Zestino – an international tyre brand you would not have heard much about only up until recently with its big marketing push and adoption down under. Despite the European sounding name make no mistake, these tyres are manufactured in China but clearly points out “designed in Japan” as imprinted on the sidewall. Just mentioning made in the mainland is enough …
Read More »Feeling right in the wrong wheel drive
I remember towards the end of high school a friend had the special privilege of buying his first car with quite a substantial budget. While the majority of us had to endure the boring nature of Japanese mainstream econoboxes, a select few were able to scour the limited source of advertisement to find that special “first car”. At the time …
Read More »Pearl Build v3.0 Final Part III – Did it make 300kW?
To say this post is a long time coming is a massive understatement, most readers have probably moved on waiting for this and are probably driving Golf Rs, Audi RS3s or Elgrands and hanging up the modification gloves. Not long after Part II of Pearl’s build thread I believed i would have sorted out the bottlenecks which hindered the progress …
Read More »DIY – Headlight Lens Replacement for Silvia/200SX S15
Headlight restoration products from the local auto shop can do a pretty good job, one of my lens’s was clear proof of that. The other lens however, proved to be very stubborn and to be honest I’m not a fan of Forest Whitaker look. So to return Pearl’s front end to her former crystal clear glory, a 326 Power Headlight …
Read More »The Braking Game
Great stopping power provided by an effective brake setup isn’t exactly going to win you any traffic light drags or get you crowd approval as you scrape upon entry at the stance meet. Neither is it the most aesthetically pleasing mod. It’s no wonder then that upgrading a brake setup usually sits at the bottom of everyone’s performance modification list …
Read More »DIY: SR20DET Front Main Seal/Drive Belts
Taking off the drive belts on your S13, S14 or S15 SR20DET can serve many purposes. Replacing worn belts, replacing pulleys, replacing front oil seal, removing timing chain front cover/oil pump, whipping naughty children… Ok maybe not the last one. My aim in removing the drive belts was to actually remove the front cover to inspect my timing chain, that …
Read More »DIY: Honda Civic EP3 Type R Coilover Install
The stock suspension in the EP3 Type R is actually already pretty good – firm, responsive and well balanced. Having clocked in a 1:10.6 time at Wakefield with the stock suspension, it was time to step up the game and tweak the suspension with a set of Hardrace H-S Coilovers. The install is actually very straight forward but without the …
Read More »DIY: Rear Seat Removal Civic EP3 Type R
For whatever reason, removing the rear seats in your Honda Civic EP3 Type R might provide a worthwhile venture. In my case, it was simply an exercise of shedding weight seeing the car would only be run at the track and every kg saved helps rocket the naturally aspirated Civic further. The process itself is dead easy but since there aren’t …
Read More »Pearl Build v3.0 Part II – Built Not Bought, Who Cares?
If you’ve read my previous article, you’ll know that at the end of 2015 I made the tough (and possibly misguided) decision to take Pearl my beloved Nissan S15 200SX Silvia to the next level. What exactly was the “next level” though? Taking into consideration of what a stock SR20 bottom end could handle, I set a respectable goal of …
Read More »Pearl Build v3.0 Part I – Crossroads
Welcome to Part I of my saga as I transform my Nissan Silvia S15 (Pearl) to revision 3.0. Bear in mind this article was completed in December 2015 but never saw the internet as I was too deep into my build. So here is where it all started, you will have rewind your mindset back a year… With the array …
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