Archive for ‘Vlogs’

Honda-Swapped Benz, Tesla-Powered S2000, A Legendary DC2 + IS300 & DC5 Updates!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #31

Honda-Swapped Benz, Tesla-Powered S2000, A Legendary DC2 + IS300 & DC5 Updates!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #31

This one is jam-packed with a wide-variety of automotive goodness! First, we finally take my IS300 wagon to the body shop to start on body work and paint, then we head to Period Correct in Costa Mesa for the grand unveiling of two new Turn 14 exclusive builds. The first is Rywire’s Tesla-driven Honda S2000 and the second is a wild S2000 F22C-swapped Mercedes 190E!! We check those cars out and head back to the shop in time to put some work into the DC5 RSX. The day after that, I stop by my boy David’s meet and am reunited with one of the most legendary Integra builds in the Honda tuning community.

A Double-Feature Packed With RARE JDM Goodness!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #30

A Double-Feature Packed With RARE JDM Goodness!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #30

It’s been a while since we’ve had the time to do one of our “Drive-By” episodes but boy is this a good one! If you like rare Japanese parts, wheels, and car guys that love all things “JDM” to an absolutely obsessive level, this one is the one to watch. Jaime has been wanting to bring his JZX100 Mark II over for a while now but after driving at AVS, he ended up destroying his front lip! He got it repaired, blew-up a pair of TEs, and finally made it presentable after driving the car all the way to Norcal and back. Since our friend Derek was in-town for Formula Drift, it was the perfect time for Jaime to come by since Derek loves hanging out with us (we have no idea why) and he surprised us with a car that we never even knew he had. This is one of those longer episodes you guys have been asking for so sit back and watch us talk our shit!!…

From Broken NSX To Breaking Records, The Road To 1:44.768… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #29

From Broken NSX To Breaking Records, The Road To 1:44.768… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #29

Well, it finally happened…The Koyorad x RS Future K-turbo NSX is fast—REALLY fast. And after nearly three years of development, it’s also the NEW Super Lap Battle “Street Class” overall champion and record-holder. It wasn’t easy, I’ll tell you that. I’ve had the pleasure of watching this car come to form from the very beginning as a stripped-down bare shell. People didn’t understand the concept of utilizing a turbocharged K-series engine in an NSX at first. To most, it just seemed like a ‘cool idea’ but the C30/C32 engine was Honda’s flagship 6-cylinder powerplant. To some, it was automotive sacrilege to put a modern Honda 4-cylinder engine in an NSX. The doubters were only proved right when the car continued through its development stages and repeatedly ran into issues. It was a bit disheartening to see the car not reach the level of success that we had hoped for but everyone involved knew that it would be a long process. Things started to turn around at the start of 2020 when the gearbox issues that had halted development were relieved thanks to a Samsonas Motorsport dogbox. The NSX really started to move after that. As Amir Bentatou got more comfortable, and even more confident, behind the wheel, we knew that there was a strong possibility it would finally see the success we had envisioned for it at Buttonwillow Raceway. Sit back, take a trip down memory lane with us as we venture back to the beginning, and relive all the emotions that came when the clock hit 1:44.768…

A Wild Weekend At Club Handz With The Boys!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #28

A Wild Weekend At Club Handz With The Boys!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #28

What a weekend! Originally I had only planned on going to the Super Lap Battle event hosted by Global Time Attack but being that it was a two-day event, I decided to make the trek back to Apple Valley Speedway once again to support my friend Kemritte’s “Club Handz” event. For those that aren’t aware, Club Handz is a grassroots drifting event put together by a group of friends that just want to go out and drive without points or politics. It’s just a great time and a real vibe (as Kemritte told me). I always wanted to go support but our schedules just never aligned. I was either out of the country or something else was going on. The stars finally aligned during this crazy year so Der and I decided to go to Club Handz on Saturday, and then head to Buttonwillow the next day for Super Lap Battle. It was a lot of driving since both tracks are in such different parts of California but well worth it to support friends!

Phil’s B-Day Drift Party, A Random Car Meet, And More!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #27

Phil’s B-Day Drift Party, A Random Car Meet, And More!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #27

Don’t think we’ve ever done anything like this before but we actually had a birthday party at the track! Talk about a ‘themed party’! Haha. Phil wanted to drive his S2000 on his birthday so he decided to rent out the entire Apple Valley Speedway track to have some drifting fun with some friends! Most of us just went out to drink, hang-out and watch the boys drive but the guys that did drive were not messing around. Cars get thrashed in this episode and we didn’t even have cake at the end! Before the party however, Der and I head down to Orange County to check out a car meet with some of the most random assortment of cars that we’ve ever seen!

Attacking Time At Club Racer Reunion Weekend!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #26

Attacking Time At Club Racer Reunion Weekend!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #26

Boy does it feel nice to be out and about again. In the midst of all the madness that is 2020, there hasn’t been very many car events to go to so I was excited to head out to Chuckwalla Valley Raceway for the first time ever with Der to support our friends from Club Racer/VTEC Club USA. It was a hot one but definitely worth it to check out some cars, catch up with friends, and see some racing. I myself spent most of my time hiding in the shade but when golden hour came around and the sun was just right, we went out on the track ourselves to get some photos. On day 2, which was the NDF Attack Challenge, I give you guys some in-car footage of Amir’s K-swapped NSX which is running fantastic now. It took some time but the car is finally performing as it should and good lord is it fast now. He ended up setting the fastest lap overall in his class and was likely one of the fastest cars there! A far cry from when we first started covering the build and it was just breaking all the time, lol.

More Build Updates & A First-Look At Sara’s New Livery!!…  CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #25

More Build Updates & A First-Look At Sara’s New Livery!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #25

Is it October already? What a weird year it has been. Even with the heatwave still hitting California pretty hard, things have not slowed down at all here at the shop. We talk about the recent developments with Andrew’s TSX lightweight project, Phil’s drift S2000, and something pretty special shows up from Russia for my IS300. A few days after that, I meet up with Sara to check out the newly-completed livery on her IS300 drift car…

The Exceed S2000 Hits The Track For Some Testing!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #24

The Exceed S2000 Hits The Track For Some Testing!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #24

With the S2000 all prepped and ready for some drifting, we head to Apple Valley Speedway in the middle-of-nowhere California for a private test day. There are still some parts we’d like to install on the S2000 but Phil really wanted to get some seat-time in the car before further changes. Unfortunately, AVS has no night-time lighting and the sun is coming down extra early these days as the seasons change so we didn’t get as much footage as we wanted. However, the car is running great and we had a blast out there!

The New S2000 Project Car & An Update On The TSX!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #23

The New S2000 Project Car & An Update On The TSX!!… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #23

We’re really starting to have some fun now getting fully adjusted to this summer heat and figuring out ways to keep ourselves entertained here at the shop. On this episode we introduce you to our friend Philstar’s S2000 project that Yuta has been tinkering with the last few late nights. The TSX is all together and ready to head-off to our friend Ken Suen’s shop for some custom fab-work but before it leaves, we decide to get it on the scale to see where we were in terms of reaching our goal weight of 2500 lbs. How close are we and is it even possible to get a CL9 chassis down to that weight while keeping it streetable? Watch and find out!…

Testing The TDG Tesla Model S At The Track… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #22

Testing The TDG Tesla Model S At The Track… CHRNCLS Vlog 2020 #22

It’s been hot as hell out here in Southern California lately so I was slightly reluctant when my friend Robert Chew invited me out to Buttonwillow Raceway. He wanted to take his Tesla Model S out on the track for a shakedown to get a feel for how the car would perform and coincidentally, our friend Amir was hosting a small track day in August. The whole concept of tracking a Model S is pretty strange, considering how the platform is not necessarily one of those cars you would want to build to be competitive but it is important to look to the future sometimes to see the potential of electric vehicles. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into other than getting the car prepped with the bare minimum of new tires, an alignment, and upgraded brake pads. What you’ll see is a daily-driven Tesla Model S P100D with KW Suspension, Volk TEs, and a full TDG carbon lip kit out on the track for the very first time. Amir pilots the Tesla and gives us some feedback as well as some info on the issues that he encountered. It’s definitely different considering the weight of the car, it’s electric motor, and how the car makes absolutely no noise. Check it out!