So what brings us back to this car, after all it is just a color change and wheels, or is it? It was supposed to be kept secret, but due to it being a daily driver, the color change was “leaked” a few days before this feature dropped to a few people on Instagram and Facebook. Since we last visited the car much of the car has changed and it has grown into something Robert originally wanted from the get go. With that said, let’s do things a bit differently today and give Robert (owner of the car) a chance to write rest of the article himself.
Photos By: Phillip Awad exclusively for StanceNation.com
For Sema, I wanted to run 17 inch stepped lip wheels but unfortunately there were non on the market in my price range that I could pick up. Luckily I was offered a rad set of 19’s that had ungodly amounts of concave. I accepted without any hesitation and the build of course took place. It took a lot of work with the suspension, cutting and aligning the car to fit the wheels properly but when it was done it sat perfect in my eyes. Now for the color, I hate to say it but orange was not my first choice, it is a beautiful color but I felt the color was too bold for the kit and it was a bit over powering. Don’t get me wrong the orange is a beautiful color, I just think that is what grabbed most people’s attention and not the kit, wheels, and all the other good stuff.
The current color (Ivory White) was the original color I wanted to debut at Sema last year, but due to both money and time constraints it just wasn’t possible. In the mean time I decided to slowly prep the car for the color change after the show. First think was to black out the whole engine bay, this is the ultimate contrast for white and looked the cleanest, also leaving the skirts and wing in all black to wait for the change. The roof and beatsonic antenna were also black as well as leaving black seats and harnesses. My next step was to change up the cage and dip it in copper. To many people, this threw off the car with the orange paint, but they didn’t know I was planning to change the color. Next was the beautiful Forgestar F14F gold chrome wheels that I debuted at wekfest this year wrapped in Toyo R1R tires. Miura-san himself suggested from the get go I run a step lip 17 inch wheel, but once again due to time and money constraints before Sema I couldn’t. I actually ended up being hired by forgestar as their outside sales representative so if anyone wants to get a set of wheels lemme know! I’ll set you up! The sizing is 17×9.5 -20 and 17×11 -40 with 225/45/17 and 255/40/17 respectively.
The next step was my wheel by grip royal, many people still haven’t heard of this company, but they do some rad stuff. You can completely customize your own steering wheel from the writing on spokes to the color. There are a few more changes since the last feature too that I would like to include which is the Vortech supercharger. I would be lying if I said that the car stock had power, every FRS owner knows the stock car is underpowered, but in a sense it makes the car fun to drive. This kit though turns the car into a damn animal. Don’t rely solely on dyno numbers, this car is very light and doesn’t need much more to get it to go. I also swapped on the Borla UEL Header and have 2 different exhaust I run. For the true spirit and soul of the kit I would run the TRA Kyoto exhaust, it is a true STRAIGHT PIPE. The car sounds even meaner than it looks, unfortunately the local police don’t like it so much so I reached out to Injen and they developed a production exhaust and it is fairly subtle but still has the growl of The motor. The combination of the Header and Injen catback sounds exactly like a WRX, and the TRA Kyoto sounds like a Formula D car! There also is the OEM audio plus sound system that Sandy, the owner and I customized the enclosure to match the theme of the car. Ryan over at Speed Pro graphics Torrance listened to us go back and forth for weeks on the design and custom wrapped the enclosure for us. He also does all of my die cut vinyl decals and so far haven’t found someone as on point and errorless as him, his work speaks for itself.
Now as far as the wrap goes, you may know his car if you are around my area, Zach Meister. He started up his recent project Meister Vinyl Works and reached out to me to be a part of his launch. He also surprised me and showed that there was the EXACT paint color I wanted in 3M vinyl, Gloss Light Ivory. I was so stoked, the car would finally look how I originally envisioned it! When I purchased my car back last May, I saw the white and it looked nice, but didn’t have that Hachiroku vibe, it was more pearly and luxurious than sporty.
The wrap took a couple days. It was done in my driveway with nothing but some vinyl, lights, vinyl squeegee, and a hair dryer. This was also Zach’s FIRST car to wrap. The amount of work and dedication he had to this project was very admirable. One of the nights we even worked from 4pm to 830am. It was ridiculously exhausting but the end result is so worth it. If anyone is considering a wrap check out @meistervinylworks on Instagram for the cars they have worked on and pricing. The original look I had in mind for the car was decal less and that is what is represented in this feature, by the time this feature drops the car will already be revinyled up with a full decal scheme for my supporters/sponsors.
This build has been one hell of an experience, I have been on a financial roller coaster in between unemployment and side hustles just to clear bills and finally landing 2 new jobs to have stable income again. I now work for both T Mobile and Smoke Free Source. This is the ultimate display of how determined and in a way obsessed with hustling till I get what I want. In the whole process of this I was even invited into the infamous Low n Slow crew.
So, with all that said, here is a few photos of the car as it sat in my driveway just a few days ago. Big shout out to Phillip Awad for doing such a great work and capturing every moment of the wrapping process on his camera.
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[toggle_item title=”Wheels/Tires/Suspension” active=”true”]Wheels/tires:
Forgestar f14f step lip gold chrome (1st set made)
17×9.5 -20 front
17×11 -40 rear
Toyo proxes r1r
225/45/17 front
255/40/17 rear
Volk formula lug nuts
Suspension:
Function form type 2 coilovers
Custom rate Eibach springs
Phantom air cup kit
Whiteline sway bars
Battle version rack inserts
Battle version subframe inserts
Whiteline diff inserts
Stop tech BBK 4 piston[/toggle_item]
[toggle_item title=”Exterior” active=”false”]Greddy x Rocket bunny kit
Bodywork done by platinum VIP
Wrap done by Meister vinyl works
Vis carbon hood
Spyder tail lights[/toggle_item]
[toggle_item title=”Interior” active=”false”]Buddy club reclinable seats
Takata black street 2 harnesses
Grip royal stay crushing steering wheel
Works bell hub
M7 touch race unit
Ati gauge pod
Stri gauges
Snakeskin/suede done by granjaworks
Battle version roll cage
Cage dipped by long beach auto tech
Audio:
OEM audio plus reference 400 series
Custom wrap enclosure by speed pro Torrance
Bespoke head unit[/toggle_item]
[toggle_item title=”Engine” active=”false”]Engine:
Vortech supercharger kit
Borla UEL header
Password JDM covers
Downstar dress up kit
Neo chromed stock strut bars
White line strut bar
Act clutch/pressure plate and flywheel
Exhaust:
Injen Cat back (quiet)
TRA Kyoto cat back (ear shattering)[/toggle_item]
[toggle_item title=”Shoutouts” active=”false”]Platinum VIP, Toyo Tires, Vortech Superchargers, TRA Kyoto, Rocket Bunny, Jordan Innovations, Meister Vinyl Works, Takata, Buddy Club, Function Form, Whiteline, KAAZ, Forgestar, Stop Tech, Auto Tech interiors, STRI gauges, Spyder Auto, Battle Version, OEM Audio plus, Phantom Air cup suspension, neo-chrome.com, down star, Borla, Injen, act clutch, shine by aero, Mishimoto, long beach auto tech (coatings), VIS Racing, Smoke Free Source, Grip Royal, Granjaworks, Password JDM. Last but not least my main shoutout goes to Platinum VIP, these guys are family, I consider each part of the Platinum family to be a brother. From help with the build to life advice and true friendship I cannot be thankful enough to have linked up with such an amazing company and been given the torch to help them market their SEMA booth with Job Design this year. Jo Blood and Kennedy are bringing the heat this year and cannot wait for you all to see the builds we are debuting at the show, be sure to stay updated on the process with Stancenation.com[/toggle_item]
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