Balanced Attack: The Nissan 370Z That Was Meant to Be Driven

When the Nissan 370Z was introduced back in ’08, it had all the makings of an absolute dream machine. The 370Z 2-door sports car with its sleek, low slung design was a vast improvement from its predecessor, the 350Z. The all-new variant, redesigned from the ground-up featured an all-aluminum body structure with increased rigidity, lightweight components, improved suspension, and a 3.7-liter VQ37 VHR V-6 engine to boot that held its own against formidable foes that cost double, the value of the Z. Even today, this sixth-generation model holds a special place in the hearts and minds of gear-heads worldwide as it continues to impress with its visual allure and capable performance both on and off the track.

It wasn’t long before he decided his weapon of choice was a ’16 Magma Red 370Z.

Three years ago, when it came time to purchase a new car, Joe Velazquez wasn’t looking for your typical commuter vehicle. “The kids moved out of the house and it was time to upgrade into a more sporty ride that I could enjoy on a daily basis”, mentioned Velazquez. It wasn’t long before he decided his weapon of choice was a ’16 Magma Red 370Z.

By the time he drove the car off the dealer lot, Velazquez had already formulated a plan to begin modifying his 370Z and execute it tastefully. The first order of business was focusing on improving vehicle horsepower performance. A Motordyne M370 upper manifold replaced the factory unit and was coupled to a Nismo R-tune cold air intake to improve airflow. A set of Motordyne long tube headers vacated spent exhaust gases through a Fast Intentions 2.5-inch exhaust system. A Mishimoto 19-row oil cooler, power steering cooler, and radiator were all used to improve cooling capabilities. An UpRev software module was installed to maximize fuel and ignition timing. The ECU performance tuning was reworked by @saul_nismo_knights.

In order to efficiently transfer the vehicle newfound horsepower onto the tarmac, Velazquez opted to install an Action Clutch stage 3 clutch and lightweight Chromoly flywheel. With all the improvements made to the 370Z from the factory, there is an inherent flaw. The internal concentric module inside the clutch slave cylinder made of plastic degrades over time. He decided to convert to an external module using a ZSpeed CMAK V2 clutch slave cylinder delete kit. The final piece of the puzzle was implementing a heavy-duty RJM Tilton HD clutch pedal system that’s designed to work with the factory remote reservoir, and OEM type or aftermarket clutch slave cylinder.

With the engine complete, Velazquez turned his attention to the handling of the car. Stopping power is now handled by R1 Concepts 6-piston front brake calipers and 4-piston rear calipers that assist with cutting rotating weight and are larger in size than OEM to help improve braking. Tein springs and a Hotchkis front sway bar was installed and mated up to Momo RF-5C wheels in 19×9.5 +15mm offset upfront wrapped in Milestar MS932 XP+ 255/35-zr19 tires and 19×11 +23mm offset wheels towards the rears with 295/30-ZR19 rubbers.

Velazquez admits one of his guilty pleasures includes stretching the Z’s legs around the twisty roads of Azusa Canyon for some spirited driving. According to him, the upgraded suspensions modifications made a “night and day” difference. “Out the box, I felt the Z exhibited excessive body roll and the initial cornering didn’t feel right. Concept 3 located in Santa Fe Springs is my one-stop-shop that not only helped dial in my suspension but also installed a slew of SPLParts including front and rear camber and pro end links, bump steer front outer tie rod ends, eccentric lockout kit, and titanium rear traction arms. The Milestar MS932 XP+ tires offer fantastic grip and overall performance that helped further increase the handling capabilities of the Z.” The chassis and suspension were completed with a Z-Speed aluminum under shroud and Street Faction rear bash bar w/jack point.

Subtlety wasn’t the goal.

When it came time to modify the exterior of the vehicle, Velazquez wasn’t looking the replicate your typical cookie-cutter build. “I wanted to create a 370Z that people haven’t seen before at shows or driven on the streets. Fly1 Motorsports located in Ontario CA, helped transform my 370Z from a stock to a show quality build using their honeycomb carbon fiber parts.

Subtlety wasn’t the goal. The exterior consists of a mishmash of various products. Slick Carbon based in South Gate CA provided a set of CF side mirrors, CF roof, CF A-pillars, and CF 2015+ Nismo-style rear wing. A closer look reveals a Fly1 Motorsports honeycomb carbon fiber hood, front fenders, vortex generator, and splitters. The exterior was completed using a Zakustech honeycomb carbon fiber louver to recreate a sleek retro-inspired design while maintaining an aggressive appearance. A pair of EL Stig RGBW LED demon eyes and EL Stig RGBW halos were retrofitted into the original headlights to set the car off-in-style.

With everything taken care of but the interior, Velazquez wanted to keep modifications to a minimum. After adding Street Faction door cards, a Momo MOD30 steering wheel was affixed to a Works Bell short boss, Rapfix quick release and Rapfix flipper. A pair of Momo Daytona Bucket seats were mounted to Buddy Club brackets and rails and Cusco 5-point harnesses were secured to a Next Level Performance roll bar. “ The Momo seats keep me firmly planted but comfortable when driving on any road including twisting through the canyons. It didn’t feel like I was sloshing around allows me to drive with more confidence.

Currently, the vehicle is undergoing a facial transplant using a combination of Varis Kamikaze widebody parts combined with Nismo bumpers. Velazquez’s 370Z was built to be the perfect example of a “driver’s Z” that was tastefully modified and that’s exactly what it is. Everything works, everything looks in place, and it continually turns heads anywhere it goes.

RADWood World Tour Invades the Petersen Museum

Showcasing the Best Automotive Collection of the ’80s and ’90s

Car critics often described the cars of the ’80s and ’90s as uncharacteristic vehicles that were often flashy, overdone, and lacking in horsepower. If we could voice our opinion, we’d have to disagree, knowing a number of iconic vehicles such as the Toyota Supra (MK3 and MK4), Porsche 959, BMW M3 (E30), Mazda RX-7, and Ferrari 550 Maranello, to name a few, continue to be in high demand today.

In celebrating cars in the ’80s and ’90s era, the first RADwood event was held in San Francisco back in ’17. The event’s name was derived from the popular Goodwood Revival Festival overseas. Brad Brownell, one of the show’s co-founders, teamed up with his friends to introduce this unique event while bringing back the lost era of cars.

The first event brought about 150 vehicles and received such positive feedback that the crew decided to continue the tradition and followed up with their second event, this time around in Los Angeles.

…the event felt like Marty McFly jumping into his DeLorean and taking a time warp back in time.

That was more than a year ago as this final year’s world tour show was held at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles with over 400 vehicles in the display.

RADwood’s popularity has quickly gone viral as onlookers and event followers have pleaded for the show to come to their hometown. RADwood spokesmen had informed us that there have been talks of expanding the event with additional dates including events in the UK and Japan next year.

From vintage muscle cars, commuter cars with custom pinstripes, to high-end supercars, the event felt like Marty McFly jumping into his DeLorean and taking a time warp back in time. Fashionistas were also on hand wearing bright colors clothing and women teasing their hairs with Aqua Net hairspray while wearing tight leggings.

A number of rare vehicles including a Vector W8 Twin Turbo were drawing crowds throughout the day. While the exterior of the vehicles look vintage by today’s standards, the 6.0-liter V8 sourced from General Motors performance was nothing to sneeze about, delivering 650-horsepower and 650-lb. ft. of torque.

Another vehicle you rarely see was this ’90s manufactured Bugatti EB110 with a 60-valve quad-turbocharged V12 engine that delivered over 560-hp with a top speed of 213-mph.

CMS Motorsports and Restorations brought out their Mercedes 500 SEC with custom gullwing doors. Sitting on top of their car was a briefcase with faux 100 dollar bills and a classic Motorola “brick” cell phone to complement their ’80s-themed car.

Sitting on top of their car was a briefcase with faux 100 dollar bills and a classic Motorola “brick” cell phone…

We’re not even going to ask what was going on with this Mustang and his jungle-themed murals!

If you’re looking to see some cool cars and have a groovy time, be sure to check out their website for upcoming tour schedules across the US and vehicle registration at: RADwood.co

All for the Love

Ray Soria’s Lexus RC F In The Making

“I fell in love with the IS 250 when it was released in ’06 but never pulled the trigger to call it my own,” stated Laguna Beach, California resident Ray Soria. The following year, the F brand introduced the IS F as the import adversary to the BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C Class AMG. The Lexus F series models continued its production but for Soria, they seemed to lack the excitement and design that was needed to stir up his emotions.

Then in 2015, a new opportunity arose with the release of the RC F—the newest RC sports coupe that was branded as Lexus’s most powerful V8 performance car ever. This was the perfect pitch that immediately caught Soria’s attention.

“It was a no brainer, given the perfect opportunity in ’15 to purchase a brand new RC F and a suitable replacement for my GT500.” He was quick to admit that it wasn’t loved at first sight. “I thought the RC F was ugly when it was released.”

“I’ve owned a number of cars over the years but I wanted to try to build a Lexus. I liked the fact that it was rear-wheel drive, looked good, powered by a 467-hp 5.0L V8 (2UR-GSE) engine, and coupled to an 8 Speed Direct-Shift Automatic,” Soria recounts.

I thought the RC F was ugly when it was released.

As the Southern California import scene continued to evolve, so did Soria’s RC F. Car meets and local show events continued to flourish around him, which ultimately fed his desire to begin modifying his ride. His game plan was a simple, but ultimately time-consuming one; he would keep the engine and interior alterations of his Lexus to a bare minimum and devote all of his time into remaking the exterior.

It sounded easy enough but complementing the RC body already outfitted with wider wheels and tires, cooling ducts, an active rear wing, and stacked exhaust tailpipes is anything but. The complexities of it are actually one of the main reasons why you don’t see as many cleanly-executed RC Fs as you would on, say, an IS 250 or 350 model.

“I slowly began modding my ride over a two-year span with a plan for the car to be different than all the other RC Fs I saw online.” As promised, the outward appearance of his RC F was his main focus, as he outfitted it with a number of aero enhancements which consisted of an Alpheyga Carbon Fiber GTS spoiler and Lexon Carbon Fiber Diffuser but not before wrapping the body in Satin Black.

I’ve owned a number of cars over the years but I wanted to try to build a Lexus.

The added room from the factory fenders offers just enough space to house the aggressive staggered fitment of 20×10-inch and 20×11-inch HRE FF04 wheels in Tarmac Finish wrapped with Milestar MS932 XP+ 275/30-20 up front and 285/30-20 in the rear.

In the suspension department, an Airlift suspension kit was installed alongside an Airlift 3P management system. The end result was a comfortable and smooth cruise carving the canyon roads with no traffic to endure; one of the many guilty pleasures Soria enjoys partaking in.

Though Soria’s RC F is quite simple as a whole, we were impressed with the overall execution of his project. Often times, less is definitely more, especially when it comes to modifying a Lexus.

Purist Group Winter Drive

Automotive Gathering for a Good Cause

Over the past five years, Purist Group has held their annual “Winter Drive” toy event to benefit underprivileged, less fortunate children and their communities during the holiday season. This charity automotive car show and meet was envisioned by Purist founder Sean Lee as a way to bring the community together, letting car enthusiasts do what they love to do and play with cars while donating toys.

Founded in 2012, Purist Group is comprised of a unique collection of automotive enthusiasts of different nationalities and professions. Many of the members in this group are well-known in the industry including drivers, journalist, tuners, car collectors, and overall car geeks. This group exists not for commercial purposes but as a network to all the good people who share a common passion for cars, motorcycles, and the finer things in life. The prime focus of this group is helping others as well as one another.

The previous year, collectively as a group, the event raised over 20,000 toys to be donated to charities across the US including those who were impacted by the most recent Woolsey Fire. Last year’s event brought over 16,000 toys collected and continue to grow as of date, while rough estimates count 1,000+ cars rolling through the main entrance.

To commemorate this annual tradition, Winter Drive was once again free to all spectators but came with one special request: bring a new unwrapped toy valued at $10 or more to support a good cause and spread some holiday cheers. The event itself is a toy collection drive which features a massive gathering of hundreds of the most unique cars in the world, live music and entertainment, fun activities, contests, raffles, and giveaways.

You can bet your bottom dollars that a few super rare cars come out to play. Take for example this rare production LaFerrari Aperta. How rare you ask? Only 210 were manufactured with the final version being auctioned for 10 million dollars.

This Koenigsegg Final Version “Thor” Agera was one of my favorite vehicles at the event. Based on the Agera RS, the 1,360-HP turbocharged Thor version comes with all the bells and whistles including an aero package and Aircore hollow-spoke carbon fiber wheels.

The Blitz Skyline GT-R R348 was built for the sole purpose of top speed driving which was a thing back in the ’90s for Japanese tuners. This iconic car competed in the Silver State Classic back in ’02 but didn’t finish because he ran out of fuel less than a mile from the finish line—mind you this was still a street car. Later that year, Blitz took the car to Germany to reach a speed of 343 KPH (214 MPH) on the German Autobahn because the speed limit was not enforced there at the time.

Another favorite, or should I say favorites, at this year’s event were these two widebody machines sitting side-by-side. Liberty Walk LB widebody Ferrari was tucking wheels.

While I’m not a fan of the RWB Porsche movement, the black on chrome wheels played into a perfect build.

If you missed out on last year’s event, you can learn about more ways to donate by visiting Purist Group at www.facebook.com/PuristGroup

The Chronicles Year 10 Anniversary Meet

A Celebration Commemorating the Tuner Scene

Nothing draws a crowd quite like The Chronicles meet, as this year’s 10th-anniversary festivities provided a stunning array of vehicles in commemoration of The Chronicles/Stickydiljoe.com vlogs, event coverage, and all things automotive. Joey Lee, the mastermind behind the movement celebrated the successes by hosting a meet at Eibach in Corona, CA.

Over the years, The Chronicles online site has been known to deliver breathtaking feature cars and event coverage. This year’s event once again was a reflection of the Chronicles brand as the quality of vehicles on display were impressive. Quality over quantity was the name of the game as an eclectic collection of over 200 import, as well as euro vehicles, were proudly on display. The event was absolutely free for visitors that left many great memories of the import tuning scene.

Walking past rows of cars dating back to the ’80s and ’90s brought back fond memories for many including myself. Hondas, Toyotas, Porsches, and Nissans, ranging from show quality to full-blown track builds offered plenty of car creativity and automotive artistry.

The debut of new project builds and vehicles we haven’t seen within the past year surprisingly came out to the event including the Spoon Super Taikyu S2000, which was a surprise guest at the event this year. The vehicle was shipped from Japan and managed by Go Tuning prior to making a trip out East for Honda Day.

Whether you’re into old school or new school import cars, you’ll be sure to find quality rides at The Chronicles Meet that piques your interest! Be sure to visit stickydiljoe.com for vehicle coverage and future events.

Concorso Italiano 33^RD Auto Show

Italian Auto Celebration Invades Seaside

The Concorso Italiano once again made headlines during the annual Monterey Motoring Week as vehicles on display and spectators celebrated all things Italian. The 33^rd annual Concorso event was hosted at the idyllic Bayonet & Black Horse Golf Course located in Seaside, California as a slew of more than 100 rare collectible sports cars and vintage vehicles ranging from Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, and Alfa Romeos were all proudly on display.

This years event paid a special tribute to three special vehicles celebrating their 50^th anniversary. The Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, Lamborghini Espada, and Islero were recognized by the auto community as iconic vehicles that have achieved a milestone in automotive history.

Attending this event isn’t your typical car show. Vehicles ranging from a Ferrari 488 GTB to the venerable 488 GT3, which had just returned from battling at Virginia International Raceway where they took 4^th place, were just some of the special vehicles all embellished in rich motorsports history.

Love rare and exotic Italian cars? Be sure to check out next year’s Concorso Italiano Auto Show to get your dose of Italian flare!

Rays × Super Street Tribute Meet

Mackin Industries, best known as importers of the highly popular Rays Engineering, Yokohama Wheel Design, Project Kics, MXP exhaust systems, and Project Mu products held a unique car meet at TEN (The Enthusiast Network) headquarters in Santa Ana, CA dedicated to supporters of their Rays Wheels.

The Rays meet was open to all makes and model vehicles but came with one requirement: all invitees were pre-screened prior to the event to ensure they were sporting Rays Wheels. No knock-off wheels or competitor branded wheels were allowed to roll into the event.

It was no surprise that this highly anticipated meet brought out a slew of cars well before the event was scheduled to officially kick-off. A steady stream of vehicles ranging from old to new school outfitted with TE37s, CE28s, RE30s, and ZE40s to mention a few, quickly filled the Super Street headquarters parking lot to max capacity by mid-afternoon. Attendees had plenty to see and do at the event including eagerly lining up to pick up their raffle tickets in hopes of winning some Rays special edition merchandise including the grand prize, an official Rays G-Shock watch.

Among the hustle and bustle, we were able to catch up with Mackin Industries General Manager Steve Lim on his thoughts of the event. “Mackin Industries team in collaboration with Super Street wanted to pull off a memorable event that offered the Rays Engineering brand loyalists a debt of gratitude,” says Lim. With over 200 vehicles on display, including vendors and race sponsored vehicles, were thinking they answered the call and pulled off one memorable event.

14th Annual Nisei Week Car Show

All Rights Reserved and All Biters Served

The 78^th annual Nisei Week Japanese Festival held in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles has remained an iconic event and Nisei “second generation” tradition—commemorating Japanese heritage.

Cultural exhibitions, entertainment, and parades can be found taking over a three square block area for a nine-day celebration, but among the vendors selling sweet rice cake treats and spectators joining ceremonial Obon dancing; car enthusiasts look forward to this time of the year to attend the Nisei Week Car Show. For the past 14 years, Ken Miyoshi, founder and a pioneer of import car shows took his event, which was formerly known as Import Showoff and grew it into a cult classic. This popular show became etched into the “Nisei Week” culture as this year’s event was held at a new venue inside the parking lot of Nishi Hongwanji Buddist Temple located on 1^st Street.

This year’s event was branded “Super Sugoi x Dekocar Nisei Cars & Anime Art Show”. Yes, the name seemed a bit extravagant and rather complicated to understand if you’re not a fan of anime or a resident Otaku. In layman’s terms, “Dekocar” is short for decoration car which was of plenty at this year’s event. Extravagant vinyl prints and full graphics schemes of scantily clad Japanese anime characters were decorated on both the exterior and interiors of vehicles.

Albeit the flashy Anime show vendors and cosplay suited attendees roaming the lot, the majority of participants brought their custom JDM, Euro-Spec, and American Muscle to compete for a top class finish and bragging rights. This year’s top honors went to the Auto Concept Elite Skyline R35 owned by Jesse Sabater.

If you missed out on this year’s event, be sure to visit their Facebook page @NiseiCarShow for the latest updates and future events.

14th Annual Eibach Honda Meet

Eibach Meet hosted their 14^th annual event for the second year running at Auto Club Speedway located in the heart of Fontana, CA.  It goes without saying, if there’s one passion that can bring people from all around the world together, it’s the undying love of Hondas and Acuras. 

Sweltering triple-digit temperatures didn’t seem to deter many of those who drove from as far as Florida and New Jersey. As the Eibach Meet continues to grow with every passing year, event founders Ryan Hoegner and Matt Rodriguez expected a healthy turnout but didn’t expect EM14 to shattered previous attendance records. We were informed following the event, that there were over 1,200 registered cars and 8,000 spectators continually streamed past the front entrance throughout the day. Can you say world largest Honda and Acura meet in the West Coast?

This year, the event offered with a twist by securing the drag racing facility for some quarter mile action including over 40 vendors displaying and selling newly released products. The ICB Motorsports booth was swarmed with crowds throughout the day as they debuted the new reproduction Desmond Regamaster EVO II wheels.  GReddy Performance was also on hand to showcase their newly revised and re-released Honda S2000 street-legal turbo kit.

Titan 7 has been making their presence known in the street performance and motorsports world with their fully forged wheels at reasonable pricing. 

This gold Civic has quite the reputation among the Honda community. Vehicle owner Jorge Hernandez has been known to constantly change the appearance of his EG but at this year’s event, he rolled into the venue sporting a set of 16×7-inch Volk Ce28N Magnesium Blue wheels, Mugen front lip, JDM front and rear lights and an Exceed × Mode Parfume rear wing.  

Ho Dao was on hand to represent with his old school DA Integra that he’s kept in storage for quite some time. Simplicity was the key to his build as his Integra was outfitted with a Kaminari front lip, replica Mugen side skirts, and rear wing and laid out on a set of Blitz Type 01 wheels.   

Nothing spells old school quite like a CRX on a set of O.G. SSR Super Fin wheels and rare Mugen Body Kit. Speaking of O.G, you might have noticed the Cyber Racing Sticker adhered to the front windshield. For those not in the knowing, the Cyber Racing crew terrorized the drag racing circuit in the late 90’s to early 2000’s, setting a number of world record quarter-mile times in the process. 

Honda owners aren’t afraid to push the envelope. This turbocharged Civic is rumored to produce well over 1,100 whp on a K-series hybrid engine. The most intricate portion of this build was the custom EK9 Kinsler intake manifold sporting dual fuel rails.

Sang Pham’s turbocharged AP2 S2000 was in a class of its own. The Honda was kitted with a J’s Racing GT wide body kit before going through a complete color change in Grigio Telesto gray. 

What’s a Honda event without witnessing a few classics like this first generation (’72 to ’79) Civic sitting on a set of CCW wheels? 

As with every passing Eibach Meet, the number of cars attending the celebration continues to grow and by our estimations will outgrow the infield parking lot by next year!  For information on the event or schedules surrounding both East and West Coasts, check out eibachmeet.com. Hope to see you all at next year’s event!

Bimmerfest West: Welcome to BMW Paradise

Welcome to BMW Paradise

Whether you love BMW E30’s, 2002’s, M3’s, or merely looking to get away from the summer heat wave, there’s no better way to get up close and personal with a collection of rare, high-quality show and race cars than attending this year’s 19^th Annual Bimmerfest West, the biggest two-day BMW car show in the country.

With the success of last year’s Bimmerfest event held at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. the promoters pulled out all the stops to once again to deliver another memorable 2018 event. BMW owners and fans from across the world gathered to enjoy the numerous exhibits/vendors, autocross competition, car show, and road race event while sharing their passion for all things BMW.  

An estimated 5,000 vehicles lined the event. After the event, Bimmerfest representatives tabulated a total of 15,000 spectators walked through the main entrance. 

Dozens of BMW cars of every model and generation could be found, from a ultra-rare Alpina B10 Bi-turbo, 900+hp F80 M3,  Pandem wide body E30, modified E36 street cars and just about everything in between.

This BMW 3.0 CSL was one of many rare vehicles on display. The Fuel injected LHD model CLS is rumored to be 1 of only 439 produced in the world. 

BMW 2002 have become a cult classic at Bimmerfest and have been popping up with more frequency as of late. From factory restorations to custom rest mods, the “02 series” was fully represented at this year’s show. 

Mild mannered from the outside but pop the hood and you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise. The owner claims this 2002 makes over 400 whp and is force-fed by a T4 Cummins turbo. 

Wide body BMW’s were found throughout the parking lot where thousands of cars were in display. This E30 caught our attention with its aggressive Pandem wide body kit and aggressive wheel fitment. 

You can bet the owner isn’t afraid to push his car though some twisty roads. 

Pixar’s movie Cars is popular among both young and old. The owner of this M3 decided to not only transform his M3 into Lightning McQueen but also modified his sons Power Wheels.

BMW E30 powered by a M54B30 from E46 330i with ITB’s. 

Vendor row was bustling with plenty of activity along with over 200 vehicles on display.

The roar of engines running full tilt were reverberating throughout the event as event attendees were treated to some wheel-to-wheel racing at Bimmerfest. 

An estimated 100 cars competed in the road race portion of the event, ranging from novice to professional US Touring Car Championship contenders. 

We noticed a number of Strom Motorsports sponsored vehicles tearing up the track including this M3 piloted by Vic Pizzino. 

BMW’s weren’t the only competitors running the course as 350Z’s and Mazda RX8’s were also jockeying for a first place finish and important points in the USTCC series.

Bimmerfest was once again a big success. Having attended the event for a number of years, it’s apparent the show continues to get bigger and better with no signs of slowing down.