Tag Archive for ‘Mugen’

Plenty of surprises on a trip with Sara Choi and friends…

Plenty of surprises on a trip with Sara Choi and friends…

Over the past year or so, I’ve been joking around with Sara calling her my ‘manager’ because she’s been trying to convince me to go back to Indonesia with her. I went 7 years ago and though it was a fruitful life experience, I can honestly say that I didn’t have the greatest of times. I don’t think I ever made it a secret either. Whenever people asked me if I would go back, I often said I wouldn’t. Not so much because I was treated poorly or anything, I think the people that invited me last time tried the best they could to give me the most positive of an experience. Circumstances just made it difficult for me to fully enjoy it. When Sara Choi decided that she’d start competing in a drift series down in Indonesia, I was all for it. I’m always gonna root for one of my closest friends. She planned to spend a bulk of her time down there to practice and train to be a better driver but there were definitely times when I think she felt homesick and wanted her friends there. She brought it up a couple times and at first, I wasn’t really trying to go. Just because mainly I’m pretty busy as it is with a loaded travel schedule and I had this preconceived notion that I wouldn’t have much of a different experience if I went back. But some time went by and it seemed like Sara was really enjoying herself down there and wanted me to see it for myself so I told her if she wanted to plan it out for me, I’d bring some of our other friends down there too and we’d make a trip of it…
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First night drive…

First night drive…

First night drive down the street was a success. Been busy the last few weeks so the EK9 hasn’t been getting much attention but now that we’re back from Indonesia, Yasu was able to spend some time on the car…

One of the major issues we had with the Civic was when we first acquired it, it was a bare shell which had a fuel tank in it that wasn’t in the greatest condition. That had to be swapped for another cleaner one since it was kind of rusty inside. After we brought the car back from Wekfest Japan, we also noticed the rear main seal was leaking so that also had to be addressed. The car is still running a bit too rich but that’s mainly because the injectors are a bit too big for the B16B when it’s paired with this particular Mugen N1 ECU we are running. After a drive down the street to the local gas station to fill up the new tank, we discovered that VTEC crossover comes at 4,000 RPM which was quite a surprise. The car gets kinda rowdy pretty early in the powerband but eventually we may switch to a different unit, possibly something more modern like a Link ECU. The idea of keeping the Mugen ECU is cool cuz it’s very traditional and goes with the theme of the car but it’s just dumping fuel with the RDX injectors in there…
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The Civic Type R you never knew I had in Japan—and why it’s gone now.

The Civic Type R you never knew I had in Japan—and why it’s gone now.

What if I told you that I’ve had an EK9 Civic Type R this whole time? Would you believe it? And what if I told you that it’s long gone now? Pretty crazy right? Well, it’s true. There’s another thing I have to tell you; it was supposed to be in California a long time ago. It’s a series of events, some rather unfortunate, that lead to the ultimate demise of an EK9 I had tucked away…

…and lead me and my friends on a journey to create another.
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The Holiday Grand Finale…

The Holiday Grand Finale…

Man, it has been a hell of an amazing year. So much traveling, so much car culture to experience and I’ve met/reconnected with a lot of great people! I’ve had some big projects this year and one of the byproducts of working on these projects has been spending time with my friends at Bowls LA. They’ve been plenty busy this year with their own projects, hosting event after event at their space. It’s been a real pleasure seeing Bowls thrive. To close-out the year, we decided to take on one final project. This one is gonna be a special one though, all about giving back to the community with a completely automotive-themed holiday party. While we were planning it all out and decorating Bowls, there were plenty of other events going on as well to keep us occupied…
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A Little Dose of Honda Heaven in Japan…

A Little Dose of Honda Heaven in Japan…

Next-up on my list of “Photos I should have posted a long time ago” is a good one. Last year, I extended my Spring trip to Japan a few extra days just so I could attend the Chan-Oka Honda Meet in Saitama. I didn’t know much about the event at the time other than it was an all-Honda gathering being hosted at a private compound. To me, it sounded like the early beginnings of the Eibach Honda Meet back at home, just on a much smaller scale. After I attended, I realized that was exactly what it was supposed to be. Like it wasn’t supposed to be a Japanese Eibach Honda Meet but more-so a (smaller) Eibach Honda Meet in Japan, if that makes sense. The latter is important because the Hondas that would be exhibiting at the Chan-Oka Meet were catered to those that enjoy Honda tuning in North America. The cars represented there were an homage to the 2000s-2010s era of Honda builds you’d see here at home. To me, that’s probably the best era when it comes to Honda modification and I’m glad so many in Japan seem to agree with. A lot of their inspiration comes from looking through magazines like Honda Tuning and Super Street, which I also did quite a bit of work for, so it made sense for me to attend. I don’t think that I am the end-all and be-all of information when it comes to this particular genre by any means—but I’d like to believe that I am pretty knowledgeable and have enough experience to help them curate this sub-community of Honda enthusiasts…
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Golden-Era Hondas at Kday Chapter 11 in Japan…

Golden-Era Hondas at Kday Chapter 11 in Japan…

Before I go back to Japan in a few weeks, allow me to take you back to Japan to look at some more photos I collected during my last trip. My original plans abroad a couple months ago consisted of just going to Sydney, Australia for the World Time Attack Challenge. It had been a couple years since I had been back in New South Wales and I promised Yasu that I would meet him there. It was his first time and he wanted to see what Australia was like so I agreed to join him. As usual, my schedule was pretty jampacked so I totally forgot to book my flight to Sydney until a week before. I don’t know how many of you have booked international flights before but trying to book them a week before departure is usually a bad idea. Prices skyrocket last minute to target procrastinators like myself and sure enough, I found myself looking at roundtrip flights that were over $2000. On average, if you were to book in a timely fashion like normal humans, a flight to Sydney from Los Angeles would range anywhere from $750 to $1200. Anything over that is pretty outrageous but a promise is a promise, so I wasn’t going to just leave Yasu by himself in a country he had never been to…
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The 2023 Honda Collective hits New York City…

The 2023 Honda Collective hits New York City…

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…
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Back To New York City For The Honda Collective!!…

Back To New York City For The Honda Collective!!…

I had such a good time at the Honda Collective event last year that I made sure to return once again in 2023. My schedule was jam-packed after being in Japan for three weeks but I managed to get home just in time to do laundry and hop back on a plane to New York City. If you’re a Honda enthusiasts, this is the one for you. New York City is such a vibe and seeing these Hondas cruise around town and pop-up in a busy Timesquare is a sight to behold!…
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KDAY!! Is One Of Japan’s Best-Kept Secrets…

KDAY!! Is One Of Japan’s Best-Kept Secrets…

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Takeshi Kobayashi for over a decade now but have never actually been to one of his Kday!! events. It’s an annual car show he does every year and though I’ve been to Japan many, many, times, I’ve just never made my way up to Miyagi Prefecture during Fall. After my trip to Australia, I decided to head to Japan for a few weeks and it just so happened that Kday!! was happening the same month. Yasu had planned to attend with his newly-finished USDM Civic coupe so everything just sort of fell into place. Not only would be be able to present the Civic in its near-final form, I’d finally have the opportunity to experience Takeshi’s labor of love in his hometown…
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The Beasts Of WEKFEST EAST…

The Beasts Of WEKFEST EAST…

I’d say that it’s been a minute but that would be an understatement. Working on that ADVAN collaboration has consumed more of my life than I’d like to admit but when I’m not at home working, I’m literally on the road trying to absorb as much car culture as I can! This marks a big few months for me as I venture off into different parts of the world. My journey starts in the Tri-State area as I fly out to New York to attend the annual Wekfest East event. It’s always interesting going out East to see old friends and meet new ones at the show. Immediately after that, I booked an early flight home because I had to repack my bags before taking a 1:20AM flight to fly across the world to attend the World Time Attack Challenge. Before we get into that though, I take you around the early morning hours of Wekfest in Edison, New Jersey…
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