Last week Andy from Sport Compact Culture sent me an email alerting me to something beyond awesome. I know what you are thinking. You’re thinking he sent me a link to Bill Cosby fighting the Witch from Narnia and then buying everyone Jell-o pudding cups. No, this is even more awesome then that (hard to believe I know). But it’s truly more awesome.
Andy sent me a link to a thread with a whole bunch of pics and info on a craze I had never seen before. It’s called Dajiban which basically means “Dodge Vans”. These things are absolutely fantastic. Cats in Japan are taking huge full sized Dodge Ram Vans and slamming them down and racing them. Yes, they are really doing this. And if they are not racing these things, they are just making them look damn good.
How badass are these things?! Answer: Extremely!
Yeah, those are RS Watanabes! Aren’t these vans some weird lug pattern? I wonder where they found the wheels for such a crazy lug pattern. My guess is re-drilled wheels.
I have always loved these vans, especially the later 90’s ones. They had a certain sense to them that I could never understand but they always drew me in. Not to mention that they seem somewhat rare around me. I see Ford and Chevy vans all day, but never really see these. I have been wanting one to bag forever.
WIN parade right there.
Told you they raced them. They hold events and everything to go out and have fun.
These guys are my kind of people.
Their interiors are just as cool.
Shoe horn some small block power in there, seems about right.
Carbon fiber cup holders, amazing.
This is my kind of interior, simple ad has everything you need.
These cats are serious about their suspensions. I gotta find out more about the suspension.
A big part of this scene seems to be them finding old American stickers to put on their vans. They have all kinds of stuff from the days of Americana. It’s pretty damn cool.
Finding more info on this is slow, so bear with me as I search out more stuff. But I am really digging this and definitely plan to post more on it.
OMG Pancakes 
Kinda cool, but have you ever driven a dodge van of that generation? Most uncomfotable vehicle EVER built. 5 lug wats though….. do want!
Awesome post..something real different in the scene nowadays..love those wats!
Im with you in wanting to find out a bit more about their suspension set up
I love the interiors of any one who does a van and doesn’t go over the top with carpet or something crazy like suede. You can still use it but also have a lot of fun with it. How about the wheels and suspension? Damn.
THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!
Awesome post. Never knew about this.
LOL!
I’m amazed at how this spread. I made a blog post about this way back in July and I’ve seen the pics all over the internet since then. I’m trying to get in touch with the Youga Base crew to get them to send me more content.
Well all I can say is thank you for your work man. This is one of the coolest parts of Van culture I have seen.
Yeah, it’s fun to find wacky little subcultures like this.
I like your blog btw, I’m going to put you on my roll.
Just to point out, there is no ‘weird lug pattern’ on Dodge vans like these, it’s the same 5×5.5 used on Ford and Dodge trucks in America — fullsize vans have the same engines, transmissions, and axles as the truck counterparts, so most of the vans you see on this page use a standard Chrysler Corporate 9.25″ rear axle.
I think there’s just something inherently awesome about vans in general. I’m not a big car nut, but I can look at vans all day long.
I have a ’97 window shorty and these pics are very cool! Bad thing about the wheels is the lug pattern is the same as the trucks but the center hole on the truck rims is too small to fit the van’s bigger hub. Makes it tough to find reasonably priced aftermarket wheels.
does anybody now what the plastic spoiler is under the front bumper
I believe it’s the factory “splitter” which helps aerodynamics very slightly. Pretty sure it’s a stock Dodge part, they just look different when the van is so damn low like these guys.
Damn, I haven’t looked at this post in over a year. This thing is just loaded with hotsauce.
These are featured in Grand Theft Auto V. When you jack the van, it’s called a Bravado Youga.
Did you ever find out more about that Suspension?!