I really can, this car is going to end up all over the internet. It’s going to appear on blog after blog, and forum after forum, for a couple of reasons. I would actually be surprised if some of you had not seen it already.
The first reason people are going to talk about this car is pretty obvious. A lot of people don’t think Subaru’s should be lowered, never mind slammed or on air ride, because of their out of the box off road capability and cherished rally heritage so multiple page debates about the suspension on this car are basically a given.
The second part of this Subaru build that is sure to push some peoples buttons is the fact that this car rocks Rotas, and looks so great doing it, that the owner has no immediate plans to change the wheel setup.
The color of the Rota's and the color of the paint are great together
Before you’re quick to get upset with the owner for bagging an Impreza RS I feel I should let you know that by the time this car got into his hands it already had a salvage title, meaning that it would have been a less than desirable platform for most people to start from anyway.
If you are a purist would you rather this car end up in a junk yard or end up looking like this?
Some are saying this car would look better wingless not sure if I agree...
As for the Rotas (which some people hate) and the bags (which some people hate) maybe the following photos will change your mind. There is no denying this car looks damn good as it’s currently set up.
Look, Rally mode!The final stance aired out is pretty killerShouts to the photographer too great workLove em or hate em Rota is here to stay
For those of you who are, or already have, started a family and are looking for a fun way to get the tribe involved in something automotive based then you might want to take some cues from this wrench holding handy man as he’s obviously has it all figured out.
First you need two Dodge Caravan’s, one running and one for parts, then you need a truck frame to put everything onto and once that’s done gather the kids for the camouflage paint job.
When it dries stand back and admire what you’ve created.
Isn't she beautiful?The funky body line makes it look like a photo shop
This van is both odd and slightly intriguing to me, I wonder how it performs off road.
However if I were to do anything to a Caravan it would be this:
Nothing major site wise, and in regards to my wheel post yesterday I am getting the tires taken off tomorrow and then proceeding down the path of measurements/modifying center bore.
I want to make them fit.
Flashback Friday
Since we are talking about Van’s here is a throwback to what I think was the first Theme Tuesday I ever did called ‘Vans can play too.
I mentioned yesterday on facebook that the test fit of my new wheels went pretty poorly, but before I get into that I should back track and let you guys know what my goal for these new wheels is.
What I hope to have purchased is a set of Work Equip 5 spokes in 17×8 (et38) and 17×9 (et44) fitment. The plan, through lots of research, was to run these with 215/45/17s all around and be happy with not a lot of poke and no excessive amounts of camber.
I went to see the wheels last week and they looked good so I purchased them on the spot (without test fitting) during a snow storm of all things.
The wheels the day I got them, still covered in snow
After a busy weekend and few days following the purchase I decided I had better test fit them before I sold my current wheels.
Last night I tried and sadly the center bore is too small so I can’t get the wheels to fit flush onto the hub. After this problem I had a bit of a freak out and began picturing the widths and offsets also being incorrect (partially brought on by measuring the widths incorrectly during this panic).
Last nights sad test fit
After contacting the seller to confirm the specs he said that the specs were given to him by the previous owner and he was simply going on his word since the tags on the wheels have long since vanished.
Knowing that I am now ‘stuck’ with very desirable wheels in potentially un-runable (for me sizes) I devised the following game plan:
Remove the current worn out, too large, tires
Verify rim width and offset are within the specs I can realistically run
If the specs are good bore out the wheels and proceed with cleaning and polishing
If the specs are NOT as advertised put the wheels back up for sale/trade
Sounds good to me what do you think?
Just so this post isn’t all about my wheel fitting woes here are some cars on similarly sized and offset Equips.
17x8/ 17x9 +47 These could go on my car no problem.17x7.5 +44/17x8.5 +41 - would also fitIf my wheels turn out close in spec I am goodDon't remember the specs on these but I do know they have a slightly different lip option17x8 +35 f 17x9 +35 r - Wouldn't fit the way I wantJust a hair too low for the Mazda 317x8.5 et 37 Front, 17x9.5 et 36 RearIf I can't fit them maybe I can swap wheels with an IS300 owner?This car looks beautiful17x8, 17x8 +27 - Too low but looks damn good on this car
So what do you think, does my course of action seem logical? I really want to make these bastards work.
I’ve spent a lot of too much time lately browsing a fitment thread on Mazda 3 forums trying to figure out just how I want my new wheels to look this year in regards to stretch vs fatness and that’s where I stumbled across this sick looking Speed3.
It’s sitting on an aggressive, functional, setup that I really can’t find any reason not to like.
I love Speed 3’s, I love RPF-1s, and I love blacked out cars, and I love nice stance so this car hits all the right buttons for me.
Its a refreshing change to see tires filling up the wheel wellsThis car gets driven hard thus the meaty setupAmazing looking carHe doesn't rub in the front and only slightly in the rear
The specs are: 17×9(et40) 255/40. Not sure the suspension. If a set of 17×9 RPF-1’s showed up at my door this is probably what I would do.
I love hot rod guys, something about their mentality makes them different than the rest of us. It’s this mentality that allows them to create the cars I like to drool over then take them out in the snow just to blow my mind.
The first car I am posting today probably doesn’t see much winter driving, the second looks like it was just parked for the winter and then snow fell on it, but the third is reported to be a daily driver.
Seven types of immaculate, and I know that doesn't even make senseFrom what I remember this photo is a vintage oneThis is a daily!
This 1931 roadster is owned by Jan. Jan never asks what the weather might be at that hot rod meeting the upcoming weekend. He doesn’t whine about rained out car shows. There’s no way he cares about getting a late model car to drive around during the winter months. Hell, he doesn’t even own a daily driver. Okay, that’s not true. He does own a daily driver: his 1931 roadster.
It’s been awhile since I have done a Theme Tuesday on a late model car. This one in particular I’ve been working on and off for at least a year.
Most of that time was spent with me pondering whether or not I really liked this chassis. Visually I think I do however if I were to get something for a performance aspect I would probably go older.
This might have to do with the fact that I couldn’t afford to own and mod an e90/e92.
Liking the trend of blue rims lately, more so than the neon trendThese cars contrast really well whiteThe owner of this car runs a site you might have heard of...Cali styleSaw this one on the SW forums, the owner things he should go lower but I like the current lookSaw this beast at SEMA, it pulls off the fighter jet graphics wellSick photo, not sure if it's real HDRNot sure how I ended up with so many white cars..whoopsLook a color other than white!Time and time again BMW and BBS are a winning combinationThis car is local one of the first full wraps I ever saw in personRollin to a Hellaflush meetThis is the second IND car I have posted here and this is just as sick as the lastFunction and form in this carFTW indeed, damn!
I mentioned in the comments of the last C30 I posted that I had found another one since then, and this dope looking c30 is it.
I spotted this on Ivy League East looking for a completely different Volvo. While the last c30 had an oem+ look to it this one drives a little bit harder to the point thanks to the beautifully polished CCWS.
Both this one and the previous are very clean and I would have no issues driving either.
Looks like this was taken at h20i?Looks like this c30 has less camber than the previous one I postedLooks like Matt Berenz found this car once beforePeople can say CCWs are played all they want won't stop me from liking themProps to the owner, clean car
According to their website the Tokyo Auto Salon is “the world’s largest auto exhibition with more than 600 vehicles on display“. To me that reads as ‘ SEMA, in Japan, and larger’.
While I didn’t get to go Peter from Nextmod worked it into his well deserved vacation from the shop and uploaded a ton of photos from the event to Nextmod’s facebook fan page. He gave me permission to re post some here for those of you who are not yet fans of theirs on facebook and I jumped at the opportunity.
These are 50 or so pictures from his multiple galleries that really caught my eye. While I have never been to Japan but things like this make me rethink my personal rule of not sitting on a plane for longer than eight hours.
Over the top
Like SEMA TAS had a number of cars where the manufactures decided to go crazy and push the limits of what could be done. They are a little over the top but boundaries need to be pushed for things to progress.
Wow.If these cars got in a wreck I wonder if people would run to collect the fallen blingRocket bunny s13, how you drive with all those stickers remains a mysteryThe Crazy Boze Toyota from SEMA was also at TAS, not sure if the ipad was always installedJapan loves their anime, what's crazy is this car still manages to look goodMaybe not over the top, but very, very differentI might be misquoting here but I heard this started as a Supra?I have no idea what this is, none at all
Wheel and brake accessories
Couple pics of wheels and brakes accessories that caught my attention.
I'll take... all of them?Leon Hardiritt's 2011 collectionDeep, deep Meister'sEndless Brake kits
Honda
The few Honda’s I have seen from TAS that seem to be built with function in mind over form which is always cool to see. Also as expected companies were working with the CR-Z
This blacked out CRZ looks awesome.Nicely dumped AcuraRace prepped CR-ZMonstrous looking EG rocking a staggered setup like Spenser with the Orange eg
Subaru and Mazda
A Handful of Subaru’s were in Nextmods coverage as well as one of the cleanest Protege 5’s I have ever seen.
Absolutely beautifulSTI waiting for someone to take it someplace dirtyElectric?Legacy on steroids
Euro
Is the Euro scene big in Japan, can anyone in Japan chime in on this? I can only imagine that if it is large it’s crazy.
GT3 RS <3More people should mod the new Scirroco's, just sayinInteresting looking front endThis chassis is beginning to grown on me Love the color of these rims on the Check Shop M3G wagens were huge in rap videos in early 2000, been awhile since I have seen oneCheck out the headlights on this Benz, bling insideDo like
Toyota
From Yaris to Supra and everything in between the Toyota’s at TAS were very well done.
Nice looking MK4 from DigicamLMs on a Yaris? Damn.Never realized the Yaris looks like a really compact Van when dumpedVIP done in pinkThe murdered out look still has lots of life left in it
Kei Trucks, Minis, and compacts
Lots of small vehicles were at TAS, some we do have in North American and others we don’t.
Tidy little MiniThis looks like it could be a problem on the Auto cross courseI swear I should know what this is, but the front end is throwing me right offThis car looks squishedSeeing pictures of Kei trucks drifting always brings a smile to my face
Vans
The Van seen in Japan is crazy. Sometimes I wish we had a van scene like this in North America but then I think about all the pictures of 70s vans I have seen and reconsider…
WowBold word's take on a vanUSDM clipped JDM van.. what?!HI Ace?Probably the most Halo's I have seen on a vehicle, ever
Junction Produce
Junction Produce is serious. From what I have seen it looks like some of the VIP readers of this site would have dropped into a coma after setting foot into this booth.
Kids gotta ride clean tooI don't even know what the first car isVIP tuck is always so significant, tire/rim/spoke all up in the wellVIP Phantom? *head explodes*
That’s all of the photos I am going to post here from Nextmods Toyko Auto Salon coverage but if you want to see the rest of the photos taken by Peter and Rachel go check out the Nextmod facebook fan page.
Big thanks to them for letting me share these photos with you.
Oh almost forgot… there were women at the show!
All of the models look like they are enjoying themselves way more in JapanLittle monster?Oh haiInteresting...Also interestingLooking mildly amusedClassy model part 4?
The latest copy of Performance Auto & Sound showed up to my house this week and inside they had an article on the 20HZ 300C that I have seen at a variety of car shows over the past two years.
The car is easily one of the most over the top show cars in the greater Toronto area. Even if the final result isn’t to your tastes you can’t really deny the man hours that have gone into this.
I mean the roof is crazy and it no longer has a steering wheel…
Last years under hood setupThis years under hood setup at Scrape 2010Last years interior at Scrape By The LakeOne of the drawbacks to the no roof deal
While I’ve seen this car at a lot of shows, I have never seen it once move because it’s always sitting in place by the time I show up.
With no offense intended to the owner or builder I will admit I had my doubts the car could actually do much more than drive on and off a trailer, if that. This was of course based on it being a full show car (I’ve heard a lot of questionable things about show builds) and the aforementioned lack of steering wheel.
However the article in PASMAG it said check out youtube to see this car melting some rubber.
Because I am good at following simple instructions I did:
And I’ll be damned it actually does run (and sound great running), steer (via a knob in the center console) and do burnouts.
Of course I would love to see more video of it running, and more of that crazy steering setup in action, but for now I am satisfied.
Though I still wonder what would happen if you got pulled over for driving without a steering wheel….
Site Updates
I’m working on another featured photographer post over the weekend which fingers crossed it will be up early next week. In addition to that I should have a post from Toyko Auto Saloon care of Nextmod.
I’m also awaiting some info for a new featured ride as well.
Personally fingers crossed I’ll be looking at and perhaps picking up some new wheels tomorrow.
Flashback Friday
The Oldschool JDM Theme Tuesday was just bumped by Jeff white who owns this clean ass KE20 which is getting a F20 swap as we speak.
Let me know when it’s done Jeff and I will start Oldschool JDM Theme Tuesday part 2!
You know the final climax scene of the Fast And The Furious where Brian flips Dom the keys to the Orange Supra, which runs perfectly fine despite having just jumped a set of train tracks fueled by two big bottles of ‘NOS’, and Dom drives it into the sunset?
One could assume that sometime after his initial escape he realized that a bright orange Supra with a pointing robot on the side wasn’t the best vehicle to be incognito in and proceeded to change it into something better looking, maybe even something like this…
Better than the movie version as they are both LHD I canAnother straightforward kick ass car
In reality this is just a sick Supra I found that has nothing to do with the Fast and the Furious but I felt like I should say more than ‘just a sick Supra’
Update:Southrnfresh.com hooked up some more photos and a quick update on this car. Sadly it doesn’t sound like it’s as clean as it used to be 🙁
Hurts to hear its not as clean as this anymoreI have the theme song for Cruisin' USA stuck in my head now
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