One Stanced and Cambered Acura Please

The Acura RSX is definitely one of the cars on my short list for fun to drive daily transportation.  They’re lightweight, good handling, reliable, fuel efficient and the performance model (Type-S) has a 200hp high revving 2.0L DOHC 4 cylinder using a 6 speed manual.  I’ve only seen a few RSX’s that have really impressed me.  Jose Guadalupe’s silver Base model (non-200hp) is one of those and it certainly caught my eye with its aggressive styling.

Photos are by FotoSet, djdorifto and Kami Speed.  Click the images to see them Full Size.

That aggressive look is courtesy of STANCE.  If you’re a hot rodder or custom nut, you already know what Stance is.  The “tuner” cars of today are continuing the Stance trend set by low 50’s Custom’s, raked 60’s Muscle Cars or 80’s Lowriders by going with low ride height and aggressive camber and flush fitting wheels.  Jose’s ride has -5.5 degrees of rear camber and -4.5 degrees in front.  But why so much camber?  First, it helps get those 9.5″ wide wheels to fit under fenders made for 7″ wide factory wheels.  Second, negative camber just looks so cool.  To me, big camber is a street car interpretation of a road race car suspension setup.

I asked Jose a few questions about his ride and how he got into cars.

Jose: “Well this is my first car. I watched a lot of those ricer movies, ha ha, like Fast and Furious, when I was in high school. So I dreamed that one day I would buy a car and modify it. I will never forget when I bought some 18 inch Konig rims and posted pictures on ClubRSX.com.  I got pounded with negative comments on my car. So during the last couple years, I have saved my money, done my research and improved my car’s look with quality parts.”

Here is a list of what Jose has done to his car in the 3 years he’s owned it.  He has definitely made his car “My Ride is Me”.

Mod List
Engine and Bay:
Type R Valve Cover
Type R Spark Plug Cover
JDM Dipstick
BeatRush Front Strut Bar
BeatRush Oil Cap
Buddy Club Race Header
Injen CAI (ClubRSX edition)
HKS Hi-Power Turbo Exhaust
Tein Hood Dampers

Interior:
JDM ITR DC5 Wheel
Complete ITR Center Console
JDM ITR Pedals with Dead plate
Integra Door Sill
FD2 Shift knob (rocking a 6 speed on a 5 Speed..lol)
Beatrush C Pillar Bar

Exterior:
Nextmod Mugen Rear Lip
Type R replica wing
Front and Rear Honda Badges Chrome
JDM Tail lights
JDM Window Visors
Fog lights with 3000k HID’s
Benen Tow Hook Front & Rear

Wheels and Suspension:
Buddy Club N+ Coilovers
Rota’s Grids 18×9.5 +20 offset all round

There are many ways to build or modify an Acura RSX (Honda Integra as they’re known in Japan).

I asked Jose why he went the route he did of extra wide wheels (18×9.5 inch +20 offset vs. 16×6.5 inch stock) with low offset, big negative camber and low ride height?  The kids call it Hellaflush, Wrong Fitment or Aggressive Fitment.

Jose: The reason why I chose to build my car this way is that you hardly see an Acura RSX go aggressive. I have met two good friends Neel and Igor and they went all out. Igor has an RSX and he has been in the “fitment game” for a long time and Neel has an Accord.  We have always talked about going as low and as wide as possible and how to get enough wheel clearance around the fenders and brakes.

Notice Jose’s concave faced wheels versus Igor’s deep dish style.  It gives the car a different look.  Jose’s car looks more motorsports, while Josh Obitsu has a VIP/Luxury look to it.  Wheels are so important when styling your ride.  Choose wisely!

Jose, any last words about your Ride?

Jose: I appreciated the help to get my car where it is today. I always have crazy ass ideas and my dad helped me figure out how to get them to work.  Big Thanks to my best friends who helped me, Tony Tran, Neel Nana, Josh Lardie, Cathy V., Josh O., Adam Perez, Kevin H, Kami Speed, GBR Racing and Club RSX.

Leave a comment below and let us know what you think of cars like this Acura.  Wanna see more?  Or have you seen enough?  We don’t know unless you tell us…

Hechtspeed

 

 

 

 

 

“Hot Rod Ramblings” StanceWorks = Low is a Lifestyle

If you wanna know what “My Ride is Me” is all about, this car shows the spirit perfectly.  This is like the 3rd look for this car in the last year or two from what I understand. 

This ride is super low, clear coated metal, and a cool tigershark paintjob.

The owner of this 5 series BMW, Mike Burroughs, runs StanceWorks website and forum.  I recently picked up some stickers from the site that say “StanceWorks-Low is a Lifestyle”.  Cars are more than mere transportation, they can and should be extensions of ourselves, a Lifestyle.  Some may hate this car, but I love it and hope you can appreciate it too.  Whether you’re into traditional hot rods, european exotics, aircooled vdubs or muscle cars, “its all about the Stance!”

Hechtspeed

Pro-Touring + HellaFlush = Ill-Touring

Being passionate about modified rides, I spend a lot of time on websites that span the spectrum of hotrodding to “tuning” and everything in between. Two favorite build styles of mine are Pro-Touring and the Street Drift style called HellaFlush. HellaWho? I’ll explain in a minute. Call it DetroitFlush or Ill-Touring (Ill, as in Siiiick wheel fitment dude!). We can nail down the name later. Let’s dig into this concept a little and see what you, the reader, has to say.

First, lets define the two components of DetroitFlush individually.

Pro-Touring. The Pro-Touring.com’s definition as a reminder, is old muscle with new sports car performance. Modern suspensions, brakes, big wheels/tires and late model drivetrains (like a 6.1L Hemi Crate motor, 6 speed Tremec and 20″ wheels with 315/30/20 Pirelli’s like the TerraCuda built by Chip Foose)

HellaFlush on the other hand is the concept, “Offset Is Everything” and traces its roots to Japanese Street Drifting which pushes the limit of fenders on import cars such as WRX’s, EVO’s, 240SX’s and RX-7’s. As seen in the picture above from the HellaFlush website, the wheels fit flush to the fender. Simple in concept, difficult to achieve, especially for a street driven car. It takes careful engineering and attention to detail to fit 18×9.5, +35mm wheels in fenders designed for 16×6.5 +45mm wheels (ie Subaru WRX stock wheel size) just as it does fitting a Shelby GT500 Supercharged 5.4L V8 into the bay where a 260 ci small block once lived, like the Pro-Touring Comet we featured.

Ill-Touring or DetroitFlush… Starts with a Detroit classic, add Pro-Touring modifications like big brakes, upgraded suspension, interior and exterior updates and a modern EFI mill. Then add aggressive flush fitting wheels. Both Pro-Touring and HellaFlush movements are gaining momentum and the definitions will continue to morph. As an example, check this RX-7 ‘vert with a Mustang 5.0L featured on Speedhunters. For this discussion, let’s ask Willy Wonka. The candyman would say, “Strike that, reverse it”. Take the RX-7’s wheel fitment and transplant it onto a ‘64 Ford Falcon Sprint or ‘72 Chevy Nova SS. Today, we won’t dive into the HellaFlush ways of the force in achieving perfect wheel fitment, but to simplify, the Cliff Notes version would say: fender flares, fender rolling and massaging, serious negative camber, stretching tires, stiff adjustable coilovers, and wide low offset wheels.

Any hot rod artists on board want to bust out some renderings of this concept? I’ll take one of a ‘64 Falcon in white running either a Turbocharged original inline-6 or high revving 289 with black Rota Torque R’s in 18″x9.5″ all around, a CF front splitter, rolled fenders, and nasty front camber. Anyone else see the potential I see or am I off my roller rockers? Time will tell… maybe I need to build my own Ill-Touring Falcon to demonstrate my illness.

Let’s hear what you have to say! Is Ill-Touring crazy cool, or just crazy! Tell us about your own crazy hot rod ideas. Leave a comment below!

Hechtspeed

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