Daytona 24Hr & the RX-8

Here is a quick look at the RX8s at Daytona FL. Flame on!


The fastest of the RX-8s is the SpeedSource Mazdaspeed entry. It took 6th place in GT class! That's an amazing effort considering the competition.

It's not exactly a fair race these days. http://www.grand-am.com/ rules have changed a bit meaning the 3 rotor RX8s are a bit down in the pack.

GT class cars include GT3 spec Porsche and Ferrari. Full results here.

 Florida resident and fellow rotary fan, Rob, was kind enough to send us some images.

Night time shooting is always tough. But sunset is great for lighting.

I like the curves on this!

Some interesting sponsor selections on these cars. Fishing and Bicycles. Superstar Patrick Dempsey also donating some space for a drive. http://dempseychallenge.com/

Anyway, FLAMES we like FLAMES!

The Rotaries always fulfill the need.

Makes me want to visit Florida.

24 hours is a long time.

You need some of these.



This isn't stock... But you need this too.

And one of these monsters.

You need a few drivers and support crew and about 5 million dollars.

I think I'll enter next year...

Forza MotorSport 4 Skinz

Video games are great and Forza is one that offers a lot. Sokai is a guy who loves the FD and he set about re-creating his favouites in the Forza paint system.



He has certainly spent some time on these. Replicating most details down exactly.

However, all games have restrictions. and Forzas restrictions include just a few authentic body kits, like Ings+ and C-West. So a lot of shading work has to be done to get these looking right.

Making a non-wide body look wide requires skill.

And mostly the lights get a lot of work.

But the results are pretty special. To the untrained eye "It looks real" is often heard.

So Sokai's garage includes

Street Legal RE-Amemiya D1 machine.
SGC D1 Car.


RYO D1 machine.

RE-Amemiya D1 machine from 2004/5

D1 Garage 3 Rotor

and again in NKB wheels livery.

The community is strong so sometimes Sokai gets involved to help others like "davbat" with finishing details  like the rear fenders on this R-magic livery

 RE-Amemiya TA 2000 SPL.

and the Apexi D1 car.

And the complex Strikers livery.

I'm not sure how these work in applying to a car in Forza but the community is strong and Forza users probably already know how to do that.

Another aspect for FD crazy fans like us.

Russ.

Tokyo Auto Salon 2012 - Orange Toda

However you look at the AC 987 front end, it's a love hate relationship. These cross-breed cars always create controversy.

The 993 Porsche lighting integrated in '98 was refreshed a while later with this wide-body version that had better proportions and an integrated splitter. When combined with the wider version of the side step AD and rear section of the AD kit, the result could accommodate the larger rim size seen here. 18x9.5 all round with a decent offset for curved face TE37.

The owner chose to display the carbon on the bonnet by leaving the orange highlight the heat exhaust routing. Personally I don't like this effect, but again, these things are very personal. Just like the old school lights from RE-Amemiya. Practicalities aside, they give a real JDM effect.

I think the Porsche mix works well on this one as I posted from 7's Day. The side graphics highlight the owners association with Super Autobacs Toda and RE-Amemiya. I'm not sure if this was a last minute addition because Super Autobacs Omiya have another car in the build.

Porsche or FD. I think this one cost about the same as an entry level Porsche.

There's always a reason why I leave this rear shots to last. The poo shooter toilet shaped central outlet on the rear of this car is even worse when it's not used for the exhaust port. Looks like the rear is gasping for breath in shock! Like it looked in a mirror.

And those lights... I'll stop there. Focus on the wing. The endless wing is a nice piece as featured on only a few RE-Amemiya Super Greddy cars.
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Tokyo Auto Salon 2012 - Super 2

 This is the RE-Amemiya Super 2. Read on for a critique of their latest street spec machine.

If you were unimpressed by the last picture, there is a reason. The wheel selection on this car was horrendous. In the current days of stance and the opportunity of Auto Salon to show off something special. Enkei need to be killed for giving RE-Amemiya PF-01 17x9.0J with 255 rubber.

So I chopped these Gram Lights Extreme on to the car and dumped it an inch for a better idea of whats going on. It makes a HUGE difference.

Anyway, the car of course looks better in person as you hide details like that and ignore them from view. I really like the Facer GT. It is very smooth and has close ties to Super GT.

I also love the new "Super" Rear Bumper that also matches the Super GT image of the car, but one of the highest impact parts on this car is the new LED rear finisher panel. I've got a close up on this at the bottom of this article, so keep reading.

The RE-AD GT Kit II with Front Fender Duct in Wet Carbon is also another feature. I'm sure Ama-san chose to leave these parts in wet carbon for TAS to show them off, but they'd be better implemented in FRP and the fitment of the fender ducts is incredible poor with pop rivets really standing out, detracting from the beautifully finished piece itself.

If you can step back a little there's a lot to check out.

But those rear wheels look stupid, even if they are a nice enough design. In 1992, I think 17" were popular.

Look at the horrendous gap. Even a spacer would be good.

Here's the install of the front fender vent. As I stated, the finish of the carbon is excellent, but the FRP fenders them-self bend and deform under the pressure from the rivets. Not good. 

But here is something nice. The front bar has an integrated splitter, much like the hurricane 7 or should I say Super GT car.

You can see here that it's quite pronounced. I like to see it completely blue also the black making the width seem thin when in fact it's quite chunky. This also gives the car a look of being higher than it actually is. The splitter would be attracted to the driveway. Maybe install some aluminium scuff plates underneath.

The openings have been ducted with sheet alloy for cooling enhancement.

These are some of the nicer lamps I've seen in a while with a little bling.

The rear section has a lot of places for air to escape. A bit of an issue on a stock FD. I imagine many people would paint this lower section black to integrate with the diffuser or hide the mesh.

The twin dolphin tail muffler also looks pretty cool.

There's a vent at the side also. The top edge is quite thick, giving a square feel to the rear.

And there are two more vents on top to extract the last amount of air trapped inside at speed. This should be assisted by the rear finisher lip which is quite up-swept.

This 3" up sweep will combine with the rear GT3 wing so you have an effective aero package with reduced drag capability.

On a small note. The plaqard for the car at TAS showed the LED Tail Lamp Finisher as ... Tail "LUMP" finisher. I had a little chuckle. Anyway, keep reading... I'm getting to it.

 Power for this car is proven RE-Amemiya "Explosion/Bakahatsu" Spec.

13b REW block with 2mm, 1 piece ceramic Apex Seals

TO4R from HKS with trust V-Mount and AC is still installed.

Power FC and piggy backed TRUST GReddy E-01 engine management systems.

Piping is polished and heat shielding is applied to all turbo located hoses.

There's a host of ancillaries on the engine that make a proven package.

 OK OK, here is the rear finisher.

Lights are IPF, which are the same as those used in other RE-Amemiya cars in recent years. They are an off the shelf item from IPF and replacements can be purchased separately. Centre lamps include indicator and reverse lighting. Which kind of negates the need for the rear reflectors in the bumper.

This is the display piece. The only thing I found a little below par was the join above the first light.

Of course it's a necessary join, however it is quite visible as the weave moves in different directions.

The rest is nicely proportioned and the lights themselves are nice. At TAS these items were 106000yen for frp and 126000 for Carbon.  Get out your cash.

Personally I'd go for body colored integration in FRP.

And remember stance. 10J +15 on the rear with over fenders.
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