Option — Shōwa Car Tuning & Buyers Guide (2000 Edition)
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About this issue
180 available scans from Option — Shōwa Car Tuning & Buyers Guide (2000 Edition), 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 102 — English draft translation
With heavy components concentrated near the center, the FC is sometimes described as front-mid-engined. Once it exceeds its limit, the rear can break loose all at once. Its intimidating character means few tuners take on an FC drift build. R Magic is a rare exception. Aside from a high-flow turbo, this car's engine is only lightly tuned. Rather than chasing power, the setup prioritizes a suspension that makes drifting easier, using original Ohlins-based coilovers. It proves that an FC can be enjoyed for drifting.
Anyone covering FC drifting has to include Imamura, nicknamed ‘Mamura.’ His spectacular driving can make you wonder if the car will survive, but the machine has been carefully built for it. The foundation is body rigidity: spot welds reinforce the areas around the strut towers and even inside the weather stripping. This keeps the body stiff at high speed, allowing the suspension and tires to work effectively and greatly improving traction.
Captions and page details
Drift & circuit tuning
ROTARYTURDO
Limit handling is thrillingly risky! When an FC drift goes right, it's pure exhilaration.
R Magic drift specification
FG3S
For drifting, you do not need to chase huge power. A high-flow turbo is a good choice: R Magic's modified stock turbo makes plenty of power without sacrificing low-speed response.
HERMU
A naturally aggressive negative-camber look makes the car seem ready to turn, but whether to prioritize appearance with more camber or grip with less is up to the owner.
The rotary sound is sure to attract attention, but the FC's character makes it harder to choose for drifting than a Silvia. Unless you are especially committed to it, the FC can be difficult and less fun; in reality, it remains a minority choice.
Option
R Magic offers several original Ohlins-based coilover setups, including a base drift specification and a high-negative-camber drift version.
...and so on.
The passenger-side handbrake takes some getting used to. A spin-turn knob can help, depending on preference. A personal radio is another useful essential.
...and...
This is the person to know in FC drifting! ‘Mamura’ Imamura prioritizes body rigidity.
Imamura's 13B uses a hybrid turbo from Pan Speed and makes a measured 320 PS, helping with high-speed drifting. The Pan Speed multi-plate pillow-ball upper mount was reportedly Imamura's idea.
Takahiro Imamura's FC3S
TURDO
WITHNT
ROTARY
Because the FC has strong grip and is swung out using momentum, traction after initiating the drift has a major effect on whether the drift succeeds or fails.
The gauges are grouped near the center console so they can be checked instantly when needed.
It won't come together.
The suspension uses Pan Speed's original setup based on Ohlins, with spring rates/settings of 5 front and 3 rear.
B
Photos: Naoyoshi Mizukawa / OPT. Report: Rater Yoshizawa / OPT.