East Coast Connection

I have to be honest here- When I first saw Chris’ Lime Green NSX, the color wasn’t an instant hit for me. Considering I have an orange car, you would think I would embrace another bold color. The green however did grow on me. Ironically, his NSX today is in my top 5 “all-time fav” NSX list. Lime Green Metallic (GY19M) was only available in Japan by special order. After seeing a few photos online, Chris fell in love with this color and made the decision to paint his car with only a few reference points. I’ve been wanting to shoot Chris’ NSX for awhile now; but unfortunately the few times I’ve been on the East Coast, we haven’t been able to connect. Luckily, my friend Al Norris was able to help me out and shoot this car earlier this week.

Chris purchased his NSX back in 2003. Originally a 1995 midnight purple NSX on tan, it’s been slowly transformed over these last 10 years to the NA2 beauty you see here today. When he first found the car, it was somewhat beat up needing a ton of work and maintenance to get it up and running. He went from purple, to championship white, and finally lime green metallic. Chris and I are always on the same page when it comes to NSX parts, modifications, and everything in between- so of course the recent white TE37’s and APR rear spoiler has had me drooling!

Most NSX owners are very particular about parts and fitment. NSX-R modifications are very popular, but many of the original parts are very difficult to find. The Backyard Specials/VIS Type R hood is one of the best I’ve seen. Many people are often confused as to why the hood is vented considering the motor is in the rear. Simply stated, it’s designed for aerodynamics and not for cooling. The engineers at Honda designed the vent to allow hot air to escape via the vent and then through an undertray. Without turning this into a science class, it’s main purpose is to reduce front lift.

For an NSX, Chris’ wheel fitment is somewhat aggressive. Honda fitment in general is fairly conservative from the factory and the NSX is no exception. Chris managed to fit a set of White Volk Racing TE37’s in 18×8.5 30mm in front and 19×9.5 4mm in the rear. For tire selection, he went with Falken FK452 215/35/18 & 275/30/19 (which are notorious for being somewhat undersized compared to their counterparts).

The targa top and pillars have been painted black to give the car a type-r look and feel. The entire vibe of the car screams Japan. Not to generalize NSX owners, but many are purists at heart and Chris simply broke every rule with this build.

Genuine NSX-R badges as a homage to the Japanese legend.

I’m really diggin’ this shot by Mr. Norris. The car simply defines “aggressive.” The JP Aero front lip was a nice touch and literally only one of the few aftermarket lips without vents. Why lips have non-functional vents still perplex me.

Unfortunately I didn’t have any motor or interior shots to share. His engine is currently NA, but this may change soon. Some may argue the horsepower may be lacking by today’s standards, but purists will still tell you that their is nothing like a naturally aspirated NSX. From this angle you’ll also notice that the wheels are concave in the rear, and flat faced in front. On an NSX, concave front and rear TE’s is very tricky. You usually need to have a widebody to be able to fit concave front TE37’s. The Difflow Diffuser fit perfectly on the NA2 rear valance along with Gruppe M exhaust.

Chris didn’t like the original tan interior so he went through the trouble to replace every interior panel and even scored a set of 2005 black OEM seats. These will soon be replaced with a set of Recaro’s. Chris would like to thank Nocturnal Autowurx for the paint/body refresh last year as well as his other friends and family who’s been supportive through this 10 year build. Thanks again for checking this out and special shout out again to Al Norris for the photos. Be sure to like his Facebook page by clicking here.

Black 4 / Tuner Evolution (Part 4 of 4)

Our Black 4/Tuner Evolution coverage resumes in one last part. A ton of pics here, so hope no one is still on a 56 modem!. Be sure to check out Parts 1-3 if you haven’t seen them yet.

Part 1 here.
Part 2 here.
Part 3 here.

We start off on part 4 with an amazing build by “El Pres” aka Michael with his static Jaguar that is sporting a modded Auto Couture kit.

Really nice attention to detail and gives you a real Euro-Japan luxury vibe.

Sharad’s Lexus LS400 / Toyota Celsior rolled all the way from Toronto.

Really dig the color contrast on the wheel windows.

JDM badges always confuse the masses…

Our buddy Darren’s Rocket Bunny Scion FR-S that was in Chicago a few months ago.

Evo with a Voltex front bumper & custom Wedsport TC105N wheels.

This Honda S2000 was putting down 525whp / 380tq @ 14psi! Sitting pretty with some widen rear fenders and some CCW Classics.

S30 repping Los Goonies.

Max’s flared Acura RL sitting on some aggressive concave Luxury Abstract Madors.

Doesn’t look like much but the rear fenders flowed really well with the stock body lines and the flare was executed perfectly!

Now this is what I call VIP!

Few of Black 4 trophies. Jason really wanted that crown to wear!

Legit RHD 6th Gen Toyota Chaser sitting on a set of TE37

Another shot of the Chaser.

My pants would have dropped if I didn’t had my belt on when we walked by this 300C! SO bad ass in person.

Tim’s WRX airred out on Airrex air suspension.

GS300 sitting on a classic set of WORK Equip 05

Sick e30 M3. If you like this car, get it now! They are only getting harder to find these days.

Mugen MF10’s on this S2k.

Chris’ JDM Lime Green reproduction NSX on Volk TE37’s. Look out for a feature of this car in the next few days.

The engine bay of the “Best of Show” car from Team Emotion.

Max IS350 post-cleaning job.

Mike’s Varis widebody Evo… a true legend.

Another shot of Pat’s Matrix.

Jason’s e60 sitting proper on Ordens.

Breakers seem to be a regular thing at car shows these days. Some of these kids were going off!

Tuner Evolution brought back the classic car show bikini competition. Sorry folks, not too many pics of that aspect of the show here.

Gene and Ming trying to figure out the spec’s on the trophy for 2nd place “Best Fitment”. Yes, it’s a Maya Trafficstar wheel table. In front of Ming is his award for Black 4 “Best M”.

Christine holding the top of the table.

A few of us decided to chill in Philadelphia for a day and take in the city. Of course, the 2 Ruling Elite VIP / Team Airrex Chicago cars were in full force.

Shout out to 3rd Shift & Geeky Lurv!

Happy that he was about to get some ice cream until we pulled him away for a bus that wasn’t ours. Sorry Jon!

Being tourists and finding our way around Philadelphia. Brian knows how to read a map fairly well.

For a second, we were lost but the mist from the fountain felt great!

Raymond and Gene beat up some monsters and saved downtown Philadelphia. Here they are on top of the “Rocky Stairs”. Queue – “Eye of the Tiger”!

My adult ADD was in overdrive at the Reading Market Terminal! Serious disappointment on the jerky shop not being opened.

OMG!!! Left: roast pork sandwich with sweet peppers and provolone cheese. Right: a pastrami Reuben!

The famous Washington monument.

The Benjamin Franklin bridge, painted blue by hand is what we were told!

Beefy, is um, relaxing??

Ray being creative. haha

Jason taking in the sun while we wait.

YEP, doing the tourist stuff, and “blending” into the crowd. So that wraps up our coverage of Black/Tuner Evolution. Thanks again for checking it out and special thanks to all the great people we met in Philadelphia!

-jdmchicago

Black 4 / Tuner Evolution (Part 3 of 4)

Part 1 here.
Part 2 here.

Initially thought I was going to only post 3 parts, but the sheer amount of pics would have been too overwhelming in one blog post. So here is part 3 of 4! Thanks again to Pat, Ray, and Brian for contributing to this post.

Fender flares seem to be all the rage these days but nothing beats a classic set of Volk CE28’s in bronze.

Speaking of trendy, here are a set of show worthy RC cars. I wonder if they get any track time. Haha. Been so tempted to get a set or 2.

New “Rigid Tune” Volk TE37’s on this front mount Subaru STI.

These Honda Ruckus’ made me miss the LOS Garage rides! They were a few parts short from making this trip with us but they did attend the shows without their scooters!

This Veilside Mazda RX-7 was gorgeous! All I could think about was Han from Tokyo Drift. Always wondered why he was always eating in most of the movie.

Very clean VIP style Scion xB. Small world! These are Raymond’s old Work Euroline S2H wheels.

The wood accents and black leather really work well on the interior of this xB.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many bagged Japanese imports under one roof! This Honda S2000 was no exception in a matte blue wrap. Diggin the CCW LM-5’s!

A few of the 4 Star Society members from Chicago were able to make it. Gene’s Amuse kitted 370Z, Miguel’s Varis kitted FR-S, and Allen’s itasha Supra.

Breaking hearts and necks – very aggressive Varis widebody STI on SSR Professor MS3’s. Not sure why it wasn’t painted though.

2G Acura TSX on VIP Modular VR11 wheels.

Miami based Lexus GS on AirRex suspension.

Very clean Nissan Z32 with a Greddy Gracer front bumper, Stillen type III sides and paint matched fog ducts.

“Just Peachy” Honda Civic EK Hatch. Buckle up kids!

2 of the East coast sickest SC430’s side by side.

Will’s custom interior. I still have to make sure I don’t drool all over it even though I have seen this setup 2 years ago at Black 2.

This helped solidified my color choice. Now I need to find an interior guy in the Midwest!

FD Rx7 on Volk Racing GT-C’s.

This Veilside V3 (IIRC) 350Z brings me back to the HIN days of the mid-2000’s. Can’t really say I’m a huge fan of this kit but the owner obviously put a ton of money into the build.

BRS Auto Design NSX on Volk SF Challange wheels.

WRX Hatch on Work Emotion CR Ultimate’s, Chargespeed Gekisoku Half-Type kit, and Chargespeed fog light ducts.

Another shot of Allen’s Supra.

Mark Aquino’s Chargespeed widebody Evo X.

Mike’s xB was a neck breaker for me. There were things I haven’t seen yet on a xB in person. Awesome build and well deserved on the awards he won.

Kenny’s M37 sedan took home the best “Static Stance” award.

I think these are the first set of Weds Kranze Verae wheels with a black lip and bronze clear face finish.

EVO MR on Advan RGII’s.

Team EGO Killer S2000 on 18″ COR Precise

Last but not least, this Honda Crosstour caught my eye when it was rolling outside on a set of Vossens CV3 wheels.

That’s it for part 3… come back tomorrow for the last installment of Black 4 /Tuner Evolution Coverage!

Black 4 / Tuner Evolution (Part 2 of 4)

Part 1 Here.

Welcome back to Black 4/Tuner Evolution coverage by Pat and Ray. This part will focus more on the VIP styled cars from the Black section, with a few stragglers from Tuner Evolution. Be sure to come back in a few days for part 3 coverage.

Ming from Fizz AutoSports Chicago took home the Black 4 “Best Infiniti M” award. The car is sporting a clean Junction Produce kit with custom flares that helps tuck the Kranze Vishunu wheels when airred out.

Jonathan rolling static on custom gold Volk Evolution IV wheels. Didn’t see that many sparks this time around on the road trip but I think he took care of those problem areas since last year.

Congrats to our buddy Martin with getting married and winning the Black 4 “Lowest Static” award with his GS on his custom rebuilt Junction Produce Scaras.

Martin is also sporting a custom Mercedes Benz E-class front bumper that we finally got to see in person. This car is sometimes called the “Benzus”!

Miss Chane with her freshly painted GS that took home the Black 4 “Best GS” award. And yes, we think she’s a hotty!

I saw this Mercedes Benz wagon last year but this time, he is sporting some super rare BBS wheels with cooling fins.

One thing I know about these wheels is that they were hand painted and are pretty hard to find.

A set of Work Euroline FS’s.

Yet another Libery VIP Lexus GS sitting very pretty on a set of Leon Hardiritt Orden wheels. The fitment was spot on and that rear flare just flows so well!

One of a few Honda Odyssey’s that rolled in and represented the wagon/van category for Black 4.

Nicely built Toyota Sienna that also represent the wagon/van category.

Jason in his BMW 535i getting escorted to his spot at the show.

Mickey Orlando’s bagged Evo!

Gotta love the paint and wheel setup.SWEET, a HEMI, but something is off.

That’s right, it’s in an Infiniti G35 coupe. Never thought it would fit but sure it is awesome.

Hi Max! Ruling Elite VIP Chicago member realizing white wheels get dirty fast.

Luxury Abstract wheel line up at the event.This BMW E46 M3 won the Black 4 “Fan Favorite” award. It definitely stands out!

Nickels M3 widebody on Luxury Abstract Grassor-R’s with galaxy finish lips.

Ty’s GS, a TRUE hard hitter and neck breaker that took the Black 4 “Most JDM VIP styled” award, This was given by a Liberty VIP member in Japan.

A pair of Nissan Skylines (r32 and r33) on Volk TE37’s (we hope they legit). 😛

Black 4 / Tuner Evolution (Part 1 of 4)

Welcome to our Black and Tuner Evolution coverage held on August 2, 2013! To those who may be unaware- Tuner Evolution is a car show held annually on the east coast. This year Tuner Evolution setup camp in Philadelphia and teamed up with the creators of BLACK, to bring two different themes under one roof. BLACK is a specialty show with an emphasis of VIP and luxury themed cars. Special thanks to Pat from Wagonlifestyle for the write up as well as Brian and Ray for the photos!

Last summer I scrolled through the event coverage from BLACK 3 and I realized I had totally missed out on an awesome event. I thought to myself, “I gotta revamp my ride!”, and I starting planning to make the trip out for the 2013 event. Once the spring season started, I talked to my Ruling Elite VIP brother Jason about rolling out east for this event. We were both excited and kept a close eye on Facebook and Instagram for any news from Agim Jones or Liberty VIP on when/where the event would take place. Once we found out that registration was open, we immediately submitted our car pictures along with the requested information for the pre-approval process. It was a huge bonus that the Black 4 event was being held in conjunction with Tuner Evolution; so our group of 2 turned into 17 total people from Chicago! This feature will chronicle our trip, the show, and everything in between! Thanks for checking this out and hope you enjoy our coverage!

Every year, Mother Nature has always rained on our parade, literally! Extremely happy that the rain had stopped, we picked up a faster pace in the early Friday morning.

Gene’s Amuse fitted 370Z following Mike’s Varis Widebody Evo X.

Christine snapping away from the inside of Gene’s Z. I’m assuming she didn’t bring her Z30 due to the fact it’s about an inch off the ground. haha

Miguel, Mike, and Gene/Christine….

This is one of those times where we are grateful we had no major incidents along the way. Hope the truck driver is OK.

Mike’s Varis Widebody Evo X.

It’s never safe on the highway. There are some dips and bumps that cause a little damage to our rides but thats a given when driving these types of cars across the country. We pulled over after a toll booth because one of the dips caused the Varis kitted FR-S to pop out it’s fog light bulb out of the socket and ripped the side blinker out of the mounting tab. Nothing that some painter’s tape couldn’t fix though!

Max cruising in his IS350.

The 700+ mile trip allowed us to take some random breaks for refilling out vapes, getting a quick bite and refueling on caffeine/gas.

Jason recommends cleaning off bugs at every stop.

Max’s Lexus IS350 again, one of the last car to fill up.

Of course, I aired out at the rest stop to make Jason look bad. That caused some folks to wonder where we were going and what for. It would be sweet if they accidently saw this post!

My bagged Matrix with newly aquired Weds Kranze Elaborars.

A few of us had painter’s tape to protect their front ends from rock chips. This also helps in reducing the amount of bug guts you have to wash off later. Ming from Fizz Autosports Chicago adjusting some tape that started to peel off due to the early morning rain.

I think Miguel needs to attend a painter tape application seminar or something. Looks like a toddler did this!

Once we arrived to our hotel, we rested a bit and headed off to the nearest car wash to prep our cars for show tomorrow. Jason washing his Airrex air suspension BMW E60.