The Story Behind the Bergenholtz Racing 2009 Mazda RX8 Formula D Pro Drift Car

Stock knuckles modified for greater steering angle are used. Fabricated upper and lower links and tie rods give full adjustability.

The rear links are hand fabricated by Steen Chassis and are fully adjustable. The swaybar is by Suspension Techniques. The differential is from a Toyota Supra. The LSD is a highly adjustable Cusco part that is WPC treated.

The hubs are stock RX units. All upper and lower wishbone arms are custom engineered by Gary Steen. It was a tall order but Gary pulled it off. Before we started, we agreed to attempt to produce a glorified fork lift so to speak. The wishbones are extremely adjustable for a wide-range of settings. They are very strong and were built very similar to trophy truck standards. The results produce mad angle and performance. People in the drifting community can’t believe we are able to get that much angle from a double wishbone setup. KW Motorsports dual canister shocks handle suspension duties on all four corners and are 3-way damping adjustable.

The front suspension links are fabricated by Steen Chassis and are designed for maximum steering angle. The shocks are KW Motorsports 3-way adjustable remote reservoir shocks.

KW’s amazing 3-way motorsport dampers are the weapon of choice among more and more of the Formula D grid. A wide range of adjustability is essential towards properly setting up a car from course to course.

Now let’s address the interior. We wanted to produce an interior that was comfortable and pleasing to the eye. We did not want to produce a very busy interior. Keep it nice and simple, if not stock looking. I think it is extremely important to keep the Joon comfortable in the car. Create a no stress environment. The Joon has enough to worry about drifting the RX8 next to some crazy. We actually positioned Joon’s Sparco seat in what I like to call the lazy, cruising the boulevard, boy mode. I’ve done this before with the Mazda 6 drag car and mostly so Joons feel comfortable in the driving position. Again, the comfortability theme has to come into play.

Ron stressed that good ergonomics are important in a competition car. As drifting is a very high pressure sport for the driver, a lot of detail has gone into fitting the car’s controls to just the way Joon likes them.

To make things feel more at home for Joon, I measured the pedal/e-brake/steering wheel heights and distances from his seat in his S13 to match that of the RX8. The Sparco seats, steering wheel, belts are identical in the RX8 as is, in his old car. The only thing I did not bring into play from his old car was the “fishbowl” shifter. I was not digging on that. Nevertheless, Joon would enjoy the shifting performances of a HKS full sequential transmission. The HKS Transmission is hooked up to a complete Driveshaft Shop driveline which includes an aluminum driveshaft and larger axles and hubs. The clutch and lightweight flywheel are a WPC treated ACT twin disc unit. The differential is a stronger part from a Toyota Supra with a Cusco limited slip differentia that is also WPC reated for smoothness.. From Joon’s feedback he does not mind missing the “fishbowl” shift knob mated to a stock tranny. Even though it’s a completely different car from his S13, we wanted Joon to feel at home with the RX8.

The transmission is an HKS dog shifted unit. The transmission has fast shifting dog engagement, straight cut gears and sequential shifting. This is one trick part. The transmission is WPC treated to extend its life, run with less friction and to make shifting smoother. An ACT twin disc clutch with a lightweight flywheel is used. It is also WPC treated for a smoother and longer life.

All Tilton pedal assemblies, ebrake handles, and Sparco steering wheel are fully adjustable. I might want to take the Mazda RX8 for a spin. In addition, Joon had requested an old school “wink” mirror. I had surveyed the market for wink mirror and most of them had come up as the cheap Chinese plastic black mirror that you would find at Pep Boys. I was able to acquire a great billet wink mirror from an off-road shop. The dash is very simple, removable and stock looking. Overall, it is clean and comfortable but striking enough so the Joons does not fall asleep.