This event was another one that came completely unplanned until I was already in Osaka. Not only did I not plan to attend, I actually didn’t even know about it. Yasu and I were walking around Wekfest Japan when we ran into our friend Akio Hirano. He’s a pretty well-known photographer in Japan and shoots for publications like Option and Stance Magazine. We call him “sandal guy” because he seems to always have sandals on no matter where he is, whether it be an event in Japan or shooting cars in California. The guy just doesn’t like shoes, lol. Anyways, he mentioned that the Stancenation G Edition event was happening the following week and was also in Nagoya. It isn’t too far away from Osaka, just a couple of hours, so Yasu asked if I wanted to check it out. I’m not going to say no of course because I’m in Japan to see as much car-related stuff as possible. And the Stancenation event is right up my alley because it’s a HUGE car show. I’ve never been. From the photos online that I’ve seen, it always looks like they have a very diverse selection of quality car builds so I’ve always wanted to see it for myself. Obviously, the car builds are catered more towards the “stance” side of car-styling and modification but I think people are misconstrued when they think that it ONLY has stance-y cars. At least the Japan version anyways. There’s just so much more to this show, especially considering the sheer number of custom car builds that it hosts…
You’ll recognize a good amount of builds at this show because the enthusiasts that attend this event also attend Wekfest Japan. However, you’ll also see a lot builds that you won’t see at the Japan Wekfest event because it doesn’t restrict Japan market-only vehicles that aren’t 25 years or older from exhibiting. Stancenation Japan also will host car builds that might not get approved by the rigorous qualification process that Wekfest has. At the Wekfest event, you get the cream of the crop. Stancenation Japan might have some builds that don’t have any serious engine bay modifications or what some might classify as a ‘full car build’. And that’s okay. I mean, it sounds like an absolute nightmare at home in the USA because some cars here are fucking butchered and beat to shit but still go to car shows, but you don’t have to worry about that so much in Japan…
Why?
Well, because it’s Japan.
There’s a different sense of pride and level of respect for the craft there. Japan just does it better because they care and are raised differently. Don’t get me wrong, there are some haggard builds there too and some that are awful. That goes for anywhere else in the world. You’re never gonna have a perfect utopia of beautifully-built, award-winning cars and zero butchered, distasteful, project cars. It’s impossible. But, the odds are a bit more in favor of the cars being done with a bit more skill and execution in Japan. You may be asking yourself why that is. It can’t just be pride, right? No, it doesn’t just have to do with upbringing or mindset. Craftsmanship plays a big role too. You’ll find that many enthusiasts over here at home are much younger, don’t always have the understanding of how to do things correctly, or just plain don’t give a shit. Over in Japan, the median age for automotive enthusiasts is a bit older. As such, they have more resources available to them and most car builds aren’t typically built at home, due to limited space. You’ll find a lot of cars are built by shops and many of the ‘top-tier’ builds in Japan are build by shop-owners. People that are into cars over there also look at it as a hobby that they commit to. It’s not just something people do based on popularity there. We have a ton of enthusiasts that got into cars because of the “Fast and Furious” franchise here. Custom car culture is, I guess you can say, very mainstream now. Though law enforcement and the governing bodies don’t particularly approve of it, it’s still a popular subculture. So many people do it here for clout and for social media fame. They love the attention that being a ‘car enthusiast’ brings them, especially the youths. In Japan, being a car enthusiast is very frowned upon by the general public. If you’re into cars, you’re into cars. If you don’t care for it, it’s kind of a negative thing to be a car enthusiast there…
If you’re going to be looked at as a car enthusiast there, you better take pride in it and give it your best. You better love it. There’s no real clout there to be chased and no potential of overnight success that comes with fucking around with cars in Japan…
I can write so much more about it based on my years of observing the two very different cultures. But, I run an American website and western culture has dictated that people don’t like to read anymore, so I’ll just give you a more basic rundown of what got me to the Stancenation event in Nagoya…
Once we decided that we were going to go to the event, Yasu had to decide what car he wanted to bring. Our invitation not only came with free passes to the event, but they also invited us to display a car as special guests. There are so many cars sitting at the shop that we could have brought any of them really, but Yasu decided that this event was the perfect one to give the old Phaze2 Integra a proper send-off…
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If you’re a follower of The Chronicles, you’ll be very familiar with this Integra. It has long been one of the mainstays of this site since the site started in 2008. The Phaze2 Integra was once owned by Mikey Cristi here in Southern California. He started modding the car in the very early 2000s when he and I became friends, then he sold the car, and eventually bought the DC2 back in the 2010s. We shared a shop at one point where this Integra was stored, rebuilt, and repainted. In the middle 2010s, Yasu purchased it from Mikey and imported the car to Osaka…
There, it was displayed at a couple of car shows, the front-end was updated to an 98-01 Integra USDM face, sold to our friend Mori Hirai, and finally reacquired by Yasu about a year ago. Since then, the car has been in storage…
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While it was in Mori’s possession, he actually used the Integra as his daily commuter car—which is insane considering the car was running filter-less individual throttle bodies. Combined with the harsh summers and winters that the island experiences annually, the car began to show its age. The elements started eating away at a lot of the components that were chrome-plated or polished, and though you can’t really see it in photos, the Integra is a shadow of its former self…
By most standards, I think many enthusiasts would still think that the car looked ‘just fine’ or still ‘show quality’. If you knew the car and saw it at its absolute prime, you know that it is far from it these days. It could use a through reconditioning or overhaul. It wouldn’t even be too difficult, just time-consuming really. But, the thing that Yasu doesn’t have much of these days is time. There are too many projects and too many jobs around the shop that need to be tended to. Fixing everything that needs to be fixed on the Integra is just plain unnecessary…
So the plan was to bring the Integra out to one last major event. After, we’d put it back into storage until the time was right to dump many hours into restoring it…
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We were able to address a couple of things on the Integra before Stancenation Nagoya, but the main thing was getting the front-end repainted. It had seen a lot of wear from being driven daily over the years so it needed a refresh. Since Yasu was planning on running the Volk TE37 Club Edition wheels on the car for the first time, he also chose to match the bottom half of the Exceed front lip to match the finish of the wheels…
I actually explain this pretty thoroughly in the Vlog series too, so you can watch that, if you haven’t already, and see how it went down…
We did what we could to get the Integra as close to show condition as we could that week, but there were some things, like the weathered chrome parts, that wouldn’t be repaired in time. Just getting the engine to run correctly was enough of a task. It honestly sounded like the car was running on 3-cylinders, likely a ignition coil issue, that came with the car sitting for so long. We weren’t planning on doing much driving however, so it was left alone for the time being…
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The main thing was addressing the exterior and making sure the car looked good. This Integra is so USDM that we made sure we only cared about how it looked and not how it ran, staying true to western ideologies of car modification, lol….
Once the front end was back on, we jumped started the car and let it sputter onto the trailer. Yes, even the battery was shit, but we got it on the trailer to go to a car show. It looked fucking cool on the trailer too and that is of the utmost importance. If it doesn’t look cool, what the fuck is even the point?…
The next day, Yasu and I grabbed some breakfast at a 711 before heading off to Nagoya…
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The car limped off the trailer and over to its display location where it fooled everyone into thinking it was in the prime of its life. I liken it to an old popstar musician that was coming out of hiding to do like a ‘greatest hits’ performance at an award show. People that knew the popstar would be like…
“Oh my god, I can’t believe they’re still alive! Wow, they look like that now?” In a slightly negative tone…
Then they think about the age and history of the career and they get slightly more positive about the popstar…
“Well, they still look pretty good for their age! It’s so cool that they’re still alive and kicking!”…
Self-deprecation and jokes aside, I think we presented the car the right way. After all these years, the Phaze2 Integra does indeed still clean-up nicely. It’s presentable for sure. I found people coming to look at the car all day long. Many who I doubt have ever seen the car before or know its history. To them, this might be a modern Honda build just put together recently. The car still commands a crowd…
We had them fooled!…
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The exterior looks immaculate still, but it is pretty easy to make it look good still since Yasu owns a bodyshop with an incredible painter working there. Where you see the most wear and tear is in the engine bay. That’s where the Integra shined the most at its peak form. The engine and its components hasn’t changed since Yasu acquired the car. The only time stuff is taken off is for detailing and cleaning. The shaved engine bay has held up pretty well but some parts of it you can see the paint has started to bubble or crack…
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When we first pulled the Integra out of storage, the valve cover was pretty weathered, but was easy to clean. The TWM individual throttle bodies are okay as well, especially the chromed velocity stacks. The wear can just be seen in the hardware on the shocks and the salt from the island has definitely started to eat away at the engine block…
If you don’t look too closely at it, you probably wouldn’t even notice. But again, if you saw this car in its prime, you’d know that it was far from it now in 2022…
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On display next to the Phaze2 Integra was the X-Point DC5 Integra. This build definitely takes a lot of inspiration from the old Phaze2 DC2, to the point where you could consider this DC5 to be the modern-day representation of that build. They share the same red hue which is Honda’s iconic Milano Red but there is more than just a front lip on this Integra. It actually features a full Mugen lip kit, custom GT wing, and much more…
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Inside the custom engine bay is a K20A with AT Power individual throttle bodies. Everything that has a mirror-like finish on the engine are all hand-polished…
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The Integra, owned by Shuhei Nara, was built by X-Point in Chiba, which is on the Tokyo-side of Japan. It takes inspiration from many U.S.-built Hondas and uses products you’d see in the U.S. like Rywire, Downstar Inc, Hybrid Racing and Hasport…
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The DC5 also features a tucked radiator and dual-fan set-up which hides under the front core support…
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Though the two Integras share many styling similarities, the journey for the DC5 has just begun, being that it was just recently completed in time for the Wekfest and Stancenation events. The DC2 is nearly two decades removed from its debut…
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Custom brush anodized 18-inch Desmond Regamaster EVO II wheels paired with X-Point by Exceed Japan big brakes in a bright green finish for contrast…
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One more photo of the DC5 Integra before I walked away to seek out builds I hadn’t seen before…
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The one new build that I was really excited to finally see was the E.PRIME AE86 Trueno. It was originally supposed to debut at Wekfest Japan but circumstances prevented it from happening. I heard through the grapevine that he was going to bring the car out for this event instead and I had a feeling it would be worth the trip to Nagoya just to see this AE86…
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What was surprising to see when the AE86 arrived was that the car was a bright orange. If you know E.PRIME builds, you’ll know that Daito always paints his car a dark blue hue…
I like the fact that he was stepping out of his comfort zone and trying something new. I also appreciate that he supports The Chronicles and was rocking my hoodie…
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Just seeing the E.PRIME Trueno, the Ishikawa Body 180SX, and the gold mid-engine AE86 in the parking lot meant that we were likely in for a pretty great event…
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I found myself looking at Tsutomu Miyoshi’s AE86 Levin often during this year’s Wekfest Japan but this was actually the first time I would see it outside in the daylight. The aggressive TRD N1-inspired flares give the car so much presence and you can’t really look away when you see a gold so reminiscent of the classic Top Secret builds of the early-2000s…
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Masaru Ishikawa’s 180SX is another favorite of mine of last few years. He’s created these amazing widened and radiused fenders that completely transform the S13 platform…
Ishikawa is also one of the first people that I’ve seen that is running the new Enkei RPF1RS wheel, which is a step-lipped updated design of their classic RPF1 wheel…
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I love that he added a pinstripe specifically onto his 180SX so you can see the new widened bodyline…
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I doubt you would see this thing out in the wild very often but imagine walking by this AE86 and casually noticing an engine through the rear window…
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I don’t know where this thing will end up but I sure hope we get to see it running one of these days…
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Currently the Levin just sits at this ride height so the front-end needs to be reinstalled when it comes off the trailer…
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While they were doing that, I saw my opportunity to get a photo of the mid-engine set-up from underneath the car. Once you get passed the rear bumper you’ll notice that it is completely open from the bottom, exposing the rear suspension and frame to reveal how the engine is mounted. I suppose this makes the most sense for air-induction since the ITBs face the rear and there’s an entire hatch blocking any air flow in from the top…
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Meanwhile, the Ishikawa Body 180SX had its front lip mounted, hovering millimeters above the pavement…
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Mounting the front bumper on this Levin is a bit time consuming since it has to go under the front fender flares…
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After seeing those three incredible builds come off their trailers, seeing this AE86 Trueno makes it seem mundane, though it is a fine creation in its own right…
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The engine bay of the E.PRIME AE86 is pretty incredible. Gone is the factory 4A-GE and in its place is a newer naturally-aspirated BEAMS 3S-GE engine from a Toyota Altezza. Daito was inspired by the BEAMS engine cover and actually shaped his custom wheel tubs to match the shape of it…
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Though it’s missing the rest of the intake arm and radiator cap, the BEAMS swap runs and drives! He had finished the car to the point where it could be driven but stated that he plans to redo the engine set-up again later and turbocharge it…
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Stancenation was the first time he actually started it up anywhere else other than his own shop. Seeing the engine bay almost makes you forget how great the car looks on the outside with the full Pandem widebody kit and carbon doors…
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It was cool to capture the start-up on video too and record the sound of it roaring into the show…
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Ishikawa followed into the show soon after…
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The front face of the E.PRIME AE86…
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I love getting this angle of the BEAMS 3SGE, especially with the custom header and drive-by-wire throttle body…
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Endless brakes, Yokohama Advan A050, and Volk Racing TE37V SL…
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Just a couple cars away was this slammed white AE86 Levin on BBS wheels…
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Nice detail touch with the addition of Toyota-specific BBS center caps…
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Masatake Ikeda from Inazuma Worx left his amazing AE86 at home and chose to bring his AE82 Corolla sedan daily driver to the show. I took particular interest into this Corolla because I so rarely see them modified. At first I didn’t even know Ikeda owned it until he came-up to me and jokingly apologized for bringing his daily to the show…
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Super rare Rays Volk Racing 84C wheels with optional “Cooling Fin” aero covers. These wheels actually came with multiple options include a “Duct Ring” that goes over the center fin section, a “Cover Ring” which is a larger version of the Duct Ring, and a “Moon Cover” which covers the entirety of the center cap/center fins…
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If you have no idea what this is, don’t worry, you’re not alone. It was also my first time ever seeing this three-wheeled, single-seat “Bubu”. I’m pretty sure that this thing has some sort of motorcycle engine in it and you could walk by and push it over quite easily…
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Mugen CR-X PRO.2 representing Five Mart running USDM corner lights and a rare set of 16-inch Takechi Project Racing HART D/Spec Superlative Racing Dish wheels…
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Yuta Kobayashi’s ER34 Skyline sedan repainted Deep Blue Crystal Mica with custom front/rear radiused fenders and full URAS lip kit…
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The Skyline is also equipped with a full catalog of T-Demand suspension components, T-Demand brakes, and 18×10/11 SSR Agle Minerva wheels…
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Yasu and I stood there for a while staring at this Porsche Speedster that wasn’t actually a 356 Speedster but a custom Daihatsu Coppen completely transformed to resemble it…
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If you asked me what kind of Aston Martin this was, I wouldn’t be able to tell you, I believe its a Vantage, but this particular one was pretty crazy looking slammed with SSR Professer wheels in the back and Rotiform wheels up front with full aero covers….
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Tsubasa Ito’s BCNR33 Skyline GTR running a Nismo front lip and gold-faced Nismo LMGT2 wheels…
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I never thought I’d see an S30Z on Rays Volk GT-C wheels but it turned out to be the combination I never knew I needed…
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Taka’s aesthetically-monotoned R32 Skyline GTR…
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Going to different events all over the world presents me with some pretty unique automotive projects like this FD3S RX-7 with an Nissan SR20DET swap…
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Kentarou Yamamoto not only owns a bad ass 1JZ-powered Toyota Crown, but also has this EK4 Civic SiR which runs C-West front/sides along with rare Panasport G7 C8R wheels…
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This is the first time I’ve ever seen a Civic on G7 C8R wheels and hiding behind the spokes are Endless brakes in the front…
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One thing that I must say I enjoy more about this event than Wekfest is seeing the plethora of gorgeous S15 Silvias in attendance…
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Though some enthusiasts stateside abhor the word “stance”, I do enjoy the simplistic, understated builds like this Toyota 86 on custom BBS wheels running TRD sides and a front splitter…
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I can’t remember the last time I saw a Signal Auto side-stripe and livery executed correctly until I saw this Kouki S14 Silvia on Rays Gram Lights 57F. I feel like this car must have had a front lip of some sort before to pair with the GP Sports sides but I’m not completely sure or if this was the intention behind the look to not have a lip…
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Man, I wrote way more than I thought I would but I guess that’s usually how it goes. Gonna close-out Part 1 here with a shot of Ryota Makino’s Nissan 180SX Type-X on bronze Volk TE37. I love RPS13s and you don’t ever have to do too much to them to make them look great. Ryota’s is a prime example of that…
Well, that’s it for Part 1. There’s still so much more to come with a ton of unique builds to show you guys. Make sure to check back in for Parts 2 and 3. Thanks for looking!!…
