The other area that required major fabrication was the front crossmember. First, the whole assembly was lowered on custom spacers I had made to allow for the very tall nature of the engine. Most of the fabrication here was done with more trial and error than basic design. The steering rack mount was modified to allow for a large area of material to be removed, so as not to foul on the engine sump. Once this was done, some strengthening was required and the adapted Honda engine mounts positioned and checked.
The other parts that needed to be fabricated were the gearbox mount, the driveshaft, a custom brace I designed to run under the gearbox, and the exhaust manifold. I did have some help from my boss, particularly with work on the crossmember. He had raced single seat cars for many years with great success, and his experience was invaluable in positioning the engine.
Once all this was done and before the shell saw paint, I got the shell rolling, put it on the trailer, and drove to Gunt Tuning where Michael Gunning was going to make a custom exhaust manifold. After that, the shell was primed and painted, and reassembly began.
HT: How has the swap performed so far?EOS: The car was started on 12th of August, the morning of the Prodrift European event just outside Dublin at Punchestown racecourse. It started the first time. I brought it for a quick spin to check it out, and then drove 40 minutes to the track. Even on the road, the power and responsiveness of the engine was apparent. It would pull from anywhere in the RPM range, partially due to the fact that the car weighs very little, but also due to the mapping of the race-spec Mektronic ECU. Ben Rushworth of Angelworks Technologies in the UK tuned it with an emphasis on gaining as much mid-range power and torque from the naturally high-revving engine. The result was 250hp at 9000 rpm and 150 lb-ft of torque from 5000rpm right up to redline.
Once on the track, the car felt really good. There were all-new suspension components fitted and a huge amount of weight had been removed from the shell. This, along with being out of the driving seat for almost a year, meant that it took 2 or 3 events to get some sort of confidence back. The balance of power to weight is perfect. I find that 350-400hp S13's are now holding me up when twin drifting. The grip that the car generates is unreal. There's very little tire smoke-it just grips and goes. I passed one of the top drivers here in his S13 on my second event. At the next round he was running 18's and 265 rear tires to try and get more traction.
Having said that, it still feels very much like an '86. You still need to rev it hard to get the most out of it and it handles like any '86 should. With 250 hp, I'm still going be an underdog going up against some of the big turbo-powered drift cars, but that's cool with me. I might not make much tire smoke, but I'll be pushing big angle 9000rpm all day long.
In comparison to a fully built 4AG, I'd say that although horsepower numbers may be similar, I don't think one could generate that much torque from such low revs. I have quite a wide powerband that would be hard get with a 1600. Also, this is a totally stock Honda engine. I really shouldn't have any reliability issues once it's maintained correctly. A built 4AG with similar power would need a lot of attention over the course of a season.
HT: How does your car compare to a drift-spec S2000?EOS: I've never driven an S2000, and there are none competing in any drift series in the UK. I would imagine my car would be far lighter, though, and maybe a little more agile with its manual steering set up.
HT: What's your plan for the 2007 season?EOS: The final rounds of the Prodrift Ireland series were really just about getting some confidence back and setting up the car to my liking. I had some good runs, though, and managed a 4th place in round 6. This year, I'm going to be competing mainly in the Prodrift European series, but I hope to be able to attend some of the Irish events. The Irish spectators are brilliant; there's always a huge turnout whatever the weather, and they really get behind the drivers. I'll be surprised if the European crowds are as loud. I'm very happy with the car and I know with a little more seat time I'll be capable of challenging for a title.
Now that my car is finished and I'm not really a rookie anymore, my project feature in the magazine has come to an end. I'll be looking for a good sponsor for this season, and with a little luck I'll be able to get someone on board. My tire sponsor was also part of the package with the magazine, so that's another area I need to try and sort in the next few months.
After attending the final round of Formula D at Irwindale while on vacation last year, I would love a chance to drive in the States. It was such a huge event; the crowd was massive, and the support from manufacturers and tuning companies is unbelievable. I loved it, and I met some very cool people there. Hopefully after Darren McNamara and Damien Mulvey's success at the D1GP AllStar event last December, a few doors might open for some of us Irish drivers to come over. There really is a huge amount of talent here; there are probably 10 drivers at any Prodrift IRL event that could take the win. It's what makes it the most competitive series in Europe.