The Most Overrated Motor?
The 2JZ is way overrated, especially in street car trim. In drag trim the 2JZ is truly impressive, but who drives around with cement in the block? If you are talking engine only, what tuners in America don't realize is if you spent the same money you would building a 1,000whp 2JZ, you could have a 1,600whp small-block Chevy. There's no replacement for displacement unless you're talking motorsport engines. Only then can airflow replace displacement.
If You Had To Pick One All-Around Turbo, What Would It Be?
For four-cylinders: HKS' GT2835S 56T. For six-cylinders: XS Engineering's T04X2. I've had nothing but success with both of these turbos. Overall though, you can't go wrong with Garrett's GTs. Just go on the forums to figure out what turbo size to use. Forum contributors are the true tuners-psyche! I think HKS GT turbos are better sized for the smaller Japanese high-revving engines, but they cost more.
Which Japanese Tuner Would You Want To Challenge To A Buildoff.
Oooh...that's a tough one. I talk all this crap about how Americans can build better stuff, but the reality is that JDM tuners have been doing it much longer. Let's see, who's way over-hyped. I'll just pick the most over-hyped one. I would think in the US it would be Signal.
If You Could Spend One Day With Someone To Pick Their Brain, Who Would It Be?
Mr. Kobayashi from MCR, who is the Shutoko [Tokyo highway] GT-R specialist. He gave me a ride on the Wangan about four years ago in his 600hp R34-f*@$ing sick! We hit 300km/h on a straight, zipping through traffic while accelerating, and I think he must have downshifted four gears and slammed on the 14-inch Brembos because I swore my eyeball popped out of the socket right before the turn. Kobayashi-san is known to be one of the fastest on the Shutoko in Tokyo and has been for many years. His knowledge of the GT-R is immense-I'd still compete against him in a Time Attack though.
What would you be doing if you weren't building cars?
Day trading stocks and options. I thought about doing it full time before I started at Cosworth.
Why Did You Make The Switch To Working Full-Time At Cosworth?
Cosworth approached me because they had an open position to do product planning and R&D to expand their street engine product line. I thought it would be a great opportunity to, A, learn new things, B, help Cosworth expand and, C, be around real race engines. It's worked out really well because everybody here is way cool and has been really supportive of the Performance Parts program.
So You've Worked At A'pexi USA, XS Engineering, And Now Cosworth. Which One Did You Like The Best And Why?
I can't really say which one I liked better. I like them all for different reasons. Being the Chief Engineer at A'PEXi for five years was definitely a learning experience. I'm glad I was able to develop and bring the Power FC to the USA because I still think it's the best sub-$1,000 ECU on the market today.
At XS Engineering it was cool because I was basically the head tuner/manager. A lot of people ask me, "Dude, what's XS gonna do without you?" The fact of the matter is that the XS staff is still the best in the industry today and Koji can probably tune better than me, now. We've been tuning together for the last eight years so we learned a lot together. Since Koji's tuned more cars than me now-I was more managerial-I can honestly say he's better at it than I am. I still work with XS, especially on their high-dollar and race projects, so my relationship with XS is still good. Not to mention a couple of my project cars are still over there.
Cosworth is still new so I'm learning something every day and I enjoy the challenge. It's probably one of the best work environments a person could ask for-it's easy-going, cool managers, dope co-workers (most are enthusiasts), but everybody gets their work done. Hit me up in another five years and I'll let you know.
What's Your Biggest Vice?
I don't have one, I have many-like every other single, 30-something year-old. I'm not exactly a role model, with smoking, alcohol, fast cars, girls, gambling, profanity and long work hours. I've got most of it under control though
Your Top Three Import Models.
Rowena Galam-she isn't around much anymore, but she was very nice.Joyce Lex-I've never met her, but she's way hot.Francine Dee-I wouldn't mind doing some damage to her even if you say she's [wild].