[ Alto Works ] Performance Bracing, Part 1

Let’s not deny it. The stiffer, the better. Generally speaking, the older stuff tends to be floppier, looser, and less stiff than the newer models. Double entendres aside, we’re talking about car chassis stiffness, of course.

So why is a stiff car really that great? Perception is everything. Really. Barring other extraneous factors, an old car like my Alto Works with body bracing in the right areas will feel much better than one without it. The perceived solidity of body motions encourages harder driving at the limits, faster transitions, and stability on all surface conditions. A skilled driver can more than compensate for a loose car, certainly. But for an average driver like me, I can put more faith in a car that behaves responsively when pushed.

Older cars are often floppy messes compared to their more modern counterparts. Check the differences between the first VW GTI and their modern variants, and you will find the chassis stiffness has improved immeasurably, among many other things. Even your average 80s/90s Honda Civics can’t compare to a basic Honda Fit in terms of body rigidity. On every bump, turn, and curve in the road, you can feel chassis flex on an old car, even with new shocks/struts and suspension bushings. Look no further than an early 90s stock Mazda Miata Roadster NA6 if you really want to feel body motions.

Moreover, between hatchbacks and sedans, sedans tend to have greater body rigidity than hatchbacks. For a good old-school example, look into the Toyota AE86. The “3-door” hatchback had noticeably more flex than the “2-door” coupe variant, according to many experts familiar with both. The hatchback has more open space and less body bracing that a sedan/coupe has at the rear trunk, leading to less stiffness. Essentially, at its most basic, the area rear of the firewall is a box. A box without additional bracing can easily be twisted torsionally.

The Alto Works fits that image of a box absolutely perfectly. The passenger and trunk area is a huge, open box. Great for maximizing storage and passenger space, terrible for rigidity. That means a lot can be done to improve the performance.

Even though the car is 20 years old, there are still plenty of aftermarket companies producing performance bracing parts and quite a few second-hand, good condition parts, as well. A quick search yields a range of basic things like strut tower bars to various cabin bars, fender bars, and under carriage bars. Finally, there is the nearly almighty roll cage, which ties down the cabin area with at least 4 points of huge steel, chromoly, or aluminum tubing, producing unbelievable chassis rigidity at the cost of space, comfort, practicality, and a lot of yen.

As my path is simply starting out and my budget limited, I settled on my first chassis upgrade, a simple rear pillar bar to add additional stiffness to the loosest part of the car, near the rear hatch. There are several designs of this item from several manufacturers, but I found these used items at a solid price of about 6000￥ ($55 USD) shipped. (The other bar is a Lateral Roll Bar, which I'll discuss later.) Not much to lose if I give it a shot.

This bar uses the existing upper rear passenger seat belt bolts, threaded directly into the chassis, crossing the space close to the middle of the rear open hatch area. Theoretically, it should offer a significant benefit to the overall rigidity, particularly during corner transitions and mid-corner bumps.

The installation went by smoothly, with the exception of me dropping a few of the factory M6 bolt shims, lost behind the plastic panels, despite me removing half of the panels off in search of them. Fine, a trip to the hardware store resulted in some new stainless shims.

Once installed, I definitely noticed a small difference immediately on some bumpy, poorly-maintained roads near my home. The squeaky, shifty rear changed to a bit more solid thumps on those bumps and curves. While it was far from dramatic, I think it definitely helped quite a bit.

Yes, I know some people will claim a placebo effect and I admit there may be a degree of it. However, the benefit in my Swift Sport of a Laile rear pillar bar, which was much thicker, yielded significantly less benefit. The body and floppiness of this Alto Works is certainly apt to benefit from these such modifications more.

Another side benefit of this modification is I now have a rear clothes hanger, in case I ever need a drying rack in my car, like when I go swimming in the summer...

I'm joking, of course. But my supervisor did call it a clothes hanger. I'm not offended, because, well, that's what I called them when I saw Civic EGs and EKs with those bars back in the day...

This won’t be the last time we’re gonna broach this topic, I can assure you. The search for a rock-hard chassis will continue. Lucky you.

[ Alto Works ] Rear Wiper Delete and I/C Spray

Rear wipers are pretty common here and I do admit they can be a literal lifesaver in some situations. However, I have personally found little use for rear wipers on any hatchback I have ever driven. First of all, I would never even start driving a car without having relatively clean windows. Secondly, the angle of the rear window on a hatch or wagon-style car is so steep that neither snow nor rain accumulates very much. The rear spoilers also act as a roof over the window, shielding it from poor weather.

Since I found the need rather worthless, I looked into removal options. Luckily, it’s not illegal to delete the rear wiper and motor, so off it went, probably saving me a massive .5kg (1 lbs). Yes, I know... it’s not much. The hole on my Alto Works was patched by two pieces of aluminum, sandwiching the hole to prevent water leaks.

The rear looks much cleaner and less cluttered without a rear wiper across the back. It’s a subtle change on a black car, but very noticeable if you’re into such details.

It’s definitely more noticeable on my Swift, I suppose, since the rear doesn’t have that additional spoiler to partially hide the glass-mounted wiper arm, which stuck out like a sore thumb.

Another benefit of this is that it allows me to have decals across the rear hatch glass without damage. And that means +HP. Gratuitous advertising shots above.

One huge benefit from removing the rear wiper is that now I have a free water spray pump. Any guesses on why that’s a very good thing?

I picked up a cheap aluminum nozzle online and pulled some of the spare hose from the rear hatch to be used for under the hood. The rear hatch nozzle was left intact because I would otherwise need to plug the hole and the weight difference would be negligible in doing so. I experimented with a few places to position the nozzle and after a few squirt-tests, I decided on this position in the front hood scoop.

This location allows the spray pattern to have decent coverage of the I/C, minimizes airflow restriction, and the hose can protrude into the space behind the radiator. The momentary rear wiper spray button now operates the front nozzle for as long as the button is pushed.

The water will help cool the intercooler, turbo, and intake charge, thereby theoretically keeping pressure and power more consistent during hard driving. I didn’t come up with this clever idea, as it was an OEM feature or option on several Japanese cars, such as the Mitsubishi Evolution and Subaru STIs.

There are some detractors on various forums that feel I/C sprayers offer little to no benefit. For me, there is virtually no drawback as it adds only a few grams of weight for the nozzle; the remainder of the wiring and hose are pre-existing. I say if it’s good enough for some OEMs to include such a function, it’s worth including in my project car. In the future, I’d like to automate the process and wire it to throttle position or RPMs, but for now this is perfect.

[ Alto Works ] Heat Shield and Radiator Panel

Perhaps, to everyone but car tuners, this is not the most glamorous or exciting post. If you’re looking for exotic and exciting car pictures, you won’t find much here. However, this post is for those interested in reading about small, but pragmatic improvements!

Heat is an enemy of performance cars, especially to turbocharged engines. Hot air reduces air density and increases temperatures throughout the system, potentially greatly affecting performance. Therefore, drawing ambient air is always better than drawing hot air near the turbo or exhaust manifold. Rejecting heat from engine components is also crucial.

Especially since I replaced the stock airbox with an HKS Super Power Flow, I’ve been additionally concerned with heat. My previous aluminum .3mm heat shield was thin and too small to block off significant heat and draw in fresh air. The use of aluminum is on the right path, as it is an excellent conductor of heat, on top of being cheap, relatively malleable, and rust-resistant. I set about making a better “airbox” that can be directed to draw air from the front, especially away from the hot air near the exhaust manifold, and reject some of that heat.

This is the design I came up with. I used a 300x400mm .5mm width sheet of aluminum that was thick enough to be durable, thin enough to cut fairly easily, bendable without breaking, and relatively inexpensive at about 700￥ ($6.50 USD). Most of the portion from the front frame support to the strut tower is covered by the single sheet, encouraging airflow from the front and blocking off most of the hot air from the engine. A large upper hole had to be made to allow the recirculating pipe back to the intake and the rest was well supported by various mounting holes. I think this succeeded in all points and with no drawbacks, though it certainly isn’t very pretty.

For the next part of improving underhood efficiency, I looked toward making a radiator panel for the Alto. A radiator panel essentially is designed to force air pressure from the front through the radiator instead of through the past of least resistance, around it. Many cars now come stock with such a panel for this explicit purpose, but this car did not, probably due to cost-cutting measures. There is at least one aftermarket manufacturer that once produced an HA11S Alto-specific part, but it is impossible to find now.

No matter, it’s something I can try to fabricate myself. It wasn’t too hard to make something that could fit in the rather flat area with clearance for the radiator cap and hose. When I was cutting the cardboard template, I noticed that the right side of the radiator was especially exposed, also allowing air to potentially escape around it. I wanted to design an angled plate that would prevent that.

I used the same size sheet of aluminum I used for the intake shield. Surprisingly, this also took most of the sheet due to the radiator’s length. Two of the front radiator support screws hold the shield in place.

The side panel was cut from a long sheet and supported at the top by an L-shaped steel bracket. The bottom of the sheet was supported by a bolt that applied pressure against the frame and sheet. Overall, I think both pieces came out really well for an afternoon’s worth of work and absolutely critical when I start putting the car through some serious paces.

Unfortunately, I do not have gauges to measure water or intake temperatures, so I’m not empirically sure the efficiency is dramatically improved in reality. But theoretically, these panels should work to improve cooling. They are certainly not beautiful, but they are functional. And that’s what’s really important for a project car, right?

[ Newbie Guide ] to Car Buying in Japan, Part 2

Now that you have solidified your decision on buying a personal car, the sheer variety of cars and prices ranges out there may seem overwhelming. First thing to acknowledge: you will probably need to front the whole amount of the purchase price (and any associated fees) up front or in some cases, upon pickup, unless you can negotiate with a private party seller.

Below is a bit of my personal advice and recommendations. For those that would like a more applicable answer to your specific situation, simply ask around. You can get most questions answered directly if you talk to your supervisor, your co-workers, or your contracting company. With internet access, you can reach the large, easy-to-access network of ex-pats and foreigners in all regions of the country, online via local Facebook pages or forums like Gaijin-Pot. Read on for some hopefully useful general info on the car buying process!

Contents

1. Where can I find a car?

2. Should I buy a kei or regular car?

3. What am I looking for when buying a car?

4. What’s the difference between cars and makes?

5. How can I identify the condition of the car?

6. Who can help me buy a car that I want?

7. What is needed when buying a car?

8. How can I get insurance?

9. Can I buy a car on credit?

10. What about leasing or rental options?

Sometimes you can find smaller used car lots all around with some decent prices. But beware the condition.

1. Where can I find a car?
There are many places to find a car. If you want to avoid the legwork of finding a car online yourself, then the best way would be through your supervisor, your co-workers, or your contracting company. They may be able to find you a hand-me-down car at a lower price and with less hassle than it would be out of your own accord. I’ve known a few instances where this case was the best, easiest, and smoothest option.

The other option would be to inquire with other foreign residents of Japan. ALTs that turn over every year can possibly be the cheapest place to find a used car, as they are in a hurry to dump their possessions, though some may come in questionable condition (see #5). Other foreign residents can also be helpful because they can point you to legacy knowledge about where they have purchased cars. Some purchase cars through the help of local Japanese who can do some legwork to find you something suitable.

The most difficult option and only if you know what you’re looking for or have specific needs (see #4), is finding a car yourself or with the help of a local to translate. You can look for used lots that often line the roads just outside most major cities or inquire at local car dealerships. The last and hardest option is to find a car in your price range online at Goo-Net or Car Sensor or even Yahoo! Auctions. This will require some Japanese ability or careful use of Google Translate.

A kei car used dealer lot in Aichi Prefecture.

2. Should I buy a yellow plate kei car or regular car? What are the differences?
A kei car (けいじどうしゃ / 軽自動車) is usually denoted by a yellow license plate with dark green or black numbers (or more rarely, black license plates with yellow numbering, though they are commercial use). They are a class of super / sub-compact cars designed for and by the Japanese market. They are cheaper in nearly every aspect in terms of cost, construction, and maintenance when compared to their regular counterparts. You will likely be able to find kei cars ranging from 100,000￥ to 250,000￥ without much difficulty. This will generally be the class of cars that I recommend for most people.

However, on the negative side, they are much smaller as they are regulated under a set of dimensions, seat a maximum of four, and are limited to 660cc engines with 63 horsepower or less. That means the cars can be fairly small and cramped, have limited cargo volume, and are relatively slow, especially going uphill with a full car. There is also a safety aspect that is difficult for me to touch upon, as this can be a personal risk scenario. Speed limits in Japan are lower than many other countries, so the likelihood of a life-threatening accident may be smaller, however, kei cars are very light, small, and have thin bodies and frames. This means an accident at 80km/hr in a kei car will be much more severe than a similar-year regular car.

A regular futsuu car (ふつうじどうしゃ / 普通自動車) is something you can typically see throughout the world. It ranges from rather small compact cars like Honda Civics to huge, boat-like SUVs. You can spot them easily as they usually have a white license plate with green or black numbers. They have a much higher operating costs, particularly annual taxes and maintenance. They are generally more comfortable, can go higher speeds without taxing the engine, and they are arguably safer. Unless you travel long distances or use highways frequently, you will probably be fine without one.

In case you were interested in the price breakdown (Part 1 has more detail about these costs), here is an extremely rough estimation of what you might typically pay. Keep in mind that additional maintenance costs are not listed below:
Kei vs. Regular car
Cost of car: 120,000￥ vs. 180,000￥
Gas: 17km/L vs. 14 km/L
Insurance: 8000￥ vs. 10,000￥ /month
Tax: 13,000￥ vs. 40,000￥ /year
Shaken: 50,000￥ vs. 70,000￥ /2 years

So, as you can see, the higher costs add up fairly quickly annually. It is up to you to decide if it is worth it for you.

The color may not be the best looking, but the price seems right. Does it have good shaken?

3. What am I looking for when buying a car?
The generally first thing I recommend looking for is to find a car with as much shaken left as possible. Some dealers will start the shaken fresh when you buy the car and some are included in the asking price. Used cars from private sellers usually just have some shaken left or almost none at all. So keep this in mind, whatever car you’re looking for. The less shaken it has currently, the sooner you’ll have to pay that 70,000￥ (or greater) shaken renewal cost.

If you live in a heavily snowy climate, then consider an all-wheel drive car for driving around in winter. Most cars are two-wheel drive, which means two of the four wheels (usually the front two wheels) are responsible for actually moving the car forward; the other two are simply rolling along. AWD cars actually have all four wheels moving and trying to push the car forward. This means those cars usually have better traction in the snow and rain. However, AWD cars are usually more expensive in terms of cost of the car and gas consumption. If you are not moving to a very snowy region, a standard 2WD car will be more than adequate with winter tires.

In terms of other aspects in finding a car, the rest is personal preference. Look for cars with nicer aftermarket radios that have USB connector inputs or ETC card readers, though these are not deal-breakers. A used aftermarket car radio and mounting hardware will only be a little more than 10,000￥ or so, if you feel the need to hook up your iPhone. ETC card readers are only convenient if you plan on frequently taking toll roads.

You might think kei cars look all the same. And you'd be mostly right.

4. What’s the difference between cars and makes?
Cars come in many shapes and sizes. The most typical kei cars are the taller, wagon style cars which essentially look like a tall box with wheels. They are the standard because they offer the most room within the kei car size limits so they are quite practical. The Suzuki Wagon R, Daihatsu Move, and Honda Life are common models of this style. The most typical regular cars are a 3 or 5-door “hatchback” design because they also offer a lot of practicality. The Nissan March, Suzuki Swift, Honda Fit, and Mazda Axela are good examples of this style.

As this is Japan, you will mostly find domestically-produced Japanese cars on the streets. If you are looking at kei cars, Daihatsu, Honda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Suzuki are the only manufacturers of them. (Nissan technically has kei cars, but they are just rebranded Mitsubishi and Suzuki models.) Regular cars are the same as you may see in your home country. As for reliability and maintenance, all kei cars are generally fairly reliable and use very similar parts between models. Some cars use timing belts instead of timing chains which may cost more in maintenance in the long term, though this largely depends on a variety of other factors. The biggest indicator for reliability is to identify any potential problems before you buy. (See #5)

It's underneath what (also) counts.

5. How can I identify the condition of the car?
General car inspection rules apply to buying any used car. Try to find a newer year, lower mileage, less rusty, better physical and operating condition car. If you have little car knowledge yourself, seek the assistance of someone who has some experience with cars and know the major points to look for, such as signs of accidents, seal leakage, or potentially strange noises.

Especially for kei cars, I generally recommend finding the lowest possible mileage car you can find and afford. For a 3-cylinder tiny engine, they often work harder and have a more limited lifespan compared to a regular, full-sized 4+ cylinder engine. Aim for finding a kei car lower than 120,000km, if possible, though this is not a strict number. (I personally owned a 160,000km kei car that was mistreated and it still ran very well.) Regular cars are usually fine to drive 200,000km+ on the original engine and transmission, but lower is almost always better.

Rust is especially harsh on kei cars, as they often do not have the underbody rust prevention coatings that some regular cars have, but do not be turned off by minor surface rust, as this is common in any coastal country. It’s more than acceptable to have a few body dings and scrapes, but be aware of any cracked lights, bumpers or any major dents. If they are present, you may need to replace or fix them when the shaken inspection time comes.

While I don’t mind normal interior wear, be aware that Japan has a high smoker base, so some used cars will have remnant cigarette smells especially notable on hot days, even after cleaning. If you can’t tell immediately upon checking out the interior, look for signs of cigarette burns on the headliner and driver seat or used ashtrays. If you’re a smoker yourself... well, don’t mind this bit of advice.

One last minor thing to note, but this usually doesn’t pertain to 99% of the cars on the road: As much as I personally love car modifying as a hobby, generally avoid any cars that have major modifications other than the radio.

6. Who can help me buy a car that I want?
Assuming you are searching for a car outside the more direct network of people that you know or work with, you will probably need help actually getting the car. In this case, you will definitely need to seek the assistance of a local Japanese individual. If you haven't seen it yet, Japan is unfortunately not yet a very bilingual friendly country when it comes to red tape and official paperwork.

7. What is needed when buying a car?
You will need a juminhyo (住民票) within the last three months from your local city hall (市役所), proving that you live in Japan. For kei cars in most areas of the country, this will likely be all the paperwork that you need.

(These additional steps are for reference only. Your prefecture, area, and situation may vary.)
If you are planning on purchasing a white plate regular car or live in a heavily populated city, you’re going to need to fork over more money and jump through a few more hoops to prove that you actually have the space for a car. With the juminhyo and paperwork from the car dealer in hand, seek your parking property manager for a literal stamp on the paperwork, costing you a fee. Take this paperwork to your local automobile association (自家用自動車協会) to have the parking verified that it will fit the dimensions of the car. Pay another fee. Pick up all your papers at the police office the association will direct you to around one week later. Submit all these forms you probably can’t read or understand and deliver them to the car dealer, who will need to process the paperwork before you can take home your car. With private party sales, the parking will still need to be verified before the name title change can be processed.

Basically, if you’re buying a regular car, be ready to do work.

8. How can I get insurance?
As with the previous recommendations, always start by first inquiring with your supervisor, co-workers, or private company. There may be an insurance association or agent they use which will make things a lot easier and possibly cheaper. Other local foreigners may have existing connections, so ask around.

If you want to seek out your own services, there are a growing number of bilingual insurance companies that serve the ex-pat and foreigner community. I know a few who have done so through online companies and are satisfied with their service, though I pay slightly more to have an agent who I directly work with to have the convenience of someone I can reach.

9. Can I buy a car on credit?
The shortest answer to this is a resounding “no.” Unfortunately, as a foreigner, we are much more heavily scrutinized and we can be viewed in this country as being “temporary.” This means they are unlikely to lend us any significant amounts of money. Obtaining a credit card can also prove difficult for these same reasons.

You will, in nearly all cases, need to have the money in-hand before you can drive off your car. There are some exceptions. The one I am most familiar with is when you buy a car from a dealership, many will allow you to put an initial down payment to start the paperwork, which can take 1-2 weeks. You can often just pay the remainder upon pickup.

Of course, none of that applies to private party sales and transfers.

A rental car that is also available for a long-term lease, though not cheaply.

10. What about leasing or rental options?
If your private organization offers rental options, it might be a good to consider it as the pricing to my knowledge is very reasonable. However, generally speaking, it is always better to buy than to rent or lease a car as the long term cost will often exceed the purchase price over a year. If you plan on staying for a few years, definitely consider buying. The quote I have through a local rental company is around $250 USD per month. Sure, you’ll probably get something nice and much newer, but if that is representative of prices with other companies, you can easily buy a great condition kei car for much less over the year. Especially considering that you can resell a car to recoup some of your purchase price (particularly if there is shaken left).

The two exceptions to this recommendation are if you are going to be short on cash for the first few months or are planning on leaving after the first contract year. In these cases, it might be smarter to just rent and not deal with the hassle of purchasing and reselling the car later.

Hopefully, this little guide will lead you to actual car ownership. In the next [ Newbie Guide ] post next week, I will discuss basic maintenance, driving in Japan, and what to do after an accident. (Yes, I’ve had that experience, too...)

Feel free to leave a comment below or send me a message on Facebook or Instagram if you have any specific questions!

Update: The next in my Newbie Guide series is Driving in Winter, now posted up!

[ Alto Works ] “Flowtie,” HKB 30mm Hub Spacer, and Cabin LED Lighting

I pulled off the silver grille and Suzuki badge off in a previous post, so I gave it a few coats of black and gloss, and it was done. The badge itself was looking a bit faded, too, so red and gloss alleviated that issue quickly. I was inspired by the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1’s “Flowtie,” which is an outline with a hollowed out center badge to allow more airflow to the radiator. Since the old Suzuki “S” emblem had a few gaps in the middle, I thought this was a cool opportunity to have some additional cooling for my Alto Works.

I call it the “SuzuKi” (スズ気), in which the last kanji character (originally 木) is replaced with air (気). Not clever enough? How about the “Air S”? “Soothe-zuki?” That’s all I have.

I’m not sure that the efficiency is increased with this modification as much as Chevrolet claims their flowtie improves cooling, but it sure looks cool. Ok, fine, I know it probably doesn't do a whole lot, but the black grille and bright red logo really make the front end pop.

Another small, but important, change is the addition of a 30mm spacer to put the steering wheel a bit closer to me. This is also a product made by HKB Sports, the same company that made my steering wheel hub adapter. For 990￥ ($9 USD), it brings the steering wheel to a more comfortable distance from my arms. Unfortunately, it means the angle is pointed a bit further upwards. Give and take, I suppose, for a non-tilting wheel.

A regular common first modification for any car is to change the incandescent light bulbs in the cabin with modern and efficient LEDs. Very surprisingly, the gauges, front parking lights, and rear license plate light have already been changed to LEDs by the previous owners, so only the 28mm cabin map light needed to be replaced.

These LEDs definitely give the car a more modern and updated feel. As you might guess, next up will be brighter headlights for improved outward visibility.