104: Drifting With an 11,000RPM V10 — Not as Good as You’d Think?
About this episode
Ryan Turck, a veteran in the drifting scene, shares his journey from grassroots to professional drifting in Formula Drift. He discusses his unique project cars, including a Ferrari 458-powered Toyota 86 and a Judd V10-powered Supra, highlighting the challenges and triumphs of each build. The episode dives into sponsorship strategies for aspiring racers and the evolution of drifting technology and competition. Ryan's insights into balancing passion with the pressures of professional motorsport make for an engaging listen for anyone interested in the world of drifting.
Sideways legend Ryan Tuerck joins us this week to sit down and discuss the many different aspects of his life — from finding competitive setups in an extremely cut-throat Formula D championship, to an in-depth look at some of his most incredible internet-breaking builds, to a frank discussion on the complete metamorphosis of the sport of drifting in the two-plus decades Ryan has been involved, and much more.
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With a career spanning two decades, Ryan Tuerck has more insight than nearly anyone else out there when it comes to top-level drifting, the business of motorsport, and building some of the raddest Japanese cars the world has ever seen.
Ryan got into the sport after transitioning away from motocross as a teenager, and in this episode, he discusses those very early days and the cars he was building to try and compete on a national stage. This was also the time he began learning about the business side of the sport — Ryan spends some time in this conversation dropping plenty of knowledge and truth bombs about making it in professional motorsport, discussing sponsorships, budgets, results, and more.
Aside from his success in Formula D, Ryan is probably best known for his insane custom builds, and thankfully, we’re able to spend time running through the best of the best, from his competition GR Corolla to his Ferrari-powered 86, his insane Judd V10-powered GR Supra, and his latest Toyota Stout. Having so much experience in taking on massive projects like these, Ryan has some great advice to give about build planning, setting expectations, and recruiting the right people to get it all done.
This episode has broad appeal and will suit anyone with any type of interest in motorsport, drifting, project builds, and much more.
Listen to John Reed’s episode here: https://hpcdmy.co/johnreed
Listen to Matt Bernasconi’s episode here: https://hpcdmy.co/mattb
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IG: @ryantuerck
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YT: ryantuerck
Don’t forget, you can use “TUERCK100” to get $100 OFF our HPA Motorsport Fabrication course: https://hpcdmy.co/fabpackageb
TIME STAMPS:
4:22 How did Ryan get into motorsport?
11:06 When did Ryan start competing?
12:50 Why JDM cars?
14:44 Becoming a pro driver
20:05 What type of car and power levels do you need to get into drifting?
22:59 How do you find sponsors?
28:07 Are the exhibition cars for fun or do they make up some of Ryan’s income?
30:04 How does Ryan find the right people to work on his projects?
32:22 Changes in drifting in the last 21 years
34:30 Rules in Formula Drift to regulate competition
36:11 Technology to improve drift judging
41:57 Starting with a known setup point
46:19 Ryan’s GR Corolla FD build
49:40 Nitrous Anti Lag
54:26 GT4586 project build
59:47 Ferrari 458 engine characteristics
1:04:48 Formula GR Supra
1:09:31 GR Supra Drive Train
1:11:54 Judd engine figures
1:14:21 Drifting the Supra wasn’t the best for the engine
1:17:42 Is the Supra a competitive time attack car?
1:21:38 Toyota Stout build
1:31:56 What’s Ryan’s favourite car in his garage?
1:35:04 Does Ryan still enjoy Formula Drift?
Toyota Supra
"...with a turbocharged 3S GTE in it, and his Formula Supra gotta be one of my favourite cars of all time, th..."
Stout Toyota Stout
"...ed Toyota 86, his most recent build, which is his Toyota Stout with a turbocharged 3S GTE in it, and his Formula..."
Ford Mustang
"... pulled our money together and bought a 1991 Ford Mustang LX, so a 5 liter V8, and we'd go around town and ..."
Nissan 240SX
"...ng once we found out about drifting, got a Nissan 240SX in 1991 LE. So I had the Twin Cam KA motor and I ..."
Ford Falcon
"...ut and walked me through it and they were on Team Falcon at the time, which is that was a team to be on. Y..."
Mazda Miatas
"Yeah, I like to say the less horsepower, but still a great option would be an 86 or an FRS. And then beyond that I would say you get into some BMW stuff, you can get into Miata's. I think everything's a lot more expensive than that, as we all know, just in general, but so honestly, I haven't even looked at what price points are."
Pontiac Solstice
"...Racing and he made a lot of custom parts for that solstice that I drove and then, when it came time for me t..."
Toyota GR Corolla
"..., because we've had Nitto the past few years, the GR Corolla hasn't changed much as far as setup is concerned ..."
Toyota GR Yaris
"...kind of want to get stuck into and modify. So the GR Yaris and GR Corolla really tick those boxes. So hats o..."
Toyota Celica
"... wanted to do I think it was like an older Toyota Celica or like an 80s car that was redone, throw a 2J in..."
Tesla 3D Model
"...ement out of errors creeping in from looking at a 3D model or the CAD drawings and then actually having to h..."
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