Peter's 2JZ-Swapped S13: Tweaking the Famous Drift Recipe

Photos: Luke Munnell

After an itinerant adolescence filled with drifting and hot rodding, Peter Hong relocated to Los Angeles, where his friend turned him onto track days. He picked up an E46 M3 and started running laps, but the cost of the car, as well as his fondness for the cars of his youth, compelled him to make a change.

His aim was rooted in pragmatism and thriftiness. Peter wanted to see if his S13 would handle as well as his M3 because, as he puts it, “then I wouldn’t need two cars.”

His background in drifting meant he’d already learned a lot about the chassis. Having been through five of them, some with swapped engines, he knew that the potential to find a nice balance between power and agility was there if he executed the build properly. Plus, with prices being what they were a decade ago, a well-modified S13 wouldn’t break the bank.

The first iterations of the car were as basic as can be. Aside from swapping in an SR20, the car had little more than basic bolt-ons and set of Hankook RS4s. Yet, contrary to popular opinion, it worked well on the road course.

Entry-level Ohlins, Z32 brakes, a Carbonetics 1.5-way LSD, and a set of Recaros were all the basic bolt-ons needed to make his car work well on the road course. Mild engine mods yielded 250 at the wheels—more than enough for a 2,800-pound car—and the sense of security from his six-point welded cage encouraged him to push the car hard.

“It’s such an intuitive car at that power level. I got down to 1:27s at Streets of Willow pretty fast,” he recalled. Achieving that time in a car requiring little maintenance was bliss; he’d managed to invest minimally and still extract plenty of performance. This was before he decided to wander off into the land of diminishing returns on his investment.

The last of the basic bolt-ons was aero. After throwing some of the APR catalog at the car, Peter was astounded with how well the once-ponderous front end would turn.

Adding power and a set of Brembo F40 brakes helped Peter lap Buttonwillow 13CW in 1:51.

But respectable isn’t really that satisfying in the short term, so Peter, carried away by his curiosity, decided to increase power. A succession of different turbos, an AEM standalone, high-lift cams, and minor porting eventually brought the power output to 390, but not before he went through a few engines.

It wasn’t that the hikes in power—each new motor made about fifty more than the last—stressed them to the failure point. Actually, the most powerful iteration lasted ten events before it spun a rod. Little did he know that slapping on a set of Pirelli scrubs and running the banking at Auto Club Speedway was denying the SR its lubrication. This happened three times, and every time he spun a rod, he just grabbed a new powerplant and got on with it. To be fair, this was easier to do when an engine could be found for a fifth of what they’re worth today.

However, the regular rebuilds challenged Peter’s patience. Seeking a more reliable motor that could produce more power safely, he started weighing the options. The weight and accessibility of the LS tempted him briefly, but a friend who’d just parked their fourth-generation Supra offered him its engine for a friends-only price. Again, it was Peter’s frugality that helped this “deal” along, and soon he had the Supra’s straight-six in his possession.

Unlike the SR, the 2JZ-GTE requires a lot of work when fitting it into an S-chassis’s engine bay, but with various sponsorships, he could make the transition to straight-six power pleasantly. AEM provided the ECU, Beau Brown tuned the engine, Kaizen Motorsports handled the wiring and plumbing, and HeliarcWorks did the fabrication; much of the front was tube-framed to compensate for the 2JZ’s weight. To safeguard himself from the starvation issues he’d dealt with before, he added a baffle and eventually an Accusump.

“It’s not laggy enough!” he laughed.

This time, he wanted to ensure the motor wouldn’t be the weak link. After mounting the radiator in the rear and a massive intercooler up front, he laid them both at 45° angles and devised all the ducting needed to ensure a steady supply of cool air.

The issue was no longer reliability. Instead, it was power—or too much of it. The oversized 90mm throttle body, log manifold, and hefty Comp 6467 turbocharger caused boost to hit like a steam hammer low in the rev range. With 450 lb-ft available at 3,500 rpm and a spiky delivery, the engine made far more than what the car and driver could realistically handle.

The lack of drivability forced Peter to try a few solutions: 295-section rear tires, a larger APR GT1000 wing, and better tires. These helped, but since the wheelspin was worst at lower speeds, he tried toying with the alignment.

Actually, he studied it. After installing a set of Powered by Max drop knuckles, he threw the car up on an alignment rack and started analyzing. These corrected camber and toe gain on compression and improved the control arm angle, resulting in optimized traction and reduced tire wear, but as the footage below shows, it’s still an animal.

Peter has decided to try a new platform and is selling this amazing car. Those interested can check the listing here.

Adam's S13 Coupe: Silvias Do More Than Slide

Some might think that S13 coupes aren’t really suited to turning quick laps, but some know better. Adam Swan’s owned thirty-five different S-chassis cars, so he knows better than most. This particular car, bought before some of the JDM favorites were considered investments, only set him back a few grand. That would be a steal for a stock car nowadays, but this one had the running gear from an S15 Spec R.

That means an SR20DET, a six-speed transmission, and the viscous limited-slip differential in a body weighing around 2,750 pounds. It was immediately at home on canyon roads and shorter drift tracks, where Adam beat it mercilessly for the his first few years of ownership.

It even got the S15’s gauge cluster.

At the time, he was crewing for Valkryie Autosport/GOTO Racing, then running a Nissan R35 GT-R in various time attack series. Inspired by the challenge he was partaking in, he decided to take his recently acquired S13 and try the road course for himself.

Being light, moderately powerful, and rear wheel-drive, the S13 had the bones to become a track car. He called upon his experience and added some budget basics to free up a few horsepower and find some support.

For the power adders, he grabbed a trio of no-name budget bits: a 4” turboback, a front-mount intercooler, and a manual boost controller. Good enough for a healthy 220 horsepower at the driven wheels, which, after stripping the interior and stuffing a Joshua Sher half-cage in there, made for a pretty punchy machine. Great torque and a much wider powerband—one perk of the S15’s variant of the engine—propel this 2,600-pound car at a surprising rate. It’s not just about peak power, but mass, gear ratios, and available traction.

Forget Fancy Stuff

That last trait benefited from the first major handling improvement: 5Zigen FN01RC wheels wrapped in a staggered set of Toyo R888Rs—235s up front and 255 in the rear. To make the most of the wider footprint and improve support, he added Fortune Auto 500 coilovers, SPL tie rods, and a no-name front swaybar bought off eBay. Remember when an S13 was a budget sports car?

Even without primo parts, the package was enough for fast laps without any drama. However, it was nearly stock in other areas, and that became a problem when the factory S14 one-piston brakes would vary wildly from corner to corner, even with upgraded pads. Additionally, the VLSD’s tendency to peg-leg limited a lot of his corner-exit potential. Not perfect, but not too bad for what was essentially a stock car.

Life was stress-free a long time; going to track days without breaking the bank, running full laps without worrying, and putting in respectable times. As his confidence grew, Adam started to wonder if a few aero pieces might not make a massive difference. Adding an Alumalite splitter and an NRG rear wing spruced up the basic shape of the Silvia, but the aero change worsened his confidence.

Some inspection from the sidelines showed that the trunk was flexing under the pressure of the wing. This was due to a lack of trunk reinforcements, which, when added, made a huge difference. The balance went from being skittish at higher speeds to neutral with a hint of understeer in the fast stuff; something easier to lean on when learning the basics. It also helped cut about five seconds off his previous bests.

Adam recognized that what the car required was a little fine-tuning at this stage. Switching from Toyos to a set of Advan A052s proved to not only give him longer stints before the tires’ performance would dwindle, but after playing with pressures for a few lapping days, he found that he was getting much closer to that reassuring sort of balance he’d been after for some time.

By getting the preloads, ride height, and cambers correct, he was able to feel at ease while pushing. When the rear stepped out, his drifting experience came in handy. Even though the of the suspension wasn’t widely adjustable, he could get it to do what he wanted it to.

He took it to Global Time Attack twice, both times competing in the Limited Class—a best of 11th in 2020.

Resurrecting the Silvia

His business SwanSpeed has picked up in the last couple years, so the trusty Silvia has taken a spot in the back of his garage. Though the engine’s been plucked from the bay, it’s not a cause for dismay. The reason it’s gone is because he’s finally found the sponsorship needed to make the car a front-runner in Limited.

The body’s been widened with Origin overfenders to run wider tires; 275s at the rear—hopefully enough to harness the power the new motor will make. The heart of the new build, currently in progress, is a TEM Machine IndustriesM-built SR20 with forged internals, a quick-spooling turbo, E85 capability, and with any luck, a little over 500 horsepower.

The Silvia might not have the traction of some of its rivals, but it’s an underrated chassis in a grip setting. It doesn’t have much mass to push around, nor does it have many vices. Provided the brakes and differential are replaced for something a little stronger, Adam might be able to give his inconspicuous Silvia a fighting chance against the S2000s and GT-Rs. Not terrible for a car with less than ten grand invested.

A big thanks to Horsepower Industries for their endless support.