Look for? (didn't know where to post this)

Anyone know what the judges are looking for?

I think I have the cleaning / detailing part down as I do nothing but wax / clean all frickn day throught the day at these shows... by the time I finish waxing I start again at the first body panel... I probably get like 4 coats of NXT / PS215 on throught the day...

If you have a checklist on what judges look for at these car shows please put a list together and post it here. I have been only in one show, NOPI and I won for best infiniti from NICO (cool honor )....

Anyone have any advice? Thanks!

 

From what I understand it is political enough that if you aren't well known you won't win anything. They barely looked twice at my car.


Other than that, you DEFINITELY need lots of lighting and much stereo equipment to get noticed. Presentation also counts, such as pulling in on carpet and jacking the car up to show off the brake rotors.

I think having a well lit car is key to even getting looked at here. Oh, and it costs $175 or so to get a plug for power.

 

+1

 

Really? Damn... That sucks.... So how do you go about getting known? I sank some cash into my car hoping to at least place this year...

I have installed the lighting myself on my car and have some more to go for the show. I am going to jack her up and take a wheel off to show the brakes... Thank you for the carpet idea, is there a color of carpet you would recommend?

Here is my lighting so far... All LED's as I am not into Neon...











What about the tire guides that say "Toyo" and different manufacturers on them that you roll onto... Where can I get those from?

Thanks...

 

That's a lot of lights..........

 

Ya, lol tell me about it... I love the tedious work actually... It is like gardening to me and I just let my head drift off... I am adding more under the sides and in the rear to show the HKS eshaust... I need alot more speaker wire before I start on that portion though...

Like you said though... lights get ya noticed at HIN... I just want to keep it as classy as possible though.... Which is kinda hard if you think about it with adding lights...

 

This is soo true. This is why I dont show. I do all the work on my car. The last thing I want is a let down from some judges that already picked a winner before the show even starts!

 

the judging is mostly rigged... but if its not, their going to be looking for cleanlines, exterior work(kits,wing,rims,paint job, etc.), Interior work, I.C.E (sound system), motor work, Decals, and other presenting accessories. I might have missed something but u get the idea.

 

I just enter my first car show a couple of weeks ago. And I can tell you this. clean clean and clean some more. make sure you get under your car and wheel well.. all those. also dont wax your car. just use polish. polish will help your car shine more. when you put wax on it till to dull the shine down.

It doesnt matter how much bling and ice you have in your car. they dont judge for that. but what they do judge for if you do have those things is how well they are put together. make sure your bodykit fit, no wire hanging out. stuff like that.

the car show I enter was no HIN but I place second. here some pics.

Just install this 21 in lcd in the back along with xbox 360. The LCD is on a actuator so it can raise and lower. Came in handy when we where trying to kill time at the show.





I finally threw on the nismo rim.



Ahh park next to my buddy NSX. arent they sexxy together.





A few more here.

 

holy hijack


To the OP:
Yeah, your lighting looks pretty good. One thing I'd do is take that manifold to a polishing shop and get them to buff out that Kinetix logo.

Basically shows like this, you need to go in just looking for exposure or to get feedback on the car. You can't go in expecting to win unless you're affiliated with a well known shop or crew. All you can really do is just do it for fun and exposure until you get some connections.



Not to be an *** or anything, but to the above poster - those cars are clean but woudln't get much attention at an HIN. At least down here, 350z's were a dime a dozen and it really needs to be out there to get noticed.

 

triji...i assume you are shooting for the October 14th Nightshift event in Phoenix? this is an outdoor event.

i hope what i am about to say does not come as a shock.

considering daylight savings time, you're car will most likely be judged before the sun sets. which means all these LEDs and what not will not be too noticeable to the judges.

and i love reading your post. brings back memories of my first show and how naive I was. after you've attended several shows, you'll realize what I am talking about

good luck bro. if my team comes out to Phoenix, I'll make sure to check out your ride

 

No daylight savings time in AZ and it starts getting dark earlier in October here... Hell if I need to I will get a enclosure to put around her to make it darker to be seen....lol... Hell, I even thought about getting a model for the car there and have her hang out playing PS2 and smile big...

Hey drsifu if you are out here definately stop by and say hi...

 

Car shows are a tough one for performance minded people, because no matter how much money you pump into performance mods, they are looking for the car that stands out, which usually involves the bling factor. I heard NOPI is getting good at inventing different classes for everyone, which is a good thing.

 

Most of winners for HIN are decided before the show even starts. They just judge the cars to keep everyone hapy that paid the $50. They are simply going through the motions. The funny thing is that a ton of people know this and still go.

 

Well, as has been said by everyone before, I think HIN is rigged. Sour Grapes aside, the fact that the same people win at EVERY show they attend EVERY YEAR they attend, WITH THE SAME CAR no less... Shows are all about who you know.

As for cleanliness, I guess if you are sponsored, never drive your car and have a crew of people to put it on jacks, remove the wheels, put on brand new show wheels/tires and polish the springs/ suspension... You have a pretty good chance of winning something.

I guess what I am saying it just try to appreciate your car yourself and don't worry about the judging.
--B

 

Judges at the HIN events are usually local for the most part (they only send the top guys to coordinate)

I've done HIN since 2002 and have been working the shows that long for Valvoline. Here's what I gathered....

You will get more points if the judges know you and the way they know you is by your car and when you come to the shows, talking with the judges is a must. When I showed I always approached them with "Hey if you have any questions let me know and I'll be right over here if you want me to walk you through it...."

the car has to have a theme, is it a street car or is it a race car... is it VIP or is it a stereo *****. Having the best of everything (700whp and fiberglass interior) is kindof a contradiction. The judges look for consistancy as much as cleanliness... they expect the car to be dust/dirt free but they also expect the fit and finish of custom parts to be as good as stock... anyone can throw on a CF hood but if you're gonna pay $60+ to enter the car there should be no gaps and no shortcuts...

This is what I started showing with....


this was the last car I showed with...


I won some and I lost some... I have my horror stories and I have my glory tales but for the most part judging at any car show is done by people and it's impossible to make it totally mathmatic... there will always be personal opinion, favoritism, hang ups and mistakes...

 

on a side note the green car has about 100k in mods and parts and is clasiffied as mild, since it isn't widebody, bagged and no lambo doors...

dumb I know but we built it to dominate the MILD category and still got beat sometimes for "weird reasons"...

there were always people with more money, more mods and better connections.

So you know the car is retired so noone has to compete against it again

 

also I'll be in SF, SEA, Dallas and PHX with Valvoline to sponsor cars so I'll look for you guys...

 

Hey Whammie if you see my ride definately stop by and say HI.... I would love to pick your brain! Those rides are HOT...

My car is my daily driver w/ over 65K miles on her and I have done alot of the work on her myself... I am debating whether or not to put manufacturer logos on her sides or not... With everyone saying these are political shows it is a bit discouraging to say the least...

I will just do the best I can and try to learn and have a good time....

Here is my ride whammie. If you see her stop on by...





















So would hiring a model help to get me noticed???

 

Whammie: The key to your posts in my opinion, is you showed for years, then your car got recognized then sponsored. Finnaly you were in sponsored booths.

In that first year, BEFORE you were sponsored or had your car in someone’s booth were you placing or winning at shows? What I am getting at is by reading your post and seeing that car, you have been doing this for years and not only do you have a lot of time and money invested in your car (just like any average tuner) but you have the advantage of major sponsorship, marketing and display booths. Your average guy does not have this ability.

I have to drive my car every day, drive it 1000's of miles (by myself with my bags and cleaning supplies in my passenger seat) to shows the night before, clean it, get a few hours of sleep and load-in all the while continuously cleaning the car as much as I can from the long drives. Being an average guy, I don't have the benefit of a display booth with lights, posters and Models around my car. I have my small printouts, dyno sheets and background sheets. How am I supposed to compete with someone, like yourself in the 'Mild' class? I have taken 1 1/2 years and well over 100K to build my car and it would never even come close in competition to yours.

I am not saying my car is worse/better then yours was/is, just that I don’t think it is fair to place both cars in the same category. If that is the case all these events are doing is fleecing your average tuner guys out of their money by thinking they have a chance as an Average Joe of winning anything. I understand these events are organized and sponsored to show people what you can do with your car and of course sell these things to the tuner community.

Basically this is a business and the Sponsors expect their cars will win awards and the Event promoter’s want to make sure they continue getting the sponsor’s for future events. When in doubt the extra flash, potential money, and ‘friendship’ with the sponsors gives them the edge in competition.

Just my opinion of course. Not in any way meant to be a personal attack or anything. It is just that every event where I have tried to get more information from the Judges, they will not tell me how they judge, what the criteria are, how they score, or ever make any of this public. I have written to the judging agencies a few times and I have never gotten a response of any kind. If it was truly fair, then it should not be a problem to tell me I got a 5 for interior, 7 for paint, 9 for engine, etc etc… I could understand if they would not tell you what a competitor received (but I still think for transparency you should be able to see a breakdown of what points the winning car got). No judging agency has ever allowed me to even see what point I got in a competition.

I suggest to the OP you go to shows for your own enjoyment or sign up with a team that is already winning at shows and they will get you into the ‘Good Old Boys’ network and you will shortly be winning awards yourself.
--B