want to take a second to thank the unsung heroes of the car scene. I’m talking about a group of people who go all but unnoticed by the majority of us, yet play one of the — if not the — most crucial roles in the pecking order that forms the very basis of this great community. Without them, we’d simply not have any fodder to work with, and we’d be forced to resort to terribad home creations such as those that appeared in the later stages of the Soviet Union (worth the Google if you’re bored). These people’s willingness to flash the cash despite the certainty of value depreciation they will eventually incur and take that hit like it’s no bother is honourable, and they deserve far more…

The smash-hit TV show from our sister title NZV8 is back for a fourth season! It will have already started by the time you read this, but you can catch episode two on Sunday, 26 May on Three’s CRC Motorsport. That’s 10 sweet, sweet episodes of New Zealand’s coolest V8-powered cars, events, sheds, and workshops, airing back-to-back every Sunday. Don’t sweat it if you miss an episode, because we will upload the full episodes to The Motorhood once they’ve aired, so you can catch up on any episodes you weren’t able to see — all you need to do is visit themotorhood.com and click through the Teng Tools Muscle Garage post. While you’re at it, make sure to enter yourself into the running for the prize giveaways. Not only will…

With cars for sale listed damn near everywhere, finding a winner among the dungers has only got harder. That’s where Need A Car comes in. Motorcentral, the Christchurch-based company behind the needacar.co.nz website, has been using smart categories to determine the best match for your input data, a search based not only on the usual variables, such as colour, safety features, and fuel economy, but also on lifestyle needs. To make that even easier for you lot, the company now has a daily pick that is uploaded to its Facebook and Instagram pages, whereby staff in the Need A Car office choose a car that best suits one of seven personalities: Greg: the performance guy; needs a sweet-looking driver’s car with decent power Becky: the young professional; needs a cost-effective,…

Got Instagram? Want print fame on top of all those likes that fly your way each time you post a photo? Want to show us your whip without actually talking to us? Want to see what other readers are up to in their sheds? The answer to all these questions and why these two pages exist lies in the use of the hashtag #nzpc. Search it, use it, and thrash it! We keep a very close eye on it and will be choosing a bunch of hashtagged posts each month to print right here. And that’s not all — the best shot will earn it’s photographer a little prize for their trouble. So remember, next time you’re gram’n’, use #nzpc.…

Another season of Drift South done, and we have a new champion: Brogan Mooney, driving the ‘You Break We Fix’ Nissan Silvia S15. Brogan had a dominant season, winning the first two rounds and stepping on to the podium for three and four behind teammate Dan Currie. Having never missed a podium meant that Mooney was dominant in the points standings and only needed to complete a lap in qualifying at the final round to take the season honours. The fight was well and truly on for the lower places, though. Morgan Rooney in the Goodall Plumbing R32 was working his way up, having round placings of fourth, third, and then second in his home round at Timaru International Motor Raceway. However, he couldn’t make it to the final round,…

If you’ve missed the first three instalments of the 1000-plus-horsepower (746-plus-kilowatt) pump-gas SR20DET engine build for Cook Motor Racing (CMR), we suggest that you go back and read those first. For those of you following along, last time we left the workshop, the team was preparing to run the first mule engine on the dyno. Well, we all know that in car building it is rare for everything to go completely to plan, and the past few weeks have been a trying time for the CMR team, with a string of setbacks. The first hurdle saw a ton of components that were being shipped from a US company all being placed on a boat when half were supposed to be airfreighted. To rub salt in the wound, the boat has…

When it’s your birthday, and one of the last days of your trip abroad in Japan, what do you do? I doubt this combination would ever show face in my lifetime again, so I decided to lick the stamp and send it — combining a few of my favourite things into the celebration of my birth; 3 March was going to be a banger, and nothing would stop me! After spending our last few days in Narita, I made the plan to travel to the Honda Collection Hall, based an hour and a half north of Haneda Airport. There are a few special things about this, the first being that the Honda Collection Hall is based at Twin Ring Motegi. Two birds with one stone wouldn’t be the worst trick…

ELEGANCE DEFINED When seeking refined and tasteful wheel design, Rotiform is hard to go past. The latest release from the US wheel-maker, the OZR, is guaranteed to do all the talking your car requires without overpowering its other elements. Designed for use on all types of road, the OZR is a monobloc construction made using premium-quality materials and is available in multiple widths, diameters, and exclusive finishes — including matte black and anthracite. Rotiform’s cutting-edge engineering and casting methods yield stronger, lighter wheels while retaining that signature style that we’ve come to expect. Recommended for the likes of Mercedes, Audi, and Skoda, and available to suit many other makes, the OZR can be found at DTM. For further information and pricing, visit dtm.co.nz to find your local dealer. RAIN, RAIN,…

3S-TI For some, a blown motor is game over; the car is worth only scrap now. For others, well, it’s an opportunity to rebuild or replace with something bigger and better. Then, for those like Andrew Farnhill, it’s a chance to do the unexpected. When his 2008 Subaru STi (GRB) shat the bed, the boxer heart was chucked overboard, and the only logical option he could think of at the time was sourced: a Toyota 3S-GE. “The stock EJ207 gave way after achieving 270kW at the wheels, so, instead of rebuilding, I decided the 3S-GE would be more of a suited transplant. I did also consider a Honda power plant and a SR20, but, for value, you can’t go past the 3S-GE,” explains Andrew. “I wanted to build something completely…

Car manufacturers have been using the Nürburgring for product testing since the dawn of time. The track offers just about every situation you could possibly need to test your car, on a single lap. If it can do well at the ’ring, there’s a good chance that it will go into production — or, at least, some part of that car that was being analysed for real-world data will. However, for the likes of Japanese automakers, constantly sending cars back and forth to Germany can prove not only costly financially but also burn up valuable time. Toyota’s answer to that was simple: the company has built its own Nürburgring. Imagine being able to walk out your back door and see your personal, obscenely winding, high-speed testing and race course; that’s…

With the launch of the new Auckland-based Australasian Auto-Sport Alliance (AASA), there is now a choice of permitting, licensing, and insurance authorities for New Zealand motorsport event organizers, competitors, and officials. Set up by Dr Jacob Simonsen, the face behind the Kiwi arm of the 24 Hours of Le Mans event, which is currently run under the Australian Auto-Sport Alliance, the new Australasian counterpart is 100 per cent New Zealand owned. It operates as an agent of the Australian organization, with the goal of providing a simpler, more cost-effective service, with streamlined systems and processes — primarily online — and friendly, commonsense practices. The AASA can issue permits for events, issue competition licenses for competitors and officials, and offers event organizers public liability insurance underwritten by Lloyds of London and…

Rod Harvey has sent the import drag world a strong message that his new Camry is a force to be reckoned with. The Yuasa-sponsored machine has reset the import world record for miles per hour at the recent Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder at Sydney Dragway. At the previous Sydney event Rod had gone 5.82, which was faster than he had run in the USA at Orlando when the car was on debut. Now, with more seat time and at a Sydney track that was better than it has ever been, his confidence is growing. He explains: “When you have driven a car like the Celica for 10 or 11 years you get to know the feel for everything it’s doing, and although it’s a similar car, the Camry is…

PRO CLASS 2019 CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS 1. DARREN KELLY — 432 POINTS 2. ADAM DAVIES — 337 POINTS 3. ‘FANGA’ DAN — 304 POINTS ROUND ONE RESULTS TRACK: Baypark Stadium, Tauranga WHEN: 12–13 January 2019 1. Darren Kelly — Nissan R35 GT-R (RB30) 2. Daynom Templeman — BMW E46 (2JZ) 3. Matty Hill — Nissan S15 (2JZ) ROUND TWO RESULTS TRACK: Wellington Family Speedway, Wellington TRACK: 15–16 February 2019 1. Ben Jenkins — Toyota 86 (2JZ) 2. Andrew Redward — Mazda RX-7 (LSX) 3. Adam Davies — Nissan 180SX (13BT) ROUND THREE RESULTS TRACK: Hampton Downs Motorsport Park TRACK: 16–17 March 2019 1. Darren Kelly — Nissan R35 (RB32) 2. Matty Hill — Nissan S15 (2JZ) 3. Daynom Templeman — BMW E46 (2JZ) ROUND FOUR RESULTS TRACK: Pukekohe Park Raceway TRACK: 30–31…

New Zealand is blessed with seemingly endless ribbons of gravel road slicing through the countryside, roads that have international admiration and roads that strike equal parts of excitement and fear in drivers of local or international calibre. Of the six events that make up the national championship, it’s round two, the 2019 Eneos International Rally of Whangarei, that brings the most hype and international flavour with the addition of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) round. This year, there was an unusually high contingent of New Zealand drivers competing in the APRC, including last year’s NZRC champ Hayden Paddon and 2017 champion Andrew Hawkeswood. Returning once again to the dusty roads of the Far North was international ace Ken Block, who was behind the wheel of the ‘Hoonigan’ Ford Escort Cosworth.…

NAME: KELVIN TAYLOR // AGE: 73 LOCATION: HAMILTON // OCCUPATION: COACHBUILDER/FABRICATOR NZ Performance Car: Hey, Kelvin. You’ve amassed a pretty big collection over the years. How would you describe your tastes / style preferences? Kelvin: Yeah, I was born into it so never really had a choice. I like a little bit of everything, from low-riders to drift cars, or even just a nicely preserved or restored classic. I like to mix up different styles and see what I can come up with. I take a lot of cues from the water-cooled VW guys in Europe; their attention to detail is next to none … But what I really love is the Japanese scene. You go to a hot rod show there and you see everything from low-riders to customs,…

NAME: KENDALL ‘BEST FOODS’ MAYO // AGE: 28 LOCATION: JAFFALAND // OCCUPATION: GRAPHIC AND APPAREL DESIGNER NZ Performance Car: Hi, Mr Mayo. Tell us how you got into cars and your first modified example. Kendall: Hey. During my high-school days of bad bowl cuts and MSN, I embraced one half of my ethnic stereotype (Japanese) and watched a lot of Initial D. My fist-bumping high-school bogan bro later introduced me to D1NZ and attended most of the 2005 championship. First modified car? Shesh, my poor excuse of an S13 Silvia. It was an ’89 turquoise green chassis powered by the almighty CA18DE with a ‘chea budda’ fart cannon and bubbly tints. Classic starter. What made you want to own an 180SX? Aside from seeing it as a giant shoe on…

NAME: RAHUL MANI // AGE: 28 LOCATION: AUCKLAND OCCUPATION: BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER NZ Performance Car: Hi, Rahul. Tell us how you got into modifying cars and what your first was. Rahul: Hey, NZPC. When I was younger, my father owned a workshop, so I was always surrounded by cars. As I got older, I started to tinker around with them, and my first was a bone-stock 1996 Toyota Levin — that car had numerous engine builds done to it and became a high-revving (10,000rpm) naturally aspirated daily-driver to school [laughs]. That’s one way to start out! What made you want to own an Evo X and why this one? It was actually an impulse buy. I needed a fun-but-reliable daily-driver to get to work and back while I was building…