This week’s “Throwback Thursday” is the continuation or part 2 of the Tyler McQuarrie interview we reran last week. We have known Alex Pfeiffer for a long time now. I have seen him build cars, drift pretty much every car out there with multiple teams. Currently under Megan Racing in a Nissan 350z, this guy gets around and I have always been a fan of him and what he does. Next stop Atlanta after making Top 32 in the first round of Formula Drift. Let’s look back and remember where he was in 2006.
Honda Tuning: How did RS*R recruit you to become their first American driver?
Alex Pfeiffer: Back in 2002, they had the first RS*R Drift Festival in the U.S. at Irwindale, and I won that event. From then on, anytime they needed a driver to do a drifting demo or wanted to have someone test their cars, they always hit me up. We’ve always had a good working relationship, and things just went from there.
HT: At what point was the decision made to build up the S2000, and how involved were you in the build-up?
AP:They had been talking about building a car here in the U.S. for a while. They took delivery of the car from Honda, and had the car out at a local Drift Day event for a bunch of drivers to test out. Out of everybody, I did fairly well with it. I gave them some suggestions on some changes to improve the driftability of the car, including switching out the steering rack and lightening everything. It took them a while before they had the car done; they were working on it for 6 months before it was actually driftable competitively. The car first came out without any stickers at its first event. It was naturally aspirated, had raw carbon fiber bodywork, and we ran it with the power steering disconnected. That was at the Road & Track shootout at Laguna Seca in the summer of 2004. After that, I asked for more horsepower and to switch out the steering rack; that is when we went to the Mazda RX7 rack. We then debuted it at the Formula D Irwindale event; I got 3rd place at that event. The next event was the Need for Speed Underground Competition, which I won, and at the Formula D event in Wall, NJ in April of 2005, I took 2nd place. The car was very successful from the beginning.
AP:They had been talking about building a car here in the U.S. for a while. They took delivery of the car from Honda, and had the car out at a local Drift Day event for a bunch of drivers to test out. Out of everybody, I did fairly well with it. I gave them some suggestions on some changes to improve the driftability of the car, including switching out the steering rack and lightening everything. It took them a while before they had the car done; they were working on it for 6 months before it was actually driftable competitively. The car first came out without any stickers at its first event. It was naturally aspirated, had raw carbon fiber bodywork, and we ran it with the power steering disconnected. That was at the Road & Track shootout at Laguna Seca in the summer of 2004. After that, I asked for more horsepower and to switch out the steering rack; that is when we went to the Mazda RX7 rack. We then debuted it at the Formula D Irwindale event; I got 3rd place at that event. The next event was the Need for Speed Underground Competition, which I won, and at the Formula D event in Wall, NJ in April of 2005, I took 2nd place. The car was very successful from the beginning.
HT: You’re judging this year for Formula D. What made you want to step out of the driver’s seat, and how is the judging going?
AP: It came down to the drivers. We had a meeting at the end of last year (2005), we put a vote to see who the drivers wanted to be the judges for this year. My name was brought up by the drivers several times as someone who would do some good as a judge. We put it up to a vote, and that was that. Now that I’m judging, I don’t really enjoy it as much as I thought I would. There is so much stuff going on at the track; there isn’t as much of a chance to just hang out with the fans and sign autographs. I’m too worried about taking care of the small things to make the event run smoothly. Overall, I think we have really helped bring Formula D up a level in competition, so it has been good.
AP: It came down to the drivers. We had a meeting at the end of last year (2005), we put a vote to see who the drivers wanted to be the judges for this year. My name was brought up by the drivers several times as someone who would do some good as a judge. We put it up to a vote, and that was that. Now that I’m judging, I don’t really enjoy it as much as I thought I would. There is so much stuff going on at the track; there isn’t as much of a chance to just hang out with the fans and sign autographs. I’m too worried about taking care of the small things to make the event run smoothly. Overall, I think we have really helped bring Formula D up a level in competition, so it has been good.
HT: You run the suspension company Battle Version. Did you prototype any parts on the S2000 when it was being built up?
AP: Yeah, I made some rear upper control arms and front upper control arms for the RS*R car, but they are just prototypes. I haven’t really released it to the market because I’m not sure how many people are interested in using the parts. For now, I haven’t pushed any more development on the car. The RS*R i-shocks that we added really helped bring the car up to speed for the suspension because they are 2-way adjustable, bound and rebound. We didn’t need anything else.
AP: Yeah, I made some rear upper control arms and front upper control arms for the RS*R car, but they are just prototypes. I haven’t really released it to the market because I’m not sure how many people are interested in using the parts. For now, I haven’t pushed any more development on the car. The RS*R i-shocks that we added really helped bring the car up to speed for the suspension because they are 2-way adjustable, bound and rebound. We didn’t need anything else.
HT: Going from driving a turbocharged AE86 corolla to driving the turbocharged S2k, how similar are they to drive, being that they’re both short wheelbase cars?
AP: There’s really 2 techniques when it comes to drifting cars. You have high horsepower cars which use mostly throttle to adjust the drift, and lower horsepower cars which use weight transfer and more steering adjustments to maintain the drift. The S2000 is a little weird, when you’re high in the RPM, you drive it like a low horsepower car – with more steering. If you’re lower in the RPM band, you can handle it like a high HP car because of the torque, which means more throttle control than steering. It’s kind of backwards from what you would expect.
AP: There’s really 2 techniques when it comes to drifting cars. You have high horsepower cars which use mostly throttle to adjust the drift, and lower horsepower cars which use weight transfer and more steering adjustments to maintain the drift. The S2000 is a little weird, when you’re high in the RPM, you drive it like a low horsepower car – with more steering. If you’re lower in the RPM band, you can handle it like a high HP car because of the torque, which means more throttle control than steering. It’s kind of backwards from what you would expect.
HT: You’re judging this year for Formula D. What made you want to step out of the drivers seat, and how is the judging going?
AP:It came down to the drivers. We had a meeting at the end of last year (2005), we put a vote to see who the drivers wanted to be the judges for this year. My name was brought up by the drivers several times as someone who would do some good as a judge. We put it up to a vote, and that was that. Now that I’m judging, I don’t really enjoy it as much as I thought I would. There is so much stuff going on at the track, there isn’t as much of a chance to just hang out with the fans and sign autographs, I’m too worried about taking care of the small things to make the event run smoothly. Overall, I think we have really helped bring Formula D up a level in competition, so it has been good.
AP:It came down to the drivers. We had a meeting at the end of last year (2005), we put a vote to see who the drivers wanted to be the judges for this year. My name was brought up by the drivers several times as someone who would do some good as a judge. We put it up to a vote, and that was that. Now that I’m judging, I don’t really enjoy it as much as I thought I would. There is so much stuff going on at the track, there isn’t as much of a chance to just hang out with the fans and sign autographs, I’m too worried about taking care of the small things to make the event run smoothly. Overall, I think we have really helped bring Formula D up a level in competition, so it has been good.
HT: Do you feel you might be biased for or against the S2000, having driven it?
AP:No, not really. When we watch the drivers run, it doesn’t matter what car they’re in. We do base our decisions on how they are doing related to their car, we pretty much know what each car is capable based on horsepower and wheel base and such. We want to make sure that the drivers are driving the most out of their car, whether it is a high horsepower or lower horsepower car.
AP:No, not really. When we watch the drivers run, it doesn’t matter what car they’re in. We do base our decisions on how they are doing related to their car, we pretty much know what each car is capable based on horsepower and wheel base and such. We want to make sure that the drivers are driving the most out of their car, whether it is a high horsepower or lower horsepower car.
HT: How do you feel Tyler McQuarrie is doing in the car since taking over the driving responsibilities from you earlier this year?
AP: At first, he was learning the car and how it responds. I think he has been around higher horsepower cars a lot more, so he had to learn to drive the car like a low horsepower car and that’s why it took him awhile to get comfortable. He’s really getting comfortable with the car now and he’s doing a lot better. We saw him get a top qualifier award in Chicago this year, and he also got on the podium for the first time at that event. He seems to be going into competition with a lot more confidence, and it shows.
AP: At first, he was learning the car and how it responds. I think he has been around higher horsepower cars a lot more, so he had to learn to drive the car like a low horsepower car and that’s why it took him awhile to get comfortable. He’s really getting comfortable with the car now and he’s doing a lot better. We saw him get a top qualifier award in Chicago this year, and he also got on the podium for the first time at that event. He seems to be going into competition with a lot more confidence, and it shows.
HT: Where do you see Formula D and drifting headed in the next 5 years?
AP: I think the sport will fair pretty well, as long as we keep our fan base going. So far, our fan base has been developing at a pretty good rate. As long as we put on a good show and keep our good drivers at the events, we’ll be sticking around for quite awhile.
AP: I think the sport will fair pretty well, as long as we keep our fan base going. So far, our fan base has been developing at a pretty good rate. As long as we put on a good show and keep our good drivers at the events, we’ll be sticking around for quite awhile.
HT: You’ve done demos for Champ Car, and there has been some talk in the drifting community about having drifting at an X-Games type of event. How do you feel about that?
AP: Anything along the lines of doing crazy events in front of more spectators is good, that’s why we’re doing demo events in front of new audiences. The more new spectators you show the sport to, the more fans you get, and that all really helps take the sport to a new level. Once people see it, they fall in love with it.
AP: Anything along the lines of doing crazy events in front of more spectators is good, that’s why we’re doing demo events in front of new audiences. The more new spectators you show the sport to, the more fans you get, and that all really helps take the sport to a new level. Once people see it, they fall in love with it.
HT: You did some driving in the recent Fast and Furious 3 movie. What was that experience like? Did you actually like the final product?
AP: That was really cool, I enjoyed that a lot! I drove the gold 350z in the scene before it hit the Lexus and in the scene where it was weaving through traffic. Also, in the scene where “Shawn Boswell” is driving with “Neela”, I was driving some of the background cars. All of the stunt drivers were from Formula D, so that’s what made it fun. It was all formal when it came time to shoot, but when they were setting the scenes up, we were all goofing off and having a good time. When I finally saw the movie, I really enjoyed it, I thought it was pretty cool compared to the other movies in the series.
AP: That was really cool, I enjoyed that a lot! I drove the gold 350z in the scene before it hit the Lexus and in the scene where it was weaving through traffic. Also, in the scene where “Shawn Boswell” is driving with “Neela”, I was driving some of the background cars. All of the stunt drivers were from Formula D, so that’s what made it fun. It was all formal when it came time to shoot, but when they were setting the scenes up, we were all goofing off and having a good time. When I finally saw the movie, I really enjoyed it, I thought it was pretty cool compared to the other movies in the series.
HT: You’ve done some Time Attack driving in the past year, and used to run some NASA enduro races a few years ago. Do you have any desires to drive in other motorsports?
AP: I think that I’m the type of driver that will jump into anything given the opportunity, whether it’s go kart or rally or NASCAR. Anything that they will let me drive I will drive! I have driven a lot of different forms of motorsports over the years: I did gokarts for a few years, I rode dirt bikes for a few years, but I’ve always been road racing and drifting, those are my strong points. As a driver, you can only spend so much money on racing and the rest has to go to rent. Until I make more money, I’m not going to do much with other motorsports unless I find more sponsors. Some of the most fun I’ve had is at local track days with a bunch of friends where we can just drive all day and have fun. With all the drifting events this year, the amount of time spent at the tracks with all of the events, there isn’t much time for a regular 9-5 job so you have to have a flexible job. It makes it tough.
AP: I think that I’m the type of driver that will jump into anything given the opportunity, whether it’s go kart or rally or NASCAR. Anything that they will let me drive I will drive! I have driven a lot of different forms of motorsports over the years: I did gokarts for a few years, I rode dirt bikes for a few years, but I’ve always been road racing and drifting, those are my strong points. As a driver, you can only spend so much money on racing and the rest has to go to rent. Until I make more money, I’m not going to do much with other motorsports unless I find more sponsors. Some of the most fun I’ve had is at local track days with a bunch of friends where we can just drive all day and have fun. With all the drifting events this year, the amount of time spent at the tracks with all of the events, there isn’t much time for a regular 9-5 job so you have to have a flexible job. It makes it tough.
HT: If Honda gave you a car for free tomorrow, which car would you ask for?
AP: It would definitely be an S2000. I’d love to build a personal car based off of the RS*R car, but with some of the comfort pieces so that I could drive it as a daily driver. I would keep the interior as well as the convertible top. I’d also keep the AC, it’s too hot here in sunny southern California to drive without it.
AP: It would definitely be an S2000. I’d love to build a personal car based off of the RS*R car, but with some of the comfort pieces so that I could drive it as a daily driver. I would keep the interior as well as the convertible top. I’d also keep the AC, it’s too hot here in sunny southern California to drive without it.
