Tengku Djan

Another trip down to Setonaikai Circuit for the final test. This time it was raining. Thank god it started to dry out later part of the morning. The car felt good, with more grip and better balance. I ended up taking out lots of damping too. The EDC (Electronic Damper Control) controller is pretty good. It allowed me to make changes without getting out of the car. Saved us a lot of time.

We were done by 12 noon & drove straight back to the shop. No time to waste. The boys started packing & loading up the transporter, while the sticker guy finished off the final bits and pieces. I then flew to Tokyo later that evening.

Thanks to everyone who has help me out throughout the 3 days of testing.

We left the hotel at 630am and it took us 1hr 30mins to get to Satonaikai Circuit situated up in the hills some where in Shikoku. We hitched a ride in Nishimiya’s Celsior (LS460 equivelant) while the mechanics drove up a 2 car loader. It’s really cool. This is the first time i’ve seen a twin deck transporter. Apparently JPJ wouldn’t approve it here in Malaysia.

It’s an awesome little track, and the first corner approach identical to Ebisu circuit but in the opposite direction.

The track was booked for a private function in the afternoon, so we had the morning to carry out testing. I went out for a couple of slow laps, familiarizing myself with the track layout. The car still felt “stiff” which made the movement of the car abrupt. So I decided to make a spring change on the rear axle trying to reduce the stiffness, allowing the car squat on load & potentially increasing mid-corner grip.

Couple of laps into the next session, as I was accelerating down the main straight, i heard a loud bang that came from the engine bay. I got off the throttle immediately, switched of the engine, and coasted back into the pits. I was thinking to myself, “Thats it! how are we gonna fix a blown engine in time for the weekend!”

The guys from Quartermile inspected the engine and lucky enough, found that the exhaust rocker arm on the first cylinder broke. Again, we didn’t have spares, so we had to call it a day and head back to the shop. Looks like we will have to comeback tomorrow morning to continue testing.

Once back at the shop, the guys started work immediately, replacing the rocker arm and this time, installing the rocker arm stopper too. The engine fired back to life later in the evening and was hooked up to the dyno to make sure we had a healthy engine for the weekend.

The stickers were also stuck on later that evening. We didn’t have much time left as we had one last test session in the morning, then final preparation (oil change etc) before the car was transported to Tokyo. It’s a 10 hour drive for the transporter.

We stopped by Nishimiya’s friends used car lot before going to Takushima Kart Land for testing. A pristine looking KPGC10 caught my eye parked right beside the showroom. It belonged to Hamada-san, owner of the shop.

This is the first time I have ever seen a KPGC10 right before my eyes. Restored and refurbished, it took him 3 years to complete the project.

Engine built and tuned by Nishimiya-san from Quartermile. I managed to hitch a ride in it too. Definitely an experience I’ll never forget.

BTW he has a 4 door variant under going restoration as we speak

1st practice session was at TAKUSHIMA KARTLAND, 1 hour drive away from the shop. The circuit is located on top of the mountain, deep in the woods. Small track but kinda interesting. It’s smaller than our Elite track interms of overall track area, but the actual road was much wider. Gives you an opportunity to carry higher speeds through the corners with proper racing lines.

The car arrived with no front/rear bumpers & side skirts. I think they didn’t have much confidence in my driving to begin with. Who can blame them. I guess it’s like if some japanese guy comes over to Malaysia and rents a “Kapchai” for Cubprix. hahahahaha!!! SUREANOT?!

It’s a good feeling though when the guy at registration recognized my name. “Tengko Djon? Irwindale? Beat mustang yes?” That move against the Mustang was classic

So, off I went for my first warmup lap. The car felt very responsive. It had 420HP @ flywheel mated to a 5 speed HKS dogbox. Damn that box is good! I was told the car is running on low boost till they feel i can take more (1.1bar).

The car had good chassis balance which gave me the confidence to push it by the 2nd lap. It did feel abit stiff though but nothing too severe. I especially like the steering feel. It’s equipped with a modified knuckle which improves steering response and increases lock angle. This car can take big drift angles.

By lap 5 I was smoking the track like a pro. Ukita-san, mechanic for Quartermile and D1 Street Legal driver (AE86 Turbo) was impressed with my driving.

I made my 1st pit stop after 5 laps. They jacked the boost to 1.35bar (high boost), I made some adjustments to the damping, basically soften it up and off I went for my next 5 laps.

Damn did that car move! I hardly had to push it in 2nd gear. short shift it to 3rd and pedal to the metal! Smokin!

I was very impressed with the car. It’s easy to drive, good torque and a responsive engine.

Ukita took his 86 and i was going to get some tandem practice with him, BUT! as we were accelerating to the first turn, i shifted to 2nd gear and the shifter broke! hahahahahaah! can u believe it! it broke!

The guys didnt have a spare shifter. Who in the right mind would bring a spare shifter right? That would be the last thing to give way!

So I decided to call it a night. We’ll be going to Setanaikai Circuit tomorrow morning, which is bigger, faster and a similar layout to Odaiba. Tomorrow will our first real opportunity to setup the car.

I took so many pictures in this 2 days, I don’t know where to start. So i’m going to split by day and by activity.

We arrived Tuesday morning in Osaka. It was a 6 hour flight, BUT we had to take the train (total of 3 different ones!) to Shikoku, Kagawa Perfecture. So in total it took us 12 hours to reach our final destination.

We were greeted by Nishimiya-san, Owner of Quartermile High Performance Tuning Factory. We went straight to the shop and I was given a short brief of the car.

First objective, set up the cockpit. Seat was too high as expected and steering wheel too big. So they dropped the seat as low as it could go, and change to the smallest available wheel. I normally run a 330mm Momo or Sparco on my cars, but they only had a 340mm Nardi which was adequate.

My participation in D1GP “TOKYO DRIFT” is confirmed. I’ll be flying out to Osaka tonight. First stop is ‘Shikoku’ for a couple of days to test out the SX and set it up in preparation for the weekend. We’ll be in Tokyo on Thursday.

I’ll keep the blog updated. Should be an interesting trip.

T. Djan