Street Life Auto Club

After a three-year hiatus, the D1 Grand Prix finally returned to Tokyo for two days of D1GP's "Tokyo Drift in Odaiba" exhibition. Located in the center of the city, the man-made island of Odaiba is the perfect venue to expose drifting to fans who might not be able to see D1 at the other circuits around Japan. Since there is no actual racetrack in Odaiba, the course was set up in a large parking lot with temporary grandstands. Thirty of the top D1 drivers practiced and organized impromptu exhibition runs surrounding official competition each day, so all the fans were guaranteed a healthy piece of the action. Crowd favorite Nobuteru "NOB" Taniguchi, who has returned to D1 on a limited schedule this season, chose the event as his second D1 appearance of the year, behind the wheel of HKS's famed Toyota Altezza. Also notable was the debut of AE86 driver Toshiki Yoshioka's new 3SGTE-powered Lexus SC430 drift car.

Photo Gallery: 2008 D1 Grand Prix Exhibition - Tokyo, Japan - Import Tuner Magazine

Battle of the Imports recently caravanned across Nevada's desert to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and with it, brought a new twist to import drag racing: the Grudge Match. An enthusiast at heart, BOTI founder Frank Choi knows all about the rivalry between domestic V-8 power and sport compacts, and this time around, Frank wanted to find out which would reign supreme: the V-8 heads or the import nuts. Thus, invitations went out to championship PSCA 10.5 cars (read: super-fast American muscle) to race against some of the best Pro FWDs the import scene has to offer and to crown a champion once and for all. It was a battle of tubbed and slicked muscle cars against tube-framed front-wheel-drive imports...but more on that later! Battle is known for more than settling grudges, and the crew kept their Las Vegas event buzzing with plenty of SpoCom-only racing throughout the night. Dozens of privateers vied for entrance into the limited eight-car Sportsman classes, and the Pro Import class was comprised of a total of 14 cars-each duking it out for the Battle purse. What did this mean for the spectators? That calling what went down that evening "exciting" or "all-out" racing wouldn't even begin to tilt the scale of anarchy they witnessed!

Photo Gallery: Battle of the Imports Las Vegas - Import & Tuner Car Event - Import Tuner Magazine

Formula D Diaries: Las Vegas
There's hot, and then there's Vegas hot. Blistering oppressive, and sweltering temperatures at the Las Vegas Speedway during the month of July skyrocket up to 120 degrees F. Imagine touching your oili filler cap after 30 minutes of hard driving. Now imagine that kind of heat, but all over your body. It's like that; only with UVA and UVB rays.

Photo Gallery: Formula D Drift - Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Import Tuner Magazine

Formula D Diaries: Las Vegas
There's hot, and then there's Vegas hot. Blistering oppressive, and sweltering temperatures at the Las Vegas Speedway during the month of July skyrocket up to 120 degrees F. Imagine touching your oili filler cap after 30 minutes of hard driving. Now imagine that kind of heat, but all over your body. It's like that; only with UVA and UVB rays.

Photo Gallery: Formula D Drift - Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Import Tuner Magazine

Import Tuner Looking For Your EVO/STI
Which is the better car: Mitsu's EVO or the Subaru STI? This is the very debate our second annual EVO/STI Shootout is out to settle, and we're looking for your cars to fight it out for the title. Our Second annual EVO/STI Shootout presented by Continental Tires is fast approaching, and if time attacking either car is what you're into, we want you to be a part of it. Check out 2NR's April '08 issue for last year's coverage, then send driver/car proposals-including full spec sheets, experience, and sample pics-to Mr. Super Lap: via Elliott.moran@sourceinterlink.com

Photo Gallery: Import Car Shows & News - Import Cars - Import Tuner Magazine

Import Tuner Looking For Your EVO/STI
Which is the better car: Mitsu's EVO or the Subaru STI? This is the very debate our second annual EVO/STI Shootout is out to settle, and we're looking for your cars to fight it out for the title. Our Second annual EVO/STI Shootout presented by Continental Tires is fast approaching, and if time attacking either car is what you're into, we want you to be a part of it. Check out 2NR's April '08 issue for last year's coverage, then send driver/car proposals-including full spec sheets, experience, and sample pics-to Mr. Super Lap: via Elliott.moran@sourceinterlink.com

Photo Gallery: Import Car Shows & News - Import Cars - Import Tuner Magazine

AEM ETC
This month's pick of the litter is a product of AEM's latest brainstorming session: the Electronic Throttle Control unit or ETC. Newly released for the '04-'06 WRX STI, with more on the way, the AEM ETC allows AEM EMS users to retain, and improve upon, their car's native drive-by-wire throttle system. Previous STI owners running aftermarket standalones either had to convert to manual throttle engagement, or deal with OE programming that tailors throttle opening to limit tailpipe emissions and improve fuel economy. But AEM's ETC allows a constant 1:1 ratio of pedal depression to throttle position, allowing for complete throttle control by the driver, and a switch from idle to wide-open throttle position in quicker than 1/10 of a second. Fail-safe modes can also be programmed, to automatically close the throttle under a variety of dangerous conditions-safeguarding your engine in the event of an emergency. www.aempower.com

Photo Gallery: Aftermarket Car Parts - Subaru Impreza WRX STI - Import Tuner Magazine