Tag Archive for ‘Exclusive Content’

The Finale Of My Adventures In Japan…

The Finale Of My Adventures In Japan…

A month and a day in Japan. It’s time for me to go home to Los Angeles. It’s been fun but the summer is coming and Japan is not the place to be during those months. We pick up this final episode right where the last one left-off at the Chan-Oka Honda Meet. There were still many cars to go over and I provide some insight on how I feel about West Coast Honda style/culture being translated to Japanese Honda builds. After the meet, I head to the parking lot to give you guys a look at one of the coolest Mini builds ever before heading over to “Built By Legends”. There, we get an in-depth look at their ongoing Spoon Sports concept EG6 Civic build and try to understand what the whole purpose of the project is for…
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Abandoned Hondas At Real Company And Collecting Rare Parts In Japan…

Abandoned Hondas At Real Company And Collecting Rare Parts In Japan…

As my adventures in the Kansai region of Japan near an end, I find myself in the countryside of the Nara prefecture where I visit Real Company. This Honda modification shop is about as traditional as it gets, playing host to both Civic race cars as well as many more that have been left behind to be reclaimed by nature. It’s always interesting to see what types of gems Yasu and I stumble upon. There are a surprising amount of cars that have been out of service for years, slowly being overtaken by the elements. After that, I take you back to Exceed where I show you some pretty rare parts that both Yasu, myself, and my good friend Cody have been collecting to send back to the good ol’ USA. I came to Japan for many reasons and one of them was to secure products to send home for business as well as personal use.
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Stancenation G Edition Japan Has Some Crazy Good Builds…

Stancenation G Edition Japan Has Some Crazy Good Builds…

Hope you watched the previous episode because this is the second half of our journey documenting Yasu and I bringing the old Phaze2 Integra from California to its (possibly) final major event at Stancenation G Edition Nagoya. I’ve personally never been to this show before but I’ve always heard good things about this event series. There are usually A LOT of cars that participate in this series, with this Nagoya event featuring over 700 cars. Yes, you read that correctly. I went in with no expectations thinking that I’d just take this event as a new experience and I was pleasantly surprised!! I take you guys on a walkthrough of the event while also simultaneously covering all that was happening with the Integra. I don’t know how many Americans have been to this show before or how many have documented it but here is a very rare look at what a Stancenation event is like in Japan. It’s so different than what we have in the U.S. and definitely features way more than just the typical “stance” builds you’d see in North America. Japan just does it different, and more importantly, better. The quality, the details, the quirkiness of Japan…
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Yasu Said It’s Time To Retire The Phaze2 Integra…

Yasu Said It’s Time To Retire The Phaze2 Integra…

It has been quite a journey with the Phaze2 Integra. I watched the car come together, be sold, re-purchased, rebuilt, and sold once again in the span of the last 17 years. Though it has never been my car, I’ve always had a connection with it. I’d say this car is very much a part of my legacy. To this day I think the Super Street cover of this Integra is my favorite cover that I’ve ever shot. When it was sold to Yasu in Osaka, it felt like the perfect home for it. In Japan, it developed its own history. The car was maintained by Yasu for some time, sold to a friend, and returned to Yasu’s ownership. Recently, the car has been in storage and starting to show some age. The motor itself is not doing so well, and some parts on the car could definitely use a refresh, but… there just hasn’t been time. Yasu is super busy these days with other projects but since I was in town for the month and the Stancenation G Edition event was happening nearby, Yasu decided he wanted to pull the car out and make it look fancy again for one final major event…
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A Surprise Appearance At An S2000 Car Meet In Mie Japan!…

A Surprise Appearance At An S2000 Car Meet In Mie Japan!…

The day after Wekfest Japan, we jumped out of bed and into our friend Eishi Suzuki’s Voltex S2000 to attend an all-S2K meet at a parking area in Mie. This was a special occasion because Eishi passed away a couple of years ago and he was once the organizer of this particular meet. His close friend still hosts the meet every year in his honor and Yasu thought it would be a great surprise if we brought his car out for it! I don’t think anyone expected it to be there but everyone was stoked when we pulled-up. The car hasn’t been brought out in public since his passing so it was important that the car be there for the gathering he once hosted…
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Finishing-Up A DC5 Integra For Wekfest Japan…

Finishing-Up A DC5 Integra For Wekfest Japan…

It’s that time of year again for both the Golden Week holiday and Wekfest Japan! Now that things are starting to get back to normal, everyone can get back to building cars and getting them buttoned-up for the Wekfest event in Nagoya! One of the main reasons I came back to Japan finally was to attend the Wekfest event but before that takes place, we spend an entire day wrapping-up a DC5 Integra build that has been in the works now for the past few months. Parts show-up just in time, good fun was had, we met Yasu’s mom, and more!…
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Our Toyota GR86 Gets The Brand NEW APEX’i N1-X Exhaust!!…

Our Toyota GR86 Gets The Brand NEW APEX’i N1-X Exhaust!!…

Didn’t expect to start modifying the GR86 so soon since we are still waiting on so many parts to come in from Japan but this was an offer we couldn’t refuse!! APEX’i recently received their new N1-X Evolution Extreme Muffler system from Japan and provided us with the amazing opportunity to run the first one in North America! As many of you know, we are in the process of building a stateside version of the Exceed Japan demo GR86 and it just so happened that Yasu is also running the same exhaust. I guess you can say this opportunity was a serendipitous one.
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A New Year Means New Goals & NEW PROJECTS!!…

A New Year Means New Goals & NEW PROJECTS!!…

If the title and the click-baity cover photo didn’t give it away, we’re unveiling a new build! I’ve been hinting at a new project car since the year started and I guess I must have spoken it into existence because here we are! We introduce you to our new Exceed-supported Battlecraft demo car and give you some updates on what Ryan Der has been up to with his Civic. A guest with a pretty unique build passes by the shop and more!…
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Spoon Sports and The 25 Hours of Thunderhill… Part 2…

Spoon Sports and The 25 Hours of Thunderhill… Part 2…

Most of the photos that I captured at The 25 Hours of Thunderhill were done before the event even happened. It was important to document everything that led up to the race itself. The actual ’25 hours’ would be spent just watching the car go around and around, and around, the track. There wasn’t much I could capture. Of course there would be the occasional pit-in but those shots are going to look the same after the first few. We weren’t allowed to go into the pit lane area either since the rules of engagement were pretty strict, so I spent most of my time just filming when I couldn’t get photos. I actually loved the way the Vlog episodes came out, though the view counts are down because it isn’t something my audience typically gravitates towards, but it was expected. I have more fun putting the videos together than I do uploading them. It’s always been that way, lol. I could really care less about views or the monetary compensation that comes from an extra revenue stream like YouTube. It’s all about the content creation for me and an event as unique as this is one that I made sure to give 1000% to. The return on investment is the experience itself. I had an amazing time…
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