Street racing story, kinda like Ini-D...

[peter i]

name it HIGH POWER mania !!!!!

[VQuick]

Nah, "Revs" sounds a little more professional. In the land of Engrish however, that might work. How about we Engrishfy it further into "High generation of electricity maniac?"

[Layla's Keeper]

It's kind of neat that you're writing this. I hope you're actually actively pursuing it as a series of novellas. It's kind of cool, because back in the 50's and 60's a lot of pulp fiction novellas were written around racing for teens. They weren't exactly Chaucer, but they're something that's sorely missing from today's import scene. I happen to own a few of these old books, including the champ-car centric "Speedway Challenge" (Meyer-Drakes doing battle on the dirt ovals around the midwest) and "The Sinister Signpost" from the Hardy Boys series of mysteries (sabotage on an experimental racing engine, kidnapping of a race horse, and all sorts of drag and sports car racing).

If anyone is interested, alongside of the fantasy/sci-fi originals I write, I write a bit of anime fan-fiction. One of the pieces I've written is called "No Need for Truenos". It's a Tenchi Muyo/Initial D crossover that's still a work in progress, but I think it's pretty enjoyable. As soon as the site that it's on is back up (someone hacked their server and messed up the login section pretty bad) I'll post a link.

But ONLY if you folks are interested.

[VQuick]

Long time no see, everybody. I haven't gotten too far on part 3, titled "Evolution." Only 24 pages so far. I'm in the middle of the race with the Aston Martin Vantage 600.

Here's a list of characters and cars for the story. I've decided that it will focus on European cars, and have a more diverse ethnic range of drivers.

Revs 3: Evolution

Hero and his group
Scott- RB26DETT-powered ’98 MCS14 Nissan 240SX: 550hp
Scott- Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII RS: 490hp after mods(replacement car)
Jenny- SR20DET-powered ’93 RMS13 Nissan 240SX: 310hp
Jenny- RB26DETT-powered ’98 MCS14 Nissan 240SX: 550hp(replacement car)
Kenneth- '04 Subaru Impreza STi w/ bolt ons, then built motor: 380hp w/ bolt ons, 470hp w/ built motor
Amber- ’02 BMW M Coupe w/ bolt ons: 340hp
Shin- RB30DE-T hybrid-powered ’71 Datsun 240Z: 570hp, 650hp on high boost setting.
Dante- 3rd gen Infiniti Q45 w/ Autorotor supercharger: 520hp after exhaust and boost increase
Dante- Twin turbocharged Infiniti G35 Coupe: 450hp
Julie- Mazda FD3S RX-7- 350hp

The G-Riders
Darren- Lexus IS300 w/ centrifugal supercharger: 300hp
Darren- Audi S4 w/ bolt ons: ~350hp
Paul- E46 BMW M3 w/ 200 shot: 333hp, ~530hp w/ 200shot

Porsche Laufende Gruppe(“Porsche Running Group”)
Klaus- 993 Turbo: 500hp
Kevin- 914 w/ 993 engine swap: 300hp
Jasmine "Jazz"- 911 Slantnose Turbo: 340hp

Independent Drivers
Alec- Aston Martin Vantage 600: 600hp
Ajay- Brabus S V12: 640hp
Imad- E39 BMW M5 w/ centrifugal supercharger: 550hp
Angus- Ford Escort Cosworth: 380hp

[VQuick]

I've also got some short character profiles done.

Revs: Rising Star

Scott: Average Joe, a bit shy. Brown hair, brown eyes, about 5’”11, 20 years old. Caucasian. When Scott was only 8 years old, his father entered him in go-kart events. Scott continued driving, even after his father died in an auto accident when he was 14. Has lots of go-kart experience and some street driving experience. Not a very aggressive. Tends to hold back a lot. Cars: Honda CRX, Nissan 240SX(MCS14), Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII RS.

Jenny: Cute tomboy, with brown hair and blue eyes. Caucasian. Around 5’8” tall and 20 years old. No driving experience. She is training to become a mechanic. Scott's best friend since the age of six. In the beginning, she is with her, fiancé, Jeff. Hooks up with Scott later. Cars: Nissan 240SX(RMS13), Nissan 240SX(MCS14).

Shin: Salt and pepper gray hair with brown eyes. Asian. About 5’7” tall, and 52 years old. A former circuit racing team mechanic. Some street and autocross experience. Now as a wizened shop owner, he takes Scott under his wing and sponsors him. Thinks of Scott as a son at first, but begins to view him as a partner. Cars: Datsun 510, Datsun 240Z.

Amber: A cute and curvy brunette with olive skin. Mediterranean descent. Only 5’1” tall, and 24 years old. Experience in autocross only, hopes to teach Scott a few things. She is a very good friend and a supportive mentor to Scott. Longtime customer and friend of Shin’s. Used to have a crush on him. Cars: BMW M3(E30), BMW M Coupe

Kenneth: Black hair, gray eyes, about 6’3” and 25 years old. Caucasian. Lanky, pale, very gloomy looking. Experience in rallying, autocross, and racing on the street. An ex-rally driver. Very cynical and 'real.' His driving style is very sneaky, and he tends to ‘punish’ other drivers, taking advantage of their mistakes. Cars: Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS(GDB), Subaru Impreza WRX STi(GDC).

Darren: Bleached blonde hair, brown eyes, 5’1”, and 20 years old. Caucasian. Acquaintance of Scott's, leader of the G-Riders. Very little experience, street only. He thinks he is faster than Scott, just because he has more money to throw around. He has a big ego, talks a lot of smack, and can be very annoying. Thinks he is Black. Cars: Honda Prelude SH, Lexus IS300, Audi S4.

Dante: A big Italian. Brown hair, brown eyes, 22 years old. Second-in-command of the G-Riders, and actually the fastest member. Street racing experience only. He is very humble and gentle, despite being 6’3” and 320lbs. After losing a race to Kenneth, he starts to become more performance oriented. Cars: Infiniti Q45, Infiniti G35 Coupe.

Paul: Blonde hair, green eyes, 5’9”, 19 years old. Caucasian. Mechanic for the G-Riders, but not very good. No racing experience. Tunes Darren’s cars, thinks they’re unbeatable. Looks down on Scott. Cars: Toyota Supra(JZA80), BMW M3(E46).

Bryan: Blonde hair, blue eyes, 6’1”, and 22 years old. Caucasian. A former pupil of Shin’s, and the leader of the aggressive Spartans team. A very good driver, with experience in autocross and on the street. He left Shin’s tutelage after a disagreement. At first, he is jealous that Scott is doing well under Shin’s sponsorship, but accepts that Scott is actually the better driver and pupil of the two. Car: Toyota Corolla GT-S(AE86).

Rey: Black hair, brown eyes, 5’8” tall, 21 years old. Hispanic. A member of the Spartans. He doesn’t fit in, since he is very timid compared to the others. Looks up to Bryan, wishes he could be as good as him. Car: Volkswagen GTI(MK1).

Revs 2: Motown Muscle

Chris: Dark blonde, brown eyes, dark brown skin, 5’10”, 20 years old. Hispanic. Member of Domestic Disturbance. Hopes his new team can become well known. Car: Ford Focus ZX3.

Leo: Shaved head, brown eyes, 6’5”, 25 years old. African American. Leader of the Thoroughbreds. Lots of experience from racing on the street. Adopted, brought up by a rich family. Very well-mannered. Muscular build. Tries to be fair on the import vs. domestic issue, actually likes some imports. Works as a paralegal; nicknamed “The Judge.” Car: Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1.

Kelly: Red hair, brown eyes, 5’6”, 24 years old. Caucasian. Second in command of the Thoroughbreds. Lots of street experience. Very friendly, supportive. Has a crush on Leo. Car: Buick Regal GNX.

Gregg: Grey hair, brown eyes, 6’2”, 38 years old. Caucasian. Old hand on the Throughbreds. Works hard, drives harder. Cars: AC Cobra, Lamborghini Diablo VT.

Chad: Black hair, blue eyes, 5’10”, 19 years old. Caucasian. New member of the Thoroughbreds. A little street experience. Spry, abrasive, and inconsiderate. Harbors a grudge against Scott, hates imports. Cars: Chevrolet Camaro SS, Ford Mustang Cobra.

Kris: Brown hair, goatee, brown eyes, 5’11”, 21 years old. Caucasian. Cocky, but somewhat likeable. Street experience only. Car: Nissan 240SX(S14).

Frank: Black hair, brown eyes, 5’9”, 22 years old. Hispanic. A loner from San Antonio. Quiet and shy. Enjoys his local hilly roads. Has some autocross experience, lots of street experience. Truck: Ford Lightning.

Alex: Brown hair, blue eyes, 6’2”, 24 years old. Caucasian A drag racing primadonna who thinks he can dominate the curves too. Very smug, condescending. Fashion over function. Street driving experience only. Car: Dodge Viper RT/10.

Revs 3: Evolution

Alec: Brown hair, brown eyes, 6’3”, 25 years old. Caucasian. A Briton who wants Scott to help him with a project that involves racing. Street and circuit driving experience. Very rich, but tries to be down to earth. Cars: Aston Martin DB5, Aston Martin Vantage 600.

Ajay: Black hair, brown eyes, 6’1”, 24 years old. Indian descent. Friend of Alec’s who wants to race Scott for himself. Street driving experience only. Car: Brabus S V12.

Imad: Black hair, brown eyes, 6’2”, 21 years old. Middle Eastern. Old college friend of Scott’s. Never got to race Scott before, and wants to go now. Street driving experience only. Car: BMW M5(E49).

Angus: Red hair, green eyes, 5’10”, 23 years old. Caucasian. Scotsman who has a score to settle with Kenneth. Some experience in driving on rally roads, and on the street. Shameless and very gruff. Car: Ford Escort Cosworth.

Julie: Brown hair, green eyes, 5'5", 23 years old. Caucasian. Infiniti dealer mechanic. Imitates and irritates Jenny, her mechanic's training classmate. Hooks up with Dante. No driving experience. Car: Nissan 300ZX 2+2(Z32).

Klaus: Blonde hair, blue eyes, 6’, 25 years old. Caucasian. Driving genius from Germany. Leader of Porsche Laufende Gruppe("Porsche Running Group"). Analytical and calculating, with near mechanical senses. Extensive experience in circuit racing(including the Nurburgring Nordschleife) and street driving. Car: Porsche 911 Turbo(993).

Kevin: Brown hair, brown eyes, 5’11”, 22 years old. Caucasian. Primarily a tinkerer. An intermediate level driver with a fast car. Street driving experience only. Car: Porsche 914.

Jasmine “Jazz”: Brown hair, hazel eyes, 5’6”, 24 years old. African American. Sultry, sneaky girl. Interested in Kenneth. Experience in roadcourse, autocross, and street driving. Car: Porsche 911 Slantnose(964).

[Layla's Keeper]

Neat car list, that's for sure. Your characters are pretty well thought out, too.

Heck, in the spirit of things, I might as well post my cast from "No Need for Truenos", an Initial D/Tenchi Muyo crossover fanfiction. (pictures are for inferring general idea, not necessarily represent the cars in the story)

The Okayama Peregrines: Series primary team.

Hytain Godgen : Known as the "Lone Nighthawk", this young Corsican drove factory Renaults in French Super 1600 tarmac rallies. His father is a Renault/Nissan bigwig, but he defected from his family wanting to work and race on his own turning down a ride in Renault's developing WRC team. He now works at a local speed shop. Is typical a very remote, quiet person who tends to be very icy. He stands about 6'8", weighs about 140lbs, has long fuschia hair (anime, remember) and is almost always wearing a pair of large Aviator sunglasses. His skill is legendary in Okayama prefecture, and fans of the scene have built up a North vs. South rivalry between him and the one driver they consider his equal, Ryousuke Takahashi.

Godgen's car. Hytain is very partial to his dark blue Fairlady Z. A triple set of Weber DCOE carburetors, ANSA header, and full Rebello reciprocating assembly (billet crank, forged rods, domed forged pistons) plus hot custom ground cam, digital ignition, port job, .030 overbore, and massive valves with dual valvesprings all come together to make this a 300hp L24 Z. The chassis uses a combination of Koni and BRE parts, and the body wears fiberglass BRE body panels, plus BRE "Spook" front air dam and deck spoiler. The whole thing rolls on 3 piece modular Panasport wheels.

Rhydos Samedi : Rhydos is the team's #2. He likes to call himself "The Heartbreaker" and is generally a total goofball. He was at one time a Wangan driver, but switched to Touge after meeting up with Hytain. Rhydos is distinguished by his moppish brown hair and black-rimmed glasses, stands 5'11", and weighs about 130lbs. He remains a fixture on the Wangan scene, and hangs out with a bunch of VIP tuners. Lastly, it's rumored that he was once romantically involved with Sayuki.

Samedi's Car: Rhydos started this Supra during his days running Wangan, but has taken the tuning in a more cornering direction. Between the extensive weight reduction ('glass body panels and carbon fiber hood, plus stripped interior and lexan windows) and the full Tokico suspension with massive Bridgestone tires, this big coupe has become a terror on the Touge. The engine features TRD Chaser style cams and a smaller HKS turbo to put more emphasis on throttle response rather than all out power. Still, it's hard to escape the fact that this is a large car. But, he handles it masterfully, using the weight like a pendulum and keeping the rear tires spinning with the big six's power.

Kye Antomei : Kye is a young would-be college student with a cheerful and optomistic attitude and a mind unnaturally gifted in the art of fabrication. He ran autocross and karting before joining up with Hytain after a chance meeting during a gymkhana meet at Tsukuba. He loves the technical side of racing and is unfailingly polite, except towards Rhydos. Somewhat shy, and short at only 5'6". Kye is the kid of the group, even though his driving style is incredibly sharp. Hytain even tends to remark that he'll be the best of the group.

Antomei's car: It may not look like it, but Kye's car started out as the Porsche 914-6 his parents bought him as a 15th birthday present. Almost immediately, it became a hybrid of the stock unibody and a wild tube backhalf chassis. While the engine is mostly stock, featuring only a mild cam, pieced together EFI system pirated from a Porsche 911 Carrera (996 generation) and custom headers, the suspension is a marvel of Koni coilovers, chrome-moly steel double wishbones, and massive Wilwood brakes. The bodywork is all handlaid fiberglass, and both the front and rear bodywork are removable single pieces.

If you'd like to read more of the No Need for Truenos saga, the first four chapters are available for your literary pleasure at this link to the Tenchi Muyo Fan Fic Archive.

And things are just getting warmed up.

[VQuick]

Those profiles are pretty cool. I like how you went into detail about their cars, too. This is probably worthy of its own thread.

[Layla's Keeper]

Is that your polite version of "Get da fudge outta my thread?"

I knew I had to go into deep detail in the cars when I was laying out the story in order to get a feel for the capabilities of the cars and how to write the racing scenes. A featherweight Z with a stiff suspension will bound over curbs, skittering and sliding with abandon. While a big Supra with a softer suspension will lean and roll while its rear tires are enveloped in smoke.

There's about four complete chapters posted at TMFFA, with the fifth nearing completion and at least ten more chapters in the works, incuding meeting Hytain's father (who cruises a Stillen tuned G35 coupe with a Q45 V8 swap), his little sister Lycie (who "inherited" his Renault Clio V6 after he left the family and runs in a number of single seat classes including Fomula Nippon), and an excursion back to Hytain's hometown in Corsica where he meets back up with his old gang of sports car racers (only confirmed car in the group is a streetable clone of a Ferrari 512BB LM).


Yep, it's going to be fun.

[VQuick]

Originally Posted by Layla's Keeper

Is that your polite version of "Get da fudge outta my thread?"

I knew I had to go into deep detail in the cars when I was laying out the story in order to get a feel for the capabilities of the cars and how to write the racing scenes.

No, I just don't want folks getting our stories mixed up. That's all.

I was trying to get an idea for my cars capabilities, too. It'll be fun but tough for me to write part 3, because there are a lot of cars I haven't even seen in person, like Alec's AM Vantage 600.

Are you using real roads? If you are, and know the roads well, that can help develop the racing scenes further. You can bring out the scenery, different types of turns, etc. That's one thing I like being able to do.

[Layla's Keeper]

Well, the roads in Gunma are pretty well documented, so I've got those down pat. The roads in Kurashiki are a little bit of a sticking point, but I took some general ideas of the area and some well known landmarks (like the Seto Bridge) and created a fictional course out of it, similar to what Shigeno did to create Akina.

I agree that the Vantage is tricky to write if you've never seen one. Unless you've seen one up close, it's really hard to grasp just how large they are, and they are massive. But even more incredible is how rapidly they accelerate and decelerate.

As far as how I like to write the racing scenes, I almost go for a "ride-along" perspective throughout most of a race as opposed to a spectator's perspective. I like to capture the racing in a very surreal personal way. I find it's more tense and wild that way. Here's an excerpt from Chapter 4 wherein Hytain races Kyoichi Sudou.

Left. Right. Each direction change was punctuated by the protest of well-worn tires. There wasn’t any letting up. Sudou and Godgen were throwing their cars into each corner with unrelenting force. Sparks were thrown up as Sudou slid wide and grazed a guardrail, giving Hytain a chance to poke the Fairlady’s nose in underneath the LanEvo. But then Sudou was back on the gas, the LanEvo’s AWD drivetrain working overtime to pull the sedan back into the lead. Another corner leapt up in front of them, and Hytain, being trapped on the inside from his last move, ducked the car past the gutter and bounced off of a grass embankment. It violently over-rotated the Fairlady, and threatened to yank the steering wheel right out of his hands. Hytain let off the throttle and corrected, gathering back up the near out-of-control car, then went back on the attack. Something that insignificant wasn’t going to cost him this race.

As I said, I try to put the reader in the race, as opposed to at it.

[VQuick]

Yeah, that's a very good style to have. Mine is kind of similar to that. I also try to break up the race scenes, with friends and observers talking about what's going on, and highlighting strengths and weaknesses on the parts of both cars and drivers.

I used to have everyone's thoughts in italics, but some folks said the italics were annoying, and there were too many changes in the point of view. I posted part 1 at a writers forum, and they liked it, so I'll just stick with what works. I'm planning on posting part 2 there soon.

I read a lot of British car mags, and that's how I learned about the Vantage 600 in the first place. It sounded like a great car to use, and with so much weight, it could show a lesson too. I mean, you don't exactly toss a 4350lb car around the turns.hehe

Alec, the owner, also took the car to Aston Martin's Works Service in the UK and had some custom work done. Carbon fiber front and rear bumpers, a titanium rollcage integrated into the interior(almost invisible except for crossbars), revised engine management, and some suspension work. The Vantage is making ~650hp and about the same amount for torque, now.
Alec talks about this stuff over brunch after the race, and how the people hated how he wanted such difficult stuff done(ex: titanium cage. Titanium is hard to weld, and even more difficult to bend.), until he paid them. The brunch scene will be nice for falling action after the race, and sets up for two other races. It should turn out to be pretty cool/funny.


Have you tried using maps of the places you want to use? I haven't driven HWY 359 in Brookshire, Texas all that much, but I still wanted to use it for the Aston Martin race. I went to Yahoo! Maps and made a map of the route, and that helped refresh my memory a bit so I could keep writing. It even helped me find a few other roads I might use later.

[TuRbOShOpPiNgCaRt]

Alec, Ajay, Imad, Angus, Klause, Jazz, Dante, Shin, PSH! (Not blow off valve sound*) What kind of names are those! I think you just ripped off those American Initial D names in a bad way...And thats pretty damn bad!

[Layla's Keeper]

Pretty tough talk coming from someone with a shopping cart.

If you actually had bothered to read any of the thread, you would've noticed that his story doesn't take place in Japan, and that the drivers represent a ton of different nationalities. Yes, some of the names are a bit out there (Ajay?) but compared to the names of the original characters in my fanfic (Jean-Hytain Godgen, Rhydos Samedi, Kye Antomei) they're fairly normal.

As far as using maps, I use maps of the Gunma passes to stay accurate to them but the Kurashiki-Okayama run is a fictional road based on the information I've gathered about the area. There are several actual elements I've used, most notably the Seto Bridge as a sort of "starting point".

I did actually sketch out a map of the fictional pass to keep from just BSing my way through Kurashiki-Okayama races.

[TuRbOShOpPiNgCaRt]

Sounds like you need a girl friend...

[Layla's Keeper]

Had one, lost her, Redneck383 has the full story on that one. Involved with another girl, but nothing serious.

Beyond that, I'm just your typical anime fan who's in the process of rodding/restoring a 1970 MGB GT, works as a mechanic at a local shop, and is a published columnist, poet, and science fiction author.

What worthwhile have you contributed to society, Cart?