D Car — November 2003
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About this issue
250 available scans from D Car — November 2003, in right-to-left reading order. Japanese OCR and English translation drafts are available throughout. Drafts have not received exhaustive image proofreading; unreadable source remains recorded in the archival data.
Page 70 — English draft translation
As you can see, there is nothing North American about this machine. It looks ready to run the mountain roads of Japan. It has an authentic Japanese feel throughout. Yet this fully JDM specification and Japanese driving style are now hugely popular on the West Coast. Just as Japanese anime has taken the world by storm, drift culture may soon be recognized across America, if not everywhere. California is already won over. The Silvia and 180SX may become America's next AE86.
Captions and page details
D1 is getting exciting! Never heard of it? Think of it as an annual drifting series. It is now hugely popular in California, too!
American JDM—high-speed scene
Drifting is on the rise!
Part 04
TREND
05
BFGoodrich
Tanabe
SIGNAL
EXEDY
SHOW UP
Racing Development US
RAYS
ENGINEERING
BODY PRO SYSTEM
BFGoodrich
Tanabe
www.signalauto.com
2
GReddy
ings
EXEDY
CUSCO limited-slip differential
RACING CLUTCH
Signal Auto's demo SilEighty is active across the United States as a drifting ambassador. Its JDM build...
180SX
NISSAN
Packed with drift-car details, it amazes American enthusiasts. If America is the home of drag racing, Japan is the home of drifting. Signal Auto brought Japanese drift technology straight to the US with this 180SX demo car. Its mission was to blow Americans away—and it certainly did. This 180SX has earned their respect.
A true drift machine
JDM
Tanabe
For a JDM seat, it has to be Bride. The steering wheel is detachable, giving it a very race-focused feel.
70
www.signalauto.com
The engine bay is built with serious intent. The radiator and intercooler are arranged in a V-mount. It took a lot of work to bring a genuine JDM setup to the US. The turbo is a Trust T51.
Rays wheels give the car a JDM look from the ground up. They are 8.5J at the front and 9.5J at the rear; the offset is .
...inches.
BFGood[rich]
Euphoric Designs
This one...
...is Signal's drift car
The S15, nicknamed the 'Ichigo,' is a classic drift car. Signal brought these two cars to California this spring as its Drift Twins. They are both riding the current wave of popularity...
It is not just about looks: the engine bay should deliver serious performance, with at least 300 horsepower as a baseline.
NEO
CUSCO
SYNTHETICS
DLESS
Heat management is essential in a drift car. Aero should prioritize function and efficient cooling. Eighteen-inch tires are the norm.
It uses the Super Medalion Racing Spec exhaust from Tanabe, also one of the sponsors.
From the front it is an S15, but from the rear you can tell it is a 180SX—another JDM-style touch.
...style
Tanabe