Mercury Rising

As I sit in front of my computer, putting a playlist together to listen to while I write this article, I realize just how long it’s taken for us to share this feature with the rest of you. It’s not because we haven’t had time to edit the pictures or the video, those have been done since September. I’ve just had a mental block of sorts when it came to putting together something worth reading to go along with the media that accompanies it, which is strange seeing as I just got out of my bed at 01:45am on a Monday morning with a burning desire to put ‘pen to paper’.

Browsing through these pictures, thinking back to the windy afternoon in September when we did this shoot, only one thing comes to mind… speed.

Wikipedia defines it as the rate at which an object covers distance, coincidentally above this definition they have a picture of a car on a drag strip to illustrate this and that got me thinking. Why are we as humans so obsessed with speed? Whether it’s the speed of our bandwidth or the amount of time it takes for the red light to turn green doesn’t matter, we instinctively just hate waiting.

While we all share that primal instinct, most car enthusiasts share another, we want to go as fast as we possibly can and once we’ve reached that point, we want to go even faster. Sounds the same as what everybody else wants doesn’t it? But I believe the reason for going faster differs. For the true speed demon it’s not necessarily about getting from point a to b as quickly as possible, it’s about that rush of adrenaline we get when we depress the accelerator pedal firmly against the metal floor panel, see the rev counter come alive all the way to that forbidden redline, and hear the dizzying combustion fury of the engine coupled with a hardening exhaust note. It’s about pushing a machine to its limits, coming to a halt, turning around, and trying to push it beyond that limit.

It’s a rush that the Mk5 GTi you see before you provides in spades, so naturally when we were presented with the opportunity to get up close and personal with this beast we wasted no time getting it in front of our lenses…

…An opportunity that was provided by Amish Raga, owner at Euro-Worx, and probably the most well-known VW enthusiast in the Nelson Mandela Bay area. Amish is a hard-core VW guy, and I don’t mean that in the sense that he has Volkswagen badges tattooed all over his body, but rather he’s hard-core because he’s only owned and built VAG cars for as long as I can remember and not only that, his family, friends and girlfriend all drive modified cars from the same German automotive giant. Coincidence? I think not.

However this is not the reason he is well known in the car community, Amish has built a reputation for turning out some of the best builds to ever come from Port Elizabeth, builds that are often ahead of the trends at the time. To give you an idea of the kind of builds I’m speaking about, in 2007/2008 he built an Mk2 GTi (pictured below) which ran stretched tyres, split wheels and coilovers, a time when those things were unheard of by the average enthusiast in PE.

This build is perhaps not as ‘ground-breaking’ for the scene today as the Mk2 was, but it’s of the same standard we’ve come to expect from the Euro-Worx stable and it’s packing something just as special, the infamous Ko4 turbo. The Ko4 conversion is popular for its ability to turn a seemingly ‘average’ GTi into a giant killer, with the right supporting mods, mods which this GTi possesses.

But the road to a successful conversion wasn’t an easy one for this particular Mk5, it started its modified life with a simple REVO stage1 software upgrade, after which the previous owner decided to go for the larger turbo. Round about this time the car started to develop a seemingly bottomless pit of problems; it managed to make power once and never again. Having visited 3 other tuning companies the owner gave up and traded the car in, this ended up being the turning point for a car that was crying to have its potential fulfilled. Enter Euro-Worx and a plan to turn a build that had gone completely wrong into what it was always meant to be, a giant killer.

The motor had to be built right this time around, from the ground up, and to ensure this Amish added a set of Arias pistons to the sub-assembly to handle the extra boost which was being provided by the Ko4 turbo from an OEM Audi s3. To make sure there wouldn’t be any problems with the cooling system and fueling, an s3 intercooler and injectors, along with an Autotech high pressure fuel pump were installed. To provide sufficient spark and keep the oil in check, the coil packs and oil cap from an Audi R8 found a new home in the Mk5 engine bay as well.

Cold air now enters the turbo through a REVO intake and the resulting hot gasses are expelled through a 76mm downpipe and full 63mm exhaust system. Having bolted everything up with stainless steel nuts and bolts, a REVO stage3 software upgrade was reigned in to make sure it all worked in harmony. And work in harmony it did, the once problematic GTi managed a respectable 254.8kW on its first dyno night after the rebuild and even managed to take the honors for the highest reading of the night.

To go with its impressive new found power the car needed some exterior enhancements to further separate it from other Mk5s. Subtle enhancements in the form of a colour-coded Vortex lip and rear apron quad pipe conversion, R32 taillights and polished 19 inch HRE replica wheels, with black inserts, wrapped in 225/35/19 Yokohama S Drives, all flow seamlessly together to give the car a more aggressive look. The car also had to possess the ability to stop well ahead of any obstacles and corner whenever the need arose and for this Powerbrake disks with a set of Endless pads are employed, while Vmaxx coilovers take care of the cornering and lowering aspects of the build.

What Amish has managed to do is build a well modified car with both function and form in mind, a true street sleeper that gives very little away with its exterior mods. We’ve dubbed this one Mercury Rising, because it goes to show that no matter how many obstacles one encounters or what state a project is in when you start out, if you stick to a plan and never throw in the towel you can still achieve the goals you set for it and rise to the top of your game.

Marmite

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The Kill - video

Cherry On Top video

Cherry On Top

As much as I hate to admit it I use to be quite the fan of the popular afrikaans soap opera 7de laan, which airs on sabc2. In 7de laan there were two hang out spots where the characters would gather to socialise, Oppiekoffie, which had a daily grind, old fashioned kind of setting and, Cherry On Top, the new age, fresh, sexy (lol) bar/club where the younger characters would meet up for drinks or a night out.

Its sad that I still remember all this but for some reason while reviewing the pictures of Allister's red 160ie Mazda Etude the Cherry On Top came to mind, it could be because of the colour that my brain associated it with cherries and hence the bar or it could be because the car is fresh to death and sexy as hell! I think its the latter...

Initially we planned to shoot this car with a set of 13 inch Compomotives fitted after Allister piched up at the LowerLympics with them on, slammed to the ground, to take part in the limbo event. When we took the undercarriage measurements we were shocked at the lack of clearance there was, a lack of clearance that resulted in a broken exhaust and the car see-sawing on a speedbump! Needless to say he decided to put the 17's back on, but we're not complaining, these 17's do the car so much justice.

We contacted Allister and expressed our interest and, he was more than happy to let us spend some time with his pride and joy.

When he purchased the car it was already looking good but it just lacked that something special to make it really stand out, it also had a couple of scratches and dings which enabled him to get it for a steal.

First thing Allister set about doing was getting the red paintwork up to standard again, a job he trusted Theo's panelbeaters with and of course it came back looking refreshed and brighter than ever. He decided to paint the wheels in the same bright red, which, as it turns out was that something special that the car was missing. The Lenso bsx's in 17x8.5j with 205/40/17 tyres all-round sit so beautifully flush with the fenders, it's hard not to stare when you see this car.

The fitment of course is helped along by the sweet drop which is courtesy of the kind of tender loving only a grinder can give, leaving 2 and half coils upfront and 3 at the rear.

The styling's been finished off with two additions that work well on almost any car, as a matter of fact I'm yet to see a car that it doesn't look good on, and this car is no exception, the ever so popular M3 slimline bootspoiler and Webasto tilt-and-slide sunroof. The bootspoiler and sunroof combination work particularly well on this car as it just accentuates the sharp lines that are already present, managing to make it look like standard factory items, very subtle, very neat.

The best thing about this car is the fact that its a Mazda Etude, you just don't see that many looking this good and being the facelifted version just makes it look even sexier. I've been using the word sexy a lot, but that's because there's no better word to describe the car. If I had to compare it to a girl it would be the girl wearing a tight red dress and red stilettos, with curves in the right places on a her way to club. Sexy right?

Allister plans on changing the wheels soon and doing a few minor touch ups on the paintwork to keep everything fresh, he hinted at something in a 16 inch which would bring the car a bit closer to the ground and that's something we always like to hear.

The Etude is a true headturner, it could be because of the red-on-red paint scheme or the way it bounces when it rolls over an imperfection in the road, either way in our books its turning heads for the right reasons.

King of Slam 2013 video

Less Is More...

Less is more, we've all heard it before and when it comes to customising a car most would agree. You can't go wrong when this is the mindset chosen for modifying a car. It's a way of thinking that pretty much defines the VW/Euro scene, full-on racing cars aside, I find it hard to remember the last time I saw a properly done VW that had lots of unneccesary lips or wings that looked like they don't belong on the car. It's all about a clean, minimalist look, a look that often makes me wonder, why wasn't this car just released looking like this straight from the factory? I'm sure sales would be excellent, but on the other hand there's nothing better than starting with a blank canvas and adding your own style and character to it. After all, modifying is how friendships are built in the car community and more importantly, how the relationship between owner and vehicle is built, the relationship where a car becomes more than merely a mode of transport, I'm sure any car guy or girl knows what I'm referring to. But I digress...

The concept of less is more is easy enough to understand, make modifications in such a way that it's not overpowering and in your face but rather promotes a clean look that flows with the car and still has enough visual impact to make the car stand out when parked amongst others (at least that's what I interpret it as), sounds simple right?

However, there are two problems with 'less is more' that come to mind, an idea and the execution of an idea are two very different things, also, its not easy sticking to this theme as often a car is never truely complete in the owner's eyes. There will always be one more thing to do until they feel it's perfect...

  

Meet Keelan Mack, one of the most easy going and humble guys I've met in the car community, and his super clean Mk3 Jetta. I say he's a humble guy because even though his car looks so good he doesn't make a big deal about it, I get the sense that he feels there's still work to be done. Keelan has managed to pull off the less is more look so well yet he hasn't done anything to the car that we haven't seen before, its all in the way he's done it and the choices made that make this car look stunning.

The car used to belong to Keelan's dad and his been in love with this car since the day his dad brought it home but the love affair had to be kept a secret until he finally got ownership of it a few years back. It was at this point that as he puts it, " I became a huge fanatic of cars and styling cars, I always wanted my car to look good one day and then I started with my ideas..". I'd say that 'one day' has definitely arrived.

To give the car the clean look it has he went with a debadged grill and instead of the VR6 type boot spoiler he opted for a M3 slimline one, both mods that compliment the idea that less is better, and it works well. To complete the clean look upfront he added a set of crystal fog lights and indicators as well as angel eye type headlights to contrast the white paint on the car.

A tilt-and-slide sunroof, slimline windbreakers, colour coded to match the car, mudguards and a VR6 lip make everything look more complete. The car rests on a set of JOM coilovers turned down real low to give the car its sexy drop and attached to those coilovers are one of the best things on the car, 17" 8J Racing Hart EM's in all four corners, wrapped in super thin 185/35/17 tyres. Apart from the fact that this car is always extremely clean, the wheel and tyre combo are what really set it apart. The EM's show off the calipers nicely and the tyre profile compliments them perfectly by making the wheel the main focus in the arches. Purple and pink accents were added to the car in the form of painted calipers, laminexed fogs and one or two stickers to make the little things stand out more.

We're not alone in thinking this car looks excellent, the car has managed to scoop up best exterior at the SHW Ridez show and shine, as well as, 2nd place in the best stance category at the recent Strictly Street show and shine. Not bad at all for a car with minimal mods.

As I've said earlier there will always be one more thing that needs to be done before a owner is satisfied with their car, since the shoot Keelan has already been searching for a new wheel and toying around with some ideas in preparation for the upcoming Petrolheads/Mainstream show and shine. We're sure this car will once again take home a trophy and whatever he has planned you can be sure that the less will always be more when it comes to this Jetta.

Deuces video

Deuces

Lately the car scene in The Bay has really picked up, in particular, the stance scene. Almost daily we here at Low.Co see cars going lower, fitting new wheels, & at every hook up we're seeing fresh cars, just when we think we've seen all the Eastern Cape has to offer. It's all very exciting really, especially if cars are the kind of thing that tickles your fancy. However with so much deep dished, tyre streching, scrotum scrapping goodness rolling the streets we tend to forget to take a step back and appreciate just how clean and neat some of these cars actually are.

With this in mind we started thinking about our next feature and figured, why not feature something that is not necessarily the most slammed car out there but a car where the words used to describe it would be immaculate or mint condition if they ever had to be put up for sale, instantly these two cars came to mind. The fact that both just happened to be mk2s from the same year and brand was purely a coincidence, and being a Jetta and a Golf just made it feel like it was something that was meant to happen, so we set out to approach the respective owners.

Both the Jetta & Golf are '89 models and have been in the respective families since then. The shoot has been in the works for quite some time, but as it goes with setting up shoots, life often gets in the way.

The story of Ashwynn's Golf is quite special. You see Ashwynn's gran is quite a visionary lady, she purchased the car just 3 days after he was born and on his 21st birthday instead of those tacky 21st keys so many of us get (just kidding, they're not tacky at all) he was given the keys to his very first friend, aside from the imaginary ones he had (again, just kidding:)). Best gran ever if you ask me.

When he first got the car the paint was a little faded but was in a good condition since its always been parked in a garage, so all that was needed was a couple of hours of elbow grease and polish to restore it to it's former glory, the result, one of the best 20+ year old paint jobs i've seen in a long time espescially when you consider how difficult it can be to maintain a red car.

For rolling stock Ashwynn went with a set of tried and tested black Lenso BSX 16" 9J's and wrapped it with 195/45/16 tyres. When it comes to a Mk2 or any VW for that matter I don't think we need to question whether it suits the car or not because, it simply does! On the suspension side the cars is sitting comfy on a 60mm drop kit with 1 coil cut off the front springs to level it out a bit. He then added yellow Laminex to the inner headlights and to a aftermarket spotlight to give it that old school feel, the taillights have also been given some red Laminex to blend in better with the paintwork.

Ashwynn's not done though, he's got a set of coilovers on the way (we like this), some interior work in the pipeline and some other touches I won't reveal as yet. We can't wait to see what he has in store for us.

Bhavesh's Jetta is one I've known of for quite some time now, I remember seeing on campus in my 2nd year for the first time and being amazed by how flawless the body and interior was, when i say flawless I mean, there are no flaws, PERIOD. This car, like the Golf above was purchased off the showroom floor in 1989 and is still looking like its just been driven off it, thanks to Bhavesh who's been washing the car from the tender age of 5 (awwww...). Some credit has to be given to Superior Auto though who gave the car a full respray 5 years ago to keep it looking fresh and spotless, their work speaks for itself.

Since I've known the car it's had a couple of sets of wheels on it, from an original set of 14" compomotive's in red to the standard CLi wheels with custom centre caps, but whatever wheel it's had it's always been fresh and always unique. It's currently rolling on a set of Mim's 15" 7J's with 195/45/15 tyres. To give the car a more appealing 'stance' (yes i know this is not stance blah, blah, blah) he went with a 60/40 Koni street kit and spacers in the front and rear.

One of the reasons this car stands out from the rest is Bhavesh's attention to detail. The attention to detail im refering to are things like the anti-slip rubber mats he has for the centre console and door panels, the new carpets he had made for the floor and dashboard(to prevent the dash from cracking), the sound proofed boot, and replacing all the glass on the car (front, rear and sides) not because he had to but because he wanted to keep it fresh, that's attention to detail! It's the kind of things that aren't easily noticable, yet it's what sets an average car apart from an immaculate one, many won't think much of it but i'm impressed.

On the motor side he fitted a new 1800 8v engine with a powerflow stainless steel exhaust and BMC pan filter. The interior has been left stock aside from a MOMO v6 steering wheel and some sound for his tunes. To finish off the exterior he added a HID kit, black Laminex to the headlights and indicators, and blacked out the front badge to compliment the black accents on the car, I personally think it adds a bit of a menacing look as well.

But enough with the words, check out the pics and if you happen to see these cars in person take some time to step back and admire the neatness in all its glory, i'm sure the owners wouldn't mind.