winmax Archives - Club4AG

CUSCO International will be at SEMA Show, Las Vegas Convention Center, 11/3~6th 2015. Booth 25047

MotoP — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 22:50:53 +0000

CUSCO International will be at SEMA Show, Las Vegas Convention Center, 11/3~6th 2015. Booth 25047
Joined with new lineup from Bride, Cusco, Fujitsubo, and Winmax!

See you in Las Vegas!

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Club4AG FR-S parts list for track day outing, guideline to fun.

Motohide Miwa — Sun, 03 May 2015 03:45:21 +0000

Club4AG FR-S parts list for track day outing, guideline to fun.

At Club4AG, I normally won't list parts for my FR-S if it's just for the sake of showing you a list of modifications.
I'll do it here for the following parts for the sake of showing you something I have used over the last 2 days at two different raceways running the FR-S hard on the racetrack.RT615K 225/40-18 on all four, while not the most aggressive size choice and may not have the top time rating for track-spec radials with sub 200’s DOT tire wear rating, I have found them to be very fun and capable for Sunday racers who want to learn to drive in a arena like open track days and lessons, as well as take part in time attack to compare your skills. The choice of a few sizes and selections offered, can make your FR-S faster, or more docile, simply by being judicious on which size and profile you choose for the FR-S.The tire is very communicative in terms of giving feedback through the steering wheel and chassis. At the same time, it does communicate clearly for heat and tire pressure differences so that you can compensate via driving style or for pit stop menu of changes to be made.Even with a modest tire size on our FR-S, it is capable of sub-1:30 laptime at Streets of Willow, at 1:28 posted by me, and potentially faster for users willing to take a more aggressive run, despite the modest 225/40-18 size I choose for the sake of retaining the FR-S/BRZ's dynamic character of fun.It’s a very durable and even wearing tire from the standpoint of abuse. The tread surface and construction is also really durable and that's a plus for novices that tend to lock up the brakes, plow on the front tires, and see occasional mishaps and off-pavement excursions in the process of learning to become an ace. The RT615K withstands such situations, and after a quick brush-off of accumulated dirt in the wheels, it's ready for another fun lap session.

The FR-S we have is tuned for street with RS-R Sports-I, with mild ride qualities and capabilities with the expensive mono-tube damper design, and took to the RT615K well in terms of being able to use the tires from home, to the track quite comfortably, and back after the event. So in a nutshell, if your car isn’t a dedicated race only car, and do use it every day, the RT615K is a perfect companion tire for those occasional Sunday races, to keep on hand as an alternative to your normal street radials, to be used on the same suspension setup of mild street sports focus like the RSR Sports-i.

Winmax W2, the highest rated sport pad that is still non-metallic, have proven to be very good as normal operation city traffic brakes with low dust, no-noise pads, that work from first crank of the morning commute. The W2 has an extended performance range for the track, and while I ran consistent 1:30 lap times all day long at Streets of Willow, and at Configuration 13 at Buttonwillow, both being very demanding with RT615K mounted and hard braking on each straight ends, the W2 was surprisingly capable for the duration of two days. No fade anywhere inside of the 20 minutes per stint run groups, and very consistent and positive braking feel over the course of the runs and day lapping. I would say these are also a very nice choice for non-dedicated race cars where dust and noise can be a problem for other track-specific brake pad selection, the W2 on the FRS simply gets the job done really well.

As a side note and optional things that can be considered:

We also have Bride Seats in the car, and it does wonders for not only the safety element, but to properly fit and hold you with the right hardness of padding in a close form fitted shape so that you can feel every bit of the car's motions, keep tabs on the tire contact patch, and giving you much more information about the road and the car. A driver harness in the form of 4 point buckled, like Takata harness belt can also add to the holding of the driver so less driver fatigue is generated over a fun filled day at the track.
A home-brew oil cooler kit using Mocal oil plate and advanced carbon wrapped hoses and cooler core from Setrab keeps the oil temperature in check for the demands of Southern California's warmer months.
There are a few Cusco braces in strategic locations keep the frame from stressing loose over the years of track day enjoyment. An accurate oil temperature gauge added can also help you determine if you are running the car too hard and should maybe come back and cool it down. Engine oil temp is a nice guideline to use for monitoring the rest of the car's state of abuse, as oil temps generally indicate similar abuse and high temps at the gears, differentials, and brakes too for that matter on the FR-S, as things tend to just stay balanced over the course of the duration you are out on the track.
While many of these braces won't make drastic changes in the car's character, it does do its part in keeping the frame nice and straight after years of abusive driving. namely however you may want to install the Power Brace - Rear Member Part Number 692 492 RM that goes across the rear cross-member bushing mounts. It can stabilize the sub-frame motions against the uni-body, under large loads created by such tires as the RT615K used today.

I almost see that the combination of Winmax W2 and RSR Sports-i as well as choice of Falken FK453 for the street and RT615K for the track, as a really well matched set of pieces for upgrading the FR-S and BRZ to something like an extension of what the designers would have included in the car, if the price constraints of the vehicles were not at the mere $25,000. As these parts only increase the joys, comfort, and capability of the FRS platform beyond that of the showroom stock, and without tainting any of the great attributes of the car, to a more capable refined state to achieve traits of the car that cost twice or more as much.

That’s the design goal I have had since day 1, of my initial delivery of the car 18 months ago, and it’s coming closer to this through each step of the testing and trial phase using parts I select within reach, and also reach of the common users who adhere to driving pleasures in a mature form. Without the extremes, without the sacrifices, and without making the specific role into a race car, but an enjoyable sports car that you can own for a long, long time. And that is what we at Club4AG do, is not to get on the trend of buying and replacing our cars with the newest all the time, but to take a few select cars and enjoy driving, tweaking, and sharing over the course of our lives.

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AE86 Fight Club meets in Chino, CA. A Secret Society of AE86 Owners...

MotoP — Thu, 25 Dec 2014 11:00:43 +0000

AE86 Fight Club Meet

December 20th, 2014
Chino, CA

I would call this a peace society of the Baddest AE86'ers.

Over 75 AE86's gathered in the middle of the night in Chino, CA and among them, leading the group and organizing it for the tightly knit pack of AE86's were the coolest and the baddest AE guys in SoCal. Guests in this group are the biggest infamous names of AE86 domains. It's a underground society for the insanely dedicated owners, and only owners, of the AE.
I was greeted with so many from 20 years ago, and many from today.

(Some Photos Courtesy of MVC Photography)

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Winmax 86 CUP FINAL ROUND 2014

MotoP — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 09:47:27 +0000

Winmax 86 CUP FINAL ROUND 2014

For many the 2nd week of December means college and high school finals week. But for some of the most dedicated Toyota fans, the week was spent in preparation and racing of the Winmax 86 Cup final event.

Over 16 cars participated out of the 30+ cars that have come and gone for this series, and final event was just full of heated runs, as well as lots of smiling participants. The wind was calm but cold, and provided lots of cooling even for boosted modified varieties of the NZ/NC6 platform cars that all sorted thier smoothest lines on the track.

I sure hope that Mike Kang, Ted Park, David Leung, Alex Chang, and all our partners, as well as track provider Extreme Speed Track Events group, and sponsors like Winmax USA all come together once again in 2015, to make the grid even bigger! Tony Kim, Meng Tea, Garrett Tokuno, Elmer Bautistaand many more mostly from Southern California and some from Las Vegas and other locale.

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Scion FR-S, Tour of Southwest, an 1177 mile Journey through Western USA's nicest roads!

MotoP — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 05:41:50 +0000

Scion FR-S, Tour of Southwest

November 15th~ 17th, 2014

1177 miles, from Los Angeles, to Phoenix, Sedona, to Flagstaff, a round trip tour of Scion FR-S through the Southwest's most scenic routes. The sky, the horizon and all the events and things in between. Our stops included Joshua Tree National Park, a day at the Earnhardt Toyota of Mesa, AZ for a wonderful welcome with 100 other cars in the AZ86Bash2 Celebration, a day in Sedona’s valley of monumental natural spectacles, and some of the best roads that California and Arizona had to offer.

We were all reminded that cars like these were are all about taking it for a spin, preferably a very, very long drive. Friends gathered with other friends of friends, making new ones along the way.

The Scion FR-S. It really is a neat car, in many more ways than just the surface, specs, and character, but for the world it brings to the owners in the form of friends all over the world.

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Club4AG Gauge Cluster Toyota 86 / FR-S with Frame Trim and Needle Caps...

MotoP — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 00:21:05 +0000

Club4AG Gauge Cluster Toyota 86 by Cyberstork, Custom Made to Order.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10203392624392602&set=pb.1121600419.-2207520000.1402618477.&type=3&theater

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Willow Springs Raceway with Scion FR-S, this time, testing more new prototype items

Motohide Miwa — Mon, 12 May 2014 09:49:36 +0000

Willow Springs Raceway with Scion FR-S

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10203183698449584&set=a.1069376330925.12140.1121600419&type=1

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Cusco/Winmax/Bride USA Performance Academy and Car Meet, hosted by Longo Scion/Toyota

Motohide Miwa — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 20:05:18 +0000

Cusco/Winmax/Bride USA Performance Academy

Longo Toyota-Scion presents Cusco/Winmax/Bride USA Performance Academy and Car Meet.

Cusco USA’s sponsored ace gymkhana driver from Japan will be our special guest this evening, Masaki Nishihara, 8 time Series Champion of All Japan Gymkhana Champion Series.

Also present will be Chief Product Specialist from Cusco USA, Kenji Inoue, and Bride Seat Global Manager, Masahiro Sasaki.

Club4AG staff with Moto Miwa will be present to translate and answer your questions all night so you can speak, listen, and interact with motorsport experts from Japan.

We will cover a complete starter course lecture on “Performance Upgrading, and driving”, for anyone who is interested in learning more about proper bespoke tuning of Japanese import cars.

The event is free of charge, and we invite any and all automobile enthusiast. Longo Toyota-Scion will be providing food and drinks to the first 40 people, and we will have gifts and prizes on a first come basis.

Outside parking lot will be a corral format so you can also gather and greet other enthusiasts in Southern California Area.

We hope to see you all there!

Longo Scion
3534 N Peck Rd, El Monte, CA 91731

April 10th 2014, Thursday Night
7:30 PM ~ 10:00 PM

Contact: moto@club4ag.com for any questions or inquires. Also on facebook Moto Miwa.

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SCCA Solo2 Scene in San Diego, California...

Motohide Miwa — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 03:10:43 +0000

San Diego's local chapter SCCA SOLO2 Autocross Championship. We took a visit to support our local friends like Robert Stangarone, who's avidly campaigning the Scion FR-S all the way to National Tour events this year.

With San Diego being a huge and established US Navy community, the variety of cars run a gamut from ever popular Muscle Cars to Dedicated Formula cars, and even kids in Go Karts. It's one of the most diverse Solo2 chapters in the nation as far as types of cars, and is also home to a large number of National Champions of the Solo2 community.

It sure was a treat to welcome some of them to Winmax USA, brake pads, and get to know more and more friends.

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86 Dynamic Driving Academy with FR-S/BRZ owners on the raceway.

Motohide Miwa — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 23:01:36 +0000

86 Dynamic Driving Academy with FR-S/BRZ

86 Dynamic Driving Academy is a way to learn about car control. It's not a race or competition, but a way for owners who are not so involved formally in motorsports, and getting familiar with car control, for the sake of understanding your car better, and to really become at one with a vehicle in a dynamic environment of sports driving. We host events at autocrosses, open-track events, and other custom tailored venues in a safe, sanctioned, and inexpensive ways, along with your peers and friends, and even making new friends. Join us, next time... And follow us for updates and calendars soon for 2014 at https://www.facebook.com/86DDA

Here's some ride along video footage from recent Buttonwillow Raceway Park event, and other photos from past events.

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