| 23 December 2009
The convoy into the car park for the photo shoot of this featured car was lead by our daily cars which honestly had nothing much to shout about. This wasn’t the sort of leading that would win you anything on the track race. The only reason the featured car was barely able to keep up was that it is too low for practical use to begin with. In fact, it is anything but practical on the streets. We knew the beast was inching over bumps on its way into the photoshoot location because its ear numbing growl made sure that its presence was felt. However, this monstrosity of a car performs like a wild beast in its natural habitat - drift tracks. It roars and screams as it burns rubber, clouding up its surroundings with smoke like a fire breathing dragon. The car, ladies and gentlemen, is the Nissan S15 Silvia heavily tuned for drifting by FX-Open/Formula D.
Coated with radiant orange as its main theme, the Nissan S15 Silvia’s exterior is also fully furnished with sponsor stickers, sporty stripes and the likes. The car’s name could have a feminine ring to it, but this she-devil is a good weapon of choice in drift battles. The S15 Silvia is the step-up from its predecessors which were the S13 and S14. Its long wheel base means that it is a great car for drifting from the balance that it provides, but it lacks in terms of stability in high speed runs.
Formula D Garage made a wise choice when selecting this car as an investment for drifting. Pooling all their expertise, expertise, effort and R&D, the boys built up this Tarmac Ripper from scratch within 3 months. Since the S15 was intended to be their flagship car, they pampered the Tarmac Ripper with only the best parts that their money could buy.
27 year old local boy Rudy Norman is the man who tames this beast. Humble yet talented, the familiar face in the local drifting scene and a competitor in international events. A green Takata 4” harness straps him down to a Bride Zeta III full bucket that provides support and prevents him from being thrashed around from the Gs. The passenger seat remains stock since its reserved for tuning purposes or thrill rides for adrenaline junkies. Steering and counter-steering is manned by the driver through a Momo dished steering wheel. As a safety feature and an added competitive edge, the boys at the garage also fabricated a very good looking roll-cage for cabin rigidness.
The stock centre console has been ripped out and replaced with a customized switchboard that include the cut-off function, engine start button, and a fuel and pump switch. An array of Defi Gauges flood the dashboard. The array includes a large Defi BF Tachometer sits behind the steering wheel and a Defi Link Display that shows useful information that the driver needs. Looking towards the middle of the dashboard, a 5 unit set of Defi Gauges which display Oil Pressure, Oil Temperature, Water Temperature, Exhaust Gas Temperature and Boost gauge can be found just above the console switches.
Some of the most attention grabbing features in the S15’s cabin would be the Motec M800 and the HKS EVC V Boost controller, which is the brain that controls the muscle that is the next item. Serving as the engine for all generations of the Nissan Silvia is the well known SR20DET engine. Tuning houses and performance parts manufacturers from the world over popularly include parts made for this engine in their catalogue.
When the boys at the Formula D garage kick started the project to build this drift battle car, they were aware that they could not risk using cheap, copycat products that might prove unreliable, especially during a competition. The brand – Tomei – is enticing for tuners around the world and its products which range from full built engines to smaller engine parts have a good reputation for being very reliable and hardy. The standard 280hp SR20 in this S15 was stripped, cleaned, and rebuilt with a Tomei 2.2L Stroker Kit. The stroker kit is forged to be well balanced and made to withstand the heavy usage that this car would experience frequently. A Tomei metal head gasket firmly sandwiched between the engine head and engine block was also used to contain all the pressure inside out.
A Tomei 260 degree cam inlet/exhaust matching with the 2.2L stroker kit provides an extra displacement of 200cc, allowing the engine to avoid lagging when using the car’s big Garret GT30 turbine which can accommodate a 500hp push. The GT30 turbine is mated with a Tonka manifold to provide the punch that this engine needs while TIAL 44mm wastegate ensures that the engine is able to sustain spooled gas in exchange for much desired compressed air. The GT30 is good for a 500hp push – a perfect match for the Tomei kit enhanced SR20DET for an on-demand torque to be ready at any time for Rudy’s disposal. Compressed air is later chilled by a HKS Intercooler which delivers it to an 80mm throttle body. Just before execution in the combustion chamber, a Jun intake manifold collects compressed air and fuel to be delivered.
Now you’ve seen the beast on paper. It’s high time you checked her out on the tracks. You will be awed.
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