Between the amount of traveling I’ve done early this Summer (Japan’s record temps in June), our new focus on growth, and the recent heatwave here in the West, this years off-season has developed a sense of eternity to it. Even now in September, as people are gearing up to race again, the idea of heading out to the track for testing alludes me.
Before I take off for Japan for the Summer, I was lucky enough to have one more opportunity to take the ISF to the track with all the tire issues finally sorted out. I wasn’t able to get the stiffer springs on in time, however that may have actually worked out better for the baseline testing.
Before we headed out to Buttonwillow Raceway for the Club Racer event back on the 25th, I needed to address the issue with the new iCode exhaust we installed on the ISF; specifically, how it was melting my rear bumper.
After an arduous and rather busy off season, we’re finally back behind the wheel of the ISF for more testing. Scaling up the company this past year had unfortunately pushed this project down on the list of priorities, but we’re excited to be able to post some updates again.
We last updated the Koyorad x NDF ISF project in late January after some testing at Chuckwalla Raceway. In the past 2 months, the car has undergone some pretty drastic, albeit, unseen modifications in our quest to tweak the ISF into the car it should have been from the factory.
This past Friday, the team headed out to Chuckwalla Valley Raceway to drive the Club Racer open test day that took place over the whole of the weekend. Two days of open track was great for dialing in the ISF and I was able to collect more baseline data before the next round of modifications.
Back in June, after several months of owning the car, I introduced the new ISF project and sort of explained the direction I’d be taking the car. After a short Summer hiatus, I’ve accumulated a little more data, or what I’d think is at least is enough, to post an update.
Over the past few months, while we’ve all been confined to our immediate places of residence, I’ve had the unique opportunity to devote some time to this new (sort of) project of mine; the NDF ISF.
It was at the end of last year I shot these photos of Kemritte’s Corolla with the intentions of writing a full article on the car. Having just finished the build a few months earlier, I was keen on sharing it with our audience. It was mid-December, right before the holiday rush, and I remember preparing for a few trips to Japan as well as some work trips I had on my calendar.
It seems like ages since I’ve driven my car, and at the pace that life seems to be moving recently that wouldn’t even be an exaggeration. It’s been well over two years since I’ve written of any progress (publicly – I keep a notebook), and just about a year and a half since I’ve driven the thing. I can honestly say, however, that over the past 6 months there hasn’t been a day that I wasn’t focused on finishing this build. In these past two years I’ve learned more about the nuances specific to building Honda’s than I have in my entire life; from engine building and wiring to fabrication and fluid dynamics. It hasn’t been easy, but thankfully I have some amazingly talented friends that have helped along the way.
When I left off the first post, I had just got done making my rounds in the pit, getting acquainted with a few people, and generally just getting a lay of the land. It was my first time at US Air and really wasn’t familiar with any of the track layout. After Mico introduced me to Nick from Touge Factory, I was able to get a media pass and head out to the infield to start getting some shots of the open practice session that was going on.
Being on an airplane nearly every week for the last year has somewhat numbed me to the miracle of flight. Commercial airlines have figuratively made the world a much smaller, and more obtainable place. The opportunity of creating new relationships and experiences are increased exponentially because of our ability to understand flight. As I travel for work quite frequently, I often have to step back and view the act existentially as to remind myself of what I’ve been able to accomplish with the help of those winged metal tubes. Arriving home Thursday after a 4 day stint in Tucson, Arizona, I had one day to catch up on work, and gather my camera gear, as I had made the decision to make my way Northeast on Friday night.
*Brushes dust off of WordPress topic*
Whew, been awhile since we’ve visited this one hasn’t it? I didn’t realize it until I went back and verified, but the last post on my personal build was all the way back in July! What the hell have I been doing the past 8 months? I can answer that for you – not working on the car. You can view the last update here to get an idea of where we’re picking up from. In all honesty I probably wouldn’t have posted anything more on the car except for a few comments I get on IG (@naritadogfight) requesting an update. I’ve pretty much just relied on the few pictures I post as a record of my progress, but since I had my camera at the shop yesterday I decided to snap a few pictures. You’ll be quick to notice not much has changed.
I got a few things done on the car since my last post, I mean, not much, but it’s something I suppose. I realized I hadn’t really posted many pictures of the cage, so […]
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Shoji Auto may not have the best website, but they sure built a good looking Z30…
This weekend Sekinei and friends stopped by Fuji Speedway to check out the SSJ show that was being held there. Not typically where you’d find us, but there are plenty of great cars to be […]
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Sure, we all know Naoki’s purple/pink S13 coupe, but some aren’t as familiar with the S15 he was to drive in D1. This purpose built drift machine was fully race spec, and just as crazy looking as the older coupe. I wonder if he will be driving it in the new series,‘The Drift Muscle’? Check out the pics.
