JIC Magic has become one of the premiere names in the sport compact industry through the last several years. They started by campaigning their Silvia S15 throughout the ’06 Drift and Time Attack seasons but when they doubled up their presence with the addition of their Silvia S14 for the ’07 season it was quite a surprise. Now that they have become a highly respected suspension tuning specialist for both Japanese and European vehicles, JIC Magic continues to excel in all forms of motorsports with their Silvia S14 and Silvia S15.
The Silvia S15 that we see here has gone through many different forms. But ultimately it pulled double duty as both a Time Attack vehicle and a drift vehicle. It was highly competitive in both forms, doing extremely well at several Time Attack events on the West Coast and being a huge threat on the Formula D drift series. It was also previously featured on Tunerzine.com in their 2006 form. The Silvia S14 was brought over to mostly do drift demos and compete in the NOPI Drift series. With Kenji Yamanaka behind the wheel, they at one point during the season held the first place spot. It’s easy to see that JIC Magic’s Silvias were extremely competitive no matter where they were or what they were doing.
Both cars have similar setups, with a SR20DET under the hood packed with plenty of go fast goods. Tomei’s 2.20L Genesis crate engine is the core of it all, a SR20DET that’s fully built to an entire new monster and converting the subtle Silvias into wrecking machines. One sports a massive GReddy turbo while the other one is equipped with a Garrett T60 turbo. Both are sporting JIC Magic’s exhaust manifolds, downpipes and Spartan DE Type 1 titanium exhaust and intake systems. JIC Magic chooses to run Exedy’s high performance quality clutches for their drivetrain upgrades.
In terms of suspension, both of these cars are dialed in, showing off JIC Magic’s expertise in suspension tuning and their strict attention to detail. JIC FLT-A2 RS Drift Spec coilovers take center stage, while the rest of the suspension upgrades are also from JIC Magic. Their front carbon tower bar can be seen in their S15 while their aluminum blue one is seen in the S14. Tension rods, tie rods, traction rods and rear upper camber arms and toe control arms allow every bit of adjustment that JIC Magic not only needs, but demands given their reputation on the track. Let us be the first ones to say that JIC Magic pays extremely careful attention to tuning their suspension after every run on the track, be it Time Attack or Drift. They are just that meticulously and it shows when they are out on the track competing and taking records and trophies.
Both cars sport JIC Magic’s JIC J-Force 07 wheels in a ‘blingy’ polished finish. They run a staggered setup with 17’s in the front and 18’s in the rear. In case you haven’t recognized, but JIC Magic also competes in Hankook rubber. Their Ventus Z214 tires is their weapon of choice. The S14 is equipped with a Rotora big brake upgrade in a light blue shade while the S15 sports Stoptech pieces in a red finish.
With Tyler McQuarrie and Kenji Yamanaka in their stable of drivers and these fine vehicles, we can’t wait to see what JIC Magic has up their sleeves for 2008. We saw a little bit of the Porsche in 2007, will we be seeing more in competition for 2008? Rumor has it that the S15 will be retired, or maybe it is the S14? Guess these are all just rumors until 2008 hits. We wanted to end this article with something different than what we normally do, with press clips from several event results from JIC Magic’s news room.
From Long Beach Formula D:
“We have just come back from Round 1 of the Need for Speed Formula Drift Series! It was a great event with a capacity crowd and a new course. Our new driver, Kenji “SupaStar” Yamanaka, strapped himself into the Nissan Silvia S15 and put on a show for the crowd. Kenji came in 12th within the top 16 for qualifying. With tough competition, Kenji was able to pull off one of the fastest entry speeds within the group. When it came to the top 16 tandem round, Kenji was paired up against Hayashida in the RSR Nissan S15. In the first round of the match, the judges believed it was a dead tie, especially Kenji showing aggressive driving. In a suddent death match, Kenji again showed agressive driving but judges thought that the other S15 prevailed. The Formula Drift season seems very promising to Kenji Yamanka and we are prepared for all rounds. Our next stop is Atlanta, GA and Kenji has a good feeling that he is going to make a bigger impact in Atlanta! Feel free to come by our pits, talk with Kenji, get an autograph or two, and take a picture with Kenji and the JIC Nissan S15. JIC Magic Drift team would like to thank our following sponsors: Hankook Tires, Exedy Clutches, Vertex T&E, 5th Dimension Signworks, Tomei Powered, Stoptech, and Meguiar’s.” From Atlanta, Georgia Formula D: “With a whole new graphics scheme and full force backing from Hankook Tires, we felt that this track would be a fun challenge for our eager driver, Kenji Yamanaka. Supplied with a full supply of Ventus Z212 Hankook Tires, we were able to impress the crowd through practice rounds with high speed drifts. As time came to qualify, Kenji held a valiant effort to impress the crowd and the judges but just came just short of the 16th spot by landing 17th place. It was unfortunant for Kenji as he had high hopes for Atlanta but he is not detered. With scheduled practices coming up within two weeks at Willow Springs, Kenji is optomistic with enough seat time, he will be a threat to the other drifters in Chicago for the Soldier Field, IL. Keep a look out for Kenji Yamanaka as he slides his way to the podium!” From Chicago Formula D: The chilly conditions of Chicago for Formula Drift Round 3 may have been not been ideal for typical drifting, but JIC drifter Kenji Yamanaka heated up the track with his precise skills! Upon arrival to Soldier Field in Chicago, IL, Kenji noticed the track was opposite from last year. During practice day, Kenji Yamanaka piloted the JIC / Hankook Tires Nissan S15 around the course with one of the fastest entry speeds out of the group which landed him within the top 8 qualifying drivers.
Next round, it was all about close tandem rounds. Kenji was paired up with the Highly Skilled driver from the Pacific Rim / Rockstar Energy Drink team, Daijiro Yoshihara. In this first round of tandem battles, the high speed drifting was the key for the pair as they battled it out over and over. It became to the point where the judges requested for a “one more time!” round. In the end, Daijiro spun out at the main corner and Kenji drifted around Daijiro for the win.
In the Best 8 round, Kenji was paired up with Tyler McQuarrie in the RSR Honda S2000. This was a highly anticipated battle where Kenji came out blasting and drifted but he began to notice some bugs with the engine of the Nissan. With some further inspection, there was an issue with the ignition. With very little time to spare, Kenji went out to the track again but due to the ignition issue, he could not battle as aggressive as he did in the previous round. He could not continue. Overall, Kenji landed himself a respectable spot within the top 7.
Kenji was able to pull off a very productive round of the Formula Drift series for the JIC Magic USA / Hankook Tires team. Next stop is the highspeed battle of Sonoma, CA. JIC USA would like to thank our sponsors including: Hankook Tires USA (www.hankooktireusa.com), Vertex T&E, Exedy Clutches, Tomei, Meguiar’s, Stoptech Brakes, and 5th Dimension Sign Works for their ongoing support. From Sonoma, CA Formula D: “JIC USA and Hankook Tires is proud to announce a 3rd place podium finish at Formula Drift Round 4 in Sonoma, California! After a full week of testing, tuning, and practicing, JIC USA / Hankook Tires Nissan S15 and driver Kenji Yamanaka, set their sights on coming up on top. With added tweaks and some fine tuning, the JIC USA / Hankook Tires Nissan S15 was feeling better than ever.
During the qualifiers, Kenji impressed the judges with his clean drifting line and fast entry speed. He was clocked in at 75mph into the first main corner and got an overall score of 93.25 that secured him a spot of 7th place out of 32 drivers. Kenji had his adrenaline flowing as he came up to the first round of tandem battles against the Blue Bridgestone Tires V8 powered S13 driven by Mike Peters. In the first run, Kenji lead as Mike Peters followed. Kenji kept a consistent and clean line as he gained a 7-3 advantage over Mike Peters. In the second run against Mike, Kenji followed him closely. As they came up to the first line, Mike initiated the drift but ended up sliding into the k-rail and Kenji came out victorious to advance to the next round of tandem battles.
In the Great 8 of tandem battles, Kenji was paired up with Tyler McQuarrie with the RS*R Honda S2000. Kenji was looking forward to this match as it would be redemption from Round 3 of Formula D in Chicago. In Chicago, Kenji could not advance past Tyler due to mechanical problems but this time would be different. Kenji was the lead car as Tyler was the chaser car and they both battled through the first run and both displayed clean lines but judges believed Kenji as Tyler could not keep up with him. On the second run, Kenji was able to stick with Tyler and got extremely close to Tyler on the “tear drop” portion of the track. Kenji was able to pull off a win and advanced to the Final Four.
For the Final Four round, Kenji lined up against Rhys Millen in the Red Bull / Pontiac Racing GTO. This round would determine who would advanced to either 1st or 2nd place. Rhys lead as they both ran down the long downhill as Kenji was able to pull off an extremely aggressive drift and was able to come behind Rhys within inches but as they came around the sharp corner of the “tear drop” Kenji bumped Rhys’ rear quarter panel which caused Kenji to spin. For the second run of the battle, Kenji lead as Rhys followed. Rhys made some minor corrections and Kenji lead a perfect drift line. He did win the second run, but due to the spin in the first run, Rhys advanced and Kenji was now in the running for a 3rd place spot.
The battle for 3rd place paired Kenji up with Samuel Hubinnette in the Mopar Viper SRT-10. As they went into their first run Kenji followed Samuel. Right off the line, Samuel took off and left Kenji far back as the power advantages go to Samuel. Although Samuel had an obvious lead, Kenji was able to maintain a good distance to Samuel as they went through the course with clean lines and plenty of smoke. The judges noticed that Samuel did not wait for Kenji and that run was nullified and was forced to do a restart. On the restart, Kenji stuck on the Viper’s rear bumper and displayed a textbook tandem run against Mopar. The advantage went to Kenji with a 7 to 3 score. For the final run, Kenji lead as Samuel followed. Kenji, again demonstrated a perfect drift line but Samuel could not keep up leaving a large gap between the two. The win went to Kenji.
Kenji was awarded with the 3rd place cup and the traditional champagne shower as JIC USA and Hankook Tires celebrated this well deserved victory. JIC USA could have not pulled off this victory without the following support from our sponsors: Hankook Tires USA (http://www.hankooktireusa.com), Vertex T&E, Tomei Powered, Works Bell, Exedy Clutches, Stoptech Brakes, Meguiar’s and to all the fans and teams that cheered us to victory!” From Summit Point, Redline Time Attack: “With temperatures hovering around the 80’s, making it a bit bearable for exciting racing, JIC USA / Hankook Tires made the long journey from Southern California to West Virginia for the Redline Time Attack at Summit Point Raceway, West Virginia. Upon arrival, the Hankook JIC Nissan Silvia S15 had its hands full with a fleet of Evolutions and STi’s to battle against. But as usual, it is hard for the Silvia to back off from some hefty competition. Slapping on the sticky Hankook Ventus Z214 R-compound DOT tires and piloted by Tyler McQuarrie, the S15 made its practice runs on Saturday. Light tweaking and tuning of the suspension was key to the Hankook Tire / JIC Nissan Silvia S15 fast lap times. Throughout the day, Mitsubishi Evolutions were giving the Hankook Tire / JIC Nissan Silvia S15 a run for its money as many came within few seconds of the already fast times of the Silvia. During one of the practice sessions, the limited slip differential and the left axle went out due to the immense grip that the vehicle was experiencing. Going back to the paddock, the team rushed to add a new differential and left axle. The team also discovered that the axles also needed to be replaced. With enough time for another session, the Nissan Silvia was able to make few more laps and called it a day.
Sunday, the Hankook Tire / JIC Nissan Silvia S15 team woke up early for final adjustments on the suspension for the official Time Attack event. The starting grid became obviously aggressive to the Silvia since it was posting up the fastest laps. The AMS Mitsubishi Evolution and Bushur Racing Mitsubishi Evolution were the fastest right behind the Silvia with respectable lap times of 1:31.40. Their fastest time was extremely close to the Hankook Tire / JIC USA Silvia which posted up a 1:31.20 lap time. Even with a field of all wheel drive race ready Evolution, Hankook Tire JIC Nissan Silvia S15 was still able to pull off the category win, the division win, and the overall Championship. Hankook Tire / JIC Nissan Silvia S15 could have not won this event without the help of our sponsors and supporters. Special thank you goes out to: Hankook Tires USA (http://www.hankooktiresusa.com), Hawk Performance, Stoptech, Exedy Clutches, Tomei Powered, Meguiar’s, and Vertex T&E.”
For more information on JIC Magic and their results, please visit: http://www.jic-magic.com/newsandevents.aspx
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