Trans_Maro wrote: I had a CDM (Canadian Domestic Market) engine in a Trans-Am once. I don't care what you do to it. A Chevy 267 sucks ass. Shawn
Cept when you put the crank in a 350, and get a 5 liter 8,000 rpm small block of doom. At least for a minute or two.
One of our club members lives on and off in Tokyo. His Civic (a clamshell back, whatever model that is) is only modified with parts from Japan that he ships back to Canada. He's been careful about his choices, and has created a really neat little car.
Of course, there is irony in JDM-ing a car built in Ontario, but nonetheless some Japanese performance parts are pretty neat.
I,m not a JDM fanboi or an FnF type, but I would love to have a SR20DET for my next datsun project. Its already been mentioned, but there a lot of completly different models available in Japan that we never see here. I,ve seen a pic of a Nissan JDM only wagon built on the chassis of an infinity that is available here (G35 sedan , I think), I would love something like that. I also once saw in SCC mag pics of a Nissan 200sx that had a JDM turbo engine swap using all JDM Nissan parts from some model that I'd never heard of, It was very cool because it was a stealth conversion, with the hood closed you would never quess what it was, it even had special oval pipes for the intercooler that fit neatly under a stock hood.
I'll admit that i'm a bit of a JDM whore. But it's mainly for the little things that make a big difference. My car doesn't look too US-markety these days.
At the risk of sounding like a tool, even my wheels came off of a JDM ST205 Celica GT4, so i've got JDM curb rash, y0!
my girlfriend wants me to get a vanity plate for my Supra that says "JDM YO" on it...
mainly because I want to put one of these on the front.
93celicaGT2 wrote: i've got JDM curb rash, y0!
That's not JDM.
You wife just tried to parallel park while facing the wrong direction on the street.
Shawn
ZOO wrote: One of our club members lives on and off in Tokyo. His Civic (a clamshell back, whatever model that is)
EG
What I like about JDM is that you can get an extierior that looks custom,but has a factory fit and finish, because it is factory. Unlike a Super Battle Combat Wing Bomb that looks like it was molded with paper machete in a drunk's garage. See?
Advantages of JDM cars
Disadvantages:
ea_sport wrote: This actually also applies to USDM parts for Mercedes Benz in Asia. The USDM (dubbed US Style) headlights, side markers and big bumpers of the W123 is big in parts of Asia where they got Euro style version of those parts.
It's not just benzes. Check out USDM Jam. One of the biggest US-spec oriented car show in Japan. http://www.usdmjam.com/
The posters, the cars, everything looks like the kind of car show we would all avoid. But those half-assed looking cars actually took a ton of work to modify. They only look unremarkable because of all the US-spec parts on them.
Things like rubber bumpers and other cheap parts were not found on JDM cars, so they're imported at great cost.
Trans_Maro wrote:93celicaGT2 wrote: i've got JDM curb rash, y0!That's not JDM. You wife just tried to parallel park while facing the wrong direction on the street.
No, but seriously. They came from japan off a ST205 GT4, with curb rash from JDM Curbz y0! E36 M3's TYTE!
GameboyRMH wrote: Advantages of JDM cars - No emissions controls
That's actually more of a myth than anything else. Standard, they have/had cats and all that. They might not conform to CARB legislation , but cats were fitted to a lot/most Japanese cars from the seventies onwards. Supposedly the air in Tokyo was as bad or worse as it was in LA at that time.
Of course, most Japanese tuners seem to decat the cars...
GameboyRMH wrote: - Sometimes better engine options
And often a lot more toys, at least compared to the same cars sold in Europe.
When I was in 4th grade (in teh 70's, y0), my teacher went to Japan. She brought us back whale meat to sample. Anyway, the air was so bad in Tokyo, they had machines on the streets like a candy machine that dispensed oxygen. She said the smog was really bad, worse than here, and we were in SoCal where really bad to us was when PE was cancelled and you couldn't see the mountain 3 miles away.
The bumpers for a JDM Galant VR-4 are pretty attractive.
4g63t wrote: The bumpers for a JDM Galant VR-4 are pretty attractive.
Yup, and they fetch quite a premium price on the US market :(
Similarly, since they sold FD RX-7s through the 2002 model year in Japan, there were bodywork updates that were never available here (front bumper, wings, tail lights, etc.)
http://www.zazzle.com/im_so_jdm_i_have_a_usdm_front_to_be_different_tshirt-235187927629798611
3Door4G wrote: It's not just benzes. Check out USDM Jam. One of the biggest US-spec oriented car show in Japan. http://www.usdmjam.com/
Now that just made my night. All I need to see is a pic of a Japanese guy wearing a t-shirt that says "USDM as berkeley"
3Door4G wrote: It's not just benzes. Check out USDM Jam. One of the biggest US-spec oriented car show in Japan. http://www.usdmjam.com/
I remember seeing a club spotlight in an Option mag BITD that highlighted a similar situation. Japanese dudes flossing Civic coupes (rare in Japan--USDM as berkeley) chrome wheels and bodykits.
Funny that now they're into Hondas that are in the US style of JDM and venturing into the SoCal/VW low-offset/stretch tire thing.
The internet has really made the car hobby a global thing.
I remember reading about the 88 Honda Accord Coupe. It was one of the first Japanese-branded vehicles to be made in the US and shipped to Japan, and was extremely popular for that reason.
My favorite pictures are the ones of pickup trucks and economy cars with rusted hoods. As mentioned before, rusty cars aren't really seen in Japan, so rust is mad tyte USDM yo!
My god! That VR-4 gave me a chub so big... Whew, I need to go lay down.
93celicaGT2 wrote: I'll admit that i'm a bit of a JDM whore. But it's mainly for the little things that make a big difference. My car doesn't look too US-markety these days. At the risk of sounding like a tool, even my wheels came off of a JDM ST205 Celica GT4, so i've got JDM curb rash, y0!
I remember seeing those enkei's on ebay
you got a very good deal!
16x8 +30-35?
smog7 wrote:93celicaGT2 wrote: I'll admit that i'm a bit of a JDM whore. But it's mainly for the little things that make a big difference. My car doesn't look too US-markety these days. At the risk of sounding like a tool, even my wheels came off of a JDM ST205 Celica GT4, so i've got JDM curb rash, y0!I remember seeing those enkei's on ebay you got a very good deal! 16x8 +30-35?
16x8 +38.
My gamble paid off on them. These do NOT fit on the car with stock struts, and adding a spacer with size rubber i run would have created some huge problems in the back. (Mine's a narrowbody)
Luckily, with the addition of my current suspension, it all fits like a charm, and i may be going wider after i add some power.
But yes... i got a good deal. 
$350 shipped, though one rim did need a repair.
I think i pissed off half of AllTrac.net when i scored these.
First, gotta say that VR-4 looks fantastic. Also gotta say the Silvia bodywork is my favorite look on the S-13 chassis.
That being said, we've been here/done that before. Anybody remember the "Grey Market" craze of the 1980s? I sure do..better engines available in the home market, a little different bodywork to make the car look a little different from everyone else's? I owned one for awhile, and made a little money on the side bringing a few over here (until the nice lady from the EPA showed up on my doorstep one morning..).
"Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose." -Alexander Karr, 1849.
"Meet da new boss! Same as the old boss!" -Peter Townshend, 1971.
those European spec 'aero' headlights looks awsome.. where can i get a set of those? i hope they're direct fit, this way, they're easier to install.
When I was a little younger I was pretty obsessed with the whole JDM scene. I rocked a Jap plate, JDM emblems and a ton of other crap on a couple of my car. I was not near as bad as a lot of people however. I have seen cars where people replaced every single thing that was different, spending tens of thousands of dollars in the process and ending up with a car that most people would think was mostly stock. hahaha
My car currently has some little JDM things. Main reason I buy these pieces is because they are unique and set my car apart from the other cars on the road in a subtle way that only Lexus SC enthusiasts would recognize.
I also have a closet full of cool JDM crap that I pulled out of front clips from when my buddy and I were doing a bunch of RB20/25DET swaps into 240sx's.
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