Drift Tengoku — September 2004 · Page 99
Page 99 — English translation
Page text and listings
Neova tires front and rear. The RX-8 needs only rolled fender lips to accept the sizes previously used on the wide body S15: 235/40 R18 front and 265/35 R18 rear. T&E's new aero includes an extended nose front bumper.
The body is extensively reinforced, but acrylic windows apart from the windshield and carbon doors reduce weight into the 1,100 kg range. The RX-8's distinctive rear doors are retained as shown.
Listen carefully
...is evident.
New racing suit and helmet designs accompanied the new car, marking a fresh start...
DIGEST
08:00
A cable tie caused the trouble!
...changed to the new design.
Trouble causes a trip off course!
®
Practice begins as mechanic Hayashi watches anxiously
Advan
Back in the pits, the sticking throttle was traced to a cable tie corner catching the cable. Yamashita joked that such trouble is familiar on an AE86, but this powerful car made it frightening. Manabu came to encourage him.
08:11
08:17
This outing was the RX-8's shakedown, intended to determine setup direction and make changes before competition. Yet five minutes after it left, the car still had not appeared on the straight.
After just two minutes, staff discovered the car had gone off before the final corner because the throttle would not close. They rushed to the scene and pushed it back, but practice time ended. Final preparations for qualifying followed.
Scrutineering
Staff were nervous about trouble in competition...
The D1 technical committee, with representatives from HKS, Blitz, Trust, A'PEXi and Kei Office, inspected the debuting RX-8, particularly its fuel plumbing. Confirmation that it was satisfactory relieved mechanic Hayashi.
08:27
Commentator Manabu Suzuki visited the pits, apparently concerned about practice trouble, and asked about the completed car and its specifications.
Vertex
09:37
Competition began with uncertainties remaining. Of three runs, two were completed cleanly and the last had a missed shift. Still finding his way with the car, Yamashita used restrained entry speed and angle. It was not enough to qualify.
09:50
Asamoto investigates? Having withdrawn with trouble, he was very interested in the RX-8 and asked Hayashi about power delivery and weight. Could he be considering one next?
11:34
10:27
The RX-8 returned to the pits, then took part in video coverage on track before packing up.
Qualifying
2
ADVAN
Yamashita on the RX-8's potential
The engine can apparently make around 500 PS and is extremely...
Suspension settings are provisional, but...
...powerful! It delivers a sudden surge at high rpm, but I think familiarity will make it manageable. Nothing particular bothers me. A little revision of alignment and spring rates should improve it.
JIC Magic website
Also, the wide body S15's...
...the wheels and tires from the S15 fit, giving plenty of traction. Once setup is right, I think it can compete with S15s and FDs. Ueno at T&E did a great job with the aero, and I really like it!
97
About this issue
ドリフト天国 (Drift Tengoku), September 2004, is a Japanese drifting magazine. This archive preserves 316 scanned pages in their original right-to-left reading order, including the covers.
English translations are available through the outlined text areas. Hover over a box on desktop, or tap it on mobile. The original photographs and Japanese lettering remain visible on the scan.
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