Track Time: “Naturehold”

“Naturehold” by Invent, Animate is a song that does not let up. It rushes in and grabs you by the throat with brutal Djent chords, guitar squeals, and heavy lows. What really sets this song (and album) apart is the duality in tones. With the gut-wrenching screams and aggressive attention to pacing and syncopation, the heaviness is…

Track Time: An Introduction

Track Time has an arguably deceptive name. We’re not logging our track times (yet), but we’re reviewing music that is engrossing to drive to. Sometimes an evening drive is well accompanied by some smooth jazz. Sometimes the journey home is punctuated by songs that bring back comforting memories. Whatever the case may be, music can definitely change the dynamic of one’s time on the open road and…

Thunder One-One: Chris’s Journey with the Jetta

Something I have always appreciated about car culture is how it transcends many issues that divide us as people. Whether you’re Black, Latino, Republican, Democrat, it doesn’t matter. We all stop our conversation to listen to whatever brutal exhaust might be calling us from an unknown distance. When car-culture is appreciated, one becomes a member of a larger family and in that family, we…

At the time I am writing this, my daughter is on her way into this world. By the time you read this, she’ll most likely be here. I open this message with these two statements because I want to emphasize how important family is to me and how important it is to our Apex family. We have to emphasize this because we –no, let’s be real– I seemed to have forgotten that.

Apex Militia started as a group…

What’s good, Apex Community!? Chris Here!

Things have been pretty quiet around the Apex offices lately. A lot has been going on in our personal lives, and I feel the need to address our lovely community!

Basically, 2015 has been very difficult for us. Some of our comrades have lost loved ones or lifelong friends. Some of became graduates. Some are becoming parents, husbands, wives… All within six…

Family Car Vandalized over Facebook Opinion

Something that I absolutely love about the car culture is how it supersedes race, religion, and many other features that divides people. Car culture can be explored and appreciated beyond language barriers as well as physical ones. Just take a moment and imagine how beautiful the world would be if respect and compassion was as omnipresent as the car culture is. We would live in a very different…

Notorious Nilloc’s 02 GTI

Collin is a cool dude. I’d say he’s your typical American young man who may be known for his partake of mischief and mayhem. But that is his past, and we should leave that behind, right? “New year, new me!” For some time now, he has been asking us to do a shoot of his car, but plans always fell through before they could happen. Despite the frigid cold weather, we decided that enough is enough,…

One day, we’ll be able to attend events like this. One day, we’ll have the press passes and the ability to step through the turnstile that many will not. Our eyes will witness the magnificent imaginations of designers collaborate with the wit and will of automotive engineers to create the future of automobiles as we know them. But we weren’t invited this year, so we had to spectate from our…

Freestyle Drift Round 4!!!

Greetings everyone, Chris here!

Now, we understand that Freestyle drift hosted their last event back in November. Yet, with back-to-back computer failures, staffing issues, and numerous other adversities we were unable to put together a quality package for you all. That is, until today!

Here’s a quick video showing some highlights from the event! The very end may be the new format for how our…

  “Necessity is the great motivator.” This is something that my Dad has told me since I was a little boy. Some people feel the need to drive the nicest car, wear the fly-est gear, or just to fit in. For Manny and Mackey, the people behind the Youtube channel “The DarkDragonWing,” they felt the need to entertain us with a pretty…

  Hey everyone, Dillon here!

As you all know we love to spread anything and everything about the drift scene. One area we feel needs more attention is the spotlight for drivers. All the pro drivers get all the spotlight when they have already made it to the big time. We feel that same love should be shared to the rest of the drivers. We would like to continue our “drivers spot” with our next feature Driver.

Shawn Morgan has really stated his presence in the drift community with his clean lines, and determination to better himself with each run. Shawn is no rookie to drifting. The love for going sideways started for Shawn when he was only eight years old. As a kid, Shawn would sneak out to the back and drive a pick-up truck down an aisle between parked cars, at his father’s shop. Shawn said “I would give the truck some gas and the back would step out. I didn’t know what I was doing, it just felt good.” This love for sliding eventually led to street drifting in his first RB20 swapped 240. He was voted crowd favorite at his first event. Now, with the help from Silver Dragon Racing, Shawn has nowhere to go but up!

We were able to catch up with Shawn and ask him a few questions on his impressive 2013 season.

Apex Militia: What challenges and obstacles did you have to face over the course of the season to get here?

Shawn Morgan: Lack of power! There are a few lag issues with the engine at low rpm. If I have to slow down when I’m following or just to correct the line, the car bogs down and looses power. The 1j still has the factory boost limiter. Also a lot of transmission issues. I rebuilt the transmission myself.

A/M: You’re coming off a spectacular win in Virginia, how are the environments different with the bigger crowds and does it add more pressure as a driver?

Shawn: There is always pressure. I just try to focus on myself. Hit my lines and the clip points. Staying in the power band is very crucial for me. The best thing is not to over think it. Everyone gets better each year.

A/M: As a driver, what do you look for most in a drifting circuit?

Shawn: Competition. Drifting is like one big family, everyone helps each other out. Driving with good drivers helps you get better, setting the bar higher each time.

Shawn has a great foundation under him and has the determination to take his drifting career as far as he wants to go. He is a great guy and there is never a dull moment in his pit. After all, Shawn shared with us he would also like to peruse voice acting so one could only imagine all the shenanigans that go on.

So folks, keep your eye on Shawn as he continues to peruse his passion and grow as a driver in the years to come.

Until next time folks, stay classy and stay sideways.

-Dillon

Hey everyone! A really tired Chris, here!

Here is the latest issue of Apex Mag, the quarterly e-magazine for grassroots drifting and car culture! In this issue, we have coverage of Streetwise Drift Pro AM finals, a couple of cool car features, and many more goodies! It's a pretty good read, and we hope you enjoy it! 

Hey Folks, Matt here!

Last month StreetWiseDrift held their second annual Autopalooza Drift competition and car show and we were lucky enough to attend! It was nice to see a few new cars in the series that we're not used to seeing around here, such as Zoltan Haju's twin turbo “LS-14.”

 The track had a great layout with long straight away into a long sweeping set of S-turns. Seeing these high powered cars taking the course is always amazing.

For the most part the weather was great until the forecasted rain moved in right as the competition began which brought a new level of difficulty for the drivers. The competition continued regardless. There have been some hiccups in regarding the event but from a spectators point of view the show was great. Be sure to check out our photo album on Facebook, like our page, and share it with your friends! Here's a link! [CLICKETY CLICK!]

Chris here, with a bundle of goodies for you all, today!

First off, we have a new video, featuring Matt's ZX2! He's been chipping away at it, here and there, and it's really starting to come together. In this latest video, he showcases some of it's defining features.

Next, we have the latest edition of Apex Mag, and it's definitely bigger and better than the last one! It features an interview with ProAm driver, Tommy Van Cleef, an introspective look into what it's like being a driver, and lots of other really awesome content! Check that out, and be sure to let us know how you feel about it on our social media!

That wraps it up for me! Stay tuned and be sure ot subsribe to our Youtube page, Follow us on Twitter and Tumblr, and don't forget the lovely instagram!

Take care,

Hey everyone, Chris here. It's about 1:18 in the morning, and I'm talking to you, after working on the next issue of ApexMag. It's going to be so much better than the last one, and we can't wait to release this one!

We at Apex Militia take pride in these long nights, because we have some of the most supportive fans out there! Some of us are beneath a car, some of us are behind a desk, but when we're pulling these long nights, we know it's worth it. You all are the best!

In case you didn't know, I utilize the Ubuntu operating system, when I'm working on Apex stuff. I feel that open source programs are a great way to use some cutting-edge software and make some amazing things, at a fraction of the cost.

But that was just a little update! Stay tuned for all of the goodness in the next issue! It's coming out at the end of this month! Be ready!

Hey Everyone! Chris here! Last Saturday, Sebastian, Chris, and Garrett made a trip to meet some really cool people. At CIN Motorsports, based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, some of the most insane 350s, G35s, and Vettes are built. 

We spoke with Chad, from CIN for most of the day. They were hosting a Dyno-Day for the Carolina Z club. When we walked in, everyone was super receptive and nice to us. Lots of joking, fun, and lots of laughs. It was truly a great atmosphere.

Not to mention, lots of crazy sounding 350s!

Garrett was speaking with Chad and Bobby throughout the day. These guys focus on Nissan, Infinity, and Corvettes, and it seemed to be the best place to go, for Garrett's new 350!

I won't leak any details about the plans for his car, but trust me, it won't look like this for much longer.

CIN also had some goodies in the back. Some were for other customers, some were projects that they were working on. They have a garage packed with awesome looking projects and customer cars. These guys really know what they're doing.

One of the coolest things about CIN is that they do a lot of custom work. Their mastermind, Bobby, was a wealth of knowledge. According to Chad, he designed this custom manifold on this 370, and it's a sight to be seen in person. 

Food break... And yeah, that's Seba eating a Mac&Cheese biscuit from Bojangles.

The guys at CIN are amazing at what they do, and if you have an Infinity, a 350, or a Vette, you ought to take a look at what all they can do for you! They will over-build whatever you want, to ensure it's longevity, and your happiness. They'll take care of you. They have a facebook, too!