Vacation
This past weekend I had the luxury of taking a short 3 day cruise to the Bahamas with the family.. After returning we met up with some family in Coral Springs, Florida.. I then get a message from Sheldon saying he lives 10 minutes away.. This lead to us meeting up and me snapping a few photos of his nicely put together AP1… Enjoy!
Full set can be found HERE!!!!
-Chris Amodei-
Full set can be found HERE!!!!!!
Stolen
As much as I’d like to have a “daily” gum scraper like the EG bubble below or the Acura Integras I’ve been sharing, the idea of having it stolen at every moment is incredibly discouraging. SMH
FRENCH
photo credit: unknown
Follow Your Heart
“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” - Steve Jobs
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Vyets S2000 from Felix A. Lim and Simon Nguyen
H20i featuring Scraped.Crusaders.
Although the weekend was filled with rain, thousands still traveled down(and up) to Ocean City, Maryland for one of the biggest VW shows on the East Coast. I met a lot of new people and had the chance to see some old friends. I got the opportunity to meet some of the guys from Scraped.Crusaders. Having been a fan of Gill’s Legacy for some time now, it was exciting to finally see it in person. If you haven’t already, you will definitely be seeing Matt’s, who goes by DeathLens on Flickr, photos floating around the net. He put together an impromptu shoot on our last night down there to really give the event a nice closing. Here is the result…
brian | arthus
Check out DeathLens’ Flickr HERE.
http://scrapedcrusaders.com/
Dynamic STI
Having already shared BBS LMs on about every make and model, it is of no surprise that this black 04-05 STi looks so appealing. WINNING
FRENCH
photo credit: unknown
Little Devil…
When it comes down to it, the world of modifying cars is somewhat of a boys club. We spend our hard-earned dollars on those parts that will give us that edge over the next guy. Coilovers, wheels, exhaust. You know the deal. Every once in a while you come across a female that shares that mentality. It’s especially exciting when you have the pleasure of meeting a lady that has a great project to show for it.
Meet Ashley Rowland and her 2005 Mini Cooper S. The Mini was picked up earlier this year with the intention of building something new. Having previously owned a Mk4 GTI on coils and RS’s, she wanted to get out of the VW world. It all started with a 15% reduction pulley for the supercharger to add the little extra on the daily drive. The next step was a natural one. Suspension and some new shoes.
Replacing the stock springs and struts would be a set of BC Racing coilovers. After the initial install and some tweaking she realized that the stock front coilover springs were a bit too tall for her intentions. A new shorter set was ordered and installed as soon as they arrived. Now that the ride height had been sorted, a set of wheels was in order.
Using some Adaptec Speedware, Ashley fitted some 16×8.5 C4 Corvette Salad Shooters with a 205/40 Falken 512 tire for a nice stretch. The simple fact that Minis can pull off 16’s is something that I envy. The Vette wheels make for a great example. The static ride height speaks for itself and the fitment is on point.
This is only the beginning for this car. I look forward to seeing what is next to come. Ashley has already attacked the interior with some suede on the headliner and pillars. I’m sure she already has a new set of wheels in mind. Look out for this thing down at H20i. It’s a whole other experience in person.
Check out the full set HERE.
-Brian Arthus
New roller’s!!
Once again I switched up my wheel setup… I found myself not being able to hold onto a set of wheels for longer than a month to a month and a half… Sure I sold my Work XD-9′s and picked up a set of replica’s (Varrstoen’s), but truthfully…. I was totally over the look of my car with the Work’s on it, so I bought an affordable, more aggressive wheel.. Spilner has not stopped breaking my balls about it, hopefully he stops soon, but knowing him… he probably wont.
The rest of the photo’s can be found here!!!!
-Chris Amodei-
Feature Presentation- Botti’s STI
Builds of this caliber usually come with the help of sponsors or some sort of immediate financial gain in the form of an inheritance, the lottery, settlement or perhaps the result of someone’s hard work. This lovely example of a hawkeye STI comes to us by means of a local privateer otherwise known as Botti, a name that should resonate with most people in the Long Island Subaru Club, if not local and distant familiarize yourself.
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Murphy’s Law- 964
Today’s work day could be defined by a single phrase, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong” and of no help were my resources nor coworkers who commented on any mistake, inaccuracy, or delusion that found its way towards my desk. Regardless, the past is the past and this evening presents a number of options that are sure to put to rest any negativity that may have managed to follow me home after hours.
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I wish every day was like this 964
Value Wheels
The image below displays a wheel that divides the house into two parties, one of which appreciates the appearance and price of the XXR wheel and the other, a party who will attempt to list every dissatisfaction with life (and death) that could possibly be related to the mag. In my opinion, as if counts anything anywhere but here, XXR has managed to release a wheel that not only works with the most budget minded tuner but is also relatively unique in comparison to their previous offerings and the products of other economy wheel companies. Win, Lose, or Draw? Win
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photocredit: unknown
Slow and Slutty…
The Chevrolet Cobalt SS was one of GM’s entries in the world of sport compacts. With it’s Eaton supercharged 2.0L Ecotec 4 cylinder it certainly had the numbers to compete. The suspension was tuned on the famed Nürburgring in Germany. So it was safe to say it had it’s roots planted firmly in the motorsports world. Enter Mike Cosentino, a Long Island native that decided to make his Cobalt SS a little different.
Mike had a vision in mind that strayed far from the path of the average Cobalt owner. He fancied the fitment game and wanted in. There would be obstacles but nothing a creative mind and garage full of tools couldn’t tackle.
Using a set of ep3 Civic coilovers that were given to him by a friend he retrofitted the fronts and the project was underway. The Cobalt uses a solid beam for the rear suspension setup. Mike fabricated his own shims and dialed in his camber and toe by himself to get that rear fitment. He also shaped the rear fenders by himself in the driveway. Combine those two DIY mods with the addition of a mini-tub, he was able to fit the 18×9.5 -8(after adapter) Rota P45R in the rear.
Getting the front on the ground wasn’t exactly a picnic either. While the retrofitted coils allowed him to drop the front relatively easily the suspension was not happy. After going through a few axles Mike realized something had to be done to relieve the driveline of its geometrical woes. A custom lower motor mount and well as a rotated transmission mount were fabricated to solve this problem. This made for a much smoother and not so costly driving experience.
At the end of the day Mike is just another car guy doing his own thing. His build may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it is his pride and joy. Blood, sweat and tears have been poured into it via countless hours in the garage. I applaud his DIY approach and this car definitely falls under the moniker of Built not Bought.
View the full set HERE.
-Brian
Spotted: Dirty’s Old S2000
Dirty’s old S2000 has managed to find its way back to the pages of ILE via Franco in New Jersey. Looking super clean on the popular XXR wheels, it always a pleasure to see cars of this caliber survive.
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Photographer and current owner: Franco R
Track’d Integra
Insert wordy literary piece about how much I appreciate this car and something unrelated that has happened to me or will happen.
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please don’t insert a comment about the wing. Yes, I know the car is FWD but it is used to neutralize steering, derp.
S14 Friday
I caught this S14 at some event at Englishtown early this season and what I appreciate most about the Nissan is how modest it is. No crazy stretch, no wild offset wheels or “drift” type bodykit, just OEM+ style. A gentleman.
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DooDoo Brown…
Mike Wasserman’s Porsche Macadamia Metallic bugeye has been one of my personal favorites for quite some time now. I was able to grab a few shots of it at this past weekend’s Island Import Day. I look forward to getting a real shoot in of it sooner than later. Take a gander at these for now.
-Brian
Influence
First and foremost the staff at ILE are friends before anything and that being so the truth which hurts so much is communicated to the fullest of detail. Most of us owning an s2000 before or currently know how capable the platform is, but few of us know more than E. Having had 2 AP1s and a turbo AP2, his newest and 4th s2k will live its unnatural life along side mine gracing the circuit. WINNING
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PHOTOS BY THE TALENTED: Sheldon Tran Photo
problem?
Success: Rotiform’d 996 Porsche
By now you’ve seen a considerable amount of “dream” cars shared by none other than Spilner but what would ultimately capture my interests is how these obviously wealthy individuals accumulated the amount of disposable income to own these cars. To me success isn’t defined by a financial amount, it is measured by how far an individual has come, in other words their achievements/merits, which is why this ’02 C4s graces ILE below. On the lot, the 911 isn’t the premier selection but with some very special modifications to a few select areas the 996 would compete for your attention beside any Porsche offering. Characterize yourself not by comparing yourself to others but by how you measure up against your own expectations. “Do not expect the worst, hope for the best.” “Shoot for the stars, land on the moon.”
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Holla Dolla.
Ignore the title. It was the first thing that popped into my head. I can’t really say why. It’s not that I don’t want to, I really just don’t know. The work day is nearing it’s end and I am feeling anxious.
I met up with Mr. Amodei yesterday to get some more shots of the Saab. After a little episode at the camera shop we were on our way to the top of a local university’s parking garage. The fact that they were now charging for entrance to said parking garage seemed to irk Chris quite a bit. I manned up and payed the 2 bucks. 
Once we were up there Chris got to his thing. Then there was me with nothing else to do, so I started snapping some shots on my own of the freshly painted S2000. Whenever I leave the house I always seem to forget something. Whether it’s my sunglasses or that bagged lunch I actually prepare the night before to take to work. This time I forgot my tripod. Basically that’s my excuse for only getting a few shots. It was getting dark and I don’t have the steadiest hands. Anyway here are a couple I snapped. Check the rest in a set on my Flickr.
-Brian
Discuss: Critical
Taking moment to put not only myself but also ILE in a position of judgement from an unbiased perspective it would appear that recently we’ve been taking a rather critical position on all things automotive related amongst other subjects. Given this is a medium of which we pay for and further more control, we could just flip everyone the bird and go on with our bad self but with respect to the automotive community and our followers I’ll address the issue with tact and sincerity.
The thought came to mind as would any topic of interest would, through inspiration. A conversation, exactly, although not immediately related brought into realization how opinionated we have become, passing judgement and analyzing every detail of ones build and life. To our defense, it’s just what becomes of the enthusiast when all of his/her previous expectations are fulfilled and the fine line between what’s awesome and what is mediocre is less definitive.
An inspection of myself uncovered this query; Who am I to criticize someone’s pride and joy… besides a gentleman and scholar with great tastes (kidding… almost)? In all seriousness, the decisions people make and the lifestyle they’ve selected is solely their choice and my opinion is, well, just that.
Bringing this topic full circle. I wanted to thank everyone for contributing their $0.02 (“two cents”) via our FACEBOOK and the comments section. The energy that drives this industry is strengthened within these channels and it leads to innovation that’ll hopefully reward innovators, and not imitators, resulting in faster, more reliable, attractive, sports cars.
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CCW, a brand that has become a standard amongst the fitment concerned, at least in my opinion, has earned its “stripes” in all avenues of tuning. Below 3 S2000′s wearing LM20s and Classics join an NA2 NSX
photo credit: unknown
You Can Get With This or You Can Get With That
Sergey and Miss S2K are no strangers to the internet as both of them are overnight sensations. As a couple bound not only by their affection towards each other but also by tuning it appears that their is a glimmer of hope in the World. With an MR2 as such and an S2000 that would snap the neck of any on looker it’s hard to imagine who caught whose attention first.
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Photo Credit: Ray Flores
About time……
The past 3 weeks of my life have been totally stressful. Before doing all the work, I thought doing a color change on an S2000 wouldn’t be that bad……………FALSE!!!! Not that it was terrible.. but it’s a serious amount of work. But in the end, it all paid off!! Also picked up a set of XD-9′s and went about an inch lower than I was on the old wheels…. Stay tuned for the full shoot/feature!!
-Chris Amodei-
The Darkness
This Mazda Miata proves that somethings are better black and white… slammed, stretched and poked.
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photo credit unknown
Karim Kerawala’s NA Mazda Miata
It’s late and I’m tired but the motivation I have to write fueled by the fact that I know you upstanding ladies and gentlemen will read this pushes me beyond my physical capacity. With many of my short term goals nearing their point of success I’ve got nothing but energy to share Karim Kerawala’s NA Mazda Miata. Having expressed his love for and loyalty towards IvyLeagueEast in an email submission, it would be an injustice not to share the gum scraper. WINNING
FRENCH
photcredit: FRESH
Winning 350z
There is something about a good looking car that catches everyones attention and at that moment not a single f$%& is given. Whether it be a small child, a gorgeous girl or gentleman pushing his beater daily it’s a minute where all your time and money pays off. The smile or wave by an hot broad when I glance over is usually the most valuable compliment but I’m never disappointed by a “thumbs up.” Have you never received either I ask that you think about what you’re doing wrong?
FRENCH
photo credit unknown
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