Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Our project car ...watch this space!!

KINOKUNI 
RUN・MAX RACING PROJECTS

#KINOKUNIが取り扱オリジナル商品や部品
オススメパーツを取り付けていきます。


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We now have sponsored another race car to develop and test the company products.

Welcome ' KHR5 '.

アウディA5(市販車)をベースに製作
外装は「DTM」 を意識したデザイン
 
Audi A5 chassis with fabricated front and rear sub frames DTM design. 
Rear mounted radiator and 3 point air jacks.

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2023 October

Kinokuni will have a booth at the 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon on January 12th to the 14th. We happily will be celebrating our 50 years of business and look forward to seeing you all after 3 years of absence. On display we will have our 2 race cars, the Suzuki Jimny and a carbon fiber bodied Audi. The large open booth will have on display our latest products with staff to answer your questions. We look forward to seeing you all again.

2021 July 15th

The world has been turned upside down with the Covid 19 virus that has spread to affect everyone. We have had many pandemics before but these were localized as a few years ago easy, quick travel and communication was a dream. Kinokuni has had no infections but at the price of not meeting with our customers. 

The next Tokyo Auto Salon still seems a little too early to have a happy, safe get together (including overseas customers) again so we are looking at another year away from the show. The sales of the Ice Flow products are progressing well as government departments, surgeons and race teams are using and giving feed back of their experiences. Those suggestions are helping us to improve our packages and options available.

Like most other companies with the slow shipment of goods, keeping our normal 6 month stock on hand has been very challenging. Hopefully the worst is behind us all so we can look forward to a more normal lifestyle very soon.

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Nov. 28th
As the 'Corona 19' year comes to an end Kinokuni have mailed out the latest catalogue. Although we have updated our new products on the homepage, now you can have the 420 page product catalogue in your hand. Because
of the restrictions this year we have not had the opportunity to meet you all at events and that will include the Tokyo Auto Salon that we will not be participating in this year. Looking forward to seeing everyone happy and smiling sometime next year. Stay healthy and love your car.










July 23rd
We are still very busy making displays for the Tokyo Auto Salon but with the Corona new case numbers increasing it is slowly looking like the Show will very difficult to be held. It's a lot money and time for the vendors and if the customers are reluctant to attend then it defeats the purpose of having the show. No decision has been made yet.




Liqui Moly race car oils and additives are now available from Kinokuni after a full container of product arrived from Germany and arranged on our shelving.  The oil in Japan is very popular with race bikes however in Europe it has been the No1 selling oil for many years. Started just after the World War II they are like Red Bull and advertise mainly through sports events and are a major sponsors of F1 and the Olympic Games.

April 20th


Although we have not being posting recently many things are happening. Of course the Corona Virus has changed the world we live in and for some time perhaps life styles and ways of thinking will change. Who would believe that a virus would put the complete world in a stand still mode.

After a successful Tokyo Show and discussions at that time we decided to add a couple of new companies to our product line up. One is a major world brand and the other a cutting edge race car wiring system. Because of this we have been very busy on a steep learning curve and procuring products so to add them in our latest catalogue. 

Shipping from overseas has slowed down and become more expensive but it looks like we can have full stock very soon.  Racing is another area where plans are hard to make so our Audi is on the back burner for awhile.

In the meantime Kinokuni asks that you do not visit the shop but purchase on line or over the phones. Shipment of orders is running smoothly which is what we hope Japan will be like very shortly. Wishing you a healthy 2020. 

January 19th
Months of preparation for 3 days display at the Tokyo Auto Salon is now over. This year we were in a separate hall where the organizers have congregated the performance cars and products leaving the main halls to the manufactures to display their new cars. This meant the event customers could choose which area to spend time in. The result was we had few 'tire kickers' and could have in depth car conversations with most customers.

The finished race car on display helped showing where
                 our products are used and the results of one year testing.
Rodger of Vuplex came by with his acrylic cleaner which cleaned and took most of the scratch marks from the race car windscreen.
The new products were well received. Ice Flow has a full range of personal cooling systems which were originally developed for military use however Kinokuni made the system suitable for any type of working and sports area.
 
Cartek is an electronic ignition system that compacts the electrics by making fuses, switches and relays obsolete. This system combined with the aircraft multi pin (mil spec.) connectors makes the race car wiring less  prone to electrical gremlins.
Thanks to all who visited us and see you again next year.

December 14th


Over the last 3 months we have been busy preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon starting on January 10th to the 12th. The photo shows Glen putting the finishing touches to some acrylic display stands for a new product line. See you all in January 2020.


October 12th



After the last Formula Drift event the race car posed outside Kinokuni in beautiful sunshine.  In the preparation before qualifying at the last event the race crew noticed a disturbing noise from the engine so decided not to run. We are guessing a valve problem but will look deeper when it's back in the workshop. Thanks to all for their hard work this year and will now be working on PR work building up to the Tokyo Auto Salon.

July 31st
The Fuji event provides some comfort as the pit areas can be used.

 We were very happy to use the pits as there was a typhoon passing by which meant very heavy rain but not enough to close the track which I believe is triggered at 10mm/hr. Tried to use the tent at the staging area but the strong winds prevented it's use.
The temperatures were cool so the new Ice Flow in car driver cooling system was not tested. The car was well set up and the driver on target so were able to edge out a 3 times event champion to get into the top 16. A minor driver mistake so we couldn't advance any further. The event commentators were surprised that the chassis set up has advanced so quickly to become a top level race car in the series. Normally this takes several sessions so thank you to the team for your expertise.  

July 4th
Our new tent saved the day as the heavens fell for much of the drift event held at Ebisu where we made it into the top 10 shootout and
finished 4th.The front tires had poor grip, low tread temperature even though the corner entry speed was about 160kph. The car and driver both combined well for this good finish. The tent is rather special but more detail on that later.

 Some close drifting with the eventual winner.
The car is totally stripped between events to fully inspect all components and here is a photo of the wheel alignment in progress.

May 5th
http://www.speedhunters.com/2019/05/getting-chased-800hp-audi-drift-car/

A great video from the driver perspective.
The video was shot from this Skyline R34 
The car was given a great write up by the well known internet magazine Speedhunters at the last test day.

http://www.speedhunters.com/2019/04/800hp-in-an-audi-drift-car/

April 21st

Tire Temperature

Tires now come in very complex compounds so getting them in the best temperature range for the most grip requires accurate information from sensors. This information can then be used to setup the suspension to have a uniform tire tread temperature. Most tracks are set up in 3 sectors and usually the car can’t be perfect for all 3 so this is where the data can help decide the highest percentage for the best setup and where the driver has to change his driving style to accommodate the sector where the setup is not optimum. On an F1 car the ECU automatically changes the cars settings for each section of the track. Things like brake balance, ABS, diff, shock, clutch, throttle settings, steering resistance, and many more.  Along with a good data acquisition system sensors measure temperatures across each tires tread and from this information in a data overlay the tires performance can be observed at in one meter segments of the track.



 The photo is showing the 4 tires, car’s speed, g force, car’s weight on each tire and the tire temperatures across the tread at this exact point in the corner. With this information we can try to even out all the temperatures using camber settings, tire pressure, spring and anti roll bar settings.

In this case the left front tire is loaded up but the outer edge is cool. We should try lowering the tire pressure then reduce camber settings at the front. The right hand front is hot in one place possibly due to the high front camber settings making the contact patch to the left of centre on the inside line tire. The cheaper method and old school is by using a pyrometer probe to check the tread left, center and right when the race car pulls into the pit. The problem is that the tires are starting to cool down as you slow down coming into the pit and obtaining all 4 tire temperatures takes time. The biggest demerit is that the temperatures are in the pit so you have no information on how the tires are reacting while cornering or at top speed down the straight. With a data acquisition system at every meter of the track you have accurate tire temperatures. 


Here is a 3 sensor tire temperature set up that is attached to the steering arm so that the sensors are always reading from the same place on the tire even during corning. 




Pictured is a Longacre tire tread temperature digital meter. Part no. 50635.


In this photo the probe is being pushed into the surface of the outer edge of the tread.


March 16th and  car information 23rd update.







































 















 Helrun 5 just completed it's shake down in front of the media with no major problems. We have lots of data to make many changes but all smiles on a successful launch on a warm day at Fuji Speedway.
 

        Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics also play a very large part with the race car stability and directly affect every system on the car. Very expensive and time consuming CFD simulations and wind tunnels for the most part will give a good base line on the car and wing designs but ultimately the real test is on the track. Even F1 make poor decisions (mistakes) so have to go back to the basic air flow tests of years gone by. The most basic is multiple short tufts of wool taped across an outside surface which will show the air direction when the car is running.

F1 do not use this time consuming method but use Flow Viz. This is a kerosene and paint powder mix which is sprayed onto the aero surface. At over 70kph the kerosene will move with the air flow and evaporate leaving the paint powder to show the direction of the air over the surface being tested. This will show where the air stays attached to the body panels and where turbulence occurs. Actually both attached air and turbulence are required on a race car.
In F1 turbulent air is produced at the ends of the front wing which is then funneled alongside the barge boards which will help stop the underside air flow from spilling out of the sides of the car. This will result in the most amount of high speed air flow running under the car creating low pressure and hence down force. The diffuser helps pull air through under the car then expands creating low pressure and speeds the air to mix with the over car high speed flow resulting in no turbulence and low drag.


In the above diagram the air flow is squeezed at the front suspension after which the venturi speeds up the flow and creates low pressure/downforce. 




The diffuser uses the underside of the car body to mimic the underside of a wing. The diffuser’s expanding opening creates a low pressure area under the rear of the car that generates downforce.




The wind tunnels with the confining walls can sometimes not give accurate air flow so on track you will often see the above air pressure sensor arrays being used to give real world data. Ferrari in 2017 had a car that did not perform aerodynamically. Their on track data and wind tunnel didn’t correlate. They found that the wide outwash produced by the front wing was bouncing back from the wind tunnel walls changing the air flow calculations around the car so quickly they changed the tunnel design. For the most part only the Toyota wind tunnel in England is large enough to test F1 cars. The 2019 rules are written to limit the air outwash alongside the car as the resulting turbulent air behind the car is so large that following cars getting within one car length have no down force on their front wings so passing becomes very difficult.


March 10th
      Data Acquisition Quick Overview.
For those who are interested or maybe planning to build a race car or even modifying your existing car! We will be posting some technical data over the next few weeks.
So you have a race car but don’t know if it is set up to perform at 100% or if the setup suits the driver and track.
The only way to have a near perfect set up is to have accurate information and a way to analyze the maze of data. An F1 car has around 300 basic sensors and actuators. The average car has over 100 however these involve many items not related to race cars ie. air conditioning, windows, heated seats, cruise control, automated engine wiper systems and engine etc.
In a race car the raw data can be seen on the onboard monitor but for the most part it is stored in a data logger from which is then downloaded into a computer. There are many data acquisition programs which will accept the inputted information and overlay them in a visual format that can then be analyzed. 
The hard core data from the power train, oil, fuel and water temps, pressures, suspension, tires, track conditions is then overlaid with time, speed and GPS information. This will then give you exactly what the driver and car was feeling at that particular point in one meter increments on the circuit. With several laps you can then see what combination will make the car go the fastest at that point.

March 4th

A British electronics maker Cartek, make this solid state power distribution panel.  The panel is a Power Control Unit and Switch panel in one, The main advantage of using a Power Distribution Panel is that it directly replaces Fuses, Relays, Switches and all the wiring in between.
The Willwood blue and red knob in the photo is to adjust front and rear brake balance.


Another product from Cartek is this solid state battery isolator which is FIA compatible. It can be activated by internal and external kill switches which will cut the power on the negative side of the battery and also stop the engine power supply.
The four Run Max 90 degree fittings are part of the fuel supply. The photo shows the lines being directed below the trunk floor via bulkhead fittings and from there under the car to the engine.

Feb. 28th 
オプションに記事が掲載されました!
Option magazine ran a Japanese language article on the new race car. here are some of the photos they used. 

画像のエンジンが今回の車両に採用されています。
刺激的なエンジンです。
This Chevy crate engine was chosen as it is robust for the demands of racing. It was designed for 3 years of drag racing or 300 runs. The LSX 454 R is fuel injected, dry sumped with 13:1 CR and retains the American V8 push rod engine style. 786HP/7,000rpm and 89 kgs/5,100rpm.

トランスミッションはクゥワイフのシーケンシャル
デファレンシャルはウィンターズを搭載
The transmission is a Quaife QBE69G sequential straight cut gear 6 speed.
The differential is a Winters Performance product. It's a quick change with 3 ratio gear sets to be tested in a couple of weeks.

モロソのドライサンプシステムで万全を期しています
The Moroso dry sump is a 4 stage system with an oil capacity of 12 liters. Normally this will give an extra 25 hp over a wet sump system. 

APレーシングのエアジャッキが装着されています
Helrun 5 is fitted with a AP Racing 3 air jack system which is fed on Nitrogen at 30 bar and will support 675kgs per jack. Great for in pit work.


Feb. 24th

メンテナンス性の向上を考え
前後バンパーなどを一体成型されたフェアリングを採用
Helrun 5 has been designed with ease of maintenance in mind with total removeable, non structural body panels using mainly push only quick release fittings. These large body panels can be removed in seconds.


Feb 16th
It's alive!

エンジンが鼓動をはじめた瞬間です!
Helrun 5 sitting on it's 3 point chassis jacks literally screamed into life.

ステアリングの角度センサーになります
More sensors to create a data base of steering wheel inputs which will added to other data into getting the car and driver in perfect synchronization.


Feb. 8th
毎日寒くファクトリー内でも震えながら作業しています
Snow is close by and on the ground but slowly we are getting the final details sorted out by adding as many information sensors to better test and setup up the car quickly and accurately.

このカップリングは効果絶大!もう海外では当たり前なパーツです
On the intake of the Audi race car we have installed a Kinokuni piping clamp. Normally a silicon hose or solid straight welding is used.
Vibration often will result in the hose coming off or welds breaking. The clamp allows for some flexibility using the 'O' ring to constantly make the seal.
Easy to install and can be removed quickly. Great for intercooler piping.

タイヤの温度を計測するセンサーです
These are the sensors for measuring the tire temperatures which can be read real time on the driver display. We have the option of adding multiple sensors to each tire to read inner, center and outer tread temps.

なんとストロークセンサーを採用!
感覚だけに頼らない車に仕上げています
More sensors to show the stroke on all the shock absorbers in real time.
Every time the car moves as a result of a bump, wing force, or G force from lateral or longitudinal acceleration, the shock will influence the weight transfer on that corner of the car. In almost all cases the force from the shocks is much greater than the force from the spring and it will control more weight than the static weight.This data will give a detailed analyses of the chassis and suspension balance. Well that's the job of our data acquisition engineer.

 CPCコネクター、いい商品ですよ。
The new Kinokuni CPC aircraft harness couplings are now in use on the race car.


Jan. 25th  2019

いい面構えw
Looking good at the Tokyo Auto Salon.


エンジンはLSエンジンベースのレーシングエンジンです
テスト走行は2月末を予定しています
Chevy LSX454R. 780hp NA. Dry sump by Moroso.
Testing starts in February with the first scheduled event in May.


クロス形状になっているエキゾーストパイプは
ティタニゥム製でございます
Here is the front facing titanium exhaust all connected and finished.
 まさにタコ足!
There is a lot of work to weld the titanium exhaust.

2019年のオートサロン が終了しました。
今回もたくさんのお客様にお越しいただき ありがとうございました。
そして新車両はこれからが本番です!
After the Tokyo Auto Salon this is feeling that all the booth staff have when the trucks are loaded and head back off to the respective warehouses. Little did we know that behind the yellow packing were 3 missed boxes so we had to wait for the truck to do a U turn and load them on. 


Nov. 20th
YB2 is still sleeping in our sunlit showroom as we work hard on our new project car which will be displayed at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January. We have been testing many new products plus incorporating so many Kinokuni products into our new very wild race car. It's a huge step up in all ways from the Jimny so it will push our products to the limit. The wiring harness on the new car has 3 of the CPC connectors which helps prevent wiring problems in the harsh environment of a race car. 


April 2nd
YB2は、まだまだ販売中です。
製品テストでは、エンジンベイで作業する際に、

脱着の作業時間を節約するために必要な部品の選定をおこなっています。
これらと同じマルチピンクイックリリースコネクタは軽航空機などに使用されています。

YB2 is up for sale as we are constructing another race car which will be  better for parts testing and will be entered into all race categories. Testing of our products has resulted in finally having a stock number for a kit to save hours of work when working in the engine bay. These same multi pin quick release connectors are used in light aircraft.


主にECUのワイヤーとセンサーコネクターに使用されている
37ピン用コネクタの写真があります
Here are the photos of the YB2 installation with 37 pins being used mainly for the ECU wires and sensor connectors

コネクタには2種類あります。
一つは、低アンペア用
37ピン端子、
もう一つは、大アンペア用4ピン+低アンペア用16ピン端子です。
また、ハーネスを保護するために、2つのカバーがあり、

形状は、ストレートと90度の選択が可能です。
汎用品の配線を圧着・使用します。

There are 2 types of connectors. First is the 37 pin low amperage terminals and the 2nd has 4 large terminals for heavier amperage along with 16 low amp. pins. Also to protect the harness as it leaves the connector there are 2 covers, straight and 90 degrees to choose from. Wires are crimped using universal electrical pliers




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↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓ Old Project ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓ 
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各部門担当
・Wrapping
 #SKP

・Wiring & computer setting
#COURAGE

Welding & maintenance
#SPAN

・Exterior
#QUARTT

・Water pressure transfer printing & Parts installation
#M-MAGIC GARAGE

-ご協力企業様 Link-
 #RAYS   #TOMEI POWERED   #GCG   #ZESTINO   #AUTO CROSS
#NAPREC   #HELIOS RACING ENERGY   #Project-mu
#SILK ROAD   #KAWAI WORKS   #FORTUNE AUTO   #FINAL KONNEXION

Design concepts for our new demo car!
This project will be a #Suzuki #Jimny JB23W body, retaining its factory separate chassis, modified to suit all the running gear from a Nissan Silvia S15!
The car will feature an easily removable body, that will flip up to better display Kinokuni products on the chassis, much like our existing display buggy. Our fluid and electrical quick release products will be used !
Stacked, Inc. in Sakai city, Osaka, will be responsible for building the platform, then to be brought to our shop in Iwade city later in the year for a fit-out of our current products and some new ones as well.

Jan.15th
2018 Tokyo Auto Salon が終了しました
ご来場いただきました皆さま
本当にありがとうございましたm(_ _)m
また、お越しいただけなかった方々も次回お待ちしています!
そしてYB2ジムニーは、絶賛販売中です!
海外にも発送可能です、よろしくお願いします!
The Show is over until next year so we want to thank all of you who visited our booth and look forward to seeing the people who could not make it this time. Because we are hoping to build another parts test car we have the YB2 up for sale and will ship to any overseas customer.
先に車輛が出発しました
After the Show the car was the first to head home.
続いて販売物も荷積みして出発
Last, was packing the truck for the all night drive back to the shop.
途中、富士山が見えます。雲がかかって少し残念。
Passed Fuji with clouds secretly covering the summit.
夕日がきれいですね...
The sun going down on the way home.
いきなりですが、会場の展示風景
Making the final adjustments to the booth before opening.
毎年、大盛況です!
Another exciting Tokyo Auto Salon.
開場前に記念撮影
The team after getting the booth set up.
お祭りの後は、こんな感じです...
また来年に向けて少しずつ準備を行います
これからもよろしくお願いします
At 5pm on Sunday the booths are literally scrapped within a couple of hours. Pandemonium!

- 告知 -
デモカーを販売いたします
オートサロンを中心に使用してきましたオリジナル車輛です
オリジナルを含め多数の部品を使用しております
2018年の東京オートサロンが最後の展示になります
もちろん価格交渉も可能です
会場で皆様のお越しをお待ちしております


We are selling our demonstration car. Many thanks to all the people over the years who have spent endless days and long nights working on the car.
It is a space frame car that Kinokuni has used to display our products at the Tokyo Auto Salon. We also used it to test many of our products in closed track settings.
We used a lot of name brand parts plus original Run Max products and the 2018 Tokyo Auto Salon will be the last exhibition for YB2
Of course, the price is negotiable


- お知らせ/Notice -
2018年 1月12日(金)から14日(日)の期間で開催される
東京オートサロンに出展いたします!
1 ホール  小間番号120 です
皆様のお越しをスタッフ一同お待ちしております。
The Tokyo Auto Salon 2018 will be from January 12th (Frid.)to the 14th(Sun.) and Kinokuni has finally received notification of our booth's location. We are in Hall 1 at booth No.120, which puts us on the major manufactures road and in front of Toyo Tires.
Our enlarged booth over last year will be an open layout with a very welcoming Kinokuni staff to explain our products. We look forward to saying hello.



Dec.4th
ずいぶんご無沙汰しておりました m(__)m
先週12月1日金曜日、オートサロンへ出展するために
少々のお化粧直しが必要なのでドナドナされていきました。
It's been a while since our last post but we have been busy testing many interesting products which will displayed at the Tokyo Auto Salon.
To that end YB2 was off to the workshop for the same preparations.
 Here is one of our new products being extensively tested at Suzuka last month. Find out what it is on January 12th at the Tokyo Show.




Sept. 30th
ようやくですが8月27日参加したハイパーミーティング岡山の
動画が編集(素人まるだし)できました。
もしよろしければ下記リンクから閲覧 ください!


At the Okayama Meeting we had 3 cameras recording the event.
Normally, being a guest of a magazine we would pick up the video from the sponsor magazine but this time they had no camera crew so we have tried our best to edit our amateur photography attempts. Hope you enjoy the footage.


August. 27th
いってきました、ハイパーミーティング岡山!
ご来場ならびにブースにお越しくださいました皆さま・・・
m(_ _)m ありがとうございました m(_ _)m
今回走行時間は短いものでしたが
その昔、F1も走ったコースを走行したかと思うと
なかなかジーンと来るものがあります。
1日を通して天候も良く楽しいイベントになりました。
We made it to the Okayama circuit on a real hot day.
For the Demo run the team members gave the pro driver all the information he wanted.
YB2 after it's sea journey to Thailand was not in good tune but after 30 minutes of loud throttle blipping she came on song and performed well.
走行前の打ち合わせ
The brief before the run,
車種ごとにミーティングがありました
The promoters had set up areas for specialty cars.
パドックには出展車輌が並びます
The circuit is very much in the countryside so noise is not a problem however the heat and large insects were.
走行前のチェックは欠かせません
Spent an hour checking the car while being interviewed by our hosts, Rev Speed Magazine.


August 18th
おしらせで~す 8/27 岡山国際サーキットで行われる
に出展いたします!!!
Kinokuni/YB2 has been invited by Rev Speed to the Hyper Meeting at Okayama Circuit (TI) on Sunday 8/27. There will be a practice run with a Pro Driver in the morning and probably another in the afternoon. Kinokuni booth will be set up by the 4 team members so hope to see you there.


August 10th
#YB2 が帰国したので青海埠頭へ迎えに行っていきました。
6日の夜出発して7日の午前に到着。
往路は何事もありませんでしたが...復路ですよ、問題は!!!
台風5号に向かって帰らなければならない状況です...。
雨は足柄あたりから降り始めます。
途中激しく降ったと思えば、止んだりを繰り返し、
休憩の為立ち寄ったSAでは強烈な風と湿気!
とどめは、名阪国道/関ICから伊賀ICまで通行止めです。
普段のおこないが悪いのか自分を恨みます(笑)
どうにかこうにか和歌山に到着したのが深夜1:00過ぎ!
今回はほんとうに疲れましたね...。
Went to collect YB2 in Tokyo (7hr trip) on Sunday the 6th and got her on the truck on Monday. At the start of our return journey we had a good view of Mt Fuji but also knew that a large typhoon was close by. It started to rain heavily along with strong wind gusts so stopped at a highway rest area. Out on the road again only to have the highway closed so after much deviation we made home safely after midnight. Really worn out after the trip. 
7日午前の富士山 That's was our view of Mt. Fuji.

コンテナから...
....and out she comes in sunshine again.

August 4th
メディアに取り上げていただきました
フジテレビワンツーネクストで放送されている
カスタム野郎Cチームに、ちょこっとだけですが #YB2 が登場します
MCには、湘南乃風のRED RICEさん
そしてアドバイザーは、月刊カスタムCAR 田中編集長さんが

バンコクインターナショナルの模様を伝えていらっしゃいます。
Fuji TV's pay channel has made a program of our race car at the Bangkok Auto Salon so do hope you have access to this channel. YB2 will be back in the shop next week after it's ship voyage in a container..



おまけ


July 11th
遅くなってしまいましたが・・・
BANGKOK INTERNATIONAL AUTO SALON 2017が大盛況の中、閉会となりました。
ご来場いただきました皆さま、関係者の方々ありがとうございました。
詳細な会場の模様はコチラをご覧ください
さてさてYB2は?と言いますと、また四角い箱に押し込まれ
どんぶらこ~どんぶらこ~と、海上を移動して8月上旬に日本に到着する予定です。

The Bangkok International Auto Salon where our race car was displayed has now finished, The display of 6 cars from Japan proved popular among a very high technical level of the local cars. A big thank you to all who made the event possible. YB2 will again be sailing the high seas with a Japan ETA of late August. Here is a link to the Bangkok Auto Salon facebook コチラ


June 6th
☆ご報告☆
この度  #YellowBullet2  は、7/5~9にタイで開催される
バンコクインターナショナルオートサロンに出展いたします!
皆様の多大なるご協力に大変感謝感謝です
6月6日は搬入日の為有明にあるコンテナヤードに行ってきました!
前日降った大雨もウソのような晴れ間を見せ
快晴の中で積み込みを終える事が出来ました。
The race Yellow Bullet 2 is on it's way to the Bangkok International Auto Salon which is on from 7/5 to 7/9th.
On June 6th the car was loaded into a container along with the full team of 6 Japanese cars organized by the Tokyo Auto Salon.
The day before loading it was pouring with rain but loading day was happy days and sunshine.

左から:キノクニ、RE雨宮様、パンドラ様
From the left going in the same container is YB2, RE Amemiya and Pandora. 
ウイング越しのパレットタウン
Good shot over the wing of the Tokyo big city.
 この瞬間ドンヨリに・・・
Glorious sunshine before being looked up. Have a safe trip YB2.
いってらっしゃい!
See you soon in Bangkok.
心地よい風がサイコーでした
Another view of Tokyo from the harbour on a clear sunny day.


May 23th
新しいカタログが完成しました!!
発送の準備が整い次第 順に発送させていただきます~!
At last the latest 290 page catalogue is being posted out to our regular customers. Thousands are printed which takes 3 stages and 3 machines four days to complete the run.
 


April 27th
現在発売中の #REVSPEED 6月号に
「REV SPEED Meeting」当日の模様が記事になっています。
YB2も “番外編” ということで掲載されています!
気になる砂子塾長のインプレッションは・・・。
ぜひお近くの書店・コンビニでお買い求めください。
The RevSpeed magazine, June edition is now on sale with the main feature being the Tsukuba Time Attack event. YB2 is there with a very respectable time considering it was not set up for track racing having been mainly used for drifting. In the DVD Mr. Tsunako gives his impression of the car.





April 10th
 先日開催された「REV SPEED Meeting」の模様を掲載していただいています!
m(_ _)m ありがとうございます m(_ _)m

Many thanks to Ron Celestine at Speedhunters who did a great write up on YB2 at the Rev Speed meeting.
Included is a link to the You Tube video of the in car action of the 5 lap sprit race.

speedhunters
gazoo


April 3rd
事後報告です(笑)
行ってきました、レブスピードミーティング!
そして、走ってきましたコース2000!!
初コース走行・初タイム計測・初レース・初周回と、初ものづくしな1日となりました。
先ずは午前の予選タイムの結果ですが・・・
1'06.448
思いもよらず良い結果に一同ビックリですwww
そして午後、リバースグリッドによる5LAPバトルが始まります
3列目のIN側に車輛を止めて・・・
レッドシグナルが消えたー・・・
スタートー!!!
若干スタートにもたつきはするものの、なんとか順位はキープ!!
 じわじわと前方の車両との間隔を詰めていく!
1ヘア、2ヘアと慎重に走行するとバックストレートへ、そこでターボパワー炸裂です(笑)
グングン前を追い上げます
そして最終コーナーを上手く抜けたら、またターボパワー炸裂です(笑)
1周につき1台を抜いていき、とうとう最終ラップ へ!
バックストレートで最後の1台を交わし、とうとうトップに!!!
そのままゴールラインを通過しトップチェッカー
ご来場のお客様はもちろん、出展社の皆様もクリビツテンギョーでございますw
ちなみに決勝のベストタイムは・・・
1'06.431
 そんな動画はコチラ!
こちらも予選のタイムと遜色ない結果が!そんな1日になりました。
ご来場ならびにブースへお越しいただきました皆さま
出展社の皆さま
運営関係の皆さま
本当に有意義な1日となりました事ありがとうございました。
Team members drove the one way trip of 10 hours as guests of the Rev Speed Magazine event in Tsukuba.
Various events were on but we were plugged into Time Attack and a 5 lap reverse grid race. It was our first time for everything today, race circuit, time attack and a race so we had our fingers crossed.
The car performed faultlessly all day.
At first seeing the car our very accomplished pro driver had a frown on his face and mumbled, "what's this?" Out he went and laid down a 1'06.448 lap time which was much better than anyone thought  for a car that has not been set up for such a race and aerodynamically is shaped like a brick.
The feedback from the experienced driver was impressive as he informed us that we needed more brakes and a different suspension setup so we will work on that.
The driver finally was actually smiling at how much fun he was having in the car which has no driver electronic devices so it took him back in time when cars were strictly mechanical.
Next we were entered into a 5 lap reverse grid race with 10 other cars, some with turbos.
We were 5th on the grid however our get away was slow.
We kept our position and every lap we passed a car with the turbo power out of the corners till finally hitting the front in the last lap doing a best time of 1' 06.431. Winner even though we had only the second best lap time.
Happy faces all around.
This was close to the end of the day and after having a slow day in our tent booth after the 5 lap race win we were flooded with curious racers till it was time to wrap up for the day.
Thanks to all for an incredible day.

Here is the You Tube link for the full video of the 5 lap race.

■ココからは画像になります
 6:00AM頃 到着
Arrived at 6.00am after a good nights rest nearby.
ドラミ風景
Into the drivers meeting.
まだ静けさが辺りを包んでいます
All quiet while busy preparing the car.
 ゲートオープン風景1
Gates open to good weather.
ゲートオープン風景2
Still more coming in.
チェックに余念がありません
Finally checks completed.
 ステージではトークイベントも開催
Famous driver interviews.
なんと今回ドライバーを担当していただきました「砂子塾長さま」 ありがとうございましたm(_ _)m
The magazine introduced our driver of the day Mr. Sunako who is the track pro driver and instructor. A very big help. Thanks.
 駐車場の端に植栽されている桜が開花していました 春ですね~
Cherry blossoms blooming in the car park so spring is really here.
イベントも終了 夕闇に向かって帰路につきました
The long drive home after the event.

◎おまけ動画◎
A short video of the car at full throttle.



Mar 24th
今回は告知です!
4月2日(日曜日) つくばサーキット コース2000
「 REV SPEED Meeting 2017」に出展いたします!!
当日は新製品や人気商品、YB2の展示を行います。
色々なイベントと かぶっちゃってますが
お近くの方、ドコに行こうか迷ってらっしゃる方などなど
みなさまのお越しをお待ちしております!!
Next week, Sunday April 2nd we will be taking YB2 to Tsukuba for the Rev Speed meeting of 2017. We have been asked to do a demonstration run and will have our tent #1, set up with new products along with some of the more popular items. Please come along and say hello. The aero parts we had on at the Tokyo Show are too fragile for the circuit so the car is now naked waiting a new format.

We also finally located our corner weight scales that had not been used since we were tuning drag cars many years ago. We will now be able to set up the suspension accurately so that the car will be easy and smooth to drive.....we hope.





Mar 6th
お久しぶりの投稿です。
先日、新しいカタログに使用する為の撮影がありました。
場所はキノクニの駐車場です。
まぁ背景は画像を加工してしまうのでこの場合関係ないっちゃないです。
 上から下から前から横から後ろからと・・・
パシャシャシャ パシャシャシャ パシャシャシャ パシャシャシャ パシャシャシャ
駐車場にシャッター音が鳴り響いておりました。。。
It's been some time since the last post as the team  members have been busy plus the cold winter temperatures have not helped. Now that we are in lighter wind jacket temps. the race car was brought to the Kinokuni car park for a multitude of photos for the new Kinokuni parts catalogue which will feature many of the photos.






Here is a shot of the wrapped exhaust manifold with temp.
Sensors for fine tuning fuel mixtures at small increment rpm's on the Haltech ECU
Just a general engine bay photo however the top left shows the Run Max quick release non spill fittings fitted to the clutch, rear and front brake lines. On the left side of the intake manifold is the remote Run Max oil filter and beside the MAF is the 700hp fuel regulator. Run Max air filter and the efficient Setrab intercooler.


Feb 25th
本日発売のREV SPEED誌
付属DVDの「東京オートサロン2017 movie」コーナーで紹介いただきました!
大井さん・デカトーさん ありがとうございました m(_  _)m
 みなさま ぜひ書店・コンビニでご購入ください




Jan 16th
1月13日から15日まで千葉県の幕張メッセにて
アジアで1番大きなチューニングカーイベント:東京オートサロンが開催されました。
広い会場の中でも我々のブースにお越しいただきました皆様ありがとうございました。
そして今年は何年ぶりかの大寒波と重なり開催期間中は非常に寒い日になりました。
また関西では滅多に降らない雪の為大変だったようです。 

■下記は、取り上げていただいたメディア記事です■
 www.facebook.com/zestinotire 
● zasshi.news.yahoo.co.jp
● headlines.yahoo.co.jp
● www.mycar-life.com
● autoc-one.jp 
● clicccar.com
 response.jp

On Jan. 13th to the 15th the 2017 Tokyo Auto Salon was held. It is the largest tuning street car show in the world and this year had another increase of customers to 330,000 people. Weather was one of coldest ever but luckily the snow stayed for the most part in the mountain areas. The booth was a simple setup with a simulated concrete wall to allow great photos to be taken. Most cars were very much the same make with highly polished up paint and wheels. People want to see and experience something creative and out of the box which we delivered. Whow! I don't believe this Whow! whow! whow! was the common exclamation I heard.

This shot is the other half of Kinokuni's booth behind the car where we were selling a smattering of our products.

In this separate hall were the cars invited by the major car magazines.

Below are shots of the halls compromising the Tokyo Auto Salon.





Here are the team members in their new team colours.


Jan 6th
あけましておめでとうございます

2017年がはじまりました。

いよいよ東京オートサロンが来週末に開催されます!
スタッフーは最後の追い込みでバタバタして落ち着きがありません。
YB2も形は出来たものの最後の仕上げが残っている状態です。
ブースで展示や販売をする商品も大凡準備が出来ました。
!!ここでチョット宣伝を!!
KINOKUNIは下記場所でスタッフ一同みな様のお越しをお待ちしております
Happy New Year. 2017
Back at work again and finalizing the preparations for the Tokyo Auto Salon next week. Both the race car YB2 and the company products are near ready to be placed on a truck for all to see in 7 days time. Below is the location of our booth in the West Hall, booth number 119 with an artists impression of the 2017 booth. It will be great to see you at the show.




Dec 26th
行ってきました「#お台場ドリフト超天国」!
 と、その前のお話から・・・。
●23日:東京都某所にてまずはセッティングの確認です。
今回は以前から気になっていた燃料系統の一部変更を行っているので
翌日の走行前にチェックしなければいけない状態になりました。
 パソコン画面と睨めっこする事数時間。。。回しては止めて、回しては止めての繰り返し。
どんどん調子の上がる車輌を見ているとワクワクしてきます!!
セッティングが終わると今度は最終チェックを行うためまたまた次の場所に移動します。
って言ってもコチラも東京某所ですが(笑)
なんだかんだ色々チェックと作業を終わらせて作業を終了。
12/23 On the day before the Odaiba event the car was put on the dyno again. Because of the new Haltech computer and many sensors we were able to do many runs to step by step slowly improve the engine fuel map which was exciting work to see how the numbers changed. The engine is now running smoothly at a reliable power output so that we can now put more emphasis on testing parts.

 ●24日:搬入が5:00AMからの為、メンバー全員早朝に移動開始です。
日も上がっていない暗がりの中搬入開始です。
しかし寒い!!
お台場は海に近いので風も強くテントにウエイト乗せるだけではとっても不安になるくら位
続々と出店者ならびに参加者の方々が会場入りされて
明るくなる頃には見渡す限り、ドリ車・ドリ車・ドリ車・・・・・な状況に。
自分たちもテントを立てて展示物を配置してそそくさとテントの中に避難しました。
イベントも順調に進んでいき、12時前に走行準備を開始!
会場中央の大きな8字ゾーンで来場の皆様にアピールアピール!!
続いてコースに出向いてデモラン!
ご来場のみなさんや、ダイバーシティーから観覧されている方など
多くの方に見ていただけて非常に良いアピールが出来たと思っています。 
次はいよいよ東京オートサロンです。
弊社では「西1ホール No.119」で皆様とお会いできるのを楽しみにしています。
それでは、良いお年を~ 
12/24 At the ungodly hour of 5am in Osaka in cold, dark and blustery conditions the team loaded the race car onto the truck. In Tokyo the event at Odaiba was just beside the sea so the conditions were the same. It was very windy and even with weights holding down our event tent it was touch and go at times. By midday we abandoned the tent to look for warmer areas. The race car was very popular and viewed by many, then all the drift cars did demonstrations runs as can be viewed in the video below. The car performed flawlessly so thank you to all the team members who have added their individual expertise to the project.
Now the preparation is for the Tokyo Auto Salon where Kinokuni will have a booth in the West Hall No.1, at booth No. 119. See you there.





Dec. 21th.
今週末12月24日(土曜日)にお台場NOP地区会場で開催
発刊20周年を迎える月刊誌「#ドリフト天国」が主催するイベント
「#お台場#ドリフト#超天国」にブース出展いたします!!!
http://jdm-option.com/doriten/
もちろん会場には#YB2も展示いたします。
D1にお越しいただけなかった方々もこの機会に是非お待ちしています。
(ちなみに、前売り券も ローソンチケット:Lコード33198 で販売しています。)
On the 24th we have been invited as guests for an exhibition run at the Odaiba drift meet by Tengoku Drift Magazine. YB2 will have the pipe surrounds bolted back on for the event with the yet unfinished new aero look to be unveiled at the TAS. Apart from the promotion of Kinokuni the event will be used check new setups on the car and test the performance of some newly added products.   See you at Odaiba.


Dec.14th
現在#YB2は、2017オートサロンに向けてお化粧直し中でございます
全国1000万?全世界1億?YB2ファンの皆様には
大変心苦しいところではございますが、モザイク姿でご勘弁くださいm(_ _)m
それではお楽しみに~!
The race car, YB2 has a new look which will be unveiled at the 2017 Tokyo Auto Salon Jan. 13th. The car also has many more Kinokuni products installed some of which are NEW and depending on your reaction at the show will decide if we introduce them into our new 2018 catalogue which also is being prepared. 
We will be happy to see you at the TAS


Nov.17th
とうとう世に出る時がやってまいりました!(拍手)
2016年早々のオートサロンから10か月。
どれだけ紆余曲折があったことか...
涙無しでは語れません(大げさ)
ということで、このブログをご覧の皆さま
是非ともドリフト天国Video VOL.111をお買い求めくださいm(_ _)m
Drift Tengoku, a sister magazine of the Option group have released a DVD showing the Kinokuni race car with footage from the 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon, a rained out Fuji photo shoot and a D1 drift event in Tokyo. It is a great PR boost which we hope will continue. Getting the car running for the Tokyo Show was a major achievement so many thanks to the team members who have added their expertise  over 2016. Hopefully we will be in Tokyo again in a couple weeks for another D1 Drift event where the latest tweaks to YB2 can be evaluated then straight into the January Tokyo Auto Salon.   


Nov. 12th
まだ昼間は暖かい気候のため作業をするのが楽しいですね。
ブレーキのタッチがしっかりしていないので、問題が解決されることを願って、
新しいアイデアをいくつか組み込んでみます。 
With the weather still warm working on the car is still fun. During testing we found that the brake pedal was not firm and didn't have a confident feel to it. Some new ideas have been incorporated in the hope that the problem has been solved. The interior had another revamp to the wiring and the console was completed. We are happy to have  secured Zestino as a tire sponsor .http://www.zestinoracing.com/ 
配線と部品の配置を検討中
Slowly the wiring details and parts location are coming together.
パーキングロックバルブの位置を検討中
Two team members discussing the location of a hole for the parking brake.
 次回の走行が楽しみです!
Looking better all the time and waiting for the next track test of Kinokuni's products.



October 26th
10月2日に行われた #京都ヒルクライム の模様が収録されています
その中でYB2が車輛の紹介をしていただきました
ぜひお近くのコンビニ・書店でお買い求めください!
m(_ _)m
The largest car magazine in Japan will have a write up of the Kyoto Hill Climb with an in depth article on the YB2 chassis. It will be available from 10/2 at most book shops and convenience stores in Japan. 


October 23rd
 当日の天候は、どんより曇り空。ダイバーシティの隣で開催された
D1イベントへ10/22・10/23の2日間参加してきました今回はビデオオプションの撮影が主であり、
当日は人気ドライバー谷口信輝氏がYB2のインプレッション走行が目的です
 実は3月に一度撮影をしていたのですが
車輌状態も万全ではなく走行も真面に行えなかったのがホントのところです
出展者リストにも表示は無くイベントのゲストとして会場入りしたYB2ですが、
到着してみると正門入口の正面とても良い位置に置くことができました
結果といえば上々の仕上がり具合で撮影も問題なく撮り終え
スタッフ一同ホッと胸を撫で下ろしたのはココだけの話ですw
これから東京オートサロンに向け改善ポイントを修正していかなければなりません。
The weather has been good for the Pro D1 event held within Tokyo City confines outside the major TV Fuji station, It was a 2 day event with our car being used for a demonstration run driven by Taniguchi, who is Japan's most recent popular driver for a photo shoot done by Japan's top car magazine, Option. Remember that they tried in March on a rain soaked Fuji Circuit which was not good enough but this shoot will be on the DVD they incorporate along with a write up in their magazine soon. Because we were only guests at the event Kinokuni had no display however YB2 was in the best position at the main gate entrance for all to see. Thanks to the 2 crew members who drove the truck the 8 hours (incl. stops) each way.

YB2 is still on a safety oriented tune however it finally appears to be reliable so we can now move on to more serious parts testing without worrying so much on car problems.

 Not much time left for the Tokyo Auto Salon ( January 13th to 15th) booth to be designed and organized. Come and say hello and see the new products which we have on and tested in YB2. Hopefully they will be in the new catalogue which is being worked on now. Also on Facebook....  

 







October 17th
#YellowBullet2は、今週末お台場で開催されるD1イベント
「2016 AUTO SALON LIVE TOKYO」で、展示をするために東京へ運ばれます。 
2日間のイベントでは、D1オフィシャルショップ付近にディスプレイします。
 突然の申し出によりPRの機会を得る事が出来たことが
非常にありがたく大きなイベントへ招待をしていただき光栄でもあります。
車輌は見た目のインパクトも抜群!!
そして最新のキノクニ製品やアイデアを具体化した形で完成した車輛を
皆さんに見ていただいて愛車にフィードバックしていただければと考えています。
とりあえず天候が良い事を願います。
 The race car will be trucked to Tokyo which is about a 7 hour drive from our area in Osaka (2nd largest city in Japan) for a demonstration run at a D1 Drift Japan event. It is being held in a the large car park in front of one of Japans larger TV companies and will be driven by the current most popular driver in Japan in collaboration with Japan's top car magazine. It is a 2 day event and car will be on display inside the Kinokuni booth.
  It's hard to get an invitation to such a big event like this so we are very happy to put in the extra PR work. Although the car is unusual and catches the eye we hope that the revised car with the latest Kinokuni products and ideas for reliable racing perform the way they have done in our tests. Hope the weather is kind to us this time.



October 2nd
4日前のシェイクダウン後、今度は京都ヒルクライムに参加しました。
 天候は晴天、前日夜に降った雨の影響か非常に高温多湿な一日でした。
一般参加の皆さまはテクニカルコースとフォレストコースを走行し、
エキシビジョングループはそれぞれのコース中間にあるダウンヒルも含めて
約3km程度を走り切ります! しかも往復します!!
 午前に1回、午後は2回エキシビジョングループとして走行。
多くの皆様に見ていただく事ができました。 
また、何事もなく走行を終了しスタッフ全員が安堵に包まれたのはココだけの話です。
しかしこれからの課題や変更点も見つかりましたので
引き続き全力で完成に向けて頑張るしかないようです!!
After a great solid shakedown we entered the picturesque Kyoto Hill Climb which has very sharp hairpins, narrow roads and decreasing radius bends. Weather was HOT and humid but clear skies all day for our 3 runs. 

サイドウィンドーにエアーダクトを採用してラジエターに導風。
エンジンは水温92℃・油温105℃で安定しています。
これは電動ファンとウォータースプレーシステムを
コンピューターによる温度設定で自動的に起動しています。
We are still on a testing mode so with the added air ducts through the side window venturies the engine water temperatures never went above 92 degrees with oil at 105 degrees. The radiator water spray mist system which is started automatically at a set  temperature by the computer all worked well to keep the temperatures in a safe zone.
GoProをリアクロスブレースに取り付けたのですが、
画質は最悪...。ウィンドウの反射や揺れで見れたもんじゃありません。
別の取付位置を検討する必要が出てきました。
ただもう1台のカメラは室内のロールバーに固定していたため画像自体は確保が出来ました。
 The GoPro mount on the rear cross brace was a good idea but the picture quality was compromised by the reflections in the Perspex bulkhead window so another mounting position will have to be found inside the car. We did have another mounted on the vertical roll bar by the left dash which was angled to show the view forward only.
We will keep learning.

ここからは画像を色々どうぞ
走行に向かいます
With the car off loaded we await for the first run.
10月上旬にしては非常に日差しの強い日になりました
The tent was set up to shade all from the strong sun along within the strictly race car cars only pit area.

スタートエリアに向かいます
A group of cars line up in the first staging area before the start staging area.
物販・商品の展示は別エリアで行われました。
There was a separate area well away from the racing for commercial booths which customers found it almost impossible to visit due to the closed access of the road.


September 29th
リフレッシュした車輛はダイノでテストした結果360bhpを計測。
木曜日は午前中雨天でしたが鈴鹿ツインサーキットでシェイクダウンを行いました。
With the car fresh off the dyno at 360bhp we had a shakedown at Suzuka Twin Circuit again in light rain which did clear later in the morning,
今回オーバーヒート問題後の最初のテストでした。
主には温度のテストと各部の不具合探しです。
これは良好な結果と情報を得る事が出来ました。
This was the first test after the overheating problems so we were testing temperatures and looking for leaks. All systems performed well and a lot of good information was received.
完成したリヤラジエターです。
The rear mounted radiator has left a good amount of space between the engine and intercooler.

HaltechコンピュータがMSDシステムを駆動させることを可能にしています。
各種センサーはエンジンのマッピングに役立っています。
また今回新しい部品を採用!通常航空機システムで使用されてい
多ピンコネクターを採用し隔壁を通過させる配線ハーネスを制作しました。
取付けする為に使用ているコネクターは37ピン仕様を用意しました。
The Haltech computer has allowed the integration of the MSD system and the individual exhaust temps. sensors have helped with the engine mapping. This new system required a revised wiring harness which now passes through the bulkhead with a multi pin connector which is normally used on aircraft systems. There is now 37 pins being used however another connector will be installed to accommodate the still remaining wires.

大型電動ファン2機がそれぞれ設定温度90℃と92℃で動作します。
 水温・油温は非常に安定しており、

大容量電動ウォーターポンプの効果が確認できました。
The water and oil temperatures were all very stable and the 2 large fans were coming on at the preset temperatures of 90 and 92 degrees respectively. There is a large volume electric water pump doing a good job supplying cool water back to the engine.


September 23rd
 先日の台風で一気に秋めいてきましたね。。。。。
今回は以前紹介したフロアパネルの続き。 
施工も分解もとても簡単!ラクちんさに驚いています。
そしてバラバラな色のパネルは色見本やパターンのサンプルです。
画像全体のサイズは10'X16'(約3m×4.8m)です。
The last typhoon has cooled the temperatures down so it's more fun to work on the race car. We hope to have the first dyno test in the next couple of days which is down to the wire as the Kyoto Hill Climb is next weekend.
We also have been testing tile flooring for the pit area and have been pleasantly surprised at how easily it goes together and disassembly is also easy......when you know how. The extra coloured tiles are just samples of colours and patterns available. This a 10' X 16' size. One foot is the length of your foot or 12".

September 6th
深夜のドナドナ風景
It must be something of a real secret to have moved the race car in the dead of night however it arrived at the dyno and auto electricians in good shape.





September 5th
\(^o^)/ とうとう車体が完成しました \(^o^)/
残すは配線とセッティングのみになりました。
予定では2週間程度かかる模様です。
9月中にはテスト走行してチェックしたいな~。。。
It's a happy day because the race car has finished it's time in the remodel workshop. While basically not a big change the myriad of small details really took time to figure out and blend all the systems together.
 You can see that the large radiator shroud took away the space of the fuel system pumps and filters which are now laid flat under the shroud. Although the fuel system looked awesome with the aluminium pipes playing their part in the art work, now its the professional radiator shroud that is awe inspiring. 
With a move to the auto electricians and dyno shop the full car harness will be installed then the moment of truth if all the hard work has been worth it. This should happen in 2wks after which it's the car shakedown. Let's hope we can get the car onto the track between the typhoons that are pounding Japan this month.
The Haltech Elite 1500 normally needs a race dash as a data logger to superimpose the gauge overlay onto a GoPro video which we hope to have setup at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January. Kinokuni sell gauges so purchasing a digital dash makes no sense. Haltech have advised us that the CSV files can be taken from the ECU then overlaid onto a video file with the use of the app.
Race Render   http://racerender.com/Products/index.html A digital GPS data logger would be nice and make the blending of information easier but budget restraints will hold that idea up I'm sure.








August 30th
車体はいよいよ大詰めです
前周りの部品固定が完了!
ラジエターホースを接続!
コンピューターの設置完了!
残すはハーネスの引き直しとセッティングのみ!!
気が付いた方がいらっしゃるでしょうか?
同時にテールランプが変わりました!!!
コチラは京都にあります「#AUTO CROSS」様の製品で
「#LEDブロックテールランプ」の「#ブラック&スモークタイプ」を
ご提供いただきました。本当にありがとうございます m(_ _)m
純正品と比較しても非常にマッシブ!引き締まったおケツになりました。
詳しくは:http://www.autocross.co.jp/ をご覧ください。
Many man hours on details have us with the motor and rear mounted radiator in place and connected. The fuel system had to be re-plumbed as space was taken up with the radiator and the large water pump. The car will now move to the dyno shop where a new wire harness will connect the Haltech computer and have lights on the car. A Jimny parts company, Auto Cross have supplied us with a LED smoked out rear tail lamps. We hope to have the car setup and ready for a shakedown within 2 to 3 weeks.








August 24th
(^^)/~~~ パンパカパ~ン 発表します!!!
10月2日に行われる「京都ヒルクライム」に
エキシビジョン車輛として参戦(参加)することが決定しました!!!
イベントの詳細は下記にてご確認ください。
「京都ヒルクライム」:http://special-stage.racing/
当日はブース出展も行いますので、みなさまのご来場をお待ちしております。
On October 2nd 2016 at the Kyoto Hill Climb http://special-stage.racing/ we hope to have the race car in great condition and will have a Kinokuni booth set up so please come and visit us.
 At the moment the plan is to have YB2 assembled by the end of August after which it will go to the dyno shop where tuning, a new wiring harness and details will be finalized.  A shakedown and general parts testing will take place at Suzuka Twin Circuit with a lot of meetings and preparations on how the parts test will be conducted. We have made many specific forms to collect data on many parts.


August 16th
かき氷食べましたか? 
 お祭りに行きましたか?  
花火見ましたか?
お墓参りに行きましたか?
 どれも実現していない担当者Aです。。。
和歌山は連日猛暑に襲われカラカラでございます。
本日から会社も通常営業を開始し朝からバタバタバタバタバタバタ
バタバタしかしていません(あくまでも担当者だけがですよ)
今回はリヤラジエター化に向けて作ったアイテムを紹介。
ハッチバック車なのでスペースが限られなんとかかんとか取り付けをしています。 
Lots of shave ice, festivals and fireworks displays over the last week but now the Japanese summer holidays are over and during which work has continued on the rear radiator. The radiator is fully enshrouded with large 'pull fans' to increase the air flow. Time will tell if we have made the right decision but the fuel system will need some reworking with such a big block of aluminium shroud in the same area.






August 8th
続報:順調に稼業は進んでおります
この記事を掲載する頃にはエンジンと車体が合体している
かも・・・しれない・・・予定・・・ではありますが・・・ヨテイハミテイデス
In the deserts temperatures are way over 40 degrees and Osaka is only hovering at 37 degrees but the high humidity takes it's toll on those where ventilation is limited as in workshops. However progress continues assembling the Tomei Engineering machined engine parts including big valves and correct tolerances on all engine parts. Installation in the race car we hope will be over the 5 day Japanese summer holiday which starts on Thursday this week then it's on to the rear radiator install and a cleanup of the car wiring harness. All sounds easy but!!!



August 1st
8月になりましたね...とにかく毎日暑いです
現在O/Hのエンジンもヘッド面研とシリンダーのボーリングが完了
組み立てもボチボチ進行中
さすが美しい仕上がり!虹色に光っております
見えなくなる部分だと思うとちょっと寂しい気もしますが...。
現在の予定では今月中に完成と試走に行ければな
なんて事を思いながら通常業務と並行して奮闘している毎日です。
みなさまの応援よろしくおねがいしますwww
Damn! It's hot and humid in Japan at the moment and when the wind stops late in the afternoon it's truly like a sauna. The engine is being assembled and we hope to receive the radiator shrouding within the week which will allow the mounting points to be decided on. We hope to have the car track ready by the end of this month, August.




July 16th
少し間が空いてしまいましたが車輛は順調に修正中でございます。
エンジンヘッドはバルブガイドを打ち替えるついでにビッグバルブ化!
シリンダーブロックは面研&スリーブ交換
ラジエターのリヤマウントブラケットも制作中
8月中にはシェイクダウンを完了したいな~と計画中です。
今回は野外イベントやピットスペースに使用する
フロアボードを輸入してみましたのでソチラの紹介でも・・・。
The rainy season is just about over but the typhoon season is just around the corner. The race car engine's head is completed with big valves and the bored block should be complete within a weeks time.  The rear  mounting of the radiator with it's side mounted air scoops is still waiting on some parts. We have decided on a Haltech computer which will give us control over the all systems to keep everything safe. The team are looking forward to another shakedown probably at Suzuka Twin as it is the closest major circuit.
Kinokuni is promoting pit equipment so have purchased a sample 3m X 3m tile flooring to test for the pit area. We hope other sports like go-cart, motorcycle, dirt track, BMX, garages, workshops, events etc will use this idea to upgrade their service area. The tiles are easily separated using a putty knife.

 とりあえず3m×3m分を用意してみました。
組み合わせはとっても簡単!連結していくだけ!
縁の部品を組み合わせてもサイズに収まります。
We already have a 3m X 3m quick foldout tent which will keep some of us out of the hot sun.
Our samples of multi pin harness connectors arrived only to find that the main body was a smaller size than the adjoining parts. The aircraft connector company has an extremely complicated catalogue so we previously telephoned the company for conformation that the parts ordered would all fit together. Their reply was, "I don't know, just give me the part numbers". Nice!  Have my fingers crossed that the main body reorder we go well. The 100amp manual reset breaker switch looks good and will be used.


June 18th
事件発生からようやく目途が立ち作業開始であります(`^´)>
先ずはエンジン本体のチェックから~...。
前回決定したリヤラジエター作戦については
基本電動ファン化するのですが
空気の引き込みも行わなければならない為
リヤサイドの窓を樹脂製に変更した後
ダクトとダクトホースを取付ける準備もしなければなりません。
特別な車輛には特別な方法で対応しなければならずまだまだ作業が続きます。
The power plant has again been removed and along with another engine stripped down so we can put together a good engine from all the good parts. After another in depth meeting it looks like the rear mounted radiator will be a reality. The radiator cooling ducts through the side windows are still up for discussion though. The Kinokuni in stock NACA air duct we think may not have enough air flow to satisfactory cool the radiator but at the same time  large scoops on either side of the car would look hideous on such a small car.




June 11th
とうとう6月ですね。そうそれは日本の雨季、THE梅雨のシーズン到来です!!
 今回車輛のエンジンルーム内のスペース不足を解消する為に色々と検討を重ねた結果、
 ラジエター本体を車輛後部に配置しようとの意見が出てきました。 
すでに冷却システムのリヤマウントを経験したメンバーもいる事から大きな仕事ではありますが
作業と設置は可能であると判断しました。
 次に燃料ポンプの件は、容量の小さなポンプに変更しました。
 吐出量を落として流れを穏やかにしてキャビテーションを起こさないようにするのが狙いです。 
最後にエンジンルーム内の配線をまとめて脱着出来るように
マルチピンコネクタをアメリカの航空機会社に注文しました。とにかく車輛の信頼性を向上させて
キノクニ製品のテストを完了したいと考えています。
 It's T shirt weather plus we are in the rainy season so a good time to get cracking in the workshop. The radiator cooling problem could be easily solved if it wasn't for the lack of space in the Jimny engine bay. We have not been able to come up with an OEM radiator solution so are looking at relocating the custom USA radiator to the rear of the car. It's a really big job so Stacked who built the car are busy so we had the car trucked to our very professional race car fabricator SPAN, who luckily has experience with the rear mounted cooling system. He does a lot of Formula car work and is taking care of a well known 4 rotor Mazda drift car which has rear cooling with about 4X what we require.
The primary high pressure fuel pump was changed to a lower pressure pump which has stopped the aeration in the small collector tank.  The return fuel line line into the main tank has a steady gentle flow so all should be great and stop the air that was reaching the injectors. Also, we have located a USA aircraft company which sells multi pin connectors so have ordered a 28 pin unit. This year we hope to complete testing many of Kinokuni's products especially when the race car becomes a reliable platform on which to test.
Last week Kinokuni's brake line and hose dept. reproduced in 2 days all the lines on a very well known Formula F1 classic car from 1990's. The dry sump oil lines were AN16. Well done.


May 22nd
ダイノテスト後に驚愕の事実が発覚・・・・・メタルブローです。。。
ドラえもんがいたら時間を戻してほしい気持ちでいっぱいです。。。
これを機にいままで手を付けていなかった部分の修正を始めようと思います! 
先ずはじめにエンジン冷却の問題から。
現状使用している海外製のカスタムメイドのラジエーターが非常にぶ厚く
一度水温が上がると熱が溜まってしまい効率的に下げる事が出来ない点と
エンジンまでの距離が無く、大型の電動ファンが取付けできない事で
うまく放熱されず水温の上昇が止まらない事が大きな問題です。
次に燃料関係のレイアウトについての問題があり、
現在はメインタンク+ボッシュポンプと、コレクタータンク+ボッシュポンプの
大容量ポンプを2台使用している為にコレクタータンク内で泡立ちが発生、
その結果ポンプへ気泡が混入してしまうという症状が出てしまいました。
ひとまずはメインタンクからくみ上げるポンプの容量を落としてみようと思います。
どちらの問題についても部品同士のバランスが崩れた為に起こしてしまった事だと反省。。。
問題を一つずつ解決して信頼できるパッケージにしなければいけないと痛感しました。
It's retrace our steps time as after the dyno test we found lots of metal in the sump. This really hung us out to dry with the promises we had made for the biggest photo shoot groups. Regroup, repair all the small details and go to the next stage we decided. An engine strip and  rebuild is the first step.  The engine cooling problem will require fans with over 5X the power we have now. In an average engine bay it's a bolt in fix but the lack of space in our car bay governs decisions. First it's out with the very thick custom made radiator and in with the much thinner ones that are being used with 400hp cars now. Problem is the available radiator height is low......always problems!
The fuel collector tank had air bubbles which were entering the main circuit. The Bosch primary pump was doing it's job too well circulating a large fuel volume into the small one liter collector so will switch out to a lower volume pump.  
The radiator cap was not sealing due to warping of the cap base during welding so will be rebuilt. Also looking for multi pin connections for through the bulkhead wiring.
Lots of detailed work which hopefully will make the car reliable for testing at up and coming circuit events.

 

 May 13th
 5月12日好天の中ジムニーを連れ出し次の走行に向けダイノパックでセッティングをしました。
 途中マイナートラブルがチョコチョコ出ましたが、ナントカカントカ完成!
係数0で400psにちょい足らずとトルクが約50kgになりました。
さてさてこれから室内側の作業も残っているしやる事いっぱいです(笑)
ぼちぼち頑張りま~す(~。~)
#Flatwell 平井様、吉田様 ありがとうございました m(_ _)m
First time on the dynopack ( Flatwell Company) which enabled us to see close-up some of the niggling problems. The engine overheating problem has been with us from day one so we were able to look and discuss how to solve the problem. These updates need to be tested next week when the car is booked for the track by some VERY major players the names of which can't be divulged at this point. We are getting on this engine about 400bhp with 50Nm torque which is enough to wheel spin in every one of the 6 gears. When YB2 flashes past and close by, every gear shift sounds like an explosion with dust and smoke billowing behind like a rally car blasting past on a gravel road.





May 9th
今年のGWはいかがでしたか?
体がだらけきって絶好調抜け殻になっていますwww
天気の良かった某日にちょっとした撮影をしましたので報告です。
他の画像もコチラからご覧になれます。
ヤマチャンネル様ありがとうございました。
Over the Japanese long holiday Golden Week, Shane was working hard with another photo shoot by https://www.facebook.com/yamachannel/ Great new ideas on shooting angles plus a couple of nice models. Thanks for the continuing promotion.
ナイスなバックスタイル!
From this angle it is hard to recognize any Suzuki Jimny.
 あらためて室内の画像を2枚
A couple of interior shots of the roll bar mounted rear vision mirror and the drivers work area.


非売品のセトラブ社インタークーラーコアを使用しています
The Setrab cooler core boldly mounted in the front which has not been fully tested yet but so far appears to be doing it's job.




April 25th
4月24日は富士スピードウェイで開催されたモーターファンフェスタに参加してきました。
 午前中は雨は降るし霧は出るし、さすが富士!って感じのあいにくの空模様。
午後には徐々回復してきましたが、そんな天候にも関わらず
20,000人を超える多くの方ご来場され、お立ち寄りいただきありがとうございました。
 これからもチョコチョコ出ていき皆様に見ていただけるよう頑張ります!
Yep! We were at Fuji and it was misty and rained almost all day but 20,000 people were there at one of largest one day race car parts event. Our 3 man team did their best like everyone else. Another big photo shoot and track test is close so we will continue to have the car out on the circuit testing Kinokuni parts.



April 17th
ここ数週間はメンバーそれぞれが各々のライフスタイルに戻って過ごしております。
その間も今後の仕様についてや変更箇所を含む諸々のミーティングを行いました。
スペアエンジンを用意するべく用意したエンジンを調べます。
こちらも今以上の信頼性を向上しなければならず予算も限られている為、頭の痛い状態です。
また、九州・熊本県ならびに大分県を中心に大きな地震が発生する事態となり、
被災された方々には一日も早く以前の生活が戻る事をお祈りするばかりです。
そして本当に関西地方も以前から言われている大きな地震が真実味を増してきました。
We have had a couple of weeks to get back into our routine life styles. The big earthquake, a couple of days ago was quite some distance away so it was not felt in our area. The major magazine photo shoot has been rescheduled for the 28th at yet an unknown circuit. At a couple of team meetings we discussed how to sustain reliability from the car plus we are also already thinking of how to display in the next Tokyo Auto Salon. As always the project's budget has to be kept and balanced against many factors as it is easy to blow out a race cars budget beyond that of the original business goals set.
Stripped down one of our previously used engines with obvious  signs of unwanted debris having passed through the combustion chamber. Bore to piston clearance was also excessive but finding a good block these days in Japan is becoming difficult and
expensive leading to the option of boring and sleeving the block.




April 2nd
ニットータイヤ公式フェイスブックに取り上げていただきました
ありがとうございます m(_ _)m
Nitto Tires has placed a link to an article on the race car on their company Facebook.


March 30th
3月14日に行われた取材についての
情報が解禁になりましたので告知です!

長年にわたり #芸文社 様から発刊されている「#カスタムCAR」で、
カラーページに掲載いただける事になりました!
当日は朝から雨が降っており午前中は外で撮影する予定でしたが
結構な雨量もあり急遽スタジオ撮影に変更になりました。
朝9:00にスタジオ到着して、車輌をスタジオの中に移動します。
全身ズブ濡れ状態になっている車輛をフキフキする事1時間・・・
撮影が10:00頃からはじまり、
車輌を移動して、ライティングして 、撮影して・・・
また車輌を移動して、ライティングして 、撮影して・・・
またまた車輌を移動して、ライティングして 、撮影して・・・
途中モデルのおネーさんが14:00頃到着
撮影は順次進んでいきます
その間に制作の意図や使用パーツなどなど編集部の方とお話をさせていただきました。
撮影も終了して、片づけして、挨拶して、出発したのが19:30
スタジオの中も撮影の為、窓は塞がれた状態で暗いし
時間の感覚が狂ってしまうほど。
本格的なスタジオ撮影は初めての経験でしたので非常に有意義な1日になりました。

#カスタムCARの発売は4月1日です!
ぜひ全国の書店・コンビニ等でお買い求めください。

Finally a major Japanese magazine, Custom Car has published the photo shoot of YB2 on April 1st. The car studio was 1 1/2 hours drive from us and it took them all day to photograph and take interviews. Three full colour pages plus the nice model.
The major Japanese magazine that did the rained out shoot  in Fuji has cancelled the days shoot. They wish to do the whole thing again in sunny weather but when and where is up to them. At this level they invite you so a telephone call and some money doesn't work in this case.  


TZコンシェル様のFR仕様になったスズキ:ハスラーと一緒に!
Another car was being shot at the same time, it is a Suzuki Hustler.






March 22nd
去る3/21に富士スピードウェイに行ってきました。
今回も取材です。
ビッグネームなメディアです。
しかも超が付く有名なドライバーがゲストです。
(でも、今は名称を記載できません、ごめんなさい)
 A very busy week for the whole team who had the pressure piled on to get the car in it's best condition for the drive from Japan's leading driver. Well, that was the plan.
満を持すために前回からエンジンとミッションを降ろし
色々と走行に支障が無いようメンテナンスを行います。
On Monday there was a successful photo shoot for a big publisher then the engine/trans. was pulled out. The car was designed to lift the body to expose the bare frame but it was found that we can drop the engine/trans plus front suspension unit rather quickly by using a lift and a rolling bench to support the total unit.
The clutch was worn thin due to the clutch line being too small to allow quick fluid flow return resulting in clutch slip.
以前から取り付けスペースの問題で渋々対応していた
パワステ部分の見直しも行います。
取り付け箇所に余裕が無いのでバンジョーを使用して
結合している部分にかなりの負担がかかっています。
 It was decided to change the 350hp motor with a 500hp motor to better show off the cars potential for the up and coming pro driver at the next photo shoot. After long hours at night the engine tested well and taken to Suzuka-twin for another track test. We received an urgent phone call to say that the power steering banjo fittings were leaking. The race car has very limited space in that area so Kinokuni's aluminium banjo and 'O' ring bolt would not slide into position so it was decided to use copper washers which allowed the bolt to barely enter the banjo. When the extra torque was applied on the bolt to seal the fitting the bolt elongated. A steel bolt was used which sealed the leak but started to crush the banjo. We will have to cut some of the chassis rail to allow the original Kinokuni system to do it's job.
オーバーヒートを起こす問題も少しずつ原因がわかり
そっちも対応に追われます。
During testing in the late afternoon and next couple of days the 500hp engine overheated destroying most major components. The theory is that the top radiator hose was not allowing enough water into the water pump which was then cavitating resulting in very little cooling of this high strung motor. It was on Sunday, the evening of which we had to leave for Fuji when the engine expired.
 結局なんだかんだ深夜3:30amまでかかり、何とか形にして
富士へ向け出発する事になりました。
 Another engine 400hp was changed out but work continued till 3.30am in an open yard beside the sea in freezing cold conditions. The peace and quiet of the port area was shattered as we tested the car. Noise, hell yes! Speed, damn it's fast. The 6 speed requires constant quick changes as the car wheel spins in every gear  With a 5 1/2 hour drive to Fuji for the 8am photo shoot the pressure was on. Good news was that the weather forecast was no wind, no rain but a cold 6 degrees max.

 We made it in the appointed time with no time to spare. Yep! The magazine staff were waiting for us. Japan is so punctual. Doesn't anyone over sleep in this country? 


朝から雨です。
しかもココだけ雨です。
シトシトと降り続いています。
The weather forecast can usually be relied on in Japan but this time it was misty and drizzling. 400hp in a 800kg chassis on a soaking wet track does not mix so all plans went out the window and was reduced to the exhaustive photo shoot, interviews plus the pro driver sliding around on the rain soaked drift course.

インタビュー受けてますけど?!
Who is photo bombing the interview?
 今回の天候条件が悪く、色々な部品がむき出しな状態で装着されている為
それが仇になってしまい良い状態での走行が出来なかった事もあり
次回仕切り直しとゆう結果になりました。
ドライバーや撮影スタッフ の方々には申し訳ない気持ちでいっぱいです。
次回の際はしっかり対策含めがんばります。
Our day was to get busy when the pro driver took to the track as our wild 8000 rpm motor was reduced to 3,500 due to misfiring. Shock and disappointment all round. With help from the computer it was diagnosed as the MAF sensor being in contact with water due to wheel spray entering the ground hugging air filter. The team got together and created a protective cover, but alas all was in in vain as the misfiring continued. The photo shoot was a success in that the magazine wants to do it all again in better conditions. There was another pro driver with a wild great sounding JZX 90 Toyota Cresta who did some practice laps. Impressive was him practicing getting the car angled half way down the straight and keeping it this way through the corner. The mag. pro driver went out  together with him to check it out in the slippery conditions. When they came back I eaves dropped on their conversation. The Cresta driver asked about the cars handling to which our pro driver said the Jimny was much easier to handle with very little steering input required once the steering angle was set. Naturally the Cresta's driver jaw dropped at hearing that.  "YB2 has a great, well balanced suspension set up" he continued.  

全てが終わり帰る前に腹ごしらえをしなければお腹ペコペコです。
かつ栄さんに13人の大所帯が積車1台と3台の車で急行します!
 帰りは居眠りる事もなく無事到着しましたとさ・・・。
新東名の新区間は快適です。今までの渋滞がウソのようにスムーズに流れていました。
まぁ、居眠りに誘い込まれるので気を付けましょう。
After a big meal together at a local tonkatsu (pork cutlets) restaurant was the long journey home for the 13 member team in the truck and 3 cars. Bitterly cold at 11pm the car was off loaded and given a final blast up the road to release some pent up frustration and to wake up the neighbours. Holy cow! The misfire was gone, screaming at max revs and so was the car in a cloud of dust and rubber smoke. Believe me. it's fast. Theoretically with the 400hp motor it can do the 1/4 mile in 10.2 sec. at 225km/h.and with the 500hp setup 9.6secs, at 250km/h. We have tried some drag slicks and it really digs down and hooks up well. That's some seriously good times.

 Happy days are here again.... It appears that the MAF sensor is not broken so it was just water interfering with the AF signal. Three engines in one week is expensive, disheartening and a lot of work for the team that hold down regular jobs.
One of the team does hydro dipping which you can see on the cars cam cover. This created much interest.
The magazine looked very carefully at Kinokuni's bonnet one touch button pins, the height adjustable drift brake and a variety of other parts. 
It will be great to test it again on a dry track to test the good looking Fortune Auto shocks.

On a side note we have been asked not to add the photo shoot photos until after the publishers get the magazines on the shelves


March 15th
2/25に行った取材がとうとう世に出る形になりました!
特集記事として表紙とカラー4ページに熱い記事と共に掲載されています。
ぜひとも全国の書店・コンビニ等でお買い求めください!
We are testing the car, mainly the Fortune Auto suspension plus revamped clutch and brakes at Suzuka today. There will be another track test in the next few days to iron out some details and more ideas to be ready for Japan's biggest car magazine publisher who are sending Japan's most popular Pro driver to test run the car and of course a DVD and photo shoot. They have DVD's with their magazines. The pressure is on.
2016年はSRジムニーをガンガン外に連れ出したいと思ってますので
イベント主催者様にはどうぞゲストとしてご招待いただけます様
オファーをお待ちしています。m(_ _)m
 Kinokini parts are getting a good workout as testing is also part of the program. I also heard that a hill climb is on the event list.
ちなみにドリフト以外のジャンル、グリップ・タイムアタック・ドラッグetcも大歓迎です!
So many magazines and internet sites all over the world in various languages are publishing the race car details. Doriten, the leading drift magazine has YB2 on the front cover

 
3/14(月)は国内のカスタムカーを取り上げ続ける某誌の取材があります。
現段階ではシークレットということで、発売が近くなった時に改めて告知します。
初回走行で発覚したトラブルも徐々に解消しつつリメイクしてます
The car is going to a photo shoot on Monday for another major magazine which will publish on 25th so all is secret till then. We are also testing the clutch and other problems that we noticed at the first shake down.
 
こちらも海外メディアから
So many articles on the car now but here is a write up from Auto Evolution using the #Noriyaro video.

link
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/world-s-first-suzuki-jimny-drift-car-goes-all-out-in-japan-like-a-short-silvia-105376.html

アメリカの#FortuneAutoで特注していたサスペンションがようやく届きました。
 The coil overs have arrived from #FortuneAuto USA to be tried on the car.



March 12th
海外メディアに多数取り上げていただいています!
So many magazines are picking up on the Suzuki/Jimny concept and here is #Revved-Magazine's write up using the #Noriyaro video.

link
http://www.revvedmag.com/news/video-noriyaro-at-suzuka-twin-circuit-with-kinokunis-jimny-drifter/

http://www.theclippingpoint.net/watch-meet-the-worlds-first-suzuki-jimny-drift-car

http://www.autofreaks.com/news/drifting-suzuki-jimny-is-the-weird-kind-of-cool-video/

http://offsite.com.cy/ena-diaforetiko-drift-car/

http://auto-mobile.news/user/autometerproducts



March 8th
先日の#スズカツインサーキットで行ったシェイクダウンの模様を
#noriyaroのユーチューブ動画にアップしてもらいました。
Alexiさん本当にありがとうございますm(_ _)m
Big thanks to Alexi for producing this great video of the YB2 on it's shakedown at the Suzuka Twin Circuit. We detuned the engine into a safe mode, still 320hp in an 800 kg chassis was more than enough to show the chassis's neutral balance characteristics.

YouTube link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWPCQuUvs78




Mar.1st
2月25日に初走行した動画です!
撮影・編集はM-MAGIC GARAGEが担当しました。
(携帯で簡単撮影した分ですが・・・)
Finally found a video taken by M-Magic Garage, rather grainy, of the race car running around the Suzuka twin circuit on it's shakedown. Like the driver said, it looks very stable with a balanced stiff chassis.



Feb. 26th
 アメリカで有名な「ドライビングライン」WEBマガジンに特集されました。
Here is the write up of YB2 by Jonathan Wong of #Drivingline magazine.

link
http://www.drivingline.com/articles/kinokuni-sr20det-jimny/


Feb. 25th
とうとう、この日がやってきました。当日は初走行を歓迎する様な快晴。
午前中は雑誌の取材、午後から撮影を兼ねたタイムスケジュールになります
The shakedown went well with only minor problems. Clear sunny skies but cold. The photo shoot took a long time after which the car testing was done by the car creator, Shane. 
"It's better than I thought," was his first comment.
午前中:記者からの質問に細かく答えつつ同時に車輛の撮影も進みます。
撮影も前後を変えて、角度を変えて、場所を変えてと行われます。
Car's suspension and balance was great, easy to drive with a question mark on the brakes which maybe a brake pad problem. Engine mapping was tweaked plus we were able to check some #Kinokuni parts some of which did not perform well but this may have been caused by other factors so will bring back the data for further study.
午後:初走行にしては大きなトラブルもなくスタッフ一同胸を撫で下ろしました。
ドライバーの開口一番「なかなか良いよ!思ったより走れるね」との事。
だがしかし、問題点が無いわけではないので問題点の改修に 着手しなければなりません。
まだまだ苦悩の日々は続きそう・・・。
In all a successful first day on the track which hopefully helped the hard working team members to ease the aches and pains and lack of sleep over many weeks.
                            
スズカツインサーキット入口にて  First photo is the entrance to Suzuka Twin Circuit.




 シート後方に隔壁を装着しています
In this photo you can see the recently installed bulkhead behind the drivers seat.


And the photo shoot started


写真撮影の合間を縫ってコンピューターのセッティングや
取付け各部分の不具合を確認していきます。
少しずつ調整を行い、まずは車輛の特性を確認する事ができました。
今後は改善個所を修正した後、 
#Kinokuniの製品を今まで以上に自信を持ってテスト・販売していきたいと考えています。
After the photo shoot we were able to get YB2 on the track to get the first evaluations of it's characteristics which turned out to be well balanced with no major catastrophes. Some time for tuning was possible and to evaluate some #Kinokuni products. With the base car in a proven state we can now get into product testing and car improvement with more confidence.


Feb. 23rd.
2月25日にスズカツインサーキットで
シェイクダウン&雑誌取材が決定し急ピッチで仕上げ作業を行います。
-画像1枚目-
前後バランスを調整する為、50㎏の鉄の塊をリヤエンドにマウント!
これでなんとかバランスはとれるかな???
-画像2枚目-
黙々と配線作業に追われている横で
ブーストかけて遊んでるおちゃめなメンバーが・・・。
(そんな彼はスゴ腕な溶接職人です)
The first shakedown is 33hrs away so it's all hands on deck to have the car ready for Suzuka twin circuit and of course the magazine photo shoot. The first photo is the rear end of the car with a 50kg. steel bar bolted to the chassis. The car weight balance was a 70/30 split biased to the front which would have made the car undrivable so the weight was added at the rear. So many details to make it a real car is so time consuming. We found that the rear s/s brake lines needed to be 5 cm longer so they wouldn't break off on full suspension droop, brake rotors were warped, shock springs were too hard, proper battery cables for the lithium battery, needed hand brake and drift brake and so the list continues.




February 17th
今回は動画の紹介です
2016 東京オートサロン会場内にて超超有名なレーシングドライバー
#谷口信輝選手&ドリフト天国DVDに「気になる珍車」として取り上げていただきました!
ありがと~ございま~すm(_ _)m
At the Tokyo Auto Salon the largest Japan car magazine publisher, Option/Drift Tengoku along with their interviewer, Taniguchi who is the most popular race car driver. He interviewed Shane who is the car's designer. They talked about where Shane was from, the car's Silvia and Jimny base, said the interior looked very OEM, side step graphics are not stickers but laser cut, fuel system using Kinokuni san(Mr.) parts, the  rear to have a bulkhead to protect the driver and finally a shakedown of the car is anticipated by all.
We have another top monthly magazine Doriten, offering a front page spread for   'YB2'  (Yellow Bullet 2) with the photo shoot scheduled at Suzuka next week. The team are working hard to have YB2 in race ready condition. Good luck team for fine weather and let's see the photos and videos of the action.




February 12
今回は画像の紹介です。
2016 東京オートサロンの特集にて「#Stancenation」様で取り上げていただきました!
ありがとうございますm(_ _)m
Another online mag. Stancenation.com has added our TAS2016 display to their site.
Great photos so thanks very much.

link
http://www.stancenation.com/2016/02/08/tokyo-auto-salon-2016-photo-coverage-part-2/7/


 さらに後方からの画像も!
素敵なヒップになっております(笑)
More rear shots from another on line magazine Bigway Shop.



2016 February 7th
とりあえず動いているのですが、まだまだ作業は残っています。
各種配線や燃料システム、ハンドブレーキなど新たに取付けする物があったり
ローターやスプリングを交換したり、作業リストを用意して またまた取り掛かります。
Well at least we know that the systems are working and the car needs a lot more weight at the rear. We have a plan in place to have the car finished and enter a series of events. This will allow media coverage and to test Kinokuni's products. It will also give the many groups who have helped build the car over the last 3 years to finally see the fruits of their efforts. So far the MSD ignition has allowed a trouble free easy revving engine with over 350bhp but the lack of an internal bulkhead behind the driver means burnouts are only fun for those outside the car. Final wiring, a safety platform for the fuel system, new rotors, handbrake  and a change of spring rates are among the list of work that needs to worked on. I hear that a really nice rear diffuser is on the list plus a wild rear wing.




January 26th
♪積車の車窓から♪
思い出の一枚です、富士山をバックに記念撮影
On the way back from the show Ewan had the time and energy left to take this photo showing Mt Fuji trying to hide herself in cloud and snow.


January 21st
 帰阪後、今度はアメリカのDRIVINGLINEの取材を受けています。
Back in Osaka #Drivingline internet magazine was busy with a photo shoot on a rather cold wharf area. Thanks Jonathan for braving the elements.

会場搬入前の一コマ、SPEEDHUNTERSにハントされました(笑)
#Speedhunters took this photo before the car was off loaded and driven into the show hall.
1E5C3824 

January 17th
 2016東京オートサロンが終了しました。
ご来場いただきました皆さま本当にありがとうございました。
今回の出来はいかがでしたでしょうか?
賛同は大歓迎!非難は受付していません(笑)
支えてくれたスタッフに感謝です!
After the successful show the crew lined up for this photo.
So many who all have done professional work to make the car very unique.
ジムニーにきっちりSR20を収めました。
これから、ジャンジャン走らせる計画ですが、あくまでも予定です!
The biggest draw was the shock of having a 350hp SR20 motor in a Suzuki Jimny.
今回のブースは#HardTunedとのコラボになりました。
そしてスタッフのユニフォームデザインもお願いしました!
We had a lot of help from Hard Tuned whose apparel products can be seen hanging on the wall. They supplied and designed the uniforms.
今回一緒にブースを盛り上げてくれたこの方は
 モデルの#MichelleKimberlee(ミッシェル・キンバレー)さんです
男性スタッフは鼻の下がノビノビでした(笑)
Our pro driver Michelle Kimberlee tested the seat position.
そして日付が変わった月曜日、高速道路のSAでの一コマです。
普段会社の周辺では見かけない量の雪に運転も怖々(汗)
何とか無事に到着しました。
On the way home the weather was not kind to us at all.


Jan. 13th
東京オートサロンに向け出発します!
安全運転でがんばりま~す(^o^)/
What a grand effort from some hard working guys and tonight it goes on the truck to Tokyo. Down to the wire so lets hope all the blood sweat and tears have been worth it. Have a safe 6 hour drive to Tokyo.



Jan. 11th
なんとか最終段階にこぎつけました。
時間もだんだんに少なくなってきています。
突発的なトラブルは出るし部品は壊れるし、もう大変(汗)
毎日遅くまで頑張ってくれています。
The race car is on the final stage for the Tokyo Show preparations.
Like any project it's the details that screw up a fixed time table.
A day was lost due to trouble shooting a tuning problem which finally was determined as a broken new fuel gauge.
The large black contraption in the front of the car is  what we hope will provide the interest in the car and the Kinokuni booth so our fingers are crossed.
The crew are working ridiculous hours preparing the car so a very big thank you for tired eyes, cold feet, cuts, bruises and patience.



2016 Jan. 1st
あけましておめでとうございます
なんとかココまでこぎつけました、完成は間もなくか???
現状は前後バランスが70対30なので
遊園地のコーヒーカップ並みにクルクル回る予定(笑)
リヤのウエイト考えなければ・・・。
It's looking like a finished product so Happy New Year 2016.
What are they gonna do with those pipes?
The car has a weight balance of 70/30 which will make it drive like a merry go round.
We need some serious weight at the back.


December 31st.
も~い~くつ寝ると・・・、年末です。31日です。
まだまだバタバタしています・・・orz
オートサロンに向けて誠意制作中、時間が有ったら見てね!小間番号116です。
The team is working hard and it's New Years Eve.
If you have no family commitments then Japan away from the major city centres is very quiet so no better time to do something with friends.
If you look closely the TAS idea for the car to stand out can be seen a little.



December 26th
オートサロンまで3週間ですが・・・
作業はチビチビと進行中、まだまだパイプの制作物はあるし。
とりあえずインタークーラー用パイプの取付け完了(パチパチパチ)
スイッチ関係のレイアウト・位置だしも、なんとかかんとか がんばってます。
With the TAS only 3 weeks away on Jan.14th which is the booth set day we have been getting the small bits and pieces finished step by step.Every small piece takes so many hours.The pipe plumbing is almost there and the basic wiring to get the car moving has started.
The Setrab intercooler finally has the end tanks in place and plumbed up.
With the large Kinokuni inventory of pipe sizes Run Max turbo hoses (P.258) and pipe bends (P.262) T Bolt clamps (P.261) the process was not difficult plus the infinite choices has resulted with a very small number of welds.
 Lots of discussions on what switches and fuses (P.309) to use, how many and engine start up procedure. Battery cut off ON, Ignition ON, Primary fuel pump to the collector tank ON, Main Pump ON, Fuel pressure check.
Engine Start Push.......music starts.
We are using fuses that have an LED light that flashes when the fuse is broken.
How cool is that!
The engine and power steer reservoir tanks will go on next week as will the body components.





December 19th
合間を見てサスペンション関係の塗装をしてます。
直接販売している製品ではないので地味に地味~にペイント
この季節はペイントも乾きづらいな~。
Lots of detail work going on to have the car driven into the TAS. Working hard on the plumbing and reconditioned a set of suspension uprights. 
Painting in the now cold winter conditions plus lack of time between coats means that the paint finish was compromised. 


December 17th.
オートサロンも間近になった12月中旬 ですが、まだまだ作業があります。
Well it's down to the wire again as we are getting very close to the 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon with still a lot of work yet to be done.
It looks like we have made last minute arrangements with an Australian race team management and marketing team that will take some of the strain from our small team of staff.
Lets hope that the TAS will be a success and that Kinokuni's internet presence will help all facets of our business in the coming year.
It'll be quite a new Kinokuni presence at TAS so we hope to welcome all who can make the trip to the one of the worlds top 3 race car, custom and street tuning shows.
With over 450 booths, 900 cars plus booth babes everywhere, the show has reached it's hall space capacity.


November 20th.
 仕事が山積みです。
燃料関係部分だけでも50か所に及ぶ接続箇所があります。
漏れる箇所も出てきたし、修正に追われます。。。
Found some time for more work on the car.
The fuel system is proving difficult get sealed with it's over 49 connections.
Now it is down to the swaged pipe connections that are not perfect each time they are made and will have to remake the fuel filter intake line one more time as it is the only one weeping after checking everything and made real tight.
The joint looks clean but it leaks so a new pipe is the next step.
ラジエターやインタークーラーの配管を考えるのが大変~
周りからは「仕事してよね~」って声が聞こえてきそう。
サボってないですけど。。。
The radiator pipes are ready for welding as are the intercooler pipes.
Another wild almost stupid but exciting external feature has been looked into to make the car stand out from the hundreds of displays at the TAS.
Not my cup of tea but we can only try and bin it if the TAS result is bad.



November 2nd.
パイプやホースが沢山あるので時間がかかります。
燃料・ブレーキ・ラジエター・インタークーラーなどなど
Many hours put in to layout the lines and hoses.
Fabricated brackets and got most of the brake and fuel lines designed and plumbed.
Within a couple of days we should have the systems screwed up and ready to test for leaks.
The water lines for the heater have been pulled off as they take up valuable space and a new pipe spaghetti has been welded up.
ガソリンが漏れてきちゃって大変!!
あやうく火事です。って事は無いですけど・・・火気厳禁ですね!
Fuel system wired up to test for fuel leaks and there were many.
Gasoline was all over the floor. My hands were burning and great frustration at not having it sealed on the first try.
Bosch pumps 044 and 979's have big and small terminals. We have a rubber silencer on the 979 so unable to see the terminal marks so we wired it up the same as the 044 with the large terminal being positive. Wrong! The 979 is the opposite we realized an hour later by then we had fuel all over the floor from the millions of fitting leaks but happy faces.
First problem was the s/s lines had been assembled but not swaged. Out came the lines, crimped and so the process continued.
Because of the tools available there is a minimum pipe length between the pipe flare and the bends.The car required tighter dimensions which apparently compromised the lower filter pipe flare quality which had to be remade.


October 16th
必要な部分のスケッッチを沢山メモメモ・・・
キノクニのカタログから必要な物を選択中です。
 Designing the layout of pipes and lines is harder than I thought. Lots of thinking goes on with sketches to find the best solution for running the lines. Also noting the pages in the 370 page Kinokuni catalogue where to find the adapters and parts.

配管レイアウトを検討中。
パイプや配線、その他いろいろとお悩み中。。。
Also started adding discarded lines lying around the shop to better understand the space that is taken up by the fittings and how the long fuel lines can run along the chassis. Because of the upward bend at the rear and front the fuel lines which have to be threaded between the transmission mount and body they will have to be made in 2 pieces to allow assembly without distorting the original shape. The brake lines support brackets can use the Kinokuni shock mounting kit. Quick release fittings on the master cylinders and the engine fuel log.
ハンドブレーキとプッシュ式ブレーキロックバルブの
取付け場所を模索中。
The rear brake line runs through the drift brake and the new Kinokuni push on/off handbrake on it's way to the rear cross member to a 3 way brake brass block.


October 10th
キノクニに向かって出発~。
関西空港そばを通過・・・道のりは遠いね!
Finally the car gets a ride to the Kinokuni workshops for the final fit out. Shot is passing the tallest building in West Japan at 54 stories high and mainly a hotel for the Osaka Kansai Airport KIX which is 5 km across a  bridge behind the hotel.
キノクニの駐車場に到着!
In the Kinokuni carpark with Roberto watching proceedings and wearing his Tokyo Show 2015 Kinokuni project sweat shirt.
トラックから降ろします。
In comes the fork lift for a delicate lift off the truck.
 見学中
The Kinokuni girl's team helping with the proceedings.
 キノクニのリフトに乗りました、でもまだ終わってはいません。
これから各所のブラケットを設計・制作して、アレして、コレして..........orz
On the lift inside Kinokuni. We worked hard but didn't finish designing the many brackets for the chassis pipes, remote oil filter, clutch and brake quick release etc. so that we can have the engine purring ASAP.


October 8th
 深夜の作業はまだまだ続きます。
内装が着くと車らしくなりますね~。。。
Burning more very late night oil the body is back on the car with the interior looking like a real car.



ホイールを装着して着地!最終段階に近づいてきました。
パっと見は簡単そうですが、緻密な位置だしに相当時間を使っています。
Well we have the wheels on and the suspension tower braces so another step to the final fitting out which we all know looks easy but with so many details it takes time.
エンジンも最終段階!
夜な夜な深夜の作業中...。間もなく組み上がるかな???
Still looking for time to work on the car but at 3 am we got this far with the final assembly. Well done guys.



Sept. 19th
バルクヘッドになる板を溶接してます。
After a lot of thought, adjusting and welding the firewall is ready for preparing for paint as well as the body interior will get a splash as well.




September 18th
 ロールバーのペイントも仕上がりました!
後はボディー&シャシーに取付け。
Roll bars looking great with the final paint and assembled ready for bolting into into the body and chassis.



September

 9月になりました。例年に比べ寒い日が続きます。
シャシーは塗装が上がってきました!
The weather is getting cooler and the chassis is back from getting sprayed to show quality.


August

 1日で終わる作業ではありません。
合間を縫ってチョコチョコ進めています。
仕上がったらピッカピカのフレームになる・・・はず・・・です・・・。
 いやぁ~暑い!
Another day of wisdom from the team.
 It seems that your weakest hand has the best ability to feel scratches and bumps in paint. 
Also Scotch-Brite 400 grit is easy to use to get the primmer finish that will just clear the lower limit for paint to make a smooth final gloss. 
I guess we learn something new every day....thanks guys.
It's now into August so the sun is beating down fiercely but work goes on getting the frame and roll bar pipes ready for painting to a show car standard so water and 600 grit finish took a long time.


ブレースを追加してさらに「カッチカチ!」を目指します!?
 The cross brace for the rear of the roll bar and the suspension rear uprights received more strength. 


ボディーと切り離したフレームは塗装を行うためにサンディングとプライマー処理をしました。
At the same time in a different workshop the rolls bars were being finished. The hoop behind the seat will be the frame for the bulkhead to separate the driver from the rear area. The supports for the panel and rear window were welded in and brought to the yard for sanding and primering. 

これはBピラー部分に取付けします。
Here is the roll bar hoop installed behind the driver 

あまりに暑いので陽が落ち着いてから再開。
しっかり磨いて塗装にまわします。
Work continued till after the sun went down and got  most parts ready for the silver flake paint and the several lacquer coats to make it glisten to show, 'don't touch me' quality. 
The scratch free pipes are all wrapped in blankets for transportation to the painters. 
With only a 5cm ride height I'm going to kill the first guy who puts this car into a gravel trap. 
He is going to have to dig it out himself.
 

July
暑いけど・・・作業中。
ゆかいな仲間が訪ねてきました!
ということで記念に1枚。
Well it's getting close to having the chassis 2 pack painted so the complete car stripped to bare bones today. 
ミッションマウントの位置を変更中。
なかなか思うようにいかないものですね。。。
Ahh! Alas the transmission mount has never been in the perfect position so out came the grinder to have it moved 10mm into the perfect position under the gearbox so that the urethane mount will support the weight without cracking...perfection.
人数がいれば作業はかどるし
なんとかなるさ!でがんばってます。
How many times do you have to break down and reinstall components to get the fit just right in any project however when if you are lucky and there are many hands it makes light work. 


June

大掛かりの作業の合間を見て新たにダッシュパネルの制作も着手!
付けては外しの繰り返し、気温が上がると思考能力が低下するのでケガだけしない様に。
The weather in June is getting humid and hot and the car has the extra roll bar pipes welded in. The interior is well on the way with great looking foot plates and console. Seats are in place so getting ready for another strip down for final chassis paint.

.ナイスなフットプレートが完成!
毎日毎日CADCADして曲げ曲げしてポコポコして・・・あ"~!!
 These are too nice to put your feet on but perfect for getting your feet to pedal height. . 




♪只今考え中~♪
イヤイヤさぼってるだけじゃん!!
 The team deep in thought on the basic wiring layout. 


The accelerator has gone through a major cut, slash and bend to allow the remote cable to control the brake bias a straight shot into the brake balance bar shaft.
ケーブルはドコに通そうかな???難問です。 
Pedals are in along with the foot plates. The remote cable for the brake balance bar was really difficult to install as the cable was interfering with the accelerator pedal.


May 2015

さて再開です。
フレームの溶接作業にロールバーの取付け、塗装もあるしブラケットの追加も・・・。
やる事だらけですけど、どうしましょ。
って、まだ配管関係はその後なので何時になったら完成するのでしょう?
We are again back on track with the final push to have the race car on the track testing our company's products.
Final welding of chassis, roll bar, paint plus more CAD brackets from Kawai Works then it's off to Kinokuni for the plumbing, new dash and final tune before a track day



January 2015
東京オートサロンから
毎日毎日深夜まで作業、多くの人にお手伝いいただきました。
感謝しても足りません(あっざーす!)
で、突然ですがディスプレイはこんな感じです。
離れて見たら走ってる感じにしたのですが・・・伝わるかな・・・?
So much midnight oil burnt by many people and the car is at last literally slid into the Kinokuni Tokyo Show booth. 

予めカットしたスペースに移動するには50mmしか余裕が無い事が判明!
あらっ?タイトに設計やりすぎたか?????
ちなみに、反対側は中身が見えるようにしてます。
MSDが付いて、苦心の燃料パートが見えて、インパネ周りも。
With only a 50mm ride height the car was VERY difficult to slide into the pre-cut wall. That wrapped titanium exhaust caused itchy skin for weeks for the person who volunteered for the job. MSD ignition has been set up to provide a powerful spark when the turbo is on boost.  
イベント終了後に1枚!みんな疲れて若干テンションダウンしています(笑)
The crew that helped put the show car together lined up at the end of the show just before the booth was torn down.


December
エンジンルームのパイプレイアウトは難しいぞ・・・まだまだ時間かかりそう。。。
In such a small car space is always going to be a problem so many configurations were discussed. Within the engine bay lines and pipe positions took a lot of time.  The race car was taken back to Stacked's garage for final finishing on Dec. 19th.


November 17th
とりあえずホイールを装着して着地、から~キノクニへ移動です。
On it's wheels just, but oh so much more work to do. It was taken to Kinokuni where much of the show related work was done but it was show time is just around the corner. 

  



   アイデアがどんどん出てくるのでとりあえずスケッチ(忘れちゃうので・・・)
燃料関係の保護を目的に収納する箱をデザイン
Below is one of the many sketches of ideas that probably will not be used but provide another step to the final design. This one is a box to protect (from dust, burning rubber etc) the fuel system as there is no floor at the rear of the car.

        スペースが無い小さな車輛なので大変。
At the same time the body, frame and roll bar all had to be placed in the best positions to accommodate everything in such a small car's confined spaces. 

作業再開、イベント出展終了後は実際に走行させる予定です。
燃料タンク周辺を準備中、新しいタイプのコレクタータンクが出来たのでレイアウトのやり直し。
(そうゆうことは先に言ってよね.......。)
We started full steam ahead to get the show car ready and worry about the race car after the show. The fuel system had been made one year previously and shown in the Tokyo Show but since that time Kinokuni developed a collector tank with an in tank Bosch pump so it was back to redesign the layout plus we realized the rear suspension hoops left no space for the design of 1 year ago. System number 3 should be a go. 

ワイヤー(針金ともいう)を使って考え中。
So out with the wires again to get the basic line layout. 

アルミチューブを曲げ曲げ
 More patience bending the pipes. 

ポンプは振動が出るのでホースを使って振動対策
 BUT!  Due to the expected pump vibrations we added a  Kevlar/Teflon and a s/s braided flex line and also to show Kinokuni's products. 

  CADのデータをプレス機に入力!
ガセット制作も簡単カンタンかんたん
A CAD drawing then inputted into the brake press bender again at Kawai Works for another fuel pump and filter  mount and roll bar gussets. 



October
 東京オートサロン出展に向けて別のボディーを用意!
半分に切っちゃいました(汗)
まぁ、外装屋さんではないので・・・。
At this time we realized that getting the car ready for the Tokyo Auto Salon would require another body, cut in half for easy visual access to Kinokuni products.
A white donor car was found and cut in half. cut . 


日差しの射し込む中、最終のプライマー作業してますが、倒れそう・・・。
The frame was finally ready for a primmer coat in the summer sun..


October 11th 2014
さてさて、メンバーとホイールのペイント準備中。
まだまだ色々仕事があるなぁ...。
Quite a time jump and we got onto the preparation of painting the sub frames and wheels. Many hours went into this work but our pro painter made the result worthwhile.
 





とりあえず磨いて掃除して...からのプライマーと仕上げ。
After the basic grinding and cleaning came the primer coats and final coats.




October 2014 
フレームはミリ単位の調整中!
ブラケットは奈良県にあるカワイワークス様で制作しています
(ご協力いただき感謝ですm(_ _)m)
Our in house pro Aussie welder was busy getting the space frame millimetre perfect and adding the brackets produced by Kawai Works direct from CAD drawings to the water cutter and bender making pieces of art in steel.



June 2014
 完成形を想像しながらの作業が続きます。
We purchased a body which can be used to calculate many decisions and locations for the final car. Finding time to work on the car has become a major problem with so much more urgent work to do within the companies involved.



November 29th  2013
寒いのでコンテナの中に移動!
メインフレームに合わせてフロントメンバーを加工しています。
パイプフレームはアメリカ製のベンダーを使って制作、プロ用だけど安かった。
As the winter set in we moved the chassis and parts into a container. Here the front cross member has been notched to accept the chassis rails. The space frame pipes have been bent using an American bender which has made professional bends at a reasonable price




July

エンジンとミッションをとりあえず載せてみた・・・。どうなることやら。。。
Here is a test setup we have been playing with, the engine/mission is supported off the ground, while a scrap Jimny body has been placed over the top for clearance inspection. We will be using this dummy body as a guide throughout the build.
とりあえずTE37/17inで合わせてみた。
Heres the dummy body sitting over the engine and transmission, testing the looks of some Rays TE37 in 17 inch. 
フェンダーをカット、ホイールサイズの確認・確認。
Cutting the fenders out with the plasma cutter so we can test fit some wheels into our dummy body.