Innehållsförteckning för No 277 January 2020 från NZ Performance Car

Mankind has a wicked skill at reading the vibe put off by a fellow human. Perhaps it’s a trait left over from our caveman days, when body language played a huge role in how we communicated, and not being able to read someone could result in your death very quickly. Well, these days, lives are a little less strenuous for the average joe, but we do still carry this trait within. The read that I get off some older people really puts the shits up me, and has done for as long as I can remember — not because I feel threatened in any way, but because I certainly don’t want to end up as one of them. I’m sure you all know these types of people — those old…

Last issue, we brought you the announcement that internationally acclaimed Drift Team Animal Style will be bringing their home-grown US style to Hampton Downs Club Circuit on Saturday, 18 January and Monday, 20 January 2020. Since the day it came onto the drifting scene back in 2009, Drift Team Animal Style has been known for its aggressive, sharp driving and unparalleled car styling. Now, thanks to the team behind the massively successful Pink Style GP, which saw Naoki Nakamura himself grace our shores back in 2017 — D-Club and C’s Garage — the guys from Animal Style will make their way to our neck of the woods in 2020! Driver entry, ticket purchasing, and merchandise can all be found on the D-Club website (dclubgp.com) — but don’t muck around, as…

It’s a sad day when one of the most iconic race car–livery naming-rights brands is closed and takes its design with it. As of last month, Calsonic Kansei is no more. Known for its bright blue livery, which has graced many a bubble-era race car, Calsonic will henceforth be branded ‘Marelli’ — as in Magneti Marelli SpA, the Italian supplier of electronics, fuel-injection systems, and engine components, whose own logo has also graced many famed race cars from the other side of the globe. Beloved in Japan and across the world, thanks to the hugely successful Group A Skyline GT-R championship winners, the company was perhaps less known outside the enthusiast community. Formed in 1988, when Nihon Radiator and Kansei merged, the company became one of Japan’s top suppliers of…

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HEART ENGINE: GM LS, 6800cc, V8 BLOCK: Motor Preparations, Otorohanga built GM L98 block, JE Pistons forged pistons, Eagle forged rods, Eagle stroker crank, ACL bearings, Lewis cam chain, Sikky Manufacturing baffled and gated sump, high-volume oil pump HEAD: LS3 CNC-ported and polished heads, Manley pushrods, dog-bone lifters, stainless-steel roller rockers, Kelford Cams H5108/C12 camshaft, aftermarket valves and valve springs INTAKE: Custom 52mm individual throttle bodies, CNC-machined trumpets, K&N sprint car filter EXHAUST: Custom stainless-steel three-inch side-exit system, TTT Auto Engineering stainless-steel headers FUEL: Elusive Solutions ethanol fuel system kit, half-inch anodized hardline, braided PTFE line, Velocity ethanol-rated AN fittings, Elusive Solutions surge tank, Carter lift pump, DeatschWerks 350 primary pump, Jaz 40-litre fuel cell, Bosch 1000cc injectors, NZEFI ethanol sensor IGNITION: LS3 coils, NGK iridium plugs, MSD leads ECU:…

Insanity in the woods would be the best way to explain Wales Rally GB. Of all the top-level motorsport I have seen, none can hold a candle to the World Rally Championship (WRC). I was given my first intoxicating sip of top-tier rally in 1999 and have been hooked on the series ever since. There is something slightly unhinged about the drivers; they go sideways to go straight, and they regularly perform driving manoeuvres that not only defy physics and logic but also just downright shouldn’t be possible. The last time I saw WRC in the flesh, Tommi Mäkinen was driving a Subaru and Colin McRae was picking his nose before a stage north of Auckland — yeah, it was a long time ago. Deciding that it had been too…

In this modern world we find ourselves in, currency to most of us is an electronic figure represented on a computer screen. See something you like and want to purchase it? All you have to do is swipe a small thin plastic card, or enter the numbers stamped into said card, and a prearranged amount is then electronically transferred from your account to the account of the seller. However, long before this form of transaction came to be standard on all five continents, a system known as ‘barter’ or ‘contra’ greased the wheels of industry and built this world we all call home. Rather than trading currency, barter involved people trading goods and services for other goods and services — a simple yet effective way to get shit done. HEART…

NAME: EARLE AND DAVID MCFARLANE // AGE: OLD AND 29 LOCATION: AUCKLAND // OCCUPATION: FREELANCE NZ Performance Car: Hi, Earle and David. Can you tell us the McFarlane family’s background in motorsports? Earle: Hi, guys. I started competing in basic club events in my late teens and found I couldn’t drive that great so started to swing spanners instead. Ended up working for some of New Zealand’s best rally drivers; I have been involved with the Adams and Woolf families for many years, and spent several years working for Rod Millen. David: I started doing basic club events in my mid teens, progressing to co-driving in national rallies in my early 20s and continue to do that now. I also service for rally teams here and there. What’s the story…

MURDERED Good six-stud rollers are harder to find than the infamous 10mm socket, but if anyone is going to have what you’re after, it’s local wheel-and-tyre powerhouse DTM! Peep these fresh Lenso Black Angel V9s, specced in 20-inch diameter and exclusively 6x139.7. This black-milled wheel has the recognizable multiple tapered spokes that the Black Angel models are known for and features intricate detailing that puts the wheels on another level. Check them out now at dtm.co.nz. BEST OF BOTH WORLDS If you’re keen to get the wind-through-your-hair feeling that can only be delivered by a motorcycle but want the stability of a dialled-in performance car, your best bet would be to go have a hoon on the latest offering from Can-Am. The new Ryker has everything you need to peel…

Boy, has there been a whole lot of bullshit going down in the wonderful world of social media this month. I’ve seen the age-old argument of ‘genuine’ v. ‘fake’ wheels reignited for the 10,000th time and descend into a mud-slinging fest as though those involved have vested interest within the respective companies; the demand that everyone #respectallbuilds; and people once again not understanding that if you don’t own a car and haven’t been given permission to touch and/or sit on it — then don’t! That’s a lot of going-ons to unpack in a small editorial, the kind of stuff that I could write whole essays about, so instead I’ll just rattle off a few thoughts and feelings that I jotted down throughout the month. Regardless of where you sit on…

Drag racing fans around the world stopped what they were doing and watched as the World Cup Finals descended on Maryland International Raceway, 30 October–3 November, for the biggest drag race of the year. It was for good reason, as two rotary records were toppled: the 13B-powered record and the outright rotary record. Puerto Rican entry Rafaelito Racing laid waste to the 13B-powered record with a 6.162 at 222.73mph (358.44kph) with Luis Rivera behind the wheel of the team’s RX-8, while fellow Puerto Rican team Mech Tech bettered the outright rotary record that hadn’t been touched since 2015, when their New Generation Motorsports Major League RX-8 ran a 6.149 at 229.08mph (368.66kph). Known as ‘Loquito Killer’, Mech Tech’s RX-8 houses a billet three-rotor and makes north of 1119kW; the record-breaking…

With a strong field, challenging weather, and a major repair for one of the cars just three weeks out from the main event, Team DNG Automotive came out the pointy end to prove a lethal offering at Targa New Zealand 2019 with first-, third-, and fifth-place finishes across the three-car team. With the car of David Rogers and co-driver Aidan Kelly getting stuck in the wall at Highlands Motorsport Park three weeks prior to Targa, the rush was on to get half the car rebuilt at Mills Collision Repair Centre while Dustin Ng and the team at DNG were busy rebuilding the mechanicals. With it finished five days before the start date, they were luckily able to get a test day in before starting the 2000km haul that is the…

HEART ENGINE: Mazda 13BREW, 1300cc, two-rotor BLOCK: large extend ported plates, Turblown stud kit, Green Brothers Racing apex seals, automatic FD rear plate INTAKE: GReddy AirNX mushroom filter, GReddy intake elbow, V-mount intercooler EXHAUST: SURfab 3.5-inch stainless exhaust, SURfab four-inch lobster dump tip, AdrenalinR muffler TURBO: BorgWarner S363, Sinco manifold WASTEGATE: Turbosmart 60mm BOV: TiAL FUEL: Aeromotive A750, AEM 320lph lift pump, Turbosmart FRP, Aeromotive fuel rail, Injector Dynamics 1050cc primary injectors, Injector Dynamics 1650cc secondary injectors, MPSNZ Teflon hose and fittings, Jazz fuel cell IGNITION: AEM smart coils, NZEFI ignition leads, HKS spark plugs ECU: Link G4+ Monsoon COOLING: V-mounted radiator, custom radiator ducting, PWR oil cooler with ducting by Skeleton Fabrication EXTRA: Modified three-litre catch can, DEI heat sleeving, heat shielding, custom inner guards by Jono, GReddy pulley…

It’s the oldest street-based motorsport event in the country, and, to celebrate its 60th anniversary, this year’s Waimate 50 was next level. Record numbers of spectators crammed their way into Waimate’s town centre over Labour weekend, 26–28 October, for one of the best displays of racing in the South Island, where intense showdowns are fought only metres from your own eyes. A three-day banger, the event was filled with automotive awesomeness including invitational races, motorcycle displays, demonstration runs from the likes of ‘Fanga Dan’ Woolhouse and Hayden Paddon, and of course the all-important Street Attack! The wild weekend of speed kicked off with the annual Friday hill climb before spilling onto the main streets of the township. On Saturday it was clear that the cars were faster, and the competitors…

If you had asked me two years ago if we would build or race an EV rally car, I would have smiled at you and thought you were crazy. But such has been the development and advancement of technology in the automotive sector, that in a very short space of time it’s now not only feasible, but an incredibly exciting prospect for me — especially after recently driving a 600kW EV rallycross car in Europe. These cars will be very, very fast and spectacular. I’m as much of a motorsport nut as anyone and love the dramatic nature of our sport. The thing that excites me the most about motorsport is the speed and the adrenaline. The only thing I have against EV motorsport is the lack of sound, but…

Getting lost in a big-dollar car build that spans years, and swallows your wallet whole time and time again, is something that is all well and good if you have the budget and patience, but what if you had limited funds and wanted the whole project to be over in a matter of weeks not months? That was the brief to Jtune Automotive for the project, code-named ‘budget boxer build’, for which we’d keep the total build cost under $10K and exact as much party power as the factory engine would allow while still holding on to its rods. The project is based around a 2003 Subaru WRX 2000cc turbo with 240,000kms on the clock. The plan? To push the power levels to around the 170kW mark — a point…

STEVE’S TWIN-TURBO V8-POWERED S14 Deep in the hills of the country’s windiest city, Wellington, is a collection of Nissan Silvias unlike any you will have seen with your own eyes. Very few have seen it to its fullest extent, having been offered only glimpses into the owner’s chaotic mind through the wonders of social media. Hell, we really couldn’t even tell you the whole story of what’s going on there, because, the truth is, when we think that we’ve seen it all, another one shows up, then another, and another. That owner is Steve Kerr, the man behind Stealth Ride. A former feature car owner, Steve has appeared in Under Construction multiple times, and he’s established a name for himself building Silvias, from air-bagged, big wang cruisers to serious grass-roots…

If you ever wondered what goes through Rod Harvey’s mind mid five-second pass, we have the answer; “This motherf##ker is flying”. Well, at least that’s what was going through his mind during the recent 5.69@259mph during the Atlantic Oils East Coast Thunder at Sydney Motorsport Park. The pass wasn’t without some drama, with the Yuasa Camry touching the limiter just before the finish line, and one of the chutes tearing, which at just shy of 260mph is a scary prospect. Lucky Rod was able to pull it up undamaged. Leading into the event, the addition of a new slightly bigger front cover on the turbo, and a few set-up changes to the clutch clearly paid off for the team and Rod says the data shows low 5.60s are a real…

Virgin Australia Supercars Championship team Kelly Racing has announced that Kiwi driver André Heimgartner will continue competing for the team with a new multi-year contract as Kelly Racing prepares to switch over to the Ford Mustang platform next year — marking a departure from the established Nissan Altima that debuted in 2013. Heimgartner joined Kelly Racing for the 2018 Supercars season, and the outgoing season has been his most successful in his four-year stint thus far, including a podium at Phillip Island back in April. “Kelly Racing backed me to return to Supercars, and it’s fantastic to lock down the future and continue this journey together,” Heimgartner said. “It was always my preference to stick by the team that have supported me, and the opportunities for next year are really…

In a tight finish, in which eight seconds was the difference between winning and walking away empty-handed, International Motorsport drivers Neil Foster and Jonny Reid have gone back to back in the Carter’s Tyre Service South Island Endurance Series at Mike Pero Motorsport Park. With an all-Audi title fight emerging, Foster and Reid claimed the top spot in the final race of the season with their Audi R8 LMS GT3, beating out Dale Chapman, Marc Doran, and Andrew Waite in the updated Evo equivalent. The pair proved a dominant force throughout the season, with wins at Teretonga Park and Timaru International Motor Raceway. Highlands Motorsport Park looked to be theirs as well, before a puncture knocked them out and ensured that the final at Mike Pero Motorsport Park would be…

IF YOU HAVE AN EVENT THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SEE IN THE GIG GUIDE, EMAIL EDITOR@PERFORMANCECAR.CO.NZ WITH ALL THE DETAILS 30 NOV-1 DEC NAKAI-SAN BUILDS RWB NZ 003, THE BLING COMPANY, HAMILTON Few get the chance to see RAUH-Welt Begriff (RWB) creator, Akira Nakai — known for reinventing the Porsche 911 with huge over-fenders, big wings, and wild ride heights — personally build a car that is worthy of wearing the nameplate. However, that’s about to change, as Nan Su of The Bling Company, who was one of the owners of the first two incarnations built here, is personally inviting the entire country to come watch as Nakai-san takes a grinder to Porsche steel and creates the official RWB NZ 003 car! The event is set to go down from…

NAME: ROBBIE WARD AGE: 48 OCCUPATION: OWNER, R.I.P.S RACING LOCATION: ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND RECORDS: WORLD’S QUICKEST AND FASTEST 240Z AND RB30 — 7.86 SECONDS AT 177.4MPH (285.4KPH) (240Z); WORLD’S QUICKEST AND FASTEST RB ENGINE — 6.99 SECONDS AT 192.7MPH (310.1KPH) (FED), WORLD’S QUICKEST AND FASTEST AWD AND GT-R — 7.28 SECONDS AT 194MPH (312KPH) (‘MGAWOT III’) NZ Performance Car: Hi, Robbie. Readers will undoubtedly know your name for your drag racing exploits and R.I.P.S Racing workshop; can you tell us how you cut your teeth at the very beginning? Robbie: Hi, NZPC. Leaving school, all I wanted to do was be an automotive machinist and engine reconditioner. I started doing an automotive-machining apprenticeship and became absolutely obsessed with building engines. All of my spare time after hours was spent building…

HEART ENGINE: Mitsubishi 4G63T, 2300cc, four-cylinder BLOCK: Manley 100mm forged 2.3-litre stroker crankshaft, Manley Turbo Tuff I-beam connecting rods, CP pistons, ACL race bearings, Honeywell oil-pressure sensor, AEM oil-temp sensor, ported head, custom sump baffling HEAD: Ferrea 1.0mm oversize valves, Ferrea bronze valve guides, Beehive heavy-duty valve springs, Kelford TX280 camshafts, Tomei adjustable cam gears, HKS head gasket INTAKE: Plazmaman Race Series intercooler, Plazmaman Pro Series intake manifold, Plazmaman 66mm billet throttle body, K&N air filter EXHAUST: 3.5-inch downpipe, 3.5-inch exhaust system TURBO: Garrett GTX3582R turbo, thermal-coated twin-scroll exhaust housing, Sinco twin-scroll manifold WASTEGATE: Twin TiAL 44mm MVR V-band BOV: GReddy Type R FUEL: Walbro 250-litre-per-hour in-tank lift pump, Bosch 044 external fuel pump, custom surge tank, Sard fuel rail, Bosch 1650cc injectors, Sard fuel-pressure regulator, Honeywell fuel-pressure sensor IGNITION:…

Driving a newly launched press car through bumper-to-bumper traffic and giving it a couple of spirited squirts on country back roads is typically the only way we journos can get an idea of how it drives. That was, however, until Toyota New Zealand told me to pack my camera and board a flight because there was a 2019 Toyota GR Supra waiting for me. Where was I headed? One of the only opportunities to get buck wild on public roads without the risk of getting slapped around the head by Johnny Law: Targa New Zealand! That’s right, Toyota was actually keen enough to give me the keys to a brand-new Supra and let me pedal the borrowed car in full anger across some of the best, and most challenging, roads…

NAME: SCOTT LUXON // AGE: 30 LOCATION: CHRISTCHURCH // OCCUPATION: PARTS CONSULTANT NZ Performance Car: Hi Scott, a simple one to start off: why the Skyline? Scott: Hey, NZPC! I have always been a Nissan fan, especially of older models. It was back in 2013 when I first saw this one and met the owner. I decided I had to have it. Finally, in 2015, I convinced him to sell it to me. What was the goal for the car when you finally got hold of it? The original plan was to give it a wee tidy-up and use it as my daily. Has that happened? Nah, that plan didn’t last long. When it came time to lower it, I couldn’t find a good spring to run, so the coilover…

NAME: SAM SHONK // AGE: 19 // LOCATION: AUCKLAND OCCUPATION: CONSULTANT PROJECT MANAGER NZ Performance Car: Hi Sam, how did you come to own the E30? Sam: Hi, NZPC. I’ve had it for just over four-and-a-half years. I bought it as my first car about two weeks after I turned 15, so it was almost a year before I could even get my licence, but I was eager to start messing around with cars and learning. I’d initially wanted a Mk2 Escort, but numerous people pointed out that in my budget range they would be plagued with rust and weren’t all that safe, so my uncle suggested an E30 — classic styling but a more modern chassis and driveline. What state was it in when you bought it? Mechanically, it…