A VERY old picture of the Miata & S2000, back when I just started modifying the Miata....

Most of the time, I feel like a social awkward instead of the social butterfly I’m supposed to be. (Gemini here.)

So it’s fun, really, to have some nice conversations with people in which I can really connect. Most of the time, chances are good I won’t ever see these people again.

But it’s still nice to relate to someone for a tiny bit, know what I mean?

What’s with the magazines…??

Funny, but I can recall two distinct instances in which a couple of these brief conversations were struck up because of magazines.

The first was when I was getting a copy of Modified on a lunch break. The guy in line behind me said something, so we had a good minute or two car chat. It was another of the failed invites to an autocross in the end, but I’d like to think I make a positive impact for girls as far as cars go.

I really remember that one because it was only minutes after I chatted with a rotor-head as I was headed off on my lunch break. Now that’s someone I wish I could run into again… His white FC was immaculate looking, simply beautiful!!

The other magazine incident was when purchasing a copy of Project Car Tuner. The guy who rang my stuff up asked if I had a project. Yeah, my 240SX! After a minute or two, it was exchanged that I like JDM and he was into Euro, having had a couple of VW’s after having a Civic and deciding it wasn’t his thing.

Curiosity’s Invoked

It all makes me wonder what they ended up thinking of me. Totally selfish, I know, but I’m very concerned with giving off the wrong impression of a car girl.

I want to show that I know my stuff, I’m not stupid, and my cars will never be hot pink. I can’t really do that in a minute or two, can I?

Well…. Probably could, but only if I controlled the entire conversation and worked on an elevator pitch for it. That doesn’t sound like too much fun, really. And these things happen spontaneously anyhow.

In the end, it’s things like this that I like. Connecting with other car people is fun, and I really enjoy it. (Sometimes, though, I just wish I’d have more real friends, not a huge list of acquaintances.)

Infected Perspective

If I told you to think of how low a car is before you consider it crazy, what is that?

Is the car bagged, so that it just about sits on the ground when there’s no air in the suspension?

Or is it a car that you think is lowered but actually turns out to be stock?

Well, I suppose that depends on what you drive….

If you drive a lowered car, something on bags probably beats you if you’ve still got real suspension components.

If you drive a truck or SUV, our S2000 looks lowered. Even though she actually isn’t.

How Low is Low?

My Miata is definitely lowered, thanks to some lovely Flyin’ Miata suspension bits. She was even taller than other Miatas previous to this, something about the ‘97 NA’s made them the tallest of the first gens, can’t remember why exactly.

Anyhow, she’s lowered, but I hardly consider her to be a low car… Not compared to some of the cars I’ve seen! Does that mean she’s not low? Well, I suppose not. But I no longer think of her as a very low car. To me, she’s normal. (But she’s also not that small to me, so part of it is just that I drive her nearly every day and she is my norm.)

So, in your personal taste, what do you consider low to be?

And do you have to be crazy low to look good? Can you be too low? I’ve got a million ways I could pitch questions about this, lol. So have at it, please.

Exhibits A & B

Exhibit A -- She's low, but is she low enough to be called low?

Exhibit B -- Now she's low... But is this just low, or insanely low?

Autocross #1

February 21, 2010. A cold, rainy winter day. War Memorial Stadium… The first autocross of the local SCCA chapter’s season.

Sadly, I’ve become very attached to sleeping in whenever I get the chance. And with the threat of rain, well, I wasn’t eager to go racing anyhow. (I’d rather not, it’s really not fun to me haha. I’ve done it once or twice and that was enough!)

My “Job”

It’s also fairly sad that I’ve become attached to the whole photography thing, in a way. You see, it’s pretty impossible for me to take pictures of my car racing and be the one out there racing. I really need to get myself one of the cameras for recording that stuff, and mount it to my roll bar…. But I also want a transmitter for track days. (Expensive stuff, to say the least!)

When I’m not racing, I want to take pictures. Lots of them. Especially when I have a bunch of good cars in the same spot! Perfect.

I had already decided that I wanted to try to get some panning shots. I’ve always loved the way they turn out — a clear, crisp car and a blurred background, the implication of speed.

It’s one thing to read about photography techniques, and it’s a whole other thing to go out and put them into practice. Once I found out “how” to do it, it was up to me to practice it until it turned out.

My biggest lesson learned? I desperately need a zoom lens if I want to do this often…… My pictures turned out way better than I ever expected them to, but the lack of zoom was pretty depressing.

My Success

Enough chit chat, here are my successful panning shots! Please, let me know what you think?

So happy it turned out! Haha.

I couldn't tell how the pics looked until I got home. (I'm impatient, so the wait sucks!)

The car, of course, is an AP2 S2000, owned by a friend.

I have no favorite between these really, they all turned out great, just the lack of zoom that bugs me. D:

Why was I such a stickler? Because I knew the image I wanted to portray. I take a lot of pride in showing that girls can get down and dirty and play rough just like the boys can, and I can build a car with the best of them. I wanted to capture anyone’s attention who was remotely interested, to show that cars and girls means more than a scantily-clad model splaying herself over some exotic.

It is what it is, no?

What I wish is that thinking of a “car girl” didn’t conjure up images worthy of adult magazines. That it didn’t mean bikinis or going braless. That, for me to have any hopes of getting any attention whatsoever, I’d have to forgo the clothing I find so comfortable.

There’s part of me that wishes I was “car model material.” I’d like to think that it’s normal for any girl to wish they were model material. That they could be whisked away, glamorous photo shoots for work and no worries about logging hours behind some desk. You know, a somewhat luxurious life. (Please don’t try to argue against that, okay? It beats a lot of jobs.)

But why is it always that way?

And I get that most “car girls” are only there for as much show as some cars exist for. Some are pretty, some are just nasty and others are downright whores. There’s classy and then there’s trashy… To me:

Trashy — most magazines that I see, which makes me stay away from them hardcore.

Classy — it’s always pin-ups here that set the bar. That will always be endlessly classy to me, and I’m thinking about getting a pin-up girl tattoo sometime in my future.

But there’s the small overlooked female population that are true gearheads. We don’t exist solely to prey on car guys, rather we see them as buddies who share a hobby important to us.

Girls can build nice cars too, like this Civic that made it to Super Street. (Which I found on Car Domain, but the girl behind the car is actually rather nice, or at least that’s my impression from talking to her once.) Oh, and of course there’s the other female blogger on my blog roll and her CTR.

Here's my personal exhibit for a nicely built girl's car. Most people don't argue.

We’re out there. We exist. Yet our existence seems constantly in denial from guys who aren’t willing to search. Or those who just won’t take the time to teach a girl who’s willing to learn but might not be open about it.

Funny enough, from my experience guys who don’t know a bunch about cars are more willing to talk to me about it than another guy. Some just don’t realize how much I know, others are more comfortable admitting that they aren’t super smart about it and want to chat with someone on their level, or who won’t make fun of them for it. Works for me, honestly, because the friends that I have who are levels above me take their time to teach me things or correct me when I’m wrong.

Why can’t…

It be okay for a girl to be more than a pretty face? For a girl to know how to drive better than a guy? For a girl to know more about a car mechanically than a guy?

Why does every girl associated with cars have to be wearing next to nothing, just to be noticed? (I wonder this period, not just when it comes to cars, actually…)

I just be me, and be praised for being a girl who’s model size but not necessarily dressed like a slut?

I feel okay with being me and not dressing like that… :/

I’ll be alright with the fact that I’ll probably never be a model, never garner a bunch of attention or ever feel pretty enough.

But hey, at least I can drive, right?

Intrigued? I was...

Meet EG.Girl

I’ll confess, I have a huge weakness for EG and EK hatches. I love the lines of an EK, and my husband had an EG that I came to adore. We’ve contemplated picking up another hatch many, many times… I’d love it, honestly. (Well, I am partial to my RWD though. )

What I love most about this car is the purple BBS wheels. Hello!! Definitely hot, definitely a girly touch, but absolutely not over the top. Classy for sure.

I love these wheels in the purple.... <3

The Mods

Directly from the girl behind the car, via a friend of mine:

“It’s a JDM B20B bottom end with a Spec R head, Spec R transmission
GSR shift linkage
AEBS intake manifold
70 mm Skunk2 throttle body
AEM fuel rail
AEM ITR intake
Hytech replica big tube header
P28 ECU chipped on Crome
Apexi Worldsport 2 full exhaust
Omni Sport coilovers with the springs switched around
Skunk2 lower control arms
JDM ITR rear anti-sway bar
Ebay no name floor stiffening bar(bolts into seat belts)
GSR rear disc conversion with drilled and slotted rotors

The bay is mildly tucked

The wheels are BBS RS 3 piece wheels, tires are some shitty Nexen N3000’s which don’t grab as well as my old Toyo Proxes T1R’s but meh lol

Interior has a few ITR parts:
Seats, shift boot, shift knob
SIR cluster

Vision lip”

The Future Plans:

“I want to do an LS turbo build and try and be one of the only girls with a 10 second hatch. The car needs body work, that will happen soon enough. That’s really about it.”

Nothing But Support Here!

I’ve got nothing but support for this car and her owner, for real. After stopping by the last autocross, I’ve realized that I do have a few female friends who are into cars there and their support means a ton to me.

While I’m in no way ready to be a mentor, I want to continue the support on to other girls who are probably going through some of the same things I am — “Oh, is that your boyfriend’s car?” Ugh, worst question ever.

There are way, way too few girls who are truly into cars to bicker and be spiteful of each other. I truly hope she achieves her goals with this Civic and that, someday, we’ll be reading about it in a magazine feature like Jade’s CTR. (Hopefully my 240SX too, haha!)

The Pics…

Love rolling shots... Especially of clean cars like this.

Civics don't need a whole lot on the outside to look good.

Nice from all sides.

I can't wait to see this car end up as a finished project. Maybe I'll get lucky and be able to do a future update?

All credit goes to Will for making this happen, a million thanks dude. All the pictures used in this feature are his, so definitely hit him up on twitter or flickr!

Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh

I’m sure everyone’s seen the above painting before. If you haven’t, I think you’ve been living under a rock.

Here’s another of my favorite paintings, that’s in a very different style:

The Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dali

And I’m going to tell you something odd — both of these paintings have one key trait in common… The artists put some heart and soul into their creations. These paintings were both infused with a bit of passion.

Heart & Soul?

Okay, okay, maybe it’s cheesy of me, but hear me out a bit.

You know how when you drive through an old neighborhood, all the houses are different and have character?

Then you drive through a new neighborhood, and every other house is the same?

Would you rather have a house with character or the house that everyone else has? If you say the one that everyone else has, my apologies. Your life really must suck.

Build Character.

In life, we shouldn’t strive to be just another number. You should just be true to yourself… We are all alike, but we are also all different. And that’s okay.

You know what makes ricers really boring? The fact that once you’ve seen one, it does a pretty good job of summing them all up. You can assume a lot of things about the other ricer cars just from seeing one example, and be fairly correct in those assumptions.

It’s one of my favorite things about the two communities I belong to — I’ve never seen two Miata’s or 240SX’s that were unintentionally identical. There’s just so much a person can do that there’s never a need to have them look exactly alike.

And then you have cars that are stock, mildly built, moderately built or completely modified.

A stock car is like a blank canvas — Those who have the urge to paint on it are free to do so, and the most recognition you can get comes from painting in a way that’s unique to you.

Do it for yourself, nobody else.

The happiest car people are the ones who have built a car they adore, for themselves, and ignore what anyone else thinks.

Can you see the pattern in what makes the most popular internet cars go viral?

They don’t fit into any one trend category. They’re an expression of their owner’s creative vision, built only for their liking and never to impress anyone else.

What makes these cars popular is the reactions they cause — usually either a “love it” or “hate it” type of dichotomy. Their impact is strong because they have character. They aren’t run of the mill. They’re extraordinary.

So quit following what everyone else does. Do things your own way.

Put a little heart, soul and personality into everything you do.

Be extraordinary.

If not, well, I’m a fairly impatient person. When I find something that I want, I can end up pursuing it doggedly until it becomes mine. I have a bad habit of often achieving one goal, only to raise the bar up and get right to work on the next segment of the goal, pushing higher and higher.

I don’t like to wait.

I really, truly don’t. When I decide to drive on autocross days, I hate waiting to get out there for my first run. I have so much built-up adrenaline that I can’t wait to let it out and enjoy it, conquering the bit of nerves and firming up plans of attack.

After I get the first run out, I evaluate the parts of the course I can make the most improvements on, which I struggled with and guess where I’ll have the most trouble. When I’m in the middle of it, I’m cool and calculating, the nerves disappear and I focus on doing the best I can and learning what I can.

No matter what, I'll do what it takes to make sure I can race & modify my cars.

At the end of the day, I’m wore out but when I think back, I realize how much fun it was and how it’s another step towards improving and pushing my limits.

Living in the now.

I’m not sure I would have had the courage to start until after I modified my Miata. In fact, I had her for a whole year, almost a year and a half before we autocrossed for the first time. I was a bit embarrassed driving a stock car when almost all the others are modified, which of course was silly and simply a convenient excuse.

So I started small, with turn signal intakes, and by the time I raced for the first time she had her RPF1’s and a Flyin’ Miata suspension. It was the push I needed to get out there and do it, and I’ve been enjoying racing ever since. It makes me feel alive, and it’s what I hope to do a lot more of.

Don’t wait, be impatient.

I am a bit sad that I wasted so much time getting started, but it turned out good for me in the end. I became the Rookie of the Year, which was what I wanted. It felt like a stretch goal, but I persisted and came out on the other side, having achieved my goal.

When you find what you’re passionate about, I don’t think you should wait to get started on it. Whether it’s a small step in the right direction, like my turn signal intakes were, or a bigger step like my first autocross, just start.

The people who think you can’t do it, or shouldn’t do it, well… Ignore them. Their opinions should be counted as invalid — Only listen to those who show that they want to support you, even if they think you’re a bit crazy.

There’s no time like the present to invest in your passions and what makes you happy. If it’s truly your passion, it’s worth whatever sacrifice it takes… And only you can determine what that is.

Sharing the Love

First off, I wanted to thank Freddy for the mention this past week here. It really does mean a lot to me when I get support from the community.

Without it, I don’t know how far I’d have gotten. I definitely couldn’t keep going without it. So thanks, guys, for putting up with a girl like me. I work hard to play with the boys! It’s awesome when that work is appreciated.

I also wanted to mention the latest Theme Tuesday that Stance Is Everything put out this past week. Much love to classy car models, I’d love to join their ranks someday…

Waiting for Love

Friday saw the arrival of a used MAF, which will hopefully get my 240SX back up and running. If this happens for Valentine’s Day, it’s all I could really ask for! I miss her dearly, and I can’t wait to drive her for the first time. It’s promising to be quite the experience, and I’m eager to take her to school again.

I am hopeful that this fixes her issue.....

Coming Up…

I’m excited for the rest of February. On the 21st is the first official autocross of the year! Planning to take lots of pictures, and hopefully show off my SR20DET after the long winter project months.

On the 28th, I’m leading the Miata Club on a Polar Bear Run. Last year’s was wet, with a tiny bit of snow. I’m hoping for cool, crisp, dry weather so the top can come down. I never thought I’d be the one to lead group drives, but after doing the first one back in November, it’s not so bad! I just wish I could take pictures too. (But being in the front and driving makes that pretty close to impossible.)

March promises to be even more exciting, when there’s an autocross in the beginning of the month and then we’re heading out to Myrtle Beach over spring break to join up with Miatas at Myrtle Beach IV. M@MB III was a blast last year, and we’re showing up two days early to enjoy the Beach and help them get all set up for the weekend. Funny enough, we’ll be taking the S2000 instead of the Miata this year, but they already know and we did say  last year they had to meet her.

Last year we had a blast at Myrtle Beach, we can't wait to go back this year!

All in all, the winter will finally be drawing to a close, events will pick back up and I’m eager to get out and socialize!

Stay Tuned….

Tax refund time is here for us, and I’m scheming a new thing or two to celebrate…. You don’t wanna miss it, I promise.

She was a random spot in a mall parking lot, because she was parked near our car when we went to leave. I definitely couldn’t resist breaking out my precious SLR and snapping a few quick shots. I love that camera.

And yes, I know these were already on my Flickr… But not everyone goes through that, and they’re handy to show that I don’t just notice imports. (In case anyone wanted to get stupid and suggest something like that.)

1964-1/2 Ford Mustang

I definitely appreciate old school styling.

She's from when automatics were uncommon, and thus kinda cool.

Definitely an iconic car, I love the looks and she was in amazing shape.

The Kuhmo tires entertained me... I guess I wasn't expecting to see them. Wheels were also nice.

Hopefully I’ll be able to find & share more nice, random cars in the future. It would be nice to have some as part of my 365-day photo project! This girl was found before that started.

I like Function

I don’t think anyone can take this as surprise, but I come from the “form follows function” camp. I love how my Miata’s lip and splitter look, but I love them even more because both are fully functional.

I’m apt to say things like, “If it doesn’t make me faster, it doesn’t need to be on my car.”

I adore my Enkei RPF1’s because they’re incredibly light-weight racing wheels that aren’t stupid expensive. They also look hella good in my opinion.

Function before form in my Miata build.

I enjoy driving my Miata around cones and on the track… Which requires things like suspension travel. I currently live in a state that’s less than friendly to low-stanced cars, and my Miata’s a ‘97, the tallest year for the NA. (I think I knew why once upon a time, but I can’t think of why right now. They just are… All of them.)

I also like Form

My 240SX is an exercise in balancing form and function. I want her to be able to drift… But she’s also mainly my cruise around and look pretty car. It would be fun to have a car that’s not super slow but also looks good. S13’s pull that off really well, I think.

I plan on paying attention to the aesthetics of my Sil-Eighty build — Everything from the Silvia front-end conversion, to the gold VS-XX’s I want to the Midnight Purple Pearl color she’ll end up is meant to make one gorgeous looking but not slow car. I’m not sure I could tolerate just a pretty exterior and a neglected interior. I want her to be more than just a pretty face.

However, I’m not going to super extremes and compromising complete functionality for the form. I want the SR20DET swap to mean something, other than just being JDM. I want her to look good and kick some tail too, whereas the Miata can have faded paint and I’m not too worried about my little track warrior.

The fitment lovers should be happy when my 240SX is done, here she is currently. Big plans though.

Think of her as my show build, sort of, but taking into account my love of improving cars as far as performance goes.

What I don’t get is…

Why people go to extreme lengths to build cars that they either won’t drive, can’t drive or are damn near impossible to drive. Like, omg I can’t take it anywhere because I’m afraid I won’t make it kind.

Why a FWD car needs crazy rear camber just to fit wheels. Doesn’t that make the car handle awkward?

Why anyone would put performance work into a car with an air suspension. It’s never gonna get used, it’s just there… Isn’t that a bit of a waste just to say, “Hey, look what I’ve got”?

What I’m not saying:

It’s pointless to build cars that make you happy. If it makes you happy, far be it from me to tell you otherwise.

Rear camber isn’t ever necessary on FWD cars. When you cross that line, though, you’re only setting yourself up for some nasty bouts of understeer. I know understeer and I know oversteer, and there’s no way in hell I would ever do something to induce understeer. It just plain sucks. (And can be very dangerous. Especially if you’re setting your car up for that and adding power at the same time.)

It’s a waste of money to pay attention to all areas of your car. I understand that show cars are judged based on everything, which I don’t get. Wouldn’t you rather have another set of wheels than a turbo upgrade you won’t ever get to fully enjoy?

The Take-Away Points

I will always love a car with a good stance, be it stance from function or stance for form.

I do not like when the form-first guys try to act like their cars beat my function-first ones. You get mostly one or the other, there are compromises to be made. If you don’t track your car, I don’t care if you think yours can beat mine on the track… Prove it then.

There are some things I just do not get because I don’t understand why people would do them. When I wonder these things aloud or in comments, I’ve had people jump down my throats for it. I get that you can’t tell my meaning, but I’m not saying it to be negative. I am genuinely trying to understand why it came out that way, and would like it if someone would take the time to gently point it out for me.

Because of the perceived negativity, I often don’t check comments again after something I think people will get mad about… So I really don’t gain anything from it. I’ve seen enough people ripped apart on the internet to know that it’s probably happened to me and it can get very ugly.

I hate when people act like everything they see is the greatest thing ever. Just because a blog that you agree with most of the time posts something, that doesn’t mean you have to like it… Cars would be very boring if everyone had the same tastes.

I also do not like it when someone who does something different gets an inflated opinion of themselves… Congrats for doing something different, but that doesn’t make it the most amazing thing ever. And it never detracts from someone doing a “traditional” build. There’s something to be said when you work with the tried and true and put your own spin on it.

Does this make me a bad person? Can you see my points? It’s ridiculous how many times I’ve tweaked this post, just to make sure it’s got the right tone I’m trying to project….