SP Rides: JS4KIX
Just for fun. Just for kicks. In Gary Ganotisi’s world, JS4KIX is something he lives by.
Owner of Garage JS4KIX, Gary is jack of all trades in the automotive world. “Everything is like an art to me…from welding, to drifting, to doing wheelies on a 50cc motorcycle” says Gary. Gary’s talents extend to custom airbrushing and automotive tuning to competing as a driver in any drift competition he can.
Gary’s intro to the automotive world came from his upbringing in the art of graffiti. One thing led to another, and soon he was custom airbrushing cars, eventually tuning them with Ross Petty, another local drift hero. While sharing a shop on Mapunapuna, Ross introduced Gary to Okinawan street drifting. Gary took up the addiction and soon was hitting up regular runs with a rare right-hand drive S13 at Drift Session, an event held at the now-closed Hawaii Raceway Park (HRP).
“I really looked up to all the Hachi guys…Royce Fujimoto, Ross Petty, Forrest Wang, Justin Kikawa.” Gary says of the incredible drivers he ran with. Concerning the track, Gary remarks that “HRP was the best combination of everything for drifting.” and credits the track for developing the talent of Hawaii’s best drivers.
When HRP closed, Gary was one of the few drifters to be able to continue his passion for drifting. While opening his shop, he continued to compete in many events including NOPI Drift, Top Drift, and of course, the hugely successful Formula Drift Pro Am series, of which he’s become regular competitor along with the help of fellow tuner and drift famous, Ernie Fixmer.
Gary’s shop allows him to build cars like the incredible Nissan S13 you see on this page. Purchased in 2005, this track prepped drift machine has gone through many variations of builds. With the threat of track closure looming, he bought it with a need for use as a quick machine for some down and dirty drifting.
This S13 has tapped everything from walls to fellow drifters and has the battle damage to prove it. After going through a few paint jobs, Gary settled with a black paint job dusted with copper flakes. In person, the car looks sleek and purposeful with a Vertex Aero kit, C-West Mirrors, Custom rear fender flares, DMAX tail lights, and an Origin roof wing to top it all off.
Under the hood, this car is packing some serious but contained potential. Featuring a SR20DET equipped with a GT30 Turbo and 550cc injectors, the car puts out 350HP…perfect for keeping it reliable and easy to maintain.
Gary keeps control with a Sparco steering wheel while comfortably seated in matching Sparco seats. His heads-up display consists of Omori Gauges and a PowerFC for his engine management. Rolling stock is a set of super-shiny Kranze 19x10s in the front with massive deep dish 19x12s with a +40 offset in the rear.
After all this, you’d think that owning a shop would be enough, but Gary’s full time job is actually trucking. That’s right…trucking. Of course, Gary is a big family guy, and he credits his wife and kids for all their support to make this all happen.
Gary is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel in true drift style, but for now, he’ll sit back with his family and friends and do things…JS4KIX.
