Each year there are a couple of shows on people’s radars that you will put just about anything aside for to make sure you finish your projects. You’ll spend countless hours working, put off sleeping for days, you’ll spend most of your paychecks on parts and drink far too many beers working to finish whatever it is that you’re building. You generally head to these shows utterly exhausted but once you arrive, all of that exhaustion is wiped away for a feeling of pure accomplishment. Southern Worthersee is one of those shows.

SoWo, as most refer to it, is a show in the United States unlike any other. It’s set deep in the mountains of Georgia in a little Bavarian town named Helen. This show has become more of a family reunion and a vacation for most of us, rather than just another show. People gather here from all around the world to showcase their builds and many choose this venue to showcase their newest projects. We love these type of shows because you get to connect with so many people, from all over the world, that you’ve maybe only talked to online or have seen on forums. We love getting to meet new people and hang out with our best friends all at the same time. This environment is unlike anything else you’ll attend all year…and that’s why we keep going back!

After years of attending, there’s no doubt in our mind that this is one of the best (if not THE BEST) event in the US and it’s only getting better. This show is mainly home to VAG cars (Volkswagen Audi Group) but there’s no shortage of other makes and models that attend. Forge Motorsport has done a fantastic job as title sponsor and has really gone above and beyond with making the event inviting for all participants. Even if you’re not planning to “show” your car on the main field, there’s always plenty of events going on around the city that you can head to.

This is an event that we mark on our calendars just as soon as the dates are released. Rain or shine, this event is a MUST ATTEND for any automotive enthusiast in the US. Each year we see more and more awesome cars come out of the woodwork and we’re beyond excited to see what people bring out next year. Thank you to all of the vendors, event staff and awesome people who help make SoWo what it is today. This was our first year attending as a vendor and we couldn’t be more thankful for all of the support you guys gave us! It was amazing how many of our readers came up to the booth and introduced themselves. It was awesome meeting all of you and re-connecting with old friends too. Until next year, Southern Worthersee! Thank you for another incredible year.

Click Here to see the rest of Steve’s Shots

Click Here to see the rest of Antoine’s Shots

Click Here to see the rest of Chandler’s Shots

Click Here to see the rest of Dan’s Shots

Click Here to see the rest of John’s Shots

May 31^st-June 1^st 2013, West Palm Beach was expecting rain… But has a little rain ever stopped drifters? Round Three of Formula Drift kicked off with a wet track and a flurry of excitement. Daigo Saito had just taken home first place at Road Atlanta, and Palm Beach expected a similar performance.

After a few hours of practice runs, it was time for qualifying. This year was the debut of a new type of qualifying named “knock-out” style. With this format in place, the number one ranking driver would start first, and it would go down the line until the top 16 spots were filled. Positions 17-32 would be secured by the drivers’ second runs based on the best score of the two.

After the 32 had qualified, they were allowed more practice runs and then a night of rest before the competition really began.

When Saturday morning rolled around, it was time to get the top 32 cars ready for competition, but also to set up the Slammed Society Showcase. Fatlace did a little something different this year as well – registration was more open and allowed for much more cars to enter. With that being said, more space was required so instead of taking place on the grass near the entrance of the track, we were able to set up on the go-kart track behind all the vendors… I think we can all agree the low cars prefer pavement over grass! Awards were given during half-time for different categories such as Euro, VIP, Time Attack, etc.

Round 3: The Invasion kicked off at 4pm with the Top 32 drivers battling it out to make it to the Top 16. Competition was fierce but after the smoke settled, we had our 16 drivers

As the sun set on Palm Beach International Raceway, the action heated up. Doors were tapped, bumpers were lost, and we all knew that the end was near – though, unlike in previous years here in Palm Beach, it wasn’t too clear who would be standing on top of the podium.

In the final four, Vaughn Gittin Jr. knocked our Robbie Nishida, narrowing it down to just him, Daigo Saito, and Michael Essa — this being Essa’s first time ever making it to the podium. The next battle was Gittin vs. Saito, and this is where things got interesting. Coming around the first turn right in front of the audience with Saito leading, Gittin smashed his passenger side fender into Saito’s door… and kept on the throttle. They broke contact and in the second turn he did it again, leaving both his and Saito’s cars mangled. Gittin was given only 5 minutes to fix his car but his team was unable to finish, giving Nishida the third place on the podium! After what felt like an eternity, it was time for the final battle – Essa vs. Saito. You could feel the tension and the excitement – the underdog versus last year’s winner here at Palm Beach. The entire day Essa had been on point, and his form close to perfect… And of course, nothing less had ever been expected of Saito. The two battled it out with their cars mere inches from each other. After the final run, Essa was announced the victor and the three winners took center stage at Palm Beach.

This particular event truly showed the spirit of drifting. The competition is fierce, but in the end it’s about having fun. Once Essa exited his vehicle he walked straight up to Nishida and Saito, gave them hugs, and congratulated them on their wins.

Slammed Society Coverage:

Click here to see Kendra’s Full Photo Set.

Click here to see Steve’s Full Photo Set.

 Click here to see Mike’s Full Photo Set.

Coming into its 7th year, Wuste has returned to the desert city of Las Vegas.  Wuste, a German word meaning desert, is one of the few European car shows held on the West Coast.  Now Wuste isn’t just your normal car show, its a three day festival celebrating our love for anything European.  Being my first year attending Wuste, I had no clue what to expect but kept and open mind and was pleasantly surprised at the outcome.  The festivities kicked off the Friday of May 31st and ended Sunday, June 2nd.  That Friday started off pretty early, waking up at the break of dawn, and getting my car packed for the long day and cruising over to a friends house where we would make our way to the host hotel, Palace Station.  Arriving at the hotel parking structure, I was surprised to see four levels of the six level parking garage reserved just for the participants of Wuste. The parking area was filled with cars from all over the US who were parked early and their owners cleaning them for the opening festivities that night.

The next day, festivities continued but this time it was being held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the 7th annual Show n’ Shine show. On the way there, cars flooded the I-15 North as far as the eye could see.  After everyone found the right parking, the show kicked off.

I was quite skeptical on bringing my car, a Nissan, to an all European car festival, but it surprised me on how much love it got.  I was even surprised when I was awarded an Honorable Mention Non-Euro award.

It’s almost sad to think that Wuste is now over.  Being my first year attending, I had an amazing time with some amazing people.  I will definitely be looking forward for years to come.  All photos can be found on my flickr account - CLICK HERE

As a true automotive enthusiast, we can always appreciate a clean build no matter what the make and model it is. In this case, Jimmy Jensen’s LS400 is the subject at hand. I first met Jimmy last summer at a local car show called Forum Fest, but at that time he didn’t have the LS. Jimmy had a “stanced” out Honda prelude which was pretty much touching the ground. Months later after all the car shows ended he decided to part with the prelude in search of a more luxurious platform. Less than a week after selling/parting out the prelude, Jimmy picked up an LS400 from a private seller on Craigslist.

The overall goal Jimmy had in mind for this car is to have the cleanest possible stock body LS that he could. Jimmy wanted that straight of Japan VIP style so in order to achieve that he went with UAS bags over Megan coils with Accuair E-level just to make life a little easier since he does daily drive this.

With the suspension dealt with it was time to work on some other exterior components. Jimmy attained a Jp Vizage front lip and version select side skirts along with a flush mount spoiler to give the LS a little more Japanese look.  With those things out of the way, it was time to select some wheels. It took Jimmy a couple weeks to find some wheels that matched his vision but in the end it came down to some Locksmice Dukes in 18×10 and 18×11. Along with the wheels, he added some Battle Version RCA/Camber Adapters for more aggressiveness.

I asked Jimmy what his future plans for the LS were and he said “custom interior, a rear lip, an air tank setup worth showing off, a headlight retrofit and perfecting every little detail of the car” but as of right now he is satisfied with the build and expect to see this thing rolling hard all over seattle!

Shoutouts from Jimmy:

I’d like to thank God for blessing me with all the things in my life that so many people aren’t fortunate enough to have, all my friends in SuperCute Crew, the homie JDubs for getting me into stanced cars by showing me the Hellaflush 3 video on YouTube back in the day, and most of all my brother in law Eli. He has taught me everything I know about cars today and helped me out with so many things I could never repay him. Also thanks to Jon Ok for the killer photos and thanks to Lowered Lifestyle for the feature!

Modifications:

Engine:

• Cut holes in shock towers
• Modified/tucked exhaust

Interior:

• Junction Produce curtains
• Junction Produce Fusa and Tsuna
• Garson cup holder

Exterior:

• JP Vizage front lip
• Version:Select side skirts
• Flush mount spoiler
• Yellow fogs

Suspension/Wheels:

• UAS bags over Megan coilovers
• Accuair E-Level
• Battle Version RCA/Camber Adapters
• 18×10 and 18×11 Locksmice Dukes
• Custom crystal lug nuts

Wekfest is one of the most anticipated events of the year and since I didn’t get the chance to attend last year, this year I made it a priority. The thing about the Wekfest series that blows any other show series around is the caliber of cars that attend. The amount of quality that goes into these cars is enough to make your head spin. For those who haven’t experienced this event first hand, mark your calendars for next year because it’s only going to keep getting better.

I can honestly say that this event brings in the “cream of the crop”. Whether you’re into Euro, Imports, Muscle or event VIP styling…everything here is top notch. My day started out with my friends who were all showing. Naturally I took advantage of being “in front” of the line and went about snapping photos of the rides.

Wekfest is home to awesome music, great food, vendors, models, you name it and what really makes this show special in my opinion is it’s location. You have the Queen Mary, the Pacific Ocean, tons of trees, and beautiful sunny weather playing host to the cleanest cars around which make this more than just “another car show”.

This event is more like a family reunion than a car show and it’s something that we all look forward to each year. We’re already counting down the days until next year!

We’re stepping out of the shop this weekend and heading to the UCF Arena for one of the most anticipated events of the year. Nurotag is invading Orlando and we’re ready see what Central Florida brings to the table. We will have a booth setup so if you’re planning on attending make sure to swing by, say hello and pick up some of our new merchandise!

For more information or to pre-register your ride, head over to: http://www.nurotag.com/nrtgseries/orlando/

When Spencer Barr first picked up his 2004 Mini Cooper S, the intentions he had for the car were crystal clear.  In just over a year the car has turned into one of my personal favorite Cooper S’s in all different aspects. First on the agenda was to get the car nice and low, and Spencer did just that equipping the car with a set of FK Silver Line coilovers to get the ride height that he desired. He had to go even further by removing the helper springs to get just enough to get the drop to achieve the fitment he wanted.

When the car fire up, the brilliant sounds make it apparent a clean aggressive stance was not the only goal for Spencer. He treated the engine to a nice power upgrade by adding a 15% reduction pulley, as well as a cold air intake from Alta, to the already factory supercharged engine. To top it off, he added a full Borla exhaust so if this beauty doesn’t catch your eye you’ll here it whining past you!

Picking wheels is always a difficult decision but when the time came to upgrade from his mono-block BlQs, the decision was easier than ever. Spencer called up the guys at Complete Custom Wheel and had them build a set of LM16s with brushed faces and polished lips. The wheels work perfectly, giving the car an aggressive stance to roll around on.

When this photo shoot date finally came around, the weather was not exactly in our favor (damn you, Florida!). That afternoon, the clouds and rain came along and didn’t stop for the rest of the day. Without hesitation, and since I had been looking forward to this shoot for so long, I pulled the trigger on a rain shoot. I mean hell, it is a daily driver and Spencer rolls hard whether it’s rain or shine so why should this be different? I packed up my equipment, some towels, and an umbrella and headed out into the Florida showers.

As a long time friend, it has been an absolute joy watching this car come together part by part. This is one nice daily driver that’s going to continue to get better and I cannot wait to see what he does with it. Spencer has been at it for barely a year now and there’s no doubt we will be seeing more out of this car in the future.

For many of us on the West Coast, the wait is over and car show season in Las Vegas has officially started!  Enthusiasts all around the city have been prepping and getting the last minute touches done to their cars for the last few months, all for the upcoming show season. Las Vegas doesn’t get many big shows, so Import Face Off gives many people the opportunity to finally show off their new setups.  The day started off bright in early, packing my Z with my camera gear and a cooler with drinks to last the day. I met up with the local crew and we made a caravan out to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where Import Face Off was being held again. Cars began showing up as early as 9am to get registered for the show and the drag races. When things finally settled, and the cars filled the giant lot, smells of burning rubber, loud drag cars and blaring music filled the air.

Making my way around the show I spotted this VIP Y33.  I’ve never seen this car around town making it quite exciting to shoot.

My good friends Mark (white Jetta), Josh (blue Rabbit) and Zack (grey Gti) took full advantage of the show to show off their new air setups.

Vegas Lowballers Jeremy (white IS250), Joe (silver IS250) and Jimmy (white Odyssey) are always up to show off their clean rides.

Wrong Fitment Crew always showing their presence. Keyser (MR2) , Lance (SC 300) and Anthony (Miata)

Chivas, aka Sunkist, quenching everyone’s thirst for the day.

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The day ended with a short award ceremony, and a lot of sunburns.  It was a fun time spending it with people that enjoy cars as much as I do and that’s something you can’t beat.  Next come’s WUSTE European Car Festival that will be hosted in Las Vegas again.  Watch out for the coverage on that.