Last Sunday marked the end of year for the JDM Style Tuning Melbourne family and after such an up and down year for these meets, organisers were unsure how another large meet near the city would go.
Thankfully everyone was well behaved and the day was a smashing success!


With over 150 cars on display it can get a bit crazy so here are just some of the cars that caught our eye.
Neil from Primal Garage brought along his new 180SX, closely modeled on his previous black 180Sx. We expect this new one to be quite the head turner when he is finished tinkering.

Sitting pretty on a set of AME TM-02’s with some wide fenders to finish off this aggressive look nicely.

The car park chosen was just a stones throw away from the regular Bolte bridge location. Melbourne’s Monash freeway provided a fantastic backdrop, almost looking like a famous ‘Daikoku’ Japanese car meet. Rather fitting for a JDMST meet, don’t you think!!

With some regulars coming along for the afternoon it was almost a ‘best of’ JDMST looking at the year we’ve had.

This KE70 has been a regular attendee all year and with a considerable distance to drive to each meet we are impressed at the owner’s dedication to the club.

Now I am a big Honda fan (please don’t hate me) so this turnout really impressed me with some amazing builds that have been hiding somewhere in Melbourne.

This factory green EK civic was covered in cool parts; type R wing, spoon mirrors, carbon bonnet, Recaro seats and BBS wheels.
Another cool addition that only Honda nerds will pick up on or even appreciate is that the owner has installed SiR rear seats with headrests!
Amazing stuff we know but thought we should point it out for non-Honda fans.

Some more Civic’s that have snapped a lot if necks in their time no doubt, This USDM inspired duo have taken Honda’s in Melbourne to a new level.
Throw in some K series engine’s and these cars would be world class!

Both cars have been finished to such a high standard it really is an impressive sight seeing the two together. The Midori green hatch has CCW’s on all four corners while the Electron Blue coupe is wearing Sprint Heart CP-R’s. A classic choice amongst Honda aficionado’s.

Last Honda I promise!!
This DC5 Type S Integra was covered in hot parts like an aggressive looking lip kit, Spoon brake calipers and a set of Work 11R’s.
We’d love to see some more of this and maybe even under the hood!

The three lowest cars from Ballarat!!
The X7 Cressida’s were back out again and this time they brought their Skyline friend along. This R31 was so low it was scraping the whole way even at low speeds.
Ballarat is over an hour out from Melbourne so that would have been one intense drive!!

Here is Heath’s other car when he is not driving his cool Datsun wagon. That’s right, a convertible left hand drive Porsche!!
Very unique and we can’t wait to see if Heath adds any of his flare to this classic Euro beauty.

Evan from Rpower Motorsport came out with his R33 GT-R to see what all the fuss was about. Word on the street is that Evan is working on some exciting stuff at the moment.
We can’t wait to see what come’s of Rpower Motorsport in 2013!

The star of the show despite all the controversy over fake wheels and real stickers was by far this RX-7. It is one serious looking car, that wouldn’t look all that out of place in a batman movie, wouldn’t you agree?

Chris has been building this Mazda for quite some time now. The car originally started out white and has since taken on a very menacing look!

While no expense has been spared in the build, Chris’ RX-7 has been a hot topic of conversation since the meet thanks to some ‘fake’ wheels with genuine stickers. However these are just a temporary fit until he can decide on the perfect wheel for his pride and joy – according to Chris.

Gordie’s little Fiat showed up for its last Victorian meet ever. After the meet the blue Fiat was being picked up and taken back to Queensland with its new owner.

Something we would like to see done more here in Melbourne is the Subaru Forester. We have seen show and we have even seen a few with some ‘go’!
We are still waiting for one with the perfect balance. If you have a Forester or know of one that fits this description please send us an email on enq@gripshiftslide.com

More fuel for the ‘fake’ wheel fire! This Mazda hatch looked like a perfect daily streeter and we think the Jap hatch on Euro wheels is a winner!

Andrew’s Bug eye WRX has been stealing plenty of looks lately thanks to an impressive set of Work XD9’s wheels, with a size of 18×9 in +20 they’re rumored to be the only set like it in Australia!!

Believe it or not this little truck is a 1990 Nissan Sunny. Another rare thing to have in the land of Oz… as this is actually a long wheel base model!
Something considered rare as rockinghorse poo and is rumored to be the only one in Victoria!

Gareth’s MX5 has recently acquired a supercharger and has been enjoying some spirited mountain drives. We’re sure that this little roadster would be a heap of fun through some nice twisty roads!

Despite the obvious high front end. this S14 was near perfect! With tough looking front fenders, 2UP 3-piece wings and some huge Work Meister’s under the guards making it look the picture of perfection.

All in all, one of the best meets of the year. We take our hats off to the organisers for putting in all the hard effort to secure a location and for putting up with all of the stress worrying if people will behave our not.
With the day showing that there is hope for the Victorian scene yet, future events will see more entertainment and food etc available too.
Well done to all those who have participated and come along to any of these meets over the year, we have seen numbers grow from 20 odd cars to over 400!!!
Something we hope continues along with all the good behavior!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

This meet was weeks in the making and the Club ITR members organised a meet for both EP3 Type R Civics and DC5 Integras.
Bad weather clashed with the planned date (but this is Melbourne, so can we really expect anythign else?) and it was postponed for a few more weeks. So fast forward to the new date and this is what happened…


I met up with a small group of Civic owners in Melbourne’s South East and with around four white EP3’s we were off to a good start!
We had hoped for good numbers but we were very pleased with what we saw when we arrived.

On the way to the meet, we managed a couple of rolling shots.

This was my taxi to the meet, thanks to the owner Chris for allowing me to jump in.

When we arrived there were two DC5 Integra’s waiting for us.

Within minutes, more cars were joining the group and soon we were struggling to find a spot for everyone to park.

This Civic is certainly one to divide people, owner Peter is set to change the wheels after having had a little bit too much attention from all the wrong people.
I won’t give away what he is planing on getting but it will certainly make a lot of people happy!

With the original meet point being less than desirable and having such a good turnout, there was now way too many cars for the makeshift car park.
Luckily only a stones throw away there was an empty lot so the cars quickly moved in…

After some formations were set up, it was time to start shooting like crazy, so every man and his DSLR got to work.

One more black Integra and we could have made it a double stuff Oreo cookie!!

What is so interesting about this particular engine bay?.. How about a supercharged K20!

Enkei RPF1’s set this white Integra off!

The setting sun and small flowers shooting up from the cracks in the concrete all made for some interesting photos.

This Integra had quite the crowd with the hood/hatch popped.
Hiding inside were plenty of goodies including a massive ‘X’ brace in the back.

With the Integras covered, it was now time to move onto the EP3’s.

This was rumored to be the biggest group of EP3R’s in any one place here in Australia, with 12 in total there is still plenty of room for improvement!

It will be sad to see the Gram lights go as this combo has really grown on me.

While everyone got busy taking photos, some owners stopped to chat and compare setups, it seems the topic of the day was intakes.

With 12 Civic’s and only 9 Integras in total, the EP3’s won the day!!

These quirky looking hatches don’t ‘hard park’, take one of the best chassis that Honda has ever produced, add in some upgrades to the suspension and brakes like these Spoon calipers and you have one angry little terror that could take down a lot of bigger dogs out on the track.

Milano red is a very rare colour in this generation, amongst a sea of white it really stands out and draws your eyes in.

This car is arguably the last true type R from Honda, the newest generation hatch is known as the soft version in comparison.

Why are so many people in love with the red ‘H’ and all it stands for and why do some love to hate it?
For many they love the level of engineering and the ‘underdog factor’ that comes from owning one of these high revving 4 cylinder engine.
The hate factor can almost certainly be put down to the ‘fan boy’ factor that is associated with Honda enthusiasts.

My last shot of the day, a perfect facelift DC5 sporting the Club ITR sticker on the windsscreen.
If you would like to join in on the fun next time, become a member at http://forum.clubitr.com.au/
Thanks to all the owners who attended, it was a great meet with an even better bunch of people!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

These days any excuse to get together will do!
Last Monday was a public holiday, so a bunch of Ozhonda forum members decided to have a small meet  for Victorian Honda owners.


After a few posts on the forums and a quick heads up on our Facebook page, the location and time was set!

As we were arriving straight from a feature car shoot we were a tad bit early…
We weren’t exactly sure how many cars would come out with everyone recovering from the long weekend, however the turnout was much better than the last Ozhonda meet we attended. This time around 40+ cars were in attendance and a few surprises too!

As with any Honda meet, Civics are still the chariot of choice. With half a dozen EK’s,EG’s and a few EP3’s out and about among all the other Honda’s.

It seemed nearly every car had the bonnet up at some point and with good reason too! As most of these little hot hatches weren’t just your regular grocery getters!!
Nearly all the cars where equipped with Honda’s infamous DOHC Vtec engines, a host of hop-up parts like aftermarket headers, cold air intakes and a plethora of tuning and suspension parts.
But getting groceries is serious business it would seem!

As we said earlier, we had just finished shooting a feature car, so we invited the owner and friends along to see what the Honda kids get up to these days.

The three white imposters stole a bit of attention away from some of the Honda owners, little did they know both the R33, 180SX and Impreza are all N/A powered.
The Subaru packs quite a punch, with a worked SOHC engine it surprises anyone that is game enough to stand near it when the engine turns over!

Did we say there were a lot of popped bonnets at the meet?
Nearly every single car was showing off something under the hood that day!

I still have the S2000 high on my ‘Cars I need to own’ List, with prices continuing to drop it might happen sooner than I think.

JDMST supporter sticker!!
Now they don’t hand these out to just anyone! Well maybe anyone who pays…
Want one? Simply head to http://www.jdmstyletuning.com/

Such a simple interior, and that digital dash…
I really need to cross this off my list!

As well as the Civic’s, there were a fair few Preludes at the meet. I must say, I have never come across a 3rd generation Prelude with as clean an engine bay as this!

Somehow I don’t think the scrape sticker was really necessary for it’s current height…

Now this is just your standard Honda S2000…
F20C engine with your umm a giant oil catch…
No wait, ummm a window wiper jet…

… No, that’s just a dirty great big turbo charger!
The car is currently putting out about 298 rear wheel KW on just 13PSI, there is apparently room to move with this and there was talk of it hitting nearly 400KW with a previous tune!!

Mr Neil Gray of Primal Garage fame’s daily EG Civic, with a passion for sliding high powered rear wheel drive imports and owning one of the best looking 180SX in the country, you can imagine that this isn’t exactly your standard EG Breeze…

Running a B18C2 from an Integra VTI-R and 5 stud conversion this is definitely an exciting daily driver!

One of the only Anime inspired cars in Australia, this tiny Excel turned some heads when it rolled in!

Nity’s FD looking just as good as ever. At every meet he goes to, people are just drawn to this carbon draped Civic.
As soon as the carbon hood is propped open a small crowd forms, like feeding ducks by a pond.

LS Integra’s are becoming a rare sight, so it is nice to see one getting looked after. How clean is the paintwork?

Love it or hate it, this car gets attention for all the right and wrong reasons depending who you talk to. We love it!!

We are also very pleased to have made the windshield hall of fame!

I absolutely love shooting under the Bolte bridge, where else can you find such an awesome background and not be disturbing the public and creating a problem for the local police?!

Yes this is a genuine EK9 Type R Civic, I think I’m in love!

From little things, big things grow!
This turned into around 40-50 cars by the end.

Joshua’s bagged Accord now sporting some “defect me now” plates…

It really was nice to see a bunch of very different Honda’s mixing it up together, normally it is only one group off together and things tend to get a bit too repetitive.

For anyone who is not big into the Honda scene, some modifications can go unnoticed or unappreciated.
The rear control arms under this EK Civic are worth a few shiny pennies!!

One very low and stripped out DC2 Integra sitting on some widened steelies, something gaining some popularity here in Oz.

The car scene has changed dramatically in last 12 months, since attending meets early last year enthusiasts have turned each event into a mini car show.
Everyone walks around and mixes with other groups and they talk cars, parts and more cars!
It really is a breath of fresh air to an otherwise boring experience of parking a car and standing next to it.

To think it’s pretty much winter and we are still able to get an exciting bunch of cars out in the minus 10 degree weather, this summer will be Melbourne’s biggest year for modified cars and like minded enthusiasts.

Another EK9 Type R! Seriously perfect from factory!
If I won the lottery this would be one car I’d purchase and lock away for many, many years!

Being the middle of the year the sun soon faded just past 5pm, having headed to this meet straight from a feature car shoot that started at the crack of dawn, we were also fading so it was time to head home!

Grant and myself finished our last lap of the cars before packing up and heading home, everyone else still continued exploring and chatting amongst themselves as we left and the light disappeared.
If you haven’t been to a recent car meet, make sure you are a fan on our facebook page to get the latest meet and cruise info and get yourself along to the next one!
Otherwise you are missing out!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.