AE86 Track Day in Cali Held by an organization called Drift Association, a time trial event dedicated just for the Toyota Corolla AE86 was held at the Streets of Willow track at Willow Springs International Raceway. The Toyota Corolla GT-S versions from 1984~1987 were stamped with a chassis code of AE86, and in Japan they are labeled as Trueno and Levin with different variations of front fascias. These cars have attained a sort of cult-like following mainly because of a popular Japanese Anime series "Initial-D" which features the underpowered (and underestimated) Corolla whipping the arse of some high horsepowered cars. The light weight and FR (front engine, rear wheel drive) layout of the AE86 is also a key factor of the car's appeal since the AE86's FR layout is favored by just about every sportscar driver. One of the biggest figures popularizing the AE86 is a Japanese professional race car driver named Keiichi Tsuchiya. AKA: "Drift King" Drift King's vehicle of choice that he swears are the best engineered cars include Sprinter Trueno and the Honda NSX. There are videos and stories that document his undefeated N2 race version Trueno, which...

Gymkhana Racing - The Next Big Thing? Gymkhana may sound like a name of some small third world country, but its actually a type of auto racing that's beginning to take solid shape in the United States. With the popularity and influence gained from Autocross, Drifting, and Rally racing, Gymkhana's attempting to be the next big motorsport trend for the coming years. Currently, there is one man in the United States that holds the key to the sport's popularity votes, and it seems as though he's on the right track. Ever heard of the Rally driver Ken Block? [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC6eHZ1qeys[/youtube] Ken Block has all the tools he needs to make Gymkhana a success and perhaps even re-write the entire definition of the sport.  So far, with huge corporate backing from DC Shoes/Monster/Ford, Ken Block's Gymkhana videos have made the list as some of the most viewed, viral video in the entire world simply because car stunts are awesome to watch. The automobile acrobatics, cinematography, creative editing, the sounds, all in HD goodness!! I suggest going to Full screen mode, crank up the sound, and enjoy the intensity of what a...

Odd Custom Van Story and pictures by Mr. Freeze: Rob Zollar I swiped this little jewel from the big bad Ebay monster. A local guy had it up for sale and I talked him into selling it to me directly, (sorry if the guy in NY reads this) . For those who know my taste in vehicles this recent acquisition should come as no surprise , it's ugly, weird , strange , unique and you don't have one! It's right up my alley! Funny thing is, I was searching for a 1963 Chevy truck and on Ebay I typed 1963 and selected distance nearest and this thing came up! Info and old photo from Offroaders.com: These were produced for the federal government as postal vans from 1961 to 1965. At a mere 81” wheelbase 135” overall length and 64.7” width, they were a snap to maneuver in tight streets. In 1969 a mistake was made and a mere 100 still in inventory were auctioned off before Willys reminded the US government they were supposed to be returned not sold... a few others escaped but the rest were eventually scrapped....

Best Pictures from 2010 Goodguys Southwest Nationals My new desktop picture! As I get older, the list of reasons for getting up EARLY in the morning oddly keeps getting longer... it used to be simply fishing. Next as Pops started to take me racing, I added, "going to a drag race" and then as I got more interested in cars, I added, "going to a swap meet." Now I've added, "taking pictures with morning sunshine." See the dude laying on the ground for this shot? That's me! I see alot of people cruising car shows taking pictures... some with gear much nicer than me, and quite a few using their cell phones. What are you doing with those pics? I wanted to cover cool shows like Goodguys Scottsdale with the best pictures I could, so I started watching guys like Paul "Swanee" Swanson take pics and trying to shoot like him.  (here's a few of Swanee's 2010 Goodguys Pictures from this year) Then, I sought out some other pros and got some tips on Shooting Good Car Pictures. I'm learning! Or maybe it's just the morning sky!  Who cares!!...

Hot Rod Pinup Monica Renee Monica Renee is a sexy SoCal pinup with a nice paint job of her own. With a pin up girl tattooed on her arm, she is among the most sought out, inked up pinup models in the scene.  Monica's beauty has graced the pages and covers of many Tattoo and Custom car and bike magazines, and now MyRideisMe.com,  in this interview featuring photos by the lovely Mitzi Valenzuela of mitziandco.com.  Read all about Monica  in her exclusive MyRideisMe interview below, where she tells us what it is about a custom car that gets her engine purring. The custom featured in these photos is VooDoo Larry's 46 Ford. Also, make sure to catch Monica as Ms. January in Mitzi's 2011 Pinup Calendar. What a way to start the year! What is it about a custom ride that gets your engine purring? Would you consider it an an aphrodisiac? I love how each custom ride reflects a little something about its owner. Each car is done up to the owners specifications, exactly how THEY want it done. I feel that it makes a bold statement of individuality... and THAT is...

Custom Car Wheel Review at SEMA Show 2010 In my search with pikesan for the biggest custom rims at SEMA 2010, I was struck with horror by the ugliness of some of these wheels. Did something go wrong in the design department? How did so much money go into making such an awful rim?! In Las Vegas terms, these wheels rolled crap dice! Splatter paint? That fad was SO third grade. If it were only one color it would look like a gaudy daisy... perfect for a decked out VW. But four colors? Enter: guy with large truck taking place for small ego. I like stars too... but they shouldn't be on your rim dude. These may be custom but that doesn't mean they're good looking. We had a general dislike for this uber-ugly Challenger. (At least it didn't have any LED's) PINK! On the right car, these could look pretty cool - the thing is they'll probably be showing up on a crappy Honda Civic near you. I actually really liked these on this cool little VW. But again... coming soon to a Honda Civic near you. Something...

Searching for the Biggest Custom Rims At SEMA Show 2010 Over the past few years the size of rims and wheels has been getting out of hand. Previously, Craig (known here as "pikesan") and I generally try to avoid the ginormous wheel and tire section of SEMA – this year we dove right in and went scouting for SEMA 2010’s biggest wheel. Here’s what we found… Just as we started on our search we ran into this whole wall of rims. Most with a diameter roughly the full length of my arm. Just so ya know - from fingertip to armpit I measure 31 inches. Then in Giovanna Wheel's large display were these big guys. Seeing all these rims sitting around, one forgets how incredibly expensive they are. One online source I found to purchase Giovanna rims at quoted a price of nearly $10,000 for a set of 26 inch rims. Ten Thousand Dollars!!! Ten. Thousand. Dollars. What else could you do with all that money? Maybe you could customize your Rolls Royce? Mini-Me or Mega-Me? Next up we found these classic wire spoke rims. Whether you're sportin tiny...

Datsun 521 Japanese Classic Truck Red. The iconic color of the Ferrari supercars. Next to yellow, it stands out as one of the most targeted vehicle colors by the police, perhaps because the notoriety of the Ferrari's? But wait, what if the red was on a car that wasn't really a car, but on an old small displacement truck? It takes a special breed of an auto enthusiast to maintain a pre-70s automobile in tip-top running condition. Luckily enough here in California where the air is dry and the skies are sunny 355 days out of a year, rust isn't really a problem. Miko (pronounced Mee-koh) can only be described as a rockstar of the Little Saigon Community, and a stranger to no one in the area. He knows the best places to eat, to party, to drink, or just relax and have a cup of Cafe Su Da. Miko works hard but plays harder and as an entrepreneur, his prime responsibilities include owning and managing his own hair studio. His 1969 Datsun 521 1300 truck is the purest example of his lively and positive personality. There's nothing standing...

Best Product Display at SEMA 2010 How many different ways can you show a car battery? At some point, are there new ways to show anything?  I could recommend a SEMA babe or a radical custom car in your booth... or of course both!  Optima chose a different path with their "Wall of Power" display and I dig it. It's a "Best Product Display of SEMA 2010". Assembled inside the glass "Power" display were several red top, yellow top and blue top batteries that were all bought back from users and all tested to be in proper working condition. No small feat given the extreme duty these batteries endured! Shown here is a blue top battery taken straight from the land speed racing effort of the North American Eagle. The North American Eagle is your every day 43,000 horsepower, F104 Jet Chassis and J-79 jet engined rocket ship! The controls, data acquisition and something you might agree is important, the parachutes, are all controlled by a series of deep cell batteries like these blue top Optimas. After the chutes failed at 300mph plus due to the extreme temperatures and...

Best New Tools from SEMA 2010 No matter what you're driving or what your skill level, the right tool always helps get the job done right. Trouble is, you don't have that tool in your box and your buddy's sleeping cause it's 1:30AM and the Goodguys Show is tomorrow! That's where GearWrench comes in. I found their booth at SEMA 2010 where they had a simple, but effective display of how their tools can get you out of a jam. The open end ratchet wrench shown above has the fit-in-tight-spaces of an open end wrench with the convenience and speed of a box end ratchet. In this display (and as you'll often find working on your ride) the box end wouldn't work. Ad a ratchet end box on the other side and you're ready to turn flat-rate time into big money. (Click on image to see full size) The next tool is kinda hard to describe which makes it weird that I want it! The box end features a ratcheting wrench, but the twist is how you can reposition the angle of the box end. There's a push button...

Time Attack Racing Wrap-up November 14th 2010- Another intense Redline Time Attack season comes to an end at the Autoclub Speedway in Fontana California.  The NASCAR Sprint Cup course has a killer top speed oval bank exit at 160mph and beyond, followed by high speed apex, chicane, and treacherous maneuvers. This season, numerous records have been broken as well as the dreams of podium finishes for many of the teams that were competing. With many of the modern Japanese imports such as R35 GTR, Mitsubishi Evo X, and even Hyundai Genesis competing in this series, every year is a step up in terms of excitement and technological advancements in the automobile tuning world. Hats off to driver Jeff Westphal of GST Motorsports piloting the Impreza for the new track record of 1:35.548 and placing 1st in the Super Modified AWD class. There were only a handful of Super Modified AWD vehicles left standing in the finals, nevertheless, the COBB Tuning R35 GTR driven by Brian Lock (1:37.548) has placed second and made an astounding presence in the US time attack industry today. Third place for this class was Trent...

Auto Meter STACK for Bonneville Salt Flats Racing From the analog data of "Old School" and to accuracy, speed and ease of digital data logging. That's the simple goal here. From there, the Volk Brothers Racing 1929 Model A roadster is looking to use the data at the race track to modify or update the engine setup to ultimately go fast and break a record. Then, the reality of salt flats racing steps in... Photo courtesy of SCTA website Backing up a step, Auto Meter Gauges, Volk Brothers Racing and MyRideisMe.com teamed up for Speed Week 2010 and World of Speed for some high speed runs down the Bonneville Salt Flats.  Our salt infested friends, the Volk family, run a Ford roadster with a fuel injected big block Chevy engine. They compete in the B/GR (373ci-449ci engine/Racing Gas, Roadster) class at Bonneville during Bonneville Speed Week and the Utah Salt Flats Racing Associations World of Speed. "...all while trying to keep a 200 mph rolling brick on a straight line for 5 miles." The Volk family salt flat racing pedigree includes (what seems like) 200 mph club membership for...