Drift Tengoku — September 2004 · Page 47

Tire width strongly affects how well power reaches the road, but each car has size limits and wider tires cost more. Make the most of the contact patch at the size you use. Increasing pressure reduces contact area; driving heats the tires and raises pressure further, so allow for that rise. Lower pressure increases contact, but excessive reduction...

Suspension: Kazama specification D1 coilovers, 9 kg/mm front and rear; the maker's name is unclear in the OCR. Rear ride height is lower for smooth rearward loading and early arrival at the suspension's transition point. Alignment: front toe 0, camber approximately −4.5°; rear toe 0, camber approximately −2.5°.

Rear toe affects the timing of breakaway, so it is set to zero at normal static load to minimize unwanted change. Rods retain roughly the factory length because shortening them makes alignment changes too abrupt.

Tires and wheels: front Bridgestone RE-01R 215/45 R17, Prodrive GC-06D 9J×17 offset +14; rear RE-01R 245/40 R18, GC-06D 9J×18 offset +15. Kazama believes good tire grip lets the suspension work. Correct wheel width matters more than simply fitting wider tires. Changing from a 235 tire on a 9.5J wheel to a 245 on a 9J reportedly improved suspension action markedly.

Alignment: front toe out 2 mm; rear toe in 5 mm. Rear camber is relatively upright so alignment becomes optimal under compression. An S15 factory rear subframe and traction arms shortened by 15 mm make rear breakaway quicker.

Tires: front Toyo R1R 215/45 R17; rear Toyo Vimode 255/40 R17. Rear R1Rs would put excessive strain on the drivetrain, so Vimodes are used. Kuroi stretches 255 tires slightly on 10.5J wheels as his approach to maximizing rear contact.

Alignment: front toe out 10 minutes, camber −3.5°; rear toe in 24 minutes, camber −2°. Rear camber is set to 2° to increase contact. With the AX75 turbo, 20 kg of ballast was carried in the trunk for traction.

Tires and wheels: front Bridgestone RE-01R 225/40 R18, Rays 57F Pro 9J×18 offset −2; rear RE-01R 265/35 R18, 57F Pro 10J×18 offset −2. For traction, hot pressure was set to 2.3–2.4 kg/cm²; recently, smoke production takes priority with 2.5 kg/cm² or higher.