Hiro Hatada's Project AE86
Hiro Hatada has been the leader of the canyon pass AE86 for the longest among us... And he too, has had a longing to build his projects in a continuing process... For us Club4AG, the cars evolve with the driver, the skills evolve with practice, and projects continue without end. Hiro's setup started with suspension tune. And he soon realized that to make a perfect suspension for his driving, he'll need to repeatedly go to where he loves most, to the canyons of California Coast. He must have gone through at least 10 sets of shocks, equal number of springs, and 2 LSD differentials... This done all in the middle of the night on weekdays and at racetracks on weekends. A true hardcore... If he's not in the canyons, he's reading on the latest tricks in Japan, and spends countless hours on the phone with the best shops in Japan... This page is dedicated to his latest version of his trusty AE86, to what he calls the "final street stage" ... probably because anything more, and his car would be race track car...
In this project, his recent trip to Japan was as always put to good use. While taking care of his family matters (which he does better than any car nut I know), he did drop by Tokico this time to obtain the latest in AE86 shocks... The Tokico HTS dampers. These shocks are specifically made to sporting AE86, and as such, the front shocks cartridge is of the AE92 length for preserving stroke on lowered footwork. Yes, you'll need to modify your case or use an adapter spacer but it's designed that way for a reason. The rears feature short stoke of the TRD's race dimensions. The HTS dampers have adjustability to accommodate from 2.5 kg/mm springs to 15kg/mm spring ratios, meaning they would be the last shocks you'll ever need...(well for the most part anyway...)
45 way adjustment at top accommodating 2.5 to 15kg/mm spring rates, low-height AE86 stoke, sold in Japan for about $450 per set of four.
The HTS front and rear...
in comparison to Tokiko standard gas for AE86 and TRD rear cartridge.
Hiro's using stiffer springs than most but he uses Yokohama A032R race compound for street use... Eibach 9 kg/mm and sometimes 11kg/mm for front and 6kg/mm Revolver springs
And as for his engine, his long wait of 2 years is over... he has finally moved his brand new set of Webers from living room display to the car. And yes, it's being fiddled and tuned as we speak... and he's enjoying every minute of it... What's more, slight miss-tune isn't a problem for him in every day use, thanks to his HKS 5A-GE stroker kit he obtained from his round-ups in Japan... The 302 cams feel just fine at just 3000rpm and docile... with enough torque in the low band and stable throttle response at idle. We just cannot wait till he breaks his engine in and gets it up to the roaring range...
