Event Coverage: Niagara Truck & Tuner Expo Pt 1

By

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Jun 28, 2011

Nine-O-Five Rides is one of the larger car clubs in the area and has made a name for itself as being a group you can count on to come out and support your event, when you give support you get support and that’s exactly what happened this past Sunday when they decided to have their first show called the Niagara Truck & Tuner Expo.

As a spectator it looked like the event went on without a hitch, it didn’t rain and the turnout was great, and I’m glad to have been able to help out with sponsorship.

I know for the organizers it was probably a whirlwind of a day but I am sure now that the dust has settled they have had a chance to appreciate what they were able to do.

I’ve been neglecting Minitrucks around here lately (unintentional) so I figured I would give them part 1 honors because the day I saw my first dropped Blazer was the day I got hooked on lowered vehicles.

Trucks that were not s-10s

S-10s generally make up a large portion of any truck category but a few non s-10s were at TNT 2011

ford_ranger — I was pulling for this truck to win the limbo contest, sadly the fairly straight up roof line didn't help

mazda_b2200 — Geoff's B2200 laid right out on the floor, thanks for the support also!

First Gen s10’s

Whenever I see these I get slight pains of regret for giving up so ‘easy’ with my Blazer. But I eventually remind myself (with help) that it was rusty and cursed.

chevy_retro_1 — This truck is extremely period correct to when it was built and I respect that a lot

chevy_retro_2 — I'm sure this truck and it's modifications brings back memories for some readers

chevy_blue_white_front — Pancaked first gen

chevy_blue_white — Extensive work has gone into every area of this truck

chevy_tiki — Jeff's Tiki truck with D&K airbrushing

chevy_tiki_2 — The pinstripe/idol face deal is so sweet, this truck has come a long way and continues to keep changing

Second Gen S10

Now that the avalanche is out I like these even more, go figure.

laid_1 — I saw an older lady reading this sticker, not sure if she got it or not...

chevy_black_2ndgen3 — It's starting to become a little harder for me to say I like first generation s10s over second

gmc_sonoma — I had a little (a lot) of truck envy on Sunday let me tell you...

chevy_s10_leather_bumper — Quite honestly one of the coolest bumper treatments I have ever seen

chevy_black_2ndgen — More than a couple vehicles came in from across the border

chevy_2ndgen_10_2 — This truck was almost exactly sky blue

chevy_2ndgen_10 — I am a little more partial to fleet sides but steps get love too

chevy_not_low_enough — This truck lays out hard and tucks big ass wheels

chevy_bd_2 — I don't think much more wheel could fit under this truck

chevy_james_2 — James brought his full setup to the show

chevy_james_1 — And for the first time I got to see him take it down of the stands

Tomorrow I will have part 2 of the coverage which will be all of the cars and a few shots of the vehicle limbo contest which was pretty entertaining.

Guest Blog: Theme Tuesdays: At The Car Wash

By

DaveT

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Jun 28, 2011

5

Car washes are fun when you’re young, but frankly, if you’re out of the training diapers it’s about as boring as it gets when it comes to cars. Unless of course, there are women in wet, skimpy clothes bending over to polish your dirty body.

And what makes it even more special and makes us feel a lot less guilty for wanting to partake, is when companies do these car washes for charity! (Plus our significant other can’t get as mad).

You’ve got to give it up for these women, giving back to society on so many levels. Who cares if they’re getting more soap on themselves than the car? They are fearless and courageous, and while other women might talk badly about them, they are the most confident business women around, having fun while making a living, and looking damn good while doing it.

Photos courtesy of Stefane Paye, William Lee, Peter Tsang Chung, Joits, Jer Digital, David Bay, SpeedHunters,and other various sources.

Written by Jeff Butler. Jeff has lots of blogs, two of which are Motor Models where vehicles and women come together, and Motoriginal the best automotive blog one could imagine (besides Stance is Everything of course).

Featured Ride: JDR’s Mazda 3

By

DaveT

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Jun 27, 2011

12

When discussing aggressively fit Mazda 3 hatchbacks* three cars instantly spring to mind: Kevin Nigel’s titanium gray 05 that was on SSR Vienna Kreis wheels, Rocky’s fender flared conversation starter, and the subject of today’s feature the always clean Safron Yellow example owned by Yevgeniy Kovalchuk.

Yevgeniy, better known as JDR on the forums, has already received a number of kudos for his cars 2010 look, and his 2011 makeover is about to turn just as many heads as before, if not more.

Since debuting his cars second lower and wider makeover in 2010 JDR has been an inspiration to a number of Mazda 3 enthusiasts around the globe including myself. Ever since photos of his car on 17×9 Enkei RPF-1s appeared online it’s been regarded as one of the cleanest Mazda 3 examples done to date and was rightfully showcased on multiple online outlets including Speed Hunters.

That look was 15 wheels in the making and after a journey like that most wouldn’t be rushing to change setups so soon however JDR’s mind couldn’t stop thinking of new ideas and for 2011 he decided to switch things up once again.

JDR opted to stick with the Enkei brand for his new set of rollers but go up a diameter with custom painted and hand polished 18×8.5 and 18×9.5 RPF-1 Type-RC wheels. He was able to get these wheels to fit with their effective offsets of 37 up front and 35 out rear by relying on his previously rolled fenders and stretched 205/40 and 215/40 Falken rubber.

The ride height on his Mazda is handled by a set of KW manufactured AP coil overs that initially were not quite to the level JDR expected. Because parts are not as easy to come by in the Ukraine as they are in North America the most feasible way for JDR to get where he wanted to be was modification.

After a few tear downs and rebuilds JDR was able to satisfy his quest for ‘more lows’ by removing the helper springs up front and shortening the springs in the rear, and to squeeze out just a little bit more visual low he made a custom lip that is just slightly beefier than the standard Garage Vary Mazda 3 lip.

Those familiar with Mazda 3s will notice that JDR’s car isn’t a factory Mazda color and lacks badging in the rear but a few of the other exterior details that can be easily over looked include shaved side moldings, a shaved rear bumper, oem rear bumper flares, a custom grill, and blacked out headlight bezels.

On the inside JDRs car has a custom suede headliner and plaid accenting, along with a MOMO wheel, Razo shift knob, Saebelt Clubman harness and Bimarco Futura bucket racing seat.

Under the hood a few of the performance modifications done to the car include a Simota CF short ram intake, HKS Hi-power exhaust, and a FL-6 speed gear box.

While I think JDR’s car looks stellar as it sits he has already let me know that further modification is to come, I can only hope that when the car is done it’s next round of revisions that JDR shares the pictures with me so that I can share them with you revision here on Stance Is Everything.

Full modification list

Exterior:
-Lotus Saffron Yellow paint
-Custom GV style front lip
-Custom GV style fron grille
-AutoExe rear wing (replica)
-Mazda Genuine Accessories rear bumper flares
-Shaved trunk
-Shaved mouldings
-Shaved rear bumper
-Yellow fog lights and high beam reflectors
-Red out tail lights
-Black headlight bezels

Interior:
-Custom plaid upholstery
-MOMO Tuner steering wheel
-RAZO Rally RA102 Black shift knob
-Sabelt Clubman 4-point harness
-Bimarco Futura bucket seat
-Aluminium pedal pads

Wheels & tires:
-Enkei RPF1 Type-RC 8.5×18 ET42 (ET37 efffective) front
-Enkei RPF1 Type-RC 9.5×18 ET45 (ET35 effective) rear
-Falken Ziex ZE-912 205/40-18 front
-Falken Ziex ZE-912 215/40-18 rear
-Drag Neo Chrome forged lug nuts

Brakes:
-Rotora drilled and slotted brake rotors
-Rotora H2 Ceramic brake pads
-Techna-Fit SS brake lines

Suspension:
-ap coilovers (by KW) (with removed helper springs and cut rear springs)
-Kakumei front strut brace
-Kakumei rear trunk brace
-BMW solid rubber front arm bushings (modified)
-Progress 22mm adjustable sway bar
-Hardrace rear sway bar links
-Extended 50mm wheel studs
-5mm/10mm wheel spacers

Engine, transmission:
-Mazda3 FL 6-speed gearbox
-HKS Hi-Power catback exhaust
-Kool-Vue (Simota) Carbon Fiber Short-Ram intake
-Hardrace Pro N1 reinforced engine mount
-Corksport PU rear engine mount inserts

Photo Credit: Lait

*I’m not counting speed3’s for this article 😉

WTF Friday: SR20 Echo

By

DaveT

-

Jun 24, 2011

8

The drift community is known for their creativity when it comes to builds and this Echo I found on Build Threads is really no exception. Outside of this car there has been no real reason for me to pay attention to anything going on in the Toyota Echo world but this car peaked my interests (briefly) in the small commutator minded hatch.

A bunch of creative (demented?) fabricators in Japan took it upon themselves to merge an echo with an s14 rear sub frame and a blacktop SR20.

The result is a very unique, and very pink, Toyota that can get ass out with the best of them.

The obvious piles of fabrication that would go into the project that would at the end still result in an echo is enough to discourage most but not the Japanese!

SN3D0040 — Not where you would expect to find a black top

SN3D0014 — Anything can be fit if you are determined enough, or stubborn enough

SN3D0104 — Not really a fan of the color or pink tints but it sure makes the car stand out

Here is a quick video of it in action

And a Japanese page full of details I found linked off of the article on Build Threads

Site Updates

This Sunday I will be at the Niagara Tuner & Truck Expo – Presented by Nine-O-Five Rides. I am sponsoring (but not judging) a trophy and it’s sure to be a great event so be sure to roll on through.

I will have stickers on me as well if you spot me.

Niagara Square 7555 Montrose Road Niagara Falls, ON 11pm - 6pm Roll-in starts at 8:00am

On the note of stickers I have about 8 orders ready to go out as soon as the Canada Post comes of strike. If there is no sign of a resolution on the horizon next week I will look into alternative shipping measures such as Fed Ex.

Thank you to those who have ordered for being so patient about all this…

Following up some bad news with some good the first run of Stance Is Everything T shirts has been paid for and next week I will have in my hands 10 Large, 10 Medium, 5 small, and 5 XL for sale in the first batch.

Pricing will be confirmed once the shirts arrive and I can figure out how much it costs to ship (again if our postal service ever comes back).

The first run of t shirts by popular demand will look like so:

Flashback Friday

Last Friday I missed the Maxbimmer Midnight cruise for the first time in three years. I had good reason (I was at the Relay For Life) but I am still just a little bummed I didn’t get to see at least the pre-meet of the cruise. Oh well there is always next year.

Coverage from last year can be found by clicking here or the image below.

Where did this Rx-7 get off to I wonder, never seen it again

SilForty

By

DaveT

-

Jun 23, 2011

4

I have had this car saved on my hard drive for almost two months now but I just kept putting it off until later for one reason or another. However now that Readers Rides Part 5 is number one on my procrastination list it’s time to let this Silvia clipped 240 go.

This 240SX was owned by three Super Street editors in it’s day and was built up for the magazine on two separate occasions, once in 2008 then again in 2010.

It’s in print popularity means that some of you may already be very familiar with the it.

I however was not familiar with it so it really drew my attention when I saw it posted. When I found out it was a magazine build I was even more intrigued because sponsored builds often end up over the top and this car is refreshingly grounded.

A full detailed run down of the mods done to the car at the time these photos were taken can be found here on CharlesCharlesCharles.com but if you just want to see some photos keep scrolling.

sileighty01 — Very tasteful choice of modifications by the people at Super Street

sileighty35 — The fairly built SR20 mill that puts down over 300hp

sileighty23 — Streetable yet track read interior

sileighty30 — The old school GT logos on the x-brace intrigue me...

sileighty02 — Rear 3/4 shows how well those 17x9 and 17x10 SSR Mesh wheels fit

sileighty06 — Anyone know where this car is now?

I am looking to have the next Readers Rides up hopefully within the next week and it currently sits at 16 cars deep so if you want to see yours in the next one shoot me an email or upload it to the fan page.

Event Coverage: S&P June 19th 2011: Part 2

By

DaveT

-

Jun 22, 2011

11

Back with the final set of photos from the June 19th Stretch and Poke event (aka ‘The Stakes is High’). Today’s coverage is quite simply everything I didn’t post in part 1. Looking back I wish I shot a little more but as always hindsight is 20/20 and talking with people is easier than taking photos.

Not too fussed though I will see these cars again soon and I think the next S&P event at Downsview Park I will raid Lyndsey’s lens stash to switch up the look of the photos a little bit.

Anyway enough talk, more photos!

Lexus

Missed these three from part 1. Funny enough the first two both live in the neighborhood I grew up in and I saw these cars a lot at an impressionable age which makes them a big influence on why this site exists today.

Sharad from SK Performance was out in his wife's car and I grabbed an LED kit from him that was a really good investment on my part

sic_ryde — Check out that camber, tire shops live Sic

sic_chicken — Sic Ryde unexpectedly showed up with a trunk full of chicken, I was hungry so this was perfect

gb_samson — Samson from GB Tires leading his crew in

Nissans

skyline — Drift Posse gettin' a little love on the lip there

nissan_skyline — Skyline I have never seen before

gb_lee2 — Seeing this car coming straight at you then turn is crazy, because it really emphasizes the dish on those works

Mitsubishi

mistu_bay — This car was recently featured on Stance Nation and is just as clean in person as it looks in pictures

mistu_rear — The TE37 SL's are a nice switch up on a modern classic

Subarus

subaru_chris_front — This car is beautiful in person, hats off once again to Chris

subaru_chris_rear — It's just well done all around and exactly the type of car I would drive

subauru_wrb — Another winner in rally blue (...I know clever caption right? Ha)

subaru_lownatics2 — This car puts down 400 hp and looks good doing so

subaru_lownatics — If I could afford it one of these would be my next car, the money tree just refuses to grow though

Euros

CHOPSHOP dominated a lot of the Euro presence at this meet.

vw_jetta — Aidan gave this guy a heads up when out at the movies, great to see new people out

vw_chop_shop — Perhaps the first time I have seen this car in person, I thought it was a unicorn for awhile

vw_caddy_2 — Manny likes this Mexican lowrider

Supras

I guess the price of Supras has fallen a little bit more because they seem to be popping up more often at meets. That or a container full of them just arrived, either way I’m stoked to see ’em.

toyota_supra — This one was closed up so no telling what was under the hood

toyota_supra_side — But this one was opened up to reveal...

toyota_supra_underhood — a large single turbo setup

Since posting my last set of photos it’s come to my attention that the actions of some people at the meet have put the venue in a little bit of jeoprdy because the management is not happy.

Personally I like this venue and I enjoy these meets so if you happen to know some of the people flexing their horsepower at the meets just give them a heads up that their actions were noted and are not encouraged.

The next Stretch & Poke meet is at Import Expo which I am not 100% sure if I am going to enter or not (my car is not a show car) but I will be covering it.

Theme Tuesdays: BMW E46

By

DaveT

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Jun 21, 2011

7

After spending a lot of time yesterday working on the Turbo Dodge, turned compact American car Theme Tuesday and not really getting anywhere (but reading a lot of interesting threads about why aggressive fitment is the devil) I decided to take a break and bounce around some forums and blogs.

Doing this I found out that one of my favorite e46s is being parted out and sold, so I set out to find a new favorite, along the way I encountered the ones below plus many more for a follow up down the road.

e46_1 — These first six or so I have had for a bit

e46_3 — Clean example from one of Night Imports many event coverage sets

e46_4 — Local car, though I have not seen or heard of it in awhile

e46_6 — This cars been through tons of wheels

e46_8 — Blue on white seems to be somewhat of a reoccurring theme with e46s

e46_12 — This car looks completely different this year, I still dig last years look though

e46_14 — I have always sort of liked Boser hoods on e46s sometimes I feel like I am a minority with that though

e46_15 — Probably should have saved this for a convertible Theme Tues

e46_11 — Now I have the Cruisn' USA game music stuck in my head, not really this cars fault

e46_18 — Tourings are going to get their own post soon, but here is a taste...

Event Coverage: S&P June 19th 2011: Part 1

By

DaveT

-

Jun 20, 2011

7

Stretch and Poke‘s second official meet of the 2011 season was on Sunday and it brought out all of the usual suspects (Scraped Crusaders, StreetClass, Dorimoto and more) as well as some of the people behind the upcoming ImportExpo.

Dave and his ever growing crew are working pretty hard this year to raise the bar in regards to meets in the Toronto area and so far so good as they were able to pull a decent crowd even for Fathers day.

These meets have been a great way for me to meet a lot of the fans of the site for the first time so I spent a lot of time Sunday networking instead of snapping photos of every car that was on hand so sorry in advance if I missed yours.

However I was able to get shots of a few cars without lots of people and other random whatever in the background which is a nice trade off.

Dorimoto

I was talking some pics of an Evo when it got really loud turn around and there were those Dorimoto boys.

Infiniti

While there were a number of Infinit’s on hand when I got home this was the only one I had pictures of, kind of makes sense though because it’s a personal favorite of mine.

infiniti_jackon_rear — Nice touch with the badging

Dodge

Talk about your different platforms to work on. When was the last time you saw someone mod a Plymouth Breeze? Personally I love to see people take on the tough platforms.

dodge_rear_1 — I think a lip spoiler instead of a wing would do wonders

Lexus

Took some snaps of IS300s and a GS that I didn’t see last time.

lexus_is300_grn_front — People have spotted this car lurking about in down town TO

lexus_is300_grn_rear — Due to those super green wheels it's not all that hard to spot

Mazdas

mazda_rx8 — Mike Branco's clean RX-8, he was snapping photos of the event as well

mazda_rx7_stagger — The owner of this car doesn't know how to act and is going to hit someone soon

mazda_rx7_2 — I think this was the first time I had seen this particular FD, I like the look it's got

mazda_3 — I met the guy who was originally going to by my wheels Sunday, sorry I snaked them 😛

Honda

acura_gsrblades — I've liked this exactly look since the end of high school

acura_edwin — Edwin (Dougboy) brought his car out this time

honda_bbs — Rolled in with this guy, his car looks great rolling

honda_adam — Adam bought Danio's TEs and they look outstanding on his car

honda_s2000_game_ovr — Met the owner of this car, nice guy, sick car

honda_s2000_game_ovr_rearthreequarter — Even with the over fenders he had to do a decent amount of work to get these to fit

honda_s2000_game_ovr_datass — Cars been through a number of changes, going to see about getting more info on those...

The second and final batch of photos should be up in no time…

WTF Friday: Best space saver ever?

By

DaveT

-

Jun 17, 2011

9

Flats suck. I’ve never get one on a day where I wasn’t going to something important. Another thing that sucks about flats is having to run the super tiny spare (unless you are lucky enough to have full size) until you can get it fixed.

Well to make the slow drive on a spare a little more bearable a cleaver Long Islander has made up a spare of extra BBS RS parts. Now if you get a flat you can roll in style and clear your big brake kit.

I know some of you probably would have rather seen these lips and faces put to better use but you have to admire his creativity.

bbs_spare_2 — Much better looking than a boring factory space saver

BBS_spare_1 — Curious not only to what the wheel in the background is, but where it is going to end up...

The green one is also for sale if you are interested.

Site updates

The biggest news? I am looking into getting an initial run of 25-30 shirts made. I posted this on the facebook page last night but if you could let me know which of the following three color combination you prefer and what sizing you would like to see let me know.

After the initial run I should be able to switch the shirt colors up no problem it’s just the initial screen cost that keeps me limited to one shirt color so far.

Event wise I will be at the second Stretch and Poke Event of 2011 on Sunday. Doesn’t seem like it was all that long since the last…

Flashback Friday

Is Voice Coil Meltdown happening this year? All this Division R stuff reminded me of it. It’s super close to my house too… Here is last years coverage

Don't think I have seen this car again this year

C-C-C-C-Combo breaker

By

DaveT

-

Jun 17, 2011

12

Traditionally I only post in the WTF Friday category or Fridays, however I will make an exception when Steve Wharton at E11even: 11 is involved and leaves gems like these on my facebook wall on a Thursday night.

These photos of Division R Sam’s previously featured, and recently transformed 350z, were shot a few days ago at a Niagara region airfield which happens to be home to a few lovely planes including a hand polished Lockheed.

The photos are predictably phenomenal and really showcase the work Sam has put into his car this year. Additionally these photos showcase the various types of photo editing techniques Steve is capable of applying to any photo shoot (your next one perhaps? :))