The Honda Collective is fast becoming one of the events I look forward to annually. I missed the first one but have had the pleasure of going to the second, and now, the third. It’s not one of those events that people organize to make money or to spread any type of message, it’s literally just a reason for Honda enthusiasts to gather. People who love Hondas from all over the Tri-State area meet-up at a park in New Jersey, then head over to New York to multiple spots to chill and get photos. It’s as simple as that. I think the event itself is getting bigger now though, with more people coming from as far as the Midwest to come experience the Honda Collective. I don’t know if I have anything to do with its growth but if so, I’m overjoyed that people want to be involved with it. It’s truly a really fun, wholesome event. A lot of the guys who organized this event are already pretty good friends but the cool thing about it is that they’re not really trying to gatekeep or make it a clique-y type of thing. Other enthusiasts who they respect and know have nice builds are also welcomed in with open arms. This year’s was probably the biggest yet and it looks to have a very positive trajectory as long as we keep things the way they are…

Originally there was supposed to be two events happening that weekend. The first was a “Grassroots” event hosted by Prime where they hosted builds on this massive golf course and the following day would be the Honda Collective. For me, that was perfect because I could make a quick weekend trip and get as much content as I possibly could. The Grassroots event sounded really cool too and very different than what would be happening the day after. I planned out my journey where I’d fly in Friday night, go to the Grassroots shindig, and my girlfriend Nana would fly-out Sunday morning in time for both of us to see all the Honda things in NYC. What none of us expected was this crazy storm to hit Friday morning. The downpour was so bad that it actually made national news. Streets were flooded, subway stations were stopped to a halt because of the flooding, and it didn’t look very promising for anything to happen that weekend. The plot of land where the Grassroots event was set to happen was literally on grass so the rain made everything so muddy that the cars would probably just sink into the wet grass. When I landed late Friday I found out that they had cancelled the Saturday event and was left with nothing to do. Luckily, a couple of the guys from SSB crew were heading to a car meet that was happening in a different, dry, part of New York and I was able to spend the day just chillin’ with those guys. I didn’t get any photos or video from that because I was just trying to have a good time so all my batteries were charged-up for Sunday…

(As a side note, if you guys want 16×20 prints of any of these photos, I’m making it a possibility for the month of December! Head over to the storefront to purchase a custom 16×20 of any of these photos!…)

I didn’t get any photos from the first meet-up spot either so our Sunday morning starts here with Raff Rivera and his ITR as we all cruised over to the city…

Marvin Ma’s S2000 is always a highlight for me every time I go East…

The parts selection and overall execution is so good. ASM front, ASM hood, Amuse Legalo Face fenders, Regamaster EVOs, and so much more…

Marvin’s S2000 is also a great example of how ride height and wheel fitment are so key to executing proper flow…

Being that I live in a pretty huge state, I had no idea what the scale of New York was until I found out that Chris Burkhart made the 5-hour drive down from another part of New York just for the meet-up. You’d think from glancing at the map that everything was like 2-hours away in New York but evidently, it’s not…

There definitely wasn’t a shortage of Phoenix Yellow DC2Rs on this particular weekend…

Pretty cool to see a duo like this just cruising the highway on a Sunday morning…

Zach’s got practically every Honda Access component you can imagine for this particular chassis. He pulls everything off in such a unique way keeping a very period-correct style with the 3-spoke wheels and all…

Red DC2 Integra with a Spoon Sports front lip, J’s Racing fenders, Voltex wing, Volk TE37 wheels, and what looks to be a paint-matched First Molding hood…

Dellon’s Civic started out as a pretty rough red shell when he first acquired it 4-years ago but you’d never know it seeing how it appears now in green with a First Molding front lip, C-West sides, carbon hood, Tracklife fenders, and bronze CEs…

Shyam was able to get the day off so he blessed us with an appearance in his Mugen DC2 Type R…

After a quick drive we were able to make it over to Harlem for one of the more scenic stops of the Honda Collective. Here the whole area looks really gritty and the sun just hits a certain way and makes all the Hondas extra vibey…

Seeing this thing pull-up made me instantly fall in love with the FL5 Type R. It sat perfectly on Mugen MF10 wheels with meaty Yokohama Advan rubber…

John doesn’t really build Hondas anymore but he’ll always be a Honda guy at heart so he stopped by in his Cup-inspired 991. DPK David also happened to be in-town that weekend so he actually rode along with John before heading to the airport to fly back home…

The Mode Parfume front face on Micah Hatchett’s Civic. He’s actually not even from this area at all and made the drive all the way from Indiana just for this gathering…

Raff’s Type R with a P1 front lip, Ganador mirrors, Mugen Gen. 1 wing, and custom vented front fenders…

John’s got no time for Hondas now because he’s too busy having two wives apparently…

(Look at the license plate…)

Ray Delgado’s Spoon Sports Version 2-face AP2 S2000 with matching Spoon mirrors and a set of Work Meister S1 2-piece wheels…

In the rear he has a chopped rear bumper paired with a Top1 Motors rear diffuser, Car Shop Glow taillights and a paint-matched Seibon CR-style carbon wing mounted to APR stands…

Tony Salcedo arrived in Harlem shortly after we got there in his VSM EK9 Civic Type R with Mugen SS front lip and MF10 wheels…

I never really vibed with the A-Spec Integras but these Type-S versions are definitely growing on me, especially after I had the opportunity to drive one around for an evening…

Everyone was all smiles that early afternoon as many more Hondas arrived…

Even Ferdi Rivera decided to make the drive to Harlem in his recently refinished JDM DC2 Type R with full Mugen aero…

Burkhart’s EK9-converted front face and Mugen SS lip…

While imported Honda Actys may appear cool, they’re often better served as display pieces than to drive on U.S. roads, being that they’re not very safe when compared to the size and speeds of our highways…

Rudi Qyu’s Spoon-themed EP3 Civic hatchback which recently saw some TODA Racing upgrades under the carbon hood…

A better angle of Ferdi’s Type R without him cheesing in the background…

Brian Cardoza got himself a Zenki VSM EK9 Type R which he has chosen to execute in homage to Spoon Sports…

Shyam took his rare FEEL’S rear wing off on this occasion and switched back to the traditional Mugen Gen. 2…

A trio of NSXs gathered together to experience the grit and grime of Harlem, New York…

Ferdi with the Mugen Gen. 1 and matching Mugen M7 wheels…

Brian maneuvering about to find the best angle for photos…

Many tried to squeeze in so that they could get their photo under the bridge…

Chris got situated in his spot and was fortunate enough to be left undisturbed as photographers shot away…

Shortly after I captured those photos, the cops showed-up to ask us to leave after the car wash guy who was near the area complained. Luckily we were done with that spot anyways so we hopped into our respective vehicles and set off to our final destination in the Meatpacking District…

On our way there I was able to get a few quick photos of Micah Hatchett’s silver EK representing Team NSU…

George Gomez’s Championship White-painted NA2 NSX on white Desmond Regamaster EVOs, rocking a JP Aero front lip, Spoon Sports mirrors in Berlina Black, and a customized Downforce NSX-R wing. “Customized” in that its not only painted NH0 to match the body but there’s also been a Rocket Bunny gurney flap integrated into it for a more one-off look…

Another of Raff’s DC2. The front fender is possible by using the back-half of a fiberglass JDM DC2 fender combined with the front-half of a USDM fender…

Willy’s EK4 SiR Civic running a 17×9-inch Volk CE wheel up front to match the larger proportions of the JBlood front bumper and Across FRP front wide fenders…

If you were to ask me what my absolute favorite build was whenever I go out East, I’d have to say that it was Tony’s Civic Type R. There are a lot of great Hondas out East of course, this one just suits my personal preferences the most. After hanging out in Japan, I’ve come to appreciate the Vogue Silver Metallic Rs more because they’re not as commonly seen. I’ve legitimately seen more in the U.S. than I have in Japan. Correction, in all my years of going to Japan. And I’m around a lot of Hondas, lol. I’m convinced that most of them have been imported to North America already…

Tony’s stands-out to me because I enjoy the parts selection and how everything is put together. As I always say, flow is key in a build. More often than not, enthusiasts just throw money at parts but don’t know how to put it together. This guy gets it. Some of you might be thinking, “Well, it’s just a EK hatch with a front lip and Mugen wheels. What’s so special about it?” If you were to look in a history book years from now and look for what a perfect example of a Civic Type R was in this era, you would probably find a photo of this EK9. It’s timeless. Simplicity doesn’t ask for attention…

Recently he’s even gone and redone much of his B16B engine set-up, adding TODA Racing individual throttle bodies as well…

Once we were done at the Meatpacking District, most people departed and only a small group of us remained to go enjoy lunch together. The guys are used to New York City so they all took their cars and decided to park in whatever space was available, whether it was a real parking spot or not. Some said it would be fine, they weren’t worried about being ticketed, and some had the mindset that parking is expensive anywhere in the city anyway. So if they were to get a ticket, it’d probably cost about the same amount as parking. Sure enough, pretty much everyone got a parking ticket that day, lol…

Maybe these photos will make them feel better about parking in a very scenic, but also very pricey, spot…

There’s just something so cool about seeing modded Hondas in an environment like this. It’s not something you see very often since the City isn’t exactly the most lowered car-friendly…

Even though they technically live in New York, guys like Chris Burkhart probably rarely ever make the trek into this bustling part of town…

Tim Grace has been enjoying his new DC2 project which he acquired from his friend Luis. The car basically came as-is so he’ll be looking to make changes to it to fully make it his own…

Again, how often would you see this view with an ITR just parked on the street like this?…

Chris Panchoo was my ride most of the weekend, as he picked me up for some more automotive activities the day prior. He gave me a rundown of what its like living in NYC and what his day-to-day life is like. It was nice to have opportunities to get to know these guys more because usually I’m just running around at Wekfest and barely get a chance to chat…

Hood-less in New York City? Apparently totally okay but also not okay. Imagine you’re just in the city grabbing lunch and you walk outside to see an exposed K-series engine bay in East Village….

I didn’t really like how the shot previously looked with the scooter in the way so I shot a couple more to get the ones I wanted…

Originally, the plan wasn’t to go to Times Square again. There was just too much traffic the last time we attempted it a year ago and it didn’t look like it was going to be any different this time. After lunch, none of us really had any plans though and with a smaller group, I told the guys I wanted to give it a shot and if it was too hectic, we could all just disperse. Everyone seemed to be down for it so they all grabbed their parking tickets off their wipers, hopped in their cars and we were off….

We didn’t stay very long at all, since it was actually super crowded, but we found a spot to wait at and whenever the guys would pull-up, we would get some photos and then they’d circle back a few more times…

For me, shooting in Times Square is one of the highlights because I don’t get very many opportunities to do it, being from California, and it creates such a unique backdrop. It’s so well-lit all around that the photos always come out super crispy…

The easiest subject to shoot in these instances is always the white cars. Light bounces off of them perfectly and the car essentially lights itself…

The taxi drivers definitely weren’t very stoked about us being there but it’s New York, when are taxi drivers ever happy?…

We cycled groups in and out right where the ball drops during New Years Eve and police would even randomly stop cars to control traffic flow which helped us even more…

There were times when we had opportunities to get so many uninterrupted photos before crowds would cross the intersection and stop to get their own photos…

We somehow maneuvered it where we could have sets of all Integras…

…as well as a trio of Civics…

The hardest to capture was this black AP2 but I just had to wait until the right ad hit the massive screen behind me to give me the right lighting to get the shot…

There’s something particularly menacing about a murdered-out S2000 in this vibrant surrounding…

This is one of the instances when the police behind us stopped cars or redirected them to adjust traffic flow. It’s almost as if they were helping us out and setting the shot for us…

We thought we’d get in trouble but they didn’t even try to interrupt us. They either understood the assignment or we were quick enough where they knew we wouldn’t be too much of a distraction…

Eventually we even had the guys come the other direction to get some more dynamic photos…

These shots of Raff’s DC2 definitely gave me some Midnight Club vibes…

Now we can check-off ‘drive hood-less through Times Square’ on our list of achievements…

This pair of FL5 Civic Type Rs was a sight to behold…

Edwin from Prime was next to me getting his own photos the whole time and also driving us around for the day. Huge thanks to him for organizing all of this…

After our little Times Square cruise, we all linked-up down the street for a chat and to say goodbye before we parted ways…

Sometimes the photos take themselves and everything just kinda falls into place…

One final group photo…

…and a parting shot of Kenny Bascon’s Civic Type R…

That’s all for this one. Still trying to get more backlogged content up so check back for more updates until I leave to Japan in a month!…