iM Highlight: Ger’s 350z

If your an avid reader of our site then you’ve seen a couple snapshots of Ger’s dumped and flushed 350z in the past at various events out east. He is a member of the infamous Level One crew out of Toronto, and in true Level One fashion his car is jaw dropping with a long list of baller, top notch parts.

Ger started out in the scene with a couple euro cars. First one being an Audi A4 with a respectable list of upgrades (wheels, suspension, lip kit and various other bolt ons) however after running into some problems with that project car he quickly sold it off for a VW Jetta GLI. In typical euro fashion the Jetta was promptly slammed on some flush BBS wheels and it was also rocking 6 pot Porsche brakes.

At this point he wanted more. And he wanted JDM. Enter 350z.

Over the 4 years+ of owning the 350z Roger has transformed it from stock to an all out track car and then into an extremely clean, show worthy daily driver. This is mostly due to the large time and financial commitment that comes with beating your car up on the track.

Regardless of what the car is currently use for this iteration is looking mighty fine! And as mentioned above its clad with only the best of the best, JDM parts from Nismo, Amuse and Top Secret to name a few.

//EXTERIOR
Authentic Nismo V2 bumper
Authentic Nismo sides
Authentic Top Secret rear diffuser
s2000 antenna

//ENGINE.&.DRIVETRAIN
Amuse Titanium exhaust
Tomei V2 header
Tomei Cams
Megan test pipe
Motodyne 5/16″ Intake Spacer
Tuned ECU

//SUSPENSION
Tein MonoFlex coilovers
Hotchiba front/rear sway bar
Cusco front camber kit
SPC rear camber kit

//WHEELS.&.BRAKES
Volks Racing TE37 19×9.5/10.5 +12
Dunlop DZ101 Tires 245/35/19 265/35/19
Kics Spacers 10mm (front), 15mm (rear)

//INTERIOR
Bride Zeta III racing seat
Key!s Racing 350mm leather semi-cone
WorksBell quick release
WorksBell short hub
ARC shift knob
Takata 4-point seat belt
JVC NX-7000 double-din deck

More pictures can be found in our Flickr page HERE

Also be sure to check out our friends over at Stretch & Pokes recent article, interview and video coverage of Level One HERE

iM Highlight: Al Patel’s 2006 Audi S4

For any Luxury tuner out there in the game, there are probably three simple words that first come to mind when modifying their vehicle. Now, not to get things twisted, these three words are not “I’m A Boss”, these three simple words are “Keep It Classy”.

When Al Patel acquired a practically mint 2006 Audi S4 earlier this year, there is no doubting the fact that keeping it classy was his master plan. Starting with the basics of smoking the headlights, taillights, fogs and blacking out the S4’s silver metallic front fascia, this S4 was on it’s way to NOT looking like your average daily driven Audi on the streets.

Complete with subtle yet effective exterior changes on the S4, Al told himself that he would give the car an aggressive stance and be done with it since the S4 after all, comes with a pretty beastly 4.2 V8 out of the box. With a set of Tein S.Techs dropping the car exactly where he wanted, and a set of 10mm/17mm ECS Tuning Spacers pushing out the OEM S4 wheels, was Al’s S4 really done with? Nope.

A few short months later, Al decided it was time to let the S4’s V8 breathe a little more. Long story short, Al went from initially deleting the resonators and from there resulted a completely custom and one-off exhaust system. The outcome, a sound so menacing, it literally feels like your heartstrings are being pulled right out of your chest.

To neutralize the refreshed sound of this S4, Al added a K&N Intake System. With the help of Calgary’s VW/Audi Specialists over at Concept-1, an APR Stage 1 Tune was upgraded into this S4’s ECU. To roll with the homies of stance, form and all that jazz, Al ditched the OEM S4 wheels and continued to play the stance game with a nicely staggered set of Miro 111s.

As the car stands now, only time can tell if Al will continue on with this S4 and make it his daily driver/project car, or move on to something bigger, better and badder. Whatever Al ends up doing, we’ll definitely be paying close attention.

Keeping it classy can go a very long way, and Al’s S4 has all the evidence in the world to back this statement up. With an overall impressive set up, Al achieved all of this without taking away nor compromising Audi’s luxury brand name status.

And on that note, don’t forget to keep it classy, kids.

|CAR:2006 B7 Audi S4
|OWNER: Al Patel

|ENGINE.&.EXHAUST
-4.2L V8 with APR Stage 1 Tune via Concept-1
-Modified K&N Air Intake Box
-Custom Exhaust System and Piping
-Relocated O2 Sensors
-Gutted Front & Rear Catalysts
-Resonator Delete
-Custom Rear Set-Up with RS-4 Style Flo-Pro Mufflers

|WHEELS.&.TIRES
-18×8.5 +35 Miro 111 Front
-18×9.5 +40 Miro 111 Rear
-ECS Tuning 10mm Spacer Kit (Rear)
-235/40R18 Continental ContiSportContact2 Tires (Front & Rear)

|SUSPENSION.&.BRAKES
-Tein S.Tech Springs
-1.1″ Rear, 1.4″ Rear
-Red Painted Calipers

|EXTERIOR
-Vinyl “Iron” Headlights
-Vinyl “Iron” Tailights
-Vinyl “Iron” Foglights
-Matte Black S4 Radiator Grille
-DDM Tuning 6000K HID Kit

More pictures can be found in our Flickr page HERE

iM Highlight: Sibling Rivalry

Similar, but different. Does that make any sense?

Everyone has their own personal opinion on how a car should be built. Whether it is built as a show car, a track car, a street cruiser, or a functional daily driver, a persons own opinion dictates what their car will look like. Some people like a fast car with a crazy motor that looks completely stock on the outside, others like a car that is super flashy on the outside, but with minimal power mods. And some like both, doing a little bit of both, or if they’ve got tons of money, a lot of both.

They say that when two people are around each other long enough, those two peoples’ tastes tend to influence each others. This seems to be the case with the two Subarus that you see here: My 08 WRX, and my brothers 09 STI.

To the casual observer, they look like pretty much the same car. But to you readers of our site, we know you know which one is which. They are very similar visually with the STI being the wider, stronger, and better handling of the two.

My brother Lester and I both grew up loving cars. Getting older, when we both starting driving, we had completely different tastes on how a car should be built. I was always the one that loved making a car look pretty, always changing up the way things looked without going overboard, always changing small visual appearances here and there. Both my previous rides (96 Civic, and 06 Tacoma X-Runner) reflected that with both having fairly stock motors with nothing done to them. But they looked good.

My brother Lester was the opposite. For the most part, as long as the body was fairly straight, thats all he cared about, because he would be spending most of his time and effort under the hood. Previous examples of that have been his last 3 cars, a decently quick all motor B20 92 Integra, a B20 turbo 92 Civic, and a B18 turbo 96 EK.

So now Lester and I both drive Subarus and both have seem to have grown from an assimilation of our styles. Without going into too much detail, both have been given a healthy boost of power from some mods under the hood, and as well, have some minor visual mods like the similar taillights, and same front lip. Both are lowered about the same, both with 18″ wheels. Our minor in differences in opinion still show in our cars, but the lines are not as clear as they once used to be.

Whats next for these Subies? I keep telling myself I’m done, I love its functionality, and it will continue to be my daily and winter driver. My brother says the same, as its also his daily and winter driver, and is fairly happy with it.

But in the end, we both know we’re lying to ourselves.

iM Highlight: Chris’s Honda S2000

In the short amount of time Chris owned this car, lets just say he had an excellent attention for detail. He picked up the car with less then 50,000 km’s with an absolutely immaculate body. A perfect buy for someone who planned on doing much more then just drive it. He was quick to modify it, while keeping the engine stock he chose fitment, and aero with big plans on what to do to the engine later.

While he had big dreams on what to do with the car next, he had an even bigger dream and decided to sell it. Some ask why he sold it so early, but when someones dream car pops up for the right amount of money, your plans shift and you drop everything you have worked for. I am excited to see what he turns his new car into, but for now, here is his S2000.

//Exterior
J’s Racing front half lip
J’s Racing canards
J’s Racing GT wing
Spoon rear diffuser
VIS carbon hood
Custom headlights
Clear sidemarkers
Tein Hood Damper

//Footwork
Volks RE30’s 17×7.5 +43 & 17×9 +54
T1R B-Max Coilovers with stiff springs

//Engine
Invidia N1 V3 Exhaust

//Interior
Skunk2 Shift Knob

And whats an article with out a roller.

iM Highlight: Sam’s Acura NSX

The Acura NSX, a car almost every enthusiast dreams of having. Sam, lucky enough to find one and purchase it was happy to hear we wanted to shoot it. After seeing it once or twice throughout the summer we thought we would share the eye candy with everyone else before it goes back into hiding for the upcoming fall/winter season.

Although stock in almost every sense this car is beautiful in every way. With a subtle lowering and fitted with the infamous Volk TE-37s the NSX puts on a stance that’s sure to intimidate.

On to some more pics to showcase what a driving machine really is.

|Car:2005 Acura NSX
|Owner:Sam Tang

//Wheels.&.Suspension
Lowered on Bilstein Shocks
Science of Speed NSX Fitted Volk TE37
Front: 17×8 235/40/17
Rear: 18×10 275/35/18

For more pics check out the gallery HERE

iM Highlight: Reggie’s 2007 BMW E92 328xi

Here is another Euro that has been in the works for some time. Some of you may remember Reggie’s Integra Feature from last year and wonder what he drove when that was torn apart. Well this BMW is the car that he used and as you can see there was no messing around here either.

Outfitted all around with an AC Schnitzer kit and misc. pieces to match the aggressiveness, Reggie pulled off what you see here.

Having owned the car since 2007 it has seen it’s ups and downs and a fair share of bumps and bruises but with a keen eye and attention to detail, Reggie has kept it clean with simplicity. And clearly we aren’t the only ones that thought so, Reggie and his BMW won best Euro at DTP Edmonton in 2008, Best in Class at World of Wheels, 2nd Best in DTP Calgary in 2009, and Best in Class at Euroquake. With a rap sheet like that it’s no wonder keep striving to bring out more and more with each build!

|Car:BMW E92 328xi
|Owner:Reggie Mah

//Exterior
Alpine White Paint
AC Schnitzer Front Lip
AC Schnitzer Side Skirts
AC Schnitzer Rear Valance
Matte Black BMW Kidney Grills
OSS Black Housing Headlights
Corner Amber Delete Mod
Piano Black Painted Roof
Shadow Line Window Trim
OEM MTEC Trunk Spoiler
MTEC LED License Plate Lights
Gloss Black Vinyl Accent on Trunk
Noyka Hyper Yellow 2500K Fogs
Noyka Hyper Yellow 2500K Angel Eye
MTEC D1S 9000K Bi-xenon
Euro Spec Rear Fog Enabled

//Engine.&.Drivetrain
Injen Cold Air Intake
RPI Intake Scoops
Injen Cold Air Shield
Custom Header Back Exhaust
BMS Power Box Tuned

//Wheels.&.Suspension
KW V3 Coilovers
Volk Racing Magblue TE37’s 19×9.5 +22 all round
Hankook Ventus V12 235/35-19 all round

//Interior.&.ICE
OEM Steptronic Paddle Shift retrofit
OEM M6 DCT Knob retrofit
OEM Alcantara Sport Shift Boot
Piano Black Trim
MTEC LED Interior lights
Euro Spec Digital Speed on Dash
LOGIC7 Sound

Look forward to another great build from Reggie as he has got his hands on a new project car which has already taken some big steps this past summer!

Reggie would like to send out a special thanks to MWDesign Technik for sponsoring the AC Schnitzer Kit and KW V3’s.

iM Highlight: Josh Sivadas’s E46 M3 Cabriolet

The E46 M3.

Without a doubt one of the most popular platforms amongst European tuners. First introduced to the scene in 2000, the E46 M3 was offered in coupe and convertible models, featured the beastly (International Engine of the Year at the time) M-tuned 3.2L S54 engine, SMG transmission, sport suspension, and a highly aggressive exterior.

It’s no wonder that Josh Sivadas looked to the M3, as his latest project car. But what more could Josh do to an already impressive package from BMW? Well, in Josh’s case, “Swag” would be the perfect word to describe his E46 M3 Cabriolet.

Already equipped with sporty suspension from the factory, Josh aimed to get this M3 Cab stanced proper with a set of KW V2 Coilovers. And to make his M3 Cab stand out even more from the crowd, How about an agressively staggered set of black Volk TE-37s for good measure? No messing around here.

To give the M3 a little more flow, Josh added an AFE Intake system and Custom Exhaust set-up with rasp eliminator.

“All black everything” is another phrase that just works when it comes to talking about Josh’s M3. Featuring a Vorsteiner CF Single-Sided GTR Hood, Vorsteiner CF Rear Diffuser and a custom CF front lip, any Chrome that was on this M3 is completely blacked out inside and out, perfectly complimenting the Vorsteiner goodies.

Subtlety and attention to detail can go a long way. Josh definitely had the right frame of mind when it came to building his E46 M3 Cab project. Whether he’s cruising with the top down or hardtop on, you better believe Josh’s M3 has it’s swag on and in full effect.


|Car:BMW E46 M3 Cabriolet
|Owner:Josh Sivadas


//Engine.&.Drivetrain
-AFE Intake System
-Custom Exhaust Set-Up with Rasp Eliminator

//Exterior
-Vorsteiner CF GTR Hood
-Vorsteiner CF Rear Diffuser
-Custom CF Front Lip
-Black Front Grilles
-Blacked Out M3 Fender Grilles
-Color Matched Reflectors
-Depo Smoked Turn Signals
-Smoked Taillights
-WeissLicht Angel Eyes
-BMW OEM Hardtop

//Interior
-LED Interior
-Di-Noc CF Wrapped Panels
-Full JL Audio I.C.E.
-Hidden JL Audio W3 Subwoofer


//Wheels.&.Suspension
-Volk TE37 19×9.5 +22 (Front)
-Volk TE37 19×10.5 +22 (Rear)
-Hankook V12 Tires
-KW V2 Coilovers
-TMS Street Camber Plates
-TMS Stud Conversion
-Muteki SR48 Open Ended Lug Nuts

iM HIghlight: Jason’s Burple Beast

It’s been a long time coming for me and I’m happy to finally have this rolling nicely.
Ever since the last year with my Civic, I’ve felt that it was time to move on to something bigger and better. Those that knew me for a while also knew that I’ve wanted an STI way back before I could even drive. That day has finally come and now that it has, I’m planning on doing it all over again.

February 2011 – I walked into the Subaru dealership ready to put a deposit down so that by spring, I would have it ready for me to drive. Lady luck must have been on my side that day because the exact one I wanted was the only one sitting on the lot. Half an hour later, I signed the papers and took it home a few days later. That night, I had already ordered parts for it to slap on as soon as possible.

Thanks to Rhys at Revwerks for hooking me up with a set of WORK XT7’s as quickly as I needed them. In 18×9.5 +20, it’s not super aggressive, but it’s not super laid back either. I decided to play it safe for now to see how much I can push the limits of this widebody. Interestingly enough, it’s probably harder to fit these wheels under the wheel wells of the GR body than the Civic’s body. But with little rolling and pulling, they fit perfectly. Some cracked fenders and tire shredding here and there, but it’s all good now.

Another special thanks to Dave at Screamin’ Paintworks for working with me for a span of 3 weeks to get the paint just right. A special 7 stage house of kolor custom burple was what ended up on the wheels. 2 bases of gold, 2 coats of blue and a final 3 topcoats of the unique burple. The outcome is definitely something that you’d have to see in person. Blue in the shade, purple in the light and at certain angles, you’ll see gold flake.

The suspension of course was one of the first things to be installed. A set of BC BR racing coilovers to get the car sitting low, and Cusco lower control arms to bring in the camber and I was good to go. Still playing around with suspension, I’m still working on going lower.

While the car still sits relatively stock performance and looks wise, my biggest “want” was to get the car sitting pretty and looking unique. With many more parts on the way and the need to be patient for parts to come out for a newer chassis, hopefully I’ll have some more updates as the year goes on. If you spot me, be sure to wave!

iM Highlight: Tamed JDM Beasts

Over the past few dreadful winter months, I have had the chance to talk to and get to know Cecilia. Cecilia had contacted me asking for a photoshoot for her Evo X and her husband Colin’s STi. Cecilia and Colin have owned their own fair share of different types of cars from a BMW 5 series to a Honda S2000.

The best thing about these two cars is although they are rivals, they compliment each other perfectly. Having both of these cars in the garage makes for an interesting combo. Cecilia and Colin may not be hardcore tuners that go for the slammed look or the huge turbo to put down 600hp, but they have kept modification subtle enough to be different, which is what we love.

Check out these two beastly whips

Cecilia’s EVO X
Rexpseed carbon fiber front splitter covers
JDM plate
Redlinegoods custom shift boot and arm rest cover
Rally Armor mudflaps
Custom rear spoiler deck
Perrin stubby antenna
RED Mitsubishi emblems

Colin’s STi
Invidia Q300 Catback
Invidia catted downpipe
COBB Stage 2 with custom LightSpeed map
High flow drop in filter
Red tail light overlays
Hella supertones

The two rolling side by side.

Together… at last?

iM HIghlight: Jeroen’s Honda Civic EJ2

Once again, our homies from the Netherlands show their definition of cleanliness and simplicity.

Jeroen has gotten in touch with us and sent us some pics of his super clean EJ2 coupe.
It’s nice to see a ’92 with mint paint kept in super awesome condition, especially with all the tasteful mods Jeroen has done, this is something we can definitely appreciate. From his 1968 Recaros to his JDM accents, I think this is one clean Civic.

Exterior:
Type R style front & rear lip
Black housing headlights
Smoked amber corners
Smoked side blinkers
JDM Taillights
Seibon EU carbon trunk

Interior:
1968 Recaro bucket seats
QSP deep dish steering wheel
D1 Spec gear knob
ITR shiftbooth

Engine and Transmission:
D15B7 16v
J’s Racing Carbon Whale Intake
DC Sports 4-2-1 Headers
SRS Cat converter
Megan Racing D-Spec Catback
Custom Valvecover
Buddy Club Oil cap

Suspension and Wheels/Tires:
D2 Street Coil overs
Password JDM Front upper strutbar
Password JDM Rear upper strutbar
Buddy Club P1-Racing Front & Rear Camber Kit
ASR Subframe Reinforcement Brace
ITR Rear Swaybar
15″ Drag DR16 Wheels
Toyo T1R 195 50 15 Tires