That's a Wrap!

Well, I can't exactly remember how long it's been since I've been able to say that a project has been, "finished."  Then again, is a project ever really finished?  Surely there are things one can change for the next season, or areas that can be improved on from before after looking at the "finished" piece, but I think I can say that my 2000 Lexus LS400 is finally done.  I say that mainly because I don't know how much longer I will have it, and also because any changes that I had planned for 2011 have been cancelled due to other projects and other changes in life.  Still, the short, but sweet journey with the LS has been a fun one, and I think I did a good job with it in the short time I had in building it.  I think it came down to minimum effort, maximum results.

I picked the car up in early July after selling my 2003 Ford F250 diesel since I wasn't towing around my cars anymore, plus I was looking at getting another car and getting a big, luxury sedan.  Thanks to my friends on the west coast, and sites like Stance Nation, Stanceworks, and Hellaflush, I was exposed to the VIP scene and liked what I was seeing, which lead me to looking for a big, Japanese, luxo-cruiser.  I had always like the Lexus LS400 and LS430, and found this nice example in Chicago, IL.  It was a platinum edition with 78k original miles.  I picked it up for a good price and almost immediately I was on the phone with Guillermo over at GPR Auto ordering the necessary parts to get the car sitting right.

The nice thing about having a few cars is that you generally have some parts laying around that can be used on new projects.  In my case, I had a set of 19" multi-piece Enkei Phalenx wheels from on of my other cars.  They measure in at 19x8.5 +35 front, and 19x10 +40 rear, so while not too terribly aggressive, they still sat well on the LS and filled up the wheel wells nicely.  To get the car sitting nicely over the 19s, GPR Auto sent me over a Tanabe suspension.  After installing it, the car didn't sit as low as I wanted, so off they came, and me and a friend did a little modification to the springs to get them to sit the car a little lower.  Hey, sometimes a little ingenuity comes in handy.

With the rolling stock taken care of and the suspension dialed in, it was time to focus in on some other areas of the car, which in reality, nothing else really needed attention.  Apart from an exterior detail, and the addition of some accessories, it remains stock.  The factory audio system got a slight upgrade in the form of a JL Audio amp and single, 8" JL Audio sub where the factory sub once resided.  The factory, plush leather interior didn't need much sprucing up, the factory wood-grain adding that perfect touch of class.

The car's big debut was at the September Cars & Cafe event here in Minneapolis where the cars simple appearance and low-down stance turned more than a few heads in an event filled with exotics.  Not too many people up this way are familiar with the stance movement so the car got looks for it's wide wheels with stretched tires on a big, luxury sedan.  I hit up as many meets and local get-togethers as I could and the car had an overwhelmingly positive response.  Overall, I'm very happy with the response and the impact the car created with how little I put into it, and the short time that I had the car out.  Right now, the car is sitting dumped on the stock 16s wrapped in winter tires as I wait to decide what to do with the car.  It's a great car and is still in very nice condition, but this was one of those projects destined to be short lived.  My tastes and interests change and I'm courting a few new possibilities for the LS's replacement.  Only time will tell, but for now, that's a wrap.

I would like to say thanks to all my friends who helped in this build, Guillermo over at GPR Auto for the parts, all the guys on the Low N' Slow crew, and the i'mSTANCED crew.

Air & Water On Land

What happens when a group of friends get together with some camera and editing equipment with a decent eye for film?  Well, they usually end up making some videos.  With YouTube and Vimeo, it seems like anyone and everyone can "make" a video these days.  Now, some are not so bad, but then there are some that really make you stop and go, "whoa."

That was my reaction when I first ran across a video by a group called Wagenwerks.  They typically cover the European and VW/Audi scene and the videos that caught my eye were their video coverage of the H2o International show in Maryland.  The camera work and editing was just that much better than your typical, decent, YouTube video.  I watched their stuff regularly and always looked forward to new videos.

Then, they posted a teaser for a production they were launching called Air & Water On Land, or AWOL.  They planned to cover the automotive scene like a TV show, one episode at a time.  The work is amazing.  The videos are just a blast to watch and they do a fantastic job covering ALL aspects of the automotive scene today.  Check out their latest episode which covers the Stanceworks x Hellaflush 512 Project show:

AWOL Episode 128: 512 Project Show

That, my friends, is how to make a video.  If you liked what you saw, feel free to follow them on their website, AWOL TV, to see more videos and episodes.

My stance on "Stance"

I have been in the scene for what I consider to be a decent amount of time, 8 years, however I've been a car enthusiast since a little boy.  In my 8 years of being in the scene, mainly the Japanese and VW/Audi groups, I have seen a number of trends come up over the years, from the body-kitted Fast & Furious days, to the DTM/Euro look, the JDM craze, and the less-is-more Euro look, I have seen enough to know what happens to trends.  The trend that has caught the spotlight as of late is unarguably the stance and Hellalfush trend.  In the last few years, the stance scene has gained a lot of momentum and no one can stop talking about it.

Of course, there are two main groups in every trend like this; those that love it, support and embrace it, and those that absolutely hate it.  I have seen a lot of the trends over the years, but I have yet to see one that has such an adamant group of haters.  It's kind of funny at times to see how passionate these people are about being so negative about a trend that they go out of their way to say their two-cents about it.  Instead of keeping their mouths shut, they speak up about how dumb they think the whole fitment game is and how it is "unsafe" and counter-active to modifying a vehicle.  Some helpful words here:  attention, whether good or bad, is still attention.

Thing is, for all you haters out there, the stance and fitment movement is here to stay.  It's not going anywhere and is only growing stronger each day.  The fact is, with all these trends that have popped up, none have really gone anywhere.  You may say the body-kit era and JDM fads have all gone, but they really haven't, they have just evolved and changed.  Body-kits haven't gone away and neither has tuning cars in the JDM fashion.  Cars are still rocking body-kits and adding JDM touches here and there, just in a different manner now that still captures just as much attention, just in a different way.  The same thing goes for the stance movement.  It will change, most definitely, but it is never going to go away.

More and more sites and groups are popping up that support the movement with the "originators" still leading the way, sites like Hellaflush, Stanceworks, and Stance Nation setting the standards for others to follow, learn from and build upon.  More and more shows and events are being organized which are centered around stance and fitment.  The movement is only growing with more people coming to embrace it and see it as another form of tuning.  Contrary to what most naysayers believe, it's not easy to get a car sitting low with the perfect fitment.  There's a lot of suspension work and calculating wheel offsets and tire sizes.  It's far more difficult than just getting a set of coils, winding them down, bolting up a set of wheels and hoping for the best.

Now, I'm not trying to come off as some know-it-all, or some sort of "prophet" for the stance scene.  I'm just some enthusiast who is taking his experience from being in the game for a good amount of time and voicing my opinion on the movement.  I understand the scene and live within it, love it and embrace it, yet I still appreciate a car that's setup for road-racing or drag racing, and give credit where credit is due.  I guess every successful group will have its share of haters, and we all deal with it.  So, to the haters, keep on hating!  Stance and fitment aren't going anywhere!  Everyone else, keep it low and clean....

i'mSTANCED MN

That's right, we're doing it big.  Kaien (PS117) and Jared (Jared Levine Photography) are organizing a group of MN's finest, stanced cars.  Look out for big things for 2011

i'mSTANCED on Facebook!

GPR Auto IS300

Change.  Change seems to be the the theme of the last few years, everybody seems to be stressing change.  Whether it's in politics, the economy, or something as simple as a new look, change is what's hot right now.  Change is always good though.  It pushes the boundaries, breaks the mold, gets people's attention, and sends a message.

Guillermo Escamilla, from Kosoku, based out of Southern California took a look at the current Lexus IS scene and decided to change it forever.  What happened next changed the IS game, and in the grand scheme of things, the car scene for good.  The reviews are mixed, but this is exactly what the scene needed.

Clearly, the look is a love it or hate affair, but wherever you fall, you cannot help but look and stare.  The slammed stance, the crazy, aggressive wheel setup, the insane amount of poke, the ridiculous stretch, and of course, the graphics.  What started simply as just adding a black vinyl wrap to the hood, which them became covered with stickers and graffiti, has now turned into a style all its own.  The giraffe print on the hood, bumper, fenders, quarter panels, and even the interior, is something that cannot be ignored.  One cannot help but stare.  Why the giraffe print?  Well, why not?  Outside of the box, different, going against the grain, however you want to call it, it certainly gets the job done.

The graphics weren't the main goal though, although it certainly is a highlight.  What steals the spotlight though is the wheel setup.  I remember when I started in the IS game back in 06 and remember seeing +20s on a IS300 and thinking, "wow, that's aggressive!"  Well, Guillermo certainly showed what can be done with fitment on the IS300.  His IS wears a set of Leon Hardiritt Ordens, sized 18x9 +7 and 18x10 -5.  Let me retype that; 18x9 +7 in the front and 18x10 -5 in the rear.  Just about on any car that is considered aggressive, but absolutely unheard of on an IS300.  With the car slammed to the floor, the setup is more than flush.  Forget hellaflush, this is hellaPOKE!  With 215s stretched on every corner, the presence this car gives is quite astonishing.  It makes some drool while others want to smash their keyboard in anger.  Like I said, it really is a love it or hate it look, and controversy definitely surrounds this car.

Whether you love the look, or absolutely detest it, there is no ignoring the fact that this car came and changed the game up.  The off-the-wall styling, insane wheel fitment, and the low n' slow style certainly make this car noticed wherever it goes, and it certainly goes far.  With over 160,000 miles on the odometer, this is no show queen.  Driven daily-dumped on the streets of SoCal, this car makes a statement wherever it goes.  Despite its fair share of haters, Guillermo silenced his critics and the Wek Fest event back in Feb where he took home 1st Place in the IS Series category, as well as a spread in S3 magazine.  This car came along and changed the scene with one of the most unique looks in a long time.

For more info check out GPR Auto's page on Facebook.

Photos courtesy of Daniel Kroothanooch and used with permission by the owner of the car.