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HEATSOAKED is a Florida-based car culture podcast hosted by Cris and KT - two 30-something year old car nuts who live the stories they talk about. What started as two friends having late-night conversation about dream builds, blown budgets, and heat soaked engines turned into a platform for the culture that raised them.
This isn't about perfect cars or polished influencer content. It's about the grind behind the build. Cris and KT bring real conversations about the 90s and 2000s era tuner scene, passion-built machines, and the culture that keeps them alive. Every episode dives into the journey of a typical gearhead; including the victories, mistakes, lessons learned, and the passion that keeps the culture moving.
HEATSOAKED - because nobody remembers the cool nights.
Cris (00:02)
Once again, we're doing a cold open here at Heat Soaked because we don't do warm-ups because we are what? Heat Soaked. Cold Soaked. Cue the Eurobeat. No, this is how Initial D changed our lives. Guys, welcome back to Heat Soaked. This is another episode here about the car culture back in the 90s over here to the 2000s. Remember,
It's late night, CRT glows engine noises through these mountain passes at Mount Akina. This is how we're starting it. Welcome to Heats Up, guys. If you haven't been here before, my name is Cris. This is KT. We're enjoying the time here BSing about our favorite cars and our favorite times back in the 90s. And our favorite animes. Initial D is one of them. Loving it, loving it, man. So let's talk about it. Let's get into
KT (00:46)
and our favorite anime and
Yeah, well for people who do not know what initial D is, let's just give them a little bit of an overview.
Cris (01:02)
⁓ man, Initial D is man the first episode, it's the first hit, it's the anime that turned my curiosity about cars into this lifelong passion. It rewired me how like speed, discipline, and obsession about cars should all go in it. Man, the focus was of course the infamous AE86 Sprinter Terrain or Fujiwara Tofu Shop. What do you think about that?
KT (01:28)
Yeah, so for y'all who don't know, it is an anime, like Cris said. It came out in the 90s and it ran a couple seasons. I think it stopped around the mid-2000s.
Cris (01:39)
Yes,
yes, Dr. Realment 2000s, but then I came back with another one. So there's a new Initial D out featuring the ⁓ most hated, sorry guys, I am a hater, the GR86. But that doesn't matter because we remember the good times of Initial D. We remember the fantastic times. Go for it.
KT (02:03)
So it's a car anime, it's for the car guys out there and it's about drifting and it's when you look at it it's about growth too right? so Fujiwara, his growth just let's get into it so he started out just driving for sure an AE86, a Trueno
Cris (02:13)
Absolutely, it is.
Yeah, opening scene. It's it's the old school blinker sounds of an AE86. It's a car warming up in the middle of the night. It's a guy loading a box into the back of this Toyota, you know, and it's. Yeah, it was there was delivering tofu man and there was a there was a tofu shop and he had to deliver to the restaurants up and down the mountain pass. So the next scenes we start seeing is him.
KT (02:40)
What are you
Up and down and out.
Cris (02:53)
flying through the mountains and we don't know kind of what speed he's doing. This is first episode, right? He's doing tofu deliveries. It's not, it's turning out, there's just execution. He's just driving. He looks really bored. He's just enjoying it. And then you look at the speedometer and he's doing like 60 through these mountain passes. And you're like, wait a second, something's off about this. And then you see him do his first turn and the magic begins.
KT (03:21)
Well let's take it a step back. He was driving an AE86, Sprinter Trueno to be specific. Well let's get into it. What is this car? Give me some info about it.
Cris (03:29)
Yeah
Man
the 8086 the Toyota Corolla Sprinter Trueno. This is before the Corolla name came back This is Takumi Fujiwara the son of the Fujiwara tofu shop owner This is it's an 83 to 85 Sprinter Trueno man. It was a 1.6 liter 16 valve blue top was a first generation for a GE around 112 to about one
20 maybe horsepower. It's an FR layout so it was a rear wheel drive with a five speed and this thing just, we didn't know it yet but it ripped.
KT (04:13)
Yeah, and the one defining characteristic related to that was like it was just a really lightweight car. than nowadays, right? That car is probably a thousand pounds less, almost 1,500 pounds less than modern day sports cars.
Cris (04:21)
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely. It was just a frame, a real-world drive and a motor. The motor is probably the heaviest thing on that car. You remove that and that in the transmission, you could probably easily roll that thing one person uphill. Like that thing was super light. So just the opening scene, seeing this, you're like, come on, this is, this isn't really nothing crazy, right? It's just the car. It's just driving. And then, you know, we see these crazy, crazy interactions of him passing through and
It's just, it's magical.
KT (05:00)
That car is iconic. It's everywhere. It's in video games, it's on clothes, it's on posters, magazines. Honestly, anytime you see an actual Torino in real life, 95 % of the time it's a black and white panda. And it has the Fujiwara Tofu. It has the lettering on the side of it.
Cris (05:24)
But Fujiwara Tofu Shop on the side of their GR86's just because of this anime. And let me tell you, they're wrapping it, they're doing all this crazy stuff, but this is how it changed our lives, right? We're talking about the cars in it, how it introduced us to the different ones. I mean, what are some cars that, what were your favorite ones from this guy? Like what are some ones that stuck out to you that to this day is like stuff you would pick up anytime?
KT (05:51)
Honestly, this is the most iconic of them all and Initial D had so many other cars and we will get into it but I just can't leave this topic just yet. This was iconic and part of it was because it was just a Corolla, right? It's like a nothing car. ⁓
Cris (06:08)
I
KT (06:11)
two doors hatchback and it didn't look sexy at all it was super boxy well it has a 1.6 liter barely putting out a hundred horsepower yep so the anime itself really talked up the trueno it hyped it up big time
Cris (06:27)
It did,
it really did. And it was one of those things where like in the opening scene, we don't realize that this car does this crazy stuff. Like we're just learning about it. He does the run and we know nothing about it. And then later on in the anime, as we're kind of reviewing it, this car turns into this unicorn and it's all of the development of the driver.
and all the development of the races he does, but it really taught us it's not about the car, it's about the driver, it's about the accuracy, it's about everything that goes into the hard work and the, it's an accidental prodigy born from routine, from.
KT (07:11)
It could have been any car you're saying.
Cris (07:14)
Absolutely. It shows that doing something every day turns normal people elite.
KT (07:20)
Kumi,
he was driving up and down that mountain pass since the age of 13 and the anime kind of flash forward to him being a high schooler probably 18, 17, 19. So he was up and down that mountain pass every single day delivering tofu for what, five years? He developed that skill set, but it could have been any car, right? But for whatever reason, they decided to use...
the AE86, maybe we should look into that. That's actually, I would love to know why they decided to use that.
Cris (07:50)
I don't know. That's a great question. Like why, why an AE86? You could have chosen any other car from that time. A 300 ZX was coming out in the next few years after that. But I think regardless of the car they chose, it taught that mastery came from repetition, not money. Like it made learning lines and weight transfer, throttle control was an ideal thing in that. And I don't know, man. All I know is that if they never chose the AE86,
Would we be where we're at today? Would initial b***h have changed my life with this?
KT (08:24)
They took that car to Icahn's status.
Cris (08:27)
Absolutely like imagine if an if an anime or a show takes a car from there like people would start buying it like crazy But it's sought after to this
KT (08:36)
⁓ yeah, they're very hard to find. If you do find one in the wild, know, they're mad expensive. And again, they're not sexy at all,
Cris (08:42)
So
Well, some people found it pretty sexy those pop up and down headlights so you have to have that stuff you have that going for you What was the other version of the of the ae86? 11 I had the boxy headlights up front, right? It was a different kind It was it was a underrated underpowered compared to right and we start learning all these little details about Takumi and his dad
KT (08:57)
11, bo
Cris (09:12)
I can't remember his name on top of my head. Boonta. Yeah, yeah. We learned all about Boonta and how he was you start learning in this anime how he was this like this racer and how the legend of the 86 starts to pop up and you start learning little things about this car that what it's done and and you see you know funny scenes of you know with the gas station attendant the gas station owner Boonta's friend ride with him and go crazy when his eyes open and go from there and
It's the first drive that ⁓ Takumi takes his buddy on. And that's, you start seeing exactly how crazy this guy drives, right?
KT (09:53)
I love it and and how does it relate to today? Well, they're all over drift scenes They're still in drift scenes today in real life drift scenes. You will see a 86 is out there drifting. Absolutely now they they probably aren't using a 1.6 liter anymore, but The fact still remains like this is a popular car till this day Initial D really did it
Cris (10:17)
Well, and here's why I think it was chosen, right? Like if you remember the Hachi Roku or the 86, you know, in English is a legendary drift car. was, you know, like you said, lightweight, rear wheel drive layout. had a balanced chassis kind of, you know, it was affordable. You know, someone could purchase it kind of like we can purchase something simple now on that. But remember it was drifted by Keiichi Tsuchiya.
over there and he was actually drifting this in real life before this came out. So this was probably why it was chosen. that I'm my memory of it, Keiji was a legend. Yeah. And still to this day, people like search all over for all the videos, everything that he was doing. But AE86's man became the drifting car after this. I mean, watching this changed our lives for good because of all the cars we noticed in it. So I think
Starting with that car specifically man. The AE86 is you're right. It's a unicorn. It's legendary. It's got everything needed and first time I personally, well not personally but on a show, watched a motor swap.
KT (11:29)
Yeah, first time out,
right? did a lot. They did a lot on that show. If you're a car guy or a girl, you know, definitely check it out.
Cris (11:37)
Oh yeah, listen, if you haven't watched Initial D and you love cars, even if you don't like anime, just check it out. Like just give it a chance and it might surprise you. All right, this is us, you know, kind of fighting for anime here, but I'll tell you, listen, honestly, growing up watching a little bit of anime and watching that, Initial D is just one of those that you can put on in the garage. I could turn some wrench and... Yeah, listen, cue the Eurobeat, man. I told you, was telling you.
KT (12:01)
And you got a nice soundtrack. ⁓
Cris (12:07)
KT earlier, I was like, listen, man, cure the Eurobeat. I'm about to get prepped up for this. We're to have fun this episode. We're going to go crazy. And you're just going to see lights and I'm going to see my hat backwards. Like I don't even wear hats. And we go from there. That's how fun it was, man. Just having that soundtrack.
KT (12:23)
would you personally own an 8086 with knowing all the cars in the world that you could own?
Cris (12:30)
I think just because of the legendary status this car has been set at, it'd be a really cool car to keep around and drive every now and then. it is outdated, right? There was nothing in it. It was ⁓ regular tack, regular everything. It wasn't any digital anything in it. And that's what cars were back when we were growing up. So I think I actually would like it. I actually wouldn't mind one.
Now with the 1.6 liter inside of it do great. Probably not for what I'm looking at, but for what the horsepower is at the speed it is, like could I drift? And the weight? Could I drift like that? Absolutely not. Could I try? Maybe. But remember, I told you this story. Initial D is how I wrecked my first car. I can't say I was drifting because this was a Ford Taurus at this point. And it was a front wheel drive. Let's just say I power slid into a pole.
KT (13:07)
Yeah
Cris (13:27)
and had to lie about it to my old man and how I got it done. But it's all good. I lived, we kept going for it. But man, the thrill, right, of power sliding around that thing and seeing what it was is, can't, when it rained, and if you had a front-wheel drive, you'd just pull that A-brake and see what happened. But I mean, could you imagine back in the day if we had an AE86 when we first got our first car?
KT (13:52)
I mean I would love for it to be a car in my garage one day, maybe almost like a museum piece. Wouldn't drive it too often, but knowing that this is a legendary, iconic car. unicorn. Yes. So maybe one day, we'll see. But it's not super high on the list, but I respect that car and I love that car and it has a special place in my heart. So owning one one day would be
Cris (13:58)
Absolutely.
Cool,
absolutely. I would love to pull up to a car made with an 886. I think that would be one of my favorite things. The thing is, I'm kind of torn when it comes to keeping cars in garages as like a display piece, because cars are meant to be driven. And that's just how I enjoy cars. So maybe that 1.6 and enjoying it and seeing how it actually reacted and going, I can't drift this thing. Learning really about that. I think that's the fun part, man.
Man, I mean, we're talking about the 86, but there was you mentioned it. There were so many other cars in this. And I can't, you know, we kind of brought it back around to this 86, this beautiful Torino. And, you know, what were some other cars in here that you really decided like after watching this, you were like, this is where I'm going. This is the.
KT (15:07)
So I've always been a Mazda guy so when I saw the FC3S RX-7 on screen for the first time like that did it right there Such a beautiful car
Cris (15:20)
You're right.
I'm not a rotary fan and I should be, but I, I just love cars in general, but the FC was such a beautiful ride. And I can't say no to that. What about it really set you off? mean, tell me a little bit more of what, do you know the FC that was used in this?
KT (15:36)
Yeah,
so it was driven by Ryusuke Takahashi of the Akagi Redsons. His was a white one. ⁓ It was around 89 to 90 probably in that year range, but had the 1.3 liter 13B rotary engine. Love it or hate it, you know, but it was twin turbo, probably pushing out in stock form somewhere between 180 to 200 horsepower. Most definitely his was tuned.
So he was probably pushing at around 300 horsepower. That car had your typical front engine rear wheel drive layout. Absolutely. Being a late 80s car, mid to late 80s car, it was also very lightweight. So that's probably guess maybe like 22, 2300 pounds. Yeah. But as you know, at around 300 horsepower and 22, 2300 pounds, even 2500 pounds, that's that's a world of fun.
Cris (16:17)
Go.
⁓ man, I mean like you hit the gas, you spin tires like especially if you're at a stop or on a rainy day, you know, that's that's definitely a blast. think what I loved about that car, just like I think all the all the in the Torino as well, like it's an F.R. layout like yes, it's it's got a nice shape to it. What I really love were just the lines and the hood scoop of this car. I was like, what is that? I had to do research and figure it out. Look on forums, figure it out.
And I think that's what I really enjoyed. Like when I saw one in person, I was like, man, that's an FC. you know, that's it.
KT (17:06)
Love
the offset hood scoop. That was not very common. today, everything today is so symmetrical, right? But that offset hood scoop, I think it was to the right. But, you know, who makes an offset hood scoop?
Cris (17:16)
Maybe. I think so. You're right.
You know, and I think that was the intercooler, right? Yeah. So it really like shocked me when I learned it as I grew more to learn about cars, right? And you see that you're like, whoa, like that's that's really cool. You see this FC3 SRX7 like rocking the side mount hood, this hood mount to the side. Yeah. Intercooler. And you're like, man, this is this is cool. Cool engineering you see in this.
KT (17:24)
It was a top-mounted intercooler.
It was that 80s too, so it had the pop-up headlights which got carried into the 90s, but you know a lot of people love the pop-up headlights, myself included.
Cris (17:54)
Yeah, yeah, you know, I can't hate on the pop-up headlights. Pop-up headlights are just, they're a sign of the times and they're some of the best signs. just, I love saying them. You can't hate on them.
KT (18:05)
Masa just did weird things back then Rotary engines, know, who puts a rotary engine in a car?
Cris (18:12)
Listen, they did it and it worked out. Rotary engines are still around the RX8. I mean, did they fail? Were there a lot of engine swaps because of that? Absolutely, but do I hate it as much not to drive it? Man, I drive that car every
KT (18:28)
It's just unique, It There's something about it just like how we say, well, a V8 is unique today with all the turbo 4s and turbo 6s floating around, but a rotary engine, you know, that is beyond unique.
Cris (18:42)
Absolutely,
and I think I think like even learning how to work on a rotary seals things like that like I'm not as familiar with I'll be honest like rotary is not something I'm you know I would go into and be like man I know how to do everything no absolutely not that's the one motor or I have to take a step back and be like hey I got to relearn some motors with this and I think that interests me that really like maybe drive me to get a rotary I don't know I'm still looking for a car anybody look we're gonna get one up for the project car and go from there but
⁓ Just a tiger said he soaked FL if anyone has an idea. Well what else man? Let's see there was the FD. ⁓
KT (19:16)
out.
Yeah,
you can't talk about the FC without talking about its evolution, the FD. So tell me about the FD.
Cris (19:26)
Absolutely. ⁓
man, let's see. They were brothers, right? So everyone knows, you know, the Takahashi brothers. were tearing up, you know, they were the Akagi Red Sons. were tearing up the roads. The FD3S RX-7 was driven by KSK Takahashi. Of course, the Red Sons. had a Series 6 and I think, what was the paint? It was competition yellow, Mike. I love that.
And yeah, think you would you would definitely get this car. Look at our competition yellow. Micah is a one point three thirteen B. It's an R.E.W. rotary twin turbo. I think it was pushing out about 250 horsepower. If I can think. Yeah, about 250. I think they eventually had tuned it to over 300. Also an F.R. layout to fit very strangely enough. You know, I think that car.
KT (19:57)
Get a yellow... ⁓
Cris (20:21)
had such new lines for its year and when you saw it, it was like, man, it's. And I, in my experience in cars and people, like I've been in garages where like you see the red, you see a red FD and you're just like, man, that could pull up to a car meet and just everyone has to circle around it. You know, whether it's a two-roader, four-roader, people are doing crazy things to it. The FD and the FC, man.
KT (20:27)
It's a showstopper.
Cris (20:50)
even though I haven't really gained one yet, man it makes me want a rotary motor. It makes me want a rotary just because of those two cars. I'll tell you what man, you love it to death though. That's one of your
KT (21:01)
That's probably my dream car honestly I would probably say it's my dream car yeah an FD RX-7. Well gotcha. But yeah I just the styling of the car it's a beautiful car it still has your flip-up headlights which obviously nowadays they're not allowed to do anymore due to regulations and whatnot but just it flowed with the clean lines of the car and then from a performance standpoint you know it's an upgraded version of the 13B that was in the
prior generation. So pumped out a little more horsepower. as nowhere near better in terms of reliability or fuel efficiency, but you know, we don't care about that because we like fixing our cars.
Cris (21:44)
And I mean why, why just going back to the pop-up headlights would the regulation change and say no pop-up and down headlights? First of all, the regulations need to change. We need those back. All right. It's just the cars look too... They should watch where they're going, honestly. Like, no, no, it's getting worse with the scooters, but the electric scooter is driving nuts. But if you don't see a beautiful FCRFD turn in the corner,
KT (22:00)
Screw the pedestrians, you know.
Cris (22:12)
Yeah, you gotta teach your kids something else.
KT (22:15)
They sound great too. Have you ever been in a car behind one of those that have an exhaust or just either street ported or bridge ported? They're ridiculous.
Cris (22:27)
You
knew the sound of a rotary motor turning anywhere around you like you could hear it driving away as soon as you're like starting it up cold starts I just you know the sound of it even if you heard it because of Initial D it did show it as soon as he started the car my my my thought runs back to the first race in the FD the you know for a case gay racing talking me down and he loses in the shock and we're all like what just happened
You know, is the world, the world has turned upside down for us. We're in this crazy, crazy layout and I think stuff like that makes you rethink on is it the power or is it the driver? You know, that was very interesting to me. That made me realize some more control is very interesting when it comes to cars.
KT (23:14)
Yeah, and the evolution of the characters in that anime as well, They're one another, they're gaining skills. Project D where he recruits both Takumi and his brother Keisuke, and he's essentially training them, and he's purposely taking them to race all these other drivers around Japan, essentially.
at these unfamiliar courses and they're racing a ton of other different style cars but he's intentionally doing it to build certain skill sets within both Takumi and Keisuke.
Cris (23:53)
Yeah, absolutely. think what's cool is like, so when like in the training arcs that we see, we see them like really start to get down to the details. They start talking to mechanics. They start talking to like, hey, we have to tune, detune. You know, we need to adjust this. Front strut needs to be tightened in. You know, we need to, you know, go different way with this direction. I'm not getting the cornering right. And then we see like, for example, very first season, Takumi's like training arc.
His rule, of course, everyone knows the, you know, the crazy, crazy training he had to do a couple water in the cup holder while delivering tofu was the craziest thing ever. I don't know if anyone else had a couple water driving around, but if you could get rid of that with potholes and never see a drop drop change, that is the crazy. He had to learn the force, you know, had to hit them, all the all the movements and he had it.
It was the craziest thing to see.
KT (24:53)
It was so fun watching his evolution as a character and as a driver. As you remember when that whole anime started, he didn't even know what his car was. He was talking to his friends and his friends were like, we want AE86, we need to get that car. And he's like, I don't know, I don't care.
Cris (25:12)
Drive this piece of crap. Yeah dad, you know Boonta gave me and he's like, I just got a sorry guys. I can't go today I got to do this, you know run real quick and they're like, how long does it take you to do that? He's like mmm Like about 40 minutes and they were like what? Yeah the pause in there Like after we've seen it the realization that it really does not take 40 minutes to make that drive is Hilarious like you just see the reaction
I think the whole storyline is fantastic and it's like it's a it's a growing up anime as well.
KT (25:45)
It really does kind of mirror what a lot of our stories are as real life car guys. You start out as someone who's maybe not really interested in cars and something triggers that interest for him. It's racing and drifting and driving essentially that competitive fire in him. But as you progress into the anime, he learns about cars and the other characters are like shocked. They're like,
who is this guy? This is not the Takumi that we knew a year ago. Takumi's spitting out facts about this... and shift points and all of that stuff. And that's kind of like how it is in real life too. We all start somewhere, right? And we all start at a point where we don't know anything, but with enough passion for something, you find out about it, you learn about it. And that's what it's so fun watching that.
for him he's going through that evolution and you kind of think back to yourself and you're like man like I kind of went through that too maybe not the same way down some mountains past
Cris (26:47)
No, don't think so.
After you wreck a car you stop doing that. ⁓
KT (26:54)
But it really does, right? It mirrors how a lot of car guys and girls evolve.
Cris (27:00)
Yeah, yeah, no, it takes it. And you're right. Like watching the evolution, watching the training arc, you learning a little bit about them. But it's the gateway effect, right? This anime gave us the curiosity about a different kind of driving we haven't seen before. A curiosity led to like, hey, more forums. Let's read this in magazine. Or like you knew somebody who knew a guy that knew a curved road and would take you out in a real world drive like a Nissan, you know, would take you out, start, you know, spinning some tire a little bit. Maybe touch your little control, how to gain it back.
It's a rabbit hole, right? It was real cars. There was real roads in Japan that were called this. was real skill that had to be involved in that. didn't. I think the good thing is that like it wasn't like all the wrecks are OK. Initial D didn't glamorize recklessness. It glorified. There's a good word for discipline in driving. It showed you like, hey, we're we're not trying to wreck cars. Not I don't think anybody in real life is trying to wreck it. It's.
We're trying to drive as fast through these mountains as possible, being as accurate as possible. And I think that that came over to America because of initial D and like bringing it to cars today. Cars are now like faster, heavier, they're safer. But the lesson really hasn't changed. We learn our fundamentals, right? You could watch initial D and maybe learn a thing or two and put it in your driving. Now, is it always real? Yeah, they did it pretty good.
but you have your own car, you have to respect the machine and you gotta earn that speed. That's how it at went through for me. That was the best thing about
KT (28:36)
Yeah, for sure. I love watching that anime. I'm rewatching it right now. brings back the same memories.
Cris (28:40)
Yeah. ⁓
No,
absolutely. think man, of course, like you already know my favorite cars of the Nissan Skylines. Yes. Like I think one of my favorite races when he was versing that R32 GTR is a 94. It's an RB26 twin turbo all black. It was an all wheel drive. You know, it had the technology. It had the grip and had that intimidation factor. It was the fastest thing on the road.
⁓ And I think the driver was Takeshi. I can't remember his last name, but that's fine We'll move on to the next one ⁓ But it was that car represented like brute force in the straightaways It showed how you know it power without control can still lose and how you know Takumi Overcame that barrier in that training arc. It was awesome
KT (29:30)
Yes, that was a crazy matchup. If you were to tell anybody without mentioning Initial D, if you were just to say there's an AE86 going against an R32, everyone would say, you know, what is this matchup? This R32 will eat lunch and...
Cris (29:48)
More
than that. yeah, it wouldn't even blink. would just it would it would you know, keep keep moving through it It would just I mean in the straightaways in the anime It's pulling away from it in the curves the ae86 had to catch up and we were like, how is this? Possible like what he and the craziest thing is talking. wasn't trying to be a hero He just started developing this love for cars and racing and started delving into it and it was an eight Like I said, the ae86 wasn't the fastest
but it was all about technique and that's why this anime works so well. It taught us all about that factor and that's what I loved. For a lot of us, man, initially it wasn't entertainment, it was a gateway drug. A gateway drug, That's exactly how it goes.
KT (30:35)
So
let's talk a little more about the R32 because I know that's personally one of your favorite cars. So what about that car?
Cris (30:40)
And it is
man it's just how aggressive that car is. It's, it's, Nissan did everything right with the Skyline and everyone knows that of course the Skyline had everything but it was the aggressive lines in the 90s like all-wheel drive, V6 twin turbo, like it was the owner of the road anywhere it went.
KT (31:07)
In this particular won a lot of races too, I remember.
Cris (31:12)
Yeah, yeah, was, I think this specific one, the R33, no, excuse me, R32, was one of the highest ranking of all time race car wins. And that was time attack, that was, of course not drifting, know, all wheel drive faction, but they put it into, you know, the actual projects, they put it into race scenes and race actual races.
And it was just taking over. was making everything look like it had a four cylinder. ⁓
KT (31:45)
It wasn't just a show car. No, it was exactly. It had to go with it.
Cris (31:49)
Exactly. It wasn't just a show car. It had everything that it needed and it was such a powerful vehicle that people often underestimate it. If you had an R32 back in the 90s, you were the man. But guess what? America never got it. That's what I think. I think. Well, it goes back to that analogy. It's like if you can't have it, it makes you want it more. Oh, yeah. And, you know, always seeing these cars grow up, the R32, the R33, the R34.
even to our day before we got the R35 Skyline over in the States that was available for sale. Like we're waiting for that barrier to drop so when we start purchasing that and as soon as that one dropped, there was so many purchases those cars. Now, if you find an R32 like, you know, spec'd and it's worth what? Like 80 to $100,000 like we're saying R32 and it's crazy. It's a 94 car. You're paying that much, but you know what?
it's probably worth it. Would I mortgage my house for it? Yes, absolutely. If my wife wouldn't kill me, I would absolutely do that.
KT (32:56)
Everything you said, there's a reason why it's called Godzilla.
Cris (32:59)
Oh
dude, Godzilla number one. It's it. R34 is my favorite car in the world. But do I respect R33 and R32? Absolutely. It's just one of those that we will always have the respect for. And I think that's that's another thing why initially caught my attention. It brought me to that, you know, knowledge base. It brought me to really focus on, oh, what do I really enjoy? And I really enjoyed that. That that was part of the style that I enjoyed. Yes, it is my favorite. Absolutely.
something you know a rear wheel drive light chassis that's why I bought my 836 a while back it had the balance it had the I6 it had you know the rear wheel drive it had everything I was doing but you know was it the r34 no but was it great absolutely I loved it I loved
KT (33:45)
Personally, I like the R33. That's my favorite. I know it's like the redheaded stepchild between like all three of them But I just love the lines of the R33 a little more bubbly if you want to say but it's I feel it's more cohesive
Cris (33:53)
Thank you.
I can agree with that. I think it's all about preference and like I respect the fact that you like the R33 and I love the R34. You know, many guys and girls love these cars for what it is. And at the end of the day, if you have one, you know that it's just some of the best equipment Nissan ever put down on the.
KT (34:22)
Especially in America mad resect because like Cris said you can't get that car here in America They didn't make it for the American market That's people that own that car went out of their way to get it imported in to find it, you know all of that So there's definitely a love for that car. You don't just end up R32 or an R33 or an R34
Cris (34:44)
Yep, when we got hit with the 25 year import rule, like we couldn't wait to be old enough to order these cars. And I will tell you that I will spend every last red cent that I own to get an R34 just because of it. And that would be the best thing ever. So that's exactly where we're going for there.
KT (35:02)
Alright so talking about the cars, Cris, the big thing in Initial D really besides the cars was the actual racing and drifting in that show. Let's talk a little more about that.
Cris (35:11)
So, we're
talking about drifting now. This is where I love it and this is where I started getting into it. So, we're not talking about the actual definition of drifting, right? Being carried by a current of water or air or anything like that. We're actually talking about turning a car sideways down the Fujiwara Freeway. No, we're talking about turning a car sideways when it's meant to go straight.
Real-wheel drive. We're talking about overseer understeer. We're talking about the fun of spinning tires. And that's what I love man. Drifting in this anime, I think had some of the most technical understandings. ⁓ Now at the end of the day it wasn't as animation. So it was, you know, something written down, but they had so many things, right? Some were wrong, right? We understand that, but drifting, the love of drifting. What's the, mean,
Do you remember the first time you lost control of the back end of a car?
KT (36:10)
Yeah, well drifting is basically just sliding. That's basically what it is. It's a controlled slide really.
Cris (36:16)
Yeah,
that's a great way to put it.
KT (36:20)
But how do you drift?
Cris (36:22)
Man, all right, so how do you drift? Man, there's a lot of different ways. So power steering as we know, excuse me, power sliding as you know, and let me correct that, is usually front wheel cars that pull the e-brake to spin the back end of their vehicles around. Drifting, on the other hand, is using ⁓ the control of the vehicle to turn a vehicle sideways in a controlled spin to use that spin to turn corners.
So usually a rear-wheel drive car of any maker model has to either spin tires enough, usually by dropping a gear. And then you have, once you use the brakes, the downshift that you use, then the e-brakes, of course there's different e-brakes for actual cars, then there's an e-brake for drifting. So please people, if you are pulling your e-brake and you don't know how to drift, understand that that e-brake usually stays there and you will stop in the middle of a road.
KT (37:17)
So it's essentially breaking traction and then regaining traction after that.
Cris (37:21)
That's exactly what drifting is. Drifting is the art of losing traction in the right direction. That's what I love the most about it. It's downshifting, high revving, dropping the clutch, turning the wheel the opposite way so you get that force. That's exactly it. It's inducing oversteer, avoiding understeer, making sure your car direction is pointed and then of
KT (37:40)
It's typically inducing oversteer.
Cris (37:49)
rotating the tires to the direction you're going, small adjustments, but at the same time, you also want those back tires continuously to spin. So it's low gear, high rev, back tires.
KT (38:01)
Just enough traction to hold you and keep you where you want to go.
Cris (38:06)
Absolutely.
Now, drifting is not for everyone, but we have sports now for it. We have Formula Drift. yeah. see one of our... Coming to Orlando. We're thinking about going. That might be a fun little thing for us. Might see us heat soaked, all right? Formula Drift, that'd be awesome. But things like that, you got to enjoy it. There's an art of how much power a car has to put down. There's the braking. You have to have either a separate...
KT (38:13)
And they come here to Orlando too?
Cris (38:32)
You got to have a different slave cylinder, a separate brake. You want to pressurize if you want to control. It all boils down to tuning tires. But at the end of the day, just like initial D taught us, it's all about form. It's all about training. It's all about learning how to spin those tires the right way. How? Where am I going to drop a gear? It's all about those small little increments of movement in the steering wheel and the throttle simultaneously while moving through those either curves or corners and everything like that.
KT (39:02)
Yeah, it's really fun. If you guys haven't tried it, we urge you to. Obviously in a safe and controlled environment.
Cris (39:06)
Two, but...
Front
wheel drive and not in your dad's car. You need to do this in your own vehicle. Make sure it's rear wheel drive and do this safely. I think the rules say on YouTube. Yes, please do this on a supervised track, not in a parking lot. This is what I have to say. Just letting you know. All right. Please do this supervised under professional guidance. Do not do this on your own on the streets of Florida. Please. Or anywhere else.
KT (39:34)
So just to wrap it up, know, Initial D, we love Initial D, you and I both. Yeah, absolutely. But I know we are speaking for a lot of people and for the people who do not know anything about Initial D, urge you to check it out. It's actually free on YouTube. You can watch the entire series on YouTube for free. And if you're a car guy or a car girl, you're going to love it.
Cris (39:58)
You don't have to, but you will understand it. And I will tell you, the love of Initial D comes throughout with all the cars and all the learning that you do. And honestly, the story is just told phenomenally. It's one of those things that, like I said, KT's rewatching it. I could rewatch it anytime. And we just urge you guys just check out Initial D. It's going to be one of your best decisions. You'll have some fun with it. Learn some stuff about cars. See some cars that you love in any way, shape, or form.
and ⁓ and it did get a good start
KT (40:30)
It really does influence the culture that that that particular era and today right we're talking about it today but that anime that manga came out what 25 30 years ago?
Cris (40:45)
The first stage of Initial D came out in 1999. I'm sorry the the the manga series came out in 95 man I mean this this thing came out if you're watching Initial D Let's see the weekly show that was before Shonen Jump and everything like that.
late 90s to early 2000s. Exactly what heat soaked is about.
KT (41:07)
Yeah, it inspired a lot of people, a lot of cultural respect. ⁓ People are into drifting because of that anime. Like we mentioned the AE86, know, that car. Yeah, anime did it for that.
Cris (41:23)
Man, there's reddit forums about this. There was forums back then about it.
Dude on me. And honestly, if we ever start doing or HeatSug starts getting a drifting, we have to import something of Initial D in there. We gotta have some fun with that. That would be, I don't know, we can call it Initial H for all I care. But man, guys, if you haven't seen it, once again, I wanted to thank everybody for watching or listening. If you haven't seen Initial D, take some time to check it out. It's something we love, something we wanna share.
KT (41:42)
Yeah. ⁓
Cris (42:00)
It's all about the car specifically in it, the technical aspects of it, the influence. Of course, my dumb ass in the Rex.
KT (42:09)
Yeah,
let us know what your favorite cars are from that anime. There's so many cars there. We only touched four.
Cris (42:15)
Yeah,
I know like we could we could spend this whole episode talking just about the cars in initial D But guys put it in the comments subscribe like us give us some feedback Special shout out to anybody listening, you know, wanted to ask, you know If you guys like stuff like this Please continue to let us know if you want to talk about something else that comes to anime racing as long as it's car Culture, just please this is the initial D or the gateway drug in the drifting.
KT (42:42)
yeah, make sure you guys follow us. Heatsoakfl, social media. Thank you for listening to us on podcasts,
Cris (42:46)
He soaked that phone.
AT,
know, podcast, YouTube, let us know guys, hey, we do check those comments out sometimes. I'm just kidding. We check those comments out. If there's anything you guys want us to talk about or some feedback you wanna give us, give us a heads up, man. We wanna make this work. We wanna make this a fun thing for everybody to listen to, especially while you're wrenching on some cars, guys. Thank you. Later.
KT (43:11)
Yeah. Peace out.