iM Feature: Andrew’s VR6 Turbo GTI

Since joining the illmotion team, there are a few cars that I have had in mind that I wanted to feature when my photo taking skills got good enough. Well, my skills are still not good enough in my mind, but here is one of the cars on my list.

Andrew is a Volkswagen guy that I appreciate. I’ve met a bunch of VW heads in my life that pretty much proclaim that VW is the only way to roll, and all other cars suck. Andrew isn’t like that. In the short time I’ve known him, I’ve come to see his appreciation for all types of cars in general, and his helpfulness in all aspects of different makes of cars, not just the VWs. But don’t get me wrong, VW is where his heart is at. You can tell that by looking at his 1997 VW GTI VR6 Drivers Edition.


This MKIII sits and moves perfectly with a balanced suspension consisting of KW coilovers, a Neuspeed front (25mm) and rear (28mm) sway bar, and an OMP front stress bar. Add a set of Audi TT 12.3″ front brakes, finish it off with a set of Brock B2 wheels sized at 16×7.5 in the front, and 16×9 at the rear, and you’ve got one nicely stanced car!

But don’t let its cool, clean, and reserved outward appearance fool you, this car is packing heat.

You might not see much past the 2.8L 12V VR6 motor, but here is what is hiding:

-T3/T4 Turbo .63AR
-Kinetic Motorsport exhaust manifold
-Ceramic coated turbo / manifold
-TiAL 38mm wastegate
-3″ Kinetic Motorsport downpipe
-Audi TT diverter valve
-Kinetic Motorsport silicone hoses and stainless steel clamps
-9.0:1 stainless steel head spacer
-42# Bosch fuel injectors
-C2 Motorsports 42# software
-Walbro inline fuel pump
-22″x10″x2.3″ Garret intercooler
-Peloquin LSD & TDI 5th gear
-ACT VR1-HDMM high HP clutch & heavy duty pressure plate
-MMP phelonic intake manifold spacer
-ARP headstuds
-HPA short runner intake manifold
-Greddy Profec B Spec II electronic boost controller
-Mocal thermostatically controlled oil cooler



A big thanks goes out to Andrew for coming out so we could shoot his beast. Stay tuned for more, Andrew isn’t done yet. This was a ‘before’ shoot, there will be some major exterior changes over the winter, and when next season hits, I may have to shoot it all over again. Maybe I’ll get my picture taking skills in order by then, so I can do the car some justice.

iM Feature: Alex’s Turbo Integra

I’ve been hearing about this Integra for a few months now but it’s just been hectic around here that I’ve never got the chance to shoot it until last night. At first I was expecting something that I’ve seen around the city before. Once I got talking to Alex (the owner) – he had told me that the car has barely been out and he just happened to rack up just a little over 1000km’s on the car. That’s when I started to get excited to see it.

When he drove up, I realized why guys like Jackie and Pat vouched for the car. (Not that I doubted the car). There aren’t too many nicely done turbo’d cars around town but when there is, it’s a damn nice sight to see. Tuned with Hondata S300 w/ boost solenoid, he can put down 368 at 12 lbs of boost.


Get ready for a long list of parts for Alex’s Integra
Body:
Fully resprayed PPG NH583M (vogue silver metallic)
All original body panels (except right fender from previous owner)
Shaved body side mouldings
Shaved antenna
Shaved rear washer nozzle
Shaved front bumper
Shaved trunk lid
OEM Acura Integra Type-R front lip
OEM Acura Integra Type-R accessory side skirt
OEM Acura Integra Type-R accessory rear valances
T1R led bulbs for rear license plate
OEM Acura Integra headlights w/ap1 s2k retrofit
Spoon Sports blue wide mirror glass

Interior:
OEM Acura Integra Type-R carpet (reason for Type-R its actually black)
NEW OEM Integra floor mats
USDM OEM Integra Type-R carbon faux interior components (driver’s vent, hvac, ash tray, cigarette lighter, shifter bezel)
OEM Integra Type-R shift boot
OEM Integra Type-R armrest
OEM Integra Type-R rear bench (inserts rewrapped in bridge gradation fabric)
Privacy cover wrapped in bride black gradation fabric)
Door panel inserts wrapped in bride black gradation fabric)
Bride zeta 3 sport
Bride low max rails
Takata long harnesses
T1R T182R Titanium shift knob/ Mugen Machined Aluminum shift knob (switch in between)
Spoon Sports gen 2 steering wheel, held on by ballerbolts.com titanium bolts
Snap-On quick release hub
Autometer nexus boost gauge
Autometer nexus exhaust gas temperature gauge
Autometer nexus oil pressure gauge
Mugen gauge cluster
Spoon Sports blue wide rear view mirror (broken upon installation lol, waiting on A&J Racing for new one to arrive)
JDM OEM Honda Integra Type-Rx pedal set

Suspension:
Energy suspension polyurethane bushing kit
Tein flex coilovers
OEM Integra Type-R front sway bar
OEM Integra Type-R rear sway bar
ASR rear subframe reinforcement plate
Skunk2 rear lower control arms
Mugen front strut tower bar
Mugen rear strut tower bar
K-Tuned front traction bar (with rad mount)
J’s Racing c-pillar bar

Brakes/Wheels:
16×7 +42 offset 4×100 bronze Volk Racing TE37 (Aldrich & Alan C’s old wheels)
205/45R16 Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R
Spoon Sports brake lines
Spoon Sports twin block front callipers
Powerslot 96’ Honda Prelude SRV front rotors redrilled to 4×100
OEM Acura NSX front brake pads
Acura Integra GS-R rear callipers
Powerslot Acura Integra GS-R rear rotors
OEM Acura Integra GS-R rear brake pads

Engine/Engine Bay:
Shaved/Cleaned up and resprayed in PPG NH583M (vogue silver metallic)
Harness redone in new loom (got rid of the plugs we no longer needed. eg. abs, cruise, a/c, and so on)
ABS removed
Power Steering removed
Cruise control removed
Air Conditioning removed (not by choice, but force because of the exhaust manifold)
Wire tucked (neatly put away, but not overkill because we wanted it to accessible)
Tein hood struts
Ballerbolts.com titanium nuts for upper control arms, coilovers, and strut tower bar
30 sets of Mugen license plate bolts, every 10mm in the engine bay has a Mugen bolt in it
All coolant hoses replaces with new OEM ones.
Fluidyne aluminum half radiator
Spoon Sports black rad stay
Spoon Sports radiator cap
Spoon Sports radiator hose set
Mugen oil cap
JDM OEM Honda Civic Type-R red valve cover
JDM OEM Honda Civic Type-R N1 crank pulley
Spoon Sports spark plug wire cover
Spoon Sports spark plug wire set
Carbing oil catch can
Skunk2 battery tie down
Hasport engine mounts
Moroso oil pan
Dart B18 Block
JE 9.1.1 Piston/Ring Set
CP Rods
ACL Bearing
OEM Integra Type-R micropolished and balanced crankshaft
Brand new OEM Acura Integra Type-R cylinder head
Precise Engine Rebuilders Inc. Port and Polish
Ferrea 1mm oversize intake/exhaust valves
Comp Cams Titanium Valve Springs/Retainers
OEM Acura Integra Type-R Exhaust Camshaft
OEM Honda Civic Type-R Intake Camshaft
Greddy Timing Belt
Skunk2 Intake Manifold Port Matched to cylinder head
Skunk2 70mm throttle body port matched to Intake Manifold
Peakboost FTW turbo kit
Garrett T3/T04E .63ar
Tial 44mm Wastegate (10lbs. large spring)
Tial 38mm BOV (6lbs spring)
RC 550cc Injectors
AEM Fuel Rail
AEM Fuel Pressure Regulator
AEM Fuel Filter
B&M Fuel Pressure Gauge
3” Peakboost downpipe
T1R 70mm dolphin tip exhaust

Transmission/Drivetrain:
OEM Acura Integra Type-R LSD Transmission
OEM Acura Integra Type-R Flywheel
OEM Acura Integra Type-R shift linkages
Skunk2 Short Throw Shifter
ACT 4puck unsprung clutch
Driveshaft Shop Stage1 Axles

I/C/E:

Compustar Two-Way Alarm/Starter
Alpine CDA-105 Head Unit
Hertz EP 1 D Amplifier
Hertz 6.1/2” speakers/front components all around
OEM Acura RSX Type-S Bose Subwoofer

And once again.. 403 represent! Thanks again to Alex for coming out and giving us the chance to shoot his whip!

iM Feature: Das Auto – Volkswagen Jetta 1.8t

Last week I had the chance to drive and shoot, my good friend Dominic’s, 2002 Volkswagen Jetta 1.8t. It was definitely something else driving this car. Hearing the sound of the turbo blow off valve put an immediate smile on face. At one point in the drive, I started laughing like a little school girl due to all the fun I was having. Now here’s the kicker, I didn’t break 60km/h.

You’ll soon find out that his car hasn’t been heavily modified. The reasoning behind that is Dominic wanted to build a clean and reliable car. Right off the bat, the 1.8t motors are extremely robust and can withstand any punishment. He told me, “Why wreck something that has been perfected by engineers?” I couldn’t agree more.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what has been done to his car:

Engine:
– Turbo back magnaflow exhaust
– Autobraun Short ram Intake with BMC filter
– Samco Turbo inlet pipe
– Samco intercooler hose kit
– Eurosport intercooler kit with mushimoto front mount
– Forge splitter valve
– 4 bar fuel pressure regulator
– Revo stage 2 software

Suspension:
– KYB AGX struts with dampening adjustability
– H&R race springs
– H&R rear sway bar (with upgraded mounting bracket

Brakes:
– Cross drilled brakes on all fours (with red calipers)

Exterior:
– GLI headlights with HID kit installed in the fog lights only
– Replica Votex bumper
– Bosser hood
– Europlate
– 18 inch Spyn Autobahn wheels (discontinued)
– Black roof

Enjoy the rest of the photos from our adventure.

To view more of Dominic’s car, please click HERE

Thanks for reading!

iM Feature: Darren’s Mugen DC5 – Extra Snaps

Tagged along last night on the shoot, and took a few pics. Still learning how to work with different types of light, and lack there of. The light disappeared pretty quickly, so my pics aren’t as good as Jason, but I figured I’d put a few up anyways.

More after the jump…




And a final shot of Jason gettin the goods, even though it was dark and wet out.

iM Feature: Darren’s Mugen DC5

Ever since last year I’ve spotted this RSX/Integra rolling around here and there and I’ve always drooled over how nicely put together it is and how clean it looked. The thing I loved most was the wing. At one point, I wanted an RSX to create this exact look.

Fast forward to a year later and I get the opportunity to shoot this clean queen. Since last year, it’s been equipped with Rota Grids in 17×9.5 +30 wrapped with 235/40/17 yokohama s-drives. with that concave face making the stance of the car super mean. The all around mugen look including the aggressive wing makes it hard not to stare at.


With most shoots, comes some big risks. Several times during this shoot, we encountered some sick locations but in order to get to them required swerving, maneuvering, and crawling over huge potholes and mud terrain. And several of those times, Darren’s whip ended up taking some hits but not without some good pictures – so kudos to Darren for taking it where we needed it to get the shots you see.

Darren also added to the detail by having Mugen pedals, Mugen lugnuts, Mugen shiftknob and a Mugen tower bar. To help with the go parts, a Hondata reflash and an Injen CAI tops it off.

The final rolling shot of the night

iM Feature: Function vs Form – Part 1

Being slammed is the latest trend in the import tuner world, however, cars with a slammed stance tend to be impractical, especially on the roads we have in Calgary. Tuners have to choose between the sick look of a slammed ride and have trouble with their car scraping everywhere or settle for a less aggressive stance but be more practical.
We have here 2 cars in which their owners chose either function or form. On one side, we have Josh Sivadas’s lowered white Integra Type-R with Volk CE28n’s and on the other side we have Reggie Mah’s slammed Phoenix Yellow with Sportmax rims and tons of negative camber. One has no problem making it up the tiny ramp to get into this parking lot where we shot, the other had considerable trouble. However, both of these cars have some of the best parts available, ranging from Mugen to ARC. In parts two and three, we will take a more indepth look at each car, so stay tuned!

iM Feature: JKL’s Internet Sensation S2K

Winter is coming up and the weather is starting to suck so much that you can see your breath during the mornings and evenings. Next thing you know, there’s a foot of snow outside your driveway and there’s no such thing as tucking tire anymore.

Jackie shows everyone that there is no such thing as being too low. Some are confused as to how he does it, but he does and he does it well. Every piece of the car is put together with attention to detail – something that seems common among the other S2000 owners like Nick and Jackson.

Custom candy blue TE37’s in 18×9.5 +22 all around, ASM bumper, Spoon buckets and diffuser, J’s carbon GT wing and titanium exhaust and a whole bunch of other goodies that make this car just as good as it looks.

This will probably be the last and potentially the only shoot that we get of his car before he heads back home to Victoria, B.C. Perhaps next year he’ll have something different in store and we can get that up on illmotion for you guys as well. Enjoy.

illmotion represent

iM Feature: Nick Chow’s Honda S2000

snaps//jason.hoang
words//jc.tenchavez

Finally from our “Ultra Shoot” a couple weeks back we have 2010’s “Geeked Up” edition of Nick Chow’s infamous J’s Racing S2000.

Sporting a fresh set of Jordan 11s (White Volk TE37s) Nick continues to set the bar for those in our local scene.

This S2000 has yet to be put in its natural element at the track. But with new fitment and updated stopping power it will definitely be interesting to see how well Nick’s S2K attacks the road course this season.

I must also note that most shots of this whip were taken in a cemetery. Definitely something out of the ordinary for the illmotion photogs at hand that night (Jason & Aldrich), nontheless very suitable for a vehicle that lays the competition to rest.

With such a peaceful ambiance and the radiance of Chowfun’s “Bot”, the outcome of the shoot was…well, have a look for yourself.


New for 2010//
_Mugen S1 Racing Seats
_Volk TE37 (White) 18×9.5 +22
_Bridgestone RE11 255/35R18
_Project Mu 777 Front Brake Pads
_Project Mu 999 Rear Brake Pads

iM Feature: Jackson Chen’s Honda S2000

Along with Ryan’s MR2, we were also given the honor of shooting Jackson’s “Doin’ ASM Everything” S2000.



Many of you have probably read about this car in Honda Tuning, and being that it is a local car, it’s only proper we feature it the right way here on illmotion!



Inspired by the ASM Race Demo S2000 (as well as fellow S2K homie Nick Chow’s J’s Racing S2000), Jackson’s “RICEPOT” is definitely one of those Hondas you cannot ignore if you ever come across it.

With it’s Grand Prix White exterior, red interior, freshly fitted Bronze Volk RE-30s, and of course it’s roaring ITBs, this is one S2000 that will simply leave you speechless.

I guess we can call this Part 2 from our “Ultra Shoot” ha ha!

On to the pics…






Specifications//



MECHANICAL
-Honda F20C
-Spoon Radiator
-AEM Fuel Pressure Regulator
-Toda ITB
-J’s Racing Oil & Coolant Catch Can
-T1R Header
-T1R Test Pipe
-J’s Racing 60 RS Exhaust & Muffler System
-T1R Driveshaft Spacers
-T1R Ignition Bridge
-NGK Iridium IX Spark Plugs
-Hondata K-Pro

SUSPENSION.BRAKING
-T1R BMAX Coilovers
-T1R Front & Rear Anti-Bumpsteer Kit
-J’s Racing Front & Rear Slotted Rotors
-Seidoya N1 500 Front & Rear Pads
-Motul RBF Brake Fluid
-Spoon Stainless Steel Braided Brake Lines

JORDANS
-Volk RE-30 17×9.5 +40 in Bronze (Non-Staggered)
-Bridgestone RE-11 255/40R17

EXTERIOR
-ASM I.S. Design FRP Hood
-ASM I.S. Design FRP Fenders
-ASM I.S. Design FRP Over Fenders
-ASM I.S. Design FRP Ducktail Spoiler
-ASM I.S. Design FRP Front Bumper
-ASM I.S. Design FRP Rear Bumper
-ASM I.S. Design FRP Carbon Front Canards
-ASM I.S. Design FRP Wet Carbon Lip Spoiler
-Spoon Rear Diffuser
-J’s Racing 3D GT Wing Type 1
-T1R Side Diffusers
-Mugen FRP Hardtop
-C-West Carbon Side Mirrors

INTERIOR
-Bride Giax & Brix II Seats
-MOMO Steering Wheel
-T1R Titanium Shift Knob

iM Feature: Ryan’s Toyota MR2

Last week we had the pleasure of doing a photoshoot on a few of the sickest cars that Calgary has to offer. Some of you may remember a few months back when Ryan’s MR2 was posted up right before the season closed in ’09. Well, it’s back and with new shoes and we were able to get some sick shots of his car.
Let’s call this part one.Check it out!