JDM STYLE TUNING – Gripshiftslide

JDMST :: End of Year 2012

Grant — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 09:19:06 +0000

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.

OTR Motorsport :: JDMST Meet Vs. Toyota MX73 Twins

Grant — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 07:22:11 +0000

It seems the shaky Melbourne car scene is on the mend after a successful and relaxed JDMST end of month meet last weekend, held at the On The Run Motorsport workshop in Melbourne’s south east.
With the day kicking of bright and early at 9am and continuing until the early afternoon cars came and went all day long, with around 50+ cars mixing it up over the duration of the day.

The OTR workshop filled the front car park with their own demo cars and customers cars, with some inspiring time attack prepped Evo’s to this clean G35 Skyline.

The owner of this Evo took some time out to talk and chat with some of the JDMST members about the car and it’s current setup.

The first two cars that caught my attention while parking were these two MX73 Toyota Cressida’s, It was love at first sight so I knew I couldn’t leave with out getting some proper pictures. (Scroll down for more!)

Some more of the OTR line up complete with show plates, these boys present them selves very well with one of the most amazing showrooms I have ever visited here in Melbourne!

The service lane outside the workshop when I first arrived in the morning, with only a hand full of cars present it was definitely a case of quality over quantity here.

Geordie’s little blue Fiat turns heads everywhere it goes, it takes some serious dedication to not only maintain but to then modify an older chassis like this let alone on your ‘P’ plates!

Inside is a relatively standard affair, but who can pass up the charm of an older car. With a wood grain steering wheel and large dials there is just a certain character that newer cars simply do not have.

The G35 Skyline was sitting on OTR’s latest wheels, Concave Concept wheels. Currently only available in 18″ they do however come in a range of offsets and colours and start from just $1200 a set!!

The cars, the shop… Everything just screamed Japan! Once I stepped foot in the shop it was like I had stepped through a mini gateway into the back of a tiny Japanese performance workshop.

In the small space available top brands and performance parts were scattered everywhere, I was in awe!
With carbon body panels and quality wheels down one side, suspension, inter coolers and other performance parts down the other.
There was even a huge display of Japanese car magazines!

This is truly an oasis for any self confessed Japanese car enthusiasts, to see a display of products like this brought a big smile to my face.

Stepping out into the workshop the wheel display continued and stepped up a notch with a full display taking up both walls!

PCD 1… Because race car!!
With the afternoon quickly approaching I decided to take the opportunity to shoot both of those Cressida’s I saw coming into the meet first thing in the morning.
Both owners were happy to oblige so here’s what happened next…

What you see here is two extremely cool examples of old school done right, Brandon and Dave have both owned their Toyota Cressida’s for less than 12 months!
Brandon has owned his silver Cressida for 10 months.
Dave has owned his gold Cressida for just 6 months!!

Both cars have been heavily influenced by the Japanese car scene with countless ‘JDM’ inspired mods to both of these Australian delivered rides, what the boys have done is build the cars to look the way they wanted, not to please anyone else in the process.
For instance the wheels…

… Both cars run replica wheels and who cares when the cars look this good?!
I wish I knew more when I first got into modifying cars 10 years ago.
Brandon’s silver MX73 Cressida runs Kota AE Teks wheels in 15×8 0 offset, with a 25mm spacer to add some character to the older Toyota sedan.

Dave’s MX73 sits stupid low on a set of Rota Aleica’s in 15×9 with a staggering -10 offset!
Both the cars run original suspension with modified springs, both cars have some new coil overs in the mail to help get the perfect ride height and to try and gain some much needed comfort where possible.

Inside is any classic Toyota lovers dream, full electrics in a mid 80’s car and even a factory optional CD player available from the showroom when new!!

Both cars turn heads where ever they go with a simple no care given attitude that comes with the territory of driving an older modified car, especially one’s that get driven this low!

The boys have given both cars a little bit of added flair here and there, both now have yellow fog lights and KE70 Corolla fender mirrors to finish off the JDM inspired look.

No matter how many people comment and say this is not an original/unique look it is certainly something we want to see more of on this side of the world.
I struggle to think of any other car that would look as good on the same budget and get as much attention as I saw both of these Cressida’s getting last Saturday.

A back seat fit for a… Domo?
These boys really get into the whole Japanese theme.

A close up view of Dave’s rear wheel fitment and ride height, not a bad effort also considering these cars drove over an hour each way to get to the meet on the day!

Brandon’s car had a touch of VIP goodness thanks to some Junction Produce rear curtains, only the best for the passengers in this car.

Both the boys have big plans for the cars as funds allow, in the near future the guys want to go down the manual gearbox and supercharged SC14 path.
Later in life they would love to look at putting something a bit beefy under the hood, can you say 1Jz conversion?!

Dave also wants to track down a bobtail spoiler for his gold Cressida and for all those haters out there yes… The boys would love to be able afford some genuine rims down the track.

Given what these guys have achieved in less than 12 short months we’re extremely excited to see what will come of these two Toyota’s in the future.
We had a blast meeting up with these guys and enjoyed spending some alone time with their mint cars.
Until the next meet/feature, Thanks for reading.
– Gwyn.

JDMST August :: End of The Line?

Grant — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 10:24:10 +0000

A few weeks have passed since Melbourne’s last JDM Style Tuning meet, but could it be the last for good?
After some appalling behavior the police were called to the scene and things escalated quickly with the event shut down and people told to go home.
Despite all this we saw some of the best cars Melbourne has to offer, read on to see more…

The moment we got close to the multi level parking the excitement was high with some music in the distance echoing down the street and a substantial line of cars crawling up the lane way to get in.
Pulling in we spotted a group of Lamborghini’s and even a couple of Ferrari’s so we were expected some quality cars in the car park.

The cars kept pulling in, from the rooftop you could have spent the whole afternoon just watching all the cool cars entering the car park

We followed this tidy little Nissan TRX into the venue, this is the first time I have seen one at a meet let alone one this clean!

After hunting for some exciting cars at the entrance we began our slow crawl up the multi level car park, as we got closer to the stop the music from earlier got louder and louder, expecting to see some decked out car audio display we were pleasantly surprised to see a DJ set up on one of the higher levels belting out the tunes!

Nearly every level there was something worth stopping for, we spotted a group of people huddled around this white 458 Italia surrounded by other exotics and tough euros.

An old favorite of the GSS team…

Heath’s Datsun 260 wagon, apparently since this event Heath has lowered the car a touch more so expect to see some more shots of this in the future!

On one of the higher levels we found this Z club with a large group all lined up for some shots together, some ranged from stock to the heavily modified.

With the estimated number of cars above the 300 mark this was some turnout and with the location the vibe was fantastic!
However the local law enforcement had come to investigate the traffic congestion and one thing led to another and a car was given a defect notice outside the venue…
Things got out of hand after someone from the top level had thrown a bottle down to the street were the police car was parked, this single action ended what was possibly the best event Melbourne import owners had ever seen.

We won’t focus on the bad points but rather take a look at what was achieved with absolutely no funding or support from anyone other than one single person that organized this whole event.

The cars were impressive everywhere you turned, these two ‘stanced’ Accords had a corner to them selves.
With some uber low suspension, how did they even get into the car park??!

Melbourne’s Honda scene is definitely alive and strong, the rooftop alone was littered with dozens of hot Honda’s, this is about the third week in a row we have put up a shot of this green EK hatch! We just can’t help ourselves!!

Meet the boss, this S2000 has been on our site a few times before as well.
It’s all business at the front and party at the back with an all out diffuser and wild exhaust.

The infamous JDM cop car, not to every bodies taste but it does take a nice photo or two.

The boy racers dream, Two racetrack ready MX5’s and an EF8 CRX!

The rooftop provided some great backdrops, unfortunately it also allowed people to get nice and close to the edge which in turn resulted in the incident that caused the police to retaliate.

We managed to snap this bright yellow DC2 Integra slowly approaching the entrance before we were asked to leave, the JDM front is one of the best designs to ever come out of Japan!

We are always on the hunt for more European cars to post on the site, As soon as I saw this matte black RS4 Audi I ran to take some shots of it parking. The cold wintery skyline made the wagon look right at home!

There was a number of Mazda’s hidden in the lower levels, this red FD RX7 stole a lot of looks from the people walking past.

Just one level below the RX7 we grabbed a shot of these two ballin’ MX5’s together, we still can’t un-see the smiley face in the front bar tho.

DR30 Skylines are on the brink of becoming a classic, just a few more years and these will start to skyrocket in value!

This DC5R belonged to Club ITR member David, with a killer wheel combo and carbon bonnet, all on his P’s too!!

There wasn’t as many Toyota’s at the meet but we did see a couple of Supra’s hiding out and quite a few older Corollas.

We have seen Ricky’s Honda Del Sol pop on a few blogs and no one has even mention the fact that it has an EG Civic front end, hats off for pulling off one of the first conversion in the country!!

This black on black R35 GT-R was one of the last cars we got to take a photo of before the police asked us to move on, we look forward to seeing more of these Skylines modified as second hand prices fall here in Australia.
What started as one of the most exciting events also turned into one of the most memorable for all the wrong reasons, with the best range of cars we have ever seen it really was a shame to see it all ruined by a hand full of people.
The future for large car meets in Melbourne will be shaky to say the least, we are still set to host our own show & shine event later this month at Calder Park.
Check our facebook page for more details!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

JDMST :: The Last Bridge Meet?

Grant — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 10:30:05 +0000

Another month, another meet.
With planning left to the last second the meet nearly didn’t go ahead this month.
A few days before the end of the month someone decided to announce that the meet was on and just like that, a few days later we saw over 100 cars mix it up under Melbourne’s iconic Bolte bridge.

One of the first cars to catch my eye was this black on black Accord Euro, with Illest everything!

With a sticker on every side…

Even on the center caps!! This guy love his Illest gear!

There was plenty of the usual suspects, like this simple S15 with dished out rear wheels.

With about 15+ meets under the bridge in South Melbourne we have started to go a bit ‘artsy’ with our shots…

There was a strong Toyota presence at the meet with plenty of cool old schoolers like this KE26 wagon.

External oil cooler for the win!

For a second I didn’t think anyone was driving this car!!

Something was telling me to take a photo of this JZX100 Chaser, it’s as if there was a sign from above!

Heath’s Datsun wagon stole some attention from some of the newer cars.

Everyone seems to really appreciate the effort it takes to keep something like this on the road.

Rumor has it the owner has a new car up his sleeve, we can’t wait to see what he brings out to the next meet!

One of the loudest cars of the day.

External gauges help keep an eye on the angry rotary engine sitting in the bay.

As the years go on the earlier EVO’s get better with age!

A rare sight at these meets, An FN2R Civic with a nice and simple wheel combo the car is transformed.

Looking down the line we couldn’t leave this red EVO alone.

Perfect choice of wheels with Volk CE28’s in bronze!

We also loved the carbon canards hanging off the front bar!!

New Australian reality tv show… So You Think You Can Scrape?

I would love to drive an EK Civic like this for a daily, not that it would be very functional at that height… Regardless I was in love!

More puddle shots!!

In case you can’t tell by these photos, it is in fact the middle of winter here in Melbourne.

Hiding in the pack of grey and black cars we found this red Mazda, this isn’t the first time we have had a shot of this hot hatch grace these pages.
The popularity of these MPS hatches will sky rocket when their second hand price falls.

The naughty corner of the meet, a few falcon owners came to check out the meet.
The red one is a bit of a rocket and believe it or not these were probably the most behaved cars at the meet!

Check out this Toyota Cald…. Wait what? This is actually a Honda Civic with a crazy body kit…

Complete with personalized brake discs!!

JDMST regular Jimmy looking less than happy.

We found a second sexy red Evo hiding in the group too!

Stay tuned for more of this little white Honda Del Sol, something is very different with this coupe so we took a few shots of it for a little feature!!

No meet is complete with out bmx riders cutting through the crowd, that’s right all the cars with bikes on their roof racks actually use them!

This R34 had a few females stopping for a look… I guess you could say it was a real ‘hit’ with the birds!

One of the best examples of an AE86 in Melbourne, we shot this car way back at the Classic JDM event last year.

A combination of track and street attire is always a good mix!

Got dish?

The Evo 7 staring down the crowd.

A shiny Honda Accord, looking very VIP inspired.

I’ve seen these plates on a 180SX drift car before 😉

With access out to the water still a few cars snuck out for a few photo opportunities.

This is one wild looking S13, a bit much for some… We thought it was pretty tough!

There was only a little splash of euro flavor this month, this R32 golf had a stupid amount of bass echoing off the bridge thanks to four sub woofers!!

Subtle blue finish on these Work XD9’s, very unique colour!

My favorite wheels still… Work Sp1’s in black and a polished lip.

Melbourne’s docks provide one of the best backdrops, every time we shoot here around sunset we get a killer shot!

It’s always nice to spot a sticker on a car at these meets, loved the placement too!

Now permanent fencing is getting installed under the bridge, this could be our very last meet under the Bolte!
So the race is on to find more suitable locations to keep this community alive.
Until the next one, thanks for reading.
– Gwyn.

JDMST May :: Imports of The Caribbean Market

Grant — Mon, 28 May 2012 05:39:37 +0000

Melbourne’s latest JDMST meet was held yesterday morning, with a new location and time slot it was set to not be a hit with the masses.

With the meet starting at 9am at the Caribbean Market in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, for some it was going to be too early and for some a bit too far… To top all that off, the weather was looking less then fantastic!
However the crowds did turn up and the car park filled beyond expectations!

I was extremely surprised to see this purple kitted up R34 roll into the car park.

There was something about it I just couldn’t put my finger on…

It was actually an R32 with a R34 front end conversion!!
Certainly not something you’d see everyday! Also conversions like this aren’t everybody’s cup of tea but well done to the owner for building such a unique looking car.

One of the first cars I stopped to take photos of was this brown Kesev, everything was on point.
Loved the DORI show plates too!

There were a decent amount of Honda’s like this EK Civic, rocking all the usual good stuff… Recaros, hood bra, roof racks and a nice amount of stance.

This little Diahatsu was back on the road after clearing a recent defect notice. It was cocking it’s legs like a small terrier thanks to a nifty airbag suspension set up.

This little performance started to pull in a small crowd.

Gerry’s stunning 240K Skyline made it out for the early morning meet.

While it remains classic in appearance on the outside, it’s far from classic under the hood! With an RB25 and a host of modifications to the drive line, suspension and brakes make it all work.

Inside this brilliant machine, it’s the same blend of new vs old. Trimmed into the center console is a double din screen controlling the soundtrack to this Japanese muscle car.

There were also a few hot hatches on show, they looked like the perfect battle – parked side by side… Jap Vs. Euro.
We would love to see these two go head to head.

By 11am the designated area was close to full and cars arriving struggled to find a park close by.

This S15 on black Work Miester’s is one of the best examples of that old saying that sometimes ‘less is more’.

It was great to see an Sw20 MR2 out and about, they seem to be dwindling in numbers these days.

Some more old school Toyota love, two KE70’s parked side by side.
From memory the owner of the orange Corolla is from Ballarat, massive dedication right there to get to this meet!

Check out the amount of lock on the blue one!

A Gripshiftslide.com sponsored drift car made an appearance too!

There were actually a heap of stickers on cars at the meet!
From both Grant and myself, thanks for all the support. Even though the stickers don’t make us rich it really is great motivation seeing dozens of cars with the logo on them.

The man responsible for this meet gets to drive this Liberty home! Very jelly!

Rob of Full Motion Photography fame’s very own MX5, looking just as tough as ever.

It was nice to see this little red 86 now registered and with some new wheels!

Now I think I might be getting a little slow these days, because I only just worked what the plates on this Cappuccino mean…

Inside the cozy little Suzuki Cappuccino was a nice wood grain trim and Nardi steering wheel.

The car park was now full and cars continued rolling in!

Spotted a nice little diffuser set up on this EM1 Civic.

300ZX Vs. 180SX.

Micheal’s I ‘heart’ Grip RX Impreza made the drive from the west, with a few more details finished inside this is shaping up to be one of the best street cars in VIC!!

This classic Celica was amazing to say the least, sitting on Gram lights and sporting an engine bay you could literally eat off!
Sitting next to it was one extremely rare TE27 Corolla too!

Something you never see on Australian roads, a Nissan S15 Varietta.
The car looked perfect in this colour!

Something equally as rare but somewhat unnoticed at a JDMST meet, a BMW E30 wagon!

A touch of VIP, this Toyota Crown had quite a crowd around it all day.

Tri spoke wheels don’t work on many cars but this 4th gen Honda Prelude is one of the exceptions.

Rock out with your SOHC out!

Gareth’s super clean and soon to be turbo MX5.

This white FD RX-7 stole a few hearts that day, it was gorgeous!!

Back to the brown KE Corolla that had a few people staring, check out the massive drift pipes!
Also to the female owner of this car, well done!!

So despite being early on a Sunday with some not so fantastic weather, the turnout was great!
With the final car count somewhere around the 200+ mark, the numbers were awesome!
Well done to the organisers and all those involved. Looking forward to more planned meets like this without having to worry about people ruining it and police interrupting the fun.
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

JDMST EOMM :: Eastern Creek Raceway

Grant — Wed, 02 May 2012 07:28:47 +0000

JDM Style Tuning held their NSW end of month meet at Eastern Creek WSID. The crowd was amazing and cars followed in continuously all night building up to over 1000 cars easy.
This is Sami Tran’s Slipper Delsol fitted with a JDM K20A. Thought to be the only K-Swapped Delsol in the country and it is pushing 147kw atw. This is one of it’s last memories, as the Delsol has a new owner.

Mitsubishi Evo sitting flush.

Here is Philip’s Corolla Sportivo sitting on xxr 521’s, giving it an aggressive stance and topping it off with the number plate DTF-429.

There were GTR’s at every corner. This one was sitting nicely on some TE37 SLs.

How often do you see a Porsche Carrera 911?

Clean Fairlady Z watching people admire the NSX.

These Supras and R33’s were hiding in the dark. Check it out, they’re so fat!

EVO 8 MR, my dream car.

Love the looks of these EVOs, they all look so clean.

Segio’s Midnight Purple s15.

This one caught my eye whilst I was walking around. This Subaru Impreza STI with the plates EVOH8R looked great, and it was parked next to two Mitsubishi EVO’s – ever better!

Clean Mitsubishi EVO sitting next to a Skyline GTR.

This Silvia S13 was fat as and the dish makes the car look so complete. What do you guys think?

A family of Nissans, a clean R34 alongside an S13 and S14.

This meaty Supra was deafening the crowd with it’s two-step, it was definitely one of the highlights of the evening!

Attracting some attention on the night was Top Secret’s R32 GTR.

Power Tune Nissan Skyline R34 with a RB26 stroked to 2.8l pumping over 600kw atw!!

Had a quick chat with the owner of this Civic. It has an all motor B20 sitting inside running 13’s on the quarter mile with full trim and street tyres. Definitely looking forward to this one in the future. The owner mentioned something about putting in a dart block too!
Thanks to Justin Fox and the team at JDMST/Zen Garage, Top Secret Imports (TSI) and Fernando Wiehrl (Project D Drift School).
Thanks for reading,
– Simpson
http://www.facebook.com/SimmyCaptures

JDMST EOMM :: Fun With The Lights Off

Grant — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:14:38 +0000

Melbourne had another record turnout for the April JDMST end of month meet. Everyone who made it out had a great night and the cars were better than ever!
This was the first ever meet held at the Essendon DFO carpark. Aside from the lights being on an auto timer and people getting a bit lost it was a fantastic night out.

Small groups formed at a couple of pre-meets around the state earlier in the evening and this here was just some of the east side contingents getting ready to cruise to the final meet.

Arriving at the meet there was only around 10 cars, it was already 6pm, the light was fading fast and I was worried it would be a very small turnout.

I hurriedly snapped away at some cars before the light disappeared completely. I did manage to stop and have a chat to some owners too.
This Supra was actually the owners first car! It came exactly as you see it now.
Future plans involve cleaning it up and changing the body kit and maybe a set of new coilovers.

This Supra didn’t require any changes it was already clean as hell!

Not everything was strictly JDM as there is always a good mix of Euro cars attending the JDM Style Tuning meets.

This GTI had a very interesting set of Mercedes wheels. I’ve never seen this combination done locally before but it has been done overseas before.

Soon the car park was filling and the variety of cars was turning out better than expected.

This orange KE Corolla had traveled all the way from Ballarat for the meet, some other cars had come from Geelong and even Bendigo, absolute dedication right there!

No trick photography here. Two very simple white KE70 corolla’s parked together for all to enjoy.

Manny’s super clean SiR CRX is one of the most unique looking EF-8’s in all of Melbourne, this is due to black being the most popular colour when they were released 20+ years ago.

This blue JZX100’s had my attention for quite some time! I would love to own a Toyota Chaser myself one day, one of the best four door cars out of Japan!

Jimmy’s UMAD AE86, now with all wheels matching.

Some of the Team Tuffcore boys came out for the evening, the two S14’s are regular sliders at Vic Drift events.
We hope Jason follows their lead in his purple R32.

We’re digging Patty’s latest addition to his white R32 Skyline, the colour was so intense my camera struggled to capture it.

With every meet there is always one car or group that steals the show, Saturday night was no exception.
This wide body WRX and Nissan GTR came rolling through the crowd.

The WRX had carbon fiber everything and a Chargespeed body kit! The front bar had paid the price for driving on Melbourne’s roads though.
Within minutes the car was surrounded and it was impossible to get any more photos.

A reminder that R33 Skylines can be done right, this one looked very tough with the home made front lip.

One of the most senior car attending was this KE17 Corolla, also the cleanest car there! I think i need to ask the owner to wash my car 😛

Soon the car park was packed with an estimated 400+ cars over the whole night, not a bad effort for a weeks notice and a brand new location.

This S14 has been doing the rounds, every time we post a photo of it somewhere it gets loads of comments.
Congrats to the owner for building such a nice looking car.

As with any Melbourne car meet, the Honda boys were out in force!

This is one of the toughest looking S15’s I’ve come across at a JDMST meet, the colour and kit combo was killer!

Walking through each isle of cars I kept coming back to this Subaru Liberty, perfect height and wheel choice and that paint… Wow!

Another Team Tuffcore car – the Nissan Cube! These are still pretty rare here in Melbourne. It’s a shame as they look like a lot of fun to own.

This R33 GT-R looked the part, still covered in track day stickers!

This Audi looked like a stealth bomber and sounded insane!!

Genuine Ek9 with P plates… Very jelly!

The only Electron Blue Pearl Civic in Oz? We don’t know but we love it!

At around 7:30 all the lights in the car park switched off and a lot of cars decided that was enough and headed home.
The majority of cars stayed and all the photographers tried longer exposures and also some light painting.

We did a quick iPhone job on this Accord Euro, needles to say… We need bigger lights!

There was a heap of JDMST regulars like the YSOSRS Integra, getting a stare down from the yellow DC2 in the background.

And George’s Mk1 Golf that we featured earlier this month and now sporting new BBS wheels since the shoot.
What do you guys think of the new look? We love it!

Another beautiful rexy hatch, this time not so wide and sitting on some Work XD9’s.

During the night we meet up with De Croft owner/photographer Paul, he had brought along a very nice lighting setup so like a small fish feeding off a large shark we followed Paul around, whereever his light went, we went too!

Ryan’s BFLAT Polo, you guys have been seeing a lot of this car on the blog lately why? Because it looks so damn cool and it’s nearly impossible to take a bad photo of it!

Team Tuffcore’s youngest member possible has the most expensive car of the group, and it’s a girl!

Over the night I got stopped regularly for stickers and we nearly sold out!

I think for the next meet we will bring a friend along to man the ‘shop’, that way people don’t have to wait for us and they can find us a lot easier.

Low rider Honda Accord, definitely not the norm for a Honda but we approve!

Super clean Evo, female owner too!

Sorry boys she is taken.

The crowd began to shrink around 8:30pm…

… This made it much easier to get some nice close ups of cars like this wild looking DC5 Integra.

Got inter cooler?

The Mex Racing RX7 sitting on some nice gold Work SP1’s.

We had a chat to the owner of this RX7, the rear wheels stick out thanks to their massive 18 x 10 size.
He didn’t have time to fit his camber kit but said it should be looking spot on before the next weekend.

As we were shooting this Civic some of the local police arrived and at first people were about to leave.
Luckily they were pretty nice and just wanted to come check out some of the cars, they had a great sense of humor and joked around with a few of the owners too!

One of the last cars we managed to get some shots of was this spotless AW11, this MR2 has been with the owner for 6 long years!

What a massive turnout and great attitudes from everybody. We are looking forward to next months meet and hope the numbers of cars attending continues to grow.
After having a chat with the police we can now organise these events at this location without worrying about unwanted attention.
As always for a heads up on these events check out our Facebook page or the JDM Style Tuning web site.
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

JDMST EOMM :: End Of Summer

Grant — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 09:54:19 +0000

Well another JDMST end of month meet done and dusted! Melbourne pulled out all the stops for another impressive turnout.
With over 360 car in attendance that’s a record turnout for the recovering Melbourne car scene, with hoon laws and a defects at an all time high for the garden state. It just goes to show the level of dedication these car nuts have…
Here is Johnny’s tough as nails Corolla still wearing it’s group sticker from the recent Drift Matsuri here in Melbourne.

Under the hood is just as clean as the outside and yes, that’s an SR20DET sitting there.

The car is the perfect combination of function and form, inside is a classic deep cone Nardi wheel, Dildo shift knob and one of the coolest touches I’ve seen. A working personal fan!!

The quality of cars was already high just at the pre meet, with one of the nicest street driven S15’s in Melbourne, also worth a note is the incredibly cool S14 parked next too it!

At the pre meet everyone had chance to have chat and check out each others rides.

Soon the light faded and it was time to get moving.

A nice rolling shot of the very, very low S14 on the way to the meet.

Once at the meet it was time run around and get as many shots before the light was gone, plenty of ‘VIP’ styled rides made it out for the night.
This Accord was part of the Team Agentz crew, these guys definitely have good taste!

White seemed to be the colour of choice at this meet, here’s a nice line up of S chassis Nissan’s together.

Clean behind on this EVO, the shaved badge look is very nicely executed!

This MX5 from NSW is getting around to a lot of the meets here in Melbourne, wondering if the owner has moved down?

More white cars! This is one of the best looking models of the WRX to date, last of the GD series. I hope Subaru get back on their game in the future.

Lowered just enough on some nice Work wheels, this is the perfect 4 door car for me.

JDMST not just for JDM cars, plenty of Euro’s made it out as well and yes that is a BMW on a set of TE37SL!!

There was actually a few nice EDM cars out, another BMW on a set of regular Rays TE37.
This combination has been very popular over seas!

Stanced Audi, this is something I would love to more of in Victoria. A stronger presence of modified euros.

Team Agentz delivers again!

How good does this 5 series BMW look, the dished wheels set it off!

So much rubber on this Bayside Blue GT-R!

Honda’s were out in force on the night, this JDM front DC2 Integra with the love/hate Mugen rear wing.

Another Team Agentz car, an RB1 Odyssey dropped on some Work D3S’s.

EG Civic with 5 lug conversion and Work SP1’s, I wonder whats under the bonnet?

Easily one of the best looking EVO’s on our streets, check out all the carbon additions!!

Another great looking Mazda, MX5’s are becoming the car of choice with younger drivers as the prices keep coming down!

Loving the zip tied front lip on this Mitsubishi EVO, perfect balance of clean and baller!
Congratulation to the organizers for another successful meet with out to much trouble and stupid behavior, with the way these meets are growing a new location is in the works.
Keep your eye’s peeled on our Facebook page for up to date info on these meets and other events here in Melbourne.
http://www.facebook.com/Gripshiftslide
I would also like to personally thank Alan from AL Captures for taking these awesome photos for us, if you would like to see more images from the night or just want to see some awesome car photography make sure you visit http://www.facebook.com/AlCaptures

Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Road Track Rally :: Forum Battle Meet

Grant — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 08:59:28 +0000

Earlier this month the very first Forum Battle event kicked off with a meet at the newly launched Road Track Rally workshop, With a few competitors and a bunch of cars from the JDMST forum the turn out was great!

There was plenty of cool cars to gawk at, although most people stayed away from the cars and got busy socializing and putting some faces to the names they see online.

Everyone’s favorite Astra, the blackboard paint was a hit on the night!

The cleanest MX-5 in Melbourne?

The interior matched the outside perfectly!

One surprise on the night was Anth from build-threads.com bringing his old school Datsun down.

The thing was absolutely awesome!

The only other Honda at the meet, this beautiful EM1 Civic coupe was quite the gentleman with it’s manly mustache.

Nice colour on this 180SX.

I never thought this shape would grow on me, the front definitely has. The jury is still out on the rear end…

Marty from Mighty Car Mods brought the little blue Daihatsu along to the meet, with most of the car park covered it was time to head inside…

Inside the workshop was quite the wonderland of car parts and toys.

RTR had many expensive machines scattered around the shop.

A few top shelf exhausts… (see what I did there?)

For in house tuning RTR has this bad boy tucked away in the corner of the shop, an AWD mainline dyno.

The boys really have everything, upstairs was home to two massive flat screen tv’s, one with an Xbox and Forza Motorsport, the other with a PS3 and a copy of Gran Turismo.

Justin Fox from Zen Garage catching up with Daz and Brad from RTR, after one very long drive down from Sydney.

Justin and the crew brought down a ton of gear from their shop.

Don’t let the cleanliness of the workshop fool you, the boys at RTR do plenty of mechanical work. This Evo was getting it’s engine rebuilt and there was also a GT- Four Ceilica hiding away under some covers getting plenty of work done.

The workshop is also home for the RTR EVO X, this thing is completely built from the ground up and looks like it will be quite the monster out on the track.
We hope to bring you some more information and photos of this impressive time attack car before it hits the tarmac.
Don’t forget to visit RTR on the web, Like their Facbook page for live updates or head over to the website and see how they built the EVO Time Attack car.
facebook.com/RoadTrackRally
www.roadtrackrally.com.au
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

JDMST :: EOMM FEB

Grant — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 08:55:50 +0000

What seemed like a normal JDM Style Tuning meet soon became one of the biggest meets in Melbourne, with recent meets seeing as many as 100 modified cars this one doubled that figure and then some!
The monthly meets are becoming quite the event and each one is like a car show. At every meet everyone walks around and checks out all the other cars instead of just standing next to their car giving everyone strange looks.

The quality of the cars was as good as ever! This Evo X looked great with the sun setting on it’s metallic paint.

Everyone’s favorite colour scheme on an equally popular car, Ae86’s are becoming quite the modern classic.

A mint Evo 6, not sure about all the roof racks getting around on them though.

BF Ford Falcon on Work Emotions, definitely a fan of Japanese wheels on domestics. It really brings new life into what is otherwise, an overdone car.

Gorgeous FD RX-7, perfect from the front.

Even better from behind, with a very nice Kakimoto exhaust.

The Melbourne meet had been gatecrashed by this absolutely ballin’ MX-5 from NSW.

Running 16×8.25 on all four corners!

Stanced Vip Gloria, this crazy Y34 has been making it to quite a few meets lately.

This was the first time I managed to get a few snaps of her alone. (That sounded wrong, didn’t it?)

I heart Grip-shiftslide? How awesome is the DC2 Integra on custom widened steelies.

Tough R32 Skyline with drift pipes.

One of the classic cars attending the meet was this wicked little Sunny Ute.

The little Sunny managed to find a friend too!

Easily the most sinister looking Toyota Camry I have ever seen!

Absolutely dumped on a set of SSR MS1’s.

Another I heart Frush sticker, these things are everywhere!!

One of the most modified Mitsubishi Evo’s getting around, MR EVO was certainly getting some attention.

This sharp looking Evo was sitting in the corner looking very intimidating, thankfully the owner wasn’t and asked for a sticker for his windscreen. Looks great!

Two clean S13’s, one with drift pipes and one with drift tek wheels.

Gorgeous Honda S2000 on some very large Work XD9 wheels.

There is always a car that steals the show when it arrives. This meet was no exception…

Three incredible Lotus’ arrived all together in a perfect line, one Elise and two Exige’s.

The real star of the three was this bright yellow Exige, with a personal best of 1:30 around Winton, it was a pretty serious car.

The big reason why this was the center of attention was the engine. This Lotus was equipped with a 2 liter K20A Honda Type R engine.
With a supercharger strapped to it for good measure too!

The other Lotus’ were nothing to turn your nose up at either. And this one certainly looks like it has seen a few track days.

Honda Del Sol’s are a very quirky looking car to start with, when people start fiddling with them they tend to end up looking very strange indeed.

Luckily that’s not the case for this black CRX, it must be one of the best Del Sol’s on Australian roads. Thanks to some awesome ride height and a set of BBS meshies.

In the blink of an eye the meet was over and the cars started to roll out, one after another and soon the place was empty once again.
With the meets becoming so large there is talk of sourcing a new location, a few JDMST forum members are in talks with the local council to get a permit so the meets become an official event and can’t be mistaken for trespassing or anything worse.
Hope to see everyone at the next end of month meet, until then…
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.