In September of 2025, it will mark 3 years since I’ve moved from my hometown in California to Colorado. In the 3 years that have past, the one thing that has kept me grounded were cars. During that time, I have professionally wrenched and changed tires but it wasn’t enough to keep me happy. The automotive repair industry didn’t work out for me so all I can do is pivot and find the next thing that interests me. Without sounding too pessimistic of this country’s economic, political, and job climate, it’s been tough.

As the stresses of everyday life in 2025 consume me, I start reminiscing back to a time where sh*t was much simpler: barely any bills, pursuing an education, working part-time at a boba spot, and chilling with the homies. Nearing the end of the COVID pandemic, friends of mine whom I’ve known since middle school started getting into modifying their whips.

Those 2 homies were Michael and Marlon. I’ve known Michael since I’ve started playing Halo 3 on the Xbox 360. That wasn’t even the main thing we bonded over though. We bonded over many things like streetwear, bikes, games, and – you guessed it – cars. Before we could even drive, we would hop on Forza Motorsport 3 and drift our AWD S1-spec Toyota Corolla AE86’s on the DLC (downloadable content) map Fujimi Kaido. When that got boring, we’d cruise around on the Le Mans circuit with slammed cars until it was time to get off or we got bored again and switched to COD (Call of Duty).

Even though we couldn’t drive yet, we got into fixies (fixed gear bikes). Fixies were the sh*t in the late 2000s-early 2010s. Michael attained his manong’s (“older brother” in Ilocano culture) olive green fixie and I bought a red 70s Schwinn Varsity road bike off eBay to convert it into a fixed gear bike. We cruised around the neighborhood, practiced skidding & track stands, and chilled at local spots. Eventually, car shows were becoming our interests and we tried to sneak in LOL.

Anyways, fast forward to almost a decade later, I got my Pontiac Vibe that I modified and Michael had his Lexus IS350. To catch up on the story of me modifying my Pontiac Vibe, click here. At the same time, another homie of ours, Marlon, recently obtained a Lexus 2IS. I’ve known Marlon since 8th grade. I was obsessed with Beyblades at the time and that’s how I first met Marlon. He was a grade below me and we shared the same height. We were both shy of 5 feet. During brunches and lunches, sh*t would go down as we’d “LET IT RIP” on random chairs that had enough of a concave to simulate a Beyblade battle stadium. At one point, we made a stadium of duct tape, painters tape, and paper plates.

A couple years later, Michael and I would link up with Marlon for bike rides because he was also into fixies haha. It all comes full circle because you’ll come to find out that we all got bit by the infamous Mod Bug; hence the name of this blog post.

I hope that all provides some context. I’m glad to finally use these photos. As I keep posting on Revize, I’m thankful for photography and the act of documenting memories. I’m sure everyone here can relate to the feeling of a homie or two engaging in the hobbies you f*ck with. I was happy to witness all this magic happen and I’m happy to share this with y’all. Below is an image of my Vibe in its final rendition while Michael and Marlon’s 2IS’s were in their initial phases of their builds.

Michael enjoying the fruits of his labor and grabbing a picture for the ‘gram. I was only able to witness Michael and his manong getting started on lowering the car in their garage. I pulled up to their driveway with my black face mask and some tools. They had the car in the air supported by jack stands and started to tackle the front struts. Aside from that, I got updates from Michael on the small things he’s done like dialing in his suspension and massaging his fenders for proper wheel clearance.

What was the difficult part of modifying it?

“The most difficult part of modifying the IS was doing the fender rolls on my own for the first time ever. I had borrowed my neighbor’s fender roller and after skipping through a few youtube videos, I got to work. I wanted to conserve the OEM look without pulling or rolling aggressively and being a perfectionist is what made it difficult. I was constantly checking and ensuring I wasn’t overdoing it and finished after some time. I had my neighbor come check it out to double check how I did and he was quite surprised at the roll I did, especially for my first time ever.”

Michael and I went to this sacred spot of his that: had a clean parking lot, was away from traffic & distractions, and had this wooden retaining wall.

The pairing with the Smoky Granite Mica paint and chrome Weds Kranze Vishunus was a good match. Additionally, the work Michael put in to get the car to sit where it’s at was worth it. It’s not an obnoxious amount of camber and the fender to wheel gap is probably a 2-finger gap.

What was the most rewarding part?

“I would say getting to enjoy the fruits of my labor. Wrenching on the IS had taught me how to appreciate the process and the to do’s and not to do’s for future builds. Also not having to go under or work on the car anymore was rewarding because I was breaking my back and burning up in the sun.”

Of course, the car looks good but it has to sound good too. To match the tone (no pun intended) or vibe of the car, Michael installed an Invidia Midpipe and Greddy Supreme Catback. It gave the 3.5L V6 a deeper tone and woke up the beast underneath the hood.

Side note: please take pictures of you and your whips. It’s an underrated feeling to post up with your whip and your future self will thank you. Your future kids might appreciate it too because they can say “my dad drove THIS car” and brag about it with their friends and family haha. Here’s a snap of Michael with his 2IS in proper COVID-19 fashion lol.

What was the motivation/inspiration for the build?

“At the time, people in the scene were doing widebodies, overfenders, body kits and not really keeping the OEM/OEM+ look. I’ve always been inspired by the Japanese car culture and how they modify their cars USDM style and I wanted to do my build just like that and it came out pretty decent.”

Michael’s execution wasn’t pretty decent – it’s mad f*cking decent lol. Seeing this thing roll down the expressway was a crazy sight to see. It’s an eye-catching car with the simplest formula of nice wheels + lowered stance = stylish car.

Specifications

2008 Lexus IS350

• Exhaust: Invidia Midpipe and Greddy Supreme Catback
• Suspension: Megan Racing Coilovers and Camber Arms
• Wheels: Weds Kranze Vishunu

It was convenient for Marlon to have Michael’s assistance. Since Michael had all the experience working on his own car, the muscle memory and the knowledge was probably fresh in his mind and body. Here was Michael shaving the front bumper tab by the fender to allow for all the clearance when turning.

Marlon’s wheel of choice for his Matador Red Mica 2nd Gen IS were these 19″ Weds Kranze LXZ. The red “Kranze” center caps were a nice touch as well.

Itchin’ to get the car done before the sun set, Marlon mounted the rear wheels. Just by looking at the fender-to-wheel gap with the car raised in the air made me think “oh sh*t, this thing’s gonna be dumped”. This is just a tease…

Back at the sacred spot, here’s the pair of 2IS’s with slight variances in styling and taste. In comparison, they share similarities in WEDS Kranze wheels and possess differences in kits.

I know I’m still teasing with only showing 2/3rds of Marlon’s car! The reveal will come soon – there’s one more photo!

But before you see the whole thing, we – actually Marlon and Michael – got it done in the dark before the day ended. His driveway is kind of finicky because the road has a crown to it. There’s a significant dip where the road meets his driveway and it was a dope experience seeing Marlon pull out his slammed whip out of his driveway. I have footage of him backing up while Michael guides him out. I have no clue where that clip is but Marlon 3-wheeled his way out and scraped a couple times. Once we were clear from the driveway, we all got so hyped and Marlon had a little maiden voyage to the Shell gas station where there was better lighting.

BOOM! As promised here’s a full reveal of Marlon’s modified 2IS. This was shot on a different day from when the guys were wrenching on it. You can now see the slight variances between Marlon and Michael’s 2IS builds.

To sum it up, Marlon’s car has a more tucked looked in terms of wheel fitment. Also with the addition of a Vertex-style front lip and Ings+1 side skirts, Marlon’s car looked more stout.

What made you start wanting to modify your car?

“Growing up going to car meets with friends and seeing cool cars around the city. I knew the specific style on how my car wanted to look. The Lexus was my first car I was able to modify and make my own and the 2IS platform was easy because there is such a big aftermarket community surrounding that car.”

What was your inspiration behind the build?

“I’d say my inspiration for the Lexus was Japans VIP car scene. Four-door luxury sedans, slammed on big wheels with nice fitment was always appealing to me.”

What’s your favorite part of the car?

“I’d say the fitment of the wheels would have to be my favorite part. To have 19’s tuck was a challenge on its own.”

Is it true you bought all your parts second-hand? And for good deals too?

“Yes! Mostly true.. like every car guy I spent days on marketplace looking for parts for my car. I think the only brand new parts were my exhaust and camber arms. Everything else was sourced second hand lol.”

What was your biggest takeaway in building the IS?

“I’d say my biggest takeaway from building the Lexus is it’s a great platform to start modifying. It was reliable enough to not worry about breaking down and just focus on the overall style of the car. The aftermarket support for these cars are endless no matter what style you are trying to achieve. But I would say I wish the car was a little faster though lol…”

Specifications

2006 Lexus IS250

• Engine: K&N Cold Air Intake
• Exhaust: Invidia Midpipe and Revel Medallion Touring S Exhaust
• Exterior: Vertex-style Front Lip and Ings+1 LX Sport Side Skirts
• Lighting: Vland Headlights
• Suspension: BC Racing Coilovers, Godspeed Front Upper Control Arms, and Megan Racing Rear Lower Control Arms
• Wheels: Weds Kranze LXZ – 19×9 and 19×10

I really loved the body lines on the 2nd Generation IS… Here you can see the stark differences between the WEDS Kranze wheels: LXZ’s on the left and Vishunu’s on the right.

As mentioned at the beginning of this section, I was moving over to a different chassis. I had already copped a set of wheels and seeing Marlon’s car complete made me pull the trigger on buying a set of tires.

Remember how I mentioned that Michael was hinting at a new car purchase? Well he had to sell his wheels. He actually sold the wheels back to the previous owner who took payment of his stock wheels and cash on top. I joked around with the original wheel owner and Michael that he was pawnbroking the set of Vishunu wheels lol.

I went with Michael to help him switch back to the stock set of wheels. We got hella confused because the stock wheels were staggered and we initially had the wider wheels up front. Michael was also exhausted because he literally got off work so it was about time I put some work in. *scratches head in guilt*…

Can we also just appreciate how good my paint was 5 years ago?! I mean besides the clear coat peeling on the roof…

This was the last time we would see my Civic and Michael’s IS together. Ironically, I upgraded wheels and he converted back to stock…

If this car looked familiar, it was actually owned by Alex Walter (aka @sneakerheadinthebay, IG). It was originally wrapped in a matte purple color and Michael spent a couple days peeling off the wrap prior to revealing the car to me and the homies.

Besides the wrap, Michael kept the carbon fiber bits and pieces scattered around the exterior and the Work Meister S1R 2-piece wheels. He’s also kept the air ride suspension that’s allowed the car to sit so low when it’s not cruising the streets of NorCal.

What made you switch from the Lexus to the Tesla?

“It was COVID time and everyone was getting into overlanding and I was looking into getting into a truck build too. However, gas prices were super high and it wasn’t practical at the time given the situation I was in. My good friend Alex was also selling his Tesla at the time it was only about 1 year old and had ~ 4k miles. He gave me such a good package deal I just could not pass up a great opportunity. I looked long term when making my decision and it made the most sense, so I pulled the trigger and never looked back.

In 2020, owning a Tesla was one thing but modifying it was the last thing I would’ve thought of for this chassis. However, performance shops like Evasive Motorsports, for example, started getting into R&D (research and development) for EV in motorsports.

Getting into this car and driving it was a memorable experience. Michael picked me up to go shoot his new whip. I sat in passenger seat and I remember the car being silent compared to a hybrid like a Toyota Prius. “Is the car even on, what the f*ck?” was my initial thought. He asked me “you ready?”. I reply “yeah wassup?”. Like a roller coaster, I feel the back of my head touch the headrest and a blow to the gut as he presses on the accelerator pedal. It took me out of breath and that was the day I was blown away by cars and technology.

Michael gave me a rundown of how to drive it and let me sit in the driver seat. He placed the “key” on the center console – in front of the arm rest and behind the rearward cup holder. Following his instructions as he adjusted the height of the vehicle, I placed my right foot on the brake and reached for the shift selector to the right of the wheel with my hand. I pull the stalk downward and replace my hand back on wheel while simultaneously moving my foot off the brake and onto the accelerator pedal. The amount of pressure you apply to the pedal is linear with the power or torque the electric motor outputs. You can think of it like those electric-powered scooters scattered around metropolitan cities…

It’s a weird sensation especially when you take your foot off the accelerator pedal. The Tesla uses regenerative braking which essentially recharges the battery as soon as you lift your foot off the accelerator pedal. To me, it was hard to adapt to because…. I’m trusting this car to brake for me?! All I can say is: technology man *shrugs shoulders*.

Of course, we had to bring it back to the sacred spot!

How was the switch from the Lexus to the Tesla?

“Coming from an ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle that was static to transitioning to a bagged all-electric vehicle was totally different in many forms. Acceleration and braking is not the same as traditional vehicles and it was different from the public perspective to see something like this driving around – it wasn’t as common. I have the peace of mind knowing my car will be able to make it to places without worrying too much about scraping an exhaust or oil pan anywhere. It’s great, there’s pros and cons to everything but it’s been mostly good since ownership.”

Underneath the front trunk, is the battery that powers the whole car. Just kidding! The air tank was wrapped to look like a giant AA battery. It was a nice touch that Michael kept from the previous owner. Imagine how easy it would be to replace batteries in EVs like your childhood RC cars? The DIYer (do-it-yourself-er) wouldn’t hesitate to order a battery and dedicate a weekend replacing it…

Conclusion

Fast forward to April 2021, Marlon, Michael, and I posted up at a car meet in a random Milpitas shopping plaza. This would be the last time we’d have all 3 cars together. Marlon and Michael were in their final forms while I’m still in my “off-road” phase. It’s cool to see what your homies do with their cars and what style they go for.

Even today, we’ve all dabbled in changing small bits and pieces around our cars. Prior to writing up this blog post, I caught up with Michael and Marlon to get some more information and develop a proper write-up for their whips.

Currently, Michael’s ditched the Work Meister S1R’s and switched over to Leon Hardiritt Ordens. If there’s a common theme with Michael’s choice in wheels, it’s that they are really VIP inspired. In my opinion, the color scheme with the white paint and chrome wheels looks better than the white and bronze look.

Marlon’s car also went through a transformation as apparent by the front grills from LX Mode and new headlights.

As for my car, I’ve removed all the decals on my windows and reverted back to the original pre-facelift headlights with the amber corners…

It was a happy coincidence that all these photos were taken at different times during the year; yet, from a composition standpoint, the front 3/4 of the cars were captured.

5 years have flew by and the itch is still there despite getting older and having more responsibilities. I wonder what the boys will be doing next to scratch the itch. It seems that they’re both hinting at new cars from the time I last communicated with them.

As for me, I’m going to hang on to my Civic SI. I have a big gut feeling that this chassis is going to be around for many, many years to come. I could see my car in the future going through a resto-mod phase when I’m more financially stable.

From video games to Beyblades, fashion, and fixies, we’ve all came together united over cars and chilling at milk tea spots. Hobbies are fun when you share most of them with homies. I hope everyone has that sense of community where ever you are in the world. Unfortunately, I don’t have that sense of community here in Denver which is why I’m hosting my first car meet in mid-September. Scratching the itch in this case has gone from modifying whips to cultivating car culture here. If I catch you at that meet, dope! If you can’t make it, I’ll try to host another one. My end goal is to meet up with more enthusiasts around the globe. A dream destination would be Japan… Aaaah, anyways!

Special shoutout to Michael and Marlon for giving me the green light on featuring their whips on REVIZE. Thanks to you for reading and I’ll catch you in the next one! JVZY out!