Car Shows
 

I recently attedned and registered in my first car show. Now i'm wanting to do it more often and stand a chance of placing/ winning. I'm also entering my FR-S into NOPI this year. Keep in mind everything I work for the government and everything I buy for my car is straight out of pocket. With that being said here's my build.

Current Mods
All Season Trunk Tray
LED Interior Upgrade
BeatSonic Shark Fin Antenna
Rally Armor Mudflaps
Borla Exhaust
Rear Fog/ Brake Light
Hood Struts
Carbon Fiber Insert (behind shifter)
Cusco Front Strut Bar (en route)
Perrin Radiator Hose Kit (en route)

Planned Upcoming Mods
VMI CAI
ECUTEK Stage 2 Tune
Carbon Fiber Fender Inserts
Lipkit possibly
Rota G-Force 17x7.5
Hankook Ventus K12
Paint my Callipers
6000k HIDs
6000k DRLs
LED/ Amber Blinkers
LED Clear Sidemarkers
28% Tint all around
Carbon Fiber Radio and Dash Piece

After all that what would help my chances at car shows?

That's kind of like asking for a crystal ball session. It will probably depend on your competition that day and the categories your car will run in. From what I've noticed is that the popular thing is really low cars with lots of bling in and out are what wins but that's just what I've seen in my area. Maybe a carbon fiber engine cover would do nicely under the hood? I've seen one before but don't remember who makes it.

Body kit and a huge spoiler

With ur current mods, ur car could pass as stock. Tint, rims, and wax ur paint(polish if needed) would be the minimum. A drop couldn't hurt either. It is ur car so idk what style u want to go in

The 86 is currently a hot topic and that can give us an edge at car shows.

At my 1st car show last summer in our state capital, they handed us a scoresheet with judging criteria broken down into engine bay, interior, exterior and criteria I find odd such as model (like an umbrella girl) and decals. I forget if there were other criteria such as stance. But it was a legit production because they reward real trophies, cash, and tour the country. I got lucky and won Best Subaru.

My 2nd show was hosted by a local shop. They didn't keep track of attendees. Some didn't even pay entry and got judged as contestants! They used engine parts welded into odd shapes as trophies and some fell apart as they were handing them out lol. :bonk: I think the judges just walked around and looked at the cars, no scoresheet. I lost to a stanced WRX. So maybe some car shows give bias towards stance nowadays? You might want to consider that. Then again, this 2nd show wasn't as legit a production.

I guess be mindful of how legit your car show will be. Mine were all in the Midwest and the scene over here is a mixed bag. I grew up in California; my perception of those shows is they're ALL generally legit. And I'd try to mod according to the criteria I listed in my 1st show.

Edit: They will not give much points for power mods that they cannot see/are hard to notice. Those mods will only help if you participate in their drag race or other demonstrations where power mods make a difference. But when parked for show, you're better off spending your money on mods you can see that stand out visually.

I'm all about "go", but I'll still give my opinion.

I'd say dress the bay up as much as possible. Get the carbon fiber stuff, the colored bolts, and fancy tubing. It's a good bang for the buck.*

Honestly, though, I'd say the thing that gets you noticed most at a show is nice clean paint, especially in a non-stock color.

For regular/ local shows I don't have alot of scion competition here let alone FR-S. The biggest challenge will be at NOPI Nationals this September. A drop is definitely a no. I have no desire to go that route. I do plan on Rota G-Force Gunmetal 17x 7.5 and some Hankook Ventus tires. The carbon fiber engine cover is growing on me. I'm still new to all of this so hence the the thread asking opinions.

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Want to win? Rocket bunny aero and Rotiforms.

The end

lip kit, carbon fiber engine cover, flashy intake, wing. More carbon fiber is better. Good luck, car shows are a mixed bag.

My opinion, a few prerequisites to stand a chance at winning are legit wheels, a drop, a lip kit, or if no lip kit then a very aggressive drop - these are things you notice from afar before walking up to take a closer look. If the other cars in your category lack all these things and look mostly stock from afar, then you end up competing on lower level criteria like engine bay dress-up and interior dress-up. But at serious car shows, basically all of the above become prerequisites to winning and it becomes a matter of execution - how well everything stands out while staying cohesive/balanced. That's usually directly related to how much money you've poured in.

Will definitely be doing a lipkit and still contemplating on forking out for the Carbon Fiber engine cover. I love the look of the Rocket Bunny but I won't cut my car so that's definitely out. I have until September before NOPI begins. Currently I'm dressing up the engine bay.

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rocket bunny + drop + gram wheels +supercharger

look at this guy: https://www.facebook.com/StayCrushing

Lol yah you can win with enough cash plus that guy is in SoCal where the competition is among the stiffest anywhere. I think he cut a deal w/ Kei Miura to use his FR-S as a marketing vehicle, literally and figuratively, and his geographic location being a hotbed for import culture might've played into that.

Honestly you have no chance of winning with this platform unless you somehow go a unique route. The reason I say that is because this platform is very popular and all the major manufacturers have a leg up on you already. I would suggest you go a different route than Rocket Bunny, like maybe going Full TRD body kit and other goodies from Japan.....

Good luck....

Yeah he did, he is sponsored by several people as well, he promotes the rocket bunny the vortech and everything pretty much

I work for the government as a Firefighter. I can't shell out that kind of money.

You could light a bank on fire then steal money and just say it burned up. :happy0180:






*note this is a joke*

Ehh... RB kit is still rare as f*ck. We see the same ones publicized everywhere but the general import scene will still respond with "wtf is that?!" I've noticed 4 in the US so far then you gotta maybe add 4 or 5 more to account for lurking RB owners. A lot less common than any exotic car. And full TRD body kit is probably more common; it just doesn't catch as much press. The only place you might see 2 RBs in the same show would be in CA but I'm not sure it's happened yet (photoshoot, yes). Vegas and FL would come next.

Unless he's getting crazy sponsorships, does heavy marketing leg work on the side, or funds aren't an issue, then going widebody might be overkill for his purposes. Look at all the meet photos on this forum; the vast majority of our owners don't have a lip kit. A clean lip kit should suffice for many many shows for this guy IMO.

Honestly, in the Chattanooga 86 Club here I have one of the most modded 86's i've seen (sad I know). Given my area I think I have a leg up for the local shows/ competition. When September rolls around is when i'll have to really step it up to get attention. This car already gets a bunch of attention but i'm going to put up a fight. Worst comes to worst and I don't place I can use it as a building/ learning experience and an all around good time.

I did 3 car shows 11 years ago in a Protege 5 with a modest lip kit and keeping it clean, I lost the first 2 to RX7's. I was also discouraged after that, so I decided to give my engine bay some color and import a Full Body Kit from Japan. I ended up placing 3rd at import show off losing 1st and 2nd to the same 2 RX7's.

After that it just wasnt worth it pumping so much money into a car and always making sure it's pristine. Granted I did get some sponsorship from it, but wasnt worth it.

Do it and get it out of your system, just have a plan and dont be discouraged if you don't place your first couple of times. The judges also want to get to know you and BS about what you have done, so make sure you are there when they show up.

AH, i see, i'd go with some sideskirts, lip, and bumper maybe

http://www.japanparts.com/db/partsli...dle=2&small=11

Planning on it. I've got till September so with a budget I have plenty of time to do what i'm wanting.

The Rocket Bunny kitmis definitely noticeable, but after seeing a few in person, including Staycrushing's car, they look cheap. Yes it will draw attention, it's what its made for but at any serious show where a judge is going to look at the car as a whole, that wont be enough. It is very hard to compete with sponsored cars as well, you're automatically at a disadvantage if you try going at it alone, unless you have money.

Getting sponsorships is equally disappointing since manufacturers seem to primarily sponsor shop cars, which is pretty crappy since shops are typically more capable of spending more money on their cars than the average Joe. Ive spent more than $26,000 dollars of my own cash on my car and am just now starting to buy the purely cosmetic stuff, it's a huge downer when you put that kind of money into your car only to be one upped at a show by someone who got their car picked up by a tuning shop, didnt do any of the work on their car, and got half or more of their stuff for free. It's something you have to get used to, you'll get beat by kids that are 16-17 with no jobs who have their parents buy everything for them, and rich dudes who just have a seemingly endless supply of money as well, just keep plugging away.

The best way to stand out is paint or wrap, that said a real paint job will trump a wrap everytime. Also the rice racer look with a 100 decals and such is less likely to win than a cleanly painted car, unless you are going with a historic or popular race livery. Body kits will get noticed but the overall fit and finish is what you really want to focus on. Body gaps that are noticeable will be noticed, uneven surfaces like ripples and waves will get noticed. Rock chips will get noticed. Etc. Etc.

Engine mods are important but show is more important than go, which goes against my car religion, but is the truth. I have purchase engine bay bling (password JDM engine cover, fuse box cover, and hardware kit) because of this, I like the way it looks but its damn expensive for something that provides no performance gains at all. Of course I have a real attention getter in my engine bay...my P&L turbo kit. This helps alot since there are not many boosted FRS/BRZ's...over time that will change as people are buying more and more. Some easy things to do is paint some of the plastic under the hood to provide some color to the bland as hell black everything.

Last but not least dont get discouraged by not winning, keep plugging away at your car. Also build your car as you like it, don't build it to satisfy others, you gotta live with it so you mightnas well like it!

Thanks for your input. By far the most beneficial info I've had from this post. I posted to see if the ideas I had in my mind were what people would think would stand out. For the most part my plans seem on track for competition locally. I've been told countless time I need to drop my car. It's perfect at the height it's at and will stay. For scions in my local area though I'll have anarchists from what I've been seeing. All in all it's a learning and fun experience.

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A Rocketbunny Kit would increase your chance of winning by 458.95%.

Thanks, but I'll pass.

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Yeah, this is pretty much true...sadly. I have to compete against Staycrushing this weekend at IFO in Tucson. It's pretty crappy competing against sponsored cars but what can you do?

Last weekend at the import tuner/formulaD inspection meet.. There was 5 RB kitted FRS at the meet.. A white one, the staycrushing orange one, another orange one, the garage FRS green one and the Mackin industries baby blue??? One.. And from two of the guys I talked to, you basically total the car out cutting it all up to put it on.. We also have a RB one here in Vegas quite soon.. The cars that stand out here, unfortunately, is the stanced dropped way to low to be functional and on big rims.. While you said you was going with 17" out here that's not going to even get looked at, UNLESS, you made it one bad ass looking race car.. CARBON CARBON CARBON, race seats, 4 or 5 points harnesses, forced induction and stuff like that.. This is minimum.. Because the cars that show already have this stuff.. Big brake kits and stuff...

Now of your going more show then go, you need at least 18" rims.. Name brand, not cheap shit.. Knock offs look good untill your on them then a judge isn't going to give you points for buying fake rims when the car next to you has them.. Then the paint.. Stock isn't going to cut it.. At least a wrap, BBK, removable steering wheel, Halo's and LED's everywhere.. Stuff that grabs your attention.. If NOPI is anything like it used to be when I lived in savannah then again, this is stuff you need to place.. If your doing it for fun, and to hang out then your stuff will work.. But after a year that this car is out, to many have done to much for a stock paint, stock sized rim and tires, with tint and stuff like that to win anything..

Trust me, when nicer kits come out, everyone who literally butchered their FR-S/BRZ for a RB kit will be regretting it.

It looks cheap, everything down to the seemingly missing chunk near the the tires. Yes, I've seen a number of them that look astonishingly well done, but when people move on to the next one, you're stuck with cut fenders that have been drilled up.

I know, to each, his own, but I think it's tacky.

I'd choose go over show every time, although I can appreciate eye candy.

There are already some nice kits coming out.. Some are $$$$$ but in my eyes worth it.. There is a build now that if all goes to plan, and sponsors pull through.. Will literally sit on a podium at SEMA.. The combination of parts that have never been done to a FRS.. It should be sick..

We are sitting at the hotel for the DUB show now.. There is only so much "kandy" one can take lol.. This nokturnal car club looks like a bunch of trailer queens.. We were wondering if they just trailer their cars to the local meet place weekly lol

Convince them to AutoX a lap or few. See how much of their "add-ons" fall off when they hit some cones. :P

Agree. The RB is retarded. I've never been a fan of any of the rocket bunny stuff anyways. I dunno why people get their panties in a bunch over it.

The vertex kit for the FRS looks a million times better than the RB kit

I agree with the people who think the RB kit is meh...but when the Import scene is still stuck in Fast and Furious mode, what do you expect?

This kit is growing on me, and I think I am almost 100% gonna get the rear bumper/exhaust combo!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y21...psffc771d6.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y21...ps758c43ab.jpg

Hell, if anything NOPI has gotten bigger. Remember that my competition is in Georgia and not California or Florida. So, like I said before, not slamming my car or putting a RB on it. Will definitely do the lipkit, Carbon Fiber engine cover, engine bay dress up kit, and a few other things. I've got a good image in my head of how I want it to look by September. As for the local FR-S/ Scion competition I've got a pretty good start.

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My opinion is do what you like and what looks good to you. Chances are if you like it, others will too. Go to shows and just have fun. I've gone to hundreds of shows and cruises over the years. Sometimes I get trophies, most times I don't. But I always have FUN! And no matter what you chose to do, be sure everything is clean, shiny and well presented. Fit and finish still count.

People insult Rocket bunny kit then post even worse kits.


It's all a circle! :bellyroll:

To each ones own...

Rocket Bunny kit looks a lot better then 99% of the kits out there.
It isn't infected with cheap ass LED's and it suits the curves of the car pretty nicely.

http://www.jdmeuro.com/wp-content/up...BBS_RSS_03.jpg


It suits the stance scene quite nicely.

Just don't like that wing...