TE37 – Gripshiftslide

AKDP :: Sumida's STI Forester

Grant — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 12:56:15 +0000

The Subaru Forester is a simple car, it takes the handling and safety of the Impreza’s renowned 4wd system and throws it into a mid-sized practical family wagon/crossover. Mix in some of the rally bred DNA from the Subaru STI range and you’ll get a punchy turbo 2.5l boxer engine equipped car that is a far cry away from the standard round-trip to school, A to B affair you’ll find in most families driveway.
To Sumida-san this 2004 Subaru Forester made the perfect blank canvas and his favorite brush to use on it was the ‘lowering brush’…

Recently wrapping up our 2nd trip to Japan for 2015 we couldn’t wait to get stuck into some features and ‘first off the rank’ is Sumida-san’s STI Forester. We met up with Sumida-san by chance in a car park in Osaka late one night.
After a brief chat and some help from his friends we managed to translate enough to organise a shoot. We met up early the next morning and convoyed with Sumida-san and his friends to our location in some equally impressive cars. (More on that soon.)

In the light of day we were gobsmacked! Away from the shadows and orange street lights the paint work came to life and the extremely low ride height of this Forester became immediately apparent.
When it comes to lowering cars Japan is next level!

Tucked into the guards are an immaculate set of Volk TE37Vs. This design is an instant classic and just like the original TE37 that suit almost anything the 37Vs were designed with a vintage feel that looks at home on classics and modern cars alike.

We say “immaculate” as although Sumida-san’s Forester is extremely clean, you’ll find the telltale signs from driving a car this low on the fenders and wheel arches. For some these scars and bruises add character, almost a trophy if you will.

The wheels themselves are flawless and this goes to show it’s just as much about the wheels as it is the car for some. The wheels aren’t just an accessory here, they’re the major draw card and the car/ride height compliment them.

Looking directly from behind you can see just how much camber is used to tuck the wheels into the guard.

This amount of camber is sure to pour more fuel on the fire, the same fire that has been raging across the internet for years. Queue the “That’s just stupid”, “Ruined the car”, “stance is the worst thing to happen since…”.
We’ve all heard it, there’s arguments from both sides of the fence and we couldn’t care less. We like all cars and all styles, all we see is a passionate owner with an incredible car.

The TE37Vs measure in at an impressive 17″ x 10″ -20 on all four corners.

Standing back it really is an impeccable combo. The lines and wheel choice compliment each other perfectly!

Sumida-san drives this height everyday, there’s no airbags in sight. The suspension is comprised of a set of Cusco coilovers with a staggering spring rate of 34k up front and 16k in the rear!

Sumida-san has owned this car for a little over 4 years and in that time the car has gone through a few different looks. From different bumpers, wheels and roof racks. This car has seen it’s fair share of changes.
While every time the look is quite simple it seems Sumida-san is quite reserved in the overall appearance but when it comes to lowering his car he ‘takes no prisoners’ and goes to the extreme end of the spectrum.

Chatting with Sumida-san about his time with the Forester we asked what his favorite thing about it was, of all the answers we were surprised by his simple and humble answer… The pillar-less doors!! We thought it about it and had to agree. It’s not a common feature found on small four door family cars and usually reserved for sports cars and coupes.

Under the hood Sumida-san has kept the same reserved approach as the exterior. All the factory items remain. The only additions are an upgraded air filter and full exhaust system.

When the starting point is an STI badged Subaru there’s not a whole lot you would want to change.

What he has changed has made all the difference, the full exhaust system has amplified the famous boxer grumble from a meowing house cat to a roaring lion. The noise of the flat four echoing off the street was down right menacing!

Aside from enhancing the sound and freeing a few extra horses from the engine, the custom exhaust really changes the look of the boxy Forester.

Tie this in with the aggressive fitment from the wheels and this is sure to break a few necks anywhere it goes, no matter the reason you can’t help but stop and stare.

Inside are a host of ‘knick-knacks’ and ornaments livening up the standard interior along with a chrome gear knob, extended shifter and Grip Royal steering wheel. The drivers seat has also been replaced with an SR4 Recaro for a bit more support over the factory seat.

The more we looked at the car the more we fell in love! The simple look is super aggressive thanks additions like a headlight cover, eyelid, factory scoop and black front lip.

Spacers lift up the rear of the hood helping cooling and adding a little touch to the front that’s easy to miss at first glance.

Believe it or not, this is Sumida-sans first car! An impressive first car to say the least and over the 4 years it’s gone from stock as a rock to the pavement eating, fender smashing car that you see now.

Sumida-san has enjoyed everyday of owning it and at the moment his plans for the future are actually getting it to sit even lower! He also plans on making a few cosmetic changes along the way.

We’re curious to see if the wheels stay or go, it will be hard to top the Volks.

They’re the hero of this car and look great against the blue, we can see why he hasn’t changed them to save the guards from further damage.

Up close you can see the results of running around Osaka with only a few centimeters of ground clearance!

Sumida-san and his group of friends call themselves AKDP, they share the same love for cars and the same sense of humor. Just don’t ask us what AKDP stands for. (It’s not exactly PG-13).
We’ll be posting all of the crew together very soon. Keep your eyes out for the full feature.

We would like to thank Sumida-san for his time and for agreeing to meet a complete stranger early in the morning for a photo shoot. Thanks to Takahashi-san for translating, we had an awesome time with you and the AKDP crew and can’t wait to get stuck into the next feature.
Thanks for reading,
Gwyn.

Japan Day 2 :: Daikoku Futo PA

Grant — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 09:32:31 +0000

After 36 hours in Japan we finally hit up some car action at none other than Daikoku Futo PA! This tiny car park in the middle of a man made island in the Yokohama harbor is a thing of legend. If you’re into Japanese cars chances are you’ve seen more than a few photos from this location. Here car owners from different walks of life all gather and soak up the experience that is Daikoku Futo any night of the week and during the day on weekends.

Staying in Yokohama meant the parking area was just 15 minutes from our hotel. So hurried back after dinner and set off on our adventure.

The very first sight we were greeted by as we drove down the long spiraling off ramp into the parking area. This ‘Tron’ looking BMW convertible that had light glowing from everywhere. We parked up and ran around like kids in a candy store.

I can’t explain the ‘fizzy’ feeling you get standing in this spot at night… The cars, the orange light and the sound of engines revving is just unlike any car meet at home. The scale of the freeway ramps that circle you create this theater filled with the sounds of cars entering and leaving the car park. It really is just massive!!

The amount of cars even on a quiet night like this was staggering, cars were coming and going all the time. It was impossible to keep up when shooting on a tripod.

These three where all friends.

We loved this bumper-less Crown. It was also refreshing to see a modified Crown after the sea of Japanese Taxi’s getting around Tokyo!

The wheels were on the smaller side for a car of this size bit it still looked great all together.

Our second night in Japan and we were already treated to the sight of a Hako Skyline.

It was beautiful!!

This matte green air-cooled Porsche was a very cool sight amongst all the domestic cars.

There was a small army of MX-5’s out in force.

I’ve only ever seen one or two cool looking MX-5’s together at home so it was awesome to see more than 5 at the same place.

This little dark green one was rocking some wide wheels on the rear. Photos don’t do it justice!

Our favorite MX-5 had to be this BN Sports kitted black number. The level of dish was high with this one!

There was a few Honda’s out and about too.

This little blue EG Civic was sitting stupidly low, it looked awesome from every angle.

The greatest Civic Type R in our eyes… The EK9. These things are just pure awesome!

Another Type R on the same TE 37 wheels.

Over in the corner some local bosozoku bikers were meeting and revving their bikes. When I got closer I realised they were playing songs. They had each made up their own song and began reciting them one after another simply using their engines.

This was one of the coolest aspects of the parking area, getting up close to these amazing machines/people I’ve heard so much about.

Old Suzuki’s and Honda’s seemed the bikes of choice and they all had their own personal touches.

Our personal favorite of the entire night had to be Kazuki’s flawless 86.

The subtle red glitter in the paintwork was beautiful. We were digging the mismatched wheels. Work Equips up front.

TE37V in the rear.

This is seriously one very cool street driven hachiroku!!

Not to far away we found some very nice looking Infiniti’s.

This FX was dropped on it’s airbag suspension while it was parked and had heaps of top end audio gear inside. The roof racks had a very cool flower wrap on them too.

The G-Series sedan was sitting low on a set of 3SDM 0.08 wheels.

These wheels looked the business gleaming away under the street lights.

As it turns out the Toyota Prius is one of the most modified cars in Japan, seriously every second one we saw had blacked out taillights, wheels and an exhaust. This one was a little bit different and certainly had a bigger budget then most sitting pretty atop a set of fifteen52 Tarmac wheels. This thing looked killer.

From big budget to low budget this ‘diy’ Legacy wagon would look at home at most grass root race events. The matte black paint and custom front splitter design along with the rear wing made for a menacing looking street car.

One of the few Supra’s we saw, this was definitely the more wild looking of the bunch. Check out the rear diffuser setup!!

The car park fell quiet for a short time, the silence was quickly interrupted by the unique burble of this Porsche arriving. The sound stuck out like a chip packet being opened in a church.

One for the rotary fans. This spotless white FD RX-7 was certainly worthy of a few photos.

The body kit seemed like a simple lip kit at first but became all the more extreme when you got closer. The rear diffuser alone was a work of carbon art!

A late and brief attendee was this Evo wagon, such a shame we don’t see more of these in Australia. I’ve only ever seen one in real life before this.

This Scion XB was pushing the camber out on the rear wheels, lots of character here. mismatched panels, rusted bonnet and stone chips galore. This was cool!

This tiny Suzuki Alto was just tucking these 14″ mesh wheels in the rear.

It had some patched up fender damage on the front from running so low around Tokyo’s streets.

Later in the evening another cool 86 arrived, this time a coupe!!

In the infamous two tonne black & white combination and on a set of Watanabe wheels… Perfect!

It doesn’t get much cooler than this, sitting behind an idling Toyota Sprinter in Yokohama.

There was truck loads of Toyota’s by this point. Check out the crazy fitment on this Crown.

This Chaser was in pristine condition and funnily enough had the loudest sub woofer I’ve heard on the street. It was ridiculous!!

It had a nice amount of dish too!

One of the toughest looking cars of the night had to be this black Nissan Cima.

The big chunky wheels set it off perfectly.

It’s hard to describe this car without using the word “gangster”…

Even more Toyota Crowns!! They’re literally everywhere here! We were about ready to call it a night before the police did it for us After a few too many cars got a bit loose when leaving the car park.

Then this arrived… The hero car of the night. a sky blue liberty Walk R35 GT-R.

The huge over fenders of the rocket bunny kit perfectly covered the massive rear wheels.

This thing was big!!

Seeing a car like this here in Japan was really a special moment for me, I stood still just enjoying it not even touching my camera for a few minutes before I felt the pain in my feet that comes from a 15 hour day of walking none stop.
So that was that we called it a night and headed back to our hotel.
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

CRX Australia :: Satay & Cars Melbourne Style

Grant — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 04:59:01 +0000

If you’re into modified cars and you know your way around the internet then you’re probably familiar with the term “Cars & Coffee”, These social car meet ups usually take place frightfully early on a weekend and the idea of a hot coffee is used to lure tired souls out into the cold morning air to talk about all things cars… This is Melbourne so things are a little different, the usual club meets and greats take place around some delicious piping hot food and carry on late into the night.
CRX Australia was due for a reboot after some months of hibernation so the always popular and recently re-opened Garage Cafe was the venue of choice, Honda’s, Targa tops, Wedge backs and Satay was on tonight’s menu.

Tucked away on a side street in Carlton lies a factory with no high-vis, no machinery and no workers… Instead inside you’ll find a few car spaces, a pool table, some cozy tables and the aroma of spices.
Garage Cafe have been operating for years but after a short hiatus due to council disputes they’re back open for business with regular car meets all week long.

The occasion of course was for CRX Australia, a club that’s been running since the heydays of Honda’s original boy racer. The CRX.
We arrived long before dozens of noisy Honda’s entered the building to the beautiful sight of two pristine C63 Mercedes parked up next to a very classy BBS coffee table (A favorite of ours from previous visits).

Not long after the CRX’s started to arrive, soon proving that over the years the club has shifted it’s dominance to the newer Del Sol chassis, as prices have come down, the older generations have become rarer and have held their price on the second hand market. Ultimately young drivers have won having Honda’s ever popular DOHC Vtec engine and a removable targa top all in an affordable package.

The popular modifications seem to be wheels and seats, you would be forgiving thinking that they all came with bucket seats as new walking around this group. The factory fitted cloth seats are now as rare as rocking horse poo.

Some had more character than others, however all still maintained a simple approach…

No body kits in sight, just clean factory lines and the addition of front lip. Remember less is more!!

One of the most popular seats in the Honda world, SR3 Recaros removed from a Type R equipped Integra or Civic.

The final numbers finished on 6 x Del Sols & 4 x 2nd generation CRX’s, all in all a nice mix of what is becoming one of the biggest cult cars in the Honda stable.

The 2nd gen’ CRX’s have always been popular in Melbourne with a large amount of owners lucky enough to have the imported SiR version.
Factory fitted with the first run of B16a, suspension tweaks, facelift and some with a moon roof panel from window to window giving the driver a unique experience.

Melbourne has been home to the largest amount of SiR/EF8 CRX’s in Australia with the club seeing as many as 15 at events in recent years.
Some CRX have changed owners in that time and it was great to see an old hero of the club with a fresh lick of paint and a great set of wheels.

This particular car has kept the original B16a power plant with a healthy amount of boost thrown at it thanks to a turbo conversion by Rev Zone, in it’s years with it’s original the car has claimed several trophy’s and awards thanks to close to 200KW at the wheels.

Any colour other than black is quite rare for these imported versions.

Adding a set of BBS wheels the owner has managed to really stand out amongst the sea of black CRX in Melbourne.

Keeping the German theme with the wheels the owner has fitted a sticker from one of the best blogs around, check them out!
https://www.facebook.com/SehrGute

We also spotted a GSS sticker on this rad Del Sol sitting on some Work Equips.

With everyone feeling full from the feast of Satay and Mi Goreng the group decided to venture out into the cool fresh Melbourne air for some photos by the water.

Several J-turns later we arrived together at another iconic Melbourne location for car fans. Underneath the Bolte bridge.

Now with some space to spread out we got to compare all the cars together.

Volk TE37 work on everything, literally!! Post a car in the comments that doesn’t look good on these wheels, we dare you!

It was great to re-visit the old spot now that the Melbourne Star Ferris wheel is finally operational, the light show it puts on as it spins looks great reflected on the dark water.

While the group kept chatting away we moved two of the Del Sols off for a quick snap together. The black one made the trip all the way down from Sydney to join the fun!!

One of the must underrated Honda’s of the 90’s, it’s great to see them finally get their time to shine.

Now pushing the 25 year mark the original boy racer is now thinning in numbers and I hope more owners hang onto their original gen’ 2’s as they’re a pretty special car in the Honda line up.
Well done to CRX Australia and it’s admin team for keeping name alive and bringing these people together.
If you need any help with anything CRX related whether it’s maintaining one or simply finding one jump on the forums or join the facebook group.
http://www.crxaustralia.com/
CRX Australia Facebook Group
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.