This past weekend I got another reminder that the "real" side of the tuning scene is alive and well here in Japan. It was the same kind of satisfaction I felt back in April after covering the Exciting Car Showdown in Nagoya, where I got to check out some of the most extremely modified cars I had seen in years. This time it all happened closer to home at the Tokyo Ryutsu Center; a stones throw away from Haneda Airport in the bay of Tokyo. It was all about power, and lots of it, topped off with a healthy dose of unique engine swaps and tons of performance parts. I am of course talking of Tuning Powers, a gathering that couldn't be more different from glitzy shows like TAS and SEMA. I felt right at home seeing extreme machines like the R32 Skyline drag car in the opening picture. Let's take a closer look at what was on display...
Fighter Engineering came up from Shizuoka with their wild Suzuki Cappuccino...
...sporting a fully rebuilt K6A engine stroked to 720 cc and pushing out 210 PS. Now that may not sound like much, but when you take into account that it weighs in at 690 kg, it all begins to make more sense.
Check out the center exit exhaust!
I liked the look of the Auto Service Avante Z33, sporting an Asuka Design Type 1 bodykit imported from the US. Mechanically the car has been fitted with a Nismo Copper Mix clutch and Cusco RS LSD, while the Tomei ECU liberates a few additional horses from the VQ35DE.
This is what I'm talking about! A super-clean body with subtle bolt-on overfenders and Work Meister S1s! This S13 Silvia Q's has been built by Hi-Tech to be raced, not drifted...
...something the throttled SR20DE hints at. Thanks to a Tomei bottom end the 2,188 cc motor develops 230PS, and with only 1050 kg on tow it should make for a very nice drive!
Here is one car I know very well, the full Bomex GT300 kitted AE101 Levin built by Isaka-san of Car Boy Magazine. He wanted to create one of the fastest FF cars in the country and this is what he came up with! Powering it is a 400 PS 3S-GTE boosted by an IHI RX6R turbine.
A lot of work went into the smallest of details like the rear diffuser built around the custom center exit exhaust, which ends with a pair of Trust titanium silencers. And in case you are wondering that is a number plate back there, because this Levin is still street legal!
To transfer the rear aerodynamic load directly onto the chassis a little aluminum structure was built, on which the spoiler is fitted.
Isaka-san's car is fitted with a one-off Bomex wide body-kit built to Super GT GT300 regulations. The choice of wheels couldn't have been better with a set of bronze CE28N from the Volk Racing lineup. This Levin manages to lap Tsukuba in 1-minute and 2-seconds, a time Isaka-san and the Car Boy guys are working hard to better.
Takero's has always liked to tune the weirdest of cars like this pair of Honda Odysseys. The white street-spec develops 400 PS thanks to an HKS GT-RS turbine while the purple track-spec one runs a slightly bigger GT-3037S, good enough for 450PS. How is that for something different?
With such a beaten up body and a D1 Street Legal sticker on its sides, this Daihatsu Mira could only by a drift car, but how? Simple, take an AWD Mira, get rid of the front dive shafts and you got yourself a Kei-car drift machine! 120 PS aren't much but there are only 600 kg to haul around.
I think the driver may need some more practice though, judging from the state of the front end!
When Nakatani-san from Garage LFW wanted to create something special to use as a canvas for his graphics and sticker business, this is what he came up with, an S14.5 powered by a 500 PS RB25DET!
This Silvia sits on RYO drift-tuned dampers and adjustable suspension arms. I think I will have to meet up with Nakatani-san soon and get some proper shots of this very special S14!
Tuning Powers is the place to see engine swaps and one-off creations like this cabriolet FC3S RX-7. Built by Eunos Roadster specialist shop, Racing Sports Active, this FC looked especially sleek thanks to the raked back windscreen. I've never seen anything like this done to an FC, it kind of reminded me of those wedge-shaped 70s concepts Berone and Pininfarina used to churn out.
I appreciate every generation of Skyline so I was very interested in the 4-door HR31 above after spotting it from the other side of the show hall.
Upon closer investigation I discovered it was powered by an RB26, but not a regular one, a throttled NA version! The last time I saw an NA RB26 was in an R32 GT-R demo car Nagata-san at Top Secret was working on 3-4 years ago (a car that I think he never finished).
This took the sleeper award of the 2009 Tuning Powers show! Wile it all looked stock outside...
...things got a little more interesting under the hood! Turns out this MarkII pulls 9.9 sec passes thanks to the highly tuned 2JZ and T78-33D turbo. One thing that made me laugh was the "Koreisha" mark on the windscreen, letting other drivers out on the roads know that an aged driver is at the wheel!
The R32 Skyline Type-M drag racer in the opening picture is built by Escort and participates in the JCCA Pro Open drag racing series in Japan. In its previous configuration Escort managed an 8.5 sec pass with this car and they are now looking to go even quicker with this latest build. It certainly looks like it means business!
I seem to bump into the Rauh Welt Porsches at a lot of events this year, and I can never pass up the opportunity to take a few shots, as they are by far the most photogenic cars in Japan. Stunning as always!
Spotted this FC in the far corner of the exhibition hall, sitting low and wide with its custom body conversion.
No RB26 conversion for this Nissan! I couldn't believe at how far GT Car Produce had gone with their little drift-spec Nissan Clipper, even giving it the rather comical name "K-Tra Boy 71!" The little Mitsubishi-built 3G83 3-cylinder engine has been bored to 657 cc and tuned with more boost, while at the rear the Cusco RS 1.5 way LSD helps things along when drifting!
And would any event in Japan be without an appearance from a familiar face. Drift Samurai started to give a lecture on engine tuning towards the end of the day, but I was more interested in the Yokomo RC Drift car display to pay much attention. Gomen Mr. Samurai! There is plenty more coverage to come from Tuning Powers so keep an eye out for the next installment!
Dino Dalle Carbonare