“I wanted to have the Z as a street car too, but after two months it got out of hand,” admits Forsberg. “But it just got too crazy and I didn’t want anything to happen to it before competitions ‘cause there is too much at stake.” So off the road it came and they began to rip out parts until reaching the 2,650-pound trim you see here.
Chris also wanted to make a trademark 350 that set it apart from others that may enter competition in the future. He grafted the C-West N1 ‘Spec kit that included a front lip, sideskirts and rear fascia. The 2.0L fireball also needed some air flow through the body work and the C-West vented hood fit the function and dominates in the form department. The body was slashed with some factory silver and plastered with sponsor decals to amount to one striking Z33. But that’s what happens when the big lights of Hollywood attract a small town boy from Doylestown, PA, - instant baller. The rolling gear is definitely along the same thought process as the high impact exterior. Racing Hart CP-F Tuner R alloys sized in 18x10 front and rear were wrapped in Yokohama ES100 245/40R18 up front and plump 275mm in the backyard. Stopping the trimmed down Z is some equipment that meets the demand, Brembo 4-piston calipers (2-piston in rear) with drilled rotors all around. Endless brake pads also found their way onto all fours for what appears to be endless braking power to control an out-of-control drift.
From the get-go, the obese Nissan wanted to plough into the corners but with the lighter SR and some creative weight distribution that improved. Forsberg turned to Tanabe for custom spec Sustec SS Pro coilovers and banished the body-roll with a pair of Tanabe sway bars. Up top, Forsberg tied the body up and dumped it in the river, er, that is another story but rumor has it he did it with a Tanabe titanium strut bar. To crank on the adjustments of the vehicle, Tanabe Drift spec camber arms, traction arms, custom tie rods and rear toe arms were fitted to the undercarriage. The results are a high adjustability and superior car control in the lightweight Z. Forsberg has hinted he wants to shed more weight, move some around and up the displacement to 2.4L.
Behind the wheel, Forsberg is totally at home. No, not because he has an LCD screen and five cup holders, or even a Hello Kitty dash animal but because the interior is no joke. The gutted interior is now filled with a Kirk Racing 6-point cage instead of a heater; and Bride Zeta II Neos instead of plush carpeting; and Takata 4-points instead of airbags. Monitoring engine parameters is all up the GReddy 60mm analog: boost, EGT, water temp, oil temp and fuel pressure gauges. To control the boosting on the drift circuit is the heads up display on the GReddy PRofec e-01 which displays all of the vitals when used with the GReddy e-Manage. However, it doesn’t play nice with the competitor HKS model. The engine management has been delegated to the HKS F-Con Vpro which allowed the wizards at Blast Racing to have total control over the untamed SR20.
After the car’s completion, Forsberg joined the Drift Alliance started by Tony Angelo. Basically, Angelo put together a team of five American drifters (including Alex Pfeiffer of Battle Version, J.R. Gittin of Falken and Ryan Hampton of Mazda) to give demonstrations as well as share techniques and technology. Very much like Drift Xtreme team of Japan, Drift Alliance members have different sponsors and cars but the primary goal is the same. They will soon debut a new clothing line and a DVD release is due in 2005. So dust off the wallet.
Bam, there it is. The first SR swap into a 350Z and a successful car at that. After sticking with Hubinette in the Viper to a 2nd place finish at Formula D: Round 1, Forsberg proved it was no fluke by taking 3rd place at Round 2 in Houston. Forsberg has vowed another podium finish before the end of the season and has no plans to ditch his trademark Z. The car will also tackle the D1 drivers search and likely be a force at the D1 Grand Prix event on December 19th in Irwindale. We would wish Chris good luck, but now that he has gone all Hollywood, perhaps “break-a-leg” would be more appropriate.