Powercruise DVD | Dsport DVD
The 4 stages of the JET-200 Development
To date, there are 4 stages of modification galleries.
Click the gallery name that you wish to view.
You are currently in the Stage 1 gallery.
If you think your ride is up to it or you’ve got an event that would suit Motive DVD, drop us an email so we can check it out.
To subscribe to Motive DVD click here
Well, here we go. How did it all begin. I’ve always wanted a R32 Skyline GTR. Period. In 2002 I went to buy one for $19,000, which at the time was incredibly cheap.
However, being 21 years old the deposit, interest rate and insurance was just too expensive, let alone the cost of ownership of a GTR. You think they’re expensive
to modify now, try back In 2002! So I let the dream die. A year later I was working for a Subaru dealership and my old debt was starting to disappear.
A dog box equipped WRX came up for sale for $29,000 and seems as I worked for Subaru at the time and WRXs were the in-thing in WA, I got our finance guy to get
me a loan approved. But, before the paperwork was finalised the guy sold the dog box out of the car and I didn’t wasn’t a WRX with a stock gearbox, that’s for sure!
So then what? I’ve got a $29,000 loan approved and no car. In steps one of my friends with the old “ my mates selling his 200SX, you should buy that”. One test
drive later and I was hooked, but not on that one. I used my car yard contacts to find an S14a but in the end I found one for sale privately that I was able t pick up
for the crazy cheap price of $16,500. Score! It had bald tires, gutter-rashed rims, re-welded ugly intercooler piping from a previously fitted intercooler and a
paint-peeled front bar but it did already have a good APEXi 3-inch exhaust system. But none of this mattered because with the money I saved on the purchase
price, I had already organised brand new 18-inch wheels and tyres, Vertex bodykit, Hybrid intercooler kit, pod filter and a stereo system.
So stage one had started. The car was one of the first cars to be fitted with a Vertex kit, although they’re everywhere now, and straight away looked mad, lowered
with 18-inch AVS Model-5 style wheels. I got in ahead of the graphics trend and had my mates put on some chameleon graphics. I thought they worked great, blending
in with the factory colour and looking painted of instead of vinyl.
A pod filter, bleed valve and Hybrid intercooler kit combined with the already fitted 3-inch exhaust gave the car enough power to run a 13.6 quarter mile at
the Motorplex. After 2-weeks of ownership I had a tidy 200SX that was no slouch for 2003 standards and drove great. A photoshoot with Perth Street Car
Magazine was the icing on the cake. Not bad for a total outlay of $23,000.
At the start of 2004 I moved to the Gold Coast. To help fund the trip I had to sell the wheels so back to stockos, which looked weird with the factory kit. While the
car was still in Perth, I got Mick from Ovaboost Performance to install an APEXi S-AFC and Walbro fuel pump. The result, 204rwkW. I shipped the car to Sydney
and before driving up to the Gold Coast I entered Drag Combat and ran a 13.1@108mph with a 1.8 60-foot time. Not bad at all.
Once in the sunny state I continued to tinker. An electronic boost controller was next, then an APEXi Power-FC, Z32 Airflow meter and Nismo 740cc injectors.
My next mod was a tuned length stainless manifold and a custom screamer pipe. Here’s where things got interesting. My goal was to have the most powerful stock turbo/engine SR20 in the country, not that I knew what the record actually was, I just wanted it. Mick Stanic fro Subzero fame tuned the car with a dash of
toluene for safety on 20psi and we made 223rwkW, or, 305rwhp!
Suprisingly enough the car ran on 20psi like this for ages and put up with hundreds of runs down the M1 and took many scalps along the way. Then one night
something weird happened. Massive water temps on boost but normal when driving normally. A blown head gasket was the prime suspect but after removing
the head we realise it wasn’t, it was simply a blocked thermostat. So while I was at it, the head was lightly ported and freshened up. The car up and running again,
even won some dyno trophies! I was keen for more. Some swaybars, drift pineapples and strut braces were installed along with an oil cooler and gauges and I was
off to compete in Autosalon’s Street Car of the Year in 2005. Looking at the spec sheets of the other cars I had no chance, but the right combo meant I was able
to finish in 7th place and even win a category. Not bad for a car that still owed me under $30,000. The car’s abilities and my driving habbits scored me a feature
in Ignition DVD 002, over a year before I started working for them. This is how I met the original Ignition DVD crew.
In mid 2005 I finally took the step and gave drifting a go. I had been watching from the sidelines ( or footpath) for a while and my best friend Drift Monkey kept
trying to convince me but I didn’t want to damage a perfectly clean car that was obviously not designed for drifting. But after going out one night with some
Japanese drivers I was hooked and had to give it a go. I started in the industrial areas of southern Queensland before finally hitting the track, I even entered the
2005 Full Lock Nationals. I didn’t really get any good during this 6 month period of drifting but I got the basic skills I needed for later.
So where to go next? I had gone as far as I could with the stock turbo. After working at Autosalon as the dyno commentator, I had seen a lot of different turbo
set-ups on SR20s. The decision maker was reading about the Willal Racing S15 with a T67 in HPI Magazine. I already had a little bit of backing from Autobarn
Capalaba in Brisbane and I asked for a bit more, getting me a good deal on a Trust turbo kit. I ordered a SR20 T67 kit but little did we know the part number for
this kit is same as the TD06SH-25G kit. You have to verify which turbo you want when you order. We didn’t and I ended up with the latter. But it ended up being
a blessing in disguise.
I fitted up the turbo kit in Autobarn's audio fitting bay until 3 in the morning and off I went. Mick Stanic from Subzero got the car onto the dyno again and this
time tuned the car on straight pump fuel to 351rwhp. That’s as far as the car would go on totally stock internals. It won itself another dyno comp but I didn’t
get to test the car down the quarter mile in this set-up. I did have a go at drifting the car in this set-up though and with just lowered springs and swaybars it sure
was, well, entertaining.
In November 2005 I started working for Ignition DVD and things started to get interesting.