17 - Electric Toyota Hilux and Building EV Conversions with Jonny Garcia

Today I am sitting down with Rishie Garg at his shop in Fremont - ZEVcentric. I met Rishie last year at an Electrify Expo event in San Francisco and we hit it off right away.Now that I made it to his shop to make some adjustments to my Model 3, we had a chance to sit back and talk about our shared love for 90's tuner cars, the history of AutoRnD and ZEVcentric, tracking a Tesla, and all around great advice from someone who has been a leader in the car industry for years.I can't thank Rishie and the team enough for dialing in my Tesla and talking strategy for track days ahead. I hope you all enjoy this conversation as much as I did, and don't forget to check out the ZEVcentric channel too!ZEVcentric Links:Website YouTube Steven's Season Finale Instagram Facebook TikTok EVTUNERS Links:YouTube Instagram X Website

Today I am sitting down with Kyle Meziere to talk about his 1953 Classic Jeep that he converted to an offroad electric beast with a Tesla Small Drive Unit and Chevy Volt Batteries. Kyle grew up in the car world a part of Meziere Enterprises and their drag racing awesomeness. When it came time to restore this Jeep from his Grandfather he landed on doing somethings special and one of a kind. Now complete, Kyle takes this Jeep into the desert offroading and doing what Jeeps do best. We cover the build and so much more, enjoy!Kyle Links:WebsiteYouTubeInstagramXEVTUNERS Links:YouTubeInstagramXWebsitePatreon

Today I am sitting down with John Stringer and Kelvin Gee of Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley (or TOSV for short).John founded TOSV in 2018, and Kelvin joined soon after as vice president. Fast forward and now they run one of the largest and most active clubs. Tesla Owners clubs are separate entities which are onboarded to Tesla’s club program, which allow them to use official logos and special Tesla branding and resources. The program has grown to an international scale, and you might even have one in your region! John and Kelvin helped me understand all about the program, how their club grew to one of the largest, and the types of activities they create for you whether you are an owner or just interested. Past events like the Tesla Takeover you might have heard of, or perhaps you follow TOSV on X or listen to their podcast, but did you know they also host meetups, organize charitable events, help new owners learn about their cars, and connect members to shops for the best upgrades? In this episode we sit down and talk about the history of TOSV, the Tesla Corsa we all attended at Buttonwillow raceway, the new X Takeover for 2024, and the larger EV culture as seen from these leaders and all around nice guys. Before we dive in, please remember to like and subscribe on YouTube, leave a review anywhere you listen to Podcasts, and follow us on Instagram and X. It helps a ton and I really appreciate it. If you want to participate with the EVTUNERS community even more, check out our Patreon page for all sorts of exclusive access. And now with that, enjoy!Tesla Owners Silicon Valley Links:XX Takeover Tesla Event RegistrationYouTubeInstagramWebsiteEVTUNERS Links:YouTubeInstagram XWebsite Patreon

Today I am sitting down with Brian and Joel, two of the founders of Scalar Performance.After meeting at the track and teaming on some endurance racing, Brian and Joel created Scalar Performance to build a dedicated EV track car for the amateur racer. The performance of an electric powertrain is impressive, and Tesla cars have been breaking lots of records as more and more show up to the track. But at the end of the day, some must-haves for the street are not needed or even get in the way for a dedicated track car. Enter the Scalar SCR1 which takes the well-loved Toyota GR86 chassis with its robust aftermarket and then swaps in a bespoke EV drivetrain. The result is a car which is almost the same weight as its ICE counterpart but with power and balance similar to a Porsche GT4, a top speed of 146 mph, and is already caged and approved for everything from HPDE to wheel to wheel Super Touring (ST) with the National Auto Sport Association (NASA). We chat about the idea behind the SCR1, dig into the technical details of the car, and discuss the bright and fast future of racing with electric cars.Before we dive in, please remember to like and subscribe on YouTube, leave a review anywhere you listen to Podcasts, and follow us on Instagram. It helps a ton and I really appreciate it. If you want to participate with the EVTUNERS community even more, check out our Patreon page for all sorts of exclusive access. And now with that, enjoy!Scalar Links:WebsiteInstagramYouTubeEVTUNERS Links:YouTubeInstagramPatreonWebsite

Hello and welcome, to The Next Great Car Era, a podcast by EVTUNERS. Today I am sitting down with Mike and Tessa, the Regional and Deputy Regional Director of the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) SoCal Region.The NASA SoCal has been led by Mike and Tessa since 2021. Mike’s experience as an amateur and pro-racer and Tessa’s background in trade show and corporate marketing gives them a unique perspective unmatched by other organizers. We chat about what NASA is, how to start racing with them, the differences between other organizations, and what EV racing looks like now and in the future from an organizer's perspective.Before we dive in, please remember to like and subscribe on YouTube, leave a review anywhere you listen to Podcasts, and follow us on Instagram. It helps a ton and I really appreciate it. If you want to participate with the EVTUNERS community even more, check out our Patreon page for all sorts of exclusive access. And now with that, enjoy!NASA SoCal Links:InstagramWebsiteEVTUNERS Links:YouTubeInstagramWebsitePatreon

Today I am sitting down with Jimmy Underhill of EVSwap Conversions.  Jimmy is a car enthusiast and has raced with both SCCA and NASA in Spec Miata. More recently he has gotten into 4x4 driving, and is now venturing into EV Conversions, the result of which is a EV Swapped Toyota Land Cruiser. For Jimmy, the driving experience, freedom, and advanced technology and engineering has been so fun he recently launched a conversion company called EVSwap Conversions out of Denver. Before we dive in, please remember to like and subscribe on YouTube, leave a review anywhere you listen to Podcasts, and follow us on Instagram. It helps a ton and I really appreciate it. If you want to participate with the EVTUNERS community even more, check out our Patreon page for all sorts of exclusive access. And now with that, enjoy!Jimmy Links:YouTubeInstagramWebsiteEVTUNERS Links:YouTubeInstagramWebsitePatreon

Hello, and welcome to The Next Great Car Era, a podcast by EVTUNERS. I’m your host Daniel Martin and today I am sitting down with John Garcia of J5 Design and Fab.  Jonny has been in the car space for a long time, and is an all around builder, designer, and fabricator! He has worked on offroad race cars, was part of the Electroliner team who broke electric land speed records, and has EV swapped around 10 cars working for EV West and for his personal collection.Among the topics in our conversation, we chat about his path building cars, take a deep dive into a Toyota Hilux which he Tesla swapped using a BMW I3 battery pack, and discuss what’s on the horizon.Before we dive in, please remember to like and subscribe on YouTube, leave a review anywhere you listen to Podcasts, and follow us on Instagram. It helps a ton and I really appreciate it. If you want to participate with the EVTUNERS community even more, check out our Patreon page for all sorts of exclusive access. And now with that, enjoy!EVTUNERS Links:PatreonYouTubeInstagramWebsiteJonny Links:YouTubeInstagram Website

Use code EVTUNERS at MaierEV.com for a discount off your order!Today I am sitting down with Charles Maier of the Maier Corporation, formerly known as Maier Racing. Maier Racing  was originally started by Bill Maier to supply racing parts for Mustang enthusiasts. After years of success, Charles took over the business from his father and has continued its growth by adding new product lines and divisions under the Maier Corp umbrella. One of those divisions is called Maier EV which produces carbon fiber parts built for the racetrack. These parts leverage the decades of race experience and expertise in the manufacture of high quality carbon fiber. Beyond making parts, Charles is himself a successful driver and experienced racer, and has branched out into many interesting areas to date. Among the topics in our conversation, we chat about his path in motorsport, take a deep dive into carbon fiber, and discuss what is next for Maier EV and Maier Corp.Before we dive in, please remember to like and subscribe on YouTube, leave a review anywhere you listen to Podcasts, and follow us on Instagram. It helps a ton and I really appreciate it. And now with that, enjoy!Links:MaierEV WebsiteMaierEV InstagramMaier Racing InstagramMaier Racing YouTube

Today I am sitting down with the Director of Electrify Showoff Neil Tjin. Neil has been involved in the automotive space since 1995. He started with designing and building cars in the 10th grade as a hobby and quickly turned it into a business. Over the years he has been in sales manager roles, marketing director roles, head of technology for NDRA and NIRA, and consulted for major brands. Neil was the magazine editor for 8 years for HCI and B/Scene magazines, and he has worked with a ton of OEMs, including: Toyota/Scion, Honda/Acura, Chevy/Pontiac, Hyundai, Ford, Porsche and Dodge. Neil ran the Tjin Edition RoadShow for 15 years (doing over 250 shows nationally), and has built and designed over 170 cars for SEMA. Last year, his Mach E Mustang won Best Ford over the entire show. Within the nationally touring Electrify Expo is the Electrify Showoff car show, which Neil has built from the ground up. I will be joining the show in San Francisco in a couple weeks, and so Neil and I sat down ahead of time to talk more about what is in store, and what the future looks like for Showoff and car culture in general. I had a blast chatting with Neil, and I hope you all enjoy too!Links:Electrify Showoff WebsiteElectrify Showoff InstagramElectrify Showoff YouTubeElectrify Expo InstagramElectrify Expo YouTube

Today I am joined by Ryan Christopher, or on Instagram Stukinthe90s. Ryan is somewhat of a legend, with a 90’s car collection containing a Toyota Supra, Mazda RX-7, Nissan GTR, and Acura NSX. He also owns a Tesla Model S Plaid and a Tesla Model X, and takes all of his cars to the local drag strip. Ryan’s most recent project has been a second Mk 4 Supra, but this time he rebuilt it with a Tesla motor and battery pack. After that success and true to the Supra name, he is now building its next iteration to unlock more speed and performance. In this episode we discuss how Ryan got interested in cars, the details of the Supra build, his goals for the second version, and the EV community that is growing so fast. Hear all that and more, right now. Enjoy! Contact: InstagramYouTubeMotor Trend Article