It’s that time of year again where I update the blog for AE86 related events haha.. I’m actually at the airport waiting for my flight back to Houston from PDX after the Panic Grand Prix at Affinity Circuit (super awesome chill event…. I’ll be making a post about it right after this one!). The Texas AE86 Matsuri guys decided not to make a huge track event in August because it is just too damn hot/humid. The 2 month temps of 100F+ and no rain makes it super hard for any of us to drive and hang outside all day. That’s why Thaison holds the Texas AE86 Matsuri event in December, which I’m definitely looking forward to. Since nobody wanted to organize a get together, I decided to organize a gathering at Oishii Imports. Jesse was nice enough to host the 86 Day meet there… which was only supposed to be for AE86s but it was too late and all of the FRS/BRZ/86’s decided to crash and organize to have it at Oishii Imports as well. It was cool to see new and old generations together. Thanks again to Jesse at Oishii Imports for hosting!
Showcasing Pec’s Initial D themed Panda AE86 and a RE Amemiya FD RX-7 from Oishii Imports
I actually forgot, but we couldn’t just have a 86 Day meet without some cruising or driving. Vinson decided to co-host a private track day for AE86’s the day before on 8/5 at MSR Houston… and just as I thought, it ended up only being me, Vinson, and John Yim lol. It was just too dang out and 2 out of 3 of our cars survived… with Vinsons’ AE86 coupe having transmission issues. It’s been a decade since I’ve driven at MSRH and I eventually got my best time of the day at 2:05 in my Beams swapped AE86. Not sure what John Yim ran but I’m sure it was in the mid 1:50s. By 3PM, everyones temps, tires, and minds were at the brink of exhaustion so we called it quits. It was a super good day for some test and tune for all of our cars.
The weekend started with prepping my Corolla for private members track day so I stopped by Team Kondee (TDK) for an alignment
It took Nung awhile to align the car, but after adjusting the rear end it feels a lot better although there still is some driveline vibration…
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen my car on a ground lift..
The private member track day started around 9AM with the track being hot at 10AM…
Out of all the AE86 owners in Texas, Vinson is probably the most active in motorsports… usually running ST6 group in NASA
John Yim I would say is also a active drifter in his SR powered AE86 coupe… usually drives and helps organize Lone Star Drift league in Texas…
This was my first grip event with the Corolla… it did really well in the crazy heat with street pads and sticky AR1 tires (shoutout to Vinson for letting me borrow!)
My street track set up has been reliable after testing so far… the only things that need maintenance are rear diff and brakes now…
Anthony Do and his GR Corolla was flying thru the track as expected… his personal best for the day was 1:52 before the diff started overheating…
Another friend came out in his S2000, Brian Nguyen, to just drive and have fun….
Vinson’s brother recently acquired this E90 M3 sedan and is such a beast overall…
The private track day was held by Stress Relief Day (SRD) Group… great group to run with and lots of space and track times…
Thanks for making us lunch!
Me, John Yim, and Vinson were the only AE86 Corolla boys at track day….
The 86 Day at Oishii Imports meet was great. We got almost 1/3 of all the AE86 owners in Houston to come out in the crazy heat and there was a bunch of FRS/BRZ/86s compared to the AE86s. AE86’s were probably outnumbered 2:1 lol. The meet wasn’t too crazy packed but it filled up the lot and Oishii Imports made a little bit of cash from their little cafe, and I’m glad they did. Overall great event and can’t wait for Texas AE86 Matsuri at the Houston Police Academy on December 3rd.
The morning lineup at Giant Leap Coffee…
One of the godfathers of the AE86 Corollas in Texas, Jonas aka Occamotif, brought out his hatch…
Colby’s original USDM Corolla GT-S is one of the few rare cars left that is factory spec (exterior wise)…
After the morning meet up, we ended up at a hot dog restaurant with a dive bar connected….
Spot what doesn’t belong… lol
The usual Sunday morning gang…
Donnie’s K swapped EK hatch is always sight to see…
Having an a black car sucks…
The food actually wasn’t bad at all for a dive bar / restaurant lol…
We made it 3 hours before the meet and started setting up cars inside at Oishii Imports…
Chad’s 20v ST Corolla couldn’t make it, but his newly acquired Corolla Wagon made it! It’s so clean!
The area outside was for the FRS/BRZ/GR86’s…. boy were all the AE86 Corollas outnumbered haha…
I actually think the outside area was better because it actually had airflow compared to the inside lol T_T
Some out of towners came in for the 86 Day Meet… very nice quality styling…
The parking area around Oishii Imports was packed! It’s such a great location for a small meet…
This is @blkaltezza… if you need a 2JZ IS300 expert, he is the guy to go to (but you didn’t hear it from me)
If you see @blkaltezza, @d_malim is not too far behind…
The AE86 Corollas showed up and there’s still more that didn’t make it!
It was a last minute 86 Day Meet, but it wouldn’t have happened without Oishii Imports so special thanks to them!
Initial D rivals… the FD is sold to an Oishii Imports customer and the Tofu Delivery AE86 belongs to Pec…
John Yim’s best purchase from Bringatrailer Corolla GTS hatch…
If there was a best engine bay and overall car execution, would be Lorenzo’s Beams swapped Corolla hatchback…
Always a pleasure to see Nate’s Pcars….
Loving all the Japanese classics that came out…
My buddy Johnny’s 280Z with Brian’s S2000 next to it… probably the only time you’ll see this car at a car meet lol…
A surprise nobody was expecting was Pec’s LHD Driftking (DK) Spec build (still in progress)…
For over a year now, Pec and Nung from Team Kondee (TKD) Auto has been piecing and putting the car together….
It will be 20V blacktop swapped with the distributor located in front so the firewall won’t be bashed or cut….
Super rare green CF hood and not tinted or color clear coated….
Pecx and Nung at TKD has been working overtime to get the car presentable for the 86 Day Meet…
TRD seats…
More Corolla guys that didn’t have their cars ready… hehe
Good 86 Day Meet overall…
Once again shout out to Jesse from Oishii Imports for letting us leak oil and coolant all over the floors and hosting these old rust buckets!
Per usual, thanks for reading my yearly update on AE86 related content lol. I promise I’ll post some more content of things other than AE86s… maybe.
Link to gallery of photos: https://www.danhphan.com/Events/2023-86-Day-at-Oishii-Imports/
Danh
IG // @dtphan
maydaydphan@gmail.com
This guy says not to wake up him until November for meets haha