- That looks good, I think.
I don't know. If it had tires on it.
- Hey Mike, how come your wheels aren't on yet?
- Well, you see, I ordered them off of fitment industries,
but then I got my tires elsewhere.
And I'm still waiting on my tires to come in.
- Mike, you should have packaged your wheels with tires.
Not only would you save a lot of money,
but they mount, balance and ship them right to your door
for free. You could have put them right on your car.
- Yeah. I probably should have done that. Obviously.
I'm guessing that's what you did.
- I mean, yeah, of course.
- Are you kidding me?
They just said my tires going to be delayed
another two days.
- Ha, that sucks.
(car engine revving)
- I should have packaged.
- Summer is here.
If you couldn't tell by the humidity,
and triple digit temperatures yet,
somehow still managed to get a (beep) head cold.
And car shows, are in full swing again
which is so refreshing coming off
almost a year without any shows.
For a lot of us, we just jumped right back
into the swing of it.
It's like normal. Back to normal. And everything's good.
Coordinating where you're meeting up with your friends,
convincing your significant other to spend another hot day,
walking around an asphalt parking lot.
And most importantly, hitting up all of the food trucks.
I don't know what it is about gyros or tacos from car shows.
Maybe it's like all the quick detailer
or E 85 teams floating around in the air,
but either way, that's not exactly the case for all of us.
There are new enthusiasts born every minute.
And since you know, we didn't have many shows
to go to last year, there are a lot of new enthusiasts
out there who have may be experiencing
their first car show this year.
And if that's the case, welcome.
I'm Jells from Fitment Industries
and we put together a quick guide for you,
in case you were planning on attending a car show
in the near future for the first time.
And it makes sure that you don't look like a goober.
And most importantly have a good time.
(bright music)
Real quick, before we get into the nitty gritty
of everything, don't forget, wheels, tires, suspension.
Fitmentindustries.com.
Where you can package your wheels and tires together.
We're going to mount, balance and ship them for free.
We'll even stretch them for you,
so don't have to worry about dealing
with all that stuff when they get there.
Just throw them right on your car. Good to go.
You don't have to deal with any grumpy guys
at the tire shop. Anyway.
First things first,
you gotta know what you're actually attending.
You know, is it going to be a car show or is it a car meet?
Because they are two very different things.
And if you show up to a car meet expecting a car show,
or a car show expecting a car meet,
it's going to be a little bit awkward.
So, here's some key differences on what both of those are.
First up car meet. It's usually some kind of casual hangout.
It's usually, you know, a pretty loose
structure to everything.
There's not like a schedule.
You just kind of time and place.
It's usually, you know,
some kind of pre-meet before a car show.
Maybe like a big car show during the weekend,
pop-up meet, something like that.
The night before everyone comes and goes hangs out at,
or typically, it's in some sort of
business parking lot after hours.
Now don't be surprised if you hop on
your local Facebook page and it's a Walmart meet
or in my case, you know,
a Subway parking lot meet in my hometown.
For some reason, that was the only place to go.
You know, don't be expect to get kicked out
every now and then.
Car shows on the other hand are a sanctioned event
with a dedicated schedule.
Usually they're hosted by a company
or some kind of larger group.
They are promoted and open to the public
to come check out as like an actual event
to like take the kids to on the weekend.
Typically some kind of entry or application fee is required.
And you have to submit your car to be a part of the show.
And that's what we're going to be focusing on here.
Car shows specifically.
The ones that you go to and there's a lot of people there.
There's a lot of vendors there.
Cars are there for a specific purpose.
So, first couple things to note here,
having been a part of hosting
some of the largest car shows
and car meets in Wisconsin for the last few years,
here's some things that you can do to not only make sure
that you're going to have a good time and make sure that the
staff hosting the event is going to stay happy,
because if you don't want to piss those guys off,
because then it just makes everyone's time,
you know, not so fun.
Show up on time.
That is the biggest one.
Don't show up too early.
And don't show up too late.
Don't be that guy that shows up hours before the event
in hopes to get a good spot.
Odds are the crew is still setting up.
They're getting their tents set up.
They're getting everything, you know,
good to go for the day.
Maybe they're not even there yet.
They're not even allowed to let people in before the event.
The gates aren't open because if you show up,
they're just going to kind of put you somewhere
and then it might not even be a part of the show.
And then of course don't show up hours late either.
Cars might be already parked.
Judging might have already began.
Overall, it's just kind of a dick move.
Just follow the schedule.
Our tips for that are be in the area of the event
at least a half hour before your scheduled time to be there.
The schedule is what the whole show runs off of.
It's what the staff is running off of.
And they're not going to change it day of.
If you're one of those people that are traveling
a long distance to a show, make sure you leave enough time
to do things like wash your car if needed.
Do a quick, like pre-trip check of the vehicle.
Make sure your tires are in good shape.
Make sure that like your fluids are topped off.
And then maybe if you want,
look into getting a hotel the day before,
so you don't have to worry about
making the long drive day of.
Attending shows with friends makes it that much better.
It's something that you can go do together.
If you plan on going with a group of people
and you want to park together at the show,
make sure all you guys show up together.
It makes it much more easier to get everyone
parked next to each other, like you guys like,
and no one gets left out.
If you're coming from different areas,
establish a meeting place beforehand.
So you can all drive to the show together.
Remember, you're there to show off your car
and of course have a good time.
You're definitely gonna want to make sure
that you bring the essentials to make sure
your car looks as good as it possibly can.
Don't forget to pack essential cleaning supplies
that you're going to need to keep your car looking clean.
Nothing worse than hitting a swarm of freshly hatched
mayflies right before you get to the show.
And then you have nothing to wipe them off with,
when you get your car all parked.
We recommend packing some quick detailers,
some glass cleaner, some wheel cleaner, tire shine,
and then just pick up a pack of fresh microfibers
to your car looking nice and clean at all times.
If I see you show up to car show with dirty wheels,
I'm going to have Dakota come over here and smack you.
And trust me, he's had a lot of experience, slapping wheels.
Just keep that in mind. So you're there.
You're all checked in. Car is parked. Car is cleaned up.
What's the next thing?
Well, I'll tell you what the next thing is.
Don't just stand there with a stick up your butt
next to your car.
I see it all the time and don't, and I don't,
I'm not gonna lie. I'm super guilty of it as well.
Walk around the show. Go talk with people.
Go talk with people about their cars.
It makes it so much more fun.
Talk to them about their build, what they've all done to it.
Everyone has at least some kind of
crazy story about their car. I promise you.
Go around and take some photos.
Even if it's with your cell phone
or if you have a camera, you know, more to you.
But like just go experience the whole show.
Go eat some tacos, pet the dogs. All that sort of stuff.
That allows you to not just hang out next to your car
in a lawn chair all day,
because then every picture that you get of your car
is going to have you sitting next to it.
The next biggest thing is stay for the whole event.
A lot of time and effort went into planning that show.
Some shows won't even give you an award.
Like if you win an award and you're not there
to like accept it, they'll just pick
the next person in line.
I've seen it happen many times.
Which while we're on the topic of trophies and awards,
let's get to the last topic of today,
which is what all goes in to winning
a trophy from a car show?
Because sometimes, you know, some people that's,
that's what they're there for.
They're there to take home a piece of hardware.
Classes can vary from show to show,
whether that's, you know, year, make, model.
Whether that's just general classes.
It varies all the time.
So like, what are judges looking for
when it comes down to actually judging these cars,
to hand out the trophies?
The biggest things that they take into consideration
is of course your overall qualities, like your condition,
your fitment, your paint, all that kind of stuff.
But there's also some other things
that come into play here too. Like creativity.
Like what makes that car unique?
Any custom fabrication done to it?
You can tell that when you have your simple bolt-on parts
compared to like a custom fab part that you can't buy
anywhere else, obviously the eyes are gonna be drawn
to those parts a little bit more.
And the appreciation to that kind of workmanship,
it is going to be appreciated a whole lot more.
It seems going faster and faster. Jesus Christ.
Attention to detail is another one,
that modifications flow throughout the entire car.
Every square inch has been touched,
or at least prepped to be at the show.
And you might be thinking, you know,
why do I go to some of these shows
and all these like kit cars and fricking bumblebee Camaros
are taking home the trophies all the time?
And it, and when it comes down to it,
it's like the dedication and attention to detail is there.
You see those guys showing up. Every inch of that car
has been touched with some sort of detail product.
It is absolutely clean.
The car looks like it's never been
out of a showroom before.
They got the whole plaque thing, sticking up next to it.
They got the plushy sitting in the seat.
Like they just go all in.
And even if it might not be your cup of tea, you know,
they still put in a ton of effort
and they are there for one reason.
And that is to take home a trophy.
And guess what they usually do.
But, when it all comes down to, you know,
when that time comes, the announcer comes up on the intercom
and you all flock to the main stage,
and you're there to see who's going to take home
the trophy for the day.
If you don't win, it's going to be okay. It's just a trophy.
It's not worth getting all upset about.
Remember, like everyone is there for a specific reason.
And that's to share the passion of cars,
have a good time and to hang out with people.
And if you don't take home a little plastic trophy
for the day, I promise it's going to be okay.
So that is our quick guide.
If you are looking at attending your first car show
coming up this year.
Of course, let us know your thoughts
down in the comments below and let us know
what you would like us to cover next.
And of course, don't forget wheels, tires, suspension,
including wheel tire packages are coming to your door,
mount, balance and shipped for free.
So you can just slap them on your car.
You don't have to worry about anything.
You literally, like you get them that day.
You can install them in like 30 minutes.
It's like the easiest thing.
You don't have to go drive around,
borrow your buddy's truck to go bring tires
and wheels to a shop, to get them mounted.
And that's just a whole mess.
So, fitmentindustries.com.
I'm Jells. We'll see you later. Peace.
(soft music)