More from 3SDM

By

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Sep 5, 2012

The timing of the guys over at 3SDM is impeccable, they somehow always send over new applications of their wheels when I am just that little bit behind with event coverage and don’t have the time to go searching for new content.

These photos came in on Monday and showcase three cars on their 0.05 wheels.

Seeing 3SDM wheels on Euros is nothing new but it’s a bit of a switch to see them on Subaru.

Last time I said I wasn’t sure if they had a US distrubtor but now their wheels are available through Forge Motorsport.

Canadian distributor soon perhaps?

Theme Tuesdays: One Brands Trash Pt. 2

By

DaveT

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Sep 4, 2012

0

OEM wheel swapping seems to be growing in popularity and creativity as the years go by.

A few years ago the go to wheel to put on pretty well everything was the Corvette ‘Sawblade’, and while a lot of people are still going that route, I’ve seen plenty of other manufacturers give up their wheels to a variety of different platforms.

Here are a few more examples of people making use of another company’s stock alloys.

onebrandstrash1 — Might as well start off with a sawblade for good measure

onebrandstrash11 — Actually look pretty decent here

vwporsche — Twists on a dub isn’t exactly a new thing but I’ve never seen them on this model

rover — Rover wheels where they never expected to be

onebrandstrash5 — Fair to say these Jeep wheels didn’t expect to be here either

onebrandstrash15 — I can’t imagine Bentley wheels being much cheaper than a set of aftermarket wheels

onebrandstrash4 — X5 wheels seem to be making their rounds

From Importfest, more X5 wheels, these wheels are pretty damn big too 19×9 and 19×10

spencer — Another creative combo from So Fresh Automotive

onebrandstrash6 — Maserati wheels look right at home on this

onebrandstrash7 — Fat Fives on a TI, something I never thought I’d see. Also plate win.

onebrandstrash8 — More used to seeing Escalade wheels on these

onebrandstrash10_pug_x5 — Peugeot on X’s

onebrandstrash12 — This would look a lot better lower but Infiniti wheels look great on this Maxima

Always really loved this combo on this car

onebrandstrash13 — BMW wheels just won’t stay where they came from

zach — Zach’s car is actually currently for sale if anyone is interested

onebrandstrash14 — I’ve heard conflicting things about the safety of running BMW wheels without adapters on s10s

Stance Is Everything at Importfest 2012

By

DaveT

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Sep 3, 2012

6

To me the most important thing about being a part of Importfest this year was bringing together a group of cars that not only looked good but also represented the audience this site is aimed at.

Looking back I think the 4 vehicles (plus mine) that came out did a perfect job of that.

Parked together Blair, Chris, Ryan, and Sam’s vehicles contrasted each other beautifully while at the same time proving that no matter the platform lower is better.

Blair’s 57

Having a truck in the display was a given from day one because, even though Importfest is far from a truck show, this site has a decent amount of truck content and a fairly large truck driving audience.

I was stoked that Blair from Taylor’d Customs was into bringing the ’57 to Importfest and I feel it brought something different to the show that few were expecting.

blair_scott_holmes — If Blair made a dollar off everyone who asked about the AC he would have been able to cover everyone’s entree fee. -Thanks to Scott Holmes for this shot

blair_inception — You’d be surprised how many people went up to Blair’s truck and tried to put their fingers under the bumper…

blair_clarke_photography — Blair’s 57 via Clarke-Photography

blair_jdm_chi — Blair’s bed setup via JDM Chicago

Ryan’s MK4

Ryan’s Jetta was exactly what I had in mind to fill the euro part of the display so I was glad to recieve his email expressing interest.

After I meeting him in person at Euronited, and seeing how laid back and personable he was, I knew Ryan would fit in well with the rest of the guys showing with SIE at Importfest.

In addition to being modified extensively from front to back his Jetta is absolutely spotless and was without a doubt one of the cleanest cars in the show.

ryan_1 — Ryan took home ‘Baddest Stance Assisted’ as well as the first place Aggressive Fitment award from Stretch & Poke

ryan_2 — Ryan’s show room floor clean engine bay

ryan__3_engine_bay — Not too long before the show he pulled the motor out to paint the block this eye catching yellow

ryan_trophies — In addition to Best Stance and Best Aggressive Fitment, he won Ultimate Jetta, and Baddest Euro

ryan_stretch_poke — Snap of Ryan’s car by Aidan via Stretch & Poke

Sam’s Genesis

Originally the import representing for SIE was going to be Alex’s SC400 but after a delay with his wheels he wasn’t able to bring his car out so Sam ended up filling in for him.

Big thanks go out to Sam for jumping in last minute, his car seemed to be quite among photographers and models alike.

sam_front_women — Sam’s car amidst a flurry of activity

sam_rear — Sam’s aggressive rear fitment

sam_intuned_2 — Fresh paint for the show – photo via Intuned

sam_bearskillz — That Chrome SIE script sticker on Sam’s window is the only one in existence – photo via Bear Skillz

Chris’ 1500

A little over a week before the show will at Stance East let me know that he and his friend Tyler were out for Importfest so I snatched up two of his three spots and set out looking for another truck.

Blair recommended Chris and even though it was very late notice he immedialty agreed. Parking beside his truck on Friday and seeing it in person for the first time I knew it would be a crowd favorite, super nice guy too.

chris_3 — This truck was built by Chris and a few other members of the Touch N’ Down club he is a part of

chirs_1 — Rear tucks just as hard as the front

chris — Notice how nearly everyone’s attention in this photo (except for the models) is focused on how exactly Chris managed those wheels to fit under the hood

chris_4 — Camber played a big part in getting the wheels to tuck so hard

chris_clarke_photography — Chris’ Truck via Clarke-Photography

chris_clarke_photography_2 — Another one via Clarke-Photography

My Car

I actually had never planned to have my car in the show at all but once those two Stance East spots opened up I figured what the hell.

mazda_3_flatbroke — Looks like all that Dr. Colorchip did it’s job on my bumper photo via Flat Broke Status

mazda_3_intuned — Shot by J Kirby from Intuned, nice to meet you dude!

mazda_3_dm — My car via Derek Moore Photography

Chloe and Sharlyn

I’d love to take credit for getting models for the Importfest but this was all Alex, big thanks Chole and Sharlyn for sporting the Stance Is Everything logo on their skin for a day.

model_2 — Sharlyn on the left Chloe on the right via Derek Moore Photography

model_3 — Sharlyn again via Derek Moore Photography

model_5 — Chloe via Derek Moore Photography

model_4 — Chloe via Derek Moore Photography

I honestly couldn’t be happier with how this first year went and when I started this site doing something like this wasn’t even remotely in my mind so I am really stoked these guys were all cool enough to bring their cars out help support the site.

Thanks to them once again as my friend Steve for printing the signs, Lyndsey for designing them, Importfest for making the site a part of the show, and everyone who stopped by to grab some stickers or a t-shirt.

Hopefully next year I can grab a few more spots…

WTF Friday: American 107

By

DaveT

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Aug 31, 2012

0

This car is pretty old, as are the pictures of it, but I stumbled across it for the first time recently so I have to share it.

“Back in the day” (late 90s early 2000 it seems) before people were putting LS motors in everything they were putting Chevy small blocks into everything*.

As is the case with this 1978 450SL that was converted into a street rod by Brad Martin and an unmentioned professional shop that spent 10 months making it all work.

The picture above is what got me hook line and sinker. The wheels back there in the tubs are 15×14 Boyd Coddingtons with M/T 29×18.5 tires on them, and a narrowed 9″ Ford rear end is in the middle.

The motor was a crate ZZ4 Chevy with 355hp and 406 foot pounds and an auto 350 transmission was backing it.

Brad also stated that the car had stock MB suspension with a modified cross member, new rack, custom motor mounts, custom pan, custom headers, and custom exhaust.

Interestingly enough the car also had Camaro bumpers, and a (more or less) stock interior that retained the climate control.

Around 2002 or so it was being sold for 35,000 and it’s current whereabouts are unknown.

More info can be found here.

I also wouldn’t mind more information on the car below…

*Who am I kidding people are still putting 350s in everything.

Site Updates

I’ve got 1 more Importfest post to drop and it will probably make it up sometime over the weekend. After that I have some Subaru Hypermeet photos to get to and then finally a feature I shot last night.

However as you may already know by now Scion was kind enough to give me the keys to an FR-S for a week so I’ve been spending a lot of time out and about in that which has delayed things a tad.

Look for a review of that sometime after I give it back provided I don’t just drive out to Mexico and vanish.

Flashback Friday

Remember when this:

Looked like this?

2012 Importfest vs 2009 Nextmod opening.

Event Coverage: Importfest 2012 – Part: 2

By

DaveT

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Aug 30, 2012

7

Picking right back up where we left off here is the second batch of the show day coverage from Importfest.

I actually didn’t intend to do two separate posts but once I started going through the photos I realized that there was no way I was going to be able to keep things in and around the standard 40-50 photos.

I still missed a whole lot of cars too….

Stance East

Two out of three of the Stance East cars couldn’t make it down for Importfest (which is why SIE had 5 spots) but the lone car that did make it was this 1970 Datsun 240Z owned by Richard Desjardins.

se_z — This car is intense, Stance East should stop slacking and feature it

se_z_2 — A shot for the guys at K&N Filters

Team Importfest/ Vossen

While I saw Harvin and Angelo throughout the show Basit I didn’t see at all.

third_batch_vossen — Basit’s car with the new Black Chrome wrap done by Restyle It

vossen_benz — Really wish this car sat even front to rear, it would be perfect

jvc_harvin — Harvin’s car in the JVC booth, on his new(er) Vossen Wheels

Explict Contentz

I hear these guys like to party.

crx_pro — This CRX is too clean for it’s age

explicit_colin_1 — This car recently got a new owner, good luck with the new project Colin

explicit_mazda_1 — Pictures do not do this car justice, at all, the paint job is spectacular in person

explicit_mazda_2 — His new trunk setup is bad ass also, hope to shoot it before the year is out

Gran Turismo

An out of town club known for their builds that feature extensive ICE setups, they had the DBZ car from part one.

honda_widebody_accord — Well done work on this car…

secondbatch_accord — … but the shape of the rear quarter seems a little weird to me

Nine 0 Five Rides

Congrats to Erik, Shayan, and Brandon for taking home awards in their categories I attribute .99% of their win to the Stance Is Everything stickers they all had.

third_batch_tom — Never really looked inside Tom’s car before, so much work in this car

third_batch_e36 — Supercharged e36 on Style 5’s

905_brandon_2 — Brandon’s truck once again

honda_matt_1 — Matt’s S2000 that ended up taking home the best stance (static)

ford_erik_1 — Erik’s Probe, more on this soon

905_shayan_2 — Shayan’s car is dope, I also want to shoot it, the list of cars I want to shoot is ever growing…

905_shayan_1 — That sticker on his hatch is a new combination of vinyls sechemedia and I are playing with. Tinted vinyl over etched glass, it’s actually slightly transparent.

905_mazda_fd — Nice FD from 905’s on Varrstoen rocking Varrstoen caps which I didn’t even know those wheels came with

905_mazda_fd2 — Simple to the point I.C.E. setup

Level One

Closing out the coverage with the vehicles from Level One, you’ve probably seen photos of these cars floating around the net already.

leve_1_gawa — Finally got to meet Galen, always been a fan of his photography, and his Fit is wild

level_1_sti_front — The newest addition to Level One? Amazing.

level_1_dan_3 — Based on photos I didn’t like Dan’s new bumper but seeing it in person changed my mind

level_1_dan_1 — Whoever does Dan’s body work does a great job

second_batch_dan — Rear shot I uploaded to Facebook later in the evening last night

level_1_gold — I take this same pic ever year I think…

level_1_blue_rear — I didn’t know this until recently but James tracks this car

level_1_blue_2 — He does so set up slightly different though

Congratulations to the Importfest team for another successful event and I look forward to being a part of it again next year, check back tomorrow for the last part of the 2012 Importfest coverage which will be dedicated solely to Chris, Ryan, Blair, and Sam who parked with Stance Is Everything for 2012 (along with the lovely ladies who modelled as well)

Event Coverage: Importfest 2012 – Part: 1

By

DaveT

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Aug 30, 2012

9

I’ve heard people grumbling on message boards that car shows going the way of the dodo due to people showing up to parking lot meets in record numbers but anyone who was at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Saturday knows that is simply not true.

Meets will always have their place but shows like Importfest are not going anywhere. Proof of this was that at any given time there was a huge line of people waiting to get inside to check out the show.

There was a ton of foot traffic the entire day and anytime something was happening on stage there was a mob of people waiting to catch a models undergarments with their head.

When I wasn’t making a fool of myself on the difficult RC drift course or relaxing in the fold up chairs people watching I took the following pictures.

Because Show Car

Sometimes the easiest way to explain some modifications is… because show car.

300c — I guess the front end swap on this car wasn’t quite finished so this was an interim solution, hopefully the candy red it used to have comes back

chevy_shockwave — Pretty sure this car won ‘Baddest Domestic’

secondbatch_corvette_underhood — This was underneath the plexi cover, a pro charged mill

second_batch_gran_tourismo2 — More from Gran Turismo in part 2 but this car is wild, the triple signal on the bumper is just one of many details in it

second_batch_gran_tourismo — Wouldn’t mind seeing it in all black with no DBZ graphics though…

alien_lex_1 — This Lexus is also car is pretty nuts, wide body, motor work, remote controlled air

third_batch_alien_lex — Racing seats and a screen in the gas cap, because show car

FR-S Tuner Challenge

All of the cars below were competing in the first challenge of the FR-S Tuner challenge the next day, straight from the show floor to autocross track.

second_batch_scion_vmcc — VCMC’s take on the FR-S

top_tuner_swag_racing — Swag racing’s version

top_tuner_scion — and finally Top Tuner’s

Assorted

second_batch_john — John Wakely’s Spacely sprockets look

third_batch_gold — 450 HP boosted EG hidden behind the BGP display

third_batch_nissan — I’ve seen this car at CSCS a few times, really solid complete build front to back

mazda_meg — Baddest Mazda winner parked in the Meguairs display

gotass — Model coverage this year is pretty weak.. sorry about that, couple more tomorrow though

street_concepts_javed — Another shot of Javed’s new look

toyota_mr_2 — MR-2 Recently seen on Stretch & Poke

gti_civc — The Golf in the foreground won second place aggressive fitment

third_batch_8th_gen — Closer look at the 8th gen

chevy_cav_2 — I stopped to look at this Cavlier a few times, air, Willwood calipers, stereo, the motor set-up, a lot to check out

chevy_cav_1 — Lord help me but Cav’s don’t look bad to me anymore, Jeff’s fault.

bimmersport_bmw — Every year I have a hard time getting shots in of the Bimmersport cars, always too tightly packed, here’s one

bgp_brian — Brian hoodless ,which is how I am more used to seeing his car

Too Fast Motors

The Too Fast Motors area was a bit of a tight squeeze with the cars and product, I kept bumping into people any time I set foot in it.

too_fast_honda — I guess Toronto is slammed city?

too_fast_turbo_j — Turbo J’d eg8 which was also on bags

So Fresh Automotive

So Fresh Automotive has been working on a number of crazy things lately, going to try and check out the shop before the weather gets too cold.

so_fresh_stang — So Fresh Automotive loves to put things on bags

so_fresh_steve_2 — Steve’s Acura now on air

so_fresh_e36 — Love this car on the X5 wheels much more than the XXR’s good look

Nextmod

Nextmod unveiled a ton of new builds alongside their familiar classics.

secondbatch_chris_motor — As promised a look at Chris’ turbo setup

secondbatch_justin — Kinda looks like his rear wheel is floating in this shot, weird

nextmod_peter — There are lots of photos of Peter’s car floating around from being in this booth. Like this one with Stance Is Everythings favourite model Alisha Lynn

nextmod_rachel_2 — Rachel’s Element is without a doubt the best looking Element I have seen in person

nextmod_rachel — The fact that it is boosted is just a plus

nextmod_s2000 — Never seen this supercharged* s2000 from Nextmod before…

nextmod_nsx — Another Nextmod car I had never seen, a Sorcery widebody NSX

nextmod_evo — Varis Evo-X from Nextmods infinite back pocket full of crazy cars

For the sake of load times I’ve decided to break this post up into two parts so click through to the second one here.

Theme Tuesdays: Pictures With Attitude: 8

By

DaveT

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Aug 28, 2012

3

Sadly no ‘women of Importfest’ Theme Tuesday this year (model photos will just be rolled into later coverage) but what I do have today is another collection of awesome photos I’ve found collected here and there.

They really don’t have anything in common aside from being awesome, but that’s ok.

attitude16 — This photo is what (eventually) lead to the build thread Theme Tuesday but I have since forgot where I found this photo and what happened to the build…

attitude15 — Simply love the skyline in this shot… cars pretty classy too

attitude13 — Left over from the flush/drift trucks Theme Tuesday

attitude12 — This appears to be happening IN a show

attitude10 — Remember awhile ago when I posted wheel standers on the fanpage? Ya… I looked at a lot that day…

attitude11 — Such a weird, yet awesome, thing to look at

attitude8 — Gas hopping on a public street like it’s no big deal

attitude3 — This is how will chill from ’93 till

atitude15 — A little crazy to see how big the mini has gotten

attitude1 — Three window goin’ for a dip

attitude2 — RSR Press photo, press photos need to be awesome again

Event Coverage: Importfest – Set Up

By

DaveT

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Aug 27, 2012

8

Another Importfest has come and gone which means this week is going to be almost completely dominated with coverage from the event.

I haven’t had a chance to go through all of my photos but on first glance I estimate about three posts worth of material.

Having my car in the show this year alongside four other incredible cars made my whole experience different than previous years but since I plan to touch on that more later in the week, here is some set up coverage from Friday.

nissan_hard_700px — Big fan of this Nissan, Importfest was apparently it’s first showing in a few years

amf_turbo_bike — MT Motorsports Turbo GSXR

level_1_civic — I’ve posted probably dozens of photos of this car from this same angle but I can’t help it, it’s on point

nissan_too_fast_motors — This car has gone through a few bumpers, this is by far the best looking

hyundai_gen1 — Speaking of bumpers, Alvin also switched his up since I saw his car last

explicit_honda_colin — Colin’s car also received some model ass ~~love~~ abuse over the weekend

nissan_4_drive — Very nice GTR from 4drive.ca

Pure MB

Pure MB and SIE were back to back at Importfest which was interesting because it was the first time either of us had a setup of any kind.

pure_mb_sid — Sid’s CLS looking a lot lower than I saw it last

Nextmod

Like last year Nextmod came out with an army of cars, their set-up went fairly late into the night too from what I can tell…

lexus_is300_roll_in — Aldrin making his way to the Nextmod area of the show which was one of the biggest

nextmod_chris — First time I’ve seen Chris’ car post boost, looks the same just faster, under hood shot in part 2

nextmod_jon — Jon’s car positioned near the stage

Nine O Five Rides

Tom and Nine 0 Five had a bit of an exciting night after he blew a tire right near the venue and he ended up having to borrow a wheel from Ty (Legacy below) that didn’t quite fit to get to the venue.

By Saturday it was all sorted out though like nothing ever happened.

905_erik_ty_1 — Tried my best to get an updated shot off Erik and Ty’s rollin from last year, sun through the door kinda messed it all up

905_shayan_tyler_1 — Shayan right behind them

chev_silv_2 — Brandon, who I met for the first time at IF, has an amazing truck

chev_silv_1 — Very clean all around, sits on the ground

905_matt — Matt’s s2000 which for the UK readers is in the latest Fast Car magazine

Titoboy Approved

tito_ae86 — Tito’s recent video featured ae86 rolling to the booth

Street Concepts

Battleground Performance

BGP had one of the more elaborate displays for this years IF, carpeted and back-dropped, it looked great but I felt terrible for the people behind them who were basically cut off from the world.

bgp_brian_1 — Not only did I not know Brian had a hood, I didn’t know it was CF

bgp_subaru — BGP’s GC8RS which has been converted to an STI

Toyo Street Team

toyo_nissan_sam — Sam’s 350z which I’ve only seen a handful of times compared to last year

Stance Is Everything

Just a picture of the two trucks that were in the SIE area for now but look out for a post of all five later this week.

sie_chris_2 — Chris arrived to the booth first and when I saw his truck I was in awe, bodied tuckin’ 24s

sie_chris_1 — Seriously no more room for those wheels, and the gravity defying hood prop drew many double takes

sie_blair_1 — Blair’s 57 rocking one of only a handful of semi transparent script stickers kicking around

Check back later this week for more coverage!

WTF Friday: Anyone’s Guess

By

DaveT

-

Aug 24, 2012

3

S10forum members are perhaps the best in the world at finding some of the weirdest vehicles ever and this s10 is no doubt one of the weirdest s10s I have ever seen.

Usually I can tell (somewhat) what the owner was going for in the WTF Friday oddities but this one is really anyone’s guess.

The front is extended, the fenders are lost at sea, the motor appears to have been swapped, for reasons unknown the alternate is sky high, the exaust is well… odd, and the tailgate has been shrunk surprisingly well.

Also what the heck is going on in the ‘bed’?

Questions I have many, answers I have none.

Site Updates

Well Importfest 2102 has finally arrived and as I’ve mentioned before this is the first year in which Stance Is Everything has had any sort of floor prescence.

Thanks to the help of a few awesome car owners I’ve been able to bring a group of vehicles (provided they all make the trek) that I feel well represent the site, the audicence, and my own personal tastes so if you are in the area come by the Metro Toronto Convention Center and check it out.

I will have t-shirts, and stickers, on site as well in addition to a whole pile of freebies that sechemedia.ca dropped off last night.

Finally I will be passing the time with my old electric rc on the drift course so if you’ve got an RC and are in the show bring it out.

Flashback Friday

Obvious Flashback to Importfest 2011 is obvious.

Importfest 2011 pre show coverage.

Women of Importfest 2011

Importfest 2011 Show Day Coverage

Guest Coverage: Vagkraft 2012

By

DaveT

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Aug 23, 2012

1

Due to M.O.M. you already know I missed both CSCS and Vagkraft this year but before making the commitment to M.O.M. I reached out to Scott Holmes to see if he could snap a few photos.

Like always he came through and thus I’ve got some photos of his to share from one of the biggest Euro events in the area.

From what I have read the turnout this year was a little smaller than that of years previous but at the same time the quality was up significantly, so less is more.