The Honda meet 2024
Author: Kai Her - June 7th, 2024
The last time I departed so far down to SoCal was when Kong and I drove to Fontana for the Eibach meet (now The Honda Meet). If I can recall correctly, it was probably around the year 2017. Although, it didn’t seem too long ago, that was almost five years ago. There was too much to remember from that trip. Waking up at 3 a.m., instead of towing our cars, we decided to make the drive down with our cars from Fresno all the way down to Fontana. Oh man, the drive was horrendous and the roads were so bad and unpredictable for our lowered vehicles. It was a battle against the unleveled and cracked pavement all the way to the show! That is why Kong and I vowed to ourselves that if we ever decided to attend a show down in SoCal again, we would rather load up our cars to a trailer and tow it. You live and learn and it was an unforgettable experience! So with that being said, you can confidently say you’ll see my S2000 always on a trailer whenever I’m down in SoCal with it.
Earlier this year, Chris from Falken Tires reached out to NnovatioN and have asked to see if we were going to attend The Honda Meet (sponsored by Falken Tires). Without hesitation, we responded that we will make the five hour drive and attend the meet. With support and our sponsorship, we wanted to demonstrate how our cars wore the brand. Plus, it would be nice to connect with Chris and meet everyone else from Falken.
As the show trudged toward us, the guys called off work, secured their trailers, and we finalized the safest trip down to Lake Elsinore. From the past experience, Kong and I rented a trailer this time, Jackson and Brian borrowed their own trailers from friends, and Simon and Xue decided to tape up their cars and make the drive. We departed the evening before the show and slept in a city that was about 15 minutes away from the show. It was pleasant to drive a day before the show, secure a safe place to park our trucks and trailers, and book a nice room to relax before the day of the show.
The drive was not too atrocious. We followed each other for five hours until we reached our destination, while making necessary stops to grab some snacks and load up on gas. For me personally, the most intensive part of this trip was not the drive, but to load and unload the S2000 on and off the trailer. If the S2000 wasn’t so low, it’ll be much simpler.
My goal was to capture the NnovatioN brothers and I loading up cars onto the trailers, snap a few photos at the stops we rested at, and when we unload our cars off the trailers as we entered the show. BUT, it was difficult and extremely tiring trying to capture all of that while wearing multiple hats at a show. You’re not just getting your camera and gear prepared, but you’re also responsible to get your car ready for the show as well. It was a tough gig to wear both hats during the trip. I slightly injured myself multiple times as I unloaded the S2000 off the trailer at the show and I didn’t bring any knee pads, so my knees were being burned on the hot pavement as I tried unloading the S2000 off the trailer. Therefore, as much as I wanted to capture glimpses of the what occurred before the show and the aftermath, it was seemingly difficult to reveal all of that.
Aside from my exhaustion under the hot weather and the sun constantly beating down on us, I guess that’s what made a trip like this memorable. I didn’t pick up my camera to start snapping photos until 10 a.m. It was tough to capture a lot of good photos because of the harsh lighting. At one point of the show, Kong also lent a hand and helped capture a few shots. I appreciated that as I had a good minute to relax and enjoy the show. Furthermore, since he have been in photography realm longer than I have, without a doubt, I trusted his skills and time!
If can I travel back in time, I would definitely want to show you “everything” that occurred in this trip. All I have to show you guys in this blog are a few favorite of my personal favorite Hondas at the show.
As soon as I staged the S2000 with the rest of the NnovatioN and Falken guys, I headed directly to the vendors. Knowing we were the first few attendees at the show, I wanted to grab some merchandise before they ran out. I made my way to the GReddy booth and the first car that caught my attention was this Civic with a GReddy livery on it. Wearing what it seemed to be an Exceed front lip and some various Type R (EK9) parts, it looked great on some matte black Te37’s (Saga).
Lately, liveries have captured a lot of my attention. In the far future, I think I wouldn’t mind the S2000 rocking some kind of livery temporarily to a show; but that’s probably a conversation in another blog.
The other GReddy car which I’m sure you guys have been seeing floating around on the GReddy page was this CRX. Wearing some Group B Nc-01 wheels and also colored in white. Instead of a flashy livery like the Civic, it chose the more subtle route in just adding a fine line of the GReddy thematic colors on the side doors that traveled toward the quarter panel.
The CRX wore a front JDM bumper and the whole interior is gutted and fully caged. I think it’s still so cool to see these old chassis making a huge comeback to this day and age.
In the middle of the white cars was a Laguna Blue Pearl S2000. Like my S2000, it also wore some white wheels. The S2000 is also caged and the GReddy bucket seats looked great with it. I didn’t get a chance to study the turbo kit, but it seemed to be the new GReddy carb legal kit. Which is extremely ideal for us California car guys, since smog and emissions are strict here.
One of my favorite Honda throughout the whole show is this EK9! I didn’t have a chance to look at the vin number to see if it was a real EK9. You guys probably know from the last coverage, I’m a sucker for Sprint Hart CP-R’s. The EK9 doesn’t have much done to it. Just like how I would keep an EK9, if I ever owned one. Then just drop it on some nice classic wheels. If I owned this set up, only thing I’ll probably do differently is slam the Civic with the CP-R’s. Such a nice looking car straight out from the factory!
Next to the EK9 was a yellow S2000. The owner was running some Advan/Yokohama wheels. A black Mugen hardtop covers the interior and the S2000 wore various J’s Racing parts in which included the wide cut out fenders and side skirts. Perched up back is the swan neck style Voltex spoiler.
Both cars seemed to be owned by the Pit Crew guys. I told myself I would come back and then purchased a J’s Racing umbrella, but with the scorching dry heat I was experiencing, I totally forgot all about it until I began editing the photos.
Parked right in front of the Falken booth was an Integra Type R. The ITR was equipped with various Mugen parts. At my initial glance, I thought this was Alex’s Integra, but I later found out it belonged to someone else (who I also followed on Instagram, but I forgot his @). Amazing execution overall throughout the car!
Beside the Rays booth was a FL5 Civic Type R. The Type R was lowered and had on some Ce28’s. Taking a closer look at it, the Ce28’s were probably the new ones, the Ce28n-Plus?
Of course I had to stop by the Spoon Sport/Go Tuning booth. I had a chance to catch up with Tommy and engaged in a conversation about his up coming show: International Auto Modified (IAM) in Anaheim, CA later this year.
They brought out a S660, an FL5 wearing all the Spoon catalog parts, and the Thunderhill FL5 they raced in earlier this year (I believe).
What speaks to me about these circuit/time attack vehicles every time I see one at a show is the fact that they don’t clean or give it a thorough wash like us car show guys before displaying it at a booth. I like seeing the battle scars throughout the chassis and how worn out the tires are. It really shows character! Unlike like pretty boy S2000! LOL!
@k_rarri’s sedan Civic still looking good with the Ce28n’s and the Exceed front spoiler. The First Molding hood and the Mode Parfume side mirrors gave the sedan that extra flare. The Civic still utilized a full interior with rear panels, but the seats seemed to have been taken out to accommodate the roll cage.
Plenty of times when I walk past a vehicle I don’t have much knowledge of, I tend to look the other side and emphasize my attention to another build. Since I didn’t have much knowledge in DA chassis’, I had no idea what I was looking at, either than the motor. I’m positive this DA’s side skirts, carbon fiber front spoiler and the spoiler on the rear trunk were aftermarket. I wished I knew what I was looking at because I personally thought it had an outstanding late 90’s early 2000’s execution.
I’m going to take a big guess the front headlights are JDM (one piece), the front bumper, and fenders were JDM?
As soon as I walked toward the end of aisle at the show, I spotted this Civic approaching toward me to find a place to park. With the iconic Endless calipers up front, it was a tasteful choice to run it with the bronze Volk Ray’s Re30’s. The owner ran a J-Blood front bumper and a carbon fiber vented hood. Spoon sport mirrors continued to compliment the hood and the miscellaneous black pieces demonstrated throughout the car.
In the midst of all the late 90’s Hondas at the show, I was fortunate to spot this Integra Type R. The Integra was dressed in full Spoon Sport gear. That would include the Sw388 wheels, the carbon fiber front spoiler, calipers, and a fully shaved engine bay with plenty of Spoon parts to count from.
Back to the NnovatioN line up, @_calibuilt tagged along with his beautiful Civic. The white Te37’s complimented the white valve cover inside the engine bay. A gutted interior with a roll cage with Buddy Club bucket seats, and a GT wing sat up high on top of the trunk. Later that day, Cali’s car was also awarded with “Best of show!”
Jackson towed his AWD Civic down to the show with us. Still wearing the magnesium blue Te37’s, this time he was now also running a pair of Mode Parfume side mirrors and a carbon fiber hood! The Civic has come a long way, and it’s slowly evolving each time I see it. I’m sure, by Wekfest, it’ll look differently than what you are seeing here!
Xue was very ballsy to drive his Integra Type R down to the show instead of towing it like a few of us. A very clean and simple set up! Perfect amount of mods that still truly relied on the body of the car to speak for itself!
Brian towed Smurf down to the show with us as well. I didn’t get to talk to Brian much because he was quite upset about being woken up by a security guard when he was sleeping at a public parking lot. It’s ok, he slowly warmed up when we went out for sushi for lunch later that day. Smurf is now wearing some Mode Parfume side mirrors. Still rolling on the magnesium blue Te37’s (my personal favorite set from his collection) and the PCI side skirts that Kong has been bugging Brian about to convert out back to the stock OEM skirts.
At the end of the show, Brian also received an award as well. If I recall correctly, it was for “Best engineered” or “Best Execution.” Brian, if you’re reading this, I apologize in advance.
As I was making my way out of the show to grab some lunch, I spotted a line of Em1’s. Just in case if you didn’t know, I started with an Em1 build before transitioning to the S2000. This particular EM1 had a face change with the Mode Parfume bumper. A five lug conversion has been swapped on and the owner chose to run some Mugen 7 (M7’s) and hidden behind the wheels were a pair of Spoon caliper. The old and iconic Tien hood dampers compliment the green Takata racing seat belts on the Recaro seats.
An EM1 that I think can give Simon a run for his money is this Electron Blue Pearl (EBP) one. Maybe I am being biased because my old EM1 was also an EBP as well. This one wore an Exceed front spoiler, the discontinued Raybrig fog lights. The titanium silver Ce28’s and the blue aesthetics traveling around the car looked great!
The last EM1 in the line up was another black one. Similar to the EBP, this one also had a Exceed front spoiler. A nice and cleaned up engine bay with a pair of black Recaro’s inside the car. The fenders have been cut to install some JDM clear side markers and like most of the Honda’s at the show, this EM1 also had on some magnesium blue Te37’s. No complaints there.
I guess I’ll post Simon’s Malino Red EM1 right under the line up of EM1s’ above. That way you can see how they all differently execute their build style. This time, Simon swapped out his bronze Mf10’s to the recent silver set he acquired for his five lug conversion. For this show, Simon have also decided to exchange the J-Blood front bumper back to the OEM bumper whilst wearing the carbon kevlar First Molding front spoiler.
Next to Simon’s EM1, was @fuken_royer’s EG Civic. He utilized a Mode Parfume front bumper with the carbon fiber front splitter. The forest green/olive green Te37’s were a nice addition and the Mode Parfume big brake kit just sets it on top! Inside the engine bay is a chrome and shave plated valve cover. What seemed to be a Skunk2 Ultra Series intake manifold accommodated the super charger for a whooping 300+ HP Civic!
My S2000 was parked in between Simon’s EM1 and Kong’s NSX. I decided to take off the Advan RG1’s and rolled with the rebarraled MF10’s.
Kong’s NSX sat at the end of the aisle, only this time, instead of the titanium silver Te37’s he had on at Weenie Fest, they were swapped out to the Desmond RegaMaster’s. Such a beautiful car! I can’t seem to stop staring at it as I edited my photos. I’m glad were in the same team! LOL!
Across from our line up was this Integra equipped with various Mode Parfume parts. The front spoiler appeared to be a Exceed front lip (which is also made from Mode Parfume, I think) and the side skirts to the rear valences were of Mode Parfume as well. The carbon fiber Mode Parfume side mirrors complimented the carbon fiber wing on top of the trunk. The owner somewhat relied on the Spoon theme color scheme to pop out the Integra more using the yellow Recaro’s and valve cover as well as the Spoon twinblock calipers.
The rear of Jackson and Brain’s car. I spy the “pink” NnovatioN decal on Jackon’s car when I told him not to put it on! LOL!
As I sat down and rested under the canopy, I captured this photo of this bagged Accord next to us. I don’t have high energy for stance, but this Accord was way too clean to pass up on! The carbon fiber hood was a nice touch to overall execution of the build. The Works VS-XV were a nice touch to the what the owner was trying to accomplish.
A detailed photo representing the award at the show. It was a cool award as they utilized an actual piston to fabricate the award. What a neat a idea for an award, right? I really digged it!
You can probably tell that from this picture of Kong’s NSX, it goes to show how hot it was that day. What’s ironic was when we woke up to that morning to the show, it was misty and gloomy. By 7:00 a.m., the mist disappeared and the sun came out to burn us.
This concludes my coverage of The Honda Meet 2024. I don’t have much left to say than to remind myself that I have to do a better job in capturing “everything” that happened on the trip from when we departed from Fresno to the end of the show. I’ll eventually learn and remember as I continue attending more shows this year with the NnovatioN brothers alongside my S2000.
I just recently purchased a new camera too and I cannot wait to bring it out to do some more shooting. I was shooting from a 16 megapixel Nikon DSLR camera. SO! I am positive with my new camera set up, I should be able to capture better photos from here on out.
Thank you for following Xplicit Projects! I am in the process of finalizing a t-shirt design for the first merchandise that I will sold exclusively on the site. It will only be at a limited quantity just to see how it runs, since I have been putting a lot of thought to the design. I cannot wait to show you guys what I cooked up! Stay tuned! Wekfest San Jose is coming up in three weeks from now and I will be prepping the S2000 for the show beginning tomorrow!
