Shin Kaeru 神カエル-My build(-ish?) thread

[Ihatecars]

Thats a good looking Bilstein, Ground Control, and Fat Cat shock setup!!!

Tanks!!!
I was sad when I put them in my car because I couldn't look at them anymore.

Yes it is! More pictures... and video! She must be like a brand new car!

I'm starting to dabble with the video functions of my DSLR. Hopefully sometime soon I'll have a video to showcase my car with. I'll make sure to include plenty of driving.

And as far as the ride, it's amazing. Almost like night and day. I wouldn't say a new car, but definitely a different car. I mean that in the best way possible.

Looking good. Clint at GHM is my guy for anything mechanical. I need a alignment so I'll probably be visiting him again soon.

Clint will do you right. I was amazed by how much of a difference an alignment could make.

That suspension setup looks so rad. I've been looking into it a lot for myself, so it's nice to see it on a car I admire so much!

I'd definitely recommend this set up. Very comfortable to drive while still providing some pretty decent performance.

You admire my car?!

Glad you got the Billstein dampers set-up!!

Loving the car man

You definitely helped me a lot with choosing a setup. I couldn't have done it without you, Erick.

nice setup. Which bilsteins and top hats did you get?? Im thinking of building a set of my NB as well

They're Bilstein HD's. They were recommend to me by Shaikh at FCM. The top hats are ISC Racing. 1" front and 1.5" in the rear.

This setup feels and performs well, but definitely won't get you very low. I'm not sure what your plans are for your build, but that's definitely something to think about when considering this setup.

Those look pretty

Don't even talk to me about "pretty". Your car is on another freaking level, Garrett.

[Ihatecars]

Nothing too exciting has happened with me or my Roadster. I've been very busy with a few recent projects that have taken both a lot of my time and money away from Shin. This has put a big damper on my build.

I did make a recent trip to SEMA this month to take some photos. It was definitely an experience. I got the chance to network with a lot of big people, and see a lot of the behind the scenes work that goes into some of the bigger automotive media and journalism outlets.

Here are a few pictures from my trip. Hope you guys enjoy.















I also added a roundel to Shin. I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about the addition of a roundel on my car, but it definitely added an attention grabbing element that my car didn't have before.

[bogaut]

i went the roundel route too, it does get a lot more attention, but trying to explain what it is gets a little old

[Pantsoffstanceoff]

Been debating the roundels on my car forever. Maybe once I get flares....sigh

[etikoner]

Loving your snaps Nic. I'm sure it was an awesome experience going to Sema.
I like the big meatball on your car, however, I think it would look more in place with a more aggresive "stance"
(Lower Ride height and meaty grippy tires, Like on that sweeet ford pinto lol)

[atxsbigwalt]

i freaking love your style of photography

[Ihatecars]

i went the roundel route too, it does get a lot more attention, but trying to explain what it is gets a little old

I just call it a polka dot. I don't even both trying to explain.

Been debating the roundels on my car forever. Maybe once I get flares....sigh

Just go for it. They're cheap and add a lot of visual splash to the car.

Loving your snaps Nic. I'm sure it was an awesome experience going to Sema.
I like the big meatball on your car, however, I think it would look more in place with a more aggresive "stance"
(Lower Ride height and meaty grippy tires, Like on that sweeet ford pinto lol)

Thanks, Erick! Sema was definitely an experience I won't be forgetting any time soon.

...I like my modest stance.

And that Pinto was awesome.

i freaking love your style of photography

Thanks a lot! It means a lot to me when people say they like my photography. I know the more vintage look isn't everybody's cup of tea, so it's especially special to me when people actually like it.

[Ihatecars]

Shin and I hit a milestone a few nights ago.



55,555 miles. I bought my car with just under 45k on the clock. That means I've put 10,000 miles on Shin. I've sure I've done this on some of my other cars I cared about less, but that's the thing. I didn't care about those other cars like I do Shin.

Enough with the romantic talk.

I've really fallen in love with the 90's look.













Rod's car(Red S13) really does it for me. (btw is Rod of AUTOnGRAPHIC the same Rod from Tetsuya Garage? I'm 95% sure he is, but there's always that 5%)

I've been toying with the idea of attempting this style with my car, but I've toyed with a lot of ideas.

Pictures for reference




One problem I'm having is that I can't find a wangan wing/whale tail spoiler that I like. There's the Bomex example but it makes our cars look like a Lotad I've seen the Wing West Spoiler(which might be a replica of the one above), but it's a little too rounded for my blood.

I'm a huge fan of the Mugen 3-piece spoiler for the S2000.



It's aggressive, sleek, cool, and also definitely not for our cars.

I think I might go with a duck tail spoiler. I really like the way the Jet Stream Type-2 spoiler.



Here's a picture of the spoiler on Otani HiroshiSho's car.

I've also been giving some major consideration into buying a set of SSR MK1's.
One of the first NA Miatas that really caught my eye had these wheels on. Ever since then they've had a special place in my heart.



Yeah, they're definitly not every bodies cup of tea, but I like them.

Another wheel option are TE37v's. I'm just not too sure of what they'd look like in a smaller size/lower offset like I'd want.



They look awesome wide, but the less aggressive sizes leave something to be desired.



I'm definitely not 100% on any of these wants. I tend to change my mind a lot when it comes to what I want from my little Roadster. Next week I could start looking at Chaser Kits for all I know.



Oh, and sorry about how this post ended up being me rambling about what I'd like to do with my car. In this posts earlier drafts it was much more thought out, but that resulted in a convoluted mess of over sentimentalism. It was probably a bit better off as far as grammar and spelling in it's earlier drafts though. Let's just blame my poor writing skills on it being 5:30am on a Tuesday.

[Pantsoffstanceoff]

Hoshino and ssr mkI would be a great combo if you are looking to run mismatched wheels. Love that your going this direction with your car, will suit it perfectly

[— Phatmiata —]

Ummmmmm sorry I am late in reading this but wow you went to SEMA!?!?

where are the booth babe pics?

And where is the ND Miata with said booth babe pics!! You cannot tease us like this man, its just not fair!

[Ihatecars]

Hoshino and ssr mkI would be a great combo if you are looking to run mismatched wheels. Love that your going this direction with your car, will suit it perfectly

There's a set of Hoshino's for sale right now for something like $800. I've been so tempted to buy them, but the offset is pretty week. I've been thinking of buying two TE37v's for a mismatched look with my RPF1's. I really want a set of oldschool 3 piece wheels though.

Btw, you're MK1's are amazing.

Ummmmmm sorry I am late in reading this but wow you went to SEMA!?!?

where are the booth babe pics?

And where is the ND Miata with said booth babe pics!! You cannot tease us lake this man, its just not fair!

SEMA was crazy. I took so many photos. I was so amazed by all the cars I didn't snap a single photo of any girls.

I've barely had enough time to edit all the photos for my deadlines so the majority of my photos have been left untouched.

I did finish this one photos of the ND.



It was awesome.

[— fwdtamiya —]

I was going to suggest the Wing's West. I know there are a lot of similar wings out there. Garage Vary has a 3 piece, but it's stubby, closer to OEM than wangan.

[Ihatecars]

I was going to suggest the Wing's West. I know there are a lot of similar wings out there. Garage Vary has a 3 piece, but it's stubby, closer to OEM than wangan.

Damn it, Garrett. You're supposed to know all about obscure Miata parts.

I'm not totally against the Wing West spoiler. It does seem to be about the closest thing to what I'm looking for that is readily available. It just isn't exactly what I want.
As far as the GV 3-piece, I was looking something with a little more upward angle. About a 20 degree angle?

[etikoner]

Mazel tov on that mileage milestone!

I agree with the 90's styling, sure looks nice and clean. I just can't agree on you about the MK1's
That white car with mesh wheels makes me wanna do that stupid lifted hood mod that's detrimental to the car's cooling, looks so badass haha.

I'd wanna get a KG works spoiler, but I've never really been set on it. Maybe buy a dope JDM trunk for that look?

[Joelioooo]

All your ideas are perfect and will definitely create something amazing, Nic.
Rod's RPS13 is amazing, a great inspiration to me as well, i love that he's running 14s instead of the usual 15 setup, makes me want to trade in my 14s and run 13s just to pull off a similar look.