Stance Is Everything…. It's all about how it sits

Last year was my first Honda Tech event and I was blown away by the quality  of cars that were there. For a long time Honda’s were not the cleanest cars around so it was really refreshing to see so many nice ones in one area along with all of the other clean cars that came out.

Because of my move the previous day my time at the show was short and sweet and while I didn’t show up during it’s peak but I was still able to get a lot of shots of the action and, thankfully, the time I showed up it had cooled down slightly as it was a scorcher.

Random Stuff

Last year I saw a girl manhandling a hog and this year I saw a bike burnout.

Non Honda

Like any good car show Honda Tech draws out all car owners.

Acura’s

For the Acuras this is just easier than breaking it up by body style

Civics

Last year I broke it up by generation but this year I am just doing it by name.

S2000′s

The S2000 scene in the GTA seems to be expanding rapidly

Sunday August 22nd 2010 was a busy day for the GTA automotive community. Three events took place simultaneously (Vagkraft, Meeting of The Mazdas, and CSCS:Xtreme Tuner Challenege) and depending on your location you were anywhere from damp to soaked as the weather didn’t want any of these things to happen.

Thankfully in Cayuga at CSCS the weather actually wasn’t too bad for most of the day, a little damp at times but for the most part dry and great for photos.

I managed to take quite a few pictures so I’ve broken up the coverage into multiple parts, today’s coverage is of the off track action.

Transformer II

I am a BIG Transformers (Generation 1 & 2) fan but this truck was a bit much for even me. Team H.V. put a lot of time into this truck (Avalanche?) but it was just way over the top.

Subaru

This is the first time I have seen this Trial wide body Subaru in track trim and I’ll tell ya it looked good out on there on the track.

Euros

With Vagkraft going on at Downsview park a lot of the European crowd was over there ,but a few came out to enjoy the drier weather at CSCS

Chevy’s and Minis

Bowtie owners always bring the goods.

Nextmod

As usual Nextmod rolled pretty deep both in the Show and Shine and the time attack/lapping events

Drifters

When not on the track I manged to snap a few shots of these well used Nissans

Honda’s and Acuras

Just a preview of some of the cars that will probably be at Honda-Tech 7 next weekend, hopefully I can sneak out and get a few pics after the move.

That’s it for today, check back Wednesday (or maybe Thursday) for photos of the on track action with some guest shots from my girlfriend.

If you are anything like myself you spend a lot of time browsing automotive blogs and forums. During these travels you have probably, recently, come across photos of a white Amuse kitted s2000, a red s2000 on gold works, and an Import Expo branded Acura NSX.

If  you look  closely at those photos you will notice that they all share a  similar water mark, and or photo credit: ‘Dougboy 2010‘.

Dougboy (not Doughboy) is the alias of self taught GTA based automotive photographer Edwin Tan and today’s featured photographer.

When I asked Edwin to share a little bit about himself he was quick to emphasize one thing. He is, and always will be, an automotive enthusiast and like many enthusiasts photography was just a natural progression of his passion for automobiles.

Picking up a camera two years ago Edwin honed his craft by reading a variety of online photography forums, speaking with other local photographers, and most importantly by snapping as many photographs as he possibly could.

During this two year span Edwin has shot  variety of different subjects including: events, retail products, and food for small design firm called F.C.D.

Edwin is a Nikon shooter always experimenting with different styles and techniques and often incorporates strobes and rigs into his shoots.

The quality of his work has made him the go to guy for a number of JDM enthusiasts in the area, as well as the official photographer for Option JDM.

Edwin is looking forward to expanding the variety of cars he shoots by offering his talents to the exotic crowd in the near future.

Ultimately Edwin would like to have the name ‘Dougboy‘ paired with clean cars and clean photography. I would say that he is already off to a great start.

Here is a snippet of Edwin’s work behind the glass:

If you want to see more of Edwin’s automotive work check out dougboy.smugmug.com/automotive

Nextmod’s one year anniversary BBQ went off without a hitch yesterday, even though the weather threatened like it was going to pour for most of the event.

Nextmods customer base speaks to the type of service they provide as the amount of quality cars that rolled through really rivaled some of the full blown car shows this year.

Shout out to Peter and the crew for organizing the event and keeping us all fed and hydrated for free!

Today’s coverage includes: random stuff, Mazda, Subaru, Hyundai,  Toyota, and Honda/Acuras. Check back tomorrow for Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Lexus and Infiniti rides.

Random stuff

I think last years Nextmod meet was the reason I started taking pictures of random stuff to begin with.

So wandering around we saw this place that had ‘Pure Natural Chinese Herbal Medicine Steam Cabins’ I dunno what the heck these things did (compact sauna?) but we all had a good laugh about how odd it all seemed.

If you are curious about what they are they have a website which sort of explains things.

Subarus, Hyundais,Toyotas, and Kias

Hondas and Acuras

Check back tomorrow for the rest of the coverage!

After last weeks Theme Tuesday on muscle cars I was in the mood to check some out in person once again so I made my way out to the local Street Classics cruise in on Saturday Night.

Unfortunately soon after I arrived it started to rail lightly which put a quick end to things, but, I was able to fire off some shots and get something for WTF Friday.

I also meet a real down to earth s-10 owner in the process, good times.

Ford GT

Clarkson’s GT turned out to be lemon and he had to return it right? This one seems to be doing better.

Oddballs

Unique cars that caught my attention for one reason or another.

Lead Kings

No matter how dangerous and unhealthy it is working with lead is still and art form as much as these Lead Sleds are.

Muscle and Classics

Got to see what I set out to see.

Day & Nite

I’m ending today’s coverage with this s10. The owner, James, and myself talked for quite awhile in the light rain about trucks (remember I had an s10 Blazer), shows, clubs and just automobiles in general and it’s always nice to come across someone who just loves cars and shows as much as yourself and doesn’t hold any of the ego that is often associated with the various scenes.

James has put a lot of work in this truck, which is the first vehicle he ever owned, and talking with him I could tell that he did it for himself first, real enthusiasts second, and show recognition a distant third.

I look forward to seeing James and his truck at other events around the GTA.

Hopefully I can make it out to one or two more of these before summers all said and done.

Just the other day @gebyz hit me up with this picture on twitter. After taking a look at it I quickly remembered that I had actually posted a picture of his car before, an RX-7 as sick as this is not easy to forget.

Geby, who hails from the same area of BC as the Drift Union guys, has done a great job putting together one serious looking and performing RX-7.

Upon first glance it’s easy to see that this car has got it’s stance on point.

The height of this RX-7 is care of Tien Type Flex coil overs (with EDFC) but it’s on rails, corner eating handling is a combination of the aforementioned pieces along with Racing Beat front and rear sway bars (with accompanying Re-Amemiya Sway Bar mounts), Re-Amemiya reinforcement bars and R1 Front strut bar.

The 25mm Shine Auto Feed Replica over fenders are filled to capacity with 18×9.5 (et +12 and +0) Rota Grids with 245/40′s up front and big ol 275/35′s out back.

The result is an aggressive looking ‘functional flush’ stance that allows the rest of Geby’s mods to be used to their full capacity, as every aspect of this car has been worked over in one way or another.

Some of the easier to notice mods on this car include the genuine Fujita Engineering AFFLUX Front Bumper (Version 2 Type R) with attached Shine Auto Feed replica carbon fiber canards, canards which are just the beginning of his CF exterior parts which also include a Shine Auto Feed replica under tray, works replica rear carbon diffuser, and Re Amemiya CF Taillight covers.

Some of the mods that can’t be spotted by viewing the exterior include the entirely rebuilt 13B-REW, and updated and modified interior.

Geby’s full mods list is below and I am going to let the pictures by Cole Chalmers do the rest of the talking.

Performance:
Rebuilt 13B-REW – Extended Street Port
2MM Rotary Aviation Apex Seals
Blitz Sequential Boost Controller I-Color w/ Fuel Pressure Sensor
PLX DM-100 OLED Gauge w/ EGT and Wideband Sensors
Forcefed’s Sekret Sauce Mega Turbo
Turbo Blanket
T4 SS Manifold
44MM Wastegate TIAL
50MM Blow-off Valve TIAL
HKS Twin Power Ignition and Harness
Megan Racing Midpipe
Racing Beat Resonator
Kaaz 2 Way L.S.D
Custom Charles7 Coil Pack Relocation W/ Upgraded MSD 8.5mm Wires.
Exedy Twin Plate Carbon Clutch
Fresh JDM 5spd Transmission
3′ RX-7 Store Downpipe
Apex’i N1 Exhaust
4’ Thick – Trust/Greddy 3Row Intercooler W/ Greddy Compression Elbow
Fluidyne W/ Stock Electric Fans
Billion Silicone Coolant Hoses
AST Removal Mod
Feed 1.2 Bar Rad Cap.
KG Parts Primary Fuel Rail
KG Parts Secondary Fuel Rail
850cc Injectors x2 (Primary)
1680cc injectors x2 (Secondary)
Aeromotive FPR
Greddy Airpump Delete Pulley Set
Battery Relocated To Hatch
Greddy Oil Catch Can
2x Walboro 255lph Fuel Pumps
Microtech LT8s Standalone/Fuel Management
Custom Starburst Powder Coating.
Dual R1 Oil Coolers w/ SS Braided Lines

Suspension, Rims and Rubber:
Tien EDFC
Tien Type Flex Coilovers
Re-Amemiya SwayBar Mounts/Reinforcement Bar
Racing Beat Front Sway Bar
Racing Beat Rear Sway bar
R1 Front RX-7 Strut Bar
Hawk HP+ Pads Front and Rear
Custom Reinforced and Cryogenically treated PPF
Solid Polyurethane Engine Mounts
Attain Urethane Differential Bushings

Rota Grids:
FRONT: 18×9.5 +12
REAR: 18×9.5 +0
Kuhmo Ectsa XS
FRONT: 245/40/18
REAR: 275/35/18
Rays Duralunium Lug Nuts.

Interior:
JDM Trust/Grex/Greddy Shift Knob
RE-Amemiya Wet Carbon Scuff Plates
M2 Racing Roll/Harness Bar
Greddy Turbo Timer
Mostly all new 93 Interior Plastics
Fly RX-7 Custom Quad 60mm Gauge Pod
JDM Arm Rest
Defi BF Link Gauges (Amber): Boost, Water Temp, Oil Temp and Oil Pres.
Keys Racing Steering Wheel (Buckskin)
Pioneer Touchscreen DVD Player
Stock Bose Speakers and Sub

Exterior:
Genuine Fujita Engineering (FEED) AFFLUX Front Bumper Version 2 Type R
Shine Auto Feed Replica Front and Rear 25mm Overfenders
OEM 1999 Bumper Lights
Shine Auto Feed Replica Carbon Canards
Shine Auto Front Carbon Undertray
Shine Auto Feed Replica FRP Sideskirts
Re Amemiya CF Taillight Cover
10,000k McCulloch HID Driving Lights (Rice!)
Shine Auto Sanai works Replica Rear Carbon Diffuser
Feed Front and Rear Tow Hooks

Thanks Geby for sending in pics and lots of info about your ride.

It’s no secret that I am a big fan of the caliber of cars California produces. I would guess that a good 80% of the cars I see from California I like, and, today’s two featured e36s are no different.

Bryan’s ti and his friend Marc’s coupe are perfect examples of my favorite type of automotive styling.

Clean and slammed, with just enough of a personal touch to make them unique.

Bryan’s Ti

Before getting his e36ti Bryan was just about to leave the BMW scene for good and go back to his first love, Honda’s.

However when a too good to be true craigslist e36 ti popped up nearby Bryan felt compelled to go take a look.

Things started to look grim for this cars future when it overheated 3 times on the way to his mechanics for an inspection.

After learning the extent of the work that needed to be done to this car Bryan talked the owner into dropping the price from $1200 to $700 and the rest, as they say, was history.

After getting the pesky maintenance work (brake and cooling system over hauls) out of the way Bryan corrected his ti’s laughable stock stance with Rokkor coil overs which brought his car down so that it’s stance complemented his bright green BBS wheels.

Wheels which he finally settled on after an astonishing 10 sets previous.

After the suspension was dropped Bryan ditched the bland e36 factory bumper in favor of  the M3 version, and  in a final effort to drop as many jaws as possible both coming and going Bryan added an LTW spoiler to the rear.

Performance wise Bryan’s hatch has a Dinan short ram intake and n1style exhaust.

Bryan was going for a final look that reflected his unique personality and the pride he takes in his vehicles, judging by the finished product it looks like he succeeded on all counts.

The car looks great and it’s sure not to be one that many people are soon to forget.

Bryan didn’t do this all alone however and would like to thank: Terry Keith at Star Tech Foreign auto repair in Rowland Heights, Ted at Turbo Teds in Costa Mesa, Ayed at H&H Valley Autobody, Joe at Euro Dyne, The West Coast Euro’s crew and his girlfriend Lorena for making this all possible and pushing him to succeed.

Marc’s 328i

Like girls hot cars roll in packs and the other half of today’s e36 double feature showcases what Bryan’s friend Marc has been able accomplish with his e36 coupe in just 7 months.

Obtaining a solid base chassis to work with Marc quickly got to work making the car both look and perform far better than how it came from the factory.

Like many e36 owners Marc knew that BMW hit the mark with the design of the m3 and styled his 328i after it by adding a DDM M3 front bumper, an m3 styled rear diffuser, and finally M3 side skirts and mirrors.

Marc also added DDM Motorsport door moldings, DJ auto euro ellipsoids (with 6000k HIDs), euro side markers, clear fogs and corners and French style fog lights.

Once all that wrenching was complete on the outside Marc turned inside replacing his factory headliner with the m3 version, adding carbon fiber trim and last but not least replacing his factory seats with a set dove gray vaders.

In the performance department Mark added a Dinan front strut brace and cold air intake, m3 x brace, DTM exhaust, and UCC stainless steel brake lines.

Once everything else was complete Mark threw the icing on the cake by adding a set of BC Racing BR Type coil overs alongside a set of immaculate looking German imported 17×8.5 (et13) and 17×9.5 (et21) AC Schnitzer type 1 wheels.

Both of these cars look amazing and you won’t see my picking a favorite anytime soon but I do want to thank both of them for sending in the photos and information which allowed me to feature their cars here on Stance Is Everything.
Thanks guys.

Last year I went to Scrape By The Lake for the first time and had a blast. Scrape is one of the most unique car shows in all of Ontario and while it’s mainly a low rider show there are classes and cars for everyone’s tastes.

This year they invited me back with media pass based on my coverage from last year which I was able to get inside the hop pit and get close to the action.

Part 1 of the coverage contains pictures of the traditional Low Lows and bikes along with the hop contest photos.

Lowrider Bicycles

The low rider scene is all about detail and this is even evident in the bicycles they build, serious time put into these two wheeled cruisers.

Traditional Lows

Even if Lowrider’s are not your thing you have to respect the history and culture behind them, as well as the beautiful craftsmanship.

These guys are some of the true originators of getting low.

Hop Contest

While the rest of the show is great the hop contest is the real reason I booked it from the cottage early Sunday morning, I was probably on the road at least 6 hours that day and it was totally worth it.

If low riders are not your thing check back this evening for the Truck Coverage, and Thursday for Muscle/Import/Classic coverage and the bikini Contest Coverage.

This past Sunday Stretch & Poke hosted their second event, ‘Hard Parked’ at Humber Bay Park East in Toronto. The turnout for this event was smaller than the last but the cars that did show up were of top notch quality and sometimes a smaller group is better than a larger group when you are hanging out on a Sunday afternoon.

While I was unable to attend Mike Branco, (the Division R member with the Mazda RX-8 on works)  did and was kind enough to give me permission to reproduce his photos here, so without further adieu here is ‘Hard Parked’ through the lens of Mike.

Big thanks to Mike for the photos and Stretch & Poke for putting on the event, hopefully I will be able to make it to the next one.

Division R has been making a lot of moves here on Stance Is Everything lately and today brings another member from their crew, Matt, with his dumped Toyota Matrix.

Spotting a well done Matrix in the GTA is on par with spotting a unicorn, as a lot of them end up in the hands of people who either rice them out or wait for them to die as daily drivers.

Thankfully Matt saved his from both fates and has put his ‘trix to work skimming the top of speed bumps all over the GTA.

Matt’s Tein suspension setup currently puts his cross member at mere 1.437 inches from the floor which means that not very much makes it under his car.

Matt’s car isn’t only good at collecting fleck’s of yellow paint in it’s under carriage however as he has also gone 4/4 in show appearances this year collecting 3 lowest car awards and 1 best Toyota award.

If Matt’s ride height isn’t enough to get your attention as he drives by his very robust sound system setup comprised of Clarion, Infinity, JVC, and Rockford Fosgate equipment most likely will as it’s been verified to hit a very respectable 136.7 DB.

Matt’s looking at building a new motor with the crew at Monkey Wrench Racing in New York in the near future and further expanding his I.CE. setup to include a full fiberglass trunk and game console.

Here are a few pics more of Matt’s ride and for more info be sure to check out his in-depth feature over on The Scraped Crusaders and the poll in which he is involved in where he is trying to attain the undisputed crown of the worlds lowest Matrix.

Additionally Matt sent through this video of him at Drop-tec getting his ride height verified, check it out.

Thanks for sending your info in Matt and good luck with the title.