Journal: The 117 FD – First Laps at TC2000

As many times as I’ve been to Tsukuba to cover events, almost fifteen years worth now, I never really felt a strong compulsion to drive the circuit myself. Of course it would have been an incredible experience, but for the most part I was content driving my cars back home. I think most of that came down to circumstance. I never really had a car in Japan that was circuit worthy, and the time I did spend driving there was usually behind the wheel of a Kei car. Opportunities to own tuning cars in Japan did come up, but for me the opportunity cost was always hard to ignore; money tied up there meant less flexibility to invest back into the company or elsewhere. I have the blue FD that still needs to be finished, the IS F and S2000 have modifications planned (while small still add up), and I’m generally adverse to spending in general – especially now, when every decision is weighed against saving for my family’s future. That’s been my mindset for the past several years of traveling to Japan for Dogfight.

That was, until the summer of last year, when I made the decision to buy this FD.

It wasn’t a decision made lightly. I’m not working with the largest budget, but I had been setting aside funds each year with the long term possibility of a purchase like this in mind. When the decision was finally made, it would account for more than just the car’s price; registration, insurance, ongoing maintenance, and the parts I intended to change all factored in. Part of me wonders if this was some sort of mid-life crisis buy; I’m getting older, my daughter was born 2 months prior, I’m fairly established; just saying, maybe this is my Porsche. When I was selling the idea of buying a car in Japan to my wife, I told her that it would eventually become our daughters, and she sort of liked that notion – which helped.  I even got her a 1:18 scale FEED model for Christmas; each year it will get a little bigger, and by the time she’s old enough to drive it will be full size. Once I had decided on this particular car, my good friend Sekinei drove the wrecker down to Osaka to handle the purchase on my behalf. That moment marked the beginning of this current journey. You can see a bit more about that in the FD’s first Off Season video.

 

 

The car was technically purchased in July of 2025, though the process began toward the end of May. I wasn’t able to properly assess what needed to be changed or addressed until I could see the car in person that October. The plan was simple; spend a day inspecting it, then order and install whatever parts were immediately necessary. I landed in Tokyo in mid-October, and Sekinei picked me up from Haneda with the FD on the back of the wrecker. From there we went straight to the DMV. Once registration was sorted and the plates issued, 117, a number I’ve used for years and the origin of the car’s nickname, we brought it back to his shop in Yokohama. The car went straight onto jack stands for a full inspection.

Over the following weeks, working in sporadic windows of time, I began addressing the car’s needs; some out of necessity, others out of personal preference. The most urgent items were brakes and tires. The pads and rotors were well past their prime. While new pads were installed all around, the front rotors didn’t arrive in time for the event (I’ll get to that soon). Wheels were swapped for 18×9.5 Enkei GTC02s wrapped in 265-series Shiba R31s. I left a 10mm spacer on the rear, assuming that trimming the front and rear fenders with a sander would be sufficient. In retrospect, that decision was my downfall at Tsukuba. I went as far as cutting into the backing behind the front headlights to prevent the tires from contacting the metal support; initially, they were being shaved by it. As the video shows, it still wasn’t enough in the rear. When I return in February, the spacer will come off, or at least be replaced with a smaller one.

The dampers were an unknown brand and clearly old. Based on the ride alone, I suspected they were no longer working as intended. I considered replacing them but ultimately decided against it for now, choosing instead to work within the car’s existing limitations.

I ordered a full Super Now pulley set along with new OEM belts, as both the accessory and water pump belts were frayed and visibly aged. Brian and I replaced those at Glow. We also removed the air pump. I don’t plan on keeping this car in Japan long enough for the next shaken. It’s registered and insured through the end of 2027; after that, it will be coming to the U.S.

The engine bay still reflected remnants of the single turbo conversion, so I cleaned up the vacuum hoses as best I could. When the car is stateside, I’ll likely pull the manifolds and address everything properly. I may also bring block off plates back to Japan instead along with things like a cleaner battery relocation – idk, I’m still making that list.

As seen in the photos above and below, I removed the DIY metal under panel that was on the car and replaced it with a carbon under panel from Glow. The install was rushed and will need to be redone when I return, but even imperfect, it’s a significant improvement over the original piece. Inside, I made a few small changes, namely steering wheel and quick release, along with our new Delrin model shift knob, and installed one of our TRS 6-point harnesses to pair with the Mazdaspeed seat that came with the car. I like the seat, but it isn’t ideal on track, so I’ll likely be searching for a used Bride before the next outing.

At Glow, we changed the engine oil, transmission fluid, and differential fluid, and discovered a small oil leak at the front of the engine. Initially, I feared it might be the front main seal, but further inspection suggested it could also be related to the oil metering pump lines. The car is currently at Zest Racing, where Yamazaki and Hara are taking it apart to diagnose the issue more thoroughly. I’m probably forgetting a few things. Oh right, I also bought a new PFC Commander that didn’t work with the ECU. That makes me two for two on non-functioning Commanders.

I’m learning that, owning a tuning car in Japan (while only being there 2 or 3 months a year) is largely made possible by the network around you. Without friends like Sekinei and Hara, who were kind enough to let me use their space, I honestly don’t think this car would exist. My budget doesn’t allow for dropping it off somewhere for a full rebuild. Even if it means working outside in the rain, having access to space makes all the difference.

 

That brings us up to the present day, and gives a clear snapshot of where the car currently stands. The GLOW Driving Event at Ebisu, which I originally planned to attend, was cancelled due to snow. With that off the table, Hara suggested registering for the December 17th Zummy Racing event instead; they still had openings in the Attack C-Class run group. I agreed, and managed to convince Brian and Cody to register as well, so the four of us could drive together. Hara in the new RX-8 demo car, my FD, Brian’s GR Yaris, and Cody’s Euro R. Looking back, I think I was more excited about driving with friends again than the fact that it would be at Tsukuba. I hadn’t driven the ISF at home for over a year, and with the birth of my daughter, really didn’t have the free time to do so anyway.  Honestly I would have been stoked to drive at any track at that point.

Cody and I coincidentally booked the same hotel outside of the circuit, so the night before the event we met up at Moriya SA for dinner and then headed to the hotel together. After years of covering events at Tsukuba, I was finally going to drive it myself – pretty cool.

 

 

It’s been about a month since the event, and despite still working through content from earlier in the year, I wanted to document it while the memories were still fresh in my head. This post is mostly for myself, but for those who enjoy following my personal builds and Off Season videos, I hope it’s worth a read.  The days leading up to, and the morning of the event itself passed in a blur. Pulling out of the pits for the first warm-up lap felt like I had suddenly spawned onto the course. Heading into turn 1 for the first time my brain finally caught up to what was happening, and I thought to myself, oh okay, I’m driving now I can finally relax a bit. It was pretty surreal. I’m usually a tiny bit nervous at the start of each session even at home, but I felt almost no pressure here.

Our run group had two twenty minute sessions; the first ones out on an ice cold track, and the second later in the morning, around 930am. My plan was to use the entire first session to get acquainted with the circuit, gradually building pace without attempting any full out laps. Despite countless hours as a kid in Gran Turismo, and a handful more recently on the sim, TC2000 was new territory for me. I was a novice at best. And with the knowledge that I was sharing the morning with some of the fastest drivers in Japan, the last thing I wanted to do was disrupt their laps or compromise conditions in any way. Aoki actually warned me to be cautious on the first session as the track had no grip.

I did exactly that, and honestly had a lot of fun finally getting to stretch the FD’s legs. After hours spent crawling through Tokyo traffic, it felt good to let the car breathe on track. A few observations, some of which I mention in the video. The car was understeering quite a bit, most likely due to the ancient dampers and possibly compounded by the cold conditions. I noticed the understeer eased slightly as heat built in the tires toward the end of the run, but it’s still something that needs to be addressed, especially considering I wasn’t pushing very hard. Because most of my time in the car prior had been spent in traffic, I didn’t really know what wide open felt like. On track, the car felt a bit sluggish relative to the power it was supposed to have. We later discovered the wastegate hose had completely corroded and come off, which explained a lot.

Then there was the rear clearance issue. During the second session, once I began to push, it quickly escalated to the point where I was black-flagged almost immediately. I abandoned the lap and came in. The Tsukuba staff initially thought there was an oil leak due to the amount of smoke, but after realizing it was coming from the rear tires, they deemed it a hazard. At that point, I decided to call it a day; well, they called it for me.

My first official best lap at TC2000 was a 1’07.305, set toward the end of the session, with times gradually improving as planned. Earlier that morning, I had told Taka, the GT-R35 record holder, that I was aiming for a 1’05. Given the circumstances, I’m fairly confident that’s achievable next time. I’m excited to sort the car properly and really drive it the way it deserves.

As for the Shiba R31s, I don’t think I can give any meaningful feedback yet. Hopefully, next time.

1’07.305 | Sector 1: 27.629 | Sector 2: 27.269 | Sector 3 12.407 | Top Speed: 178.808

I tried to make the video entertaining, but really I put it together as reference for my own use. It’s just the raw laps in the first session, including some of the cool downs, so I wouldn’t expect anything exciting as an observer.

 

 

Ending my day after the first session at least allowed me to get some event coverage for the site, which I’ll put together a bit later. I also learned quickly, as Shu once told me, that it’s virtually impossible to properly cover an event you’re also driving in. You end up doing both poorly. As Ron Swanson puts it, don’t half-ass two things; whole-ass one thing. I’ll keep that in mind next time. Sometimes it’s better to focus on just one role.

After the event wrapped up, we ate motsu at the restaurant and had the traditional Glico mint chip ice cream, although it hit a little differently this time. I didn’t take many photos for the reasons above, but on the drive back to Yokohama, Cody and I stopped by Daikoku PA for a coffee. I snapped a few photos there; realistically, the only time you’ll catch me at Daikoku is when I’m using it as an actual rest stop. While we were there, Tamura-san, chairman of Mid Night Racing, randomly arrived in his blue Rise Yokohama x Y’s Produce FD. I hadn’t seen him since 7’s Day two years ago, so it was nice to catch up briefly. I took a few photos of his car as well.

So that was my experience driving Tsukuba for the first time. I went in not expecting anything, and ended up learning quite a bit, both about the track, the car and driving events in Japan in general. Looking back, any hesitancy that I had regarding the purchase of this car washed away once I was able to get it on track. The burden of repair feels lighter when you can actually enjoy the car as intended.

Enjoy the gallery, and we’ll be back soon with more event coverage.