JDM Legends Part 2 - Ep.69

In this episode we discuss two new JDM Legends from different Eras of Japanese Motorsports. We talk about Daigo Saito, the world famous drifter, and Seiichi Suzuki the creator of Tomei Powered. Join us as we celebrate what these men have done for the sport.


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Hey, and we're back with another episode of the right hand drive guys podcast the show for guys who like right hand drives Home Bobby this is Aaron. Oh, yeah, and this is the big episode number 69 And it's 420 today dude This is like this is pretty major in the sense of numbers colliding. I don't know how we got this line up the universe Clearly, yeah, clearly episode 69 on 420. There it is. Yeah, so Episode 69 we were like looking back at our episodes and like you know, what do we like? What what do we wish we had followed up on a little more and One that I feel like could probably be expanded on quite a few times is The JDM legends episode and if you haven't listened to that episode rewind go back hit it up it was definitely you know probably mid 40 episode so We wanted to hit it back come back and and give or pay homage to another set of JDM legends There's plenty of them there there really is and you know, we were like all right well But should we do like shops or like the individuals who are maybe behind the shops or Race drivers or you know like how are we going to? Really, you know define this and we're like we should just start right here right now Continue with just the guys the guys who created the shops for now. So we're each gonna throw one down I'm gonna go second Aaron's gonna go first that's right and Oh, yeah, you did tell me who is it? It is no other than Daigo Saito Oh, and this is a good one because we've actually spent time with him in person so I'm interested to hear this because we also Will be able to relate to some of the things so go ahead. Yeah, so Daigo. He's a little bit younger like to be What most would consider a legend I guess but? He's 44 44 that really isn't crazy old for like the list that goes on for days right right He's not you know like I say he's not super old, but he is he's getting up there and you know his first season of D1 Grand Prix was in 2004 so It's been in the game. Yeah, I mean that's been in the game for a long time. That's when I graduated high school Right, so I mean he's been you know pretty much there since the the upper eyes and popularity of drifting yeah and You know he's kind of been the man for that long I feel like and he's definitely been a huge influence on That scene and the whole worldwide scene you know, so One thing about Daigo. He didn't just stay in Japan like he went all over the world and like he said we Were lucky enough to visit his shop which is called fat five racing. That's his shop and that's also His racing I guess Whenever we went to a shop dude the walls were just aligned with trophies. Oh, yeah, they were trophies had medals on them and like plaques and dude you start reading some of these plays and it's like okay You see all right D1 Japan D1's really whatever and then you see like Germany Indonesia and then like US you know for the just and psych whoa this dude is world renowned like yeah Like has taken this just the there there was literally like the big huge checks like everyone yeah Like his is basically like drywall like that's what he used for drywall. There's just checks everywhere Just checks everywhere for a lot in two jz. Mm-hmm. And so Yeah, that's that's one thing that I think was really cool about Daigo is that he didn't just stay in Japan. He went worldwide with it So he won his first Japanese D1 Championship in 2008 so it's about four years four years in pro drifting and he finally won his first championship and He was always into like the the bigger four doors the JZX chassis specifically he always had big four doors and that's one thing that always stuck with me about him as well You know whenever I found out about him I was you know looking on YouTube looking up drift videos and You know whatever I just remember Daigo I would search Daigo and D1 GP and you know pull up all these crazy videos and I was like what is he even driving? Is that a camera like I didn't know what yeah, yeah, but it opened my eyes and you know it Then influenced me like that's probably one of the reasons why I like those chassis so much because that was like one of the first times So a big four door Drifting like it he would and he would do he would throw it backwards, you know over a hundred mile an hour and Just do it. I've never seen anything like it before, you know, we're like usually the Japanese style it wasn't I don't know it just wasn't as Crazy I guess you'd say like he really pushed Pushed it, you know, he was always going faster always had more angle cars were always crazier. Yeah, always crazier build So he was for sure obviously. I mean you can tell just by medium He's one of those guys that shapes like the way that the sport went, you know in different ways and You know like you said two jazzees everywhere, right? So yeah when we're walking through a shop. It's just Ever all these different cars with just those motors or he has like a pile of these NASCAR V8s Yeah, and okay, so that's another thing too He he came to America for a while and he Well not only did it compete in Formula D in 2012 But I believe he was over here earlier whenever D1 was doing things that like they would have an event or windale or something Yeah, that one doe sped away. Yeah, I remember that specifically. Yeah, so I remember hearing that you know whenever he came over Samuel Hubinette was a oh yeah driver for Dodge at the time and he had a charger a Dodge charger with a NASCAR V8 in it and He's the digo says that that engine is the best sounding engine that There ever was yeah, so dude. He he bought as many as he could yeah, it's crazy So a picture of like a pallet of them Yeah, you know, a bunch and he's put him in everything. He's put him in a kin Mary's put in a hikosha like That's all because they sound so cool and you know what I just always think that's a crazy thing that he got a Dodge engine from you know a NASCAR V8 and he's imported into Japan and he's putting in all these classic builds and Whatever it's cool. That's you need for sure. That's yeah goes to show like a big part of his character Yeah, I mean I felt like Yeah, he I could tell he had been in the US because the way he was talking to us was definitely not Like all the other Japanese people that we met, you know He was much more able to handle like a conversation and yeah, so that I was like oh wow So he's definitely been around because you don't know English if you don't need to know English right? He probably knows a lot more than he leads on Yeah, you're probably right, you know because I mean he is like whenever we were on him. He's just a quiet dude Yeah, you know just yeah, he's super cool with his baggy pants and hair slick back Dude, he's just chilling. Yeah, no, he was definitely his own vibe So yeah his shop fat five racing They've came on I think within the last 10 years or so pretty big But they don't just build his cars they also build customer cars like Right Believe it's right or I believe it was right when we were there. There was an SLS Mercedes with like the goal wing doors Mm-hmm Yeah, I saw that and I think it used to be a GT500 car GT300 Some sort of race car like that. They're converting it to a drift car There's plenty of other tube chassis You know S13s with two J's with huge turbos on there being built There's that crazy Corvette we talked about before like It's like his shop is just insane dude in like It's just crazy the amount of work they can put out of there. So he's still competing Yeah, I believe so I'm not sure this year, but I know he did last year. Yeah, but yeah, he's definitely still out there like Definitely still driving. I mean we saw him take a few laps like a fat five land. Yeah, yeah for sure I mean, yeah, I mean you could tell he knows what he's doing and even just when he was warming up that Whoa is it was it in a 86? Yeah, yeah, six or any six. Yeah He was like yeah, it's his foot on the throttle like okay You've done this about 10 million times obviously. Yeah, dude. Yeah, you could just tell it do that guy knows and like Yeah, that was just such an insane day at that shop and just being there and seeing all those like crazy Ferraris and Lamborghini's and all in that front room. I know we've talked about this before on that previous episode We've talked about is compound. Yeah, yeah, no, I mean It just I can't get his style is his style is definitely like unique which makes it just adds to him and yeah I mean he had what he had like this crazy wide body Corvette thing just like hard park to Fat five land just off to the side dude same with this old wagon. I can't remember what that was but it was like a US automaker Right, right. That's the thing dude like he I think he's obsessed with American stuff just like we're obsessed with the Jeff Yeah, which is cool So then when we come over he was definitely open arms to us and right yeah, like he said super humble and Yeah, let us you know or let Jesse rip around in the meana and So yeah, no, he was definitely cool. So he's still competing. He's 44. Yeah He's got his own shop. He's got his own events that he holds a fat five land Yeah, obviously has well because I just saw he put he just built some car that's for him because it's got monster and like his stuff on it So he must have something yeah because I was like dang. He's still a monster Oh, yeah, it is super yeah, okay. I remember seeing that as well. Yeah, he's still Like a monster athlete at 40 Ford drifting like that's if you think about who monster sponsors and stuff right Like kind of on getting like yeah Right, yeah, you know for sure. Yeah, I remember when he first got on monster That's when he was he was building that That mercy a log I believe yeah, and he was drifting that and I remember like people Just went nuts when he did that yeah, cuz that was one of his not publicity stunts But one of those things that he knows was gonna set people off right right this thing with a liberty walk It had a liberty walk kid on too. Yeah, it's just like what I need to look up some videos of that Like holy moly Dude, I mean yet dude is just a man and then like I remember when he came to the States for the first time in 2012 when he did Formula D Dude, he Shut the place down. He like showed up in a In a sore a newer sore not like the older ones in the States they were the What were they the SC 430, you know like the two-seater comfortable like Nothing special dude. He showed up with one of those with a bill 2J and like, you know It had the full-digo treatment to it and dude. He just killed everyone. Yeah, dominated he first year in America he won the championship he won the championship and rookie of the year same year Yeah, that's crazy dude insane dude. He's a He's a mad man. So yeah, he is a legend. He's definitely a legend in the drift world and Yeah, I mean what's cool about him, you know, of course We got to go to fat 5 lamp, but when we had seen him The previous April at Ebisu. Yeah, he was he was he was definitely helping people I don't know if he was drifting. He what I don't think he was but he was hanging out with the manoas which like Is another kid that's kind of grew up around him the Shinjima no I believe yeah, he's 16. He's in Formula Drift this year. Oh, yeah, yeah, I saw him so that kid is kind of grew up You know with him so he was supporting him. Yeah, and that's what it seemed he was checking out the car doing you know And he had his bling on and yeah, yeah, his vibe is definitely Awesome dude is cool. Yeah, um definitely cool. I'll put back cool when I'm 44. Yeah, it's gonna be hard to live up to that So that's cool. So anything else you want to add about About him as far as you know, I mean obviously we could sit here and talk about his accolades for days Yeah, you know all that But I just didn't know if there was any No, I mean that that's pretty much it dude. He's just pretty much the man Yeah, no, I'd be coming that OG. Yeah, for sure, you know, whereas like DK was kind of the man You know for that 90s air and that late 80s 90s era. Yeah, I feel like He's kind of the man for that 2020 era. Yeah, for sure. I mean Yeah, and he probably I'm not saying he's coming to the end of his career, but yeah, no way Obviously in the sense of he was going way harder before and it's just like anything right like if you or I went In enter to racially end up getting rookie of the year winning the championship things accelerate Extremely fast at that point, right? Yeah, so we can tell just by dude and I can't stress enough like there was more trophies and checks and medals Then I've ever seen in my life like just all his walls however his first year in D1 Japan in 2004 that first year he did not score a single point For the championship he didn't score a single championship point. So that's wild That's wild. So from that to four years later in 2008 win in the whole championship Yeah, that's pretty pretty big time. I mean and so I guess you know at the end my point was He's bound to slow down right because Also when you've been doing something for 20 years, you know, you maybe still love it But maybe you don't need to be right you've already done it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. You've seen that you got the t-shirt Yeah, you got the trophy. You got the check. Yeah So that's cool much much respect and much love to die go Absolutely So when I was thinking about you know JDM legend like whom am I gonna do What you know because like we said there's so many options right and For some reason you know I tend to go with my gut I guess you could say and for some reason like Tomi Came to mind like I was just like Tomi like how did that start and I started you know researching I'm like Who started this when did this start like because you know to let's just say you or I yeah Tomi started with our generation of cars, right? You know without We research that's where all of a sudden it just poof. Yeah, I'm up when we get into car Why would they make anything else before the 90s? Yes exactly and So you know doing my research and I find though is actually Started in 1968 Who so literally 30 years prior 35 years maybe prior to us ever even hearing about it. I think that's before HKS, right? I think yeah, it's a few years before HKS. That's pretty crazy to think about yeah, it is and so it was Founded by a man named Szechis Suzuki and so He he was born in 1936 he was already you know, whatever yeah Yeah, yeah, he was already 32 years old when he founded Tomi and so he Worked at and was a driver for Nissan already he was He was a race car driver that was his main thing was racing for Nissan Working with him for development and then he quickly realized that Nissan was gonna hold him back When it came to developing some of these products because it didn't align with that factory type, you know product so Again, he you know Creates Tomi they start doing in-house R&D all of that Meanwhile, he's still racing for Nissan. So he's like Right, I don't know exactly back then whether They knew or not, you know, I couldn't find much about that but So he was his main thing was a tuner and engine builder. Yeah, that's what he You know really enjoyed doing and so he brought on some friends to the company, you know He brought on his sister as the receptionist, you know, and they really started going at it but You know, unfortunately only six years later into it He's at a race at Fuji for the Fuji championship series and This was back when if you've listened to any of our episodes, you know, you know that Fuji has had multiple kind of Track layouts right they've progressed over the years and you know back in 74 it was still very a dangerous track with high-bank corners and you know some different little You know features that made for real dangerous race. So yeah this guy and Another guy our Fourth and fifth in this race. It's out the first corner and The two or the three people in front of them Crash into the wall and create like a big, you know kind of dangerous area. Yeah him and the other guy head into it the cars explode the guys die like on On site right right and the article I read was like yeah they even They even decided to cancel the race because of the circumstances I'm just like it's crazy how serious racing was that you know they even have to say that about two men dying on the track. Yeah, you know, so But yeah, it's it the corner was called Dishy and after Him and this other man died they actually Created like a turn before Dishy and that closed Dishy forever. So his Crash and death Created the first change in the Fuji layout that eventually got it to where it is today. That's pretty crazy. Yeah, so You know, of course as I said he had brought in You know his friends his other co-workers his sister and he had clearly Passed on his spirit and love for the machine. Yeah, and so of course like I said this is 1974 so 84 and 94 oh 4 14. This is 50 years ago that this man died right and As we know today Tomi is still here. Oh, yeah, and so These people who continued to run a forum really have tried to keep it To the same specs as he originally created down to even the machinery that they use How often they update you know technology? There's they don't have You know $150,000 or you know Lave that does it all for you right there's still hand turning everything. They're still checking clearances manually Right exactly. They're still doing that and it wasn't even until COVID that they Updated their computer system for it was like 30 years They had not updated their computer system until COVID Man, can you imagine working in somewhere in 2020 and they have a computer from 1990 a seriously? That's literally what that is yeah, yeah, and and so yeah, it was like like you said Dawes, you know like commands to get you know And they're doing everything by hand and wow so Which is kind of crazy when you think about the amount of parts that they put out and how they had to contact people and Do everything by hand over phone mailing. Yeah, which you know, I don't know if it would be easier or harder in Japan to get by like that Part of me thinks easier probably because they're so traditional. Yeah exactly Yeah, so So again these people are still using the same tools. They're still doing it the same way and It still is the same people running it of course with other employees, you know under them, you know, but One thing about Tomi is they have been One of these Japanese brands that's been targeted by a clone or a You know what I mean like a rip off scam. I don't know whatever you want to call it But there's Tomay USA now and has been for the past X amount of years. Yeah, that's producing the same parts different logo Tomay powered Which is Japan. Yeah, never registered their trademark or anything in the United States. What yep? So it's kind of like the bride canada thing Where like I've seen people bring that up But I always thought it was just like their American leg of distribution. No or something, you know There's like got figured they were just making exhausting stuff in America rather than shipping them over So it's completely different. Wow. Yeah, it's a like clone company that like Registered Tomay. Wait, there's sort of be a lot of that I feel yeah, and so a lot of people and they didn't like Announce this Tomay USA didn't say we're not Tomay powered right they didn't say that so People have reported their cams breaking or cracking yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, and all these different things and it's giving Tomay powered a bad name and sales drop Yeah, when they have nothing to do with it. They're still producing their quality parts. They have since 1968 You know, so like That would be tough because also like I said they didn't even upgrade their computers in tow covid Yeah literally so they don't even know they don't even know about Tomay USA They they could care less. They're banging out can't do they're on their own island. Yeah exactly So wow, this is all happening and and they're not addressing it. So it's getting too carried away and Now I've noticed over the past six or eight months especially since people have Started really voicing the lower quality of Tomay USA Tomay powered has been stepping in and creating warnings and posts and dude. That's crazy. I literally thought that was just there No It's crazy. Yeah, yeah, even when I saw people talking about it. I just didn't look into it that much. That's crazy Yeah, just figured that they were kind of you know coming over here and that was just yeah But the logo is completely well not completely different. It's the same block. I don't know But the thing to the left is slightly different Yeah, which I don't I don't know how somebody can really get away with that But I guess if you're sending parts from Japan to here to a distributor and they're getting distributed like That's just what it is right that distributor bought all of those turbo outlets and whatever it was from you Yeah, you're you're just like okay You day only and have a computer to email him you get away and call him at 6 a.m Yeah, um, so wow Yeah, I mean I personally I have a Tomay parts on my 33 I have the turbo outlets like I had mentioned I think the eight is for exhaust and mine on the 33 both Tomays um, and so yeah, I mean, I don't know. I like I like their parts. I think yeah, they've always been I don't know like that higher tier quality. You know right up there with hk. Yes, sir And they produced a lot for these type of cars like they get their arms the a rm s turbos Yeah, yeah, you know, they're all they're bolt on to the stock. Yeah, not not just SRs and rb's They had them for you know all the Subaru's and oh for sure. Yeah, yeah There's a list of cars Mitsubishi's yeah, they did a lot with the 4g63 like Dude and I'm sure you still can but I remember back 15 years ago or so I would always Get on a juku racing dude and look up there like crate engines. Yeah, and just Droll oh, yeah dude 10k dude if I can I can just get 10k dude if you get this I can get this SR 20 long block dude and put it in my 180 I'd be set you would be yeah, no, I wouldn't be because I wouldn't have anything else I did that Yeah, I mean But yeah, they were just always that like just Anytime you seen any of their parts or anytime you saw that stamp or any of that you're just like okay. That's that's legit Yeah, I mean and I don't know it. It's one of those things if it didn't start with this guy just having that you know desire to R&D and create products that you know the manufacturer Wanted to limit. Yeah, we wouldn't had those things, you know And they they do yeah, they do everything you know they Like you said they build motors they sell the parts for motors. They do headwork They they'll do just about whatever and especially if you're in Japan. Oh, yeah, sure dude if that Yeah, imagine you just dropping off. Yeah drop it off. Hey, give me a refresh. Yeah, just a little refresh. Yeah couple hundred thousand yen later Do your set. Yeah, and so they engine dyno everything and put it through the the test to make sure it's good for you So yeah, I mean Diagosaito Seki Suzuki both definitely two Legends in their own regard definitely in their own you know In totally kind of different sides of it. Yeah, you know, but but again both people that contributed to You know like the car culture in that sense. Oh, yeah So yeah, this was the JDM legends episode 69 420 69 420 That's cool. This one will go down in the books for sure But again, you know hit us up on the youtube's at rhd g us Check out the website all that good stuff and for episode 69 I'm Bobby. This is Aaron. See ya. Peace[Music]