Tuning Vignettes - Alt Tezzas
Photographed by Caspe
and was so surprised to see how positive the comments were about spinners. Thai Tran who recently sold his White Lexus IS300 was the only person I had seen in such a long time rocking the magical spinners. Everyone agrees (in my comments section) that spinners should make a comeback, and I think it’s already happening- no not pioneered by Forgiato, DUB or TIS (especially TIS I mean have you seen their wheel line up lately?) but pioneered by enthusiasts like Tyson and Thai who are scouring the internet for accessories that make their car feel different. Specifically looking for the artifacts that contemporary wheel brands don’t care to make anymore.
Thai Tran, a 21 year old car enthusiast, spent his childhood playing video games and visiting car shows in the early 2000s. He, like many of us, grew up going to car shows in the heat of the socal sun with his parents, who also owned a blue DA Integra sedan. Now, as a 21-year old car enthusiast, he drawsupon those memories as his main influence and motivator for his builds. His influences manifested as physical customizations that stemmed from memories of his early childhood, and his bagged IS300 on 22” Trumps shows that the once-celebrity-focused era of custom car culture eventually would trickle down into the hands of a 21 year old who wasn’t even born when the wheel style was first invented.
The magic of a spinner is its physical ability to trick your eye into defying-gravitational laws of physics and motion. The trick is an additional freemoving wheel attached on the fixed base by a weighted moving wheel hub. Tyson and Thai are the only ones doing this shit. Spinners add a certain level of danger, flare and magic to a car that you just can’t help but feel like a kid again. As I approach 30, that’s all I want to feel is the magical joy of spinning a wheel at rest.
Vignetttes of Tuning - Alt-tezzas
My name is Thai Tran. I’m 21 and I’m in the San Gabriel area.
CAR:What are some of your automotive influences and interests?
T:I love anything to do with sub car culture; sexspec, minitrucking, kaido, bosozoku, and vanning too. What sparked my interest when I started getting into cars was the VIP culture and the stance so I started off building lowered and cambered cars. As time flew by I started learning about underground culture so I wanted to build different and unique cars. I wanted to bring back the old days of expressing the style and character through cars.
CAR:What kind of car do you drive?
T:Right now I drive a Chevrolet/Geo Tracker aka Suzuki sidekick in JAPAN and a Nissan Hardbody with a two stage tilt bed
CAR:You mentioned that the 80s Mini Truck community was an influence to you. I think you just bought a Hardbody?
I’ve loved lowriders growing up and I’ve always wanted one when I was old enough but American cars and hydraulics were too expensive for this day and age to maintain and drive. Then I was introduced to minitrucking and that was the second best thing next to lowriders for me. They’re affordable and cheap to maintain because mini trucks can also be Japanese cars. I bought my first 95 Toyota pickup as my 4th car but gave me too many issues. Few months later I bought my club member’s hardbody with a tilt bed on bags. That was the first car I ever owned that was equipped with hydraulics.
CAR: Why an IS300?
T:I just got a steal from one of my best friends and I took the opportunity to buy it. No reason In particular. I just said it’s a good starter car with a lot of aftermarket support so I said why not.
CAR: How did you first find out about spinners? These are called TRUMPS?
T:So basically one of my friends that loved my car for having spinners got a set for himself as well except they were a different type. DUB spinners to be exact. The true authentic set. I grew up playing midnight club 3 DUB edition and you can put a set of these spinners on any car and to own a set was like a dream. So I traded my 3 piece SSR Vienna’s with a universal spinner set for his DUB trumps. I looked it up and they retailed around 1k for just one wheel.
CAR:Can you describe some early memories you have when it comes to experiencing custom car culture?
T:My dad played a huge part in my early interest for cars. He had an Acura integra; multiple actually. This being one of them and he continued to go through different cars and modifying them his whole life. He got me racing games on the ps2 and I played a lot of need for speed and midnight club.
Can you please give me your name, age and location?
My name is Tyson Martin. I’m 27 and I’m located in NorCal near Sacramento!
So we met by chance because I reached out to Thai and you happened to be in the LA area for a video shoot? How was that?
It was an amazing trip and experience, since I got into the car scene it’s always been my goal to have my car features in either a music video or a magazine and that weekend I got to experience both!
Can you talk about your interest in automotive subculture?
I’ve got a very wide range of interests when it comes to cars and I think it shows in my car. I remember seeing low lows as a kid and watching them hit switches down the street then growing up I remember learning about the Kiado racers and the loop runners and just fell in love with the Japanese styling of cars. I try to find something I like from every sub genre of the car scene and incorporate them into my cars. I don’t do any of this really for fame or clout or anything like that, I genuinely love building cars.
You mentioned that you love VIP style and Kaido styling. How has that influenced the build of this car?
I feel like a persons car is an extension of themselves. Those styles have always kept me into the older Japanese cars and I like to try to bring a little of each style into my builds. The VIP inspired part is the reason I chose a black car to build and kept it simple on the exterior while the kaido racer part has just stayed with me from previous builds like my little Knick knacks all over the interior like patlites and equalizers.
Why an IS300? You mentioned you also did anengine and tranny swap on it? What was that process like?
Honestly I got an is300 because my x7 Cressida blew up and I needed another car to drive. But after being behind the wheel of the Lexus I instantly fell in love and knew this was going to be my next build. Being that this car is my daily, I ended up blowing a hole in my block while “driving the speed limit” home. I luckily had a motor from a jzs with only 40k kilometers that I threw in and while I was down there I got rid of the stock automatic transmission and upgraded to the w series 5 speed transmission! The process wasn’t that difficult because I have manual swapped all vehicles I’ve owned, so after a while it gets pretty easy!
Trial wheels with spinners? You have to be the only person that has ever done that..Do you have friends with similar tastes and aesthetics?
As far as I’ve seen I’m the only one to put them over three spokes, let alone one of the first people to start trying to bring back spinners that I’ve seen! My friends love this style aswell it’s just I’m the only one who loves it so much I want to bring that styling into the car I drive.
Any club affiliations?
Yessir, with Out Of Luck club! They started back in 2020 and we are just one giant family of car guys with like minded goals!
I love the Klux busters Jacket. What does this jacket say about your personal style and attitude
Thanks! There’s enough hate in the world. That’s why I build cars because you can be whoever you want to be and be apart of the car community. You gotta be the change you want to see in the world.
How does that attitude or personal expression of style manifest through your car build?
Everything I’ve done to my car is because it’s something I love. It’s not everyone’s style but it’s mine and that’s what is important to me. I think that people should do what they enjoy with their cars rather than following trends because in the end that’s what will make you happy.
Anything else you would like to say?Thank you again so much for this experience, definitely made some good memories.
My name is Tyson Martin. I’m 27 and I’m located in NorCal near Sacramento!
So we met by chance because I reached out to Thai and you happened to be in the LA area for a video shoot? How was that?
It was an amazing trip and experience, since I got into the car scene it’s always been my goal to have my car features in either a music video or a magazine and that weekend I got to experience both!
Can you talk about your interest in automotive subculture?
I’ve got a very wide range of interests when it comes to cars and I think it shows in my car. I remember seeing low lows as a kid and watching them hit switches down the street then growing up I remember learning about the Kiado racers and the loop runners and just fell in love with the Japanese styling of cars. I try to find something I like from every sub genre of the car scene and incorporate them into my cars. I don’t do any of this really for fame or clout or anything like that, I genuinely love building cars.
You mentioned that you love VIP style and Kaido styling. How has that influenced the build of this car?
Kinda looks goth too..
I feel like a persons car is an extension of themselves. Those styles have always kept me into the older Japanese cars and I like to try to bring a little of each style into my builds. The VIP inspired part is the reason I chose a black car to build and kept it simple on the exterior while the kaido racer part has just stayed with me from previous builds like my little Knick knacks all over the interior like patlites and equalizers.
Why an IS300? You mentioned you also did anengine and tranny swap on it? What was that process like?
Honestly I got an is300 because my x7 Cressida blew up and I needed another car to drive. But after being behind the wheel of the Lexus I instantly fell in love and knew this was going to be my next build. Being that this car is my daily, I ended up blowing a hole in my block while “driving the speed limit” home. I luckily had a motor from a jzs with only 40k kilometers that I threw in and while I was down there I got rid of the stock automatic transmission and upgraded to the w series 5 speed transmission! The process wasn’t that difficult because I have manual swapped all vehicles I’ve owned, so after a while it gets pretty easy!
Trial wheels with spinners? You have to be the only person that has ever done that..Do you have friends with similar tastes and aesthetics?
As far as I’ve seen I’m the only one to put them over three spokes, let alone one of the first people to start trying to bring back spinners that I’ve seen! My friends love this style aswell it’s just I’m the only one who loves it so much I want to bring that styling into the car I drive.
Any club affiliations?
Yessir, with Out Of Luck club! They started back in 2020 and we are just one giant family of car guys with like minded goals!
I love the Klux busters Jacket. What does this jacket say about your personal style and attitude
Thanks! There’s enough hate in the world. That’s why I build cars because you can be whoever you want to be and be apart of the car community. You gotta be the change you want to see in the world.
How does that attitude or personal expression of style manifest through your car build?
Everything I’ve done to my car is because it’s something I love. It’s not everyone’s style but it’s mine and that’s what is important to me. I think that people should do what they enjoy with their cars rather than following trends because in the end that’s what will make you happy.
Anything else you would like to say?Thank you again so much for this experience, definitely made some good memories.
