Featured Driver: Rob Perecko and his JZX90

"My 240sx was in rough shape by the end of 2008. I received a large reenlistment bonus and decided to trade the 240sx plus cash for my dream car; a 1996 JZX90 Toyota Chaser (the chassis was legally imported). I first drifted the Chaser during the ClubFR Midwest Drift Cup at Gateway International Raceway. I think I did fairly well, considering I hadn’t driven the car much; was still getting used to right-hand drive; was on used tires front and rear; didn’t have a working handbrake; and it was a high speed 3rd gear course."

I just stumbled on this while surfing Wordpress. Pretty cool imo to see your friends and local drivers appearing on other blogs. Yeeeeah Rob!

http://bettasmarvelous.wordpress.com...-jzx90-chaser/

**lots of reading, but worth it!!**

Robert Perecko from St. Louis sent me some information about his car and his drifting career, upon my request (thanks again!). His words sparked some motivation in me, and now I’m practically ready for any difficult courses I need to take next semester. Getting feedback from somebody who is already at my goal, and seeing how he got there, really helps me. I basically cut and paste what Rob sent me, but tried to re-word part of it and italicized the other part.

Rob has been involved in drifting for over 5 years, exclusively participating in events from 2004-2009. He got into drifting like most of us, after watching Initial D. Rob’s first drift competition was in 2006. He entered the Race Factory/Drift Session Single Run Competition, which was judged by professional drivers Maeda Ken and Barry Wang, using a borrowed stock Nissan 240sx with welded differential. He scored 4th place and was also included in the event coverage on the Race Factory DVD.

Rob's 1st 240sx (sil80 style)

Rob began drifting in 2004 with a Nissan 240SX Hatchback. He went to Drift Session events at Hawaii Raceway Park (HRP) once a month to acquire drifting knowledge and skills. He started on the beginner parking lot course and moved on to the advanced road course. The road course was a “run before I could walk” experience because all the drivers went at the same time. It was scary but fun. It had a long straight-away to practice high speed entries, tight chicanes for transitions, and even a long sweeper. I also ran the local mountain/touge in Hawaii called Tantalus with the team I joined; Pray 4 Rain.

Rob's 2nd 240sx

Drift Tengoku Magazine visited a Drift Session where Rob met with Editor-in-Chief Ryuusuke Kawasaki and D1 Driver Tetsuya Hibino. Rob also had the pleasure to see Ross Petty and Forrest Wang in the early days of their careers. Sadly, HRP closed down in 2006 leaving Rob drifting in the Punish’UM Drift Series 2007 events held in the Aloha Stadium parking lot (the last event in Oahu). I learned a lot in Hawaii from my teammates and fellow drivers. I’ll never forget that experience.

Rob's KA-T coupe

In 2008 he moved to St. Louis and continued drifting at Midnight Madness/DriftSTL events and a Southeast Drift Association event in Tennessee. At that time he was driving a 240sx coupe with a KA Turbo. It originally had Megan Racing springs, adjustable KONI Yellows up front and adjustable KYBs in the rear and then was upgraded to Parts Shop Max coilovers before being traded for the Chaser. My 240sx was in rough shape by the end of 2008. I received a large reenlistment bonus and decided to trade the 240sx plus cash for my dream car; a 1996 JZX90 Toyota Chaser (the chassis was legally imported). I first drifted the Chaser during the ClubFR Midwest Drift Cup at Gateway International Raceway. I think I did fairly well, considering I hadn’t driven the car much; was still getting used to right-hand drive; was on used tires front and rear; didn’t have a working handbrake; and it was a high speed 3rd gear course.

He participated in the ClubFR MWDC event at USAIR, and quickly moved from the beginner course to the advanced course. Now that the car had a roll cage, Rob started practicing tandem at USAIR. Unfortunately the competition was over before he was allowed to move to the advanced course, but he also practiced tandem at Midnight Madness in 2009.

My plan for the Chaser is to get around 390ish HP on the twin turbos or a small single turbo upgrade. My clutch is rated up to 400HP and the injectors can handle 420HP, so that’s why I say 390ish. If I stick with the twins I’m gonna need them rebuilt with steel wheels. I have an APEX’i Power FC with Hand Controller sitting at home, so that’s a good start. I need to get a boost controller before I can fully utilize it though. I plan on getting an oil cooler/filter relocation kit to improve reliability.


Comparatively, I’m still a novice driver. I haven’t had much tandem practice but I’m getting better with seat time. Being a member of the military, I bring professionalism and excellence to all my endeavors. I also bring the appreciation shown to those of us in uniform. My car is very unique for its surroundings and always attracts attention wherever it goes. Right now, it’s mostly stock. Imagine the attention it will get when it’s a fully built monster.

—–Car Specs—–
Year/Make/Model: 1996 Toyota Chaser
Output: est. 280HP/267TQ
Engine: 1JZ-GTE Twin Turbo, Intake, RS*R Downpipe, Custom Cat-back Exhaust, HKS Front Mount Intercooler, Aluminum Radiator
Drivetrain: Exedy Hyper Single Clutch, Stock Torsen Differential
Suspension: TEIN HR Coilovers
Wheels & Tires: 17×9+0 Chrome Hot Wheels Sixty-Eights, Used Tires
Brakes: Project MU rear brake shoes
Exterior: Vertex Body Kit, Taillights
Interior: Custom Roll Cage, Short Shifter, Bride Reclineable Driver’s Seat, Racing Harnesses, MOMO Steering Wheel, TRD 320km Speedometer, Defi Water Temp, Oil Pressure, and Oil Temp Gauges

—–Plans—–
-TRD 2-way LSD
-Save up for a BN-Sports kit (~$3000)
-Paint the car black
-Remove the stock wing
-Figure out something to vent the hood
-Ordered a set of Weds Kranze Cerberus IIs 18×9+25 and 18×10+25
-Running Federal 595 tires this season
-Parts Shop Max coilovers and rear control arms
-Ordered JZX110 front tension rods for more angle
-Would also like to get HEY MAN modified steering knuckles and URAS tie rods
-Moonface front roll center adjusters
-Subframe and differential bushings
-Stiffer sway bars
-NARDI or Vertex steering wheel
-New bucket seat since the reclinable BRIDE is falling apart.
-Shift knob and spin turn knob

—–Credits/Thanks—–
Drift Session and Hawaii Raceway Park
ForumsHawaii, HawaiiTalks, and RaceEventsHawaii
Race Factory
Team Pray 4 Rain, especially J, Jason, Miki, and Corey
Punish’UM Drift Series
DriftSTL, especially Tony and Andy
Gateway International Raceway
JDMHookup
Risky Devil, ClubFR/Drift Day, and U.S.A International Raceway
Jon and Christian of Eurotrix Tuning
Chuck and Susan of Adrenaline Motorsports
Scott of Driving Angle Motorsports
Adam of ZipTie Clothing
Rhino of Step Into The Dark Photography
Midwest Drift Union
613driftwerks
Anyone and everyone who has helped me up til this point.



Rob's friends from Hawaii