Yearly Archives: 2013

Daijiro Yoshihara Driving in the 2013 Formula Drift Long Beach

2013 Formula Drift season kicked off this past Saturday to a sold out crowd in Long Beach. Thousands of fans gathered as the the worlds best in drift battled it out for the top spot. After a long day of smoked tires, Daijiro Yoshihara in his 240SX came out on top, followed closely by Vaughn Gittin Jr. in second and Chris Forberg in third.

2013 Formula Drift Long Beach

2013 Formula Drift Long Beach

The Slammed Society Car Show and Vendor Village were a great way to kill some time in between rounds.

Slammed Society Car Show

Z at the Slammed Society Car Show at the 2013 Forumla Drift Long Beach

Slammed Society Car Show at the 2013 Forumla Drift Long Beach

2013 Long Beach Forumal Drift

Scion’s FR-S has been everywhere lately, the Forumula Drift was no exception.
FRS with AP Racing Brakes

2013 Formula Drift FRS

Quite a few of them fitted with AP Racing Big Brake Kits
AP Racing at 2013 Long Beach Forumal Drift

2013 Formula Drift Long Beach

FRS with AP Racing Brakes at the Slammed Society Car Show

Slammed Society Car Show

Slammed Society Car Show at the Formula Drift Long Beach

AP Racing Brakes on 2013 Formula Drift Display Vehicle

Scion tC Engine Bay

Slammed Society Car Show at the 2013 Forumla Drift Long Beach

All in all, a great day in Long Beach. Congratulations to the Formula Drift crew celebrating their 10th year. Round 2 will be held in Braselton, GA on May 10 & 11. Visit the Formula Drift site for more info: http://www.formulad.com/

For more photos of the event, visit the STILLEN Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/stillen

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship Presented by GoPro 2013 Standings After One Event
1. Yoshihara, Daijiro America’s Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 112 Points
2. Gittin Jr., Vaughn Monster Energy / Nitto Tire Ford Mustang 92 Points
3. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z 79 Points
4. DeNofa, Chelsea BC Racing BMW 3 Series 75 Points
5. McNamara, Darren Falken Tire Nissan S14 64 Points
6. Tuerck, Ryan Team Retaks Scion FR-S 64 Points
7. Gushi, Ken Greddy / Hankook Scion FR-S 62 Points
8. Essa, Michael GSR Autosport / Yokohama BMW M3 62 Points
9. Moen, Kenneth Nexen Tire Nissan 240SX 58 Points
10. Saito, Daigo Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 57 Points
11. Aasbo, Fredric Hankook Tire Scion Racing tC 56 Points
12. Bakchis, Aurimas Nexen Tire Nissan S14 56 Points
13. Kado, Ryan DNA Motoring / Nexen Tire Nissan 350Z 55 Points
14. Powers, Matt Nitto Tire / Fatlace Nissan S14 55 Points
15. Mordaunt, Patrick Apexi / PM Racing / Diamond Lexus SC430 54.50 Points
16. Pawlak, Justin Falken Tire Ford Mustang 54.50 Points

Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Event Results
1. Yoshihara, Daijiro America’s Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 Winner
2. Gittin Jr., Vaughn Monster Energy / Nitto Ford Mustang Second Place
3. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z Third Place

Manufacturers Championship Standings After One Event
1. Ford 146.5 Points
2. Nissan 137 Points
2. BMW 137 Points
4. Scion 126 Points
5. Lexus 111 Points

Tire Championship Standings After One Event
1. Falken 176 Points
2. Nitto 167 Points
3. Hankook 141 Points
4. Yokohama 116.5 Points

What did you do this weekend? Mow the lawn? BBQ? How about race a STILLEN Ford GT around closed public roads? Well that's what Steve Millen found himself doing...

Steve Millen Ford GT

What did you do this weekend?  Mow the lawn?  Have a BBQ?  hang out at the beach?  How about race a STILLEN-equipped Ford GT supercar around closed public roads?  Well that’s what Steve Millen found himself doing this weekend.

Steve Millen Ford GT

As you may know Steve was born and raised in New Zealand before moving to America in the early 80’s to launch his very successful North American racing career.  Now that he no longer races professionally he enjoys competing in Targa Rallies, hill climbs, and “street sprints.” You may or may not also be aware that STILLEN is the only shop certified by Ford Motor Company to service the Ford GT’s sophisticated transmission. You bring a GT to a dealer and they’ll tell you, “Call STILLEN.” It’s been a few years since we first became involved with the Ford GT, but the car is every bit as fun as it was then. This particular event was a “Street Sprint”, a point to point race basically consists of blasting around public roads (closed for the event) – with your trackday weapon of choice.  Check out a a few action shots of Steve hustling the STILLEN Ford GT around the Ruakaka Street Sprint. Pictures come courtesy of Amy Davidson (Steve’s niece.)

Steve Millen Ford GT

2009-2013 Nissan Maxima Body Kit

STILLEN is pleased to announce the 2009-2013 Maxima Body Kit, now available with rear corners! Due to popular demand, we have now manufactured the 09-13 Maxima Body Kit Rear Corners to complete the existing STILLEN Body Kit. These polyurethane corners finish out the kit perfectly and are ready for prep and paint.

NEW REDUCED PRICE! – LIMITED TIME ONLY – CALL FOR DETAILS (800) 834-0376


2009-2013-nissan-maxima-body-kit-rear-corner
2009-2013 Nissan Maxima Rear Corners (KB12748)
Complete the full 2009-2013 Nissan Maxima body kit with STILLEN’s new Polyurethane Rear Corners. The corners were developed with the entire kit in mind, following the lines of the side skirts to flow the around the rear corner section of the 2009-2013 Nissan Maxima.


2009-2013-nissan-maxima-body-kit-side-skirts
2009-2013 Nissan Maxima Side Skirts (KB12745)
STILLEN’s 2009-2013 Nissan Maxima Side Skirts are constructed out of high quality polyurethane and are custom designed for a perfect OEM-like fit. The Maxima Side Skirts, like all STILLEN urethane body components, are manufactured in house and feature a limited lifetime warranty.


2009-2013-nissan-maxima-body-kit-front-lip
2009-2013 Nissan Maxima Front Lip Spoiler (KB12742)
Add an aggressive look to your car with STILLEN’s 2009-2013 Nissan Maxima Front Lip Spoiler. This spoiler fits the stock front fascia with the same durability and long life you expect from STILLEN Urethane Body Components while carrying a limited lifetime warranty against cracking or breaking during normal use.


2009-2013-nissan-maxima-body-kit-rear-roof
2009-2013 Nissan Maxima Roof Wing (KB12744)
The 2009-2013 Nissan Maxima Roof Wing is manufactured in house for an OEM-like fitment. The Maxima Roof Wing attaches at the top of the rear window with high quality 3M tape and comes ready for prep and paint along with a limited lifetime warranty.


2009-2013-nissan-maxima-body-kit-rear-deck
2009-2013 Nissan Maxima Rear Wing (KB12743)
The 2009-2013 Nissan Maxima Rear Wing is a prefect finishing touch to the complete body kit and also looks great as a stand alone piece. The Maxima rear wing, like all STILLEN body components, attaches with the included 3M tape to avoid any drilling.

2009-2013-nissan-maxima-body-kit-side

The STILLEN Front Lip, Side Skirts, Rear Corners, Trunk Wing and Roof Wing now available as individual sections, a 5-piece lower kit or a complete 7-piece kit for your 2009-2013 Nissan Maxima.

2009-2013 Nissan Maxima STILLEN 7-Piece Polyurethane Body Kit With Roof and Rear Wings (KB12740KT1)
2009-2013 Nissan Maxima 5-Piece Polyurethane Body Kit (KB12740KT2)
2009-2013 Nissan Maxima STILLEN Side Skirts (KB12745)
2009-2013 Nissan Maxima STILLEN Lip Spoiler (KB12742)
2009-2013 Nissan Maxima STILLEN Roof Wing (KB12744)
2009-2013 Nissan Maxima STILLEN Rear Wing (KB12743)
2009-2013 Nissan Maxima STILLEN Rear Corners (KB12748)

Here is a link to all the Maxima parts we have available.

East Charlotte Nissan

Matte Blue Nissan 370Z

The good folks at East Charlotte Nissan in North Carolina recently built their first full customized 370Z and came to STILLEN to get the proper parts for the build. They started out with a new 370Z and wrapped it in matte blue vinyl, blacked out the emblems and tinted the windows.

Matte Blue Nissan 370Z
To add a little more horsepower into the already capable VQ37 motor, a full cat-back exhaust system went in along with the STILLEN Generation 2 Long Tube Dual Intake Kit.

Matte Blue Nissan 370Z
To harness the 370Zs newly acquired power, an AP Racing Big Brake Kit went in behind some 20″ Vossen VVSCV2 wheels fitted with Nexum tires. Eibach Lowering Springs were then installed to fill in the wheels wells and increase handling performance.

Matte Blue Nissan 370Z

An ECU tune is also planned for the 370Z in the near future, but until then it currently sits on the showroom floor of East Charlotte Nissan and is available for purchase.

If you are interested in this blue beauty or looking for a local place in North Carolina to get STILLEN products for your Nissan, give the trained professionals at East Charlotte Nissan a call or visit their website at http://www.eastcharlottenissan.com

East Charlotte Nissan is located at 6901 Independence Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28227.
Sales: 866-814-1195
Service: 866-342-5655

Matte Blue Nissan 370Z

A STILLEN customer picked up some new Eibach Pro-Kit Lowering Springs for his 2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback and sent in a few photos of the quick and easy install. These Eibach Pro-Kit Springs were on the car in just a couple hours and transformed the Sonic Hatchback into a fun driving little commuter.

2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback Stock Height
The 2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback sitting at stock height.

2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback Eibach Pro-Kit Lowering Springs
Eibach Pro-Kit Lowering Springs are available for the 2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback and 2013 Chevy Sonic Sedan.

2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback Eibach Pro-Kit Lowering Springs
Pro-Kit box contains front and rear springs, front boots, bump stops and product/warranty literature.

2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback
The windshield wipers and plastic cover removed to reveal the top of the front struts.

2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback Stock Front Shock and Spring
Front tire removed to access the 2013 Chevy Sonic stock front suspension.

2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback Stock Front Shock and Spring Removed
Stock strut and spring removed with just 4 nuts.

2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback Stock Springs Compressed
You can usually rent these spring compressors at your local auto parts store like Pep Boys or Auto Zone for free.

 Hatchback Stock Rear Shock and Spring
Rear tire removed to expose the 2013 Chevy Sonic stock suspension.

2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback Stock Rear Spring
The rear is so easy you can actually change the rear spring without removing the tire if you wanted to. With a jackstand under the rear axle, just remove the shock bottom bolt then slowly lower the jack stand. The rear spring tilts right out.

2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback Eibach Pro-Kit Lowering Springs
Eibach Pro-Kit installed on the 2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback with stock 15″ wheels.

2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback Eibach Pro-Kit Lowering Springs
Add some 205/45/17 tires slightly stretched on some 17x8s and you have a little commuter worth driving.

2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback Eibach Pro-Kit Lowering Springs

Eibach Pro-Kit Lowering Springs for the 2013 Chevy Sonic Hatchback and 2013 Chevy Sonic Sedan (part no. 38160.140) available here: http://www.stillen.com/product/lowering-kits/eibach-prokit-lowering-springs-4-springs-38160140-eib38160140-115186.html

370Z Nismo Badges

Towards the end of summer we received a phone call from a gentleman who lives in Northern California. He told us he has a Nismo 370Z and enjoys taking the car to Infineon raceway and was looking to make a few upgrades to make it a bit more enjoyable around the track. So, the car was sent to STILLEN with around 1,500 miles on the odometer with a fairly normal build sheet. We were going to install the supercharger kit, oil cooler, power steering cooler, and cat-back exhaust.

370Z Nismo STILLEN Supercharger

STILLEN Polished Supercharger Kit
STILLEN Custom Street 19 Row Oil Cooler Kit
STILLEN Power Steering Cooler Kit
STILLEN Cat-back Exhaust

370Z Nismo rear

When the car arrived we received another phone call from the owner. He had decided to go ahead and add the ACT 370Z HDSS clutch along with the Aasco lightweight aluminum flywheel. We suggested that while the transmission was already out of the car it would be a good time to install the STILLEN short shifter as well and the customer agreed.

370Z Nismo Clutch and Sway Bars

STILLEN Short Shifter
ACT HDSS Clutch Kit & Aasco Aluminum Flywheel

370Z Nismo Short Shifter

This was a pretty straightforward installation and one our guys have done hundreds of time so we quickly called the owner to let him know the car was ready to go. During this phone call the owner of the car mentioned how he had seen the videos of our red 370Z on youtube and he really liked our front fascia with the functional brake cooling kit as well as the STILLEN sway bars and AP Racing big brakes that were on the red STILLEN 370Z. So, we took one of our fascias over to our local painter and had them do a perfect color-match to the factory gun metallic body panels. We made the recommendation that if we were going to be pulling the wheels off and doing the big brake kit we should really do some H&R spacers as they will flush out the factory Nismo wheels perfectly. The customer agreed so a set of 15mm DRS wheel spacers were installed front and rear

370Z Nismo STILLEN Front Fascia

STILLEN Front Fascia with Mesh Grille
STILLEN Brake Ducts
STILLEN “Fangs” Brake Duct Inserts
STILLEN Sway Bars
STILLEN AP Red Front 6 Piston 14.25” Brake Kit
STILLEN AP Red Rear 4 Piston 13” Brake Kit
H&R 15mm DRS Wheel Spacers Front & Rear

370Z Nismo AP Racing Big Brake Kit

During this conversation the owner of this beautiful Nismo 370Z asked if we could install some gauges for him on the A pillar. This is a fairly common request, unfortunately though, no one actually makes an A pillar gauge pod for the 370Z. So, our talented technicians got together with our in-house design studio where all of our urethane body kits are made and developed this custom, one-off A pillar gauge pod equipped with Auto Meter boost and air/fuel ratio gauges along with a seamlessly integrated Auto Meter LED dimmer control box. To wrap up the project completely the owner of this now fully customized Nismo 370Z knew that the factory differential probably wouldn’t survive long with over 500 horsepower when being pushed hard at a demanding track like Sears Point Raceway. So, a quick phone call was made to Kaaz USA where we sourced the 1.5 way limited slip differential.

370Z 370Z Nismo Differential

Kaaz 1.5 Way Super-Q LSD

Auto Meter Custom Full Length A Pillar Gauge Pod
Auto Meter Boost & Air/Fuel Ration Gauge
Auto Meter LED Dimmer Box

370Z Nismo Custom A Pillar Gauges

As you can see, this Nismo 370Z went from mild to wild in a short time! Now producing over 500 horsepower and well prepped for track day duty this car will be sure to turn some heads when blasting through the demanding road course. The owner of the car flew down yesterday and made the 350 mile road trip home. So, if you live near Northern California and you see this beautiful grey metallic Nismo 370Z pull next to you at the light…I’d recommend waving him on with a smile and a nod.

370Z Nismo STILLEN Front Fascia

370Z Nismo Gray

Recently we received a great customer review of our Nissan Juke cat-back exhaust system.  This exhaust is available as an axle back or a cat back.  In the Juke cat-back exhaust configuration the system has been dyno tested to deliver 20 horsepower!  That’s about a 10% increase in total output!

Here is the review from Mr. Michael Z:

“Good morning Kenny. I hope your day is fantastic.

I received my exhaust yesterday and took it down to my local Midas shop.
Not only was I impressed with how the exhaust looked but so was the Midas
team.  From the time they racked the car up and until they took my car off
the rack was 33 minutes.

Upon starting my Juke,  everyone including other customers in the shop
were again impressed with the deep sound and great look and fit of the exhaust.

As I left the parking lot of Midas, it was time for a test drive.
I’m excited to tell you that all of the information you gave me was
correct.  At idle it has a nice purr.  On acceleration, it sounds
like a souped up foreign sports car.

I do not know what the power gains are, but it sure is more responsive and
appears to have much more get up go.  It also adds a litle more driving
fun.

Thanks again for your help and wealth of information.  Your products are
number one.

Michael”

 

Thank you very much Michael for the great review.  We are very proud of our products here at STILLEN.  From the engineering, to the testing, to the manufacturing, we do it all here in-house in Costa Mesa, California!

To see the dyno results and learn more about our Nissan Juke cat-back exhaust or our Nissan Juke axle back exhaust take a look at the product page on our website:

http://www.stillen.com/products/exhaust/stillen-nissan-juke-exhaust-100116/