Car meets are a casual gathering of car enthusiasts, usually at a parking lot just checking out each other’s cars and having a good time. It is a more laid back setting and you are able to meet other car enthusiasts and forge friendships. Car shows on the other hand, are a whole different ball game. Most car shows have hundreds of cars staged in an indoor convention center or outdoor venue. There are vendor booths, car models, photographers snapping photos and awards to be won. Occasionally there would be performances on stage like singing, dancing, b-boy, beer pong competition etc. All cars that are in a car show would have to go through screening and the contestant would have to submit a mod list as well as multiple photos of the car. There would also be a fee to have your car in the car show.
Now that I have explained the differences between car shows and car meets, I want to take it back to May 2017 when I had my 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer GT in it’s first car show. In my free time, I watch a lot of car videos on Youtube. A few Youtubers that I watch bring their car to car shows and I love how you get to see immaculate builds and gain inspiration. After attending a few cars shows as a spectator, I told myself that I wanted to build my car into a show car and bring it to shows! My first car show that I competed in was Hot Import Nights Dallas 2017. I drove down 4 hours from Austin, Texas to Dallas, Texas to enter the show and I was grateful to have my good friend Anna enter her car in the show alongside me.
Hot Import Nights - May 2017
As I pulled into the convention center, car show officials directed me to parking. My mind was blown at how big the convention center was and how many top notch builds there were! Cars from other cities, and even other states were present at the show. I had a few hours after loading in to detail the car before the spectators came in. I started from the outside of the car, and made my way to cleaning the inside, engine bay, and trunk. I made sure that I cleaned every nook and cranny and the car was spick and span. After a few hours of intense wipe down, I was finally done! The main doors opened and spectators came streaming in. I made my rounds to check out some of the other cars as well as filmed vlog footage for the Youtube channel. My first car show was an eye opener for me and it also made me realize that I had to step my game up if I wanted to compete with the other show cars. My interior was fairly stock, engine bay had a few touches, and nothing done to my trunk set up. I had a blast at my first car show and I was inspired to build my car to the best of my ability and pay attention to the fine little details. I wanted my car to win awards at car shows and to inspire others that if I can do it, so can you.
Import Face Off - March 2018
Hot Import Nights - May 2018
After my first car show in May 2017, I put a pause on attending shows for the rest of the year and build my car up. 2018 came around and my plan was to attend 3 to 5 car shows that year and hopefully win an award at a show. 2018 was a really busy year for me as I had my car in 7 car shows! I went all out and participated in almost every major car show that year in Texas. I travelled to Houston and Dallas every few months and with each show that I went to, I asked myself what else I could have done better to improve. My first show of 2018 was Import Face Off, then Hot Import Nights, followed by Clean Car Alliance Spring Show, then Texas Heatwave, Wekfest, Clean Culture, and then ending it off with Clean Car Alliance Clash of the Titans show. From the first show of 2018 in March, it was almost back to back car shows every month in different cities. I had to find time to put new mods on my car, as well as prep the car for it’s next show. I had a bunch of fun with friends, met other car enthusiasts, as well as Youtube subscribers which was pretty cool! I am humbled to say that I managed to take home three awards from the seven car shows that I attended in 2018.
Texas Heatwave - July 2018
Texas Heatwave – 2nd Best Import
Wekfest – Best Mitsubishi
Clean Car Alliance Clash of the Titans – 2nd Best Mitsubishi
Clean Culture - November 2018
Clean Car Alliance - December 2018
So that wraps up car shows for 2018. Whew, what a fun but exhausting year attending a bunch of car shows! Coming into 2019, I wanted to be more strategic with planning what car shows I competed in. I wanted to have my car in car shows that I have not been to before as well as take the car on some track days. I did not want to be known as the guy who only has his car in car shows but not actually drive it hard! I took it to it’s second track day back in June and had a blast! As we move into the second half of 2019, my car took part in Tuned Originals and Import Expo car show back in April and June. Super humbled to have placed 2nd Best Mitsubishi in both shows. The car will be at Slammedenuff show when this blog post is published! Stay tuned on the latest shows that I am at by following me on Instagram @jus_tyn and check out vlog footage on my Youtube channel, The J Media! I plan to hit up Wekfest and Clean Culture car show for the rest of this year. Possibly another track day as well.
Tuned Originals - April 2019
Import Expo - June 2019
I think that wraps up my car show blog post! I have to stress that car shows are not about awards. Personally, I love car shows because I get to hang out with friends and show case my hard work on my car to other car enthusiasts! I want to motivate others that a Lancer owner with a dream can achieve his goal. You are able to do the same if you work hard enough to build your car!
Thank you so much if you managed to read all the way to the end. If you are new to the blog, make sure to check back for frequent blog posts! Also stay up to date on current car stuff by following my Youtube channel, The J Media and Instagram pages @jus_tyn and @thejmedia. Links to social media sites will be below. Thank you for reading!
Youtube: The J Media
Instagram: @jus_tyn @thejmedia
Facebook Page: The J Media
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I started modifying the car with the simple stuff first like changing out my halogen bulbs to HIDs, wrapping my chrome front grill in carbon fiber wrap, debadging the car emblems, plasti-dipped wheels etc. I just wanted to make my Lancer GT my own without breaking the bank. A couple of months passed and i decided to throw more money at the car. I bought a front lip, Injen cold air intake, Tein coilovers, and wheels. I told myself that I would just make the car a mild build since it was my daily driver. Here is how the car looked after 6 months of ownership.
I went to my first car show as a spectator and I remember a few people coming over to compliment me on my build and stopped to take photos with the car. That made me feel really proud! I started watching more Youtube videos, read up forums and did more research on what I could do to modify my car. I added more cosmetic car parts on the exterior to beautify it. I did not want to modify the car for power since Mitsubishi dealership told me that it would void my sweet 10 year/ 100,000 mile warranty. I changed to many different wheel and tire set ups in an attempt to get a better fitment. Some would say that I have a different wheel set up every few months the first 2 years that i owned the car..
My Lancer GT was at a stage where I felt I was "ready" to compete in car shows. I say "ready" because I thought my car was ready but it was not compared to the other competition. I entered my car in it's very first car show, Hot Import Nights Texas 2017. I was blown away by the caliber of some of the car builds at the car show. Some cars at car shows are on a different level! Some cars were garage queens, some were trailed to the car show venue and there were some that had a crazy attention to detail! Every car in a car show has to be screened before being accepted or denied to a car show. Photos of the exterior, interior, engine bay, trunk set up etc has to be submitted prior to the show. It was after my very first car show that I felt my car was not up to par with the others and I decided to build it up more. I needed more interior and engine bay parts.
As I added more parts to my car, I attended more car shows all around Texas to gain inspiration from others. I knew that my Lancer was an underdog when it went to car shows as I was placed in the same category as other Mitsubishi platforms like the Evo, Eclipse, 3000gt etc. I had to be unique to one up my competition. I wanted to build the car as a reflection of myself and to my liking, and not what was trendy.
Going into 2018, I set a goal for myself to win an award at a car show. This was not for any bragging rights but to prove to myself that if I set my mind to building a show car, I can make it an award winning show car from scratch! I started envisioning how I wanted my build to be and what parts I wanted on the car. I saved up and checked the parts off my list whenever I purchased it. I was building my dream build one part at a time. After going through a few different wheel set ups, I finally got my all-time favorite wheels – Rays Volk Racing TE37. They did cost a pretty penny but I knew that they would be worth it! I got a custom widebody kit made, (can be bought on my website) and started to get more custom parts for the car. I always pride myself that I never had a single oem Evo X part on the car. Not an Evo X hood, or wing. I wanted to be different. I retrofitted parts on my car from various cars including a 370z, R32 Skyline and more.
At the beginning of 2018, I planned to compete in 3 to 5 car shows for the year and hopefully take home an award. I ended up taking part in 7 car shows and taking home 3 awards at various car shows! I felt so proud as a car owner to have my build recognized after all that sweat, money, and hard work that was put in! The most memorable car show of 2018 for me would be winning Best Mitsubishi at Wekfest! If you guys know car shows, you would know that Wekfest throw one of the best car shows and the quality of cars are always steller. I felt so humbled to receive the award amongst other high caliber builds!
Fast forward to 2019, I wanted to apply the same formula but cut down on the number of car shows I attended. I had a bunch of fun attending car shows in 2018 but it was pretty tiring travelling every few months to a different city all around Texas. Not to mention getting ready for the show doing car show prep and putting on last minute parts! A good half of 2019 has already passed and I have attended 2 car shows so far and both have been great! Really fortunate to have placed in both shows and received awards as well. I plan to have my car in possibly another 3 shows for 2019. Besides car shows, I would also like to have some fun with the car on a track or autocross. I took the car to a Time Attack track day earlier this year and it was a bunch of fun! As we move towards the second half of 2019, I would like to continue getting more rare and unique parts for the car as well as have more seat time hopefully! I still have more plans to come for my Lancer GT so if you would like to stay updated on the build progress, make sure to follow me on my Youtube channel, The J Media!
Thank you so much if you managed to read all the way to the end. If you are new to the blog, make sure to check back for frequent blog posts! Also stay up to date on current car stuff by following my Youtube channel, The J Media and Instagram pages @jus_tyn and @thejmedia. Links to social media sites will be below. Thank you for reading!
Youtube: The J Media
Instagram: @jus_tyn @thejmedia
Facebook Page: The J Media
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The year was 2013. I just moved from Singapore to the US and landed in Austin, Texas to go to college. I needed a car to get me from point A to point B and I did not know a thing about picking out a car. Bear in mind, I was not into cars growing up and they meant nothing more than a mode of transportation to me. With a budget of under $5000 set in mind, I went on Craigslist and started the search for my first car. I was looking at Toyota Celicas and Chevy Cobalts when I stumbled upon this 1999 Milano Red Honda Civic EX Coupe. I did not think much about it and arranged for a test drive since it fit my budget and had low mileage. The car drove fine but the exterior and interior was in a pretty rough shape. The paint was flaking and clear coat on the roof and trunk was pretty much gone, exposing bare metal. As for the interior of the car, the seats had cigarette burn marks, there were what seemed to be knife marks on the sunroof cover, and it was missing sun visors. I was not sure if I wanted to pull the trigger on getting the car given the rough condition it was in. I told the seller that I had to sleep on it and give it some thought. I left and gave myself a day to think about it.
A day passed and after considering my options, I decided to pull the trigger and contacted the seller. We met up again and after inspecting the car one more time, I bought the car from him. I just got myself my first car! A 1999 Honda Civic Ex Coupe in my name! The car had 88,000 miles on the odometer which was low for the year and I knew that with some love, it would look great. I started doing more research about the car and if there was any aftermarket support for it and was glad to find a bunch online. Bear in mind, I did not know a single thing about cars back then even though Honda Civics had one of the largest aftermarket communities!
I started reading Honda forums, tuner magazines, watching Youtube videos and attended local car meets. I was so fascinated by the car culture and wanted to start modifying my Civic to make it my own. I started off by buying an aftermarket hood, then a front lip and a grill and then from that point on, the mod bug bit! In no time, I was throwing more money at the car, getting an intake and exhaust for it, throwing wheels and tires, suspension and brakes on it, aftermarket headlights and foglights, aftermarket steering wheel and bucket seats and the list just goes on.. The car was at a point that I was happy with taking it out to local car meets like Cars and Coffee and The Renegade meet. I made a bunch of car friends and enjoyed going to the weekly and monthly meets. I was in a happy place with my car until someone hit my car one fine day. I was devastated.
The hood and front bumper was crushed in and the radiator was busted. The car was not in a drivable condition. I received an insurance check for the damages a few weeks later and was in a dilemma whether to cut my losses and scrap the car or build it from the ground up again. I knew I could not just let my car go, so I decided to send it to a paint and body shop. The shop asked me if I wanted to paint the car back to the factory Milano Red but I decided to go for a color change. I had the car painted Black with Midnight Blue pearls. I patiently waited for my car to be painted and after being at the shop for two weeks, it was ready for pick up. I was in love with my Honda Civic all over again when I saw it! It looked like a brand new car!
I was excited to bring it to car meets again and it was after I painted the car that I met a bunch more car friends. The car looked great and I brought it to more car meets as well as took the car on the track a couple of times. I threw more mods at the car to make it the best it could be. Unfortunately, my happiness was short lived. Almost a year after I had my car freshly painted, someone backed into my car and it was back to the body shop. What bad luck! After I got my car back from the shop, this was also around the time that I bought my other car in late 2015 – a 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer GT. I shall leave the story on that car for another time.. I slowed down on mods for the Civic and used it as the daily driver, occasionally switching to different wheel set ups and doing regular maintenance on it. Drove the car around for the next few years and I kept the car till January 2019 when I decided to let it go. I posted up a feeler post on Craigslist one random day just to see if anyone would be interested in it. Most 1999 Honda Civics go for anywhere from $500 to $3000 depending on condition. I posted mine for $5000. I had a few people contact me about the car and the first buyer who came to see it bought it right away for the asking price without negotiation. It all happened so quickly that I was in a state of shock and quite honestly did not expect that. There was nothing wrong with the car, but I was ready for a change and wanted a newer daily. I had it for 6 years and everyone close to me thought that I would never sell the car. I guess money talks.
So that concludes my Honda Civic story! It has been over half a year but I still feel bittersweet about it. I made the new owner promise me to take good care of it and I get photo updates on how the car is doing every few months. They say your first car feels like your first love! My Honda Civic will always have a special place in my heart. Gone but never forgotten.
Thank you so much if you managed to read all the way to the end. I will include a full mod list of what has been done to the Honda Civic in my 6 years of ownership. If you are new to the blog, make sure to check back for frequent blog posts! Also stay up to date on current car stuff by following my Youtube channel, The J Media and Instagram pages @jus_tyn and @thejmedia. Links to social media sites will be below. Thank you for reading!
Youtube: The J Media
Instagram: @jus_tyn @thejmedia
Facebook Page: The J Media
List of modifications on my 1999 Honda Civic Coupe:
-Fresh coat of Black with Midnight blue pearl paint
- Type R Front grill
-Mugen front lip
-Black housing headlights
-Foglights
-HID 55w 6000k lightbulbs
-Front strut bar
-Eibach Sportsline springs
-Koni Yellow Struts
-Whiteline Rear Sway bar
-Whiteline Subframe
-Brembo Rotors
-Hawk Performance HPS Pads
-BF Goodrich Sport Comp 2 tires
-Enkei RPF1 wheels
-HIC Rear visor
-Tow hook
-K&N Cold air intake
-NGK Spark plugs with spark plug wires
-DC Sport 4-2-1 Headers
-Yonaka Motorsports catback exhaust
-NRG bucket seats
-NRG quick release steering wheel
-Chrome gas pedals
-Carbon Fiber shift knob
-Kenwood stereo
-Infinity speakers
-Tein Hood dampers
Welcome to The J Media! My name is Justin and I would like to take you along with me on my car journey.
Let's take it back a few years.. The year was 2013 and I moved to Austin, Texas from Singapore and got my first car in the US. It was a beat up 1999 Honda Civic EX Coupe that I bought for a good deal, not knowing a single thing about cars. My buddy, Conrad, brought me to my first car meet and it consisted of mostly classic American muscle cars. I remember taking a bunch of photos and after that first car meet, I was hooked. After getting back home, I went on Google and typed in "Austin car meets" to look up more local car meets. First thing that popped up was my local Cars and Coffee meet. I decided to step out of my comfort zone and attended my first Cars and Coffee alone. It was pretty intimidating at first not knowing people in the car scene but I had a bunch of fun. People were nice and were happy to share about their cars. Acquaintances soon became friends. These friends then introduced me to their other car friends and before i knew it, I started to know more people in the local car community!
Fast forward to 2015 and i have began to modify my Honda Civic and frequent car meets. I decided to pick up a first generation GoPro to film car meets and install videos. I wanted to document my journey with cars through my videos. The J Media's Youtube channel was born! Towards the end of 2015, i picked up my other car - 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer GT. My Honda Civic was my first budget build but i told myself that I wanted to build my Mitsubishi Lancer into a show car and compete in car shows.
Since 2015, i have been involving myself in the car scene and met a bunch of people. I am grateful for the friendships forged along the way, as well as the many things that i have learned about cars. I traveled to car events all around Texas, experiencing car meets, car shows, time attack track days, drift events, track day at the drag strip and a bunch more! I can't wait to share more with you guys! Be sure to follow my various social media platforms to stay tune for more awesome car stuff!
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/zuyu1
Instagram: @jus_tyn and @thejmedia
https://www.instagram.com/jus_tyn/?hl=en
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Facebook Page: The J Media
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