Words by Matt Willis | Photos by Melanie Kwok & Tim Wong

Following a relatively docile night, we were up bright and early the next morning ready to get back to the show. So far, we had only seen a mere fraction of the show floor, but for some reason we felt a tad under-impressed with what was on display. I don’t know if it was the repetition of the FR-S/BRZ, or maybe we just hadn’t seen enough yet. In any case, there was no time to waste in checking things out.

If you missed Part One, be sure to check it out here…

Before I proceed with the photos,  I’d like to introduce Melanie Kwok, a new intern with us who flew in for SEMA that Tuesday night. Melanie kept our social feeds lively and updated during the show; something we were grateful for because Tim and I were constantly moving about, and my phone can’t get a data connection for more than about four seconds at a time.  She also helped us with some photos and she had some very handy industry connections – which we’re also very appreciative of. She is a photographer who takes an interest in both cars and the aftermarket industry, which is great because  that’s exactly where our drive and motivation comes from. We look forward to working with her and hopefully with the extra help, we’ll be able to expand further into the automotive world…

After Melanie got her badge, we headed outside to check out some featured builds before the sun went vertical.

Scion FR-S in Project Mu livery. Until seeing this, I honestly thought Project Mu went by the wayside as a lot of their products became discontinued… but its great to see they are still alive and making stuff for the next generation of tuners.

This immaculate Datsun 510 was very well received. I still see photos of it circulating around social networks and such…

A BR-Z from GTSPEC, rolling on Candy Blue Volk TE37S and Toyo R1R tires…

Toyota Supra MKIV from Team Hybrid…

Spec D tuning’s VIP-style Porsche Panamera. One of the things on the horizon from Porsche is actually a “Panamera Wagon”, which I find pretty stupid in the most respectful way possible. I was surprised not to see a concept at the show. Regardless of the news, I still like the ‘ol 4-door 911 and it’s cool to see them catching on.

Matte Orange GT-R from High End/SSR Wheels…

Sharp looking VIP LS…

I really enjoyed this satin white RSX. Something about the simplicity of the body kit really stood out to me.

Turbo K with Full Race manifold and custom exhaust work…

Volk TE37SL and Toyo tires again…quite a popular combination. The TE37SL was also being used in a lot of builds…

One of the reasons we haven’t seen this car around our show scene is because it’s from Pennsylvania. There are a lot of great builds out east and we don’t get to see many of them in person; which is a drag because there are different styles and trends out there. The SEMA Show breaks that mold by bringing cars from all over the world to the show floor…

S2000 from J2G Autosports that we’ve seen on and off the show circuit. Still looking great. Love the on-deck Mishimoto oil cooler setup and custom body work…

On the Meguiar’s “Car Crazy” stage, cars and guests were preparing to talk about some of the newest trends and some one-of-a-kind international builds.

Interesting Changhe van from China…it’s done up like a VW Bus…haha…

Cars out front spanned the length of the convention center.

Love the setup on this E92 sedan…

Aero Jacket had some great FR-S builds out there and I love their aggressive lip kit for the platform…

Old Caddy that was sanded bare and then clearcoated. Interesting look…

Rally Innovations Evo…

Garrett Turbo brought a current generation WRX with a massive splitter attached to it…love it…

Tried to get a shot of this KW Suspension 1-series, but Tim beat the shutter of the camera…

KW built an FR-S as well…

Awesome S14 build from Godspeed Project…

Factory Five GTM with custom aero and wing…

SRT-6 Crossfire motor with AMG accents…

BMW 320si touring car (non-FIA).

Interesting Civic build from DNA Motoring. Not sure if the wheels really flow with such a modern car, but still nicely put together nonetheless…

Another FR-S, also from DNA Motoring…

Rohana Wheels 350Z that we saw last year, albeit a few things have changed…

Crazy lifted Chevelle…

Very wide E92 M3. The two tone makes the car appear a little tacky in my opinion…

Giovanna Wheels Ferrari 599…

After making our way down the main outdoor pavilion, we ended up at the South Hall which has a focus on wheels, tires and truck/off-road components.

Veilside RX-7 from Mastermind…

ADV1 Wheels is a fairly new venture that has rocketed with growth in the last couple of years. Their lineup features wheels in fully custom finishes, sizes and specs for high-end and exotic vehicles. It was great seeing their wheels up close; you get to examine the high standards of design and craft that make up ADV1…

Here’s a set on a Mercedes CLS…

…and a set of center-locking ADV1s on this Ferrari 458.

Lamborghini Aventador at the Forigato Wheels booth. We found the texture on the car’s finish to be unique…sort of like a bad spray paint job, but without with the surface differences. Just lighter/darker in some areas…

Itasha Chrysler 300C at the Kosei booth. I had no idea Kosei made wheels other the K1…haha…

Crazy Maybach at MBC Wheels…

Mercedes C63 AMG…

Frederic Aasbo’s Formula D tC at the Hankook Tire booth.

Carbon-fiber wrapped Audi R8 from GMG and Hankook…

Closeup of the Hankook Ventus RS3 tire, one of the more popular DOT race tires for track guys these days…

API Tire (aka Achilles Radial) brought out this BTCC Audi A4.

Underground Racing R8 at the Nitto Tire booth.

Beautiful Audi A7 from Concept One wheels…

This W115 Merc had a 2JZ engine in it…

Mercedes SLS AMG wrapped in Continental tires. This one specifically is owned by time attack driver Chris Rado…

Ferrari 458 Grand Am car, also at the Continental booth…

Vossen Wheels had a very cool wall display…

Checked out some Formula One tires at the Pirelli booth…

Also played a bit of the new Codemasters game, F1 2012…

Chip Foose was signing autographs…

Kenda Tires ladies and an Mercedes-Mclaren SLR 722…

TE21 Toyota Corolla at the Enkei Wheels booth.

Sleek R8 Spyder on display at AMF Wheels…

Each year, Giovanna wheels brings out a spread of exotics to showcase their latest wheel designs…

Lamborghini Aventador LP-700…

Love the custom aero work done all around this car. Makes it look that much more like a fighter plane…

Much more refined and classy Merc S-Class. Still the standard for luxury in my opinion.

Ferrari FF…

The McLaren MP4-12C…

Bentley Continental…

Porsche 991…

After taking a break for some popcorn courtesy of the Mopar-Dodge booth, we came across the new 2013 SRT Viper…

Loving the new Viper logo…

640 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque in here…plus it weighs less than any Mustang or Corvette.

Dodge Dart fitted with some aftermarket trimmings, including OZ Wheels. This is another car we are looking forward to seeing on the street/track in the next year or so. We know Travis Pastrana is already running one in the GRC series…

This Fiat 500 was gutted and simplified, mostly for artistic sake – but it did have a nice look. The Volkswagen-style wheels actually fit the Fiat pretty well.

It was also pulling this cool bike on a trailer…

After seeing most of the vastly expansive South Hall, we decided to wrap things up and start heading out. On our way to the parking lot, we spotted a gathering of FR-Ses. I think there was a meet up or something going on later that night for all the FR-S owners.

Anyway, we dropped our gear off back at our place, cleaned up and then went to eat at this place off the strip called Anime Ramen…

Here, Tim attempted to tackle the ‘Sumo Bowl’ challenge, which basically the feat of consuming a massive bowl of ramen. It’s so much ramen, that apparently a waiver that has to be signed beforehand releasing any liability…

Needless to say, it was an absurd amount of noodles and Tim finished a mere fraction of it…haha…

Originally we had talked about going to one of the Halloween club events, especially since there were some big stage names, but by the time we had come to a decision there was no dice on the tickets. So, we went back to the strip and had some drinks at the Ice Bar (Monte Carlo) and the Gold Lounge (Aria). Later on that night, we went to the Mandarin Oriental and hit up Earl of Sandwich at Planet Hollywood for a bite…

View from the Mandarin…

Messing around with bokeh…

We were all pretty exhausted when we got back to our place, and with a mere few hours before the show floor opened again, we tried to get as much rest as we could before heading back out again.

The next bit of coverage will likely be split even further – thought it was one day worth of sights, there is still a pretty substantial amount of high-quality builds that we have yet to share. We hope to have the next part up very soon. In the meantime, catch more SEMA photos and other exclusive content over at our Facebook page.

We’ll be out with Speed Ventures at Auto Club Speedway this weekend, and the Los Angeles Auto Show is coming up here in a couple of weeks. The big events for 2012 are winding down and as the weather gets a little more wintery (I say that lightly after the recent hurricane…), the outdoor events start to fade as well. But we still have plenty of content down the pipeline…

Thanks for reading!