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....