The concept of theme Tuesdays here on Stance Is Everything is simple, every Tuesday I pick a theme and post a collection of vehicles with that theme that meet the stance criteria (modified suspension that fit the vehicles overall theme). This weeks theme Tuesday topic is: Putting In work.
This weeks theme is all about cars with dialed suspension set ups putting them to good use since as much as we like to look at our cars we do drive them as well.
Drift
Rally
Trucks
Track
Maxed out your feasible suspension options and looking for that extra way to get your car lower to the ground? Recently got into accident and don’t want to throw your stock bumpers back on? Want to win a few shows and get a few hoes? There are may reasons why someone would get a Body kit/lip kit and for as many reasons why someone might get one there are just as many options on which to get. Initially the choices can be over whelming to someone just getting into modifying cars so lets break down the options to help you decide.
Lip Kits
Lip kits are subtle additions that attach to the factory equipment bumpers and side skirts. They have gained popularity over the last few years as they are look clean, are generally easy to install, inexpensive to paint and are easily removable for repairs and winter months (a big issue for those of us living in non tropical climates).
Body kits
Body kits completely change the look of the vehicle they go on standard body kits include replacement front/rear bumpers, and side skirts but the more elaborate kits can also included door panel, roof, hood and trunk pieces. Some kits come in as many as 22 pieces and they are generally expensive to fit properly, paint, and repair. As off Late body kits seem to be falling out of style (“rice)” as current automotive trends are shifting to subtle, clean modifications and a general less is more ideal.
Whichever route you chose make sure that you have the funds to get the kit painted before you rock it.
Body/lip kits come in three types of materials: Fiberglass, ABS plastic and Carbon fiber, they all have their advantages and disadvantages which I will outline below.
Fiberglass
Fiberglass kits come in two varieties: hand laid and machine sprayed. Sprayed kits are made when the fiberglass is sprayed onto a mesh of fiber that is built into a mold of the final bumper. The spraying process is prone to inconsistencies, more so in the cheaper knock off kits, in thickness which can cause them to be extremely brittle. This can lead to premature cracking and breaking of the kit and extremely poor fit.
The more expensive, and better fitting fiberglass option is hand laid. In this process the fiberglass is hand laid into the mold which allows for a more consistent thickness, quality and fit. With most things you get what you pay for and body kits are no exception.
The main advantages of a fiberglass kit are that they are generally cheaper than plastic versions and much easier to repair should they get damaged.
Plastic
Plastic kits come in two flavors Urethane and ABS. Both plastics generally have more give than fiberglass (with Urethane being the better of the two) and hold up to abuse better as a result. Plastic body kit pieces also tend to fit better as there is less inconsistency between the mold and the final product.
The trade off for plastic kids is two fold, first they are generally quite a bit more money to purchase than a fiberglass kid and in the event that you do manage to crack one both forms of plastic repairs are generally more labor intensive and hard to do properly.
Carbon Fiber
Most kits are actually not made of Carbon fiber but are rather fiberglass kits wrapped in Carbon fiber. These kits are more expensive to purchase and repair and are best kept to show vehicles or vehicles that exist in a fair weather climate. Damaging a carbon fiber kit is NOT easy to repair.
Installation
Installation difficulty depends on whether or not you go with a Body or Lip kit and what quality of kit you buy, personally I believe that, for anything other than a lip kit you should get it installed by a trained professional just because poorly installed body kits actually drastically take away from the look you are trying to achieve and can ruin your vehicle and kit beyond practical repair. The most blatant example of this fact is the now (in)famous failed installation of a lipkit on a 350z in California. The owner paid $750 for the painting and installation of his kit and was given a $750 dollar job did $14,000 worth of damage to his vehicle.
The most important thing to take away from this article is that like every other modification you do to you car research (not necessarily spending more) will help you make the most effective choice and allow your money to go the farthest.
Here are some examples of properly installed kits:
One of the hardest parts about this hobby is staying within the limits of the law. Both in how we drive and how we modify our cars. It’s no secret that our scene is like living in a Police State and It’s come to my attention that a local BMW members who’s car I posted on this site has had his plates pulled for being to low.
Remember the general rule of thumb when dealing with lowering your car and legality is full lock to full lock without rubbing and if the officer can fit one finger between your fender and tire any lower and you might be looking at a fix it ticket and a tow unfortunately it’s still up to the officers discretion.
I went back to the first show I covered for Stance Is Everything, The Street Classics Weekly Cruise and Show and Shine. This time I arrived on time and prepared with the SLR and an empty CF card. The turnout and weather were great and the 50/50 draw was up over $2000, these shows are an excellent way to kill a few hours on a lazy Saturday Night.
Dioramas
A local diorama creator was at the show selling and giving away some of his works as prizes
Super Stock
The more of these shows I go to a the more track purposed cars seem to show up.
Impalas
I have a strong love for classic Impalas
Chevelle’s
Where I like Impala’s my girlfriend likes Chevelles
Trucks
I still have a soft spot for trucks
Assorted Hotness
Custom paint
Two cars at the show had pretty interesting paint jobs
The General
These pictures mostly speak for themselves.
On Friday I posted 2 cars and asked wtf they were. Mike Burroughs from StanceWorks correctly guessed the second car as a VW karman ghia which is a neat little coupe produced by VW from 1955 to 1974. However what was the second boxy looking vehicle? Well…
No one was able to correctly guess it what it was and when I found it the picture was un labled. One message board I am a a part of a member guessed that it might be a Daihatsu so I spent some time looking at those to try and confirm but I couldn’t find one that looked exactly like this one in body style only similar looking onces. I also thought maybe it was a year of Ford Festiva I was familiar with, or maybe a European edition, but the body is different still. So I regret to inform you that I don’t know what this little dropped recycling box is but hopefully one of you do, lets solve this mystery together!
VW karman ghia youtube finds
I have to WTF is that? Cars this week. From what I can tell both are European and both have awesome stance beyond that I have no idea.I ask you dear reader what type of cars are these?
Went out to the weekly car show again on Canada Day. Small turnout this time but I was still able to get a set of photos with no re shoots from last week and a few more creative shots since I had more time. I can’t stress enough how much I like this show.
Partners In Crime
Oddballs
Super Bee
Art Shots
Chevelle and Charger
The Camaros
Lots of Camaraos at the show this week and they were all amazing.
I missed the 2nd official jdmrides.ca meet in Scarborough last Sunday and judging from the various coverage I have seen it looks like the weather held out and it was a great day. While browsing the forums and looking at photos of the event I came across the work b20bomber of TWOLITRE photography and his photos really stood out to me.
His photography shows that not only does our scene have great cars it has great photographers as well. These shots are defiantly worth sharing outside of the jdmrides community so I have posted a few of my favorites and linked them over to his flickr account so that you can enjoy the rest.
Check out TWOLITERphotographys full coverage of the event and the rest of his photos on his flickr account and support local talent.
In 2001 and group of Toronto area BMW enthusiasts got together to create an event for other hardcore BMW enthusiasts in the area. What they created was Bimmercruse and it has run successfully in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and this year Bimmercruise is flying under the Eurofest banner and sis gearing up to be one of the largest cars shows in Ontario and perhaps the largest European car show in Ontario.
Looking to top the 200 entrants from last year and being open to all European cars which includes but is not limited to: Mercedes, Porsche, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo, Maseratti, Lamborghini, Peugeot, Ferrari, Lotus, and Audi.
The venue this year is Cayuga International Raceway which not only allows for more cars than ever before but it also allows for the show to be more than just a show and shine.
This years event also have the following events:
-Time Attack ($150)
-Lapping ($100 for 4 25minute sessions)
-Drifiting ($100)
-Drag racing ($40.00)
-IASCA SQ & SPL sound competitions ($30/ea)
The event is $20 for spectators and $40 for show and sine entrants and the mantra behind this years event is that it will not be your average car show and you are encouraged to bring your friends, family, and significant other. This event can’t be missed for more info visit Eurofest.com
Previous Event Coverage:
200 Bimmercruise Video
More previous event photos can be found on the Bimmercruise official website
Stance Is Everything will be covering this event
The concept of theme Tuesdays here on Stance Is Everything is simple, every Tuesday I pick a theme and post a collection of vehicles with that theme that meet the stance criteria (modified suspension that fit the vehicles overall theme). This weeks theme Tuesday topic is: Honda Fits.
Honda fits are funny little cars easy to hate hard to love. I never really paid much attention to them but unsurprisingly they have a pretty big following and like most cars with the right suspension set up they don’t look half bad. I wonder what type of motors can be swapped into them…
Spotted On: nwp4life
