The Hankook AE86
I’m finally glad this feature happened. This has been a long time in the making. Many of you should know this car by now or its original look which Adrian brought out for to play last year in Prodrift. I’ve always had such a soft spot for this car ever since it came in from Japan rocking the Shino Kouba stickers and fat Watanabes. This year Adrian has revamped the car in Team Hankook livery and holy shit does it look good.
This car already had a perfect Aero setup with the incredibly meaty Mercury R Kit and Diffuser. The design of the livery which is simply amazing has nicely enhanced the shape of the Kit with an orange line you can see running all the way around the car. The car still retains the Origin wing and Adrian added possibly one of the cleanest sets of redline lights… which he intends to take out for competition!
Somehow they managed to get the original Mercury R bumper back together because nothing else would suit this front end. Jackie who you might know from the brown DC2 front ended EG6 did an incredible job with the paint work. The car literally has a show car finish. Something I’ve always loved about Adrian, regardless of what purpose the car has, it always looked its best. To accommodate for the larger wheel setup the back end was fitted with a set of J blood rear over fenders.
Inside the cockpit has been given the black and orange treatment. The build promotes such a simple but all business interior. Note the Drifter bar hanging from the mirror!
The car has a full weld in cage with a dry cell battery; drift works harnesses which fit the theme nicely. The seat setup is a set of Sparco Evo 2 fixed back buckets. The original windows have been swapped out for polycarbonate replacements.
The original dash cluster has been replaced with a custom carbon fibre plate with an array of mixed gauges ranging from Greddy to Blitz and a couple of Omori’s. For steering Adrian has chosen an OMP deep dish suede and the dash has been flocked to freshen things up a little.
Adrian has always been one to run a serious set of wheels when drifting, it made the car. When he told me he was putting 17 inch Rotas on the car I was scared it would destroy the original look. But it’s not nice to hit a wall during competition season and destroy a genuine 10J Watanabe wheel, especially when a new replacement costs over 600 euros. This year he decided to go a more practical route and chose a set of 17×9.5 Rota RBX wheels which are a close replica of the Watanabe RS. The perfect fit for both the car its power and the competition season. In that colour/size they look pretty damn good, especially under those custom front wings.
The car has come a long way from its original screaming 16 valve heart, from a 20 valve to a more practical sr20 lump. This setup has worked a treat for Adrian all last season and seems to be the perfect heart for a drift AE86 with one running Wiseco pistons, ACL race bearings, a Greddy T518z turbo, and Nismo 550’s, just a taste of the spec which has served him well so far.
Other custom goodies would be a Sard 280ltr fuel pump, Trust front mount intercooler, Tomei manifold, elbow and downpipe and a Blitz exhaust system, al powered by a Nistune ECU.
Stopping power is provided by Wilwood 4 pot calipers, discs and race pads and braided lines. The back axle was fitted with Skyline twin pots with grooved discs and braided lines.
Handling wise this has a lot work more than meets the eye. Mated to the engine is an OS Giken Super single clutch, an R34 rb25 gearbox, a custom propshaft which is fitted to the smaller Nissan Vannette Back axle with a 4:3 ratio differential. Handling wise the front end enjoys Cusco lower control arms, tension rods and tension rod brackets with ARC front and rear anti roll bars. Adrian also fitted Nissan S body power steering. The front end is fitted with KW coilovers while the rear enjoys the trusty TRD setup surrounded by Techno Toy Tuning adjustable links and panhard rods.
I can’t lie, I was scared when I heard this car was getting the makeover, it had already been perfected in its original guise, but Adrian has outdone himself building this already iconic looking drift car with the help of Jackie and Moose Designs.. This and cars like it are stepping up the Irish drift scene, a car that will be impossible to take a bad picture of, a set-up that has served him well for over a year now. It will be enjoyable seeing this up against the sea of S-bodies burning a permanent image of itself in your mind for a long time to come…
Bring on the drift season!!
Wheels/Tires/Suspension/Handling
17×9.5 rota rbx
Wilwood 4 pots, calipers, discs & pads
Braided lines
Skyline rear twin pots, drilled discs
KW front 2 way coilovers
TRD rear coilovers
T3 adjustable panhard rod
T3 adjustable 4 link
Hankook Tyres
OS Giken super single clutch
R34 RB24 gearbox
Custom propshaft
Vannette axle with 4:3 ratio
ARC front & rear anti roll bars
Cusco front lower control arms
Cusco tension rods & rod brackets
Nissan S Body power steering & custom lock
Exterior
Mercury R front bumper
Mercury R Diffuser
Mercury R side skirts
Custom stepped wings
FRP Bonnet
Nismo style bonnet Vent
Poly Carbonate Windows
Origin rear wing
Hid Headlights
Engine
SR20DET
Wiseco Pistons
Acl race bearings
Greddy T158z Turbo
Cosworth head gasket
Nismo 550cc injectors
FSE fuel pressure regulator
Z32 Air flow meter
Trust Front mount
Tomei manifold, elbow & downpipe
Sard 280cc fuel pump
Blitz exhaust
Nistune ECU
Interior
Full weld in cage
2x Sparco Evo 2’s
Driftworks Harnesses
OMP Deep dish wheel
Greddy, Omori & Blitz gauges
Dry cell battrery
Hydro handbrake
Flocked Dash
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