Anyone that knows me will know I have been throwing 1 word about a hell of a lot in the last few months, I mean, I have even built my car around it, that word is 'Kanjo'.
So, for those who aren't in the know, I thought I would do a quick guide as to what 'Kanjo Style' is, and why I love it!
The Kanjo, also known as 'the loop' is a public toll road in Osaka. Since the mid 80's groups of drivers have used this road as a playground, meeting in large numbers and racing through the late night traffic. It is, of course, both highly dangerous and highly illegal.
From the outset teams were created and the law was not only openly broken, but mocked while they were at it, the racers could often change paint jobs several times a month, cover plates, anything to stay 1 step ahead. When you take into account how respectful Japanese society is as a whole, stuff like the Kanjo and the Bosozoku cars are even lairier than they would be over here!
Ever seen those pictures of people in hockey masks and wonder what it has to do with cars?
Well...keeping the face obscured, window nets serve the same purpose as well as adding to the overall look...
So, onto the cars...
At the start they would use anything, AE86's and RWD Starlets were popular, but fuelled by the nearby 1 make race series, the civic soon became the weapon of choice, nimble, revvy and tuneable they became the mainstay of the Kanjo.
The original civics used are known as 'wonder civics', it then progressed through to the EF, EG and EK models over the years. They all took the same principle though, built to use, function over form, battle scarred, and fun...
Wonder:
EF:
EG:
EK:
Modification, what do you need to get some Kanjo style?
Well, the advantage is, most of these cars are rough and ready, if it makes it faster, fit it, is it the right colour, who cares? Does it look good, well...yes, but that's not on purpose
Wide, slab sided tyres, mismatched wheel sets, window nets, stripped out everything, quick release panels and lairy team graphics all add to the look...
This EG is probably the best example of pure function out there, the K20 swap is quite rare as they usually just run light tune B16 / B18s, but the way he has kept the EP3 gearshift is cool...
That being said, recently the scene has turned out some amazing cars, and they work just as well with a good finish on!
A non-civic!
Anyway, That's a rough idea, I think it is a style that should translate well onto other makes and models of vehicle, any boxy 80's / 90's hatch really...
Spaced wings, window nets, wide tyres, leave all the bumps and scrapes...
And to either prove or disprove this I did it to a Cinquecento! It kinda looks like a shrunken wonder civic! Needs more lows though...
I would love to see other peoples attempts at it...
Well done if you made it this far, here are a few videos that probably explain it a lot better than I ever could, and the 3rd is just the insanity of the actual 'racing'...
Also I have used a lot of Speedhunters bits they have some excellent articles, here are some links if you want to know more!
'Kanjo' on Speedhunters
Kanjozoku, excellent site...
There are also a lot of Facebook pages for the teams like 'No Good racing' , and a good group called 'Kanjo Racing UK'
Cheers, enjoy, Mike.
So, for those who aren't in the know, I thought I would do a quick guide as to what 'Kanjo Style' is, and why I love it!
The Kanjo, also known as 'the loop' is a public toll road in Osaka. Since the mid 80's groups of drivers have used this road as a playground, meeting in large numbers and racing through the late night traffic. It is, of course, both highly dangerous and highly illegal.
From the outset teams were created and the law was not only openly broken, but mocked while they were at it, the racers could often change paint jobs several times a month, cover plates, anything to stay 1 step ahead. When you take into account how respectful Japanese society is as a whole, stuff like the Kanjo and the Bosozoku cars are even lairier than they would be over here!
Ever seen those pictures of people in hockey masks and wonder what it has to do with cars?
Well...keeping the face obscured, window nets serve the same purpose as well as adding to the overall look...
So, onto the cars...
At the start they would use anything, AE86's and RWD Starlets were popular, but fuelled by the nearby 1 make race series, the civic soon became the weapon of choice, nimble, revvy and tuneable they became the mainstay of the Kanjo.
The original civics used are known as 'wonder civics', it then progressed through to the EF, EG and EK models over the years. They all took the same principle though, built to use, function over form, battle scarred, and fun...
Wonder:
EF:
EG:
EK:
Modification, what do you need to get some Kanjo style?
Well, the advantage is, most of these cars are rough and ready, if it makes it faster, fit it, is it the right colour, who cares? Does it look good, well...yes, but that's not on purpose
Wide, slab sided tyres, mismatched wheel sets, window nets, stripped out everything, quick release panels and lairy team graphics all add to the look...
This EG is probably the best example of pure function out there, the K20 swap is quite rare as they usually just run light tune B16 / B18s, but the way he has kept the EP3 gearshift is cool...
That being said, recently the scene has turned out some amazing cars, and they work just as well with a good finish on!
A non-civic!
Anyway, That's a rough idea, I think it is a style that should translate well onto other makes and models of vehicle, any boxy 80's / 90's hatch really...
Spaced wings, window nets, wide tyres, leave all the bumps and scrapes...
And to either prove or disprove this I did it to a Cinquecento! It kinda looks like a shrunken wonder civic! Needs more lows though...
I would love to see other peoples attempts at it...
Well done if you made it this far, here are a few videos that probably explain it a lot better than I ever could, and the 3rd is just the insanity of the actual 'racing'...
Also I have used a lot of Speedhunters bits they have some excellent articles, here are some links if you want to know more!
'Kanjo' on Speedhunters
Kanjozoku, excellent site...
There are also a lot of Facebook pages for the teams like 'No Good racing' , and a good group called 'Kanjo Racing UK'
Cheers, enjoy, Mike.
