In an industry strongly dominated by a male presence, females are often mocked at when they get involved. Though it’s changed in the last few years, there are many that still raise an eyebrow when a project is claimed to be female own and built. With the introductions of the various Scion models to our customization world, it was only a matter of time before its stylish lines would attract the female tuners, and in masses. The Scion models have become notorious for females to purchase, build and customize to become their own. This widebody tC is a great example of that, as owner Cynce Tester teamed up with Teske Design to build one of the finest tC’s our industry has ever seen. It’s already graced the cover of Performance Auto and Sound Magazine and collected its fair share of awards across the country. We got to take a closer look at this beautiful piece of artwork for Tunerzine.com.
From the factory, the 2005 Scion tC was a great car. Priced well under $20,000 with plenty of options, the tC was the new “starter” car for anyone looking to get into the customization world. Its coupe design and stylish lines made for an attractive car off the lot, but the fact that Scion promoted customization within their brand name made it even better for the world. The aftermarket embraced the tC with open arms and before we could blink an eye tons of manufacturers were pushing parts out for the car. From body kits to wheel setups to suspension and ultimately hardcore engine performance, the tC has probably received the most aftermarket support for any model in recent years.
When Cynce first received her tC, she loved it for its practicality and functionality but it was only a matter of time before she noticed the craze and hype behind customizing tC’s. Having joined several forums and Scion communities, including www.itsmyscion.com, Cynce knew that she had to build her tC to become one-of-a-kind. A project that would rival all Scion owners out there, not just male or female. When outlining the build for the project, Cynce didn’t want the world to think her car was ‘pretty’ or anything like that. She just wanted to show off the intricacy and attention to detail and earn the respect that any other car builder demands. We’d like to say she did a job well done.
Starting with the exterior of the car, this tC has been completely transformed. The majority of the body has received new panels thanks to AIT Racing’s K1 8-piece wide body kit. Cynce opted to have the entire kit molded onto her car to make it as clean as can be. Complementing the entire wide body kit are AIT’s front and rear bumper carbon fiber splitters. To make the rear even more aggressive, APR’s carbon fiber rear bumper diffuser was incorporated to the wide body machine. Up front, Kaminari goods entered the equation with their reverse cowl carbon fiber hood and honeycomb upper grille. It was then off to the paint shop where Cynce really put her personal touch to the project. Her decision started with a repaint of the car to a House of Kolor Candy Apple Red, but that wasn’t enough. Air Syndicate Pearl Star painted accents were then added, giving Cynce the spice she needed to really relate to her own project. After the fresh coat of paint was laid, new Izn Trbl custom projector HID headlights were bolted in and two-color vinyl graphics were laid.
The attention continued with the exterior, but performance was now added into the equation as Cynce tackled suspension modifications. With close to 30,000 miles on the odometer, it’s no question that this tC sees plenty of street time, so she wanted it to perform as well as it looked. Not to mention massive wheels were on the way, so every bit of the suspension modifications it had to be up to par. The stock springs and shocks were tossed away and replaced quickly with a full coilover kit from H&R. Balancing the handling equation further is a H&R rear sway bar and DC Sports front strut bar. Then came the finishing touch on the exterior: the wheel and tire setup. 19×8.5-inch wheels found their way onto the wide body chassis in fashion. Racing hart’s RS721 modeled wheel was the perfect fit for Cynce’s tC in both style and fitment. She opted to wrap each wheel with Toyo Proxes 4 rubber in a 235/35/19 size. Peeking behind the five spoke design is a brake upgrade from Rotora in the front. 4-piston calipers can now be seen along with their stainless steel brake lines. In the rear, Cynce kept things simple with a Powerslot rear rotor upgrade.
Now that the exterior was up to par, it was time to get plenty of power to those massive 19-inch wheels. Like we mentioned before, this tC sees plenty of driving time so Cynce wanted to not only keep things reliable, but wanted enough power to have plenty of fun. The search didn’t take long as reputable manufacturer Dezod came in with their turbo kit. Being one of the first on the tC market with forced induction applications, Dezod’s turbo kit has a loyal fan following in the tC community. The T3/T4 turbo is now housed thanks to a Dezod ceramic coated manifold. Plenty of exhaust components were added to the mix including a 3-inch ceramic coated downpipe, custom recirculated wastegate dump tube and DC Sports exhaust system. Other common forced induction components include TiAL’s 38mm wastegate and 50.5mm blow off valve. Additional fuel has been added to the system with Dezod’s 550cc injectors and all of it has been retuned thanks to a GReddy e-Manage unit. A massive Spearch intercooler fills up the AIT Racing front bumper while several amenities can be seen in the engine bay including an AEM polished battery tie down, GReddy air diversion panel and polished valve cover. The stock clutch has been tossed out for something that can handle all the additional power: an ACT street clutch kit.
Stepping foot into the interior of the car, we were overwhelmed by the race inspiration and attention to detail yet again. Cobra Imola S-GT racing seats now replace the front pair. Several covers have been rewrapped in leather and suede, while Sparco’s catalog of interior goods were clearly ordered up for this project. Carbon fiber pedals, Globe shift knob and Mugello steering wheel all carry the Sparco moniker. Carbon fiber accents can be seen throughout the car, while several gauges from AEM made tuning and monitoring simple. AEM’s Tru-Boost gauge controller along with their Wideband UEGO controller, Oil Temp gauge are all housed in a triple gauge pod.
The interior modifications sort of stop there, that is if you don’t consider in car electronics as part of interior modifications. To competitively represent at the shows, Cynce has completely decked out the ICE component to this project. Up front is a Pioneer AVIC-D2 head unit providing entertainment and the first ounce of juice that flows to the rest of the system. A pair of Boston Acoustics GT2 10-inch subwoofers are in the trunk along with a trio of GT series amplifiers from Boston Acoustics. Six Boston Acoustics component speakers have been added into the mix, filling the cabin with plenty of musical notes. For additional entertainment, the rear custom fiberglass enclosure also houses an Apple Mac Mini computer, 23-inch Apple motorized LCD monitor, and Apple iSight web camera. If that wasn’t enough, a Sony PS2 along with a 15-inch SonaVision LCD monitor is also in there somewhere.
So the next time you have something incriminating to say about a female builder or that her car is just another example of a “boyfriend’s” project, you better think again. Cynce made it loud and clear to us that she’s not playing games when it comes to customizing cars. Word on the street is that this tC is now for sale and she has something else up her sleeve. Not skirt guys, sleeve.
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