Made some small changes to the blog itself. The first thing you may notice is that the images are larger. Normally I size them to 640px because that’s the size that this blog was designed for, but the pics from the photoshoots were 500px which would be fine if this were 1999 and not 2009. So, I decided to post the full sized image and then just use CSS to scale it down.
More news? Well, I have some exciting shop tours planned. Which shops? You’ll have to wait and see, but they should be pretty cool – I’m stoked at least.
I’ve been pretty busy lately GETTING STUFF DONE. I finally got my car transfer and registration fees paid which broke the bank, but I had to get the car back on the road. My differential is whining and the car feels really weird on whatever tires are on my stock wheels. Not sure why that is. Plans are still to get the whole thing resprayed, slap the new wheels on, show at Nisei and then put it up for sale. I’ve got my sights set on an NSX.
For now, enjoy some Russell Peters, because I’m going to see him this Thursday!
When you picture an NSX, you think of something like this right? Without a doubt, they still have the exotic look, even with the teensy 15/16″ stock wheels. Maybe a little outdated with the NA1 front…
NSXPrime.com user VRoooM decided that his stock NSX was in need of a makeover. He started with a Sorcery widebody kit and then started fabricating custom panels and even addressed my only gripe about the NSX’s styling – the lack of a C-Pillar.
If you look at any other comparable exotic car, you’ll find that the c-pillar area flows very well. On the NSX, Honda chose to use one large piece of curvy glass. Makes the top part look like a separate birdcage (especially since the tops of many were painted black) which always looked odd to me. Take a look at this Ferrari F430.
Whelp, here goes…
Looks pretty crazy to me. The first piece I noticed was the roof scoop which was a styling trait taken from the Saleen S7. Also, notice how small the 18″ Advan Model 5’s look in the front. This goes back to my post awhile back about wheel fitment on an NSX. I think some 20/19″ staggered Volk GT-V’s would have set it off.
…And there’s the rear. It looks very odd still, but striking nonetheless. I think he went with the taillights off of a Chevrolet Cobalt. Makes the rear look F430-esque. I’m not so sure about the scoop though. I’m all for the ram-air scoops that you see on the JGTC NSX’s but this one kind of looks like a small mullet…
I think the fake C-Pillar is a nice touch but I would have done something like this with maybe a custom piece of glass (of course this is assuming that I had the skills or access to a fabricator). I have to give it up to him for his work though. I just mocked this up in 30 seconds…
The new Honda Insight’s out and my mom’s thinking about buying one. With every other car on the road being a Toyota Prius, it’s nice to see a competitor from Honda as without a doubt, it’s more fun to drive (I haven’t driven one, but I’ve driven a Prius) and looks decidedly better. Thought this commercial was pretty cool. Watch the making of after the jump.
Figured I’d update the progress of my car. Let’s see, the last time I washed it was for the Cali <3 BBQ meet and that was a long time ago. It’s been sitting in front of my house covered with pollen and water spots. The sun hasn’t helped as it kind of meshes the two together and bakes it into the paint. I also sold my J’s V1 front awhile back. Got it painted GPW and shipped it to New York. Anyways, my s2000 was sitting there bumperless until I decided to purchase a Shine ASM replica bumper because I needed one asap. Basically, I took it home and it was the worst fitting thing I’d ever seen. I seriously don’t know how Shine sells so many parts. It looked as if the mold was made off a car that had a horrible front end collision. Needless to say, I got my money back and bought a CR front. Fitment is excellent obviously since it’s OEM. Now I’m just waiting to get the whole car painted and for my new wheels to come in. As you can see in the pictures, it looks horribly sunk. That’s because it’s on stock AP1 wheels with flared fenders and my old alignment. Before I do anything else though, I have to get the thing smogged, re-registered, and pay for another half year of insurance so with money being a little tight after my lavish spending this past week, it’s going to take a couple months to complete. Goal: Nisei 2009.
I shot Dave’s 2003 Silverstone AP1 a few months ago. Very nice person. He messaged me the other day saying that his friend Ben had picked up a 2003 AP1 as well and wanted a photoshoot. This was a paid shoot so I spent extra time preparing for it and brought out some extra gear. When they showed up, I was very surprised to see the yellow car. Interestingly enough, I almost traded my RX-8 for that car. Back when I met up with the previous owner, it had 19″ HRE’s, some carbon fiber body panels, and cheap Sparco seats. The owner was pretty old and had a grip of other cars (supercharged NSX, evo, etc) and needed a four door because they were having another kid. Of course, as with most things in life, the fate of the trade was up to his wife. Turns out an RX-8 isn’t what she had in mind when she said he had to get a 4 door family car and they ended up getting an FJ Cruiser.
Fast forward half a year and the same car shows up in front of my house with stock wheels and a couple of other small modifications Ben has made in his 3 weeks of ownership. He had a HUGE grin on his face which apparently hadn’t gone since the day he picked up his car. It’s built very clean and simple, much like Dave’s car. They both got nice rubber, corner balanced by Evasive Motorsports, and a passion for driving. I knew they were going to love the location I had planned out.
The drive was fun, – the scenery beautiful. Ben’s actually an excellent driver; used to rally when he lived in France (grew up there…) Both of these s2000’s look like they’re set up to rally hah. The Spa Yellow car is actually on Tein Flex with EDFC and I was amazed at how well it rode. Felt better than stock for sure. Also, getting a ride in a stock-ish AP1 really puts into perspective for me how much faster the AP2 is, and how big a difference 4.77 final drive makes.
