Winter!
While I don’t agree, I can sort of understand where the majority of our population is coming from when they say dumping thousands of dollars into a car is an awful investment. Sure you won’t see that money again but for us car enthusiasts every penny spent comes with an extremely high dividend in the personal enjoyment sector. However sometimes even we make mistakes by purchasing an unnecessary part or ordering the wrong thing completely. For myself, purchasing a set of dedicated winter wheels with blizzack’s(the best snow tires money can buy) was appearing to be one of those mistakes given our incredibly mild winter. Until Saturday that is.
All week I had been watching the weather hoping and praying for even a couple inches of powder. As Thursday dawned upon us my hopes had been confirmed. Tomorrow, Friday night, would be the day my dreams come true. In final preparation I removed my carbon fiber front lip and side skirts to ensure they wouldn’t get torn off in the event of a repeat of last years storm and raised the car about an inch. I was still low, but ready. Friday night came and went without even the slightest threat of snow. Had the forecasters screwed us once again with one of their all to common mistakes or were the densely packed clouds simply stuck in some sort of climate traffic jam? I eventually went to bed disappointed but when I woke up and saw 8 unread text messages from every close friend with an AWD car I knew something was up. I rolled over, pulled the blinds to uncover what was just outside, peered out my window and there it was, SNOW!
The fourth quarter earnings on my investment had finally come in and just like that I was a millionaire(In that personal enjoyment department I mentioned earlier 
). I hopped out of bed, took the quickest shower of my life and was out the door without so much as a jacket. My cousin, Ryan, jumped in with me and we were off to the Smith Haven mall to partake in some sideways shenanigans.
When I arrived I was pleasantly surprised. Entire sections of the enormous parking lot had yet to be touched and it was as smooth as glass. Being that I’m familiar with this parking lot I knew there were no curbs to worry about and lucky enough for me I wasn’t the only one who chose this destination. Within a matter of minutes more than 7 cars had shown up ranging from Evo’s to Audi’s and even Max showed up in his Legacy. It was time to party.
It quickly appeared that I didn’t raise the car enough so after 30 minutes or so it was time to take a break and clear some snow out from behind my front bumper. During that time security stopped taking photo’s and decided it was time to kick us out. Not wanting to call it a day we traveled to a state park that was about 20 minutes away. Obviously we steered away from the main roads and took the curvy route that was predicted to be void of traffic. It was.
After a couple hours I had managed to burn through 3/4 of a tank of precious e85 so it was time to head back. I left Max with a parting gift and decided to head home where hot chocolate and fresh, out of the oven brownies were waiting for me. All and all it ended up being one of the best weekends since the summer. It was everything I had been waiting for and on the list of fun ways to spend my afternoon this without a doubt falls in my top 3. While the thought of selling my precious Subaru to upgrade into a Porsche or a GT-R has crossed my mind a bunch of times, it’s safe to say this weekend has ensured at least a few more months before that thought reoccurs. It’s time for me to get back to work but I’ll leave you with a few parting shots, which were all taken by professional photographer Will Mayer for his company Primary Visions. Enjoy your week!
-Matt Henderson
Maureen’s Kitchen Cruise
Mornings aren’t my friend. Never were, never will be but a text late last Friday night would have me up at the earliest sign of morning to appreciate the aggressive contour of a couple exotics and the exhaust notes of a handful of V10s.
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Patrice’s STi
The year came and went before I had an opportunity to blink. With meets and track days usually scheduled back to back during the season, a promise to Patrice to shoot his STi for a feature sat low on the list of priorities. But having heard that he planned to unload the Work XD-9′s due to their increasing popularity locally I knew that time was of the essence and it quickly became a priority. His portfolio of past ownerships would reveal his allegiance to the Honda/Acura moniker but his take on Subaru’s flagship vehicle would silence most insulting remarks. And now to the feature presentation…
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Specs Sheet:
2006 Subaru WRX STi
BC Coilovers
HTA68 Turbo
Perrin Stealth Front Mount
Work XD9s 18×10 +18
PNP Headers
740cc Injectors
Defi Gauges
TGV Deletes
Invidia Downpipe
GReddy TIC catback exhaust system
Sorry Mom!
My mom knows what’s up for the most part when it comes to my STi, which is why getting her to step inside proves to be Mission: Impossible. Well thankfully this afternoon I managed to lure her in with the promise of a short trip around the block to Autozone since she wanted to score some new rubber mats and I needed a fresh bottle of carwash soap and quick detail. The journey started off slow, like any drive typically would, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see her reaction to the violent punch my big turbo STi packs. Without further delay, here’s my moms reaction secretly caught on tape. Sorry Mom! I love you!
-Matt Henderson
Constant
In the whirlwind that is life, everything around us is constantly changing. Every day, every hour, every second social and mental variances are taking place but in order to function we, or myself at least, need at least one constant. It took me a while but thankfully I found this in the form of Candice, my Satin White Pearl STi. A long time ago, so long in fact that I didn’t even own this car yet, I had a conversation with a person that used to be my constant, a person that ended up being nothing but a constant patch of quicksand, about how my not yet purchased STi would be the main object in my life. Well time passed and truth be told that idea couldn’t have been any more accurate. Candice and I have had our up’s and down’s but she’s withstood every ounce of power and abuse via no-lift-shifts with a smile just long enough to flash those pearly whites before beating every competitor across the finish line. She’s high maintenance but knows how to get dirty in an instant and nothing has given me a greater satisfaction than turning her into the devil she is today. I spend a lot of time in the garage wrenching and working, most recently solving a nasty breakup problem under boost which began at the track and happened to be caused by oldish NGK plugs. While it took me a little while to devise a way to fit my rather large hands into the limited space between the block and the frame I eventually got all 4 out and back in. She fired right up and a quick test drive confirmed that my guess was correct and just like that Candice was happy again. It’s little things like these, having small issues and solving them that keeps me level. So this is a post dedicated to all those “Do-It-Yourselfers”. Don’t be afraid to get your hands cut up because at the end of the day you’ll be able to say you did it on your own.
Night ya’ll.
-Matt Henderson
Yo BRO!
Ugh after hours of traveling, Spilner and I have returned from the BudLight Port Paradise Cruise. Three words can define the adventure; Beer, Bros and… this requires very little thought, HOs, young and old. “Like” our Facebook page to see the few shots we managed to get.
FRENCH
P.S. I am getting everyones’ submissions for posts. They will be shared! 
Photo Credit Dexter Sanchez
Happy Halloween!
Show Time!
Tomorrow marks the day my legitimate interview process begins and I’ll be honest, for the first time in a while I’m actually nervous. Typically I’m very good with keeping a level head and staying calm but being that this isn’t your typical interview with a local retail outlet there’s a lot at stake. Meeting at 4 and 5 star restaurants in Manhattan for “interviews” and sitting at a table with senior executives isn’t something I’m familiar with but I suppose it’s something I could get used to. What I accomplish tomorrow could shape my career path for the next 30 years so it’s pretty important that I’m impressive. In search of some pre-sleep motivation I turned to the one place that gets my juices flowing, Luxary4play. It didn’t take me long to find ADV1′s latest murci creation and it’s exactly what I needed to see. Time to make these dreams come true!
Photo’s by: ADV1
-Matt Henderson
Island Import Day October 23, 2011
It’s hard to believe that the season is approaching its conclusion. With the warm weather behind us, the cold weather present and the very cold looming in the near future, we’ve been attempting to cover every meet, race and “gathering” within reason. With appointments to roll 3 cars’ fenders earlier that morning Spilner and I were a bit discouraged as to if we would be able to attend Island Import Day’s season finale. But the inability of a BMW 135i to hold their appointment provided us with an opportunity to go and doing so I made sure to go nuts and shoot every f$%kin’ photo-worthy gem insight.
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Do you have it, guts!
Photogenic much?
Kevin Markland has a mustache
Not something you see everyday, on air
The character behind the Jag
The instigator
Millan’s “race car”
No fires will be put out with these old extinguisher bottles
But tattoo artist Anthony Mealie’s GTI will be laying low
The Arthus helping Kevin make some adjustments
“Ass, ass, ass…” -Big Sean
Hip…ster.
Anthony’s little tree collection
“…Ass, ass, ass”
Red IS300/Altezza on polished CCWs
This guy was walking around with his daughter… Animale
Covered: Evo Vs. STi at Englishtown October 17, 2011
Englishtown Raceway, NJ once again played host to Evo vs STi. Although the event was scheduled the same day as First Class Fitment, competition always sparked our interest as creeping on another bro’s fitment isn’t as eventful as one would think. That being so the usual suspects, sans the Arthus and Huy who photographed FCF, and I advanced towards the 1320 early Saturday morning. After Spilner, Dirty, and F.Millan made respectable passes and quelled the doubts of a few, we packed up and made way to Atlantic City for an evening of debauchery and risk.
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WEEKEND!!
This is going to be a big one folks. Evo vs. Sti day at Englishtown, NJ is tomorrow and to be honest I’m super nervous/excited about it. Finally the day has come to line it up on the skidpad and see not only what my car has to offer but prove the skills I possess as a driver as well. When those sets of yellow lights flash and conclude with the final green I hope it sets me free and isn’t the last signal before breaking an axle. I’m hoping for a low 11sec pass and a trip to the tower but actions speak louder than words. The confidence I possess as a driver on the street is something that has proven to put me ahead while running cars that make a substantial amount more power, but the track is a different experience. Regardless of the turnout I’m ready for what the next 1320ft have in store for me. Can’t be scared. Come out and enjoy your Saturday afternoon! Subaru Power!!
-spilner
^Final Tune in prep.
Sunday.
When I woke up this morning with sunshine bursting through every slit in my window curtains I decided it would be a beautiful day to take a long trip out east and clear my head. It’s not too often that I get a chance to sit for a while and think about not only my past but my present as well, mostly because I’m so concentrated on my future, but every so often I feel as though I need to take some time to simply sit and think about things. When this time comes I head to a place that hardly anyone I’ve ever met knows about, a marina way out in Greenport where my family’s boat used to be docked. With nothing but car keys, an iced tea and my iphone 4(to take some photo’s along the way) I headed out around 10:45am.
Having forgot that we’re now in the month of October I was a bit surprised to see dozens of “Pick-Your-Own-Pumpkin” stands buzzing with families. While I didn’t pick any pumpkins for myself I took a minute to pull over and think back to my days of walking through corn mazes and riding hay rides. After a couple minutes of people watching however it was time to continue onward towards my destination. I still had a while to go.
Sod farms, dirt roads, tractors left and right, there’s something beautiful about eastern Long Island. It’s almost mind blowing to see how different life can be considering how near we are to the hustle and bustle of New York City. If you were to blindfold a typical New Yorker and drive out here they would probably assume they were taken to a place somewhere in the Mid-West. As my journey continued I came around the last few bends and arrived around 12pm. The weather began to change as clouds came overhead and the intense sunshine from a few miles back shifted into a dimly lit setting which was a bit strange, but aided in my attempt to take some cool pictures. These two were taken on the long driveway into the marina itself.
When I pulled into the marina parking lot I drove towards the private beach. My legs were begging for a rest thanks to my newly installed ACT 6puck, so I walked down to the water and sat on a conveniently placed bench. Thanks to Mother Nature the sun came back overhead about as fast and strangely as it had left and the temperature had to have increased about 10degrees. That’s what it felt like at least. After sitting on that bench just thinking and relaxing for about 40minutes I decided to see if any good pictures were to be had.
Having felt as though I succeeded in my attempt to have a mental degaussing, I got back into the drivers seat and shoved off. The drive home didn’t take as long as I thought it would and a part of me wished it would have taken longer. Now I’m back at my desk with a textbook laid open to my left and a copy of The Wall Street Journal on my right. Reality is back and it’s time to start studying for an unavoidable test that will be waiting for me at 7:30 tomorrow morning. I hate mondayssssss. I’ll leave you with a couple last shots, all of which were taken with my iphone! (camera + app.)
Photography by myself, Matt Henderson!
-spilner
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
The Head Ache Part 3…is it done yet!!!
Yes it is!!! kinda. But honestly when is a project ever done. There’s always odds and ends to clean up, figure out, or just change cause thats how we are. With my project its no different. After a few more set backs and hiccups I finally got it up to Bethel CT for some Efi lovin’. (more…)
Hawk.
Stumbled upon this on the Long Island Subaru Club board. I can’t get over how good these SBC RPF1′s look on this color hawkeye. Thumbs up.
Photo’s by Aaron.
-spilner
Taking A Walk on the Wild Side
If you’ve been hesitant to join us on our most eventful facebook page you’ve probably managed to miss this video. Don’t wait any longer.
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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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Just The Tip- Botti’s STI
This weekend I had the pleasure of shooting a friend of mine’s STI that’s been up and down for as long as I’ve known of the car. Like any photographer taking enough shots to satisfy an appetite always seems to be a good idea, that is until you need to edit them after the fact… Full post tomorrow
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Lunch Break.
Being that I got screwed by my school into a 5pm class when I was originally supposed to finish my day at 12, I now find myself sitting around trying to concoct ways to pass time. Studying seems to be my main solution but being that the semester has only just begun the work load is still relatively minute so here I am, surfing the internet on a quest to find something new and interesting to share with you guys and gals. Finding something new and interesting, however, is sort of beginning to become a difficult task… kinda like Long Island girls. For some while now my senses have started to notice people modifying their cars in an effort to be “cool” and to fit in with everyone else as opposed to doing it for themselves. Jumping on bandwagons and riding the stance train has become the standard for much of the community and in my particular area it’s becoming evident that some people just don’t have heart. The spirit of competition is something that’s necessary in any environment, don’t get me wrong, but taking the easy/cheap way out and running off at the mouth the minute some minor progress is made shouldn’t be taking place. In society as a whole there are originators and imitators and respect should be acknowledged in accordance with that. Logan is one of originators and while I’ve posted pictures of his car before, here are some that haven’t made it on here prior to this post. He’s pretty lucky that to this day he’s got something unique and even if the main reason is the fact that his budget is pretty astronomical it doesn’t change little things like his JDM roof vent and being one of the only people I have ever seen to remove the black vinyl around the door frames. I remember when I first got my setup and was the only person with it. womp.
Photo’s by Logan himself
-spilner
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
Swaggin’ Wagons
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an interest in one day riding a station wagon with swag for a daily. I’m not talking about a wood-body-paneled Buick Roadmaster here. I’m talking a Suby wagon, or something Euro, low, on wide wheels. Plus, the more balls, the better. My recent decision to purchase an inexpensive, dedicated track car instead of a fancy weekend car that can also do track duty has me seriously considering fulfilling this fantasy now. Our own Brian Arthus and Spilner have the Saab/Suby wagon thing down…plus I wasn’t particularly fond of my previous ’08 STi. Because it will see daily commuter duty, it’s got to be comfy. A little luxury would be nice. Decent on gas would be nice too, as I’ve become very accustomed to filling my Hybrid Civic up once a week and squeezing 400+ miles out of a tank of gas. Also, automatic (traffic, derp). So with that in mind, I am narrowing down my choices to an Audi A4 Avant wagon. B7 or B8 preferably. Which in turn has me scouring the interweb looking at pictures. Here’s a select few that’ve inspired me.
-e
Worthless Words
Nowadays with expanding forums and internet discussion boards voicing your individual opinion for the world to see has never been easier and having the ability to hide behind an anonymous username while doing so gives people the confidence to speak their truth, right or wrong. However, the longer you hang out on these virtual chat rooms the more you tend to realize that with certain websites the people who speak the most typically know the least about what they’re arguing. Web trolls enjoy sitting on their computers accomplishing nothing each and every day except for ranting and raving in threads, filling them with useless information that nobody except themselves care about. Useless posts eventually lead to threads getting closed and while the troll feels as though he won, the only thing he did was make himself look pathetic. My good friend Vlad and his custom painted bugeye can certainly attest to these types. Good thing for us he possesses confidence and that “I don’t give a f*ck” attitude, which has awarded him ton’s of praise as well as a top 3 finish in the infamous “Top Scoob” competition on NASIOC. I’m happy to announce that Vlad’s Rota G-forces have come off and were replaced with a super deep dish set of Work xd9′s, which he was waiting months for. The car IMO looks spectacular. Kudos!
Photography by none other than Quan Duong.
-spilner
My kinda internet troll
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
Man Up
Take responsibility for your actions. If the outcome you’ve arrived at is a result of your own inputs then accept it. Stop communicating shit and expect the outcome to change.
As many of you may or may not know I’ve manage to destroy my Amuse front bumper within 3 weeks of ownership… unlike a boss. Am I upset, not particularly, but a reflection upon my actions would suggest that I “track out” more when exiting those “hairy” turns. Challenge accepted
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What’s Next?
Time is running out, summer 2k11 is nearing an end, and within the next couple weeks I’ll be back sitting at my desk writing essays and figuring out 20+ step statistical equations in order to determine the best way a corporation should manage their financial risk. Soon the warm summer breeze will disappear once again for what seems like forever and the green grass covering my front lawn with vanish beneath inches of powdery white snow. Previously, when mother nature decided it was time to create ice skating rinks of our highways and back country ski slopes of our local roads my STi found itself forcibly sitting in the warm comfortable garage while others were out partying. Being that my gal sits only a couple inches off the ground and the procrastination to buy a winter wheel/tire setup got the best of me, I didn’t have much of a choice. But this winter I reckon things will be a bit different. This afternoon I found myself rummaging through winter threads on NASIOC and for the first time in a while I honestly got excited for the changing seasons.
Being that I want to move to South Beach or California within the next couple years this notition of excitement was a bit peculiar for even myself. When I was younger, as with any child, I loved nothing more than a snowball fight and an igloo build, but as I aged snow became nothing more than an inconvience to my lower back compliments of shoveling and a house arrest sentence being that I couldn’t drive anywhere without risking damage to my precious car. While I felt good about the fact that my car wasn’t getting pounded with salt and sand, I still felt like a bit of a piker seeing all my friends out and about snow drifting till early hours of the morning.
So after a little while on NASIOC I left and proceeded straight to google. My research has commenced and with a local set of 04-07 STi bbs stockers for sale it appears that this winter “Candice” will get to play with her Subaru friends. The coilovers will come off and get replaced with the stock suspension and if all goes to plan a roof rack will get fitted and my k2 ski’s will get thrown up top. I’d love to make it to Vermont more than a handful of times unlike previous seasons and closer Mountains like Mt. Creek will hopefully turn into my weekend home away from home. I might be jumping the gun with these thoughts being that September hasn’t even began but who ever said proper planning was a bad thing? Later!
-spilner
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