Hey gang, it has been awhile since I was behind the wheel of a drift car on the reg, and I am really starting to miss it. If you aren’t aware of what a missile car is, then let me give you a quick rundown, its a phenomenon born out of Japan (i think), and I was treated to how radical they are when I visited DA Ace Lindsay Ross last year in Tokyo, and happened upon the Spring Drift Matsuri at Ebisu. Robbie Nishida was nice enough to drag us around and while there were some super nice cars, and even some that I had recognized, the most popular thing to do was to get a decent runner, with a lil HP and just drive it into the ground.

Alot of US service guys said they would chip in with a few pals, buy a decent S13 for about 2-3k (cars are cheaper over there) and just destroy it over the course of the Matsuri weekend. Here’s a quick video of me in a missle that some awesome US servicemen I met let me rock for half the day! Thing was falling apart, stock turbo and had been crashed more than a few times, and was still SUPER fun…

Anyway, it seems that Forsberg had a similar experience this summer at Ebisu, and decided it was missile time, Chris bought up our old DA lemons car and turned that thing into a missile and fast. Here’s a little read on it…. http://www.ziptied.com/forums/index.php?topic=31615.0

So it was decided, i need a missile car that had the following- 200-300 RELIABLE whp (obviously 250+ would be better) Bucket seats and a cage Decent susp and diff full build under $5k My first idea, and I think that this would have been AWESOME, I wanted to build a Lexus SC400, I found them on craigslist for under 2k bucks and that v8 is 250hp reliable all day. The 5spd swap would have been the biggest expense, but I think that it would be a really fun car, and I’ve never owned a V8 NA drift car, and for 5k I think it would have been sweet. I did think that about 210whp in a pretty heavy car would be the only thing that would eventually limit the fun….. BUT! Who am I kidding, I need a rotary powered Mazda, right? Yeah, I thought so too, and when I saw this thing for sale on Ziptied (no, I can’t get you a membership), I had instant flashbacks to the good old days at Etown, and some of my old FC’s and for this price, I just couldn’t pass it up!

This thing already makes 310whp, has a ported motor, t04, and an older (but totally effective) Haltech setup…

Plans are to:

• flip these wheels for something lighter, and cheaper (so I can have more, and 18in rears that fit some tires Maxxis flowed me)
• Either add door bars to this cage, or do a really basic 6pt so I can be legal for tandem
• Throw a real diff into it
• paint and throw on the BN front bumper
• DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE!!!!

So excited to get this thing, it’s in Florida, so getting it up here to NJ will be kind of a hassle, but I’ll figure that out this week, and if I just wind up driving it home (yes, its street registered, and I’m going to keep it that way), I will be sure to document it all on here…….

Here’s more pics, enjoy!!!

As you may have already seen, I’m teaming up with my man Ryan Tuerck to put on a drifting clinic tomorrow. It’s for advanced drivers looking for competition instruction, and increased tandem abilities. We have been talking about this for awhile, and we put this together a bit last minute, but we were able to fill up the roster really quickly, and it’s going to be a blast. We have all new tandem and drifting exercises, and lots of secrets to pass on to these guys. Also NJ pizza for lunch!!!! Pics and a short video to come, don’t be too jealous!

Hey guys,
We are putting on a one full day Advanced Drifting clinic. It will cover advanced drifting techniques, one hour of class time/car setup in the morning and 7hrs of driving with one on one coaching by Ryan Tuerck and myself. We will be on track at Etown Raceway Park all day, focusing on tandem, and trying to get as much info to you guys in one sitting as we can. 14 driver cap, sign up now!!!

Must have-
Tires for the day (we will have the Gardella Mobil 1 rig there for changing tires and classroom/lounge)
Racing suit and helmet
Roll cage with Door bars.
2 seats with proper harnesses

We will provide-
Expert coaching
Classroom and car setup instruction
One on One, in car attention
Tire Changing
Lunch!!!

TO SIGN UP-Paypal clubloose@gmail.com, first come, first serve for sign up, so don’t delay!

In my travels to Asia in the last 2 years, I found one of the best drivers I have seen in a long time, and a hell of a good guy. After lots of hanging out and seeing him drive, I get to tell you that we have added Tengku Djan to the DA brotherhood. He’s a sick ripper and a great dude, here’s the official copy….

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Drift Alliance team is excited to announce the addition of a new driver to our Drift Alliances aces team, Tengku Djan Ley. Tengku Djan is a drifting powerhouse, and his long list of achievements is staggering. Djan is the 2009 FD Asia Champion, 2006 D1DP Malaysia Champion, 2010 FD Round 1 Singapore Champion, 2010 FX Open Malaysia Round 1 Champion. Tengku is a drifting icon in Asia, and is revered in his home country of Malaysia. In the words of Drift Alliance President Tony Angelo “I’m extremely excited to have Djan on the DA team. He is truly a world-class driver, and he stands head and shoulders above his Asian contemporaries. To develop one’s skill to such a high level is extremely difficult and to do it while being isolated from other top competitors is astounding.” Djan plans to make the move into US drift scene in the coming months and he will be sure to have a large impact.

The Drift Alliance team is made up of the best and brightest stars in the drift world today, with more FD and D1 wins than any other American team. Drift Alliance drivers are renowned the world over and represent the true spirit of American Drifting.

OK,
Here’s what’s new!

-Moved back to the Northeast, where I belong, and where it is mega awesome. I can’t wait to get back to driving at Etown and other NE tracks, have fun, make videos, and do burnouts.

-East Coast Bash is THIS WEEKEND!?!? YES, the biggest excuse to throw a party on a track with your friends, and occasionally some people will drive, a lil.

-Josh Herron and Will just released what is probably the best looking drift video I have ever seen this week. It’s the Forsberg recap of ATL FD. It is incredible, watch it, then watch it a few more times. I hope that I can get those two to come out for a day of fun with my Rx-8 with some similar results.

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Chris Forsberg – Formula Drift Atlanta 2010 from Joshua Herron on Vimeo.

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Ran into Dai, same flight, we will be kicking it 30k feet up, if you need us. Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Long Beach FD, packed house, doin the wave Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

VID 00015.3GP

I do, kinda. I’m getting it ready to ship to the Northeast, and ill be heading that way right behind it. You will be seeing lots of this hot rod in action, and soon, I promise. Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Media day LBFD, this hot mess of a car showed up. Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

So I have been really busy in the last year. I have been doing a ton of drift coaching/teaching. I have found that all of my years of drifting experience and judging, as well as having to teach myself, has left me very well-equipped for drift coaching. I’ve spent alot of time coming up with a drifting curriculum for all different skill levels. I have found that lots of drivers are able to make really large improvements in a small amount of time with the right coaching and car setup tips. It’s totally rewarding to see that kind of change manifest itself in a few short days.I have been working with one driver in Asia, an Indonesian driver named Rhenadi Arington, his team manager approached me after the FD Singapore event last year, and wanted to know if I could get involved with his team and his driver. I was happy to take the job. I have been over to coach Rhe 3 or 4 times in the last year, and he has made such a marked improvement. I have been all over Malaysia and Indonesia coaching him and helping his team understand car setup. It has been quite an experience, and his last performance at FD Malaysia, where he was able to qualify for top 32, then defeat the number 3 qualifier in tandem was very impressive. Enough talking, I know you want to see pics.Early morning looking outside my Malay hotel room.Taking a break from testing, it was like 98 degrees in November. That’s Rhenadi on the right, looking deadly serious.Posin in front of the old S13, this thing got destroyed at FD Thailand.The new car, and the whole team after a successful finish in FD Malaysia!