Exclusive Content…The Import Car Show Scene from ’99 – 2001…
EDIT: This was originally meant to be posted on Thursday 5/10/2012 but it took so long for me to put it together that I didn’t manage to get it posted until Friday. Sorry, but please read through it!
Today we are going to take a special look back for Throwback Thursday. The last couple weeks, I’ve been taking you back a couple years to show you some photos I re-edited from 2009 but today, we are going to go WAY back….13 years to be exact, to take a look at some photos I took when I was just a kid at various car shows I attended. 1999 was a very different time… I had no cell phone, I had a spikey head of hair, and in ’99, I was still a junior in high school. I was already very interested in the import scene and the cars that were a part of it, and so I went to as many car shows as I could. Things were very different back then. You had to be a baller to have a digital camera TV shows like Dawson’s Creek and 90210 were still on the air. Everybody was worried about the whole Y2K scare and President Bill Clinton was busy getting in trouble for getting a blow job from Monica Lewinski. I was already driving by then but I didn’t have a Honda or anything to really modify. My buddy Jose and I would go to car shows and just take photos of whatever we saw and grabbed whatever free shit was being handed out. I guess I wasn’t too different back then, just a lot more naive. I carried a backpack like I do still today but instead of it being packed with camera gear, it was the same backpack I used for school and I used it to carry all the free stuff I would get at shows. Man, if I knew then what I know now, I would have tried to take better photos and more detailed shots of stuff. Back then there was no such thing as blogging and web car forums were limited to a handful or less…
Back in 1999, the bodykit era was just huge in the import community and headlight/taillights conversions were all the rage. People shelled out all kinds of money to do these conversions and though they may be totally ugly and gaudy by today’s standards, that was the trend that was pushing the industry. “JDM” was not a household name yet and there were very few people that had full-on Japanese-spec builds. If they did only a small group of people would recognize the parts that these people had. The show scene was all about being flashy and doing what you could to stand out. The more wilder the conversion, the better. There was no flood of knock-off parts either. Nobody had fake garbage wheels and faux-JDM parts because there was no such thing as a mainstream “JDM” scene. People did whatever they could to acquire quality products and though you will see all kinds of crazy body kits in the photos to come, make note of what wheels these cars were on. Even with the crazy body modifications, basically everybody had real wheels and parts. The closest thing we had to anything that was a replica, knock-off wheel came from Axis and Konig. Thinking back now, I would still take the ridiculously over-the-top body kit era over any of the garbage you see today. Sticker-bombing cars, fake parts, and unused bike racks are a bane to the import community. At least back then people used creativity to stand out and didn’t take short-cuts to make themselves “cool” and subsequently call everyone “haters” if they didn’t agree or called people out for the short-cuts they took to be the next bandwagon trend hopper. The scene was very different back then but that is what people had to work with. They made the most of it and created whatever else didn’t exist then. Now you have an endless variety of options and the enthusiasts of the past have paved a road for the future generations. A lot of people spend more time trying to justify why they rock fake shit these days instead of spending their time building their cars. “I don’t have the money to afford baller stuff” wasn’t an excuse either. There were a majority of people that couldn’t afford shit back then either but they grinded and hustled and did whatever they could to build their idea of a dream car.
I personally am happy that I was able to see all the stuff from back in the day and see how much we as a community have progressed throughout the years. Things are WAY different now and are moving at such a fast pace that major innovations are coming almost every year. Even so, it is cool to take a trip down memory lane to see how things were back then. If you are still new to all of this and are relatively young, check these photos out of some of the cars that paved the way to what you know now as “the import scene”…. Thinking about how things were a decade ago, it is really remarkable to see how quickly the community shifted when the whole “JDM” craze took over. There are a couple cars in these photos that would still be relevant by today’s standards but mostly these cars were specific to that time period. If you think these cars were ridiculous back then, just imagine five years or so from now when you look back and think about how stupid all these overly stanced-out cars look. Yes, if you haven’t noticed, wheel fitment and stance this and that are the new “bodykit era”. People doing whatever it takes to stand out in the crowd, going way overboard with their builds, all the while not realizing that they are just hopping into an overly-crowded bandwagon. Sound familiar? In the group of photos you will look at 5-10 years from now, on a Throwback Thursday in the future, you will see a collection of cars that were way over done and a select few that are just timeless. Again, does that sound familiar to you? I am not “hating” by any means. Like the body kit, head/tail light conversion era, I embraced it, just as I have embraced the current style of modification. I don’t agree with all of it now but I didn’t agree with everything back then either, you just have to have a good understanding of what people were thinking and what they set out to do. There was no “rice” back then but you would consider what you see today possibly as “rice” or uncool by current standards. Hella-stanced-out cars, fitment this and that, are not considered “rice” or uncool by today’s standards. How you will look at the current state of things when you think back in the future….well…Let’s just say that history has a way of repeating itself…As long as you can look back and laugh at yourself like these car guys from the past do now, you can do no wrong…
I just love cars. With over a decade and a half of being apart of this wonderful community, I can honestly say that I have seen and learned quite a bit. Do whatever makes you happy to your car. This is your world, I’m just here to document whatever I can and be a witness to your lives…
The photos are mixed-up but are mostly from old car shows that I attended back in San Diego, CA. These shows include Import Showoff 1999, 2000-’01, as well as Hot Import Nights 2000, and two Extreme Autofest events back when they were still import shows. I have a lot more photos but they are dark and they just don’t come out correctly when scanned. These were all shot on my mom’s old camera and shot completely on 35mm film. I had to take these to a local VONS supermarket by my highschool and have them developed. It wasn’t fast either. I had to drop them off in the morning and then pick them up after school. It took quite a bit of time to scan these too and I did whatever I could to bring out more detail in the photos. With that said, let’s get started…enjoy and look at these photos knowing that things were different back then and not representative of the Honda/import community now in 2012. This was 13 years ago, some of you reading this site probably hadn’t even hit puberty yet, haha….
This car was important to me back then and now because it was the first R34 Skyline that I had ever seen in person. The only thing even remotely close to a Skyline back then were the lights that people were molding into their cars. This is the original Blitz R348 Skyline that was sent over to the states to compete in the Nevada Silver State Challenge. The goal was to hit a record top speed but it failed to do it that year because it ran out of gas… Pretty amazing car for its time and still one of my favorite builds ever… Additionally, Blitz Technospeed Z1 wheels will always be a favorite of mine, even though they weighed like 18-20 pounds each…
I didn’t really know much back then so I didn’t even know what I was looking at other than the fact that it was an R34 Skyline GTR… Make note of the time stamps in these photos because they are all correct. I shot these photos with a crappy camera back in October of 1999….
I used to always see this Civic coupe at shows in my area… He was from a crew known then as “Powerban” and would always park next to that pink Integra in the background… This baby blue coupe was on Racing Hart C5 Evos…
The pink Integra that was with him was owned and built by his girlfriend. I don’t know them personally so I don’t know if they ended up together but back then, they were always parked side by side. I don’t know what kits these were back then because they weren’t used as often as other fiberglass kits. Knowing them they modified them in some way to make them different. Note the Supra headlight conversion and the Volk Racing TE37s….
Signal Auto’s chop-top EK Civic drag car…. This thing was nuts for its time and something that no one had seen before. Signal Auto was still a fairly new name in the U.S. as well. I don’t think they made their way over to America yet where they later opened up a U.S. division. All Signal had back then was this Civic and a very, very fast Skyline drag car. Drifting wouldn’t hit the U.S. for a couple more years so they were known mostly for their drag racing stuff. If I remember correctly, this Civic later had a NSX engine swap as well…
DPK David’s coupe back in 1999…haha, just kidding. If it was it would probably look something like this I am sure… “Goldcrest Autobody” as seen on his windshield was a huge shop at that time that was known for doing wild conversions. They later painted both my cars…. Peep the Volk III wheels on the white coupe in the back..
Does anyone remember Alley Baggett? She was Miss Import Showoff back in ’99 and I remember looking at her old Playboy photos online at night on my crappy dial-up internet connection on my 486DX2 IBM computer… It would take like 5 minutes just to load up a full size nude shot of her and if anyone decided to pick up the telephone, the photo and your internet connection would cut-off… I was all about Alley Bagget back then and she was one of the hottest females I had ever seen… sadly, she didn’t do much after that and is still doing internet modeling today….
How about a shot of Francine Dee back in 1999? She hasn’t really changed much over time and her tittys will never have the ability to sag so we are good…haha…She is still doing her thing as well and having stared at her meat flaps over time, I can tell you that her vag has gone from Flame Broiler, to Yoshinoya, and now to a #1 super bowl at your favorite Vietnamese Pho spot…..No matter what though, Francine Dee will always be a staple in the fabric of our import community and I will always be a huge fan of her and her wizard sleeves. I still remember the days when she had no implants and was rocking the blond hair… I may or may not have fapped to her so many times in my youth that my penis is on some grandfather plan, haha…
Does anyone remember Speed Options and International Allstars? Haha, back in those days, if you had a Speedoptions banner on your car and it was photographed, you would get paid for it… If you remember Speed Options, then you probably remember Rowena Galam and Jynki Cruz… I don’t remember the name of the girl in the middle…. Random but I think Rowena Galam is a dentist or orthodontist these days…
This was shot earlier that year at an Extreme Autofest event, but as I said before, headlight conversions were all the rage…this was an Integra from 935 Wiked Draggers with an Eclipse headlight conversion…Turbo B-series too, as were many of the show cars back then…
This coupe was from Team Techna and had shaved moldings, molded-in sideskirts and an Accord headlight conversion…that wing on this coupe was a “DTM-style” rear wing that was also very popular…
Tucked bays are a standard nowadays but what about back in ’99?….
FD RX-7 from Team Bosozoku with a VeilSide Combat kit…
Random unfinished cars would occasionally show at Import Showoff then, because these shows only came around once a year… This DA Integra had a R33 Skyline taillight conversion that hadn’t been completed yet…
I remember seeing a lot more Accords at shows back then as well…This one had a R33 Skyline front end conversion that honestly didn’t look half bad…Check out the “WWF Attitude” graphics on the car in the back, haha…
Stephan Papadakis’ legendary AEM H22-powered Civic drag car in the Import Showoff booth…
Right hand drive Prelude INX on Racing Hart C5s, chameleon paint, and a retro-fitted DC2 Integra Type R front bumper….
RJ de Vera’s mom was a huge hit in the import community back then because she drove this turbocharged Honda Odyssey…
All kinds of stuff was done to this Civic coupe that I spotted at Hot Import Nights in 2000… Notable stuff is the Saleen style wing, Acura CL headlight conversion, MR-2 taillight conversion, MR-2 sidevents, shaved moldings, door handles, and Racing Hart C2 Evos…Also had orange and grey two-toned vinyl interior… I think this thing ended up on the cover of an issue of Import Tuner later that year as well…
This BB6 Prelude was the flagship vehicle of Team Techna back in 2000… You probably know the owner of this car now because I believe he is one of the head guys over at Auto Explosion, a body shop here in LA that is still in business today… I couldn’t even name all the things that this car had on it. The amount of bodywork was just insane… He later painted this car yellow and then showed it for a couple more years before selling it…
Elaborate show displays were a standard back then and often rivaled the stuff you would see at Lowrider shows…
Widebody CR-X on Axis Touring Cup wheels and an Integra front end… When was the last time you saw a pair of Momo Corse reclinable seats?…
You won’t see too many first generation Acura CLs these days because enthusiasts in 99-2000 were too busy robbing them of their headlights for conversions. CL headlight swaps were crazy popular then and were referred to as the “Cali Type R” conversions on Integras. Here you see a pretty clean CR-X on OG Racing Hart C2s and a CL headlight conversion…
A couple of young ladies (who are probably moms now in their early 30s) posing in front of a Civic from 935 Wiked Draggers. This one had Feel’s style fenders and a front bumper from a company known as Street Weapon. Strange now to think back because these bumpers were called Street Weapon “Drift” bumpers and drifting hadn’t even hit the U.S. yet… Happy early Mother’s Day to the two ladies up top, haha… Shit, maybe they were already mothers back then…
If there is one thing that is completely different about car shows back then and now is that shows then still had a very “underground” feel to them. There weren’t very many corporate sponsors, if at all, and you had a lot more freedom to do things without worrying about rules and regulations. These days, police presence is heavy at car shows and show promoters are very weary of what they can do at shows because they have to follow strict rules. Nudity is something you will never see in a bikini contest or whatever today, unless it happened by accident. We call them “wardrobe malfunctions” now but back in those days, we just called it “getting naked”…haha. Below are some NWS images of some females from a bikini contest at Extreme Autofest 2000. If you can’t view them, I would suggest scrolling 4-5 images down to get back to the car coverage. These photos are so old now that you probably wouldn’t get in trouble for looking at them, they are just moments in history now….
Today’s car show bikini/”hot body” contests are a lot like this… Girls with clothes on with a little bit of cheek showing… Tame but safe, cops wouldn’t be all over your ass about getting naked because you weren’t doing anything crazy…
Bikini contests back then, were more like this…
…and also like this…
Girls did whatever it took to win back then… fuck a bikini contest, they just wanted some good old fashion attention… Look at the dude’s face holding the video camera, haha…
You didn’t have to worry about offending families and old people or kids because they weren’t present. The demographic wasn’t as wide spread and commercialized as it is now… If you popped a titty out these days, you would get a hefty fine. Back then, showing a titty or two was just fine….haha…
Imagine if somebody knew this chick now and saw her in these photos…haha… if you are in this photo and you are also now a mother, happy early mother’s day. You are a vital part of car show history… You can now officially look back with regret..
Those two girls thought they were going to win by showing their titties…
…and then the white lady comes in and starts doing this type of stuff… Eating her own titty milk and shit… Grand prize was like $500 or something so girls went to work to try and win…
At age 18, these were like, the best titties I had ever seen then..haha… I should also remind you that these were shot on film so a VONS supermarket employee had to develop these. Imagine going through photos and seeing something like this…haha…oh man… I don’t remember who won this but there was also a girl that was doing the splits in a g-string and shit and all kinds of stuff was showing…
Anyways, back to the cars…
This turbocharged Mugen-everything Integra was WAY ahead of its time… Art-n-Motion was the crew to beat back then and they had a bunch of really amazing builds like this. I didn’t know too much about Mugen stuff back in 2000 so I took builds like this for granted. I look at it now wishing I had known better and I would have studied this car inside and out…
Another look at the Supra-headlighted Integra from Powerban… this was taken a year or so later I believe. Fucking car was on clouds and shit with a diamond structure around it…
I remember around 2000-2001 being a time when the Buddy Club front bumper just took over car shows. Every car had it and it didn’t even have to be a Honda. People would just take the bumpers and make them fit onto their cars. This was a pretty clean example with some 5Zigen 5ZR Copse wheels…. I remember I almost bought a set of these a couple years later because I worked with a guy who was friends with someone who worked at the company that was distributing 5Zigen stuff. The company was called ATK or something. The dude would just back door the wheels and make all kinds of money off of it. That’s probably one of the reasons why that distribution company went out of business… I ended up not buying them because I didn’t want that shit to come back to haunt me and I’m glad still that I didn’t…
White vinyl on anything color interior was popular in those days… here you can also see that this guy was super ballin’ because he had a Playstation and a Nintendo 64….
Prelude from SIK with some ghost flames and SSR GP-O wheels… this particular front bumper was very popular among the Prelude crowd. You’ll see another one later that also has this bumper. Like today, there are still random idiots that will bring a completely stock Saturn into a car show (as seen in the background)… This Prelude owner had all white interior, meaning he couldn’t even walk outside without having to wrap himself in trash bags before getting into his car…
This RX-7 from Rotary Xecret 7 has to be one of the best builds EVER… FEED Type II aero on some legit Volk Racing TE37 Mag wheels. I don’t mean “mag blue” color either, I mean these were real magnesium TE37s. Back then, these wheels were the type of stuff you only heard about or saw in the Volk catalog… This build was just incredible and way ahead of its time…
Another sick RX-7 build, this one with a full Mazdaspeed kit on some rare (because nobody wanted them) Volk Racing Daytona Speed wheels…ANother car that I just totally took for granted back then because I didn’t know what I was looking at…
The first strawberry face S15 conversion I ever saw in person from PJ Bonifacio…
Speaking of cars that were ahead of their time, check out this BMW M3 from Techna on Blitz Technospeed Z1s. If this car was still around today with this exact same set-up, it would still be a hit… This M3 also had Sparco Milano seats, which were like, the top of the line seat to have because it had Alcantara leather. Now we hear Alcantara leather and run as fast as we can because it is so often associated with fake Bride seats….
Another car that would just shit on people today… Authentic Blitz Supra aero with gold faced Blitz Technospeed Z1… Just lovely. I look at cars like this and really kick myself now for not paying more attention to them…
I used to run into this del Sol all the time wherever I went. I thought it was ugly as fuck back then too but I always appreciated the work. It was just way too much for me but the quality bodywork was there. Racing Hart C2 wheels, custom gold paint, BB6 Prelude headlights, and Feel’s front bumper…. Also notice the first gen. Eclipse behind it with R33 Skyline taillights… This was around the time when 935 Draggers were a really well-known car crew and they recruited a lot of new members….
While on the topic of Eclipses, this was one of my favorite builds back in 2000 and it was the sole reason for me knowing what “Bride” seats were. I loved the Bride gradation livery on this Eclipse. I remember reading the magazine feature on this car and it wasn’t a GS-T model Eclipse. The owner actually turbocharged it after he bought the car. You should have noticed by now that Racing Hart wheels were the most popular wheels to have during that period of time. This Eclipse is on Racing Hart C5 Evos….
Here is a better shot of the turbocharged Mugen DC2 Integra from earlier… No time stamping on the photo indicates that I took this photo around 2001. I don’t remember how I did it but I managed to turn that feature off….If this car were still around today, it would still be totally relevant…
This car needs no introduction. L.J. Garcia’s FEEL’s Civic was and still is legendary. It was the first to have a complete FEEL’s aero kit and at this stage, Garcia had already repainted it yellow and added all the Ichibahn stuff to it. I think the engine bay had like TVs and shit too. Also one of the rare Civic builds to be on air suspension. I loved it before the makeover when it was still blue and had less stuff on it. One of the greatest things about this build back then was that L.J. actually took wheel fitment into consideration and ordered custom Racing Hart C5 wheels to fit correctly with the widened FEEL’s fenders… This car helped to make L.J. a household name in the car show scene… The Import Tuner issue that it was featured in alongside Francine Dee is probably the most remembered issue in the publication’s history. That issue not only made L.J. and his Civic known to the world, it also made Francine Dee a star in the import auto industry…
Complete legit C-West aero on this Integra… Don’t quote me but I think I remember this Integra being a legit R…I like the front splitter and the Advan AVS Model 7 wheels…Another build that would be pretty relevant now, especially now that body kits (legit Japanese aero) are becoming acceptable again…
Widebody Integra with a R33 Skyline-styled front bumper (Sinsei kit I believe) with kouki S14 240SX headlight conversion…
BB6 Prelude taillight conversion… Wheels were made by Gewalt… By the way, does anyone remember Sprewell Racing? It was a shop that was owned by former NBA basketball player Latrell Sprewell, who was a huge car head. The shop was around until like ’06 or ’07 and I never heard one positive thing about them…
This Lexus IS300 was one of the first heavily-modified ones that I could remember. It was built and owned by a female member of Techna and another build that would be current today. Full C-West aero, Advan AVS Model 5 wheels, Recaro seats…just very well done and great execution… I’m pretty sure May still remembers this car because she was a member of Techna a couple years later with DPK J.P….
Erica Lam’s Accord was the car to put back then… it had an insane amount of work done to it and I always remember her winning top honors at Showoff, HIN, etc… I think this photo was taken before it had air suspension. I actually wrote a small piece on it in 2008 when The Chronicles was just a couple months old… click here if you are interested…
As you may have noticed, baby blue paint was very popular during that time period. The baby blue would then be combined with any sort of flake or pearl tone and people would be all over it….
Widebody Accord with a Lexus IS300/Toyota Altezza headlight conversion…widebody as well with custom magenta paint with red pearl… Again, Racing Hart C5 3-piece wheels…
It wouldn’t be a throwback without a Cali Type R conversion… This was the typical front bumper that usually came with the CL conversion. I never understood the purpose of having that upper grille on this bumper. The CL headlights weren’t supported very well either and they just kind of sat in the bumper. If you hit a bump hard enough the headlight would probably fall off, haha….
Every now and then you would run into a modded Toyota pick-up at a car show… this one had Axis Touring Cup wheels and the Street Weapon “Drift” front bumper that I mentioned earlier…
Autocannon was a huge motorsports clothing line in 2000. The only people you will still see wearing their stuff today is Loi Song from Sportcar Motion. I think this guy bought all of their merchandise before they went out of business. When I used to go to Sportcar to go have dinner with Loi, he would go into the stock room and pull one of these shirts out brand new in the bag and put one on. Probably still has them today… This Civic was one of their sponsored vehicles and had a chameleon paint job, Buddy Club body kit, and Racing Hart Tracer wheels…. Oddly enough, the Autocannon site still works, you just can’t actually go into their online store… www.autocannon.com
Turbocharged Prelude with NOS…NOS bottles were important show pieces to have on your showcar. You didn’t even have to actually have a NOS system installed. As long as you had the bottle laying somewhere on the car that was all that mattered. In the year 2012, NOS is more of an energy drink and at car shows, empty NOS drink cans are just fucking EVERYWHERE….
I remember really liking this 4-door Civic when I spotted it at Extreme Autofest 2000. Probably because it was a rear sight to see a Civic with Civic headlights on it, haha…It was one of the first Civic builds that I saw with a Bomex EK front bumper….
It didn’t have a Bomex rear bumper or side skirts because they didn’t make one for the 4-door sedans… I don’t remember the brand of the mufflers (either Bomz or Hayame or something) but I do remember them being loud as shit…. Racing Hart C2 Evos wheels on this 4-door…
Max Boost!-themed Civic with CD Accord headlights and MR-2 sidevents. Max Boost!, for those unfamiliar, was a monthly short comic that was included in the pages of Import Tuner magazine in its early days…
Crappy photo (aren’t they all?) but this 300ZX is significant because it was the first Z that I ever saw with a legit VeilSide body kit on it (Minus the ugly ass hood, which isn’t from VeilSide). I used to see this car all the time after school. I believe the owner of this car’s name was Lawrence Gayoso. He was one of the founding members of 935 Wiked Draggers and was also one of the first guys to shoot “import models”. He’s the brainchild behind sites like Finestmodels.com, Finestallstars.com, etc. These sites were the first to feature risque, sometimes nude shots of popular import models then. The site actually still works but you can’t access anything. You’d be surprised who is on there and who is still around today…. The guy made a shit ton of money running these sites because no one else was really doing this type of stuff then… Unrelated to naked models but his wheels are from a company called Manaray Sports, which is a Japanese wheel company that is now extinct. Anyways, these dude made all kinds of money charging people to look at “implied nudes” of import models. You could see like the occasional nip slip but everything else was usually strategically covered by hands or bubble bath soap…
If you haven’t caught on yet, the popular trend was Buddy Club kits and Racing Hart wheels. The Racing Hart C5 was probably the first and most popular copied wheel. These were so popular that they were later knocked-off but all kinds of different wheel companies. One of them was a company called Katana and they made a copy and called it the Concept 5…You can probably still buy those motherfuckers too…
Ever seen a EF headlight turned into a fish tank with real gold fish in them? (R.I.P gold fish because they probably died a couple hours later) ….Blatant placement of the neon light too…
CR-X on Racing Hart C2s, ITR headlights, and suicide doors… two of the three companies represented on this car, oddly enough, are still around today… Carcraft is long gone but JT Autobody is still in business as well as Raceline USA. I’m sure Elton from Raceline will be happy to see that his business survived post vinyl interior, suicide doors, and headlight conversions…
In 1999, we didn’t even have Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions yet and the closest thing to having one was purchasing the complete conversion kit from VIS Racing…
I wish I had a better photo of this car but this was fucking bananas in 2000. Turbo monster of an EG on Volk TE37s…
Well, that’s pretty much a wrap. I hope you guys enjoyed this look back because it took me a lot of time to put this together. I’ve been wanting to do something like this for awhile now but I haven’t been able to connect my scanner to my PC until recently. It seems like so long ago and it’ll be interesting to see how things change in another decade or so. I’ll be an old man by then but I hope I’ll be able to look back on this hobby and be proud to tell my kids about it. Thanks for looking, now let’s return to the year 2012….
Sportcar Motion 2012 Open House Coverage…
After all that USDM Jam coverage, it almost feels a little odd now to go back and post some actual builds from America, haha. I know the annual Toyotafest event was this past weekend, but there was just so much going on last weekend that I could only squeeze in enough time to attend one event, which was Sportcar Motion’s open house/meet. Sportcar hasn’t thrown a meet in like 3 years now but Loi decided one day a couple weeks ago to put a meet together at his shop. It wasn’t very heavily promoted on the web so I didn’t expect too big of a turn-out. SCM is also in sort of a random location as well so if you haven’t been there, it’s not the easiest place to fine. I chose to go to the Sportcar event instead of Toyotafest because Loi is a good friend of mine and he’s always been an essential part of this site’s success. In the beginning, I had no real idea how to use a camera or how to shoot and Loi was one of the guys that really helped me get my photography to where it is today. I am pretty much self-taught but Loi has always been the guy to supply the equipment for me. He was a photography major in college so he just always had camera gear laying around that I could use. He’s so busy these days building his time attack Hondas and running a business that it doesn’t leave him a whole lot of time to shoot anything. He just goes to events now with his Canon S90 digital camera and gets photos with that. When I first started, I didn’t even have a camera. Loi had an old Canon Rebel XT that he wasn’t using because he had upgraded and basically gave it to me to use for whatever I wanted. If it weren’t for that old camera, I wouldn’t even know how to operate a camera today. All the credit goes out to Loi so I always make it a point to help him out whenever he needs something. I originally met him a couple years ago through mutual friends and started hanging out at his shop when I lived in San Diego. We formed a friendship and I am happy to see all the success he has achieved now with his time attack builds. Back when I first met him, he hadn’t really even got that heavily involved with time attack yet so it’s crazy to see how much Sportcar Motion has accomplished in such a short amount of time…
When Loi first mentioned that he and Morgan were putting a meet together, I didn’t think we would be able to make it down there because I thought it fell on the same day as DPK David’s wedding shower. I told him we might not make it and then I checked my calender and found out that it was the day before. Even still, the girls had a lot of stuff to prepare for the shower so we had to set aside some time to make the drive down to San Diego for the meet. At first I didn’t think the girls were even going to come but I guess with all the hectic preparation that had been going on the days leading up to the shower, they needed a little break and the girls decided to come along…
Rodrez getting some gas for his side project FA5 Civic SI before we headed down to SD. DPK David rolled out in his Civic coupe as well and I drove May’s three hub-capped Yaris…haha…
When we got there, I really had to pee so I ran inside to the bathroom and on the way, I spotted Ryan Novak’s R33 Skyline GT-R. You probably know that name more for the Honda projects that he has but when you’re ballin’ out of control like him, you can occasionally drive a Skyline too…
I don’t see too many R33 GTRs nowadays after the U.S. government seized a majority of them…
Shot of the engine bay on Novak’s GTR… The R35 GTR is definitely an amazing car but there is still an indescribable feeling whenever you have a R32, 33, or 34 in front of you…
The interior of the R33 Skyline is as mint as can be…
Outside of the shop, the first two cars I took a close look at were Enrique Rosario and Alex Colon’s Civics…
Enrique’s Civic has made huge strides since I first saw it a couple years back… he recently re-did somethings and the car is looking really good these days…
The engine bay is about as clean as it is going to get without deleting the brake booster and redoing the brake hard lines…
Alex’s Civic rocking the SCM front bumper sold by Sportcar Motion…
His bay is looking pretty good as well. You can spot his Rywire mil-spec harness and plate against the firewall… Also spot a lot of Skunk2 accessories…
Loi Song from Sportcar Motion snapping some photos of Rodrez’s baby…
A rare photo of father and son…
FA5 Civic with FD2 conversion and Mugen RR (or RR-style) front bumper…. Also has TE37s on it but it would probably look slightly better (opinion) on some thicker tires. Just seems a little unnecessary to have such a skinny tire with all that room to play with…
The rear is also converted but with the ’09 and up FD2 Civic taillights. They are slightly more angular and less round than the taillights people usually use when doing the conversion…
Never seen this trunk before… Looks to be a “CSL” style trunk that you usually see on BMWs…it’s an interesting look…
Renzo Marsano’s FA5 Civic sedan that recently ran 1:59 at Buttonwillow. Anything below the 2-minute mark is pretty impressive, especially for a street car with full interior and no real aero upgrades…
17×9 WEDSport TC105Ns and Endless brakes…
Supertwinz John and Lost is Black aka Brandon…
Rywire NSX on matte black Regamaster EVOs…
Alex Peng’s S2000 that recently ran a 1:58 lap time at Buttonwillow during the Global Time Attack event…
“Big Red” aka Ken Suen’s FD2-converted Civic sedan and the Sportcar Motion Integra Type R…
Ken’s Civic has changed drastically from when I first spotted it in the parking lot of last year’s Spocom 2011 show… I heard he is making huge strides on the track as well and running some really good times…
Rays 57Motorsport G07WT wheels on Hankook RS3 tires… also note the Brembo brake caliper and the brake temperature strip on it…
If you haven’t noticed by now, the old ITR bumper is now temporarily back on the Integra after the custom-built front end from Evasive was destroyed during Global Time Attack…
World Racing’s Scion tC time attack car…not the one with the crazy wing on the front…
Lotus on black Volk CE28s…
Sportcar Motion’s “Dirty Hybrid” CR-Z on gold Advan Racing RG-Ds…
Loi recently got his other project, “LRRH”, back from World Racing. It was there for some fab work in the engine bay as well as the full cage…
The bay is nearing completion. Just a couple things here and there and it should be up and running again…
The dump pipes still need to be made as well as the rest of the plumbing for the intercooler…
Engine breather and oil catch from AFI Turbo…
AFI Turbo K-series intake manifold…
AFI turbo manifold… Can’t wait to see this thing running…
Morgan’s EK9 Civic Type R…
Another Sportcar Motion project that will eventually be finished…
Another shot of the “Dirty Hybrid”…
…and a shot of the K-swapped bay. I guess you can classify this car now as a “KR-Z”…
Jose Guzman’s RSX is coming along… He recently added J’s Racing front fenders to go with his Backyard Special bumper. He just needs to get his suspension dialed-in and the car should be hitting the road once again…
DPK David’s EJ1 coupe…
GRETS_ONE aka Joseph Riofrir used to own a gold Integra coupe a couple years back with an ITR front end on GAB Sport wheels that you guys may or may not remember. These days, he’s working on this 4-door Integra on Enkei J-Speed IIIs…
David Nguyen’s Integra on Volk TE37Vs… Not only does he have an ITR front end, he also has a right-hand drive conversion that has all the necessary paperwork…
I was wondering where his ITR wing went but when I spoke to him, he mentioned that his wing was getting painted…
PingPing’s authentic Canadian Acura CSX with Voltex wing and J’s Racing FD2 front bumper… I shot this car a couple months back when I encountered the abandoned puppy that Arn Reyes eventually took home…
If I remember correctly, he used to daily drive this CSX but now he uses it more for track events. He hasn’t added much else to the car since I shot it, the only thing I noticed was the orange ducting in his J’s bumper…
That pretty much wraps it up. We had a lot of stuff to take care of back at home before DPK David’s wedding shower that Sunday. We hung out for a little bit more with baby Maddox and then headed back up to LA…
Thanks to Sportcar Motion, Loi Song, and Morgan Jade for hosting the event and also providing stacks on stacks of pizza along with cold drinks…
USDM Jam 9.0 Coverage…Part 4…The Conclusion…
Happy Monday everyone… Hope you guys all had a great weekend. Mine was pretty eventful and I’ll tell you guys more about it after we get through the fourth and final concluding portion of The Chronicles’ USDM Jam 9.0 coverage. I have to say, one of my favorite posts so far in 2012 has to be this USDM Jam series. For me personally, I love being able to see completely new builds and updates from builds that I don’t get to see very often. The best part of seeing new builds is the intrigue and excitement that we all feel inside of us. We want to be able to see what is out there and how things have changed over time. It is amazing to see how the Japanese have taken on our style of tuning and added their own unique touches to it. I love their take on things and it is cool to see how we are all now fusing the original Japanese-inspired “JDM” style with the new, modern, USDM style. Today we will be closing out the 4-part series and we will be taking a look at the rest of the builds there that caught my attention as well as some other stuff that was going on during the event. One of the reasons why I love checking out Koji Karimata’s photos is that he manages to always capture the cars that I want to see. There are a couple that I have yet to be able to find photos of from all the photos I’ve seen at the event but for the most part, Karimata has done a great job of capturing some of the best cars there. Shimomukai from Tactical Art also did a wonderful job of capturing the essence of the event and covering everything that went on around him during the entire show. I don’t want to risk any further eyestrain on you guys from reading too much so I’ll go ahead and jump into the photos now. Make sure to take a look at the previous three posts if you somehow missed out on them. It is definitely a collection of photos that you will want to see…
Thanks for looking once again and thank you to the people that contributed to the content from USDM Jam 9.0…
Aztec Green Pearl DB2 Integra GS-Rs are rare enough as they are in the U.S., but here is an original, left hand drive of course, U.S. Integra GS-R on Work Equip 03s…
Love the way this MK5 GTI looked on Hayashi Racing mesh wheels… Click here for larger Version (1400×933)
Z33 Nissan Fairlady Z Roadster on aggressive SSR MS1 wheels… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
GE-chassis Honda Fit on Rotiform NUE…
U.S.-inspired CR-X that I wanted to show you guys because of how clean it was on the outside…
…as well as in the engine bay…very nice shave and tuck job on this CR-X. Probably one of the cleanest CR-X bays I have seen so far from Japan…
Zenki S14 Silvia on fluorescent yellow Gram Light 57D wheels… Love the clean lines of the aero kit…
Nissan 180SX Type X on original Work Equips…
Immaculate Porsche 912…
JDM Toyota Corolla GT that was in the parking lot of the USDM Jam 9.0 show. I wanted to show you guys this Corolla GT so that you could see a better comparison of the Japanese Corollw with our USDM Corolla…
In my opinion the Japanese GT looks better, but this Corolla GT, owned by Masaru Tanaka, is the same Corolla I mentioned a couple posts before that was converted to complete U.S. specifications. It’s not just a simple front and rear end swap either. Though it looks very simple in nature, it is one of the most labor-intensive builds at the USDM Jam event. Tanaka bought a U.S. Corolla and pretty much chopped it up along with his Corolla GT and pieced all the U.S. components back into his GT chassis and this was the end result. I first heard of this build from Takeshi Kobayashi from Type_K and I found a link to Tanaka’s blog site where he documented the build. Click here if you want to see just how much work was involved in this build… Pretty insane stuff…
The original “black-top” 4A-GE from his GT remains as well as the individual throttle bodies…
You don’t see very many Mitsubishi Eclipses these days here in the U.S., but there are a couple of them floating around in Japan with their original U.S. left hand drive configurations. I can do without the XXR wheels but this particular Eclipse GS-T is really clean… The strange thing about the Eclipse is that they were only available here in the U.S. because the Japanese received the FTO model instead and I can’t recall the last time I’ve seen one of those things modded either. FTOs were pretty cool for their time too and I always thought they were better looking cars than the Eclipse model. I guess the rest of the world did not agree..haha…
Nothing says “USDM” like a lifted Chevy Avalanche pick-up truck…This owner even took the time to leave the mud tracks on it…What I am wondering is why this Avalanche has a carbon fiber fender on it….
Speaking of American car culture, lowriders have always been a big hit in Japan and like part one of our coverage, here is another great example of one…
Three-wheelin’ with the Japanese “19-63″ vanity plate…
Hydraulics and batteries in the trunk…
Not sure if this was a part of the event or not or just a passing work truck from Mie Prefecture…
Nothing too wild about this JZA70 Supra… Advan RGs have always been one of my favorite wheels and it’s rare to see them on Supras…
Bright green BMW Z4 on black-faced Work Meister S1s…I believe this thing also has scissor/Lambo doors as well…
Audi R8 just hanging out on the street…
Mercedes from Team Madame with a full-body Louis Vuitton “Damier” style wrap…
F50 Cima with U.S. Infiniti Q45 grille and BBS LM wheels representing Funny Fellows car club…
JZS161 Toyota Aristo turbo sitting on the floor…
Matte grey 3-series BMW on BBS LM-R wheels…
Beautifully done E89 BMW Z4…
MK4 GTI on Rotiform NUE…
Japanese Honda Zoomer/U.S. Honda Ruckus on display with a Yoshimura exhaust and custom-wrapped Bride seat…
Another JZS161 Toyota Aristo, this one from Grinders seated on Volk Racing TE37SL…
Datsun Bluebird 510 coupe on some Barramundi Design wheels…
Civic coupe from Grinders on gold-faced SSR mesh….
Relatively stock RX-8 on Work Meister S1R wheels…Next to it is a completely stock LHD U.S. Lexus SC400…
MK5 VW Jetta slammed on some CCW LM20s…
USDM-inspired brizzles reppin’ Grinders… I wonder if they had the USDM conversion done top to bottom…aka the fur burger delete…haha…
Wild Toyota pick-up over in the area where they presented the awards…
I don’t know what the awards categories consisted of and who won what, but whatever award this Cressida won, it probably deserved it…love the modern Rotiform wheels on it as well as the 1JZ-GTE swap…Very cool to see these things modded… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Masaru “MSR” Tanaka won more than one award and he was very-well deserving considering the amount of work and fabrication he put into his Corolla GT build…
One of my other main contacts in Japan, Yuya Yasunari, won an award for probably being the only person to ever admit to owning a 1988 Chevy Nova. These things were originally built in the U.S.A in Fremont, CA by NUMMI, which was a plant that was a co-op venture between GM USA and Toyota of Japan. The Novas are terribly unattractive vehicles but the Twin Cam model, which Yasunari owns, has the same twin cam 4A-GE motor that came on the Corollas… In Japan, this would seem totally cool to drive a LHD Nova Twin Cam… in the U.S., it probably just means that you are poor as shit. I love how it is in mint condition though…awesome…
Atuki’s Honda Integra Type R won the USDM FREAX-choice award at USDM Jam 9.0. USDM FREAX is a major publication over in Japan that is strictly dedicated to providing stories and photos of USDM-themed builds. Maybe I should go work for them too…hmm…
With the awards ceremony coming to a close, it was time for the Tactical Art guys to get packed-up and head home…
The Tactical Art DC5R on the road…
Shimomukai also managed to catch a couple of other cars from USDM Jam on the way home…
Lack of contact patch on the rear Barramundi wheels on this 7th gen. Civic…
One final shot of the Tactical Art Integra R on the way home…
One of the best things about the USDM Jam event was not only the unique builds but also because the show served as a fundraiser to raise money for the Japan relief fund. Though we don’t hear much news about the rebuilding process after the devastating earthquake and Tsunami that hit Japan last year, they are still recovering and the money donated from enthusiasts at USDM Jam went to the Red Cross Society of Japan…
Here is Mr. Tetsuya Yamaguchi, the creator of the USDM Jam series, presenting the money to a Japanese Red Cross representative…
With that photo, our USDM Jam 9.0 coverage officially comes to a close. It was quite the insightful look into the Japanese USDM scene. I hope you all enjoyed it, I know I did. Thanks for looking…
USDM Jam 9.0 Coverage…Part 3…
Here we go again…back now immediately with part 3 of the ongoing USDM Jam 9.0 coverage, brought to you by your’s truly, the Tactical Art crew, and Mr. Koji Karimata. This update is going up a littler earlier than normal but since I have a big weekend coming up, I have to get started early and that’s why you are seeing this update in early part of the afternoon (out here on the west coast anyway). I’m very happy with the interest that this event has drawn. A lot of you guys seem to be very interested with what is going on over in Japan and there are also many of you who are happy to see the growth of the USDM scene in Japan. I know yesterday I touched on the negative side of it and how many of you didn’t understand it, but I am overjoyed to report that there has been a lot of positive responses to this coverage. It is also always cool to see the Japanese response as well. Though these guys are fully devoted to this style of building their cars, they are surprised to see themselves appear on The Chronicles. Many of them look at the site casually and have no idea what I am talking about. They just come here to stare at photos of American Honda builds by you guys so I’m sure many of them are shocked when their own cars appear on here. I just want these guys to know that I have my eyes on them as well and I am very interested in their work and how they execute their builds. I’m proud to see that we can all share ideas with one another and inspire each other just by sharing photos. Today we will again be looking at a bulk of the coverage provided by Koji Karimata and I will sprinkle in some photos here and there that Yasutaka Shimomukai took. I like how Shimomukai took photos of everything around him that was going on and not just of the cars. There were a lot of duplicates anyways of cars that both these guys took and I didn’t really want to double things up being that there were a lot of photos already. Karimata took some really good shots of the cars that I wanted to see so that’s why you’ll see more actual shots of cars from him…. If I have time, I’ll pop in here over the weekend to close out this coverage of part 4, as there aren’t nearly as many photos as the previous 3 posts but we will see…
Let’s get moving…
Much like events over here, everybody seems to have a camera these days. Where this photos pop up I will never know, but it seems like you can’t even walk around for 5 minutes without walking into someone’s shot….here you see one guy demonstrating the one-armed snap shot pose while the gentleman in the back is using a more traditional pose, haha…Maybe the shutter button is in his pocket or something…
It would be really cool if I was able to set up a booth out there if I were to go to the 10th anniversary USDM Jam show in 2012…here you see a shot of the 10×20 Wek’Sos booth at the show which they shared with Hiro Ueda and KC Trading… Wek’Sos is very popular in Japan so I am sure they made a killing that day…
Yasutaka Shimomukai from Tactical Art and Ken from Wek’Sos got together for a photo during lunch…
Another shot from a different angle of Kei Takafuji’s EG on Meister S1s…
Kazu Imai’s engine bay…
The “Hellaflush”, or what Takeshi refers to as the “HF” style, has become very popular over time in Japan. Some have subtle, true flush fitment, and you have really aggressively cambered-out builds like this EG on custom BBS wheels…
R34 Skyline V-Spec II Nur driving over to its spot at the event… Nothing USDM about this at all but Skylines are a hit no matter where you are. In its country of origin, it is probably their most highly regarded vehicle… This particular R34 is a customer of Mr. Yuya Yasunari from Garage K&K…
I showed you that VW GTI in the background of this photo yesterday in high resolution, but here is another pair of euros representing the VW contingency at USDM Jam…
How fitting that there is a S13 coupe over in Japan that looks practically identical to Brandon Burke’s S13 coupe here, except with a U.S. front end with pop-up headlights. Brandon’s coincidentally enough, has the JDM Silvia front conversion. Crazy that they have the same wheels and everything. I believe this S13, a creation of Masaki Morohashi, came first though and has been in this exact state for a couple of years now… It was pure coincidence that they both have similar looking cars though and neither one of them knew of each other until after their builds were completed…
Z33 Nissan Fairlady Z sitting on a set of gold-face SSR MS1 wheels… Love how simple and straight to the point this Z is… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Always enjoy seeing photos of this Volkswagen Scirocco on OZ Futuras….
This custom Ice Cream truck had to be one of the coolest builds at USDM Jam 9.0… I hope that kid doesn’t actually think that they are serving ice cream though… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Audi TT RS with a lip kit, air suspension, and Incurve wheels… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
MK5 VW GTI with a nice contrast of orange on cream interior…
Yuichi Kimoto’s JDM FD2 Civic Type R to U.S. FA5 Civic Si conversion…. I absolutely love how the Japanese FD2 front and rear looks so this is something I would never do but I can understand why it was done. That’s how you know USDM style has become a hit with Japanese enthusiasts. People are willing to import front and rear ends from a FA5 Civic and doing full-conversions…. Kimoto actually had the same set-up for awhile, in terms of wheels and suspension, without the conversion and it looked great too… Cool that he kept the FD2 rear bumper though…Kimoto probably realized how boring the FA5 rear bumper is, haha…
Tetsuya Yamaguchi’s Integra with U.S. front conversion, shaved and tucked bay, on brand new 16-inch VIP Modular wheels… The car looks a little higher in the front than usual and that could be due to the angle he was parked at. He was probably too busy organizing the event to care….
Ferio representing Osaka JDM/Car Craft Boon on JDM Loop 5s aka Work Meister CR-01… The Loop 5 is a wheel produced by Work, but with more options exclusive only to Osaka JDM… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
A quick interior shot of the Ferio above… just straight gutted-out in the rear and a single Bride seat…
This looks to be a Toyota Starlet with a custom Boser hood…
Another shot of the Porsche 997 from part 1… I love how this Porsche looks and many of you agree, seeing as how the photo from part 1 was the most clicked on photo so far from the series of coverage… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
DA Integra from Akebono on some old school Ewing mesh wheels…
This Civic coupe has a complete USDM EM1 Civic Si conversion. It is probably the most complete EM1 conversion in Japan and the owner even imported the Si roof skin and sun roof. He used to have wheels on this coupe but I think he has ITR wheels on there now after he did his 5-lug swap…
Takahiro Kato’s Integra SiR-G… According to Takeshi, he used to be one of the Japanese enthusiasts who were into the “HF” style but recently went back to having non-aggressive wheel fitment…
Integra Type R slammed on WRD Chevlon mesh wheels… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
EK hatchback on bronze-faced/matte black Barramundi Design wheels… Love the tone on the seats… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Ryuji Yoshino’s CB Accord coupe with Xenon front lip…
EG with BYS front lip, Work Equip 01, and GTS headlight covers…
Yellow EK also on Equip 01 wheels…
Interesting to see an EJ1 coupe with ATS Cup wheels… The owner also has one of my old HellaSUNK stickers and an NWP4Life.com sticker…cool stuff…
I posted up a photo of this coupe on The Chronicles Facebook page a couple weeks ago and asked what your opinions were on it. It was mostly negative but that’s usually how Facebook comments are these days, haha… I think it would look better if the front vent was the same size as the bumper and the roof was color-matched. I don’t even mind the stripe on the side so much, which many people hated on. The Kaminari sides aren’t bad either. Wheel and tires looks good on there but the front fenders are a new addition…
Really liked Daishi Tanaka’s W201 E190 Mercedes….
I liked this del Sol on BBS wheels a lot more before he sticker-bombed it…at last year’s USDM Jam show it was one of the cleanest cars there….
Another shot of Atuki from Tactical Art’s new U.S. RSX-inspired Honda Integra Type R on CCW LM5s…. Click here for larger version (1400×933)
96-spec Integra Type R on Sprint Hart CP-R… random old school AEM intake on the floor….
SW20 Toyota MR-2 with purple Meisters…
Takeru Tojo’s Honda Element on bronze Volk TE37s from Lowered 2 Perfection car club… I don’t follow too many online blogs but Takeru’s is one I actually follow regularly…. Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Touma Kaga’s EF9 Civic on Gab Sport wheels…and now they are not Rotas… Kaga is also a member of L2P like Takeru Tojo…
Yukihiro Shinohara, also from L2P, is another one of those guys that used to be into the stickerbombed and “HF” style but he’s recently taken on a more subtle approach… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Honda Integra SiR-G on white BBS wheels…This is the same Hypnotic Teal Mica-painted Integra that I posted up a photo of in part 1 during roll-in… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Very clean CD Accord sedan on BBS wheels…. The “Simply Clean” sticker on the windshield is fitting…
Atushi Ishiyama’s DB8 Integra with U.S. 97-01 front end on Dunlop Formula Hart CP-R…
Teru Ito’s turbo Honda Odyssey van on SSR Formula Mesh wheels in a custom blue/teal tone…. I love seeing these vans modded nicely, it puts a smile on my face every time I see one… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Speaking of nice Odysseys, this one belongs to Hiro Ueda from KC Trading… He has a WEK’SOS banner on his windshield because he is actually good friends with Ken and Adam. I met him earlier this year at Wekfest SF and he often travels out here to visit them. Whenever Ken and Adam are in Japan, he’s also the guy that takes them everywhere and hangs out with them…. Click here for larger version (1400×933)
That is going to close out our coverage for today…back this weekend possibly with the closing portion of our 4-part mini-series. Thanks for looking…
USDM Jam 9.0 Coverage…Part 2…
Welcome back to our ongoing coverage of USDM Jam 9.0. I’m happy that the previous post has generated so much interest because I was one of those guys, like many of you, that was waiting around the days after the event took place waiting for photos to pop up on the web. Now I get to present them to you and try my best to tell you all about them. Many of these cars are new to me, some are familiar, and some I’ve even taken the time to do some research on in an attempt to give you the correct information regarding their builds. Today we will see a bulk of the car coverage itself unlike yesterday where I used a majority of the post to introduce (or re-introduce) you all to the USDM culture in Japan…
Before I begin, I’d like to take some time to discuss comments and criticisms that I have seen on various social media outlets in regards to the growing USDM-style community in Japan. While many of you find it to be totally cool to see, there are a lot of people within our community that are making statements out of misinformation or just plain ignorance. I see people talking about how they think that it is “stupid” to see what they are doing, taking their original Japanese parts and replacing them with U.S. domestic market products. Some also say that it is pointless to do this to a car just because YOU have taken time to source out these “baller” Japanese parts. For those who are naive or critical of this style, you have to think about how they interpret your style or your way of building cars. For them, it may seem “stupid” that you are taking USDM parts off of your car to replicate OEM Japanese vehicles. You have to imagine that you are taking parts off of your car that are unique to your country of origin to make your car look like someone else’s. You do that to achieve a specific look for your car and they are doing the same thing. Just because “JDM” parts aren’t sought after over there like they are here, it doesn’t make what they do over there “stupid” by any means. You have to try to walk a mile in their shoes to have a good understanding of what they are about. I think we can all be more appreciative of what we are doing as an automotive community worldwide. Back when this car culture was in its infancy, we all looked to Japan for inspiration. For decades, Japanese car culture has served as a model for what we want and today, the American car scene has grown and become better because of that. Now, there are people looking to you for inspiration for their cars, all over the world. You should be proud of that and proud that there are enthusiasts worldwide who are motivated by the builds they see here in America. Instead of shunning the idea and laughing it off, learn to understand cultural differences…
I’ll be honest, when I first discovered this USDM car culture in Japan, I too was a bit surprised by it. What could we have that they would want? But then I thought about how the Japanese probably used to ask themselves the same thing when they started seeing the whole “JDM movement” here in the states, and it made sense. After meeting Takeshi Kobayashi and discussing with him in length about the USDM craze that has hit their country, I have a great appreciation for what they do. Japanese domestic market parts are fairly easy to come by these days, thanks to the internet and open communication between businesses in both countries but American products in Japan are a little harder to come by. There are a very few select group of people that bring our stuff into their country and the prices are at a premium to acquire them. Takeshi, owner of Type_K Autosource, is one of those guys that has made a business of strictly bringing in American domestic products and automobiles into Japan. When he is here, I see the amount of work it takes to get what his customers are looking for. You wouldn’t even believe some of the stuff he brings back over there. He’s told us many stories about what guys are doing to their cars to achieve the U.S. look and the amount of labor they put into simply making their cars look “USDM” and it’s crazy. Some guys bring in anything from a roof skin with a sunroof just because their cars didn’t come with one and some enthusiasts go as far as bringing an entire vehicle over there just to chop it up and piece it back onto their Japanese chassis. You’ll see a Corolla later in the coverage where someone did just that. Masaru Tanaka imported an American market Corolla parts car back to Japan and literally pieced it back together onto his Japanese Corolla GT. The roof, quarter panel, front end, and basically everything you could think of is from an American Corolla and the only original portions of his car that are originally “JDM” is the front A-pillar and bulk head. It’s just nuts. Way over the top? Definitely…but you have to appreciate the man for putting in that kind of work just to say that he was able to do it. At the end of the day, we are all just modifying cars and trying to make them unique so they stand out from the rest of the crowd. JDM, USDM, it doesn’t matter. Hard work and ingenuity should never be discounted and unappreciated….
With that out of the way, let’s get on with the coverage. Today, a bulk of the photos will come from Koji “KaRy” Karimata…he was able to capture a large portion of the cars that I wanted to see and I’m happy to display them here on The Chronicles….
Enjoy… I’ve also attached links to larger versions of certain cars that were at the event. Click on the links below to see them…Don’t just click on the photo either, because that will just take you to a photo of the same size. The links BELOW each photo take you to the higher resolution versions…
USDM Jam 9.0 was the largest event for Tetsuya yet, I read somewhere that they had somewhere around 780 vehicles there. The tenth anniversary USDM Jam show will probably be even larger than that and they stated that they needed a larger venue next year. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to go out there and check it out in person…
This Ferio is a car that I see often whenever I see photos of Tetsuya’s Integra. They are usually parked next to each other and I’ve also posted photos of it on this site before at a different event. I was trying to find the owner on Facebook but I don’t believe he has one. It’s just a really clean sedan with a BYS front bumper and refinished BBS wheels. I think Tetsuya was the one that did the majority of the work on this car… Click here for a larger version (1400×933)
A shot that Shimomukai from Tactical Art got of the engine bay…Clean tuck job by Tetsuya with a lot of American aftermarket parts like an AEM cold-airintake, Mishimoto cooling hoses, and Benen heat shield….Also has spike hardware from Downstar Inc… Nice engine bay that still retains air conditioning…
Yuya Yamashita’s EK9 CTR on gunmetal-faced Work Meister S1 2-piece wheels… Also repping The Chronicles and NWP4Life.com…Like the repainted Midori EK9, this is yet another example of a Japanese enthusiast turning his EK9 into a more US-style DX build… I think he has the USDM-style stolen Honda emblem as well haha… Click here for a larger version (1400×933)
The VW and Euro scene was very well represented at USDM Jam 9.0…this is just one of many great examples of good VW builds in attendance… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Legit U.S. FG2 Civic Si coupe on Volk Racing TE37s….
White Integra Type R with a random purple front lip and BBS RS wheels…
Check out the Glendale plate frame and LA Dodgers banner on this EG…
Nissan Skyline 350GT coupe with Recaro seats and white Work Emotion XD9…
One trend that I am not proud to see in Japan are the growing use of XXR wheels but I thought I’d toss this in the coverage since we hardly ever see Honda Orthia wagons…
Integra with 97-01 U.S. front end and Work Equip 01 wheels…
Absolutely love this GTI on SSR mesh wheels….Note the Sparco seats and full cage inside as well as the vented hood… A little curious as to why the owner has hood pins on the front bumper though…maybe the front bumper is removed often and the pins make it easier to take on and off… This might be one of my favorites from USDM Jam 9.0. I like it so much that you can Click here for a larger version (1400×933)
Nothing at all USDM about this classic Toyota Carina coupe… Just pure Toyota nostalgia…Got the shades on the dash too so you know the owner dips this thing in style… Click here for a larger version (1400×933)
Blacked-out R35 GTR… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Another favorite of mine from this show was this Civic wagon from Akebono… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
I posted up a couple photos of this S2000 during the roll-in portion of the coverage yesterday… Takeshi from Type_K liked it so much that he ended up giving this S2000 the “Type_K Award” at the show… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Speaking of Takeshi, the Tactical Art guys stopped by his booth and snapped this photo of him setting up shop… How perfect is it that he’s paired his collection of Chronicles decals with a giant Pedobear sticker, haha…. Always good to see my buddy Takeshi doing work!…
Another “fitted” Integra Type R from “Staddict.C.C.” Clever name I might add… “Static” + “Addict” equals “Staddict”…C.C. should be pretty obvious for “Car Club”….well played…I just spent more time deciphering the name then looking at the car…
Clean 4-door on some Volk TE37Vs… I’m pretty sure someone is already telling themselves: “needs mirrors”….in any case, Click here for a larger version (1400×933)
Here is a much better shot of the Honda Saber/Inspire to U.S. Acura TL conversion on HREs… I love how this thing sits and how the wheels aren’t over-the-top and bulging out past the wheel wells…very clean TL conversion…. Click here for a larger version (1400×933)
VIP-themed KA9 Honda Legend to Acura RL conversion on Lorinser wheels. Not 100% sure what kit it is, looks like it might be an Aimgain kit…. Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Norifumi Kobayashi’s Honda Accord Tourer to U.S. TSX wagon conversion… Takeshi mentioned that Norifumi used to be a euro car enthusiast but has recently gotten into the USDM style. That probably explains his use of the Porsche wheels… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Wish I had a better angle of this EK4 SiR from Connection…
Honda Integra SiR-G on BBS RS wheels, also from Connection car club… Almost rare to see a true bug-eye front end over there these days that hasn’t been converted to the U.S. 97-01 front… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Mugen Pro.2 aero on this CR-X…Mugen everything practically, even on the mesh grille… Click here for a larger version (1400×933)
Honda Accord Euro-R with a U.S. Acura TSX front grille and BBS LMs…
Ferio with Work Equip 01 and some old school U.S. GTO headlight covers…
I have a soft spot for CB Accords, being the previous owner of one, so I’m always looking for photos of them at events. This one would have been sick if the fenders weren’t all jacked-up from the tire and Volk TE37V combo… The guy in the background with the Wekfest t-shirt on is staring at the other side of the Accord because the fender on that side is completely rusted out… The Circuit Hero banner might also be a self-made version too, haha… man, so much potential in this thing….
Shota Mori’s CA Accord sedan on SSR MKII from Akebono…. Probably the most recognized CA Accord in the world… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
EJ Civic coupe on BBS wheels…I like the color but the camber is a little much for me. Wish I had a better look at the engine bay too because it looks like it has a pretty clean tuck… Note the Guam front plate…
Nice attempt at a U.S. EM1 Civic Si coupe conversion on Regamaster wheels…It is about as close as it’s gonna get. Not everyone is down to change out the roof skin to have a sunroof…
Looks like the color might be Sepang Bronze on this VIP-inspired Civic…
Really liked the contrast of the brown tone and the blue Work Meister S1… Great looking coupe with a EK9 CTR front end… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
U.S. Acura TSX conversion and Work Emotion XD9 wheels…
EF hatchback from Osaka JDM that was recently on the cover of Super Street magazine’s Japan Issue… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Takanori Nagai’s Mugen EK4 SiR from L2P car club aka Lowered 2 Perfection….Love the complete Mugen theme front to back…. Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Fukuda’s EG Civic, also from L2P On DAMD Lover Soul wheels… if you are reading this Fukuda-san, thank you for having a Chronicles sticker on your ride!.. Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Civic wagons are very well represented at USDM Jam events… this silver Shuttle with an EF9 SiR front end is another great example…
Here’s something you don’t see everyday, no matter what the country of origin; a KA7 Honda Legend on Regamaster EVOs… pretty interesting look but I am happier to see that this Legend is in mint condition… This might also be the only Legend in existence that isn’t owned by a Vietnamese person, haha…
The artwork on the hood made for an interesting look for this EG Civic. 15-inch SSR mesh wheels and gutted/caged interior as well. Click here for larger version (1400×933)
A better look at the EK hatchback from Osaka JDM/Car Craft Boon…. Someone is bound to ask again but the wheels are from a company known as Barramundi Designs…They are like the “CCW” of Japan… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
No crazy tuck here, just a turbo kit, some custom oil plumbing, and Carbing bar along with a engine torque damper… Osaka JDM is into U.S. style as well, that’s why you see stuff like the Password: JDM radiator cooling panel….
A look inside so you guys can see the cage…
Battery kill switch in the center console and a peek of the relocated battery behind the dash…
I just had to post a shot of this big body Benz on BBS wheels…haha, fucking sick!…Check out the white interior too… Also rocking old school blue Cali plates!… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Rare to see this things modded in any country but I thought this Toyota Corolla II, aka 5th gen. U.S. Toyota Tercel, looked good on the Work Meister CR-01 wheels with the bronze lip…
This Cressida on Rotiform wheels was pretty sick… It ended up taking home an award at the USDM Jam event as well but I am not sure what category it won in…
First generation JDM Honda Odyssey to U.S. Isuzu Oasis conversion….
Clean black EG on BBR Comps with a Spoon front lip owned by Daisuke Ishiyama…. Click here for larger version (1400×933)
BMW 3-series coupe slammed on some Volk Racing CE28s…
Akifumi Ikeda’s SiR-G Integra on bronze Volk SE37K… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Takashi Noga’s VIP-themed Toyota bB…
You should all be very familiar with Kazu Imai’s Integra Type R by now… You will also be seeing it very soon in an upcoming issue of Super Street magazine… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Kei Takafuji’s EG Civic hatchback on very aggressive Work Meister S1… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
Takafuji’s shaved and tucked engine bay. One of the rear Hondas at the USDM Jam show with a brake booster delete and custom brake lines… Overall a really clean bay…Nicely done utilizing products from USDM companies such as Benen Industries, AEM, Skunk2, and Wilwood… Kei has USDM-look down…
The graphic on the rear quarter is a little random but it works on this white ITR… Nothing too over the top on this build, just some gunmetal Volk TE37Vs, Spoon brakes, and non-ITR Recaro seats… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
The Work Meister S1Rs look huge on this EP3 Civic Type R… They have to be 19s or something because most 17-inch wheels still tend to look pretty small on the EP3 chassis… Good looking build though, also from “EKC Arrows” like the ITR above… Click here for larger version (1400×933)
That’s a wrap for today. I hope all of you are enjoying the coverage so far…there is still a lot more to come so stay tuned!…
USDM Jam 9.0 Coverage…Part 1…
The USDM Jam series is an event that is the brainchild of a Japanese enthusiast named Tetsuya Yamaguchi. It started out as an event that was mostly unknown to anyone outside of Japan, but thanks to the wonders of the internet and social media, USDM Jam has grown considerably and is now an event that many automotive enthusiasts all over the world look forward to. When it first started out, it was mainly a car show that consisted of Japanese enthusiasts who all had one thing in common, which was the love and fascination of the U.S. car community. While we have always looked to Japan for inspiration, things have now come full circle and these Japanese USDM enthusiasts are now attempting to build their cars with what they determine to be styling characteristics of American enthusiasts. Over the years, thanks to ambassadors like Takeshi Kobayashi and Tetsuya Yamaguchi, American goods are now more readily available to the Japanese. The internet has also contributed a great deal to the growth of the USDM “style” in Japan. People in Japan look at sites over here in America and quickly adapt our growing trends to their vehicles. They are every bit as fascinated with us as we are of them, so it’s almost a trade-off of styles. It’s a little weird when you think about it because they are adapting a style that we have adapted off their style. It sounds confusing but the results are very interesting to see. Even with the meshing of styles, personal creativity and tastes have made builds unique in every way. USDM Jam isn’t just limited to modified vehicles either, the event also consists of strictly US domestic market vehicles that aren’t available to them and when looking through photos, you will often find yourself confused to see completely untouched vehicles at their events. This isn’t because these owners choose not to modify their vehicles, they just have a vehicle in their possession that no one else has because it is not available to the Japanese market. To them it is just cool to have say, a Chevy Avalanche over there or something as odd as a old beat-up U-Haul truck. It’s American goods and that is what is sought after for them. It is a lot like clothing and shoes that aren’t available to them, just in a much larger scale…
American enthusiasts’ car blogs and websites are often a source of inspiration to them and they also are big on collecting merchandise from these American websites. I too have sold many Chronicles products in the past to people in Japan and I must admit that it is still a really cool feeling whenever I see one of my decals on their cars. This site was never meant to reach the Japanese automotive culture but I’m glad that I have been able to make an impact in any way. I have met Tetsuya Yamaguchi in the past and always look forward to seeing him every time he makes his way out to America. Though he is an older gentleman, I thoroughly enjoy his enthusiasm and excitement any time he is at one of our automotive events. One of the first guys I met through this site, Takeshi Kobayashi from Type_K Autosource, is a person that I can honestly call a friend these days. Every year he comes out for a couple of weeks at a time and we all try to spend as much time with him when he is here and show him American hospitality. Takeshi is one of the main outlets for many Japanese enthusiasts out there when it comes to USDM parts and accessories. He’s made a business out of it and is often out here in America purchasing vehicles that customers have asked him to buy for them. I am very proud to see how we have all had a chance to meet and though we are all thousands and thousands of miles apart, in opposite ends of the world, we all have a common interest and have become friends because of it…
The USDM Jam 9.0 event is quite possibly the largest one to date. Tetsuya put together a great show and even guys like Adam and Ken from Wek’Sos as well as the guys from Kyoei USA managed to take a flight over there to support him. A chunk of the proceeds from the event also went to the Japan relief fund. Though it may seem like it is a thing of the past for us, the Japanese are still dealing with the major earthquake and tsunami that devastated their country. With the help of the automotive community and events like USDM Jam, the country is improving every day and recovering at a rapid rate. Some day I hope to make it out there as well, hopefully by next year I can say that I attended a USDM Jam event and can say that I stood in front of these cars and studied them thoroughly. For now, thanks to some of my friends in Japan, I can provide you some coverage from Tetsuya’s event…
The photos for this series of USDM Jam 9.0 coverage will be provided to you via the guys from Tactical Art as well as from another enthusiast by the name of Koji Karimata aka KaRy. I have personally met the guys from Tactical Art in the past and you should all know them by now because they are regular contributors to the site. The funny thing is, if it had not been for Mr. Koji Karimata’s photos from last year’s Hellaflush Japan event, I would have never known who or what Tactical Art was. It is because of his photos that I was able to discover these guys and I am honored to be able to use his photographs this week. Unlike the Import Alliance Spring Meet coverage last week, I will not be dividing the photos into different parts depending on who shot them. Instead, I will try to do my best to combine all the photos as one so that it all meshes together. I want this coverage to flow seamlessly and give you guys the feel of how it would have been like had you been there for yourself. One major thing that I am happy that Yasutaka Shimomukai and the Tactical Art guys have picked up is my style of coverage. They realized that I always cover the event from start to finish and their photos reflect that. When I say “start to finish” I don’t mean that they just cover the first car they see to the last. I mean that they cover the event from the start of their day to the end of the day when they go home. In that process, they also cover everything else that they see around them, which gives it more of a personal feel. It is a style of event coverage that I have always done since the very beginning and it’s very cool that Shimomukai was able to pick up on that. Karimata has done a great job of covering the vehicles at the event, but everything else surrounding the event is brought to you by Tactical Art…
With that said, let us get moving with the coverage. I want to say that there are roughly around 200 or so photos that I will be using, which I will divide into four parts. Today is part one and will cover mostly the stuff that happened that morning of USDM Jam 9.0. Tomorrow will be more Honda-intensive so if you are just here to see photos of cars, you may want to just look over these today and then come back tomorrow for the bulk of the Hondas. If you are a loyal fan of The Chronicles, then you are probably here to see and read about it all. I thank you for that because you appreciate the time I take into putting the event into words for all of you. Enjoy and thanks go out to Yasutaka Shimomukai, Atuki Tubouchi, Tactical Art, as well as Koji Karimata and Tetsuya Yamaguchi. Without you guys this coverage would not be possible.
They probably won’t have the English proficiency to understand all my words so the only thing I can say to acknowledge their hard work is… “Arigatou gozaimasu” or ありがとうございます
USDM Jam 9.0…let’s go…
Yasutaka Shimomukai and the Tactical Art crew heading out from Osaka to Mie prefecture at around 5:48am (or around 1:48pm here in the U.S. PST)… It was a hazy morning but the sunlight was rising through the clouds….
I guess the Japanese don’t have the strict “no cell phones while driving” laws that we have in place here in California…Here he would have already been slapped with a $148 fine (or more)…
Nothing says USDM style like a combination of Wek’Sos and The Chronicles… Like I said earlier, it’s still really cool to see one of my decals that I put together here on my desk in my bedroom all the way in Japan…I guess I must be doing something right, haha…
A slammed 3-series BMW wagon that they encountered at a stop…
A view from a distance of the early morning roll-in area for USDM Jam 9.0… Tetsuya Yamaguchi was able to find quite a picturesque location for the ninth edition of his event…
One essential mod that every Japanese USDM fan must have is an American plate frame on their Japanese-issue license plates…you’ll see it throughout the coverage… Another trend that they have adopted right away is our “Hellaflush” or “stance” style. Though it is not universally popular over here, it is huge in Japan…It’s also one of the styles that we Americans originally adapted from the Japanese Shakotan/Kyusha style. Like I said, things have come full circle…we just happen to take the style and make it more retarded, haha…
Bike racks (unfortuantely) have also become quite popular within the Japanese USDM crowd. Here you see a Civic Ferio on JLine wheels with a bike rack and what looks to be some sort of skateboard ramp attached to it. At least the rack is being used in this case, haha…
This is Tactical Art’s new demo vehicle, a U.S. Acura RSX-inspired Honda Integra Type R (yes, DC5R) on 3-piece CCW LM5 wheels…It also has geniune U.S.-spec taillights and a lip kit from Extreme Dimensions… The exhaust is custom made by Tactical Art…Pretty neat if you consider how sought after a DC5R is here in the U.S. There they want their ITRs to look like RSXs…
Turbo EK Civic from Osaka JDM/Car Craft Boon on Barramundi Design custom forged wheels…
Quick shot of the bay. I think I have a better shot of the bay that I’ll post later on when we get to Karimata’s photos…
What looks to be a Hypnotic Teal Mica paint job on this DC2 on white-faced BBS RS wheels…
3rd generation CA Accord with a whole lot of negative camber and VIP dish wheels…You’ll see a couple of these at various Japanese car shows like USDM Jam but you’d be hard-pressed to see a modded one here in the U.S. these days…
As I said before, their love of the USDM style is not limited to just Hondas and imports…there are also quite a number of really clean, well-built lowriders in Japan…
Slammed Audi wagon with a Yakima Skybox…
Another shot of the Tactical Art DC5R…
American super celebrity Adam Luong from Wek’Sos fame giving Tactical Art the thumbs-up… I couldn’t be there so Adam made sure to wear a t-shirt with my initials on it…haha…
I really wanted to dig up more photos of this DB Integra on bronze TE37s but the only other shot I saw was the same as this with the driver side door open… If I had been there I’m sure I’d be studying this Integra inside and out, especially after I spotted the cage….
Kyoei USA, a VIP shop down here in Arizona, was out at USDM Jam and had a full booth with a Miata and Integra/RSX on hand…
The MX-5 Miata on CCWs in the Kyoei USA section…
One build that I really wanted to see more photos of was Kohei Saito’s Midori EK9 Civic Type R… You know things are different in Japan when you see someone convert a CTR to a U.S.-spec Civic DX as it would have possibly been modified here… I just love how they are just down to do something like that and make a car as sought after as a CTR into a U.S.-inspired DX…
This silver Integra on SSR Competitions, belonging to Takahiro Kato, was very well-done and also a great example of a build that could possibly have been built here or in Japan… According to Takeshi, Kato recently changed up his Integra from a prior “HF” or “Hellaflush” look…
I first found out about this Midori EK9 when Takeshi from Type_K posted about it. It’s actually a customer of his and I’ve posted up a better photo of it on The Chronicles Facebook page…
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that Yasutaka fell on the ground while taking this photo but this is one of his favorite angles…haha..
Silverstone S2000 on white Work VS-XX wheels… note the non-fucked up fenders. Yet another example of a Japanese S2000 enthusiast pulling off better fitment than Americans…Cookie Monster chumped-up fenders have yet to become a hit there…
The European-contingency was also well represented at USDM Jam 9.0…
Loved this Honda Inspire/Saber to U.S. Acura TL-conversion on HRE wheels…
I have another shot that Karimata took with the hood popped that I will post later on…
HRE wheels are universally baller in any country….
EJ1 coupe from Craft-A… These guys regularly track their cars but are also very into the US-style… All their cars are a little rough around the edges because they just beat the shit out of them at track events…
Rotiform wheels are starting to pop-up over in Japan and are beginning to become the new popular wheel there… Here is a set of Rotiform NUEs on a Volkswagen Bora…
There were also enthusiasts there who could give a shit less about “USDM-style” because they are rocking beautiful exotics like this Porsche 997….note the vanity plate as well… This thing is just sick looking…
Loving these new Volkswagen Beetles over the previous generations because the lines are much more aggressive…
Bug-eyed Integra sitting on aggressive BBS RS wheels…
Cream colored EG Civic on Barramundi wheels…
This Accord wagon would have been awesome if it weren’t rocking that interfooler in the front…
This guy was plenty comfortable enough with his sexuality to roll-up to USDM Jam in his pink Daihatsu on daisy wheels…
I know we are already about 40 photos in but the car coverage has not even begun yet. The stuff you’re seeing today is just from roll-in…
This is Tetsuya Yamaguchi’s personal ride, a USDM-inspired Integra with a U.S. 97-01 front end and newly-acquired 16-inch VIP Modular wheels. A better shot of this coming later on as well…
Slammed and cambered ridiculousness is apparently universal now… On that note, back tomorrow with much, much more from USDM Jam 9.0 in the land of the rising sun….
Thanks for looking…
Import Alliance Spring 2012 Meet Coverage… From Varying Perspectives…Part 3 of 3…
Happy Friday all, today we will be closing out our coverage from the 2012 Import Alliance Spring Meet. I’d like to once again thank our guest photographers for participating and providing photos for us all to see this week. I’ll provide links to the previous two parts before just in case you missed out on any of it. Today’s photos are provided by Joseph Dale, who shoots and writes for a Georgia-based web blog known as SouthrnFresh. Their focus is mainly directed towards the automotive scene in the south and its bordering states. I’ve looked at their site on occasion and it looks like the guys over there do a pretty good job of updating it and constantly provide updates. The photos aren’t bad and I think they do a pretty good job of representing the south…
There are so many sites that are out there these days providing photos and event coverage from our automotive community. It isn’t really a competition because we are all just presenting our own points of view but I do find it interesting that Joseph sent me his photos instead of keeping them for the site that he shoots for. Maybe he does plan on posting them up eventually, I don’t know, but I like a lot of the stuff that he captured so I decided to run them here on The Chronicles today. It was nice of him to send so many photos and they were mostly untouched too, so I took the liberty of cleaning them up and editing them for the site. He did take a couple photos of the same cars that the other guys did so I just left them out. The reason why I used photos from a couple different guys was so that I could give you guys variety. If you don’t see your car here in the coverage, it is unfortunate, but I did not take the photos. I knew it was coming but of course there were guys posting up on various social media sites as well as in the comments section asking why their cars weren’t posted here. When I take photos at events, I usually take photos of cars that I enjoy or things that I find unique and eye-catching. I don’t take a photo of every single car at an event and just post them up just to post them. That would be unnecessarily time-consuming and I would rather spend the time putting up the stuff that I would like to see at an event, you know what I mean? If you don’t see your car here, I could have either missed it at the event, or (to be perfectly frank) your car just didn’t peak my interests. Not everybody is going to like the same things. That’s why it is great that there are so many sites out there these days and so many people taking photos at events. It’s not to say that you’re doing something wrong, we just have varying tastes and that’s perfectly fine. If Joseph Dale, Eric Badis, or any of the other guest photographers I used this week didn’t get a photo of your car, it could also be for the same reasons as I stated. Just keep doing what you do and don’t be upset if you don’t see your car in some random person’s event coverage, haha. At the end of the day, it shouldn’t have any effect on how you should build your car…
With that said, let’s move on with today’s coverage of the IA Spring Atlanta meet…
If you missed the previous two posts, here are the links…
Import Alliance Spring 2012 Coverage…Part 1…
Import Alliance Spring 2012 Coverage…Part 2…
Now, courtesy of Joseph Dale, here is the concluding portion of our coverage…
J’s Racing flared S2000 that I’ve posted a couple times already in the previous two posts…
Lexus IS-F…
STi with a pretty large front mount intercooler on what looks to be white-faced CCWs…
Boosted Civic hatchback on some BBS RS wheels…Interesting hood graphic…
Joseph Dale’s personal car, a CB-body Mazda 626…
S2000 on some VIP-styled dish wheels representing Track.One…
One more shot of the IS350 that you saw many shots of in Eric Badis’ portion of the IA Spring coverage…
Good to see that someone finally got a shot of the engine bay of the IS…
This is the rear part of the flare that I’m not really that fond of. It’s interesting though and I understand why the owner kept a part of it black to flow with the rest of the rear lip…
4-door E36 BMW M3 slammed on some BBS wheels…
2GS from Team Solo on Leon Hardiritt Beils…
Shot of the interior…controller on the center console indicates that it is on a digital air ride system…
2JZ-GTE swapped IS300 on gold Work S1s…
I don’t have any shots of the interior of this Civic but I have seen photos of it floating around on Facebook and various other sites. I believe Joseph Dale has pics of it on the Southrn Fresh blog, but from another event…
It isn’t to everyone’s liking because it has a body kit on it, shaved moldings, and some larger Kinesis wheels on it but the engine bay is pretty sick…
A close-up of the sidewinder turbo manifold…
Another VIP-themed 2GS…
Spoon-themed Civic representing V2Lab…
After going through all the photos, this Miata is still my favorite build from this event…
Love the engine bay and tuck…
Widened IS300 with an L-Tuned front bumper…
Under the hood is a non-turbocharged VVTi 2JZ-GE motor that has been boosted…that notched area on the cylinder head is where an N/A 2JZ intake manifold would have gone… Also wondering why the car has seen so much body work but the bay is still grey…Overall a pretty cool build though, I can dig it…
800+ horsepower widebody Z32 300ZX convertible built by Russell Floyd…
I read on another site that this motor also has nitrous injection which makes the motor push out around 1200hp, pretty nuts…
The widened rear quarters and rear bumper are all one-piece…
Z34 370Z with a Powerhouse Amuse front bumper and Advan wheels…
Russ Antonio’s Route KS Zero Force widebody NSX on Volk Racing GT-S wheels from Jade Crew…
LOVE this yellow EG on BBS “Prima Donna”-inspired RS wheels… Looks perfect just the way it is with the Spoon mirrors and BYS front lip… Oh, and J’s Racing duct too…This car is on point…
Closer look at the BBS wheels… people that are picky about corner light/headlight fitment (me being one of them) will rejoice in the fact that this person’s fit just fine…Looks like the front fenders have been pulled slightly but I am happy to also see that the wheels still fit inside the wheel well, haha…
Tanner Norwood’s Miata on 15×9/9.5 Work Meister S1…
Matte black Evo 9 on Diamond Black Volk TE37SL…
Another Evo, this one with Advan RG-D wheels, Project Mu brakes, and some Tomei and ARC stuff under the hood…
Anthony Malesa’s MX-5 Miata on CCW LM20…
A couple more shots of the Q45 from the previous posts… Interesting to see a Y33 with dual exhausts…
KA9 RL with a Garage Answer lip kit. Could also be Skipper aero, not 100% sure…
White FG2 coupe on OZ wheels…
Not 100% sure what wheels are on this 370Z, if you know, feel free to comment…
Justin Semon’s track-spec EK Civic on Kosei K1…
His Civic was featured in Super Street magazine back in December of 2011 when it had a B18C-swap…since then, as you can see, some things have changed… You can check out his SS feature here…
One more shot of David Cordell’s Z34…
Really like this supercharged RSX with INGS N-Spec front fenders, rear over fenders, and Work XT-7 wheels…Also has a Mugen rear wing too…Cool, and most importantly, well-rounded build…
Stephen Burke’s Subaru STi on CCW wheels from Premium Garage Krew…
Moe Drennon’s Civic, also from Premium Garage Krew…
Nice tuck on this bay…
EG Mike’s engine bay…
E70 Corolla wagon with some random ass wheels that don’t fit in the front…
…with a KA24DE engine swap that has also been turbocharged…
Another good example of a nice, simple, trend-free Civic build. Has a good selection of parts, wheel fitment isn’t retarded, engine bay is very well done, and the owner is even down to have his Mugen gas cap stolen, haha. If you lived in Cali and tried to pump gas, you better put that Mugen cap in your pocket or something. If not, that shit is on Craigslist immediately.. He probably just popped it open for the photo though, I’m sure… Good build though, I approve (not that it should matter)…
Had to do a double take when I saw this photo because there is at least one other S2000 out here in the west with this exact same set-up…
Can’t say that I’m a huge fan of the Mugen EK4 front lip but it looks good on this Civic. Probably because he took the steps to do the EK4 SiR front and rear bumperss… Just how Mugen intended it to look… CCW LM5s would be considered the “rare” wheel compared to how many other sets of CCW Classics, LM16s, and LM20s were at this meet…man they love those wheels out there…
Mr. Dale sent me all these pics and they weren’t in any particular order so I am just assuming that this engine bay shot belongs to the Civic above it…I don’t know for sure but based on my 1 whole year of high school science class, I’ve used my deductive reasoning and taken into consideration that the Civic above has a Mugen lip so the owner must like Mugen products, hence the Mugen valve cover, and well…it’s a similar shade of white. If they are two different cars, just pretend that they are one in the same… I also spotted the orange Samco hoses to match the orange Mugen sock and the orange accents on the coilovers…I see what you did there…
Oh that’s all the photos. That’s a wrap on IA Spring 2012…Hope you guys enjoyed the coverage. If you don’t like the photos feel free to contact our guest photographers this week and complain to them and ask them why they didn’t take a picture of your car. Make sure to check out the SouthrnFresh website for all your Southern import automotive needs. Other than that, have a great weekend everybody…
Nisei Showoff 2009 Coverage…Remastered…
For this week’s edition of Throwback Thursdays, we’ll be taking a look back at Nisei Showoff from back in 2009. As stated last week, I still have a small portion of unedited, untouched photos that I kept back then and now I can “remaster” them to suit the format of the site and provide larger, higher resolution versions of shots from the past. Nisei Showoff is and will always be a highlight of my year and I’m happy to have been a part of so many of them. Today I have a large group of photos that I’ve gone through and re-edited for your viewing pleasure. Like last week’s post, many of the cars aren’t around any more or have been redone. You’ll recognize most of them and for those of you who are younger or newer to the Honda community, you can now get acquainted with some pretty nice builds from 3 years ago. I won’t do too much more talking, you guys know the routine, enjoy the photos and click the links below each photo for higher resolution versions…
Tony’s Sorcery widebody NSX after he pulled it out from his garage after a couple years… The front bumper at that time had been broken from an accident on a trailer and it had to be repaired. Luckily he had it done just in time to roll into Nisei Showoff that morning…
HeyMikeyyyy’s Integra back when it was in its prime…
Brian Nguyen’s Mugen-everything DC5 RSX…
Nisei 2009 marked the official re-debut of Big Mike’s Prelude…the exterior wasn’t nearly as finished then so I just took a nice shot of the bay…Notice how his Bisimoto header is nice and shiny…
HBK Jon’s Civic was a hit throughout 2009…
Joey Abundiz’s EM1 coupe was one of the more unique builds of 2009…
Not only was his bay a different color than the body, but he pulled off the paint splatter look very cleanly. It wasn’t for everyone but it was definitely different…
Sid from Phaze2…
Tony’s widebody NSX had to have been the biggest hit of the show that year. When this thing came roaring into the lot, everybody stopped to look at it…
His NSX is still around and its one of the cars I miss seeing the most these days…he could easily put it back together and bring it out again but he probably just needs some motivation…
Spotted this thing on the street on the way to grab some lunch back then…
HBK James’ EK on CCWs…
Bryan Leon’s RHD DA Integra on Sprint Hart CP-R…
Alex Zhao’s S2000 was one of the more controversial builds back then…Not a whole lot of people liked his car because it was deemed too over the top in terms of wheel fitment. Pretty crazy to think back now and how ridiculous the whole wheel fitment thing has gotten since then. This would almost seem tame these days and Alex actually took the proper steps and got metal fender work done to house these wheels. Since then, he’s moved on from the S2000 and runs a pretty successful business called Wheelflip where they refinish and re-barrel wheels…
Jared’s S2000 is one of those builds that are just utterly timeless. You can see now that aesthetically, his S2000 has remained the same even in 2012 and it sits just perfectly in any time period…
Many of you probably recognize this Integra…it later went on to have quite an interesting makeover. You can take that however you want, haha…
One of my favorite valve cover ideas of ’09…
I really wish that I had a better shot of DPK Jimmy’s del Sol from that day but back in ’09 I didn’t know how to crouch down to take a picture, haha…
Not sure why but I really liked this photo I took of JP’s Civic…
Alex “Sheepey” Soto’s turbo Integra on RE30s… You recognize this car more as a full-blown drag car these days but back then it was just a street car that he cruised around in on weekends… I liked these wheels on his Integra the best back then and I was actually the one that found these for him online back when he still had some 15-inch Mugen wheels on his car… You can also spot Big Mike’s Prelude in the reflection on his front bumper…
Alex reppin’ an old Chronicles decal faithfully…
Parnell’s DA from Kosoku, back when it had the turbo kit…
Arn Reye’s K-swapped bay…
Arn’s interior…for whatever reason, I couldn’t get a clean shot of his car that day…
Phaze2 Arnel’s Custom BBS RS wheels…
Danny from PlusOne couldn’t get his car running at that time so that’s why you see rust on his brake rotor because it was pushed into the show…
Son from Hasback’s engine bay…
Okay, so that wraps it up for the Nisei ’09 coverage but below, I’ve also attached some photos from the Mega Matsuri event, which took place just a week after Nisei. It was also put together by Ken Myoshi and was a smaller event where people could like buy and sell car parts or something, I don’t remember, haha. Just enjoy the photos…
Arnel was supposed to have these red caps in time for Nisei the week before but they weren’t ready in time so he showed them off at the Mega Matsuri event where he won an award for Best Wheel Fitment…
The infamous…
Bryan Leon’s DA at Mega Matsuri…
Alex Zhao’s S2000 on HREs…
Project Car magazine’s CR-X…
Mega Matsuri 2009 marked the debut of Ejay Adriano’s H2B DA Integra…
That’s a wrap for this week’s edition of Throwback Thursday…thanks for looking everybody…
Import Alliance Spring 2012 Meet Coverage… From Varying Perspectives…Part 2…
Hopefully all of you are enjoying these photos from the Import Alliance Spring 2012 Meet from our panel of guest photographers. In the nearly four years that I’ve been running this site, I’ve always made it a point to do everything on my own, but I am more than happy to send some love over to the east coast every now and then so I can shine some light on great builds out there. After seeing some of these photos, I feel like I was out there, minus having to stand around in the heat for hours and trying to get away from the police as they were ushering people out. Today we will be looking at the IA ATL meet from yet another photographer. This guy, Eric Badis, is a Honda owner himself. He actually owns the white Acura TL with the custom front bumper on gold TE37s. It isn’t a car for everyone’s taste but it is definitely unique. He really didn’t take any photos of his own car at the event but he did get a couple of good shots of some of his friends cars, one of them being the IS350 that I posted up yesterday that I am pretty fond of. These guys seem to roll with a pretty solid group of cars and I’m sure you guys will enjoy them. I believe I have one more set coming, but there won’t be too many repeats of cars you have seen already from yesterday and today. The whole point of getting photos from different guys was so that we could see a diverse group of cars. Not everyone is going to get everything at the meet but with a multitude of photographers, the chance of seeing something you hadn’t seen yet is much better than if say, I went out there…
Anyways, thanks to Eric Badis for providing the photos today. And for the rest of you guys, I know it’s a little different feel this week with people who are complete strangers to you providing photos for your enjoyment but after this month, things are going to pick up and pick up pretty quickly, and I’ll be back to taking photos of cars you’ve seen before and whatever the fuck I am eating at that moment…
…and now, more from IA Spring 2012, through the eyes and lens of Eric Badis…
Here’s the IS350 I was talking about… I’m not gonna lie, I dig this car a lot. The only thing I don’t really like is the back part of the rear fender flare but the rest of the car more than makes up for it. I guess this was taken in the morning on the way to the IA event…
One of the major reasons why I like this build is because of how well-rounded it is. The owner has paid attention to not only the exterior but also to the motor and interior. It’s rare for guys with these cars to really go all-out on them and this one is a great example…
This AP1 S2000 looks like its got quite a bit of work done to it as well… Immediately you’ll notice the Voltex wing, what looks to be a Spoon rear diffuser, Advan Racing wheels, just to name a few…
Nice rolling shot of the IS on the road…
Posted up next to an older IS, also on gold Work Meister S1…
Y33 Q45 with a Version Select kit and AME wheels. Nice to see that ridiculous oni-camber hasn’t hit the VIP market over on that side of the coast yet, haha…
2JZ-GTE-swapped Lexus IS300…
Infiniti G37 sedan on 2-piece Work Meister S1…
Russ Antonio’s JGTC-inspired widebody Acura NSX from JADE crew… Dude behind him was staring at the car so hard he ended up with a white streak in his hair like Rogue from X-Men, haha…
The aero is probably a little much for most enthusiasts but it definitely makes for a eye-catching show car…
A shot of the rear as it was cruising by… I want to say that Volk GT-S wheels were vastly underrated but I’d be lying because they just weren’t very popular due to them not being very attractive…
Loving this VIP-styled Acura RL… I remember getting a shot of it from the IA summer meet last year…
Not sure if his front tire is low on air or not but that shit is like, on some rubber band-type shit…He might be the only guy that ever curbed his wheel not being anywhere near a curb.. Not a bad looking car either..
Justin Semon’s (aka “wEaK Squad ATL”) EK looking good on Kosei K1 wheels… I’m not usually a fan of these wheels but they work better on his hatch more than his older wheels, in my opinion anyways…
RSX on some CCW classics…
Acura TL also on some CCW Classics…
I absolutely love 370Zs…something about the lines of the car and how they sit on just suspension and wheels is very appealing…
Speaking of Z34s, here are a couple more shots of David Cordell’s from Hybrid Racing…
Here’s a shot of how it looked last year when I saw it in Nashville (click here)…huge difference now… I kind of preferred the bronze wheel set-up though because it had color-matched inserts on the spokes…
Love the new aero additions though regardless…
Turbocharged RSX on Volk Racing CE28s…
Black STi on silver-faced Work VS-XX wheels… Note the vanity plate…
I posted up some photos of this STi in yesterday’s post and here are a couple more since Eric took some better shots of it…
Front shot of the pig nose and Perrin intercooler…
I’m really liking the fact that people are able to running meaty tires with their aggressive wheels now…I think by 2013 it’ll be more common than the whole incredible-stretched tire look that has become so popular in the last two years…
Evo from Team EMOTION and the back half of Eric Badis’ TL…
Here is the only other shot…
IS and S2K not getting any attention because a Lexus LF-A was cruising by…
Also note the vanity plate on the S2… pretty clever… Meanwhile, people are still gawking at…
…this LF-A… This owner, however, didn’t really have anything clever in mind when coming up with his vanity plate…
I am really digging this FA5 sedan on Enkei NT03s…I posted up a shot of the rear of this car and thanks to having photos from various photographers, we get to see a shot of the front today…This Civic is on point… I don’t even like the U.S. front ends but it looks good with the FD2-inspired front lip…
No motion drifting…haha…
Another GD-chassis WRX STi, this one has some white Work Emotion XD-9s…
GR-body Subaru on all-white BBS LM…
A couple more of the neon yellow S2000 on black Meisters…
Evo X on Enkei NT03…
A better angle of the STi on Emotion XD-9s… Nice and simple…oh and wingless too, which I prefer…
Here you can see Turner Field, where the Atlanta Braves play, in the background…
Just can’t get enough of this IS…though the hot pink under the hood is kind of random…
Check out how aggressive this thing looks from the rear… Random, but the guy to the left of the photo is apparently anticipating a major flood…
Man, people love their vanity plates out in Georgia… I know Jay from JDMEGO would appreciate that Voltex wing (also random)…
Acura TL on custom step-lipped Work Equips…
Custom orange S2000 with J’s Racing aero and Spoon Mooncraft hard top…
That pretty much wraps of Eric’s coverage of the meet..the rest of these shots are just random pics he took (while driving it looks like) of the IS and S2000 that he cruised with…
This one is probably the best of the bunch…Really liked this shot…
Pretty good shots either way considering he should have been paying attention to the road at high speeds, haha…
That’s all folks…I think I have one more coming but that will probably come after the Throwback Thursday post tomorrow… thanks for looking and thanks to Eric once again for providing the photos…
Import Alliance Spring 2012 Meet Coverage… From Varying Perspectives…Part 1…
Ahh, the wonders of social media and interaction come through yet again. It will be very clear to you by the time you see these photos, but let me get this thing started by stating right away, that I did not take these photos. I wasn’t even there…I wish I was, but I just don’t have the funds or the ability to fly out to every state whenever there is a major event going on. In a perfect world, I would, but the world we live in is far from that and that’s why it is great that we have social media outlets. It is necessary to get all this out of the way because every now and then, you have these kids that complain about how you didn’t take a photo of their car and how you are a hater because of it. The reality is that even if I had been there, I wouldn’t have taken a photo of every single car anyway. That would be ridiculous and overly time consuming. These photos you will see today and tomorrow are shot by one of your fellow enthusiasts that was out at the IA Atlanta Spring Meet. I merely selected the ones that I liked of cars that drew my interest and now they are on The Chronicles…
As you all should know by now, I made a post on The Chronicles Facebook page over the weekend asking if anyone was willing to let me see and use some of their photos from the IA Atlanta meet. The photos that I would end up selecting and using for the site would be posted up this week and the person(s) that shot the photos would receive some Chronicles gear for all their hard work. The response was great and I had people hitting me up on and off from that weekend on until as late as last night about using their photos. One thing I noticed about people’s photos from the meet was the varying perspectives of each photographer. I thought I would just get the same cars over and over again, just from different angles, but that was definitely not the case. If it were, it would have been easier to decide which photos to use because I would just pick what I thought were the best shots. Turns out that everybody that sent me photos from the meet were looking at different cars so each photo set contained pics that represented that. It turns out that every set was different and each contained at least one or two cars that I wanted to show you guys. Instead of just picking one set of photos from one respective photographer, I’ve gone ahead and made the decision to post up 3 (possibly 4) different sets of photos from the meet. This will give you guys a very different look at the meet and you get to see the cars of IA Spring 2012 from their point-of-view. This works out best because you get to see more and the likelihood of missing out on something really nice is less of a possibility. Today we will be looking at two sets of photos from two different people; Shawn Dees and Jake Boger.
Jake didn’t take too many photos compared to others that responded because he spent the majority of the night leading up to the meet working on his car. He then made a 5 hour drive down to Atlanta to attend the meet. The fact that he even had the energy to take pictures that day is pretty remarkable, and I’m happy to be able to post up his shots today. Shawn also didn’t take too many photos but of the photos I saw, he got a good chunk of Honda coverage. He also got some nice shots of some of the cars driving on the street. We will look at Shawn’s photos first today, and then Jake’s immediately after…
Tomorrow I will post up the second batch of photos. Somebody actually submitted a link to some photos to me as well last night but I accidentally deleted the link and now I’m trying to get a hold of the guy again. If he gets back to me and his photos turn out to be good, I’ll try to get those up as well…
For now, let’s get on to some photos from the Import Alliance Spring Meet in Atlanta Georgia at Turner Field…I didn’t take any of the photos but I did clean them up a bit and edited them here and there before re-sizing them to fit the format of this site…
Thanks to everyone who participated and submitted photos, because of them, you get to see photos from the IA Spring event here on The Chronicles…
Oh, one more thing I should add is that I don’t know many of you out there so I won’t be able to identify who owns what car. If you see your car on here, give yourself a pat on the back, haha…
First up, Shawn Dee’s photos….
Chris Dornon’s S2000 on 5Zigen FN01R…
Loved this 370Z after I spotted it last year at the summer Import Alliance meet in Nashville…turns out that it belonged to David Cordell from Hybrid Racing…
S15 Silvia on Volk GT-Us…I believe this is the same one that I saw last year at IA but that one had gold GT-Us…it’s either the same one of there are just a bunch of silver S15s floating around in the south, haha…
Always liked the 09 and up front bumpers on the 8th gen. coupes…much better than the front ends before that. The older FG2 bumpers made the Civics look like mini-vacs…Meanwhile, it was probably hot as shit in Atlanta and that girl has a jacket on…
Sidewinder turbo set-up on this Civic with a shaved engine bay…I wish there was a photo of the rest of the car, haha…this thing looks pretty fucking serious…
One thing I’ve noticed since the past year is how much more popular the FG Civic coupes are outside of the west coast. We don’t see too many out here modded and out in the east, south, midwest, there seems to be more. They are all usually about the same style though; lowered, with the front lip on some aggressive wheels. Rare to really see any of them with motor work done or any crazy interior stuff…this white one above is clean. I always prefer the sedans to the coupes but this white one is very nice…
One of the reasons why I made the post to see more photos from the IA Spring Meet was because of this Miata right here. Of all the cars I’ve seen so far from various people that took pictures that day, this thing has to be my favorite build of the meet…
I love how the exterior is executed but the bay is the shit…I don’t even care for two-toned bays anymore but got damn, this thing is the business…Nice tuck, everything unnecessary eliminated from the bay, custom lines… it’s about as good as it gets…
Liking the Spoon-theme on this EG…not that I am that huge of a fan of Spoon stuff, I just like it when people aren’t mixing Mugen and Spoon stuff together… 
Matte green Evo9 on gold faced CCW wheels…
Joseph Dale’s Mazda 626 from SOUTHRNFRESH…
I’ve been a fan of this IS350 for awhile now so I was happy to finally see more photos of it… The photo set you will see tomorrow has all kinds of photos of this thing…
Neon yellow Honda S2000 on Work Meister S1s with matching bolts…definitely unique but if you drove that out here in the west coast, you wouldn’t make it down the street without getting pulled over, haha…
I personally don’t like BBS mesh wheels on 96-00 Civics but I can dig this build…just imagine if it had some white TE37s or something, oh man…it would just change the whole look of the car…
Engine bay isn’t too bad…
The blue and white theme also carries over into the interior…
If you compare this bay to the one above, this one has a slightly neater tuck because the valve cover ground has been re-located, the throttle cable runs under, and the spark plug wires have also been moved to the other side of the distributor, giving it an overall cleaner look…
Tim Shultz from Hybrid Racing’s EK… he’s always making little changes to this car and his current set-up looks great… I know he had Regamaster Evo Brites on here for awhile but imagine an Almight Grey set with that engine bay tone…would be a sick look!…
Tim’s bay…
Always good to see Matt Tucker’s EK9… Also happy to see him wearing his Top Ten Hondas of 2011 sticker proudly…
Rachel Laughlin’s Integra that she put together with Ben BLT Torres… glad to see them out and about so she’s not complaining about something on Facebook, haha…
EG Mike from Premium Garage Krew…I got a chance to ride in this thing last year at the summer IA event and it was a blast…hot as fucking hell that day but it was a blast…
Clean S2000 also from PG+K on some CCW LM20s…
Thank you once again goes out to Shawn Dees for those photos, but that concludes his set. Now with from a different point-of-view, here are photos from the meet courtesy of Jake Boger…
Another shot of the neon yellow S2000 on Meisters, this perhaps from earlier on in the day when he was pulling up…
This EG looked pretty clean…just wish the angle on it wasn’t so aggressive so I could see the whole car. Wheels look like old WEDSport TC-05s…
Another Civic, this one with a K-swap…Again, I wish I could see the rest of the car but I too love using the fish-eye lens sometimes so I get it, haha…
I liked this Dc after seeing it last year at IA…again, I am not a huge fan of the two-tone bays thing but the teal bay looks pretty good on this car. It helps to set it apart from the other million white Integras out there….the 949Racing wheels looked good on there too, mainly because he didn’t try to fuck his shit up and run an overly aggressive size…
Another shot of Joseph Dale’s Mazda 626…pretty rare to see these cars nowadays, especially in good condition. Props to him for maintaining such an old, oddball of a car…
This Datsun pick-up truck was very well done…just wish I had more photos of it to show you guys…
Every good event coverage photographer knows that you have to get a shot of the crowd…good job Jake Boger…
Vorsteiner (perhaps Vorsteiner-style, don’t quote me on it) front bumper, lip, and hood on this E46 Bimmer…
Another sick MX-5 Miata…People can talk all they want about how they are girl’s cars but man, when done right, these cars can look really aggressive…I can’t say I’d ever be down to own one but I love seeing these cars built correctly…
Justin Butera’s Civic on BBS wheels…
Nice attempt at a complete JDM ITR conversion with Regamaster Evos…
Looking good on white BBS wheels with red caps and gold bolts…
Honda CR-Z with some aggressive Work Meister S1 wheels…Meisters are turning into the new TE37s…they seem to be everywhere this year…
CD Accord on what might be either older Work Rezax wheels or Riverside Stitch wheels…
RSX with a Mugen front bumper and black Volk RE30s…
Acura NSX on Enkei RP03 wheels…Not that common of a wheel but it looks good in this staggered sizing, especially the rears…
Yellow USDM ITR on Stark wheels…
Matt Tucker’s EK9 once again…
Simple EK on Spoon SW388 wheels and Spoon brakes…
Custom orange S2000 from EMOTION with a complete J’s Racing aero kit with flares and all…
Civic hatchback on aggressively-sized BBS wheels…
BMW M3 convertible on 3-piece Work Meister S1…
Tim Shultz once again…
…another of his bay…
A rare unmolested EK9 Civic Type R…
NB-chassis MX-5 Miata on CCW wheels…
IA Atlanta even played host to a Lexus LF-A…
Diamond black Volk Racing TE37s on Spoon Monoblock brakes…
Enkei NT03 wheels on this FA5 sedan…
Bronze Mugen MF8s…
PG+K Moe’s Honda Tuning magazine featured Civic…very happy to see he now has a windshield molding…
Pig nose WRX STi on gold TEs…
Gonna wrap it up here for today… I hope you guys enjoyed Shawn and Jake’s photos from the IA Spring Meet…back tomorrow with another set from a completely new perspective… Thanks for looking…
Eibach Meet 2009 Coverage…Remastered…
Now that the new “Eibach Meet” has an official date and a new location set (June 10th/Irwindale Speedway, respectively), I thought today would be a good time to go back in time three years and take a look at some photos from the ’09 Eibach Meet. I was going through my hard drive the other day and discovered that I still had the raw, un-edited version of the photos from that meet. It’s rare for me to hold onto the original photos but for whatever reason they were all there. Things were very different in 2009, the stance thing hadn’t engulfed the Honda community yet, two-toned engine bays were all the rage out in the west coast, and many of the cars you’ll see in these photos are no longer around anymore. The ones that are look completely different and even though it’s been only three years, you’ll see how dramatic of a shift the Honda community has made. Things are moving at an incredible pace with competition and innovation leading to builds changing inside and out in a matter of months. I also wasn’t very familiar with how to use a camera yet or how to process photos so I’m happy to have the chance to go through the photos again and make them look a little better than in 2009. The format and layout of the site was also completely different then and now we have a cleaner site that is able to host larger photos. Photos back then were sized at a mere 800 pixels and now the site photos are closer to 1000 (950pixels to be exact) and I’ve also sized the photos in such a way where you can click on a link to see them in higher resolution. If you were a fan of a couple of the cars at Eibach 2009 and was not happy with how small the photos were then, you will probably be able to save them in their larger formats today. I won’t really bother with the commentary, instead, I will just link back to the original post(s) and you can go through the comments if you please. If you’re new to the site, bear in mind that, again, these were shot back in 2009. Things are very different today and many of the cars are long gone. Eibach 2009 was one of my favorite Eibach Meets because it was probably one of the most diverse in all the years. There were a lot of different styles and themes being implemented and the event was also important to me and many of us because it was a meet dedicated to one of our friends that had passed away that year. The whole feel of the event that day was just special and it is really hard to explain in words. You would have had to have been there that day to understand. These photos are just of some of the cars but if you want to read more about it, links are provided below….
Also on the bottom of each photo, I have gone ahead and attached the larger versions for your viewing pleasure. Excuse the photos if they are somewhat lackluster. Back in ’09 I was barely figuring out how to operate one and I didn’t even have my own camera yet. The editing is a bit better too since I’ve learned a couple more tricks since then (i.e. not just adding contrast to everything, haha). Enjoy and hopefully I can dig up more photos from the past later and “remaster” them for you guys…
Links to original posts (excuse the small photos as they were done to fit the format of the site in 2009)…
Now, on with the “remastered” photos…
2009 marked the first time that I got to see Jay Thammavong aka S2kjay from PG+K’s S2000 in person… I’m happy and proud to say that this S2000 is still around in 2012, though it has gone through a drastic makeover and will once again be going through another rebuild later this year… Jay is also out here living in the west coast now. Back in 2009, he drove this thing all the way to California from Atlanta to attend the Eibach meet. Though it’s a great looking build in Laguna Seca Blue form, I still think that this is my favorite look of all time (maybe for any street S2000)…
HBK Jon’s EG…one of my followers on Instagram (@stickydiljoe) posted up a comment this morning saying that he didn’t understand why the owner spent so much money on the car and didn’t paint the engine bay. I guess he missed out on the two-tone custom painted bays trend back then… (and I say “back then” because, while still popular in other parts of the country, west coast Honda builders have moved away from that style…)…
This Civic was kind of a big deal back in ’09 but I much preferred it when it was red with a battleship grey engine bay…
BonB’s Civic is also still around but looks like this now…. In 2009, he was known for being that guy that drove his Civic across the country for the Eibach meet and blowing his motor in the process. He had it fixed the nights leading up to the event and made it there and back home in one piece…
Sheepey’s DC2 is still around as well, but is now a full-blown drag car…in 2009 it was just a ‘street car’…
Silentdancer aka TJ’s S2000 right before he sold it…I think he’s on his 45th S2000 by now…
Brian Nguyen’s DC5…parted and sold now I believe… He now has a Mugen equipped CR-Z…
I thought this was the greatest shot I had ever taken back then, haha…
Sid’s DA Integra from Phaze2…some day this car will re-emerge…
Nancee’s S2000… I heard this S2 was for sale awhile back, not sure the status on it now…
Joey Abundiz’s engine bay was a hate or love thing among the crowd that day at Eibach ’09…. I never got a chance to get a full shot of this car because there were so many people around it…
Johnny Wong from Super Street’s EF…one day this thing will re-emerge as well and from seeing the parts that he’s been collecting, it’s gonna be pretty special…
If you don’t recognize this ITR, don’t be alarmed…this was Anh from ATS Garage’s Integra back in 2009 before he joined ATS and completely re-did his entire car…
Reza’s DC2 in its prime…
HeyMikeyyyy’s Integra from Phaze2…this car is long gone now but 2009 was when it was at its peak… Though it wasn’t the cleanest around with the highest caliber of work, Mikeyyyy was never afraid to take chances with different modifications….There were always guys that tried to be different just to be “the next big thing”, Mikeyyyy built his cars differently just because he had a different mindset than most people and didn’t really care what people thought. That’s why his DC2 and Arnel’s EG will always stand-out. They weren’t always the universally-accepted builds but it mattered very little to them…
I still remember that burn mark on his front lip from when RedZone had his car for over a year. They put a work light too close to it and literally melted it… Oh and many of your homies ended up with JLine wheels on their Hondas after they saw this car with them…
Mugenboy’s old Ferio-inspired 4-door from DPK… He later sold this car to Tanner who now works at Eibach Springs and he sold it to some other guy…
Sportcar Motion’s Kraftwerks supercharged Civic and Chase’s old CR-X from Chasebays….
Before the Honda community went CCW-crazy, leading to the craptastic creation of the XXR CCW-replica aka the “Complete Copied Wheel”….
Son from Hasback’s EK… no idea where Son is these days…
If I had a nickel every time someone asked me whatever happened to the Hasback crew….
These MF10s are still around I believe, and were last seen on PlusOne Danny’s EK coupe…
del Sol on WEDSport wheels from Ferd and the ATS Garage crew…Happy to see that this car is still around these days…
Rywire CR-X back when it was K-swapped…as you all know, he is now working on one of the most epic Integra Type R builds ever…
Phaze2 Arnel’s EG… a Civic many would go on to imitate later on…At this time the bay was like, 4 different colors. The following Eibach in 2010, he brought his Civic out with a color-matched bay, ITBs, and air suspension…
Chris “CRS” Sullivan getting a couple shots of the Phaze2 Hondas on his first trip out to Cali for the Eibach meet…
That’s pretty much it… I hope you guys enjoyed the short leap back in time…thanks for looking…
Exciting Car Showdown 2012 Nagoya Coverage…Part 2 of 2…
Here we go with the second portion of our Exciting Car Showdown coverage from Nagoya, Japan. As I said yesterday, I was lucky enough to stumble upon these photos and even more fortunate that the person that shot them, Takahiro Kawamura, let me post them up here on The Chronicles. There was a wide variety of different builds at this event, but the most talked about had to be the Toyota Celica with the ridiculous -15 degrees of camber and a wheel that only had a 215-wide tire beaded to 1/3 of it. If anything, it was definitely the most controversial car that we have seen come out of Japan in quite some time. If you are wondering, yes the car is functional, depending on your definition of function. “Function” in this sense means that the car actually rolls and drives on the street. The owner drove the car all the way down from Tokyo to Nagoya, stopping intermittently to fill the tires back up with air because of a slow leak (probably due to it being beaded on an inner part of the wheel). Here is an actual shot of it rolling on the highway…
Man, how unsafe does that look? Haha…anyways, I’m done talking about this thing….If the owner’s point of building this thing was to draw worldwide attention, whether it be good or bad, he definitely got it… Let’s just move onto the rest of the coverage featuring some better builds from Japan….
FD RX-7 from Looking…I believe this is the same VIP-themed FD that they had from back in the day. The car was also featured in Modified Magazine at one point…
A rear shot of the widened FD…I like the center vented garnish area…
Another RX-7 from Looking, this one non-candy and more subtle…
A shot of the bay, nice and clean…I like the dimple-dyed intercooler and radiator plates…
Peep the LED taillights…
Another U.S. Military-themed Japanese build… Why? I don’t know…maybe some of them are fascinated with U.S. military vehicles or something…Nice execution though…
The interior was filled with military equipment as well…Dashboard with the dual TVs is kind of random but whatever… You try pulling up to a U.S. event with guns like this and shit and you’ll probably get arrested…
Again, good execution…even the wheels were air-brushed to match…
R30 Skyline in a nice grey tone with some aggressive Buddy Club P1 wheels…
Flares have been added and the rear bumper has been removed…
From a tuning shop known as “HIPS”…
Many of you should know how big of a fan I am of older 80s Japanese builds so this Mark II with BBS LMs is right up my alley…
A shot of the bay, not completely sure what swap this is…looks to be a 7M-GTE or something similar. The TRC intake manifold is throwing me off a bit…
As with many of the builds at the Exciting Car Showdown, this Mark II was still a work-in-progress. Here you can see how the rear quarter is still in the middle of being welded and extended…
Rear shot of the Mark II wagon…
This is an interesting idea; a lift built into a rolling trailer…
Another shot of the Top Fuel S2000 with J’s aero…
This Top Fuel S2000 was wearing some ASM aero and Enkei RPF1s…
A couple shots of the 2nd gen. Toyota Soarer that caught my eye from last year’s Hellaflush Japan event…
Volk TE37 Super Laps seem to be the most popular wheel right now in Japan…I see all sorts of different builds rocking these wheels and for good reason…
Nice simple style, straight body, good ride height, and nothing over the top…. Just a timeless look…
Proper fitment with good fender work…
Another build with Super Laps was this two-toned Toyota Crown Athlete… This Crown features elements of both traditional VIP styled cars as well as a sporty side…
I guess you can say this build is “three-toned” because of the candy red bay…
Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice the 2JZ-GTE Supra swap…
Really enjoyed this Y32 Cima…Love the sports VIP style…
Flared S13 Silvia coupe on Work Meister CR-01s from Funny Fellows… Liking the two tone green on white look here…Meister CR-01s always look good and I think it’s gonna be a wheel that sticks around for the long haul…
Japan Soul is indeed wonderful…
Battle damaged front end from going sideways….
Can’t finish off this coverage of Exciting Car Showdown without some shots of the J’s Racing carbon bodied S2000… Love that it’s still yellow on the inside as it creates a nice contrast to the dark carbon. Of course you have to have Volk TE37SLs on it…
You can spot the J’s Racing big brakes in this shot as well as the dry carbon doors…
Ultra aggressive rear ducting on the rear flared quarters…
If you look at the front quarter shot, you’ll see a vent on the underside of the opening in the front bumper. That duct is attached to this silver hose piece that drives air into what are probably ITBs with a carbon air box…
Here’s the interior with the custom cluster display, switch panel and you can see how the cage runs through the dashboard…
Speaking of J’s, here’s their transport truck that was posted up outside in the parking lot. Even this thing looks sick..haha…
The parking lot is always a show in itself at every major Japanese car event…
A pair of wild JZA80 Supras…
I believe this Supra belongs to Kawamura’s friend…
Wild rear fender treatment on this one. Not sure if he intends to keep this black or color-match it in the future…This shit is just all kinds of intense…
Clean Kouki S14 Silvia that was in the lot…love the color on it. Aero I believe is a BN Sports kit…
Purple 180SX with rear blister fenders….
Supras out here are few and far between, especially crazy-modded ones but apparently you can just find them all over the parking lot in Nagoya…
Gonna close out the Exciting Car Showdown coverage with this exciting otaku-styled Honda Odyssey on Advan AVS Model 5 wheels….
That’s about it folks, thanks for looking and have a great weekend…
Exciting Car Showdown 2012 Nagoya Coverage…Part 1…
I’ve been trying to keep a theme going this year with bringing coverage to you guys of all the major shows in Japan. It’s tough because I don’t always have a consistent contact over there who can take photos for me and cover events. Over here, I prefer to do everything myself because I enjoy taking photos and covering shows/meets. I also like doing all the shooting because I get all the shots and angles that I want. If I could I would fly out to Japan for every major event and cover it but that just isn’t financially feasible. It’s been a real privilege of mine over the past few years to meet some great people in Japan and I hope I have the opportunity to meet more of them. Lately, Yasutaka Shimomukai from Tactical Art has been handling the photo-duties for me in Japan, covering big events as well as regular happenings over at Tactical Art, but I didn’t hear anything from him regarding the recent “Exciting Car Showdown” event that took place in Nagoya, Japan. When you see the photos below, you’ll probably remember the venue because it is the same venue where the X5 Nagoya show took place. It’s a massive dome like structure that has a pretty cool looking ceiling/roof. This show didn’t look nearly as big as TAS 2012 or Osaka Auto Messe but there does look to be quite a collection of nice cars in one building…
Today, we are lucky enough to get some coverage of the event from Takahiro Kawamura. Kawamura is a huge car head himself and has a particular fascination with 1/24 scale models. I was looking through his photos and the scale models that he puts together are very detailed and lifelike. He has a blog himself and is also a part of a team of 1/24 scale model collectors. I invite you to check out some of his work and I have attached some links below. It may be hard to understand because it is all in Japanese but the photos should speak for themselves. Thank you goes out to Kawamura-san for allowing me to use his photos from the Exciting Car Showdown 12 event. This will be a two-part series so come back tomorrow for the second batch of the photos…
Now, on with the photos…
BNR32 Skyline drift car belonging to Ryuusuke Kawasaki of Drift Tengoku magazine in the parking lot…
If you’re a true Honda guy, then you should be very familiar with the SS Work’s Honda CR-X….The AE86 Levin you see above, bearing the same livery, is also a product of SS Work’s….
SS Work’s FCR Carb system on a AE111 4A-GE motor….
Pretty rare to see this car on display since it doesn’t seem like it’s been out in public in ages….
Completely custom interior and cage work…
Star Road Fairlady S30Z on Work Equip 03s….They do a great job of mixing modern styling cues, like the projector headlights, with classic Japanese vehicles…
Carb’d L28 motor as clean as you will probably ever see on a S30Z chassis…
Totally random but I believe this is a modernized version of a DeTomaso Pantera…The headlights are kind of throwing me off but it’s pretty wild looking…
I tried looking for more info on it but to no avail…
S15 Silvia Varietta on Advan Racing RS-D wheels…
You probably won’t notice since it’s in a more subtle silver tone, but this widebody convertible belongs to Yashio Factory, which is known more for their wild pink paint and graphic schemes…
This beast of an R33 Skyline GTR drag car belongs to Japanese tuner Auto Active Garage Ito… Man, I love how this thing looks…
Drag car or not, the bay is still immaculate…
A work-in-progress S15 Silvia representing for Option2 magazine…
Not sure what this thing is built for but I like the metallic grey/pewter interior and how it offsets with the brighter exterior…
None-running SR20DET motor seated in the bay…
JZA80 Supra from Wacky-Mate with a C-West front bumper…
Not sure what rear bumper and sides though…
First-gen Toyota Celica on modern Volk TE37s…No motor shots since the hood was closed but you can spot a flat black intercooler up front…
Track-spec Mitsubishi GTO on display…
FD3S RX-7 from Racing Team Junction on aggressive TE37s in two different colors…
Top Fuel Honda S2000 with a complete J’s Racing widebody kit on Advan Racing TCIII….
One of my favorite international builds out right now, the GReddy 35RX GTR wearing Bensopra aero….
Love the brute aggression that this GTR displays… It just looks like it’s ready to fuck some shit up…
If you’ve never seen this thing in action, I invite you to watch the video below…it’s very well put together and I find myself watching it a lot…
Quick shot of the rear…notice the vertically mounted exhaust exits…
The other, slightly more subtle white Bensopra R35 GTR…
A shot of the motor with the front end opened up…Check-out where the Trust/GReddy Airinx filters are mounted…
Mad Mike’s Red Bull RX-7 drift car for the D1 Grand Prix Japan 2012 series…
R-Magic’s Toyota 86 demo car….
S13 Silvia drifter from Boss Japan…
Slammed Mitsubishi-produced Jeep on Watanbe wheels and an SR20DET swap…This thing has been around for years now and it’s still always cool to see it…
A look at the Nissan SR20 motor under the hood…
S13 coupe with 14-inch SSR MK2 wheels…
Naturally-aspirated SR20DE motor with individual throttle bodies…
Loving this Toyota Cresta on 14-inch SSR MKIII wheels….
No swap here…this GX71 Cresta is still rocking the original 1G-GEU motor, although it has seen quite a bit of modification…
I never get tired of seeing old school Japanese imports…there is always just a great sense of nostalgia when you look at one that it’s great shape… I wish there were more clean examples out here in the states, but more often then not, people aren’t willing to take the time and care into restoring one…
This S14 had a military-themed airbrushed livery and is from Hayashi Auto Service..
An interesting mix of themes here. The body has a military theme, but the hood is carbon with a marble-painted overlay….The “6666 Customs” you see on the windshield represents the aero kit that is on the car…
Odd windshield banner treatment with the raised “VOLKLINGER” sign …also note the rear glass and dual hood scoops…I guess it all goes with the fighter plane and military vehicle theme…
The rear glass even has window louvers over it and vents coming out of the rear bumper as well as a center-exit exhaust…Definitely unconventional but you have to respect the amount of work involved to execute it…
One of the most controversial cars at the Exciting Car Showdown was this Toyota Celica and it’s -15 degrees of camber. If the camber isn’t ridiculous enough, you have to see the rear wheel and how a large portion of the wheel isn’t even anywhere near the tire! Apparently the tire is beaded and seats to that portion of the wheel and this car is actually driveable. You’ve probably seen a couple shots of the rear of this Celica floating around on the internet. I first caught an image of it on Facebook and I thought it was either a joke or a photoshopped image…
Stuff like this is when you realize that the whole low offset/stance thing has gone completely overboard…It just looks totally ridiculous. I was reading about this car on Speedhunters and apparently this Celica really does drive like this and drove all the way down to Nagoya from Tokyo. The owner had to stop and fill the tire up because it was slowly losing air…..man, just unbelievable… imagine how unsafe this is on a public road…I don’t know what this guy is trying to prove but this is way too much….
Gonna stop off here for today. Back with part 2 tomorrow… thanks for looking!
Formula D Long Beach 2012 Coverage…Part 3…The Conclusion…
Welcome back to the final and concluding portion of our coverage of the Formula D Long Beach 2012 season opener. As you can tell from the shot above, it was an absolute madhouse there and people were standing shoulder to shoulder to try to get a glimpse of their favorite drifter in action. I couldn’t even imagine what those people look like now because I didn’t stay half as long as they did and my skin is already peeling today from being sunburned. It was a great event overall and I really enjoyed the variety that exists throughout. I thought it was meant to cater strictly to hardcore drift enthusiasts but it turns out that there is a vast amount of cars there of all makes and models. Of course with it being a drift event, stance and wheel fitment are heavily emphasized and that’s why you see so many cars with aggressive wheel fitment. The show portion of the event was called the “Slammed Society Showcase” after all and the name alone would deter many none “stanced-out” cars from showing up. I had a good time and I would have stayed longer had it not been for the unexpected heat that day. In any case, here are the rest of the photos from that day. I snapped a couple more around the paddocks where drift cars were being repaired and on display in between rounds and then I closed it out back at the Slammed Society Showcase side… Enjoy…
The Boso Garage S15 drift car had a strong political message represented on its front bumper…you can see from the gashes on the lettering and graphic that this car meet the wall once or twice…
The rasta colors from Ross Petty’s previous livery continue on to this new rendition…
18-inch Work Meister S1R on Falken Azenis tires…
A glimpse of the NOS Energy 370Z drift car which is piloted by Chris Forsberg and rocking a VK56 V8 motor from a Nissan Titan…
APEX Integration’s SC430/Toyota Soarer drift car…
JDM school girl action…only thing missing is the pixelated vag area, haha…
A shot of the Prodrive wheel on Daigo Saito’s Soarer drift car that I had shots of when it was in its naked state at the Formula D Tech Day… I couldn’t get a clear shot of the car since there were so many people hovering around it but I can honestly say that the car looks much better without its current livery….
If you remember the car from the tech day coverage, it didn’t have this flare either with the round cut-outs….
Holly Lee striking a pose over at the Performance Auto & Sound booth…
Fatlace’s R32 sedan drift car on Work XSA….
I’m a huge fan of Jon Sibal’s Dodge Challenger… Love the overall theme to it as well as how it sits on Japanese SSR Professor wheels…
As I was snapping a shot of Jon Sibal’s Challenger, my cousin cruised up with this gigantic Canon L lens and I thought it would be a ridiculous shot if he posed like he was getting a close-up shot of this Rotiform wheel…Haha…in reality, he was really trying to get a shot at that distance, he could probably pick-up the dust particles on the tip of one of those lug nuts….I tried taking a photo of it and that thing is so heavy that it’s hard to get a still shot because I was shaking so much…Perfect I’m sure for getting action shots on the track though but good luck trying to balance that thing…
Karl’s S2000 on CCW Classics…Nice to see some aggressive fitment and a meaty tire…
Leon Casino’s Honda CR-X on Spoon SW388…
DPK David’s EJ1 coupe on Volk TE37s….
My Q45 on custom step-lipped Work Equips…
Another shot of this pristine VW GTI…
Just had to get more shots of this Audi A3 on BBS LM…
Nissan S13 vert on what I believe to be AME Tracers…
S13 coupe from part 1 that was dragging its front bumper around driving static at this height…
This Z33 was looking pretty good on Euroline wheels…wish the height was even front and back though…
Subaru STI on custom step-lipped Work Equips with gunmetal faces…
2GS on very aggressive Work Euroline wheels…the rear was so pushed out that the rear quarter had a huge crack on it….
RHD Datsun/Nissan Bluebird sedan or what you might know more as a Datsun 510…
A Y33 Q45 like mine but without a kit and also sitting on more aggressive custom Work Equips…
Acura TSX on CCW LM20 wheels…
R32 GTR on a classic set of 5Zigen Heidfeld wheels…Haven’t seen a set of original Heidfelds in ages…These are the original 3-piece versions too and not the one-piece from later generations…
The engine bay of the R32 Skyline…
Vortech supercharged Z33 on Meisters…
The original U.S. Junction Produce GS400 owned by John Liwanag….All JP-everything still representing the original Endless Projects crew…
5Axis Scion iQ on Airrunner suspension…
Rare to see a R33 Skyline these days but here is a non-GTR Skyline GTS-T on AME Circular Spec-Rs…
On the other hand, here is an actual GTR, but of the R35 variety from Rotora…
Hoonigan RWB Porsche with Bisi’s 911 lurking behind it…
Sportcar Motion’s time attack monster DC2 Type R….
Kraftwerks supercharged K20 motor underneath the hood of the SCM ITR…
Bisimoto Engineering’s 1004HP 2012 Civic Si coupe on display at the Falken Tire booth…
GReddy’s R35 GTR looking mean….
That pretty much wraps it up. I would have taken more photos but I was just over being there the entire day. We noticed that they were letting the car show participants leave if they wished so we decided to head out. We had all been there since 7am and around 4:45pm, I just wanted to go home and shower because I was so burnt-out…. Thanks for looking….
Formula D Long Beach 2012 Coverage…Part 2…
Moving along now with part 2 of the ongoing Formula D LBC 2012 coverage. Today will be much like part 1, where coverage consists of both the “Slammed Society Showcase” and the vendor section where the drift teams also set-up shop in between rounds. Again, if you are here to see crazy action and drifting shots, I apologize as I did not have the proper media credentials to get into the section where the other photographers were. I simply brought my car into the show and took whatever shots I saw while walking around throughout the day. I didn’t expect it to be that hot either as the days leading up to the weekend were nice and cool. The sun was beating down hard that day at FD and we often found ourselves looking for cover to get out of the sun and to prevent getting sun-burnt. Luckily the NOS Energy section had a huge tent that provided shade for us and we hung out there for the majority of the day. The Slammed Society Showcase area was blazing hot and since I didn’t have a booth this time around, I didn’t bring a canopy or chairs. In any case, here is the coverage from the early afternoon and tomorrow we will close out the coverage with part 3…
Great looking FD RX-7 on Mag Blue Volk Racing TE37SLs…
Z33 drift car from K-Sport…I remember seeing this thing at the SEMA show last year but had no idea it was an actual drift vehicle…
Another shot of James Oliver’s BB6 Prelude…
As well as another shot of Jackson Wong’s S2000…
Wouldn’t be a “Slammed Society Showcase” if I didn’t throw in the occasional aggressive wheel fitment… I see this style quickly taking over the U.S. VIP scene and I’m not really a big fan of all that oni/demon camber….I prefer to have more than 30% of the tire on the ground at all times but what do I know? haha…
A slammed skateboard…
Speaking of wheel fitment, here’s a closer look at the Audi A3 wagon from part 1…
Note how the owner specifically set-up his wheel sizing and offset in a way where, when the car is airred-down, the rear fender sits in between the tire and lip of the wheel…If you take a closer look, you can even see how the lip of the wheel is pushing the lip of the rear quarter panel inward…
Here’s a look at the whole BBS LM wheel on the Audi…
Z33 from Team Hybrid on some cream Meisters…
My only attempt at capturing some live drifting…
Don’t know why but I really liked this shot…I was walking around and this rusted drum caught my eye so I snapped a photo of it. I had never seen an actual drum of HKS Racing Fuel either so I just had to take a picture… If you want to see a larger version of a similar shot, click here (1400×933)
A couple of guys working on an RX-8 drift car….
Random shot of some AEM coils on Bisimoto’s turbo Civic coupe, which was on display in the Falken Tire area…
I thought this Infiniti M drift car from Hankook Tires was really cool…I didn’t get to see it in action but it was on display all day by the NOS Energy booth…
I love how it still retains it’s sedan-characteristics and now sports four Recaro bucket seats…
It still retains the top half of its dashboard as well, with the wood finish and everything….
Another shot of the Sportcar Motion time-attack DC2R…Can’t wait to see how this thing does when it participates in the upcoming Global Time Attack event…
We were hanging out in the NOS Energy area when all of a sudden, a hoard of rollerskating gypsies showed up and took over the DJ area with their creepy roller-dancing…it was quite strange and random…Then they tried to hand us some fliers for some skate demo or something and DPK David signed one and gave it back to one of the girls…Shocked and confused, she rolled her gypsy-ass along and got away from us…
NOS Energy girls were busy posing for photographers throughout the day while they also gave out NOS Energy Drink samples to patrons…
Corissa Furr served as the spokesmodel for Mishimoto’s booth…
Jonathan Wong and Sam Du from Super Street magazine…Also in the shot is Paul Wall, who apparently gained some weight recently…
I really liked this shirt that was on display at the SSR/Tanabe booth…if anyone knows how I can get one of these bad boys, please let me know…
Low Fat Pie was bored so he sat down to play some video games at the NOS Energy booth…Mischa Barton from the OC thought I was taking a picture of her, that’s why she’s smiling in the background…
Ms. Julie Mai was enjoying her new gig as a NOS Energy girl…
Titla McBoob was hanging out with the Me Gusta guy at the Pasmag booth…
Here’s another shot of her with Hover Hand guy…if you don’t know what the Hover Hand is, read more about it HERE… So close, yet, so far…
After staring at Titla McBoob for awhile, we all suddenly had the urge for milk and got hungry, so we decided to take a break and grab some lunch…
As we walked out of the venue, we were shocked by just how many spectators were in line to check out Formula D…Honestly, I had no idea FD was this big and how popular it was. It’s crazy… I want to say it resembled Wekfest SF to an extent but the venue is so vast that it’s hard to compare. People are down to watch drifting though and I think I’ll be attending more of these events in the future, knowing how big it is now…
We headed over to The Pike, which was a well-known strip of restaurants in Long Beach. There were options but we ultimately decided on Hooters since we wanted to grab some cold beers and get out of the blazing sun… When we arrived it looked like it was closed so we had Pie call them from across the street to see if they were open, instead of just walking over to look inside. It turns out that it was just slow because a majority of the streets were closed for Formula D so we got a table and relax for a bit…
I didn’t take any photos while inside because I was busy eating and my hands were greasy from the Hooters chicken wings, but here are a couple shots that the guys took with their cell phones…
It was nice to get out of the sun for awhile and Ryan also met up with us before heading to FD….we stayed for about an hour or so and then walked back to check out the event…
Back at the NOS Energy booth, Natalia Marie was hosting some freestyle hip hop battle and it was kind of cheesy, so we went to the Slammed Society Showcase section to see how our cars were doing…
DPK David decided to pop his hood for a little bit and it drew a small crowd of onlookers… Some guy even asked him if the car had been there the whole time because he didn’t recognize it with the hood popped….
It’s obvious that everyone is a photographer these days with their DSLRs, but what’s become more popular as of late is video…there were people there with all sorts of elaborate equipment to capture video coverage…
Love this VW…such a clean and timeless appeal about it…
Yet another Amuse or “Amuse-style” widebody kit…This one is wingless and has a carbon hardtop….
Bright green HREs on Vaughn Gitten Jr.’s Mustang…
A random shot of his seats and door graphic…
Gitten Jr.’s helmet hanging from his rear view…
I noticed that the rear bumper was removed from the car and upon closer inspection, it looked like he had crashed that took the bumper clear off the car…Again, I didn’t catch any of the actual drifting but here’s a video of the tandem run where he clipped the rear…at around 37 seconds in is when he lost the rear bumper…
Daijiro Yoshihara’s 6.7L V8….peep the 102mm throttle body…
Dai’s DY Signature wheels…
Gravel…
Falken model Olivia Korte…
Battle-scarred S15 Silvia drifter from RS*R…
Steering and alignment repairs were being done on the fly on this Scion tC drift car…
Stephan Papadakis and the Scion Racing crew handling some work on the tC’s steering rack…
Gonna stop here for today….come back tomorrow for the final installment of The Chronicles coverage of Formula D Long Beach 2012…thanks for looking. If you missed part 1, just look below or in the previous posts…
Formula D Long Beach 2012 Coverage…Part 1…
I originally planned to attend this event because there just haven’t been very many other automotive events going on down in Socal and I needed some content for the site. After working on some stories for various magazines the last couple weeks and just lounging on the weekends, Formula D was the perfect event to go out to get reacquainted with the latest happenings within our community. We had gone down to Irvine, CA to check out the Formula D tech day and I was intrigued by some of the new drift cars that were debuting this year. I haven’t been heavily following the drifting scene since the days when the Japanese D1 Grand Prix was huge here in the states so I will be the first one to admit that I am unfamiliar with the state of things today. Anything I see in regards to drifting is either something I am working on for that magazines I work for or stuff I see online. I’ve been trying to get down to the Long Beach Formula D openers for the past two years now but things came up and for whatever reason, I just wasn’t able to make it. This year, I was committed to going, the only problem…was getting passes into the venue. I’m not going to lie to you, I don’t have very high expectations or want anything handed to me without hard work, but after being apart of this great industry for so many years now, I am not down to just stand in line all day and pay full price to get into an event. You can take that any way you want to, but other guys that have been in this industry for any length of time will tell you the same thing. I did it as a youngster and went through everything already and I would rather just not have to deal with waiting in lines anymore and just going into places with either a media pass or register to bring my car in. The only problem was that I hit up Source Interlink (The company I freelance for if you are new to the site) too late and Formula D wasn’t offering any media passes anymore. The downside to that was that I wouldn’t have the cool neon green vest and be able to go into the media area to get super close-up shots of the drifting. So…if you are here to see amazing action shots of car going sideways, I apologize, because you won’t see any of that here. I covered the cars in the paddock area and mostly in the Slammed Society Showcase, which was the car show portion of Formula D. It would have been great to get some action shots but from the areas where I was standing, it was all fencing and all kinds of other random objects in the way…
So anyways, the days leading up to the event, I had to figure out some way to get into the show. I was going to just eat it and purchase a ticket online, but good lord, that shit is like $37 dollars now for a single day. You add that with the 8-10 bucks parking, man, that’s almost $50 to attend Formula D! And I don’t even watch the drifting so it doesn’t make much sense to spend that kind of change. There was an option to register the car for the show, but my car has been sitting so long that it’s just filthy. Registration for the car show was $45 bucks, but then you get to go in early and you also get a prime parking spot…it just makes sense to be in the show… I hit up my buddy Yogi from Fatlace and he said that if we could get a couple more cars together, he’d give us a discount on the spots. I of course lagged on it and couldn’t get a solid group together. DPK David was down to show just to make his sponsor, Falken Tire, happy but it seemed everyone else’s cars just weren’t ready. I was at Rywire probably on Wednesday or something and J.P. from DPK mentioned that he was going to show his Civic, but with a shop called FX Auto Design. J.P. said he didn’t really have to show and was willing to give up his spot to either David or I. We called up our friend Teddy who works over at FX Auto Design and he notified us that he had some extra spots that we could have as well. We just told him that we were going to bring DPK David’s coupe down along with my car and he confirmed with us that we could be a part of the show. David and I prepped our cars on that Friday and set off for Long Beach in the morning…
So a huge thank you goes out to Teddy and the guys over at FX Auto Design, without them, we probably wouldn’t have even gone to Formula D Long Beach. Now, onto the coverage…
Since David recently moved into another place, he’s no longer that close to where I stay at. It didn’t make sense to meet up and cruise down to Long Beach since we were going in opposite directions, so we decided to just meet up down in Long Beach. Black Pie aka Low Fat Pie and PG+K Jay already live in Long Beach so they carpooled together to meet up with us as well, since we were allowed to bring a passenger with us into the show. I woke up around 5:30am, got ready, and cruised down to LBC. David was already there along with Pie and Jay so we chatted for a couple minutes before driving over to the roll-in area…The event itself takes place on the streets of Long Beach so it was pretty cool to be able to drive through a small portion of the “track” before parking at our designated spots inside the show, which was held inside an adjacent parking lot…
A look at the stands when we arrived. This section would later be filled with attendees who were there to watch the action…
DPK David’s coupe and my Q45 on the track while we waited for everyone else to show up…You can spot Jay in the background probably posting a photo on Instagram…
Our friend Norman from AS1 on his cell phone checking where all the laggers were….
Jackson Wong from DTM Autobody and his S2000 arrived shortly after us at the venue…you probably remember this car more in a bright green but he recently had the car wrapped…
A shot of his Enkei PF01 wheels and AP Racing brakes…
I was just sitting in the car waiting so I snapped some more photos of the S2000…
Notice the cage…
A shot of DPK David in his coupe…
Karl’s S2000 on CCW Classics…He used to have the Laguna Seca Blue EM2 Civic coupe but got rid of it and this is his new project car…
Random interior shot of David’s coupe…
We got tired after waiting for awhile and our cars were starting to get in the way of other cars trying to get through so we just pulled inside…
Most of the cars were already set-up inside the Slammed Society Showcase section since most arrived the night before…
David’s recently acquired set of front-staggered Volk TE37s…
The guys looking on as show workers re-arranged some cars to fit us…
My Y33 Q45 at its regular driving height…Some guy came up to my car and was like “Oh damn, that’s sick! Is the car static?”…I was replied with a “Nah, sorry man..” haha…I understand how cool it is to be able to drive everywhere with just coilovers and be slammed but I’ve been there and done that. I’ll gladly settle for bags to avoid breaking my shit…
Falken was well-represented at this event, whether their tires were on display vehicles or competing drift vehicles…
It wouldn’t be a “Slammed Showcase” without it’s share of slammed cars…Not sure how this AE86 goes about making turns but props for attempting it…
This Audi A3 was definitely one of my favorite cars at the event…I think all of us were admiring this thing…just beautiful…
Mint set of Work Meister CR01 wheels on a 4-door Civic…Not sure who the owner was but he/she was rocking one of my old school Chronicles decals…crazy to see people still have those. The chrome was bubbling and everything, haha…
This S13 coupe was owned/driven by a female enthusiast and she apparently doesn’t give a shit about her front bumper because that shit was dragging everywhere when she was asked to move her car… pretty wild stuff…
These LMs looked perfect on the A3…
Formula D driver Mike Phillips didn’t get a chance to run on Saturday because he wrecked his S13 hatchback the day before during practice runs…Guile came and finished the job afterwards…
The damage is pretty significant compared to the video of the actual crash on Youtube…I’ll attached it below…Thanks to whoever uploaded it…
Milt from Low ‘N Slow wiping his Z down…
This guy was busy touching up the color on his Falken logo…
James Oliver’s BB6 Prelude…
After parking our cars and hanging out for a bit in the Slammed Society Showcase area, we decided to check out what was going on in the other side, which was the vendors area….
The first car that caught my eye was this FD3S RX-7 on an aggressive set of bronze Volk TE37s…
The Gates 311RS on display at the Nitto Tires booth…
Vaughn Gitten Jr’s Ford Mustang drift car rocking a new graphical livery….
Note the cut out rear bumper and trunk…
Gitten Jr. himself…I’m pretty sure he was picking his nose while I took this shot but we’ll just pretend that he’s putting a tooth pick in his mouth or something…
A personal favorite shot of mine from that day…Someone is bound to ask about the wheels so I might as well mention that they are Dai Yoshihara’s new signature line of wheels that are being released this year…
While we were hanging out in the Falken Tire section, I spotted Brad Lim from Falken trying to inhale this banana…
The 2013 Mustang you see in this photo is piloted by Justin Pawlak. He ended up winning the whole thing at FD Long Beach and since I don’t have photos of that, here’s a video of it in action…
Darren McNamara’s 790hp V8-powered Saturn Sky being unloaded off the Falken trailer….
Pretty interesting to see that his Sky was right hand drive…
…I asked some of the guys at Falken why and they said that he prefers to drive on the right-side and his car was built to suit his preferences…
Another shot of the Gates 311RS…This Ryan Gates-built Evo sports AMS engine upgrades and JRZ suspension, along with 18×10.5 Volk CE28s. 11 of these will be made and sold fully-warranted by Gates…
Another shot of Daijiro Yoshihara’s S13 coupe….Love the massive hood for the 6.7L LSx V8 motor…
One interesting aspect about this event was the amount of variety. There were all types of cars and not just limited to strictly drift vehicles or vehicles based on that style…here’s the Hoonigan RWB Porsche on display….
Even the Sportcar Motion ITR was on display, representing Global Time Attack…
Orange widebody Evo8 on display at the APR Performance booth…
Bisimotowerks twin-turbo Porsche 911….
One of two massive Turbonetics turbines sticking out of the rear of the Bisimotowerk’s 911…
The chassis of this 911 is from the 70s-era of production Porsches but the motor is from a 2000′s 997 Porsche 911…
Absolutely loved this Volkswagon GTI on classic BBS mesh wheels….
DPK David and my Q45….
Brian Arias’ EK on BBR Comps that I posted up photos of last week here on The Chronicles…
Teddy Timoteo’s EK with Sprint Hart CP-Rs, ARC Magic rear wing, and First Molding front lip…
Mark Sutakajana and Jay from PGK chatting…
Gonna close it out here for today…back tomorrow with more coverage from Formula D Long Beach and the Slammed Society Showcase….
Thanks for looking…
Formula D Long Beach 2012 Tech Day Coverage…
Read that title again…it’s not “Formula D Long Beach 2012 Coverage”…because my time machine is broken right now, it’s the “Formula D Long Beach 2012 TECH DAY Coverage”….There was no drifting, no real action, just a whole lot of drift cars making “brap brap brap” sounds and then driving into a building to get inspected. I honestly didn’t even know this was going on until maybe the night before the event. I had seen on Facebook that there was a small meet which was dubbed a “casting call” by Super Street and Import Tuner but I didn’t know it coincided with the Formula D tech day. This was held at the Source Interlink Irvine offices and served as a small meet as well where cars would come by and possibly get scouted to be in one of the Source Interlink books. I didn’t expect a whole lot from this event because it wasn’t heavily advertised and when DPK David and I arrived at the event, my assumptions were correct. It was just a very small gathering of cars and an interesting mix of different makes and models. The Formula D cars came and went because they were just there for the tech inspection, but I got what I could. I don’t have any details on the tech day itself because I don’t know that much about drifting these days, and I am not a Formula D official. We all just hung out for awhile and chatted and took off awhile later because, as you saw yesterday, I had a surprise birthday party to attend. With that said, let’s get this going….
Loved this Z33 with SSR Type-Fs from R-Rydes. If you aren’t familiar with this car, it is the infamous “Ruined Z” that was once the talk of the internet a couple years back. The owner took his 350Z to this shit hole of a bodyshop known as iDesigns where they did everything possible to not complete the job of installing a body kit. They used wood screws to hold on the sideskirts, did a horrible job painting it, etc…it was a mess. I’m happy to see this car looking great these days though. A lesser owner would have given up on the car after the ordeal he had to go through…
Another clean Z33…this one on Volk LE37s…
One of the first things I noticed when I rolled up to this event was this S13 hatchback with a gutter-ass intercooler spray-painted with the words “HONDA KILLER” on it…haha…better save up some money and have some better taste before you attempt to kill any Hondas…
Always enjoy seeing really clean builds like this NA-chassis Mazda MX-5 Miata on Work Equip 03s….
Honda S2000 with Amuse or “Amuse-style” aero…
’33 Ford hot rod that sits inside the Source Interlink offices in Irvine…
Inside the bays of the Source Interlink offices are multiple lifts where the Formula D participants had their cars inspected…
Widebody Honda S2000 from 1UP crew…
The event also played host to the most Elite of the stock NSXs…
EP3 Civic on Formula Hart wheels with a Mugen grille and lip….
This was totally random but I spotted this Lancer Evolution III at the meet. Not only was it rare to see, it was also left-hand drive….With the 4-lug it may very well be a Mitsubishi Lancer with a Evo III conversion…
Ran into this second generation Scion xB with a pretty large intercooler….something with a large intercooler unit like this must have a pretty large turbo, right?…
…apparently not… Also strange to see people rocking stickers that just say “HATE” on it now too…The word “hate” is starting to become more overused than the word “JDM”…Overall, not a bad looking car though…
This MX32 Toyota Cressida is a pretty cool build from Sparkle Garage…Within their circle, it’s known more as the “JZX32 Shakotan Zombie”…
…”JZX32″ because this Cressida sports a VVT-i N/A 2JZ-GE engine swap from a Toyota Aristo/Lexus GS300…. The box on the bottom of the photo actually houses the Cressida’s ECU…
Really liked this 180SX-converted S13 hatchback but he was leaving as I approached it so I couldn’t get a closer look…
The meet hosted a couple of nice Z32 300ZXs, which are rare to see these days considering how they weren’t very popular even in it’s time… This was one of the better examples at the meet…
This was another nice Z32….Both on Work Meister S1 wheels but the latter had caps…
And here is a random crappy metal scoop on a Subaru WRX…not sure if this is to help drive air into the motor or if the owner has a pet hamster…
5th generation 7-Series BMW on Vorsteiner wheels…
Z31 Nissan Z on SSR wheels…I believe this was the same Z that used to be pink…
This is Daigo Saito’s new Achilles Tire-sponsored Toyota Soarer/Lexus SC430 drift car that is set to make it’s debut at Formula D Long Beach…I’m told it was built in Japan and brought over to the U.S. to compete in the Formula D series. It’s THE car to watch in 2012 because it’s a 1200hp 2JZ-GTE monster that will be piloted by D1/FD Asia’s 2011 champion…
Check out the dual rear Wilwood brake calipers and the notched brake rotors…
A glimpse of the 1200 horsepower 2JZ…
The Soarer being loaded-up on an Emergency Hookers flat-bed truck after inspection….
Besides the massive rear wing, check out the underside of the car with the radiator and dual electric fans…
Ross Petty’s S15 Silvia drift car from Garage Boso….sporting a new livery this year with a hint of his political views…
Not sure what this candy red Z33 drift car with HRE wheels had under the hood but it was extremely loud as it rolled into the lot…
The air cleaner sticking out through the center of the hood shows that it’s probably a GM LSx V8 but don’t quote me on that…
The interior of the 350Z….
Clean AE86 coupe on Work Equip 01s…
One more shot of the Soarer/SC430…
Closing out this portion of coverage with a shot of the JZX32 Zombie driving away…
That’s a wrap for today…With things being so slow lately, I’m leaning towards going to the Formula D Long Beach event to grab some coverage…stay tuned…
M&L Party in Japan Coverage…
Just a batch of 30 or so photos for you guys today. These come courtesy once again from the guys over at Tactical Art and consist of photographs from a recent meet they threw in Osaka, Japan. This is probably about a month old but since you’re unlikely to see coverage of this anywhere else (Besides Speedhunters.com), there really isn’t a time frame where I had to get these up. As you know, I recently posted up the Osaka Auto Messe coverage that was also shot by Shimomukai-san of Tactical Art, and this meet happened during that same weekend. They wanted to throw a meet around that same time since everyone was already out and about at the Osaka Auto Messe event. The show consisted of a vast variety of different vehicles and styles which you will also see represented at the M&L Party. The meet was open to all makes and models so the turn-out was pretty big. From what I was told, there were over 300 cars at this meet. I don’t have nearly that many photos of course, as I’ve only selected the photos that were the best of the bunch. Shimomukai-san is not a pro photographer by any stretch of the imagination so I’m sure he had difficulties taking photos of these cars in the dark of the evening. I’m happy that he got what he could under those conditions and now we get to enjoy a little bit of the true Osaka automotive tuning culture…. As I’ve stated before, it’s always good to expand your automotive horizons. Even if you don’t see a particular style that you like, fuck it, take it as a learning experience and try to understand the effort that was put into these builds. No matter the style of tuning, we are all enthusiasts with the same love for cars. Variety is the spice of life after all….Enjoy…
If you’re wondering why there is a white person in this photo, you’re not the only one. This is actually Mike Garrett from Speedhunters.com. He tagged along with Shimomukai-san and the rest of his buddies to check out the M&L Party and to take in the Osaka tuning lifestyle… I don’t know this guy personally but I’ve been following his stuff for years now. I remember I used look through his Flickr page for hours because he was at so many different Japanese automotive events and always had some great photos…
Beeyan Hamada, the owner of the Team Madame Toyota Wish van, grabbing some grub with Mike Garrett… Random side note, but I think it’s cool that you can hang your jacket like that inside of a food establishment in Japan. If you were to do something like that here in the USA, your shit would probably get stolen in a heartbeat, just sayin’…
Not really sure what is going on in here. We can pretend that they are either ordering food or going through the rules before walking into a bath house…
Cars of all makes pulling into the M&L Party…
Shimomukai just recently put on his brand new 15-inch Rotiform ROCs but a month ago, he was still rolling on another set of XXRs…here is his EG6 with Kameoka’s Toyota Mark X…
Lighting inside the wheel wells always makes for an interesting look…Not sure what this particular style is called but it looks like something you would see cruising down South Beach or something…
It’s always cool to see American domestic vehicles in Japan. Their fascination with having American things is much like our fascination with all things Japanese (except for the octopus monster porn)….
Classic Osaka-Kanjo styled EA-T Civic…
You can thank Americans for making this style popular…
I guess if you have money to own a Lamborghini, you might as well make sure everyone knows it…
Work Meister S1s are cool…the lambo doors on this BMW Z….ehh, not sure much. I’ve never understood the fascination with lambo-style doors, but I am just outright confused why people make their doors do this on convertibles…seems really counter productive, haha…There was another photo of this with the doors down and it doesn’t look too bad, but Meisters look good on any car….
A trio of EA-T Civics from Osaka…
M&L Party seemed to play host to a lot of VIP-themed builds…I believe this is a Toyota Crown Athlete on 2-piece Work S1s….
Toyota Celsior airred-out and laying on the floor…
Showa-styled 80′s Toyota or Nissan…I can’t tell because there is just all kinds of stuff everywhere….Love the SSR MK3s though…
Crazy audio set-up in this van…
Nissan 180SX Type-X on Work Equips…
Really liked this widebody 180SX….
Kind of an odd location to put an exhaust…
Classic white-on-white R34 Skyline GT-R on Volk Te37….
Daihatsu Mira representing ESB-Style… if you go to their website, it’s a lot like a night club. It’s really loud and you just kinda want to leave right away…haha…
R35 GTR with a Wald Black Bison aero kit on Volk G2…
Parked next to it was a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera….
Matte black BMW E46 repping the U.S. Air Force on BBS LM-R….
Rauh-Welt Afromania made an appearance…
Pancaked Toyota mini-truck….
A pair of Civics getting positioned for a photo-op…These are USDM-themed and following the hellaflush/stance look with XXR wheels…
Closing it out with a shot of Hamada’s Toyota Wish and a DC5 Integra that is a regular over at Tactical Art….
That’s a wrap, thanks for looking… Oh, and have a great weekend…
Osaka Auto Messe 2012 Coverage…Part 2 of 2…
There are just a small batch of photos left from the Osaka Auto Messe 2012 event. I know it’s been kind of random around here lately with the mix of updates, but I’ve got other stuff going on in regular everyday life that hasn’t left me with a whole lot of time to mess with the site. Plus, I have a bunch of orders I still need to complete and get out to everyone. Today we are going to finish off this second half of coverage and move onto something else. The cars at this event weren’t really catered to your average Honda crowd so don’t be expecting a whole lot of photos of Hondas. Osaka Auto Messe has a variety of cars, but they appeal more to the VIP/luxury car crowd as well as the small Kei car enthusiasts. Even if you aren’t into these style of vehicles, it’s always good to see what is out there in the world so sit back and get ready to expand your horizons….
I think as a whole, enthusiasts from all over the world are genuinely excited about the forthcoming Toyota 86. Tuning companies are starting to come out with a variety of products for them and I’m interested in seeing how these things look when they reach their maximum potential. I actually randomly saw one the other day up in the 818 area on the way to hang out with May. I didn’t even know these things were available yet but I spotted a white one down the street from her place. Maybe it was being used as a test car or something, who knows. The one above would be the TRD version of the Toyota 86….
Osaka Auto Messe hosted a large section of their show devoted to the new 86 chassis…
Toyota Racing Development Japan (TRD) displayed their suspension and brake products for the 86 while Modellista, Toyota’s in-house exterior design division, displayed their 86 aero lip kit….
It’s a little hard to tell what the lip kit looks like on the 86 with it just hanging on the wall so click here to see a photo of the kit straight from the Modellista catalog….
A TRD racing seat meant for the new 86…
Tuned Subaru Legacy by Tommy Kaira Japan…
Prodrive wheels with Tommy Kaira brakes…
Tommy Kaira carbon fiber grille…
Random shot because I don’t have the rest of the photos of the van but this interior was interesting….
Not entirely sure what this is…possibly a Daihatsu of some sort, but Garage Noopy did a nice job of making me not want to own one…
Really wild Subaru WRX STI from Garage Hiro… I posted a photo of this car in my Tokyo Auto Salon coverage as well and I still believe that this used to be their chopped-top blue STI from a while back…
I’m sure there is a perfectly cool story about this odd looking car…I just wish I knew what it was… Just from looking at photos alone, I believe this might be a project from Japan Motorsports College. It’s an automotive college over in Japan that teaches a variety of different courses in all-things motorsports related. While this car looks incredibly odd, it’s probably a school project by a couple of aspiring student tuners… I may be completely incorrect, but for the sake of believing anything I say, let’s just go with it…
Giant wheel spacers and tiny brakes makes me think that this thing isn’t driven very much in any motorsports-related events…
Speaking of odd, here’s a Showa-styled first generation Z10 Toyota Soarer…the colors were really off in these photos so I just cut them out so that you can get a better grasp of the car itself…
Work CR01s are nice but the fender flare with the original fender exposed beneath it is not a good look at all…
Recaro seats with “Vivid Luster” stitched into them… “Vivid Luster” is the name of the shop that built this Soarer; Car Shop Vivid Luster….
Completely re-wrapped interior in white vinyl along with an old Nardi steering wheel with cruise control….
The thing with these types of builds is that they aren’t meant to be clean or “subtle” by any means. They are meant to be really out there and wild in styling, featuring a lot of older styling elements that represent the era in which these types of cars existed….Check out the stereo system with the speaker meant to represent the rising sun and then the surrounding mes around it…Ghetto? Probably…Cool… Eh, it’s left up to the eye of the beholder. I can appreciate it for what it is. Would I ever do something like this? Fuuuuck no…haha….
If the interior wasn’t odd enough, check out this wild exhaust set-up… I’d be interested to hear how this thing sounds at wide open throttle, haha….
Again, it’s really not for everyone but it’s not meant to be… There’s just something totally cool about these types of builds…
Hammered Honda Odyssey also from Car Shop Vivid Luster…
Work Meister S1…
Bitter Chocolate Nissan Cube from Aero Over….
Newly released SSR MS3R wheels…
Toyota Prius V from Crave/El Dorado…These Prius Vs are starting to grow on me because the original Prius looked like it didn’t know if it wanted to look like a van or a car…now they have this one and I am satisfied. Does anyone care? Faaack no…haha…
Lexus LS from Garson D.A.D…Wheels bling so hard the white guy in the background with Ugg boots on is dancing like a ballerina…
Toyota Crown Athlete from TRUE….
Magenta Toyota Previa from CK Company….
F50 Nissan Cima also from CK Company…Personally, I’m getting a little tired of all this matte finish stuff but it looks pretty good on this Cima…
Lexus LS on K-Break wheels representing IDEAL…
Oh, uhh, I guess that’s it….I’m out of photos… Thanks for looking guys. Back with some other stuff tomorrow…
Osaka Auto Messe 2012 Coverage…Part 1…
Osaka Auto Messe is one of Japan’s larger car shows annually. Very similar to Tokyo Auto Salon but from what I’ve seen, it doesn’t seem as big. There are a lot of the same cars though, being that the events are so close together,but I’ve taken the liberty of only including the ones that we hadn’t yet seen. Shimomukai-san was nice enough to get these photos to me immediately after the show ended but with Wekfest and everything else going on, I just haven’t been able to get to them until now. This series will be a couple of parts but it’ll be good because the photos show cars that we aren’t normally used to seeing on The Chronicles. That’s what is great about having friends in all parts of the world; we can all get together and expand our collective horizons. I won’t go into too much more detail about the event. I’ve never been and I wish I had all the time and money in the world to go see these types of shows in person, but that’s just a pipe dream at this point. Sit back and check out the continuing evolution of the Japanese automotive tuning culture…enjoy…
We start off with Kazuya Kawashima applying a Chronicles decal to the windshield of his Honda Stepwgn… Good to know that the stickers I sent to Shimo-san is going to good use!…
Proud to say that The Chronicles is the only decal he’s got on his ride…
Wald Black Bison Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe….I know this because it says exactly that on the wall…
Work Wheels went with the same display they had at Tokyo Auto Salon 2012 but this time we get to see the original iconic Work Equip wheel…
You can see the new Work Emotion line on the left with colored-spokes… The thin color accent lines seem to be a popular trend in Japan lately with different companies all using that idea…
DPK David might be interested in this pic since he was wondering if Work made the new Meister S1Rs in a smaller size. this looks to be a 16 or 17…
Work really spared no expense on this display…It’s got like spotlights and shit and anytime you have spotlights everything just looks fancier, haha…
Not entirely sure what was going on here….
Audi R8 Cabriolet from Japanese aero parts-maker Hamana…If you have money to buy an R8, why not kit it up as well?…
Audi A1 also from Hamana…Kind of looks like a Stormtrooper…
A couple shots of a Varis widebody Evo X at the Rays Engineering booth sitting on their newly-released Volk Racing G25 wheel…
Toyota 86 on the new Gram Lights 57Extreme wheel…I would say something like “this car is really starting to grow on me” like everyone else but I’ve been a big fan of this car since the concept was released and I can’t wait to fucking see these things built by different tuning companies…When I say “I can’t wait”, I mean that I’m going to patiently sit behind a computer for new photos to appear, haha…
BMW X-I’ll never own one on wheels that’ll alter the efficiency of the gas I’ll never be able to afford for it…
Aimgain Lexus LS on Aimgain wheels…
Pagana Zonda S at the Forgiato booth…Everytime I look at the exhaust on the Zonda S it reminds me of one of my cat’s assholes…I swear…
Ever since my sister picked up a VW GTI, I’ve grown to love these things because they are just so much fun to drive. That really doesn’t have anything to do with the photo above though, other than the fact that I don’t know that much about it and I’m killing time until you move on to the next photo…Only thing I know about it is that it’s wearing aero from Japanese VW tuner Voomeran… One of the best features of owning a kit like this is when someone asked you what car you drive and you tell them that you own a Voomeran Volkswagon. Then after you’re done spitting on them they won’t bother you anymore…
The GTi next to it looks sick though and I wish I had a photo of it…
If I were an Englishman, I would say this was a BMW Zed-4 because that’s how they pronounce the letter “Z”…stupid fact so I am just going to move on…
Widebody BMW M3 sedan from Apple Auto…
3-Series BMW also from Apple Auto…
Really like this UCF30 Celsior from Nizo-Low…The kit is nice and simple, unlike some of the other wild kits that are appearing everywhere these days…
….this F50 Cima from Garage Excellent is a prime example…The aero is just getting out of hand these days with VIP cars. It works for some but man, I like my VIP builds more when they are simple…
K-Break section was filled with VIP-themed builds of all makes…
109Design Goma Complete Nissan Cedric…
…on K-Break Hybreed Fivesta wheels with pink Brembo brakes…
A rear shot of the 109Design Cedric…
Toyota Celsior on air and BBS LM-Rs…
Another Celsior, this one from Junction Produce…
You’ll probably remember seeing this Toyota Crown Police Interceptor from Car Sense in the Tokyo Auto Salon 2012 coverage a month ago…All they have to do is bring that AB Flug Highway Patrol Supra from Wekfest over and they will have the perfect duo…
A prime example of what the Japanese refer to as “Demon Camber”…
Not only does it have LEDs and a scrolling display, there’s also a little TV screen in the corner light…
Lexus LS from KC-Style parked in the VIPStyle magazine booth…
Toyota Aristo from K-Break…This is a dream car for teddy bear fuckers, I’m just sayin’…
K-Break Hybreed Cross Nine wheel…
Beet Racing Honda cafe racer…
K-Break Aristo convertible…if you’re a drug dealer that likes to cruise around with the top down with a bunch of teddy bears, this is the car to own..
This is by far my favorite build of Osaka Auto Messe…the Supermade JZS161 Aristo…holy fuck. I could do without the tinted headlights but everything else is sick…You can read more about the car HERE… Love the Work Meister S1R in the finish too…
Suzuki MH23S Wagon R from Pregia Tissimo/Loop Custom Body on Work Meister S1…
J-Line Suzuki MH21S Wagon R on 16-inch BBS RS wheels…
Interesting airbrush work on this carbon hood…the naked angel is cool, not sure about the naked man holding a brake rotor though…
Another Suzuki Wagon R…Not sure if it was intentional but the brake pad and caliper look like Pedobear is peeking out behind the wheel. If it was planned then that is awesome haha…
GRMN (Gazoo Racing) Sports Hybrid Concept II…kind of hideous but the carbon fiber mustache is interesting…
5Axis Scion xB that spent much of it’s existence over here in the states. I guess it’s touring Japan now…
Gonna close it out today with a couple shots of the Lexus LF-A race car from Gazoo Racing…
Neat dry-carbon duct that drives air into the cockpit…
BBS center-lock wheels…
Shot of the rear…
…and a photo of the center-exit exhaust…
That’s all for today…thanks for looking… Back with more tomorrow. There isn’t a whole lot of Honda stuff but it’s expected from events like this…
Wekfest SF 2012 Weekend Coverage…Part 5…The Finale…
…and now, it’s finally time to close out The Chronicles’ coverage of the 2012 SF Wekfest event. I hope you all have enjoyed my take on Wekfest and taken the time to read my thoughts on the show. My only regret from the weekend is that I didn’t get a chance to cover a very small portion of cars that were parked outside by the roll-in area. I didn’t even know there were cars parked out there until the end of the show. I saw barricades surrounding the roll-in area and it didn’t look like people were allowed to go over there so I didn’t take a chance to walk out there with the strict security walking around. It turns out that there were some very nice builds out there that I missed and I apologize to everyone as well as the owners of those cars for missing them….
Today we will take a look at the rest of the event from the late afternoon into the evening when the awards ceremony took place. I didn’t cover the awards that much this year because I was busy cleaning up and tearing down my booth with May and others. I did capture some photos of the winners with their awards though. One of the cool things about this year’s awards was that the winners of first place also received a keychain along with their plaques. Before I get started, I’d like to thank a couple of individuals who made this event great for me…
Maybelyn for operating my booth and making sure everything was organized and went out in a timely matter, thank you very much and it means the world to me that you continue to support The Chronicles and everything involved with it…
Tony Lee for carrying all my booth stuff up to Norcal in his car. May and I went up in a Toyota Yaris so it didn’t leave much room for the canopy and what not. Tony came through and helped big time for bringing everything…
Salem, Murdock, Keith *Keychain” Cheng, Holly Lee, Jay Mayuga and his girl for the caravan up to Norcal. Rolling together as a group made the drive so much easier…
Rodrez, Tes, the baby, Ryan “Rywire” Basseri, OldManJames, Big Mike for the caravan on the way home…good times as usual fellas…
Dougie, J.P. BonB, and all others that stopped by and helped out at the booth throughout the day. I know it was a little overwhelming for May at times with all the people that came by and I’m happy to know that I have friends that are always down to help out…
The ATS Garage family for always being so kind and courteous and taking time out of their busy schedules to come hang out and show us around San Francisco….
Last but not least, I have to thank Adam, Ken, and Junior from Wekfest for accommodating me and always giving me such an amazing spot to have my booth at. I’m proud to see the growth of this series of shows and I wish you guys nothing but success in the future. It’s been a fun ride so far and it’s only going to get better…
With that said, let us close out this coverage with the final batch of photos…
Sam Ip’s supercharged FA5 Civic SI…
Loreto Garcia’s beautifully done EK…
Loreto’s bay with the Chinese woman’s foot binding header…
The interior of Loreto’s EK…
Volk TE37V with Wilwood big brake kit…
Purple Kouki S14 with aggressive aero…
Datsun 510 sedan on Work Equip 03…
Always been a huge fan of this Nimbus Grey BMW 3-series sedan on BBS LM…
Pretty sure this Evo won an award at the end of the day…I personally think that the brown Evo with the teal Work Meisters deserved a nod but this one is pretty sick. The Voltex aero alone puts him right up there to win… The only thing I don’t really like about the aggressive Voltex front end is that it’s not really meant for street driving, which means that people have to keep the front end pretty high off the ground to prevent them from hitting the front and blowing all kinds of money. For guys to be able to drive it there is usually a considerable amount of front wheel gap and it makes the Evos look a little odd… On race cars running this front end, they are literally millimeters off the ground…
Lexus LS430 from Endless Projects…
Love this NSX just for the pure reason that it has Advan AVS Model 5 wheels… One of my favorite wheels of all time…
This S2000 was probably one of the most slept-on cars at Wekfest IV… People probably didn’t notice it because it was in the back of the Herbst Pavilion and it was somewhat understated in nature with it’s OEM white paint. This S2000 is actually turbocharge, has a very rare and expensive Amuse hardtop, Ohlins coilovers, Advan wheels, just to name a few…very well done build and I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of it very soon…
Civic posted up in the Blox booth… purests will probably not be very fond of the combination of the Spoon front lip and Mugen sideskirts… why? Well, it’s common knowledge that it’s a no-no to ever combine Mugen and Spoon products together…It doesn’t bother me as much as the painted sides and carbon lip combo though, just looks a little odd…
I liked this MR-2 with gold Work Meister S1s…Haven’t seen one of those rear air ducts in awhile and the carbon fiber fan shroud is a nice touch…
G35 coupe slammed on Volk GT-S wheels…
SR-swapped 510 sedan aka Bluebird SSS on Panasport wheels… Bay is looking really good…
Lloyd Morales’ Vertex Kouki S14 is always on point… Liking the new cage and it’s looking close to completion. Might be time to get this thing in a magazine…
I’ve had a discussions with a couple different people in regards to what my favorite car was at Wekfest IV…Man, I couldn’t narrow it down to just one but this IS300 is definitely up there on the list. I just plain fucking love this thing. Color and wheels are just money!…
Tiffany-themed Scion xB…
E46 BMW M3 on 3-piece Work Meister S1…
Linda’s TRD supercharged Toyota Matrix is always on point and a consistent award winner at every event it attends…
Michael Johnson’s TL freshly repainted and now sitting on VIP Modular wheels…I wish I had more time to check this car out…
Trying to figure out why Downstar Frank was giving me the bedroom eyes but I hope he had success selling his nuts…all homo…
At this point I decided to walk out of the Herbst Pavilion and head back to the booth for a break…
Make sure you guys pick up your black Chronicles tees when they are back in stock again at the end of the week…
May and I were hungry so I decided to check out the Norcal food trucks that were present at Wekfest… It was fucking freezing outside but I decided to order some food from the Mogo truck…The other truck had Hawaiian food but since it was their first time at a Wekfest event, they had no idea about the volume of people that would be coming and they ran out of food by the middle of the day…
I was a fan of this Ruckus in the Good Life Entertainment booth… The Recaro seat was a nice touch…
Japanese right-hand drive Toyota Hi-Lux pick-up truck… While it was cool to see one there, I spent more time wondering how someone actually got a hold of one of these and decided to build one… Looks to be a fuel-injected 22RE motor in there too, nice touch…
Sportcar Motion’s “Dirty Hybrid” Honda CR-Z… K-swapped with white TE37s…
One more crappy shot of Loreto’s EK… Peep the Bomex mirrors… Good luck seeing anything out of them but they do look cool. They actually made power versions of these mirrors too so you can continue to not see anything at the flip of a switch…
That pretty much wraps up the car coverage from that day. It was time to clean up and watch everyone head out so I just walked around in an attempt to capture a photo of the winners and their awards….
Sunny from Franklin Autobody stopped by to hang out and saw Big Abe’s Vip Modular wheel just chillin so he wanted to try it out and see just how heavy it was… If you must know, he now has Scoliosis…
Big Abe decided to come by and help Sunny stay upright…
Nick Caster and his J’s Racing-themed CR-X surprised everyone including himself by winning 3rd place in the Honda class…
The Sakai family also took him one award each…Dina’s S2000 earned her a 2nd place award in the S2000 class and Chris earned 2nd place as well, but in the overall Honda class…
Sam was all smiles as he took 2nd place in the model-specific Civic category and stopped for a photo op with his girlfriend Linh…
Fred Chapman and Anh Truong earned a 1st place nod in the Acura class…
Big Mike continued his winning ways and earned a 1st place finish in the Honda class with his Prelude…
Ryan Der from ATS Garage won the 1st place award in the Civic class…
Salem from Phaze2 took home two award that day for his functional J’s Racing-themed TSX…3rd place “Import of the Festival” and 3rd place in the Acura class…
Junior from Wekfest didn’t win any awards but he was nice enough to come by so I could get this photo of him in his brand new Chronicles t-shirt…
…and that as they say, is a wrap on Wekfest IV. It took us awhile to leave the venue because we had to wait until all the show cars left to bring our car in to load up the booth stuff. After that a couple of us met up for dinner down in the city at one of our favorite food spots out there. We had some good laughs and then went home and got some rest. I thought I wasn’t tired until I got back to the hotel… I was watching TV and just dozed off and woke up the next morning to grab breakfast before heading out to load up the car with luggage…
Keychain’s Accord ready to make the trip back to Socal… It had rained during the late evening and we thought we were going to drive into a storm on the way back. Fortunately for us, the sun was shining bright on the way back to Socal…
While we were hanging out outside after breakfast, I spotted Frank from Bolt Boys loading up his EG…
A quick shot of Sam and Keith’s cars next to one another in front of the hotel…
Big Mike’s Prelude eager to head home…
That’s it. A small group of us headed out after we loaded up the cars and made it home early in the evening. The drive wasn’t too bad and we even managed to stop and grab a quick lunch down at Harris Ranch in the middle of nowhere. It was a great trip overall and we look forward to making the trek once again next year…
Thanks for looking and that concludes Wekfest IV…
Wekfest SF 2012 Weekend Coverage…Part 4…
Happy Monday everyone and welcome to part 4 of the 2012 Wekfest IV coverage… This is a 5-part series so tomorrow will mark the conclusion of The Chronicles’ trip to San Francisco. When we last left off, the people were hovering around the front doors in anticipation for the gates of Wekfest to finally open. There was an hour delay due thanks to the Fire Marshall but after moving some cars around, the show was finally able to begin. The spectators outside were getting anxious and those who had been waiting at the venue since 1am in the morning just wanted the wait to be over with. One of the many things that I’ve noticed in regards to people that attend the SF Wekfest event is that many of them don’t even seem to care about the cars that are there. This event has gained so much momentum and hype that people sometimes just want to be there to say that they were a part of Wekfest IV. You can almost sort of relate it to hype beast kids that wait hours in line for Jordan’s or any other kind of shoe, but have never even sat down to watch a game of basketball. Hype is huge and kids will literally do anything to be a part of something. If there’s anything that has gained any sort of notoriety, you better believe that there is a hoard of people chasing after the band wagon. There are people that have been fans of cars and fans of this show in general for a couple years now and it’s almost a shame to think that some of those people didn’t even get a chance to go into the show because all these crazy ass kids wanted to walk inside so they could post up on Facebook or Twitter that they were at Wekfest. It’s wild but fuck it, I’m happy that the Wekfest staff has been able to get this show to this point where it’s a part of a movement, a nationwide trend… You got people lining up for hours just to walk inside and stare at cars you can probably catch at another, smaller event. That’s nuts…. I’m happy to say that I was able to watch this event grow from a small parking structure into a nationwide tour…
Today, the photos will cover the point in the show when the gates finally opened. You won’t see as many photos of cars without people in the shots because there was simply no possible way to get a clear shot anymore. Everywhere I walked I was shoulder-to-shoulder with someone. There was no such thing as personal space at this event because people were constantly breathing down your neck trying to walk around. I remember at one point I went over to the smaller hall, Herbst Pavilion, and I actually waited almost 15 minutes in line. What was the line for you ask? Merchandise, food, bathroom perhaps? Noooo…it was the line for me to get back outside! I’ve wanted in line to get into places plenty of times…getting in line to get out however, is probably a first for me…
Anh’s Integra Type R with a ghost orb in front of it…There were 10,000 people waiting outside so the ghosts of Fort Mason made sure to make the rounds before it got crowded…
Not sure if this is Laguna Seca Blue or not but it’s a good looking Evo built by a guy named Jay from San Jose…
Mini Cooper from last year’s Wekfest event looking pretty much the same…
Side profile shot of Ryan Der’s EK…
Had to get a shot of Julie Mai before people crowded around her…Oscar aka Pancakes blending in with the background in the Autofashion booth…
Try taking a picture of anything with this crowd…
It was too busy to take photos of anything so I went to my booth and took a photo of this…
…and these guys…
…and the merchandise I had on display… Somebody actually came up to buy a Rywire.com sticker from me and then proceeded to ask me what Rywire was. I told him it was a refrigeration company and he still bought it…
I attempted to go out and get some more shots of cars and all I got was this Scion xB on Work CR01s before I gave up and went back to the booth…
Stopped by the Seen it! booth across from my booth on the way back and S2kJay was chillin with Nick. Natalie did not look very happy to be there…
BonB drinking some coconut juice and hanging out with Rywire Ryan…
Jimmy from Team Praxis and Norman from AS1 took in the San Francisco air and consented to some San Fran man love…
David Do from Mayday Garage in his obnoxious pink sweater and Dave Tormey from Canibeat…
Dougie helping out May at the Chronicles booth…
ATS AJ and Charize’s baby boy Jace hanging out in his Integra…
By this time, people had started to come by the booth and it got pretty busy. May was knocking out the sales and a couple other’s helped out so the booth was in very capable hands. I took a deep breath, went to go take a piss, and then headed back out to try and get the back half of the Festival Pavilion that I hadn’t seen yet…
Jeremy Duarte’s DB8 Integra…
The new look of his engine bay sans neo-chrome…
Another rear shot of the AB Flug CHP Supra… I never got a shot of the front because 1. it was more unattractive than the rear and 2. there was always someone hovering over it, looking at the engine bay…
TSX from PlusOne wearing some purple 3-piece Work Meister S1…
S13 coupe from MEKAN1ZM and its SR20DET swap…
Integra from MEKAN1ZM with Mugen aero and MF10 wheels…
K-swapped 1st gen. Honda Insight from DNR…
…and another, this one black but also on Racing Hart CP-035s…
Kelvin’s EK9-inspired Civic on Advan RG1… Love how the Endless brakes peek out behind the narrow spokes…
Michelle Yee at the iClique model lounge…
I believe this is Ashley Vee based on going to the iClique Facebook page…I’ve been wrong before so feel free to do more research if you like…scary long nails are scary…
Chris Alzona’s xB on Rotiform NUE wheels…
Custom widebody RX-7 with an LSx swap on HRE wheels… At the end of the show after most of the car show participants left, the vendors had to wait until every single show car had left the building before we could bring our cars in to load up our stuff… We had to wait quite awhile after because this RX-7 apparently had to be jump-started and in the process it lost it’s tune from the ECU so it was stuck there…
DPK JP and Deejay Murdock…
SL55 AMG on HREs…
Harvey Flores’ 4-door Integra with Mugen front bumper and Mugen Gen. II wing on Racing Hart Type-C, representing Tronics…
Never been much of a fan of this Mugen lip and sideskirts because it makes the Civics look so bulky…
Always been a huge fan of Joey Abundiz’s del Sol… it sits perfect just the way it is…
Spotted Junior from Wekfest wearing his new Chronicles tee…
Powerhouse Amuse S2000 on Volk CE38 Genesis wheels…
S2000 on Advan RZ wheels…pardon the shadows, the sun was starting to set and it was the only chance I had to get these cars on camera…
This S2000 ended up taking home 1st place “S2000 of the Festival” aka Best S2000 at Wekfest IV…This is a terrible photo because there is so much going on but it’s a well-built S2K. J’s Racing everything pretty much and turbocharged. My only complaint is the Honda “H” logo on the CE28 caps…fucking kills me! Haha…
Nice clean bay with sharp purple accents…
EJ1 coupe on CCW Classics…
Bagged older BMW 7-series…I see Falken centercaps on the wheels but I don’t believe those are Falken wheels…
Wilson from Stance Lab’s E350 Mercedes on bronze BBS wheels…Again, sorry for the bukkake shadow…
Black Miata on what I hope are polished TE37Vs…
Honda CR-Z from CR-Z specialist, Basis, on Spoon CR93 wheels…
Gonna go ahead and close it out today with a shot of Wheelflip’s custom re-barreled Regamaster Evo wheels… The faces from an original 15-inch Regamaster wheel were cut off, and seamlessly welded to a 16-inch stepped-lip barrel. New specs are now 16×9.5 +19…. It’s not for everyone but it’s definitely unique and interesting to see a step-lipped Rega…
Thanks for looking…check back tomorrow for the final conclusion of Wekfest SF 2012!!!…
Wekfest SF 2012 in film…
Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Taking a break from the ongoing 2012 Wekfest 4 coverage this weekend so that I can give you guys a glimpse of this amazing video of Wekfest done by none other than Studio Mountain. If the name sounds familiar to you, it should because the man behind Studio Mountain has put together equally as amazing videos the past two Wekfest events. Check it out, turn up the speaks and enjoy some high-quality video work. These days, everyone seems to be a photographer and everyone seems to be making videos. Remember that it’s not how many are doing it, it is how it is done that matters. Quality over quantity and I support guys like this who are great at their craft and accept nothing less….Enjoy…
…and now, for your feature presentation…
If you are having trouble viewing this, hope on over to the site by clicking on the link below. Some would prefer this because you can watch it in HD anyway…. Click Here…
Wekfest SF 2012 Weekend Coverage…Part 3…
Okay, time for part 3 of the ongoing Wekfest SF 2012 mini-series. I really wanted to get this coverage up yesterday, probably around 1-2pm, but Flickr was mysteriously down for most of the day. It barely went back up late in the afternoon so we can finally move forward with the pics. I don’t know why there was a problem but oh well, let’s move on. I even woke up super early yesterday to try to get this update online early so that I could spend the rest of my day just enjoying my birthday. Everything seems to be working now though so I’m just going to get a super early start since we technically skipped a day. Hope many of you used that time to catch-up if you haven’t already. It’s crazy how we have already gone through two parts of coverage and the show hasn’t even started yet. When we last left off, we had just gotten through a majority of the ATS Garage cars and I had started to make my way further down the lot…
Today will be much the same, just a bunch of photos from me walking in and out of each building before the show started… No need to say much else, the captions and photos will speak for themselves…
Sunny from Franklin Autobody’s Honda Insight…
PlusOne Randy’s new DB8 Integra…
3rd Generation Lexus GS on air…
Another shot of ths AB Flug CHP-themed Supra since so many of you guys are fascinated with it…
Austin aka Amoney’s Y33 Q45 with side-exit exhaust and VIP Modular wheels…
Teddy Timoteo’s Civic is looking good these days with the First Molding front lip, CP-R, and ARC hatch spoiler…
Sloppy’s Honda Fit on CP-R…
Loved the aggressive set-up on this white Evo…The INGS bumper and Voltex wing along with the TE37SLs look great…
While the crazy aero is always a good look for the Evos, I’ve always been a really big fan of how Evos look without rear wings on them…This one has the Voltex sides, rear over fenders, but still looks great without the wing on it… The WEDSports with the colored spokes flow very well also…
Another wingless Evo, this one with an INGS+1 N-Spec aero kit…
Loved this IS350 from Sonic MS with Endless big brakes and VIP Modular wheels…
This E-Class on air with a complete Wald Black Bison kit had to have been one of my favorites of Wekfest 4…Even has a Wald brake kit…
This MX-5 Miata was one of the most talked about builds at Wekfest SF. It has a really oddball retro-style conversion that comes from a Japanese company known as Pit Crew Racing…
Jeremy Duarte’s new look…Same Chargespeed lip as before but now with mag blue Volk RE30s, Camaro Synergy Green color, no more neo-chrome stuff… It’s a big departure from his previous look but it’s not bad at all. He had been posting up some teasers on his Facebook page with the new exterior color cut-out but I was one of the few lucky ones that got to see it in full color before the show so it wasn’t much of a surprise for me, haha…
Mike’s Ferio also debuted at Wekfest SF with a completely new look. Not sure how I feel about it since I liked the old look so much but it’s definitely interesting to see him go with a completely different theme. All the guys from Bandits seem to be going with these really wild, bright colors this year. Danny, who owns the Laguna Seca blue 4-door, also had his car repainted but it wasn’t finished in time for Wekfest…
Not much going on here, just a couple guys eating ice cream together in the back of a right-hand drive Toyota Hi-Lux pick-up on Mitsubishi Starion wheels…
Older Datsun 280Z on Work Equip 03s that is RB-swapped….The caption would probably help if I included a shot of the bay, but I’m a pretty credible source so just believe me…haha…Really though, it had the swap…or did it…
Mark Sutakajana’s 4-door Integra looking good with the new front splitter…
…and a retro-fitted Mugen Ferio wing…
Another shot of Jeremy’s DB8R…
Mike Trevino’s engine bay, fresh with a K-swap….I heard he was having problems with his water pump so hopefully he got the car home safe…
Danyelle’s Mugen Fit on custom re-barreled Mugen M7 wheels that was once owned by MemoryFab…
Pretty sure I stood there for a good 5-10 minutes waiting for these guys to stop staring at Chris Sakai’s EK before I gave up and moved on…
How many ATS Garage members does it take to put on all of Anh’s sponsor decals??…
ATS AJ’s Integra is probably one of the more slept on Honda builds of the last couple years…
Nick’s J’s Racing front-end on his CR-X…I like how he incorporated the two-tone look to the new body parts even though he’s eventually going to have the whole car re-painted…Also interesting to see how J’s Racing incorporated spots in the front bumper for a front license plate, even though it was made for race applications…If I was Nick Caster I would have just had that area shaved and smoothed down but if I was Nick, I’d also be rich and successful and not as boyishly good looking as Stickydiljoe…
Kelvin Bulda’s EK9-inspired Civic from Speed Addicts…God I love and miss Advan RG1 wheels…They are still in my top 5 Japanese wheels of all time, ever since I saw them on the original Top Fuel turbo EK9…
Custom widebody Mercedes S320L from JDM Palace on step-lipped Work Equip wheels…
Nissan 370Z with satin black Volk RE30s and Powerhouse Amuse aero from Speed Element…
This flared Evo on teal metallic Work Meister S1s is another personal favorite of mine from Wekfest…passenger in the photo above looks kinda crazy though…Oh, note the implemented trunk spoiler as well…
VIP Toyota Previa from JDM Palace…
Bryant Nguyen and his bagged TSX came up all the way from San Diego to Norcal for Wekfest 4…
After saying what’s up to Bryant, I decided to walk back inside and chill at the booth for a bit…If you guys remember last year’s Wekfest, my booth was located up front and next to me was NWP4LIFE’s booth. Well, with Rodrez recently having his baby boy Maddox, he wasn’t left with much time or patience to do a booth this year so the spot for Wekfest 4 went to the guys from Canibeat. I had no idea who they were going to put next to me but Canibeat was cool with me. They generate all kinds of fucking foot traffic and even though both our sites generally have a different demographic, it was good to see how busy both our booths were even before the gates opened. It was also good to meet Cristian and Dave from Canibeat as well… Another reason why I knew our area would generate a lot of traffic was because of Canibeat’s official SF Wekfest model…
….Holly Lee…We had traveled up to Norcal with Holly so it almost seemed fitting that she would be spending the entire day at the booth next to our’s….
You can see how busy they were getting with Holly there…
…it didn’t stop her from taking a moment to say “hi” to Leon Casino’s baby boy…
I gave May’s Canon S95 camera to our buddy Dougie to snap photos throughout the day and this guy managed to take like 6 photos, 3 of them being blurry…
Danny Avina’s Mugen RSX looking good…
Some custom-fabbed pieces color-matched to the mag blue tone of the Volk CE28Ns….
The rear of Danny’s RSX…
Those two dudes finally walked away so I could get a better shot of Chris’ EK without anyone stepping into my shot…
DPK JP and ATS “Right Said Fred” Chapman… The newer generation won’t get the reference but ever since Fred Chapman took some time away from cars to do his own weight reduction, he was heard walking around the Wekfest show singing this song…
AE86 coupe with a Levin front end conversion and Honda F20C-swap…
Oh man, the Photoshop possibilities of this photo featuring one of the NOS girls is endless….
…but seeing as how she was rocking a wedding ring, I’ll just leave it alone, haha…
Another respectable young lady representing NOS Energy…
I was pretty happy with this idea I had to put up the banners on two light stands… It created a backdrop for people to take photos at and also created a wall that preventing millions of weird kids from staring into the back of my booth. I also had Moe from PG+K doing security and patting down visitors who wanted to sit in the canopy…
Saw an opportunity to take a shot of Big Mike’s Prelude without people hovering over it…
…when I got back to the booth Big Mike was hanging out with Jay from PG+K…It must be a southern thing but I don’t see too many dudes sitting down legs-crossed with their hands in their pockets….looks awfully uncomfortable… Go ahead and try it right now, I’ll wait…
While you’re busy trying to untangle yourself, take a look at the new Chronicles t-shirt…
Closing it out for today with a shot of the line right outside, moments before the show started… People outside were getting pretty restless because the gates ended-up opening an hour later than scheduled. When I first go to the venue at 7:30am, Junior was telling all of us that they had planned to open the doors an hour early since there were so many people already waiting. Of course that didn’t happen though because the fire marshal decided to show up and just fucked up all kinds of shit. They were trying to make people move their cars all over again, enforcing all kinds of ridiculous rules, etc., and the crowd outside was forced to stand there and wait until the fire marshal was finished and Fort Mason officials agreed to start the show…
Check back tomorrow with Part 4…Thanks for looking….
