D1 Drift 2009 Round 3 & 4, Okayama

[13Beast]

Well, that was the plan. My only question about getting the carpark is - my accommodation is through Leo Palace, and it is leased through my work (AEON). If I was to apply for a carpark through Leo Palace) would that somehow get back to my work? Or am I able to approach Ehime prefecture city hall and apply that way? There are TONS of empty carparks around where I live. Not sure if they are connected to adjoining apartment buildings or what, but there is a giant, dirt/gravel roped off parking area about 50 metres from my house, which is never more than 1/3 full, and the same cars park there day-in, day-out, so I don't think there is an issue with scarcity of parking where I live. The only issue is going about organising a carpark without my work knowing...

[dr1ft.jp]

If you do it through Leo Palace they will definitely find out but somewhere else near there should be fine.

You need to pay for the carpark (and about three months deposit) then you get a certificate from the cops saying you have a carpark which lets you buy a car and you are good to go!

Also remember do not ask anyone at your work to help you.

The carpark should have a small board on a fence or somwhere telling you the monthly cost... it will probably be around 10,000yen or so

Edited May 26, 2009 by dr1ft.jp

[13Beast]

You sound quite experienced in these matters of sourcing carparks without work finding out

So if I was to go elsewhere, is it simply a matter of approaching the owner/company of a neighbouring apartment building? Or do I approach the government - say the Prefectural Office? Is there somewhere I can actually check on the web or call?

I have a good Japanese friend of mine I can get to translate/call if need be. I've already asked her about the carpark thing and she has no clue. But she is happy to help with the language barrier

[dr1ft.jp]

Well I used to work for Nova and that place was filled with stooges so you had to run a tight ship if you were doing anything that they might not approve of.

I am just on the train to work so I took some pics from my house to the station of the signs you need to look for. Some are handwritten. Just get your friend to call the number and find out what to do.

Edited May 26, 2009 by dr1ft.jp

[13Beast]

Thanks mate. Much appreciated! I will scout around the local area and see what I can rustle up.

Also, I've heard that when you see the advertised price of a vehicle, usually there is another 200,000 yen on top that you must be prepared to pay for - i.e. insurance (which is compulsory) and various other taxes/charges that are incurred when you purchase a car. I'm aware of Shaken, and the annual vehicle tax every May, but what else is included in the costs to budget for when buying my first car here? Is it best to only shop for a car with a valid shaken? Or can a car with no shaken, be bought for a good price and a shaken sourced on my part relatively cheaply?

[dr1ft.jp]

That is a whole thread on its own... if you can do shaken yourself it is great, but you would need a stock car or very lightly modified one.

I bought both my cars off Yahoo then got a workshop to do Shaken, but I really don't know the best way.

[13Beast]

Definitely. Unfortunately, the cars I have my eye on with no shaken, are quite highly modified. How'd you go sourcing cars from yahoo? Is this the japanese yahoo auction site? I'm presuming you are very savvy with reading/speaking Japanese to be able to do that?

[dr1ft.jp]

I have learned how to do Yahoo Auctions by myself, but I needed help for the car ones.

Basically you need a nice Japanese friend and enough money to feed and water them for as long as it takes to get the car. Then a present and lots of thankyous at the end for the hassle.

There are a couple of tuning shops in Matsuyama. If you want to drive and go to the circuit and get help when you crash etcetera then try to become the pet gaijin of one of these shops. I am in no way recommending any of them, they could be serial killers or something... but buying a car off them will save a lot of hassles. Again depends what you want to do.

Speed Style Ark

スピードスタイル アーク 〒799-2652

愛媛県松山市福角町917-1 089-978-5520 089-978-5520

Garage Scramble (winner of MSC Drift Comp at Setonai Circuit) <-- Far away from your place

ガレージ スクランブル 〒799-2467

愛媛県松山市磯河内34-6 089-979-0903 089-979-0903

JIN <-- this one looks dodgy to me

株式会社ＪＩＮ 〒791-1105

愛媛県松山市北井門2丁目3-12 089-958-1501 089-958-1501

Edited May 26, 2009 by dr1ft.jp

[13Beast]

Thanks for those links. What makes you mention the last one (JIN) as seeming a little dodgy?

To find a modified car, is sourcing it through a tuning shop usually the best way? They often work on and service, but also buy and sell plenty of vehicles on the used/modified market?

I've seen plenty of big car-yards about the place, but very few with anything performance-wise. Perhaps I should be looking for the tuning shops?

What do you think of the www.goo-net.com website for sourcing cars? That's what I have been using mostly to find cars for sale about Japan and check prices etc.

[13Beast]

Oh, and does becoming the "pet gaijin" of a local tuning shop entail any perks or side benefits? Cheap parts/servicing etc etc?

[dr1ft.jp]

The main thing you need is someone to help you, buying a car off a workshop establishes a relationship which may help you get dodgy shaken and assistance with things like transport and paperwork, you will probably pay normal prices for parts but when you crash in the hills or Setonai Circuit and are looking at a 100,000yen retail tow charge to get home you will find that paying market price for some tiny parts suddenly seems like a really good trade off for a free/cheap tow home from your friendly workshop. Again it depends what you want to do...

If you want to drive/drift/race then do something with a workshop, you may not have to buy a car off them to establish pet gaijin status but it would certainly help.

If you just want a car to cruise around in then you can do it yourself. goo-net is fun to shop around on but you probably won't find any bargains there and a dealer won't want to see you back after you buy the car.

Again, it depends what you want to do...

JIN looks dodgy because it does VIP cars so they could be legitimate businessmen.

What do you want to do with the car?

[13Beast]

Yeah definitely sounds like a plus to thru a workshop, plus it could be a good way to meet other enthusiasts. Besides, I'll need to find a tuning shop to work on the car anyways, so can kill two birds with one stone.

What's the servicing and parts costs like here? Comparable to back in Australia? (ie $60-70 an hr labor)

Car-wise, I'll be cruising around, and would love to get into some circuit or touge racing.

Am leaning towards a late-model FD, although a 32/33 Gtr might tempt me, my only concern is costs of repairs on a gtr is significantly higher than an rx7. Owned a 32 back home, and remembered how expensive labor-wise it was to replace a blown turbo, not to mention the cost of replacing a motor if it goes. They are getting on in years too, but I still have a big soft spot for them.

Matsuyama is close to Hiroshima; the ancestral home of Mazda. Does this mean I'm in the right part of Japan to find a rotary workshop with some nice modified FD's for sale?

[dr1ft.jp]

http://www.d2.dion.ne.jp/~ssark/democar.htm

Speed Style Ark is close to Matsuyama, they have an FD democar and the front page of their site is full of R32s.. sounds like a match made in heaven

[13Beast]

Ha ha. You could be right

This is probably a question for a mazda forum, but I don't suppose you know where RE Amemiya and Knightsports are located? Wonder if they'd have some cars for sale... Or is it only the smaller operators I should be checking out?

[cereal]

Ha ha. You could be right

This is probably a question for a mazda forum, but I don't suppose you know where RE Amemiya and Knightsports are located? Wonder if they'd have some cars for sale... Or is it only the smaller operators I should be checking out?

Knight Sports is in Tokyo, RE Amemiya is in Chiba and FEED is in/near Osaka.

All of them will either have cars for sale or have customers with cars for sale but they're all way too far away from you to be convenient.

I'm actually planning on going to Knight Sports this weekend to see if they have any decent FDs for sale.

[dr1ft.jp]

Budget around 2million yen for an expensive FD

Budget around 3million yen for a cheap one

[13Beast]

Really? I have seen plenty going for around the 300-600,000 mark. Nice, clean examples with well under 100,000 kms and few aftermarket goodies. Seen a few nice, clean, low kms series 8's sneaking in under the 800,000 mark too.

Same with S15's. A few Spec-R's are coming in below the 700,000 mark now. Of course, these are all goo-net prices. I would imagine they could even be cheaper elsewhere.

One question - why the hell are Supra RZ's so expensive? and MR-2 GT's so cheap?

[cereal]

He was saying that the cheap ones usually come with so many troubles that it'll cost you a bomb to get them roadworthy. Any 10 year old rotary will be due for a rebuild, especially if it's modified.

Plus, if you're unable to get a dodgy shaken it will cost you a fortune returning the car to stock each year to pass inspection.

[13Beast]

I disagree... Read up on the FD's, and they are a substantially more reliable and incredibly advanced rotary-powered car than what Mazda has ever produced. Don't forget the 24-hour Hardie-Ferodo race at Bathurst either... They consistently won several years in a row, while plenty of cars DNF'd.

I've owned 2 FC's and also restored a 1971 Series 1 Rx-2. They have always been my first love. They can last for ever if you treat them right. Not to mention deliver breathtaking performance. It's surprisingly addictive to be pulling close to 9000rpm on almost every gearshift.

Also, I'm a firm believer they are relatively inexpensive once you weigh up the cost of parts/rebuilds and of course modifying. Less things to go wrong... no head, cams etc to replace. I owned a '32 GT-R (and whose to say they aren't all due for engine rebuilds too) and that was a costly car to own. Especially once you get a later model with Brembos, and it comes time to replace the discs... Pricey... And 11 hours to change a turbo. Not fun. Of course, that's the price you pay. No performance car should be considered cheap to own. There are always extra costs that comes with that enjoyment of owning such a vehicle.

I'd imagine here in Japan, parts would be quite cheap for rotors. With plenty of new parts (i.e. rotor housings etc) to be sourced via Mazda HQ in Hiroshima.

I'd trust the Jap rotary tuners over some of the Aussie ones too...

[cereal]

I wasn't saying that an FD would be any more expensive to own than a 32 GT-R, I agree that they would be a cheaper car to run (except for fuel costs!). I was just saying that what dr1ft.jp meant was that if you go for one of the cheap ones you'll need to be prepared to shell out a fair bit of cash to bring it up to spec. They're that cheap for a reason.