D1 Grand Prix...could a Z be champion this year?

[topsecret2001]

2004 D1GP Champion Miki Ryuji is leaving the S15 behind and taking the wheel of the ORC Z33 for the 2005 season...

here's a little tidbit from practice last week...this is how Z's are meant to be drifted...

http://www.topsecretjpn.com/orcz33test.mpg


Come see the season opener this month!

www.d1gp.com

[Wayne]

here's a little tidbit from practice last week...this is how Z's are meant to be drifted...

http://www.topsecretjpn.com/orcz33test.mpg


Come see the season opener this month!

www.d1gp.com

wow cool man, but i think chris has already shown how Z's are supposed to be drifted

[drift matic]

that thing is quick as hell

[Hyde]

i think miki can teach chris a thing or 2. btw he is the champ

[Wayne]

i think miki can teach chris a thing or 2. btw he is the champ

we will find out soon enough huh, i wasnt specifically talking about chris as in his control over teh 350z, the original poster said this is how a z is supposed to be drifted and im saying yaa i think chris has that under control already.

i think if these two zs matched up it would be a nice challenge to both drivers.

[Brian]

this Z has probably 200 more horsepower as Chris' car.

[topsecret2001]

this Z has probably 200 more horsepower as Chris' car.

it's about 700hp....probably much lighter and wider thanks to a Top Secret Longnose Ed. Widebody kit.

I said this is how Z's are meant to be drift because I have yet to see a Z be drifted well. I'm not trying to say anything bad about anyone but out of all the Z's I've seen drifting, this is the is thefirst time i've seen one that could do well at the professional level. All the previous Z's have been underpowered...the Z is a heavy car and not easy to control. Evem our previous driver, Izumida, could not get the greatest handle on the Z last year.

[Brian]

If this is Roo, thanks for translating all my nonsense to Miki san all day.
haha

[MonkeySlide]

I think the best part about the way he drove the Z was how he was able to start his drift right at the begining of the bank turn.

For those of you whom might remember..thats exactly what kazama did when he won at Irwindale. He started his drift right at the begining of the bank and connected the whole course, he drew the perfect line with his tire smoke and connected it right at the begining of his run.

If Miki-san can pull that off during competition he'll definately go far. I think the question is will he be able to have that kind of control over the Z during tandem?

As far as drifting a Z the way its supposed to be drifted..I can agree with that but only because I dont really consider Chris' car a "Z"

According to what the more experienced drifters say, the biggest problem with drifting a Z is its weight. Its heavy and cumbersome in the respect of drifting, its a track car which really isn't meant to go sideways.

Rather than pump out gobs of power Chris decided to lighten the car and change the balance by swapping in a smaller engine with above average power potential to get the desired effect.

In essance he totally "deleted" everything that was probelmatic about the Z and kind of got rid of what made it a Z in the first place. To me its more like a slivia with a Z's clothing..looks sweet..excelent balance and more than enough power.

You guys at Top Secret took a different approach..kept the VQ..pushed it to the limit and lightend the car by replacing the body pannels and such. So the way I see it, its still a Z but just way more powerful and a little bit lighter (save the typical modifications done to any other professional level drift machines). So yeah, I would agree thats the way we would all like to see a Z get drifted if it truly remained a 350Z in every sense of what a 350Z was meant to be when it came from the factory.

[topsecret2001]

I think the best part about the way he drove the Z was how he was able to start his drift right at the begining of the bank turn.

For those of you whom might remember..thats exactly what kazama did when he won at Irwindale. He started his drift right at the begining of the bank and connected the whole course, he drew the perfect line with his tire smoke and connected it right at the begining of his run.

If Miki-san can pull that off during competition he'll definately go far. I think the question is will he be able to have that kind of control over the Z during tandem?

As far as drifting a Z the way its supposed to be drifted..I can agree with that but only because I dont really consider Chris' car a "Z"

According to what the more experienced drifters say, the biggest problem with drifting a Z is its weight. Its heavy and cumbersome in the respect of drifting, its a track car which really isn't meant to go sideways.

Rather than pump out gobs of power Chris decided to lighten the car and change the balance by swapping in a smaller engine with above average power potential to get the desired effect.

In essance he totally "deleted" everything that was probelmatic about the Z and kind of got rid of what made it a Z in the first place. To me its more like a slivia with a Z's clothing..looks sweet..excelent balance and more than enough power.

You guys at Top Secret took a different approach..kept the VQ..pushed it to the limit and lightend the car by replacing the body pannels and such. So the way I see it, its still a Z but just way more powerful and a little bit lighter (save the typical modifications done to any other professional level drift machines). So yeah, I would agree thats the way we would all like to see a Z get drifted if it truly remained a 350Z in every sense of what a 350Z was meant to be when it came from the factory.

You're right about where he started his drift on the bank...that's what is amazing to me....but this car is powered by an RB26, not a VQ. As far as engine swaps go, I think the chassis is still the most important aspect of what makes a car a car...and these are both heavyweight Z's...