Video Review - High Octane 2

High Octane 2 - The Australian Edition
Running Time:	102 minutes PAL/NTSC
	102 minutes DVD
Rating:	Parental Guidance
Country of Origin:	New Zealand
Video Format:	PAL, NTSC video and PAL DVD
Price - Video	AUS$32.95 (US$18.00) through the AutoSpeed Shop
DVD	AUS$36.95 (US$19.03) through the AutoSpeed Shop

The sequel to High Octane 2000 - High Octane 2 - is the best go-fast modified car video you can buy. We've given the first High Octane video praise and, without doubt, the latest release is better again. Its spread of topics, 'watchability' and production quality is second to none.

The video starts with Mr High Octane himself - Ketzal Sterling - on ya screen getting slapped from a state of conservatism into a see-red frenzy. This sets the scene for what's to come...

The first segment sees a gorgeous blue R33 GT-R showcar - plump with 700hp worth of Trust bits - being handed a challenge by a low'n'loud Ford GT40 replica. Ketz is keen to see which one's faster, so he sends the two owners off in a race to see who can pick up a package at a nearby beach and return first. Sounds cool - the only problem is, Ketz forgot to drop the package off.

He fires up his trusty Charade Turbo (a limited edition DeTomaso!) and tackles a dirt track short-cut to the beach. Gotta get there before they do! A bit of handbrake use sees the little Charade sideways and zipping along pretty well for a 1-litre 3-pot - well, it looks that way until Tommi blasts past in his Evo 6 rally car...

Meanwhile, the GT-R and GT40 have a friendly duel on the blacktop and arrive to pick up the package - just after Ketz managed to get there and drop it off. Then the race is on to get back to the start and hand over the package. Who wins? Well, you'll just have to watch!

You'll wonder what the hell's going on at the beginning of the next feature. Ketz is out in the dark with a torch light in his face crying like a baby. "What's that noise, what's that noise," he whimpers. Turns out it's the sounds of the nearby Meremere night drags. Cop an eyeful of a Starlet running 11s, the flat 12-second atmo RX-3 (with its fine paint job), a circuit-going S6 RX-7 and Mitsubishi Evos and VR4s running in the 11s.

The motoring action takes a brief interlude when Ketz wanders off to talk to some of the spectators. It seems he's pretty popular with the ladies - I wonder if he ever remembered to meet his trio at the gate after the event?!

The quickest car of the night is an 850hp R33 Skyline GT-R owned by Reece (as featured in High Octane 2000). With some recent engine work, the R33 paired off with a R32 GT-R and blasts off to win with a high 10. Even though it's running on Hoosier road-legal slicks, this thing smokes all four during every launch!

Drags can become slightly boring to watch after a while, so the feature is broken up with an excellent 'collage' of burnouts. The camera work, sound and effects are done brilliantly.

You may remember Ketz's little MR-2 project car from the last video - FLYEN. The 3S-GTE powered Toyota had been left making 138kW at the rear wheels, but now the guys decide to give the engine a freshen-up and search for more power. The 2-litre engine is fully rebuilt with polished ports, new valves and a TRD metal head gasket is thrown on as well. Don't expect too many details on the build, though.

Once the engine is pieced together, Ketz heads off for a body kit. You'd expect purchasing a body kit to be boring, but Ketz pulls it off with a great bit of tomfoolery - the sort that keeps the video 'light' all the way through. The body kit he selects is a Top Secret wide body pack, which you see being riveted and fibreglassed to the factory panels. It's then covered with a quick respray.

Looking mucho pumped-up, the car returns to the mechanical workshop where it runs another power pull. It's down on what the guys hope for, but - apparently - the timing is retarded.

Still 'on a rush' Ketz screams off to buy a bigger intercooler. He contemplates a monster front-mount, but the length of the intercooler pipes (running back to the mid-mount engine) would've caused a bit of lag... He settles on a Trust drop-in replacement that's much thicker than the original "glorified oil cooler."

With the new 'cooler and the timing picked up, the MR-2 pushes out 146kW ATW. The guys then install a MAP sensor, a Link programmable ECU and loom adapter. An adjustable fuel pressure regulator is then slipped to help the injector flow out.

In its final guise, the MR-2 cranks out 150kW at the rear tyres - not too bad.

With good power, the next move was to lighten the car slightly. Ketz saved around 20kg with a pair of Kevlar race seats - which you get a few glimpses of being made. With improved acceleration, the next area of development is brakes - Ketz lobs in to another workshop and has a pair of 310mm slotted front discs and 4-pot Wilwood clippers bolted on. Compared to the originals, they're monster.

The final mod for FLYEN is a superb candy gold paint job. Head off to NZ's House of Kolor to see them mask the body up and pile on a number of different coats in their booth. It's such a good end result, the car receives a studio cover shoot for NZ's Performance Car magazine.

Following the MR-2 feature is the Road Trip. Ketz gathers a bit of a posse - including a MY01 WRX, R33 GT-R and a MG convertible - and heads off on a leisurely drive. Go along in-car and watch the cars strutting their stuff on NZ's public roads - oh, and keep an eye out for the bit where the MG plough understeers into on-coming traffic. Oops!

Ketz slips in a bit of review of the new-age WRX and you get to go along as he launches it from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.8 seconds (in the rain and 2 on board).

Stops off along the drive include "the big botte", a quick roadside vomit and a mountain lookout (where one guy chases a sheep, of course).

Next we return to a racetrack venue for a show/track day. Watch owners punt a variety of cars (including a Monaro and a SLR Torana!) and marvel at their driving talent - or lack of. You'll cringe when the black WRX kisses the wall backwards...

Of course, what car show would be complete without a bikini contest? Not many males will be able to see these few minutes because their girlfriends will cover their eyes for the entire show!

When you are allowed to return to the video, Ketz gives you a lesson on how to spot an un-marked XR Falcon police car. Apparently Ketz nearly overlooked this particular car - it only had a coffee on the console and no donuts!

Things take a turn and go ballistic with the next bloke - Clive the Sideways King. Watch Clive circulate the racetrack in his V8-powered S4 RX-7 in true drift/burnout style. Ketz worms out of going for a ride and, instead, sends a cameraman. Just check out the car's handling attitude as it zig-zags over the bitumen - and a bit more!

Enough cornering stuff. The video next returns us to the drags for the High Octane 400m Battle. Ketz has a quick chat to each vehicle owner before they make a full-blooded pass on the track - there's a 240hp 2.0 atmo Civic running 14s, an atmo Supra (which gets blown away by a twin-turbo variant), a 2.5-litre T67 turbo WRX vs a milder STi, a 400hp VR4 vs an Evo and two Evos paired up. The quickest vehicles run 12s - the slowest, well, the slowest one is still finishing!

"Drift things" are the next vehicles to tackle the quarter mile. There's a modified S15, an unassuming looking Silvia, another Silvia, a "hard tuned" 400hp S14 and a mildly upgraded S14. Despite some of the cars having big power, you can see how they struggle to get their power down - the IRS squats, there's a heap of negative camber and the tyres fry. As you'll discover, outright power is not necessarily the best way to get a drift thing down the quarter mile fast.

Another short moment of lunacy sprouts up with Ketz kickin' along on a scooter vs a motorised scooter.

The fastest beasts of the meet are an R32 GT-R with a 700hp single turbo set-up and - again - Reece's R33. The pair squares off down the strip, with the R32 a nose in front until it misses a gear change. Reece cleans up with a best time of 10.5 seconds.

And just when you thought this thing is unbeatable, along comes a surprise challenger - a 121hp GSXR750. You might be surprised who wins - this is a reminder of how fast a good bike is. Oh, and you'll love the indicated 300 km/h one-wheel'd burnout!

Ketz then indulges himself in the Fight Scene - he loves beating up the bad guys. Follow him as he raids a shipping yard, takes on some goons and gives chase to the mysterious Man In Black. After a quick car chase - using a hot Silvia and a S6 RX-7 - Ketz gets into a situation where he plummets off a cliff; lucky it's all a nightmare. It's all pre-battle day jitters. Reminders of his shameful crash in High Octane 2000.

As in High Octane 2000, Ketz assembles a group of hot cars with think-they're-hot drivers and sets out on a racetrack. There's a wide selection of cars - a 450hp automatic Supra, 500hp R33 GT-R, 200hp Lotus 7 replica, 250hp Legacy wagon, 400hp R32 GT-R, 360hp Evo 2, 300hp R32 Gt-R, 350hp S6 RX-7, 430hp R32 GT-R and, of course, Ketz in his newly-modified MR-2. Oh, and there's a real weapon thrown in for added excitement - a 780hp Porsche GT2 racecar - complete with a kitty-cat paint scheme!

Each car sets off to set a qualifying time and the 5-lap race begins in a reverse grid formation - the slowest cars set off first. Ketz, by the way, is one of the very first vehicles to take off - he blames brakes for his poor qualifying time... There's no carnage during the race (this time), but there is a very close finish. Ketz j-u-s-t misses out winning. Certainly, you'll be amazed how fast the Porsche racecar goes - even compared to mega GT-Rs, Supras and RX-7s.

Wrapping up the video is the High Octane Speed Trial - the test for out-and-out speed. Again, Ketz gets together a bunch of cars - plus a couple of bikes - and sets off to test V-max on a NZ runway. The only dampener - literally - is the terrible wet weather.

The guys start off buggerising around doing drifts and spins, and the owner of an Evo 2 displays his talent performing WRC-style round-and-round donuts. Another guy attempts the same thing in his new Evo 6 to no avail, so the Evo 2 man gets in to show him how it's done... Seconds later there are Evo 6 gearbox bits all over the runway!

Ooo, that horrible noise is still in our mind!

Now the guys get to it - it's speed trial time. The Evo 2 busts out 243 km/h on the wet bitumen and the owner of a mildly mod'd STi backs off at 225. He's not convinced of the Evo's supremacy so they have a slalom run and a straight-line drag - they come out with one win a-piece.

Another AWD vehicle hits the runway next - the same 700hp single turbo R32 GT-R that we saw at the drag strip. Geared for quarter mile performance, this thing blasts off (despite the obvious slipperiness), breaks 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds and easily bumps into its max rpm in top gear - travelling at 250 km/h.

Next come the bikes.

A 160hp+ GSX-R1000 (with a pro rider) and a Suzuki Hayabusa take of into the distance with their high-tech engines giving a shrill scream all the way. Again, their speed is awesome. An on-bike camera shows the Hayabusa throwing the speedo needle around to 220 km/h in no time and continuing on to a top-end of 283 km/h. In the wet!

That awesome Porsche racecar of Battle Day again appears to make a top-speed pass. As expected, this thing accelerates fast. Not surprising though - without its rear wing and on slicks - it spins out of control at some 270 km/h! It's an incredible sight. It slips off the bitumen, shatters a runway marker light with a rear wheel and nearly takes out one of the cameramen!

That put an end to the day.

Keen to crack 300 km/h, however, the mega Porsche returns to the runway the next day and slips in yet another run - and this time it's dry. Hold on for your life as it blasts past the camera and belches exhaust flames at a monster 309 km/h. Y-eah!

Summary - High Octane 2 the Australian Edition is the best all-round video of its type. It's not of a technical nature, but it's got great all-round appeal to most people into cars. As we said, its production quality - in all aspects - is better than any other video we've reviewed. So get it, order a pizza and watch it with a group of buddies!

Note - the DVD version of High Octane 2 comes with an extra 18-minutes of footage!

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