SILVIA: XR4, Double Projectors, OEM PLUS

After purchasing the Longchamps, they were in a fairly bad condition. Rusted nuts and bolts beyond repair, anodise was faded, paint flaking and there were a few rashes on the lips.

I had taken off what I could with a spanner and socket without having to get the drill bit out.

I did a test spray on one of the centre caps in matt black, but didn't like the outcome of it, so it will be stripped and repainted.

Above photos are the original listing images.

I had finally acquired the last piece to the aero puzzle, original OEM plastic with added extras. The front lip was looking a little worse for wear, although it wasn't too far gone and all fixable. I was just glad I found one, being local was a plus too.

I was never really a fan of the triple projectors on the S13. Unfortunately that is what the Silva came with when I purchased it. My goal was to steer away from what was "in" at the time, and that was bricks. They were fetching for what I believed then was a high price, so my only other option was the double projectors. Aytac the legend found a pair listed for sale, but they were in Melbourne. They were fairly cheap, so I went and purchased it. He had brought them back for me from Melbourne as he was in the state at the time, which saved me from having to pay for shipping. A true blue Aussie legend!

The low beam bulbs on the double projectors are different to the triple. The triple projectors' low beams are a H1 bulb, whereas the double projectors' low beams are a H3C bulb, the same as the fog lights. High beams still remain the same, a H3 bulb.

The front lip was just a test fit, and what else is there to say? OEM quality. Double projecters were also installed. 

It was quite easy to change over the headlights, very straight forward. You need to take the grille off and if you're lucky enough, there are still the OEM clips for them. It's a bit confusing if it's your first time doing it, but after a while you get used to it. After that's done, the parkers/indicators need to come off, just a simple removal of the screw holding it onto the headlight. Next, there are two nuts holding the headlight to the front guards, 10mm if I recall and another two bolts mating the headlights to the headlight support brackets, they are also 10mm. After the nuts and bolts are removed, you can go ahead and remove the headlights. The wiring plugs are a direct fit into the double projectors.

If you have a closer look, you can see where the front lip has been drilled into for some cable ties, for that drift missile spec look *vomits*; some of them did serve it's purpose though. There were one or two cracks in the lip.

With the double projectors and front lip on, I was getting closer to achieving my aesthetic goal for the Silvia. Finding the last piece of aero was a very joyful moment. They are hard to source and don't come up often on YAJ, the aero bars are much easier to find than these. Either these weren't so massly produced as the aero bar or the people that had them, knew what they were and had held onto them.

SILVIA: Bounce, Light It Up, Party Time

Suspension wise, I asked Dave (Spools) how the Cusco Zero 1's felt daily driving on his R32. I was informed they were harsh and not ideal to drive on everyday. Although he did tell me that if he were to have that choice to choose again, he'd purchase some Section Silkroad coilovers. I had jumped online and read some articles on forums, most of which were positive reviews. At that time, our dollar was on par, or just a bit higher than the Japanese yen. I contacted Streeter to have him purchase them for me and after a three month long boat ride, they had shown up at my door step.

The S13 has a MacPherson type strut for the front suspension and a multi-link independent rear suspension. The Silkroads that I purchased were the RM/A8 model - now discontinued, with 8kg front springs and 6kg rear springs. Not "too" harsh for daily driving and will be good enough for some occasional track work.

The front coilovers have camber top adjustment with an elongated hole on the lower mounting bracket for that extra bit of camber if needed. There is also an eight stage dampening adjustment dial at the bottom of the coilover for easy access with a turn of the steering wheel. They are also base height adjustable, meaning that you can just loosen the bottom locking collar and turn the actual strut to decrease the length of the coilover - more low, low is a lifestyle.

Rear coilovers are also base height adjustable, dampening dial on the top of the strut rather than the bottom like the front coilovers.

I had pulled apart the casing for the RGB shift knob light to have a look if there was a way to make a cleaner install without having the wire running from the 12V cigarette socket. This button above determines which colour will be lit with just a simple push.

I bought a 30A LED illuminated rocker switch from my local Jaycar Electronics. The reason for buying this switch was to wire up the shift knob light to it. Instead of being plugged into the cigarette socket, the light will be hard wired to the switch and turned on and off with just a simple flick of my finger - like a booger. On the back of the switch, there are three pins - accessories, positive and negative.

There should be two wires that come off the circuit board of the light, one should be a positive wire and the other a negative. The positive wire from light should be wired to the accessory pin of the switch, both negative wires from the switch and light can be joined together and mounted to the chassis/earthing point. Positive wire from the switch can be spliced into the cigarette lighter socket wire for a source of power. Make sure you have some spare fuses lying around if it's your first time dealing with wiring.

Originally, the casing for the lights was chrome. But being a bit too eye catching, I grabbed some Satin Black, masked off what didn't need to be sprayed and had my way with it. Nice, simple, subtle. The casing has some double sided tape making it easy for joining the light and shift knob together.

There were many mounting positions that I had in mind for the switch to go. Firstly, inside the centre console; secondly, in the ashtray and last but not least, on the radio facia. I decided to mount the switch on the facia, due to having enough free space back there for the pins to not short out anywhere. Choose a drill bit with a diameter a touch bigger than the switch and started drilling away at the plastic. On the back of the switch, there is a locking ring which secures the unit to the facia nice and tight.

There are seven different variations you can choose from, with the image above being my most favoured. Party time with a flick of the switch.

SILVIA: Interior Dress Up, Hello Kitty Edition

Continuing on with the interior tune, I had a seat but no usable rails to go with. I spoke to some mates to see what they'd recommend.

Eventually I decided on some Bride FG type rails. They are the side mount type, which is what this seat needs. They also give that race car type feel due to having to pull both tabs up to recline back and forth. In the packaging there are of course, both rails, four mounts to join the seat to the rails and hardware for the seat belt buckle.

In the list of parts Dan had for sale, there was an old logo Bride head cushion and of course I bought that from him too. The seat now looks complete, unless Bride made some old logo tuning pads. I've never seen any pop up for sale though.

Any S13 owner would understand there is no where to place your drinks. It'll either be the passenger holding it for you or in your ash tray compartment. I decided to rectify this problem by purchasing some Hello Kitty cup holders. Along side that, a tsurikawa - otherwise known as a hang ring.

I had to, of course get a Hello Kitty horn button too.

Removal of the standard seat consist unbolting four 14mm bolts, two front and two rear. To mount the Bride onto the rails, you'd need to bolt down the mounts that hold the seat onto the rails with the hardware provided. After that, you can go ahead and bolt the seat to the mounts. When that is finished, you then bolt the rails into the chassis and be careful not to thread any holes.

The Hello Kitty cup holders have two clips at the back that go straight into the air vents. Nice and easy.

Hang rings - hung from Japanese trains for commuters to hold onto. Sometimes stolen and hung from the tow hook of cars to show rebellion against the Japanese government and authorities. They could also show how low a car is. Not me though, it's just easier to grab onto that instead of reaching up - passenger comfort, think about the children.

Hello Kitty horn in. I had to take the steering wheel off to install a spacer that came with the horn.

Everything in. I also installed the radio brackets, no more hanging headunit.

With Aytac's recently purchased EP82 Starlet, it was the perfect time to take the car on a spirited drive up north.

If you don't enjoy spirited drives whenever possible, you've bought the wrong car.

Results with the seat in, comfort level has dropped dramatically, but they hold you so much better than standard seats. Whether it'll be for drifting or circuit, the result will be much better than having a standard seat. Luckily for me, I have a small build, meaning getting in and out isn't too bad. Would recommend having a quick release for the steering wheel if you have a larger build.

Last buy not least, I acquired a pair of optional rear pods from an old friend. They are painted in KH3 black and one of the pods also has a crack in it. It's an easy repair, so once that's done, it'll be repainted in KG4. Now to find the last piece of the puzzle... The worst of them all.

Big thanks to Jesse Streeter at Streeter Corp. for giving me a gateway into the Japanese market place. For all your automotive needs, or anything you need from Japan, this is the person to contact. Easy to deal with, quick replies and the cheapest option to go through compared to other importers.

Revolution Motorsports: Rev Sessions 16th April 2018

It has been about 4 years since I've done some shooting of drifting at Wakefield Park Raceway, the last one being the Hit and Run Glory Days. Great to be back at this place shooting something more ideal to my style - sorry fellow circuit goers.

Revolution Motorsports - A close knit group of friends enjoying the automotive lifestyle revolved around drifting since 2009. Having spent some time in Japan solely for drifting at Ebisu, they wanted to try and bring back that relaxed and easy-going culture within the motorsport to Australia. With Wakefield Park Raceway cancelling drifting at their venue, that goal all seemed out of reach with management having their hands tied behind their backs. After many attempts at reasoning and persuading, management agreed to have a meeting. A successful attempt at that and they had the go ahead to book dates for drift practice days, with added rules and regulations. Two years of not having a drift event here, added rules and regs is better than no drifting at all right? This leads us to the current day, a drift practice session which I had attended.

Drivers/media briefing was set to start at 8:45AM. Wakefield being about two hours away from me, meant I should leave by 6:30AM. I had tried to get a good sleep the night before, but that didn't work out well, 12:00AM sleep and a 3:30AM wake up. Fueled by energy drinks, cigarettes and music playing, I had made my way to Wakefield arriving by 8:00AM, taking multiple pit stops and detours in-between. The weather wasn't looking too happy, so fingers were crossed it didn't rain.

 

As I had arrived, the car ports were already half full. People unloading and setting up ready to hit the track.

 Calm before the storm. Track maintenance before ripping skids.

Drivers/media briefing not too long after.

Stephen had taken me around the track and explained where and where not to shoot, also where the best vantage points are. Cheers mate!

Not too long after, cars were lined up and turn one was ready to see some tyre marks with spectators on watch.

Bring your family, bring your friends, bring your kids. Spectators free of charge, how it should always be.

Track activities were well and truly underway by this point of the morning.

 

The more I go to these events, the more I feel obliged to shoot these types of photos rather than the action. Beau Yates and his family had stopped by Wakefield on their way back from Winton Motor Raceway for the 86 festival.

Other media personnel had attended. Not too sure who they are, but I'm sure they have a Facebook/Instagram page somewhere.

There had been a slight delay in track activities around this point in time. Someone had went off-course and needed to be towed out.

Exhibit A.

Track activity resumed not too long after that mishap.

Fixed and ready to jump back out.

Passengers are free to ride along side the drivers, so long as the intended car has a half cage mounted.

Just enjoying the view, noise and scent of tyres screeching through the asphalt running around the track.

By 10:30AM, the day was already well underway and I had yet to go infield for some photos. I chose to stay within the car pits and track-side until the majority of other media personnel had left the infield. Reason being, who wants to see all the same shots from different media outlets right? Also having a lot of people there gives me much less room to move around if needed. I had missed quite a few cars going in this late, but I knew that was going to be the case anyhow. Spoiler alert; multiple "action" shots incoming.

Maniac behind the wheel with more balls than one can fathom. Crazy entry speeds and insane angles, you were a pleasure to watch Jye "Nah".

Trains were also awesome to watch.

By this point, it was already mid-day. There was a little break for everyone to refuel their energy with whatever they chose to do so with. I had not eaten anything until this point, early wake up with minor sleep doesn't mix well with an empty stomach. My energy had started to deplete at a rapid rate. I went to the local cafe within the premises to refuel. After gaining some much needed energy, I was back to what I was here intended to do.

"What is this wizardry?" Stephen's 180sx had unfortunately broken a knuckle 4 laps in. I was looking forward to passenger runs in this. Maybe next time!

Fun fact; this was actually Stephen's previous car I had taken a photo of in 2013. Many of you guys may have seen photos of this car surface around the internet, the stage after this one. Little did I know, I'd meet the owner 5 years later.

Like Beau Yates, Joey had made the stop over coming back from Winton for the 86 festival, with another fellow 86 driver in tow to watch the action.

After the lunch break, there was a change in track layout. I had not gone back infield after the break due to trying and preserving my energy; poor effort on my part, but safety matters.

That didn't stop me from taking photos though, I just chose a different vantage point.

"Two people?"

Drifting, bring all the spares you can in case something breaks, bends or fails. Unfortunately some things aren't easily replaceable on the day. But that's ok though, fibreglass is easily repairable if you have the patience.

I had to call it quits after this. Almost at my limit from this point on and saved just enough energy for the 2 hour drive home. I had intended to stay until the end, but unfortunately I just didn't have enough energy to.

Big ups to the Rev Team and every other individual involved - drivers included; for a well organised drift practice day. You guys have not only just brought back drifting to Wakefield, but have also re-lit the spark for me to shoot some motorsports again. Last but not least, many people were brought together in this one place having a common interest. Reconnecting with old friends and also making new ones which is what it's all about!

I had packed up my gear just before 3:00PM and made the trek home.

Making some much needed pit stops a long the way. Remember guys, stop, revive, survive; sponsored by the NSW Government and Canberra.

I'm also glad this convoy had caught up to me, leaving well after I had. Many thanks for setting the pace and getting me home before the estimated time of arrival.

And again, thank you Rev team, there hasn't been a post on this blog of this magnitude for a while. Looking forward to the next one, which I believe will be on a Sunday. Win win for everyone!

1280px can be found here.

SVP signing out.