PG Motoring VIP LS430

Wilson and Brian at P.G. Motoring have debuted their version 2 Celsior recently. Changes include the newly sought-after K-Break aero kit and new Work wheels.

The car is a UCF31 Celsior on UAS bags and LS400 struts. Personally, I think the car is dialed in except for the rear height. I would like to see abit more drop and negative camber to achieve this. But everything else is right on the money. Good job guys!

PG Motoring

VIP AutoSalon Clark's GS430

VIP AutoSalon is a very good friend of mine. Clark has established himself in the industry as one of the finest tuning visionary around. 2 years ago the Lexus corporate opportunity fell on his lay to create a SEMA worthy LS460. That car, as we all know it shatter everyone's expectations and has put VIP AutoSalon above all else.

So what does the man behind the projects drive on a daily basis? This is the latest version of the Lexus GS430. Full Admiration kit that includes the fog lights and exhaust system. Even the wheels were package together for this build. Loren at Rotora provided the prototype BBK just in time for SEMA 2 years ago. Since then, the car went through a drastic change of color. Check out this hot new black suede color. Truly the first to dip a Lexus in this color. (5 Axis ISF was a flat black)

The taillights were even shot in a matte clear to play off the rest of the car. If you look closely on the hood you will notice the paint fades to reveal the carbon hood. The front grill is just perfect with the eyelids perfectly flowing into the body lines.


Once again, Clark and his company has continue to set the bar very high. Those that have following his career know many more projects will continues to unveil from VIP AutoSalon.

VIP AutoSalon

Auto Fashion Freddie's Celsior

The infamous Lexus came out President Day weekend to just have a good day with the locals.

By now the shop AutoFashion has become a name well known in the industry. Freddie and his talented crew build incredible projects for media and corporate level. Still just a few years in business they have established themselves as the elite VIP tuning shop in San Diego.

Freddie built this Celsior as a demo car to showcase what the company can offer. Infact this car has toured with Falken tires and several SEMA shows in the pass.

Started life as a UCF30. The entire front end was converted to the later year UCF31 that included headlights, grill, radiator support, hood just to name the easy part. Those that want to go this route need to be warned by the complexity of the headlight wiring. The aero kit is full Junction Produce that includes front bumper, rear bumper, skirts, door caps, fenders, wing, hood bonnet, hood spoiler and the ultra rare and discontinued exhaust. Taillights are L.E.D replacements and the car rocks Airrunner suspension. The interior is D.A.D. chubacha fur dipped in white. (the ladies love this feature) Last, the most important element with a build are the wheels. Those with a sharp eye will notice these Leon Hirdiritt Bells in 21" inches all around. Maybe because I too have a UCF30, but this is one of my favorite Celsiors on this side of the ocean.

Sadly, the car is for sale or part out. Contact AutoFashion if you are interested:

AutoFashion

BAER Brakes

Another big brake company currently stepping-up and offering custom and street application is BAER Brakes. BAER is huge in the Domestic car industry. Many muscle machine and street machines either rock BAER or Wilwood. If you are looking for an inexpensive completely forged 6-piston caliper, look into BAER.

They offer a wide variety of packages for today's modern cars to custom applications for builds and projects. Look into BAER, they will cause some noise in the years to come.

BAER Brakes

1973 IROC Porsche RSR

From the Penske Racing Museum in Arizona

This car driven by Mark Donohue won the anugual IROC race at Riverside in 1973. Mark Donohue won 3 of the 4 races to win the first IROC Championship. The idea of the IROC series was to take identically prepared cars and have drivers from different series compete against each other

Driven: Mark Donohue
Car: Porsche RSR
Engine: 3.0 Liter - 180 ci.
Aircooled Flat Six
HP: 316bhp @ 8,000 rpm
Fuel Cap: 29 U.S. Gallons
Fuel: Gasoline
Weight: 2,000 lbs
Bodywork: Metal

Roberuta Cups More..

Here you can see the Cup system mounted on top of the Coilover. Looks like the upper mount has to be take apart and the top of the spring sits flush to the Cup. Air fills the Cup chamber hence pushes down on the spring and raises the car. Actually, what this is doing is applying more spring rate, it is not literally raising the coilover up and down. Notice the shock never moves.

That's why this system is meant for driving low and raising a few inches for ground clearance.

This image was taken from a personal blog in Japan. Caution; he mentioned the stitch box breaking twice and leaks in the fittings. Looking closer at what Roberuta offers in their kits, their fittings are plastic and stainless steel. Clearly not strong enough.

My suggestion would be to upgrade and replace all the lines and fittings to brass. Plastic will not hold under extreme PSI. In time, it will crack and leak.

Overall, the theory is solid. For those that want to retain spring/shock combo to drive low without going to full air bag system, the Roberuta Cup kit is what you need.

More here:
Roberuta

New Junction Produce Scara

Junction Produce Japan announced their new 2nd gen Scara wheel at this years TAS (Tokyo Auto Salon). The wheels are now manufactured by WORK Japan and comes in new sizes. Ranging from 19" to 21" inches of step or reverse lip. This new Scar has a redesigned center cap that looks quite sexy and etched in "Scara" word on one spoke. Those from the old-school may remember the previous OZ Scara's to have the same etching.

Since WORK is now the manufacturer, the wheel is many times stronger than before. Custom finishes are also now possible with endless combination.

*Do realize the step-lip offered from WORK is not like the old style. The outer lip does not extrude outward, instead it rolls back into the wheel.

I personally appreciate the old school lip better but it is what it is.

Rim width and offsets choices are plentiful with up to 12" inch width and negative offset. But retail for one 20" inch standard finish will cost you over $1,760 US. That's tough to swallow. Only a select few will get their hands on these.

Junction Produce is once again trying to establish themselves as the elite and the original of VIP tuning. Let's see if the Bippu community agrees.

Junction Produce

Blue windows on BBS RS

Customizing wheels with different finishes and styles have finally trickled down to consumer level. Sure, ppl have always painted or chromed or polished their wheels to reflect a certain color combo or theme. Today, I want to educated ppl on what it means to have the windows painted.

This blue VW Golf has a great set of BBS RS wheels. What may look like painted centers actually are not. The flat surface of the wheel is standard polish while the "windows" the in between of the spokes are painted. That then creates this subtle blue effect while stopped and spins in blue in motion.

Pretty cool effect.

Painted windows = the sides of the spoke.

Old School Step-lip is Timeless

I came across these images last week on a German forum. These tuners are so die hard.. they buy old and used wheel, take them apart and buys new rims and barrels to their exact specs.. nothing like us, picking up a phone and ordering the latest and greatest from HRE or Work for premium. These guys are the grassroots.

I love step-lip.. but not any step-lip. It has to be the old school style where the finial lip edge extrudes outward, hence creating another tiny step.. HAWT!!!



Take a lesson from these fine examples of old school wheels and maximized offset to refinish and rebuilding wheels.

SICK.

K-Break BBK

K-break Japan is offering their new Big Brake Kit for many VIP chassis. Funny, those with a keen eye will notice that these look very similar to another brand here in the US.

Wanna take a guess. ;)

K-Break list these "rebadged" brake kit for over $5,300 US just for the 6-piston fronts where as the US equivalence is nearly half that price.

What's the big picture here? Anyone can have their own branded brakes as long as the marketing is clever. People will pay if they believe it to have that value and worth.

So with that said, I'm launching my own brakes too!

Not made in Japan.

Roberuta Cups

Roberuta Cups are sought after in the luxury to exotic car industry. What are they and what do they do?

Roberuta manufactures cup/canover air system for coilover suspension systems. Basically it sits on top of the coilover and allows for 3-4" inches of shaft movement, which is powered by air, thus raising the car for ground clearance.

**What ppl do not fully understand is, Cup systems are for those that want to drive low on coilovers but have the adjust ability of raising the car to clear speed bumps or driveways. This system is NOT to be driven on while air-up. This is not rubber bags that have flex, give and play. If you do drive on can/over systems, they will leak and eventually break.

The design is quite simple but since there are really no real competition, Roberuta charges a ridiculous $3,000 grand for just the 2 cup system and an additional $2000 for the rears.

There is a company called AirForce that recently announced their Cup/Coilover system. The only problem is their Cups will only work with their coilovers meaning customers are forced to run their coilover setup without really knowing what and who manufactures them. Plus for those owners already on coilvers like HKS, ZEAL, Ohlins, they are pretty much left to start from scratch.

I would like to see a more cost effective attempt of this concept meant for everyday drivers. Sure the exotic car owners can care less for dumping $6k into this since their oil change will probably cost more, but what about the EVO or Honda owner.. do they not have the right to drive low and save their rare JDM kits from the brutal world of potholes and rough roads..

Robertua

Perfect Fitment S15 on WORK Meister

Not many ppl can have the opportunity to build cars, need to say, build excellent trend setting examples of rare Japan only cars. Well, this very clean example of a S15 Nissan RHD is from Virginia and built by a girl.. oh yes, a girl.

Jennifer Jar has one of the sickest S15 Siliva's on the planet. Just check out her extreme wheel fitment: 18x9 and 18x10 all on +4mm offset.. crazy!

She even has a very rare and expensive Roberuta Cup air system mated to Fortune 500 coilovers. Be jealous, be very jealous.. b/c this build only took 6 months and apparently this car started out looking like a real POS.

Congrats on making Import Tuner this month and good luck to you Jennifer!

~s

The Truth about Wheel quality

***The below impression was taken from a car forums written by a member***
Enjoy one man's personal-perspective on 10 different wheel manufacturers:



1) Work (I am very impressed with their stuff)

Good quality wheel products but not the best. WORK uses FORGED centers on the REZAX II's, but CAST centers on th VS-XX's. The outer barrels (rim shells) for both are made from 6061-T6 aluminum alloy but they are 'spun' or 'rolled' NOT FORGED. (not really close to the same strength as a BBS forged wheel for example)

2) BBS (good stuff right?)

OH yea...the BEST stuff

3) Champion

Like BBS forged wheels, Champion only builds 8000 TON 6061-T6 wheels. (nothing but the best will do)

4) Techart

One piece gravity CAST wheel construction. (not very strong at all)

5) Neez

Again...8000 TON FORGED 6061-T6 wheels (nothing better)

6) HRE

Really, really, really, really, really good marketing...

7) DPE

Pretty good marketing...

8) Volk Racing

Excellent quality 6061 FORGED MONOBLOCK wheels. (not 8000 TON forged but still very good)

9) Axis wheels

Budget priced gravity CAST wheels that are of decent quality. (no too strong though)

10) Enkei

Very good quality wheel that uses FLOW-FORMED CASTING technology.(stronger than gravity cast wheel, but not as strong as forged wheel)

Note: BBS uses the same manufacturing process, but calls it "Spun Casting"

WALD Lexus IS-F (side)

Everybody should know by now, the Lexus IS-F is packing serious V-8 power. In fact it is a 5.0 liter 416 hp Yamaha engine shoved into the smallest chassis currently offered by Lexus. Those that are familiar with the car have noticed the wider front fenders and reworked front bumper. Everything else is pretty close to the regular ISx50 platforms. The hood like the BMW E92 M3 also have been given a major hump, in my opinion, I call it an afterthought. The bulge on the hood of the IS-F is especially prominent throwing off the lines of the car. If you look closely you will notice the extra step front he fender line that just looks thick and out of place. Yes I know it was design for clearance but surely we can redesign motor mounts to drop the motor 1-2" inches lower. The regular ISx50 hoods are sleeker and better fitting for the lines of the car.

Check out my rendering of what the IS-F should look like if outfitted with the total WALD aero. Flat black wheels are in. We saw plenty of flat black everywhere at SEMA this year. Clearly WALD has carried that look onto their project IS-F as well. I added a simple Time-Attack pin strip on the wheels just to give a break between the rim and the tire. Also the stances was improved as well. The "F' on the front fender was removed b/c proportionally a distorted square box does not go well with a sleek side marker.

This is way more aggressive.

WALD Lexus IS-F (rear)

So this is the rear of the WALD kit for the Lexus IS-F. Yes, I know.. what the hell where they thinking. Too much of everything and not enough thought. WALD styling has gone way too far in my opinion. Somebody tell their designers to take 2 steps back and you've got it!

To help this poor IS-F, I've came in with my own Photoshop skills to clean things up a bit.

First we got rid of the quad stacker exhaust tips for a pair of slighter rounder tips. The alien looking eye ball reflector lens look completed out of place. Not to mention the stair-stepper rear diffuser. So that too was deleted. I do not mind the CSL looking carbon wing but it would be better to be an entire trunk replacement. Also the taillights were cleared and smoked for the Euro look. All emblems were shaved except the "F" and the Lexus trunk emblem.
If I had an IS-F project, this would be the rear of the car.

What do you think?

ARC Ti GT-R Exhaust

ARC has developed their high performance titanium exhaust for the GT-R. Look a the craftsmanship on this work of art. The tips alone can make you run for cover. Entire exhaust only weights 6.8kg which is 14 pounds. Be prepared to pay a pretty price tag. At over $4,000 you can hang this on your wall as automotive art.

The highest quality is still in house Made In Japan.

SEMA GT-R continues

Among all the GT-Rs at SEMA, this had to be my favorite. Funny, this car actually belongs to a fellow name Jon from Norcal. The execution is flawless. This car sat in the Status booth all week and were the lesser of the GT-Rs to be acknowledged. Starting with the wheels, what can be better than a custom set of HREs finished in brushed lip and clear coated then a rough matte dark gray face. What got me was simple, this was the only GT-R with step lip and correct stance. Every other GT-R had huge bling wheels on. Rounding out the wheels, Jon went with ZELE International carbon lip kit, Top Secret coilovers, and one bad as Titanium exhaust. Congrats on making my top pick for Best GT-R at SEMA!


Nitto Tire booth had this ASR tuned GT-R again in white. The modifications were pretty extent with complete hard tubing and blow-off valves and even a center exit exhaust. I wonder what the numbers are?

iForged had a pretty clean GT-R outfitted with the best from Amuse. The wheels were a massive 22" inch 3-piece wheels that fill the fender arches perfectly.

HRE wheels had a very attractive booth with this 2-tone GT-R, matte on gloss black. The car even had smoke headlights and taillights with 2 different sets of wheels on either side. 

In the ENEOS booth, ZELE International Japan shipped over their highly anticipated company GT-R. The complete right-hand drive car was set to promote the companies newly developed carbon replacements parts. You will fine, grill, front lip, skirts, rear valance, side mirrors, fender vents hood vents and many more interior trims pieces all finished in carbon. Look for more from this company in the near future.

SEMA 2008 GT-R Galore

So as you may know now, the 2008 SEMA show at Las Vegas wrapped up a week ago and I'm just getting started to point out the highlights of the entire week. I work for Goodguys Rod and Custom and it is a privilege to work the event booth at SEMA every year.

What was the hit of the show? You guessed it, the King of all cars, Nissan GT-R. Many knew there would be plenty of highly modified GT-Rs at SEMA, but little could have estimated the shear number of GT-Rs gathered together at once.
Nearly 20 Nissan GT-Rs were displayed throughout the convention center right by the Hilton Hotel. Bulletproof Automotive looked to be the main provider for all the major GT-R builds. Mobile 1 and TOYO tires had the most extreme of GT-Rs of the week. Both were rocking BBS LM limited edition wheels with ENDLESS racing 6/4 calipers front and back. TOP SECRET, BRIDE, Takata, Amuse, Mines, all supported many of the cars in display. This deep purple GT-R was rumored to have cost an additional $80k to build on top of the $90k plus price for the car.
Axis wheels were present with their freshly painted GT-R with their latest in wheel design and plenty of carbon pieces from AP Racing. COBB were utilized to crack into the Nissan ECU for better performance. Check out the black top to match the CF goodies.

SEIBON had a huge booth this year rocking 7 heavily decked out demo cars. Here is their company owned demo GT-R with their latest dry carbon aero replacements. Those that do not know the process of dry carbon compared to wet carbon should do a bit of research to full understand the process and reasons why it is many times more expensive than regular carbon. In short, dry carbon is lighter and way stronger hence the price and availability. Their GT-R had a complete front bumper, hood, lip, skirts, rear valance, and trunk all made in dry carbon. I did find out the company out sources to China for all manufacturing. Better check the fitment first.

FALKEN tires had their own GT-R as well. The car belonged to a member of Team Hybrid and it carried some newer brands to hit the market. Notice the CF lip and canards. The GT carbon wing is also an aggressive addition to the black and white look. Seem like white GT-Rs on carbon were the look to have.

More later.

SEMA 2008 Day 1

Where do I start.. 6 days in Las Vegas, 4 days of PR, and 1 night of stomach flu, I am glad to be home. This year, my annual SEMA trip started Monday afternoon. After taking BART to the Oakland airport station and then jumping onto a shuttle that cost way too much, my flight was heavily delayed due to weather at Vegas. Instead of negative thoughts, I made a friend at the airport. His name was Jay and he works as a field tech support for global cellular tracking. He had some amazing gear and yes, if you use a cell phone through a carrier, you can be tracked within a few micro-seconds. No, it has nothing to do with GPS chips. Mainly using triangulating the signal through towers, this form of tracking is heavily used by the FBI. Anyways, boarded the plane and finally land in the desert around 6:30 PM.

A good friend picked me up and thanks to his patience I had a ride to the hotel and dinner. We ate at a very delicious and famous hole in the wall, apparently every known VIP enjoys the ramen and sushi at this joint. In fact, I was lucky enough to meet the president of CUSCO and J's Racing that night while sipping the best of the East.

A quick trip to Lucky's and I checked in at the Hilton and feel asleep early around 11. I needed enough sleep to start Day 1 of one crazy SEMA ride. Also, Tuesday was election day and everybody in the area had election fever. For the first time, I too was glued to the news like a dirty politician scamming their own state.

More tomorrow.

BTW, this picture is of the best damn car at SEMA 2008, the humble TETSU GTR.

JOB Design SEMA IS250 at Mishimoto Booth

Powertrain/Drivetrain Type and Modifications: Tanabe Madallon exhaust; Fujita intake; Mishimoto aluminum radiator
Chassis Type and Modifications: Brembo six-piston mono block big brake kit with 14-inch rotors; Tanabe coilovers; Hyper ground kit; Klassen 20-inch wheels; Toyo 245/30-20 and 285/25-20 tires
Exterior Modifications: House of Kolor Wild Cherry candy paint; Job Design body kit, foglights and spoiler
Interior Modifications: Custom two-tone leather interior; Eclipse in-dash DVD and navigation; Rockford Fosgate audio; Diamonds 7-inch and 15-inch monitors

Exhibitor Booth Number: 10453

2008 Lexus IS350
Project Exhibited By: Mishimoto Automotive
Phone: 302/762-4501
E-mail: mike@mishimoto.com
Website: www.mishimoto.com

Jih Shyh 2002 Lexus LS430 SEMA LS430

Powertrain/Drivetrain Type and Modifications: 32-valve 4.3L V8 engine; double overhead cam; five-speed automatic transmission; custom Magnaflow exhaust
Chassis Type and Modifications: UCF30 chassis; STD R5 suspension and big brake kit (forged six-piston front calipers, 380x35mm front rotor, forged four-piston rear calipers, 355x35mm rear rotors); Platinum VIP Phantom kit and VIP Modular 20x9.5 front and 20x11.5 wheels; Toyo T1R 245/35/20 front and 285/30/20 rear tires
Exterior Modifications: L-Sportline front and rear bumpers; Lexus Japan OEM aero side skirts; custom lightly smoked LED taillights; custom clear corner headlights; 2008 Audi S8 Ice Silver paint; color-matched badgeless grille; upgraded 6500K HID head and foglight bulbs; Platinum VIP LED puddle lights
Interior Modifications: Platinum VIP curtains
Exhibitor Booth Number: 20648

2002 Lexus LS430
Project Exhibited By: Jih Shyh
International Co. Ltd.
Phone: +886-4-2496-0505
Fax: +886-4-2493-2293
E-mail: jihshyh@gmail.com
Website: www.std.com.tw