From what I have seen Subaru owners that want to run low and wide might have the most uphill battle amongst their peers.
A lot of the ‘traditional’ Subaru owners seem to think that Subarus (specifically STIs) should always be ready for rally conditions that could suddenly pop up in the middle of the highway.
The reality is you don’t need 4×4 ground clearance to enjoy all wheel drive, but people hate reality.
This car is still very much functional and happens to look damn good the way it sits.
This is one of those cars that looks perfect as it sits and I hope never changesNo gap, no tuck, perfect rake.Unrelated but I could have used one of those Pumpkins this year18x9.5 255/40
I’ve seen and (and normally posted) quite a few crazy builds so I am getting pretty a custom to bizarre combinations of car and motor but this particular one caught me wayyyy off guard.
Fabrication aside the owner/builder deserves a round of applause for just getting through the amount of hate that comes along with telling people you are going to dress a 97 Mustang Cobra in 94 Acura clothes.
Admittedly I skimmed the 46 page build thread pretty quickly last night (I went back this morning to read in greater detail and I am currently on page 22) but not fast enough to the point where I didn’t see the owner field every question and negative criticism with a level head. More people need to take criticism on the internet as well as this guy.
Surprisingly the wheel base of the Cobra and the wheelbase of an Integra are not all that far apart so his plan of attack was fairly straight forward, he cut off the ‘Stang from about the rockers up and did the same to the Integra. With a little bit of American voodoo, a welder, some determination (and no doubt a BFH) he made it all work.
A few interesting build photos and the first run video below:
The car right before it's cover photo shootThe car pre swap sitting on Mustang wheels which I didn't know fit on 5 lug swapped IntegrasAcura parts put on the mustang to get a general idea of how things will line upMustang bottom half made readyPoint of no returnThe Integra 'shell' was braced for the swapJust might be onto something...The moment of truthLike I said in the intro very similar wheel base sizesAbout midway through the thread the owner dropped this photo of the car in a way earlier state with a rare Zeal bumperMotor looks right at home... or frame looks right at home? I don't even knowFinished at a show (widebody fenders made it to the front)The Integra interior is the one that ended up in thereThe front track looks pretty normal but the rear gives things away a tad.
Made a few tweaks to the over all layout until I figure out what I want to do in terms of design for the site last weekend, or I might just make my way through the mountain of photos from readers that have been sent in 🙂
Thanks for all the contributions.
Also got confirmation on incoming info regarding a feature I’ve been waiting on.
Flashback Friday
Someone on the fan page mentioned that yesterdays 911 didn’t have much to do with stance. Long time readers will note that I’ve always been pretty loose with the stance definition though as is evident by the fact I posted this in 09.
Seen a couple more pictures of this car but this is still my favorite.
awesomecarswithmodifiedsuspension.com was just way to long of a url 😛
I’m going to see if I can find some time today to finish that acurastang build thread…
Before I get ripped to pieces by all of the internet over the title let me just say one thing: I like Rauh Welt Begriff cars.
It is just lately I’ve been bombard at all angles by the same three cars that I needed a little break from them before I end up a drooling twitching mess on the floor chanting RWB for life.
That’s where this ’73 911 comes in, its glossy bright white finish is about as far from RWB as you can get.
Starting as factory original this car was expertly resto modded into he beauty you see today by DP Motorsport with a focus on function and light weight but an obvious eye for form as well.
Highlights of the build included an all CF widebody, tuned 3.6L boxer motor, and an beautiful interior that is a blend of Alcantara and CF.
Compared to it's original weight this 911 is now a glider at 1,918lbsZero corners cut what so ever putting this car together, even the ac cover is CFPerfect stance for the way this Porsche is modifiedThe 3.6-litre motor has 50-mm PMO carbs and makes 310hpForm meets function with this interiorThat CF dash looks stunningFuchs 15x9/13 wheels with 225/50R15 and 345/35R15 tires make up the shoe sizesHats off to DP Motorsports and the photographer damn
Nakai-san and RWB are awesome but lets not forget about the other Porsche tuners out there.
Thanks to Supermade for bringing this beautiful beast to my attention, more info on this car can be found here at the DP Motorsport site.
Since posting Richard’s ride Monday my mailbox has been buzzing more fine cars from Sweden, but before I get to those I have to spin it back a bit to a car that I actually saw for the first time in August.
Somehow the car ended up getting lost in the shuffle of event coverage until I was reminded of it yesterday.
Looking at the car once again I think I should be smacked for letting it slip because the owner Alexander has done quite a bit to this car to get it looking as nice as it does now.
Like a lot of us the first thing Alexander did was slap on some lowering springs and call it a day.
Of course a few months later 40mm lower than stock on stock wheels seemed a little mundane so Ta-Technix coils cranked all the way down found their way under the car along with 14×9 O offset steel wheels that were shortly replaced with the current Schmidt TH Lines.
A few dozen cosmetic modifications on the inside and outside later (outlined below) Richards got a car that has taken best stance and best VW awards at shows in Sweden.
Thanks for sending your car in and Swedish stance fans more of your country folk is coming soon.
Alexander would also like to let fellow Swedes know that the Oijoij Society is the local forum for Swedish stance fans who want to keep track of events and swap ideas and parts.
Mods List
Wheels/Suspension
15″x8″ Schmidt th-line Et12 165/45-15
15×9.5″ Schmidt th-line Et18 195/45-15
Ta-Technix coilovers
Interior
Recaro Edition One (Complete with door panels)
Luisi steering wheel (year 1987)
Black interior part (grey original)
Exterior
Mk1 Cl-spoiler
Hella tinted taillights
Shaved front-bumper
Shaved tailgate
Handles replaced with rear handles without the locks
While I’ve always done basic exterior lighting modifications to all of the vehicles I’ve owned I had previously never upgraded to exterior LEDS or addressed my interior lighting.
With my 3 I chose to upgrade all of my interior bulbs and some of my exterior bulbs to SK Performance LED units.
After the upgrade I now realize how inadequate (and yellow) the factory lighting Mazda shipped the car with actually is.
A view from the hatch facing forward of the 3 SK Performance LED units installed in my 2004 Mazda 3A view from the front bumper facing backwards of the 3 SK Performance LED units installed in my 2004 Mazda 3A photo to give you an idea of how far the light spreads
The LED package (two map lights, one dome, and one hatch) inside of my car is simply remarkable and now when I open my doors the car is bathed in incredibly bright, incredibly white light.
In the six or so months I have had these lights installed nearly everyone who has been in my car at night has commented on the brightness of the interior lighting (which makes selling stickers and shirts at night way easier).
In that time the light output has not dulled or changed color in the slightest.
The single hatch unit which illuminates the back of the carThe front lights in the factory locations
The LEDS I have on the exterior of the vehicle (projection reverse lights and license plate lights) are to the same high standard the interior lights are manufactured and even brighter. With my new plate lights there is no way I could ever get pulled over for having an illegible license plate on even the darkest of country roads.
The projection reverse lights (which are exclusively designed by SK Performance) are really the crown jewel of the entire set-up though, they project a good 20 – 30 feet behind my car and are to the point where it is like having a set of HID headlights installed in my tail lamps.
Note how much projection there is on the floor from the plate lights
Product quality aside one of the main selling points of SK Performance is customer service, with SK Performance you are not dealing with a middle man who simply resells products available on Ebay. You are dealing with a long time GTA scene veteran who took the time to head to Vegas and meet with suppliers first hand at the AAPEX show to ensure that all of his kits are made to last.
Should a problem ever arise you deal with the owner personally who stands behind his products 100%.
This photo doesn't do these reverse lights justice, I have had people ask if I installed HIDS in my tails
The quality of these products combined with the owners exceptional customer service is why you can find Aidan’s IS300 and Yudi’s Y33).
Check out the entire line-up of SK Performance Lighting (including interior lighting, angel eyes, puddle lights, turn signals, license plate lights and HIDS) on the SK Performance LED Lighting facebook page.
When the subject of wide bodies comes up in the circles I travel in people rarely ever mention American examples.
Probably because euro and JDM widebody builds are much easier to find online, at shows, and on the track, but if you look hard enough American builds are plentiful.
Several of them dating back to when fuel efficiency wasn’t considered and there was no replacement for displacement.
I might have colored a little outside the lines of ‘stance’ with this post but what is wrong with a little function now and again? Also I would love to see a few more pro touring styled cars on the road.
Holy crap is this ever wideThis one is subtle as it isn't really flared out so much as stretched horizontallyCone hunterGoat.Dated but pretty badass looking T/ANot the only z28 on todays hitlistYou might remember this Fox from the fan page... it was known as the Dominator GTAParticipated in an 89 road and track eventThis is a CycloneThis is a SycloneStupid nasty looking 72 NovaSuper bird esque wingand some say American cars can't go around corners...Widebody Mustang II on beebs? Need bigger photosGood. God. (got an american heart)So you've been letting this sit on your lawn for 35 years what do you do?
Drive it:
If you want to see more of this check out the thread on Pro-touring.com
Dunno what’s up next week… got some women kicking around I could post….
It’s still a little shocking how popular this Canadian based blog with predominately North American content is on a global scale.
I’m not complaining of course because this global appeal is how awesome cars like this dub which belongs to Richard “Mingan” Håveland of Sweden show up in my inbox.
A reader of a few months Richard got in touch recently about running some photos of his car from a shoot with Jalle Graphics.
His car is a 1.6 SR that has been brought down with TA Technix coils, footwear is 17 x 8.5″ and 17×10 OZ Futura wheels with Kumho 195/40 and 215/40 tires.
Body mods have been kept pretty simple as he is an OEM+ kind of guy, and additions include an oem hood bra, Golf GTI rear tails, and a 25th anniversary front valence.
Richards future plans include spinning the coils down a bit more, getting yet another new skid plate, 25th anniversary side skirts, an ecu tune, and a new color for the face of those OZs.
The original WTF Friday post I did on that kart shortly has been one of the most popular posts on the site, period.
It has drawn collectors from all over looking to exchange information about these extremely rare pieces of drag racing history and automotive ridiculousness.
The popularity of that post lead to today’s kart showing up in my inbox, and while the owner was fairly Spartan on the details he did share that he purchased the kart a few years ago in Chicago and can confirm that this one has never been run.
Unlike the blue one I posted previously of which there seems to be some dispute about whether or not it was a factory direct kart this one seems to be (as far as I can tell and feel free to correct me) one of the ‘original 7’.
Notice how this Kart has much different brackets attaching the tank and the entire assortment of gizmos required to get the kart to move down the trackThe extremely rare rocket pods are also mounted differently than the blue oneSomeone put this away knowing it was going to be worth something one day
With stories of these karts blowing up, getting confiscated by municipalities, and generally falling off the earth (or launching into orbit?) it is pretty cool that the community of these kart owners has decided to share some of their information with me so I can share it here.
Reader submissions! I have a ton of them to get through, thank you to everyone who has sent their rides in. I will do my best to find a home on the site for your cars.
Be it in a feature, its own post, or in a readers ride post.
By all means keep them coming.
Flashback Friday
The feature of Aidan’s VIP inspired IS300 has been getting a lot of traffic and comments latlely so I will throw it back to that this week.
His cars gone through quite a few changes since but I still really like how it looked here.
Have I ever mentioned that we had one chance at this photo and security was actually entering stage right as it was taken?
Being Remeberance day in Canada today it wouldn’t be right of me to end this off without saying a thank you to those who fought and continue to fight for this country. 11/11/11/11 – ‘Lest We Forget‘
Calgary correspondent (aka nice guy with beard and camera) Mike McConnell of MDM Visuals got in touch with me recently about a new set of photos he had taken of an exceptionally clean air cooled bug.
His message was pretty simple ‘pick your favorites and go nuts’.
Choosing my favorites ended up being a little harder than I thought as this simple shoot yielded excellent results.
There is something about a clean bug that will never get old.
There are a number of different ways I could finish that title and while I posted a mammary filled video on the fan page yesterday my intentions are to keep this blog (mostly) safe for work, so in this case pink is for eye catching.
Which just so happens to be a great way to describe Bryan’s Pink DC Interga that sports a completely custom and fairly subtle all metal wide body.
Being able to keep things clean while rocking such a bright color can be tough but Bryan has got it down to a tee.
Helping set this car off in addition to the body mods are CCW 16×9 wheels and air pistons providing the low on all four corners.
Bryan has got a few things planned for the car that I won’t spoil but hopefully sometime between now and completion he sends over a few more pictures, in the meantime you can check out his previous feature here on Air Society.
