3037 S13 update as it hasn’t seen any sunlight let alone run under its own power since september 2021 (last year) blowing an engine at meihan sports land a month after kansai all stars. it is a very common situation in japan, even for myself for the time i’ve spent here with cars & driving to have cars pulled down and rebuilt immediately in order to get back out driving and practicing ASAP as that is priority, at least in the kansai region of japan. luckily enough i have had the 2530 practice car to fill in those gaps of weekly events, practice and traveling whilst the 3037 car got pulled down and rebuilt very thoroughly.

i will have some more in-depth information, photos & videos very soon with what changes and upgrades have been done specifically however will wait until the car is a little more complete. below is a small youtube video of some raw clips earlier this week heading out to PRO SHOP DIVERSION from SKY MOTORS as the car is now back together and running. a pre-run-in setting check before the engine is run-in as the engine itself and components are all different for the most part

the following update will be running-in the motor at suzuka motorland hopefully later this week, following that back to DIVERSION for the full-setting and finally PARTS SHOP TAKA for the livery install x

scraping into winter in late 2021 we had the opportunity to test some new tires developed by VALINO tires international collaborated with the infamous magazine drift tengoku. the model that was relooked and modelled was their base grip GREEVA 08D in hopes to retain drivers feedback by holding a one-tire-make competition at fuji speedway drift course. with naoki-san being a judge next to kawasaki-san he gave us a heads up on the event a few months prior in which a whole group of us from kansai made the trip north to shizuoka.

the day ran 2-3 practice sessions and then into qualifying from there the winner would be decided based upon the highest level of points acquired during a solo run however post qualifying we had opted to the judges we run more of a competition due to there being some sunlight left. i qualified 4th with a 98.9 just scraping into battles which started and ended against ryusei akiba – a rookie D1GP driver from 2021.

an extremely fun day – the 2530 practice car has done nothing but serve its purpose over the past 3-4 months straight of driving. the end of 2021 i have managed to drive meihan a lot and also 3 new courses i have yet to drive; tokachi all the way north in hokkaido, ebisu minami in fukushima and finally doripa, fuji speedway in shizuoka in which i am very blessed for, as always. just over a month of finalising some finer details on the back end of youtube we are finally good to keep filming and uploading so here is another RAW video from this day for your viewing pleasure. photos by fujihara-san.

let’s all have a great start to 2022 and continue to spread positivity, love and kindness. i feel like we are close to the light at the end of the tunnel with things healing back to a better normal. lovee always, caseyy x

a few weeks have passed since the last little update from the 3037 S13 getting completely put under the knife at garage REMS. skipping ahead this is an update with a fair few updates in one.

over the past 5-6 weeks the 3037 car has undergone a lot of changes both mechanically and cosmetically purely to enter kansai all stars 2021 in a well presented car, finally. this year is my 3rd year in a row and really wanted to ensure that the car wasn’t looking like it was in previous years. the majority of kansai drivers will do a refresh and makeover once a year and this is the event that is high priority.

after qualifying for nara prefecture this year ( 2 weeks prior ) it was basically go time at N-Style to get the car completely pulled down, cleaner parts such as doors installed and brand new aero from D-MAX in osaka all to be prepped for a candy lick of paint. i have owned this car a little over 3 years now and i feel like this was the perfect time to make the car exactly how it has turned out. the majority of kansai & meihan drivers usually tend to practice and put their budgets towards seat time and non stop maintenance rather than appearances so this is the same mentality i have tried to adopt since buying this car and attempting to get up the ladder at meihan c course. i feel like it would have been a little waste of time and money to buy the car and jump straight into making it pretty without getting to know the car let alone driving meihan.

the car’s rear end got completely cut off and pipe-framed thanks to waki-san at gagare REMS in kagawa over in tokushima. a fuel setup, cooler was also installed along with a GP SPORTS water sprayer kit and TRUST greddy larger oil pan to compensate temperatures for japanese summers. kansai all stars is usually the peak of summer here in japan (obon holiday week) so you have to prepare the car for extremely hot and muggy conditions. cleaner doors were put on and a full D-MAX type 3 aero kit including a brand new carbon bonnet put on the car, as soon as i purchased this car this was always the plan and choice i wanted to go with. i have some very rare wheels stored away which will also be going on the car at a later date but more on that stage soon!

below are a bunch of photos from getting the car stripped, prepped & painted. the lead up to kansai all stars and the event itself. the weather has been extremely horrible the last 2 weeks straight however the sun managed to come out this morning for the first time so i rolled the car out for 20 minutes and took a few photos with my camera along with seeing the candy paint in the sun for the first time. it’s hard to believe it’s the same car but couldn’t be happier i have given this car more life potentially!

at the bottom of this post i have added a little youtube video from the event itself that macey shot off his phone for me – thank you brother.

this years kansai all stars i made it through the 1st 2nd and 3rd rounds of qualifying advancing into the tournament which this year was my goal. top 12 was against kikutani in the grey S15 which i came out on top going through to the top 8. kitayama in the orange 180SX from kyoto managed to do a better run knocking me out which placed me 6th overall in expert which definitely didn’t feel real! i will try my best to get 1st 2nd or 3rd next year and get on the podium for all stars!

a very large thank you to all of those who are newly onboard as supports to myself and SHIRTSTUCKEDIN. i say this quite often but if it wasn’t for these companies and people below none of this would be possible.

– STANCEUSA
– KOYORAD
– N-STYLE
– STACKED RACING
– GCG Japan
– D-MAX Japan
– REMS
– SKY MOTORS
– PRO SHOP DIVERSION

thank you to each and every single one of your for your ongoing support especially through these tough times spread across the globe – we are all in this together so continue to stay positive, safe & healthy. we are currently working on a very large new collection for SHIRTSTUCKEDIN so feel free to follow us across our SNS pages to keep updated (@shirtstuckedin)

big loveee as always, caseyyy x

this first week back in the office has been extremely full on with order processing, emails & final planning for our first, initial release of 2021. there are always higher priority jobs to do with my mental focus towards SHIRTSTUCKEDIN however i’ve been wanting to get around to cutting and posting these onboard RAW videos for quite some time now. footage from last years seimi tanaka drift competition day held at TKL (tokushima kartland) in tokushima prefecture.

after flying back to japan post summer holidays in early 2020 the 3037 car got a new bottom end rebuild from SKY MOTORS (takumi-san) and engine setting by the one and only (PRO SHOP DIVERISON) (satoshi-san). this was the first event i had driven it after everything had been done and it was a completely new car.

being early february and deep on an island meant it was still cold, like really really cold. high grip tires and extremely low circuit temperatures is something i’ve not really ever had any practice or experience with before. i entered the mini-competition post lunch in expert class and ended up placing 4th. drove the entire day which included lots of practice, single runs to feel a lot of different lines, angles and things out with the car, battles and just fun tsuiso driving with friends. i hope you enjoy the video, more to come very soon. caseyy xxx

a small reminder that our first release of 2021 will be available january 17th 8PM PST – january 18th 2PM AEST (this will be including some very popular and staple products to SHIRTSTUCKEDIN). we will be doing a few more blogs posts this week to further showcase everything that will be available i want to thank each and everyone of you for your ongoing support. let’s stay confident and have an amazing 2021 – big love x

last monday at meihan sports land, c course. a few runs in the 3037 car x

suzuka twin circuit hitomiGO practice day. enjoy 11 minutes of uncut raw footage. can’t wait to drive this car again x

Following off my last blog post on the first day of driving the new S13 in Motorland Mikawa. Onwards from that Keisuke and myself were tossing up a few other circuits on the outer regions of Kansai to pick and drive. It was a decision between Bihoku Highland in Okayama Prefecture or Tokushima Kart Land in Tokushima Prefecture.

With stupid loud cars it was quickly decided to drive TKL over Bihoku due to their noise restrictions. Not to mention almost every single day of the week and year TKL is open for フリー走 which basically means free practice/running.

With another afternoon & almost all-nighter of preparation and over-looking on the cars we left Izumiotsu area super early after an hour or so of sleep and headed towards Tokushima. The showed route on google-maps said between 3-3.5 hours pending traffic which can easily make a simple-straight forward trip turn for the worst in Japan.

For the very few times I have been to Tokushima I have always thoroughly enjoyed for a few reasons. Wrapping around Osaka City, through Kobe and towards one of the longest and strongest suspension bridges in the world – Akashi-Kaikyo which links off the main island of Japan Honshu to Iwaya on the small, beautiful Awaji Island. Driving over it you receive panoramic views looking down towards Okayama on your right and Osaka on your left. The only thing that is a little depressing about this little stretch of road is the price you pay in tolls to go on the bridge however it’s an amazing experience in itself.

Directly after you’ll reach a parking area on the left called Awaji Service Area which gives you some spectacular views looking back towards Honshu and Kobe City. We stopped here to stretch our legs and grab some horrid-tasting Japanese black coffee and a cigarette.

As expected there were a few cars that rolled in just after we pulled up so fired off a few shots of this beautiful R31 Skyline on Hayashi Streets and XR-4s.

I once again rented a truck to bring my car. With a drive of 3-4 hours it’s always nice peace of mind having a truck in the group just incase anything goes wrong. Keisuke however decided to once again drive his street registered S15 closely behind.

Awaji Service Area is definitely a large parking area that is always beyond busy. Huge ferris wheel and plenty of souvenir shops.

After a 20 minute break enjoying the view and grabbing breakfast it was time to keep pushing on the Kobe-Awaji Expressway towards Tokushima. I enjoy this photo of all the cars ready for a fun day of driving.

A couple hours of driving, merging into one-lane highways, getting lost and getting stuck behind old Kei-Car drivers constantly we made it to Tokushima Kart Land. This circuit along with many others in Japan is really in the middle of nowhere and has an extremely interesting, tight and technical entrance especially in a truck.

I remember many years ago before I really ever came to Japan or knew where certrain places were or circuits consisted of this course has always stuck in my mind as a place to not only shoot but to drive. The gallery corner view. Looking straight down onto the circuit with a wide hairpin and a tiny palm tree planted in the middle. This wasn’t the first time I had been to TKL but usually with seeing courses for the first time in Japan it’s always so much more dramatic to see how steep and or tight the landscape really is.

If I remember correctly this course has been year around 40-42 years. I had a brief conversation with the owner sitting in the office and believe he has been there since day dot so there is definitely some old buildings, stickers and memorabilia around if you keep your eyes peeled. This is the little drivers meeting / briefing office painted in a contrasting pink offsetting the green hills pasted in the background.

The few cars we saw at Awaji Service Area on the way just so happened to be driving this free practice day also. It was basically 4 other cars plus Keisuke and I and drive as you wish. 8am-5PM for 4,000¥. You also have the option to start drifting again from 6PM-10PM for an extra 2,500¥. I know plenty of cheap circuits to drive but I think TKL takes the win.

Just like Motorland Mikawa this day was unbelievably hot, around 38-40 degrees if I remember correctly so Keisuke and I were pretty cautious in terms of drive time. With only a very few pit-bays undercover we were taking terms each session to get the cars under cover, pop the bonnet and poor a few solid litres of water straight onto the radiator. As cold as this climate gets in Japan it does the same in reverse, extremely hot and humid and can easily see why a lot of the cars that drive in this country have water jet sprayers installed on their cars.

Escaping the extreme humidity we jumped inside the ice-chilled office / restaurant for some lunch and a look back through TKL’s past. All over the walls are photos from a long time ago with specific events and meets that had been held there. I don’t think I got any shots of the photos framed and hung on the walls so you’ll just have to go and look for yourself.

After a few more solid sessions after some lunch back to back Keisuke ended up giving me a little nudge in my perfectly aligned and straight rear end! 6 or so hours of driving on and off with minimal sleep and next to no car issues again. Watching temperatures and letting the car cool down when it needs to is definitely worth it.

Stopping in Kobe for a coffee on the way back to Osaka. Will never get sick of drift cars loaded onto trucks in Japan. Simple things.

Thank you to Rob-San for driving, as always (L)

Another circuit ticked off the list in Japan, there are definitely a lot of closer courses within Kansai I want to improve and consistently practice on however it’s nice to get out of the area and drive places you’ve been living through online photos and videos for years and years. Below is a few minute video I put together of driving TKL, enjoy. F: 235-40R17 TOYO R1R R:265-35R18 KENDA KR20. casey xxx

the only other day i managed to get some in-car footage. onboard at tokushima kart land free practice. ¥4000 to drive the entire day. enjoy xxx

first day at motorland mikawa in the new car xxx

total car refresh by nick featuring SHIRTSTUCKEDIN full body pin-striping kit which will be available in our latest collection alongside many new accessories. level up x