Nissan 370Z Unveiling

A couple night’s ago we helped with the Nissan 370Z unveiling that coincided with the LA Auto Show.  The event was held at the JLounge in Downtown LA - great venue!  Open bar and unlimited supply of appetizers were provided.  My favorite were the sliders and chicken skewers!  On display were Z’s from past years and a video that highlighted the history of the “Z” that was projected on the building wall.

Overall, I like the new “Z” and think that it has great potential in drifting.  It is shorter and lighter with more horsepower stock than the 350Z and we all know how competitive of a car this was in Formula DRIFT.  With Tanner stepping into a Scion tC next season this opens the doors for someone to step into the 370Z to take the Nissan crown.  Perhaps it will be Forsberg or even Millen?

Check out some of the photos.

Invite

JLounge in Downtown LA

I’m digging this blue.

Shorter than the previous 350Z…easier to stay off the wall.

Red Bull Drifting World Championship Results

November 16, 2008

Red Bull Drifting World Championship Results;
Rhys Millen Wins the Title of World Champion at Inaugural Event

Long Beach, Calif. – November 16, 2008 – Rhys Millen won the title of “World Champion” at the inaugural Red Bull Drifting World Championship. History was made with the top drifters from around the world competing for the largest prize purse in drifting history at the Port of Long Beach.

17 past and present drifting champions from the top drifting organizations in the world gathered in Long Beach, CA for the first Red Bull Drifting World Championship. First place qualifier Rhys Millen and his Red Bull Pontiac Solstice outperformed the competition to win the largest single prize of $25,000 in drifting history. Teammate Daijiro Yoshihara and his Bridgestone / RMR Pontiac GTO took home the 2nd place prize of $15,000 and the 2007 and 2008 Formula DRIFT champion, Tanner Foust and the Rockstar / AEM Nissan 350Z took home 3rd place overall and $10,000.

“To come up after one of the most challenging years in Formula DRIFT and finish in the top 3 and then to be the marquee driver at this premiere event and take the Red Bull Drifting Championship outright is a feeling I have never had before,” says Rhys Millen, Formula DRIFT driver and event winner. “To stand on the podium with teammate Daijiro Yoshihara at this event to end the season is fantastic, what more could you ask for?”

Gathering at the Port of Long Beach were the top drivers that compete from Formula DRIFT, D1GP, D1 New Zealand, DMCC, Drift Australia, EDC, FD Singapore, IDS, Nordic Drift, New Zealand Drift, and Pro Drift. This was a battle of the champions and Formula DRIFT 2005 champion Millen came out on top.

“All the teams, fans, sponsors, supporters and especially Red Bull and the City of Long Beach made the Red Bull Drifting World Championship truly historical event,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “We were able to bring the entire drifting world together under one roof and made for one of the best drifting competitions ever.”

The event was held at a special venue on the Port of Long Beach that featured a purpose built drifting track that was highlighted by a very fast entry and 6 technical turns. Event winner Millen set the speed bar high by also claiming the highest entry speed of the event with a speed of 103.7 miles per hour during the finals. The track proved to be challenging with many drivers falling victim to the walls and barricades and other drivers stepping up to show off their total car control.

The level of competition was at an all-time high and created one of the most exciting events in drifting history. The Top 32 drivers battled round by round and the semi-finals pitted (4) Formula DRIFT drivers against each other. Yoshihara got the best of 2-time Formula DRIFT Champion Samuel Hubinette in the Nuformz / Mopar Dodge Viper placing him into the Finals. Current Formula DRIFT champion Tanner Foust battled against Rhys Millen, with Millen coming out on top. The consolation round with Foust and Hubinette was a close fought battle, but Foust’s consistent driving proved to be the deciding factor placing him in 3rd place. The final battle between teammates Millen and Yoshihara was a close fight, but Yoshihara decided his fate with a spin in the last round, giving the inaugural Red Bull Drifting World Championship to Rhys Millen.

Red Bull Drifting World Championship Qualifying Order

Tonight at the “Draw Party” at Smooth’s in downtown Long Beach. The Qualifying Order was released for the TOP 32 drivers. Here are the results:

1. Ken Gushi
2. Mike Whiddet
3. Robbie Nishida
4. Marco Santos
5. Tanner Foust
6. Vaughn Gittin, Jr.
7. Carl Ruiterman
8. Tim Marshall
9. Paul Vlasblom
10. Darren McNamara
11. Michihiro Takatori
12. Leighton Fine
13. Katsuhiro Ueo
14. Luke Fink
15. Ryuji Miki
16. Bill Sherman
17. Tengku Djan
18. Samuel Hubinette
19. James Deane
20. Ben Broke-Smith
21. Kyle Mohan
22. Justin Pawlak
23. Stephan Verdier
24. Frederic Aasbo
25. Conrad Grunewald
26. Rhys Millen
27. Robbie Bolger
28. Daijiro Yoshihara
29. Garry Whiter
30. Remmo Niezen
31. Eric O’Sullivan
32. Chris Forsberg

Red Bull love by DJ Reflex on Power 106!

My boy DJ Reflex hooked this up on the radio today (thanks homey!). Take a listen!

power-106-redbull-aircheck

Interview with UrbanRacer.com

Peep my interview with UrbanRacer from SEMA.

CLICK HERE

For additional laughs…peep this article from MyRide.com (just skip down to Andrea Lowell’s comment)

Red Bull Drifting World Championship Enters Long Beach

The city of Long Beach preps and is ready for the Red Bull Drifting World Championship this weekend.

Upon entering Belmont Shore and 2nd Street you are greeted with this sign.

Outside of Smooth’s Sports Grille

At the “secret location” on the Port of Long Beach

Red Bull Energy Station going up!

Inside the Energy Station

The track…sneak peek…starting line…super high speed entry!

More info on the event HERE

Formula DRIFT x Autofiends.com SEMA 2008 Party

Formula DRIFT teamed up with Autofiends.com to throw one amazing party at TAO during SEMA. Presenting sponsor of the event was Capital Forged wheels.

Mixing it up on the decks were DJ’s Fashen, Tina T, and Steve Aoki! UFC fighter Rampage Jackson made a special appearance as well. Another year and another great party.

Mark vs Rampage

SEMA 2008 - Favorites of the Show

Here are my favorites of the 2008 SEMA show from Las Vegas…

Favorite New Truck - Toyota Tacoma complete with flat green paint and bronze wheels

Favorite Movie Car - Ghostbusters!

Favorite Accessory - Falken Tires Snowboard

Favorite Body Lines - Lamborghini Reventon

Favorite Luxury Car - Bentley Continental in Toyo’s Booth - Nakamura Tetsuei art adorns the exterior and the interior treament is also plush. Not to mention the 8oo bhp!

Favorite Porsche - TechArt 911 Turbo w/ 2-tone paint so nice!

Favorite Hyundai Genesis Coupe - HKS version complete with HKS goodies including turbo and Hipermax suspension and a Ken Style Aero Kit

Favorite Lexus IS-F - built by RJ deVera just super clean

Favorite cross-over vehicle - the Rice Fink JDM meets mini-truck meets drag

and last but not least….everyone’s favorite category

Favorite Models

SEMA 2008 Attack of the Skyline

The car of show this year at SEMA was by far the Nissan Skyline GT-R. It seemed like everywhere you looked there was one modified in some fashion. Here are some of them as I walked the floor.

This was sitting in the hallway lonely

Seibon complete with dry carbon pieces

DUB’d out Skyline…not so much

and the winner is…the Eneos Skyline

SEMA 2008 Scion Tuner Challenge

My original plan was to blog daily from Vegas, but because of really poor internet service I just didn’t have the patience to do so.

Day 1 saw the unveiling of the 3 Scion Tuner Challenge cars. The way it works is this selected “tuners” were requested to submit renderings of the way that they would design a Scion tC (at first it was an xB, but artists received those this year instead). After submitting the rendering the waiting process began. Here’s my story…after a long Formula D weekend in Vegas for Round 4. I received the call that I had been chosen to participate in the competition. I was excited to build another vehicle again as I haven’t really done a full build since my BMW and especially since it wouldn’t really be on my dime. We then all received the tC’s and were given almost 3 months to complete the build to come out like the rendering. Since my rendering really had no basis of comparison as it wasn’t based on a kit that existed, but more on an idea and the amazing artwork of Jon Sibal, it became a challenge for me to build a car that would be worthy of making Jon’s work come to life. With FD, SEMA, Red Bull Drifting World Championship, and this project build keeping me super busy it’s just been a long long last couple months…but well worth it.

On to the project vehicle’s Mark’s DTM inspired tC came out very clean as expected and the brake set-up was super original and just dope. The paint scheme mixed a gloss and matte finish to give depth and texture to the widebody, which was a great touch. The interior was very clean as well with the use of black suede, even wrapping the roll cage, for the GT3 inspired feel. Good seeing Mark as always!

Eddie Hahm’s car was just plain ridiculous with lots of detailing bringing the retro feel to the tC. A lot of ingenuity and originality came forward. The sheet metal work was very clean on the inside and out. My favorite touch of detail was using leather branded straps to hold down the hood. I also enjoyed the fact that he had painted on graphics and followed his theme throughout the build. I didn’t know much about Eddie before this build, but after meeting him and getting to know what he has done in the past I am honored to have been in the same competition as him.

On to my build…being a long time Scion owner (being one of the first xB owner’s in the US and Scionlife.com member #4 and still daily driving it) I felt I had a lot to prove. After my past BMW project I had a lot of expectations for myself. I have consulted on a number of builds in between, but really never had the chance to fully do a complete car the way I wanted to. I owe a lot to Jon Sibal and his rendering that I had to make come into fruition. Our first rendering that we submitted was an xB that I had completely figured out and had set my sights to build, but after having to submit a tC rendering I felt bad going back and forth and wasting hours of Jon’s time. So I gave him a brief outline of what I was looking for and told him to do his thing…the outcome of his rendering was just amazing, but at the same time scared the hell out of me as this was based on a few ideas and not an actual kit that existed. I knew my bodyshop was completely capable of handling a build like this, but due to budget issues and also time constraints made this very challenging.

For me the exterior of the car is the most important thing to focus on (sorry to all the engine guys and high horse-power lovers out there), but I am not a racer and when asked about “speed” I have always lived by the quote from the movie “Be Cool,” from John Travolta’s character and that is, “If you’re important people will wait.” The paint color was important and I’ve done the candy thing before and the flat paint fad is dying for me…so I went with a classic color from Porsche and chose Mexico Blue. This is a special order color from Porsche, but I originally saw it on the 911. BASF helped secure this rare color from Glasurite for me and I was stoked to get it. Just pure color with no metallic or candy or pearl, just a quality eye catching color.

The next step was picking the right wheels for the project. So I of course went with Jline’s as they are built to order, are full customizable, and because Stan is good friend of mine and when given a chance to represent a friend’s quality product will do so, even if it costs a little more ;). The end product was a 20 x 9.5 and 20 x 11 Jline 11RL3 3-piece wheels in a charcoal finish w/ semi-gloss black lips and I even went as far as to have the center caps matched and the Jline logo engraved. The Mackin Neo Chro lugs gave it a nice little touch once added to the car along with the silver Brembo’s behind it.

The widebody was completely built by hand using a mixture of carbon fiber panels and fenders, bondo, and fiberglass. Not easy work especially since I was constantly hounding the shop to finish the car fast to make the short deadline. A huge thank you to Long, Henry, and Martin from DTM Autobody for their great work and putting up with all my demands.

A host of carbon fiber products were used from the APR side mirrors and wing, Seibon hood and trunk, Racing Solution engine cover, custom side skirt pieces, and even the battery from Braille.

One modification that I would like to highlight would be the Agency Power exhaust. The custom center mounted exhaust was challenging, but came out great! The titanium tip just adds that extra nice detail.

The interior of the build was very simple and clean. I had the headliner wrapped in black suede as well as some additional parts. I used Recaro Sporter CS seats, one of my favorite seats out there. The combination reclinable shell seat is super comfy and I would love to have these in my car and possibly my office. Recaro just unveiled this seat as an office chair and I may have to pass on the Herman Miller for this! I went with a Personal steering wheel and Works Bell hub and quick release along with an ARC titanium shift knob. The electronic guages are from Greddy including Turbo Timer, Boost Control, and Temp guages. Sparco harnesses and pedals were chosen as they are silver and fit the theme nicely along with the silver powder coated roll cage.

I wanted to align myself with high-end companies and didn’t want to skimp when it came to quality. So I was lucky enough to work with both Alpine and Rockford Fosgate (thanks Jarod for the intro) on the audio system. Creative Car Audio and Motorsports has been my shop now for years and Ryan and the team there are like family. They were able to put together this complete system amongst other things in a very short time period and I think it came out great. The latest Alpine Navigation touch-screen headunit and monitors are assisted by (4) 12″ Fosgate subs and powered with (2) Fosgate amps that sit nicely in black and grey suede to stick with the overall theme. I also put together a DVD that showcased the build-up of the car up until the show.

This competition was very unique in that all 3 cars were different in there own way. Mark’s was supercharged, Eddie went with all motor, and I did a turbo kit set-up. The Greddy turbo sits in the engine bay alongside a Koyo radiator and Gallery engine pieces (thanks Jerry). One part that isn’t visible is the Exedy clutch.

KW Variant 2 coilovers make the car sit nice and low!

As you could tell I went over the original budget and came out of pocket for the build. It was a huge gamble to do this, not knowing if I would win the contest or not, but doing so for the love of building cars. I really hate half-assing anything and really value myself on doing good work. Yes, I could have saved a lot of money and went with FREE no name parts or companies, but I honestly believe that I used the best brands out there.  Helping lace me down with gear for SEMA was Alphanumeric (Thanks to Mirko and Danny) and also Meguiar’s for all the car care.  Of course there would be some things that I would change or revise a bit, but overall I am satisfied with how it came out with such little time. Taking home 1st place is a huge honor, especially considering the talent level of the other 2 designers. This win means the most out of all the other wins in car shows for me and I am stoked to receive the trophy, Sparco / Scion goodies, and of course the large check!

Being part of the Scion Tuner Challenge this year alongside great designers with Eddie and Mark has been quite the experience. Both these guys do amazing work and obviously you can tell by how their cars came out. It’s awesome to see the vision and different perspectives that even car builders can have on design. So I am truly honored to be a part of this competition and even more happy that I came out on top, even without any formal design training. I think that my experience competing in car shows in the past really helped as I knew what the judging criteria was and what judges specifically look for when judging a car. Again I could not have done this without the support of my friends (Stan, Jon Sibal, Ryan Uchida, Fred, Kelvin, Vic (iD), Danielle, Jay, Bryan, Jarod, Jose, DC, Em, Jordan (iD), RJ, Jerry and everyone else) and of course the gracious companies that supported me on this build.

The car will now be featured in Modified Magazine and also at the LA Auto show! Hopefully I get to build another car soon…I think I caught the mod bug again.