Pippa’s USC Diary

Dotz Mods Live at USC!

By Pippa

When I knew that the team were all going to be working at USC – I was pretty excited. It’s always a great atmosphere, and after a hard day on the stand, there’s always plenty to do in the evenings with decent acts and DJs – and plenty of room to dance!

Thankfully, regular readers will be glad to learn that I turned up on time and with no wardrobe malfunctions this time. Which, to be fair, is more than could be said for our mechanical ace Paul Cooper, who had decided to take the (very) scenic route from Cornwall and managed to miss the entire first day of the build! Oops!

Joining me as my partner in crime for the entire three days was my good friend Abbey. We kind of figured, one blonde, one brunette. Something for everyone!

The first day was busy, with the lads setting up a superb VIP area, complete with DOTZ beanbags, and Cristal chilling in the fridge.. or it may have been Cava. We keep it real.. MD Kev was using the whole thing as one big excuse just to break out his decks and blow the dust off some very choice vinyl. I can think of worse ways to spend a working day! What with a few bubbles in the fridge, and even the occasional blast from the smoke machine – at least they assured us that’s what it was – the lads kept us all entertained us for hours, while we got on with the serious business of handing out the DOTZ mags and freebie bags. Somebody had to do some proper work – and you can’t leave it up to the fellas..

This point was well proven later in the weekend when Kev decided to demonstrate his ‘hands-on’ management style by joining in the product throw out into the crowd. A good idea you might think, with the T-shirts and hats going down an absolute storm. Unfortunately, Kev decided to throw a few DOTZ bottle openers out there too … and in a Ninja-esque moment actually managed to draw blood from some unlucky guest! Luckily he was an understanding sort and the doctors say it won’t scar…

As well as the usual DOTZ goodness on site, we also had the added attraction of our 3 day live Fiesta ST build which was keeping us all entertained. Not only did techy Paul put in an epic performance once he finally did grace us with his presence, but we also had to be on best behaviour all day, thanks to the semi-permanent residency of the Motors/Eurosport crew on hand at all times. If you haven’t seen the show already, watch out for it on both of those channels. Who knows?. you might even see me!

So after a long few days of talking wheels, rides and endless photos, it was good to kick back for a meal out with the team. After building a superb boot install in our build Fiesta, we thought it rude not to take the boys from Huets Car Audio out as well, so as you can imagine, many tall tales were told over a cold one or five.

We even managed to catch a bit of the USC nightlife in there somewhere! DJ Luck and MC Neat and Chart-toppers ‘Roll Deep’, no less. Providing a perfect soundtrack to round out a busy old weekend. If you came up to the stand, thanks for stopping by! I hope to catch you all at our next gig!

See you soon

Pippa x

USC? Unbelievably Sorted Car..

USC. Three little letters that spell out big things to any European petrolhead. As the acronym for Ultimate Street Car, USC has built itself something of an enviable reputation over the years – and rightly so. With almost 35,000 enthusiasts turning up to party, race, dance, pull, swap, buy, fettle and talk cods in equal measure.. it’s a very pleasant way to spend three days of your life.

This year’s event between the 6^th and 8^th of August didn’t fail to hit the spot and needless to say, your favourite wheel brand was there, wading in with our size 11s – and taking the whole place over.

Blame it on too many beers, but MD Kev had come up with the bright idea that we should mod a car live over the three days. ‘Take a standard scene classic… like a Fiesta ST,’ he slurred one evening at the bar.. ‘and hit it with everything live at the show!’ Seconds later he disappeared in a haze of tequila. We assumed that he was joking of course, and come the morning’s sober dawn, it would all be forgotten. He wasn’t… Arse!

What followed was a series of calls and mails to our chums in the trade. In-keeping within our ethos for the finer things in life, we only wanted to partner up with the most respected brands in the business, and I’m delighted to report and much pleading – and occasionally, mild threats to publish compromising pictures on the net – a plethora of utterly choice components were soon winging their way to Dotz HQ. It was like Christmas most mornings here, with first a choice set of Corbeau seats turning up, followed by Eibach springs, Powerflex bushes.. you name it!

The day before the show and a rented van saw this eclectic wish-list of mods whisked up the motorway to Santa Pod to be readied for the build. Never one to hide our light under a bushel, not only were we going to work in a fully branded build area, but the whole thing was going to be filmed for Eurosport and Motors TV, as a kind of ‘Pimp My Ride’ live.. with much better looking staff, obviously…

Believe it or not, our artisan for this build was the incredibly talented Paul Cooper; a man that makes the Williams pit crew look lethargic and a veritable mine of useless automotive information. He was confident that he could finish the build in the three days.. or he was until he missed the entire first day after getting held up in Cornwall. Double Arse!

Although we eventually got him started, time was always going to be an issue, and despite Kev’s best efforts to raise morale with some club-quality tunes, the stress levels were high from the outset! Luckily, our technical partner’s components fitted like an absolute dream, meaning that what we had lost on day one, Paul could claw back over the two days.

As well as the superb componentry going onto the Fezzer, Audio legends Huets were on hand to endow the Fiesta with an OEM+ bootbuild that gave it some decent bass to match its stance and new found pace. Building everything from scratch on site, their work was simply sublime. It didn’t half sound good too!

So what did we fit? Well, grab a cuppa.. and we’ll talk you through it!

Chassis duties were ably dispatched thanks to the superb fitment of the Eibach Pro-Kit. Lowering the car by around 30mm, but keeping the ride, this was a great touch and greatly assisted with a full set of Powerflex bushes.

Braking was tweaked with a set of Goodridge braided lines from our friends at the Performance Company, and then topped off with a full set of uprated disks and pads from Tarox. No guesses where the wheels came from. A set of our own Shuriken, wrapped in Cooper rubber.

Under the bonnet a Pipercross induction kit, Spec R tank and full Samco kit made a real difference, as did the Richbrook official Ford caps. Not to be outdone, A Scorpion half system extracted the gasses in a most tuneful manner, adding a few horses along the way.

Inside, Yet more Richbrook goodies lifted the interior.. and made it smell nice! A set of stunning Corbeau perches and Luke harnesses made the whole job much more comfortable – and safe, and with the Huets tunes ringing in our ears.. It was all looking and sounding the absolute business.

And when the whole job was done, we even washed up with Fast Orange hand cleaner.. Phew..!

The result, we hope you agree, is a car that looks better, goes better and showcases some of the best brands on the scene today. Although none of them pretend to be the cheapest, our advice after having to fit them all under great duress, is that they are all easily worth the extra. You get what you pay for, and the quality of these mods will stand the test of time. Our mantra all the way!!!

A massive thanks to everyone that helped, everybody that shouted encouragement along the way and of course, a ridiculously huge thank you to our build partners. We really couldn’t have done it without you!

Catch the build and the whole show in the TV show ‘Santa Pod Extravaganza’ on Motors TV.

Bertone. Giugiaro. Pininfarina… Some of the greatest automotive design names of all time. Their masterful strokes have left an indelible imprint on automotive culture, adding style and passion to the humble motor car. But now there’s a new name to add to that list.. Yours!

Yes indeed, the next big thing in cutting-edge automotive design could be you. Although we’re not offering you your own studio in Turin or anything like that, we are offering you the chance to see your vision made in a production reality by joining in our wheel design comp.

Friday the 23^rd is the closing date, so there are literally just hours left to put the finishing touches to your masterpiece. The lucky winner will not only have their wheel lovingly crafted to their exact specification, before a full set is delivered to their door…but you’ll also get to join us as VIP guests at the World-famous Ultimate Street Car show at Santa Pod between the 6^th and 8^th of August. And that’s worth entering for on its own!

So what are you waiting for? Fame and legendary status awaits you – along with the enviable chance to roll around on a totally unique set of custom rims. The clock is ticking.. so get clicking (link)