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.

The one that got away

Finally got the shot that gave heart attacks to so many.

It was the best 8 tsuiso at Star Drift round 2 against my own team mate and thus trying to smoke it up for the run. End up had to much angle and was going to spin. Thus
decided to take the escape route to avoid getting hit.

Gave a few heart attacks to the photographers. All was good and in control as I had already pre determoined their position and saw two of them, Fishee and Josh and then Mizu....and avoided them as well as MrN.But they did not know that. Trusting boys and they are not clipping point..I know...:)


Man I love the angle though, would have been good smoking run if I did not angle it too much....oh well on to the next round to try again.

Picture by Fishee..many thanks

Qualifying video from Star Drift Challenge Round 2

Managed to get a video of Dunlop32's qualifying run during Star Drift Challenge Round 2. This is the 1st run and I managed to score 90 points for it. This was the cleaner run although 2nd run was much closer to the outer clip and I scored 91 points for it.

Take note on how early I need to get on the throttle to get the car to the outer line after the inner clipping point.

Time for more power!

Star Drift Challenge Round 2

Star Drift Challenge is getting more challenging each and every time. Drifters are not only going faster, but are also initiating their drifts earlier and at a greater angle.

After working on the Dunlop 32 for 4 days and shaved off almost 40kgs, I'm eager to try how it will perform this round. Reached A'Famosa on Friday to assist Ngan on setting up on the venue. Woke up early on Saturday morning only to realised that the cars were already there but the trailer operator was away.



Nevertheless, I went out for practice and warm-up straight after unloading. Unfortunately, my turbocharger decided to end its lifespan just after 3 laps of warm-up run. I guess stock RB20 ceramic turbine does have its disadvantages despite being one of the cheapest turbo you can get off a scrapyard.



Having not much choices, I'll have to drive back to KL to pick up a replacement from DriftHouse (Joe Han's shop). After about 4 hours of downtime, the car came back to life again. Thanks to Joe Han for assisting me with the mechanical work. Can't imagine if I have to do everything by myself.

Went out for some practice after that just to make sure everything is running fine and also to get my lines correct for the competition of the following day. Also sat in Sean's car to give him some tips and fine tuning his lines.

Initial feel after lightening is that the car feels much responsive under throttle. Cornering speed also improved and I can throw the tail at a greater angle now. Straight line speed is still slow though... but then again, the engine is stock standard apart from the cooling upgrades.



Competition started at 1pm on Sunday.

Judging in qualifying is emphasized on lines, angle and throttle application.

The best run I did was 91 points with an entry speed of 94km/h. That puts me in 3rd qualifying position, behind Tengku Djan of Bridgestone with 99 points and Kim Wan of Toyo with 92 points. Sean qualified in 6th position with 89 points and 99km/h entry speed. This also means that I might face Sean in the best 8 battle if both of us made it pass best 16.



Tsuiso time.

First I was up against Vincent Goh from Team Soon Yeen. His usual ride has broke down so he was drifting with a spare car, a fairly stock JZX90 Mark 2. I kept my composure and went through best 16 smoothly. Sean, on the other hand, went up against Hanizam Hamzah of Feinto D. On their first run, Hanizam dived into the inside line and understeered, giving Sean a slight advantage on the next run. He too progressed without much difficulties.

Bingo! I'm going against my team mate in best 8.



First run, I was the leading car, so I just maintained my lines and drifted through the course. I was given 7 over 3. I guess Sean must have understeered at the back. Second run, despite having advantage, I decided to go full. Sean went off course on the 2nd clipping point, and I progressed to semi finals.

Next up was Koh Kok Hoor with his NOS-ed AE86. As I was the higher qualifier I'll have to start in front. Damn the car's fast. He was up my tail from start to finish and although both of us drifted through without mistake, that gives me a 4 over 6 disadvantage. Second run, that's it. If I don't push 120%, I'll fall back to 4th placing as Tengku Djan got eliminated in semi finals which will put him in 3rd placing for sure. I guess I've pushed it too far this time and my gear is stuck in 1st on the straight. Before I could get out of 1st into 2nd, Koh is already 10 cars length ahead of me.

I soon learned that Koh's car is running a silvertop 4AGE with 100-shot NOS, which probably has more power than my bone stock RB20, putting aside the weight differences.



After Round 2, I'm now 4th place in the championship standings, with Koh on 3rd, Djan on 2nd and Tan Tat Wei on 1st.

Next round of Star Drift Challenge will be held in KSN Bukit Jalil. In the mean time, I guess it's more weight saving and fine tuning of the handling for the Dunlop 32.

Star Drift Round 2 - Hard Work

Well the event came and gone and it felt like a few more days would have been fun. It was a tiring event as I was driving so much and fun with playing with the lines and playing with the in cab Kung fu doing everything in one go with much excitement going on as oppose to the norm.

Sat was pretty hot day. It was smoky though and fun to drift as well as the speeds were fast and once again, there is a fast transition was included. Although the Sat was not as packed as tyres were worn pretty fast with the speed and hot day combine thus conserving tyres to ensure we end up with enough to run the competition on Sunday was going to be important if it turned out just as hot.



Yoong, unfortunately have a blown turbo after going out for about 3 laps. Luckily a new turbo was available at Drift House AKA Joe Han AKA Donut Dweeb. Thus Yoong did the deed of driving back to KL to get it and returned to Melaka. He and Joe Han were hard at work replacing the turbo in a couple of hard labour in the scorching heat. Lucky we hard the canopy as well.

I, on the other hand was really enjoying the track layout. The car perform well without any hick up even with the oil temp hitting 120 degrees most of the time. Time to think of what engine oil that can hold up to sustain high temp and not self destruct the engine after prolong use. Maybe need to plan for oil changes next time to just make sure the engine is always fresh.

Sunday, was eventful, Wanting to just make sure I get into Top16 qualifying. No longer can play around and do my normal show driving as I know I am going to get shot if I do it again. First run was ok as I felt like I was not fast enough as it felt like I almost lost the tail but it did not. So it was good. Second run was good and clean thus give it all it got for third run which was up to the clipping point. Did not managed to hit it though. but din plan to do it as I did wan to wash off too much speed just to hit the clipping point. Keep it clean and get into Top 16 was my plan. turn out well as I qualified 6th placing

Yoong, did even better, he qualified in 3rd position. Although, he is in a standard car with a standard Rb20, which no one seems believes. Guess he can push it to the max and get it to go well and the ability of the Dunlop Direzza Dz 101 to grip and smoke it up, really give a great chance to perform well.



This time round we were practising with 245/45/17 and ran 255/45/17 for the competition. Great opportunity for us to test different sizes and what it will do and also run different tyre pressures to test grip levels and drift angle we can hold. Found out even if we run till the tyres were almost slicks, we were still able to get good grip to run till the tyres were on nylon before we had to change. Did not feel it over heated either which was great too to run more laps. If only the oil could cold down faster or not heat up as much. do wonder what engine oil to try to get the job done.

It did seemed an interesting Tandem battle. Seems the tyre brand were almost competition each other. Even Team Dunlop drivers, Yoong and myself had to meet each other in Top 8 if we win our TOP 16 battles which we did.



Since Yoong was 3rd qualifier it was only natural he needed the win to ensure he stay in the top running for the championship as well as trying to secure a podium finish. I tried experimenting with following as close as possible but ended up straighting up as I got too close and did not want to come near hitting my own team mate's car. Second run decided to make as much smoke since I would have not won the first run obviously. But ended got on the throttle to early due to my enthusiasm. Had a glance and saw Yoong pretty close so I decided to just head straight thru the tyres to give him more room. Gave him a shocked though. And not to mention the three photographers too who were wondering where I am going. Saw the facing expression of total surprise which were priceless. And no, I was not close to hitting them just enough to scare them. Sorry guys had to tell the story. Still can't help to see your faces.

After a long and fast 2 day my manifold gave up and is now leaking like a snake hissing on full throttle. Need to get it repaired soon. At least it hold up for the great two days. And both cars needs new number plates again.

Yoong progress to Top 4 but lost his battle. I think his 1st gear stuck in place and was stuck for a few second before he could engaged into 2nd gear.

Due to Djan losing his battle he was relegated to 3rd position, which now puts Yoong in 4th placing. I was like damn all the planning gone to waste. Oh well that how it goes with motor sports I guess , the smallest mistake changes a lot.

Yoong now is 4th place in the championship which he is still in the running for top placing still.

The nest round is planned to be in Bukit Jalil now to coincide with Merdeka celebrations.

The Date is set on 28-31 August. Yes you are reading it right. Star Drift is going to be four days long this time. First ever. Time to prepare early to get the car ready again.

Hope to see everybody there again and watch the action. Crossing my finger the bump can be avoided this time round. I really hate those bump and jumps. And does not help to know Yoong's corner is always there with open arms.

Photos to come of course by Yoong soon.

Photo's taken by Schoolgirl/Siew Kin aka MrN wife as usual. Our official photographer and videographer.

Star Drift Challenge Round 2

Once again, the most exciting drift event coming for its 2nd installment of year 2008.

Although there were no upgrades on the Dunlop drift machines since the previous round, I've however did some lightening work on the Dunlop 32. I shall see how weight reduction will affect the handling of the car before deciding to increase the power output or further stiffen up the chassis.

Thrill rides tickets will be available at the ticketing counter if you wish to have a ride in the Dunlop drift machines. :)

Don't miss this event as this is where you'll see the best of the best in Malaysia go against each other.

For more info, go to www.drift.com.my/stardrift

Star Drift Challenge Round 1

Star Drift Challenge remains the best competition in the country, featuring a high speed and technical course with the best drifters around participating, testing the cars' performance and drivers' skill to the limit.

The tyres that were selected for this round are Direzza DZ101 225/45/17 front and 255/40/17 rear. It's the first time we're running 255 rears so we're still testing out various pressure to see how the tyres perform, especially on the tricky 'bank' on the A'Famosa course. A slight drizzle came down on Saturday practise so we're managed to try it out on the wet surface as well.


Due to the high speed drift course, the tyres didn't last very long. On the R32, it can do about 15 laps before the tyres ran out of grip. The 255s are even more smoky and grip is superb (although I think I could use more grip...), I can nail the throttle on full even during transition.

I made some mistake during the qualifying round but was manage to secure a 9th position out of 39 drifters in the Ace group to qualify for best 16. Managed to get to best 8 but lost to Tat Wei in his TE71. Final position for the day is 6th.

Looks like it's time to lighten the car.

Star Drift Challenge Road Show @ Prima Saujana

Star Drift Challenge Road Show was held in conjunction with Carnival Prima Saujana 2008 and KW Autoshow in Dataran Prima Saujana Kajang. After 2 weeks of preparing the car, we're finally be able to make our first appearance as planned, showcasing both the S13 and the R32. The Dunlop 'chequered' decals are courtesy of Tom's Stickers.

We were given 225/45/17 Direzza DZ101 for testing. First impression is that the tyres are very smoky! We're also trying different tyre pressure to see how the grip and wear is. Despite running very high tyre pressure for the ultimate smoking effect, the tyres don't chunk, which is very impressive.