RWB 90210: Hamachi

Boden Autohaus in Costa Mesa, CA is a boutique style aftermarket shop specializing in air suspension builds. Their continued knack for pushing the envelope and rapid growth has positioned Boden as a powerful player in the high-end customs industry. During the 2016 Boden Bash, we caught a few glimpses of one of their most illustrious builds, the RWB Porsche 993 known as #RWBhamachi. Hamachi (which translates in English as Yellowtail) is the flagship build of the RWB 90210 group, located here on the West Coast. Photos & Words: Michael Phillips Each and every RWB project, is a one-off, hand-made kit installed personally installed by Naka himself. The legendary Japanese tuning house has built for itself a name that sits amongst the very top of aftermarket exclusivity. In addition to its iconic RAUH-Welt body, Hamachi features a one-off suspension configuration from Boden. The very capable bagged set up pairs perfectly with the ultra deep…Continue Reading

Life On Air: Cody Miles Subaru STI

Driven is a perfectly fitting double entendre to describe Time Attack champ and all around badass, Cody Miles. Cody is a sort of racetrack pioneer, mapping new territories of motorsports by piloting his 2007 Subaru WRX STI to new heights – and LOWS. The JDM superstar however, with its deep rally roots, is no stranger to racing. So what is it that sets Cody’s home-built track weapon apart from most? That would be its lack of static coil suspension. Cody’s love of automotive freedom extends to his pride and joy Subaru STI. That’s right, this iconic AWD track machine is equipped with a fully tuned Air Lift Performance suspension setup. Photos: Mike Alexander | Words: Michael Phillips | Video: David Apodaca Yes, this real-life racecar is airbagged. With a combination of functionally aggressive styling, quality Air Lift Performance goodies, and an exceptionally skillful and dialed driver, the STI makes its way around the track much faster…Continue Reading

SEMA 2016: THE BIG FIVE-0

Just a few days before SEMA 2016, as I prepared to make the short road trip from Slam’d HQ in Southern California, I made an appointment to have a rock chip in my windshield repaired. I chatted with the tech while he filled the rock chip and thanked him for the peace of mind he was providing for a long drive. After telling him the drive would be to the world famous SEMA Show, his eyes lit up a bit and he began asking quite a few questions. Even those uninterested in our automotive lifestyle have often heard of SEMA Show’s prowess. For anyone who has not yet attended the show in person, it remains somewhat clouded, as if it were an occasion out of mythology or fairytale. However, as I experienced my first ever SEMA Show in person just days ago, I can attest with first hand confidence that it…Continue Reading

The “Ruined” Stallion: Japan Drift King’s 348

“Ruin: to injure (a thing) irretrievably” Ruin and/or ruined exists as a staple of vocabulary within the current climate of automotive enthusiasm and industry. The word, whether it is being used as a verb or adjective, is tossed around quite carelessly, particularly when being used to describe the stylistic choices from outside one’s own genre of interest. However, in this context of cars and customs, “Ruined has transcended literal meaning (like so many buzzwords and key phrases do). Rather than remain bound to its dictionary definition, ruined often serves as a charactuer of the build which it describes. It signifies that the build has reached ultimate levels of a certain stylism. Custom builders and owners alike now quite regularly wear the label as a badge of honor; one that both flies in the face of purists and critics, as well as manifests having achieved a top-shelf level of customization, uniqueness, and…Continue Reading

Airlift Performance: Tax Season Deal

It’s tax season, and you know what that means: Time to get everything squared away before show season is in full swing. For the month of February, Air Lift Performance dealers will be offering up to 25% off all ALP products. This includes complete performance air suspension kits and even the latest control systems. This tax season deal started 2/1/17 and will run through the end of day 2/28/17. That means there is no better time than now to SLAM all the rides! From bagged BMWs or that killer MK7, to Chevy C10s laid out on Dominators, to smoking R35 GT-R’s and S550 Mustangs. “Show season is almost here, and now is a great time to buy from one of our dealers,” says Devin Pringle, Air Lift Performance’s Marketing Manager. “We know that if you didn’t take advantage of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal, it was because you were likely holding…Continue Reading

Dakota Digital: HDX Applications for Chevelle

Dakota Digital is proud to unveil the HDX series of instrumentation! This new series now includes applications to fit 1964-65, 1966-67, 1968, 1969 and 1970-72 Chevrolet Chevelle models! The HDX series from Dakota Digital is the latest in aftermarket automotive instrumentation technology. Expanding upon the extremely popular VHX-series, HDX takes personalization and usability to a whole new dimension. Available with your choice of black or silver alloy gauge-face styling, each HDX system allows the user to select their favorite illumination color for the gauge readings and needles, as well as the TFT message center displays. Calibration and personal settings can be manipulated with the built-in, capacitive-touch buttons, or the available Bluetooth app for Apple and Android devices. Each needle hub is spun-aluminum and black nickel plated to match the buttons. With the instrument system dialed in, including calibration of the speedometer and fuel gauge, the system can calculate your remaining…Continue Reading

SEMA 2016: New Product Spotlight

For its 50th undertaking, the SEMA Show proved to have been bigger and more extensive than ever before. The Automotive Mecca once again over took the city of Las Vegas, bringing together the greatest innovations and automotive powerhouses in the industry. While SEMA is certainly well known for the unfathomable number of top-shelf industry builds, behind each build is a series of manufacturers and builders who have put countless hours into making the rides possible to begin with – utilizing the latest and greatest product innovations across multiple genres. We scoured the vast SEMA show floor to bring you some of the very best products and people in the business, supplying the automotive industry with the parts necessary to turn dreams into reality and stun onlookers, year after year. Innovation fueled by passion is what breaths new life into the automotive industry each and every year. AIR LIFT PERFORMANCE First up is Air…Continue Reading

Artist Profile: Max Grundy – Fear is the New Beauty

Max Grundy is a name known far and wide for his one-of-a-kind “post apocalyptic” creations. One of the most talented and unique artists to have brought his own style to the automotive world, we’re quite fortunate to have him as an integral part of Team Slam’d. As the auto-industry has developed over the last century and-a-half, customs having popularized through the decades but automotive/car art is still a relatively new creative endeavor in comparison. We spent a day with the grand-master himself to learn more about what makes him tick: Photos: Mike Alexander | Words: Michael Phillips & Mike Alexander | Video: David Apodaca Max Grundy’s unique body of work draws inspiration from a variety of related and un-related automotive factors. Fascinated by the concepts and implications of propaganda used in the eras of World War, many of Grundy’s designs are visually rooted in golden propaganda era techniques. Similar styles and philosophies of artistic expression were used to…Continue Reading

Loveless: Jay’s 1968 Ford F-350

There is no teacher quite like experience. Nine out of ten lessons learned on-the-job are more helpful than those learned in any formal training exercise or book/test combos. To be sure, education is vastly important, but bleeding knuckles and sleepless nights tend to make the best educators. despite the interconnectedness of the automotive industry as a whole, intensely pronounced differences divide the various segments of the custom world. It’s experience built over years and tears that allows for certain enthusiasts to make seamless transitions between these different segments. For Jason “Jay” Naron, it was this kind of experience which lent itself to his wild success in tackling his first truly Slam’d ride. With a deep regard and creative love for custom trucks, Jay had always chosen to express himself through the creation and customization of Lift’d Trucks (we certainly love a good Lift’d truck). This previous commitment to a particular genre…Continue Reading

Event Coverage: The Speed Ring

Crackling and explosive noises, blistering hot tarmac, fumes of fresh ethanol, and gobs of carbon fiber shaped and contorted into geometric monstrosities; such of which the sum equals Time Attack. Thanks to some of our good friends at Motovicity Distribution, Slam’d Mag was in full media mode at The Speed Ring. The Speed Ring is an innovative automotive event coordinated and presented by joint forces between Motovicity and HKS. The race-centric happening included an open registration Time Attack event with prizes soaring north of $25k. The racing event included several classes to keep competition close and well sorted. The various classes and army of speed machines, spec’d with applicable safety equipment and genre trademarked aerodynamic aids, proudly ran the NASCAR pavement in Fontana, CA. The Auto Club Speedway was setup specifically for the time attack event, essentially cutting a third from the massive oval track and looping it in with a…Continue Reading

Slam’d Hauler 2014 GMC Sierra – Project “Dad Mobile”

For the home of Slam’d Mag headquarters in beautiful Southern California, winter came and went with hardly a hiccup or trace. Summer is all around us and the faint whispers of SEMA 2016 are fluttering their way through the proverbial grapevine. Even with a few months between now and the sanctioned insanity of the SEMA show, we find ourselves eagerly awaiting the arrival of the wonderful yet terribly busy week. To keep our mind on the task at hand, we finally decided to outfit our 2014 GMC Sierra aptly named the “Slam’d Hauler” in two phases – PHASE 1 covered here will be: the McGaughy’s adjustable drop, 24-inch Intro Retro wheels, Toyo Tires, and Baer Performance Brakes giving us a much more respectable “tire to fender” ratio and will pave the way for PHASE 2 where we’ll go a bit further toward our end goal for the build – unveiling…Continue Reading

Industry News: Optima Batteries, LA Lowriders, & Frank Sinatra

Amongst the categorically foundational library of Frank Sinatra’s lyrics, perhaps his most infamous are those penned late in his life. An ode to a lack of regrets and confident boast to having made his own way, makes the classic “I Did It My Way” a song of great personal significance to thousands of individuals. The true message of the song is one that many, if not all of us as automotive enthusiasts identify with. Despite the constant growth, regrowth, and diminish of certain trends in our various genres, every custom build is a personal expression to the core. Custom cars and trucks in the right pair of hands become canvases for creation and soulful expression. Optima batteries stepped up to the plate to document the LA Lowrider scene to share this individuality to the world: Regrets, I’ve had a few; But then again, too few to mention. I did what I had…Continue Reading