CARSPOTTING> Negative Offset Z33 350Z in AZ
First, let me introduce myself since I am newcomer to the MotorMavens Crew. My name is Chris Minshall; I live in Phoenix, AZ and I've been a freelance photographer for about six years now - shooting mainly automotive and a little bit of model/portraiture here and there.
I have a long history in the import car scene which dates back to 1996 - I started out with a B16A-swapped 1990 Civic DX hatchback. I owned about seven Hondas before I moved on to Nissans - eventually taking a 1993 white S13 240SX hatchback from bone stock to an SR20DET-swapped 385whp beast sitting on 18x9.5 +12 and 18x10.5 +15 Takata green Volk TE37s with rolled/pulled stock fenders. Ever since then, I've been into the wheel fitment scene and carried over what I learned from my S13 to my current daily driver - the 350Z you see pictured here.
I have mad respect for all kinds of cars, including Hondas, Japanese classics, VIP-style, American muscle and anything with sick stance. I hope to bring a little something new to MotorMavens and expose some types of vehicles that haven't been fully showcased here yet as I uncover what AZ has to offer.
The style I was aiming for with my 2003 Z33 350Z 6MT Touring model was inspired by my previously owned S13. After putting aggressive offsets on the 240, I was hooked. I knew that when it was time to step up with my Z, I would have to take it up a notch. My Z had several sets of wheels on it before I finally ended up with what you see in these pics. None of my previous wheels were nearly aggressive enough and thus began my quest for what I like to call "gangster wheel fitment." Read more...
I have a long history in the import car scene which dates back to 1996 - I started out with a B16A-swapped 1990 Civic DX hatchback. I owned about seven Hondas before I moved on to Nissans - eventually taking a 1993 white S13 240SX hatchback from bone stock to an SR20DET-swapped 385whp beast sitting on 18x9.5 +12 and 18x10.5 +15 Takata green Volk TE37s with rolled/pulled stock fenders. Ever since then, I've been into the wheel fitment scene and carried over what I learned from my S13 to my current daily driver - the 350Z you see pictured here.
I have mad respect for all kinds of cars, including Hondas, Japanese classics, VIP-style, American muscle and anything with sick stance. I hope to bring a little something new to MotorMavens and expose some types of vehicles that haven't been fully showcased here yet as I uncover what AZ has to offer.
The style I was aiming for with my 2003 Z33 350Z 6MT Touring model was inspired by my previously owned S13. After putting aggressive offsets on the 240, I was hooked. I knew that when it was time to step up with my Z, I would have to take it up a notch. My Z had several sets of wheels on it before I finally ended up with what you see in these pics. None of my previous wheels were nearly aggressive enough and thus began my quest for what I like to call "gangster wheel fitment." Read more...
COVERAGE> Supras Swarm SP Engineering
This past weekend, something like 70+ Toyota Supras came out to the Supra Appreciation Event at SP Engineering in Industry, California. I was pleasantly surprised; I couldn't believe how many Supra owners braved the rain and the bad drivers on the freeway with their high horsepower monsters. All the parking lots surrounding SP Engineering were packed to the hilt with Supras and other cars that had variants of M and JZ engines under their hoods. Most of the cars in attendance were JZA80s, but there were also quite a few MA70/JZA70 Supras that caught my eye... I even spotted an MA60 in the lineup!
The JZA80 Supra Turbo is normally regarded as Toyota's "top of the food chain," but at the SP Supra event this weekend, I was honestly jocking the MA70/JZA70s more. Now THAT is a big statement. Let me explain... I've been a big fan of JZA80 Supras since the very first time I laid my eyes on one... and I never really gave the JZA70 much thought (that is, until I started hanging out with the late Mike Urbano [RIP homie] and his always late brother Brian). However, this past weekend, at least in my eyes, the MA70/JZA70 Supras took the win in terms of sheer style.
You might be thinking, "What?! Are you crazy? We're talking about JZA80s here," so I should explain my opinion. I think MA70 owners need to do a lot more in terms of restoration and "clean up" than the JZA80 guys do. The JZA80 Supra is such a good looking car that all you really need to do to accentuate the already gorgeous body is lower it, get proper fitting wheels and tires, a good looking exhaust and a front lip spoiler. That's not much at all. Meanwhile, MA70 owners have to think about getting a clean body (or fixing dents and whatever), painting the car, cleaning up the engine bay, piecing together a clean interior, making sure everything works, making the car run right... and only then can they turn their attention into making the car look good. Read more...
The JZA80 Supra Turbo is normally regarded as Toyota's "top of the food chain," but at the SP Supra event this weekend, I was honestly jocking the MA70/JZA70s more. Now THAT is a big statement. Let me explain... I've been a big fan of JZA80 Supras since the very first time I laid my eyes on one... and I never really gave the JZA70 much thought (that is, until I started hanging out with the late Mike Urbano [RIP homie] and his always late brother Brian). However, this past weekend, at least in my eyes, the MA70/JZA70 Supras took the win in terms of sheer style.
You might be thinking, "What?! Are you crazy? We're talking about JZA80s here," so I should explain my opinion. I think MA70 owners need to do a lot more in terms of restoration and "clean up" than the JZA80 guys do. The JZA80 Supra is such a good looking car that all you really need to do to accentuate the already gorgeous body is lower it, get proper fitting wheels and tires, a good looking exhaust and a front lip spoiler. That's not much at all. Meanwhile, MA70 owners have to think about getting a clean body (or fixing dents and whatever), painting the car, cleaning up the engine bay, piecing together a clean interior, making sure everything works, making the car run right... and only then can they turn their attention into making the car look good. Read more...
COVERAGE> Nisei Showoff Grand Finale Part 2
It has been a very long and busy week for those of us working on the Motor Mavens project! We're an extremely small staff, but we've been keeping ourselves real busy with back to back meetings and photo shoots! We have also spent quite a bit of time this week on planning out the next stages of development for the website. We have a few new contributors coming on board, so the next few months will be very exciting!
So let's get back to our Showoff photos. Although Import Showoff was founded way back in 1994, with the first event held in March of 1995, the first actual Nisei Showoff didn't take place until 2000. As Showoff founder Ken Miyoshi explains it, "the people that organized the Nisei Week festivities in Downtown LA's Little Tokyo wanted to bring enthusiasm from younger people back into the Nisei Week Festival, so I decided to work with them by throwing the first Nisei Showoff."
"Back then, all the JA (Japanese-American) guys with dope cars used to go to OCBC (Orange County Buddhist Church) during their Hanamatsuri (Flower Festival) and cruise with their friends," Ken continues, "This was also happening in Little Tokyo; there always used to be a carnival in the original Nisei Showoff parking lot location (2nd Street and San Pedro) and a parade as well. People from the carnival used to chill out on the curb, and wait for all the fixed up cars to cruise through Little Tokyo. Back in the day, we used to see crews like Black Magic from SGV (all black cars with different types of SSRs; SSR Superfins, Supermesh, Neos, Work Emotion, Gale Racing, Bang Vecs), Shoreline Racing (old school Toyota guys from Gardena/Torrance area), NRG from Cerritos, Split Second from Carson area, Redline Racing from the San Fernando Valley, and a whole lot of others." Read more...
So let's get back to our Showoff photos. Although Import Showoff was founded way back in 1994, with the first event held in March of 1995, the first actual Nisei Showoff didn't take place until 2000. As Showoff founder Ken Miyoshi explains it, "the people that organized the Nisei Week festivities in Downtown LA's Little Tokyo wanted to bring enthusiasm from younger people back into the Nisei Week Festival, so I decided to work with them by throwing the first Nisei Showoff."
"Back then, all the JA (Japanese-American) guys with dope cars used to go to OCBC (Orange County Buddhist Church) during their Hanamatsuri (Flower Festival) and cruise with their friends," Ken continues, "This was also happening in Little Tokyo; there always used to be a carnival in the original Nisei Showoff parking lot location (2nd Street and San Pedro) and a parade as well. People from the carnival used to chill out on the curb, and wait for all the fixed up cars to cruise through Little Tokyo. Back in the day, we used to see crews like Black Magic from SGV (all black cars with different types of SSRs; SSR Superfins, Supermesh, Neos, Work Emotion, Gale Racing, Bang Vecs), Shoreline Racing (old school Toyota guys from Gardena/Torrance area), NRG from Cerritos, Split Second from Carson area, Redline Racing from the San Fernando Valley, and a whole lot of others." Read more...
