April 17 - Ruff Ryders/TXM Car Show Coverage

[stilez]

Hey all,





I`ll make this short and sweet because I`m pretty tired after today...





In the end, your car isn`t sh!t unless you pretty much have every mod under the sun. Cleanliness is nothing at most car shows including this .





I spent about 12-14 hours total prepping my engine, interior, exterior, wheel area, and partial underbody. However, after a 90 second judging (1 judge), it didn`t even matter. My buddy (Celica) who took best in class and best in show! only washed and Quick Waxed his car. He had defects out the ying yang and the car wasn`t anywhere near Autopian standards throughout.





So, here is my car all prepped out. I went balls to the walls and was thrilled with all but the paint (only 85-90% of defects removed). I had some mishaps with the clay/lube I used and didn`t have enough time to remove all the marring. Here we go...







All polished







Show Day

[JasonD]

Oh man, Sean, your car looks GREAT! The body kit and wheels really made it come alive. Did you repaint the whole car or just paint the kit to match?



Regardless, this is the best I`ve seen your car look yet. Great job.



If you don`t mind me asking, what color is that? It almost looks like you have a hint of violet pearl or something the way it glows.



My Mustang has a very similar color and is Porsche Guards Red w/ a hint of violet pearl that you can only see on days like the one in your pics, otherwise it`s just red.

[stilez]

That`s the Integra that took the cake...







My buddy`s Celica who won it all (about 30k of mods)













The one thing I was happy about was that the one car that came close to the cleanliness of mine was an 05 Evo8 with 6k miles (on my team). So yeah, I`ll stand safe to say I was the cleanest car there and I ended up getting a few cards passed out . Our team (Top End Racing) won Best Team.





All in all, a long day, that could`ve been better, but was still fun and taught me a bunch.





Good Evening.

[scottabir]

bummer they didnt score on looks! It is looking good!

[AutoFreak615]

wide body celica, nice. just not feeling the decals tho.



as for your integra, it still amazes me every time i see the pictures you post. i think your teg looks much better than that grey thing.

[imported_series1]

I don`t know how you do it. Your car is absolutey stunning!

[03COBRA]

Looks great Sean. Sorry to hear the judge was looking at the car and not the whole details end of it.



By the way, what was your show prep process?

[dawiyo]

Hey Sean, I`d like to see what a set of 98+ all red tail lights would look like on your car.

[ZaneO]

Your car looks SICK!!



I feel your pain with the car show scene...not one of them around here is anywhere near Autopian standards, but people still drool



I really want to enter an upcomig all GM show ($750 cash for 1st), but I feel my car has far too many rock chips to deal with

[stilez]

Thanks everyone...I`m glad someone appreciates my work.





Engine:



-APC 6:1 to degrease (multi brushes)

-AIO to polish paint

-Flitz to polish metal

-Meguiar`s Hyper Dressing (2.5:1) on everything





Interior (no pics):



-Adam`s VRT on all but leather

-4* Leather Conditioner on the seating

-AIO on glass





Exterior:



-QEW

-PB clay with S+W Lube

-IP with polishing pad @ 1500 rpm on hood

-PO85RD with polishing pad @ 1500 rpm on rest of vehicle

-Menzerna FTG (up for sale BTW)

-Trade Secret x 1

-Natty`s (24 hrs after)



-Adam`s Detail Spray to touch up

-CK VM to polish odds and ends

-Flitz on exhaust and license plates

-BnB on tires

-Hyper Dressing (2.5:1) in wells





dawiyo: I like the look of 98+ tails but they are far overhyped so I will skip out on them unless they go down in price.

[EBPcivicsi]

Sean, I know exactly how you feel....unfortunately most of the judges at these shows are more knowledgable about custom mods than they are cleanliness. They certainly don`t know anything about paint defects.



That integra with the lambo doors and bowling ball paint makes me want to puke. Poor car.....



I would take your car over the other teg OR the celica. :nixweiss



Your car looks awesome, great work!!

[stilez]

I`m posting a vid of the Celica revving up later.



It has a Blitz Supercharger kit...In all honesty, if you ever wanna hear a 4cyl sound like a Ferrari RaceCar, this is it. People were damn near knocked off their feet when they heard it.

[D3mon]

My personal experience of `competition shows` is that the organisers (usually a group of manufacturers) aim is to encourage you to buy products of particular brands, for which you score highly, thus encouraging you to upgrade to more expensive products from the same brands for better scores. One big marketing scam IMHO.

[Eliot Ness]

Sean, your car looks great, and I love your new wheels (the calipers/rotors look great too)! Different shows/judges use different standards when they judge a car. I would find it difficult not to notice the attention to detail you have put into your car, but that judge probably had personal preferences they put above proper judging criteria. It happens a lot, especially at local shows.



Here is *my* take on car shows. I go because I enjoy the ride, looking at the other cars, being with friends, and meeting other car nuts. If you happen to take home a trophy that is just icing on the cake. Use a show for an excuse to get out and have some fun!

[Glossequation]

I could tell by the event name (Ruff Ryders?) and audience photos that the right car wouldn`t win. You probably have to go to a legit car show and real judges would appreciate that.



What did the winner have, the biggest subs and most DVD screens?