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BigSmoke
Posts: 844
Location: Indonesia Occupation: Following Those Damn Trains Age: V$: Broke |
#155254 2019-04-16 19:33 |
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Out of Comfort Zone
After the 250 posts celebration it's time to resume the normal service!
This time, it's time to pick up the Sprinter, as well as repairing it and giving it an upgrade. How did this was done? You'll know once you read it obviously  Also, finally I went for a drift day for the first time! Let's find out what has happened and how did I survive below! [09 Apr 2019] With the Sprinter import sorted, it is time to get additional stuffs required for it. As I've written on the previous update, the Sprinter has a non-functioning turbo actuator, which made it rather asthmatic on the road. I mean, you can still drive it like normal but it would only reach 55 mph, which isn't even reaching 100 kmh. On paper this doesn't sound like a disaster since you won't go that fast in urban and countryside areas. But obviously this would spell a lot of trouble when it coems to highway driving and hillclimbing, since all that torque the car needs is.....pretty much gone. And obviously I don't want the Sprinter breaking down or even worse, rolling backwards with me and my luggage inside when it happens.
My options for those are the OEM grade turbo actuators from Hella (which is, um, OEM), random eBay universal turbo actuators (cheap for the same price as OEM, but obviously dubious quality) and universal turbo actuators from Turbosmart. Originally I planned to buy and fit Hella ones, but I also wanted to do a bit of experiment over how 'universal' these universal actuators are, so I went the madman route and purchased the Turbosmart IWG75 Uni Actuators for V$200. I could have picked the 10 psi model, and I'm rather sure if the stock turbo won't blow into pieces when it's pushed that much, but after all, the Sprinter is a workhorse and not a racer, so no need to overkill (though both parts are similarly priced). Aside from the turbo actuator, another thing I bought for the Sprinter is a chip tuning kit. As I stated previously, I could have tuned it myself, but I'm not sure if I can do the tuen properly since I dealed with a lot of petrol engine ECU but not diesel ones, which emphasizes on torque rather than engine power. After a lot of considerations, I decided to pick one from ChipExpress for V$395 since it can be reprogrammed and/or can serve as an interface for ECU reprogramming. I can already imagine a good life cruising inside the Sprinter...... And oh, all of these will arrive at 3 days, one day before the time I pick up the Sprinter, so I can fit them right away after the Sprinter has landed in Japan shores. And since they can be easily fitted (i.e. no need to lift the car or disassemble the engine), I don't need to find a shop to fit them. I can literally fit these on the side of the road! :)) [12 Apr 2019] With the turbo actuator and chip tuning kit arrived at my doorstep, it's time to pick the Sprinter at the docks. As per usual I called Rantaro to pick me up and take me to the docks. Thinking back about it, I really hope he don't mind......but then again he's usually excited to see import cars. But then again so far I imported something mundane (Daewoo Tico) rather than exciting
"Rantaro-san, you got free time tomorrow?" "Um, yeah, it's weekend after all. What is it, another trip to Tokyo docks?" "Welp yeah you actually guessed it right. Don't worry, it won't be like the last time" "Ah yes that Tico import is a joke. It's okay though, I'll pick you up tomorrow" "Okay good sorry about that heheh, well-" "With one condition" "What is it?" "Tell me what you bought this time" "Eh no problem, I can come clean this time. You ready for this?" "Yea I'm listening" "It's a Merc. Proper, legit Merc" "WOAH BOI! Now that's an import!" "Yeah I know right? It's from UK too so it's right-hand drive, unlike the Tico" "That's the way I like it boi! Now tell me, what kind of Merc?" "Um, it's a diesel" "Hmmm I don't mind diesels, that's how they do it there these days" "And it's big" "An SUV?" "Nah, not really. Remember, they make diesel sedans, minivans, vans and trucks as well" "Oh well at least I know it's going to be a Merc. Anyway gotta back to work man, gonna have a meeting soon" "Okay, see ya tomorrow bossman" "See ya" Well I'm glad Rantaro's still happy about picking up import cars But he hasn't seen what's actually coming though......... I spent the rest of the day learning about diesel chip tuning and programming on my laptop, hoping to make most of the chip tuning for the next day. And in between the learning process, I checked car prices out of the blue, just to satisfy my curiosity and to see how is the used car market here in Japan currently moving. I ended up wanting yet another car though, as later on I gleed on Mark II X110s (no, not X100s) for some hours. The GX110 variants are dirt cheap and has the potential to be tuned into pretty much any kind of builds. But what kind of build I want it to be? I'll talk more about it later. [13 Apr 2019] Time to pick up the Sprinter! Rantaro arrived at my crib around 9am. I packed up some stuff for the Sprinter repair and upgrade operation in my rucksack, which are my toolbox, the brand new chip tuning kit and turbo actuator, a used toothbrush, another bigger brush, and my own laptop. If you're asking why did I brought brushes with me, well it should be rather obvious that I'm going to clean some parts of the engine. Well, those that I can reach and clean with or without the brushes at least, including air filter elements and EGR. As we rolled into the highway to Tokyo, we talked about some stuff.
"Say Rantaro, have you ever been driving this thing on racetracks?" "Um, nah man, it's too fragile and beautiful for that kind of stuff" "Ah, shame really, but I could understand. Too precious to hurt yeah?" "Yeah, and doesn't have that motorsport vibes and credentials yet at that time, unlike your Evo" "Well you're right. Vintage racing is a thing though" "Indeed, but have you ever seen this thing flying aaround racetracks? Bet you never do" "Um, yeah, admittably" 
 "Anyways, I'd say you're richer than me Rantaro"
"Ahahahah, I don't think so" "Dude, I constantly fighting my way off the bankruptcy line! And you didn't!" "Eh really? But you win races recently!" "I'm not really winning, and I'm not racing every week you know. The last event I attended was the only race I can attend this month" "Ah I see, dissappointing indeed. To be fair, I'd like to buy another car to go to racetracks but um, no time to do it" "Which one?" "Both buying the car and going to the track" "Welp, you're a busy man indeed, I know that feel" "One day though, we might be able to have fun together" "Man I wish I could be as rich as Ryuji" "Yeah, he's balling everyday. He's kind as well though"  As we make our way around Tokyo traffic and skimming the tarmacs of the highway, I changed the topic. "Tell me Rantaro, what do you think of X110?" "X100? I thought you know they're famous-" "No, the one after it, the X110" "Ah the X110. Sorry man the engine drowned your voice" "Eh it's okay, that's 2JZ after all" "Ookay so the X110 yeah? I think they're decent as a cruiser, just a bit oddly proportioned on the back" "Hmmmm judging by the pics I could agree with you" "And um, they're a bit bloaty and rather ugly compared with X100 and X90" "Could be, hence a lot are for sale for cheap"  "Anyways are you going to buy one? You said they're cheap. If you're offering me one, no thanks"
"Perhaps, and nah I'm not going to offer you anyway. Kinda wanted one" "For what? I thought you prefer your Evo for cruising" "Drifting. I know I have a HR34 for that but I kinda want to go a bit further, and I don't want to hurt it" "As in crashing it?" "Obviously. I also want to keep the HR34 street legal, so I can have an alternative besides the Evo" "Well I'm not the one to hurt and crash cars to ragged death, but that's a decent idea" "Are you sure? It doesn't really look ready to go sideways" "I think I've seen some of them going sideways on my phone, and they're kinda graceful" "Hmmmmm that's one factor to consider" "Still felt out of place though. But for VIP and cruise mods they're a good template" "No doubt about that. I should think about this more, please lend me you guidance" "Anytime my man, just feel free to ask me"  We finally arrived at the docks some time later. It was a hot day at Tokyo, and somehow the sea breeze didn't really help us to cool down. It feels like being sprayed with salt via a very strong hairdryer. Thankfully Rantaro wore a t-shirt inside his tartan suit and as usual I wore my own t-shirt inside my hoodie (well, I like to wear either hoodie or jacket for most of my activities). And so, we strolled inside the X70 along the dockyard, sweating a bit on our brightly coloured t-shirts. Summer never came this fast in my life I guess.
 We parked at the importer's office and have some more chatter as we waited the Sprinter to get off the cargo ship and unboxed. "Ah, I was going to ask you something Edo-kun" "What is it" "What's inside your bag?" "Eh, nothing to hide about. My laptop, brushes, toolbox-" "Stop. What's the toolbox for? Don't tell me the car is broken" "Well kinda. It's rolling and all, but technically no turbos" "No turbos? Is it broken?" "Partly. Just the actuator. Don't worry, I have a new one here, I'm not that stupid" "Niceeeeee. And what's the other one?" "Chip tuning kit. Y'know what, this is the norm of diesel tuning in Europe" "Awesome stuff! Always heard and see those on the web yet this is the first time I see it here" "I know right?"  Finally, the Sprinter is out of the cargo box. I watched it in full excitement, and surprisingly Rantaro looked positive towards it. 
 "Y'know what Edo-kun? This isn't the Merc I imagined in my head yet it's also a great choice" "Welp sorry for ruining your hopes again hehe" "Nah not really, I like stuff like this too. I used to drive vans too" "Oh really? When?" "Shortly after finishing high school. Job wasn't easy to find my man" "Ah I see, was it fun?" "Good times I should say, I was driving around almost half of Japan with it for a year" "That's amazing!" "Anyway Edo-kun I assume you're going to haul something with it. No way you're going to daily this, let alone racing it" "Obviously. This would be my parts van and tow car" "As parts van it's a good idea, but towing? I never tow something in my life with a van" "Well it could. See that tow hook in the back? That's one way to prove it"  "Ah yes you're right. How much can it pull?"
"This is the factory-issued tow bar, so it can pull 3500 kg" "That's a lot! Uh hang on what are you going to pull anyway?" "Do you remember my S15? The red one?" "Ah yes that one with almost nothing inside" "Yup correct. That thing isn't streetlegal, and perhaps forever won't be streetlegal since I want it to be a racer" "So you'll carry it around with this? Good idea I'd say" "Exactly!" We could have fixed the Sprinter right on the spot, but we don't want our repair and tuning activity to interrupt the import-export business. So, with the papers and everything done and sorted aside from the internals, we rolled off the dockyard but we took a bit longer route to demonstrate how gutless is the Sprinter is at the moment. The result? Welp, very I should say. At least the radio and AUX works.....I pumped up this song and laughed so hard I almost went off to the mucky, oily ocean as I creep along inside the Sprinter. 
 Some time later, we found a shoulder wide enough to fix the Sprinter and quiet enough to make a ruckus out of it. I parked the Sprinter, get my rucksack off, whipped my toolkit and laptop, and set to work.
"Right pass me the the actuators Rantaro, this one's quite busted it turns out" "Okay here it is" "And the brush too, thanks man" "Okay" "You wanna brush your teeth with this?" "What?" "Nah just kidding man, you'll kill yourself if you brush your teeth with this" "Welp, is it that toxic?" "I'd say so. Anyway pass the laptop and the chip kit, I wonder if there's a wifi spot nearby?" "Like hell there would be man"  With the work and tuning done and the stock actuator dumped as well (it's not even worth selling!), it's time to leave the dockyard. But before we went off, Rantaro got an urgent call from his office, telling him to attend a tech meeting at Shinjuku. So we had to abruptly go separate ways earlier than expected. Oh well, at least this Sprinter is RHD so I don't need any overtaking guidance, unlike when I grabbed the Tico
(yes mod is LHD but let's ignore that shall we?) Hitting the highway with the Sprinter, I can feel the turbo working well and feels very alive as it helps on hauling the entire car along. The van feels more responsive as well, thanks to the slight turbo tune I did as well as the lightly altered chip tune inside. Hauling parts and towing the S15 should be an easy job then. The only problem at the moment is it's dimension: It turns out somehow it's much bigger than almost every single JDM vans on the road. I mean look, I almost hit the highway sign with it! It's actually a blessing I didn't bought the tall/extended roof version, since if I hit the sign with the Sprinter, I would (a)cause a traffic jam for all the debris, (b)arrested by the police for damaging a pblic property and causing traffic disorder and (c)have myself embarrasingly appear at prime time TV news reports for previous reasons
  Time passed rather quickly and I arrived at Tsukuba. I wonder what people would think about the Sprinter? Older gen Sprinters was indeed sold in Japan, but only in a few numbers, with most sold as Vitos. As for this gen......I doubt if there are a lot of them. Speaking of which, the Sprinter is so big I probably can camp and sleep in this absolute unit.......but that might be uncomfortable without RV conversion. But eh, wood panellings and a sleeping bag is enough for me, or I could stuff a layer of spring bed inside, stack a pillow and bolster on top, and call it a day. Eh, who knows what I'll do to it when I'm not hauling stuff?
  Finally, I came back to my crib as the sun starts to dip in the west side. This spawns a new problem: I can't park it in either my own crib's garage or the one in front of my crib. The Sprinter's roof is so high it prevents the Sprinter to get inside the garage. This was half-solved by parking it beside my Tico. Just look at that size difference, it's mind-boggling!
 
 I spent the rest of the day thinking how I should spent the weekend as well as continuing my search for cars. As I've written previously, there are no competitive time attacks in Tsukuba Circuit for the rest of this month. But then, I have a brilliant idea.......
[14 Apr 2019] ......and that idea is to attend a drift day! You see, along my life I haven't experienced a single drift day yet. Well Tsukuba Circuit has those as well, but only on a competitive term (D1GP, MSC Challenge etc.) or on a special occassion (e.g. AE86 festival). Regular, non-competitive drift days are rarely held, though it's rather understandable as after all it's a grip circuit. Luckily, there are another circuit near Tsukuba that's quite famous for drifting activities there. No, it's not Ebisu, it's quite far from Tsukuba. The answer is Nikko Circuit at Utsunomiya. From grassroots drifting to pro level sideways action, you can find it all here, and recently they also hosted D1 Lights (formerly D1SL) and Drift Kingdom rounds. Obviously I can't use my Silver Queen for drifting, so this time it's the HR34 that's serving for the action.
After following phone maps for one and half an hour, finally I arrived at Niko for the first time in my life. I feel as excited as the first time I came to Tsukuba Circuit for the first time, and thsi time I also get to jump into the track as well! I can't wait to get sideways as quickly as possible  It was rather crowded today, with tire smokes visible everywhere and tire screeches covered with raucuous engine sounds providing soundtrack for the day. I parked my car on one of the stalls available and have a chatter with some other drivers and officials while watching multiple cars passing by carrying lots of speed, wind force and rubbers towards our face. I openly said this is my first time here and also the first time drifting in a drift day, and their response are quite positive: They're glad they got another enthusiasts here, and in general everyone told me to have fun, be safe and don't push too hard if you worry about crashing.
From the officials I also gathered that actually, grip runs are a thing here! They got their own endurance racing series just like Tsukuba, and it's running much longer, where hey run for 3 hours in a race, whereas Tsukuba's endurance series would only run for 2 hours. But compared to Tsukuba, they only held this three times a year, since after all Nikko's premier activities are drifting and motorcycle racing. Aside form endurance racing they also got regular trackdays and my favourite thing: Time Attacks! And the good thing is, unlike in Tsukuba Circuit, you are allowed to use race-spec semislicks to set your record, and just like I usually did at Tsukuba Circuit you can set time outside Time Attack events. Just tell the officials you're going to set a personal best for some laps, and they'll happily provide you with timer beacons to record your times. Current overall lap record holder here is Ikeda EG6, which is also a Tsukuba regular and has that TA-spefific aero set, recently setting a time of 35.982 seconds (mind you, Nikko is short). Other records are as follows: RWD record is hold by Sakamoto Engineering FD3S, driven by Hiroki Sakamoto with time of 36.743 seconds. AWD record is held by BFM x Marusho CP9A driven by Masato Tatehashi, scoring 37.417 seconds. And finally, Radial tyres record is held by Kotora EG6 driven by Kayuza Kubo, with a blistering time of 37.666 seconds. And finally, the reverse layout record (yes, it does exists) is held by Koichi Kono in his FD3S, scoring 41.468 seconds. You can check all records that has ben made here. Hearing all of this really makes me want to bring my Silver Queen. Oh well, next weekend that would be!  With the banters over, I went back to my HR34 and entered the pitlane to prepare myself getting sideways for the first time here. I don't even know yet how powerful is my HR34 currently, but heck, I can throw that question out of the window at the moment and see it for myself here.
 Lights go green and I entered the track as I would do in Tsukuba......except I proceed to chuck my HR34 sideways as I entered the first corner. Thankfully, as far as I could tell you don't need a lot of power to chain the first and second corner (but you do need it if you want to chain the third corner as well)
 Slowly I started to get the hang of it. Everything seems to connect in a harmonic flow of motions. The HR34 felt a bit gutless thanks to it being an NA car but thankfully it's (massive) body roll still helps me to go through corners. And at that point I realized I need more upgrades than I imagine it would be.
  Thinking I've got it quickly, I brought the HR34 sideways in full confidence..........  ......until I reached the end of the backstraight. Suddenly my brain simply faded and I pulled my handbrakes without any afterthoughts. This was a huge mistake. I tried to fight as I watch colours and thoughts fly out from the windshield.
 Thankfully, the soild earth beneath the gravel trap is slippery enough to make me spin a bit and helped me steer my car back to the track. Thanks to all the touring car rallycross clips, I could steer the HR34 back in a rather sketchy way. I can't even believe it myself, to be honest.
 Lap 2, I entered the first corner again in speed. All went safe and sound so far.......... 
 .......until I tried to chain the third corner. It looks like the brakes can't swing the rear quick enough so I pulled the handbrake in a bit of panic. 
 I almost spin the HR34 when I countered to chain the fourth corner, but I made it. Despite that, I've lost a lot of speed, so I have to go through the corner with less angle to gain some speed. I might need to check my underwears I should say.
 A few moments later I arrived at the backstraight, and this time I tried to chain the corners laid before and after it using the Sanpatsu (triple flick) technique. I've explained about Sanpatsu once, but if you missed it, let me explain again: Sanpatsu is a Manji drift that only consist of triple flicks. The first one is when you hold the exit from first corner, the second one is when you counter the previous drift on the straight line, and the third one is when you counter the straight line drift, combining it with entry for the next corner. If you still don't get it, you can watch it here.
So first I drifted one corner before the backstraight....... 
  ......chaining the exit with one opposite flick on the straights.......  ........and chaining that flick with another one as I enter the next corner. Oh would you look at that body roll! 
  Still in high spirits, I continued the drift to chain the last two corners. I was drowning myself in joy, I didn't expect this would be as fun as my trackdays! Definitely a great break from my grip routines :D
  As I fling my HR34, there you go, I've completed my first sideways lap of Nikko!  
 This feeling reminds me of my very first trackday a long, long time ago. You safely completed a lap, then you want more, then you want even more and more.....I guess driving joy can indeed found and reinvented in different ways, and you'll always free to express it with your cars.
  Of course my run is not without problems. Aside from the earlier near-miss and admittably lack of high-speed drifting experience, I'm still driving on stock seats, so while my back is still comfortable, it can't hold my entire body properly when I go sideways. So as I swing the car around corners, my body was also swinging and moving around like a jelly on a small, clean plate. At least it's not up to the level where I slap my head to the window or stab my sides with the handbrake lever, but I could swear it's uncomfortable.
  Finally, after some time of more sideways throwing actions, I decided I had enough to my body and my tires. But that doesn't hold me back to pull some final slides before going back to the pits. Another thing on the note: Always bring spare tyres. I had one, but I left them in my crib.....
  I went back to the stalls to cooldown my HR34 and myself. As I went to the track's canteen to get some meal, I chilled and have some more banters with locals and other drivers I've talked to before the drift session. We exchanged notes and talked about each other's cars. I also talked about my life in Tsukuba and what I've done so far. Apparently everyone wants to see the Silver Queen at Nikko!
Sadly, so far none of us can't come with a nickname for the HR34 After a long time has passed with banters and laughters, I decided it's time to go back to Tsukuba. I exchanged contact with some locals, drivers and officials before hopping into the HR34, and set off into the sunset. Yep, I've just got myself a turf to play around with my cars
As always, I'm grateful with what happened to me in this world. [15 Apr 2019] Paycheck time! From now on I'll be receiving V$940 a week. Definitely a huge boost for my wallet, so shopping and tuning activities should resume soon
I really need to do mods to my HR34 and S15, and probably the Tico as well. And riase your hands if you want to see the Sprinter receiving mods as well! (Yes, there are myriads of mods for it, but maybe not for the engine)Also, let's talk about some things. The first one is the X110 I brought up earlier. As I've said earlier, I want to get one as a drifter. Yes, I've got the HR34, but the X110 would serve as an actually smashable missile (not that I actually want to smash it up, I just don't want to hurt the HR34 too much) drifter, and it would be also faster and more powerful than the HR34. I would definitely use the X110 for tsuiso/tandem sessions compared to the HR34. The only problem is, well, not only I hoard a lot of cars at the moment, modding it would be a big struggle, not counting all the cars I haven't completely modded yet. Not even the S15 has been finished! So what do you think, should I get one after all? The second thing is a steady job. I'm glad I received more money now, but to make a real progress to my car's modding process, obviously I have to got more and more money. Yes, I could earn them in races, but as I've pointed earlier I can't simply race on every weekend. I would need a steady job to keep on living. I'm thinking on being a teacher, tech support agent or being a QA tester for tech companies. Let me know what you're thinking on this plan. First update after the 250 posts celebration has been done! Let's see how my wallet survives the shenanigans: That's all my updates for now, thank you for stopping by and see you soon!
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