“So You Think You Can STANCE?” Coverage…Part 2 of 2…
Back now with the second half of It’s JDM Yo!!’s “So You Think You Can STANCE” event coverage, brought to you by The Chronicles. When we last left off, the competition had just started and people were gathered along the street and driveway to check out all the “action”. By “action”, I mean cars going up driveways slowly…haha. I know an event like this usually has it’s fair share of supporters, and also it’s share of people that just think that it is out right stupid. To be fair, it’s totally okay to think that it’s completely retarded because there is a growing number of enthusiasts within our vast community that is starting to dislike this whole “stance” movement. Any time you mention anything about low offset wheels and aggressive fitment, you will have a number of people that will detest the idea and show their disappointment with where the scene has shifted. The whole stance/hellaflush/fitment scene has become it’s own subculture now within the community and it doesn’t look to be going anywhere any time soon. It just goes with different people liking different things. There’s no definitive right or wrong because people don’t always like the same thing or share the same ideas as others. Being in the magazine industry opens my eyes to a lot of different styles of tuning and I’ve learned to appreciate them. I don’t necessarily have to agree or like what some enthusiasts are doing nowadays, but I also don’t have to always be vocal about it. If you don’t like the “stance” movement, just take a gander at the photos, read some of my stupid comments, and move on. This site isn’t solely devoted to wheel fitment and if you’ve been around for a lengthy-amount of time on The Chronicles, you know that I like to bring you a variety of things. Now let’s just move on with the photos and knock out part 2 of the “So You Think You Can STANCE?” coverage…if you want to read my thoughts on the event as a whole, I invite you to take a look back at part 1…
Now when we last left off, Milt had just kicked off the competition and did his run through the driveway…
He didn’t look like he had very many issues getting up the driveway…
…but coming down proved to be a little more interesting…
As I said in part 1, I don’t know the criteria for judging or what they were looking for, but on that particular run…Milt Salamanca garnered a score of 27 out of a possible 40…I didn’t even bother catching score after this because I really didn’t know what was going on. We all basically stood there to watch people potentially fuck their shit up…
A TSX narrowly missing the pavement as he was barely angling out…You can see Holly Lee and Tony from It’s JDM Yo!! standing in the middle of the driveway because they were basically the markers used to cut the driveway in half….Guy in the photo with the 49ers gear on is either whistling his favorite tune or over exaggerating his shock…
A strawberry-faced S14 240SX on Leon Hardiritt Ordens getting set to make his run….I thought the competition was a little unfair in that guys with aero or front lips already in need of repair competed against guys whose cars were in better condition…I mean, in terms of willingness to take a chance of breaking something to win, wouldn’t you have less to lose if your shit was already messed up already?…Then again, I don’t know how it was judged or scored so I can’t really say anything, just raising an interesting point….
People gradually started to get more into the event as more cars made their runs…Even Holly Lee was using the camera and trying to get some action shots…Tony for whatever reason, was showing off his hella hyphy THIZZ face circa 2006…
A clean white S2000 on CCW wheels stood next in line to make his attempt…
Antonio from Motormavens.com didn’t seem too impressed….Big Mike on the far left was taking a standing nap…
While I was happy to see that this S2K owner’s fenders weren’t fucked-up, his front lip has probably seen better days after this event…
Next up was the RHD CR-X from Infinit Wheels…
The CR-X’s run was one of the more interesting ones because they chose to drive the car straight up the driveway without angling at all and when it came down, it struggled to get traction and created some tire smoke…
Thanks to drifting, enthusiasts these days are conditioned to cheer and go ape shits anytime there is tire smoke so Infinit Wheels got some dap for creating the smoke show…
Armand with the TRD widebody MR-2 decided to participate/fuck his shit up…If anyone had anything to lose in this competition, it was him. His car is in pretty good condition and I don’t think damaging that kit would really be a good idea but he went for it anyway. During a test run, he mysteriously broke the wing off that he had just recently not replaced EVER, so this will be day 837 of wingless widebody SW20…
It didn’t look too bad as he was making his way down…
…but the more angles he had to make to get out, the more stress it was on his front end…if you look closely, you can see his fender cracking where it meets the sideskirt….
Next up was this S2000 with a CR lip and what looks like F-Zero Blue Volk CE28s…
If you ever wanted to know what a CR front lip would look like if it was driven into the ground with the weight of the car on it, here you go…
If that wasn’t enough scraping for you, here is a BB6 Prelude that also participated…Good to know that he had that plastic lip under his bumper to give the driveway more contact patch…haha…
This EF was one of the more ridiculous competitors of the day…not only was he making sparks under his car as he was exciting the driveway, he also was sparking when the car was driving normally on flat pavement. The guy decided to lower his car so extreme to the point where his car would flip over if he ran into a dime. The owner was also very serious about this competition and constantly asked later if he made it into the later rounds. Being low and fucking up the bottom of the car is serious business…
Last time I checked, IS350s weren’t cheap and neither are the parts made for them…Tell that to this guy’s front lip…
After most of the cars had finished their runs, out of nowhere, people decided to start acting like dipshits and revving their cars or driving really fast as they were leaving the venue to show off and/or mow people down who were spectating. Tony and many of us started to get kind of iffy about keeping the competition on an open street, so Tony and crew told everyone to get back inside where the parking lot was. The highlight of douchebaggery was when a 15 year old kid smoking a cigarette driving an STI his parents bought for him pulled in front of a crowd and started revving. Instead of just waiting for people to disperse, he felt it was a better idea to rev his shitty car at people and ask them to move. He was also accompanied by his other douchebag 15 year old friends who think that mounting two 25mm spacers on each wheel qualifies as “aggressive fitment”. The runner-up for master of douchebaggery was some jackass who was sitting on the passenger side window, hanging out of his car while his friend peeled out and hauled ass down the street. It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Apparently these kids thought that they were participating in an event called “So You Think Your Parents Will Want to Visit You In The Hospital When You Are A Brain Dead VEGETABLE?”…
People acting like complete idiots sort of put a damper on the event, even though a majority of it went very well and without any real issues. There was a break during the competition to tally up the scores and see who would advance to the later rounds, but I was pretty set on going home. I had just driven back earlier that morning from my trip to Las Vegas so I wanted to get home to get some much needed rest. Before that though, I made the rounds and finished up the rest of my coverage of cars that were at the event…
Michael Mao’s Acura NSX…
G35 on DPE wheels…
A couple more shots of the Amuse-inspired S2000 from DTM Autobody…
…as well as the KE70 Corolla wagon parked behind it…
JonJon’s supercharged IS350 from Vanguard Collective/It’s JDM Yo!!….
Y34 M45 on air…
Oh this was cool…It’s virtually impossible to see a modified Lexus ES300/Toyota Windom EVER so it was refreshing to see one at the event with a kit and old school Work Equip mesh wheels…These cars are terribly unpopular to modify, because they are basically fancy versions of Camrys, but I’ll always have a soft spot for this car because my parents owned one when I was growing up…The last time I saw one of these ES300s modded was back around the early 2000s when I would spot the same one always cruising through LA. It had a HKS turbo kit and everything, shit was crazy and way ahead of it’s time…
Ryan Delosreyes’ Scion xB on old school Work VS wheels…
The Kouki S14 from part 1 with the crooked intercooler…As a whole, this car wouldn’t look bad if it was all one color…
FC3S RX-7 from the most un-intimidating car crew name ever, Nuisance…
Acura TSX from Low’N Slow on gold-faced CCW Classics…
3rd generation Toyota Celica from Low’N Slow…
Armand’s MR-2, post cracked fender…Aspiring breezies in the background doing hoodrat stuff…so hood that the guy photographing them is standing on the train tracks…
The BB6 Prelude on white-faced Work Equips that competed earlier…front lip scuffed up, but still intact…
The most aggressive S2000 ever to park in front of a dumpster…
Real clean EK with a iridescent hood shield…
Hubert Barnum male modeling on the Ruckus he and his brother built…
One more shot of the 350Z from part one on the SSR Gartmaier wheels…
The Barnum brothers’ Ruckus…draped in orange jizzum…
The IS350 that competed earlier on SSR MS1 wheels…
The S14 that also competed earlier…
DPK David’s EJ1 coupe just before he left…
Keith aka Keychain’s Accord sedan on polished MB Battles…
That’s about it…after that I left so I didn’t really get a chance to see who won the whole thing. I believed after things calmed down for a bit, they went back and finished the competition on the driveway where it started. Overall, a pretty successful event I would have to say…It wasn’t really meant to be anything taken too serious and I think that’s what people left with. At the end of the day, it’s just a couple guys showing off how they get out of driveways in their lowered cars. The meet portion of the event was cool. The diversity was good and wasn’t only limited to just beat-up cars on aggressively-fitted wheels. Congrats to Tony and staff for putting together a good event….
Thanks for looking… Back tomorrow with other stuff…
Oh before I go, I had to post this up. It was on Facebook late last night but I figured I’d post it up here since a lot of you don’t have Facebook accounts…
Haha, the expression on this guy’s face just made it too easy…
“So You Think You Can STANCE?” Coverage…Part 1…
Well this was different…haha. I mean, in terms of just being “different”, this event takes the cake so far. When Tony first came up with the idea to do this whole “Stance” competition, I was really up in the air about it. The whole name is something that we’ve been throwing around as a joke for the last year or so now, but when he decided to dub his event “So You Think You Can Stance?”, trust me, it was met with a collective “what the fuck are you thinking”. Tony is a pretty smart guy though with some pretty innovative ideas…he’s a massive pervert, but still, he is a smart pervert. If you don’t know which Tony I am referring to, I am talking about Tony from It’s JDM Yo!!. He’s always been a great friend and a huge supporter of mine so whenever he comes up with an idea, no matter how out of the box or random it is, I will support him….
Michael Mao’s Acura NSX on Volk CE28 Genesis…
The whole idea behind this “So You Think You Can Stance” event was very basic in principal…almost too basic. We were to have a pretty aggressively sloped driveway, in which people would sign-up and attempt to show everyone how they could go in and out of the driveway with their slammed/lowered/stanced-out vehicles. The original driveway that was chosen for the competition was over by the Rywire facility. It’s got a pretty big slant to it, but it wasn’t impossible to get up and down. DPK David takes his Civic coupe to work on occasion and has little issues getting in and out and even my Q45 aired down to about 40-50psi with a big kit and get out pretty easily. There are a number of cars that come through the shop and I’ve never really seen anyone have any problems. Being that the venue was also good enough to host a small meet though, Tony decided to use it for the event. What he would do would cone off a large chunk of the driveway, and as the competition progressed, the driveway would become smaller and smaller…
Linda’s Toyota Matrix on VIP Modular wheels from Team Praxis…
How it would be judged would also prove to be pretty interesting…There would be a panel of three guys who would determine the winner…Keith aka Keychain from It’s JDM Yo!!, Noel Barnum from Canibeat, and Yogi from Fatlace. These guys know about all things low so they would be good judges. Yogi I don’t think has ever really had a car that low..his Accord never moved and now he drives a Nissan pick-up, but still, he works for Fatlace/Illest so he encounters his fair share of lowered vehicles. I don’t know what was a point of emphasis for judging, nor do I know what they were looking at…I really didn’t want to know because then I would wonder if they were judging it correctly and with this being a first-time competition, there are a lot of unknowns. Even after the event has come and gone, I still have no real idea of how they judged this. There were so many different types of cars and they all went about going up and down the driveway different…it’s one of those things that can have real open interpretation. In the end, I believe a 1st generation Lexus GS300 won so congrats to the owner. I believe Falken Tires was a co-sponsor of the event and the winner got a set of tires. The other co-sponsor was VIP Modular wheels, which offered a significant discount (20-30% I believe) on a new set of VIP Modular wheels…
350Z on SSR Gartmaier wheels fro Royal Origin…
On the days leading up to the event, Tony realized that there was a chance that the event would be bigger than originally anticipated. I guess he had more than enough responses on social media outlets where he believed the event might be larger than the Rywire parking lot could hold, so he changed the venue entirely. Instead of having it at Rywire, he moved the event over to the city of Santa Fe Springs, inside an industrial section of the city that was quiet and had plenty of space on a Sunday. Overall, I think the event worked out great. The whole idea of it on paper just sounds kind of silly, but man, people fucking love all things “stance”. You can literally throw the word “stance” into any event name or website and there’s a high possibility of it being successful. As much as people love to talk shit about stanced-out cars, it’s become a genre in our community that has become quite popular. I’m a fan of everything as long as it’s done right in my eyes or in moderation. There are some absolutely ridiculous looking cars that showed-up… as with every stance-related event, there are often times when people just try way too fucking hard to be cool and somehow totally fuck up their cars in the process…
VIP Modular booth on display…
If you want my honest opinion of this event, I would kind of relate it to like pro-wrestling and figure skating, but without the excitement of wrestling and without the grace of figure skating…haha, if that makes any sense… I didn’t think that many people would be into the competition side of the event but damn, people were on edge after the first couple cars did their driveway sessions. I think many of us were skeptical but eventually we were also into it and wanted to know who was going to win. I knew that the meet portion of this event would be good because Tony’s events always have good turn-outs. He can bring a good crowd in just by blasting the event on Facebook. The competition was cool, but like I said early on, there’s a lot that needs to go into judging criteria if Tony and crew decide to put another event like this on again in the future…
Lowered cars going up driveways is something that every enthusiast has to go through practically everyday…turning it into a competition just sounds totally absurd…but you know what? It just works…haha. Congrats to Tony and the It’s JDM Yo!! crew for putting on another successful event…
Standard Functions brought out a couple of really nicely-built Ruckus’ for display at the Fatlace booth…
I spotted my favorite car early on in the day…DPK David and I were walking around while I did coverage and stumbled upon an AE86 on HRE wheels…
HREs are not a typical wheel that you see on an AE86…this one might be the first one ever actually…You don’t see these wheels on Corollas of any kind because they are often times worth more than the cars themselves. It’s a high end wheel that belongs on more appropriately high-end automobiles. Anytime you see something like this though, it’s definitely a cool sight…
Turns out that this beautiful creation is actually owned by Mickey Andrade who works at HRE. David and I were a little shocked at first to see a perfectly fit set of HREs on a Corolla but after speaking to him, it all made sense. The car itself was built by John Russakoff from JSPFab in Vista, CA…
John Russakoff’s claim to fame, besides being a talented drifter in Formula D, is performing S2000 F20C swaps on older Toyotas like the AE86. He has a whole kit that is made just for the swap and even has this custom made F20C spark plug wire covers with the Toyota 1600 insignia on them…pretty cool stuff…
I’ve seen this EK with purple Work Meister S1s various times before online…I believe it’s from Northern Cali…
The It’s JDM Yo!! booth with an assortment of the latest It’s JDM Yo!! gear…
The Z33 from above on SSR Gartmaier wheels…
Jay Borcena’s Acura TL on VIP Modular wheels and Accuair suspension…
The guys having a moment…(From left to right: Jay Borcena, Big Mike, Noel Barnum, DPK David, and Noel’s girl Emily…)
Ms. Sheila working the NOS Energy booth…
3GS on Auto Couture wheels…
A good-looking wingless Mitsubishi Evo X on concave Volk TE37s…
JonJon Usaha’s Job Design Lexus IS300 representing It’s JDM Yo/Vanguard Collective…
S2000 from Infinit Wheels sitting on CCWs…
2GS on Work Eurolines, also representing Infinit Wheels…
WRX rolling through with some aggressive blue Work Meister S1s…
Powerhouse Amuse-inspired Honda S2000 on Enkei PF01 from DTM Autobody…
Clean Boso-style Corolla wagon on really clean old school Super Advan Racing wheels…I dig the red interior on this thing…
Keychain cruising up to the event fashionably late…
Noel Barnum taking a seat on his Ruckus to check out the event…
I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason why the intercooler on this S14 is cock-eyed…probably insert a “Because Drift Car” or something stupid here…
Antonio from Motormavens was in charge of MCing the event but also had his camera and massive lens on hand to do some coverage for his site…
This G35 on white-faced Work Meister S1 wheels was just stunning…Shows that you can have a clean set-up on aggressive wheels without making your shit look absurd with haggered fenders…
Yogi from Fatlace/Illest standing the in the middle of the street with a giant “Illest” flag…
A couple hours into the event, it was time to begin the competition and people got together by the driveway in anticipation…
Evo X on green Volk CE28s posted-up on the side of the street…
Here’s an incorrect way to be “stanced-out”….fake TEs, chewed up tires inside and out rocking two gigantic wheel spacers just to be “flush”…What is that shit, like 50mms wider now??…
Jimmy from Team Praxis rolling through before the competition started in his FJ Cruiser…
RHD CR-X from Infinit Wheels lined-up and ready to compete…
Milt from Low N Slow was the first car on hand to try his way up the driveway…he and his crew took the competition seriously and had their team flags and shit all up in Milt’s Z…
Milt’s license plate was a popular topic of mention at the event…
The judges and Antonio huddling-up and discussing the rules…
Milt and his Garson Deep Racing wheels ready to go…
…Judges ready…
…and….
…back tomorrow with part two of the “So You Think You Can Stance?” coverage!…
Stay tuned and thanks for looking!
The Chronicles 2011 Honors…The Best of the Rest…
I’m glad that everyone was happy with The Chronicles 2011 Top Ten Hondas list. I spent a lot of time deliberating when it came to who would officially be on the list, where they would go, and who would ultimately have the number one spot. If you missed it, feel free to scroll down to check it out or click on the attached links below. Today we will be taking a look at the rest of the pack. These guys were the ones that were also in contention for the Top Ten but just failed to make the cut. They were all great builds but the guys that ended up on the list just had what I was looking for top to bottom. I do an “Honors” list every year after the Top Ten is released because I feel that these guys should still have their time in the spotlight. Just because they didn’t make the ten, it doesn’t mean that they should be forgotten, you know? The list isn’t in any particular order, so don’t take the last guy as the bottom guy or whatever, and the first guy to be “number 11″ so to speak. I just felt that these Hondas made a big impact in 2011, whether their builds were extensive or just simple, and straight to the point…
If your car isn’t on this list, don’t take it as a bad thing…I try to keep a very thorough view on the entire Honda community, but there are times when I will miss a car or two. I mean, honestly, if I didn’t keep an eye on everyone’s builds, would you think that you would be sitting here and looking at 25 Hondas today? I could be taking a nice little break right now…
Anyways, here is the Top Ten f 2011 just in case you missed it…
Now that you’ve seen the Top Ten, here are the 25 other Hondas that just narrowly missed the list…
In no particular order…
Bisimoto Engineering’s 1004HP 2012 Honda Civic Si….
Why it made the list:
There were a lot of you that probably felt that Bisi’s Civic should have been on the list, and I can see why. The guy just produces stellar builds every single year. I couldn’t really include him this year though because he came in so late in the year. His wagon and CR-Z made the list the year before because the wagon had been around for a majority of 2010 and his CR-Z was just nothing anyone had ever seen before. The Civic, while equally as amazing, only came to being in late October of this year. There are still a couple things that I’m sure Bisi would like to change or fix on the Civic as well so everyone should keep an eye on it in 2012…
Taku Kusugami’s Honda Civic from Japan, representing Tactical Art…
Why it made the list:
Taku-san makes the 25 Honors list because his EK was one of the more recognizable builds of 2011 coming out of Japan. The photos of this EK were posted up everywhere after the Hellaflush Japan event and it became quite the popular internet forum topic. I loved how it resembled some of the best Honda builds here stateside and just has a great universal appeal to it. It’s this car that also helped bring my attention to the Tactical Art guys and why many of you recognize the Tactical Art name today…
Yasutaka Shimomukai’s EG6 from Tactical Art Japan…
Why it made the list:
Yasutaka’s EG is another one of the cool builds that come out of Tactical Art. It was the last of the three that I noticed but Yasutaka is also that guy that I communicate with the most from there. I’ve already stated before that I personally am not a fan of the XXR wheels but the Japanese love the USDM-inspired look. After he saw my post, he asked me about XXR and he even told me that he has a set of Rotiform wheels on order and that will be his new lookin 2012. As a whole package though, i love how his EG looks and above all else, it’s built for track-use. He attends road race events regularly and always takes photos and sends them to me, so expect to see a lot more content from Tactical Art in the future. He makes this list because like many of the guys on the Top Ten list this year, he built his car with style and function in mind. He doesn’t make the cut on the Top Ten because I didn’t really meet them until the later part of 2011…
Atuki Tubouti’s EG6 representing Tactical Art Japan…
Why it made the list:
You can’t talk about the guys from Tactical Art without mentioning Atuki’s EG…It is by far the most wild of their roster and Atuki also happens to be the owner of Tactical Art. His build is also built with function in mind but with style as well. This Civic just has a very menacing feel to it and just like our number one car, Gil Salazar’s ITR, it just has a certain presence about it that can’t be ignored. He narrowly misses the Top Ten list for the same reasons as the other two Tactical Art representatives… To read more about Tactical Art, here is a list of all posts tagged with Tactical Art…
Sportcar Motion’s “Little Red Riding Hood” EG Civic…
Why it made the list:
The Sportcar Motion Civic was probably one of the builds that just narrowly missed the Top Ten list, probably by like a hair…it was that close. The reason it didn’t make it, is because I felt that Loi Song and company just weren’t 100% finished with this build yet. It had a good year overall and made various events, I just think that it’s going to have an even better year in 2012 when it’s turbocharged. It’s rare to see Loi build a Honda that isn’t white, so it immediately stood out when it debuted, but there is so much more potential for this build this year….
Cooper Boudia’s Acura Integra from Olympia, WA…
Why it made the list:
Cooper’s Integra is another popular build that many thought would make the 2011 Top Ten list. Many even believed that it should have been number one. I didn’t necessarily agree but I do feel like it should have been included somewhere in that group. My reasoning behind it not being in the Top Ten, is because it was also another one of those builds that many didn’t see or know about until the later part of the year. Cooper’s Integra is definitely one of the better builds that came out 2011 and it’s also one of those builds that you have to see in person to appreciate. Luckily he drove all the way down from Washington to attend my anniversary meet and I was able to see it indepth. I am a huge fan of Cooper’s Integra and I hope to see more of it in 2012… He has one of the most epic build threads of 2011 as well, much like the next guy on the list… Check out his build thread here…
Eric Dabbert aka JDMcivbomb’s K-swapped, Spoon’d-out Honda Civic…
Why it made the list:
Eric’s Civic is one of those builds that I just wish I got a chance to see much more of in 2011… I didn’t even know about the car itself until Wekfest Chicago and I had no idea he even had a build thread going on the NWP4Life forums. It’s probably one of the most extensive builds I have ever seen and just the way he restored the car from the ground-up puts him in high contention to make the Top Ten of 2011. I’m not a huge fan of Spoon Sports but I can totally appreciate a thorough, highly extensive build thread and that’s why I like his Civic so much. There is just an insane amount of work on this car and you have to really go through every single page of his build thread to really understand how much effort was involved in getting his EG to this point. He probably would have been in the top five very easily if I was able to see his car more at events and what not…great work nonetheless…Read all about it here…
Tuan Chau’s K-supercharged Integra…
Why it made the list:
Simply because Tuan had one of the best Integra builds of the year. What’s even better than that is that this is supposedly his daily driver. He’s built a Civic in the past as well and that car is also a very well-built car. Both the Civic and Integra were featured in Honda Tuning and both were very deserving. I had a chance to see this thing in person when I flew out to Nashville last year for Import Alliance and it looked every bit as good as it did in print. I love what he did with the valve cover and how he matched it with the blue Recaros and the CCW Classics. It’s a good looking car that’s driven often and you’ll see it at plenty of events out on the east coast. It’s very well done and I’m happy to have been able to see it for myself. It narrowly missed the Top Ten list because there were just so many great Integra builds in 2011…Check out Tuan’s features here… His DC2 and his ’93 Civic CX….
Raul Ramirez’s authentic JDM 1994 Honda Civic VTi…
Why it made the list:
Raul Ramirez’s Civic VTi was probably close enough to making the list where it would have been #10 1/2…Seriously, Great build, authentic Japanese Civic VTi, K-swapped, and built with every intention to be road-raced. He participated in Super Street magazine’s FF Battle 3 in 2011 and did very well, finishing in the Top 5. The reason why it didn’t make the list is because the guys that did were just a little more active than he was and they made it out to more events. When it comes to build quality, it’s right up there with the others. Raul knows his stuff…this is like, his 12th Honda or something, haha…Check out his Honda Tuning feature here…
Harvey Flores’ 4-door Acura Integra from Tronics…
Why it made the list:
Harvey’s 4-door Integra is deserving of a nod on this list because it’s a beautiful car. I’ve been keeping an eye on his build for the last couple years and I loved the way his car looked in 2011 with the Mugen front bumper. The guy has a good sense of style and his DB8 reflects that. It’s not over the top and he’s paid close attention to building himself a well-rounded Honda. The engine bay is clean, as is the interior, and the exterior has always looked good. He doesn’t make the cut because it took me like, a fucking hour to just find one good photo of it that I could use, which probably means that I didn’t see him enough at events. I probably snapped like two photos of it in total the entire year. Compared to the other 4-door DBs on the list, he just wasn’t as active. Really love how this thing looks though…
Will Salazar’s 1993 Honda Civic CX…
Why it made the list:
Will’s Civic is one of my favorite Hondas from back in the mid-2000s. It’s crazy to think now that he still has it and he’s continued to evolve the car in 2011. Gil, who not only happens to hold the number one spot in 2011 but is also Will’s brother, kept me up to date with the rebuild from the moment they stripped it down to the first photos of it after it got out of the bodyshop. I’ll always be a fan of this car but a part of me will always prefer how it looked back when it was red. Don’t get me wrong, I love the evolution of this car and how it currently sits but I somehow feel like there is something missing with this car. I don’t know what it is, to be perfectly honest. Despite that, it would have made the Top Ten list if he was a little more active in 2011. He was supposed to be a part of my “GENERATIONS” display at Nisei Showoff this past year too but he just flaked on me…haha, I guess it wasn’t that important to him. Anyways, the Salazar brothers can build the shit out of a Honda and I always look forward to what they have up their sleeves. I also like how down they are to just take their cars out on the track and beat on them…From what I’ve seen, Will is a pretty good driver too… If you want to read more about Will’s Civic, click here….
Chivas Sotelo’s Honda Civic Si….
Why it made the list:
Chivas deserves a mention because he’s been to any and everywhere in 2011. The guy lives in Vegas but you wouldn’t think so because of all the events he’s been to this past year. His car isn’t bad either…It’s wild to think how much he drives this thing considering how low to the ground it is. All those trips from Vegas to Cali and back, you would think his car would look all fucked up but it’s remained in great condition. It’s another build that I’ve been able to see the gradual progression of and it’s a very eye-catching coupe. It doesn’t make the Top Ten of 2011 because the other cars that did make it I just felt were more thorough builds. There are still a couple things I would like to see done on his EM1, but it’s fine the way it is…2012 is looking to be a good year for him, he’s featured in the January 2012 issue of Honda Tuning which is on newstands right now….if you would like to read more about Chivas’ car, go fucking buy a copy of the magazine!…
Gerald “Lowballer” Reyes’ Acura Integra…
Why it made the list:
You can’t really mention Chivas without including Gerald Reyes…these guys are practically attached at the hip. If you saw Chivas Sotelo in 2011, chances are, Gerald’s Integra was parked right next to him. They both hail from Las Vegas, so they usually roll to events together. I am not entirely sure if there is anything done to the bay so that’s why it didn’t make the Top Ten list. It’s a good looking car overall, I just don’t know if it had enough to compete with the other Hondas in 2011. I’m sure it wasn’t his intentions to be competitive in 2011 anyways, because Gerald and his friends just build good looking street cars. There are a lot of people that seem to get his car confused with the other brown DC2 on Work Equips out here in Cali…they aren’t the same car! Anyways, Gerald and Chivas go everywhere together so they might as well be right next to each other on the 2011 Honors list…
RC Chacon’s K-turbo Honda Civic sedan…
Why it made the list:
RC’s Civic makes the 2011 Honors list because it’s really rare to see 4-door Civics done to this caliber these days, and it’s refreshing to see one with a turbocharged K-series. I love how the engine bay looks with all the custom fabricated turbo parts, but I felt like it was a little lacking aeshetically. That’s why it didn’t make the Top Ten in 2011. While it was one of the more anticipated builds in 2011, I just don’t feel like it was ever at a completed state. He did enough events in 2011, I felt, but I wasn’t sure if the car was ever “finished”. Every time I spoke to RC, he would tell me that there was more that he had to do to it…
Michael Mao’s Acura NSX…
Why it made the list:
Michael Mao’s NSX was probably the most “seen” NSX in 2011. He was everywhere…He missed the Top Ten list because it’s another one of those new builds in 2011 that I just wasn’t sure was in a finished state yet. It’s got the aero, wheels, and suspension down, but I think there could be more coming for this NSX. Sure, it’s an NSX, which isn’t as common as Civics and Integras, but in terms of the level of builds that are being produced these days, I have to hold NSXs to the same standards as the rest of the “popular” Hondas…
Bon Senesombath aka BonB’s Honda Civic…
Why it made the list:
BonB’s Civic deserves mention on the 2011 Honors list because his build was probably one of the most anticipated of the year. It took a bit of time for the car to get finished but when it appeared in the hotel parking lot during the summer Import Alliance event, people went absolutely nuts over it. Bon is one of those guys that is one of the more recognized enthusiasts down south. His EG was a hit back when it was still blue and thanks to his many trips out to the west coast, he’s become a household name out in these parts. When people caught wind of his Civic re-build, they had their eyes peeled in anticipation for it’s re-emergence. His car is another one that I’ve had a chance to see in person, both when it was still blue and had a B-series as well as it’s current K-swapped, green stage. It would have been a good choice to be on the Top Ten list but he didn’t make enough appearances in 2011 and there were still some loose ends that needed to be tied-up before I think it’s up there with the others who have the more completed Hondas of ’11…
Abe Cruz’s EK9-inspired Honda Civic…
Why it made the list:
Abe, better known simply as “EK9abe”, was all over the place in 2011. He hit every event possible in the Socal area last year and did a great job of being seen. His Civic is as close to a legit Japanese CTR as it gets here in the U.S. but with his own personal touches. I didn’t really know enough about the build itself to really consider it for the Top Ten, but I will give him credit for good execution. I just feel that his car is just too simple overall…maybe that’s a good thing, but when it comes to a list with such intricate builds, it needs more to stand out from the rest of the pack…
Mike Trevino’s EG9 Civic sedan…
Why it made the list:
Mike’s 4-door makes the honorable mentions list for a second year in a row. He did a consistent job of making appearances at events alongside his crew-mate, Jeremy Duarte, but there weren’t really any changes on the Civic from the previous year. I’m a big fan of this build and I feel that the best is yet to come for this car. Mike has it taken apart right now and it’s going through a re-build, so we should all keep an eye out for it in 2012. Maybe this year, it’ll finally make it over that wall and end up in the Top Ten Hondas of 2012 list…
Sunny Wong’s 2010 Honda Insight EX…
Why it made the list:
Sunny shocked everyone this year when his Insight re-emerged at SEMA 2011. It was nothing anyone had expected from him nor from a Honda Insight. The only time you really see an Insight with an extensive amount of work done to it is over in Japan, so when Sunny debuted his new look, it had Honda and non-Honda enthusiasts stopping to stare at it on the SEMA show floors. The flared body and aggressive sizing of the TE37s just give this Insight an entirely different look and made for a drastic change over his more VIP-themed look from before. I know an Insight will never be built to a level of say, a build like Gil Salazar’s, but it’s about as invested as an Insight build can get. I was almost on the verge of putting it on the list but it just didn’t re-appear until later on in the year. It’s just a wild-looking car…it’s hard to categorize it with the other builds on the list but it’s well thought out enough for people to accept it. This is an instance where taking a chance and thinking outside of the box really pays off…
Ly Say’s Acura TSX…
Why it made the list:
Ly Say’s TSX is in no way shape or form nearly as “built” as the other Hondas on the list, but I think it would be good to consider it just because of how much attention it brings to the TSX crowd. It just has a Euro-R conversion, suspension, and wheels, but damn, it looks good just the way it is! Anytime I came across someone who was staring at his car at all the events he attended, all they could do was compliment him on his taste in mods. While the chances of him hitting the Top Ten list were slim in 2011, I give him credit for having a great looking car and being so active throughout the year…
Bryant Nguyen’s Acura TSX…
Why it made the list:
Much like Ly Say’s TSX, Bryant is right up there in terms of activity and overall style. He also has a very good-looking TSX and he has a bit more done to his car than Ly does. This year was the debut of his new SSR Professor SP3 wheels as well as a new air-ride set-up. Still not as intensive as the other builds on this list, but I commend him on his efforts for bringing a bright, positive spotlight onto the TSX community….
Moe Drennon’s K-swapped EG Civic…
Why it made the list:
PGK Moe had a great 2011…He was featured in Honda Tuning magazine in July and then around that same time, he brought his Civic out to Import Alliance with a brand new K20-swap. The bay looked good as did the rest of the car, but I just can’t figure out why he never got himself another windshield molding. Little stuff like that bothers me, because the details are what it really comes down to, but I’m sure he has his reasons. He and his brother are always busy tinkering with cars so maybe he was just too busy to really finish up the car. It would have been a really good choice to be in the Top Ten list, but again, it just seems sort of incomplete… I guess you can say it was a molding short of making it…haha…Here’s PGK Moe’s HT feature…
Chris Drnek’s EF Civic hatchback…
Why it made the list:
Chris’ EF is one of those really clean Hondas that instantly caught my eye when I was out at Import Alliance. I was just hanging out in the hotel parking lot when I spotted it. I walked up to take a closer look and I immediately became a fan of it. It’s one of those Hondas that has a very timeless-appeal to it. I was correct in my liking of his EF because a couple months later, he also received a feature in Honda Tuning magazine. It just narrowly misses the mark and doesn’t make the Top Ten because both Jay Powers’ and Jordan McCord’s EFs were more comprehensive builds. That’s no knock on Drnek’s EF though because the chassis was practically perfect as it was when it arrived in his possession. There was no reason to repaint or restore the car because he just didn’t have to….If you want to see Drnek’s Honda Tuning Feature, click here…
Jay Borcena’s VIP-styled Acura TL…
Why it made the list:
In a world full of Civics and Integras built to be “track-inspired”, it’s very hard for a VIP-themed Honda to make the list. Unless it has major engine modifications or a customized bay, it’s not going to be built anywhere near the level of the Hondas that comprised of the Top Ten. While it would be great to see something truly different on the list, it’s very difficult to take one of the Top Ten off of the list to make room for a luxury-based build. I have enjoyed the continued progression of Jay’s TL over time though, and I like the fact that he made a presence in 2011 with all the events he attended. It’s one of those Hondas where even non-VIP fans can appreciate it. I’m also very happy to a see a car with aggressive fitment that doesn’t have chewed-up fenders in 2011. It seems like a simple enough concept but people are all about fucking their fenders up these days….
Yellow Factory EG6 Civic…
Why it made the list:
In a time when most Honda enthusiasts are all about race cars and the “Because Racecar” phenomenon, the Yellow Factory Civic arrived at just the right time. When photos surfaced of it early in 2010, people were all over the wild front end of this Civic where in the past, most would have probably laughed at it and complained about how ridiculous it looked. More dedicated road race guys would have appreciated it though, even before time attack and road racing became the “cool” thing to do. If it were in ’09 or 2010, people would be aiming pitchforks at the front bumper because it’s a “ricey bodykit”. Now that people are more concerned with “function”, everyone is a fan of the Yellow Factory EG. In reality, the Yellow Factory-built Honda is a very capable car on the circuit. It ran the Tsukuba Circuit in 1:01.38 and it’s time puts it right up there with the likes of a Z-Tuned R34 Skyline. If you go and pick up the current issue of Import Tuner, you can read all about it. It is worthy of a mention on this list because it fits the era that we are in currently in. Enthusiasts love track cars and the “track-look” so many are looking to this Civic for inspiration. Hondas with aggressive aero like this that can run great times make it cool again for people to rock parts that might have otherwise been reasons to humiliate someone online a couple years before….
Ryan O’Hara’s EP3 Honda Civic…
Why it made the list:
Ryan is not only the only Canadian representative on the Honors list, he also has the only EP3 to make it. I’ll be honest, it’s incredibly difficult to keep track of what is going on in Canada, because there just aren’t enough online media outlets for most of us to see what’s going on up there. Canada has always produced some very good Honda builds and it would be great to see more of them. They have a couple S2000s out there that are just amazing but no one has heard of them before. Ryan’s EP3 makes the list because it’s one of the best EP3 builds I have seen, ever. It was featured in HT a couple years ago and Ryan has continued to work on his Civic. This current look with the Air Walker front bumper and orange SE37Ks is probably his best look yet. There are just a couple photos of it floating around online but being that it’s a rare chassis to build, Ryan’s EP3 is instantly recognizable. There are a couple of other EP3s out that are worthy of a mention, i.e. Cristian Loza’s from Canibeat, but I have to say, this one is my favorite in 2011…
Hmmm….you know what? Fuck it…after some careful consideration at 4:53am, I think I made a mistake by not including his EP3 on the list…
Cristian Canibeat Loza’s EP3 Honda Civic…
Why it made the list:
After some thinking, Cristian’s EP3 is one of those cars that I almost failed to mention. He was very active in 2011 and he is also a part of one of the more popular online automotive websites right now; Canibeat. I wasn’t very fond of the site at first but it’s great to see that it’s developed into it’s own brand over time and isn’t piggybacking off of the ideas of other websites like Fatlace/Hellaflush. It’s also been good to see the continued progress of Cristian Loza’s EP3. I developed a much deeper appreciation of this car after I had the opportunity to check it out for myself while I was in Nashville. I like the fact that it’s “stanced-out” but doesn’t have stupid spaceship camber, and his engine is actually really nice for an EP3 chassis. He’s got a couple Mugen goodies in the bay and another really nifty accessory, a K20Z1 swap… It’s a nice, well-rounded Honda, and I almost feel like an asshole for not mentioning it…
Well, that’s the 25…errr 27 noteworthy Honda builds of 2011 that were in contention for the The Chronicles Top Ten Hondas list. Again, all are great in their own way, it’s just really hard to come up with a final ten without excluding some really nice Hondas. I was honestly surprised by how receptive everyone was of the Top Ten and didn’t complain about how they didn’t see so and so’s car, or some other guy who I have never heard of. That’s always a good thing….This year was probably my favorite Top Ten list because not everyone was a lock to be on and it took more time and consideration to finalize it. If it was really that easy, I wouldn’t have almost another 30 Hondas to mention. At the end of the day, I couldn’t be happier with how it all came together. Thank you for your support and I hope you guys come back to see what The Chronicles has to offer in 2012…
Norm Reeves Honda 2011 Car Show/Toy Drive Coverage…Part 1…
Norm Reeves Honda does one of these car show/toy drives annually and we have made it a point to head out there for the last couple years now to support them. I even went to the event a couple years back during the California wildfires and there were literally ashes falling from the sky. It’s not a big event by any means, but it’s for a good cause. That and it’s not often that a car dealership shows support to the aftermarket Honda/Acura community. Norm Reeves Honda has always been active in our community so it’s only right that we show them equal love…
There isn’t really much to say about the 2011 event that hasn’t been said before in the previous years. Nothing crazy happened, which is actually a good thing, because things have been so hectic lately that it was good to go to an event that was just laid back. The show featured a similar set-up from years past; show up, park, donate a toy or canned good, and enjoy the car show. There’s also a car show competition that goes with the event and they’ve been generous every year with some pretty big trophies. The only really notable thing about this event compared to the previous years is that this year, the car show was held in a different lot. It’s usually done in the Norm Reeves Honda dealership lot, but this year, it was a couple miles down at their used car lot. I don’t know how I feel about the area surrounding the used car lot, but I think I actually preferred this location. It seemed like there was more room and the entire lot was devoted to just the show itself. Over at the original Norm Reeves Honda lot, there are usually new cars parked next to the event and there are usually a bunch of car salesmen walking around or standing around and gawking. This lot, I think, just works out better for the show. They didn’t have to worry about disturbing walk-in customers who just wanted to look at new cars, and there didn’t seem as if there was a real rush to end it so that Norm Reeves Honda could resume normal business. In any case, that’s not anything we really need to be concerned about so I’ll just move on to the photos…
It was mostly overcast throughout the morning and it even started raining an hour or so into the show, so the photos almost look as if it were two different events but trust me, it was all taken within a couple hours time…
Stanced-out EF from a new crew with the latest and greatest crew name: “LOW LIFE CROOKS”…I fucking swear, you can’t even make that shit up. You know how to attract more attention towards your modified vehicle? Put a 3-foot banner on your windshield that states that you may possibly be a LOW LIFE CROOK…come on….kids these days… Maybe I should start driving my Q45 around with a banner that says “UNSUSPECTING DRUG DEALER”….haha…
Olive green-toned DC2 on some refinished, cream white old school Volk mesh wheels…
Acura RSX from Royal Origin on some Enkei RPF1…
BB6 Prelude on gold Volk SF-Challenges…
Red EG Civic on some gray SSR Type-X wheels…
EM1 on white Mugen NR…
Michael Mao, who owns the red NSX you’ve all been seeing lately, has a brother who messes around with Hondas too and this is his S2000…
Eddie Diaz’s Acura TSX…
Teddy Timoteo’s Civic on Volk Racing SE37K with a Mugen front lip and ARC rear wing…
DC2 Integra with a R conversion and Work Equip 03s…
Yellow S2000 on some 5Zigen FN-01R wheels…never really been much of a fan of those wheels but they seem to remain pretty popular…bay has the kevlar Password: JDM intake on it…
S200o on BBS LM…
White on white S2000 on Volk TE37s…
Honda CR-Z from Basis sitting on the brand new Spoon Sports CR93 wheel…I’ll be honest, I can’t say I really cared for these wheels, especially considering how iconic the Sw388 is in our community but in person, they don’t look that bad at all. Maybe it’s because the only examples I saw of it previously online were from Spoon and they were either dark blue or that retched yellow they love to use…. Still don’t know if they are worth the money though considering they are just cast aluminum…
Honda CR-Z with a JDP Engineering front lip and carbon grille piece on Volk Racing GT-Ns…
Jerry-built turbo Civic drag car…
Tan Nguyen’s ASM-equipped S2000 with Technocraft bucket seats…Technocraft is a branch of Password: JDM that develops products for more high-end vehicles like Lamborghinis and what not…
He probably doesn’t care too much for whoever his passenger is because his seat is padded and the passenger side is basically just carbon fiber…
Michael Mao’s Acura NSX…
…sitting on some aggressive Volk Racing TE37s…
Bisimoto Engineering’s turbocharged Shuttle…
S2000 with a J’s Racing (or “J’s Racing-style”) front bumper…
4-door Civic on old school Volk Group AVs….
EG 4-door Civic on Work Carving Stark IIs…
Really clean right-hand drive Honda CR-X with Mugen RnRs…
EP3 Civic with a Buddy Club kit on what looks to be MB Battle wheels…
Another clean 4-door Civic, but the owner of this one is faking the funk with some Rota C10 wheels and Mugen MF10L stickers…*tsk* *tsk*….
This Civic also has Mugen MF10Ls, except these are actually legitimate Mugen wheels,..Bay looks decent, would probably look much better if he had a different fuel set-up…this build deserves a thumbs-up because he has a Chronicles sticker on, haha…
EF Civic sedan with a JDM EF2 front end conversion and SSR mesh wheels…really clean 4-door overall, I’m a fan…
Oh man, this Civic looks like something straight out of the early 2000s…That’s not necessarily a bad thing though, especially if you were around back then and saw this style in it’s prime…Stillen front half bumper, shaved door handles and moldings, custom paint, and 17-inch Racing Hart Type-Cs…even has the Racing Hart windshield banner. This is early 2000s-period correct, haha…I wouldn’t be surprised if this is one of those builds that was completed back then and was just left in storage…
Oh I should mention that there was a portion of the Norm Reeves Honda show that was indoors. It’s a car dealership lot so there was a showroom that they made full use of for the event. It helped to have space for everyone when it started to rain outside…
Jimbo’s BB6 Prelude on gold Volk CE28…
A couple shots of DPK JP’s Civic because I’m not sure how much longer he plans to keep this car around…I heard that he was thinking about parting the car out or selling it…It’s been in this state for a couple years now and I don’t think he has much time to re-do the car or even bother to mess with it anymore. It almost makes sense to get rid of it…maybe then he’ll be motivated to try and start another build or something…
The guy that owns this yellow EG Civic is actually one of the car coordinators for the Fast and the Furious movie series…This Civic was actually in the funeral scene after Michelle Rodriguez dies or doesn’t die, or whatever the fuck they plan to do to her character because she’s apparently back in the next movie. I stopped to chat with the dude for a minute and he seems like a nice guy. He told me that they were filming both the 6th and 7th movie at the same time. I wanted to ask him why there weren’t any imports in the movies anymore but I almost feel that it’s better that there aren’t any, haha….keep the heat off of the import crowd, you know? That and a Civic can’t pull a bank safe all over Brazil and survive hundreds of explosions… His Civic is pretty clean though…it has some stuff that I personally wouldn’t do to that car but fuck it, it ain’t my car…The white lettering on the tires is also obnoxiously large. Would have been cleaner if he just highlighted the original logos on the tire…
Jay Borcena’s Acura TL on VIP Modular wheels…This guy has been everywhere lately, haha…popping up in every single event coverage that I do…
Anyways, that’s all for today…back with more tomorrow. There’s just two parts to the coverage so don’t worry about your computer being overloaded with photos…
Thanks for looking…
Autocon 2011 Coverage…Part 3…
Back now with part 3 of the ongoing Autocon 2011 coverage…today, our focus will be turned away from all the randomness and girls at the event and directed more towards the cars of Autocon. As I stated in part 2, this was the point of time during the show when I finally got up off my ass and decided to cover the cars. The sun was blazing throughout they day so I felt it would be best that I waited until it started to set before doing car coverage. The photos today will reflect that and you’ll see the drastic change in the time of day compared to the previous two posts… I tried to get everything that caught my eye but obviously I missed some cars. It’s virtually impossible for me to get every single car there. Main reason being I don’t like certain cars, haha. If I missed you though, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I don’t enjoy your build…I might have just missed it or at that time you and your friends were standing there talking and didn’t get out of the way for the shot…I don’t know…I had a very limited amount of time to cover all the cars so if I didn’t have the opportunity to get a good shot, I wouldn’t have tried to take one. It’s simple as that. Please don’t post up asking if I got a shot of your car or not, that’s just embarrassing…If you don’t see it here, I didn’t get it… Anyways, let’s move on with the photos…
Let’s open it up with a couple shots of some vehicles from the crew “Royal Flush”…
Royal Flush’s LS400 on some very aggressive Leon Hardiritt Ordens…
The rears are a little too aggressive for my taste but it’s cool to see that he’s getting the most use out of his tires by flipping them…
Turbocharged EK Civic from Royal Flush with a Civic Domani/Isuzu Gemini front end conversion and BBS wheels…
2GS from the same crew on some deep dish Euroline wheels…
G50 Infiniti Q45 from Supastar with Nissan President conversion…
This LS400 belongs to a guy known as “Turbo Tim”…the rear AME Shallen AXs were actually once my front set that I traded away to him for his fronts since he thought they were too aggressive for his LS…
Oh, I can’t believe I forgot to post this up in last night’s coverage. I think I was too busy looking up one of the girl’s names or something for the post and accidentally skipped this. I understand that there are a lot of girls out there that are trying to be import models and what not, but seriously…there are some that just shouldn’t. I feel like an asshole for having to post up this photo, but I wanted to be honest with you guys and show you some of the girls that well, aren’t that “camera-friendly”….
Hmm…Yeah, I don’t know…I’m gonna leave this alone and just let the photo speak for itself…Another strange thing about this section of the model lounge was that there was a little boy handing out flyers for her and her friends. I hope it wasn’t her son or something…
Moving on…
Milt’s 350Z from Low n Slow on Garson Deep Racing wheels…
Infiniti G35 on some SSR MS1 wheels…
3rd-generation Toyota Celica with a 1JZ swap I believe…I couldn’t really tell because there was a pow-wow going on in front of the car…
Jay Borcena’s Acura TL on VIP Modular wheels from Team Praxis…
Linda’s Matrix also on VIP Modular wheels, also from Team Praxis…
2GS with what looks to be a Job Design aero kit and VIP Modular wheels…
F50 Q45/Cima with, you guessed it….VIP Modular wheels…
White Nissan 370Z with Amuse kit and Venaci? wheels..
I was wondering what was casting a shadow on some of my photos and then I turned around and saw the doors on this 300ZX…
Well-built AE86 with ITBs and RS Watanabe wheels…
Teddy’s white EK now minus the First Molding front lip…
Mark’s 4-door DB8 Integra….I like this car on the black 949Racing wheels he usually has on them…I LOVE the polished CP-Rs on this car. It changes the whole look of the car…
Saw this RSX drive by us during roll-in in the morning…not a bad looking car, but there’s definitely a lot going on…
Corolla wagon on some old school Advan Racing wheels…
Hyundai Genesis on some gold Enkei RPF1…
3-Series BMW coupe on some Work Brombacher wheels…
My old buddy David Nguyen’s GS400…You newer kids probably don’t know him but he used to have a silver widebody MR-2 on Blitz wheels back in the day…
…a lot like this one because they were both TRD widebody kits and neither had a rear wing…Day 622, wing status: Uncertain….
350Z from Royal Origin…I’ve never known cream-colored wheels to work with a silver car, but some people like their cucumbers pickled…wait, what?….
This color combo works really well though…red on bronze wheels and gloss black faces…
BB6 Prelude on Work Equip wheels…
Absolutely loved this track-ready BMW 335i sedan…license plate even says “BRN2TRK”…
I’m also a huge fan of this Nimbus Grey BMW on custom bronze finish BBS LMs…beautiful…
Mini Cooper from Auto Concept Elite…
Hot pink/magenta Infiniti G35 coupe from Import Fashion on gold-faced Leon Hardiritt Ordens…
Widebody R35 GT-R that you guys should all be pretty familiar with by now from Auto Concept Elite….
Jamarri Whiteside’s award-winning Subaru STI back to it’s usual half flying stance…
Jose Romo’s Audi A3 from 1UP…
Everyone that feels out of place at this show please raise their hands!!…
Hammered Lexus SC300 parked next to cars that were about to take flight…
VIPStylecars member “Blitz”s Q45 is turning out to be one of my favorite overall builds of the year…
I also really like this IS on SSR Professor SP1 wheels…I’ve always like the fact how the GS and IS can pull off that sport and VIP look simultaneously…On this car, it’s executed just right…
Behind this flag pole is actually a very nice Lexus GS400…
Good execution of VIP novelty items inside the GS…
The trunk also looks good with the wood floors…
BMW F10 535i with End.CC front carbon lip and rear diffuser…Wheels are BBS LM-R…It’s hard to see in this photo but it also has a custom yellow Brembo GT brake kit…
Right next to it was a 335i on Advan TCIIs…
Gonna cut it off here today with this clean Mazda MX-5 Miata on what I hope are legit, real deal, Hayashi Streets…Even if not, it made for a nice photo…sunflare and everything is legit too…haha…
Alright, back with the final conclusion of Autocon 2011 coverage tomorrow…hopefully…
SEMA Show 2011 Coverage…Part 1…
Ahh…finally…time for the enormous batch of photos from the 2011 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. I have to say, this one was one of the best trips to Vegas yet. I’ve gone in years past and it’s always been good, but this year was definitely a memorable one. The show itself was probably the best one yet I feel in terms of variety and quality cars. I don’t know if it was just me but the show seemed more full this year and foot traffic seemed to be a lot better. I went every day but Friday and it was extremely busy all week at SEMA. I kept asking everyone what they thought there favorite car was of the show and now in hindsight, I understand why no one could give me a straight answer. There was just so much to see and so many different types of builds and styles of cars to even come close to a decision as to what a favorite would be. There are definitely cars that stood out though, that’s for sure. From the moment we walked into the show til the very last moments when we walked out for the last time, there was always something that captured our attention…
I know you guys have seen a bulk of what SEMA had to offer already from various internet sources, but I promise you, the coverage here will be unlike anything you have seen. I will take you from the show to the after parties and all the while, I will include all the cool random things that we encountered along the way. The photos won’t be in any particular order….I’m basically going to provide you with everything I saw in the order that it happened through my eyes. Unlike last year, I didn’t cover the drive there though because it was pretty uninteresting. Nobody took any cars this year to SEMA and we basically took our daily drivers and got there as fast as we can. I hope you enjoy indepth coverage because I covered everything that I could. I know this is a Honda-dedicated site, but there just wasn’t that much Honda content at SEMA this year. I love all kinds of cars so I captured whatever sparked my interest and if I saw something stupid or ridiculous going on, you better believe I covered it. I have to give a special shout-out to May because she took the time to cover all the shenanigans that occurred during the after parties we went to. Luckily we were taken care of every well at every party and didn’t have to stress out on getting in or getting VIP passes or any of that BS. I’m happy that we know good people that helped us out with that. With that said, let’s get started on day one of the SEMA Show 2011 Mini-Series…It’s going to be a good one…
One really cool thing that happened this year was having Halloween happen on the same week as SEMA. SEMA is always on the first week of November but this year, it just so happened that the 31st of October landed on the Monday of SEMA. I have been to Vegas in Halloween in the past and it was always a good time so we decided to head out there on Monday to check it out. It’s cool to see people dressed-up in costumes and just walking around on the strip and it always helps if there is a reason for women to dress like scantily-clad whores in Vegas, haha….you guys know what I mean. This year, I noticed a bit of a disturbing trend in Vegas though…instead of hoards of scantily-clad floozies, I saw an abundance of dudes dressed-up as women all over the strip…it was not a good look. It is what it is though so we decided to grab some dinner at Tacos El Gordo, and then put on our costumes and walk around the Las Vegas strip…
Here we are after dinner walking around the Palms… DPK Jared was dressed as Hipster Teen Wolf, I was Waldo, and DPK David was “The criminal from any reality television show about cops who doesn’t agree to sign the release to have their likeness displayed on TV”,…that’s why his face is blurred….or he could have been “What DPK David looks like to me if I didn’t have my contact lenses on”. Either costume works but I thought it was a novel idea. I gotta tell you one thing though, if you want to dress up as Waldo, be prepared for any and every one to randomly walk up to you and go “I FOUND YOUUUU!!!!” in the most obnoxious tone possible because IT WILL happen. I already knew it when I got the costume but my last costume was a complete Jesus outfit and that yielded even stranger responses from people….I’m sure if you are single and ready to meet annoying drunk girls the costume would work out great, but alas, I am neither single or drunk enough to talk to random girls in their drunken state…
After walking around for a bit, we decided to call it a night and head back to our hotel. On the way back, I asked David if he had ever been to the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign before at the front of the strip and he said he hadn’t, so we stopped by for a quick photo….
We got back to our hotel shortly after, watched some television, and then knocked out to prepare for the first day of SEMA…
The next day, we grabbed some breakfast at a local deli and set off to the Las Vegas Convention Center. All the stupid traffic and detours from construction threw me off so we ended up getting lost and stuck in traffic for a bit before we eventually got to the show. We parked in our usual spot and made our way into the SEMA show…
DPK David was all smiles and enjoying the lovely scenery in Vegas…
The first car we saw upon arriving at the show was the Meguiar’s Lexus CT200H… Jon Sibal actually did the original rendering for this car and you can see more of it here….
The paint finish on the cars inside the Meguiar’s booth are always immaculate…absolutely love the way this pick-up looked…
Acura TL sporting a full wrap by Meguiar’s Wraptivo…
DynaSport 1932 Ford Roadster…Check out more build photos of it here….
Custom rat rod pick-up from Honest Charley Speed Shop…
Rotiform wheels were everywhere this year. It was the wheel of choice for many of the exhibiting cars in attendance…This particular set looks good on this white Camaro…
Really liked this red GS that I saw once before at the Team Praxis/VIP Modular meet a couple months back…I actually hit up the shop that put this car together to do a story on it for one of the mags I work for but never got a response…Guess they weren’t interested… 
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F50 CIMA on VIP Modular wheels…
A pair of R35 GT-Rs built by Jotech Motorsports from Texas…
Linda’s TRD Supercharged Toyota Matrix representing Team Praxis…
Jay Borcena’s Acura TL sitting on 18-inch VIP Modular wheels and Accuair suspension, also from Team Praxis…
Joey’s VIP-styled Scion tC from Praxis…
Cool looking custom fire truck…
Factory Five ’33 hot rod…
A pair of lowriders from LIFESTYLE…
Troy Trepanier’s Chevy Nova aka “NOTORIOUS”…572 cubic inch big block Chevy equipped with a Procharger supercharger…
The moment I came upon this E-class, I instantly knew that it would be one of my favorite cars at SEMA… Carlsson everything sitting on custom bronze BBS LMs…
Such a good looking Benz…Turns out that Sunny from Franklin Autobody painted this car as well and I got a chance to meet and chat with the owner for a little bit…I got a lot more of this car but towards the end of the SEMA show. I liked it so much I went back and just hovered over it for a while…haha..
This literally looks like one of those toy die cast trucks you can buy at a department store…those big ass wheels are fucking ridiculous…
One popular trend that I noticed at the SEMA show was putting older front clips on new body-style domestic muscle…I don’t know how popular this trend is but it’s definitely not that great of a look…This particular covertible has an older Camaro front end on a current generation Camaro…That’s like taking a decent looking girl and putting old lady titties on her…haha, just fucking weird man…
Porsches were definitely at the 2011 SEMA show….this one is equipped with a Top Secret aero kit and SSR MS1s….
I’m unsure about how I feel about this G35. Overall, it doesn’t look bad but I just don’t understand why people put their car on air suspension and it looks all racked like this with the front end slammed and the rear sitting high…looks like the car is braking really hard at stand still…
We still hadn’t picked up our SEMA passes yet so Jared, May, and I walked up to the Media Center to grab our media passes. The nice old lady that was giving us our passes starting laughing when she read that the passes belonged to people from a site called “stickydiljoe.com”, haha….
One of the many perks of having a media pass was this special section that offered food and drinks to media members…Jared and May grabbed some coffee while I drank some ice tea/lemonade… DPK David was off looking for Rywire Ryan to get his pass from him so we decided to meet up downstairs…
While we were waiting for David to come back, we spotted Quinton “Rampage” Jackson from the UFC walk by…
This was random as hell, but while we were waiting, the side skirt on this Audi randomly just fell off the car, haha….
I didn’t believe it so I walked over there and the side skirt did indeed fall off the car…how embarassing, haha….Nobody was even standing near the car or anything, shit just fell off…
One of the more popular vehicles in this area was this Cadillac convertible…
Once David met up with us, we made our way inside one of the halls to check out the cars inside. This white R35 GT-R looked real good in the Rotora brakes area…
This blue Camaro convertible inside the Extreme Dimensions booth ended up winning one of the awards for best cars at SEMA I believe…I don’t know that much about it other than this crappy photo I took of it…haha…
I thought this was supposed to be a Firebird Trans Am-style kit designed for the new Camaros but it actually isn’t. It’s a Camaro known as “The Firebreather” and was built by Classic Design Concepts for an upcoming movie called “Jinn”. I don’t know shit about the movie or what it’s about but this car looks pretty cool and the guy that played Darth Maul in the Star Wars movie is set to star in it….
Loved this old Ford Bronco resto-mod in the Ford Motor Company section…
2012 Ford Mustang V6 from MRT Performance…
Really digging the new Ford Focus…this one had a matching green bike on the roof and HRE wheels…
This was also on a new Ford Focus but I snapped this photo because I thought it was a cool way to show off the brakes…
Tjin Edition Ford Explorer…
This 1970 Mustang was built by the Ring Brothers and is dubbed “The Dragon”…
Roush 427 IR crate motor…
This whole package is actually available for purchase through Ring Brothers and isn’t just a one-off, one-time build…
There was all kinds of crazy commotion and hoopla going on outside in the Lexus area so we decided to walk into their gigant tent set-up to see what it was all about… Turns out that they were unveiling the new Lexus GS F-Sport and also unveiled the 5Axis GS F-Sport along with it. 5Axis can never really do anything wrong in terms of styling and this GS F-Sport looks fucking amazing…There was such a huge crowd around it that it was hard to get photos of it but I managed to elbow my way in and get these shots. Easily one of my favorites at the SEMA 2011 event…
Here is the GS F-Sport in stock form…sorry for the somewhat blurry photo, I was mid-elbow during this shot…
Walked out of the tent to get some air and spotted this Lexus SUV “factory off-road racing” build…
Another perk of having a media pass was that you could get in line to get a ride in the new GS F-Sport…They had a nice course set-up for some “spirited driving”…
DPK David and Jared didn’t hesitate to go for a spin…
That’s all for today…back with part 2 tomorrow….
Thanks for looking!!
Nisei Showoff 2011 Coverage…Part 5…
Just one more section of Nisei Showoff 2011 coverage after this one. I honestly didn’t even realize I took so many photos until I got home and went through them. Overall I’m happy with it and I think it’s a good representation of what was at the show. My only regret was not taking some more time to look at all the old school Mazdas that were there. There was a whole line-up full of them and I just completely missed them. Ah well, next time. I think I spotted a couple of them at the Motion show and I did snap some pics. In any case, you guys are probably here to see Hondas and shit anyways so all the other non-Honda stuff should be a plus. I just try to capture what please my eye so if you don’t see something that you like on here, I either missed it or we just have differing tastes…
Today we are going to be taking a further look at some of the other cars at the show and at the end I’ll give you some more detailed shots of various engine bays with some details that I really liked. Enjoy and I hope all of you have enjoyed the Nisei Showoff 2011 coverage…Tomorrow will cover the end of the day and stuff like that and there won’t be as much car content….
Always been a fan of Linda’s Toyota Matrix from Team Praxis. I think this car often gets overlooked and doesn’t get enough credit simply because it’s not a very popular platform. It’s definitely a top quality build though and it’s nice to have seen it progress to this point…
Linda’s VIP Modular wheels…
TRD Supercharger and custom wire-tuck and harness via Rywire.com…
Jay’s TL on Work Varianza T1s…
Michael Johnson’s 1st gen. Acura TL…
Joey’s Scion tC on Jline wheels…
Robert’s Civic with a custom front end adapted from a Mugen-style RSX front bumper…
Jared checking out some wheels at the Infinit Wheels booth…
DPK David once again…
Kane Chan’s girl Annie’s DC2 Integra on white Advan RGs…
Another shot of Parnell’s DA…
1st gen. Toyota Celica…
Mark II Toyota Celica Supra….
It was cool to see all the old school Toyotas parked along this row with a brand new Lexus LF-A in the middle to show off all the different generations of Toyota sports cars…
Wald IS-F…
Dennis Kongvongsai’s Subaru STi representing Team Hybrid…
350Z also from Team Hybrid…good looking car but I do feel like vinyl roll calls along the side of the door are a bit tacky these days…
Really liked this Miata on SSR MK2 wheels with the original caps…The custom rag top over the cage was a really cool idea…
Always see this hatchback from GTS at every show. At Nisei he ended up placing in the Honda category as well I believe…
This EF is always in immaculate condition and was recently in Honda Tuning magazine a couple months ago…
Always been a fan of the Lexus RX chassis. I’ve never seen this one before but it was definitely a pleasant surprise… There was an EK next to this car that I really liked too but there was this hoard of people around it and I could’t wait very long for them to move out of the way for a photo since I had to go back and clean up…
Charles from 1-Up x Its JDM Yo!!!’s Honda S2000…
Andrew Lim’s gold Supra…
Andrew’s brother Jason’s IS300 and JonJon’s IS350…
Old school Skyline GT-R…
Jose Romo’s Audi A4…
Lowfat Pie attempting to sexually assault Jared in The Chronicles booth…
Gonna close it out today with some engine bays like I mentioned at the top…
Arn Reyes’ white on white on white engine bay in his DC2…
A couple more shots of Sheepey’s turbo set-up since I saw some photos over the weekend of a particular S2000 owner on the east coast who is basically copying Alex’s exact turbo set-up…You’re welcome for the shots… If you guys are wondering who it is…think of a S2K out there that looks almost identical to ATS Angel’s S2000…haha…
Mike Schietroma’s bay with a Spoon Sports valve cover signed by Ichishima Tatsuru…
Ryan Der’s new white valve cover and coil over plug set-up…I love the blue beauty washers that are used throughout the car, from the interior to the bay all the way to his ignition coils…
Chris Sakai’s wrinkle black-themed bay…
…his breather and catch can set-up…
…and his custom Trick Flow fuel set-up…Note the hardware and the spacers used for fuel pressure regulator position in relation to how the fuel filter is mounted…all very minor touches that add up to a great overall bay…
Custom teal powder-coated horns for Anh’s individual throttle bodies…
Closing it out today with a shot of ATS Angel’s matte black TE37s and blue Project Mu brakes…
That’ll be all for today. Back with the final installment of the Nisei Showoff 2011 coverage tomorrow…
Japan Relief Gathering Coverage…
Just a couple of shots from this past weekend’s Japan Relief Gathering which was hosted by Jimmy Doan and the rest of Team Praxis. I got there at a completely random ass time and I heard a bunch of cars had left, but when I got there with May, it was still pretty busy. I mean, it wasn’t totally crazy or anything but there was a decent turn-out. I was talking to Big Mike when I got there and he mentioned that a raffle had just ended and some people took off. Jimmy did a great job putting this thing together and getting a big variety of cars to show up to show support for Japan. Donations were taken throughout the day, raffle tickets were sold in which the money went to charity and there was generally a good, relaxed vibe. The weather was a little hotter than it has been lately and the sun was beating down, so I didn’t want to get burnt again like I have the last couple of events we have been too. Shout out to the Praxis guys and VIP Modular wheels for putting the event together. On with the pics…
A shot of May with Phaze2 Bert and Dabbie in front of the Dos Chinos food truck. Big Mike, who is pictured, didn’t give a shit about the picture because his food had arrived so he subsequently ignored all attempts to be in the photo…
Big Mike’s Prelude of course, nothing really new with this thing lately other than a repaired oil leak which stopped the vomiting of motor oil all over Rywire’s floor…
The Team Praxis line-up… Above is Linda’s Matrix and below is Jimmy’s FJ Cruiser and the rest of the crew…
What a world of difference air suspension made on this TL…looks really good now…
Tony from It’sJDMYo!!! and Ken Myoshi, the man behind Import Showoff…
Spotted this NSX behind Big Mike that I don’t think I’ve seen before…
Not really sure how I feel about the wheel/brake color combination. I mean, with a white base you can match anything with it pretty much but the blue wheels on the tealish Project Mu brakes just looks a little odd together. Would have been cool if he color-matched the TE37s the same as the brakes but what do I know…even white TEs would be cool, or black,…it would just really make the brakes stand out so much more. If you have Project Mu brakes, you better be sure somebody sees that shit you know…I guess in that case the blue wheels work cuz it makes you look at it but I’m just saying in terms of color flow..eh, again, what do I know…
Hyundai Genesis reppin’ Prestige Marketing…
This was cool to see because DPK David has been talking about doing something to his daily GS300 for awhile now and this is the type of simplistic style that he was aiming for…Has the front add-on lip that he wants and all and even has the same AME wheels as I do so he can see how his GS would look with them on…
Speaking of GS chassis, this one had to have been one of the best builds at the event. Custom red GS built to full track-spec. 2JZ-GTE swap, interior is gutted out, caged, everything…this thing was SICK. Interior is battleship grey too, really nice build…
Engine bay is wire tucked and everything…
I’m a huge fan…
This one was also very well-built. While the red one is built to be a track car, this one is dedicated more towards the aesthetics and VIP-theme with the custom widebody and wheels. I’ve seen this GS before and never even realized it had swap…
So cool to see VIP build with swaps and customized engine bays…
Spotted this 1GS as he was leaving the event. I believe this GS belongs to “CubanGS” on the VIPStylecars forums and it also used to be green…
Phaze2 Noel and Travis…
Here’s a shot of DPK David’s engine bay. You should all be familiar with it by now. He did some minor fender work recently so that his car could go a little lower and not rub when he takes hard turns but the only shot I took of it at the event came out absolutely horrid so I’m not going to post it up…haha…
Clean LS on Leon Hardiritt Ordens…
NSX with what looks to be a VeilSide kit…
Z33 on Eurolines…
Civic hatchback with a Domani front-end conversion…
Acura TL on classic Work Equips…if I had a daily that was a TL, correction, if I could afford a TL to drive around in…this is probably how it would look…maybe without the Equips though. I love Equips and they are one of my favorite wheels of all time but I figure if I could afford a TL, I would be in a lot of debt and couldn’t afford the wheels. Yes, I thought about it thoroughly…
This S13 fastback was nice but every time I look at this picture it fucks with my mind because I can’t figure out why that a-pillar is purple and the rest of the car is grey/silver…
Seen this Celica a couple times, not bad..
Milt’s 350Z on Garson (Deep Racing Ryugi?) wheels…Too many fitments cuz his fender is cracked…
Really liked this TSX…
I was walking around with Rywire Ryan and he was telling me about this Mini truck. He said he peeked through the hood vent and could see it was a K-swap but didn’t get a chance to see it with the front-end of the car off. Cool little build…It even has a S2000 cluster in the dash…Not sure where it’s from or who built the car but it would definitely be cool to get a more indepth look at it…
The hardest working import model in the business…Natalia Marie was out all day at the charity car wash for Big Abe washing all kinds of cars in the sweltering heat and the next day she was at this Japan Relief event handing out NOS drinks and MCing the raffles…
Big Mike putting his front license plate back on his Prelude as we were getting set to leave…
Ms. Natalia reading off some raffle numbers…
Tony and Big Mike talking to DPK David as we were leaving…
That’s about it. After we left we just all headed back to DPK David’s house to hang out for the rest of the day. May and I had to do a oil change on her car but that was really the only thing we had to do. Big Mike and Ryan were over to chill too and we just chilled and ate dinner and what not. You know, the usual stuff…
Thanks for looking and have a good week…more content for you guys this whole week…
