Kris Guico - 2016 BMW F80 M3
Currently I drive a 2016 BMW F80 M3 and loving every second of it. The F80 was added as a 2nd car in my 3 car ensemble. Its purpose was to serve as "the daily".
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Hi all,
My name is Kris Guico. I am a Portland Oregon resident who is married to the most amazing and beautiful wife. I am a Marketing Campaign Strategist by day, a gamer by night, a photographer/videographer by trade and a car enthusiast every second of my life!
Instagram: @daily_driv3n
Photographs: @chrisdaleyphotography
Currently, I drive a 2016 BMW F80 M3 and love every second of it. The F80 was added as a 2nd car in my 3 car ensemble. Its purpose was to serve as "the daily". I just wanted a car that already looked good, was already fast and required no modifications from the factory. The F80 M3 was that car for me. I have been modifying cars since 2003 and at this point in my life, I thought it was time to "exit the scene" and not dump so much money on modifying cars anymore, since we all know we don't see a penny of it back if/when we decide to sell the car. This obviously was not the case. The daily became a daily-track car, which then became a daily-show car.
The F80 is housing a complete Dinan Stage 3 kit. She is packing 548bhp with 549 ft-lb of torque. Never really took her on a quarter-mile track, or accurately gauged her 0-60 time, but let’s just say... she's fast... at least fast enough for me and for the street.
Full Spec List:-
- Dinantronics Stage 3 Tune;
- Dinan Air Intake;
- Dinan Mid Pipe;
- Dinan Exhaust;
- Dinan Heat Exchanger;
- IRP Shifter;
- Brembo 380mm BIg Brake Kit;
- 19x9.5 / 19x10.5 Volk Racing ZE40 Wheels;
- 255/35 275/35 Falken Azenis FK510 Tires;
- Airlift Suspension w/ 3P Management System; and
- Front Lip / Rear Diffuser / Side Splitters;
Much like every car I've ever owned and built, I did do all the work (except for the wrap) by myself in a tiny apartment garage. Project F80 went in stages of the course, parts for BMW aren't cheap, unfortunately. As mentioned, at first, the F80 was simply a daily driver. I had a project/show car already; I just needed something "fast" to get me around town and to-from work. I have always believed the perfect garage consisted of 3 cars: The Practical and Dependable (fully stock) car, The Fast Car, and the Show/Project (which only runs twice a week because it seems to always break something) car. The F80 was the fast car of the 3. So for a while, she stayed unmodified as is. It wasn't until my show car project became complete did I decide to focus on having a "fast car", the goal then became to turn the F80 into a daily driver slash track car beast.
Stage 1 soon became stage 2, which then soon became stage 3. I opted to go with Dinan kits throughout all this as it keeps the same warranty as to the vehicle and keeps the OEM warranty valid. It is limited, but the power and torque it puts down on the tires are more than sufficient for my needs. Of course with all this new power means I needed something to stop it better and faster, enter the Brembo Big Brake Kit. Since I was then content with the performance, I decided to give her a fresh new pair of shoes. With my JDM roots, I've always wanted to own a set of Volk wheels, the ZE40 just seemed to look and fit perfectly. The factory wheels/tires already seemed wide enough, so I just opted to go with a 0.5" increase all around and the right offset to fine-tune its fitment. Now she was complete. Or so I thought she was.
Years passed, and I realized I had too many toys and had to minimize them. So I opted to sell my project/show car, leaving me with only the F80. Once again I thought I was done w/ the scene. I purely drove her on a daily. It's been months and months since she's even seen the track. The F80 truly became just a daily ut that the itch to work on something, that itch to create something, that itch to show something, was still lingering. It truly feels like a sickness I can never cure. It was during this time that I decided to turn the F80 into a show car. She only needed a few pieces to make her "visually" complete. I have opted to install my favourite and most trusted air system, Air Lift Suspension. The Air Lift 3P Management is amazing, and their kit is just so easy to install, everything fits like a glove. To make an even more loud statement, I opted to team up with my favourite local wrap shop, PDX Wraps to design something crazy, unique, and LOUD.
When I look at the F80 M3, I see a legacy that I've always loved. It embodies a monster of an engine that resembled the inline 6 twin turbo gods... the RB26DETT and the 2JZGTE. It's one of the few vehicles coming out fresh from the manufacturing plant that still allows the driver to feel through the gears. Its lines and aggressive look remind you of the old iconic Skylines. In my opinion... it could very well be the true R35 or the true A90. It followed in their footsteps, holding true to what a lot of us car enthusiasts still pine exists in modern/new cars. And that is how/why we arrived on the Japanese Samurai Themed wrap. And this is how she sits today. 3 years in the making.
I really want to say I'm done modifying her. But again, I know I have this illness that just doesn't seem to go away (lol). She already has the performance and the looks, what else can one ask for? Maybe a refresh on the wrap in a few years? Only time will tell! I do know I plan on keeping this car for as long as it lives.
The F80 is the 10th of 11 cars I've owned and modified/built. Most recently (in the span of 4 years), I have owned a BMW M4, a BMW E30 325i from the UK, a Lexus RCF, my current BMW M3, and a BMW E36 convertible. My love for BMW all started in 2016 I wanted to just buy a car that was already fast, already looked good, and was reliable (also known as new). So I ended up with a BMW M4, the first competition package M4 in Oregon. Loved every bit of the car. Kept it 100% as is. I was content and happy but knew I wanted to have a project/show car as well. Enter in the beautiful 1984 BMW E30 325i from the UK, my 3rd RHD car I've owned. I've always loved driving on the right side. Once you've owned one, you always crave the attention you get when people see you driving on the opposite side. Since I've always built cars for speed and function, I decided to change it up with this one and make her a show car. There were a lot of "firsts" I did with this project. This was my first experience with ever installing and working with air suspension, and boy did I love it. The ability to not scrape or break any of your body panels (or oil pans) is amazing. And to just be able to air out when parked... It always made me look back as I walked away.
I then made a decision that I soon would regret when I switched jobs and went from working for BMW to working for Lexus. As the marketing guy, owning their car to show was part of the gig, so I traded my M4 for an RCF, and boy did I really regret that decision. I still modified it a bit (exhaust & suspension and powdered wheels) so that I can show and promote this brand, and with the help of PDX wraps, I did make her look different. But I couldn't keep lying to myself. I wanted to go back to the F8X chassis, so that's when I sold the RCF and I bought my current car, the BMW F80 M3. The last car I bought/owned after the F80 would be the BMW E36 convertible. I sold the E30 since I was getting so addicted in building it that I needed to get out of the money pit before it was too late. I opted to go with a convertible (since I never owned one) and opted to go w/ not only a static low stance but also go with a wide body kit. This was the first time I've ever done body, and it was definitely an experience. But as mentioned earlier, it was short-lived. This project saw a few shows, but since I needed to downsize, this car too had to go, which lead to the evolution of the F80 becoming a show car.
My passion for cars started in 1999 when I was first introduced to Honda Tuning, Import Racer, Turbo, and Sport Compact Car magazines! The cars looked cool, the cars went fast, but what intrigued me the most was the amount of work tuners put into their cars and how unique each one of them was based on their style and vision. This of course led me to my first car show in Chicago, Hot Import Nights. When seeing all of them in person, I just knew I wanted to get into this scene and share my vision with the world.
I am blessed and fortunate to be part of one of the biggest teams nationally, Team Elevate. The PNW chapter is definitely a group of amazing guys and gals and we seem to be a big family with every hang out/ show we gather. Love spending time with the team and getting to know the people for sure.
I first entered a car show in August of 2016 with my BMW E30. It took place up in Seattle, WA and was called So Euro. It was in this show that I won my first trophy as well, "Best E30". The F80 entered her first show in October 2019 at Hot Import Nights, and that's where I won "Hottest BMW". The E30 and the RCF also both had the honour of being Booth cars for Wekfest in 2017. There aren't many shows that occur here in the PNW, but I do chase the ones that happen in Seattle. I do like going to Stancewars Seattle, Wekfest, and Hot Import Nights to see the current builds, and of course the competition. Brings me back to the days when I used to read those magazines. I just love seeing the unique builds and the stories behind the why. Gathering w/ the community and the car scene is always nice. Some local meets here in Portland metro are cars and coffee and Red Door Meet. This is where you can see the same crowd/people weekly and where you can catch up with others who share the same passion as you.
My dream car is one that I hope I can make true someday. My heart has always been in the JDM classics. Ever since I've owned the 77 Fairlady Z, I've always dreamt of owning a KPGC10 2000GT and have always wanted to swap in an RB26DETT that I had built with my very own hands. The chassis is known to be the first of the Skyline heritage and of course, the engine is known to have been the best Nissan has ever built, and of course, the best engine that powered any Skyline. It is just a match made in heaven.
I would like to thank PDX Wraps for the constant support in making my cars stand out and be seen! Special thanks to the wife, who always stays patient while I spend countless hours in the garage, and for always coming to support me during the shows and meets. Special shout out to Team Elevate! Especially the PNW chapter. Keep inspiring, keep building! Also a HUGE shout out to Chris Daly for these amazing photos of my car! He truly can paint a picture with his camera! And of course a special thank you to Stance Auto Magazine for this great opportunity! Thank you for taking me down memory lane, for letting me remember why I am in love with not only my car but why I've always been addicted to the scene. I feel honoured that you all wanted to feature my car and my story, so thank you so much for this opportunity to share it.
Kris,
What do you think?
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'The future is bright as long as we can still Smell the Fumes'
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