Thursday, May 31, 2012

ProsPer's IP G35 coupe getting fitted

Tonight's post will be about Chad's Ivory Pearl G35 coupe that he got not too long ago. Chad has been doing a ton of research and searching endless for a set of wheels before getting a set on Varrostoen to rock before he finds that perfect wheel.

1st up on the mod list is a set of Fortune Auto coils. These guys are beefy with 50mm pistons with 30 way dampening adjustments and these bad boys go low. I have personally put Stance Gr+, Function and Form, BC coils on a g35 chassis and these by far are the lowest coils I have seen. I wouldnt doubt that you can lay frame on these coils and still have an inch or so left in the collar.

Photobucket Photobucket To get that right perfect fitment sometime you got to do a little rolling. Here we are rolling the front fenders a little more since they come from the factory pre-rolled. Photobucket
Below is how the car currently sits after a few adjustments on the coils and after getting a few alignments on the car. We wanted to go ahead and snap a few pictures of how she currently sits so that we could have something to compare it to in a few weeks. So stayed tuned to see what's next.

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LowMonroe: Doing It Proper

When Lowmonroe: was founded in September of 2011, Nathan and Stefan were close to being complete with their cars. LowMonroe: was something to give them an identity. They wanted their cars to be known as beautiful and iconic, just like Marilyn Monroe. They had everything almost finished for the IA Fall meet, but not all of the final touches had been made. Determined to have their cars finished by the Spring IA meet, they worked on Nathan's EG Hatch every single Saturday. Due to jobs and schooling, that was their only free day to get any work done. But having done this already for over half a year, they knew how much work could be done each time. Spring IA rolled around, and LowMonroe: was ready. But 4 days before they trekked down to Atlanta, Nathan busted his oil pan. So Stefan fixed Nathan's oil pan and installed an oil pressure gauge on the sedan. Just to be safe, they trailered the EG to IA. When they got back, Stefan made a skid plate for his oil pan, and they haven't had any issues since. Stefan's next worry is his gas tank, hanging just above the oil pan. "When I spark sometimes, people roll up and tell me my car is on fire," Stefan said. "That's when I get scared, because my gas tank is so low, it already has a bunch of scratches on it!"  

At 24 years of age, Stefan Heaberlin has learned numerous things, especially when it comes to Hondas. After spending almost 2 years perfecting his EF sedan, he doesn't want to see his time and effort going to waste. He has a tuck bay with a  SOHC ZC 1.6 swap, Borla exhaust and a Corbeau front seat with a wood grain steering wheel and a Spoon Sport C-pillar bar. Something that surprised me was the fact that most things on his sedan are OEM or DIY replacements. His paint is the OEM Honda white paint, his bumper lights were DIY converted to fog lights, his rear window curtains are DIY, and his glass door knob shift handle is DIY. That super clean bumper, you ask? It's OEM, with a lip from a Volvo 940. But how did it get to be so low? Stefan opted for the Koni Yellows with Ground Control coilovers and extended top hats, paired with an EMUSA rear camber kit. All of that sitting on Diamond Racing Wheels (15x8 +12 front, 0 rear), but word on the street is that Stefan is getting new paint and new wheels soon, so be on the lookout for some fresh wheels. 

Speaking of fresh wheels, Nathan's EG Hatch is rocking some nice Work Meisters S1 (15x8 -12 front, 15x9 -18 rear). Nathan's EG also sticks out due to its Brilliant Audi Red paint. But that's not where the magic happens, it's the things you don't see that make this car one of a kind. The engine bay has been shaved and tucked, blasted with a glorious Kandy Teal from House of Kolor.  Inside is a JDM B18c Type R motor and Mishimoto radiator, put together flawlessly by Stefan and Nathan. To drop the hatch, Nathan used the same Koni Yellows with Ground Control coilovers and extended top hats. The difference comes in the Black Works camber kit that's on the front and the rear, slamming the hatch to the ground. Final touches that make them seem like perfectionists are the clear fender markers from Honda and the Subaru STi front lip. Not many things have been done to the interior, other than a new shifter and a Nardi wheel with NRG quick release. 

While both these cars are, in the words of Stefan, "epically low," don't forget to look up when you get in, to see the very cleanly done headliners in each car. 
With LowMonroe:, it's the little things that make them stand out, but they're developing a look that's becoming iconic.

Words and Shots by Ty Cobb












Check out the video here!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

A Fresh Formula

When I met Brady, he was walking with the guys from WetDetail, selling water and energy drinks to crowds of people at a car show. While business was slow and the temperature and humidity were stifling, he stuck it out. Instead of putting the photo shoot off, we grabbed some waters and drove over to some shade for some quick snaps.

Brady's 2004 Honda S2000 is no stranger to being driven. When he bought it from a friend in 2008, it had close to 60K miles on it. Four years later, and it's pushing 110K miles. A fan of a more aggressive look, Brady opted to drop the car on Buddy Club Racing N+ Coilovers and Enkei NTO3 18x9.5 with a +40 offset and Muteki lug nuts. With the track appearance comes a Shine Auto front bumper, an AP1 rear spoiler, and an AP2 rear bumper with Spoon diffuser. Not one to misrepresent a car, Brady also added some special performance goodies. To make the car pull a little more, he added an AEM V2 Intake, a HKS Hi Power exhaust and an Invidia test pipe. Not a lot in terms of upgrades, but let me tell you, they make a difference. To make it easier to drive, he replaced the stock shift knob with a Buddy Club shift knob.

All the parts come together in a perfect formula: a fresh looking whip with some strong bite under the hood.

Words and Shots by Ty Cobb.











Monday, May 14, 2012

Round 2 Formula Drift Coverage

Round 2 of Formula Drift was my first ever FD event and man was the 2 day event exciting. The day started of with time attacks, practice runs, qualifying and finally a pro am drift event. Below are some of my coverage and words to go along with the pic.

I didn't take pics with any of the FD drivers but did take a pic with Bil Baldwin. This guy is crazy and know as Bil Baldwon - Beard of Courage. If you haven't seen his vid search for him on youtube Photobucket I usually don't like Zenki's but man this was clean. Seen this guy as we was walking back to the main event Photobucket Chelsea Denofa and his M3. This guy was ripping up the course and bouncing off the rev limiter in his M3 Photobucket Of course I had to post up a pic of 2011 FD champ Dai Yoshihara. I became a fan of Dai after watching his Behind the Smoke youtube series. Pretty cool behind the scene vids of drifting. Photobucket Had to post a pic of Kenny Moen in his 350z. This guy is still using VQ power! Photobucket Chelsea smoking it up while Vaughn Gittin JR follows closely. Photobucket Ryan Tuerck and Dai battling. Ryan's s13 was unique to me, didn't look like all the other FD cars but looked like regular wknd drifter to me for some reason. Photobucket Not sure who is driving the s15 but I'm becoming a fan of Chris Forsberg. Not just because he drives a 370z but cause he was signing autographs and didn't have his car roped off. This run was after he broke something in his suspension earlier and fixed it within 5 minutes, pretty impressive I think. Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Here we are at the horse shoe, surprising this was the only open trunk drifting. Photobucket Darren McNamara and Vaugh Gitting coming out of the horse shoe. Love the way the z looks. Photobucket Prior to the main event, luckily I know one of the FD drivers and he was able to get us into the spot. Photobucket Joon Maeng and his 3 rotor Rx8. This guy had some crazy entries. Photobucket Matt Powers that drives the Need for Speed s14 Photobucket And finally a raw Vid.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Keeping it plain and simple


Does this car looks familiar to you? If you live around central SD, I'm pretty sure you've seen this car around. I spot this car in a weekly basis and seeing all the changes that this beauty had gone through makes it more interesting.
From painted hub caps to his current set up, you can really see the major changes that Michael did to his car. He is currently sitting on XXR 521's on 16x8 +20 offset  with 205/40/16 achilles tires and raceland coilovers to give that clean drop.
When I first saw this at the "V", Michael used to have a Mugen replica lip on his car but that was way back then. Now, if you are a 7th gen fan, You got to give him a credit for owning an HFP front lip and skirts. It took him awhile to find one but hey, good things come to  those who wait so chill while he's in the hunt for his HFP rear lip.
Isn't that clean? OEM window visors, sidemarkers and DIY black headlight housing are just some of his exterior mods.
If you see this guy around, give him a thumbs up! Compliment him for having a such clean car. Thanks for viewing and much love!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Simple does it.



What you see here is my boy Eric’s 2010 mk6 GTI. Nothing outrageously flashy or overly done, just a simple and clean functional Volkswagen.

I almost didn’t get a chance to shoot Eric’s car today due to all the rain but we decided to shoot regardless. Luckily it was only sprinkling when we got to our spot. As I snapped my first couple pics, Eric filled me in on some of the stuff he’s done to his car. He originally planned on leaving the car stock but lets not kid ourselves here, the temptation to mod is too great. The first thing Eric did to the GTI was add a custom 3 inch exhaust. Next on the list was an APR intake and APR stage 1 tune done by Wolfsburg Auto. With a few tasteful mods done to the GTI, Eric decided on 18x8.5 +40 Privat Akzents and FK Street Coilovers. I asked him of his future plans for the car and he just smiled and told me about some new wheels he plans on cleaning up and throwing on. Can’t wait to see what else is in store for Eric and his GTI.

Words and Snaps by Tim Acang.

*Click on the pictures for a high res jpeg*