This Facebook post...

Chances are you have seen this abomination at some point over the past few days as it has gone viral on social media. If, by chance, you have not seen it, it initially surfaced on a VQ or Z/G page on Facebook with the popular "YOHB?" caption. It looks like sheet metal fastened to the fenders of a G35 with a nail gun. After being shared numerous times, a comical troll wrote a post with the picture attached thanking a replica aero company. Screenshots below.

Kind of funny, no? I am reposting this atrocity not for its comedic value, however. I am reposting this because the replica company's (that does not actually make this "aero") response caught my attention.

Over the years I have been cautious about posting links to websites or names of companies or vendors on this blog for this very reason. I do not wish to be the impetus behind a replica company expanding their grasp on the market or putting more money into their uncreative, greedy pockets; money they otherwise may have never seen. 

I do not know if this poorly translated post by this replica company is actually true or not, but I do know that I dislike their arrogance, ignorance, and insolence. Take some pride in your ride. Do not support these companies.


Be the Funk. Don't Fake it.

JDMphasis… Innovation over Imitation

Big things coming from Varis...

Admittedly, I am not very knowledgeable in most things Evo. I do know that I like the Evo VIII and, maybe more so, the Evo X. Especially when it has received the Varis treatment.

Remember this beauty?

(Capture Credit: Rob Shaw, Back from Leave Spark)

And a render of the new widebody set to debut at SEMA this year. This is going to be epic!

(Artwork: Naohiro Yahagi)

I implore you to point me in the direction of a company selling replica parts that is doing the R&D and bringing designs like this to the market. You cannot.

Be Real. Buy Real.

JDMphasis… Innovation over Imitation

"Replica wheels are just as good as 'Real' wheels!"

Oh, yeah?

Appears pretty satisfied with the replica purchase...

The pictures below are authentic wheels that have "failed." I suppose I would rather have my wheel bend or warp upon heavy impact, as opposed to shattering or practically disintegrating. But, then again, I am just an elitist...

JDMphasis… Innovation over Imitation

Amusing Photography...

My affinity for the parts of the Japanese Domestic Market is not based on a personal assessment of performance superiority. It is about design, quality, and attention to detail. Likely my biggest obsession of the industry, Power House Amuse is quite possibly the superlative of JDM parts. Hardly boring or run-of-the-mill, the products that come out of their facility in Chiba are not simply functional components to be admired momentarily pre-installation only to be forsaken shortly after brusque acknowledgment of any performance benefit or gain. Every Amuse part contains an all-too-real element of genuine automotive artistry.

Beautiful Quad Set-Up on this 250GT

JDMphasis… Innovation over Imitation

Project Z33: One [Small] Step at a Time...

Last week was a good week as it relates to the Z project. Personally, my week was awful. Automotive-ly, very good.

As many of you know, I began purchasing parts for the Z minutes after I arranged transport of the vehicle from Pennsylvania. (I may have even made a few purchases before I even owned the car.) I have parts piled up here in Massachusetts. I had parts piled up in Bulletproof Automotive's warehouse in California. They had been there for well over a year just collecting dust. I had been in semi-serious conversation with, at this point, three different people from Bulletproof about the prospect of shipping my Z out to the West Coast in stock form and having them execute the build top to bottom completely transforming the car in a sort of radical 'Before and After' experiment. However, ultimately, I decided against this, in large part, due to the financial implications.

Anyway, I received a few large boxes last week. It was like Christmas morning as a little kid. An enthusiasm for this build has been heightened. I elected not to unwrap every single part, as I knew it would be a chore to re-wrap and box everything up again for storage, as I have a strong feeling it will be a while before I am able to begin work on the car. 

Just imagine - had I chosen a replica body kit, eBay exhaust, and Varrstoen wheels, I could already be rolling around in an e-famous Z build. Doing things right with legitimate parts is such a drag!


A few teasers of the newly acquired swag:

Amuse Super 'Custom' Legerra R1 Black Titan Exhaust w/ Long Tips… YUP!

I love this stuff!

I'm really diggin' the mean and clean look of this exhaust system. 

INGS+1 Type-E Rear

INGS+1 Z-Power Wing Type II. Stoked for this thing!

Runduce.

Front 8-POT caliper w/ 380MM rotor. (The color is more of a traditional orange than these pictures suggest.)

The $20 is for scale… And to illustrate my remaining build budget.

JDMphasis… Innovation over Imitation