We here at Tunerzine.com are no strangers to Enjuku Racing and their success both on and off the track. I was personally employed there back in 2003 and am proud to see the company grow and be where it is today. As such, this story will have a lot of meaning and history to it, talking about Enjuku Racing’s rise into the drift scene and how they ultimately scored their first championship in the Nopi Drift Series in 2007.
It all began with a S13 hatch chassis that owner Ken Harrison loved and adored. When it all started, Harrison, like many of us, had a craving for power and speed. Being a crazy JDM fanatic, it was natural for Harrison to research and educate himself on the sources out there to quench his undying thirst for power. Needless to say a SR20DET swap would be in the works and Harrison is proud to say he was one of the first in Central Florida to indulge himself with such fun. That is when Enjuku Racing all began, from the passion of tuning and customizing his own S13, Harrison founded the company and began to build it from the grown up.
Fast forward to 2003 and I was brought on board to the company. At that point Harrison’s S13 had gone from street cruiser to full track terror. It was all about high horsepower digits and fast quarter mile times. Enjuku Racing built their name up with their original S13 by grabbing horsepower records on stock block and taking down the quarter mile in the 11s. It was at this point that Harrison decided to acquire himself another S13 hatch. Always wanting to equip himself with an S13 hatch with an S15 front end, the next car was built with intentions of being a new daily driver. The standard SR20DET swap went in, S15 front end conversion was done and the car was coated in a fresh paint of red. Lucky for us, we have some exclusive photos from way back then of the car for those that never knew what it looked like originally. Slowly the car got its fame as one of the cleanest S13s around but towards the beginning of 2004, it made its way to its first drift event. It didn’t take long for Enjuku Racing to catch the bug and realize that drifting was going to be the next big thing to help market their company.
They made a huge splash immediately, converting the drag car to drift car number two and campaigning a pair of S13.5 drift twins across the country. After going through their fair share of drivers, bumps, bruises and even destroyed cars (R.I.P. original Enjuku S13), the S13.5 you’re staring at now was completely converted and made over for the 2007 season. With a couple of years under their belt in experience and having built another S13.4, Enjuku Racing teamed up with famed racer Robbie Unser for the 2007 series along with driver Wild Bill Sherman. The team campaigned both vehicles across the country in a grueling season of both Formula Drift and Nopi Drift events. It paid off at the end however with Wild Bill Sherman capturing the Nopi Drift Championship.
The S13.5 that is featured is the original drift car that was built by Harrison and the Enjuku Racing team. Their combination of hard work, dedication and learning makes this S13 setup one of the best out there and the results speak for themselves. Under the hood, the all important SR20DET engine sits at the core with a GT3071R turbo bolted onto a Peak Boost turbo manifold. On the cold side, a custom front mount intercooler along with a GReddy intake manifold force plenty of air into the head. Additional horsepower and valve train upgrades are courtesy of Brian Crower with their 264 cams, valve springs and titanium retainers. In the block, CP Pistons and Eagle Rods keeps things strengthened and healthy throughout the tough drift season. In the drive train a SPEC D clutch kit along with an aluminum driveshaft, and Kaaz 2-way differential is the perfect formula to smoke the rear tires in a beautiful sideways fashion.
On the exterior, Harrison and Enjuku Racing kept the S13.5 tradition alive but converted the final look to a whole new monster. You see, when the car was originally built it sported a GP Sports body kit which was clean and stylish, but wasn’t optimized for what Enjuku Racing wanted to do. So off that went and on went a complete Origin body kit complete with Origin aS13.5 conversion fenders and Origin Type II rear 50mm fenders. Seibon lightens up the load with their carbon fiber S15 hood. In the rear is a stylish set of 180sx Nismo tail lights and a carbon fiber hatch.
Now many will agree that arguably the most important part of any drift vehicle is the suspension setup. With several years of drifting experience and trying multiple different suspension setups, Enjuku Racing knew what it would take to have a championship caliber car and the suspension components that would have to be pushed to the limits to achieve that goal. Enjuku Racing didn’t cut any corners this time around, equipping their drift car with a set of Stance GR+ coilovers, TEIN tie rods, Peak Performance’s Suspension Arms package and a Nismo Power Brace. Braking duties have been enhanced with Ichiba’s 5 lug hub it, Z32 brakes and Agency Power brake lines. The car drifted in style with A-Tech Weapon and Competition wheels and none other than Cooper Tires’ rubber.
On the interior, this S13 is all business sporting the necessities for any true race car. Starting by completely gutting out the interior and equipping it with a full Mazworx cage, a basic necessity for any drift car, Sparco EVO seats along with a Nardi Steering Wheel made Sherman’s piloting job much more comfortable. K-Sport’s hydraulic hand brake and a B&M short shifter also offered plenty of utility as they drifted their way to the championship. None other than AEM’s electronics including their serial gauges and EMS was used to tune their car to perfection. Just how perfect? Well, with the AEM EMS’ help, this fully built 2.0L race motor easily produces 530whp.
It has truly been an amazing journey for Enjuku Racing and Ken Harrison, starting off by customizing his personal car and turning his hobby into a passion into a business. Through hard work, dedication and building the perfect foundation for his establishment, Harrison was able to chase his dreams and ultimately capture a drift championship with one of the cars that started it all for him. Don’t ever think that this hobby is just a waste of time and money!
After all their success in drifting in the 2007 season, Enjuku Racing has decided to step out the 2008 season to focus all their efforts back into the company. Now that they’ve proven that their parts get the job done, it’s your turn to build your car in the same fashion. As a really sad result of all this, Enjuku Racing has offered up a piece of history and this turnkey drift car is now for sale. Check it out today and if you are interested, make sure you tell Harrison that you heard about it from Tunerzine.com. You might just get a discount!
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