As of late there have been a rash of sick cars back home. I have to say however….guys need to lay off the vinyl!!! I mean, I know you guys get it for next to nothing from TF but the cars look sooooooo much better w/o the haphazardly placed reflective stickers all over. Let’s take a look at what I mean:

Earl’s STI is way hot. SBC Enkei RP03, VS Aero, GT Wing, plenty of power and that sick BRG off of the Austin Martin  DBR9.

Before:

After:

I do have to say however, the JAMS sticker is ultimate bad-ass. Next, Josh’s 180…this car is HOT HOT HOT. V:S oem aero, perfect fitment on the SSR SP1, those hot Origin “fender pull” look rear fenders…makes me jealous! But again, the stickers….

Before (ish…):

After:

Still, either way the thing is hot…but it would be more-so cleaned up! Now, when I heard of the wheel combo Chob was putting together for his S14, I was less that optimistic…but damn was I proved wrong. The aero, wheels, stance, everything compliment each other so well. And of these three cars this one is the one that I REALLY wish would go back to a clean, no sticker look:

Before:

After:

 I really hope this post isn’t taken the wrong way…consider it constructive criticism. Either way, with vinyl or without, the cars that have been coming out of the Midwest as of late are some of the best looking in the country as far as I’m concerned. I understand that guys are just trying to rep those who have helped with the cars as well..so in a way its a double edged sword of sorts. Either way, keep up the work guys….and lets get some more action shots! haha

Oh and Bruce…don’t fall prey to the free vinyl machine in the room next to you Keep the FC clean!

Also..I realize maybe I’m being a bit hypocritical…but my vinyl was stealth mode

I just got word from Edgar of Drift Indy, that Clinton took home 2nd at this weekends US Drift Pro-AM event at VIR!

Clinton made the trip out with all of us Midwest guys to the Pro-AM last November to Laughlin’s Pro-AM but sadly didn’t get a license, but it looks like he is well on his way this year! Clinton is one of the most genuine guys at events, and is always excited about driving so its really kick-ass to see him on the podium. I always enjoyed driving (or drinking) with him. Best of luck for the rest of the season Clinton.

Congrats Hiro on the new Doriten. The car looks awesome, I didn’t know you run the 315 on the front too? Crazy.

And, No Name Heros!

Yea as of late doesn’t seem like many people have much of it. I was going through some old posts on Speedhunters and ran across these shots from the Gatebil event held in Norway. It looked like a good time for sure, but I noticed a few cars that should be in Japan! The Good Road 2JZ S15 and the RYO kouki S14 both were at the event. Some guys in Norway bought them it seems, but what I don’t get…they look exactly the same!

I mean ok, buying a pre-built car is whatever…no points in my book but I can understand not wanting to go through the trouble. But come on, they didn’t even change the vinyl on the cars. I’ve seen some stuff like this over in the UK too and I just don’t understand it. It’s like those Subaru guys that throw the WRC livery  on their cars…just don’t get it. You have a car, make it your own!

/rant

This past weekend I rode with Masa over to Okayama-ken for a small grip event at Nakayama circuit.

After correcting his toe, Masa was able to qualify 3rd for the main 10lap race in his Carina. Despite his use of some new A048′s in front he wasn’t able to keep up with the 200+hp full race prep 86′s and Civics and was only able to snag 5th place. Nakayama is a cool little circuit about 25km away from Okayama Circuit.

“Overfender”

Summer….beer+cars=me happy

 After the long, hot day at the track we finished up the day with some fine ramen. Delish!

I’ve got some video as well, and a bunch more pictures. I’ll get those up asap!

In JR’s latest blog entry on Speedhunters he talks about his time with Ken Block of DC. I won’t lie, I’m jealous as hell he got a chance to pilot the new ’08 STI. Check out the full entry, here. Make sure to check out the video clip! JR gave me $20 in Lauglin last year and told me to run to the roulette table and put it all on black….20mins later I had turned that $20 into $150. Good times! Its nice seeing good people getting to do dope things.

Also, big thanks to Mike of Auto-Otaku for a nod to yours truly in his article “Drift Weapons of Choice” article he wrote for Speedhunters.