There is something about UK car magazines that always seem to draw car guys to them at the local bookstores. Maybe it's the unusually large format, the sexy layouts, the massive amount of content (not ads) in each issue, or just the feature cars we can't get our hands on in the US. To add to our browse list at the local Barnes & Noble, a few months ago we discovered a new UK car magazine called J-Tuner. It was good to see that the tuner culture is alive and kicking even in the UK. Matt Goldsmith, the Staff Writer at J-Tuner, was down with being interviewed by us so we can get a first-hand report on what's happening over there.



Racing Code: J-Tuner is a new magazine that launched mid-2005, what motivated you guys to start a magazine for tuners? How much work and time was involved in launching the first issue? How has the reaction been to your magazine?
Matt Goldsmith: Although the UK had niche mags covering Japanese cars, they never actually spent any time in Japan! This was obviously a huge flaw in the market at that time. Steve Chalmers and Dan Lewis (editor of Redline magazine) were paying their annual visit to the Tokyo Auto Salon, when on their return flight they had a moment of genius and J-Tuner was born. I wasn’t involved with the initial launch of the magazine as I was unavailable until issue #3, but launching any new publication is always difficult, especially when the competition is already established and has a very loyal readership. The reaction to J-Tuner exceeded our expectations, readers have welcomed our fresh outlook on the scene and appreciate that the J-Tuner team are all enthusiasts, not your typical straight-faced journalists.

RC: What is your role at J-Tuner? Could you give us a glimpse of a typical day for you on the job?
MG: My official title is ‘Staff Writer’ although I call myself Dept. Editor behind closed doors, ha ha. Along with writing features, I’m also responsible for the news section, game and DVD reviews, all the motorsport coverage, sourcing and reviewing new tuning products, organising the staff and tuner project cars as well as searching for feature cars and covering car shows. With all that in mind, I don’t think I have ever had a typical day. One day you can be driving a prototype racecar, the next you are interviewing one of your heroes or standing in the middle or a car park at 23.00 in the pouring rain.

RC: Is the Japanese tuner culture pretty big in the UK?
MG: Yeah it’s huge. The UK scene has been steadily growing for many years. I believe computer games like Gran Turismo have played a massive part in creating awareness of the potential that these Japanese cars possess. With the recent introduction of drifting to the UK, the Japanese car scene is about to explode over here.

RC: Are there many magazines devoted to Japanese tuning in the UK? What do you think differentiates J-Tuner from the others?
MG: There are two other dedicated Japanese mags, but since the creation of J-Tuner, we have noticed a lot more coverage of Japanese cars in other mainstream magazines. J-Tuner has a distinct look and feel. We have always had writers and photographers in Japan, allowing us to get our hands on the hottest gossip and exclusive features before anyone else. As well as having some of the most respected tuners in the business guest writing technical articles, we are committed to promoting domestic car clubs. J-Tuner magazine also hosts one of the most popular Japanese car shows in the UK; JapFest.

RC: Most car magazines feature mainly the car, but typically not the owner, did you guys make a conscious effort to put the spotlight on the owner as well?
MG: The owner is extremely important to us, without them we wouldn’t have a feature. The majority of the cars we feature are privately owned, not tuner built projects, so it’s only natural to give the owner some exposure as well. It adds to the ‘keeping it real’ philosophy of J-Tuner, it’s nice to see that these fantastic machines are designed, built and driven by ordinary people.

RC: Could you describe the J-Tuner project cars? Anything exciting you want to brag?
MG: We have some ongoing staff-car projects, these include the editor's Toyota MR2 and my own Mitsubishi Colt. We also have an AE86, we would eventually like to enter it into the D1 Great Britain series, it’s going to need some serious work to get it competitive, but we love a challenge.

RC: What kind of ride do you own? What types of mods have you done?
MG: It’s a 1994 Mitsubishi Colt. I don’t think they imported them Stateside. I’ve thrown away the 1.6 liter engine and swapped it for the 4G63T from a Lancer Evo III, it currently produces around 320bhp. The car is completely stripped out and has a competition rollcage installed. The only original component is the shell! Before I started on J-Tuner I planned to use it to compete in sprint, rally and hill-climb events. Although I have had my racing licence sometime, I don’t get many chances to use it at the moment.

RC: What are some of the more popular Japanese tuner cars in the UK?
MG: Obviously the Nissan Skyline is still the king. There are many tuning houses in the UK who specialise in modifying the RB26, 28 and 30’s. The Subaru Impreza is hugely popular, we recently featured the fastest 2.0ltr Impreza in the world – it was built and tuned in the UK too. Mitsubishi’s Lancer Evo is immensely sought after. The UK is the largest market for the Evo outside of Japan, which is probably why we get some amazingly fast factory conversions from Mitsubishi, many putting the JDM models to shame. The four-wheel drive cars currently dominate the market, but with drifting on the increase, we will see more and more S13’s and S14’s tuned for sideways action.

RC: Is drifting catching on in the UK as it has in the US over the past year?
MG: Yes, but at the moment we are still a long way behind the US in my opinion. I recently spoke to Blitz ER34 driver Ken Nomura during the first D1 Drivers Search competition to be held in the UK. He said that the quality of the UK drivers was at a very similar level to that of the drivers who entered the first drivers search in the US. This is very encouraging for the UK scene. The D1 organisation has now chosen to host its own event in the UK next year called ‘D1 Great Britain’. We hope it will take-off as well as it has in the US.

RC: Do you think UK tuners have a different approach to tuning compared to their Japanese and American counterparts? What's your perception of tuners in the US?
MG: I’m sure everyone has different views on this, obviously the global quest is to go faster and faster! Aside from the fact that US tuned cars look better than the European competition. From what I’ve seen of the US tuners, they are of a very similar quality to that of Japan - certainly ahead of the UK scene anyway. Although we are starting to catch up, we probably only have ten really quick cars that regularly compete. I’m not sure how these would fare against the top ten US cars.

RC: What can we expect from future issues of J-Tuner?
MG: As a relatively new magazine we are constantly evolving. Obviously I can’t tell you some of the top secret projects we are currently working on, but they’ll be worth the wait. The next issue contains an exclusive look at Ueno’s new 2006 D1 Soarer as well as a trip down memory lane as we catch up with JUN’s Super Lemon RII – now a UK based car.

J-Tuner magazine is available at most newsstands and popular bookstores in the US.
For more information on J-Tuner magazine, visit their web site at http://www.jtunermagazine.co.uk

Photos courtesy of J-Tuner.