Red Hot

Some people can just turn out feature cars like it's a habit, nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary, they just get a car and wave a magic wand, and VOILA, feature slot in a magazine or blog.  Minnesota resident Dana Nguyen is one of those people that car turn out neck-snapping cars at an alarming rate.  Since I have known Dana, he's had an ultra-clean GSR Integra, a ground scraping AR IS300 (our cars were confused for one another's a lot!), and now his current NFR S2000.

Dana bought the car in late 2009 and not even a year later, this is what he has produced.  Talk about turn-around time!  Most people spend years on a project to get it to this level, but not for this veteran tuner.  However, this time he took a little bit different route than his previous cars.  While his GSR and IS300 certainly had the show areas down, the first plan of attack on the S2K was the engine.  To address this area, he chose to go to the local Honda maestros over at Full Blown Motorsports.  You see, the owner LJ has been working on his own personal S2K, building it into a mind-boggling street monster.  While Dana's goals weren't as lofty, Full Blown still came up with a nice turbo kit consisting of a custom exhaust manifold, Garrett 60-1 turbo, Ultimate Racing FMIC, FBM intercooler piping, FBM 3" down-pipe, and 3" dual exhaust.  A Tial 38mm waste-gate coupled with a FBM boost controller keep the boost in check, while a FBM oil-catch tank helps keep the crank ventilated.  The head is held down with ARP head-studs, while an ACT clutch ensures that the 400 ponies get to the ground easily.  A walbro 255 fuel pump supply 725cc Injector Dynamics injectors while an AEM EMS coordinates everything.  An APR CF coil-pack cover, S2Carbon CF cooling plate and CF strut tower bar add to the under-hood bling, while a wire-tuck from Renown Performance really cleans up the engine bay.

With the engine bay all sorted, it was time for Dana to address the other areas of the car.  He kept the mods simple and subtle, a trend these days, but with these results, it's easy to see why.  The front bumper was exchanged for a newer, OEM, AP2 item and fitted with an OEM AP2 front lip.  Out back, Dana swapped the AP1 tails for OEM AP2 items as well, another subtle touch that usually goes unnoticed.  A Seibon carbon hood and carbon trunk break up the red and compliment the custom Blitz Type 01 wheels nicely.  The 17x8/9 Blitz wheels were split and refinished in black with red bolts before being bolted up and fitted with Falken Azenis tires..  The ride height issues were addressed with the ubiquitous Koni/Ground Control setup that is commonly found on many Hondas.  Hey, when something works, why change it?  The setup rides great and performs awesome.  The clean and simple theme carries onto the interior as well.  The dash houses a 6.5" screen fed by an Alpine head-unit.  Alpine Type R speakers and tweeters provide the tunes while an AEM wide-band, and Pro Sport gauges provide the engine vitals.

After only a year, Dana has build a winning setup, receiving a lot of local praise and attention, having taken the car to many local shows and events as well as HIN Chicago.  Of course, like a lot of projects, the road doesn't stop here.  Over the winter Dana has a lot of changes planned to take the car up another level for next year.  I won't say much, but "wide" and "fast" are two key words.  I certainly am looking forward to seeing it next year and will probably be taking some more photos and writing another feature.  All I know is, it's certainly going to be Red Hot.

Gallery:  Photos by Kaien

A Pair of GTIs

Was hanging out at one of the local spots the other night when a rather well-known MKIV GTI owned by the one-and-only Tattoo Mike showed up.  He and I have known each other for a few years, but had an interesting way of meeting.  All that is in the past now, and he's one of the coolest guys out there and can build quite the car to boot.  We're working on scheduling a full shoot soon, so stay tuned!

One of his friends/customers showed up with his gorgeous, white MKIV 1.8t.  The paint was immaculate.

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!

A Volvo and a Lexus

Rolled around with my friend Ivan this weekend and his super clean, Volvo C30R.  Such a great car with very little done to it, but certainly enough to create a large impact.

Such a great stance, and this is just on springs.  Coils are coming after the winter.

Parked up with my LS400

And just a couple of the LS pretty much sitting where it will be for the rest of the year.  2011 will be a lot lower.

Wednesday Night at Porky's

Stopped by the MN Mazda meet this past Wednesday to hang out with some friends and other cool peeps.  My friend Eric was there with his Cannonball, One Lap of America C5 FRC.  Fully-built is an understatement.  Full photoshoot soon.

More GTI Photos

Little photoshoot again with Erik A's 98 MKIII GTI, this time on his track setup; 16" Rota Slip-Streams with Nitto NT-01s.  Mmmm-mmmm good.

The Total Package

Let's face it, in today's scene it's hard to come by a complete car.  I mean complete in the sense that EVERY part of the car was touched.  A lot of cars are built with one goal in mind; go fast in a straight-line, go fast around corners, go around corners sideways, sit pretty in a parking lot, etc, resulting in most of the go-fast cars looking stock and boring and the nice looking, sit-pretty cars not going so fast.

Enter AJ Mehta and his 1998 Chevrolet Corvette.  AJ has this nack for turning out mind-blowing rides, his Corvette being one of the best he's turned out.  From bikes to cars, even a Suburban, this guy loves to modify anything in his garage.  This Corvette is the total package with the track record, show trophies, and driveability to prove it.  This car has been down the drag-strip, around the road course at Brainerd International, entered in numerous shows, featured in magazines, and driven all over the state of MN.  So, what's so special about this pewter 'vert?  Read along and find out.

We'll jump right to the good stuff; the motor.  Like I said, this 'Vette isn't all show, packing the bite to match its bark.  Underneath the carbon hood lies a Doug Rippie Motorsports (DRM) built 427ci LSX based on a C5R block.  The fully-forged motor has been accessorized with an array of other go-fast bits including a Fast 90mm intake, Kooks 1 7/8" headers, 3" Kooks x-pipe and mid-section, 3" QTP cut-outs, and a B&B exhaust.  Engine eye-candy is enhanced with carbon-fiber covers everywhere, but the real icing on the cake is the TNT/Nitrous Outlet NANO kit.  This is a full, direct-port nano-nitrous kit using a 92mm plate, with a 15lb bottle and 4500psi Nano kit.  Nano-based kits keep the bottle at a constant pressure at all times ensuring the safest, and most consistent use.  In nitrous terms, this is the best out there and for serious bottle-heads.

Of course this monster motor setup needs a drive-train to handle it all.  The 4L65e Level 5 built trans was built by Chuck at FLT, who is one of the best in the business.  The rear differential has been cryo treated and fitted with 3.73 gears placed inside a Getrag housing with a DTE brace.  The trans shifts hard, but is completely streetable, the converter tight.  It drives around like a regular, auto Corvette, just with more than double the power.  The suspension features QA1 12-way adjustable shocks and Hotchkis sway bars to help the already agile Corvette attack the corners while CCW Classics, sized 18x10 and 18x11 out back with 285f and 335r tires, keep it stuck to the tarmac and looking good.  Function and form working together, who would have thought.

Speaking of form, this 'Vette has a look that is all its own.  It might not be Hellaflush worthy, but this C5 has an absolutely menacing stance; low and wide with a killer set of wheels done right.  The SW C5R replica headlights certainly stand out from the waves of pop-up 'Vettes, adding a stream-lined look to the car and drastically changing the front end.  The ACI front lip and VIS carbon hood also complete the cars gorgeous front-end, but the rear is where this car really shines.  Simply put, its got a fat ass!  The 18x11 rears with 335 tires, coupled with the custom made rear bumper with integrated diffuser just make the rear-end a site to behold.  Speaking of the rear-end, a lot of cars have seen it.  Like I said, this Corvette is no slouch, running a best of 10.51 @ 133mph on motor.  With the spray turned on, this car should hit single-digit quarter times.

The interior is finished off with quality matching the rest of the car.  Ultra-plush and ultra-comfortable Caravaggio seats wrapped in black leather with red stitching hold the driver and passenger in place.  Much like under the hood, almost every piece on the interior has been given the carbon fiber treatment.  Other accessories such as the door-cards, shifter boot, center console, and other goodies have been wrapped in matching black leather with red stitching to match the seats.  A DSV steering wheel provides the driver input while a removable 6-point roll cage with Simpson 5-point harnesses keep the occupants safe when piloting the car at the drag strip or the road course.

AJ certainly did a fine job building the ultimate street car; a car that can drive to the track, run 10s, go to the road course and eat up Porsches and other high-end cars, and still be able to take out to that special dinner and the fancy restaurant, leaving the valets and on-lookers drooling.  Not many cars can hold a candle to a car of this caliber because this is a complete car, a car that touches in all areas, not just focusing on one.  It's great to see cars like this out there in the scene, but the big surprise is that it is for sale.  AJ has his sights on something bigger and better, and you better believe we'll get our hands on it here at projectSPARTAN.

Gallery:  Photos by Kaien