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A few months ago, a 54 second lap of Tsukuba with anything other than an Elise was unheard-of. Along came the Tsukuba Express and Club 54. After it was released, some drivers were able to take the TE into the 53 second range. With the release of the TE2, there has been a lot said lately of the lap times at Tsukuba. Test drivers took over the top two spots (now 1st and 3rd) from the Elises, and it seems that the standard is the 53 second barrier.

The test: Take Evos and STis from around the tuning community and push them through 5 laps with an average skill racer. No do-overs. No excuses.

Which Tsukuba weapon goes quick the easiest? Let’s find out!

JUNISMO’s Evolution, part of the Rivalry Pack from Tuning AG.

Junismo’s Evolutions have a reputation of their own. In his tuning career, Jun has long been a leader in making a car that is easy to drive fast. Junismo has come forth with his latest A-Class Evo, an NGK-themed Evo VIII GSR that is one-half of the Tuning AG “Rivalry Pack”. Would this car be as easy to drive fast as his other Evo’s? We will see.

When taking the NGK Evo around the first lap, it takes some getting used to. Gone is the idiot-proof grip… This car is FAST! Obviously tuned for experts, this car is less forgiving than I expected, clocking a 56.563 on the first lap with a lot of tire spin. Getting into the 53 second range has a price, it seems.

This car has previously been driven easily into the 54’s by me, and into the 53’s by test drivers, so I was a little surprised that I hadn’t gotten a 54 by the 3rd lap. I focused on the 4th lap and ran a 54.966. Sounds good, now lets get serious…

I was .8 ahead of my time on the final test lap when I hit a rumble strip and the car began to slide. The lap was blown, and I had to retire the Tuning AG car with much more left on the table than I would’ve liked.

Drizze’s STi, the other car in the Rivalry Pack.

The next car on the grid was the other half of Tuning AG’s double-threat, Drizze’s 04 STi. I’ve had this car for a couple of weeks, and haven’t had a chance to drive it. What better way to break it in than on the famed Tsukuba Circuit?

As we wheeled the STi out of the garage, we noted that it looked a lot like an RC car, only full size. The Fujitsubo paint on this one looks excellent and unique. This is one car that won’t be mistaken for anything else on the track.

When I started the warm up, The AG Evo was still on my mind. I expected this car to require my undivided attention, so I was on my game. It turns out, I needent be alarmed.

The car roared through the first lap, registering a 55.578. “This is going to be good”, I thought to myself. It fired off a string of 54 second passes, with the fastest being a 54.676. I took multiple lines with ease, and even passed my personal best Evo ghost after missing Turn 1! Sadly, I could not stay ahead of it after a mistake later in the lap. Pleased, I retired the “Rivalry Pack” cars with all intentions of running them again when I have more laps to burn.

Stouffers’ Hipermax ct130r Evolution.

Stouffers’ Hipermax ct130r was a different story. This is the car I held my personal best time with, and for good reason.

Built specifically to combat the Tsukuba Express and Sprinter’s Evo (not available at time of test), Stouffers’ car came to the show ready to rumble. The paint is attractive without being overbearing, but the tune is what sets this one apart.

Despite some odd settings, this car was one of the most forgiving of the bunch. You can take several different lines and still run a 54 second lap time. As a matter-of-fact, my personal best in this car was set during a 5 lap multiplayer race, not free run. In that race, all the laps except for the first one were in the 54’s and as you would imagine, the car won easily.

In this test, the most I could manage was a 54.951 after a 56.414 first lap. It should be noted that my personal best is a 54.523 with this car, and that I’ve never lost a race at Tsukuba with it in multiplayer. That kind of dominance hasn’t been seen since the original Tsukuba Express was launched. This car is that well done.

Sprinter’s Tsukuba STi.

After reviewing Drizze’s STi, I was curious to see what Sprinter’s Tsukuba tune could do. Only one way to find out…

In the paddock area, the STi drew a crowd. The neon red painted wheels look much better in person than on the press release. The paddock workers commented that it looked better in the sun… Right then. Let’s get underway!

Right out of the gate, I knew this car was going to be fast. It cruised to the fastest first lap of the group, a 55.556, and stormed around the track on the second lap. Fighting my ghost all the way, it ran 3 consecutive 54 second laps. Despite a few mistakes, this car ran very well, with the best time being a 54.825. And speaking of mistakes, this car should be called “54 seconds around Tsukuba for Dummies”. Miff the first corner? No problem, here’s your 54. Slide through the switchback? No worries, have a 54.

Like the other cars in this test, more seat time was wanted. In the interest of time, I had to move on.

The Original Tsukuba Express 1 by Hashiriya, Rare C54 Edition.

A car that needs no introduction. The TE1 was released quietly as an alternative to the Lotus cars dominating the leaderboards at the time.

Hashiriya mentioned that no one ran Tsukuba in multiplayer, and he wanted that to change. He developed the Tsukuba Express to bring attention to the track, and it’s easy to see that was a success.

Over the course of production, the car built to an unbelievable hype. Racers fought amongst themselves, insulted the garage owner’s, and threatened to boycott, all the while watching the auction house waiting for the elusive car to appear (and disappear).

The car was fast, but the tune was expert to say the least. A near perfect lap was required to run a 54, a fact not lost on Hashiriya. He created a special edition, the C54 car, and gave it to those dedicated enough to run a 54 second lap in the car. This only built the hype even further, and by the end of production, the entire staff was happy to see the car retired.

During testing of this car, it’s apparent that it was specifically tuned for Tsukuba. The car is very sensitive to line choice, a slight misstep results in a 55 second lap if you’re lucky, and a 56 or more if you’re not. I appeared to be having a zen moment with mine, not putting it off track once over the five laps. The first lap was a 56.217, so I had high hopes of what I’d be able to run. Never quite getting that specific TE-line cost me though, and the most I managed was a 54.933 putting The Original squarely mid-pack. Not bad for a four-month-old tune.

Note: The TE1 has since been reissued and retired again.

The Tsukuba Express 2 by Hashiriya [GS] Tuning AG.

That brings us to the final car of the test. The Tsukuba Express 2.

This car amazed when the white flag dropped. 55.648 on the first lap looked very promising considering mistakes had been made! This car was actually catching my personal best ghost on the first lap, which was odd I thought at the time. The next lap revealed that the car truly flew, as I laughed to myself at how easy it was to drive. Forget the ghost, this car is a world beater.

Where the TE1 required perfection, the TE2 just EXPLOITED the track. I wondered if the highly forgiving nature of this car could even come from the same minds that produced the expert machines mentioned above. But was it fast enough overall?

Absolutely. The TE2 destroyed this track, my personal best, and all notion that it would not live up to it’s reputation. A 54.397 on my 3rd lap, with mistakes. This is the car I would break through the 53 second barrier the easiest with.

No do-overs. No excuses.

Summary

All these cars are fantastic in their own right, and you certainly can’t go wrong racing any of them. You simply must own all of these cars. Some are more forgiving, some are just faster. One car is both.

Planned as the last release by Hashiriya under the Garage Setagaya name, the Tsukuba Express 2 has been a long time coming. Due to the now-standard 53 second test time and time constraints, personal lives, and other factors, even Hashiriya himself mentioned the car may never see the light of day.

Enter Tuning AG.

A team of well-qualified tuners, painters, and drivers, AG would not let the car sit quietly in the corner of the garage. They pulled the car cover off, put fresh tires on, and hit the track. After hours of work, this may be the most development on a car in the FM2 universe. The work paid off, the car made release, and by the way, it’s the fastest CAR at Tsukuba. If I were you, I’d run, not walk, to the auction house and pick one up.

You have two weeks left, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The Winner: Tsukuba Express 2

*Notably missing from this test are cars offered from GEARBOX along with several independent offerings. This test is simply of the best cars available to the tester at the time, and when more cars are available, there will be a Shootout II, perhaps with a guest driver… Stay tuned.

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