Over a year ago we had sat down and featured/interviews Kathryn Tanaka and her S13 drift car (http://www.tunerzine.com/view_article/racer_feature/interview-with-kathryn-tanaka). True to our word, we revisited Tanaka’s S13 and got an update of her car!
In an industry mostly dominated by the presence of XY chromosomes, it’s always nice seeing a female attempting to break the mold and stand out from the crowd. Kathryn Tanaka has always been involved in the industry, having worked with distributors so her natural love towards modifying cars is almost a no-brainer. When the drifting phenomena started taking the US by storm, Kathryn was instantly enticed and fascinated, wondering if one day, she too could be sliding sideways. This began her search for a suitable chassis to fulfill her dream. A 1990 Nissan S13 came into her sight and it was an opportunity that she just couldn’t pass up. What ensued however was something that she herself couldn’t have foreseen; months of depositing paychecks straight into a 17 year old chassis, working day and night on her car and needing a tire sponsor.
Kathryn started developing her driving skills with the stock KA power plant, knowing that if she couldn’t handle that, there would be no way she could hone her skills towards something more powerful. Like the old saying goes, you have to walk before you can run. So while Kathryn started learning how to go sideways in her 1990 RPS13, she also focused on the exterior modifications and the extensive list of suspension modifications. Any knowledge towards the drifting world knows that suspension modifications are key, having plenty of adjustability at your finger tips. With the help of sponsor Megan Racing, Kathryn’s RPS13 now sits on Megan Racing’s track series coilover damper kit. Stiffening up the chassis is their race spec front and rear upper strut bars. Balancing off the under and over steering issues she might run into, Kathryn bolted on a beefier pair of sway bars from Tanabe in the front and the rear. Also from Tanabe’s factory are their tension rods. The final piece of adjustability comes from Kazama’s S14 tie rods and tie rod ends. A Nismo power brace and aluminum sub frame spacers and steering bushing completes off the suspension modifications, making her chassis plenty stiff and giving her the adjustability she needs to fine tune her driving style.
On the exterior, like any typical enthusiast, Kathryn desired that her RPS13 keep a clean, sleek look but knew she needed to do something to not only stand out from the crowd, but rejuvenate the 17 year old chassis. So it went without saying that new paint and some body work would be at the top of her things to-do list. Off went the stock front bumper and side skirts and on went the 180 Type-X Kouki style OEM front bumper, front lip and side skirts. Carbon fiber goods came in the form of APR’s GTC-200 adjustable wing, Formula GT3 mirrors and Seibon’s AB style carbon fiber hood. Kazama clear front side markers along with CATZ HIDs and Hella H4 conversion head light housings round off Kathryn’s exterior lighting modifications. Once she was satisfied with the way the car would be looking, it went off to M1 Autobody where it got sprayed a shade of BMW’s E46 M3 Phoenix Yellow metallic paint. Once it was out of the shop however, Kathryn went straight back to the Streets of Willow to continue practicing her drifting skills.
Moving down the modification list, Kathryn quickly realized that the stock interior pieces were distracting her from really concentrating on driving. The stock S13 seat definitely wasn’t made to brace any driver in, so Kathryn tossed it out for a DC2 Type-R Recaro seat. That’s right, the Recaro-bred race seat from the infamous Integra Type-R now sites in this Nissan! Buckling her in is a Sparco 4-point harness. The stock steering wheel and shift knob combination wasn’t doing it for her either, so a Nardi Classic steering wheel along with adapter and MOMO hub found its way into the cockpit. The stock shift knob was replaced with a GReddy piece. A series of HKS RS DB gauges were then installed, giving plenty of data to Kathryn: boost, temperature, pressure and EGT. Preserving her newly swapped SR20DET motor is an A’PEXi limited edition turbo timer.
Oh wait, did we mention a SR20DET swapped motor? Well once Kathryn got the hand of drifting and developing her driving skills, she knew the stock KA just had to go. With the help of Hybrid Performance (http://www.hybrid-performance.com), Kathryn was able to drop out the stock KA motor and swap in the coveted SR20DET. Turbocharged power straight from Nissan’s factory, Kathryn once again had the help of Megan Racing to help her new transplant breathe more freely. Megan Racing’s turbo exhaust manifold, down pipe, turbo outlet and cat-back exhaust comes in a full stainless steel finish and was bolted on along with the swap. Continuing with the modificatiosn on the hot side, an HKS hot pipe and blow off valve was installed. On the cold side of things, a GReddy M-Spec front mount intercooler along with an Ichiba aluminum racing radiator keeps things at an optimal temperature while she’s sliding sideways. Amenities in the engine bay include a Nismo radiator cap, HKS oil cap, ARC titanium hood panel and ARC titanium spark plug cover.
For anyone experienced with SR20DET swaps, you’d be well aware that the stock clutch and flywheel is never something to be retained. Besides, who knows what that stock combination went through on the other side of the world over a decade ago? This S13 red top motor received an overhaul in the drivetrain compartment with ACT’s heavy duty clutch kit and lightened flywheel. A Nismo two-way LSD is exactly what Kathryn needed to finish off the drivetrain as a drift-oriented S13.
Believe it or not, this S13 is also daily driven on the streets of Southern California. With the exterior done exactly the way she wanted it, Kathryn knew she also had to roll in style. So on went a staggered set of Racing Hart CPF Tune-R wheels in an 18×8.5 and 18×9.5 size. Finished in a gunmetal shade for the centers, the polished step lip wrapped with Dunlop Tires is exactly what Kathryn needed.
With the help of Megan Racing, Hybrid Performance and Dunlop Tires, Kathryn has continued to develop her skills as a driver and drifter in Southern California.
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