Sneak Peek: Daigo Saito's Achilles Tire SC430

Just as a quick note, looking at those calipers, they're Dynapro 4 piston jobbies in the rear, at least in the pics - not as sure about the front ones behind the wheel, but the pad retaining clips are a Dynapro 6 piston thing. I just say this having been looking at the suckers.

The Japanese tuning philosophy confuses the hell out of me sometimes. I just don't get the thing with not having as much chassis rigidity as possible, and I don't get the use of half a dozen different boxes to do things. It just seems like it must make things a nightmare to work on.

All that said, there's a lot of interesting stuff going on here, and obviously the car's working pretty well for him. Part of me kind of wonders where the nitrous is being injected - seen some interesting things that drag guys have done plumbing it into the exhaust manifold.

Saito's D1 JZX100 has more cage tubes than most FD machines. so this "Japanese tuners think chassis needs to flex" stereotype can stop already. The minimalist cage design can also be seen on other top FD competitors machines. Maybe Saito think it is FD style?

Good catch on the caliper pad retaining clips!

Daigo's car does not have more cage tubes than most of the better FD cars and the forward legs are well back from the firewall terminating at the front of the door rearward of the dash. This is typical of Japanese style cages. It is also not going to be legal under the 2013 rules.

Of course some guys in FD emulate Japanese style and make flexy chassis. Our own Japanese driver felt flexy chassis were better at first, especially when other well known Japanese drivers advised him that his car was too stiff.

Yikes, that cage construction is nerve wracking. Forget chassis stiffness, the lack of triangulation and limited amount of cage area just seems unsafe. I'm sure it meets the rules, but it seems most (US) pro drivers are seriously stepping up the amount of structure they run, not for stiffness but for safety.

The cage on Daigo's car reminds me of the bolt in ones all the honda guys used to run.

http://www.d1gp.co.jp/_d1gp/specialreports6_2007.html

http://www.k5.dion.ne.jp/~daigo-s/DSCN0297.jpg

http://www.hpskm.com/bbs/showtopic-309.aspx

Saito's D1 Chaser. Huge different from his FD machine.

Saw the clone of this car in Asia at Formula Drift Asia in Singapore. Awesome that he drives in two series on opposite sides of the world simultaneously, and even more awesome that there is an IS chassis clone of this car which IMO is better looking (random article w pics): http://www.autocartuning.info/lexus-is250c-the-ninja-achilles-formula-drift.html

That is a stiffer cage but you you notice how the forward legs don't go all the way forward?

It's a GTX4294 turbo, so I'd say it maxes out around 1000whp.

@Mike Kojima
Yes, I noticed that. But with all those tubes in there do you think his intention was making the chassis flexible?

I can believe ~1,300 horsepower when the nitrous is being used. That's crazy!

@Kaiwei, I was thinking that the area between the front legs and the shock towers even though the cage is well built and reminiscent of a rally style cage. It looks like the lower legs can go quite a bit more forward.

I have had a few discussions with Japanese car builders in the past and there seemed to be a consensus that drift cars need to flex.

In our car we put everything as far forward as the rules allow for stiffness and safety, right to the very end of the firewall and have a the dash bar butt up against the firewall.

in 2013 it will be mandated that the cage be triangulated to the firewall/footwell area to prevent footwell intrusion injuries like what happened to Taka Aono and John Russakoff.

Since I never get to speak to Japanese car builders anymore since there is no more D1 do you think that the flexing chassis idea is changing?

You know FD is a joke, yes, a joke !!!! When organizers don't pay much attention to safety (roll cage in this case).
No matter what car you compete in at FD, everyone, and I mean, EVERYONE should have identical cages.
To put the cherry on the cake, many feel that not having the cage that extend thru to firewall onto the shock tower is not safe......but organizers keep doing their thing.....until someone's gonna get hurt real bad, THEN they're gonna open their eyes.
Like I said, FD = a joke !!!

And to continue my pissing rant. How about the horsepower war? LOL.
7-8 years ago most of the field had 300-400 hp max, and people had fun.
Take Taka Aono for example, one of the staple in FD.....he's been struggling to keep up with people like Gittin and Saito....because of lack of hp. Does this mean he's less of a driver than Dai or Millen? I don't think so.
I feel sorry for him.
This "sport" was all about skills and who managed to put out a good show. Now the pissing contest is about horsepower and who shred more tires and smoke.
Again, a joke!!!! And until those high school kids will grow up, the "sport" will stay the same. It's a shame.

FD is not a joke. They take driver safety very seriously, hence the change in the 2013 rules. FD feels that the front of the car should act like a big crush zone in a heavy crash. They are considering changing the firewall rule depending on their current studies on how adaptable head/neck restraint systems are to drifting. I don't necessarily agree with this but safety is always being considered. To universally say FD is a joke from the standpoint of an observer is silly.

Taka knows what it takes to have a competitive car. He chooses his path with an engine program which is probably more expensive that simply bolting in a V8. It is his marketing decision to stay turbo 4. He could be competitive with the turbo 4 but it takes more money than he is able to come up with and still make a living. That doesn't mean his engine program is low buck though.

Formula D is a professional motorsport, it is not drift day. The high powered cars add to the show and fan appeal. It takes plenty of skill to handle a competitive modern professional drift car and to say that it does not is a very shallowly thought and superficial blanket statement. The sport is evolving and those that don't evolve with it will get left behind.

The current show is much more spectacular than it was in 2007. If you don't think so, look at the old TV episodes from that time. Boring.

The Formula works, last year going into the finals, the championship was not decided between 5 guys until the final round. This year it's gonna be the same with 4. Anything could happen.

The Sport is about skill, and technology and technical diversity.

i just dont get the aluminum bumper support.

I think Daigo's design intent is for the aluminum to collapse easily, sparing the unibody from more difficult to repair damage. I think that's why the damage appeared to be so bad in Las Vegas. From what i understand the car is already fixed and ready for Irwindale.

Our car is designed in a similar way. We use thin wall chrome molly and the tubes are arranged so they will collapse without a straight tube to load the chassis directly. Our suspension links are designed to bend before the chassis as well.

On our car, the tube parts are still much stronger than Daigo's aluminum bits.

You guys don't have a gigantic lump of cast pig iron to compensate for though. (... I'm not a huge 2JZ fan, does it show?)

Mike PLEASE !!!!! You work in the business. Give me a break! Is there anyone more biased than you? "Hence the change in 2013".....LOL. How many years FD has been organizing this event? How many years?
The fact that people (drivers/ teams and organizers) take things serious has NOTHING to do with how important safety should be taken.
It's a circus (and I use it very loosely). Race cars that are convertible so that they can lower the center of gravity.....LOL (asides from karting, F3, F1 and such) race cars ought to be with a fixed roof, and not raced with an open top, especially in FD where cars go sideways for hundreds of feet.

Please stop defending how things are. Even YOU admitted that Saigo aluminum front/ rear structure is not very safe. Wait until he crashes bad. There's a reasons why Dai's S13 sports a chromoly cage in the rear to protect the gas tank.

Like I said in my previous comment, every car should be designed with the highest quality standard cage......not thinking outside the box because the team wants to be competitive.

I am not biased, I am a professional working within the parameters given by a professional organization. I am not part of FD but my job requires that I have to work closely enough with them to know that they are a a good, well run organization, better than many of the others I have worked with over the years in professional motorsports. They are far from perfect but they do a good job.

You are a heavily biased "observer" that admittedly hates drifting :).

@JDM, if you think the FD rules are lax, have a look at Pikes Peak!

Here is the dyno from Robbie Nishida's car.

Same motor and turbo combo, nitrous for spool.

http://vimeo.com/46026099

so no 1000whp there, but still a ton of power.

Mike - didn't see it mentioned and can't decipher from the photos. What power steering pump setup is being used in the car? Presuming some electric variation given the engine configuration. Thx.

It uses the stock electric over hydraulic power steering system.

Haha, love a good flame war regarding FD! While I agree that FD could use more homoligized safety and horsepower standards, you can't argue with the fact that they promote very well, packing people in the stands and attract great drivers.

Thanks for the insight into Daigo's setup Mike! Is this car making FD start thinking about HP standards at all?

PS Can anyone really argue with the danger of the N2O in a "semi-contact" motorsport? Anyone!?

I am not sure where JDMized got the idea of lax safety rules. There are a lot of strictly enforced safety rules. The safety section of the rulebook is pretty close to and in some areas more stringent than the SCCA or NASA GCA or CCA.

The FD tire size/weight rule helps level the playing field a lot.

JDMized, you bitch and moan about every article on this magazine like you know absolutely everything about everything. Why do you even bother coming here?

@Der Bruce, you make a good point considering that FD doesn't have an overarching sanctioning body like F1 or NASCAR does. Having been around for only 9 years and still growing is something of a feat in the world of motor sports. Most start up racing series have already peaked and failed long before their 9th year.

The fact that they are reviewing and modifying the rules shows that they care deeply about safety (and the sport overall).

Mike - do you know specifically which electric PS pump is being used? Thanks.

I believe it's the stock pump that came on the car.

If 1000Hp is the number you have to have to win next year I suspect we will see puffer V8s quickly. I hope the rules require means to contain the leaky fluids from blown engines.
At least his car isn't a hybrid of different manufacturers. He can get good factory dollars that way.

This build looks really rushed. They seem to have the chassis and powertrain pretty dialed, but not much attention to detail. The plumbing, wiring, and tin work is lacking alot. I heard alot about this car before it showed up in long beach, and i gotta say i was alittle disapointed when i saw it. Again, i think it functions great, and he is good driver... but as far as build quaility they have a lond way to go to match a RMR or ASD.

So nobody else noticed the chunk of wood wedged in there with the battery? This car totally reminds me of some of the cars on Okinawa. Some things would have absolute painstaking attention to detail while others would just make you stand there scratching your head asking why? Why run 4" of wheel spacers on a professional level car? Why run an HKS V Pro if it doesn't support COP? Why duct tape your wideband gauge to the trans tunnel? Why have so much weight behind the axle centerline? If you stood that radiator up, it would be more protected, but would you really notice the shift in weight? They've already got a water tank for the sprayer too. Seems like a lot working against them, Daigo must be an absolute beast. Then there's another school of thought: if this car is underdeveloped, how is he smashing on all of these more fully developed cars? Is the difference in proper wheel spacing and lower polar moment of inertia only 1 position in the rankings? Is this car a clear indicator of where the money should be spent when he's running stock rear end, dash, column, pedals, and brake MC/booster?