Touge?

As many of you probably know already, I used to be an avid follower of the movement known as "touge." I caught on late, I know, but I was passionate about the activity. I wasn't big on drifting, in fact, I believe that the only positive properties of drifting are the aesthetic ones. Anyhow, touge means "mountain" or something like that in Japanese. It's their slang for spirited mountain driving. Some of you may be thinking..."Oh, I've done that before." It may be a bit different from what you're thinking. Here's a video:




I slowly started in my Impreza 2.5RS early in 2007. My usual partner was Wayne, also with an Impreza 2.5RS. Our home road- Calaveras. The sweeping turns mixed with the technical sections and sharp hairpins made it a thrill to drive. One night, on our way back down after a successful run, I understeered into the wall making a left turn on a hairpin. Amateur mistake- I was still new to touge after all. The good thing is that I only bent a control arm, and that was an easy fix.

A couple of passes later on in the year, I race my friend's Integra Type R up Calaveras. I'm leading, and slowly setting a gap between us as he was fairly new to mountain driving. I guess I got a bit cocky and over-revved the motor a few times...the product of all that...I had rod knock. That motor was done. It took me two months to source out another EJ251 within my price range and in decent condition. That motor went back in, and I was back.

I became friends with some regulars on Calaveras (they were actually there the night I tapped the mountain) and we became regular touge buddies. Mike and Daryl with their Miatas with full suspension, Joseph with his DA Integra on Koni Yellows and coil-over sleeves, and a couple new-comers to the game. We had lots of fun up there with each other, but it eventually got a tad dull after our skill levels became similar. We then began to look for races...to get the thrill of the chase. You'd be able to find us at the bottom of Calaveras on Piedmont road, lined up and ready to chase after any prospective driver heading up. A lot of victories, and some ass-handings were given to us. All-in-all, a fun experience.

Why did I make this post? Well tonight, I finally got to experience the thrill of touge after a year of retirement since I rolled my 2.5RS on Calaveras road. Yeah, most of you already know, but I rolled off onto a service road...and actually drove away from it. In fact, I drove 10 miles to my friend's house. Not to stray from my point, but I finally got to see Calaveras during the daytime the other day. Needless to say, I nearly shat my pants. If I had done another rotation while rolling off the mountain, I would have wound up in an 80 foot ravine. That probably wouldn't have ended well. Looking back, I'm glad I only did one roll and only went down about 25 feet or so.

Anyway, back to the point. Tonight, we touge'd on the local road (Redwood Rd. in Castro Valley). I was in my buddy's TurboII RX7 with his new wheels on (R32 Skyline GT-R wheels) with some "meh" tires. It was still exhilarating. Following us was Miata Rob, Luis in his AE86 Corolla(who later on that night, ended up with rod-knock on his motor, and then his crank punched a hole through his block), Rocky (in his Highlander instead of his track-prepped RX7, that guy has hands), Ramon in his 300ZX (AKA, the shopping cart), and Mace (back in his super dumped 5th Generation Prelude with a fresh transmission). It was fun. Way more fun than a typical Saturday night at the races. I really do miss the touge, but the fear I now have keeps me from going.

I have my GSX now...a fast car in a straight line but a pig in the mountains due to its lack of handling capabilities. My idea is this: Get an Impreza L and slowly build it back to 2.5RS spec, with an EJ205 WRX motor swapped in. Of course, I'd go all-out with a fully tuned suspension, roll cage, seats, harness, etc etc. I've been needing a daily driver anyway. It really is a good idea, and I'd be returning back to the Subaru family.

I'll think on it. It's 7:12 AM, and I need to get some sleep.