DCM Drift for Charity event

Drift.com.my will be holding a drift event to raise funds for Rumah Amal Limpahan Kasih Puchong this weekend (29-30th November). There will be thrill rides available. Grab a ride in the Dunlop 32/13 or the Red Twins while making a donation to charity. Ask your friends and friends' friends to support!

Get more info at www.drift.com.my

KKS-AAM Autocross 2nd November 2008

It has been 2 years since I last competed in an autocross event. I love autocrosses and had been doing it a lot during drivers training program with Sean but we’re never serious into competing.

Recently, there have been quite a number of autocross events going on. The KKS-AAM Autocross is one of them. Seeing that the Dunlop 32 and Dunlop 13 were under maintenance after Star Drift Challenge Round 3, we decided to give it a go with the red twins.

This event took place at the Shah Alam Stadium carpark. There are a total of 3 layouts to be completed throughout the day. Each driver was given one practice run and two timed runs in each of the layout. The best run out of the two for all 3 layouts will be added together to determine the placing. The key to winning here is consistency.

We were put together with the Toyota MRSs in sports car class. The MRSs were very nimble and quick with superb turn-in and throttle response to maneuver through the tight turns and slaloms. So it seems that the only advantage that we had over them is power, which comes at a cost of turbo lag and uncontrollable wheel spin when the torque kicks in.

The Hiper DCM Silvia is setup as an all-rounder, so only minor adjustments such as dampers setting and tyre pressures were altered. To compensate for the natural poor turn-in of a drift setup which is caused by the 2-way LSD, I’ve opt for bigger 245/40/17 tyres on the fronts. With the bigger contact patch, steering feedback and mid-corner grip were much better, especially on the sandy surface of the Shah Alam Stadium carpark. Although the turn-in sluggishness was still present, the car feels more neutral.

After completing 2 layouts, I realized that I’m in a close tie with Dennis Loo, a seasoned autocrosser in his MRS. I decided to give it a fight on the 3rd layout and clocked a 59-second run. That run bumped my overall position to 1st, winning Dennis by a small fraction of 0.1 second. Sean popped an intercooler hose during his 2nd layout run and realized that his times were quite far away, so he were practically smoking up the course. Sean came out 4th place in sports car class but was put to 3rd place in graded driver class due to him being an AAM license holder.

Star Drift Challenge 2008 Round 3

Star Drift Round 3 had a different course layout this time. Instead of the conventional high speed left hander, the first turn was changed to a quick left to a long right hander, which means a quick switch of direction on 3rd gear. Smaller cars will have a good advantage on this setup.




Dunlop32 had a small collision during Sunday practise with Heng driving a AE70. The collision had caused the passenger side front panel damage and the panel have to be removed for the car to run on.

Had a not so good run during qualifying session and only managed to qualify in 12th position. Was paired up with Chong Kin Lok in his AE70 during Best 16. Had a huge lead over him in the first run. During the second run, I was pulling away from him on the straights. While in the switching, the tail caught a little bit too much angle and has caused the knuckle to go into 'reverse lock' position. It couldn't steer anymore and the car went off course. Chong took the win.

I then realised that the collision had caused the lower arm stopper to bend and which in turns caused the 'reverse lock'.

Only managed to collect 5 championship points this round. While I still retain 4th place in the championship, 1st and 2nd place are already in the winning lead and the rest are catching up. Looks like more hardwork will be needed during the final round.