7's Day 2011 - FAM Speeding

FAM Speed are sometimes forgotten in among the major players of the rotary scene in Japan but definitely worth a look.

 This is probably die to the fact they don't really concentrate on Aero. Other companies seem to do this well enough. What FAM speed do is concentrate on power. Their engines produce some of the bigger HP numbers in the Japanese scene.

630 lazy horsepower in this car without a widebody in sight. Thanks to a HKS T51-R Tubo and all the required plumbing including their own V-Mount design and other items.

Brake cylinder stopper gives a bit better feel with the normal Brake Master Cylinder.

However the front brakes have been upgraded with extra pots of meat.

 Rear flamethrower canon and some extra venting. The hole in the reflector is a nice touch to complement the venting and difusser.

 No rear wide-body on this car. We have shown time and time again it's only the front that needs upgrading and this car uses Fujita-Afflux fenders to house the Direzza RS-Z Wheels and S-Tyres.

C-West Skirts and an RE-Amemiya front Bar complete an incomplete body. Bonnet is their own branding similar to Webber Sports or Ings+ but you will notice an extra vent at the rear.

Inside, the car has a time attack necessity these days.... the sequential shifter. The 7 Defi guages require two control units and the HKS LAP timer keeps the driver informed.

It's not uncommon for two ECUs to be double piggy backed like this. A PFC can work well, but the FConV actually has more programming points for a smoother MAP. Passengers need not apply for a ride in this car no seat and no legroom. The Brake bias adjuster for total balance.

 Rear houses a welded cage and an RE-Amemiya Harness bar which doubles for some video recording.

Fam speed use 7's day to clean out their garage and they had a variety of used parts for sale.

As well as new products like these coilovers,

Air Separator tank,

Big throttle body and...

Their rebuilt 500hp turbo sets.

 RE-Amemiya Front with colour-coded splitter and kevlar canards looks cool with the Feed fenders.

The car was a little twitchy pushing 630 hp through 255 tyres.

But the RX7's ATS drivetrain was doing it's best to a 1'00.997 to make it the fastest 7 in the morning sessions

The team worked hard all day as they set up for the hot version run.

The normal light setup makes a change from the sea of sleek lights.

Not a bad profile.

Going fast or sitting still, the FD3s still seems to have massive sports car appeal.

FAM Speed didn't qualify well for the hot version battle,

But being a reverse grid race, one might say they were cagey or just helping their own cause because they finished strongly.

Green means GO!

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RE-Xtreme Version III at Ebisu

RE-Xtreme headed to Ebisu for D1 and during some downtime after the event, I managed to hit up Ebisu's Higashi Circuit.

GT Wing is a must for the circuit with stability and braking are greatly effected. Removal of under bonnet vent covers and other usual prep included, light taping, and regular mechanical checks.

Any car sitting in the pits looks like a race car. Mine looks like any other Time Attack car.

The helmet came out of the closet and finally got some use.

I took these shots after the on track adventures, because the car is still for sale. I am confident that this one has decent potential. It performed very well on the circuit even without some things others might have.

The plan for the day was not an all out attack. As the first time this car has been on the track, I was wanting to play with suspension settings on the KTS dampers and just get a feel for the car's ability.

 I am amazed how much grip the FD chassis has. I found myself pushing harder, just because it felt so good and balanced.

I was a little reserved however as I was only running Pirelli Dragon street radials, which are hardly a recognized track tyre.  I was pleasantly surprised by the grip available. I was expecting huge slides and poor braking, but the chassis was working very well indeed proving I am close to the setup I chose for the car.

Interior is also well set up. I was watching all the things I needed to. Oil and water temps. Making sure it's all ok. Boost sitting at 0.9 bar.... a lot!.

Safe and secure.

I recently replaced the rear sections of the hatch interior. The weight saving is about 2kg. Which is more than covered by the engine power and light weight components elsewhere. I didn't even bother removing the passenger seat.

It was hot though, with temps around 30 degrees, I was only doing ~7 lap stints to make sure the car was operating OK. Warm up, Attack, followed by cool down laps or something like that.

13b Single Turbo, Large IC, Koyo Rad etc etc. All the goodies.

Greddy TD-06-25G with external wastegate on full song is awesome.

Here is the car over the hill on the Ebisu Higashi (East) course. It's great grabbing 4th right about here and still accelerating.

I set the GT wing on the flatest position for balance. It worked very well with these photos showing the car running flat without rear squat or front dive.

One of the only other 2 drivers using the course was kind enough to snap these shots  His full tune Nismo S1 engine 400hp GT-R34 on Dunlop Direzza was lapping in the same times as me to my surprise. He even headed over to the down hill side through the fence. Thanks very much.

A fun day. Will be sad to see the FD go.

D1 coincided as part of the Summer Matsuri, Drift or Grip can be undertaken at any of the Ebisu tracks for extremely low cost. Monday challenge is all day at Ebisu Higashi for only $120. As many laps as you can do. Matsuri is also on right now and Powervehicles has services from car purchase, rental and tuition from Team Orange's Naoto Suenaga and other circuit drivers.

Powervehicles.com can arrange all kinds of motorsport tours and if you are wanting a competent street/track car, give them a call. RE-Xtreme Version III needs a new home before I spend more cash.

Track days are addictive.

Russ

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D1 Round 7 - R-Magic D1-7

R-Magic and D1. Flying the flag for the FD community!

Pink side or yellow side. It looks great.

Last count was 618 hp on the dyno. That's enough to warrant that huge strut tower bar. I'd imagine chassis flex is an issue.

Kenji and sometimes others have destroyed a lot of body panels on the 7 this year. but R-Magic always have it looking great.

And they always support the local area. Ebisu is located in the Fukushima area, so don't forget these guys are still doing it tough. Feel free to dig deep. It's a pity the attendances were down over the weekend. The areas inside the track complex are still bearing the signs of the earthquake and subsequent disasters.

Takayama scored number 13. Was it good for the 13b or unlucky?

Front spacers are large. required to clear the FD A-Arms.

Rear brake requires instant lock when Kenji pulls the trigger.

On track, Kanji made it through the first stage of best 32. But that then leaves 24 in the battles.

I think this is lower than bump stops. Super compression.

In the battles he made a little mistake so couldn't progress to the 2nd stage of battles.

Even though, he looked impressive.

In flight! Burning rubber. But I guess, there's plenty left for the next round.

Might need those to qualify for the next round.

When the rain came. The FD3s was left in a lonely place so I grabbed a reflective shot.

Maybe 13 was unlucky after all.

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