Awesome quality and looks really good!!

I started off by changing my cam cover seal as it was old and leaking slightly.

This is a pic of the cam cover back on and the old manifold removed.

Here is the Tonnka’s manifold fitted to the turbo.

While I was at it, realised that my gearbox was leaking and took it out to inspect ,cleaned and gasket gum it back together. So here is the gearbox looking dirty!!

This is my little workshop that holds all my tools, spares, junk and stuff that I have forgotten.

Looks neat and simple. But it’ll take quite awhile to engineer it. any guys interested? I could make more at a go. Need to buy materials anyway!!

During Friday’s practice session, Dai went about his routine checklist to make sure everything was in line for competition.  As qualifying was on it’s way, the Falken Tire / Discount Tire Nissan S13 was running strong but Dai was still adjusting to the Vegas heat.  In his first go around in the first qualifying round, Dai came in strong and landed him a solid 3rd place.  After the second round of qualifying though, with his run not bettering the first, he secured a spot in the Top 32 round qualifying 8th overall.  ”I wasn’t too happy with my second qualifying run but it is what it is.”

For the Top 32 competition, Dai was paired with ex-Falken driver, Taka Aono in his AE86.  Although Taka put up a great fight, it was still no match for Dai’s clean runs and powerful LS powered V8 motor.  During the Top 16 round of competition, Dai went up against “Mad” Mike Whidett.  During the first run, Dai led as Mad Mike followed.  As Dai came hot into the first turn, Dai stayed composed and completed the drift around the turn, while Mad Mike could not hold on and spun. This secured Dai a spot to the round of Great 8.

Great 8 competition doubled in difficulty as Dai went up against Formula D champion, Samuel Hubinette.  Although Samuel had solid runs, Dai was obviously the stronger driver as he stayed door to door with Samuel which gave him the advantage and the right to move on to the Final 4.  The Final 4 competitors matched Dai up with two of his teammates and with the possible, second in the history of Formula D, a Team Falken Tire podium sweep.

First competition in the Final 4 was against a familiar face and teammate, Vaughn Gittin, Jr. with his 2010 Ford Mustang.  For the 3rd time this year, Dai faced Vaughn, the current points leader, and it was a must win situation as Dai was in 3rd in championship points.  In Vaughn Gittin fashion, Vaughn headed down the straight and drifted around the course with a no holds bar mentality.  Dai held strong and focused to run just as an aggressive, clean lap and found himself on top to move on to the final round of the event.

To battle it out for the top spot, Dai was matched up with another teammate, Tyler McQuarrie and his V8 powered Nissan 350Z convertible.  As the teammates lined up for battle, Dai’s car stalled and was forced to take 5 minutes to fix his car.  With Falken teammates trying to figure out what the problem was, 5 minutes withered away and it was too late.  Dai was dealt a straight flush as Tyler came out on top with a royal flush.  ”I was bummed out that I couldn’t compete for the win but I’m happy for Tyler, he deserves it,” explains Dai.  ”Taking second this event is still a great outcome because it brings me back to second in points.  I still have a chance for the championship so the next two events are going to be crazy!”

As the 2010 Formula D season nears the end, the championship crown is still in reach for Dai as he is now only 22 points away. Having a combination of tight turns and a high-speed sweep, competition will most definitely be a spectacle to watch in next month’s event in Sonoma, CA.

And as always, for more info on Dai, check out his new blog site at www.daiyoshihara.com/blog as well as www.wegetyougoing.com.

In the second qualifying run, I initiated the drift with full commitment, scraped the wall with my exhaust tip creating 8 feet tall of sparks, then I kept it floored and would hit all the marks for the rest of the course, 80.9 points it was. 13th qualifier!

In top 32 battle, I was up against fellow Rookie driver Fredric Aasbo, driver that I really respect and I like his fully commited driving style, also a great guy off the track. I knew it was going to be a tough match. I lead first, Fredric followed. Fredric initatied too hot and tapped my left rear tire, my car got pushed and led to a stop 2 feet next to the tire wall, luckily no damage! My following run I kept it clean and close to Fredric, I got the advantage and moved on to top 16.

Top 16 battle I was up against 2 times Formula D Champion and Redbull World Drift Champion Ehys “Mad Skilz” Millen, speaking of a tough bracket!! I led the run first since I qualified higher. I initiated early, nice and smooth through the outer clip, tried to keep as much momentum as possible through the S turns in the later part of the track pulling a decent distance  from Rhys. On my chase run, Rhys did a feint entry and I followed closely with a ebrake entry followed by  modulation of the throttle, clutch and ebrake. I didnt leave any space between my nose and Rhys’ door, I tried my best to follow as closely as possible using the ebrake and clutch combination. The judges gave me a win. This could possibly be the highlight of my rookie year so far, Rhys has always been one of my favorite drivers and I have watched and studied his videos back then, this is like a dream come true for me!

Top 8 I was up against the current championship leader Vaughn Gittin JR, again, tough bracket! JR came up to me before we went, knowing the Horsepower differences, he said not to worry about him when I lead, but he will not pull away from me before the pace cone when he leads, thank you Vaughn for showing his class in being a top driver and his caring for rookie driver like myself! JR led first I then followed, I tried to stay close to him but it was tough, I managed to close up the gap in the later part of the S turns. My turn to lead, I tried to initate with maximum angle and speed knowing thats my only way to impress the judges, I didnt lift until the entry point, ebraked it hard and back on brake modulation and throttle control, throughout the later part of the course, I think I did a great job. However, that was not enough to beat the current championship leader, JR moved on. Congrats to JR for getting on the podium again, his consistency and showmanship are something I really admire!

All in all, this is the best weekend in my rookie season, I’d like to say big thanks to all my crew and sponsors, that will include Nitto Tires, Wilwood Brakes, West End Alignment, Akufuncture Clothing, Kaaz Differential, Rising Star Motor, Enkei Wheels, Ren Motorsports, K&N Filter, Extreme Dimensions, Just Drift(for the exciting drivers), Option Imports, the driveshaft shop, youdrift.net, Auto World Magazine(by-monthly).

See you next round in Sonoma!

CNR”

Thanks for reading and the support!

–
Charles K Ng

As you can see, I had enough material for eight pieces. So any takers for the other 3 sets?

I just fitted it on last night! It’s awesome stuff! Going to put it on the race car! The mountings on the race car are all soft!

Knocked out in the Top 8 round by my Goodyear teammate and buddy, Ariff. He went on to take 3th place. Good for him!

Both Ivan and SPARK Motorsports have the same thing in common – their passion for motorsports. Recognising the need for support in order to elevate to higher levels of the sport, SPARK Motorsports provides performance parts as well as extends on-site technical and pit crew support during competitions.

“The team is very happy to have support from SPARK Motorsports. Last weekend at Malacca, it was our first time having the crew from SPARK with us. It proved helpful as evident from Ivan’s results – Ivan finished within the Top 8 in Malacca, which is his highest finish for this year thus far,” said Marcus Lim, Team Principal for Team Goodyear SPARK Motorsports.

“Having technical support from SPARK Motorsports helps as it takes a load off my mind. I was then able to fully concentrate on my driving and not have to worry about the car,” Ivan added.

Team sponsor Goodyear Singapore has been sponsoring Ivan since 2008 as their lead driver. Tommy Fok, Product Manager for Goodyear Singapore said, “As part of our commitment to develop Singapore’s own proprietary motorsports talent, we have been a major supporter of Ivan since 2008. It is a known fact that sponsorship is essential in developing a driver. Hence, we are very glad that SPARK Motorsports is coming in to lend their hand and help to boost the local motorsports scene.”

At the second round of the Goodyear International Drift Series in Malacca last weekend, Ivan was the sole representative of Singapore as he faced stiff competition from 29 drivers on their home grounds.

Qualifying in seventh out of 30 drivers, Ivan progressed to the Top 16 and beat Zul Ipoh of Malaysia to proceed to the last eight. Unfortunately, he lost to seasoned drifter and fellow Goodyear driver Ariff Johanis next. Ariff eventually went on to clinch third place on the podium.

“The car set-up is still not 100 per cent right, although with Goodyear’s track time support and SPARK’s technical expertise, it has improved much from before. Given more tracktime to work on the car and get used to the settings, better results will be forthcoming. Nevertheless, I am grateful to Goodyear Singapore, SPARK Motorsports and Driftpac for all the faith in our team,” said Ivan.

We went for lunch and he took me for a tour around his workshop!!! Here are some pics of his workshop!!