In the motorsports world, speed is everything! To get speed you need hardware— lots of hardware and sometimes really big and costly hardware—but that’s just the nature of the sport. You could spend upwards of $10,000 just to get a full second in quarter mile times. Yes, you read right .. a full ONE SECOND!
© Jan Shim Photography [visit gallery for more photos]
The single biggest component and also a major contributing factor is the turbocharger. Yesterday DHL dropped off a German turbocharger made by KKK that’s factory fitted to many European cars such as Audi/VW/Porsche and many others. This turbo was ordered for my cousin whose Suzuki Vitara’s turbocharger needed replacing. So you know now that ‘others’ include Japanese vehicles.
© Jan Shim Photography
In the days I was heavily involved with my 1998 Subaru Impreza WRX, I had the best four years living a dream. It’s unfortunate that motorsports isn’t legal nor is it encouraged here in Brunei but in the small window of opportunity when it was allowed, I indulged in the entire spectrum of the sport—from owning one of the hottest icon to tuning to eventually wholesale distribution of turbochargers to buyers in USA, UK, Australia, Singapore including a one-off shipment to Russia. Motorsports enthusiast around the world are united by their love of speed, power and control. Thanks to Nick, owner of the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club (NASIOC) I was able to bring my own love for the sport to the forum community since May 2001. While I’m no longer participating actively there, I have nonetheless left a long trail of posts and contribution.
© Jan Shim Photography
So its been a while since I last had a turbocharger in my possession. Those of you who has never seen one before, you are looking at them now with more in the gallery. Other industry buzzwords such as Forced Induction and Boost come from having a turbocharged engine. Wikipedia has an explanation these terms refer to starting with forced induction.
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SHIMWORLD 
It’s the turbo that binds us Mr. Shim. This funny little object is the reason we now know each other. I know there’s still part of you that wishes to play with cars again…it never goes away 😉
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Find me a turbocharger that fits into an IS300 pls 😀
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Really professional article, the slight mention of turbo sends thrills up my spine. Its truly a one of a kind feeling moving with speed, just like any other out there speed is a beautiful thing, keep up the good work.
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Im jealous…. and u know y…hehehe
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Ahhh the old days….when there was margin to be made on Auto Products and China hadn’t started copying exhausts 😉
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Great shots, Jan!
I like it.
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Yeah! Boost unites us with this object of desire, that “thing that separates the men from the boys!”. I won’t deny that part of me still exists and the Initial D in me in just crying to be let out. But for now, I am pursuing opportunities abroad to photograph other people’s rides and meet the people behind those projects.
Check out the video of a Supercharged Mercedes E55 AMG 469hp, 516tq vs Lexus Turbocharged IS300 642rwhp, 599rwtq. I think there is a turbo kit for the IS300 but for the current model IS350/250 the supercharger is perhaps a better option for street performance. Remember, quest for more power can quickly become very expensive and you end up with a money pit.
Thanks Vern. Yeah, there’s just no substitute for speed (when it can be done safely) G-force is highly addictive too! High speed chases on PS3 is probably the safest of them all 🙂
Ah, the man behind BPMsports has spoken! There are imitation turbochargers too surprisingly and together with my principal, we educate and warn our customers about the unscrupulous trade. Due diligence is necessary but does nothing to stop bad trade practices which seems to be growing at an alarming rate.Yes Greg, there were good old times I do not mind reliving especially opportunties to photograph the cars and the races all over again!
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Jan…spot on mate..turbocharging is the way to go for sheer adrenalin..
Mel
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Great shots as always Jan!
btw…the Smurfs called and want their turbo back!..hahaha.
I wish you can take photos of my new Garrett GT35R turbo.
Its been 7 years since i caught the turbo-charged bug when i purchased my wrx . Its been an intresting road and evolution with the car. As you have pointed out in your first paragraph, you have to pay to play in motorsports…hopefully the enthusiast is rewarded with a big grin on thier faces from the pure rush.
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Great photos, Jan !
And it seems like you’ve attracted alot of motorheads, just by the mere mention of ‘Turbocharger’. Heheh. 😛
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Jan, the photos are spot-on! And you’ve just educated this poor little mind of mine something about motorsports. I know nothing about cars, seriously. XD
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Having first hand experience in tuning, sheer adrenalin can just as quickly turn into a sleepless insomniac when things go wrong. And going wrong is what motorsports is all about too. With pleasure comes pain! Many owners would budget for how much their modifications cost but fail to plan for the eventual repair. There are plenty of lessons to be learnt in motorsports, each one very costly if I might add.
This big bad wolf ain’t giving anything back until I’ve had a SHOT of it first 🙂
It’s been 7 years huh? Thanks to the Japanese who gave us so much fun in small packages. Not only did I get a taste of adrenalin rush I was introduced to the world of All Wheel Drive and increased traction. Made all the difference driving a manual transmission that gives you power and control.
That was clearly the intention. We are predictable beings and with the exception of a few hardcore purist motorheads, we are generally easy to please too though it helps to have deep pockets.
I have just about scratched the surface of motorspots. I have a collection of photographs of my Subaru WRX that was taken with my Kodak 1.6MP DC-265, sadly they were highly compressed JPEG that have high levels of artefacts. I’ve yet to find the time to sort them out in a meaningful presentation. You’ll be amazed at the level of involvement in the exciting world of motorsports.
Exciting that is until several motorheads turned dickheads and refused to pay for items they made promises to pay—these people first assumed the role of customers and quickly turned into thieves. It’s a sad society we live in! I don’t know how these insincere and dishonest individuals can continue to be on the government’s payroll and sleep at night!.
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Woah, that must have been a very terrible experience. Nya orang melayu, ‘pengalaman pahit’. Kalau kedayan, ‘pahit hantap!’.
But, god do they have no shame at all? Being government servants, steady monthly payroll and they cheated you eh? Well that’s one thing proven right and solid; in Brunei ‘Janji Melayu’ is spread throughout. Let’s just hope our antibodies are strong enough against that epidemic.
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Steady payroll, but probably neck deep in debt, what with loans on their huge house, the three luxury cars and the laptops for the wife and kids. Not enough to pay off anything after that. Shameful !
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Let’s not have a few bad apples ruins their entire basket. These individuals obviously have misplaced priorities regardless of their income. They bullied the weakest (me) and clearly they had the means and commonsense to obtain a loan from a bank to get their car but lack the ethics to do the right thing.
I was an aspiring entrepreneur and tried my hand at running a business that was fuelled by my passion in motorsports. I was carving a niche in the aftermarket performance business while high on the learning curve. No doubt, this incident gave me a good dose of the reality that plagues our frail economy. Fortunately, I’m resilient and bounced back from this episode, took my business abroad and went international establishing a name and reputation as a 100% trustworthy turbo distributor on the net—116 orders and 1080 turbos shipped worldwide!
We pay no income tax, are blessed with generously subsidised fuel, education, water, gas, electricity and medical care yet many among us live from pay check to pay check. You know it. I know it. Even they know it. Seems shame is easier to swallow than debt and over time debt becomes second nature.
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Well yes, I would have to agree with the sad reality. With banks now offering more loan availability from mobile phones to cars, ‘most’ of the public see this as an opportunity to make their materialistic dreams come true. But personally, I see it as an opportunity to earn ‘good debt’ by making money out of the materials that I purchase.
I suggest related parties to start a campaign on financial intelligence, Brunei desperately needs it.
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Truth be told , Jan dominated IHI sales for quite some period. You didn’t even need to mention his surname, it was just Jan. You had reached Hollywood status going by first name only 🙂
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