The Road Less Traveled // Max’s Impeccable Acura RL.

Taking the road less traveled can often lead to interesting results. It is often a more difficult journey, but the payout at the end is worth it. Max certainly knows this as his journey with his 2004 Acura RL has been a long and arduous one, but just one look at the car and you can tell that it has been worth it. Representing the famous Liberty VIP crew, Max’s RL is a master’s class in VIP styling and customization, and is nothing short of amazing. Let’s take a closer look at a chassis that is often overlooked in the VIP community.

Photos By: Raul Singson exclusively for StanceNation.com

The car was purchased in 2006 and saved from a life of mediocrity as typical “grandpa car.” Max is no stranger to Acuras as his last car before this one was a turbocharged GSR Integra. With the intention of wanting something different, Max spent four months searching for the exact year and color, picking the ’04 because it is the last year of the first-generation RL and has the boxier lines that he was after. Not long after the purchase, Max wasted no time in putting his own touch on his virgin RL.

The exterior of this car is classy and subtle, oozing VIP touches from every angle. The car’s dark paint and wide-body treatment definitely give the car a presence wherever it goes. The Mode Parfume kit flows extremely well with the car and like all high-end body-kits sports an OEM fit and finish. A trip to Dreamakers Kustoms, the body shop of choice for the Liberty crew, resulted in the beautiful wide-body treatment. Nate and the crew at Dreamakers did an excellent job of widening the RL without going over-the-top with it. It’s all about those subtle details. Both front and rear fenders were cut and radiused along with Mercedes SL500 vents being grafted onto the front fenders. Out back, a custom rear diffuser was crafted from a Mercedes GL450 blended around the Porsche 997 exhaust tips and Lexus ISF LEDS for a complete, one-off rear end. Chrome trim and accessories, and Mode Parfume Silver pin striping break up the luscious, deep, black paint.

With the body work all squared away, and those newly formed wide fenders, it was time to fit a proper set of wheels to the car. After rocking a few different sets over the years, this new stage called for a truly special wheel for a unique platform. Enter Luxury Abstract wheels. The relatively new wheel company is certainly turning out some of the most unique wheel designs, and being completely bespoke means that the only limitations to the wheels are what the customer can dream up. Max decided on the Mador design; a beautiful 7-spoke wheel with a very trick bridge. Sized up at 19×9.5 +8 up front, and 19×10.5 +0 in the rear the wheels fill up the fenders nicely and suit the overall look of the car perfectly.

To get the car’s fender-to-wheel-lip ratio just right, Max relied on undoubtedly one of the best companies when it comes to air suspension; Airrunner. Purchased from Autofashion USA, the bolt-on kit fit like a charm with Efrain Hernandez from High Grade Automotive tackling the install. Efrain did a superb job on the install making everything look like it came that way from the factory. All of the lines are hidden and the gauges and controller are set in the center console.

On the inside things remain simple, but a few trademark VIP touches are scattered throughout. Bellezza memory neck pads and curtains, and a custom VIP’D Out table add to the luxury of the spacious Acura interior. No fancy, over-the-top hi-fi audio install to be found here. This car is all about class and Max has done a great job at keeping everything subtle to where nothing jumps out at you, but still you can’t take your eyes off the car. However, with the fact that this is probably the nicest RL in the US, this car is kind of hard to ignore. That’s the beauty of taking a platform that is over looked, you don’t really need to do much to stand out, but Max went a few steps further and really raised the bar. So, if there are any out there looking at a new VIP platform and are taking a peek at the RL be warned because this one has certainly set the bar very high. Enjoy some more awesome shots from photographer Raul Singson and a few group shots with Big Ty’s amazing 2nd-Gen GS that we just featured, and of course clock the spec list at the bottom for all the details.

Big Ty & Max representing Liberty VIP

• Wheels/Tires/Suspension

  Airrunner Air Suspension (custom modified)
  3 piece Luxury Abstract Mador
  19×10.5 +0 rear reverse lip and 19×9.5 +8 front

• Exterior

  Mode Parfume Body Kit
  Custom BodyWork: Dreamakers Kustom
  Custom Porsche 997 turbo w/ DMH e-cutout

• Interior

  Garson Mink mirror ornament
  Bellezza Memory neck pads
  Bellezza Curtains
  Vipdout custom table

• Engine

  K&N custom air intake