To “officially” kick start the 2013 season, Driven made it’s way to the Olympic Oval in Calgary. A little earlier than the previous year, this certainly did not stop everybody from getting their cars ready, some even just MINUTES before the end of roll-in and set up. With over 250 cars coming together under one roof, Driven continues to get better every year as owners/enthusiasts just know that it is the perfect opportunity to showcase what he/she has been hiding over the course of the winter. With that, the quality factor continues to improve as well as participants step it up and come correct every year.
Congratulations to all those who were awarded this year including Devon Mori (RHD EG6), Noel Eggers (S14), Randy Chau (Honda S600), Duncan Yu (Sleeper Civic), Philip Tan (AE86), Derrek Poyntz (Best Engine Dress Up – Integra) and Tommy Daraseng (E92 M3) who represented with illmotion.
We here at illmotion would also like to take this time to thank the beautiful Melyssa Grace for kicking it with us. It was definitely an honor to have you in our booth and we really hope you enjoyed the show as much we did!
Also a big shout out to our own Aldrich Evangelista for providing the beats and DJing for almost 8 hours straight! Amazing work Rich!
Finally, we would like to thank all of you because in all actuality, there would be no “Driven” without the support of you guys as we encourage each other, and practically push each other to get our cars ready to roll for shows like this. Thank you guys for making Driven 2013 a success yet again for our scene! It was definitely awesome seeing some familiar faces and meeting new ones, which is exactly what it’s all about; and what a perfect way to re-introduce the season we call Summer!
Moving on, we do have intense coverage of Driven which will be separated into parts over the next few days, so let’s kick things off with Part 1 of our iM Event Coverage: Driven 2013 Calgary…
It was a gorgeous night out for the last 403 Honda/Beyond.ca at Chinook, and that meant a really awesome turnout, the best turnout we’ve seen all season. Hopefully the meets stay as busy as they have been, if not busier!
Here’s a few of the many shots I took. To see the rest, check out the set on our Flickr stream: HERE
And for my buddy Aldo, I know where you hide your snacks now… in your bumper.
Make sure to come on down and hang out the next meet at Chinook on May 1st, 2013.
You can almost feel it in the air. The days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer, and the cars that have been hiding are starting to come out. The season is almost upon us, and for a handful of people, it already has. And that means the 403 Honda/Beyond.ca weekly meets are starting to get into full swing. I’ve been to a few already, and they’ve been starting to get busier and busier. Here are a few snaps I took that somewhat darker night, then it got cold, so I put the camera away:
For more shots, check out the set on our Flickr stream: HERE
If you’re bored on a Wednesday night, are interested in checking out peoples projects, come check out the weekly meets. They happen usually from 7pm to whenever at the rear upper parkade lot of Chinook Centre. Hope to see you next week!
Back in May, we featured what is without a doubt one of the most well executed Subarus on this side of Canada; Jason Hoang’s Varis/Voltex STI Sedan. For those who may not have seen the feature you can check it out HERE. Since the feature, Jason has pretty much enjoyed his build for the entire summer, and even went on to take Best In-Class Subaru at this year’s Driven show right here in Calgary. With the winter season upon us, Jason has now put this little gem away for storage, with big plans for the new season. Before the end of the season however, illmotion’s own Corey and Ryan got a chance to get together with Jason to work on another iM Film, featuring his 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Sedan. With Corey working non-stop on videos since Driven, we are proud to showcase yet another one of his amazing pieces of work!
So sit back, relax, press play and enjoy the sounds of The Throne’s “Otis” combined with the visuals of Jason Hoang’s Varis/Voltex Subaru STI Sedan, sitting on all time classic Volk TE37s.
As you get older and the thought of “real life” begins to set in, you may start to notice a change in interests as you “outgrow” certain hobbies and start to change daily activities in order to adapt and live for the future. Eventually, your taste in cars will broaden as you look for something a little more functional and practical to suit your everyday life, and look for a vehicle that will tackle the “real life” situations that are thrown in your direction.
For those with a love and passion for cars and the car modding life however, a few questions begin to surface as well. Questions like ‘how can one maintain this passion for car modding when “Life” happens?’, ‘Is it possible to balance “real life” and “car life”?’, and even a question as extreme as ‘Can someone really be finally done with cars?’
The answer to these questions like these are quite simple in the sense that, well, it’s entirely up to you. For Danny Yee and his 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, the answers to these questions are very clear.
“Subtle and Very Unassuming.”
Without a doubt, this is arguably the first and final thought that comes to mind should anyone cross paths with this STI. In search of building a vehicle that will outperform others in it’s class, yet maintain full functionality, it’s no wonder Danny chose the STI as his latest platform. Danny, who is no stranger to creating the perfect blend of simple and aggressive, comes correct with what just may be the perfect combination of style and performance, all the whilst maintaining a practical and fully functional daily driver.
A look at the exterior of this STI and the first thing that is immediately noticed is it’s aggressive stance thanks to the KW V3 coilovers and the 18×10 Volk TE37 Super Laps wrapped in 255/35R18 Toyo T1S rubber on all four corners. What makes this car stand out exterior wise though, is the Chargespeed “Bottomline” aero kit. Such a subtle aero kit, but as Danny puts it “it’s just perfect for the car and it’s exactly what I wanted.”
Since this STI is Danny’s every day road warrior, the interior of this STI stays true to Subaru’s original equipment, with a few goodies to boot, such as an ARC Shift Knob, a Defi Boost Gauge and an Innovate Wideband O2 Kit. For a little in car entertainment, Danny added an Alpine DVD Unit paired with Alpine Type-R components.
Because Danny wanted to go for something so subtle and very unassuming, Subaru’s distinct “boxer rumble” inevitably had to go. Danny’s solution to this was a Tomei Expreme Equal Length Manifold, an HKS Down Pipe and a Fujitsubo exhaust. Add COBB’s Access Port and a tune (performed by Sunny of Airboy Tuning) and what is the outcome? An impressive 285whp/375 ft.lbs of torque. Women lie, men lie, numbers don’t lie. With amazing numbers put on the dyno, and the “boxer rumble” delete, the only thing practically heard when this car is on the streets is the HKS Super Sequential Blow-Off Valve.
With what is in our opinion, probably one of the most well thought, stylish and functional, and of course subtle and very unassuming Subarus out there right now, it’s safe to say that there are definitely some positive answers that can come from the previous questions stated above. The answers to these questions are certainly reflected in Danny’s Chargespeed STI in the sense that nothing is impossible and you may not even have to change a single thing to live the life that you want.
In order to achieve that perfect balance of “real life” and “car life”, the solution is quite simple: Life is what you make of it, and just do whatever makes you happy. Keep this in mind, and these two aspects will be exactly what they are: a part of growing up in the game they call “Life”.
This line, taken from Otis Redding’s “Try A Little Tenderness”, popularized by The Throne’s hit “Otis”, is something we can all understand and learn to apply to our daily lives. If we lived our lives without trying, how would our lives play out? One can most certainly assume and expect a life where everybody is repetitive and doing the same thing. Visualize this, and implement it to how things are done in the car game. If nobody took risks on how cars were modified by their owners, what do we end up with? Cars that look as plain as they did when they were purchased off the lot, and everybody looking the same.
No stranger to taking risks and always trying something new is illmotion’s own Jason Hoang and his 2011 Subaru WRX STI Sedan. Jason, who felt it was time to take things a step further from his J’s Racing inspired 8th Generation Honda Civic, continues to change the game with his current Subaru platform, with plenty of support from the aftermarket world. Since acquiring the STI Sedan just last year, the first order of business for Jason was to get this car lower. Up to the task are a set of BC Racing BR Coilovers, and while the suspension was being swapped out, a pair Cusco lateral links in the rear were added as well.
When it came to the wheels, Jason knew he wasn’t just gonna throw a random set of wheels and call it a day. A custom colored “Burple” set of Emotion XT7s were the initial rollers on Jason’s STI. If Jason’s intention was to snap some necks on a daily basis while driving this sedan, then he was definitely on the right track.
From what seemed to be “all for now”, Jason’s onslaught of parts continued as an Invidia catless down pipe, Invidia Q300 Titanium Exhaust, HKS SSQV4 Blow-Off Valve, and a minor tune were enlisted to bring some enhanced breathability to this STI’s performance. With the STI sounding much more menacing than before, Jason felt like something more needed to be done with the exterior appearance of his Sedan. Inspired by track-ready built sedans in Japan, Jason looked to Voltex and sought after their Type 5 GT Carbon Wing as his next modification.
Fully aware of what was to come from critics on the internet, Jason’s build was not compromised and it was only going to get better and faster by next season. With a little track time last summer, Jason was able to enjoy the STI Sedan until he had to store it away for the winter. Over the cold winter months, Jason had nothing but time to figure out what he needed to make his Subaru step away from the norm and further enhance the aesthetic appeal and performance of his STI.
To complete the aggressive appeal of the Voltex Type 5 Carbon GT Wing, Jason decided it was time to upgrade the look of his STI with a Varis full front bumper (complete with Carbon Lip) and Varis Sideskirts (with FRP underboards). An aggressive set of white Volk TE-37s were also acquired, giving Jason’s STI Sedan the moniker of “Snow White”. For a proper tune, “Snow White” was taken to none other than Airboy Tuning to get the car running perfectly and ready for this season.
Not being afraid to try and take risks, this is how Jason’s STI Sedan currently sits. A little can go a long a way, and such a statement is evident when looking at his Subaru STI Sedan. “All You’ve Got To Do Is Try”, and as long as you are happy with the outcome and not paying attention to the critics, then nothing will ever stop you from achieving what you envision. Just ask Jason.
Exterior
Varis full front bumper with carbon lip
Varis sideskirts with FRP underboards
Voltex Type 5 GT carbon wing
JDM R205 fender badges
JDM Rear fog light
With the 2012 spring/summer season slowly on the rise, we are discussing the possibility of another road trip this upcoming season. Here we decided to take a look back at some pics we snapped from our first group road trip, which was to Vancouver for the DTP 2011 Show. Have a look back at a few more pics of this crazy track prepped STI which won best of show!
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.
Its almost like summer is just getting started, the hot weather finally hit the west coast. And with going back to school, its getting harder and harder to find the time to head out and shoot. Well my buddy recently got this 2006 STI and I figured it was the perfect opportunity to drop the books for a bit and head out for some beautiful evening light. Enjoy.
We are pleased to bring some more content from our buddy Gawa. This time it’s Chris Chu’s slammed 2006 Subaru STI rolling on a sick set of BBS LM’s and track ready aero among many other tasteful parts. Enjoy the pics.
Exterior
Zerosports front bumper
Voltex carbon rear diffuser
Engine
Prodrive Jasma 3″ turbo back
Prodrive downpipe
Cobb AP (stage 2 pro-tune)
Interior
OMP WRC seat
OMP WRC Wheel (full suede)
Works Bell short hub
Works Bell Rapfix II quick release
Defi boost, oil temp, oil pres.
Defi Pod (clock replacement)
Wheel/Suspension
BBS LM’s 18×9 +5 offset (re-barreled, reverse mount, lips re-polished and face resprayed)
Tein Flex
Whiteline camber bolts rear
Whiteline Diff. support lock
Whiteline Subframe support lock
