This weekend's inaugural Speed&Stance meet was crazy!!! I can't believe so many people turned up to the event, because we organized and promoted the entire thing in only five days. FIVE DAYS! Thanks to our friends at Speed Ventures, we were able to throw this gigantic car event in the parking lot of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana!
We advertised the meet to run between 12 noon and 5pm, but every single one of the infield parking lots at the speedway were FULL by 2:45pm! There was a crazy line of cars backed up from the infield parking, through the tunnel, wrapping all the way around to the Cherry Avenue entrance! I was told that once the parking lots allocated to the event hit capacity, the people at the gates had to turn away well over 100 cars! Insane.
Since traffic and road congestion became an issue, the good folks from Auto Club Speedway quickly opened up a couple more parking lots so that cars could pre-stage before rolling in to the actual show area, which saw both autocross and high speed road racing with Speed Ventures on the ROVAL course, and a beginner level car control clinic for Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ owners called the 86 Dynamic Driving Academy. Read more...
Michelin North America's BFGoodrich brand just recently unveiled the all new BFG g-Force Rival, an ultra high performance tire designed for drivers that want versatile tires for their high performance street cars; tires sticky enough to be used in autocross and track-day events, then driven home.
Last week, I was given the opportunity to test the new BFG Rival at NOLA Motorsports Park, and it delivered on every single one of its claims. The BFG Rival might even be the best new tire in the Tire Rack lineup for weekend autocrossers, road racers, and midnight canyon runners. However, before we jump to any conclusions, let's take a closer look at our experiences on the racetrack. Read more...
This weekend's Autocon event at Santa Anita Racetrack was hot. Super hot. There were lots of other car events happening in other parts of the west coast, but it seemed as if most people naturally just flocked to Autocon, because it's a new event series that's gaining some good momentum. It was initially started as a smaller car gathering in Southern Cali's City of Industry, but it has seen quite a bit of growth recently. I even saw some of the core team from the old Hot Import Nights (the crew that was behind HIN when it was strongest) and Global Time Attack behind the scenes this weekend.
I've been traveling out of state for the past few weeks, but I decided to fly back to Los Angeles for this weekend's event - it was the perfect chance to enjoy summertime in Southern Cali, spend time with good friends, and finally check out Autocon in person. Read more...
Long Beach is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues for automotive events. This weekend, our friends from Weksos Industries made the trek down to Los Angeles to hold yet another Wekfest event in Southern Cali. Even though the event is pronounced "weak-fest" and their company name is pronounced "weak sauce," the turnout was anything but weak. Lowlife car owners from all over California and Nevada scraped their oilpans all the way to the Queen Mary to show off their first class wheel fitment. Read more...
Those who have been following the @MOTORMAVENS feed on Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter probably already know that I tested out the new BF Goodrich g-Force Sport Comp-2 tire at California Speedway (Auto Club Speedway) this past week.
According to BFG, their new Comp2 tire promises drivers the ability to accelerate faster, corner harder, and brake in a shorter distance than their competitors. When asked exactly who they consider to be their competition for this class of tire, BFG pointed to Dunlop Direzza DZ101, Yokohama S-Drive, Kumho Ecsta SPT KU31, Cooper and Hankook Ventus V12 tires. Read more...
In the United Kingdom, Time Attack is the only ‘new’ motorsport to be given official recognition by the MSA (Motor Sport Authority) in over 40 years. I think we can all agree that is an achievement in it’s own right! The Time Attack UK events really are packed with some of the finest highly modified production vehicles from Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions to Subaru Imprezas to R35 Nissan GTRs and many more. Lest we not forget the people that make it happen, the people that drive the vehicles and the women that promote the sponsors, they all add to that feel good factor which I had not experienced in the UK for a long time until I began coming to these events. (more…)
AutoCon 2011 turned out to be a pretty fun show - it has grown quite a bit since the last show they had. I drove all the way down from LA to El Toro Airbase in Irvine, CA so that I could start shooting the carshow roll-in at 10am, but they didn't allow any media to enter the show until 12pm! This definitely put a damper on my plans, because the rest of the normal spectators would be entering the venue at the same time as media.
The scheduling issue left me pretty disappointed to be honest, since my original plan was to shoot roll-in and staging before the large crowds showed up, then meet up with Antonio Alvendia and Oliver Petalver at Irwindale Speedway. I didn't make it out to Irwindale because of the scheduling mix-up, but I still enjoyed the rest of the day at the show. This event looks like it's getting bigger and bigger! Read more...
A few years ago, the term "royal flush" wouldn't make you immediately think of cars. Rather then picturing a car's wheel fitment and ride height, it was more associated with card games. However, with wheels right at the fenders, tires tucking underneath them, and frame rails sitting only a few inches above the tarmac, this Subaru Impreza WRX STi owned by Austin Mardian from the Royal Flush Crew really embodies what it means to have your car sit flush.
When Austin rolls out to car meets and shows, he and his friends from Royal Flush crew definitely roll deep, with more than enough slammed cars to back up the name. For those of you local to Southern California that have been to many of the larger car shows, you might have seen several of the Royal Flush "VIP" style cars. Whether it's a Lexus or Infiniti on air ride or Austin's STi, they mob out in big numbers to all of the events they go to. While some of the cars in the crew scream for attention, the clean subtle look to Austin's STi was actually what caught my eye when I saw his car for the first time. Read more...
Royal Flush. If you’ve ever cruised Valley Blvd in San Gabriel or Alhambra, gone to a car meet at a boba tea house, or checked in at a Chinese restaurant at 1:30am, chances are… you’ve seen them before. Whenever I’m cruising the SGV, I always seem to randomly look out the window and see some sort of slammed Lexus or Infiniti driving by on the other side of the street with a Royal Flush sticker on the window. I hadn’t given it much thought either, until I actually met some of the super cool people from the Royal Flush Crew at the Motion Auto Show in Long Beach.
All I can say is, this crew rolls DEEP! In case you didn’t already know, THESE are the people that are causing much of the traffic on Valley Blvd, making you and other drivers slow down and brake as they slowly scrape into the driveways of your favorite late night restaurants and kick-it spots. (more…)
This past weekend, all the core enthusiasts in Southern California's Japanese car scene gathered once again on the intersection of First Street and Alameda in the Little Tokyo area of Downtown LA for the annual Nisei Showoff celebration. The event was super fun as always - when I showed up at the event, it felt like a big block party with several friends all gathered around different cars, admiring the immaculate engine bays, or trying to figure out new wheel sizing and/or suspension setups. Read more...
After the dust had settled and everyone had gone home from the Gatebil Rudskogen event, Lars Harlem asked Justin Shreeve and I if we wanted to see his time attack Subaru WRX. He had told us about his car months ago and I had seen it in various videos so I was more than excited to check it out. Read more...
Subaru of America has released a new YouTube video of the 2011 Subaru WRX STi setting an all-time course record for the historic Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. The 5 minute 25 second video highlights in graphic detail the speed and drama surrounding rally driver Mark Higgins‘ lap that averaged 115.356 MPH. After the run, Higgins talks through the “moment” at Bray Hill when he momentarily loses, and then regains, control of the WRX STI at more than 150 MPH. (more…)
Here’s a little rally goodness brought to you from last year’s Oregon Trail Rally by our friends at Contour. You have to respect a racing format that includes dodging trees, boulders, and wildlife at high speeds! This clip features Byron Garth (pilot), Sky Pinnick (co-pilot), a 2006 Subaru WRX…and an unsuspecting tree who just happens to be minding his business while trying to cross the road! (more…)
"Drifting will continue to grow, but that's only if we continue to support drifters on the amateur level, and most importantly, the people who organize the grassroots drifting events. After all, it is those people who are building new drifters and teaching them how to drive." - Antonio Alvendia in Drifting: Sideways from Japan to America
Despite the obvious plug (forgive me), what Antonio said in 2006 is evident five years later.
These grassroots events are where many of the nation's best drifters first made their marks. While Japan was fortunate to have small, frequent drift events, Americans were left to figure out ways to get their tracks open to such a sport.
Now, after years of consistent growth and the expansion of our own small drift events, we've come to see plenty of tracks around the nation become accustomed to drifting. These events have been paramount in molding skilled drifters, some of whom have made it in the big leagues.
However, for many years now, the San Francisco Bay Area hasn't been able to provide a consistent outlet for its "home grown" talent. Sure, the ThunderDrift events are great, but those are nearly two or three hours away from The Bay. Many drivers simply don't want to make a four-to-six-hour round trip. Now they won't have to.
Read more...
The JPP RB25 powered Subaru Impreza was definitely one of the most intriguing cars in the JDM Allstars line-up last year. This video from Dan Joyce gives us a look behind the scenes, what the team and car is about, and their plans for this season. (more…)
Speed Week 2010, run by the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) at the Bonneville Salt Flats has come and gone. It's more than a week later and I've still got Salt on my Suby (and my brain). For reals, I washed out more white stuff from under my bugeye WRX today. The Salt gets EVERYWHERE! I love it! Salt Fevaaaaaaa!
As I was snapping pics...photos (this is MotorMavens, these are photos!) of the activities, I was thinking about what I wanted to share with you guys on MotorMavens.com. There are TONS of things going on at the Bonneville Salt Flats! There were over 500 vehicle pre-entries at Speed Week 2010 - plus over 100 hot rods roaming the salt! Amazing! My hope is that I give you a flavor for what you'll experience WHEN (not if) you guys and gals attend your first Speed Week. Read more...
I just realized that I haven’t posted up a “Papercuts” story in quite some time. To tell you the truth, it’s because I haven’t even bought any car magazines in quite some time. There was a time in my life when I would go to bookstores and hang out, just to check out all the car magazines that were out. My friend Kenta and I would meet up at Barnes & Noble or Borders (or better yet, the Kinokuniya Bookstore in Little Tokyo or Torrance) to check out the latest car magazines every single month. I miss going to bookstores just to chill and check out magazines… I’m not sure if I haven’t been going because I’ve just been busy, or if the magazines these days don’t intrigue me…
Whatever the case may be, I stumbled upon this copy of Project Car Magazine at the CVS Drugstore in Studio City. This issue caught my eye because I saw my friend Taka Aono on the cover; after all, he is the USA’s undisputed top AE86 driver. I thumbed through it really quickly, and decided within 20 seconds, “that’s it. I’m actually gonna buy this issue.” While my 10+ years of Living the 86 Life have led me to own just about every AE86 book or manual that has ever been produced in Japan, it’s honestly pretty rare to see magazines that actually produce good stories about AE86s stateside. I definitely think this magazine was worth the $6 or 7 (ouch!) that I paid at the cash register.
Even though he’s probably the one Source Interlink magazine editor I don’t really know, I really gotta give props to Project Car editorGary Narusawa and his crew over there. (more…)
Well apparently, our resident sick stanced sticker cutter got bored today, since he is out of high school and has all this free time on his hands now. I suppose boredom sometimes leads to creativity, because Abbitt broke out his Canon 7D and busted out a short film to try out his newest piece of non-Canon glass (FAIL) on a video of his car… the super slammed Subaru STi that’s been scraping driveways and road reflectors all over Snohomoish Washington.
Enjoy the video! (Buy some Canon glass, next time, Eighteen and famous.)
Day two of free practice for the World Time Attack Challenge saw a host of various cars come out to tempt their fate at Sydney Australia's Eastern Creek Raceway. Competition begins tomorrow... are all the challengers ready for the heat of timed competition?
Most of the cars on the track were the competitors for the WTAC, but since it was technically an open practice drive day, several non-competing cars were also out on the track. Let's take a look at some of the cars on the circuit from today! Read more...
The World Time Attack Challenge has arrived. Sydney, Australia plays host to some of the greatest time attack cars from around the world. The hype leading up to this event has been huge here in Australia, with some of the world's greatest time attack cars set to battle it out on Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway. Here is the run down from today's practice session... Read more...
You might be thinking, “what are you talking about?” After all, we don’t normally post up photos of incomplete cars that are getting painted on our website. This particular snapshot comes from a post on the Honda Tech forum that my friend Terry Pham linked me to.
You might be thinking… wait, is that a GDB Subaru Impreza WRX STi hood scoop bondoed to an EG6 Honda Civic hood? If that’s what you guessed, then you would be correct. However, before you go and pass judgment on whether you think it’s cool or not, let me give you some insight into the story.
This EG6 Civic hybrid is the first of its kind, that’s for sure. It features not only an engine swap, but an entire FRAME and running gear swap from a GDB Subaru Impreza WRX STi! So YES, you would be correct if you guessed this was an AWD Honda Civic EG6… and if you ever heard it driving down the street, you should know that its engine is not blown; in fact, that’s the sound that a 4 cylinder Subaru boxer motor is supposed to make… even though it’s not supposed to make that sound from underneath the hood of a Honda Civic!
While we don’t normally feature these types of cars on our site, I thought I should post it up, because the fabrication work behind this build-up is pretty damn fascinating! The original Subaru body panels were cut off from the Impreza’s frame to make this work, and the owner of this car cut up the body of a perfectly good EG6 Civic hatchback, and pretty much welded it onto the Subaru frame! Whether you like the look aesthetically or not, you just GOTTA give the builder of this car props for his originality and workmanship – c’mon!
Wow! Travis Pastrana‘s record breaking car jump 250 feet over the water in Long Beach Harbor for Red Bull’s No Limit New Year’s Eve! I’m posting this for those of you who live in other parts of the world, and those who don’t have ESPN! This was LIVE tonight at 9:00pm PST/12 midnight EST. Wow, Red Bull does some pretty damn cool things with its money.
It seems that most of the videographers who made it to Formula D Irwindale have been finishing up the edits on their videos this week. While many of our readers are already familiar with a lot of the “normal videographers” that travel to all the stops on the Formula D circuit, I thought I’d shine a light on a certain young videographer from the Pacific Northwest named Abbitt Wilkerson.
Devout Motor Mavens readers might recognize his name, as Abbitt is the guy behind all the AW Films drifting videos that have been popping up on Vimeo and the owner of a particular sick stanced Subaru Impreza WRX STi that has been the topic of some controversy on the site. (haha!) Abbitt is still relatively new to the car scene, as he only recently began driving and he is just starting his video production career. He’s still building up his skills and experience, because as Abbitt will be the first to tell you – HE’S ONLY SEVENTEEN! Not bad for a high school kid.
Believe it or not, there have been quite a few people on the internet that were actually hatingon Abbitt and his aggressively stanced STi, saying he’s just a spoiled kid who had the luxury of getting everything paid for by his parents. It’s funny, because when I mentioned it to him at Irwindale, he got pretty defensive about it, insisting that he works his ass off to hustle enough money to pay for his car and his camera equipment.
Whatever the case may be, he gets respect from ME because while most seventeen year old kids are wasting their lives playing video games and watching TV, Abbitt is actually doing something productive, working two jobs so he can afford to build his car and filming as much as he can so that he can constantly improve his skills in shooting and editing video. Sheesh, I wish I was that productive when I was seventeen. I didn’t do ANYTHING but take pictures and listen to hip hop.
Just a few years ago, aggressive fitment wheels were a pretty rare find on cars in the United States. Most people thought that getting wheels that "fit" well meant that the wheels wouldn't have any rubbing or clearance issues. Nowadays, the trendsetters in the scene have completely changed the game, and all the "cool kids" with the best wheel fitment are all about stretched tires and seeing how close you can get your wheels/tires to the fenders.
The owner of this slammed Subaru Impreza WRX STi is a seventeen year old (Yes, I said 17 years old!) high school student named Abbitt Wilkerson from AW Films. Abbitt has been making a name for himself; not only because he shoots some of the most popular car videos up here in the Northwest, but also because he has a driving passion for building Subarus with the common thread of aggressive wheel fitment. Read more...
