Random Nightlight | Reintroduction: Daniel's Twin-Turbo Z

February 8, 2012

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

Daniel's twin-turbo Z
I've been looking through my past features and coverages during this past week and realized how horrible I was with editing. I'm sure many of you guys who are into photography know exactly what I'm talking about  and I'm pretty positive some of you guys looked through my site wasn't pleased with some the photography part of Night Import. Don't worry, I won't hate you (^_^) Well, to make things better, I'm re-working on all of those photos, such as the set on Carl's IS. Today, I'm going to reintroduce Daniel Spielman's twin-turbo 350Z from Team Hybrid. There will be no descriptions on any of the mods or so because his ride has already been featured last year. To check it out, click here.
Enjoy the photos!

Nightlight | Memorable Rides of 2011

December 30, 2011

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

The rides in SoCal's Finest Rides #1 deserved much more props because of the owner's activeness and their flawless rides. It's difficult to manage a show-car and on top of that, daily driving it or taking it out to meets. I'm much stoked to see how those cars will change next year!

Continuing on from where I left off yesterday, today's feature will be one of my favorites out of all. First off, let me mention that I've never been to other states to spectate a car show other than seeing coverage's done by other blogs and sites. My judgment and decisions were based off of seeing these cars in person, meaning most of them were located in Southern California and were scrutinized with my enthusiastic attention. Many of us already know Southern California is pretty much the heart of car shows so it's not such a surprise when one comes across a gorgeously modified car and then seeing it exposed worldwide.
The cars that will be shown today will be the ones I personally thought were the best from the many I've seen this year. I'm talking about exceptional and outrageously built cars that are now recognized by many enthusiasts around the world. It was very challenging to pick ten cars out of all the beautiful ones I've observed, but I think I made the right choices. You'll obviously recognize some of them, but for those who just stepped into the scene, get ready to be surprised and inspired.

*Order of cars shown below was not based off of ranking but by random.


Night Import Choice #1
RWBs
It was a dream-come-true when I actually got to see Nakai-san's work in person at SEMA. RAUH-Welt Begriff has been in the scene for years, but reading about this company as a blogger was not too long ago. After seeing the builds and video provided by Maiham Media, RWB Porsche 911s became one of my favorite modified cars. Who knows? I might buy a 911 in the near future and go with RWB (^-^)

Random Nightlight | Change

November 28, 2011

Night Import: Photography by me and other sites | Words by William Lee

After realizing it's been little over a year now since joining the 'scene', I took some time to look at my past, seeing what I've done so far and the changes that occurred around me since the beginning till now. This random thought and idea came up after talking with one of my inspirations, Ben Schaffer from Bulletproof Automotive. We were talking about various things related to the automotive community and one topic we discussed about was how I became involved with you guys. For those who don't know me too well or about this blog, I didn't start off by knowing car owners or even companies. Matter of fact, I didn't know anyone except a few people on forums. It was a network friendship/relationship and like many of us, it's not easy to approach those who we talk with online when it comes to an in-person situation, so most of my time going to meets or events was just... me and my camera! I had no intentions in the beginning to promote who I was or what I did because the reason why I started was nothing more than the passion and love I had toward cars. But constantly going out to meets or events was sort of a way to approach people. If I didn't know who they were, they knew me because of seeing me at least once a week. It's now to the point where people say "why isn't William covering this event," or "where the hell is he?" I'm not trying to put myself in the spotlight, but that's really what I've been noticing. I personally and honestly think I'm not a major part of this community nor created a positive image to Medias and Bloggers, but a natural behavior became a habit, and that's what brought me and my blog to where it is today.

I get plenty of questions from many of my friends and fans, and one question I come across pretty often is their curiosity on how I managed to go to events and meets constantly while not getting tired of it. I think this is what makes people who start blogs decide to quit within a few months because of repetition. You go out there and see the same cars, same people, same vendors, etc. But really, isn't that the enjoyment? This is why I decided to write this post, to show you guys some cars I've seen when I first started and how much it progressed throughout the year.

Minh's IS -15

FD Final-76
I still remember as if it was yesterday when I first saw Minh Nguyen's IS. I'm pretty sure almost everyone in this community knows Minh's ride because of its outstanding fitment on Enkei RPF1s powdercoated by Simple Wheel Werks. Wherever this car went, it was breaking necks 24/7. Not too long ago, he decided to get another IS and do something different. As you can see in the second photo, Minh decided to go VIP style and although I didn't get to look at his car in depth, I can already tell he did an outstanding job.

Random Nightlight | 350Z Porsche Panamera

November 7, 2011

Night Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

350Z Porsche
Walking around every aisle inside and out at SEMA, you would occasionally come across cars you've never seen before or just impressed with one's modifications. Once in a while, you'll also come across a group of people looking at a car and scratching their heads, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. I've seen some amazing builds, such as a widebody GT-R R35 and fully converted steel widebody S2000, but what really surprised me and at the same time, made me clueless for a good minute, was this 350Z all the way from Japan. Wait..350Z? You're probably looking at the car and saying to yourself, "No f'ing way..." but truth be told, it really is a 350Z with a Porsche Panamera kit. I was standing here where I took the photo above, trying to find out the actual model like those guys you see doing the same. When we think about it though, it's from Japan and as usual, Japan never ceases to amaze the world.

Special Coverage | Bulletproof's 11th Anniversary Car Meet

October 16, 2011

Night-Import: Photography and Words by William Lee

Bulletproof Meet-49
Managing my own personal blog for a year now led me to so many situations and through those situations, accomplishing goals within this scene. It might sound awkward to some of you guys when I say the word goal, but seeing so many different events occurring in a community, there are things you really want to see a change, such as improvements in certain fields of the automotive industry or giving some spotlight to those who deserve it. My intentions were straightforward when I created Night Import and so far, I have to say I've been doing a pretty darn good job. Naw, I don't think I'm being cocky at all because I still have a long way to go and lack the knowledge in many parts of this field, but looking through how I spent my past year in the car scene, there were times when I said to myself "Wow..serious?" because of feeling honored or just thrilled.

Few months ago when Bulletproof Automotive contacted me to be the main Media for their upcoming meet, I felt as if what I've been working for came to a point where it was all worth it.
Bulletproof is known for being a distributor of Japan aftermarket parts, but also for their blog, Real JDM. Unlike other companies, keeping things authentic is what this company is all about and if you read through their blog, you'll either see/read about their project cars or thoughts about the automotive industry, which is not doing so well today. You'll rarely come across blogs that talk about sensitive subjects and speak the truth, which is why I personally consider Bulletproof as one of the best companies and blogs out there today. Their 11th Anniversary meet held at K1 Speed in Torrance, CA yesterday was a day for those who followed Bulletproof for a long time or recent fans like me, knowing what was good and being supportive with originality . Although there weren't a crazy amount of cars like local night meets, this meet was more of quality than quantity.

Nightlight | Camberd is Back

February 28, 2011

Night-Import: Photography by William Lee

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We've seen it, heard about it, and loved it.
The car itself was full with surprises, not only with its stance, but the body work to make those low offset, large width wheels fit into the front fenders and rear quarter panels.
If you were amazed with its previous setup on Work VS-XX's featured on our site last year, then get ready to be even more amazed with its new setup.
Without further ado, here is Milt's 350Z, aka Candy.

Random Spotlight: Simple but Sexy

February 12, 2011

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It really depends on your taste; what to mod first or to do last. The majority, however, modify the suspension with getting true coilovers or getting the right set of wheels that flow well with the car. Today's featured ride is in that stage of starting but already looking good enough. Here's John's 350Z on CCW's from Vista, CA.

Crew Feature: Low N Slow

November 27, 2010

Night-Import: Photography by William Lee

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Always thinking of new ideas for our site, I would like to start a 'Crew/Team Feature'.
There are plenty of teams/crews out there that don't get enough recognition in the automotive community when they actually deserve a feature.

Living near the Valley area, I've always heard of this crew at various events and never had a chance to meet them when they lived close by. Somehow, I was introduced to one of the members from the team and had an opportunity to see all the members by going to their meets, such as the weekly Tuesday Pho-King meets and 818 Pavilion meet on Wednesdays. This crew is a group of guys who love to slam their rides with the perfect fitments. It's in their crew name, 'Low N Slow'.

Meet Coverage: BulletProof Automotive Meet & Greet

November 12, 2010

Night-Import: Photography by William Lee

Bullet -6

I love going to local meets and sometimes, meets that are a bit far but put together by good people.
Bulletproof Automotive/GT-RR/Bespoke Ventures started since 2000 and has been growing rapidly in the automotive community. The whole group being a family, they have a blog called "The Real JDM," updating automotive enthusiasts with various car related news and their own project cars. Having many fans checking their blog, they decided to create the first BulletProof Automotive meet & greet.
I was pretty surprised with the turn out.
100+ cars came to show and the company even brought their own cars including their project GT-R.

Spotlight: Double Z Double the Sexiness

October 15, 2010

Night-Import : Photography by Jim Davis

Nissan 350Z

In the whole fitment game, 350'z are probably one of the best looking cars in my list. Riding with wheels in an offset of -'s, slammed to the ground... if everything is done right, getting attention doesn't become optional but mandatory.
Our photographer, Jim Davis, did a photoshoot with these two sexy Z's from NYVermont.
Out of all the Z's I've been looking at, through blogs and in person, this is probably the only feature of 2 Z's with wings. Some of you guys might prefer the 'clean' look, but I'm loving it!

Event Coverage: House of Drift III

September 25, 2010

House of Drift -7_1

*Seems like I made a lot of mistakes identifying the cars that were at the event. Please leave a comment and corrections will be made. Seeing this event the 2nd time and not going to a lot of drift events, I don't know how people judge a "good" drift run. I wrote my OWN opinion, so please do not go crazy about how good or bad they were :)

If you guys catched up with some events I've been going to, 'House of Dirft' should sound familiar. It's an event for all levels, starters to pros, to drift like crazy at Irwindale Speedway. This one was the last drifting event for the year so a lot of people showed up. Like always, NOS was there and also King Taco (IMO, best taco's in LA).
Turn out was better than last time, but that was only the amount of people that came to spectate. The drifters that came yesterday weren't as good as before, but it was still entertaining. I heard a Mustang crashed into one of the walls before I went with my friend, so hope that drifter's ok.
Because I arrived when the sun was down, taking drifting shots was very difficult. So I focused on the cars that actually came to the event.

Event Coverage: S-Chassis Car Show

September 12, 2010

Night-Import: Photography by William Lee

Sept 11. Events -58-2

3 events were going on in one day...
and~~~~I managed to go to all 3 so good job to me :D

Pink on Z

September 2, 2010

Saw a post on the WFC forums and wanted to share this ride with you guys.
The owner didn't give me much information...actually..none at all, so i'll just show you guys some pics :)

Probably the shortest coverage out of all the ones i've done so far lol.

Anyways, I bet this car got A LOT of attention because of the wheel color.
The overall look of the car is very clean and the stance is on point.
Hoping it goes a bit lower. I'm guessing the wheels are from Varrstoen.

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350Z on DPE's

August 30, 2010

I loved 350Z's before I was into the hellaflush scene.
Overall style, performance...daym!

Now after checking out Milt's ride, I really fell in love with Z's even more.
Today's featured Z is one of those cars that I gaurantee you guys will fall in love with within seconds.

From Texas, here is Mando's blue 350Z on DPE's

Mando's Shoot


It's pretty darn hard to color match wheels for a blue car. Even when expensive wheels are slapped on and the colors don't match, the look of the car dies out. Mando chose the perfect color and wheels to match the sexiness of his blue Z.

Mando's Shoot

Can he go lower? I think he can :D

Mando's Shoot

Wheels/Suspension
DPE st-10 19x10 +0 225/35 19x11 245/35 wrapped on General exclaim uhp tires
K-sport version RR coilovers
SPC rear camber kit

Engine
JWT popcharger
Skunk2 plenum spacer
Agency power exhaust
Uprev tuned

Exterior/Interior
Nismo style front lip
Bumper tuck
Black emblems, door handles, and antenna
JVC 7" double din
Farenheit 7" secondary monitor for dual screen setup
PS2
Jl audio 10" w6 paired with Jl audio 500/1 v2 amp
Mando's Shoot

That is one of the hottest, sexiest looking rear ever.

Mando's Shoot

I'm loving this car more and more. Stance is right, has quality....ffff

Mando's Shoot

One heck of a mean looking car. Stock Z's are still good looking cars. Don't get me wrong, they do come in stock height and might look weird, but the overall look of the car is slick. But once it's on coilovers and slammed to the ground.....
I'll let you guys come up with the rest :)

Mando's Shoot
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Zlow

August 25, 2010

I've been noticing a lot of 350Z's are into the stance scene.
Do I get tired of it? HELL NO!
Personally, I think the Z's are one of the sexiest cars out there when it is stanced correctly.

Here's one of those Z's owned by Mickey Smith.
Out of all the Z's I've seen so far, this is one of the lowest!

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Also, you don't see a lot of silver going with silver.
Well here ya go.
Rays Lexion x503's on a Z.

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Wheels/Suspension
Rays Lexion x503
19x10 all around +5F & -5R

Exterior
Amuse front bumper
Ings +1 rear bumper
Very simple and straight forward.
Result? Stance!

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I think it's the body kit that makes this car look so low,
but a lot of the cars out there with body kits have the wrong stance.
Mickey's car is different.
To match the wheels with the body kit, he went with 19" wheels with very low offsets and it came out great!

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Scraping status :D

IMG_1793

Clean and Simple

Photo Credits go to Mikey.
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Highlight | Ultimate "CAMBERD" 350Z

August 22, 2010

Night-Import: Photography by William Lee

You guys probably know today's featured car and the owner of the car as well.
Being known back in the days with his Lexus SC, he continued his fame with the 350Z. If you live in SoCal, you can't miss this dude at events.
His license plate, "CAMBERD," describes almost everything about his car.

Low N Slow Photoshoot -18

From the Los Angeles area, let me introduce you to Milt Salamanca and his sexy 350Z. When I first went to a "hellaflush" event, Milt's ride was one of the cars that stood out the most. Why? The overall camber look and the flushness between the fenders and the wheels were amazing.
Seriously, people always question how one can drive a car like Milt's, but it always works out.

Low N Slow Photoshoot -25

Wheels
Work VS-XX 19x10 -12/ 19x11 0
225/35 and 245/35
Kics R26

Suspension
Stoptech BBK F & R
Stillen Sway Bars F & R
Aragosta (Top Secret) True Coilovers
SPL Camber Arms
Low N Slow Photoshoot -29

Low N Slow Photoshoot -27

Exterior/Interior
2006+ Front Bumper
JDM Clear Corners
Veilslde CF Lip with a touch of flake.
CF Duct with a touch of Flake
Jim Wolf Technology Pop Charger
Nardi Deep Corn Wheel 350mm
Baller Bolts Titanium Finish Steering wheel bolts
NRG Gen 2.5 QR in Purple
NRG Short Hub
Blox Neo Finish 490 Shift Knob
Low N Slow Photoshoot -35

One of the cleanest interior setup. Simple, but yet clean!

Low N Slow Photoshoot -34

If you have no idea who Milt is, look for this little character on the antenna. I don't know about the overall style, but the sunglass looks pretty dam similar to Milt's :)

Low N Slow Photoshoot -33

Reppin Low N Slow~
Keeping it Unique!

Low N Slow Photoshoot -32

Like the little character on the antenna, look for this license plate as well and find Milt. One of the coolest guys I've talked to.
Sick car & awesome person, what more else to say?
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Love 350Z's? Check this out!

August 3, 2010

It seems like Raleigh, NC is full with stance'd cars.
After posting up Steve's Lexus GS300, I came across Jordan's 2003 Pikes Peak White Nissan 350Z.
I really want to see this car because of the unique color and the stance.
Seriously, you can't go wrong when you stance a 350Z because they all look sexy. I don't care what year or what color. All the 350Z's I've seen so far that are into the hellaflush scene were nearly perfect, and Jordan's ride is one of them.
Jordan's 350Z is on 19" Varrstoen wheels 9.5 & 10.5 with an offset of -6!
Yes, I didn't make a mistake of putting a - instead of a +.
It's amazing how Jordan took a step further to make his car look more aggressive and sexier. I'm not a huge fan of the wheels, but I have to give props to Jordan for making the setup work.
Simply Clean + Stance = Win

newshootedited

Shoes/Suspension
Varrstoen wheels: 19x9.5(F) 19x10.5(R) -6 all around
215/35/19 Pirelli P Zero Nero (front)
245/34/19 Falken FK452 (rear)
Project Kics 10mm Spacers (rear)
Project Kics 15mm spacers (front)
Buddy Club Racing Spec coilovers

Engine
Agency Power "y-pipe back" single exit exhaust
Megan Racing y-pipe
Megan Racing rear lower tie brace (will be here Wednesday)
JWT Popcharger

Interior/Exterior
Pioneer AVIC-D3 head unit
Nismo shift knob
Bumper tuck
Mangowalk stubby antenna
Blacked out headlights
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newshoot1

Something about this rear shot makes the car look amazing

newshoot7

Over the Limit 350z

July 25, 2010

You guys have probably seen this dark purple 350z on almost every popular blogs and sites.
Check out the Stance:Nation forums and look at the top left hand side. Yeap~ that's Juan's ride.

Here's an introduction from Juan: (directly from StanceWorks):

Name is Juan, some of you guys know me as Toby which is my dogs name. Did the whole stretched/slammed thing back in 09. Didn't know anybody at the time with a stanced/stretched car in NC and i constantly got flamed in our local car forum when i did it Anyway it's 2010 and Stance is bigger than ever. We even have a "stance" section put in recently in that very same forums. Car got some recognition earlier this year and that motivated me even more to push the limit of this car.
Recently got my stance to where i want it. Rear fenders are finally flared so i had room to push the wheels out. Started out at +7, pushed em out to 0, then -6, and now at -16. I was even at +14 with meaty 305 tires just last week.

I love how people try to go over the limit and make things successful, especially for those who are into the hellaflush scene. If done correctly, a car can look sexier than ever and that's what Juan was trying to do. One of my favorite 350z's in the stance world, enjoy the pics that you're about to see. You can't get enough of it!
From quality wheels to the low drop, let me say, "Simply Clean + Quality = WIN!"

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Wheels
Volk TE37 Chrome Silver 19x10.5 +12f/-16r
235/35/19 all around
Rays Duraluminum Lug Nuts
Project Kics/Ichiba Wheel Spacers

Suspension
Stance Gr+ Coilovers
Eibach Camber kit
Greddy Strut Bar

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Engine Mods
JWT Popcharger
5/16 Motordyne Plenum Spacer
MR Longtube Headers
UR Underdrive Crank Pulley
SRS Catback Exhaust
Greddy Cooling Plate

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Exterior
Veilside V1 Front Lip
06+ BiXenon Headlights
Mangowalk Shorty Antenna

Interior
Sparco R100 Seats
Sparco Hardware
ARC Ti Shiftknob
Pioneer Avic D3 Headunit

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