8 August 2010

5 Minute's with Hug-o Maclean

If you are a frequent visitor to any Drifting or Car style site over the last few months you will have noticed the buzz beginning to surround the stunning Drift cars that the guys in New Zealand are producing at the moment. The guys over there seem to be picking what is best about the Japanese & American car styles and mixing them up to create something incredible that they can call their own. One particular car that The Corolla Brotherhood took notice of is Hugo MacLean’s AE85 Corolla. We knew we had to get in touch with Hugo as soon as possible & ask him a few questions about the car...

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T.C.B - What made you decide to run the F20c Motor instead of the trusty old 4AGE?

Hug-O - A lot of people think I originally put the F20c in to the car when in fact I bought it with it already in it. A year ago when I bought the car it had been in a frontal crash. Needing new guards, lights, bonnet, bumper and to remount the engine.


T.C.B - We have noticed that the N/A F20c 9,000rpm motor didn’t cut it for you and it now sports a tasty Turbo Set up. Can you talk us through the development of the motor with a rundown of the spec?

Hug-O - It was quite a simple bolt on process for me as I bought the manifold, turbo, intercooler and intercooler piping off a good friend who was going back to N/A because of tyre cost.
I already had the Link G3 ECU installed and haven’t to this day made any changes to the engine itself so it was a matter of bolting it all on and going for a tune.
The engine made a healthy 230kw at the wheels on 6 psi, so it’s a fairly safe setup at the moment.

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T.C.B - I noticed the MotorFIX decals on the car, Do you take influence from the MotorFIX guys in Japan & why?

Hug-O - I have always loved the way these guys do things, build something so it works then go drifting, if it breaks fix it and go drifting again.
They actually sent me that sticker after a Japanese friend of mine was talking to them about my car when he was over at Ebisu.


T.C.B - One of the most prominent things with your Corolla is the stance, what suspension & wheel set up do you use to achieve such a strong look?

Hug-O - Good wheel fitment is a hard thing to pull off on corolla’s because of the solid rear end, they only way I have managed to achieve the good fitment is REALLY stiff spring/shock combo, but it still rubs! :P
The front is custom made coilovers with a 9kg spring and TRD shock, the rear is custom made springs 8.5kg with an s13 coilover shock.
F: 15x8.5
R: 15x9
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T.C.B - The New Zealand Drift Scene is developing a lot of buzz around the world, especially here in the UK at the minute. What do you think make’s the New Zealand drift style stand out from the crowd?

Hug-O - To be honest with you, Joel and Adam from C’s garage and Mad Mike. Photo’s of these cars have be floating round the internet and made people look a bit closer at NZ’s drift scene.


T.C.B - What makes your Corolla different is that it is based on the AE85 model. What made you make this decision as opposed to running the conventional AE86 chassis?

Hug-O - Isn’t it the golden rule that you don’t take the A series out of the 86?? That’s what I think anyway.

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T.C.B - What’s your favourite memory during Your Corolla Ownership?

Hug-O - Every time I go to the track! It’s just so much fun getting out there and using what you have put so much effort and money into to the best of its ability.


T.C.B - Why do you think the 86 has the appeal it does across the world and has stood the test of time?

Hug-O - They are just really fun cars to drive. When I first got my car it was a grip car and 165kw from the N/A F20C, I went to a couple of grip days to get use to the car and was keeping up with well setup GTR Skylines and evo’s.

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HUGE thanks to Hug-o for giving up 5 minutes of his time to talk to us and for sending through some great shots of his car. Be sure to check out Hug-O’s SeventeenbySeven blog for more awesome photos and a taster into the New Zealand Drift Style.

http://www.seventeenbyseven.wordpress.com/

James.

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